heat

these two photographs tell the tale. It is 33 outside (yes this thermometer is outside), which is about right for a September day in central Texas. Of course this is not central Texas.

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And it is 28 inside. Warm yet with the ceiling fan and a fan on the floor going, not too bad. It also help to have a glass of cold iced tea at hand. People lived this way until my lifetime, when central air conditioning became ubiquitous. Billions of people still do. Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how blessed we are, and how dependent on electricity.

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Last blast?

Last blast?

The next two days are predicted to be quite warm with each days’ high being 34 degrees or 94 Fahrenheit. The humidex (heat index) may reach the mid-40s or about 110. This is awful weather for this part of the world; blessedly it does not last more than a few days. We can’t change the heat or the weather, it is what life, climate, climate change, karma, fate, God, what you will brings and it is up to me to handle it as best I can. I think that complaining about it only accentuates the discomfort, unpleasantness, and potential danger.We will simply endure until it cools down later in the week.

It will be a brutal span for my co-workers who toil outside and they have my complete empathy. Perhaps this will be our last hot spell of the summer, perhaps not.

I took this photo of Stella during a hot spell a few years ago. We were in the living room and have a window unit a/c only in the bedroom. She was a hot pup that day. Her posture compelled me to call this her ‘I need a martini and a cigarette.’ photo.