Good evening, kibitzers!
To all at KTK in the Houston area, I hope your power has been restored or will be restored soon. It is certainly unbearably hot and humid without air conditioning. I am sure you will all check in when you can. Take care!
Apparently there is a “heatstroke warning” and air pollution alert in place until tomorrow night. I don't know why they even bother to specify an end time, as there are no major changes to the 1-week forecast on the NWS page for my area. It's been in the 90s every day, and never drops below 70 at night. The worst thing about this weather is that it doesn't cool down at night, but it's definitely just as hot during the day.
By chance, I came across some hurricane-related videos that intrigued me, so I went through a collection of one-shot videos I keep to fill out the rest of this diary.
Let's start with an overview of the National Hurricane Center. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is one of nine national centers within the National Weather Service's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, Florida.. [2:21]
Along with that, the NOAA Hurricane Hunters will be taking us on a flight into the hurricane. [2:30]
This story has very little to do with hurricanes, so you can tell we're moving out of hurricane territory. You may remember Seaside Heights, New Jersey, even if you weren't one of the many members of KTK who spent their eventful careers there. One of the most striking damages from Hurricane Sandy was the tragic remains of the boardwalk's “Star Jet” roller coaster jutting out of the ocean. Today's story is a joyous one, the restoration and reopening of a beautiful 114-year-old merry-go-round. [2:09]
It's a very New Jersey topic: America's Test Kitchen's Jack Bishop offers a guide to the different types of eggplant: Having trouble? [2:23]
San Francisco's PBS station, KQED Deep Look In the video series, babies Six-rayed starfish develop. [5:15]
Here's the “short” story: Donald Trump's nightmare is that his dog swims every day (“like a dog!”) with his best friend, a big shark. All that's missing is an electric boat. [1:00]
Having mentioned the Calanai Standing Stones in a KTK thread during the last full moon, I thought I should take a look at “The Best Things to Do in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, Isles of Lewis and Harris” by Alistair and Douglas of Highland Hikers, and I was surprised to see that it was only the second thing they'd seen. [8:51]
What better place to explain “What is a fossil?” than the American Museum of Natural History in New York? [5:26]
It's time to eat! Lidia shares a simple and refreshing tomato salad with mint. [2:53]
Jim from the Sip 'n' Feast channel shares three easy summer dips that require no cooking: Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade, Cannellini Bean Dip, and Artichoke Pesto. [12:40]
We've met graphic designer Linus Boman here before, and this little gripe about a particular “actually” comment he gets in the comments section can be generalized pretty well to any kind of “sea lion behavior”: “This is just the weaponization of trivia!” [5:08]
I was surprised to see a video of a baby swan posted by a German YouTuber. I didn't know that when the baby swan doesn't want to swim, it rides on its mother like the swan boats in Boston Public Garden. [3:52]
We are now returning to the Golden Age. Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation aired, with LeVar Burton taking RR viewers behind the scenes of ST:NG to show them how a TV show is made. [15:47]
Kings Return A cappella The Dallas-based group gained popularity after posting several videos of them singing on stairs. You can see more of their work on their YouTube channel. Sir Duke. [3:11]
I know this isn't Playing for Change's first appearance. When the levees breakbut it's really great and goes back to the theme of natural disasters. It features John Paul Jones, Featuring Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and a host of other world-class musicians. [6:03]
And finally, tonight's political parody: Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago 25 or 6 vs 4 Sing about Project 2025. [2:51]
