Today was one of those days that reminds me why I love living - and as a bonus, doing it here. The sun was shining and it was well above 80. The birds were singing away and frantically going about their springtime business. I have some (sparrows, I think) nesting on the north side of the house. I hear so many different birdsongs day and night that I’ve started checking eNature.com to try to identify them.

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Look, assholes - stop throwing your cigarettes out your fucking car window. I saw some cretin do this today in Santa Monica and wish I’d had been able to yell at him without causing an accident. This is the world’s most obnoxious habit under any conditions - but you can’t even use your ashtray now? Do the species a favor and die, please.

Spoke a little too soon. I was getting ready for bed when I heard a strange noise - sounded sort of like the dryer was on or something. I looked outside and saw a large conflagration a couple blocks away. I could see towers of flame well above the houses between us. I grabbed my camera (wrong lens for the occasion, but I was in a hurry) and jumped on my bike to get a closer look. I found a patch of brush, palm trees, and a garage or small home totally involved. Power lines and a transformer fuzzed and sparked and fell to the ground. The fire was high and hot and it moved quickly. I shot these pictures. I was worried the fire would spread quickly because the palm trees - some probably fifty feet high - were fully engulfed and spraying embers all over the area. A man jumped from the flames. A couple concerned residents were out with their garden hoses, doing what they could. The fire department was on scene within a few minutes and brought it under control very quickly. Thanks, dudes.

Reuters: blackout averted in San Diego; “transmission emergency” extended.

Today’s the first day I’ve really noticed any impact from the fires, aside from the odd atmospherics mentioned yesterday. Over the past 24 hours, considerable dust and soot has built up around the house. Tonight, I went for a bike ride around Venice and Marina Del Rey, and there’s a layer of the stuff on just about everything; cars, decks, tables, chairs, and so on.

The last couple of days have been very hot and very dry - you can feel the moisture being lifted from your skin - but the wind has been quite calm.

Some of you have asked where, exactly, I live. Here’s a fair approximation. You can see the up-to-date fire maps here. I’m guessing the dust and soot around here today are from the Malibu and Santa Clarita fires (about ten and twenty miles away respectively). This group of fires burned over 50,000 acres and were apparently extinguished this evening. The closest one that’s currently burning is about sixty miles north - a 55,000 acre fire just on the other side of the Santa Monica Mountains near Santa Paula (the Piru Ranch fire). That one is reportedly 78% contained as of tonight.

I can definitely smell it today. It doesn’t smell like fire, really - it’s a dry ashy smell punctuated by extremely brief moments of smokiness. I’m told it’s not good for me.

That’s all from here.

Thus far, I’m relatively unaffected by the fires raging in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.  As I’ve told a few concerned people this morning, the primary effect on my own psyche has been the dramatic change of the sunset into a red, freaky, ominous spectre.  NASA’s satellite images give you an idea why.

I may wander north late this afternoon and evening to get a few photos.  For those of you nearby who want to keep your eye on things, see the LA Times’ up-to-date Google fire maps.

If you’re considering patronizing Cary Charlin, the “dentist” in Los Angeles, please read these articles before doing so:

Cary Charlin took my dough and burned my gums

Cary Charlin ruined my face

Good luck with all that, Cary. Oh: keep the change.

We had ourselves a little earthquake in Boston today. I spilled my coffee all over my hand in the office. These two events were not connected.

Heavy rain; large hail; severe downdrafts/winds of 60MPH+; intense electrical activity; large trees down; mild property and structure damage; Huron Village/Harvard Sq./Fresh Pond area. Trees down on several power lines, cars, homes.

This was a serious storm - and luckily it was very fast-moving. Power is out in the Fresh Pond/Huron Village area. Several major roads closed. Definitely one of the top few squalls I’ve ever found myself in the middle of.