Porthole

Sally isn't running no how.

13° calm and still smoky. I can feel it inside with the windows shut. Our temps have been far below predicted. The sun has barely gotten through. 171 AQI. No rain in sight until Friday evening at earliest. Saturday it might clear up. Rain already in NW Washington.

Situation In Gulf Shores and Pensacola is code red. Sally is taking her good sweet time coming ashore. Zantac in Pcola already has 21" in his rain gauge. Sally is moving so slow that it may be hours to land and then hours to leave. Flooding is a grave concern. Winds have been getting stronger. At 1 a.m. CDT: "Currently 105mph, pressure 968mb, heading NNE at 2mph." There may be gusts much higher. 110 mph is Cat 3 and that wouldn't surprise anyone at all.

Kasey Brooks on disqus:
what will you do now sally?
"i dunno i never thought id get this far"

In the meantime in the placid Mediterranean... the medicane Cassilda has 45 mph winds and headed towards Greece.

And Hurricane Teddy bears watching. And don't forget Hurricane Paulette.

Isn't weather fun?

For: "Space Blog" 

From: Ԝ€ß☆ԜiʈCH "To Robin Williams"  How did you feel about Robin Williams?

Personally? I didn't know him. What I mean is that I don't even necessarily know my friends as well as I should. I suspect few who knew him really knew him.

And it's not just about the depression. We see what we want to see. Those who loved him saw a different person than those who didn't.

So no judgment from me. He was a great actor and funniest when in 'straight' roles where his humor bubbled authentically.

I'll remember him for Patch Adams, his role in "Good Will Hunting" and the phrase "Good morning, Viet Nam."

About me ... since you asked:

I am working on photos from 25 January, New Year's Day in Taipei at Longshan Temple.

I reviewed unit 8 of Norwegian-on-the-Web. I really need to get the grammar down. One can just plug in words but I need to get a working vocabulary as well. Working on it. I wanted to be through the 10 units by September 30th. I could do that but do it well? Maybe enough to barely 'pass' but I want/need more.

I'm not going out. I'm housebound. So today: salmon chowder, refried beans, yellow watermelon, coffee. Tomorrow? Out of bread but I have cereal. Low on milk. I have plenty of pasta and canned soups. No worries.

2 p.m.

Sally slogs through Florida then Georgia. Too much rain for some. We could use an inch or two but areas had over 30 inches and that we absolutely cannot handle that here between mountains.

I wrote an opinion piece that I need to work on further. It needs more depth of thought, rewording and citations. The title says it all: "Crossroads of covid and racism" 

AQI is still hazardous. 178 at noon.

I ate refried beans. Had my coffee. I'm looking at what has been sitting around unused. There are advantages to having to make do. Found a can of spinach and fried it up with bologna and some butter and peanut butter. Not bad!

I told Jeff (regarding his contest "Barrel of Monkeys" ) Elisa: Middle Aged Stik won; they cover the years 1994-2003 and tell a linked story; her entries can be found here: "Barrel of Monkeys Master Post"  :

Thank-you in advance for the badge. I wanted that badge!

That said, what a pain-in-the ass! And I mean that fondly. It pushed me out of my comfort zone.

I had to check the internet. Most songs of the 40s, 50s and 60s had various artists and various release dates. The writer/singer wasn't that common (or maybe it was in certain genres?). Then I had to find the lyrics (not necessairly in the same place and sometimes had to choose between versions) and then... be careful personally because I don't do nostalgia (too many traumas that can be triggered). Somehow I avoided that trap with "Secret Love" "1953 Secret Love" .

I focused on 1946-1955 because it was music that was chosen by my parents and not by me. Of course, their choices affected me and it was good for me to revisit that. "Green Eyes" "1947 Green Eyes"  (a song few know or remember) was the culprit that got me going and spurred me on. I can't get that tune out of my head! Switch channels?

All of my 10 entries are linked in "Monkeying around in September" .

Judi has chosen the Korean sijo for Round 79 of the Oriental Poetry Challenge. "Invalid Post"   It's a form that doesn't require rhyme and isn't quite as restrictive as the haiku, tanka or Tang Dynasty poetry.

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