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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 1, 2011 3:12:47 GMT -5
It rained... steam.
Forecast tonight said for the month of August there was a "trace" of rain. Pretty much, it rained over a small section of Austin for ten minutes last week. One cloud peed on my house for ten minutes. Your pick. Whichever. Anyway, it didn't amount to even one millimeter of rain over all of Austin in a month. My teeney little chunk of Austin was lucky I guess.
My cactus is still alive, but fugly as hell and withered. It's gonna love the sprinkles we get this weekend.
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Post by luditesupreme on Sept 1, 2011 5:10:50 GMT -5
i'm glad it lt rined for you lob
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 2, 2011 7:49:56 GMT -5
The forecast failed, it was too optimistic. Not a 20% of chance of rain today through the weekend. Back to zero. Sunday we have a 10% chance of rain.
Today will be 101, same as tomorrow. Sunday, "rain day" will be 100. That means Sunday will be day 79 of triple digit weather. When 2011 ends, one out of every five days the temperature was at least 100 degrees. Fuck me.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 5, 2011 7:28:04 GMT -5
I don't blame our local meteorolgists. I still love my boys.
My whole city is clutching at straws, well, almost all of Texas has been. We wanted to believe it would rain. It didn't. In four months it has sprinkled on my house only once. The last three days the temperature was 101. That is 80 days, and I predicted it exactly right. I know the weather patterns here and know what to expect from the first week in September in Central Texas (except it should be wet right now) but the heat wave just might finally be over, this week will be in the low nineties for our high temps. That will be refreshing as weird as that might sound to all of you north of me.
There was no rain this weekend. The heatwave did break last night. The highs this week will be in the nineties, the lows in the fifties, and no rain in sight for at least another week and a half. We had hoped that the storm system slowly hovering in the gulf would bring rain, but it only brought us the highest speed winds we saw all year. And that is a perfect storm. Enter the past 24 hours around my fair city.
I was about to post here yesterday when I caught the news. Roughly nine brushfires, grassfires, and major fires in what appeared to be nine different areas. Just corrected, eight major wildfires in my area yesterday. That has never happened here before. I was shocked earlier this summer when we had two smaller yet big fires in one day.
Right now there are five fires in the Austin area. 30 miles northwest from my house in Steiner Ranch, the whole community was abandoned and around forty houses were lost. Only 10-20% of the fire is contained at the moment.
In Bastrop about thirty miles east of my house, there is a sixteen mile long fire and maybe 400 houses were lost there yesterday, last night, and as I type these words. 5000 people have been evacuated. 16,000 acres caught on fire.
One state park I have camped at is on fire, Pedernales Falls. One spot I have swam at a dozen times over the years is on fire, Pace Bend State Park.
Just found out that another water-spot I have enjoyed fifteen miles from the Steiner Ranch fire at Hamilton Pool, is also on fire. Gorgeous spot with a waterfall, but no dogs allowed (read that again and think Snoopy of Peanuts fame).
KTBC Fox news is providing the best coverage if you want to see multiple stories about the fires. Only for the curious.
Slight change of subject. The National weather Service is currently crunching summer weather numbers. Texas in 2011 will soon be declared the hottest state ever in a single year in the entire history of the United States. I just spent a summer working outdoors in that crazy bullshit.
Pray harder Wulfie, pray harder!
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 5, 2011 7:45:11 GMT -5
Oh, for the rasslin' fans, the Undertaker lives in the Northwest area that is seeing two major fires. It is very possible his house is currently in some form of danger. Just heard another twenty homes were lost in that area, so probably 60 houses have been lost within a few miles of where Mean Mark hangs his black hat.
And Bastrop has lost "at least 400 houses" but the number is expected to be much higher. The fire is 16 miles long by 4 miles wide. The news has called the fire "catastrophic". Austin Pets Alive who taught me how to treat Chavito for his parvo, took in all the Bastrop shelter's animals. Amazing people at APA, I need to start volunteering with those good folks.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 11, 2011 1:36:55 GMT -5
Monday will likely be day 81.
So my people have changed, for the better. We are more compassionate now in Texas and we are stronger and heartier. Ninety degree weather, universally here and now, is refreshing and a "cool" day. Our tolerance for heat is unreal.
1500+ homes burned down in Bastrop out of 5000 homes. The fire is 40% contained. This week saw new fires erupt everywhere including in San Antonio and Houston.
The average temperature in the entire state of Texas was 89.5 during the last three months. It is now official. In the 235 year history of the United States, the hottest state ever in one summer was Texas 2011.
We are Texas, we stand tall, FTW. Bring 2012 and the records it will shatter.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 11, 2011 10:50:01 GMT -5
Wow I didn't notice that it was 101 yesterday. I thought it was 94 or something nice and refreshing. Today will be over 100 as well as this Monday and Tuesday. The record was 69, is 81, and soon will be at least 84, and I'm now guessing 88-90.
The sky is still smoky in all directions, just not as bad as the middle of the week. The sky was dark in one direction and darker in the other direction. Mostly kept the pooches in.
When it finally pours buckets of rain, I will go to one of the most dangerous spots to be in Austin, but I know my 'hole and I know how high it floods and I'm aware how quickly a flash-flood occurs in that creek. People have died before, but not me. I'm going to sit on the banks of Gus Fruh with two pints of beer, one mine, one the creek's. I'm going to cheer my 'hole and watch it fill up again. And I'm going to be soggy when I finally get home to my pooches. When it finally rains.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 12, 2011 3:54:40 GMT -5
Good news for me. The cactus is wilted. Parts of it dried up. And I noticed yesterday that after living in my house for over five years, in THIS evil weather, the cactus finally reproduced. It is now surrounded by three quickly growing cacti, all already about five inches tall. Two weeks ago they didn't even exist. However much we as a species shit on this planet, we will be survived by the plants and critters that someday will retake this once green and blue sphere.
Reminds me off a discovery I made at Caterskill Creek in the Catskills of New York over a decade ago. An abandoned road in the middle of nowhere in the woods. Saplings and plants were tearing that asphalt abomination apart and shooting to the sky. when we have finally snuffed out our own species, trees will someday sprout on every bit of asphalt and on top of every building.
You might think that is dark, but that road falling victim to plantlife will always be one of the most beautiful sights of my life. The earth will reclaim herself from us someday, and frankly, our species deserves our future. I'm glad I don't have human kids, just puppy kids.
Cheers to that broken road in upstate New York, you gave me hope that everything someday far in the future will come back to its natural balance, without the albatross of humanity around your neck, my dear mother nature. A Cheers to that broken road stuck abandoned in the woods!
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 15, 2011 2:23:57 GMT -5
Texas Chainsaw Massacre fans, go straight to the bottom paragraph and enjoy the picture, it did not burn down. I am going there next week. Oh, the infamous Chainsaw house still stands, but the house itself moved about 45 miles north to Round Rock, Texas, and has been a restaurant for a decade, at one point named "The Three Bears" and even screening The Texas Chaisaw Massacre in, I believe, the old dining room. Central Texas rocks. Except for the La Nina years. Day 84. Huge Dallas fanfare yesterday. Their record, apparently, also was 69 days. They hit 70 yesterday. Dallas is a town of pretentious and plastic Texas assholes that are always behind the rest of our classy communities. Hey Big Evil D, Hey Deep Elum, fuck you and your suburbs full of MADD pushing housewives and violent gangsters everywhere else. Denton, north of Dallas, the hometown of The Von Erichs is a hippy-cowboy town. I dig it and I'm down with hippy-cowboys, just not hippie homeless white kids. Lazy poseurs. Anyways..... My favorite meteoroligist has been grumpy to my ears for three weeks. He now lies out of love. He calls 101 degrees "99" in the forecasts so often nowadays and follows it up with "it will probably be a few degrees hotter". He knows what he is doing, but he has the most thankless job on teevee in Austin 2011, so cheers Zach Shields, keep lieing to us as long as you pity our sorry, sweaty, desperate-for-good-news asses. Hey, he predicted back in November 2010 that we would be facing the hottest summer ever. My man, my poor forcaster, Cheers and thank you for the early heads up, I did and still am appreciating it. So today was in the hundreds. Tomorrow is suppossed to be 99. We'll see. Yesterday we broke the record for a new high for the day established in 1924. Monday broke the record high from 1918, and was the hottest day ever in September in Austin, at a sunny 104. So about 75-80 percent of the Bastrop fire is contained. 1,535 homes burned, two human deaths, many horses, cats, dogs, and other farm animals were burned and are suffering or died. The fire grew from 16 X 4 miles in the first sixteen hours last Monday Morning to 26 X 20 miles two days later. My pal Reyna and her loved ones are safe. Hey Reyna, Cheers to ya again girl! This picture was sent to me by my co-worker and co-bartender "Slayer" Mark aka "The Peso". Hills Prairie Gas Station about twelve hours ago. THE GAS STATION IN THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Outside of Bastrop, Texas on Farm Road 304, and I quote The Peso, "Prolly 8 mi sw". Only a Texan can send a text like that! About 35 miles from mi casa. And my landlady emailed me asking me to water the trees. First time in five years of living here. Brutal summer. Attachments:
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 15, 2011 14:16:18 GMT -5
Just noticed in the picture above that Bilbo's Texas Landmark has a "for sale" sign in front of it. Who wants to raise money with me and buy it? I actually know property buyers and former restaurateurs in the area. I think I will call them up. Anybody want to pitch business ideas, relinquish the rights to your ideas of course, for that property? I'm gonna brainstorm at work tonight.
Update, four new baby cacti total around a wilted "mother", two to three inches high and about seven inches wide. Little babies I Cheer ya all, welcome to my Texas, rain is coming in three weeks! Thrive dammit!
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 17, 2011 23:52:46 GMT -5
So the heatwave broke. 85 days over a 100 and except for a freak weather or cosmic event (such as the coming of Galactus), it is finally over, fall is creeping towards Texas. It was 91 today. This week's high will only be 94, and the coldest day will only get up to about 87. That might be the coldest day since possibly March. Anyway, my window is open for the first time in six months. It's the little things....
The Bastrop fire is now 85% contained. Should be out by Wednesday. What a sad nightmare that became.
It finally rained this afternoon, rather sprinkled about a quarter inch over a few areas of the city, but not everywhere for three hours. Tomorrow it rains again and on Tuesday it is a possibility. Rain. I can't believe how odd it was to see grey clouds again and rain dropletts.
We are still in a 23.6 inch rain deficit and the drought is expected to last until December. But we'll take any rain we get and be happy about it. Bring the storms! Cheers clouds, don't go away!
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 19, 2011 21:43:13 GMT -5
I just want to take a minute to explain why I keep adding to this post.
As the days of heat passed on and records broke, this became very personal (though I am sharing it with WYH instead of writing it in some notebook I may or may not have been keeping for almost twenty years now with odd and random entries) and this became my alternate journal that I feel compelled to follow to till the Bitter End this year. So sorry to bore, but you can skip this thread if you wish. Regardless, Cheers for spending some time reading of the woes down here this summer.
So it rained over small areas of Austin on Saturday. My house got sprinkles. The next day it rained again in other parts of Austin. I didn't notice any clouds or even "steam". It rained 0.16 inches on Saturday. That is the most significant rainfall in 48 days. A real rainstorm was so many months ago, I can't recall anymore. No rain chances today or tomorrow. Things have dried up again. News just corrected me. We are in an over fourteen inch rain deficit this year.
When it finally storms, I'm going to film the flashflood at my 'hole as it occurs. That will make up for the loss of three years worth of pictures I wish I still had, goddamned phone thieves! I almost wish that old brain cancer on ya, but that is too much. May I find you, and I will.
When I recovered my phone, the thieves had replaced my pics with theirs. I'm pretty sure one of 'em works at my dogs' vet office. Long story, but they were that stupid, and she even denied that I left the phone at the vet's. I'm not tooooo vengeful so I'm just waiting to get her fired the next time I take the pup to the vet. Fuck the cops and their waste of my time and their "help". Her boyfriend is in a pic and his band has played at my restaurant/bar. Austin is a small large city, other musicians had identified him for me by the next day.
When I disconnected that phone, I think they decided to ditch the phone and "do the right thing" by returning it to my workplace three weeks later. Cleared my contacts and pics, but left my text messages. Very lousy criminals. I'm coming, ya'll, don't fret.
Don't fuck me over, I give receipts, and especially not this hot summer when I needed those pictures as a reminder of my 'hole's glory.
The Bastrop fire, week two, if 95% contained. 1535 houses lost, and of the top of my head, 45,000+ acres burned. Firemen are REAL heroes and truly protect and serve the public as the people's servant. Cheers to those brave men and women!
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 24, 2011 9:13:07 GMT -5
The good news is even though rain hasn't been recorded over the last two days, and I have no idea when it sprinkled, but I have woken up to mist and the slightest of puddles on my porch. It might rain late next week.
The bad news is that it is going to be 100 today and possibly through Tuesday. If we get those highs for the next four days, we'll be at 89 days. Practically one out of four days it was at least one hundred by the time this fucking evil year finally ends.
The Bastrop fire week three starts tomorrow. 95% contained at the moment. My gal Reyna visited a few days ago, and I'm glad she's well.
Dos Equis is great breakfast beer, and I coined that term over a decade ago. Cheers Sinners!
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 25, 2011 2:01:19 GMT -5
We barely dodged 100 today, 98-99 in Austin depending where you were in town. I was lucky, it was 98 in South Austin.
Tomorrow and Monday WILL be 102. Tuesday is going to be a refreshing 95-98 degrees. This shit won't end. My brother who lives just a bit southwest of me doesn't believe me that any rain occured in my neighborhood this week. Not on the news, but I am convinced it "misted" hard around my back porch, front steps, and truckbed. Or the sun has melted my pea brain and I am seeing mirages of tiny puddles. Whatever, FTW.
Siera Nevada Torpedo IPA will do the trick. Hops are a thirst quencher, trust me, I know these things. Cheers Sinners and enjoy your weather, it beats mine!
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 25, 2011 17:58:58 GMT -5
It is nearly 6 PM and it is a windy 102 outside. The high was 105.
I was on my way to visit my brother and nieces and within a mile of their house when I called my brother with the latest and last update. I had just driven into a cloud of smoke in the middle of a typical neighborhood, and the fire I saw from the highway five minutes before and was trying to track was one mile from his house. I told him to get out immediately and I did a quick u-turn and drove out of the smoke. I took a few pictures from the side of the road about 3/4 of a mile from my brother's home. I'll look at them later. Fire trucks were driving into the large brushy and woodsy area between homes, teen boys running towards the fire to help, many families watching, and a woman across the road crying. I debated taking her picture but decided it would be wrong.
My stubborn brother is still home checking the progress of the fire on the interwebs. I told my oldest neice to get a waterbowl ready for her pet crawdad. It's the little things. I'll check my pics later and I might post some.
Summer sucked, and today we had our first bad day of the fall. This shit won't end. Most of Texas is under a red-flag burn warning today. The Bastrop fire started three weeks ago and was the largest fire ever in Texas history. It still is only 95% contained as it has been for five days. Three freaking weeks is a long time for a fire to burn.
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