Another Welcome Dose of Lukewarm Sunshine
"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future" said Yogi Berra. Leave it to the pundits, pollsters and talking heads to make the meteorologists look good. I'm mourning a sudden lack of political ads on TV, but a booster shot of vitamin D from the sun is helping my mood swings. New research confirms that the number of hours of sunshine during a given day has more impact on our mental health than rain, wind or even pollution. Then again we've known about SAD (seasonal affective disorder) for some time and light therapy and melatonin can help. An article on the weather blog caught my eye: falling back 1 hour for daylight saving time can speed up symptoms of depression. "The shift to standard time essentially steals an hour of daylight from the evening, when most of us are awake, and tacks it on to the early morning hours, when many of us are not." I want that hour of sunshine back. Blue sky spills into the weekend; 60-65F today (20 degrees above average) before cooling off Friday. A shower pops up Tuesday with heavier rain late next week. A series of Pacific storms will pull increasingly cold air south. Jackets and slush by Thanksgiving? - Paul Douglas
