-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

swimming practice

We found it hard to get going this weekend. I think it was the heat. It was in the low 90s - inside and out. I actually didn't mind. Low 90s, high 80s I can handle, and I like to feel warm for a few weeks out of the year. It's been great wearing shorts around and so on. Anyway, we finally got out of the house Saturday night to see Moon. For the aerospace-inclined, and even the not so inclined, it's definitely worth seeing. It was creepy and thought-provoking. B and I have been talking about it ever since we saw it. In a rare exception to standard Sci-fi behavior, I found the characters believable. Unlike in Sunshine and Starwars, rational human behavior was not abandoned. (I know some disagree with me on this.) I thought, in general, the characters acted fairly rationally.

Sunday we ventured to Rattle*snake lake. A lake named like that in TX or even Virgi nia might give me pause, but not in Western Washin gton. We got the dog swimming, always a fun challenge. He was doing this thing where he'd hop along on his hind legs while paddling with his front legs. It was very funny. We took him to the lake last weekend as well, and we had a float out with us. We basically dragged him out, and when we let him go, he high-tailed it (literally) back to shore - but first stopped to grab the float in his teeth. We'd been letting him rest his paws on it, and he clearly detected that it would keep him safe from drowning. Such a funny creature.

3:30 p.m. - Aug. 03, 2009

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

beer squabbles

Unbelievable. Being the president is a pain in the neck!!

11:29 a.m. - Jul. 31, 2009

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hot, hot, hot

It has been really hot in Seattle lately. Really hot. The all time record high every for this city was 100 degrees. Yesterday, it went up to 102. I went outside just to feel it.

The thing is, no one around here has air conditioning. I, like many people, don't even own a fan. It only gets hot - above 90 - one or two weeks a year, and they're always sold out. However, 102 is a different kettle of fish. I went home after work yesterday, and my house was a sauna. It was also a sauna outside. It's been basically too hot to be in the house for the last few days. Tuesday I went to the library. Wednesday I went up to Alki Beach. Sitting in the house is absolutely unacceptable. They have "cooling centers" set up all over the city and are encouraging people to go to libraries. I hope senior centers have A/C. I can't imagine my Grandma (if she was still alive) sitting around in this heat.

Today is supposed to be the last really hot day. I'm determined to go swimming after work. Tomorrow, the high is 88. Personally, I love hot weather. In Virginia, it was in the 90s for 2 or 3 months every year, and it was great. We went swimming a couple times every day, went to the lake on weekends, and so on. However, we also had A/C. I have to say, 100 degree heat is very different when you don't have A/C. I'm just glad that a lot of public buildings do. I imagine there are plenty of hot places in the world where people have nowhere to go. I imagine people get acclimated after a while.

8:39 a.m. - Jul. 30, 2009