Currently in Holland its the hotest summer ever, to hot to do anything meaningfull, except grilling every night and drinking bear and cocktails. I can’t motivate myself to go inside and make some music.. i think we havent seen any rain here since early May

So how is the summer in other parts of the world?

Last week we broke the record high temperature for the date four days in a row. Between 104 and 107. It's a little better this week though. Still hot in Louisiana!

Yeah that heat wave last week was a killer! Got up 110 here in Dallas. Now that’s back to the high 90’s it feels like a cold snap has hit us- LOL.
The western portion of the US is up in flames and it’s flooding in the east. Crazy!

Glad i am in Holland, but last week we topped 100 3 days in a row, which was an alltime record..

Here in Maryland, USA, we had the rainiest July in recorded history, while temperatures were normal for this time of year. Now, in this 3rd day of August, the forecast is for more rain and seasonal temperatures. No heat wave, but when the humidity is equal to the temperature, which is often the case this time of year, it becomes very difficult for those of us with bad lung conditions.

All the best,

Gary

Don't think of it as global warming, think of it as a marketing opportunity.....to sell refrigerators to the Eskimos. Oh, and those record breaking temperatures; all fake news....although it would be ironic if the Interior Secretary got eaten by a starving polar bear. But, who're you going to believe, Fox News or your lying eyes.

chas

In New England and in Rhode Island it's been one of the hottest months of July I remember. We have never had to run the AC everyday all the time but for the last 5 weeks it's been running non-stop. What's weird is that the temps in Central Florida where we spend quite a bit of time it's been a bit cooler there than in Rhode Island.

Chas, you gotta' get out more. No one mentioned climate change, global warming, global cooling, weather instability, or any of the other catch phrases. Why bring politics into this, though a lying politician is working on his second billion with this hoax. Just follow the money, as the saying goes.

Don't take my word for it, though - I'm just a crippled up, retired, dumbass entertainer that can't play music worth a damned. But, like Al Gore, I sure fooled a lot of folks into believing I was a great musician.

Take a look at Lots of good information here, but you probably still believe Al Gore is right.

Almost forgot this one, which is equally as informational.



Good luck,

Gary

Yeah, but look at your gifts; you're an acclaimed climatologist. However you do need to work on your self-esteem. But in any case, I thought climate was about science, not politics, and I think I'm going to go with the 95% of the scientific community, politics be damned. And oh yeah, too bad about poor Al Gore. Heck, if he'd won we probably would have missed out on that wonderful Iraq war. So, what's on the grill tonight, Bambi?

chas

Lobster basted with garlic butter and Old Bay Seafood Seasoning on the grill tonight, Chas - you missed out on a great dinner. Good thing my grill is on my covered deck, though, rained like Hell most of the evening and the outside temperature is just 72 degrees.

Not a climatologist, but I did take an Aerology course in the US Navy, which I would think you would have as well, and I slept in a Holiday Inn Select in several states. Does that count?

Oh, and that 95-percent figure, better do a bit more research on that figure, too. You'll be surprised at what the real figure is. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexepstein...g/#61922f1f3f9f

Good luck,

Gary

Take a look at this. There's some bad language in the clip but still rather funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0aFPXr4n4

When I moved to Louisiana in 78, we had 32 straight days over 100. Nothing like that since.

Salsaman, I LOVE George Carlin; I may be one of his biggest fans. That's mainly because he was one of the funniest guys ever and also because of our shared opinion on religion. In any case, it's a moot point as none of us around today will be around for the final verdict. Still, in any conflict between science and fact-free politics, I think I'm going to go with science. YMMV.

chas

Chas, you didn't watch the videos, did you.

Gary

Yes Gary, I did watch the video, at least the George Carlin one. George is a comedian with views that I agree with 98% of the time. If I want to laugh and be entertained, I go to Carlin, if I want scientific information, I go to a legitimate SCIENTIFIC source. What amazes me is how climate science is no longer a scientific issue but a raging, screaming POLITICAL issue between the far Right (born out of a hatred for clean air/clean water regulations, enacted mostly by the Democrats, which could impact the corporate bottom line) and the rest of the sane world who merely want a safe, healthy environment for themselves and their children. This is just one of many issues being used to divide this nation and it's sad (to me) to see how easily we can be exploited and how willing we are to accept or ignore thousands of documented, super fact-checked lies we're bombardied with every day. Thank goodness this illness only affects about a third of our nation, however vocal they are, and that number appears to be dwindling.

I only want my children to grow up in a better world than exists right now, where truth and basic morality (especially in our leaders) actually means something; where peaceful protest, a concept this nation was founded upon, is not painted to look like something else just to rile up a BASE of people who are just looking for an reason to justify their darkest feelings towards other segments of the population.

This belongs in the bar and for that reason I won't post any more about it. I think it's pretty clear where we all stand; no surprises here. Have a good day.

chas

I’m hearing the hottest summer on record here in MN.

We’re always comforted by the fact that in about 6 months it will be around -20.

I too love to watch George Carlin, my daughter went to school with his niece, Brenda and she has met him on a few occasions. Great comedian.

I too look at the sciences, then looked at the actual climate readings and they were not remotely close to the models proposed by a handful of scientists and exploited by a politician with an agenda of getting rich by exploiting fears they created.

Just because we are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, does not mean that we do not want the same things for ourselves and children. No one wants dirty air and water - NO ONE! And, everyone I know wants a better life for their children as well as themselves.

To date, not a single one of Al Gore's dire predictions have come to pass - NOT ONE! In fact, the air is cleaner in California now than it was when I was a young kid in the US Navy. Many of the nations streams are not cleaner because of the dedicated, hard work done by private organizations such as Trout Unlimited and Save Our Streams. A large number of streams and rivers that were previously contaminated by acid mine drainage have been restored to near pristine condition by programs instituted by Dr Robert Bachman, who in cooperation with the coal mining industry put together incredible programs that completely neutralized the acid mine drainage. Now, some of those mine waters have been converted to raceways where brook trout are being produced by the millions.

Finally, if you have a single, recent, peer-reviewed study that clearly shows where any of these dire, global-warming predictions have come to be, I would love to read it. Even NASA now says that the models were flawed because the input data had been compromised.

All the best,

Gary

Gary, I'm not going to try to convince you of ANYTHING. At your age that's not possible. You may want the best for YOUR children but I'm not convinced you want the same thing for MINE. I don't think anyone in their right mind wants to see the coal industry come back, including the miners themselves. Why would anyone want to literally kill themselves working in an industry that produces a product KNOWN to pollute everything it comes in contact with; air, water, sunlight. No one is willing to admit the TRUE reasons we hold the beliefs we do, which are 5% economic and 95% cultural, racial, and religious. Hate, fueled by tribalism and nationalism, is at an all-time high and will likely stay that way (or even escalate) for as long as we have leaders that aim to garner and maintain power by dividing us rather than bringing us together (aided and abetted by a legislature too cowardly to stand up to this gross abuse of power and total lack of morality and decency).

So yes, we ARE on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and that will always be a deterrent to TRUE friendship. Very sad. You should start a new thread over at The Bar if you'd like to discuss this further.

chas

Nah! I'm not a bar guy, Chas. And, as I said earlier, this should not have been a political issue.

Gary

Can I just jump in and ask you guys if you notice any joint pain in these high temperatures. Southeast U.K. at the moment is around the high 20's to 30C and my joints are aching like hell but I don't have this problem in autumn/winter/spring when temps are lower but with more dampness. Some of the temperatures you are going through in USA at the moment are really exceptional.

Hope it cools down a bit for you soon.

Alan

This summer has been, and still is the hottest and dryest and also had some of 'all high' temperatures.
Myself, I love it, because there is no excuses to jump on a plane to find the summer in Spain or at islands far south.
But, the farmers have hard times with lack og water and too dry fields to grow vegetables and also to grow food to feed the animals during the coming winter.
Also been far more fire in the forests and nature than usual, and thats not any good.
But, all the talk about global warming .... if there was not any global warming, we would still live on a planet of frosen ice.
The world have it's own cycle that have been going on for zillions of years, and believe me, it will continue long after we're gone.......
Next summer, we will be afraid of drown because og too much rain, as usual....

I've always believed that nature will look after itself. This lovely planet we live on will sort itself out in the end.

Alan

Well said Sapphire! It's hard to tell if the weather is affecting my joints, because they always seem to hurt these days!
Nice to get back on topic.

Can't argue with that Don. Funny really but I don't seem to remember this pain when I was younger. I wonder why.

Alan

Alan, usually, joint pain associated with weather changes can be linked to the passage of frontal systems. Usually, medically speaking, joints usually become painful with the passage of a low pressure system, while the pain seems to subside with the passage of high pressure systems. No one is quite sure why this occurs, but it has been well documented in the medical journals for as long as I can remember.

Unfortunately, as we age, this is aggravated by the onset of osteoarthritis, which is part of the aging process. As we age, our joints wear out from use, thus the longer we live, the more they wear. Eventually, the inflammatory process kicks in, and we end up like Don Mason and others on this forum, in constant pain. Anti-inflammatory drugs help reduce the pain, but they have their own side effects. I switched to Jim Bean Honey Bourbon just over a year ago to ease the pain. It's less expensive than the drugs, has fewer side effects, tastes better and eventually, achieves the same end result - less pain.

All the best,

Gary

I'm not in constant pain! I'm weak and out of condition, which I'm working on. I don't take any pain or arthritis medication. I take plenty for my congestive heart failure though and I'm convinced that is at least partially causing the weakness.
I've lost 32 pounds since the first of the year; about 30 more to go. Losing the weight will help everything! I play golf almost every day. Need to build stamina, but I have nearly zero pain unless you consider my pain in the ass grandson.

Gary,
thanks for the explanation although it destroys my theory. I seem to notice when we are in a high pressure system my joints appear to hurt more but maybe it's just my imagination.

Alan.