Computer glitch delays Space Needle fireworks

A corrupted computer file is to blame for the three-minute delay to Monday night's start of the fireworks show at the Space Needle.

Two technicians had to press buttons to manually set off about 5,000 fireworks.

About a minute before midnight, technicians with California-based Pyro Spectaculars realized that the computer program that controlled the display was not going to work, said Mary Bacarella, a spokeswoman for the Space Needle. They rebooted twice, then decided to do the show by hand.

Usually, technicians press a single button to start the show, then run outside to watch it. Monday night, they had to manually start 1,582 "queues," the lines of computer code that control the choreographed show. The fireworks couldn't go off simultaneously as planned, so the show lasted 11-½ minutes instead of 8-½. The music sequence ran as scheduled, so it was not in sync with the fireworks.

The Space Needle Corp. paid Pyro Spectaculars about $110,000 for the fireworks show. Pyro Spectaculars has been doing the show for 14 years without a hitch, Bacarella said.

Bellevue

First baby of year born in Bellevue

The first baby of the New Year for the Puget Sound area was born at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, a hospital official said.

Ester and Simon Shin, of Bothell, greeted the birth of Noah, their first child, at 12:07 a.m. Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. The baby weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, she said. Both the baby and mother were doing well after a long labor, she said.

Every New Year's Eve, hospitals from Everett to Tacoma keep tabs on which one will have the first baby born at or after midnight. The hospitals give the first baby's family a gift basket to mark the arrival.

Medford, Ore.

Synthetic fog foils pharmacy burglary

When a burglar broke into a Medford pharmacy this week he was foiled by fog.

The dense fog, a new technology offered by alarm companies, made it impossible for the burglar to find the sought-after narcotics.

Pharmacy break-ins are prevalent throughout Oregon. And now drugstore owners are stepping up efforts to protect their businesses, using everything from grates over windows and doors to alarms and surveillance cameras.

The fog protection is the latest twist. It adapts fog-machine technology used in entertainment to create a fast-spreading, long-lasting, dense fog that is triggered by motion detectors or other sensors.

The fog, made by combining water and glycol, has a "soft mint smell," can fill a room in three to five seconds, and blocks visibility for at least 10 minutes.

It can last up to an hour or be removed in about 15 minutes with ventilation and doesn't leave a residue, manufacturers said.

In the Medford case, police arrived two minutes after the alarm was triggered to find the shop filled with fog and no suspects around.

When the fog cleared and a pharmacist checked the inventory, only "a few bottles of cough syrup were gone," said Detective Sgt. Mike Budreau.

Seattle Times staff and news services