My fave kind of weather

 Very cold and very sunny.

Disappointingly little carnage

 Our walk today was at Grand Blanc Commons, because I was hoping to see some serious Tornado damage.  There was a bit on the drive there (torn up fences, that kind of thing), but not much once we arrived:

A light dusting of snow on the bridge...

...a branch blocking a trail...

strange flotsam...

...and it was bloody cold.  So that probably means t-shirts again tomorrow.

Tornado!

 We were awakened in the wee small hours by a massive storm and sirens going off again and again, as well as Jami's phone announcing an emergency alert.  Turns out a tornado touched down in Grand Blanc, the affluent white (duh!) suburb of Flint.  Here's a report. Here's another.  Grand Blanc Commons gets a mention here. This did indeed bring the temperatures crashing down, so today we get our parkas out of storage where Jami put them yesterday.  It's funny, I distinctly remember wishing some years ago during what used to be interminable Winters that we could alternate every other day between Winter and Summer (as both get very tedious).  Well, my wish has been granted!

Worryingly warm

 Yes, Jami's Docs o'the week are cool...

But it was shorts and t-shirt weather.  In FEBRUARY.  In MICHIGAN.

And here was the temperature the car said it was when we got back to it in the parking lot (at Indian Springs Metropark):

And yes, that was after it had been sitting in the sun, but it still said this when we got back home:

It's still in the 60s at just before midnight, and we've got an air conditioner going in Frederick's room (he can't sleep when it's stuffy).  But true to form for Michigan, it's due to be in the 20s tomorrow...

Rose Oaks

 

Pontiac Lake Park

 

Chimney cleaning, with dire warnings

 

Well, we can have this welcome sight again, without the clouds of smoke every time we open the door, which we've had recently.  But the chimney cleaning came with warnings.  This time the guy with the top hat did some exploring, including actually climbing into our attic (something nobody ever does) and came back with pictures (that he'd obviously planted on his phone previously) of wood that had shrunken away from the chimney, which got overheated, because the lining had burned (so he claimed).  All of this could, nay should be fixed, it would just cost an arm and a leg.  Oh, and there was lots of animal scat up there because the shrunken wood created gaps for all kinds of critters to gain entry.  This got Jami convinced that all our health concerns were down to allergies to mouse shit, so mission accomplished, top-hat guy.  We'll probably capitulate some time in the Spring.

Film review: Predestination (2014)

 

In case you thought they didn't make B movies any more, this is a pure B-movie.  Like the best B-movies, it is all about the plot, which, as it is based on one of the greatest science fiction short-stories ever (Robert Heinlein's "...All You Zombies...") has everything a good B-movie can ask for.  It also has two very solid leads: Ethan Hawke, the sole American in an all-Aussie production (although they're all doing American accents), and a pre-Succession Sarah Snook, who spends a lot of her time playing a man.  

Both do a lot to elevate material that, if played poorly, could easily come across as ridiculous.  The only complaint I have is that they bulked it out with a sub-plot (about a terrorist called "the Fizzle Bomber") that violates the original perfect time-travel logic (no less an expert than the great philosopher David Lewis credited the original story as one of the few that got time-travel right) with some stupid Back to the Future-style "change the future" bullshit.  However, the movie charges by at such a breakneck pace that you can't really complain.  They even kept the setting of the story, which predicted that time-travel would be invented in the early 80s, so it's one of those rare period-piece science fiction films, with a time machine that looks like a vintage violin case.  (I do have one complaint: there appear to be green filters on everything, so I don't like the color.)  Also, although in retrospect you realize that it could have been (and probably was) made for a pittance (they probably spent the vast bulk of the money on Hawkes's salary), you never think that as it's going on, a sign of an engaging plot.  Anyway, if you know the story, you know the plot, and if you don't know the story I'm not going to spoil it for you. Just pay attention to every detail, because there are a lot of payoffs.

Dawn to Dusk

 

Jami's Docs o'the week

 

Hogbacks, icy beach

The first picture reminds me of the old Start Rite shoes poster.