dangers passing or maybe not who the fuck knows
Let's start off today by discussing the extraordinary weather event in Seattle stretching over the past four days. I'll share here what I just posted to social media:
Seattle weather records broken over the past four days:
Saturday, June 26: all-time high temperature for June, 102°; daily record high low for this date of 69°.
Sunday, June 27: all-time high for any day in history, 104° (beating 103°, set on July 27, 2009); all-time record high low of 73° (beating 72°, set on July 27, 2009); first time in recorded history highs 100°+ two days in a row.
Monday, June 28: again, all-time high for any day in history, 108° (beating 104°, set one day before); first time in recorded history highs 100°+ three days in a row, after only three separate days reaching that high in more than a century previous to this event.
Tuesday, June 29: record drop in temperature in the space of about 10 hours, a 46° spread between 6:00 last night and about 4:00 this morning, thanks to the sweet relief of a marine push. Forecast high today is 90° but that one still falls short of the record—I think we broke enough of them anyway.
Side note: Friday, June 25 actually was the start of this heat wave, with a high of 87°, about 10° above normal, but still far short of that date's record high of 98°—what until Sunday had been Seattle's all-time record high in June, set in 1925.
A couple of clarifications on this data now. First, the temperature numbers are based on SeaTac Airport readings, on which the National Weather Service has long relied for official Seattle numbers (even though SeaTac is a suburb and not Seattle proper; honestly this only lends credence to the idea that, by global population standards, metropolitan Seattle should all be regarded as "Seattle"—and by the way, that includes Tacoma). All the reported record high temperatures in national media are saying 107° at SeaTac yesterday, and indeed this Weather Underground tracker only goes up to 107°, but that is based on hourly readings at, oddly, 53 minutes past every hour. That one 107° reading is time stamped at 5:53 p.m., but according to NWS Seattle's Twitter account, the location actually had a reading of 108° "just after 6PM." So, I'm sticking with 108°.
Another side note: Seattle temperature records go as far back as 1894 at the Federal Building, but SeaTac records started in 1945, with overlapping readings until the Federal Building stopped in 1972. This can make references to historic temperature records kind of tricky, in reference to "Seattle." These current records, however, easily hold no matter which location is referenced, aside from the fact that temperatures can vary slightly just depending on neighborhoods in Seattle and surrounding areas.
Now, as for my claim that last night had a record temperature drop, I only say that one with relative confidence: I have yet to find an official source confirming this; I even tweeted to @NWSSeattle on Twitter for confirmation and have yet to get a response. And trying to Google this information is exceedingly frustrating, what with results over-focusing on record high temperature readings over the past few days, all of which almost completely obscure any pages that might otherwise confirm what previously was the widest temperature spread within a single 24-hour period. What I know for sure is that SeaTac had the 108° temperature reading yesterday evening, and ten hours later, they were reading 62° around 4:00 this morning. I can find no record of there ever being a wider 24-hour temperature fluctuation in that short of time in recorded local weather history. What I did find was a KOMO News blog post about this from 2012, which has apparently since been deleted, and only once I thought to view the cashed page did I finally read that, as of 2012 at least, three separate dates have tied for "the greatest daily temperature spread in Seattle history"—all of them by 40°. Last night's temperature drop beats that handily, and although it's possible we had one even greater sometime between 2012 and now, my guess is that it's unlikely. And I wanted to get that data posted this morning. If I have to follow up with any corrections later then I will.
It really has been an extraordinary stretch of days since Friday. For people with the relative comfort of air conditioning, and certainly for local meteorologists, it's even been kind of exciting. Another thing I find interesting: local meteorologist Cliff Mass, whose blog I always go to whenever a major local weather event is happening, tends to take a much more measured approach to the temptation to blame all these major events exclusively on climate change, which I actually think is a good approach. In his June 24 (Thursday) post, he wrote:
Finally, a number of people have asked about the role of global warming on this event.
Is global warming contributing to this heatwave? The answer is certainly yes. Would we have had a record heatwave without global warming. The answer is yes as well.
Our region has warmed by up to 1-2F during the past fifty years and that will enhance the heatwave. Increasing CO2 is probably the biggest contributor to the warming.
But consider that the temperature anomalies (differences from normal) during this event will reach 30-35F. The proximate cause of this event is a huge/persistent ridge of high pressure, part of a highly anomalous amplification of the upper-level wave pattern.
There is no evidence that such a wave pattern is anything other than natural variability (I have done research on this issue and published in the peer-reviewed literature on this exact topic).
So without global warming, a location that was 104F would have been 102F. Still a severe heat wave, just slightly less intense.
I do feel compelled to mention, even though it's arguably not relevant, that Cliff Mass has been let go of two public radio stations over the past decade over controversial statements, not least of which was some ill-advised comments about Black Lives Matter protesters in Seattle last year. I did some online searching last night to get a sense of them, and although I actually think the reasons for his firing in both cases may be questionable, his online responses to criticisms are excessively defensive, and in at least one case he seemed to infer that criticizing Israel is antisemitic and that he can't be problematic when speaking about Jewish history just by virtue of being Jewish himself, both of which claims are preposterous on their face. Nor am I a fan of his widespread use of the phrase "cancel culture." But, none of this really changes his qualifications as a meteorologist specifically, and as I have no better source, I still defer to him on this. I think he's kind of boneheaded when it comes to so-called "cancel culture," but he still clearly knows a hell of a lot more about weather and climate than I do.
Shobhit watches nightly news programs on MSNBC and I have grown wary of them; I would still argue they are way less extreme than programs on FOX News, but they still have a biased, barely tempered hysteria to them that I am just tired of. To a degree, they even seem to take kind of the same approach as FOX News personalities, just with less intensity, which is not the same as "unbiased" but can easily be mistaken for such. None of these shows exist to be truly informative for their viewers; they exist to turn a profit from their advertisers, like any other TV show. And last night Shobhit was watching All In with Chris Hayes, on which the host was engaging in typical histrionics, covering this heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and using it as an example of what is "the new normal" with climate change, clearly ignoring the kind of nuance that people like Cliff Mass are constantly attempting to clarify. I find it very annoying. I don't think people should be less scared or worried about global warming, but I do think they should be accurate in what they ascribe it to and what weather events they use as examples.
I never did report properly in this blog about the Merchandising Department social event on Friday, so I suppose I might as well do it now, four days after the fact. Pride Weekend and the weather just took precedence in my writing about the weekend in the meantime.
It really was a lovely day on Friday, that patio party being a fitting celebration for my official return to the office on a daily workday basis. I didn't even have to work the entire day because of it, and Tracy (pictured above, on the right, with Jess L) gave me a ride to work in the late morning so I could more easily transport all my computer equipment back to the office in a Rubbermaid tub. She also gave me a ride back home, much later, after we spent some time hanging out just the two of us after the party ended.
I had done a few hours of work from home at first, between 7:30 and about 10:45. I got the day's receiver paperwork done, what I otherwise normally would have done on Thursday but I had too many other things to do that day and I would be at the office to switch it out Friday anyway. I powered down and packed up all my stuff after 10:30, leaving my home work station desk bare for the first time since first purchasing it (with a stipend from PCC) last August, and waited for Tracy to pick me up.
We were at the office shortly after 11:30. Tracy parked in the building's lower parking garage, making one of the very few times I have ever taken the elevator up to our fifth-floor office from there. I took some time to set up my equipment, and some of this I did already write about in my post on Friday. I then worked until 3:00, when the party officially started. I wore my face mask while working, as the mandate for office staff was still in effect then (lifted as of yesterday), but once everyone in Merchandising was gathering in the kitchen to start dishing up the bevy of foods, several dishes of which were prepared by Lynne, most people had taken their masks off. Mine was off for the rest of the day, though most of that time was indeed spent out on the patio. I even went out there briefly before everyone else did, just to apply some spray sunscreen, now that I am exceedingly worried about skin cancer. (I got skin-peeling level sunburns several times as a kid, and only recently learned that significantly increases the risk, which has left me unsettled.)
One of the notable things about the food was a vegan dish: vegan chicken, which looked remarkably like regular, real fried chicken. Apparently our Deli department is considering selling it in stores, so as one of the resident vegetarians I got asked multiple times what I thought of it. And I actually liked it—it was just a strange experience having it for the first time, as it seemed so much like real chicken. I would eat it again, though.
I also had vegan mac & cheese. This I was not as big a fan of. But then, I am vegetarian, not vegan. Give me my fucking cheese!
Anyway, most, though not all, of the Merchandising Department was there. It was great to see those who came, which included Scott, Noah, Eric, Kevin, Jeff, both Tracys (the other being one of the Merchandisers in Deli, this one a man), Steven, Darrell, Justine, Lynne (who was particularly delighted to see me back), and plenty more. I did have an email exchange with Cathryn yesterday telling her I missed her on Friday; she was not there. But, not only does she live on Bainbridge Island and intends to continue working from home for the foreseeable future, she apparently had other plans over the weekend, for an annual family camping trip. Hopefully I'll see her another time soon.
A jazz musician was even hired to add to the ambiance, wherein most of us just ate, hung out, and caught up with each other. I moved about and had relatively meaningful conversations with Jeff, Tracy (the one who gave me a ride), Eric, Justine, and Lynne, along with other more casual conversations with several others. It was the closest thing to a normal work social event I had experienced in a year and a half. I really loved it.
As for how work has gone so far, now that I'm back in the office? Yesterday was kind of interesting. I'm already discovering that how many people are in the office is going to vary depending on the day, and Monday is a down day, with maybe what weekly will likely be the lowest number here. Not even Tracy, who sits behind me, was here yesterday, even though she was on Friday and is again today (and she chatted me up for quite a while when she arrived). I think both Scott and Noah will only be back tomorrow, and then they have store tours again on Thursday as always. Anyway, there are more people here today than there were yesterday, and still a lot of the desks sit empty. I am fine with this.
As I said, though, as of yesterday masks are optional if you are vaccinated. This was precisely what I had waited for, so I have been working without one—although I still wear it through the building on the way to the fifth floor. A guy in IT yesterday was walking by my section of cubicles yesterday with his mask on, but when he saw me and a couple of others bare faced, he said out loud, "Oh yeah, we can take these off now," and he took his off. Still, some others have continued to wear theirs, at least three or four that I have seen both yesterday and today. I am dying to know if they are unvaccinated or if they are vaccinated and just still wearing masks to stay comfortable.
I am also increasingly concerned about whether I should be having an internal dilemma about this, given the Delta variant and global worries about it, the news that maybe half of those who contracted it in highly-vaccinated Israel were fully vaccinated people, and this has prompted the WHO to recommend mask-wearing in indoor spaces even if you are vaccinated. And, so far, no word from the CDC on this.
How worried should I be about this, then? I have thought a lot about Gabriel in all of this, after he surprised me not only by telling me a week and a half ago that I am welcome to visit his house now, but I have yet to see any indication of him doing any about-face on that in light of this Delta variant news. I do know that being in highly vaccinated areas makes a huge difference, and King County (and especially Seattle) is one of the most highly vaccinated places in the United States. I did find this San Francisco Chronicle article about the Bay Area, also highly vaccinated, basically supporting that idea, and helping me feel less panicky about it.
My understanding is that the concern about vaccinated people wearing masks indoors is the inability to know if others in those spaces are vaccinated. Vaccinated people tend to be asymptomatic even if they catch the Delta variant, but the concern is spread. King County is actually lifting its mask mandate as of tomorrow, but I'm thinking that in light of all this, I will continue to wear masks in most public indoor spaces for now.
So what about the office, then? Also for now: I'm going with no mask. The working assumption is that anyone maskless here is indeed vaccinated, and I am choosing to trust that. I find that easier to do here than I would in any other public indoor space.
And, getting back to Gabriel, even when he first told me I could come visit his house now, he did make it clear then that he's only inviting people he knows are vaccinated. And in what I have read, that seems to be the key: being able to know for sure that everyone around you has been vaccinated. So I'm thinking that must be the key differentiator and why he's not reversing course in the way I might have otherwise expected. Then again, things can always change.
And speaking of Gabriel, I spoke to him briefly last night and he was disappointed to find that I had not yet written more than a passing reference to our Movie Night on Sunday evening, because I posted about Pride yesterday and that topic too precedence for the moment. Well, I guess I'll write about it now, then!
Not that there's a whole lot to tell. Gabriel and Lea were on FaceTime for the viewing, as usual, although it was unbearably hot and they were in their basement for this one, where Gabriel says it is surprisingly comfortable. Lea clearly doesn't have a lot of interest in the Fast and the Furious movies, and just watches along out of . . . kindness, I guess? She spent a fair amount of time looking at her phone. And I'm not complaining, I get it! As for Shobhit, even though he would almost certainly otherwise enjoy these movies, I tend to deliberately schedule these viewings for when he's at work, just because he'd rather be watching his news programs, or watching something else with me, during the otherwise limited times that he's actually at home.
Anyway, this was movie #3 in the series, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, technically my second viewing, as the double feature I'd had with Gabriel and Kornelija in 2015 had been with movies #1 and #3. But, I had almost zero recollection of any of it. This movie introduces Han, Gabrie's favorite character in the franchise, whom he mentions frequently. The guy is pretty cool, I'll admit. And kind of literally: he's always calm, snacking, in the face of any dangers.
The movie is fundamentally dumb. All of them are. That doesn't keep me from enjoying them; I really enjoy lots of dumb movies. Honestly, I have a feeling I will enjoy them more when they really start leaning into their dumbness, which I understand to be Fast Five. So next is what I hear is one of the lesser installments, Fast & Furious (#4), which Gabriel already suggested I come watch at their house. I would really love to do that, although some recent events involving an apparent family emergency may complicate that idea; I still need to get the details on that. (And for the record, I want to know the story out of broad concern, not because I'm afraid it will screw up movie watching plans. The movies will always be there.)
And finally: I just had lunch here at the office, sitting outside in perfect, 75° weather. I can't remember if I ate out there the one day I worked a shift at the office last September; barring that, I haven't had that available to me since summer 2019. It was so wonderful to have it today. And this time I had Tracy sitting with me too, in the shade of a table umbrella, which was nice.
[posted 12:40 pm]