Mercury Retrograde and Almost a Bad Cup of Coffee

That was a close one. I just overheard that she was slipping in the bad coffee every third pot to get rid of it. We're in the middle of another mercury retrograde. Two more weeks.

From AstroProfile.

• Communications go awry - phone calls, letters, emails, faxes, conversations are delayed, misinterpreted, blocked. Recheck everything like appointment times, spelling, wording, the words you say.


• Anticipate detours - memory lapses, confusion, failing to listen, failing to confirm, negotiation failures, changing of plans.

Another day, another sports story. Barry Zito intentionally walked Ryan Zimmerman which contributed slightly to his 30-game hitting streak to come to an end. Zimmerman had three other at bats but couldn't deliver. Good to see Zito's arm is still solid. "Zito's fifth strong effort in a row should have encouraged the Giants," said Chris Haft of MLB.com.

And this from SI on Randy Johnson. "So I told you last week I wasn't wild about Randy Johnson starting against the Rockies again and he got hit hard. Johnson is showing the effects of age, but is still pitching better than a 45 year old would have 30 years ago."

On a positive note, I got through my morning workout while watching ESPN without a single mention of that banned substance that rhymes with Altoids. I did see a mention of it on SI.com but it's hilarious Manny Ramirez has gone from the masculine sounding "ManRam" to "Nanny" in one week's time. I've heard female fertility drugs can do that sort of thing.

Already this morning, Austin's air isn't looking too good. A PM-2.5 reading of 21 doesn't bode well for health. The folks in Tyler have the cleanest air in the state of Texas at a 1.2 PM-2.5. It looks like another bike ride indoors at the gym.

More on Outdoor Air Quality

I just got through publishing the latest article on GoodHealth.com. It deals with the outdoor air pollution in Central Texas and asthma. The readings for particulate matter 2.5 pollution yesterday were through the roof. Looking around town it was strange. Thick haze was obscuring views of the hills. The readings had us at a 238.1 reading for 2.5 particulate matter which is insane. I think someone had their Hummer backed up close to the measuring equipment. I stayed in and drank some red wine rather than play tennis with my next door neighbor.

I woke up this morning and checked the readings thinking there wasn't enough wind to keep the Mexican fire smoke south of the Austin area. However, when I checked at 5:45 am, the levels for 2.5 and for ozone were decent enough to get a run in. 13.1 for the PM-2.5 and 19 for the ozone.

Austin Air Quality is Mixed in Review

An old parable says that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger. Kind of like A-Roid all of a sudden having surgery after the steroid mess came out. However, if you put that same frog into a pot of cool water and then you gradually increase the temperature until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late. Much more like how the roid situation with Clemens went down. Maybe because he kept saying the pot wasn't hot enough, denying any use.

I thought since A-Roid wasn't scheduled to come back from his rehab until May 15 we'd be treated to full days of roid-less sports coverage but that's been blown out. Thank God that ESPN spent very little time on the piece this morning and decided instead to focus on two of today's brighter players.

So back to the cooked frog. The Austin Business Journal reported yesterday on the American Lung Association's report on Austin's air quality. Long story short, Austin gets a mixed rating. Air quality in general is based on small particle pollution and another reading for ozone pollution. Austin is good on the 2.5 micron pollution but bad on the ozone. I have mixed feelings on this report as it may encourage more people to venture out, eventually becoming cooked frogs later in life.

Here's what I base this on. If you venture out first thing in the morning say around 5:00 am or 6:00, but not later than 6:45 (that's when people in my neighborhood start leaving for work) you will notice cleaner air. The reason being that overnight the pollution from the day before has been swept out of town for the most part. Wind and pressure play a part here but let's say for argument it is swept out on most days. If you are jogging and pass an early commuter in their car you will notice the exhaust from that one car. It's sufficient to make you not want to inhale until you get far enough away. So one car passing while your in a clean air environment is very noticeable.

Now go down to the hike and bike trail along Lady Bird Lake underneath the Mopac Expressway bridge where there's heavy traffic and run down Cesar Chavez street where there's heavy traffic at say 5:30 pm. Unless there's a car with flagrant expulsion of exhaust it'll be difficult to notice the exhaust. Why is this? If you look at the pollution charts that provide real time readings from monitoring equipment you'll see the levels are higher than they were at 5:30 am. If you can smell the poisonous exhaust from one car, common sense says 10,000 cars are doing some damage. And mix the sun's rays, which creates ozone, and is also said to create a sunburn effect to the lung's inner lining it's a wonder anyone jogs at all.

Needless to say I'm sticking to the early morning runs unless there's a weather event that sweeps the bad air out of the atmosphere. Recent rain storms did this. I'm also staying away from heavy-traffic-streets. I'd rather run in the afternoon or evening but it's just not worth it in the long run.

Read more about dirty air in the Canada Medical Association report.

If you want to watch the Texas statewide levels rise over a period of a day, point your browser to the TCEQ ozone level map and the TCEQ PM 2.5 level map,

On This Almost Earth Day

On this almost Earth Day I sit inside (10:00 am) and not on the patio as the ozone level has already climbed over 50.

and food for thought from The New Yorker, In the Air.

In a recent survey, the Pew Research Center asked Americans about their priorities for Congress and the new President. “Dealing with global warming” ranked at the bottom of a list of twenty choices, far below “strengthening the nation’s economy” and “reducing health-care costs,” and even below dealing with unspecified “global trade issues.” The recession seems to have dampened the nation’s enthusiasm for any measure that could affect—or, perhaps just as important, be portrayed as affecting—people’s pocketbooks. Last month, when Gallup asked Americans whether “protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth,” only forty-two per cent said yes. This was the lowest proportion in the twenty-five years since the firm started asking the question. Results like these do not make action on climate change any less imperative. But—especially since opponents can be counted on to spend tens of millions of dollars on lobbying—they do make it that much less likely.

This week, when Earth Day turns thirty-nine, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will plant trees. The Interior Department will host a fair in Washington’s Rawlins Park, and in Bloomington volunteers will teach sixth graders about karsts and creeks. As perhaps befits a middle-aged celebration, these are all eminently reasonable activities. But Earth Day has lost its edge and, with that, the sense that a different world is possible. Even more than in 1970, what’s needed now is an outpouring that organizes itself—with millions of people and, for good measure, some stinky dead fish in the streets.