This morning…after a night that didn’t cool to 70F until 4:00 a.m. – the sky darkened, thunder roared and a whoosh of wind preceded a morning storm.
No rain, but dark skies and the cool wind made me give in to sitting in the kitchen with one more cup of coffee than usual and just enjoying the dark and stormy morning.
Good grief … Again!!
Really ???
This is the fifth round of upper 90’s and I’ve had it! I had been patting myself on the back for being less whiny about summer heat…even given the unusual heat this summer…until last week when we had round four of upper 90’s PLUS smoke.
But, then it cooled. And really, even though we’ve had the unusual upper 90 boughts of heat, they have pretty much been short-lived with “an end in sight”.
The kicker is the ultra-ULTRA-dry conditions and worry about fire.
The heat, last week’s smoke, the dry and the worry … energy zapping.
So.
Birthday week started with a forecast that I wanted to ignore. On the plus side, Monday and today (Tuesday) did not reach the forecast high.
On the downside, last night the forecast “rain” did not happen, but thunder and lightning did happen and a fire started about 10 miles away … as the crow flies:
The forest folks jumped on this early and according to “breaking news”, the road that was closed has been opened so I think there is containment. All in all, considering the extreme conditions, we are so far very fortunate thanks to our DNRC and Flathead National Forest and many fire districts. ***see updated edit at end of the post.
And see the weather forecast way above…we are to cool dramatically on Friday and next week stay cool and hopefully get some rain.
Meanwhile.
This is usually not good news.
When the cat spends an hour focused under the oven that usually means there is some critter back there…
But, on Monday morning, a critter under the oven that kept Auggie happily inside…it was good news!
It was good news, because about 7:45, when Auggie normally would have been out and about…there was the unmistakable smell of skunk. Not sure who was the recipient as I had all windows open and none of us alarmed or heard any confrontation in the vicinity.
The important thing, though, is that it was not Auggie or Bear … HOO RAH!
Later in the day, neighbor Mel brought me huckleberries to be turned into huckleberry ice cream. She also brought me two dozen gorgeous fresh eggs from her chickens. Another HOO RAH! The eggs from Mel’s chickens are out of this world good!
I made the ice cream, but also reserved 3 big spoonfuls of the huckleberry puree to mix with my fresh lemonade mix. YUM! Huckleberry-Lemonade is an awesome “beat the heat” thirst quencher. A good trade.
Bear has the right idea for Birthday Week Heat!
***Edit 8/12/2015 a.m. Although there was a small fire that was quickly contained in Jewell Basin, the great plume of smoke is actually from a Glacier National Park Fire (Thompson Lake area) that blew up with yesterday’s heat and wind.
I’m 59 for 6 more days…
And then I’m 60!!!
A hot fudge sundae to start birthday week.
The last three days have been in the mid-upper 90’s and yesterday the smoke which had stayed high, dropped down to the valley floor and the smoky smell came with. The smoke is from fires in Washington State according to the news.
This morning started at 57F and I hoped that at least the smoke would keep it cooler but it topped out at 97F this afternoon. Blech! The smoky smell always makes me a bit anxious and more so this year with it so very, very dry. It is always hard to believe that there isn’t a fire close when the smell is so strong.
All of us are a bit cranky and also tired – I think the heat is tiring, zapping our energy just taking short walks. Bear asks to go out and he sometimes just stands on the sidewalk, pants a bit, turns around and comes back inside.
We are to get a cool front tonight and maybe even some rain and gradually cool down to normal (low-mid 80’s) over the next week. But even tomorrow’s forecast high of 88 will be an improvement of today’s 97.
I had a frustrating work day spending all day on something that should have taken me an hour or two.
And Auggie brought home a little snake. Thankfully it was dead. But snakes are not on the list of things that are ok to hunt. Gah!
It was a Monday.
According to several news sources, 14 Million Devices were upgraded to Windows 10 on July 29 (this number likely includes 5 million Insiders (Beta testers), but still – an impressive start. And the numbers jumped fourfold in the next 3 days.
Two out of my own three devices are part of those numbers and although I haven’t tapped a lot of the Win10 new features and I was NOT unhappy with Win8/8.1 … I am very much liking what I’ve seen so far.
But first, my Install experience on my new Toshiba laptop (quad core i7 2.60ghz processor with 16 GB Ram AND a solid state drive, i.e. a very current and very fast combination of innards) and my Toshiba Encore tablet (Intel Atom 1.3 ghz processor with 2 GB Ram, i.e. not the fastest tablet in the west!)
I reserved my Windows 10 upgrade ( Windows 10 Icon) on June 2. (I reserved my Win10 Upgrade on my new Toshiba laptop, my Toshiba Tablet and my backup Acer Laptop) On the morning of July 30, I received the pop up notification that my Windows 10 Upgrade was here – on my Toshiba Laptop. ( Windows 10 Is Here)
Throwing caution to the wind, I did the first install on my Toshiba laptop…the speed demon, but also my production machine…the machine on which my income depends. I have never, ever installed something like a new operating system on the first day on the machine I absolutely depend on. But, this round, after all I’d read and seen (videos) … I trusted Microsoft.
After the “Your Windows 10 is here” and “working on it” …and the license acceptance, the above screen appeared. VERY cool – I scheduled the install for 6:00 p.m. At 5:00 p.m., a notification popped up that reminded me that my Win10 update was scheduled in 59 minutes and gave me an opportunity to keep that time, schedule a different time or cancel altogether.
I never had a second thought…
Onward!!
Here we go!
The update proceeded without a hitch and it was nice to have both the percent complete info as well as info on what was happening: small text at the bottom of the screen.
Success at the 32 minute mark on the Toshiba Laptop.
It took an hour and a couple of minutes on my Tablet.
I have not yet received notification that the upgrade is available on the Acer. The Acer was the first device that I reserved on. There is some info that the rollout happened first for those devices that were most compatible. Additionally, the download is reputed to be a “stealth” download in that it downloaded in the background as it could and then the “Your Upgrade is Here” activates – on completion of the download. I don’t know any of those things for fact, but the order of things is working for me as I’d decided to keep my backup Acer on Windows 8.1 for a week or so and make sure there were no glitches in my work environment.
For Margaret :) … None of my folders or existing files were disturbed by the update. I haven’t read of any existing files or folders being lost by the upgrade.
There are some that are unhappy with the Win 10 install setting the default browser to the new Microsoft Browser “Edge”. I find this a bit laughable. I knew I needed to keep my default browser Internet Explorer or Chrome because Edge does not support the debugging mode of some legacy software I must support. It took me about 15 seconds to change the default browser from Edge to Internet Explorer: type “default browser” in the Cortana search box.
You can also click on Settings (Gear icon) and use the “Find a Setting” search box. AND, instead of directing you to a web page with directions, both searches take you directly to the spot to make the change.
Click on the current default browser and the Select App window pops up and you may select any browser you have installed or go and find one you want.
That’s it on my installation experience. It was easy and glitch-free on both devices. I worked Friday on normal stuff, including the legacy apps which must use Internet Explorer vs Edge and all was fine. I have zero complaints and am excited by all that Windows 10 offers. As I said, I have not really explored much, but below are a few simple things that I like a lot.
The party line is that Windows 10 merges the familiar with the new. The Start screen is back with jump links and all any Windows XP -> Windows 7 user is used to seeing. The Windows 8/8.1 tiles are there as well but if you dislike them, you can remove them. If you like them like I do, you can make them your own. You can customize the Start screen to your heart’s content!
Also the Taskbar. Add things you use often or just use the Start screen…take your pick.
Pinning applications to the taskbar was a Windows 8/8.1 feature and open apps had a lighter color AND you could see a preview of the window in miniature…but Windows 10 allows you to see the miniature preview and as you move the mouse up…you can see a full screen preview as well as get a close button. There are more taskbar features – above is just a sample.
Below are links to my initial Windows 10 post which includes several links on Windows 10. And following that link are two YouTube videos on Windows 10:
The first is a Joe Belfiore video – Joe is the Microsoft voice of Windows 10. I feel like he is a friend of mine. He is passionate about Windows 10 as he was about Windows 8/8.1 and Windows phone. He invokes a curiosity in me to delve into all that the Windows operating system is capable of. His video is nearly 34 minutes long. If that seems too long, try the second from a Windows Insider (non Microsoft beta tester). That video is just short of 12 minutes and highlights some of the new features in an easygoing way.
Lastly – do you need to upgrade? No. It is a personal choice. If you are happy with your current setup and are not a power user … at least wait a bit. Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 registered owners have a year to update for free so you can take time to decide and let the first round of patches and updates happen.
I love the way the technology is going and I am thrilled with the Microsoft management team: Satya Nadella at the top and the others I’ve watched in developer conference videos. I think the future of technology is exciting. I also think that which platform you choose: Apple, MS, Android … there is not a wrong choice – look at them, find the one that resonates with you and how you’d like to use your devices. Ultimately, things are coming together in a way that makes it easy to select one and work with the others. In my mind, it is an incredibly fun time and will only get better.
Now, if technology could solve global warming and particularly the Hot-Hot summer we are experiencing this year in Montana … I would be ecstatic!!
Joe Belfiore
A Windows Insider (non Microsoft)
