if only I needed one

Today I learned that you can get a 4000 square foot, 5 bedroom house just miles from Arizona State for $172,000. I knew prices had fallen in Phoenix, but an actual example really drives it home.

Update: The house is actually in Maricopa, which isn't near anything. Now I understand the price, and I'm kinda sorry I brought the whole thing up.

banking and getting better

Today I learned that a dying banker has some investment advice for us, but I don't quite feel good enough to figure out exactly what he said. It's probably ok since I don't have any money to invest -- being a sick lady doesn't pay well -- but someday I hope to have a real job.

I hope that because a friend of mine is doing quite a lot better after going to one of these seminars, and it sounds like a pretty reasonable approach. She's now able to go in Home Depot without a mask and not shower immediately upon returning home. I can sort of get away with not showering immediately after going in Safeway, but that's completely different. And she can go to the mall now without the mask, too.

She was the one who, years ago, said that when you start feeling better, and you think you might be able to go to the mall, the mall will put you in your place. It sounds like it doesn't anymore.

I like being able to report on people who are doing better, but you notice it's something different for everybody.

how to open clamshell packaging

This morning I was astounded to learn that you can open clamshell packaging with a can opener.

only tv is interesting

Today I was going to talk about vigilantes taking out a town bully in the early 1980s, exercising before breakfast, nuclear fallout, and how when the economy tanks, companies dump less stuff into the air, but we're going to talk about the season finale of Burn Notice, a show about a spy who got fired because he was framed for a bunch of bad-spy stuff.

[Sort of Spoiler Alert] At the end of the episode, the hero ends up someplace cold. He's given a coat and sent out of a car onto a street, complete with snow on the sidewalks and lawns. He pulls his coat closer around him, and a man approaches. They proceed to have a conversation, but you can't follow it because you are too busy watching the ridiculous, cartoony-smoke vapor trails they emit when they speak. I suspect that someone told the intern to cook up some breath, said intern had never been skiing or anything and grew up somewhere warm, and suddenly it was too late to fix it. So, note to Burn Notice writers: if you have to keep up with effects like that, you'd really better step up the dialog.

death in a can and big cats

Today I learned that tuna will kill you, in that Consumer Reports recently measured a higher mercury content in cans and pouches of tuna than the FDA did between 2002 and 2004, so it's definitely coming to get us. (I'm not very concerned about it because I stopped tolerating canned tuna five years ago, so it doesn't really look like food anymore.)

Also, there are a couple of bobcats who live around here, and since we moved the couch relative to one window, we've finally seen one -- or today we saw two -- while the neighbors have been seeing at least one bobcat around here for years. So couch position is more important than you would expect in wildlife viewing. Also, bobcats here are thinner than I was used to seeing in pictures; they look like big, elongated house cats.

let's focus on the really loud cricket

Today I learned that this year the Gem & Mineral Show runs from Jan. 29 to Feb. 13. This information means something to gem, mineral, and fossil enthusiasts, but it also means something to people affected by traffic congestion. Enough said.

In other news, the way to keep a cricket from squeaking all night long in your bedroom is to risk waking up your husband with the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner solves the problem really quickly, whereas the dilute molasses solution with a little lemon juice in a bowl just makes the whole house smell like molasses.

all about pressurizers, old news, and funny old news

Ok, so I believe I was complaining about the MERV 15 filter we had in the house pressurizer. I think I called it 'substandard.' The MERV 16 filter came in ten days ago, and things got somewhat better. This weekend, I wasn't having any luck with that, either, so now we have a full-on HEPA-equipped air cleaner outside on the patio blowing cleaned air in. Things are going better, but the filters on that thing aren't cheap, so this weather pattern better clear up one of these days.

In closely related news, the air cleaner with the HEPA filter has half the carbon the regular pressurizer has, but I don't know dwell times (how long the air is exposed to carbon on its way through the machine), so I can't really compare accurately other than to say that I could use the 'new' pressurizer this afternoon until about 7 pm, which is as far as I got with the regular pressurizer on a weekday -- it never made it off 'recirculate' today.

In things that'll kill you, I heard from the environmentally injured community in 2005 that stain-resistant clothing had formaldehyde in it, and the New York Times learned about it last week.

In stuff that's entertaining, when he was younger, the Dirty Jobs guy got fired from QVC.

the all air quality, all the time channel continues

Today I learned that ACARS probably stands for Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System, and I guess airplanes get temperature data or something so we can figure out where inversion tops and mixing depths are. This is like that year I learned to speak geologist by copy editing a geology journal -- I may or may not actually know what's going on, but you'll never know better. Also, it looks like anyone can have ACARS data that is older than 48 hours old, but I haven't figured out how to read it yet.

In related news, we aren't supposed to completely die this weekend because a highly amplified ridge is approaching (but keep in mind this forecast is for Phoenix) (and check me out, feeling enough better I can edit some stuff out):

Forecast Discussion: ...This mornings Sky Harbor Airport ACARS sounding data indicates that a strong (7-8 deg C) surface-based radiation inversion formed overnight that extends to 2200+. The calculated best mixing depth is near 3K and dispersion will be POOR to MARGINAL.... A warm low-amplitude ridge aloft will be over AZ the next few days and on Saturday a massive and highly-amplified ridge will approach the state from the west. Low-level gradients will be weak over the Phoenix metro area thru this forecast period and no significant winds are expected. A mostly light wind regime, unfavorable dispersion, and strong inversion potential will contribute to high hourly PM-10 levels on Friday but with lower concentrations expected during the weekend.... -Reith

So as a physicist, I think of amplifying things with some kind of resonance chamber or, say, an amplifier, but if you can amplify pressure waves in the atmosphere, that's ok with me as long as the air quality improves.

The other things I learned are that this same weather pattern happened last year and let up on Dec. 16, and that trick I pulled on Monday when a low-amplitude (I think) trough came through, and I went for a walk wearing HEPA filters, didn't work at all today. I didn't make it across the parking lot to the trailhead, and my filters were contaminated when I needed them for going running in my house like somebody's hyper unwalked dog.

crummy air and cheap lab tests

Today I learned that it feels like particulates well south of town, where I expected the air to be fine. Either the subdivision we visited has stagnant smoke, but in a lesser concentration than town, or there is something else going on in the world. Town smells like pollution, which by definition has particulates in it. I would be interested to know what it's like west of town, but I doubt I'll get over there now because while I feel ok in my house, I don't so much in the car.

In newspaper news, money has bisphenol A on it from all those thermal-paper receipts, and you can get lab tests for Medicare prices, which really are a pittance, if you pay first through a website.

In other pollution news, the forecaster for Phoenix said this:

Forecast Discussion: This mornings Sky Harbor Airport ACARS sounding data indicates that a strong (7-8 deg C) surface-based radiation inversion formed overnight that extends to 2700+. The calculated best mixing depth is near 4K and dispersion will be MARGINAL to FAIR. There were a host of high hourly PM-10 (coarse particle) and a few high PM-2.5 (fine particle) concentrations this a.m. and this continues the trend that began last week. The combination of no recent rainfall, a stagnant air mass, and accumulating PM emissions have contributed to this situation. The strong ridge aloft currently over AZ will weaken the next few days as weak disturbances move east thru the flow; a return to warming aloft will begin on Saturday as another even stronger ridge arrives from the Pacific. Since smoke from wood-burning fireplaces usually increases as the weekend approaches this time of year, a series of PM-2.5 Health Watches are possible beginning on Friday. -Reith

Call me lazy, but they don't archive this stuff, and I'm too tired to remember it.

car exhaust and butter that won't burn

Today I learned that pollution sensors (see PM2.5 at Geronimo) detect car accident congestion and food sometimes gets flame retardants in it from its packaging, so butter will kill you, but only some of the time.

walk timing and party time, plus some bookkeeping

Today I learned that it only takes me 65 minutes to walk home from the nearest trailhead at the national park, and the part that goes up the east side of the local ridge has the best air. The flat part of the park was worse, but not nearly as bad as the top of the local ridge, which is unfortunately pretty close to where I live. I also learned that the more exercise you get, the better you tolerate bad air, but the air has to be good enough that you can get started. So, if you're me, and you start at the park, wander around for an hour or so, and then head home, you're decently equipped to make it through that last mile along the ridge, even if it smells kind of funny through the HEPA filters strapped to your face.

In news that is related in that it occurred at the same time I was going for a walk, the really, really sick lady's husband and my husband installed a water heater today. These men look after some pretty sick ladies, and for that they deserve much more than an occasional beer. I was informed that they had three beers, but only after they were sure the water connections were solid.

And here's the bookkeeping:
Because I keep track of this kind of thing, people have started calling me asking what's wrong with the air. What I know is that a strong inversion has been trapping pollution and wood smoke for two weeks now with no end in sight. Inversions turn over with a nice breeze, and we haven't had a wind much over 7 mph, and one isn't predicted next week, either. 24-hour-averaged PM2.5 levels have been on the border between good and moderate, and clearly that is the limit of tolerance for more than one local EI. Dispersion improves in the late afternoon, but fireplace use is high between Thanksgiving and New Year's, so what little improvement may occur is promptly swamped when everybody lights their fires for the evening.

So pray for a decent cold front -- with a good breeze -- to come through and clean out the air.

do-it-yourself underwear

Today I learned to make bras because I contaminated my nice bras, which took months to decontaminate in the first place, and my remaining crappy bras suck beyond all possible belief. The first one I made took the afternoon, but the second one took a whole hour. An hour.

Here's the way it works:

• I was working with stretch fabric, so I had to cut up a cotton stretch bra to get the parts shaped right. Stretchy stuff is forgiving, so approximate worked fine, and I say that because I started with a bra that was the wrong size. (I've been known to shop quickly and forget to return things, but see? It still came in handy.)
• In terms of materials, the internets indicate that you need to buy 'strap elastic,' which is stronger than regular elastic. The fabric store didn't have any, so I used the nicest feeling stuff from the rolls at the store. For one bra, I used about 2 yds of 3/8" and less than 1 yd of 3/4" elastic at $.66/yd. The fabric yardage was minimal, like I think I had a half yard, and I could probably make five or six bras out of it. I used nylon with lycra in it that I bought to make bike shorts, which didn't happen.
• I didn't cover the elastic or anything, so no self-respecting store would sell what I made, but they still turned out cute. These are probably the first cute bras I've ever owned.

So bra manufacturers take note: reduce prices and use decontaminable fabrics if you ever want to see this customer again.

Two more things:

1. Why the heck is it that when I make something cute -- and I mean adorable -- it has to be underwear, so I can't show it off?
2. Bras are way easier than tents.

bake sales are terrible fundraisers

Dear Sarah Palin,

While bake sales do raise money for schools and bring a sense of community, they are unfortunately an outdated tradition. Unlike when food could be displayed openly, with the packaging and labeling required today, the food costs more to produce than it can possibly bring in.

Bake sales are a tradition, so parents can be excused for not realizing that their ingredient money could be directly handed over without loss of value. But elementary school children can do the math, and it's time to find a more cost-effective method to raise money for schools.

Sincerely,
A citizen against inefficient spending

nobody look, it's all boring air quality stuff again

Today I learned that you can't easily find a typical Tucson winter inversion top height online. I just want to know roughly how high I have to go up Mt. Lemmon to get out of the smoke this weekend, but what I'm doing isn't working. I mean, 3500 ft? 6000 ft? I'm not going to know how to dress or what campground to try, although with any luck, the bedroom will still be safe enough that I won't have to camp out.

In other news, I'm feeling ok now because I'm high on chocolate, so here's how my new tent is progressing:

• If you are screwed up on smoke and cut a perfectly good tent part in half (seriously), that joining stitch they showed you when you bought the sewing machine really can attach the two pieces together with a minimum of puckering.
• Synthetic zippers stink. So far, I've washed them in the sink with All five times (or maybe seven, I lost track), let them sit for a couple of months, and boiled them for probably six or eight hours, and they still smell like some kind of petroleum product. I'm trying the overnight soak with ridiculous quantities of baking soda, but then I'm going to give up and try never to sleep with my nose near the door of the tent. Or maybe a lot of alcohol. On the zippers, I mean.

And I wore my particulate filters running this afternoon, but I still got a huge calf cramp. The carbon/particulate filters are too heavy to run with, but I bet I can see over them on a bike.

I think that because I was out trying to ride my bike with just the particulate filters at 5:05 pm, when it was 72 ^oF outside. I smelled smoke at 5:08.

Update 12/12: a couple of trips around the washing machine with ammonia removed a lot of the remaining smell from the zippers, so I have a tent now.