Summer

Wow. It's summer already. And how! Lincoln is in the mid 90's today and may flirt with 100 tomorrow. The humidity is higher than a Arizona State fan in Omaha. (Yes, they beat the Huskers in the College World Series. Hell of a game!)

I could either choose to stay in and stay cool or go out and fry. Fry won. Rebel, my old red z-24 storm spotter car overheated again so I had to walk down to the shop to get it. I guess I even missed storm spotting in my month or so off. I have been out three times and the last time was the most fun. It was about two weeks ago on a Friday night that the ole' ham radio went off, sounding the alarm for spotters. I was South of Lincoln over by a little town called Hickman. Radar indicated a possible tornado in my area so I put the glasses on the storm overhead and sure enough, it was rotating. (You need that ingredient to generate a good tornado.) No funnel was evident but it could drop at any time. Rebel was in the "ready" position and running in case we had to bolt out of the way of Mother Nature's super broom. I had my back to the car and when I turned around, it looked like it was on fire--lot's of white coming out from under the hood. Fortunately, it was just steam from overheating but what a time for that!

I can jog a little, but these conditions would call for a bolt out of the gate like a Saudi race horse near the Crete horsemeat plant. But, no tornado. Just a tornado spotter with car trouble.

The problem was a broken wire between the fan and the gauge which wasn't working anyway.

It is now and the problem is hopefully solved.

The only other problem is there are no storms to go watch. It's beastly hot and there is a "cap" in the atmosphere which stops the development of super cells--the best of the thunderstorm best--which are the breeding gounds for tornados and an instant ticket to fun.

I guess the only steam you'll see from me is the steam coming out of my ears. I went for a 20 mile bike ride. Heck, it is only 95.

Have a happy summer and enjoy yourself.