Happy belated July 4th to those who celebrate. There was a lot going on in New York to celebrate 250 years. First, we were treated to a spectacular Parade of Tall ships and International Aerial Review, then the fireworks. Hats off to the people that went out in the heat to see these things, we opted to enjoy it all from the air conditioned comfort of our apartment.

Speaking of air conditioning, ours has been cranking for days, which is unusual for us. We’re not the only ones. ConEd reduced voltage in large swaths of Brooklyn on Friday. I was curious as to how much, so I broke out the multi-meter: It was around 115 volts in our apartment. Without measuring, we wouldn’t have noticed, but some of our neighbors’ air conditioners weren’t performing well in those conditions.

Earlier in the week, I was invited to the annual Blessing of the Fleet in Sheepshead Bay. Mechanical trouble forced us to go back to the mooring just seconds after we cast off—better there than in the channel. This prevented full participation in the blessing, but we were able to enjoy some time on the boat and a taste of rum punch.

Links

• NYC plans to replace nearly 30K parking spaces with trash bins, report shows
• For shame! ‘Selfish’ parkers blocking street sweepers will be stickered for all to see
  Finally! They should also institute (steeply) escalating fines for repeat offenders.
• World Cup winner has already been declared: NYC bars, watch venues
  Even places not known for sports viewership have gotten in on the game.