COFFEE BREAK B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2021 Dirty shoes create a stink in clean home fl oors, but every now and then I call him out on it. When I do, my request is met with rage. He later calms down and apologizes with the excuse, “I just don’t like being told not to wear my shoes in the house.” It’s a 15-year-old problem that’s not going away and I just don’t know who is right. My hus- band feels his shoes are clean. I struggle to keep my home clean because my little ones are run- ning around. His disregard seems so disrespectful. He’s overall not a disrespectful person. I’d love an unbiased expert opinion on what’s what. — Barefoot In Montana Dear Barefoot: Your “won- Dear Abby: I’ve been with my wonderful husband for 15 years. I currently work from home with our small children, ages 4 and 1. I have a “no shoes in the house” policy (always have), but my hus- band prefers to wear shoes in the house. We have bought numerous pairs of sneakers to be used as inside shoes, but he often wears them outside to mow the grass or run to the gas station. I do my best to ignore when he leaves dusty boot prints on the derful” husband may not be a disrespectful person overall, but in this case, he is being self-cen- tered. With a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old crawling around and playing on the fl oor, he should be more considerate because there is no telling what he’s tracking in from that run to the gas station. I assume that the dusty foot- prints are something you are in charge of cleaning up. Perhaps that’s a chore he should assume if changing his shoes is too big an inconvenience for him. He may be a prince in other areas of your marriage, but in this one he is acting like a rebellious teenager. P.S. I wonder if keeping a supply of disposable shoe covers by the door for him to slip on might mitigate the problem. Who knows? Dear Abby: My wife and I have been close friends with “Sal” and his wife for many years. Over the last few years, he has transformed into an intoler- able, arrogant, self-centered brag- gart who’s never been wrong or made a mistake. All his con- versations start with “I,” and if he’s not talking about himself, he’s not talking at all. He rarely asks how we are doing, but if he does, it just leads into more about himself. During Sal’s last visit he went on and on about how rich he is and how much he recently made in the market. Because of our long friendship, I’ve considered confronting him, but I see no point because I think he’s an irre- deemably arrogant bore. Your thoughts, please? — Fed-Up Friend In The South Dear Fed-Up Friend: Some people behave the way Sal does, believe it or not, out of insecurity. That said, not all friendships last forever. If you feel this one has run its course, then call it a day. Your wife and his can socialize separately. If he asks you why you are no longer available to socialize, you have my permis- sion to give him the reason — without the name-calling. NEWS OF THE WEIRD Thai police: Woman cut rope holding painters 26 fl oors high work with a new corporate name and talk of a future metaverse.” Facebook the app, where users post personal updates and register likes, is not changing its name. Nor are Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The company’s corporate structure also won’t change. But on Dec. 1, its stock will start trading under a new ticker symbol, MVRS. The metaverse is sort of the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual envi- ronment” you can go inside of, instead of just looking at on a screen. People can meet, work and play, using virtual reality head- sets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices. It also will incorporate other aspects of online life such as shopping and social media, according to Victoria Petrock, an analyst who follows emerging technologies. Other tech companies such as Microsoft, chipmaker Nvidia and Fortnite maker Epic Games have all been outlining their own visions of how the metaverse will work. Zuckerberg said that he expects the metaverse to reach a billion people within the next decade and that he hopes the new technology will creates millions of jobs for creators. The announcement comes amid heightened legislative and regulatory scrutiny of Face- book in many parts of the world because of the Facebook Papers. A corporate rebranding isn’t likely to solve the myriad prob- lems revealed by the internal documents. Zuckerberg, for his part, has largely dismissed the furor trig- gered by the Facebook Papers as unfair. The Associated Press BANGKOK — A resident of a high-rise condominium in Thai- land cut the support rope for two painters, apparently angry she wasn’t told they would be doing work, and left them hanging above the 26th fl oor until a couple rescued them, police said Wednesday, Oct. 27. The woman is facing attempted murder and property destruc- tion charges, Pol. Col. Pongjak Preechakarunpong, chief of the Pak Kret police station north of the Thai capital, told The Associ- ated Press. Pongjak did not say what prompted the suspect to cut the rope, but Thai media reported that she was apparently frustrated when the workers appeared out- side her room and hadn’t seen an announcement by the condo that they would be doing work on Oct. 12. A video clip on social media showed two painters asking the residents on the 26th fl oor to open the window and let them in. One of the painters, a Myanmar national named Song, told the Thai media that he and his two friends had lowered themselves from the 32nd fl oor to repair a crack on the building. When he reached the 30th fl oor, he felt that the rope was heavier and when he looked down, he saw someone on the 21st fl oor open a window and cut his rope. He tried asking for help from other units, but nobody was in. The third colleague continued to support them from the top fl oor, said Praphaiwan Setsing, the resident who saved them. Praphaiwan said her British husband noticed one painter sig- naling for help and called her to talk to them. Surat Sappakun/The Associated Press A building painter who was rescued after being left hanging off of a high-rise 26 stories up speaks to reporters near Bangkok, Thailand. “This incident is shocking and should not happen at all,” she said. The management of the condo accompanied the painters to report the incident to the police. The 34-year-old woman at fi rst denied she responsible, but police sent the severed rope for a fi nger- print and DNA analysis, media reported. The woman and her lawyer appeared Oct. 27 at the police station. After the police showed her the CCTV footage and the forensic evidence, she confessed but denied any intention to kill the workers. Pongjak said the suspect was temporarily released. Police will fi le an indictment at the provincial court within 15 days, he said. She weather | Go to AccuWeather.com ject from the Facebook Papers, the trove of leaked documents that have plunged it into the big- gest crisis since it was founded in Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room 17 years ago. The documents por- tray Facebook as putting profi ts ahead of ridding its platform of hate, political strife and misinfor- mation around the world. Marketing consultant Laura Ries likened the move to BP rebranding itself to “Beyond Petroleum” to escape criticism that the oil giant harmed the environment. “Facebook is the world’s social media platform and they are being accused of creating some- thing that is harmful to people and society,” she said. “They can’t walk away from the social net- could face a prison term up to 20 years if found guilty on a charge of attempted murder. In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself Meta OAKLAND, Calif. — An embattled Facebook Inc. is changing its name to Meta Plat- forms Inc., or Meta for short, to refl ect what CEO Mark Zuck- erberg says is its commitment to developing the new sur- round-yourself technology known as the “metaverse.” But the social network itself will still be called Facebook. Skeptics immediately accused the company Thursday, Oct. 28, of trying to change the sub- AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 44/60 Kennewick 35/56 St. Helens 47/58 TIllamook 42/54 38/56 45/59 44/61 Condon SUN MON TUE WED Clear to partly cloudy Sunny to partly cloudy Rain and drizzle Variable clouds Cloudy Baker City Comfort Index™ La Grande 5 27 55 35 Comfort Index™ 5 Eugene 1 5 3 44/58 59 44 55 39 57 41 4 6 6 52 36 59 42 10 4 9 8 TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Thursday Low Thursday High: 96° Low: 13° Wettest: 3.37” 62° 36° 66° 44° 66° 45° PRECIPITATION (inches) 0.00 0.74 0.55 4.32 7.41 Trace 0.85 1.37 8.23 13.37 0.03 1.83 1.85 18.24 18.72 HAY INFORMATION SUNDAY 45% N at 6 to 12 mph 5.4 0.06 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Friday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir N.A. 11% of capacity 11% of capacity 16% of capacity 5% of capacity 0% of capacity OREGON High: 78° Low: 31° Wettest: 0.93” Roseburg Lakeview Astoria On October 30, 1866, a whirlwind cut through New York City in a column 150 feet high by 60 feet in diameter, picking up dirt, turf, sticks and stones to a depth of 8 inches and “hissing like a steam- boat”. SUN & MOON SAT. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset 7:29 a.m. 5:42 p.m. 12:53 a.m. 3:44 p.m. SUN. 7:30 a.m. 5:41 p.m. 2:04 a.m. 4:08 p.m. MOON PHASES STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Thursday) Grande Ronde at Troy Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder Burnt River near Unity Umatilla River near Gibbon Minam River at Minam Powder River near Richland Chino, Calif. Climax, Colo. Panama City, Fla. WEATHER HISTORY AGRICULTURAL INFO. Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration Elkton 727 cfs 0 cfs 18 cfs 44 cfs 83 cfs 9 cfs New Nov 4 First Nov 11 Full Nov 19 Beaver Marsh Powers 52/64 Last Nov 27 51/62 Silver Lake Jordan Valley 40/58 Paisley 35/56 39/54 Frenchglen 37/60 49/63 Klamath Falls 37/56 City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Hi/Lo/W 60/46/s 47/30/s 63/44/pc 60/52/c 60/34/s 61/50/sh 57/40/s 62/39/s 55/33/s 58/43/s 55/33/s 54/39/s 58/35/s 58/39/s 56/40/s 55/33/s 56/38/pc 55/34/s Hi/Lo/W 56/46/r 51/38/r 64/49/pc 58/49/sh 52/37/r 57/48/r 52/43/r 60/46/pc 58/44/r 54/45/r 52/37/sh 47/40/r 65/52/pc 55/43/r 60/42/pc 54/40/pc 52/37/r 49/36/r 43/64 Lakeview 32/55 McDermitt 37/57 RECREATION FORECAST SUNDAY REGIONAL CITIES MON. Grand View Arock 38/58 38/61 Shown is Sunday’s weather. Temperatures are Saturday night’s lows and Sunday’s highs. SUN. Diamond 36/59 Fields Medford Brookings Boise 44/63 50/65 51/60 36/62 31/54 Chiloquin Grants Pass Juntura 33/60 32/51 36/51 Roseburg Ontario 41/62 Burns Brothers 47/65 Coos Bay Huntington 31/56 32/47 Oakridge 35/62 40/62 Seneca Bend THURSDAY EXTREMES ALMANAC Thursday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date Florence 49/61 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. 34/58 33/47 Council 31/54 John Day 32/48 Sisters 49/61 62 40 33/58 Baker City 53 38 50/60 Halfway Granite 32/53 42/58 42/59 Redmond 54 38 5 35/54 41/57 Newport 57 39 5 32 54 33 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 5 Corvallis Enterprise 27/55 32/54 Monument 39/51 Idanha Salem 45/59 31 54 33 Elgin 29/55 La Grande 35/46 Maupin TONIGHT 35/48 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg 35/52 Hood River 33/48 45/60 Lewiston Walla Walla 36/55 Vancouver 41/58 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla SUN. MON. Hi/Lo/W 52/36/s 56/40/s 53/34/s 63/48/c 59/45/s 54/36/s 62/42/s 55/33/s 48/31/s 59/46/s 64/51/sh 48/30/s 62/50/pc 59/42/s 48/30/s 56/37/s 51/33/s 48/34/s Hi/Lo/W 57/45/pc 52/44/r 58/44/r 57/46/r 55/47/r 53/43/r 60/46/pc 53/38/pc 51/40/r 53/46/r 59/49/r 48/33/r 59/49/r 52/47/r 51/37/pc 51/40/r 55/39/r 52/39/pc Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE A shower Sunny 38 29 53 34 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. Mostly sunny Sunshine 46 33 64 39 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK Showers around Sunny and chilly 47 32 45 28 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Sunny Sunshine; chilly 56 40 48 34 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Mostly sunny Mostly sunny 54 33 54 33