Today I helped my mom install DSL service for her new computer. Now we're all online, lol.

Well, I spent the day watching tv, doing planning, and sitting on my butt. It felt good. I even took a nap today. Leroy had his last day at Zoo camp. He really seemed to like it a lot. I asked him who he liked, and he said one of the counselors (Nathan) was nice. The counselors spoke fondly of him, which is always great to hear.

I then drove Leroy over to my Mom's for the evening. This brought moments funny and scary. First, the funny: Leroy asked why he had to go to grandma's (translation: I want to go home and see what dad's saved on TIVO for me). I told him, "Daddy and I need to spend some time alone together." He then asked what we were doing (translation: What fun am I missing out on?) I wasn't going to go there because the details of date night are not suitable for family conversation, so I changed the subject and said, "Why don't you pick what we do tomorrow?" He's decided were going to stay home (and watch lots of Noggin and Sprout on TIVO).

During the drive, we ran into a scary situation, a large high-speed chase came up from behind us on the major freeway connector, and came to a halt about 20 yards in front of us. I then had to drive around them as the officers had the suspect at gunpoint on the ground. ACK! Commute time was exciting enough without that (I ran into a bunch of traffic even after getting out of that).

August 3, 2006

I went back to my classroom today to start getting ready for the start of school. Sigh, I have lots to do. First, they've moved our classes, and there is still stuff from my room's previous tenant that were not moved out. Also, all my stuff is piled in the middle of the room. Next week, I'll take Leroy in (with a bunch of DVDs) and start bringing order from chaos.

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I'll be teaching a non-accelerated (below grade-level) class next year. This is requiring some adjustments in my planning, which is a PITA, but should all be manageable.

August 2, 2006

Well, the temperature has stayed in the 80/90s which, after last week, is a joy. Leroy is at Zoo camp this week. He is really into animals this summer, so he is having a great time. They must be running him ragged because he is eating like a horse. He still has swimming lessons, which are much less comfortable with cooler temperatures. He is shivering by the end of the lesson. He likes to lay on the sun-warmed cement, like a reptile, to warm up.

Next week I'll be going back to my classroom to start getting ready for the new school year. Once I'm planning, I usually start getting very excited about the new year, so part of me is looking forward to this.

July 29, 2006

Wow, this cooling trend is nice. Of course we had a statewide death toll over 120 for that two weeks of heat that just passed. It wasn't even up to 90 (cool for a summer day) in Sacramento. We had made plans to go to the Bay Area earlier. It was even cooler there (the low 70s). There was fog in the Berkeley hills where we were. It was delightful. It was also funny because locals were caught flat-footed and shivering in the weather. I had planned ahead with layers and windbreak so we were fine. This is funny because it's a local sport in the San Francisco Bay Area to watch the tourist in shorts during the summer, as they freeze their rear ends off. The normal summer weather pattern is that as it heats up inland, it creates a "fog machine" near the coast as the hot air from inland hits the cold ocean (flowing down from the Gulf of Alaska).

I watched Mystic River the other day. SPOILER COMING:

Very disturbing, and not just for the violence and theme centering on childhood sexual exploitation. The ending lines with Laura Linney giving her blessing to husband Sean Penn killing the wrong person boils down to he was weak, you are strong, so might makes right. Terry's comment, "How come the weak never seem to use this excuse?" Would they if they could I wonder? Anyway, some folks thought the ending was out of context on IMDB. I think it was disturbing, but set up for in earlier scenes, and lord knows there are probably folks in South Boston, and South Sacramento who believe this line of thinking.

July 27, 2006

Sigh :-). That smiley is because the heat wave has broken. I can hear my wind chimes blowin' in the wind -- and not that hot Santa Ana type blow, but an honest to god delta breeze. Leroy was shivering after his swim lesson at 7 p.m. but it was still in the 80s.

Just in time because heat related deaths have made national news (it was on NPR national summary this a.m.) and here's the local coverage in the Bee.

I've recently finished reading Forty Signs of Rain a global warming sci-fi novel from Kim Stanley Robinson (he wrote the Mars trilogy). Nothing like extended and record-breaking heat while you're reading about potentially catastrophic climate change. Maybe I should have cooled off at the theatre watching An Inconvenient Truth?

How hot is it?

Hotter than Hades
Dry, wet, at this temperture does it really matter?
Too darn hot!
Do I look like a meterologist? It's hot man!
Too friggin' hot for words.
I'm m-e-l-t-i-n-g

I don't think he'll get a NIH grant...

In a scene reminiscent of the Ig Nobel prize in entomology in 1994, my son Leroy decided to experiment with ants. Specifically, he tried to recreate "ants in the pants". Literally. He then began running around the playground with his hand in said pants, grabbing his business, yelling about his penis being bit.

Ta heck with chuckling about it when he's grown, I laughing my ass off now!

July 23, 2006

Well, the temperature has soared, and it's been humid too. It got up to 60% the other day, and was sticky this a.m. Now, for those of you in really humid areas, I know you're laughing, but really, 50% humidity on top of temperatures from 105-110 is really just the marichino cherry on a cow turd sundae of weather. It's not the humidity itself, but on the base of horridly hot weather, it's bad.

So, we took advantage of the weekend to go to the coast in search of more temperate weather. We aimed for Bodega Bay, which was a zoo. It might have had something to do with the upcoming salmon run (supposed to start Tuesday). Lots of boats, rvs, etc. all trying to get into the state beaches, which were full.

We went south to Dillon Beach (also on Bodega Bay) where someone was kind enough to put up a sign saying that the beach lot was full back at the junction (rather than two miles down the road at the lot). Very civilized people there. So, then we worked our way down to Tomales Bay, which was extremely pleasant and not too full. We stopped at a road side coastal access and didn't try the state beach lot. The water was cool, but not freezing (Tomales is an almost enclosed inlet which might have warmed the water a bit). The air temp was a pleasant 77 degrees. It varied from 72 - 78 the entire time on the coast, just wonderful! I was hoping for fog myself, that's how batty the weather has made me, but I was happy to settle for warm with a breeze. We're thinking of a return trip in a couple weeks.

Next weekend, we're going to the Bay Area. I'm guessing that after a week of it being 105 degrees here inland, this will start the fog machine on the coast going, so it may even be socked in (certainly at the western beaches of San Francisco).

July 21, 2006

How hot is it? Well, at 10 p.m. it's a balmy 89 degrees with 50% humidity. Now that is not a drenching level of humidity, but combined with the high base temperature, it's yucky. No delta breeze (the river breeze that comes up at sundown). It goes up above 100 for the next few days.

Tomorrow we go to Wacky Water Day at Fairy Tale Town. Basically, it's a giant water fight on a kid's playground. I'm looking forward to it. Also FTT is pretty shady with lots of old London Plane trees, and oaks.

Leroy finished up climbing camp, and had a great time. He climbed over two stories and learned to belay and climb with a rope. They also did boulder climbing. They got to play in the mud on the last day. I love places where they let the kids get dirty!

Tomorrow is also the first planning session for replacing Fort Natomas (which was burned down last month).