CLIMATOLOGISTS AFFECTED BY THE SUN

Per the news, monsoon-like conditions have moved into California south of here. By which is meant that there are great chances for summer thunder and lightening storms, not actual torrential rain. The use of the term is misleading.

I would suggest that calling dry thunder and lightening, in an arid region with a near-desert climate, monsoonal, is completely wrong. Downright berserk.
In any case not common English usage.

Precipitate fog slightly darkening the concrete sidewalk outside my building, and making the odours of San Francisco marginally more intense, hardly qualifies as a wall of rain moving in from the ocean and flooding the low-lying rice paddies and ditches of the civic centre. There are no pedicabs stranded by the downpour, the drains are not evertaxed, the muddy waters are not flowing over the levees.

Trust me on this. The illustration above shows nowhere in the San Francisco area.

While I was outside smoking my first pipe of the day I did not see any umbrellas. At all. Maybe because there were so few people about, but also because there was no rain.

A nice hot cup of coffee, with cardamom and some sweetened condensed milk, would have been most welcome, as well as a place to sit down.

Sadly, in this tropical climate, the incessant rain gets on every ones nerves, and they prefer to be alone with their soggy thoughts, and fiercely chase the passing pipe smoker outdoors, flapping their wet loincloths to keep me away. The bugs find a welcome home between the mildewed toes of their flip-flops, little black flies gather on every furniture surface under the reeking oil lamps that fight against the daytime gloom, all food is protected with wire mesh baskets and all cups or glasses are covered with lids; still the small dark insect bodies get everywhere. Solid clouds block out the sun, when will this rain ever end?


Monsoonal? Hoo hah!


It's rather pleasant outside. Almost shirtsleeve weather.



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