Interval Raining and delusions of adequacy

After a long six weeks of high heat and humidity and even longer without rain, now we have had a pretty steady week of rain and cooler temperatures.

For most of the month I have been spending several hours a day at the gym. I haven't been doing much riding because of the heat, so I am justifying the gym time as interval cross training. In spite of the cooler temperatures, that the rains bring, I haven't been feeling death defying or stupid enough to brave both Texas drivers and flowing streets and gutters, nor have I wanted to spend time on a daily basis, drying, cleaning, lubbing and doing all the general daily maintenance required on the bike if I do ride it in the rain.

In tune with the interval training I have been doing in the gym, the weather gods have been doing interval raining. The pattern is about 10 minutes of pending build up, rumbles and flashes along with increasing dense and blackening clouds, followed by 10-15 minutes of rain heavy enough to choke a frog, causing all of the rain spouts and street gutters to back up. This is followed by a sudden disappearance of clouds and rain and about 20 minutes of hot bright sun which causes all of the still standing water to condense instantly into increased humidity which in turn seems to summon the clouds and the whole cycle begins again. The end result is almost like being slowly boiled in a pressure cooker. Each time the sun comes out, the humidity increases enough that the accumulation cannot disperse in the rain. By the end of the day, the humidity is thick enough that instant drops of water condense on your skin and clothing if you walk out into it.

On a totally different topic, there has been a little tempest brewing up in a Dallas suburb to the north of us. Many of the housing communities in and around most of the major Texas cities are what are known as "master planned" communities. The styles and types of architecture are tightly controlled, there are many extra amenities such as local activity centers, community pools, walking areas, and parks. Each occupant of such a community signs a covenant with the Homeowners Association (HOA) agreeing to abide by the rules and regulations of the association as to how much lawn, how tall the lawn, plantings, maintenance, house color, home repairs and rennovations, keeping excess cars off the street, keeping the sidewalks clear for pedestrians etc. This is to keep the community "in tune with what homeowners in such a community are entitled to expect."

The end result the HOA makes sure people maintain their property, keep the trashy used cars off the lawns, and don't lower their neighbors resale value by painting their own houses screaming chartreuse or adding an unsightly barn or mother in law extension.

Hence the controversy. The HOA in this particular community issued a warning to a resident, warning him that his 2008 Ford F150 pickup truck was not acceptable in the community. When he pursued the warning with the HOA, pointing out that there were many pick ups of various makes and sizes parked within the community, and that he was the only one being warned. The HOA's response was that there were indeed many other pick ups and SUVs in the community but that they were all at least BMWs or Cadillacs and not just a Ford. They further commented that the type of vehicle a person owned reflected on the type of person the owner was and that the owner of a Ford was not the type of person that would be expected to live in their community.

Let's hear it for good old boy discrimination by pickup. Here in Texas brand loyalties to the truck one drives is tantamount to a religious belief as well as an inherited family/blood tradition so by criticizing the brand of a man's truck you are criticizing his beliefs, his genetics, his mama's virtue, his daddy's wisdom, the ground he grew up on, the job he holds, the sanctity of his marriage and his right to carry a gun. Dangerous ground indeed.

Since that one brief news item, nothing more has been heard from the HOA or the gentleman whose honor and heritage they defamed but I expect the shooting will start pretty soon