Dancer in the Dark

Oh, the summer storms. There are some oak trees that have been ripped right out of the ground in some spots around the area. My power was still out when I went home yesterday, so we emptied my fridge of any perishables, did a little tidying, and collected some things so I could spend a few days away from home. Oh, bother.

Many local folks don't seem to know that you can look at a frequently updated map of the Detroit Edison power company service area that gives information about the extent of the power outages in your particular zip code. It doesn't give address by address information, although you can check the status of a previously reported power problem through their "Storm Center" on their website. But the map does at least give you some information, about whether there is an outage problem or not. They update it every half hour.

What I really wanted to do (since I can't book the next flight to Cali to be with my family) was hide out at home, clean my house, work in my garden, do a little swimming, and work on my archaeology paper. But we're going to hit some barbecues this afternoon, to celebrate our status as, in the words of the wonderful Miki, "the greatest democracy in the world." Luckily my friends have a sense of irony; drinking the afternoon away at a "4th of July Proud To Be An American Imperialist BBQ and Slip and Slide Party" sounds like something I can handle, I guess.

Well, Umlud and I are off for a bike ride around A2.