Events

I'm sat quite peacefully in the American Airlines Flagship Lounge, sipping a Veuve Cliquot brut (n.v.), and tasting some of the new recipes they've got (the pesto balsamic salmon was lovely, but I think I'm going to get a bit more of the hoisin watermelon chicken). I'm also impressed with the current flag display in Terminal 3:

I have a mug that says, "Should I release at 5pm on a Friday?" "No!" "What if I just..." "OMFG no!"

I woke up in a fog this morning:

Once again, Cassie and I got up obscenely early (5:30 am), but that allowed us to take a very long walk around the lake side of Belmont Harbor without needing sunscreen. It was 27°C with a 30°C heat index, however, but it was still pretty:

Google has gotten a lot of flak for updating their Maps product for US-based visitors to show a different name for Lake Ontario. Google made the change following an asinine Executive Order directing the Board on Geographic Names to update its database. That is the only thing the EO actually did, and, I am sad to report, it was an entirely lawful EO.

My dog is harrumphing on the couch, because despite already getting 52 minutes of walkies before 8 am, that was in the past and therefore no longer part of her consciousness anymore. The temperature is now almost 32°C with a 38°C heat index, however, so I am not in any hurry to go back out there. Nah, I'd rather feel uncomfortable indoors, reading stuff like this:

I got up about 15 minutes before sunrise this morning because I want to adjust my body clock by a couple of hours before stumbling off an airplane at Heathrow just after 4am Chicago time Sunday morning. I don't really like getting up before dawn under most circumstances, but today I got a sample of what I'll get to see most mornings from mid-September until the beginning of April:

The temperature at O'Hare hit 35.6°C (96°F) this afternoon, tying the hottest temperature of the year (July 14th). Cassie has gotten an hour of walks today, but in 20-minute increments outside. I still feel icky.

Chicago had 122 murders during meterological summer this year, the lowest number since 1965. And yet, most of the candidates for mayor can't help themselves: