Labor Day Weekend 2008

The traditional end of summer arrived with the Labor Day Holiday weekend. I wrapped a very long week of work by having to work on Saturday 29 August for about four hours which added to the overtime total for the week. Thus the day was completely unproductive although I was surprised to have a call from youngest sister LAC that was much too short as I had to get ready for work. I got home around 7:45 pm and, after a nice soothing hot shower, had a pizza delivered from Papa John's. I spent the evening halfheartedly watching some college football ( Missouri - Illinois; Oregon -Washington ) while surfing the 'net. I got drowsy around 10:30 or so and took a nap for about an hour and half on the recliner. When I awoke, I caught up on the scores and watched an episode of Gunsmoke and Bonanza before heading off to bed for the night around 2:30am.
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Sunday was another day largely of rest. I watched the end of the Rockies / Padres game before going out to run some errands. I checked the post office box and mailed the rent check; went over to Lowes and left disappointed as I could not find a replacement light bulb socket for my clamp lamp; went to KMart to buy some bottled diet ice green tea for my supper meals at work; picked up the Denver Post at the convenience store; and finally I went over to Albertsons and got a refund for that nasty bad watermelon that I bought last Sunday while picking up some Orange Crush, an apple pie, a gallon of milk, and some ice cream bars. I returned home by around 7:15 and watched the second half of the Colorado / Colorado St game. I had some chicken sandwiches for supper and later took out the trash.
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Today was a warm day with temps in the low to mid 80s. I believe its probable we have seen the last of the 90 degrees days and Cheyenne may not see 85 degrees anymore this year. The forecast ahead is for a cooler week with highs staying in the upper 60s and less for the most part. I also see the first significant thrust of winter weather is occurring into western Montana in the few days with the snow level down to around 6000 ' and some snow being observed in Butte. I predict our first snow here in Cheyenne will be sometime in the last ten days of September and I would not be surprised to see a snow event even earlier across the Front Range region. Earlier I talked to Matt and learned he had spent a few days in Columbia ! We will not be going to any more baseball games this season with the Rockies out of contention, but a hockey or football game may be in our future. I have Monday 1 September off, so I may endeavor over to Home Depot, Advance Auto Parts, the dollar stores, and Walgreens to see if they have anything I cannot live without. I still need to get that lamp socket and four shelves with brackets to mount above doorways for additional storage. I also need a new air filter for the White Knight and a replacement locking gasoline cap as I think the old one on there now is allowing gasoline to evaporate and escape reducing my fuel economy. One day I really need to clean the truck both externally and organize it internally and in the bed toolbox as those are tasks I have not done since 2004. As for the remainder of tonight, I will work on cleaning up and filing the piles of papers, articles, coupons, and other miscellania cluttering various places in the unit as they have taken over a fair amount of space. This should kill about an hour and a half and then maybe I will watch a movie before calling it a night around 2am.

Monday was a day that saw a clear change from summer to autumn in the afternoon. I slept good until around 12:30 and then watched the Rockies / Giants game. After a reaching a high of 80 degrees in early afternoon, a sharp cold front roared in with strong cold driving rain that dropped the temperature into the mid 40s by dark. I went out to run some errands though. I stopped by Baskin-Robbins and got myself one of those delicious iced capacinos. Then it was on to Home Depot where I found the lamp socket for my long broken clamp lamp and also picked up some pinewood shelves for above the doorways. I went on to Wal-mart for the monthly major grocery run. Among the treats I got for myself was some canned chile from Campbells and some sloppy joe mix. I returned home by around 7pm and then watched the remainder of the Tennessee / UCLA game. I then went to work on getting the clamp fixed and rewired. It took longer than I expected but I was successful, although I discovered I am missing part of the clamp which I will have to look for in the boxes in the garage. It was cold enough outside wth the wind and the rain that I had to close all the windows and the front door sealing the place up for the first time since late May. I closed the evening out surfing the 'net and watching Star Trek: DS9 before retiring around 2:30am. This week ahead is only a four day week which will be nice for a change.
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*****

Remembering the Passing of My Father 27 Years Later

Today, 28 August, marks 27 years since the death of my father, Leonard Joseph Lacey. He was born into a world of difficulty and hardship, and lived his life often in the shadow of tragedy and heartbreak. Yet he accomplished much and lived a full life with many adventures, opportunities, and successes. The challenges he faced and struggled to overcome often compelled him to make poor choices in lifestyle habits, many of which were socially acceptable but with health consequences not well known a quarter and a half century ago and more. I would like to think that I learned at least a few lessons from him and took his example and became a better and more responsible healthy individual personally. I never smoked tobacco; used liquor in a substantially smaller quantity, particularly after age 30; stopped drinking coffee in 1996; have tried to eat more fruits and vegetables; not let stress get to me; and keep my circumstances in perspective ( but I am nowhere near perfect).

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It would have a great help for me and my siblings and their families to have had him in their lives these last 27 years, but his spirit carries on in many ways that we are not even aware of on a regular basis. He did good in spite of all the obstacles and challenges in his way and his legacy is six offspring with nine grandchildren who are wonderful and beautiful people with years of continued success, achievement, contentment, and happiness ahead.

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I miss you, Dad, and I love you. I have never been or ever will be the man you were and are.

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*****

Yoda the Kitty: the Highly Unusual Kitty in Just Two Ways...

Thankfully some wonderful people found this cat at a bar being exploited and offered to provide a good loving home. This Illinois kitty has an extra set of ears but they appear to be of no function according to veternarians that have examined the critter. This cat is probably like most every other one: inquisitive, curious, loving, and always ready to eat, cuddle, and purr.
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http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2380649,00.html

*****

A Weekend of Rest

I had a particularly long week at work as the workload was of a size to merit 14 hours of overtime. Most nights I did not get home until after 4am and did not fall asleep until around 6:30am. Thus I accomplished nothing outside of work and rest over the five weekdays. My truck is still giving me trouble as the battery will not hold a charge. I had to use the juicer to get it going most everytime I started it after it sat for more than ten hours. I will have to get a solution to this issue this week. I may take the battery out on Sunday evening and put it on the charger overnight into Monday to see if that solves the issue. I hope my workshifts are a little shorter this upcoming week so I can do some constructive things on the weekdays like getting the truck into the shop for some maintenance. I will have to rent a car for the one to three days I will be without the truck, and may keep it over next weekend if I go to Denver next Sunday, 31 August, overnight into Monday 1 September, Labor Day. I am still uncommitted to this plan at the moment, but it is probably my last chance to get to Denver in the coming few months. I have thought about going to one last Rockies game on that Monday but I am undecided. It would be a nice overnight break from Cheyenne and the last one until Thanksgiving. I still hope to make it to Albuquerque for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with my sisters and their families, but I do not believe I will be able to get to Castle Rock for nearly the next four months minimally as my youngest brother has embarked on his new teaching career under challenging and trying circumstances in a failing inner city school that will keep him extremely busy and stressed even beyond where he was prior. I still hope to come into Denver a couple of time in the next few months to catch a Broncos game, an Avalanche game or two, and perhaps even a Pioneer hockey game.
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Saturday 23 August was one that I largely rested. I slept okay for many hours and did not finally arise until 5pm. My hands were somewhat stiff but no worse than they have been any of the last several days when I awoke. The pain did awaken me on occasion through the morning. The weather was largely sunny and mild with temps in the upper 70s. After a breakfast of toasted frozen waffles with syrup, I just relaxed, watching the Steelers / Vikings game and the Reds / Rockies tilt. I filled up my bucket with hot water and soaked my hands and wrists which always feels great and helps alot. I seem to have a higher tolerance to hot water temperatures than I have in the past which leads me to believe that my sensitivity in my hands and wrists has diminished due to age and this painful numbing period I am in. Around 9:15 I walked over to Dairy Queen and got myself a Blizzard with Snickers flavoring. I then spent the remainder of the evening and deep into the night watching some movies and football while surfing the 'net and just resting.
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Sunday I watched (more accurately listened to) parts of the two afternoon baseball games which both went into extra innings while I drifted in and out of sleep. The weather was partly to mostly cloudy with some light sprinkles of rain and temps in the mid 70s which was considerably better than what I saw on the news happening in Castle Rock as a small tornado was imperiling that area and throwing up a lot of dust and debris for some time. I finally left the house about 5:30 and went over to McDonalds for a free chicken sandwich and some Powerade while I read the Sunday papers. Around 7:30 I moved on to Albertsons to get some groceries: a gallon of milk, a jug of iced tea, a watermelon, some bananas, a blueberry pie, a bag of salad mix, and some hamburger buns. I got home around 8:15 and it was already fully dark. I got the battery out of the truck and put it on the charger hoping that will solve the problem I have been enduring the last two weeks. The remainder of the evening was spent relaxing catching the end of the Dodgers / Phillies game; a rebroadcast of the Bills / Colts game in the debut game at the new Taj Mahal of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; and a rebroadcast of the first Spiderman movie. I later had a salmon filet and some mashed potatoes for a late supper. Overall, my hands and wrists hurt less than they did on Saturday although there was the largely consistent presence of stiffness, numbness, and tingling. I may have a lead on finding some moist wet beading therapy gloves that may provide the best option for overall relief that I have yet to discover. A medical supply store here in town may stock such a product as the drug stores and pharmacies like Walgreens, Walmart, Target, and the grocery stores do not carry such products.
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This week wraps up the eight week stretch of five day work weeks. Next Monday, 1 September, is Labor Day which is a day off. I will also be taking Monday 8 September off. One of those two days will finally see me make it to Lowes and Home Depot. I also need to hit up the dollar stores to see if there is any fantastic bargains that are worthwhile to take advantage of. Tomorrow, Monday 25 August, marks my 64th day at my work. I am not optimistic that I will see another full 64 days ahead being there as from what I am hearing from my colleagues and through the grapevine are that layoffs are inevitable at some point perhaps as soon as early October. I will just have to see...
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*****

Another Quiet Weekend

I spent a largely quiet weekend mostly at home. After working about 43 hours the past week I was glad to have a little time down. Saturday was a cold cloudy mostly rainy day well into the evening. I had to wear sweats to stay warm as the temperature in the apartment was in the mid sixties which was nice. After sleeping in, I watched some baseball and football. I had some homemade beef stew for my supper with carrots, potatoes, celery, and stew meat in a rich thick gravy. I spent the remainder of the evening watching halfheartedly some movies on TV. I did go out momentarily to empty the trash; I also cleaned up my big living room table. I finally retired around 4am.

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Sunday saw an improvement in the weather with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60s. I watched some baseball before going out around 4pm. I checked my mail; and then went to Checker to see if there was a problem with my truck. The last three days when I came out to start the vehicle the battery was dead. I was thinking the battery was going bad but the tech at Checker determined the problem was due to a loose alternator belt which I tightened. I then went over to Barnes & Noble and did some browsing and reading for about an hour. I never get to spend as much time in there as I would like. I then went over to have some four for a $ 1 tacos at Taco Bell and read my Sunday newspapers. Walmart was up next for some grocery shopping. While I was there Todd called and we conversed for about 10 minutes while I worked on completing the shopping list. I bumped into Brant's wife Sara and we had a conversation for about 10 minutes as well. As a result I did not get back home until after 9pm. About the only item I failed to find was vacuum cleaner belts for my little Dust Devil that I have had for about 20 years. The remainder of night was spent relaxing and taking in some movies halfheartedly while surfing and doing some research on the 'net. I called it quits around 4:30am.

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My hands did hurt some over the weekend and woke me several times both nights with sharp pain, numbness, and stiff tingling. But while I was awake and active, they did not give me any extraordinary discomfort.

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*****

Record Breaking Cold Wet Respite from Summer

After nearly two months of regular summer dry heat and then some, a big change occurred with the weather across the Front Range region in the last two to three days. When I got off work late Thursday night/Friday morning, a unseasonably powerful front had passed through and we were experiencing a strong driving cold rain. The rain continued largely unabated until into Saturday evening. Friday saw a record rainfall of over two inches and temperatures that stayed in the upper 40s all day and night. Saturday saw much the same with close to another inch of rain and temperatures that never got above 53 degrees. Both day's highs were record low high temperatures and more typical of November. With the record setting rainfall from last week, these past two days of rain put the area on track for its wettest August ever. We are within a quarter inch of breaking the record of 6.73 " of precipitation set in 1930. With over two weeks left in the month the breaking of the record is a certainty. We are also ahead of the curve on annual precipitation for the first time this year with the latest flurry of rain. It been enough to even turn the prairie back to more of a green color which is unusual for mid-August

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The mountains in Colorado and Wyoming to the east and south got a decent dusting of snow with a couple of inches being observed at elevations down to 12,000'.

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Strange how things can change so markedly. After a blistering hot July that tied the record for the driest July ever, August has seen quite the turnaround as it has rained for 11 of the 16 days so far. The forecast for the next several days, however, is for more dryer conditions and a return to near normal temperatures. While the heat seen in the first two days of August is done for this year, we might still have a few days left where it can near 90 degrees for about another month. But the trend is towards less hot for the rest of the month as temperatures will probably rise at most to the mid eighties with quite a few days less than that for the most part.

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RECORD EVENT REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY

0923 PM MDT FRI AUG 15 2008

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...RECORD LOW HIGH SET AT CHEYENNE WY...

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THE RECORD LOW HIGH WAS BROKEN AT CHEYENNE TODAY. FRIDAY'S HIGH WAS 49 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD LOW HIGH OF 60 DEGREES SET IN 1888.

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RECORD EVENT REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY

143 AM MDT SAT AUG 16 2008

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...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT CHEYENNE WY...

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A RECORD RAINFALL OF 2.07 INCH(ES) WAS SET AT CHEYENNE WY YESTERDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 1.1" SET IN 1931.

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RECORD EVENT REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY

931 PM MDT SAT AUG 16 2008

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...RECORD LOW HIGH SET AT CHEYENNE WY...

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THE RECORD LOW HIGH WAS BROKEN AT CHEYENNE TODAY. SATURDAY'S HIGH WAS 53 DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD LOW HIGH OF 62 DEGREES SET IN1875.

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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=cys&storyid=17415&source=0

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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/16/colorado-sees-flood-warnings-snow/

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*****

A Largely Lost Weekend

This weekend that is about to wrap up was one that brought little if any productivity for me. I did not get home from work until after 4am early on Saturday morning and, after showering and having some watermelon, was unable to fall asleep until around 7am. I awoke about 3:30pm and discovered both my hands were once again atrophied and fully stiffened. I spent the rest of the day and night at home often doing some therapy on my hands which consisted of soaking the hands in a bucket of hot water for extended periods of time. This moist wet heat therapy seems to bring the most effective amount of relief, but once I go more than about hour or two without the therapy, the hands stiffen up again and there are regular varying episodes of numbness, tingling, and pain. I watched some preseason NFL football games as there were three games that were on I could watch portions of. For dinner I had some pizza that I ordered for delivery from Blackjack. I also did some surfing and posting on the blogs and continued to relax and enjoy some movies on tv until well into the night.

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Sunday was about the same as I had trouble getting to sleep and woke a few times due to the numbness and pain in the hands. After I awoke for good around 1pm I watched some baseball. Later I did the dishes, picked up some items, and enjoyed the solitude. This weekend brought some very saddening news with the passings of the eminent comedian and actor Bernie Mac and the extraordinary musician Isaac Hayes. Both were individuals whose work I truly enjoyed. A good rainstorm roared through in midafternoon knocking the temperatures down into the upper 50s to lower 60s for most of the rest of the day. This resulted in the apartment being about the most comfortable in late afternoon and on into the evening in nearly two months. Around 7pm I did get out and went out over to Albertsons to get some milk, bananas, vegetables, and a cherry pie. I then went over to Wendy's to read my newspapers while having some chili, a burger, and a caesar salad while I listened to Sunday Night Baseball on my headphones radio as Chicago defeated St Louis.

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I returned home around 9:30pm and did some more hot water therapy on my hands. It is still likely that I have either carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive stress injury. But further research on the internet indicates there is a strong possibility that my condition could also be osteoarthritis. I cannot even rule out that I have the beginnings of multiple schlerosis. I am unsure exactly what is wrong with me but it definitely is going to be a significant lifechanging condition for both the longterm and shortterm. If it is an acute case of arthritis I have to dismiss any plans of moving to the Northwest with its more damp climate as conditions such as that exacerabate arthritis pain. I may yet have to return to the hot desert as many other older people have and continue to as the dry heat is better for arthritic conditions.

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As Mick Jagger once sang, "What a Drag it is Getting Old" -- that sure is the truth.

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I wrapped Sunday evening watching some science - oriented programs on the Science Channel about the future of computing with Dr. Michio Kaku, a noted quantum physicist that I enjoy listening to and learning from; and a program on future renewable energy prospects.

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This upcoming week will take us into the heart of August and the end of the Dog Days of Summer as the length of days starts to become even more noticeably shorter. Sunrises are already past 6am and this week takes sunsets to before 8pm. In the next 35 to 40 days we lose over 120 minutes of daylight, more than three minutes per day. The normal temperatures have already started their decline from their peaks in the last week of July of 83 and 56. We have already slipped to 81 and 54 and by months end we will have dipped to 78 and 50. 90 degrees highs are still possible for more than another month, but morning lows can now be seen around or below 40 degrees. Within a few weeks it will become necessary to wear a light jacket, sweatshirt, or sweater a few hours before and shortly after dawn. The annual decline of summer is underway and here in Wyoming where I reside it is more noticeable in early to mid August than most any other place I have ever lived. Not that this is such a negative thing.

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This week I may get over to the mechanic and make arrangements to get some work done on the White Knight. This part of the project will include replacing the kingpins in the front suspension system; getting a tuneup and oil change; performing an alignment; and doing some other small jobs like a coolant flush. By the time it is also said and done it will probably be around $800 for this work. Part two will come in September with the complete replacement and repair of the exhaust system which will also cost about that much. I hope to get my 36" television also repaired in September which should cost less than $200 I hope. I also have to spend about $300 on the repair of my two desktop computers. I hope to get that done in October.

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With the start of football I stay pretty busy into January so it is nice to be filled with a list of projects and activities to keep me focused and in a small sense purposeful for the shortterm. With my lack of energy and troubles with my hands, I failed to get my projects done of going to Lowes, Walmart, Walgreens, Big Lots, and Barnes & Noble. I will have to get a few of these done during this week if possible.

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Before going to bed, I had some more watermelon. This is the fourth watermelon I have eaten this summer which has to be doing something good for me !

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBIT_ISAAC_HAYES?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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*****

Perseid Meteor Showers 2008

The annual Perseid Meteor Showers are underway with a peak on early Tuesday 12 August pre-dawn morning. One needs to be in a place with limited if any light pollution to fully observe the spectacle. The show is best off at start in the northeast direction where the constellation Perseus, rises above the horizon. The shower slowly moves more towards the east as time elapses before AM twilight commences. About one to two meteors per minute are anticipated at times. The position of the moon being below the horizon after 2am on Tuesday will make this the best times to observe. The Perseid Meteor shower is always among the best as the angle in which the meteors enter the atmosphere make it most favorable for observation as well as the potential for some spectacular sights.
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http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22jul_perseiddawn.htm
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*****

A Great View of Wyomingans

This week's preconvention analysis of the type of delegates heading to Denver for the Democratic National Convention in less than three weeks in Westword wraps up with an article about those coming down from Wyoming. As usual, cartoonist Kenny B is dead on with his cartoon and the accompanying essay largely rings true. Unfortunately, the ones whom are not even Republican are quite a bit worse; and believe me, its possible and does exist in relatively sizeable numbers...
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http://blogs.westword.com/demver/2008/08/delegating_denver_56_of_56_wyo.php
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*****

From Record Heat to Record Rainfall

Just a few days the Front Range was sweltering from a record long heat wave with the two hottest days ever recorded in August here in Cheyenne. How quickly things can change. Tuesday brought the end of the heat wave with quite a bang. A powerful two hours long thunderstorm with powerful winds, driving rain, and quarter sized hail pounded the area early Tuesday evening causing widespread localized flooding and some property damage. I was at work throughout the storm and the pounding rainfall sounded like millions of loud drumbeats on the metal roof at the factory to the extent it was deafening, but also refreshing with a moist cool breeze blowing into the facility. When it was all said and done, a record 2.02 " of moisture was recorded, making it easily the rainiest 6 August ever, but also the 11th greatest rainstorm in Cheyenne history. Wednesday saw a repeat but with much less rain -- only about a 1/2 inch. The two days of good strong rain bring the annual rainfall deficit in Cheyenne down to less than an inch and a half. The forecast is for thunderstorms and rain for the rest of this week and into next week. We have got to get it now, because once we get late into August, rainfall pretty much ends for the rest of the calendar year and what snow falls in the next four months will largely be dry and with only a limited moisture content. Even with all this rain here in Cheyenne and across the Front Range region, it pales in comparison to the rains that Tropical Storm Edouard pounded Houston Intercontinental with as a record 2.81 " fell there by comparison.

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RECORD EVENT REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY

0133 AM MDT WED AUG 06 2008

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...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT THE CHEYENNE AIRPORT...

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A RECORD RAINFALL FOR AUGUST 5TH OF 2.02 INCHES WAS SET AT CHEYENNE

AIRPORT TUESDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD FOR AUGUST 5TH OF 0.96

INCH SET IN 1954. 1.91 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION WAS RECORDED AUGUST

5TH AT THE NEARBY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN CHEYENNE.

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RECORD EVENT REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX

231 AM CDT WED AUG 06 2008

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...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT...

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A RECORD RAINFALL OF 2.81 INCHES WAS SET AT HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT YESTERDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 2.65 SET IN 1994.

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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=cys&storyid=17215&source=0

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*****

Green Mountain Could Be Renamed Black Mountain

As I sit at home relaxing before my night's work, I have been following the big fire on Green Mountain in Lakewood, CO that started around 1:30pm on Monday 4 August. Most of the eastside of the mountain has been burned in a massive grass and brush fire. Several hundred acres have been torched, but it looks as if the efforts of professional firefighters saved any houses and structures from a fiery demise. The fire blew down the eastside of the mountain towards homes just south of the 6th Avenue freeway near the Indiana Avenue exit. As I post, some light rain is beginning there which may slow the thrust of the fire. It is quite windy in that area. The vast slope is visible throughout most of Central metro Denver and is a quite attractive and nice area that is among the places I would like to reside when and if I return to the Denver area in the next year or two. When the fire was finally fully controlled, West Metro Fire and Rescue estimated that around 900 acres had burned.

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http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10098034

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http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=97065&catid=339

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*****

Skip Carey, 1939 - 2008

Skip Carey was the longtime voice of the Atlanta Braves and someone whom I enjoyed listening to while following baseball games for over a quarter-century on TBS. Carey, born Harry Christopher Carey II, began his long broadcast career in 1963 and joined the Braves broadcast team in 1976 just before the team went onto a nationwide broadcast over satellite and cable systems for 33 years. It was just at the end of the 2007 season that nationwide broadcasts of the Braves ended on TBS. Care was a wry sarcastic broadcaster with a rather nasal voice who was an unabashed "homer" in his presentation, oftening outrightly rooting for good things to happen for the Braves and referring to the players by their first names or nicknames during the telecasts. He also worked on the radio side for the Braves during his long career. Carey was the eldest son of the late and longtime Cardinals and Cubs television and radio voice Harry Carey, a Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster. Skip's son Chip followed him into the broadcast booth and is currently the lead broadcaster for TBS for their Sunday Afternoon Game of the Week presentation as well the ALDS/NLDS and LCS coverage on TBS in October. Skip's other son is a broadcaster for the minor league Rome (GA) Braves. He is survived by his wife Paula; and his two sons and two daughters.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_Caray
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http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/08/03/skip_caray_dies.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab
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http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/08/03/reaction_skip_caray_dies.html
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http://www.skipcaray.com/
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*****

Promise of a Once Tasty Brew Returning

When I was a teenager, there were pretty much three beers my friends and I drank: Coors, Olympia, and Schlitz. Schlitz at that time was still a highly regarded brew with a taste that was esteemed by many. But corporate ownership during the late '70s and through the '80s changed the recipe, making the beer largely undrinkable; and it soon disappeared from beer coolers across the nation for over one and half decades. Now there is news that the original quality tasting product is coming back, with a limited distribution at first before going nationally in the next couple of years. Hopefully there will also be a re-emergence of the Schlitz Dark Beer, which was extraordinarily tasty and only got better as it aged in one's refrigerator. While I have reached the point in my life where I rarely have a beer (I have only had one in this calendar year, and probably less than a six pack in the last two years), every so often its an okay treat. I will look for the new Schlitz and hopefully new Schlitz Dark as 2009 moves along.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25970479?GT1=43001
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*****

The Days of August

Here is the list of special days and holidays throughout August. Some of the days I will be looking forward to are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 26th, and 30th. Some days that are not so welcoming are the 7th, 13th, 18th, and 27th. And I thought the 11th was every day, especially over the nearly last eight years.

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August 1 is Friendship Day and National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

August 2 is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

August 3 is National Watermelon Day

August 4 is Twins Day Festival

August 5 is National Mustard Day

August 6 is Wiggle Your Toes Day

August 7 is Sea Serpent Day

August 8 is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night

August 9 is National Polka Festival

August 10 is Lazy Day

August 11 is Presidential Joke Day

August 12 is Middle Child's Day

August 13 is Blame Someone Else Day

August 14 is National Creamsicle Day

August 15 is National Relaxation Day and National Failures Day
August 16 is Bratwurst Festival

August 17 is National Thriftshop Day

August 18 is Bad Poetry Day

August 19 is Potato Day

August 20 is National Radio Day

August 21 is National Spumoni Day

August 22 is Be An Angel Day

August 23 is National Spongecake Day

August 24 is Knife Day

August 25 is Kiss-And-Make-Up Day

August 26 is National Cherry Popsicle Day

August 27 is Petroleum Day

August 28 is World Sauntering Day

August 29 is More Herbs, Less Salt Day

August 30 is National Toasted Marshmallow Day

August 31 is National Trail Mix Day

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And here is, for your reading pleasure, the list for July that I failed to list.

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July 1 is Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day and Build A Scarecrow Day

July 2 is Visitation Of The Virgin Mary Day

July 3 is Stay Out Of The Sun Day and Compliment Your Mirror Day

July 4 is National Country Music Day and Tom Sawyer Fence-Painting Day

July 5 is Workaholics Day

July 6 is National Fried Chicken Day

July 7 is National Strawberry Sundae Day

July 8 is Video Games Day

July 9 is National Sugar Cookie Day

July 10 is Clerihew Day

July 11 is National Cheer Up The Lonely Day

July 12 is National Pecan Pie Day

July 13 is Fool's Paradise Day

July 14 is National Nude Day

July 15 is National Tapioca Pudding Day and Respect Canada Day

July 16 is International Juggling Day

July 17 is National Peach Ice Cream Day

July 18 is National Ice Cream Day and National Caviar Day

July 19 is Flitch Day

July 20 is Ugly Truck Contest Day

July 21 is National Tug-Of-War Tournament Day

July 22 is Ratcatcher's Day

July 23 is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day

July 24 is Amelia Earhart Day

July 25 is Threading The Needle Day

July 26 is All Or Nothing Day

July 27 is Take Your Pants For A Walk Day

July 28 is National Milk Chocolate Day

July 29 is Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day

July 30 is National Cheesecake Day

July 31 is Parent's Day

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First Weekend of August

August has finally arrived and we enter into the second half of summer and markedly decreasing lengths of days in the coming weeks. The heatwave continues on, but the forecast is for an abatement by Tuesday as the outlook is for a few days in just the eighties, perhaps even the seventies, which will a welcome break from the last few weeks. Friday and Saturday were both historic record breaking scorchers here as the temperature reached 98 degrees both days, a level of heat never recorded before here. We did get some clouds to help quell the heat somewhat but it was insignificant. I slept poorly as a result of the heat as the fans are just not too effective once it starts to really get warm. The temperature inside the apartment lurked in the high 80s and above 90 degrees for a time. Even as climbs near midnight on Saturday it is still about 84-85 degrees inside as the outside temp has only dropped to 75 degrees.
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The intensity of seasons on the High Plains is rather bothersome at times and makes one wish the seasons were just six weeks long instead of three months. Of course, if the Earth moved that fast around the sun none of us would have existed and the planet would be a largely barren wasteland consisting of only smaller organisms. I stayed home all day Saturday after the long week of work and watched the NFL Hall of Fame inductions which had some great inspiring emotional speeches by the new members. Later I put up two shelves in the bathroom. I largely relaxed and gave some thought about going out for some ice cream or going to see Batman, but opted not to. The late evening was spent just surfing and watching some TV including a program on The History Channel about mankind and the world around 10,000 BC that included a lot of fascinating information. I struggled to fall asleep once again as it was plainly too warm to get drowsy for quite some time. I tossed and turned, perspiring all morning; I probably never slept more than about two hours straight in any stretch.
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Sunday was another day off and I slept on and off until around 1pm. My hands continue to hurt to an extent as they both feel sore and a little stiff with occasional and erratic moments of tingling and numbness throughout. Fortunately the pain is not sharp enough to awaken me like what was seemingly regularly happening in the last several weeks. One thing I have noticed in recent years is how long it takes for injuries like cuts and bruises to fully heel. On average it takes about double to triple the amount of time it did when I was in my 20's and 30's. I assume this indicates poor microcirculation in my extremities as I continue to age. I turned on the Angels / Yanks game on TBS and watched it half awake while the Rockies / Marlins games was on the radio. I fell asleep and missed the ending of both. The house was plenty hot when I awoke for good as it hit 90 degrees again but a good strong thunderstorm with about one-quarter of an inch of rain roared in around 2:30 or so and cooled things down into the low to mid 60s with the promise of a cooler evening for the first time in weeks. This was the first good episode of any rain since the first week of June. I journeyed out around 5pm and got the newspapers and put $30 of fuel into the White Knight. The price per gallon is down to $ 3.70 per gallon so we have seen about a 5 % decline in the last week to two weeks which is a nice trend and one that will hopefully continue for quite some time. I then went over to Arbys and got their 5 for $ 5.95 special -- four sandwiches and a pop -- while I read my papers. Around 7pm I headed over to Safeway to get a few groceries. I got some bananas, a watermelon, a lemon meringue pie, and a peach. I hope the peach will be good as I have heard this year's crops are outstanding. If it meets my standards of tastiness, sweetness, and juiciness, I will have to get more to enjoy in the coming weeks.
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I then returned home and did a few errands -- paying the rent, emptying the trash, washing out a trashcan, putting away some errant clothes, washing a few dishes, and picking up newspapers. The place was much more comfortable as the cooler air outdoors made into the unit. The heatwave is supposed to end on Tuesday so one more hot night at work before a brief respite occurs. Of course there are going to be more hot days in the next six weeks but hopefully there will be some regular breaks thrown in as well when it does not get much warmer than 80 degrees. As Sunday wrapped up, I spent time surfing and watching some television and doing some thinking about a number of various things. I will try to get to sleep before 3am so I can do a few odd errands on Monday before starting the long work week.
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