I've got a live channel going in another browser tab, as I follow the action regarding the tropical storm currently battering the state of Mexico and parts north. Residents are wary, many having experienced flooding before. California properties are not exempt from the "laws of nature" as nature would have it. My sis filed a report about her situation (looks safe).
Some of the TrimTabbers on Saturday were likewise feeling safe enough, and therefore somewhat excited about the coming storm. I know the feeling. The satisfaction of having sufficient protection, while weathering dynamic force fields is an exciting experience sometimes. Lots of people tune in. Roller coasters are designed to be this kind of experience (and sometimes designs fail).
Events in Maui did not follow the slow buildup of suspense. The fires swept through before people had much information, if any. More like getting bombed. They surprise you. I heard an interview with Tulsi Gabbard on duty and not at liberty to play politics.
My situation is different: Portland is now getting the atmospheric effects of burning Canadian forests, more like in Calgary, where TrimTabber Ramsay is from. He was also on the call. We got to goof off on Mt. Tabor yesterday, where the Adult Soapbox Derby came off as post-covid, even though covid is still with us. I had a good time. I hadn't ascended Mt. Tabor by foot in awhile. Sydney got her walk in prior, and was happy enough to enjoy the shade of an insulated indoors.
Indeed, my environment has notched up in comfort in that Dr. D. finally induced me to allow him to install a living room aircon, one perfectly adapted to this environment. I've been one of those "only a few really hot days a year" Portlanders, stubborn about entering the air conditioning market. However this one was free, long story involving homeowner associations not always liking the aesthetic of home units. I'm not subject to such homeowner rules (beyond city codes) plus the unit is unobtrusive anyway.
This is the morning (before noon) time of August 20, and I'm in the same timezone as Angelinos (denizens of Los Angeles). What sounds like real time coverage is coming from my other browser tab. Portland is enjoying a break in its heat wave.
Given my situation is not dire, my focus, outside of mathematics videos, were climate change videos, rising water levels in Miami and Florida more generally. I've lived in Florida in my formative years. I've visited in subsequent chapters, as my wife was from there too, east coast (Satellite Beach) versus west coast (Bradenton). I don't claim to be a southwesterner to the extent Glenn was (from Glen Canyon in formative years), but a feel like I know California and New Mexico to some degree, with still expanding horizons in some areas.
My study of rising seas led to the more general science of climatology, which is all about the Gibbs Phase Rule. Temperature and pressure, plus chemical composition, results in specific exo- and endothermic processes (aka chemical reactions) designed to achieve equilibrium among the phases: gas, liquid, crystal (air, water, stone). That's an old timey alchemical-sounding formulation. The focus needs to be on the maths, the algorithms, if the goal is precise predictive models.
Humans still have a lot of optimism about their cosmic environment, in terms of solar output and projectile trajectories we know about. We're not expecting immanent incineration from outside the planetary ecosystem. We're far less serene about our internal situation, as we're a volatile species known to have some auto-immune disorder tendencies. We keep fighting ourselves, in ways that amaze even the entomologists.
"Please do not panic" the public official is saying. The public will thank you. The soap box derby was funny in that the adults were on the side of the megaphone flag people seeking to keep the track clear for the down-bound gravity powered vehicles, pushing off from the starting line. The crowd was welcome to hustle-bustle during announced intermissions.
The crowd would boo and heckle when scattered others would disobey barked instructions and try grabbing a little more distance to some better location, often a temptation. I was reminded not to sit on a hay bale, as these were collision protection devices, not spectator seating.
Both the barker and the heckling crowd were being good humored about their mannerisms i.e. the air of self parody and self mocking ("how could you?") had been achieved. No one disobedient was in danger of being mobbed or gunned down. Portlanders were simply enjoying their telepathic ability to create community theater, or perhaps the hecklers were volunteer plants. Either way, this was part of the fun we city dwellers enjoy, when not under threat from external force fields.
A takeaway from my studies: the thermal expansion of the oceans, with global warming, is a distinct phenomenon vs-a-vs melting ice, which is also happening. Or should I say "distinct cause" (same phenomenon: rising sea levels in Florida)?
The recent storms and flooding in northern China, including in Beijing itself, have been another YouTube obsession. Cleanup is more prosaic yet is just as dramatic in its own way and worthy of ongoing coverage, as is infrastructure more generally. Post-war Ukraine will be quite the undertaking, as is the refurbishing of the Donbass region (American and otherwise) is being.
