a weblog of whereabouts & interests, since 2010
The weather forecast now says the heat here in the city will top out on Tuesday at 95°F (35°C).
I like to take a picture or two of my hydrangea’s bloom every summer before the hot weather scorches the little flowers.
I watched the much-anticipated George Stephanopoulos interview with President Biden, and thought: no, that won’t do it.
To the question “Did you ever watch the debate afterwards?” Biden’s answer was, “I don’t think I did, no.”
About getting out of the race, Biden offered “If the Lord Almighty came down and said: ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race”. That does not do it for me, either.
It is hot – Seattle ‘hot’ – here in the city this weekend, with 87°F (30°C) today.
The highs are forecast to climb to 94°F (34°C) by Monday.
Happy Independence Day.
These are from my small collection of US stamps.
These coil stamps were still printed with engraved plates. Nowadays the vast majority of American-issued postage stamps are printed by using offset-lithography.
Flag Over Capitol Dome
Coil stamp Issued Mar.29, 1985
Perf. 10 vert. |Engraved |No Watermark
2115 A1498 22c Blue, red and black
Flag Over Mt. Rushmore
Coil stamp Issued Mar.29, 1991
Perf. 10 vert. |Engraved |No Watermark
2523 A1878 29c Blue, red and claret
[Source: Scott 2003 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 1]
Happy Wednesday.
Four amigos played a little pickleball late this morning, and afterwards we went for a beer and a bite in Columbia City.
This beer truck was parked across the street.
Some office workers are making it a long weekend, with the Fourth of July holiday falling on a Thursday this year.
Wimbledon 2024 is underway.
The world’s top tennis players are resplendent in their bright whites (no colored attire allowed), and their pimple-soled white grass court shoes.
On Monday, reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz (🇪🇸, 21) took on qualifier Mark Lajal (🇪🇪, 21), and came out on top in straight sets 7-6(3), 7-5 and 6-2.
I was wrong about Djokovic (🇷🇸, 37) : he is in fact playing, with a knee brace (he had meniscus surgery on Jun. 6). In the first round he took out Vit Kopriva (🇨🇿, 27) with ease, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
From the Washington Post staff:
Former presidents are immune from prosecution for their official actions taken while in the White House, but they don’t have immunity for unofficial acts, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
“A former president is entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his ‘conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,’ ” the ruling says. “There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
It seems highly unlikely that the 45th president will go to trial on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election before voters cast ballots in this year’s presidential contest, in which Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee.
So .. what is an ‘official act’, and what is not? The Supreme Court did not say and Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged it could raise “difficult questions.”
The reality is that this Supreme Court with its three Trump-appointed justices has already provided de facto immunity for Trump prior to the November election. The Court dragged its feet as long as it possibly could, before issuing this ruling, thereby delaying the start of Trump’s other three criminal trials (the Jan. 6 case, the documents case, and the Georgia election interference case) by at least six months.
Our weekend on Kitsap Peninsula was over, and we took the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry to get back to the city late this morning.
We drove up to Port Townsend from Hansville today— about an hour’s drive.
Happy Friday.
I am on Kitsap Peninsula with my amigos.
Here’s a Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) that looked down at us from its perch in a western hemlock (fir tree). These little brown squirrels are different from the Western gray squirrels we have in the city.
Later on it sat on a tree down on the embankment, and we could see it from above (thanks to Bryan for the picture).
‘Not to belabor the point, but this was a Biden campaign strategy, to have this debate’
– MSNC talk show host Alex Wagner to California governor Gavin Newsom, discussing President Biden’s poor— disastrous?— debate performance that was painful to watch.
Governor Newsom pointed out that the Biden administration delivered on many of the Democratic Party’s priorities and that voters should not write off the Democrats based on one debate’s performance by President Biden.
The City of Seattle has set a goal to reduce transportation emissions by a whopping 83% by 2030.
Providing more public charging options for EVs is part of a comprehensive portfolio of transportation electrification investments.
There were more scenes of devastation from flooding, and from damaging winds, in the Midwest, on the news tonight.
We are counting our blessings here in the Pacific Northwest, thankful for the mild summer weather we have had so far.
There was a high of 79 °F (26 °C) today, and temperatures will only reach 70°F (21 °C) tomorrow.
Airbus has released the results of a study that documents which air routes to African cities are underserved (extracts from the report below).
Factors at play are constraints on the number of flights due to bilateral agreements that are in place, challenges with capacity at airports, and economic variables such as the profitability of these routes.
Just in general, Airbus reports that the expectation is for air travel worldwide to increase by about 4.1% over the next 20 years, which would mean some 1,180 new aircraft need to be built, and 15,000 additional pilots would be needed.
Tommy Paul (🇺🇸, 27) played spectacular tennis today in London to beat Lorenzo Musetti (🇮🇹, 22 ) in the men’s final of the 2024 Queen’s Club Championships.
The qualifying tournament for Wimbledon starts tomorrow, and the main tournament starts Jul 1.
Carlos Alcaraz (🇪🇸, 21 ) is the favorite to win the men’s 2024 Wimbledon crown —even though he was not at his best here; he lost in the quarter-final at Queens, against Jack Draper (🇬🇧, 22).
Novak Djokovic (🇷🇸, 37) had knee surgery just two weeks ago— and I don’t believe he will play.
Rafael Nadal (🇪🇸, 38 ) has already confirmed that he will not play at Wimbledon this year, so that he can better compete in the 2024 Olympics.
I like to peek into the new townhomes that appear around Capitol Hill when I go for a walk.
Check out these charts from the New York Times.
There are lots of US cities with triple-digit heat index forecasts, but the hottest ones are all in Arizona.
(The second table is the same, but with heat index forecasts in Celsius).
I’d think it’s impossible to cool down a house with no airconditioning if the outside temperature does not even drop into the 80s at night time.
[Graphic by New York Times]
Here in Seattle I can still get away for now, without deploying my one-room airconditioner (I roll it out of the closet on its wheels and set it up in the bedroom for summer 😃).
For now I open the upstairs windows at 9 pm and let the cool air in.
[Graphic by New York Times]
Happy solstice!
It’s the earliest summer solstice in 228 years, or— since George Washington’s presidency.
So astronomical summer starts today here in the Northern Hemisphere.
With the scorching weather in much of the USA, it has felt like summer for many weeks already, of course.
We are going to be at 81 °F (27 °C) or so, through Saturday, here in the Seattle metro area.
Juneteenth is a day of remembrance dedicated to the last enslaved Black Americans, who were freed in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act making Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was the first federal holiday to be added to the calendar since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
– From the Seattle Times
One of the longest-lasting and strongest June heat waves in years is revving up across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
The most intense heat first focuses on the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and New England through Thursday, shifting toward the Mid-Atlantic this weekend.
– Ian Livingston writing for the Washington Post
