Prologue: this isn’t the post I sat down to write, but it’s the one that come out, so it’s the one the world’s getting.

The weekdays have settled nicely into Hot Summer Routine. My internal alarm clock wakes me between 7 and 8 AM, which means I can have tea & do morning puzzles outside on the porch or patio before the sun hits them. Then it’s time for breakfast, upcoming calendar/scheduling consultation with Spouseman (don’t picture anything exciting, I’m talking stuff like laundry, grocery needs, meal ideas) and then it’s up to the office with tea and determination.

Summer is storm, fire & flood season, so, I do my Big Disaster checks first: the Airnow.gov air quality map, Accuweather, NHC.gov and Watch Duty. If I’m feeling brave, I read the day’s 1440 report & the previous day’s WTF Just Happened post. If I’m not feeling brave (most days) I leave the human news for the end of the workday…