AC Update

 I built my shop during the winter of 2017-18.  Before I even poured the slab, I found two air conditioners on sale at Lowe's.  Big, 18,000 BTU units that I stored until construction began.  When the contractor asked me about cooling, I took out those two AC units and told him to frame around them.  He did and that set the physical size of the cooling for the sop.  Luckily, the units I bought originally were fairly large.

Last year, one of those units died a gurgling death.  I shopped around and found a unit that I could stab into the same hole.  Very convenient.  We were able to slide the old one out, do a little measuring and decided that the new unit, case and all, would fit in the available hole.  Slid that sumbitch in and plugged it to the outlet.

Yesterday, the second original AC unit died.  Something came loose and we thought it was going to jump out the wall.  We have shut it down.  In just a few minutes I am headed to the lumber yard and find another AC unit.  The interweb shows that they have the same unit I bought last year, which I know will fit The challenge is that I mounted those units high, 6.5 feet off the ground.  I'm going to need a couple of stout fellows to help me lift that thing into the hole.

Bertha Comes Ashore

 It looks like Bertha will soon limp into Texas, dragging a leg and will soon reach remnant status.  She has suffered with wind shear since forming and that suits me fine.

Currently, we have a light rain with 89F temps.  Wind out of the southeast at 5 with gusts to 10.  Heat index is 99F.  Not exactly pleasant, but a lot more tolerable than it has been.  In another 12 hours we will put Bertha in the history books and await the rest of the tropical storm alphabet.

Bear

 A screen grab from a YouTube short, it seems that this bear has climbed a utility pole and is resting on the cross bar.

LINKY HERE:  I hope it turned out okay for the bear.

Wednesday

 Plaquemine Parish is bracing.... well, acknowledging that TS Bertha is about to come ashore. It ain't much as tropical storms go, but if you're going to be hit, this is the one to get hit by.

Otherwise, it is just Wednesday.  We had some friends drop by after lunch and it is too damned hot to work outside anyway.  Current atmospherics are 96F with 60% humidity and a heat index of 115.  It's warm out there.   Wind is out of the NE, steady at 8, gusting to 13 and feels like a blow-drier.

I think I'll stay my butt indoors.

Horse Soldier

 If you know, you know.

Watching Bertha

 Tropical Depression Two got its act together for a few minutes last night and became Tropical Storm Bertha.  She ain't much as tropical storms go, but she will limp along the coast and cause havoc.  Eventually going into Texas and becoming a rain maker. The weather weenies tell us that she is getting a lot of wind shear from the northeast, which is ripping the north side of the storm apart.

It is what it is, and if this is the worst storm we see this season, I will be mightily pleased.

Monday update

 Checking with NOAA this morning, it appears that TD2, the storm brewing in the Gulf.  It is not meeting expectations and as of right now, it is a matter of claim that it ever becomes a named storm. It may be a rain maker, but dry wind shear keeps shaking it apart.

Is the World Cup over?  I'm still seeing reports from the visitors about how awesome the USA is.  I wonder how many gallons of Ranch Dressing they smuggled out?  The really should have taken the little packets we use as seasoning and make fresh Ranch at home.

Belle and I hosted a family reunion this weekend.  Loads of fun and family.  The final hangers-on left this morning and Belle and I are spending the day in kick-back mode.

TD Two

 Tropical Depression Two is a weird little storm that is brewing in the northeast Gulf.  It is expected to head westerly.  Strangest warning cone I have ever seen.  

If it reaches storm status, it will become Bertha.  This one bears watching, because the currently predicted landfall is in Texas.

Court Day

 Back in May, I got into a little fender-bender.  Got a ticket.  I called the Sheriff's office to see whart I owed them.

"Oh, no, PawPaw" says the lady on the phone.  "You have a mandatory court date."

I admit I was a bit baffled. No one injured, just a little bent sheet metal which the insurance covered, and I had to be in court.  So, this morning I showed up in court.  I waited about an hour for my name to be called, then went to the bar and told the judge what happened. She asked if insurance had covered it, and I said Yep.  she gave me a small fine, which I happily paid. Court costs are exorbitant, but I still got out of there for under $250.

The lady collecting the fines seemed a bit surprised that I wanted to pay it all at once.

I was a cop for 37 years.  The first 20, I spent a lot of time in the court room.   Today was the first time in maybe 15 years I had been inside a court room.  After the Oyer we said a pledge of Allegiance and Her Honor got down to business. The bailiff was a bit Foghorn Leghorn, but that is part of the job. All in all, it was not totally unpleasant.