Swimming in the St. Clair River Tuesday was everything I needed it to be. The thermometer passed 90 when we arrived, and after the usual sunscreening and locking up the wallets and phones and all that, we made our way down to the water. Went in slow, then fast.
The water temperature was about 65 degrees. And after the initial OMG THIS IS COLD, it was absolutely perfect. We did two drift-downs, from the most upstream ladder on the seawall to the downstream one, climbed out, walked back and did it again. This was followed by a drink and a snack at the Voyageur, and of course in between there was lots of discussion of current events, mutual friends and war stories.
It was glorious. Go swimming in this heat, if it’s available to you. It’ll do you good.
Today, however, was beastly hot, and it will continue to be so all weekend. Me no likey. Nobody likeys. As I have said before, it might as well be minus-9, in terms of its effect on your movements (and energy use, ahem). So I’m hunkered down for now.
On that topic, and speaking of the Voyageur, i.e., the restaurant we went to after our swim, we wanted to have a drink on the patio. But the patio was closed because of the heat. Also, there were only two cooks and hardly any wait staff, along with signs posted everywhere asking guests to be patient. This seems late in the pandemic for staffing shortages, but there you are. A million people died, and not all of them were 85 years old.
More short shrift today, but I’m interested in the hearings later, and am preoccupied with other things. Here’s a fresh thread. Enjoy.
Deborah said on July 21, 2022 at 3:11 pm
I am not missing the hearing this evening, for me it starts at 6pm mountain time. We had a big lunch and only dessert during the hearing. It’s hopefully going to be another doozy.
The high today in Santa Fe is “only” going to be 85°, that’s about 10 degrees lower than yesterday. It’s seems to be fixing to rain here again, big, beautiful, dark clouds to the east, to the west and to the north. But then again Santa Fe could be the hole in the middle that doesn’t get a drop.
edit: we were without wifi for a long time yesterday and through the night, because a dump truck rose up in the middle of a street and blew a cable that knocked out almost the whole city from Wifi.
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Little Bird said on July 21, 2022 at 3:16 pm
So Deborah wanted me to link to the footage we saw of the dump truck hitting the cable lines (and apparently more). You might need to have Facebook to see it though. This is a local person’s footage.
https://www.facebook.com/jaquyrascon/videos/464849201678972/?d=n
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Scout said on July 21, 2022 at 3:38 pm
Only 8 House Republicans voted to codify contraception rights for women today. 197 voted NO. I. Just. Can’t with these people.
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Mark P said on July 21, 2022 at 4:07 pm
There is a continuing shortage of workers in a lot of fields. A fast-food place we frequent was a madhouse a couple of weeks ago because they had so few workers. A Stake and Shake had half the floor closed because of lack of servers. Same with the IHOP a few weeks ago. That 24-hour restaurant closed at 9:30 one night because the only cook they had walked out. The clinic where a lot of our doctors work is losing PA’s left and right. Some are moving a town over because of signing bonuses, and some are moving to tiny Nevada towns for signing bonuses. I’m not sure when this new world order will resolve itself, but we aren’t there yet.
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Jeff Gill said on July 21, 2022 at 4:48 pm
More from Zahn McClarnon on “Dark Winds”:
https://www.vulture.com/article/zahn-mcclarnon-interview-dark-winds-reservation-dogs.html
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Nancy F said on July 21, 2022 at 5:09 pm
Greetings from the Siberia of the US—San Francisco—where the fog finally burned off and the air temp crept up to 60° at 2 p.m. The water in the bay, where I swam this morning, was 60.5° on an ebb tide. But there are saunas, so there’s that.
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Deborah said on July 21, 2022 at 5:20 pm
There was another article in the local Santa Fe newspaper about the actress in Dark Winds who played the mother of the teenage girl in the series (spoiler alert!) who gets killed. I’d have linked to the story here but there’s a paywall and I’ve used up my freebies this month. The actress is Navajo and lives in Santa Fe.
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Julie Robinson said on July 21, 2022 at 5:43 pm
Both Nancys are very brave to swim at those temperatures and in natural water. Between arthritis and vision issues, I’m team heated pool, and I’m in there almost every day.
Dorothy, from the end of the last thread, I emphatically want all the Trumps to be punished. I just don’t believe in hitting kids.
We have myriad streaming services, but not the one with Dark Winds, alas. We got Paramount Plus for a month so we could watch The Offer, about the making of The Godfather. Has anyone else seen it? It’s stunning, full of twists none of us knew, and very suspenseful. Highly recommended.
The app itself is a stinker. Glitchy as hell and there isn’t much else of interest to watch.
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alex said on July 21, 2022 at 6:29 pm
Standing in line at the local CVS a few weeks ago I overheard pharmacists chatting with a customer whose daughter is in pharmacy school. They told him there are $100K signing bonuses right now. Which is probably why my local Walgreens started closing its pharmacy on Saturdays and Sundays.
Of course, Trumpers have a different explanation for short-staffed businesses. Biden is paying workers to stay home.
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Little Bird said on July 21, 2022 at 6:33 pm
My Facebook account got ROYALLY hacked, and now the profile photo for my old account is a racy pic of some very busty, much younger woman. Who looks to be of Hispanic background. It’s very obviously not me. And yesterday it was a picture of a woman with (presumably) her young daughter. I have to say, this is an eye opening experience. I hope no one has to go through this. Just trying to get back in touch with the friends I had is a nightmare. Plus there’s the legacy pages I’ll never get back to. At least 8 of my former Facebook friends have passed away, but still have memorial pages.
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Sherri said on July 21, 2022 at 11:01 pm
Between the pandemic and the previous administration’s hostility towards immigration, we’ve seen fewer immigrants the last several years as well, which probably also has an impact on those staffing shortages.
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Deborah said on July 21, 2022 at 11:12 pm
We’ll, it was a doozy tonight. I bit long for a hot summer night. They sure don’t mince any words.
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Dexter Friend said on July 22, 2022 at 2:16 am
It was strange to hear “motherfuckers” and such words re-played on live TV with no beeping-out. Yesterday, Garland assured us this investigation of 1-6 will go on and on , as the DOJ is in no hurry.
After all the testimony by Trump staffers as to the disgrace and damage Trump caused on 1-6, it is a shame the orange creep isn’t lodged in the crossbars hotel.
I always lament and recall how lovely the Bay Area and at least as far down as Monterey where I was (a couple hours south) in summer, perfectly cool weather. My yard needs cut but the weather people on TV say to let it go a day more so I won’t keel over. The personnel director at my last job was 57 years of age; he had just driven a pal of mine and me to a Cleveland baseball game a few days before…he was mowing grass and noticed his neighbor’s yard needed a trim, got half-done…and fell over dead. I always remember that if I am mowing and my heart starts pounding as then I know it’s time for a water or Gatorade break.
One bit of solace: in October, when we have glorious days, San Francisco and Monterey will be roasting.
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Jeff Gill said on July 22, 2022 at 8:08 am
For central Ohio readers, and I know there’s a bunch of y’all, we have public events at the Newark Earthworks tomorrow (Sat.) & Monday. I’m leading a three hour walk tomorrow at the Great Circle, and am about to lead a shorter one for an international group of sustainable agriculture educators, and then we’re all hands on deck Monday for one of our four open house days at the amazing Octagon Earthworks portion.
Tomorrow: https://www.ohiohistory.org/events/a-walking-tour-of-the-newark-earthworks/
Monday: https://www.ohiohistory.org/events/newark-earthworks-open-house-july-25-2022/
Mention NancyNall.com and your tour is free! Of course, it’s free for everyone, but you know . . .
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Dave said on July 22, 2022 at 8:51 am
Dexter, I had a friend who was barely 50, he came home one day and mowed the grass, sat down in a chair in his living room and that was all, massive heart attack. I suspect we all know someone who this has happened to, I see that Dr. John Crawford, the Fort Wayne city councilman who ran for mayor and also who pushed through no smoking in restaurants, died while playing tennis.
Alex, that’s essentially what McConnell said a week or so ago, that people weren’t working because they received that whopping $1,400 in the COVID stimulus package. OK. Those people have no concept of most folks reality and people in Kentucky vote against their own self interests every time they return him to the Senate. We already knew that.
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JodiP said on July 22, 2022 at 10:04 am
That outtake video clip of Trump practicing his Rose Garden speech was…just wow. Such a petulant a**hole! He couldn’t say the election was over.
Even if Trump and others are eventually charged and convicted, it’s gone beyond them. As lots you probably know, the SCOTUS decided to take up a case from North Carolina next term that could upend federal elections by eliminating virtually all oversight of those elections by state courts. On Thursday, the justices granted review in Moore v. Harper, a dispute arising from the state’s efforts to draw new congressional maps in response to the 2020 census.(I copied the paragraph from the SCOTUS blog.)
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kv450 said on July 22, 2022 at 11:05 am
Dear Moscow Mitch – the last stimulus checks were issued a year ago. $1500 doesn’t last that long these days.
re: tRump Rose Garden outtakes — good grief! what a whiny, incompetent loser
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Julie Robinson said on July 22, 2022 at 1:00 pm
In his defense, yesterday *IS* a hard word to say. Bwahhahaha.
Am also enjoying all the Josh Hawley memes.
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brian stouder said on July 22, 2022 at 1:39 pm
Julie – indeed. The temptation here is to play “Yesterday” in the background, while the T-rump-Roast rioters/mob video plays….except that ‘all my (Trump’s) troubles’ don’t really seem very ‘far away’ at all, at least for the Donald. That’s my impression, anyway…..I’m thinking (or, really, fervently hoping!) that ‘stupid rabble rouser’ will NOT become-remain the GOP’s new main national brand going forward. But indeed, it still concerns me that several of the younger guys who I used to work with were actively cheering on the god-damned insurrection as it unfolded, live on the radios and teevee. These folks, mostly from suburban/rural areas, genuinely (albeit remotely) bought-in to the whole ‘stop the steal’ delusion then….and presumably still do. If any of them have read any history, or any newspapers, or any non-fiction books on current times I’d be genuinely surprised
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Suzanne said on July 22, 2022 at 1:51 pm
I have been reading a book called “Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America” by Ryan Busse as I convalesce from yet more chemotherapy. It’s written by an insider in the gun industry and spells out just how radicalized the NRA and gun manufacturers have become. Busse was well regarded in the gun field but finally got out when he realized he could not change anything from within, that a tipping point had been reached and money & the power that bought was all that mattered. It’s pretty terrifying. Utter loyalty to the NRA & the GOP, no matter what, is now standard operating procedure in that industry. If people die because of it, meh. Who cares?
I watched most of the hearings last night. Nothing terribly new that I saw. The Hawley run was epic. “I didn’t think they’d come after ME!! Run away! Run away!”
I am pessimistic that anything will come of it, other than maybe sway a few voters but not enough.
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Julie Robinson said on July 22, 2022 at 1:51 pm
As Liz Cheney said, he preyed on their patriotism and sense of justice.
I remain singularly impressed with Liz while acknowledging this may be our one area of agreement.
Apparently she was key to getting most of the (Republican) witnesses, as they believed she would treat them fairly.
For this I tip my proverbial hat to her. Or, swim goggles, which I wear right now.
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LAMary said on July 22, 2022 at 2:47 pm
It’s mid eighties here. Has been most of the week other than a hot Monday. Not very far to the east of me it’s over 100. That’s why I don’t live there. And Dexter, it isn’t always hot in October in your favorite part of the state. The best months here are May and early June. Low seventies every day, which I consider perfect. Occasional hot day but mostly perfect. Younger son is talking about moving to Humboldt. Older son is hanging out in the East Bay area, so I may be soloing here in the next year.
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Sherri said on July 22, 2022 at 3:19 pm
I’d like to think that the video of Josh Hawley making like Sir Robin would end his political career, but Ted Cruz failing to stand up for his wife and running away to Cancun doesn’t seem to have hurt him, so I’m not optimistic. I did get a laugh out of it, though, so there’s that.
I’d like to hope that Merrick Garland would indict Trump sometime before 2024, but I’m not optimistic. I’m also not optimistic that an indicted Trump wouldn’t be elected.
Adam Tooze talks about the polycrisis we’re in, with the crumbling of democracy, the pandemic, climate change, etc. I’ve been racking my brain for ideas of how I can do anything, and coming up empty. Vote, sure, but I’ve always voted, and that hasn’t stopped us from getting into this mess, with a Congress either unable or unwilling to actually do much. I’m pleased with my work supporting the ACLU. I’m doing what I can to promote change in my city to encourage more density.
But what can we do to stop the crumbling of democracy? I don’t know.
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David C said on July 22, 2022 at 3:50 pm
Polycrisis. If there’s one word that describes the fix we’re in, that’s it.
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LAMary said on July 22, 2022 at 5:31 pm
Watching the hearing last night I was close to tears several times. Seeing how close we came to losing something so fundamental to our country, having the votes of millions of people negated by a monster really hit me hard, just as it did on that day in 2021. Trump did more damage in four years of presidency than anyone could have imagined.
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Sherri said on July 22, 2022 at 6:40 pm
Stochastic terrorism.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/lynnwood-man-arrested-after-threatening-to-shoot-buffalo-grocery-store-customers-prosecutors-say/
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Deborah said on July 22, 2022 at 10:06 pm
Thanks for reminding me of what that is called Sherri, I have been trying to remember the phrase “stochastic terrorism” for weeks. I worry that we are headed for some major incidences of that in the coming months. It seems inevitable to me. I hope I’m wrong.
I was close to tears a couple of times during the hearing last night too. It’s really depressing.
I made potato salad this evening, I really wanted to put bacon in it, I bought the bacon for it and everything but I couldn’t bring myself to fry bacon in a hot kitchen today. Maybe tomorrow morning when it’s cool I’ll do it. I really want to try that ever since Alex mentioned it.
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Julie Robinson said on July 22, 2022 at 11:03 pm
When they played video of the rioting my heart started to race and I felt the same emotions of horror and incredulity as on January 6. Good to know I wasn’t alone.
Deborah, Costco carries a big bag of real bacon bits that would be perfect for your next potato salad. We use it for salads or quiche or eggs or whatever. Super convenient. Our kitchen is hot too.
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alex said on July 22, 2022 at 11:11 pm
Deborah, just grab a pack of that pre-cooked bacon and chop it finely. That’s what I use anymore. It’s a time-saver and you don’t have to trash your kitchen.
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A. Riley said on July 23, 2022 at 1:36 am
Stochastic terrorism on the one side, and random nihilistic armed teenage assholes on the other.
This evening the Chicago Shakespeare Theater held one of their lovely, charming, kid-friendly Shakespeare in the Parks free events at Columbus Park on the West Side. And what happened?
Gunfire. Everyone ran or hit the deck. This performance was cancelled, and the rest of their little season in other city parks too.
Somebody got a photo of the gunman–a teen or young man. Just as I thought, armed young male asshole. Was he aiming at the audience or performers? Or a gang rival? Or some guy he suspected of flirting with his girlfriend? Who knows anymore?
How do we get out of *this* aspect of the polycrisis? I don’t have the slightest idea. Unfortunately, it seems that neither the mayor, prosecutor (useless creature that she is), nor the police chief have any idea either.
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Dexter Friend said on July 23, 2022 at 3:44 am
LA Mary, it’s been years since I was there, and only three different Octobers in and around the Monterey Peninsula. I was about halfway between Salinas and Monterey. I remember one day it was 100F, and Salinas was 106F. I had a car and spent all my off time around Pacific Grove, the tip of the peninsula where it was 73F. Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove and Sand City and Marina were all like 73F. Every baseball game from near you, the announcers tell how the baseball travels like 30 feet further when the sun is up, and at sunset, the marine layer rolls in and kills the flight of the baseballs. One announcer said it’s the same in San Diego and Anaheim.
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Mark P said on July 23, 2022 at 9:10 am
Everyone in the US knows exactly how to greatly reduce gun deaths here. In fact, everyone on Earth knows: rational gun control. Nothing else can work, and everyone knows it. Some people are just evil, and they are perfectly OK with little children being massacred. They don’t give a shit, and I would bet my retirement that not one of them who offers thoughts and prayers ever actually even gives a single thought or offers a single prayer for the children who they helped murder.
Our history of mass shootings — it’s almost as if some power is seeing just how much insanity this country will accept without doing something about it. It turns out our constitution is a murder-suicide pact, but the murderer doesn’t carry out his part of the pact.
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LAMary said on July 23, 2022 at 11:27 am
Weather is very local here. I live ten miles from parts of the San Fernando Valley where it’s usually at least 10 degrees hotter in the summer. Santa Monica, about 20 miles from me is about 15-20 degrees cooler, but Long Beach also on the coast is hotter than Santa Monica. I live close to Dodger Stadium, so whatever they’re saying about the weather there applies to my area, maybe a little bit cooler here because we have a lot of trees. I have never lived in a place where there are such drastic differences in temperature.
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Icarus said on July 23, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Trevor Noah, as usual, hits it out of the park:
Once again, the planet is experiencing record temperatures, wildfires, and droughts.
And I know it can’t be climate change, because Fox News says that’s not real, so it’s probably pronouns?
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Jeff Gill said on July 23, 2022 at 5:31 pm
Watch all ten!
https://twitter.com/The_Mal_Gallery/status/1550289866411634689
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Deborah said on July 23, 2022 at 9:13 pm
I’ve watched some clips from the Turning Points event with various Republican assholes being treated like rockstars. Cruz, Gaetz, Hawley, Don Jr, Trump, they all look like jerks, very cringy. How embarrassing for them.
Tomorrow the hot weather here starts to break, by the end of the week the highs won’t get out of the 70s. Today’s high was 90°, too many days in a row.
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Dexter Friend said on July 24, 2022 at 3:42 am
I cut my high grass finally and it didn’t kill me; it was really high. The neighbor must have been bored because he didn’t say a word to me, just got his mower and cut the back yard lawn. That surprised the hell outta me. It only took me a bottle of lemonade, one bottle and a half of water, and 2 Diet Coke cans to rehydrate .
My string of good health check-ups ended with an uh-oh. I gotta have an ultrasound of my kidneys. Doc said not to worry, just my bad numbers have been creeping up and she wants a nephrologist to review the scan. Yeah, right, don’t worry she says….hell, I worry about what if the sun quits coming up?
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Dexter Friend said on July 24, 2022 at 3:51 am
How would you like to swim here, Crater Lake, Oregon?
https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/26/54/74/22728468/5/1200×0.jpg
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basset said on July 24, 2022 at 9:52 am
One of life’s ongoing mysteries: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2022/07/22/polka-fans-what-happened-to-the-versatones-eight-door-1960-chevrolet-touring-sedan
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