Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation, and across the world. It is just after 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

According to the NWS, the current outdoor temperature is 65° under clear skies. My DTWS shows 67º on both the front porch and the deck. Also according to the NWS, light winds of 6 mph make it feel like 65°. Today's high temperature is forecast to be a sultry 88º under skies that will become more cloudy as the day wears on, with a relative humidity index of 67%. That 88º mark is a fill 11º warmer than yesterday's high temperature and we still don't have A/C.

As our day unfolds, the chance for precipitation increases from a 0% chance this morning @ 8:00 a.m. up to 100% by 11:00 p.m. tonight. That precipitation will take the form of T-storms.

According to my DTWS, the barometric pressure is 29.27" and falling, while the NWS is reporting 29.85", also falling. Generally, those readings indicate foul weather is coming and the NWS is forecasting those T-storms for later today.

The sun will rise this morning @ 6:05 a.m. and it will set later @ 9:23 p.m.

A Gale Warning will be in effect from this evening @  8:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning. South winds increasing to 40 knots early tonight will continue into tomorrow. Waves will be building to 7 to 10 feet from St Joseph to Manistee. There will be a lull in the wind on Wednesday before winds out of the west increase to Gale Force once again Wednesday evening. Waves of 6 to 10 feet are expected north of Holland and 4 to 6 feet to the south of Holland. In addition, the Gale Warning will impact lakeshore communities from St Joseph to Manistee. Strong winds will cause hazardous waves that could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility.
 

We are still on the waitlist for an estimator to give us a bid from the A/C contractor. They are apparently very busy. I wish that there was a simple fix, but our A/C system was manufactured over 21 years ago and uses Refrigerant-22. As of 2010,  Refrigerant-22 is no longer made due to the very real possibility of damage to our atmosphere. So, the entire system needs to be replaced.

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to Spring Lake to get an eye exam and new glasses. That visit went very well and I should have my new glasses this afternoon. Since I was in Spring Lake, I avoided having to turn on to busy Savidge St. and took the alley to the road that runs behind Stan's. The parking lot for Stan's and several local businesses was jammed. As George Takei, Mr. Sulu from Star Trek might say, Oh my!. In fact, here he is intoning his catch-phrase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Y25FT7DxE

What can I say, numerous epidemiologists were quoted in an article that Mary found saying that they would not go into places, especially restaurants and bars, that are packed. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, sorry Professor Dodds, Mary, and I will not be going to Stan's anytime soon.

By way of information, Professor Jack Dodds was an English and writing professor that Mary and I both had back in our formative years. He was famous for saying that if something is obvious, you don't have to say it and if it isn't, saying so won't make it obvious, or words to that effect. He was also famous for tossing a dictionary in the direction of a student who dared to say that she/he had come across a word for which he/she didn't know the definition. We both quickly learned to say, as Dr. Dodds got ready to toss that dictionary, "But I looked it up and it means..." He was a great teacher of writing.

I was glancing at my bulletin board and noticed a quote that I had written down months ago from naturalist, John Muir. He said, "Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt." Adam and Steph used part of their recent weekend to follow those words as they traversed some trails at a river restoration site in Chicago. The pictures that Adam sent reminded us of our own Hemlock Crossing County Park.

That same glance reminded me that I am still one coin short of completing my collection of nickels, a 2009 D. So if you come across what has turned out to be a rare 2009 D nickel, please help fund my collection and send it to yours truly. It seems that the US Mint stopped minting those nickles in large quantities that year.

Otherwise, today will be a good day to read and stay cool and then pick up my new glasses. The fur-children will not be pleased, but they would be even less pleased to be on a walkabout in the nearly 90º heat. Ciao.