Tuesday, 7/20

 Yup. I'm doing it again.

For the (gasp) 25^th year in a row, I have embarked on a project. That project? Finding out how many different state and provincial license plates I see during “Art on the Rocks” week here in Marquette. It's one of the dorkiest things I do, and I can now say I've done it for a quarter century.

One of these days, I really need to become an adult

You know, I now have no idea how this started; I'm guessing I was just curious as to how many visitors Marquette hosted during one of the busiest weeks of the summer. Since then, it's evolved into this “thing” that I use to measure everything from Marquette's popularity to the state of the national economy. I suppose that one of these years I could actually NOT do it, but I have the feeling that if I were to do that I'd miss something bizarre and/or the world would stop spinning on its axis.

And these days, we should really not tempt fate.

Nothing ever really comes out of the count, other than a piece of paper on which I write the states, a blog, and this year, maybe a TV bit. All I know is that I've been doing it for a quarter century now, and I see no reason to stop. So if you happen to see me walking down the street, craning my neck in an attempt to see if a car's from Michigan or not, just remember it's only me being a dork.

As I have for a quarter-century now.

*****

Speaking of TV bits, here's last night's. Hopefully you're not too freaked out by the sight of bugs, like some of us are.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 7/20

Hopefully--HOPEFULLY--this is a little more normal of a week than last week.

Fingers crossed, at least.

There are a couple of things I'm looking forward to this week, including my annual dorky license plate count (more on that tomorrow).  First, though, I'm focusing on a mystery.  Let's just call it “The Case of the Mysteriously Appearing Beer Can”.

Three times now in the past two weeks, three times since the 4^th of July, I have noticed something very strange, something quite out of the ordinary. Three times in the past two weeks I've been walking down a Marquette street, and I have come upon an unopened can of Busch Light beer just sitting somewhere. On the 4^th it was sitting on top of a trash container on Third Street.  A week or so later it was on my walk to work. And yesterday it was in the street-side garden of my next to next door neighbor.

Every single time, it's been an unopened can of Busch Light. When I first saw a can I laughed, figuring that some underage person was soon to become a very happy underage person. But when I started seeing the cans over and over again; well, that's when I started to wonder what the heck is going on.

Lest you think I'm just seeing things, I'm not. Loraine was with me on the 4^th when I first saw it, and she was with me again yesterday when I took the picture above. And neither of us understands what's going on. Is it just a drunk person losing cans as they're making their way to and from the store? Is it a performance artist trying to make a statement? Is the Easter Bunny getting tired of eggs and leaving cans of Busch Light instead?

I don't know. But I'd be curious to find out.

I highly doubt this will happen, but if you happen to see an unopened can of Busch Light beer on your journeys in and around Marquette, please let me know. Part of me, after all, just thinks it's one strange and bizarre coincidence. But then another part of me, the part that knows the talented, creative, and/or just plain weird kind of people who live in Marquette, wonders if there's something a little more to the whole situation.

Either that, or Busch Light has developed the strangest marketing campaign in history. These days, nothing would surprise me.

So while I'm investigating this whole thing, just call me Encyclopedia Koski. And just call this whole thing “The Case of the Mysteriously Appearing Beer Can”.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 7/17

Geez. It's not over yet, is it?

The literally unprecedented (as I kept referring to it yesterday) bout of fire haze continues unabated, leaving businesses and events closed, apartments and homes smelling like a campfire, and scenes like this every way you turn your head--

That's from yesterday, and I took it because, if you look at the top of the picture, you see the sun trying to fight through the haze.

Needless to say, the sun lost.

Of course, it's not just us. Everywhere in the US east of us seems to be dealing with the smoke; many places, as well, are also dealing with the extreme heat we dealt with right before the haze appeared. So, I guess, if you wanna be thankful for small things, be thankful that the 100 degrees temps skedaddled right before the smoke showed up.

As of now (and we all know how quickly this can change) things look to get a little better today and tomorrow, if only because we could get a bunch of rain and a wind shift, both of which might help a changing jet stream pattern get rid of the severe smoke situation. Still, I get the nagging feeling that were might be in this for the long haul.

I mean, I'm hoping not, but with the way this week has gone nothing is off the table.

So with that in mind, enjoy your weekend. Stay safe. And keep your fingers crossed that the return of sunshine and warm temperatures we're promised for Sunday actually shows up!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 7/16

Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire--

This is a shot down Front Street in Marquette yesterday. And here's one from NMU's webcam on Mount Marquette, looking toward the city--

That's not fog you're looking at; that's smoke from fires around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota and Ontario. After two straight days of temperatures above 100, we're now in our second day of smoke so bad you can smell it in your house and small particles in the air that are 105 times what the World Health Organization recommends.

Not 105%. 105 TIMES. It's bad.

Really, really bad.

It's funny; 40 years ago, when scientists first started to raise the alarm about global climate change they said it would manifest itself as “extreme events”. I'm thinking that two days of temperatures above 105 followed by several days of smoke so heavy you can breathe qualifies as an “extreme event”.

Wouldn't you?

Of course, we're not the only ones dealing with this. Most of the US is suffocating under the heat & smoke, while Europe is broiling (and dealing with major drought), as well. It blows my mind that there are still people out there who deny climate change is happening. You'd think that walking outdoors or just trying to breathe would convince them otherwise.

But, apparently not.

For however long this keeps going, make sure you stay safe. Don't push yourself, and be aware of how this crud is affecting your lungs. Oh...

And keep your fingers crossed it ends some year soon.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 7/15

I don't know who's behind the project, but I highly approve of it.

Highly.

When I was walking to work yesterday afternoon I noticed someone had put painted rocks all along Front Street in Marquette, rocks that said things like –

Or this--

The rocks extended all the way down the street, including one that was set on the retaining wall outside of the station--

Like I said, I have no idea who put them there. I'm thinking it might have been a library project, because there were a LOT of those rocks near there, but I don't know for sure. All I know is that it was a nice thing to see, and something that most people may not have even noticed.

Why? Because people usually don't look down at the ground when they're walking. I mean, I usually don't at the ground myself, but for some reason the first rock caught my eye, and I soon began seeing them everywhere. I'm pretty sure that tourists—looking at all the the cool buildings—wouldn't notice them, and locals, tied up on their phones or caught up in their everyday lives, may not have realized they were there, either.

That's why I'm glad I managed to notice them. So to whomever decided to spread the rocks around downtown Marquette yesterday, kudos. I'm assuming you undertook the projects to make people's days brighter and, at least in my case, you succeeded.

Thanks!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 7/14

Yay. The weather forecast was actually right yesterday!

It's about time.

It also looks as if it'll be correct today, which means that it'll be hot and sunny, which means that I may not be going to work for a bit, So with that in mind, I'll just leave you with what I talked about on TV last night...

The weather. Because, you know, I don't talk about that enough.

8-)

I'm off to once again play in the sun and the heat!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 7/13

 This may have been one for the record books.

Now, before I go any farther, just let me say that I would not want to be a weather forecaster.  It's a science that's not always exact, and climate change is making it harder to do correctly.  Add to that the fact that you get blamed whenever the weather turns out poorly, and I'd much rather stick with the four jobs I currently have.

So there's that.

But still...you have days like yesterday.  The weather forecast called for sunny skies and temps around 90, and Loraine and I were looking forward to getting out, kicking around soccer balls, and getting some some.  However, as the morning progressed the cloud started to move in, and by the time we got to Kaufman it had started to rain.

By the time we made it home, it REALLY started to rain--

Several waves of thunderstorms moved through, and the day that was forecast to be sunny & 90 ended up being rainy and 67.  Like I said, I don't blame the forecasters; their job is hard enough as it is.  But I'm starting to think Mother Nature has it in for us, as evidence by the bottom picture here, the visible satellite picture of what was supposed to be a sunny & 90 degrees day--

The only part of the entire Great Lakes region covered by clouds and rain?  Well, that would be the lucky people in the central UP.  And don't think we don't appreciate it, Mother Nature.

8-(

Today and tomorrow call for hot & sunny conditions, and I'm hoping things turned out as planned, if for no other reason that I'm taking half days today and tomorrow to enjoy the heat.  However, I won't be too surprised if it turns out like it did Sunday.

Because, apparently, Mother Nature has it in for us.

(jim@wmqt.com)