The days are getting shorter, with sunset now at 8.36 pm.
Here’s looking west from Capitol Hill’s East John Street & 14th Avenue.
Wednesday
Friday/ warm weather 
Happy Friday.
The Blue Angels are in town for Seafair, and the warm weather is back for the next several days.
It was 88°F (31°C) today.
Monday/ a little bit of rain 
This is the driest day on the calendar for our region*— but there was a little bit of steady rain around the city this morning.
*When looking at daily averages for 79 years of records at the Seattle-Tacoma airport weather station.
And hey! look at the neon-powder blue paint lines that the city put on for pickleball.
[Thanks for Steve K. for the photo]
Wednesday/ a ransomware attack 
Seattle Public Library suffered a ransomware attack on its network just before Memorial Day weekend. (Libraries in Toronto and London also suffered cybersecurity breaches recently. The disruptions to their services lasted several months).
Services at the 27 branches of the library are slowly returning, but have still not been fully restored.
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is a renowned magazine that combines captivating science fiction stories with scientific exploration. ‘Established in 1930, it has become a premier publication for enthusiasts of imaginative storytelling and cutting-edge science’. -magzster.com.
After the ransomware attack, Seattle Public Library issued books and items in analog mode for awhile, using pen and paper to record what was lent out.
Friday/ cheers 
Happy Friday.
The amigos met at Chuck’s Hop Shop in Central District for a beer and a bite.
The streak of warmer-than-usual-but-not-unbearable weather here in the city will continue through the weekend— 83°F (28°C) today and up to 88°F (31°C) tomorrow.
Tuesday/ at the supermarket 
Tuesday has become my grocery shopping day.
(Part of the reason: most weeks I have an Amazon Fresh coupon that expires on Tuesday).
I’m doing my part to keep food inflation down by shopping around for the items that I buy lots of: coffee, eggs, breakfast cereal, dairy products.
Cool: the shark floatie. (Careful: You will scare the living daylights out of bathers if you use that thing in the surf at the beach!
).Not So Cool: the stacks of bottled water. It’s 200% better for the planet to use a stainless steel water bottle and fill it up with water straight out of the faucet.
Monday/ sunny and dry 
There was cloud cover this morning, but it was gone by late morning.
Today was the 12th day in a row with a high 80°+ (27°C+) recorded at Sea-Tac.
(The record is 15 days in a row, and it will be broken).
There has also been no rain in July, and we have a real shot at reaching the end of July with no rain at all.
Normally, July ends with about 0.67″ of recorded rain.
What has been the driest July on record? I wondered.
Here is what the Office of the Washington State Climatologist says about July 1960:
‘All of the climate divisions of the state were exceedingly dry in July 1960 (ranging from 0.01” in the Puget Sound Lowlands to 0.05” in the East Slopes Cascades region).
Some stunningly low amounts of precipitation occurred in spots that normally get a fair amount of rain.
For example, in the coastal region of WA, Forks checked in with only 0.04” and Hoquiam got completely shut out with 0.00”.
The 1981-2010 climate normal for Forks and Hoquiam in July is 2.47 and 1.14”, respectively’.
Friday/ a lot of work, a lot of waste 
Happy Friday.
‘Are we too old (for doing) this sh–?’ inquired the old-timer next to us,
while also unloading lots of yard waste from his truck into the bay at the North Transfer Station.
‘Yes— we are!’ said I.
North Transfer Station (aka ‘The Dump’) in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood is a facility open to the public, designed to handle many kinds of waste efficiently and safely, while providing many opportunities to bring in materials and items for recycling, as well.
This is the 240 lbs (108 kg) of yard waste that we had just dumped at the Transfer Station. There are leaves and shoots clipped from my laurel hedge, as well as a few branches and twigs, from two trees.
Tuesday/ a crescent moon
We had 97°F (36°C) here in the city of Seattle today, record for this day on the calendar.
The sunny weather and clear skies will persist, but the high should come down by some 10°F (5.5°C) tomorrow.
He says: ‘Thanks to a great heads-up from @NWSSeattle Sunday, I was able to get the crescent moon and Mercury in a frame looking west in Idaho’.
Sunday
The weather forecast now says the heat here in the city will top out on Tuesday at 95°F (35°C).
I like to take a picture or two of my hydrangea’s bloom every summer before the hot weather scorches the little flowers.
In South Africa, hydrangeas are typically in full bloom in December.
That’s why we call them ‘Krismisrose’ in Afrikaans, which translates to ‘Christmas roses’.
Friday/ hot in the city 
It is hot – Seattle ‘hot’ – here in the city this weekend, with 87°F (30°C) today.
The highs are forecast to climb to 94°F (34°C) by Monday.
Wednesday/ here’s the beer
Happy Wednesday.
Four amigos played a little pickleball late this morning, and afterwards we went for a beer and a bite in Columbia City.
This beer truck was parked across the street.
Some office workers are making it a long weekend, with the Fourth of July holiday falling on a Thursday this year.
Sunday/ back to the city 
Our weekend on Kitsap Peninsula was over, and we took the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry to get back to the city late this morning.
The annual Pride Parade was underway in downtown as we arrived at the Seattle ferry terminal.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the first Pride parade in Seattle in 1974.
Happy Pride!
Wednesday/ curbside charging 
The City of Seattle has set a goal to reduce transportation emissions by a whopping 83% by 2030.
Providing more public charging options for EVs is part of a comprehensive portfolio of transportation electrification investments.
A Tesla supercharger* it is NOT: these are Level 2 EV chargers that can charge at rates up to 9.6 kilowatts (kW). Fast chargers in off-street locations such as parking lots can charge up to 50 or 60 kW.
*Most V3 Tesla superchargers can charge at rates up to 250 kW.
Let’s do the math:
For an Electric Vehicle (EV)
To ADD 30 mi of range to a small EV, it takes about 1 hr of charging at 9.6 kWh.
Therefore $0.21/kWh x 9.6 kW x 1hr comes to $2.02.
For an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)
In Seattle, gas is close to $5/gal.
Let’s say a compact ICE car gets 30 mpg.
To ADD 30 mi of range to the ICE car, it would need 1 gallon.
Therefore 1 gallon x $5/ gal comes to $5.00.
Tuesday/ mild weather
There were more scenes of devastation from flooding, and from damaging winds, in the Midwest, on the news tonight.
We are counting our blessings here in the Pacific Northwest, thankful for the mild summer weather we have had so far.
There was a high of 79 °F (26 °C) today, and temperatures will only reach 70°F (21 °C) tomorrow.
Look at the blue sky reflected from the parked cars.
Sunset is still some 90 minutes away, now at 9.11 pm.
Saturday/ new digs 
I like to peek into the new townhomes that appear around Capitol Hill when I go for a walk.
Prices range from $900,000 (2 bed, 2 bath, 1,195 sq ft) to $1,285,000 (2 bed, 2 bath, 1,930 sq ft).
This building is in a great location but one would have to be able to afford it— and accept features such as the galley kitchen (on the left, at the back of the first floor), and the flights of stairs connecting the three floors.
Reflected in the window from across the street is 1910 landmark building The Maryland, a co-op with 20 units. Right next The Maryland it another 5-story building is under construction.
Saturday/ rain 
There was rain today: a nice little late afternoon downpour.
It was only 58°F (14 °C) when I went out for a walk afterwards.
Spring is coming to a rough ending weatherwise, elsewhere in the country.
Places in southern Florida had been drenched with 24 in. of rain or more over the last few days, and it was 111 °F (44 °C) in Phoenix, Arizona today.
Friday/ playing indoors 
Although the weather was perfect for pickleball today, we had a reservation for the Sandman’s Courts in Columbia City.
We liked the clean surface and well-marked lines a lot.
The selection of background music was excellent and played at just the right volume .
The facility has two pickleball courts. This one has clean lines, and the other pickleball court has equally clear pickleball lines but also basketball courts lines painted on it.
Wednesday/ pickleball— now also inside
The amigos played a little pickleball today.
The courts at Mt Baker playground were full today, and we went to Beacon Hill playground instead.
These courts are just a little more exposed to windy conditions than the ones at Mt Baker playground.
This facility is called Sandman’s Courts— a converted warehouse that now has two beach volleyball (sand) courts, on the far end, and these two pickleball courts.
Yay! Now we can play in rain or shine, rough or fine weather.
These are not free the way the courts at the public parks are— $30 an hour in the daytime for these indoor courts.
Tuesday/ a flea market 
The long-abandoned grocery store building on 15th Ave East here in Capitol Hill will host a flea market the weekend after next.
This building will be demolished in another year or two, three— to make way for a proposed 6-story, 172-unit apartment building with retail stores.
Maybe the market will be held here again later this summer.
