Signs of the Times
14/09/16 05:31
Things have cooled off a bit in the hills. Yesterday the high was only in the 50’s. Overnight lows have been in the high forties for a couple of nights. We finally gave in and turned on a bit of heat in our home last evening. But you have to be careful in the hills. Our weather is highly variable and just when you think that the season has changed, the weather can surprise you. The forecast calls for highs win the seventies by today and it may make it to 80 by the weekend. Since we haven’t had any frost here at our home, it is just what the tomatoes need for that final push to vine ripeness. Its looking like I’ll be mowing the lawn again before summer has completely lost its grip on us.
I was thinking about the weather yesterday as I drove into the church from home. Our outdoor thermometer was broken this summer and I haven’t replaced it. We have outside air temperature gauges in one of our cars, but the one I drive doesn’t have such a device. However, there is a weather station that is just a little ways away reports on the Internet, so I’m assuming that the temperature at home was 49 degrees.
By the time I made it to Calvary Lutheran church, which has a digital time and temperature display on their sign it was 51 degrees. I’m not exactly sure why churches think that time and temperature is vital information for people to get from their signs, but there are at least a couple of churches in town that provide this service. And I can understand it being a bit warmer at the Lutheran Church. You know, the warmth of hospitality and all of that. Being Lutherans, they probably don’t go in for much hellfire and brimstone preaching so the temperature rise is modest. It might be interesting to have a pentecostal church next door with a time and temperature sign so we could compare temperatures, but we don’t have such a thing in our town - at least not on the path I normally drive to work.
At the credit union the temperature was up to 53 degrees, which also makes sense. At least I get a little nervous and a bit warm under the collar when I have to fill out a loan application. I appreciate all of the banking services of the Credit Union, but doing business there isn’t my most enjoyable task. I probably would be a bit more calm and cool sitting in the pew at the Lutheran Church than transacting business at the Credit Union.
There is one business, however, that stand out. At the Jackson Car Wash the sing was reporting a temperature of 266 degrees. That’s hot! I’m not sure why they’ve got the temperature cranked up so high there. 266 degrees is too hot for a car wash. It might loosen some of the adhesives used in the car. It definitely would remove protective wax from the car’s surface. I contemplated that the high heat might be for the espresso kiosk that stands in the parking lot, but if that is the case, I don’t think I would stop by for any of their coffee. Anything over 150 degrees might result in a McDonald’s style lawsuit. And when the temperature is over 180 degrees it can leave the coffee tasting burnt. I know people who routinely make coffee with boiling water, but even that isn’t 266 degrees. The carwash/espresso business added a new venture to their parking lot this year. It is now home to a pest extermination business and there are often 4 or 5 pest vehicles parked in the lot. But I don’t think that high temperatures are how they get rid of ants and mice, either. The high temperature remains a mystery to me. I know the sign has been reading 266 degrees for several weeks, now, but I haven’t stopped in. It just seems too hot for my comfort.
The fact that I notice such things, however, points out to the effectiveness of the signs. It is quite possible that were the sign to display a normal temperature, perhaps one close to the credit union across and down the street, I wouldn’t even notice it. After all, as I drive down the street I should be paying attention to the traffic, pedestrians and other things required to drive safely. Checking out the signs ought to be a low priority. The one exception, I assume is the body shop on the same street that displays birthday greetings to all of its customers. Not only is it fun to see whose birthday it is, but you can also see who has been giving business to the body shop by reading that sign. And, if it does distract you and you end up running into the car in front of you, you can take your car to the body shop and get your name on their birthday list.
Rapid City does have a sign ordinance and their is some regulation of outdoor advertising, but the ordinance is less restrictive than most cities. When we host out of town guests they frequently comment on how many signs there are everywhere they look in the hills. It is true. When we visit other areas popular among tourists, the view has far less advertising signs.
Being someone who doesn’t watch much television, I find the large full-color moving displays to be especially distracting. We have several large billboards in our city with displays that change frequently and have different video effects that really make them stand out. Knowing the price of room full of furniture or the credit terms for obtaining such a thing is not exactly necessary information for my commute to and from work. I can even keep up with the Sheriff’s most wanted characters and the tally of the number of drunk driving arrests if I want to.
So, I’m looking forward to a warming trend this week. It may be time for me to get outside and go for a walk - preferably some place with fewer signs.
I was thinking about the weather yesterday as I drove into the church from home. Our outdoor thermometer was broken this summer and I haven’t replaced it. We have outside air temperature gauges in one of our cars, but the one I drive doesn’t have such a device. However, there is a weather station that is just a little ways away reports on the Internet, so I’m assuming that the temperature at home was 49 degrees.
By the time I made it to Calvary Lutheran church, which has a digital time and temperature display on their sign it was 51 degrees. I’m not exactly sure why churches think that time and temperature is vital information for people to get from their signs, but there are at least a couple of churches in town that provide this service. And I can understand it being a bit warmer at the Lutheran Church. You know, the warmth of hospitality and all of that. Being Lutherans, they probably don’t go in for much hellfire and brimstone preaching so the temperature rise is modest. It might be interesting to have a pentecostal church next door with a time and temperature sign so we could compare temperatures, but we don’t have such a thing in our town - at least not on the path I normally drive to work.
At the credit union the temperature was up to 53 degrees, which also makes sense. At least I get a little nervous and a bit warm under the collar when I have to fill out a loan application. I appreciate all of the banking services of the Credit Union, but doing business there isn’t my most enjoyable task. I probably would be a bit more calm and cool sitting in the pew at the Lutheran Church than transacting business at the Credit Union.
There is one business, however, that stand out. At the Jackson Car Wash the sing was reporting a temperature of 266 degrees. That’s hot! I’m not sure why they’ve got the temperature cranked up so high there. 266 degrees is too hot for a car wash. It might loosen some of the adhesives used in the car. It definitely would remove protective wax from the car’s surface. I contemplated that the high heat might be for the espresso kiosk that stands in the parking lot, but if that is the case, I don’t think I would stop by for any of their coffee. Anything over 150 degrees might result in a McDonald’s style lawsuit. And when the temperature is over 180 degrees it can leave the coffee tasting burnt. I know people who routinely make coffee with boiling water, but even that isn’t 266 degrees. The carwash/espresso business added a new venture to their parking lot this year. It is now home to a pest extermination business and there are often 4 or 5 pest vehicles parked in the lot. But I don’t think that high temperatures are how they get rid of ants and mice, either. The high temperature remains a mystery to me. I know the sign has been reading 266 degrees for several weeks, now, but I haven’t stopped in. It just seems too hot for my comfort.
The fact that I notice such things, however, points out to the effectiveness of the signs. It is quite possible that were the sign to display a normal temperature, perhaps one close to the credit union across and down the street, I wouldn’t even notice it. After all, as I drive down the street I should be paying attention to the traffic, pedestrians and other things required to drive safely. Checking out the signs ought to be a low priority. The one exception, I assume is the body shop on the same street that displays birthday greetings to all of its customers. Not only is it fun to see whose birthday it is, but you can also see who has been giving business to the body shop by reading that sign. And, if it does distract you and you end up running into the car in front of you, you can take your car to the body shop and get your name on their birthday list.
Rapid City does have a sign ordinance and their is some regulation of outdoor advertising, but the ordinance is less restrictive than most cities. When we host out of town guests they frequently comment on how many signs there are everywhere they look in the hills. It is true. When we visit other areas popular among tourists, the view has far less advertising signs.
Being someone who doesn’t watch much television, I find the large full-color moving displays to be especially distracting. We have several large billboards in our city with displays that change frequently and have different video effects that really make them stand out. Knowing the price of room full of furniture or the credit terms for obtaining such a thing is not exactly necessary information for my commute to and from work. I can even keep up with the Sheriff’s most wanted characters and the tally of the number of drunk driving arrests if I want to.
So, I’m looking forward to a warming trend this week. It may be time for me to get outside and go for a walk - preferably some place with fewer signs.