homoscedasticity*
02.23.05 // 12:39 a.m.

Random thoughts... (well, they're going to be a bit academic)

In other news, in case you might have been paying attention to the news about the uncharacteristic amount of rainfall hitting Southern California this season, you might have heard about some crazy stuff happening in my hometown.

On the mudslide in the hills of Hacienda Heights:

About 9:30 a.m., an earthen bluff slid into a home in Hacienda Heights, filling it with mud and trapping two women inside, authorities said. Further sliding appeared imminent, and neighbors grabbed what they could and fled.

Firefighters rescued an 84-year-old woman stuck in knee-deep mud. The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at Whittier Presbyterian Hospital for minor injuries to her legs and feet, authorities said.

Using buckets, chain saws and sledgehammers, firefighters cleared a path to get to the other woman, who was trapped for almost two hours in a shower, authorities said. She was covered in mud up to her waist.

"She was actually trapped in a little pocket," said Capt. Don Roy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "The mud was fluid and every time we moved, some of the debris came in. Inside the house, the mud was ceiling high."

The 39-year-old woman, whose name was not released, did not appear to have suffered any major injuries, officials said.

"She was hanging in there pretty good," Roy said.

Officials said a third woman escaped on her own.

Nine homes in the gated community were evacuated.

Neighbor Christina Flores, 31, said she was not ordered to evacuate, but decided not to take any chances and left with her two sons, ages 5 and 11.

"We'll probably come back tomorrow to check the situation," Flores said.

Edward Osorio, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said officials were assessing the situation to determine when it might be safe to return.

"The water continues to seep underneath the mud, which makes for a very unstable situation," he said as rain continued to fall.

Don't worry... this time, my family is far away from the drama. We're too poor to actually live in the Heights of HH.

Finally, thanks for the good wishes. I'll pass them on to my sister, if she hasn't already seen this.

*The title refers to the homogeneity of variance, an important assumption, in multiple and linear regression. When you plot the independent variable (x) against the dependent variable(y) you want to make sure that the points are distributed evenly. Eeeek.. I'm such a nerd. You don't come here to read about statistics do you?

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Me siento: estressed!
Escuchando: "la negra tomasa" by caifanes

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