In Climate-Change Jail...

[halfshellvenus]

Ughhhh. It's been oppressively hot and/or smoky here for 4 1/2 weeks now. On the few days where the highs have been < 93o, there's usually been too much smoke to exercise outside. I've only been able to ride outside 5 times over these many weeks. FIVE. :O

Comments

[ellinou]

Is that... a Homer Simpson head on an octopus body?

[halfshellvenus]

Hahahaha! It does kind of look like that, doesn't it? But no-- it's a regular octopus head (not that those aren't kind of weird on their own). I can't explain the yellow-orange color scheme there-- someone must have thought those seemed like "fun" colors. Usually, the colors are more realistic. Though I once had a "grow it yourself" vampire, and what would that even mean in that context? ;)

[dadi]

OMG what is this thing? Is it alive? You know, with it being 2020 and all, I'd not risk having strange stuff growing in my house :D

[halfshellvenus]

Hahahaha! It's some sort of rubbery material that gets manufactured into shapes, and then you put it in water and watch it grow. Very slowly. It will be DAYS before it reaches its final size (whatever that turns out to be). Once it has, you can take it out and leave it on the counter or wherever, and the water will slowly evaporate until the thing returns to its original size.

It's like a cheap, freaky science experiment you can do in your house. ;)

And given that this one was octopus-shaped, it was too weird for me to pass up. :D

[bleodswean]

This is pretty damned bad, K. For us the Camp Fire smoke was worse because it was solid for two weeks...and it wasn't trees. They are saying the air quality is worse with this - 549?!?!? I don't know. I give up. I have two air purifiers on order.

Hang in there!

Have you seen My Octopus Teacher on Netflix? Tissue warning.

[halfshellvenus]

Our weekend air quality forcast was around 600 both days, which I don't think I've ever seen before. Not sure it made it up that far (I hope not), but holy cow. The worst I've EVER seen was during our trip up I-5 while the Camp Fire was going on. It was like driving through fog, and we tried to avoid gas station and rest stops (to avoid letting that air in the car), but that smoke zone went on so long that we gave up trying. More unexpected smoke in Oregon, too, because of a fire to the West of Grants Pass that was blanketing everything from Ashland to almost Roseville. Really, near the border it was impossible to know which fire the smoke was from

[openmoments]

Sending so many blessings and prayers and everything I've got your way so that some surprise rain will fall on everyone in your area. I can't even imagine and kudos to all of you for holding on the way you are.

I miss biking. Which I keep saying and then do nothing about it, but I'm still just not sure I'm ready to face the city on two wheels. It still makes me nervous and I know the best way to tackle that is to just do it, especially since the number of pedestrians have significantly decreased with the onset of fall. Maybe that'll be my goal for this week!

That octopus was the weird, creepy thing I needed to perk up my day a bit! I kind of hope you do stick it in the tub and see how big it'll grow. Just for funsies!

[halfshellvenus]

Thank you so much! I never thought I'd long for rain so much here, but it would sure help. Unfortunately, we're not likely to get any in the parts of Northern California that are burning unless it's part of a thunderstorm system, which usually brings more lightning. If this like most years, we might not get rain until November

[openmoments]

Fingers crossed you get rain sooner than expected, then. Miracles may still happen!

Our part of the city is actually relatively quiet and we’re right across the street from a park so it really is on me to just...get on my bike and get more comfortable. 😅

LOLOLOLOL I can’t wait for more updates on Mr. Octo!

[lyssa027]

LOL I used to love those grow toys when I was younger ;) I'm amazed with how big that octopus has gotten

All the devastation is so bad :( I really hope you get some rain soon

[halfshellvenus]

He's even bigger today! I think his limbs are almost out to where the edge of the water is in that picture. Parts of him were starting to escape, so I had to add more water in. \o/

I wish it would rain here, but it's just not the season for it. The only rain we might get is the kind that comes with thunderstorms, and that's what started all those fires to begin with. Oregon might get luckier, though, at least from near Roseburg and going North. That's a much rainier climate than here. Ashland & Medford's summers are a lot like Sacramento's, unfortunately, though at least those fires are smaller than the others.

[lyssa027]

I need to get one myself now, out of curiosity ;)

[halfshellvenus]

I have to admit, the octopus is the most fun of all the ones I've tried so far. Because of his limbs, you get a better sense of how much he's grown. Though the dinosaur one was also pretty cool. :O