Tag: heat wave

Thursday’s Theme Music

Mood: coffee-upd.

Welcome to Ashlandia, where it’s Thursday, July 18, 2024. Currently sitting at 70 degrees F under an unfettered blue sky, we expect to achieve a high only three degrees above our July average, 95 F. I’m looking forward to a summer day when we’re three degrees below average. Yes a day in the high nineties would be a treat. On the plus side, our dry conditions keep us from being flooded as is happening in other parts of the U.S.

A friend was relating some cat tales to a group last night. His cat is now mature and they’ve been leaving together for a few years, so he finally broke it to her that she was adopted. He thought she took it well.

Later, though, she was lying on the floor in dim night light. He went by, brushing his foot against her back leg. She instantly bolted out of there at the speed of light. In the process, she used his big toe to launch herself, and her claw left a nice souvenir. Next day, he had the front door open but the screen door on so she could look out. Well, she climbed the screen and got a claw stuck. He saved her and she rewarded him with a five-inch scratch. I wondered, was this all accidental, or was she acting out because she learned she was adopted?

Cats.

Today’s music comes from noodling thoughts. I’d been thinking about how Evangelicals have embraced Trump. He’s one of them is their claim, which means, they’re like him, yeah? In doing so, they’ve basically re-branded themselves with Trump’s values. It sickens me. Anyhow, eavesdropping on my thinking, The Neurons dropped Joan Osbourne’s 1995 hit song, “One of Us” into the morning mental music stream (Trademark hopeful). Eric Bazilian wrote the song. In it, singer and writer wonder, what if God was one of us? A stranger on a bus trying to make their way home. They create an image so far away from the Evangelical’s bizarre twist that Trump is a holy savior.

Right. Let me the picture the scene. Can you imagine Trump taking a bus to go home? Imagine him among the hoi polloi. Of course, he’d be trying to sell something and bragging about how great he is. “I’m the greatest savior ever,” he’d declared. “And it’s not just me thinking that. The Pope told me. He said, ‘Donald, you’re the greatest savior ever, cause you’re not a loser. You’ve never been nailed to a cross.'”

BTW, it’s Sour Candy Day. I’m not a fan of sour candy but if you are, please indulge.

Stay positive — yes, deep breaths, right? Be strong. Lean forward. Vote Blue in 2024. And drink coffee. That last is totally optional for you, but I’m having some, black, hot, and unadulterated. Dig me?

Here’s the music. And away we go. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Mood:

Good morning from Ashlandia, where comfy 65 degree F air brushes me from the open office windows. We called off fast last night and dropped into the low sixties, delivering a solid open-window sleep experience. Blue skies are again benevolently overseeing the morning. The hot side of things is expected to ‘only’ chug up to 95 F. Tomorrow, we go back up to 96. All of this is above average. My wife lamented this morning, “When will this heat end?”

I’ve been reading the news. Bad weather and its impact — let’s not talk about climate change, though! — the Republican National Convention, Judge Cannon’s ruling to dismiss Trump’s stolen documents case, and the unending wars dominate my news feed. I was amused to see the Teamsters aren’t indorsing anyone, they tell us. Yes, makes sense, because Republicans are so kindly inclined toward unions, right? Yes, that’s morning snark.

Judge Cannon’s delaying tactics and now outright dismissal, reinterpreting law and precedence, has drawn heavy legal scorn. The DOJ has approved pursuing an appeal. I’m really interested in how the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will react. Last time they ruled on a Cannon ‘initiative’, they scolded her. Hope they take her to the woodshed this time.

Of course, on the Democratic side of the election process, the media has made it seem like President Biden is a dottering old fool. This takes place as Agenda 47 and the medieval Project 2025 are being scrutinized. My hope is that a silent majority is out there. Fully aware of the GOP’s assinine, reactionary positions and authoritarian leanings, this silent majority will ignore the press’s hand wringing and Clooney’s ill-advised advice and deliver a solid Democratic victory. Fingers crossed, right?

That has The Neurons channeling Patti Smith and “People Have the Power” (1988) into the morning mental music stream (Trademark hopeful). The Neurons started the song toward the end in my morning mental music stream, the part that goes, “The power to dream, to rule, to wrestle the world from fools.” That’s always been my dream, and will continue to be it. You may say I’m a dreamer but I know I’m not the only one.

Stay positive, be strong, lean forward, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee and I have struck up our daily morning exchange, and the world already seems like it might be getting better. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Mood: Weary

Not enough sleep last night. Tucker (pronounced Tuckah) matters. Just not eating enough. Aging, etc.

Also, dreams. Lot of weird freakin’ dreams.

A gray-blue sky covers us as smoke from a fire somewhere has made our valley its destination. 70 F now, weather forecasts paint us as hot — 100 F — dry, and dusty. This is Saturday, 7/13/2024.

The weather seers have revised our upcoming weather, so it’s gonna be hotter than we’d hoped. Not in triple digits, but just under it. We were all looking for a break.

The media is suddenly loud and big on Project 2025. Stories are leading across the mediascape about all the ways ultraconservatives under a Trump presidency want shove foundational changes to our freedom and rights, along with the way we do business. Their dream is of unshackled big business making obscene profits (as if current profit levels aren’t obscene) with no concern about the environment or planet, led by a ‘christian’ (as they define it) government, with an executive branch chasing vendettas

Out on the campaign trail, President Biden is striking back at critics who demand he step aside with fiery speeches and assertive attacks on Trump. On the GOP side, the media publish pieces with gentle chiding, even chuckling tones about Trump’s latest crazy rant in June about water and the New Green Deal.

“They put restrictors and they put them on in places like here where there’s so much water you don’t know what to do with it. You know, it’s called rain. It rains a lot in certain places. But, now their idea, you know, did you see the other day? They just, I opened it up and they closed it again. I opened it, they close it, washing machines to wash your dishes. There is a problem. They don’t want you to have any water. They want no water.”

That’s part of Trump’s statement. ‘I opened it, they close it, washing machines to wash your dishes. There is a problem. They don’t want you to have any water. They want no water.’

This is coherent, intelligent discourse about water-saving measures? Yet few call for Trump to step aside, pass the baton, or let young leadership step forward. Crazy.

Thinking about Trump and what he’s said and done since he’s come on the political scene back in 2016 inspired The Neurons. They rang up Paul Simon’s song “Still Crazy After All These Years” from 1975 and have it playing in my morning mental music stream (Trademark sedated).

Be positive, remain strong, and Vote Blue in 2024. I have an appointment with coffee I must get to. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Mood: Stockup

Ashlandianers have the giggles over the cooling temperatures. “It’s only going to be 99 degrees today,” we gushed to one another yesterday. “And it’s only going to be 97 tomorrow. Woo hoo!”

Yes, everything is relative. But after a week of record-setting triple digit heat, you can understand our happiness.

Today, Thursday, July 11, 2024, finds us at 71 F right now, with 97 coming over the horizon. Mild smokiness hazes the mountain’s pine shapes but there’s little graying of the blue sky. PurpleAir shows no unhealthy areas of air in our area, another woo hoo moment. Our largest near fire, Salt Creek, is about 90% lined, 16% contained. Mop up is going on in Division A and some parts of Division F. Division W is less tightly lined and they’re using dozers to work that. They’re contining to run 24 hour shifts and are making steady progress.

The Beer Fete for my retiring buddy went well last night. Twelve retired individuals – ten male, two female — two engineers, two botanists, a forensic microbiologist, a hazmat expert, two teachers, a metallurgist, a doctor, the professor emeritus, and me — were gathered. Yeah, we prefer small groups, thanks. The gang chose to sit indoors. Although the temperature had dropped into the mid 90s by then and we had shade, a vicious warm wind was snapping at us. A vote was taken and in we went to air-conditioned socializing. We mostly talked politics. A vote showed that President Biden should remain in the race, 10-2.

Despite yesterday’s lower temperature, cooling the house in the evening proved difficult. The heat was just hanging. I had doors and windows wide open. Papi and Tucker (pronounced Tuckah) both exclaimed, “To hell with this,” and went out to cool off in the Ashlandia serengeti which is my backyard.

For reasons known only to them (and they’re not sharing), The Neurons have “Sweet Freedom” by Michael McDonald (1986) playing in the morning mental music stream (Trademark sunbaked). So although I lack a ‘real’ reason for playing it on this warming morning, it’s an uplifting tune and I’m going with it.

Be positive and strong, lean forward, and Vote Blue. Coffee and I are doing our thing. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Mood: Downxiety

Ah, Wednesday arrives with some relief for us in Ashlandia. Dropped to 68 F last night and will only hop up to 100 F today, compared to the 102 seen yesterday. Whew, good. Happily, the air doesn’t have smoky discoloration to it and no scents sting my nostrils.

On the worrisome side, Tucker cat seems to be really feeling the heat, showing lethargy and a diminished appetite. He was a purr machine last night, though. Papi seems very robust, showing off a sprout of zoomies this morning with furious gallops back and forth between house doors front to back, then repeat.

My AC part has arrived and I’m heading up to the attic space to install it. I have this insanely demoralizing worry that it’s not going to fix it. Almost making me physically sick. Just gotta get up there and get ‘er done.

Going out with my beer friends tonight to specifically fete one of our members. He’s retiring for the third time as our local university’s biology chair. His first retirement took for about three weeks when the school rang him up and asked if he’d consider doing his former position on a contract basis. His replacement had been found and hired but changed their mind at the eleventh hour, leaving the university short. Same thing sort of happened on his second retirement, leaving us wondering, WTH is going on that people are backing away at the last moment? True, the organization was going through some turmoil and changing presidents and that sort of thing, and these were doing the pan years. My buddy has no additional insights to add about the situation. But he says this is it: third and done.

The Neurons are feeding “You Don’t Own Me” into the morning mental music stream (Trademark steaming). My wife shared a clip of a young person, Reid Wilson from Alabama, singing the song on AGT. It’s a terrific song and he belts it out. I’ve included a video for your entertainment. Reid begins singing around the 2:30 mark.

But the Lesley Gore original is today’s theme music so here’s a video of her performing the song.

Stay positive and be strong. Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee has done its thing and now I’ll go do mine. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Mood: boisterous

Smoke has cleared out in a reprieve for Ashlandia. Temperatures, sadly, remain close to the ‘we’re living in a place that’s hotter than hell’ zone.

It’s Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Excessive heat warnings still dominate our local news and conversations. ‘Only’ reached over 104 F at my house yesterday. Yes, that was an improvement, but with the smoke and the nocturnal temp falling to ‘only’ 71, our house didn’t cool much overnight. Right now, it’s 74 at our place and it’s expected to reach 103 F and dip to 68 F tonight. Tomorrow, fingers crossed, temperatures will not enter the triple digit realm. We’ll stay cooler, in the upper 90s, until Saturday, when 100 F is predicted for a final burst before the temperatures fall into the low 90s for a period.

The high heat has moved authorities to declare an extreme heat danger emergency, curtailing outdoor activities such as cutting grass and using power tools which might ignite a fire.

It’s important to count my blessings, though. We’re not flooded out of our homes as midwesterners were in June. Nor are we without power as several millions are in Texas after Beryl’s visit. We’re not trapped by forest fires as in parts of California and Oregon, nor are we in the seriously hot levels of Las Vegas (new record of 119 F) or Palm Springs, California (new record of 124 F). Overall, too, my wife and I have food and shelter security, sanitary conditions, and a place to call home that affords us safety and privacy.

The cats are coping. We keep Tucker in. Long-haired, with thick stuff, he’s elderly and needs to be protected more. Young Papi is better at adjusting, it seems. I give both kibble water several times a day. They love it at night, when it finally cools, and the back door is left open. They just lie inside on the living room carpet, enjoying the cooler air as it comes in, admiring their backyard domain.

We’re still enduring being without AC. It is getting more difficult as the relentless heat plagues us. The AC part that was to have arrived yesterday will now arrive on July 12. Why? No reason given but with the weather around the nation, I can easily envision supply chain disruptions caused by flooding, heat, and fire.

EXCEPT — and here is the part where I get irked — their tracking updates showed the part to be not far from me, in fact, 300 miles away by car yesterday at 1 AM. Maybe the truck was involved in a traffic accident or robbery. Don’t know, but that swing from here today to four days away without amplifying information is difficult to swallow. Maybe I’ll just call a repair being.

EXCEPT — Just received an email saying that it’s in the next town and is out for delivery. Like, WTF, man, get your story straight. Hope it arrives soon, and that it fixes my issue. Fingers and toes all crossed and knock on wood.

Today’s music is by Lil Wayne. Called “Mrs. Officer”, it was released in 2008, but The Neurons heard it on the radio yesterday, and it’s just titallating the crap out of them. So it’s in my morning mental music stream (Trademark smokin’) at high volume today.

You familiar with this song? Quite crazy.

Yeah, doing a buck in the latest drop
I got stopped by a lady cop, haha
She got me thinking I can date a cop, haha
‘Cause her uniform fit her so tight
She read me my rights
She put me in her car, she cut off all the lights
She said I have the right to remain silent
Now I got her hollering, sounding like a siren
Talking ’bout (wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee) yeah
(Wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee) Yeah (wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee) yeah
And I know she the law, and she know I’m the boss
And she know I get high above the law
And she know I’m raw, she know I’m from the streets
And all she want me to do is fuck the police
Talking ’bout (wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee, wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee)
Yeah (wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee) yeah

h/t to AZlyrics.com

Stay positive, be strong, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee and I have done the tastebuds handshake and we’re off. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

Mood: metcoffeetized

Another Monday begins its stay, we can’t have it any other way. Sold in code, set in stone, Monday, Monday is how the day is known.

It’s also July 8, 2024. Over half the year gone, and what have we learned?

Today’s high is expected to be 108, about a forty degree climb from where we’re at right now. Yesterday topped off at 105 F at my homestead. So on the one hand, it reached only 105 F yesterday and the temperature began dropping, um, ‘rapidly’ at about six. It’s a relative thing, saying ‘rapidly’. I took it as a welcomed change but then saw an orange sunset painting the blinds. Hmmm, said The Neurons, we had a clear sky so why is the sunset now that color?

Particulates, of course. Wildfire smoke, of course. So the smoke cooled the air by blocking the sun with its pollution. But there’s a fire to worry about. A mixed bag, as they say.

This wildifre is known as the Salt Creek fire. One of three locally experienced fires over the past several dsay, the other two were contained and extinguished. Here’s an explaination about the situation out of the morning’s update on Salt Creek:

Fire activity naturally decreased last night when the sun went down and temperatures dropped. With this advantage, resources overnight were able to put in a mix of bulldozer and hand line constructed with tools along the entire northern portion, as well as the southwest border of the fire. The eastern and southeastern portion remain largely unlined and will be the focus of Monday’s day shift. Today, 321 personnel are assigned to the fire, including 12 20-person crews, nine engines, 10 water tenders, seven bulldozers, and six tree fallers. Snags, or hazard trees, are present throughout the fire and may fall unexpectedly. This, along with steep terrain and hot conditions are hazards for firefighters on the line today. Aircraft will be heavily used again today as soon as possible, including one Type 3, two Type 2 and three Type 1 helicopters that are exclusively assigned to this incident. Air tankers will be ordered again as needed.

The Salt Creek Fire was first reported Sunday afternoon just after 4 p.m. Both ODF Southwest Oregon District and Lake Creek Fire District initially responded. When firefighters arrived on scene, it was estimated to be 2-5 acres and growing quickly in the hot, dry and windy conditions.

Thanks to the ODF and the well-established system for fighting these fires, and the brave individuals doing it on our behalf.

The Neurons have “Man In A Box” by Alice in Chains from 1991 in the morning mental music stream (Trademark ashy). The song received a lot of play time on the stations which I listened to back then. I was back in the USA and living in the Mountain View/Sunnyvale area on the Peninsula between San Jose and San Francisco, CA. I remained in the military then, my final tour, doing space ops in the blue cube at Onizuka Air Station.

The song came to me last night. The temperature was still warm and I awoke drenched in sweat. The words, sweat box, spun up. Hence, the song.

Stay positive, be strong, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee and I have negotiated a settlement and I’m now sipping away. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Mood: Jubifeinated

Today is Saturday, July 6, 2024. It’s 80 F outside and we’re expected to peak at 110 F. Well, some say it’ll just be 104 or 105. My house saw over 104 yesterday while a friend on the other end of town recorded 107 at their place. It’s already feeling hotter today because the temperature didn’t dip much below 70 today. A bright, vigorously hot sun is working with cooperative air to keep it viciously hot. The clouds have scurried away from this endeavor.

Triple digit highs are expected to continue visiting Ashlandia for the next three days but today is expected to be the most bakiest heat, although it’s by a degree and depends on where you’re at in town, and how much shade is offered by trees and mountains.

The cats are coping well with the heat. I give them kibble water — water with a few pieces of dry food in it — and they suck that up, keeping them hydrated. My wife and I are also coping well despite our AC being inop — or even the HVAC’s fan being available. It did reach a warm 86 in the house yesterday but fans blowing on our sweat and lots of water kept us cool.

Discussions about the weather yesterday inspired today’s theme music. We were talking about how it was hotter than yesterday but it won’t be as hot as tomorrow. The Neurons took license like that, twisting an old pop song. Suddenly I had them singing, “It’s hotter today than yesterday, but not as hot as tomorrow.” They were doing it to the music of “More Today Than Yesterday”, a 1969 song by the Spiral Staircase, which was now ringing through the morning mental music stream (Trademark dated).

I need to pause here because I didn’t know it was the Spiral Staircase performing. I didn’t know who it was. It often sounds like Stevie Wonder to me. I just learned today via Wikipedia.org that the vocalist, Pat Upton, was known for his unusually high voice. He passed away in 2016, 76 years old, so thanks for the music, Mr. Upton.

Stay positive, be strong, lean forward, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee and I have met this morning and begun our exchange. Here’s the music. It appears to be a lip syncing offering, as there aren’t any visible microphones and there are no wires leading to the electric guitars, among several clear clues. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

Mood: Coffeeupped

Santana and Rob Thomas are performing “Smooth” in my mental music stream (Trademark classified) as I begin to write. Because it’s gonna be a hot one.

Yesterday, my tiny home weather station said it was 100.0 F at 3:38 PM. The temperature eked up to 101.9 from there, and then began sinking. We were down to 83 F by 9. Despite our home AC outage, we kept cool. Didn’t really heat up in the house until after 7 PM, when it went to 84. That’s cause we’d capture and stored cool AM air. Translation: we opened the doors and windows in the morning, got the house cold, and then close it up and turned on a few fans. It worked, knock on wood.

It’s 77 F now. The projections are that we’ll reach 107 F today. As with yesterday, we have a blue, cloudless sky. When I step into the sun’s heat, I can feel body parts became crisping.

BTW, this is Friday, July 5, 2024.

The breakfast buffet yesterday was delicious as memories of past years predicted it would be. But the parade itself was a little flatter. We were set up in a tree’s shadow along the route, and it was only 79 F at that point. But most participants seemed mildly invested. The parade itself petered out, rather than ended with a flourish. So, meh, a 6 on the parade scale that goes to 11.

“Smooth” has been scuttled. “Along Comes Mary” has replaced it in my morning mental music stream. Tucker, my large black and white floof inspired the song. I’d opened a can to feed Papi, who was quite eager for the moment, chirping and purring about it with big eyes and a tall tail, and wondered, where’s Tucker Cat. Well, he was coming at a casual gait, mumbling something about, “Food, at last,” as he came. So I sang, “Along comes Tucker,” and poof, The Neurons had an Association production going in my head. Song came out in 1966, when I was ten. Have you ever listened to these lyrics? Pay attention, cuz they’re fascinating.

Stay positive, be strong, lean forward, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee and I have already greeted each other in the traditional manner. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Mood: Coffeetriotic

Welcome to Independence Day in America! Yes, it’s Thursday, which is always a day of Independence, isn’t it? Well, as free as most days, anyway. Your level of freedom will vary by state and local government and may not include all freedoms desired and experienced by others. I’m not dipping much into politics and the nation’s direction this morning. The web will be full of it today without my contribution.

Today is July 4, 2024. It’s 60 and sunny. Gonna be hot here in Ashlandia, where the town parade begins with the flyover at 10:45 AM, 102 F or so. The blue sky is unchallenged by anything resembling a cloud in every direction. No smoke, either, knock wood. We’re watching three fires, with most eyes on the Thompson Fire around Oroville down in California. It grew fast and doesn’t promise any happy endings.

The Neurons have Sting singing “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free” from 1985 (Trademark free). It’s a natural for Les Neurons. They like the idea of setting someone free instead of stamping them in one homogenized image of religion, color, gender, name, thinking, and philosphy. Diversity strengthens us and only fools deny it.

I hope you’re in circumstances where you can enjoy a safe and happy holiday in the U.S. If you’re in other than the U.S., I still hope for you to have a safe and happy day, and that all of us are free and equal. Coffee is seducing my taste buds as I write. Vote Blue in 2024. Here’s the music. We’re heading to the parade. Cheers

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