5094 Strange weather.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Why do we say “hair” when we mean lots of it,
but “hairs” when we mean a few?

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It got to 60 F this morning.  Now the temperature is dropping, it's 43 F at 3 pm, and we are supposed to get several inches of  snow this evening and tomorrow.

I don't understand.
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4073 I guess it sucks there?

Monday, July 20, 2015

"All human beings should try to learn before they die

what they are running from, and to, and why."

-- James Thurber --

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I have little weather widgets on the side of my screen, one for the city house and one for the country house.  Right now it's 90 F at the city house ("feels like 93"), 10 mph wind, 46% humidity (it feels like more), and sunny.  At the country house, it's 91 F, with an air quality alert - which is strange, as the air quality there is usually excellent except when there's pollen.  The wind speed is "-9999 mph".

What?  Does that mean it sucks?

Oh.  It just updated.  Now it says 5 mph.  

Ne'mind.

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I didn't use my old printer for months, and the jets clogged up.  No amount of cleaning fixed it, so a few months ago (February?) I gave up and bought a new printer.  My main criteria for choice was size.  When everything else is getting smaller and smaller, I don't understand why simple printer/copier/fax units keep getting bigger and bigger.

It sat still in the box since February, because I remembered the pain of installation of the last one.  I did something wrong with the last one, and the flippin' thing went offline after every print or copy job and wouldn't come back online no matter what I did, until I completely re-IPLed the laptop.  Also, it wouldn't scan to the computer, claimed the computer wasn't connected even though it was a USB connection.  Annoying, inconvenient, and frustrating, and the main reason it was so seldom used.  So I kept putting off attempting to install this one.

But now I have something that must be printed directly from a screen, and can't be offloaded or emailed, so I was forced to bite the bullet.

It took a half-hour, it was very simple, I was not forced to choose between options that I didn't understand, and it's connected through the house WIFI (which it did itself, I didn't even have to tell it the password), and it has its own email address, so when I'm at the country house using the notebook and want to print something, I can email the file to the printer.  Nifty.  It was SO much easier than the last time.
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4043 Nightmares

Monday, May 25, 2015

India, according to the BBC, is having one hell of a heat wave.  They said on the radio today that the temperature has hit 122 F in some areas.  Wells have gone dry.  A man interviewed said that birds are falling dead out of the trees like leaves, and in residential areas it's even hotter outside than the weather service says because air conditioners are running full blast, pumping more heat out.  More than 400 people have died.   It could get worse because farmers can't work in their fields or get to their animals, and animals are dying, so there will be food shortages.  People are praying for monsoon season ... which may be delayed because of El Nino-like conditions.

The BBC also reports a serious bird flu epidemic in American chicken coops, so we will see egg prices, and the prices of everything that uses eggs, go way up.

I like the BBC.  They report on stuff that matters, everywhere.  US news outlets are useless.

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I remember in the late 1950s, when we lived in Ottawa, we had a few days of 120 F.  Nobody had a/c then.  I don't remember how we coped.  I do remember my mother saying over and over, "This is Canada!  It's not supposed to get hot!"

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Have you heard about the young woman found early last Friday in a Maryland playground pushing her dead three-year-old son on a swing?  It's such a sad story.  People who live near the park said they saw her there pushing the swing the evening before.  Authorities think she may have been there all night, pushing the child on the swing.  They think she was in emotional shock, deep in denial, pushing the swing to make the child happy.  Maybe if I keep pushing him he'll come back.

The mother is still in the hospital. She's apparently not yet coherent.  None of the many articles has mentioned a husband or family.  I'm not sure they know who she is.  An autopsy on the child has shown no cause of death.  A toxicology report will take a while longer.  I was a bit frustrated by the report, because it didn't say how long he had been dead.

I feel so bad for that woman.

I have this scenario in my head, completely made up, where the child had asked to go to the playground, and she said no, so he threw a tantrum, and she left him alone in his room to cry it out.  She thought he cried himself to sleep, so she left him alone, and then later found him cold and gone.  In her overwhelming grief and guilt, she took him to the playground, and pushed him on the swing, trying to make it all better. 

A mother's nightmare.

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3839 You're Kidding!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

I forget which days it was exactly, maybe Friday and Saturday, but we just had two days in a row that were 85 degrees F.

This morning there's snow in the shaded spots, and a strong icy wind blowing. It's 33 degrees at 8:30 am.

You know that phrase, "It'll be a cold day in Hell before I..."?   Well, where'd I put that list.  It's time.
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3823 Evolution?

Monday, February 24, 2014

Just because there are questions doesn't mean there are answers.

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Yesterday morning I torqued up Pandora for the first time in ages, first time on this laptop.  I set up a channel and primed it with things like Barenaked Ladies, Simon & Garfunkle, Buffy Saint-Marie, Dolly Parton, Don McLean, Mommas and Poppas, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, a bunch of Irish stuff, and a slew of stuff from my youth.  Then I actively clicked "like" or "dislike" on what Pandora selected, to make sure Pandora had a wide sample of my taste to work from.

It started out pretty good, but oddly, after about 20 hours of play, Pandora has pretty much evolved (devolved?) to Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, and Johnny Cash, one after another, with occasional side excursions into other stuff I like (and don't like, e.g. trumpet instrumentals (ugh!) and Frank Sinatra (ugh ugh!!) thrown in.  Duh?)

I don't understand.  Yeah, I like Willie, Garth, and Johnny, but good grief!  Not exclusively!  And how many times do I have to click "dislike" on Sinatra and jazz before they get the idea?

Pandora's algorithms need some work.

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After something like four or five days of balmy sunny days rising into the forties and fifties, almost all the snow is melting away.  I actually had a surge of energy, got out and did some stuff.

Today we have been cast down again.  It's 36 F, and there's a strong nasty wind out of the north that actually hurts.  Oh well, not much longer now....

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LATER:  Ok, I figured out why Pandora keeps sending me Jazz and trumpets.  I've been clicking "Like" on everything from Hugh Masekela.  Check out "District Six".  Masekela isn't your usual jazz.
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3652 Thrashing

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Confidence - The feeling you have before you fully understand the situation.

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(I do hope that green randomly-generated quote above is not prophetic.)
 
If you don't hear from me for a while, it'll be because we lost power.

Yesterday was weird.  All up and down the street, people were raking and blowing leaves into the street.

Duh?  Why?

They are all just going to blow, and what doesn't blow away will block the storm drains as soon as it rains.

If you have a day and a half before all hell breaks loose, why are you spending that time raking leaves?

I don't understand.

Tomorrow is garbage collection day.  I will not be surprised to see garbage cans at the curb.

Sheesh.

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I searched the blog to help remember when last year's hurricane was, and I found this, from August 2011:

Back in the mid-70s, Dr. K. said that one of my problems involved feelings of omnipotence, that I felt I was personally responsible for everything bad that happened. No wonder, given that my father blamed me for everything.

Anyhow, it's awfully hard not to fall back into that.

I mean, there's a lot of circumstantial evidence. People have been convicted of murder on less.

Let's examine:
I bought the house last fall.
This past winter [2010-2011] was the coldest and snowiest here in decades.
This summer [2011] had the worst heat wave in decades.
Last week we felt seismic activity for the first time ever here.
Now we're to get a hurricane, and the last time an eye passed directly over this area was in the 19th century!

I rest my case.  

Today, add to the list what is predicted to be the worst storm since the 1800's, and the eye will (probably) be passing about 20 miles south.

I am Typhoon Mary.

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I am hoping that the wind and ocean surge predictions are exaggerated because no government entity wants to be accused of downplaying it.  Daughter and Hercules, and the Nugget, plan to stay here.  "We have a generator now." 

I'm not happy with that, because the Nugget has been very sick with a head cold, croup, and TWO infected ears.  She was limp-sick on Friday, but a little better yesterday now that she has antibiotics.  But I don't know where else they could go with a sick baby.

Also, while my house is 29' above sea level, their house is at least 8' lower.

Well, excuse me while I bring outdoor furniture in and corral the flamingo herd.

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Flash:  NYC Mayor is on TV right now, he says surge is expected to be 10-11 feet.  Ok.  That's a lot better than the 20' I was hearing yesterday!  I guess I don't have to worry about fish in my living room.
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3651 Weathermen or Tarot cards?

Friday, October 26, 2012

It is the insane that make the sane go insane.

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Constant storm warnings on TV, and it isn't even expected until Monday evening.

The only thing that would worry me is splash/overflow from the bay.  I'm about 29 feet above sea level, Maybe 600 feet from the bay.  The TV folks are confusing me.

To consider:
- high tide.
- storm surge.
- waves
- rain unable to go into the storm drains because the drains are full of leaves (and washed away Hallowe'en decorations).

Tide - They're saying high tide is 8 feet.  Huh?  Maybe in constricted areas.  Judging by what I have seen on the piers in the bay, I'd say less than 5 feet.

Surge - There's been three different guys talking, all on the same channel.  One says 5 to 10 foot surge.  Another says 10 to 20.  Another said 8 to 12.  Who do I believe?

Waves - "Up to 20 foot waves."  Wow.  That "up to" really covers every possibility, doesn't it?

Rain - I LOVE the way everyone here rakes and blows their leaves into the street.  Right over the drains.

So adding the numbers up, I can expect somewhere between 0 and 19 feet of water in my house.

Cool.  But I'm staying here.

Note - I did evacuate in August of last year, a hurricane, but that was less for myself and more to convince Daughter and Hercules to go.  The Nugget was 4 months old, and I mainly wanted her out.

3577 Hey, this is NJ, not FL!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

There are better ways to get to the top of a tree than by sitting on an acorn.

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2pm.  103 degrees F.

There IS such a thing as too hot to put the top down.
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3576 Wednesday

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Huston Smith, on faith: "We may do things we think are wrong,

but we cannot believe things we think are false."

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It's 7 am and it's already 82 F outside and steamy.  It's going to be a hot day.   I was under the impression that living so close to the water we'd have cool refreshing breezes.

Nope.  Just steam.

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From a Meetup invitation: "Sorry, no pets are aloud to join the party." 

Maybe it means I can bring a boa constrictor?  They're quiet.

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From a weather advisory for the country house:  "Severe thunderstorms, hail up to one inch in diameter or larger."

Do they know what "up to" means?

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I had a hair accident Monday.

My natural color these days is not white or gray.  It's a very pale yellow.  Pale blond, which is pretty much what it had been when I was a baby.  In the winter it's a bit darker, and in the summer, especially since I drive with the top down a lot, it gets bleached to white in the sunlight, although still pale blond indoors.

So, since I like it blond, in the summer I shampoo in a temporary (6-12 shampoos) ash blond tint.   The stuff I use has no bleaching ingredients, so my scattered brown hairs still show through here and there.

Monday I screwed up.  The stuff is supposed to be on your hair 20 minutes.  I usually leave it on 15 minutes.  I had received an email that I wanted to respond to, and started the response after putting the tint on.  I got to thinking about what I was writing, and next thing I knew, 40 minutes had gone by.

I ran to the bathroom, jumped into the shower, lathered it  up, rinsed it off, toweled it dry, looked in the mirror, and ... my hair is the same color as the bathroom door's brass doorknob.  The EXACT same color.  I could see the doorknob in the mirror, next to my hair.  I am not exaggerating.

My hair has been washed four times in the past day and a half, and it's still flaming brass.  A long time ago I'd read that to remove temporary hair color, you should use oil, so my hair has been mayonnaised and olive oiled.  (I thought the mayonnaise would work well because it also has vinegar.)  I've been wearing scarves wrapped around my head, or hats, when I have to go out in public.

I am unhappy.
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3556 Severe weather?

Friday, June 29, 2012

The fruits of the second amendment are usually rotten.

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This is what it feels like:

[http://youtu.be/tVEPvXBEOSE]
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3454 Jasper says "Curtains are stupid!"

Thursday, February 2, 2012

To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
-- Steven Wright --

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It got up to 67 degrees yesterday afternoon, and sunny. I put Hal's top down, and it was very nice. The groundhog says six more weeks of winter, but this winter I don't mind.

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I didn't get around to changing the batteries in the smoke detector yesterday, partly because as the morning went on, the chirps got weaker and farther apart, and finally stopped, so I forgot about it. Now I'm wondering why it stopped. It's wired into the house, so why wouldn't it continue chirping? And if it's on house power, why would the battery run down anyway? Isn't it just for backup? Shouldn't it last as long as the backup batteries in clock radios?

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I don't understand why soccer fans seem to be so fond of deadly riots. From ABC News, about yesterday's riot:

A narrow stadium exit turned into a death trap. Crowds of Egyptian soccer fans fleeing supporters of the opposing team armed with knives, clubs and stones rushed into the corridor, only to be crushed against a locked gate, their rivals attacking from behind, survivors and witnesses said.

The result was the world's worst soccer violence in 15 years, with 74 people crushed, suffocated or stabbed to death.

Huh? I just don't get it.

Most of the news articles talk about how the police "allowed" it to happen because they don't like the restraints they're under since the fall of Mubarak. They are not so powerful any more, so this is seen as "teaching the people a lesson", that police repression is needed. And so on, blah blah.

But nobody has addressed the reason soccer fans seem so prone to violence - whether they win or lose. They shouldn't NEED repressive police to keep fans from killing each other. What about THAT!

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I love this, from "Friends of Irony":
I hope the kitty was stopped before he overdosed.
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3410 Frost

Friday, December 2, 2011

Never ever lie to your child or make promises you don't intend to keep.
It may be convenient at the moment,
but the child will never again trust or believe you.
-- Silk --

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The online weather reports say it's 37 F out there, but the extremely accurate darkroom thermometer I had tucked into the geranium pots says 0 C/32 F. Our first real frost.

It begins.

Yuck.

(It's 25 F at the old house upriver.)
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3279 Humid

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Computers may make it easier to write, but they don't make the writing any better.
-- Andy Rooney --

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On Saturday morning I finished crocheting a blanket for Nugget. My kitchen floor is large ceramic tiles, perfect for blocking a rectangular item, so I machine washed the blanket, pulled it out after the "gentle" spin, and then laid it out on the floor. That was Saturday morning.

Tuesday morning, three DAYS later, it was still damp. I figured air wasn't getting through it, maybe? I figured the shape might be pretty well set by then, so I draped it over a stool to finish drying.

An hour later there were 8" pools of water where the four corners were dripping. DRIPPING!

Today is Wednesday. It's still damp.

Daughter opens her windows. I don't because the air out there is full of dust and pollen. I can't believe how dusty it is around here. The town is amazing about sweeping the street, and there isn't all that much traffic. I don't know where the dust comes from. So, anyway, I have the A/C on. I thought A/C pulled moisture from the air. That's what the "Conditioning" part means. Otherwise, it's just air Cooling.

This is as bad as Florida. I'm waiting for my leather stuff to start molding.

Speaking of Florida, we expect to reach 95 degrees today, and 97 tomorrow.
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1845 A/C

Monday, June 9, 2008

It was 97 degrees in Rochester when I left there on Friday. It was 100 degrees here and in NJ Saturday and Sunday. When I got home yesterday, it was 84 degrees in my house.

So I decided when it was already 94 outside by 10 am today that it was time to go through the pain of switching over to the groundwater-based heat pump air conditioning (moving baffles, throwing switches, opening valves, etc.). It was 84 in the house when I got it going. It's been running about five hours, and the temperature is now 85.

Sigh. I suspect the tubes are so full of silt from the well that little water is getting through.

It's probably time to give up and look into conventional A/C. Not a happy thought.
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