Good morning!
Nearly everything we could want in terms of entertainment is available in our pockets. On our smartphones, we listen to music, we can watch movies, we can buy and read nearly any book.
But with the latter, there seems to be something in play. Electronic books are available on a plethora of devices — from our phones, to tablets to dedicated e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle.
But according to an article in Publishers Weekly, consumers (us) may be experiencing “digital fatigue” when it comes to books. Unlike music and movies, e-book sales, as a percentage of all book sales, have been declining since 2014. Books, of course, are widely available in a long popular format: bound, printed pages.
And with that, Book Worm Used Books in Riverview is celebrating a decade in business. Check out Yvette Hammett’s story about them here:
Book Worm Used Books, an independent bookstore and more, celebrates a decade
Today’s weather: Tropical Storm Cindy is forecast to make landfall today far to our west on the central Gulf Coast. In the Southwest and California, heat records are forecast to be shattered. But for us in the Bay Area, it’s just another summer day. From the National Weather Service Office in Ruskin:
“Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 101. South southeast wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.”
The evening hours are forecast to be a little more diverse:
“Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 75. West southwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming east in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.”
Personal forecast: Well baked. If you park outside, try a window shade for your windshield.
Eye on the tropics: Tropical Storm Cindy is weakening as she approaches land but could still produce seriously heavy rain, resulting in life-threatening flash floods. According to the National Hurricane Center:
For the North Atlantic…Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Cindy, located south-southeast of the Texas/Louisiana border.
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.
Cindy is forecast to be absorbed into a frontal zone and emerge over the Chesapeake Bay as a post-tropical depression.
What to do?
The SouthShore Regional Library in Ruskin will be hosting the Big Red Blood Drive bus beginning at 10:30 a.m. If you have a little to spare, which most of us do, they make it easy. Your donation can work miracles for someone in need.
A few notable and cool things today: at 6 p.m., the library is offering an “Introduction to iMovie and Green Screen.” For budding videographers, that would be fun. Teen Tech also takes place at 6 pm. And at 6:30 p.m. is “Outside the Lines: Coloring for Adults.” Yes, that’s a real thing. And c’mon…you know you miss doing it.
The SouthShore Regional Library schedule is found here: http://hcplc.evanced.info/signup/calendar?lib=10
Busch Gardens in Tampa celebrates “Summer Nights” with extended hours.
MOSI, the Museum of Science and Industry, 4801 E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa is offering free admission to exhibit galleries to active duty military personnel and up to five immediate family members from today through Aug. 13. Proof of service is required. https://www.mosi.org/explore-mosi/plan-your-visit/special-offers/
Check out what’s playing at the Ruskin Family Drive-In. And have a chili cheese dog for me.
Happenings in Hillsborough:
A public meetings for the Hillsborough County Arts Council will take place at noon today at the Tampa Bay History Center, 801 Old Water St, 3rd floor conference room.
The county is mosquito spraying in our area this week, generally during the overnight hours when the weather cooperates. Don’t be surprised if you see a twin engine aircraft flying at 300 feet. Despite what someone might jokingly post on Facebook’s “Ruskin Folks,” it’s not trying to take out the old Ruskin movie theater. And let’s not even talk about the chemicals and stuff. For this week, just enjoy the fact that there should be fewer mosquitos.
Do you drive? Do you enjoy it? It seems lots of us smash into each other, suggesting there may be a problem or two with traffic. Make plans to attend this: Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Stacy White, District 4, and Vice-Chairman Sandra L. Murman, District 1, will host a South County Transportation Town Hall meeting on Monday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lennard High School auditorium in Ruskin.
Happenings in Manatee:
Eco Art Class at Emerson Point Preserve: Calling all adventuresome, crafty, and environmental campers!
June 26- June 30, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The cost is $125. Program recommended for age 9-12 year olds. Please register for the camp by calling 941-742-5923 ex 6010.
Something fun to make plans for:
Manatee County Parks is gearing up for summer with numerous programs for kids and adults in the month of July. For an event listing (the actual calendar may or may not be updated so scroll down) visit: http://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/parks-and-recreation/natural-resources/nrd-headlines/edu-program.html
The Manatee County calendar is located here: https://www.mymanatee.org/home/county-calendar.html
News to know:
Only a small part of the printed Observer News is on the web. Pick up a print copy, relax a bit and find out what’s going on out there.
And, in the end:
On this day in 1633 Galileo Galilei was forced to take back and disavow his findings that the Earth was not the center of the universe and that we were merely on a rock orbiting our little star that we call the Sun. It all sort of worked out in the end, depending on your level of patience: In 1992, the Vatican admitted it was wrong.
He would pass away nine years later at the age of 77 but with his many contributions to science and space exploration, his name lives on. The moons of Jupiter, the largest four of which he discovered, are known as the Galilean Moons. He is considered the father of astronomy, the father of physics, the father of the scientific method and the father of science itself (which says a lot considering there were some pretty amazing scientists before him running amongst us (or, rather, our ancestors)).
While it couldn’t have been much fun, while under house arrest, charged with being “vehemently suspect of heresy,” he penned his greatest works.
Galileo was full-on STEM in a world where some people feared a solar eclipse. As a society, it seems he still has a few things to teach us. I prefer to believe that among them, faith and science are not mutually exclusive and that we were meant to search for answers and discover new questions.
The father of science was also the father of one son, Vincenzo, who was gifted in poetry, music, and mechanics (largely constructing musical instruments). Talk about a family covering the spectrum.
If nothing else, Galileo is proof that you can still kick up some dust in your 60s and 70s.
Have a great day!
Observer Today is a morning briefing out (usually) by 7 a.m. (or so) and updated until around 10 a.m. Do you have news tips or suggestions for this feature? Please email or leave a comment.