Details are elusive, but somehow a hillside about a mile from us got lit up at stupid-thirty last night, while we were abed.
The smoke-eaters must’ve gotten right on top of the thing because the evacuees were all back in their homes in a matter of hours. And this morning things seemed to be in the mopping-up stage.
Not what you like to see as the weather heats up ahead of a Fourth of July weekend. In fact, not what you like to see, period.
I’d like air that’s just a little less chewy, please. And thank you.
It’s a bad day to be an air-breathing organism.
InciWeb shows four fires in New Mexico, two in southwestern Colorado, and an even dozen in Arizona.
The Bush Fire northeast of Mesa is the biggie at 115,000 acres. That’s pretty country out there. Or it was, anyway.
As a consequence, we in the Duke City have been awarded an “Air Quality Alert” by the National Weather Service, and I will testify that the air is of very poor quality indeed. I’d send it back, but UPS says they won’t pick it up.
And there’s no telling when we might get a suitable replacement anyway, with the Bush Fire only 5 percent contained.
How many horsemen does the apocalypse have these days, anyway?
Most mornings I get a fine clear look at the Sandias as I shamble around El Rancho Pendejo, opening windows to air out the joint.
Today? Not so much.
New Mexico Fire Information and InciWeb both report a handful of fires in our fair, dry, and windblown state. One of them, Los Charcos, is just down the road a bit, on Isleta Pueblo. There are three more down in the Gila National Forest, plus some more in Arizona, and the Duke City has issued a health alert for this morning. Our gentle 45-mph zephyrs should send the forest exhaust elsewhere by this afternoon.
Los Charcos was human-caused. Happily, it — unlike the humans and their megadrought — is nearly under control.
“Who turned out the lights? Strike a match, Betty Lou, I can’t see shit.”
Remember the good ol’ days, when you could make magic just by flipping a switch? Communication, refrigeration, information, even transportation, all delivered with a wave of one hand. One finger, actually. No, not that one.
And without burning down half the county, too.
As is often the case, our brethren and sisthren in California are getting a sneak peek at the future this week as PG&E returns them to the Dark Ages, that they may not be barbecued by their desires for communication, refrigeration, information, even transportation.
I wonder how much safer everyone will be with a few million generators busily chugging along next to the woodpiles.
“Crank up the Honda, hon’, ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is coming on!”
• Extra Bonus Snark: Good timing, awarding the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to three scientists behind the lithium-ion battery. We’re gonna need a bigger one, dudes.
The Woodbury Fire in Arizona is sharing its smoke, a little treat we asthmatics can do without. I took a couple peeks out various windows, and cracked the front door for a nanosecond, and that was that. None of the old bikey ridey for Your Humble Narrator, not today.
Yesterday I shipped the latest “Quick Spin” video to Adventure Cyclist. It features the Masi Speciale Randonneur (pictured above). Masi is deep into the bike-travel thing and has been for a while now. I think I first saw their Giramondo at Interbike 2015, and as touring bikes go, it still seems like a hell of a bargain to me — chromoly frame and fork, 10-speed Deore drivetrain (with a low end of 24×36), TRP Spyre brakes, and Tubus racks (Tara front, Cargo rear), all for the low low price of $1,399.
Masi offers a 650b version of the Giramondo, too. No racks, but more adventurous.
The Speciale, as you might guess from its name, has roots in randonneuring, so it’s more of a road bike, happiest with a front load and maybe some other light bits scattered around and about in frame and saddle bags.
It will be staying indoors this morning, however. As will I. So don’t go looking for me at Stonehenge.
Meanwhile, when you see a flat-footed statement this thick — “Road bikes average 10-15 pounds.” — you have to question the rest of the story.
Mad Blog Media 