It's Bound To Have Happened

Up until yesterday, there had only been one day of 100 degree temps in the Dallas Metroplex this year. For the hottest time of the year for us (last two weeks of July and first two weeks of August) that is a good thing. Today, brought in the second of those 100's and for the next 7 days, it will be 100,102,103, with heat indices of 105 to 110 (That is just bite the bullet and get through it) .

The way we handle that is like most people of Australia---you close up the house and stay inside until after sunset, then you venture out. The only problem this year is that the over night lows are stuck at 80-81 degrees F. Not bad, but, with dew points in the 70s it's still feels like 100 at 10 o'clock. That heat index is a killer, especially from 105 to 110 degrees F and the weather service has posted warnings.

That big High is moving back over us for the weekend and the hottest days of the summer will rule this weekend before it slides on out of here. It has blocked the Jet Stream and all the storms that can bring rain and cooler temps is running all across the Great Lakes latitudes.

This morning, I made one lap of the lake and birds and butterflies were trying to stay cool and a couple of ducks were fishing under the docks of the marinas where it was cool shade. On the lap out of the lake, it was a quick stop at Aldi's for some Moose track ice cream and a water melon (my second of the season). So, it's inbound and down while this heat cooks every thing from tires to pavement. The water trucks were out watering down the runways at DFW to keep them cooler. When plane tires hit that 140 degree surface at 135-50 MPH, rubber is left on the runways in greater amounts and besides that, the plane weights and hot surfaces can cause buckles that can shut down runways. Therefore, spraying water on the runways is not a waste of water by any means. It is something that must be done. I watched the web cam of the the 18's being sprayed as I cooled down in the AC with an ice cooled drink of water in a glass bottle that I keep chilled in the freezer. It makes a difference on the length ice cubes stay solid in the glass.

It looks cool.

He seems cool.

His first summer in Texas

My Trips To The Lake Daily Have Been Validated

Yep! Spending two to three hours a day out in nature has now been validated as a healty exercise that reduces blood pressure, keeps aging in a slower pace and prevents some of the common pains   altogether that comes with age progression.

Yesterday, with the heat indexes at 108 and the air temp at 95 with humidity and dew points through the roof, I packed the cooler with lunch and a snack and headed toward the lake. I have found a perfect picnic table that reminds me why I have always liked lake houses and beach houses. While eating my lunch, there was a cool breeze blowing across the area coming in off the lake. It was delightful and I ate my lunch in a comfortable ambient temperature. Summer doesn't start until today but the last weeks of June always rings the door bell of summer early here in Texas. 

By 1:30 I had pointed the car toward home and spent the rest of the day (the most unbearable part) in the cool of air conditioning. Australians survive the heat by closing up the house during the day and opening it wide in the evening. Now that a sample of what summer feels like again, I go out early and come in early. Come on September!!

The developing storms in the afternoon developed as advertised. They went north of us and south of us. The city of Greenville, north east of the metroplex got hit hard with wind damage and heavy rain leaning toward 4-inches as the storms trained over the same area for hours. Then, during the evening around sunset, a few developing storms grazed the Metroplex in the sector where I live. However, there was not as much lightening, nor strong winds and the rain was gentle and still wet. My trees are growing at an alarming rate where I am going to have to give them away to someone who needs a tree are cut the back to where they become a bush rather than a tree. I don't want to do that to my trees.They have reduced that direct sun heating of brick that sends the thermometer to the 120 mark. That is the main reason why I have trees in pots on the porch. Now, my neighbor has the same.

My view during lunch

Piles of wood chips from all the damage to such majestic trees

Pile after pile of these wood chips look like ant hills

Dos Equis, I need a Stay Thirsty Grant because.......

There are gadgets invented, created (not all equally) and sold every single day of the year. We hear about some of the most promising if not the most exciting. The information overload would be just out of the universe if all of it was paid attention to when it came out.

Once upon a time, I was invited to attend a motivational speaker's presentation because at that time, he ran the hottest direct mail advertising company in the US. For nearly a week I got to pick his brain about how he had made his company one of the most recognizable organizations in the country. I never forgot the pointers that he left with me.  Not that I have been interested of late. I have been running a test experiment for nearly five years now putting into play the new technology that wasn't there when Whitt  did his thing so successfully in the early 70s.

Yesterday, I got to see, talk and observe a demonstration that kept my brain going well into the wee hours of this morning thinking about the possibilities of what this device can and could do from here on out. The problem now is more bifurcated as to what end one would want to be involved. One, do you want to use the technology and device as it is currently and develop it to its fullest, or two, do you want to be on the horizon of where this thing is going?

So, Dos Equis , with a Stay Thirsty Grant,  I'll photograph the Dallas outdoor sidewalk patio's with  the Dos Equis interesting people and blog about them  on my blog, your blog and twitter!!

This is not a toy, it's a work horse for Photographers

Legally, it can fly at an altitude of 400 feet in open terrain.

 

Dos Equis, I need a Stay Thirsty Grant because.......

http://heinekenusa.com/tag/stay-thirsty-grant/

Edited to remove copy and add the copy below.
I just learned, there really is a Stay Thirsty Grant Contest by Heinekenusa and that doesn't change a thing.  I don't need 25k, I just need a video camera and a drone !  The creative juices are already generating a list of uses for photography.