Actually hit 117F today here in Salem, Oregon. Hottest ever in recorded history. “Hot enough to boil a monkey’s bum,” as they said on Monty Python. Thank god for AC.

Scott William Carter

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Sometimes the truth can really suck.

I’m about 100 miles north of Portland. It’s 2:30  in the afternoon and it just hit 106.

It’s been a miserable past four days here.

Your latest screed did little to lift my spirits.

Dammed truth!

Burke Long

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115 just outside of Vancouver BC, in the Fraser Valley.. Can’t wait until it cools down to the mid 90’s tomorrow..

Funkright

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Hi Bob , thanks for brightening my day ! I’m up in Vancouver BC . Its 38 celsius at noon . Never seen anything like it up here … crazy times ..

John Kieselhorst

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My Nieghbor out here  in Colorado (in the middle of nowhere, 7600 ft -94 degrees last week) , 82 years old just got covid as did his wife. Both Trumpers- nice people, but can’t believe how stupid they were. Here we go again, it’s ridiculous we are fucked.

Peter O’Fallon

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According to the National Weather Service, it’s 106 in Seattle today, and counting. Google the weather in Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, it’s hot in a lot of places. We moved to NYC to Seattle 5 years ago, so we’re no stranger to hot summer days.  The difference is in NYC hot summer weather has existed for an eternity, but that’s certainly not the case in Seattle, the city with the lowest household penetration of air conditioning in the U.S. It was never considered necessary!! Each summer since we moved here it’s been hotter and hotter, and it isn’t even July yet.  Oh, I’d be remiss in not sharing, I write all of this from a downtown hotel. We checked in 2-days ago to escape the heat from our downtown condo.  Climate change?  Wait, haven’t you heard, Bob? “There’s nothing to see here, so just move along.” It’s like a parody of that Stormtroopers scene from Star Wars. Just insert healthcare, election reform, gun control, etc., and you’ll get the same response.  “Nothing to see here, so…..”

Stuart K. Marvin

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I am working from my car right now in actual 113 degree Portland heatwave — because inside my temporary top-floor rental it’s a deathtrap — 103 degrees. Hallways are about 120.

The next time a cheap-ass landlord, leasing agent or Realtor tells you “Oh you don’t really need air conditioning here” – run. The era of ‘cool’ summer days in the mountains and particularly in the Pacific Northwest ended long ago.

I’ve been here off-and-on last several months hanging w my daughter during pandemic. My brother has lived here 30 years.  Always been amazed by the number of homes/apts here  — fancy ones at that — without AC — there have been plenty of scorchers preceding this history-making one.

But talk about an American scam! The Pacific Northwest is flooded with cheap, giant apartment companies such as UDR, still building brand new buildings without HVAC systems: It’s all junk ‘cadet’ wall-heaters in winter (you’ll freeze) — and mostly useless rolling “portable ACs” in summer, that landlords then rent at monthly fees. Skip building the HVAC, then rent back pieces of it if tenants want it !!!

Inside my “luxury” temporary rental right now this bogus machine has been running nonstop, 24/7. Indoor temp never went below 90 last week. The real eye-opener is they’re ‘vented’ out the back wall/window like a clothes dryer, actually creating more heat, worsening climate crises.

This particular building went up in 2018.  How are cities, counties, municipalities still greenlighting these shadeless ovens — with skylights no less — let alone allowing REITs to call them “luxurious?”  Get with the times people. Climate change is real.

Deb Wilker

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In socialist New Zealand we were forced to lock down for 6 whole weeks. But that ended April 2020 and we’ve had zero covid restrictions since then asides the strict border restrictions and a couple short regional lockdowns. The total death toll is 26.

It’s still far from over and there are a small group of anti lockdown morons but most people are standing by ready to work together by staying at home and wearing our masks in the event that covid breaches our border. It’s so comforting knowing our government and our people will do whatever it takes to completely eliminate the virus and as a result our economy is booming. Living here it’s easy to forget there’s a pandemic ravaging the rest of the world unless you switch on the news.

It’s sad watching the US fall apart and proof that individual freedom is intrinsically linked to working together as a community.

Ben Carter

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What were you doing in Sharm-el-Sheik?

That would have been about 1971?

We took a bus there from Eilat in 1971.

There was nothing there.

Slept on the beach.

Woken up by the IDF doing an early morning sweep.

Best,

Julian Burnett

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I was in Sharm El Shiek when it belonged to Israel too! There was just a bath house and we slept on the beach. Woken up in the morning by fighter jets about 10 feet off the ground screaming over our heads. I remember when we left, by bus, and stopped in Eilat and I bought a big bottle of chocolate milk and several bottles of water which never tasted so good. I don’t remember the heat – I think it was April. I still have a map of Israel showing those boundaries.

Lee in Nashville

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I am fully vaxxed yet tested positive for
Covid last week. I got tested at the recommendation of my doctor because I had also been dealing with extreme allergies this past month so when I lost my taste and smell but was not running a fever I initially attributed it to my allergies.  When the test came back positive I was quite worried because I am a singer and had been singing for three days to large congested groups Of people while I unknowingly was infected. Oddly enough my partner whom I live with, as well as my singing partner, both tested negative. When the health department contacted me, I inquired as to how many fully vaxxed people they are encountering who have tested positive.  They said it was about 5% most likely due to the new mutant strains. Thankfully being fully vaxxed extremely lessened the severity of my symptoms while lowering how contagious I was.

Murphy’s law of course.  Live music gigs are finally coming back and nows the time I test positive for covid having to miss out on work that has been largely non existent for the last 15 or so months.

Regardless, just a stark reminder that, despite what the anti-vaxx dumbs and right wing news outlets are saying, the pandemic is still here.

-travis von Cartier

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As an Egyptian born in Oregon, I’m loving this hot af weather… haha feels like home!

Sarah El Ebiary