The NWS is back at it – failing to deliver any sign of significant rain – all the way into mid September. Other than watering “critical trees” (which are the kind that can fall on building if they die of drought) there’s a ton of shop work and so today’s focus is on?
Horizontal Engineering
107F is toasty – and all that greenhouse engineering (including closing in the “heat tunnel ceiling” has paid off. With two Hessaire MC-37’s running on medium, the greenhouse got up to 93.7 yesterday. And even that was contained in very short order.
The Mexican logic – which is where us “nortes” will usually run smack-into it the first time around – is not really Mexican at all. It’s heritage sails back to Spain and regions where the heat was on before the power poles went in.
The word itself comes from the Latin sexta hora — the “sixth hour” after sunrise, roughly noon — and in medieval Christian monastic life that hour was associated with a pause in the day’s work. In farming communities, the pattern made practical sense: work early, eat the main meal near midday, rest while the heat peaked, then return to work later in the afternoon or evening.
Except, of course, it will still be hot-enough for egg frying well past dark. And we may be old but we be have another term for sexta hora: Nooner.
Spain became especially identified with the custom, and Spanish colonial influence helped spread the term throughout Latin America, but the underlying behavior is really a form of climate-adapted scheduling found independently in many hot regions. Industrialization, fixed factory hours, air conditioning, and urban commuting weakened the traditional siesta during the twentieth century, even in Spain.
Seen historically, though, the siesta was not laziness at all; it was engineering at its finest and an efficient way of shifting human effort away from the most thermally punishing part of the day — precisely the logic behind working our shop during the cool morning hours and sleeping through a 105-107-degree afternoon.
Dallas County (which is in what state, you think?) confirmed its first heat-related death of 2026 (resident in their 50s with pre-existing conditions) amid an ongoing extreme-heat episode with highs near 108°F and little overnight relief. (Unless you sexta hora, cool shower, and have the a/c down at Ice Age.)
So that explains why I’m up and rolling through the overnights.
News Compressor: ON
The United States has imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods effective Saturday after last-ditch talks collapsed; Canada announced dollar-for-dollar retaliation beginning September 8 targeting steel, dairy, electronics and other sectors.
We have already started shopping for “humanitarian relief” goods. And specifically for I.S. maple syrup. As we lift a cup in a “French toast.”
Russian forces conducted a double-tap drone strike on a crowded Kryvyi Rih shopping mall Friday that killed at least 16 civilians and injured more than 130 (including children), followed by additional missile and drone attacks Saturday that killed at least seven more Ukrainians and three in Russia. Vector: Escalating. Which is what wars seem intent on.
Northwest Indiana remains in a multi-week power-restoration slog after mid-August derecho and record flooding; NIPSCO reported ~28,500 customers still out as of late Saturday with some Gary-area restorations not expected until Tuesday. Nowhere is safe from Ma Nature,
Inside Pages
- A federal judge in New York vacated a Trump administration policy that had suspended immigrant-visa processing from 75 countries. New York? Look surprised.
- Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts issued a temporary order allowing White House ballroom construction (~$400 million, privately funded) to continue pending further review. dem temper-tantrums are a safe bet.
- Small plane crashed off Boca Raton, Florida; the [female, but can we mention that?] pilot was rescued. Separately, a Cessna 441 charter crash near remote Alaska radar site Thursday killed all eight aboard. And the skies are sub-“friendly” elsewhere…
- Laptop ignited on an American Airlines flight approaching Dallas; passengers and crew handled it without further incident. Hot video, we’re thinking? (Streaming smoke show? Guessing…) Ground ain’t safe, either:
- NIFC reported 78 large wildfires being suppressed (Northwest heaviest), 11 new large fires yesterday, 22,751 personnel assigned, YTD 50,239 fires and 7.65 million acres burned (well above 10-year averages).
- Extreme heat warnings and advisories remain in effect across the South-Central U.S., Southwest, and parts of California through mid-week; which may sound repetitive. Again.
- CISA added known-exploited vulnerabilities (TrueConf Server, Zimbra, others) to its KEV catalog and issued ICS advisories. But the IT geeks get a/c…
- Oil prices held near recent highs (Brent ~$94, WTI ~$87) on lingering Iran-war supply concerns and Hormuz traffic still below pre-conflict levels. As we were saying about wars, huh?
- National debt surpassed $40 trillion earlier this week. Instead of a quarter tax payment in September, we may just send the government PowerBall tickets.
- SNAP enrollment dropped more than 13% over 12 months, steeper than official estimates.
- Texas judge denied new-trial request for Karmelo Anthony in the fatal stabbing of a high-school athlete.
- Two Phoenix police officers fired and arrested after a violent unreported traffic stop.
- Eye-drop recall of 40,000 bottles nationwide over sterility issues. Prestige Brands Holdings voluntarily recalled 39,060 bottles of Clear Eyes Maximum Itchy Eye Relief, a non-prescription product used to relieve itchy, irritated, and burning eyes temporarily. Recall is limited to one lot.
- Kindergarten vaccination rates dipped as exemptions hit a record high.
- Actor Michael Wright (“Sugar Hill,” “Oz”) died at 70..
Slow-Speed to Monday News Outlook
- Beer for the heat, Deodorant to Hawaii for hurricane sweats.
- Additional heat-related fatalities in Texas, Oklahoma, or Arizona is a 55 percent gamble.
- Look for Canada to publish its detailed retaliatory tariff list. Watch for maple syrup.
- New large-fire growth or evacuation orders are another big bet in Oregon/Washington as Northwest remains at fire Preparedness Level 5.
War Change of Temp to watch:
- Civilian-targeting pattern in Ukraine (mall double-tap plus follow-on strikes) is shifting from ‘“escalation” to “normalized urban terror” in Western coverage, it’s an inference from casualty clustering and limited new sanctions talk.
Marketing Reality
We might as well call this “LOOB” day for all the food references. Because? Today is…
- National Sponge Cake Day
- National Cuban Sandwich Day
- Find Your Inner Nerd Day
- National Ride the Wind Day
- Internaut Day (anniversary of the World Wide Web going public)
- International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (UNESCO)
- Black Ribbon Day (European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism)
- Also noted: Cheap Flight Day, Hug Your Sweetheart Day, Buttered Corn Day
Monday, August 24, 2026 (tomorrow is…)
- National Waffle Day
- National Peach Pie Day
- National Knife Day
- National Maryland Day
- International Strange Music Day
- Pluto Demoted Day
- Also noted: Can Opener Day, Vesuvius Day, Weather Complaint Day, National Selfirst Day
Ah! National Knife Day. Be sharp. End of cutting up, now. Time to “shop.”
Write when you get rich,
George@Ure.net