Yuma and Arizona factoids

It's another hot day in Yuma, folks. I don't know why we even bother with weather forecasts here. Every day is "hot, clear, highs in the ___ (number well above 100)." Tomorrow's forecast: 112. I can feel the melanoma forming every time I go outside.

Did you know:
-GM is building a "hot weather testing center" on the Yuma Proving Ground land. That's the facility used by the military for testing bombs, because it's the most God-forsaken stretch of barren hot desert you ever saw. I almost don't mind them dropping bombs on it, that's how bad it is. Anyway, GM is building a facility there for testing how its cars deal with heat, AND the military will use it for (dropping more bombs?). Interesting, huh. thank you NPR.
-Yuma High School's mascot? The Criminals. That's right. The story: once upon a time, long long ago, the high school was housed in the local jail. I forget why. Need to hear that story again I guess.
- Yuma county is the nation's largest producer of many agricultural products, including winter lettuce. Just throw some water on this desert, and things grow! That is downright miraculous to me. It just goes to show that there is always some life hidden away, beneath the surface.
-Arizona is a community property state. Which means that any income during the marriage (not including gifts or inheritance to either spouse), of either spouse, is not their separate property, but the property of the "community." If they get divorced or one spouse dies, all income is split evenly, even if only one spouse worked outside the home during the entire marriage. This seems to me to be an exceptionally progressive system for recognizing the equal contributions of spouses even if one "only" raises children in the home. And it comes from the old Spanish tradition.

Sorry, I don't have any profound thoughts for today. I just needed an escape from Corporations.