177 getting used to this?

It's a quarter to 8 a.m. and I'm walking toward downtown. The sky is a deep orange red and it's dark, as if the sun hasn't risen yet. But it rose 45 minutes ago at least. The street lights are still on. This is perhaps the scariest morning walk I've ever taken, while wearing shorts. 

The air actually isn't too smoky to breathe. This is all high up. Currently the state is experiencing our number two, number three, and number four biggest wildfires in history, all at the same time. And new ones are popping up every day. 

And this is just the beginning of September. Over 2 million acres have burned already. Yesterday felt like wearing sunglasses all day. Today feels like wearing those super dark amber sunglasses. It's kind of scary.

It's 8:00 a.m. and I still can't see the sun.

8:30 and it's still as dark. As if maybe it were an hour after sunset. There's no sign of the sun in the sky maybe just a general sort of lighterness toward the east but no glowing ball whatsoever.

Well this is just bizarre it's now after 9:00 a.m. and it feels like it's after sunset. It's dark. Day for night. 

Everyone is taking pictures of the sky. Everyone is saying it's apocalyptic. But there are a lot more people out than there were in early March. More people riding their bikes. Some more people walking to work, even people driving around I imagine. 

Not early March, late March.

I think it might actually be getting darker.

It's 10am and I am home. It feels like it is night time. Time to drink.

11:30am. It's still dark. There's no sun, just some orange patches in the red sky. 

4:45 it's the brightest it's been all day.

As I sit here at 7:15 p.m. I realize I've gotten used to the quiet. The lack of car noise. Market Street behind us doesn't have any particular sound. Normally it's a rush of cars going by. But the doom and the gloom and lockdown has us all chilling. 

I've gotten used to it. Have we all?

Yesterday was maybe not the best day to start my sun-dried figs project.

The yard Deb and I are working in has an amazing fig tree. First, you gather some figs that are "fall off the tree" ripe.

Then you boil them for thirty seconds in salt water, before skewering.

Then you hang them up for three-ish days in the sun, taking them in at night. If this batch fails, I'm guessing that was my shortfall. Yesterday's sun was, um, on vacay.

About $3-4k can now buy you an "electric bike" capable of going 30mph for 100 miles.

Yeah, this transportation segment is getting pretty fun.

Let's take a closer look at this blurb from yesterday.

Particularly, what are those jobs? A wartime consigliere? 

That means a wartime advisor. Who are wartime advisors, and what makes them happy to work so much?

Is that, like, everyone at the Pentagon? Everyone in the government? Every arms manufacturer? 

Or is it a broader term, meaning anyone involved in crisis capitalism? Every contractor installing drywall after a flood?

Or does it simply mean aggressive lawyers? Honestly, I'm unsure.

Financiers, that's easy. Those are people who play with money full time.  Mnuchin, Dimond,  Mercer, Buffett.

Executives in big tech, that's also easy. That's people like Musk, Zuck, Bez, and Thiel.

Branders-of-self? That's what I'm going for, I guess. 

Single-issue-controversialists, that's like my vegan friend that everyone knows is vegan. You know who. And you know why you know, because they make sure of it.

Yep, we're all just aglow with job satisfaction.

Finally, a view of Sutro Tower from above yesterday. Our building is in the "clear" patch in the middle right.