Global warming may bring us more rain overall, but the current high pressure system (expected to end tonight?) has kept rain away from us for 2 months now, which wasn't helping anything.
The article doesn't mention that 700 full-time park workers were cut in Eric Adams' budget. 50 of those park workers were forestry specialists, who did things such as removing sick/dead trees, and clearing the sort of brush/debris that is easily ignitable.
We see this over and over again: whatever money you "save" by delaying or skipping maintenance, you end up having to spend when something actually breaks.
I had a 10 year old CPAP machine, Respironics SystemOne. I kept telling myself that I needed a new one and I should go and get a new one, but I never did because this one was plodding along "fine". Looks like I dodged a bullet by not getting an updated one, because they probably would've given me one of those Dreamstations!
Did a sleep apnea test last year, it came back negative, which was weird because I can't sleep right without a CPAP.
I redid the test a few months ago, which also came back negative, so I asked to look at the full results, not just the summary. The analysis said I didn't have sleep apnea because I was ONLY WAKING UP 10 TIMES AN HOUR.
I insisted on a new machine, they gave me a ResMed AirSense 11 (autopap) and I've been sleeping like a baby for the last 2 weeks. The technology has improved so much:
* No more SD card!
* Results show up in the phone app in < 24 hours. (Machine modem -> cell network -> provider -> app instead of machine -> app, which I think explains the delay)
* The device detects when you've put the mask on and turns itself on automatically.
* The masks themselves are so much better, so easy to put on and remove.
* The app shows if air is leaking so no more endless fiddling with the mask to ensure a good fit.
This is one of those cases where it really does feel like we're living in the future.
I anticipate the NY Times will buy you out and I am very jealous