Somewhere Near Waco, Allegedly
The final Heat Dome Diaries can't end until the cold front shows up, so I put a lawn chair at the north end of my street, faced Waco, and waited like a man expecting a contractor.
5 min read
A recurring grievance
Heat Dome Diaries
Field notes from an Austin summer: triple digits, grid alerts, dead lawns and the long wait for the first cold front.
It is not the heat. It is the heat.
10 posts · Newest first
Seventy-Four and Dressed for Fargo
The thermostat clicked off at dawn for the first time since May, and by 7:15 the whole city was in fleece. I went out to witness the one morning Austin pretends it lives somewhere with seasons.
5 min read
September Is a Summer Month and Always Has Been
Austin ISD sent Lamar Middle School students home early today after the campus AC broke. My credit union calendar insists it's autumn, and I've got some notes for it.
5 min read
One Puddle Reported at Eva and Monroe, Crowd Estimated at Eleven
Rain finally broke Austin's dry streak of more than a month, and my block produced exactly one puddle. Eleven adults, four dogs and one realtor showed up to pay their respects.
5 min read
Dear September Bill, Please Sit Down
Austin hit 107 today, so I wrote a letter to the electric bill that won't arrive for weeks. It covers the compressor, the grid, the rate tiers, and the one thing I'd like in return.
5 min read
Bring a Light Jacket, It's Only Ninety-Nine
I left town for a week somewhere with actual weather, came home to a lawn that crunches like a chip bag, and caught Friday's sub-100 high like it was the first norther of fall.
5 min read
Hand Me the Mitt Before You Touch That Wheel
My truck carries an oven mitt for the steering wheel, a towel for the seat, and a sunshade older than most downtown towers. Here's the full August kit, itemized, with technique notes for the next generation.
6 min read
Stop Log, East Riverside, No Roof Included
With CapMetro bus workers authorizing a strike, I spent an afternoon at an unshaded bus stop keeping a log. The bus came. The shade never did.
5 min read
We Didn't Get the Text, So Technically It's Allowed
The Texas grid hit roughly 87,400 megawatts today without a single conservation request, which sent my household's thermostat treaty into emergency session. Minutes attached, painter's tape included.
5 min read
Field Notes From Under a Box Fan, Volume One
A new summer series from inside the oven: a hallway thermostat under blue painter's tape, an electric bill read standing up, and a neighbor's St. Augustine entering hospice. Runs until the first real cold front.
5 min read
Another branch of the complaint tree
Condos of Shame
Documenting the luxury boxes replacing everything you loved.
"Where your favorite taco truck used to be."
SXSW Ruin Counter
Tracking the annual corporate colonization of Austin's weirdest week.
"It used to be about the music. Now it's about the lanyard."
Things That Used to Cost $3
A eulogy for affordable Austin, one price tag at a time.
"Adjusting for inflation and broken dreams."