Weather update

This morning at 7:20 a.m. 29°C, 84% RH; 11:11 a.m. 36°C, 67% RH - huge amount of dust in the air. I've got two 20 pint dehumidifiers in my apartment and I empty each of them three times a day. So they are removing between 4 to 5 gallons every day and still it is way too humid in there. I mopped the floor in the place over the weekend and it took forever to dry. I do not recall Jizan being anywhere near as humid even though it is also on the Red Sea (which is still not red, big disappointment.)

I think that it must be some sort of law over here that if a vehicle does have a sunroof and you have a child then said-child must have their head stuck out the window. This also goes if your rear window rolls down. If you have multiple children then multiple heads are required. IDK

I was promised a comet...

...didn't catch it. 

"All I got was a rock." ~ C. Brown

So, the first night, Sunday, I went out it ended up being overcast somewhat. However, that wasn't the total problem. I went further outside the city on Thursday and even though the light levels were better, no dice. The horizon seems to consist of this sort of hazy-foggy-cloudy mess up to about 15° azimuth that you can't really see through. And since C/2020 F3 NEOWISE sits fairly low on the horizon I couldn't seem to see it at all. Hopefully some of my friends will have taken their opportunities, either before sunrise or after sunset to capture a few shots. Not gonna happen here. (Maybe if I head for the mountains but still not likely.) I really do need to work with this camera more. I ended up getting a tripod for the second night and I did get a couple star shots.

Looks like it should be clear but it's not.

Sun setting over the Red Sea

I don't grok wrok (hint: zoom in on the sign)

What normally happens at intersections

Not really a leaning tower
I just need to practice 
horizon shots more.

The Venue at sunset

The Venue in the evening

Looks a little creepier after dark

Found some fisher-cats down by the shore. (Not the North American weasel variety, just the local variation.) A couple of them were batting at something in the rock crevices. Probably a barnacle that had poked its parts out. Smells like fish I'm sure.

Something smells fishy

Might be something in the water

"I thought I saw something."

Hard to tell but that is one kitten pouncing on another

Cats always seem to have murder in their eyes

What ya eatin'?

Quick update

So, on Sunday (the start of our work week) after catching up with a couple people at their work area I stopped by for my usual OMW perambulation in the evening only to discover that the one guy (and two others on their 'shift') was put on home quarantine for two weeks. Apparently one of the Saudi's in their area tested positive for the 'Rona. Then the next day I found out that two other of the technicians (which I also am in frequent contact with) are home quarantined for two weeks because another person in their area tested positive. Maybe I don't get it but just carry it. A guy I work with told me that Scottish peoples are genetically disposed (now) to be immune to diseases such as the Black Plague, etc. Makes sense as the ones left were the only ones to survive. Maybe I've got good genes.

Here's a link to a 4 minute video of a relaxing portion of my drive to HafH in the afternoon. Nice view of the Red Sea (which oddly enough is not red at all.)

My wife didn't believe me that there is a lima bean tree on the compound but here's the proof.

The 'new normal' (I hate that phrase)

Fruitloop feline femme is BACK! 

So, I have lost 20 lbs thus far since landing. Partly due to my minimalist exercise program (since the weight room was taken off the table) of walking about 3 miles a day and partly due to my lack of desire to cook anything fancy (i.e. takes more than two ingredients) and complete lack of imagination in making anything different. My basic grocery list has not changed much at all since I arrived. Sure does keep things simple. It seems to work.

Two sort of stunning occurrences this week. The last of my aunts passed away, she was the younger of my mother's sisters. Now I have no more living aunts or uncles. I remember as a kid visiting my Aunt Ancy (her name is really Nancy but I didn't know that growing up) and Uncle Norman in northern Vermont. He was really a character and always had a joke or two and Aunt Ancy was always smiling and to me she will be remembered as a happy person. I was glad to catch up with her last summer at my cousin Pat's wedding, she looked good then. She went down quickly in the past few months and was in hospice care at the end so while somewhat sudden and unforeseen this wasn't really unexpected. 

Pat is front center w/ his left arm around his
bride and Aunt Ancy is seated to his right.

The second event was more shocking and sort of hit a little close to home in a small way. My cousin Jim died suddenly just a day or so after our aunt. He was born the same year I was. He is the first of all my many (17) cousins to pass on. I remember visiting them in Connecticut (once) but then many more times after they had moved to Middlebury. But we would only visit either way during good weather since we had to drive up over two gaps in the Vermont hills. Jim was the third eldest of my mother's older sister's children. IMHO he wasn't all that old. 

I don't like the way this movie is going at the moment.

On the bright side (depending on how you look at things) it seems traffic is back to its normal crazy ways now that more people are back to work. I guess there were 4 or so cases of China Flu on base but none that I know of in our building. Oh, and at least the attacks are nowhere near Jeddah ATM. 

So, as I started out, the 'crazy cat lady' has returned to her street corner. I see her every day on my way home. Normalcy at last.