Porthole

Stuck inside again?

I need to do the wash... can't go out.

AQI is 151, which is bad for me. Temp is only 69 at 10:30 so that's okay but it could climb another 30 degrees this hazy Monday.

I answered the QotD re Olympics:

"I remember how US TV only cared about US athletes... because truthfully? Americans still have an US versus the World mentality.

Kosovo has 11 athletes totally. Two women have won gold in judo. It means a lot to small countries.

I applaud great efforts and unexpected results. The young swimmer from Tunisia, the woman who cycles from Austria. I don't need to know more gossip and wah-wah stories about Americans.

Scandals and covid and... ... important to organizers, but not to me, I'd rather focus on results and the beauty and agony and triumph."

90 degrees outside. 143 AQI. Covid numbers are up in our touristy town so I may have to wear a mask just to 💩.

Still bad. Never went out.

JULY 27

78 degrees at 11:30. I remembered to renew my library books. Does that count?

It circles around, seeks a way in. No crevice shrinks small enough to escape its notice. We think it does no harm. We're still alive, aren't we? We sleep in at dawn, unaware that it curls around us, robs us of our breath.

88 degrees at 1:23 and 130 AQI. The sky to the south is white.

Watching new Thai TV series about embracing 'home'. First three episodes introduce us to three separate stories of what is home. One man goes back to his village to make it a better place to live after his mother is hit by a car and killed (very believable, high death-by-car rate... 3 times higher than USA). Another just wants to teach (best line... this isn't "1000 Stars") and is hit with the reality of apathy and poverty. The third has watched his parents murdered and wants 'revenge' (corruption and greed are common Thai themes). This all takes place in North East rural Thailand, perhaps in Maha Sarakham. At times there are Thai subtitles. There is one scene in episode one that says it all. The car is driving down a paved road that turns to dirt. This isn't vibrant Bangkok or touristy Chiang Mai or Phuket. This isn't "Rick Steve's Thailand".

https://betterbe.co/life/usa-maps/22/

Should I ... lose.weight/diet/fast/nap/get.my.hair.cut/vape/take.vitamins(thank-you Alabama). This is how Mid America (19 states from Arizona to New Jersey) filled in the blank "Should I _____?" Montana and Alaska answered 'vote', Hawai'i and California 'move out' while Nevada and New Hampshire focused on 'buy bitcoin'.

My comment on QotD:

"Most people's answers remind me of how different I have always been. By age 11 I knew all the US states and capitals, by age 12 I knew the world and already had a bucket list I dreamt about for years: Norway (2012), Japan (2015) , Kenya (?). I should've followed my dreams when I was younger.

Folks here seem enamored by English speaking countries and tourist hot spots. If the question were worded different Mid-Americans would have responded Vegas or Orlando, a mountain or a beach... as long as they didn't have to leave their comfort or imagination zone. I'd respond Kentucky and Mississippi.

Meanwhile, some folks here in town still think I have money. I don't. I have wanderlust. I admire people like Elvira (Mexican, met in Costa Rica and Norway), Dawid (Polish, met in Taiwan), Vincent (French, met in Kosovo) that travel and seek adventure in new places with strangers and strange food. And chat with odd people... like me.

But, alack, here's a typical WDC prompt: "tell us about your favorite burger". No one asks about octopus."

92 degrees and an AQI of 151.

AQI in places I have visited:

34 in Porto.
61 in Prishtina.
53 in Nottingham.
25 in Tralee.
26 in Lillehammer. (but higher in Oslo)

62 where I grew up.

17 in San Jose (CR)
50 or thereabouts in Taipei.
28 between Newcastle and Sydney, NSW
48 in Cape Town
25 in Fukuoka.

167 in Dubai

It's time to adjust my habits again. I'll need to wear a mask inside here and anywhere I go. It's no longer safe. Will I need to cut back my showers in spite of the heat? Do I go back to avoiding strangers and sitting further away from friends? This past year has nearly killed my spirit.

Overstated? 261 new cases is the highest since early February. The outbreak north of here in Kalispell (Glacier Park) is real.

84 degrees and 101? Coming down... there's hope. There may be rain in the area but I don't see any drops.

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