Throwback Blog: Free Bird

Blogger’s Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Free Bird written on Apr 15, 2007. I wrote three topics. The first topic is my fifth week at Cisco. I completed an assignment in one week. I admit I was lucky. I made a mistake. I should have found a way to improve my Crystal Reports skills. On the other hand, any additional training was likely a waste of time because Crystal Reports was a terrible reporting software program.

The second topic was learn cooking. The content was true in Apr 2007. The content is true today. I follow what I said today. Cooking is an activity to take a break. Cooking reduces eating processed foods. A healthy person minimizes eating processed foods. Cook healthy meals. Cooking is an activity to reduce stress, to rest the brain, and to slow down.

The third topic was boredom wastes time. There is always something to do. I repeat my suggested activities verbatim: watch a DVD never watched in a long time, take a walk around the neighborhood, read a book, play an old video game, clean the bathroom, listen to a CD never listened to before, go shopping, organize a future gathering, create a Blog, watch YouTube videos, learn how to cook (huh, what?), and take a nap. I add additional suggestions: learn another skill, refresh an existing skill, and visit a new place.

O.K. The title of the Blog is unrelated to what I'm talking about. I'm listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd and I said, "Free Bird" which is my title XP

Update at Cisco. Tomorrow, I start my fifth week at Cisco. No complaints. There are lots to learn. And I need to know more Crystal Reports. Last week, it took me all week to complete an assignment. I was happy, lucky, and concern. I was happy I finished my assignment because it involved Crystal, and my Crystal knowledge is still newbie. I was lucky because there were moments I needed to think of another way to do it and I did it. My concern was the assignment was updating the monthly statistics report which was in a quarterly format. For those who produce monthly and/or quarterly reports, I believe we are talking on the same page. A quarterly format is not used for monthly reports because nobody wants to read a quarterly reports 12 times a year ;-)

Here are two Innovating Common Knowledge Blogs. Enjoy!

Working Hard? Learn How To Cook

Do you work hard? Some people do. And some people work too hard. If you work too hard and need to find a new activity to take a break, then consider cooking.

Many people who work too hard chances are high they can't cook. They eat at restaurants, eat processed foods, drink coffee . . . unconcerned what they eat. You are what you eat. One may be making lots and lots of money; however, how can one enjoy the money if they work too hard and are unhealthy to spend. If a hard worker is staying in the hospital in bad health, then all the money may not be able to save his or her life, and who wants to spend hard working money in medical bills $-/ A dead hard worker can't spend money six feet under X.X

There are many benefits to cook at home. For me, I cook healthy food. The more healthy food I eat, the less likely I visit the hospital. Eating healthy food promotes good healthy habits, keeps the weight acceptable, and keeps the brain active and heart pumping and pumping. When I cook, I take a break from work. I take food and ingredients to create something for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My brain slows down from the fast pace, critical thinking working environment. Even brains need to rest from thinking too long. And when I think of anything including work, the kitchen provides me an environment to think differently, think slowly, and think at the back of head. My primary brain thinking is cooking without burning the stove. *hee, hee*

Please visit my webpage Cooking 101 at cooking101.html to find simple recipes.

Bored? Do Something Out Of The Ordinary

One of my pet peeves is boredom. I hate to be bored. Boredom wastes time. Some say being bored is O.K. It's like a time out. For me, though, if I want to be bored, I take a nap. (-,-)

Boredom is an opportunity to do something out of the ordinary. I remember in August 21, 2005, I was super bored. It was the last time I was super bored, and I even wrote the moment on paper. What I did was I looked at all of my anime art books including Full Metal Alchemist, Evangelion, and Card Captor Sakura. Since the day, when I get super bored, I find activities I usually never do. I find activities I never did in a long time. I just find something, anything, whatever, and think of new activities and new ventures to pursue.

Here are some activities to consider when bored: watch a DVD never watched in a long time, take a walk around the neighborhood, read a book, play an old video game, clean the bathroom, listen to a CD never listened to before, go shopping, organize a future gathering, create a Blog, watch YouTube videos, learn how to cook (huh, what?), and take a nap.

Life goes by fast. The older the person, the faster life goes by. Live every moment in the present. Live right now. Boredom is evil in life. Stay active, and it's O.K. to take life slowly. Just don't sit on the couch waiting for life to come to you. Do something, anything, whatever, and think of new activities and new ventures to pursue.

Update On A Past Blog

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers for winning the 2020 World Series. The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was in 1988. The Dodgers won the National League West Division 2013-2020. The Dodgers appeared in the World Series in 2017, 2018, and 2020. The Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros in 2017 and lost to the Boston Red Sox in 2018.

Why did the Dodgers finally win the World Series being in the playoffs since 2013? My answer is Mookie Betts. The 2018 American League MVP is the superstar the Dodgers lacked. I wrote a blog titled There's An A In Overachieving on Oct 11, 2020. A championship team requires three components which are a superstar, good coaching, and good management or good ownership. Betts is the superstar. Manager Dave Roberts is the good coaching. I give Roberts credit for learning from his past mistakes. President Stan Kasten is the good ownership such as giving the green light to acquire Betts from the Boston Red Sox. The past Dodgers teams 2013-2019 making the playoffs lacked the superstar. Some may say former manager Don Mattingly was a bad manager.

High School R.O.T.C. Leadership Lesson Another Viewpoint By Rank

I took the U.S. Marines Reserve Officers Training Corps or R.O.T.C. in high school for three years. I still remember the leadership attributes and leadership skills. I discover another viewpoint. I share them.

Leadership attributes. There are four leadership attributes C.A.P.P or CAPP: Communication, Ability to deal with others, Physical fitness, and Professional knowledge. If I rank CAPP from hardest to easiest, then Communication is the hardest to Professional knowledge is the easiest. Communication is the hardest because most people have trouble communicating their thoughts, feelings, and explanations professionally, personally, publicly, socially, and privately; moreover, people with poor communication skills their ability to deal with others skills are weaker. Most people with communication problems don't seek professional help. Professional knowledge is the easiest because anyone can read a book. The most ignored leadership attribute is physical fitness. Many people lack physical activity.

Leadership skills. There are seven leadership skills M.I.S.S.C.R.E.E.K. or MISSCREEK. Motivation, Integrity, Self-discipline, Self-confidence, Courage, Responsibility, Enthusiasm, Emotional stability, and Knowledge. If I rank MISSCREEK from most important to least important, then Motivation is the most important and Knowledge is the least important. Motivation is more important than knowledge or desire is more important than intelligence. Most of the best people in the world are not the smartest people in the world. The best people are highly motivation. Anyone can read a book to increase their knowledge. I will is more important than I know.

List Format

Leadership Attributes
Communication
Ability to deal with others
Physical fitness
Professional knowledge

Leadership Skills
Motivation
Integrity
Self-discipline
Self-confidence
Courage
Responsibility
Enthusiasm
Emotional stability
Knowledge

Top Ten Alternate Points Of View My Life Is Good

Today's blog is a different be grateful. Today's blog is a different count my blessings. Today's blog is not a clique don't take life for granted. Today's blog convinces me my life is better than I realize. Today's blog I'm lucky to be alive.

I'm fortunate I'm one step closer to be a self-trained genius at the end of the day. It can be daunting. I have been self-correcting myself. I have been fixing my problems. I have been solving my personal problems. I have been going back in time realizing my setbacks. I'm correcting my setbacks my fault or not my fault. My self-training genius is part of number ten. Here are the top ten alternative points of view my life is good.

10. Responsibility. I'm responsible for my life. It's not my fault I fell through the cracks when I experienced childhood problems. It's not my fault nobody helped me. There was a lack of teaching. The system failed me. I'm not being ashamed of myself. The responsibility includes becoming a smarter person achieving genius status.

9. No Otaku. I retired from anime in Sep 2014. I know how to be an otaku. I was never an otaku in the first place. Thank God.

8. No Long Daily Commutes. Number eight is temporary. I rather have a job given my current situation. A human being can take so much driving long hours five days a week to and from work. The stress adds up.

7. Expanded Basics. I'm fortunate I have a computer, access to the internet, a washer and a dryer to wear clean clothes, a toilet, a shower, and a bed to sleep.

6. My Job Is Not A Recruiter. I'm not a recruiter; in particular, working at a recruiting firm outside the United States.

5. Not Divorced. Self-explanatory.

4. No Dependent Children. In particular, I have no dependent children with long-term problems.

3. No Credit Card Debt. I minimize my expenses. I control my spending.

2. No Addictions. No addictions to alcohol, drugs, food, video games, and shopping.

1. No Felonies. I include no DUIs. I had one driving citation while I was a college student.

Is Tanking The New Way To Succeed?

tank (verb): to make no effort to win; stop trying to win a competition.

I write today's blog on tanking referencing sports. The Houston Astros baseball team lost at least 100 games from 2011 to 2013 and lost 92 games in 2014. The Astros received high draft picks for one of the worse records drafting center fielder George Springer in 2011, shortstop Carlos Correa and pitcher Lance McCullers in 2012, and shortstop Alex Bregman in 2015. These four players played a major factor in the Astros winning the 2017 World Series. The Astros are playing in the 2020 American League Championship Series facing another elimination game down 3-2 out of a best of seven games against the Tampa Bay Rays as of the blog entry. The Astros cheating is another conversion.

The Philadelphia 76ers basketball team won less than 20 games from 2013-2014 season to 2015-2016 season and 28 games for the 2016-2017 season. The 76ers received high draft picks for one of the worse records drafting center Joel Embiid in 2014 and guard Ben Simmons in 2016. These two players are all-stars who turned around the team to NBA Championship contenders. The 76ers were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2019-2020 NBA Playoffs. Head coach Brett Brown was fired. Doc Rivers is the new head coach.

The Miami Dolphins football team were speculated to tank for the 2019-2020 season. The Dolphins ended the season 5-11 and last place in their division. There were pre-season and early season rumors Dolphins players demanded trades to leave the team. The Dolphins tanked because they team wanted high draft picks to rebuild their team to championship contender. The Dolphins are 2-3 and third place in their division for the 2020-2021 season as of the blog entry.

The Golden State Warriors basketball team are tanking intentionally and unintentionally. The Warriors are plagued by injuries including all-stars guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The 2019-2020 is a one-off year given the last five NBA seasons the Warriors played in the NBA finals winning three NBA Championships. The Warriors won the second pick in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery. Their final regular season record guaranteed the Warriors pick between the first pick and the fourth pick.

There is a new philosophy discussion tanking is the new way to become successful. There is no reason to be in the middle. There is no reason to break even. There is no reason to be above average. All or nothing. Go big or go home. Excellent or fail. Get an A or get a F. 100% or 0%.

Go into debt intelligently. Lose more money to earn more money. Spend more money to earn more money. Deconstruct in its entirely to reconstruct completely. Tear down to the ground to build up to the sky.

Hit a home run or strike out. A pitcher pitches one inning or two innings throwing fastballs, fastballs, and fastballs resulting in strike out, strike out, strike out, and pitcher is relieved. Live or die with the three-point shot. A football team with a top-tier quarterback compensates all team weaknesses. I emphasize top-tier! The rest of the team is ignored regardless of talent and skill.

Am I Tanking?

Time is the ultimate judge. Time answers the question soon. I'm waiting for the next opportunity to succeed. Maybe its bad luck. Is success coming? Is tanking working? I'm unemployed. There is no part-time brain-numbing jobs. I'm self-training. I'm self-reviewing. I'm staying proactive. Everyday I'm one step closer to become a self-trained genius.

How About Cheating?

The New England Patriots football team won six NFL Championships in nine Super Bowl appearances. The Patriots cheated multiple times. The Patriots were caught multiple times. Punishments were a slap on the wrist. Cheat, caught, punished, cheat, caught, punished, cheat, caught, punished, . . . . . The result is six NFL Championships.

Let's Eat Or It's Time For Dinner

I remember my childhood mom says "let's eat" in the house. Everyone stops what they're doing. They walk to the dining room for a family dinner. No waiting for everyone. No wait one minute. Turn off the TV except for special TV shows. Place the bookmarker on the book reading or doing homework. Turn off the electronic. Dinner time is break time. Past family generations followed the rule dinner time is break time.

Times have changed. I admit I'm guilty I'm part of the change. Today's Information Age the attitudes are get it done now. Complete the assignment immediately. People are focused intently to complete the present assignment. People are focused intently to complete the task on hand. The assignment or task is anything such as writing reports, replying to emails, texting, programming, playing video games, watching TV, reading a book, sewing, painting, and cleaning. Five more minutes to finish the last paragraph. One more email reply. The programmer is too close to stop writing the function. The boss man is almost defeated. The episode is near the commercial. One more chapter. Let me wash the brushes first. The sink is still dirty. The excuses to delay coming to dinner are endless. The result is people eat dinner at different times, at different places, and maybe alone.

It's sad the Information Age disrupts the family time dinner time. The Information Age disrupts the family time meal time. Less family communication. Less family get together. Each family members has their own schedule. Dinner time is supposed to be break time. Dinner time is get together time. It's ironic break time can be good for the person for which after dinner the person may find a better way to complete the assignment or task.

There's An A In Overachieving

The 2020 American League West Champions Oakland A's were defeated by the Houston Astros on Thur Oct 8, 2020. The A's defeated the Chicago White Sox in the Wild Card round for their first postseason series win since 2006 when the A's played in the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. The A's has lost 10 of its past 11 postseason series. The bullpen was the A's strength with the lowest ERA in the major leagues at 2.72. On the other hand, the starting pitching ranked 16th in the major leagues at a 4.49 ERA. Poor starting pitching resulted in a fatigued bullpen. The team batting average .225 was the second lowest in the American League.

One superstar plus good coaching plus good management or good ownership equals a championship. 1+1+1=3. The 1+1+1=3 odds improve to win a championship are higher than teams with a sum less than three. The superstar is a high impact player with leadership, charism, highest performance on the field, strong, and intelligent. There have been professional sport teams following the 1+1+1=3 formula in history. Here are some examples below:

*Joe Montana+Bill Walsh+San Francisco 49ers=three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s
*Michael Jordan+Phil Jackson+Chicago Bulls=six NBA Finals championships in the 1990s
*Buster Posey+Bruce Bochy+San Francisco Giants=three World Series championships in five years between 2010-2014
*Derek Jeter+Joe Torre+New York Yankees=five World Series championships 1996, 1998-2000, 2009
*Sidney Crosby+Mike Sullivan+Pittsburg Penguins= back to back Stanley Cup championships 2016 and 2017 for the first time in the salary cap era
*Stephen Curry+Steve Kerr+Golden State Warriors=five consecutive NBA Finals appearances 2015-2019 winning three
*Tom Brady+Bill Belichick+New England Patriots=six Super Bowl championships 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019

There are 1+1+1=3 examples of teams winning one championship. One championship is good enough in some cases.

*Russell Wilson+Pete Carroll+Seattle Seahawks=2014 Super Bowl Champions
*Patrick Mahomes+Andy Reid+Kansas City Chiefs=2020 Super Bowl Champions

The A's disagree with 1+1+1=3. The team have been overachievers 0+0+0=0. There are no superstars. Manager Bob Melvin should be fired. Ownership is cheap. The A's is a ball team with one of the lowest baseball payrolls. Ownership doesn't pay big contracts to superstar players. The A's develop their young talent, play the best young talent in the major league level with all-star performance, and acquire veteran free agents at the end of their careers. The offseason the A's trade their young all-start talent for new younger potential talent. Buy low, sell high. The A's baseball team plan is Moneyball. The Moneyball method is using statistical analysis and paying bargain contracts for a winning baseball team explained in plain English. Maybe 50 years from now the Moneyball method wins a World Series Championship for the Oakland A's. Prove me wrong.

The Correction To The Correct Growing Up Part 2

Today's blog is an update on a past blog worth my time to blog the update on its own blog.

Update On A Past Blog

Three days ago Oct 4, 2020 was the 12th anniversary I realized I must grow up. My life changed forever. I immediately made changes big and small. The changes improved my life immediately.

I randomly reread two blogs related to my second growing up coincidentally. I grew up for the second time on Dec 6, 2012 Growing Up Part 2. I wrote, "[be] loose, joking around, having fun, smiling, socializing, yet there were professional and mature. Nobody complained. Nobody was a jerk, a bitch, and an asshole. . . . The lesson I learned is personality." Unfortunately, the lesson was false. I lived a life being too loose, joking around too much, having too much fun, uncontrol smiling, immature socializing, and not being a professional and not being mature.

I took back my Growing Up Part 2 on Oct 28, 2013 The Correct Growing Up Part 2. I acknowledged my life living with too much fun. I acknowledged I forgot my priorities. The correct second time growing up were reset my priorities, believe in myself, and be discrete. Another correct second time growing up was create short term goals.

I practice discretion and short term goals today. Regardless, I take back all of the Growing Up Part 2 above. I wrote a blog taking back believing in myself What Is Believe? on Jun 17, 2017. It may be confusing. The correction to The Correct Growing Up Part 2 is freedom. There is no growing up part 2 as of today. I grow up part 2 when I achieve freedom. I'm independent. The goal is big. I repeat again from Level Up Life Infinitely on Dec 2, 2019. More time is required. More work is required. More training is required. The set up is incomplete. What else am I going to do. Play video games daily, watch too much TV, eat too much processed foods, and work in a dead-end job? The answers to the four are no.

Unreported 99.9999999…% Times

Today's blog is another reminder life goes on. We make stories every day. 99.9999999…% of all stories are unreported for every 24 hour period. These are the stories nobody knows. The news don't report them. The news misinforms the truths. Every second we breathe something good happens. A couple falls in love. A person is cured from cancer. A person recovers from COVID-19. A person fixes a car. A person's investments are in the positive. A person is hired for a new job. A person earned a promotion. A person graduated from college. A couple becomes parents for the first time. A person purchased a new computer. A group of friends celebrate their sports team winning a game. A felon is released from jail completing the sentence. A professional singer signs his or her first record deal. A first responder succeeds in saving a life. These are good moments.

Every second we breathe something bad happens. A couple is divorced. A person is diagnosed with cancer. A person died from COVID-19. A person's car breaks down. A person's investments are in the negative. A person is laid-off from a company he or she worked for decades. Another person earned a promotion for which he or she didn't deserve. A person flunked out from college. A couple loses a baby from a miscarriage. A person's computer broke. A group of friends are sad their sports team lost a game. A criminal defendant becomes a convicted felon for the first time. A professional singer is rejected from a record company. A first responder fails in saving a life. These are the bad moments.

Moreover, there are bad happenings neither reported from traditional media nor the plethora of online media. Depression, police racial injustice against Blacks, crimes committed from suspects with mental illnesses, mentally ill non-criminal people no longer taking their medications causing problems with their families and/or friends, and clean and sober people relapsing.

Life is unfair. Life moves forward. Nobody's perfect. Tomorrow is another day. Don't take life for granted. Be grateful. Life can be better. Life can be worse. These sentences are clique. These sentences are simple. These sentences are true.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote how life is connected and life is full circle in Life Is Xs and Os on Jul 21, 2018. There is a reason why one person is connected with another person. There is a reason what we do today affects us tomorrow. The answer comes soon.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog September 2020

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The Sep month started fast slowing down towards the end. Wildfires and unhealthy air were on my mind for many days. The pandemic daily life is unprecedented, uncharted, new, unknown, and untested.

Wed Sep 2. Daytime temperatures upper 70s.

Thur Sep 3. I experienced trouble sleeping for the past three nights. I turned on the desk fan for 30 minutes.

Fri Sep 4. Fast week. A blink of an eye. I blamed poor meals for trouble sleeping.

Sat Sep 5. Record breaking Spare The Air alerts for three consecutive weeks. Spare The Air alerts continued through Labor Day. Repaired clogged sink in stairway bathroom.

Sun Sep 6. The State of California Independent System Operator announced Stage 2 for the state's power grid. Daytime high temperature 105 degrees. 190,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States.

Mon Sep 7. Daytime high temperature 102 degrees. I took a day off from job training because today was Labor Day. I watched documentaries J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and Me, Nick Leeson and the Fall of the Barings Bank, and a Navy SEALs four-part documentary.

California wildfires burned two million acres which is a state record. The previous high was 1.96 million acres in 2018. 1987 was the first year wildfire acreage burned was tracked.

Tue Sep 8. 172,000 PG&E customers power shut off due to the Public Safety Power Shutoff preventing wildfires from Mon at 9pm to Wed at 7pm. The reasons were gusty winds and dry conditions. Spare The Air alerts continued through Wed. Weather was hazy smoke. Daytime high temperature 84 degrees. Outside was a yellow brown color. It was the third day I went with the flow.

Wed Sep 9. I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason. Outside was a reddish color like planet Mars when I woke up. Another outside color was grey whitish and grey yellowish. Daytime high temperature 66 degrees. There was ash all over the family cars. Lights were turned on in the daytime like a rainy winter day.

Thur Sep 10. I woke up in the middle of the night. My stomach growled. I ate cashews and Belvita. Weather was hazy, smoky, and cloudy. Daytime high temperature 68 degrees.

Fri Sep 11. Daytime high temperature 75 degrees. 470,000 acres burned in the August Complex wildfire. 3,100,000 acres burned in California for 2020. The week slightly slowed down.

Sat Sep 12. Spot cleaned vacuum the house. Daytime high temperature 82 degrees. Junk phone calls at 9:05pm and 9:45pm.

Sun Sep 13. Day 180 shelter in-place orders. I got a haircut. 2020 NFL Season first Sunday games.

Tue Sep 15. Car washed. Tires shined. The chicken bake is back at Costco's food court. Crystal Geyser bottle water is back at Costco. Costco has new shopping carts. I helped a customer sneak in because he forgot his membership card. How was the customer going to pay his goods? The customer asked another paying customer for which the another paying customer might ask for a favor in return. I wore clear goggles to protect my eyes.

The small business Suit Boutique which sold high-end business suits and tailor services went out of business.

Wed Sep 16. Air quality was good. I opened the windows. Today was the last day of Spare The Air alerts.

Fri Sep 18. There was still ash in the air. A little ash on my car. The week slowed down.

Sat Sep 19. Spare The Air alert for today.

Mon Sep 21. I shopped at a local tech store Central Computer to exchange a defective USB-C hub. The minimum wait time for computer repair service is seven days. Store is temporarily closed on weekends. The Nvidia RTX 30 series not in stock.

I updated my laptop's BIOS and drivers. I jogged outdoors for the first time since the lightning caused wildfires began.

Tue Sep 22. 200,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19.

Wed Sep 23. Day 200 shelter in-place orders. Ordered take out at Hash House restaurant for the first time.

Sat Sep 26. Watched parts of the NHL Stanley Cup Game 5 including the two overtimes.

Sun Sep 27. The weather became hot during the late afternoon. The evening was warm.

Mon Sep 28. Another weather became hot during the late afternoon which was hotter than yesterday. The evening was warm; however, the temperatures cooled down faster compared to yesterday. I watched the NHL Stanley Cup Game 6 third period.

One million people died due to COVID-19 globally.

Tue Sep 29. I worked out using dumbbells for the first time. The adjustable dumbbells arrived yesterday. Spare The Air alerts continued through Friday.

Wed Sep 30. Shopped at Costco. Good moments and bad moments:

*I exited the freeway. If I arrived at the intersection two seconds ahead to turn right, then I was hit from a car making an illegal U-turn. Fortunately, no accident.
*Face masks and hand sanitizers fully stocked available at the front entrance.
*I saw families with their children. No school today? The children better not be sick.
*The second time in a row I saw a Costco worker brought new boxes of bananas.
*I walked around another aisle after I purchased one bunch of bananas because the other side of the aisle was blocked with customers. I saw boxer underwear on sale unadvertised. I purchased one package.
*I purchased another box of Cheerios at an endcap. The Sep sale was extended ending on Oct 4, 2020.
*The checkout cashier was being relieved. I waited two minutes for a new cashier. The new cashier accidentally charged me twice on a package of sugar.
*The was a line at the food court when I exited.

The air was unhealthy. Smoky smell in the afternoon. The smoke could be seen outside the windows. I turned on the desk fan because I had trouble falling asleep. Windows were closed for safety.