Chris looks like he's going to visit the Gulf of Mexico. However, we are being assured that the high pressure area over us will keep Chris moving mostly westerly and going inland at a rather people-barren place near the Tex-Mex border.

By tomorrow morning he'll most likely be a hurricane (winds of at least 74 mph) and tearing up Cuba and Hispaniola (quick! what two countries share this island?) and a few smaller tropical "paradises."

It's August, and that's the month when the tropical weather can get nasty, and then get nastier in September. I'd say most people in this area are watching the weather very closely. And with a touch of paranoia.

On the bright side, we've begun having scattered afternoon showers. Aside from slowing down the home-bound traffic a bit, they generally cool the air down somewhat.

I'm working again tomorrow, to make up for Monday when the tree man came. When I started doing this I decided that I'd work three days a week, and maintaining that schedule gives me much more of the feeling that it's a job--not a volunteer thing I'm doing on a whim. It gives structure to my life, and when I know that "tomorrow" is usually a work day I am far less likely to procrastinate.

Besides, I like the people and I like what I do.

Keep inhaling from the north and exhaling to the south--keep Chris away from the US mainland, especially the areas still trying to come back from Katrina.