Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

August 8th came and went. Took the day off, relaxed, went out to see The Kid.

She's doing better, actually. She's remembering a bit more, some of the old "fire" has returned (she kept insisting on wanting to go down to the cafeteria for dinner, even though she had just finished lunch), and I can talk to her and get a decent conversation out of her.

Talked to the nurse out there to see if it's possible she can go back to a regular wheelchair (she'd been in more of a padded recliner-type wheelchair for the past few months) now that bedsores have cleared up.

Spending the time with her was good for both of us. I know she misses being around me a good bit and is happy when I come out to see her or call her, and I know she's doing better where she is now. It's a bit of relief on both our minds, I think.

At least she doesn't sulk and cry when I go to leave these days...at least, not so much.


No, this isn't my attempt at art. The rather colorful picture you see here is a radar image I managed to save from The Weather Underground's website from roughly 3PM yesterday.

Earlier in the morning, Pittsburgh and the surrounding counties received anywhere from two to three and a half inches of rain in less than an hour from a storm that, pretty much, appeared out of nowhere. Certain parts of the area, like Millvale and Sharpsburg, that had been flooded earlier in the week, were especially hard hit.

The problem was, the worst was yet to come.

A little after 3PM, this wave hit, harder than the morning's storm. Buildings had parts of the walls knocked off from wind damage. Reports of a funnel cloud were heard from a spout forming in the Monongahela River headed upstream (in fact, the area was under a tornado warning...a rare, but not unheard of, event for Pittsburgh). Basements already flooded from early morning waters were rising higher, as cars and people were getting stranded.

And yet, from my vantage point in the (relative) safety of an office building here at CMU, I could still see college students, running around outside, on the lawn, as lightning was crashing and driving rains poured down.

The immortality and stupidity of youth never ceases to amaze me.

By the time I got home, I expected the worst but found it wasn't too bad. My basement took on a little water, but nothing that couldn't be cleaned up with a broom and a bit of pushing. Thank goodness I had the walls coated with drylock a couple years ago. They kept out the worst of it, but water being water, found weak spots and made its way in anyway.

I did lose almost two longboxes of old comics. My own stupidity for storing them down there, I admit. Nothing too valuable, and nothing I'll lose sleep over. Those were things. Things can be replaced.

They said no one died in the storms that hit yesterday, thank goodness. A couple people had heart attacks, but they'll pull through. Some idiots who decided it was a good idea to drive through areas of standing water and got stucks were rescued, but then, every good storm, you'll find some brainless moron who'll think they can make it through because "it's not that deep". Yeah, right. You have no idea how deep it is, kids...best not to take the chance and stay safe and dry.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not an idiotic moron. I wanted to go get my ladylove (who lives in a low-lying, flood-prone zone) and get her and her roommate (and the dog...maybe a cat or two) to the (relative) safety of my place for the night. She told me the main roads were blocked getting in, but I said I could find my way around the back roads. (I know, I know...not the brightest idea I've ever had, but fools in love and all that nonsense...)

She told me not to worry. She was safe. The floodwaters didn't make it up to her place (even if they were about two short blocks away), and they only had two inches of water in her basement (at least they got the washer and dryer up on blocks now). It was best to stay where we were respectively, and know the other's safe.

Level-headed thinking. What a concept!

Things are starting to dry out now. There's a chance of rain for today (you can always check my weather by clicking on the Weather Underground icon, on the right side of the page), but hopefully, it'll be nothing like yesterday.

Just let the humidity drop, and the temperatures during the day stay below 80, and I'll be happy.