It was hot today- mid 90’s with like 65% humidity. So hot that I quit mowing at 2 o’clock because well I am old and fat and even though I was on a riding mower I need to be careful in that kind of heat. I’m not sure how animals react to this kind of heat, but I have made sure to keep lots of food and water out for the birds. On the drive to the city, the sows and their piglets were all in their little huts and all the cows were clumped around the trees lying down. And I realize that I may have failed to mention that there is a small farm a couple miles from me that always have a couple sows and their piglets running around this time of year and I always slow down and check on them so those are the pigs I am referring to above.
I’ve decided that I need a pool and from here on out, my focus will be on getting one. I have no plan for how, but it is going to happen. I am going to have a pool to soak in. The end.
What is everyone else up to this evening? Is it hot there?
Anne Laurie
The local big-box stores should be doing ‘summer clearance’ sales on blow-up pools, if not now then by July 4th. You don’t want an in-ground pool in WV, so picking up a cheapo replaceable model big enough for your sizeable self to soak while enjoying the evenings would seem to make the best sense at this point in your home-owning career.
pacem appellant
Beautiful day here. And it’s my birthday! I’m off to the park to play bagpipes. Stay cool out there, friends.
trollhattan
Should be nice today, 82, 15% humidity but windy AF so not pleasant. Wind gone tomorrow with the fire danger, so big improvement.
Ohio Mom
There is nothing cuter than baby pigs.
Yes, it was hot today here in Cincinnati but it will get hotter. Shortly.
The alarm this morning woke me in the middle of an absolutely horrible dream and it took me until after lunch to shake that mood.
trollhattan
You hate to see it.
frosty
We’re on another cross-country trailer trip to see National Parks. We crossed over to Canada this morning and Ms F commented that we wouldn’t see another Trump sign for the next 10 days. It made me ridiculously happy. Just seeing that name is a stressor.
I got on to B-J a little while ago and saw the post about the Supreme Court and bailed. I can’t take this shit any more. I’m going to try to chill out, enjoy Canada, check out B-J from time to time, and of course, send money to WG’s latest group.
I need a virtual pool to hang out in too!
ETA Our itinerary changed and I’m trying to find a campsite near Seattle for July 3 through 7. Pretty difficult!!!!
geg6
@pacem appellant:
Happy birthday!
Weather has been terrible here, too. Temps at 95 F. With the added fun of really violent pop up storms. Some of the video has looked like hurricane footage, with big oak, pine and maples bent completely sideways and the tops touching the ground. No funnel clouds, just very high winds and then a massive downpour.
Death Panel Truck
In Pasco, Washington at 6:17 p.m., 69 degrees, mostly cloudy, 18 mph wind with gusts up to 28. Rain on the way tonight. Might have been a good day to mow. Colonoscopy prep begins at 7 p.m. for an early Wednesday appointment. Yay me.
prostratedragon
@trollhattan: Just caught more of his act than I needed to on Rachel’s show. Nemesis can’t come too fast or too hard for that mf.
CarolPW
@Death Panel Truck: Took the dog out about an hour ago (Richland) and we got rained on walking in the sunshine.
Mustang Bobby
I’m back from a week in Valdez, Alaska, at the Valdez Theatre Conference where the weather was cloudy and rainy with highs in the 50’s for the first five days. I got back to Miami this afternoon where they had a storm of torrential rain last week (but it’s not climate change, according to Gov. Batsin D. Belfry), and the current temp at 9:22 p.m. is 80F.
Marleedog
We are passing through northern Montana and it is fucking cold. And rainy. We are here for the next 10 days or so; there is a winter storm warning for Missoula, where we are headed, and it is expected to hit 90 by Sunday! Freaky.
Percysowner
It hit 95 here today. I left out water by the sidewalk for any dogs who happened to be walking. They didn’t really drink it today, I hope they were being kept in during the worst of the day. Last year I did the same thing and once the dogs realized there was water for them they made their owners come over so they could get a drink. I expect the water will disappear tonight when the raccoons, squirrels and other animals come out.
MomSense
I tried to carry the mattress in a box from the car to the house and I couldn’t do it. It is in my driveway and I am cursing the aging gods who have stolen my strength.
I am resting and will make another attempt anon.
zhena gogolia
@trollhattan: That’s where Martha Stewart wanted to go, but they wouldn’t let her.
Scout211
It’s not that hot here in NorCal but we are having our first red flag fire weather day and there are multiple grass fires that CalFire and local crews are working on this afternoon. The winds are spreading the fires rapidly but hopefully they will get ahead of the fires as soon as the winds die down, supposedly by tomorrow morning. The one in my county is now at 1500 acres and growing “at a rapid rate of speed.” It’s 40 miles away from me so I’m not in the path of the fire but there are homeowners who have had to evacuate.
SteverinoCT
Rachel is particularly shrill tonight. Dr. Fauci coming as guest.
Eric S.
Chicago has been hot and muggy. Lots of mini pop up storms but the intense ones have missed my ‘hood.
It’s an effort to keep up on watering the container veggies.
p.a.
Got back from Maine fishing trip Sat. Big Lake, smallmouth fishing. Lots of bass, smaller than usual. Lots of wildlife. Moose for the first time in years (well… saw one last Sept in a truckbed- hunting season.). More weasles scampering along shore than in a long time. Big snapper came after a fish I was bringing in. Had to step around another laying eggs to get to the boat. Bear crossed the road as we were leaving. And of course the regulars; deer, eagles, loons, assorted ducks, woodpeckers, crows, ravens.
Guys in the next cabin, 3 from W Va, 2 from Louisiana. They’re regulars but we don’t see them much- we’re usually there this week. Serious abt their food, the drive up with 5 or 6 big Yeti coolers. Gave us some fish&chips, smoked boudin (not blood boudin) they did in a small electric smoker they bring as well. Studiously avoided political talk. Never came up. They tow 2 Rangers with jet Merc outboards; they’ve destroyed 2 regular motors on the rocks. 12,000 acre lake, lots of rocks from gravel, to football size, to couch, to midsized car sized. Many rock humps: good for fishing, bad for lower units.
Old Dan and Little Ann
Instead of having 21 hours left with students, I now have 13 hours left. It is due to the last 3 days being changed to half days. Huzzah!
Doc Sardonic
@MomSense: Take some advice from a decrepit old sumbitch. Get thyself to the closest big box store or Harbor Freight and get a handtruck or as some call them a dolly.
currawong
Speaking from the South coast of Victoria, Australia, I can confirm that it is not hot here.
It’s about 11 degrees C (about 52 degrees F) today which is about as cold as it gets here. June, July and August are cool as you can’t realy call it cold. You can get some pretty wild storms off the Southern Ocean this time of year.
TKinNC
We have a 300 gallon stock tank that we use as a pool in the summers. It’s great for cooling off quickly. Far less maintenance than a “real” pool.
danielx
First and most important, while you’re figuring it out, get one of those mister things you screw into a garden hose. They are to die for in weather like this. I’d say get a large kiddy pool, but we found out long ago that if it’s hot enough the water turns the temperature of p**-, er, soup in half an hour, an hour if it’s in the shade.
It’s an easy mistake. Once you get out in the boonies round these parts it’s easy to mistake some of the two legged variety for the four legged ones. And yes, it was 93 in the shade on the back porch this afternoon. Plus the oil based product we used to refinish the deck this weekend is curing and the fumes in the heat are something frightful, so best to stay inside anyway. Except, the cats keep dodging out because they want their porch sunshine. Fuck a bunch of fumes and appalling temps, they want their rays.
*Kiara especially, but she’s 13 and like keeping her elderly bones toasty.
Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom
Stay cool Amurricans! Where I’m at, we have a frost advisory.
Doc Sardonic
@TKinNC: They make great soaking pools. A plus is that you can easily decorate around them to make a nice area to relax. They can be pricey depending on size, but unlike a blow up pool, they will last for years.
Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom
Also, too, above ground pools are cheaper. And faster.
SW
Been thinking about a lap or plunge pool.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
@Eric S.: I’m watching the Cubs game and the fans are dying out there.
frosty
It was 54 in International Falls when we woke up this morning, It’s been more or less the same in the UP, Wisconsin, and now Manitoba. The one thing they have in common is ALL THE DAMN MOSQUITOES!!!
The Ranger at Voyageurs NP said he’s been here for four summers and he’s never seen it this bad. Apparently they didn’t get a long enough cold snap last winter to kill them all off. I don’t know how people can stand to live here.
weasel
Gotta say, I’m a little disappointed that at 29+ comments in, no one has made a comment concerning the willow tree and the future pool. Will fix, and try to be constructive too. Seems like one more good reason to look at an above ground option!
Adding, lovely here in Olympia, 70 sunny and calm, but will be getting a spot of warmer weather later this week. Coolest summer so far, based on my short time here.
Odie Hugh Manatee
Mild temps but windy as hell here on the south Oregon coast. It’s been that way all spring and it’s very unusual for our area. Our springs are usually a mix of sunny or marine layer days with winds varying between them but usually mild too. Not now. It’s average wind speeds of 14-18 mph with gusts to 25-29, nearly every damned day. It’s hard to do yard work without safety glasses, it’s that bad. The plants are loving the sun but our poor snap peas are taking a beating.
satby
it’s almost 10 pm and still 87° here, with an overnight low going to 76°. The extreme heat plus humidity has the effect of triple digit temps, so I went outside as little as possible. And other than going out at first light to water the parched plants and put some big bowls out for the birds and critters, I don’t plan on going out until Sunday, when the temps drop into the mid 80s, but the overnight temps go back to normal 60s. A stock tank pool sounds great right now.
Eric S.
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: I was at the games Friday and Saturday. Weather was perfect. I wouldn’t want to be there today.
satby
@frosty: yeah, mild winters mean more skeeters and ticks. I like it cold enough to kill them all off.
satby
@pacem appellant: Happy Birthday!
John Revolta
@pacem appellant: Many happy returns fellow piper!
eclare
Memphis only got up to about 83 today, and we got a couple of hours of rain. Yay! Such a relief after 95 yesterday.
We return to the surface of the sun on Friday.
John, I am so glad that you respect the heat. So many do not. Several hikers have disappeared in the past couple of weeks while hiking in Greece’s latest heatwave. A couple of bodies have been found, several are still missing.
Jackie
@Anne Laurie: Blow up pools? You must not have kitties with built in deflators attached to paws and feet.
An above ground pool can be affordable – depending on bells and whistles.
eclare
@pacem appellant:
Happy birthday!
Jackie
@Death Panel Truck:
Howdy neighbor! Waving from across the river in Kennewick 😊
Odie Hugh Manatee
@pacem appellant:
Happy birthday! :)
Redshift
@MomSense: Be careful! We got one of those at Costco a could of years ago, and I managed to wrestle it from the shopping cart into the car, but I couldn’t actually pick it up. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get it into the house and up a flight of stairs by myself, so I got some friends to help.
NotMax
@Ohio Mom
One word: Quokkas.
@pacem appellant:
Have a happy.
Jay
@frosty:
Keep in mind, that on the west side of the Rockies, we are having cool wet weather with the occasional sunny patch.
And on the drive to Seattle, on this side of the border, has lot’s of pools, in the form of lakes, rivers and creeks to cool off in, if you are willing to pull to the side of the rod, park for a while, and walk/scramble a little.
Redshift
We were just on the heading edge of the hellish temps today, and I mostly stayed indoors. JC, we’ve been getting lots of PSAs about how it’s bad for pets, so I suspect it’s not great for other animals either.
Hoppie
72 and sunny today in Hillcrest (San Diego). Partly cloudy/sunny the rest of the week with temps all the way up to 74 by the weekend, per current forecast. Lows mostly playing around 60. Helps the electric bill a lot…
pacem appellant
@geg6: @satby: @John Revolta: @eclare: @Odie Hugh Manatee:
Thank you!
The park was lovely. A teenager said my pipe tunes were “dope” which I didn’t know was a thing kids still said. @John Revolta, good to meet another piper at Balloon Juice! Happy piping!
eclare
@NotMax:
What a cute animal! Looks like a mini koala.
Eric S.
Can anyone translate MAGAtese for me? At a baseball game this weekend a clear MAGAt was wearing a T-shirt that said “Nancy Pelosi skis Vail”. It had a picture (I’m guessing doctored) of Pelosi leaning forward showing a lot of cleavage.
pacem appellant
@NotMax: Thank you! That was me at the park—sans chapeau et kilt et mere—but other than that, identical. Same tune, too :-)
John Cole
@eclare: I was in the army. I am very careful about heat related injuries.
frosty
@Jay:
We’re westbound to Banff, then south to Spokane and west to the Seattle area after that. I was planning to head from Banff to Vancouver until I checked out the two-lane TransCan Highway through BC. Not doing that pulling a trailer with traffic stacking up behind me!
It’s been cool on all our trips this year. We were running the heat in Florida!
Harrison Wesley
@Eric S.: Sounds like AI-generated MAGAtese. Or else it’s a Trump direct quote.
CHETAN R MURTHY
@Eric S.: did you know she has gynormous freezers she uses only for gourmet ice cream ? She’s worse than Marie Antoinette!
Manyakitty
@pacem appellant: happy birthday! Enjoy the piping!
Jay
@frosty:
So, basically, you don’t want to be confused for one of the hordes from Alberta or Sask, or a semi driver? Once June hit’s, that’s what the left lane is exclusively for. Just keep in mind that the chain of vehicles will be slowing down at every corner because Alta and Sask drivers don’t “do” corners. There are lot’s of 3 lane stretches.
Could be worse, the #3 along the southern route is still mostly single lane.
sab
@geg6: My stepdaughter sent her dad a photo of a trampoline being blown down the street during a thunderstorm in a neighboring city. As she says, that is the usual sign of the start of hurricane season in Ohio.
Trivia Man
@frosty: worst case – if there is any BLM land no reservation needed. Zero amenities but as long as its less than 40 days zero $ and no permits
CaseyL
@pacem appellant:
Happy Natal Day! Did you pipe the Birthday Song to yourself?
Seattle today was cool-ish and damp; i.e., normal. But we’re seesawing a fair bit, getting a few hot days interspersed with the normal ones. No one knows what summer will be like. Back in 2021, we had the Summer From Hell, where Seattle temps got above 110. We’re all gun-shy waiting for another one like that.
eclare
@CHETAN R MURTHY:
I was so jealous when she showed her freezer full of ice cream, the really good stuff!
pacem appellant
@CaseyL: Absolutely I did!
It’s cooling off at night, as it always does in the Bay Area. I’m tempted to make some more noise before sunset, but it’s the mad-dash-to-bedtime routine at our house right now.
Trivia Man
danielx
@John Cole:
Listened to a guy this past weekend talk about going though basic at Fort Sill and seeing people get hauled off for heat related injuries. Said when people stop sweating…time to chill them out quick.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
@Trivia Man: Call (216) 245-2368
danielx
@Eric S.:
Nothing wrong with that, although it does scream “i’m rich or have a rich playmate” in no uncertain terms.
eclare
@danielx:
The thinking of the tourists in Greece just flabbergasted me: I’m in my sixties or seventies, the high today is around 100, perfect time to go on an hours long hike in a remote area!
One of the guys who died was an MD!
I grew up in the south, I respect heat.
hitchhiker
@frosty: Maybe Fields Spring?
https://waparks.org/parks/fields-spring/
Jay
“Air topped” or “Air ring” pools range from $69 for shallow soakers to $450 for ones you can actually swim in a bit. The larger ones have pumps and filters, plus ladders to get over the side. They are reasonably puncture resistant and UV resistant.
Set up is easy, set on a flat spot, tarp underneath if greater protection for the bottom is needed or wanted. Inflate the upper ring, use a pump on the larger ones. Attach the pump/filter on the larger ones. Fill with water. Enjoy.
When done for the season, empty the water, (use a garden hose as a siphon to the driveway, to prevent flooding), disconnect the pump/filter, deflate ring, allow to dry off. Fold and roll up the pool, put it back in the box and into the garage or basement for winter.
In Kamloops, Dave had a 36″ deep, 12′ wide one w/pump/filter and ladder that they used every summer for 5 years, but when it was just down to him and Allie, (Shitzu) using the pool to cool off in the heat, he gave it to us, and replaced it with a 6′ x20″ deep soaker pool. We got another 15 years out of the pool. The larger pool, never got “hot”, even in 105F temps, the trick with the smaller pool, which would get hot/ish, was to use the water in the pool to water the garden, then fill it with cold tap water before the soak.
frosty
@Trivia Man: BLM land is a long way from downtown Seattle! We can dry-camp for three days but having seen boondockers in the wild, that’s not my style of camping.
danielx
@eclare: Central Indiana gets hot, though not like south Alabama and nothing like the desert southwest. Although Indiana males, if they have half an ounce of wit, learn early not to wear jockey shorts.
Edit: the consequences can be dreadful.
TBone
@SteverinoCT: did you mean sharp, cogent, lively, and compelling?
I’m hoping high-pitched is not what you meant to convey.
Yours in service,
TBone
The Up and Up
It’s a tad on the cool side. Rained a bit in fact. The weather will climb to around 80 degrees F on Saturday before dropping. Went to the GP today to discuss prescriptions. Meeting with an old boss tomorrow for coffee.
frosty
@Jay: So I may be better at trailering than your provincial neighbors? (or Ms F, who does the driving. It’s her Jeep we use as the tow vehicle). Basically, we don’t want steep grades and tight curves when we have a long day ahead. Interstates are boring but they get you there.
Our last trip, I checked out the RV Roads forum and found out my proposed route was nicknamed “The Rattlesnake”. Nice in a Miata. But with a trailer: back to I-80.
Jackie
@sab:
We have fairly frequent windstorms in eastern WA that are judged by their severity on how many flying trampolines!
dr. luba
Detroit representing. We had a thunderstorm go through this morning, so it cooled down a bit and we only hit 91°F, as opposed to the predicted 97°F. Small blessings. I worked out in the garden, doing clean-up and weeding while seated, in the shade, and drinking lots of fluids.
The hottest I’ve ever felt was in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. It is on the edge of the Rift Valley. During the day it was too hot to move. I had a basic room with a slow overhead fan and a shower (and not much else). I would shower, the lay on the bed with the fan on until I couldn’t take it any more, then shower again. At 4 pm, it would magically cool off, and I could function again. There were lovely views from the hotel terrace; in the evening I could watch forest fires across the way in the national park.
Eric S.
@danielx: That was my first thought. It was some kind of accusations about her being rich enough but I wasn’t sure. It certainly wasn’t clear but that just gives with MAGA conspiracies.
eclare
@danielx:
I accept your conclusion, no evidence required!
dr. luba
@eclare: To be fair, he wasn’t an MD (MBBS is the degree in England), and he never actually practiced medicine. He went straight from medical school to TV, where he became a presenter. He seems to have specialized, in recent years, in promoting fad diets:
“In 2021, Mosley presented a three-part series, Lose a Stone in 21 Days, for Channel 4. On the programme Mosley suggested that people could lose a stone (14 lb; 6.4 kg) in 21 days by calorie restriction to only 800 calories a day. This advice was considered dangerous by some medical experts and the programme received criticism on social media platforms. Beat, a UK charity supporting those affected by eating disorders, wrote the following day that “the programme caused enough stress and anxiety to our beneficiaries that we extended our Helpline hours to support anyone affected and received 51% more contact during that time”
So, Dr. Oz without the (previous) gravitas…..
StringOnAStick
We went to an outdoor concert here in central Oregon last night, and we got snowed on for a few minutes near to 10pm. There’s been 3 nights where it got to 30 to 32, so I covered all the veggies and berries, and tonight it will be close enough to 40 to take down half my frost protection, the rest comes off tomorrow. In 5 days it’s supposed to be 91! High desert is one crazy climate.
cain
@Doc Sardonic: that’s good advice at any age. Save your back. Get a dolly.
eclare
@dr. luba:
What were you doing there? Vacation, study, etc.?
eclare
@cain:
They’re really cheap to rent for what you get.
Jager
@Death Panel Truck:
That’s the shits!
prostratedragon
@satby: and freeze over that big air buffer out there, for those of us who live near it. Still 89°F here, and not much lower near the Lake.
Jager
@TKinNC:
In SoCal, we call those “Cowboy Jacuzzis”
Grover Gardner
@StringOnAStick: Not that cold here in Medford, but pretty chilly! Amazing. Don’t know where you are exactly–Bend? which we love but man is it getting crowded! A couple weeks ago we stayed there and drove up through Prineville and the Ochoco valley to the Painted Hills. We had no idea! What a beautiful area.
Eric S.
@prostratedragon: My phone is still reporting 88° here in the North Side.
SteverinoCT
@TBone: I am aware of all Internet traditions. Way back ( I was looking for an example and got a few hits ten years or more old, but nothing worth quoting) there was a running gag about Paul Krugman being “shrill” when explaining his liberal point of view; one popular blog (? by The Editors) coined the nickname “Krugthulu” for him. Rachel was all but jumping on her desk, for her. “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn”, indeed.
danielx
@SteverinoCT:The Ancient and Hierarchic Order of the Shrill! From the much mourned The Poor Man.
Tenar Arha
More than a little down today. One of my honorary aunts, a very good friend of my mother and very kind to me, passed away this morning. This will be the rest of my life, won’t it? Some elder maintaining a good enough quality of life, and either a slow or fast exit. And people my age fighting viruses or heart disease or stroke or cancer & sometimes losing.
Anyway, heat dome hasn’t quite arrived yet here in Boston area. So in her & my mom’s honor went to Crane Beach this afternoon, hoping the forecast for clearing in the afternoon would work out well. Other than some wind driven sand, it was really a perfect day to evening at the beach, with ice cream & lobster rolls for dinner.
Jay
@frosty:
The #1 isn’t really twisty with lots of steep grades, until you get to Kamloops, but most people take the #5 from there to Vancouver, (the Coquhalla), two to three lanes, four steepish to steep grades up, one long descent from the Pass down to Hope.
The #1 from Kamloops is very “snaky” as it follows the Thompson and then Fraser rivers which have both carved their own canyons. There are almost no steep grades on the #1.
Much of Alberta and Sask are “flat” with roads laid out in a grid, so until you get to the foothills one can spend their entire lives on a road that doesn’t have to follow the terrain and all turns are either a 90 degree right or left at an intersection.
They crawl their way uphill, often ignoring the passing lane “rules” by trying to pass a semi that is 1/4 of a km slower than them, stacking up dozens of vehicles, then use the downhill to fly, not allowing any of the stacked up traffic to pass, carry their momentum into the next hill, and don’t pull over into the slow lane when they run out of speed, and like I said, they slow down when they run into any corner where they can’t see the road ahead for 5km, because you know, curve. Every curve worth slowing down for, has a sign noting the curve and the recommended speed. Curves that don’t, are perfectly safe at the highway speed, but they slow down for even those. In the LML, some of the radio stations “traffic” alerts are about RV’s with out of Province plates.
Until you hit Kamloops, the #1 is no worse than the 1-90, and driving the Coq from Kamloops is not much worse than the I-5 from Seattle to Vancouver, just better scenery and a few more grades.
eclare
@Tenar Arha:
I’m so sorry about your honorary aunt.
SteverinoCT
@SteverinoCT: The Poor Man Institute! Here are some archives searched on “shrill”. 2009. Man, that takes me back. Keyboard Kommandos. Doughy Pantload.
ETA– while I was searching Google, @danielx was opening some dusty file cabinets between his ears, and winning!
eclare
Huh. I guess I’m getting acclimated to the heat. I guessed the high today was around 83, local news says it was 90.
RaflW
Yeah, it got up to 92, which is pretty warm for SE Wisconsin in June. But it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity! Dew point hit 71, which people in Houston may take in stride, but not me, not up here. AQI was the shitts this morning, too. That cleared up at least.
God a good long grocery shop done, since it wasn’t fit to be outside much this afternoon. Making a salade nicoise for company tomorrow lunchtime. Yum.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@SteverinoCT:
Shrillblog
The archive is a bit confusing but full of memories. Brad DeLong was one of the authors.
Jennifer Altmiller
@pacem appellant: it’s my birthday! Happy birthday! We’ve got Statue of Liberty arriving in NY harbor and OJ Bronco chase on our dance card. Could be worse! :)
2liberal
i’m in tempe, so…yes it’s in the mid nineties at this moment.
NotMax
@Grover Gardner
The redneck hot tub. Not recommended for any but the most desperate.
RaflW
Eghad. It’s still 82º over in Madison at 11pm. That’s not a comfortable night for folks without a/c (or budget to turn a/c on).
frosty
@Jay: LOL! We’re from PA so we’ve seen curves and grades*. Great description.
Similarly, the thing that pissed me off on my daily commute was the one uphill section where one semi decided it could pass another one. It couldn’t
Reading about the Kamloops stretch is what made me change my mind.
* OK so the highest point is 3,000 ft but that didn’t stop the highway engineers from just drawing a straight line.
ETA Route, itinerary, and reservations are booked but I’ll save this for the next time
eclare
@Jennifer Altmiller:
The OJ chase was today? I still remember exactly where I was, watching Dash Rip Rock in a bar in ATL. The show was delayed a bit.
Funny what you remember.
eclare
@RaflW:
If you have an electric fan, you can put a plate of ice cubes in front of it for kind of a DIY a/c. Not as good as the real thing, but it’s better than nothing.
Tenar Arha
@pacem appellant: Happy belated birthday!
Rose Weiss
Southwestern Oregon coast here. It was in the mid-70’s at my house today and will be slightly warmer later in the week. Normal summer temps for us. Once in a while we have a sudden hot wind blowing in, akin to the Santa Ana winds in CA, and it can bring 100 degree temps for a day or two. Many people have no AC in their homes, so it’s devastating.
Hoppie
@eclare: Certain events are generational memories, like the Challenger explosion, first moon landing, or Kennedy assassination(s). (I date myself.)
Others can be situational. We were stopping to eat at an Elephant Bar in Orange County on our way home from the LA Times Book Fair when I got a call from a newspaper reporter I had chatted with at our booth, who tipped us off about the news of the Bin-Laden operation just breaking.
For OJ and the slow-speed Bronco chase, I was at a room party at an sf convention in Toronto when it popped up on TV. George Effinger was there and kept repeating “God, what a story…. what a great story.”
Some things are very hard to forget.
Jay
@frosty:
The Coq is amazingly beautiful in late spring, summer and early fall, just be aware it is a mountain highway, so weather may change suddenly, including snow.
Parts of it was torn up badly in the 2021 floods, and it is summer, so roadwork season.
In the winter, it is the feature road for the TV show, “Highway Thru Hell”.
eclare
@Hoppie:
Oh I remember the Challenger in great detail. I was taking Latin III in high school, and I was the only student. The teacher and I met in the library, one of the few rooms in the school with tv’s. I walked in, and every tv was on. We were both devastated.
pacem appellant
@Jennifer Altmiller: I’m okay with those :-) But It’s always weirded me out that we share a birthday with Art Bell.
Oh, this is nice. Jodie Whittaker’s birthday is the 17th, too! That more than makes up for it!
Happy birthday!
pacem appellant
@Tenar Arha: Thanks! It’s still the 17th on the west coast, so you’re good!
Grover Gardner
@NotMax: LOL! Actually, I was about to tell Cole that every summer I buy a 10′ bladder pool for the back yard. It’s the perfect size, very little maintainance and it’s lovely for a cooling soak and a splash. Visitors think it for our non-existent grandchildren but I make it very clear–it’s for ME! Unfortunately it hasn’t gone up yet this year!
mrmoshpotato
Ahem, CANNONBALL!
Heatwave in northern Illinois. Blasting my AC.
Chet Murthy
Damn. It’s gonna get down to 49F tonight here in SF! Gonna be shiverin’ under my winter blanket!
ETA: b/c my apt has no insulation — there are cracks in the walls and when the wind blows it blows right thru the walls!
Lily
@Tenar Arha: I’m very sorry for your loss. When an older one I love dies I feel like a world, the old world, is disappearing . I went to Crane beach once. Beautiful. Living not far from it right now. Warm day but the ocean is much colder compared to the last few.
cain
@Chet Murthy: yikes .. thats terrible
Odie Hugh Manatee
@frosty: “We’re westbound to Banff, then south to Spokane…”
You have my sympathy. I still have to go there because of family so no choice in the matter other than how quickly to leave…lol!
sxjames
Beaverton (Portland, OR suburb) was pleasant – 70’s, a bit of rain. Generally we get cloudy/drizzly days here until around July 4th, then it starts to dry up and get summer warm. Although….Mrs. sxjames tells me the forecast is for 90 F on Friday…so I bought a ham for cold noodle salad.
Jay
@Chet Murthy:
As it’s a rental, they make a “weather stripping” caulk, ($8 a tube) It’s clear, you need a cheap ($5) caulking gun to apply it, it just peels off when you don’t need it, with out leaving a residue.
It will stop the drafts and make it a bit warmer.
Chet Murthy
@Jay: Heat is included in my rent, so if it gets too cold, I just turn on the heater. I don’t like to do it (in fucking summer!) b/c, y’know, global warming and all. But if I gotta, I will. I’ve mentioned it to my landlord, but …. well, I don’t push very hard, b/c the rent hasn’t changed in the 17yr that I’ve lived here. From which you might conclude that the landlord doesn’t do much maintenance. Ah, well. At least the rent hasn’t gone up.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@eclare: The killer heat waves are a fairly recent phenomenon in Greece – yeah, global warming is a thing. Last week was bad, and if you’re not prepared, you can absolutely get caught off guard and potentially killed in the heat. Part of it is where you are, specifically – the Cyclades are much more mild, if a bit windy, while Crete had temperatures even worse than the mainland.
Geoduck
Pleasant enough weather here in SW Washington state. At least in the short term, we aren’t getting enough rain to maintain the snowpacks.
eclare
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
It’s just striking that so many tourists were killed doing something so stupid and avoidable.
In the summer I check the forecast high before deciding when/if I run errands that day!
Manyakitty
@Tenar Arha: tough news, perfect tribute. May her memory be a blessing.
Steve in the ATL
@eclare: I hope they played “Bumf*** Egypt”! And also “Mud Island”. A thrifty band to watch—you need to see them only once because they did the same show every time.
ETA: since you’re all wondering, we were in a bar on River Street in Savannah. What a weird event.
eclare
@Steve in the ATL:
Oh yeah they played the hits, don’t forget “Stairway to Freebird.” I know I saw them at least one other time at the Atlanta Midtown Music Festival, in one of its first years when you could bring a blanket and sit on grass. Their stage was next to a kiddie play area. Apparently the organizers did not think of the children. My friends and I found it hilarious.
Chris T.
@Redshift: Yeah, it’s not just that a mattress is heavy (though the actual weight varies by construction and size of course), it’s also that it flops over. It is not possible to balance one by yourself! Having it inside a box helps (a lot!) but it’s still wise to have at least two people on mattress detail.
Chris T.
@eclare:
Well, after you’ve lived in southern Utah or Arizona, 100 can be a nice cool day… 🤪
eclare
@Chris T.:
True! I remember at the end of one summer here in Memphis my parents and I decided that at 70 it was too chilly to sit outside. But the Dr. who died was from England, he never should have left his house or hotel that day.
Yes, for some reason this story fascinates me. I don’t know why.
lowtechcyclist
@MomSense:
They have been making better mattresses in recent years, but better construction means more weight. Get a friend to help you if at all possible.
Several years ago, we got a new mattress for the queen bed in the guest room. It’s a great mattress, but I could barely get it up the four steps up to the front door by myself, and I’m pretty strong. It’s a good thing the guest room is on the ground floor.
We’re looking at new mattresses for the master bed, which is (a) king-size, and (b) upstairs. Thank goodness the kiddo is almost seventeen, and will be able to help me wrestle with it – although when it gets delivered, I think I’ll just offer the delivery guys $50 each to get it upstairs for us.
Ramalama
@MomSense: we bought and own a dolly because we’d purchased a bed in a box and could not get it in the house ourselves. Hand cart? Hand truck hauler thingy? Just get it. 2bad backs apparently aren’t better than one.
NotMax
@Chris T.
This goes back many years.
Step-sister’s first apartment after college was on the top floor of a five story walk-up in Manhattan. I was one of a handful who helped her move in.
After hefting a mattress and then a box spring up five flights I told her no matter when the time arrived not to count on me when she moved out.
;)
TBone
@SteverinoCT: 😆 I’d forgotten about that! I blame the excessive heat.
Carry on!
bluefoot
@Chet Murthy:
When I lived in SF, my building was old enough that the pipes ran on the outside of the building. On the very few nights it got cold enough to freeze, I had to wait until mid-morning to use any water. Thankfully those days were few plus we had showers at work.
dnfree
@John Cole:
I worked in a tire factory–in IT, in the air conditioned offices–but every quarter there were mandatory safety meetings for all employees, and at the start of summer they were about heat-related issues, and to be aware of not only yourself, but of those working around you.