At the Mike

At the Mike Weekly column that runs in the local newspaper and extras revolving around sports in the Great Bend

09/04/2025

At the Mike - September 4, 2025

Cooler weather ushers in the return of Friday Night Lights

Hello September. And welcome.

The ninth month rolled in with some cooler weather than usual. With that has come some pretty good moisture. Both welcome occurrences.

And while it tickled 90 Wednesday, another good stretch of 70s is in the forecast.

Shoot, my phone even says temps in the 60s tomorrow for the opening night of high school football. In fact look for low 60s into the high 50s for that season opener under the lights Friday.

Myself, I'd like it a bit warmer. But it does beat the 90s of most opening nights here in Kansas.

This week At the Mike is all about high school football. It's here once again. So let's get to it.

Prep Sports

Prep football is back. With that comes another year of showing how little I know with area predictions.

Last year I got lucky enough to go 81-15. That won't happen again. Trust me.

Three teams start the year ranked in our area. Great Bend is No. 3 in 5A. Central Plains is No. 3 in 8-man I and Hoisington has come in as high as No. 5 in 2A.

With that knowledge, here we go.

Great Bend will host McPherson to start what should be a banner season for the Panthers. Mac is good. They always are. Several starters return. But GB is loaded. Absolutely loaded. They get the win here.

Hoisington has it's hands full as perennial power Pratt comes to town. The Greenbacks lost some key folks but have some studs back. I'll take Hoisington here as the home field proves the difference in a tight one.

Look for Ellinwood to win at Syracuse but it won't be easy. While the Bulldogs are riding a 19-game losing streak they have 10 starters back. Larned struggled to score points last year and will come up short against Smoky Valley.

A pair of area teams face off in Macksville as 3rd ranked CP heads south to take on the Mustangs. Look for the Oilers to start their quest for a return trip to the state title game with a win.

St. John is primed for it's first winning season in over 10 years. Look for a win against LaCrosse to start things. In the other area game, Reno County Homeschool, 6-2 last year, wins at Stafford.

Week one, let's get the party started.

And Finally

Year 26, here we go.

Friday Night Lights are here. A jamboree in St. John last Friday broke the rust off for our officiating crew. A junior high game today will get us back in sync (hopefully).

For our crew this is year 15 together. The same five guys for 15 years. That is crazy. I would venture to say there are not a handful of crews in the state that have been together longer.

It's safe to say we know each other quite well. We know our teammates tendencies. We have great verbal communication. More importantly our non verbal communication is very good as well.

We let the game dictate itself. We don't get in the way. We just make sure things stay fair. Like Randy Wetzel said 'if it's cheating, call a penalty'. That's our philosophy. We don't over officiate.

But for the five of us its about way more than the game.

Jon Shaver is our white hat and faithful leader. He has 38 years under his belt. Man knows the rules. I have been with him 25 of my years and wouldn't do this with anyone else as my leader.

Mike Myrick runs on home sidelines as our line judge. Year 25 for him. He loves a full moon. Being across the field from me, we have a lot of non verbal communication. We help each other a lot.

Steve Webster is our umpire. For Steve this is year 17, the last 15 as our umpire. He is among the best in the state. He has to dodge players in the middle of the action.

All four of us are past the old speed limit of 55. One or two might even be in their 60s.

Our kid on the crew is Ty Racette. This is his 15th year. He is still in his 40s. Still the fastest by far but not quite as fleet of foot as he was in his 20s. Ty covers a lot of ground and covers our behinds as well from his back judge spot.

We are all friends. Good friends. The best of friends. The trips to and from the games are priceless. We like to travel. We've been a stone's throw from Nebraska, Colorado and Oklahoma. We ride in Jon's sweet van we have dubbed The Mystery Machine. Fun stuff.

We have a pretty nice schedule this year. A couple new places. We like new places. Week three looks like a matchup of top 3 teams in their class.

So year 26, let's kick this thing off!

08/21/2025

At the Mike - August 21, 2025

Temperatures set to cool off as fall sports practices are back in full gear

I approach this with some apprehension. At least cautious optimism.

Have you seen the temperatures for the next week or so? Wow.

It rolls something like this – 90s for today and Friday then down to 80s on Saturday. Starting Sunday, the highs are in the 70s for six straight days. I repeat, the highs are in the 70s for six straight days.

My phone says we won’t see the 90s the rest of August. Again, I repeat, we won’t see the 90s the rest of August.

That is a pleasant prediction for prep athletes back in practice until the end of the month. Shoot, even most coaches will tell you the cooler temps are more conducive to a better practice. Not all and not always but for the most part they can accomplish more with better temps.

Like I said, I am cautiously optimistic. I will believe it when I see it.

Prep Sports

Practice is here. And the heat stayed. Some schools in the area tried to shuffle things a bit, but let’s face it. It was hot at any time of day. As noted earlier, that should get better.

Those first few days are now out of the way. Most athletes know what to expect and a routine is most likely coming into focus.

The nearly three weeks of no games is the longest stretch these kids will go without an outside competition all year. But it is also the time of the year where the most improvement takes place. Crazy that practice makes you better. Who’da thunk that?

But, finally, after a long summer, fall sports are back!

And Finally

It happens every year to many of us old folks. Well, I should say us old folks that are still around high school kids. And maybe not every year, but quite often.

As fall sports practices take off, football practice in particular for me, I recall back to those early days of practice myself.

Obviously I have a photographic memory from 40 years ago. I am sure to get every single detail right. Right?

My senior year of high school was some 41 years ago. The Fall of 1984. Things were much different then. I’m sure the 70s rules were probably even less strict from KSHSAA.

But in the mid 80s, there were no limits on how many practices you could have in a day. Nor how many consecutive days you could have multiple practices.

Football practice started right around the same time if not a few days earlier. I am pretty sure we started on a Thursday back then.

I remember this because it was the day after the Demolition Derby at the Mitchell County Fair, which always closed down the 3-day fair in Beloit. So that was usually a late night. And 6 am was usually an early morning.

And we didn’t start school until the day after Labor Day, so there were a lot of 2-a-days for us.

We would also go at 6 pm if memory recalls. Those first two days with helmets only it was run, run, run, run. Then we would run some more. Lines, high knees, butt kicks, the crab walk, 40 yard sprints, and so on. Four times around the track. Run, run, run. Twice more around the track.

We would get one water break about the midpoint of the 3-hour practice. There was a fawcett at the practice field if I remember right and we drank from it.

My buddy Steve Webster, who did graduate in the 70s, tells me he got one ice cube during practice. That was it.

By Saturday morning we could put the pads on, which finally took away some of the running. But also by Saturday morning - that third day - you were sore and stiff. Moving was a challenge. But you did it for practice.

Being just a half mile from Waconda Lake, we spent a lot of weekends out there in the summer. That weekend I was too sore to water ski or jet ski - a rarity for me.

By the time of the soap scrimmage - it was actually a scrimmage that people brought soap to for admissions for the players to have when they showered after practice - the soreness was out and we were beginning to take shape as a team.

I can honestly say I do not miss those early practices. Officiating has kept me close to the game without having to go through the grind of those 2-a-days.

Football season is underway. Enjoy the ride.

08/15/2025

At the Mike - August 14, 2025

Temps still hovering the 90s, fall prep sports are close and school is back

So due to a bit of a mixup, At the Mike didn’t make it to print last week. If you are not doing well because you didn’t get your fix, you can access it on the At the Mike page.

The highlights included talk about Party in the Park and mosquitos. The mosquitos are absolutely insane this year. Carry people away crazy. Man.

Anyways, August is rolling along as we head to the second unofficial end of summer. The first, of course, is returning to school for those students and educators. The second, and more popular, unofficial end is Labor Day.

While we have all these unofficial ends, nobody seems to let the heat know. Temps are definitely still in summertime mode. According to my phone, temps are to hang in the 90s, even upper 90s, for the next week or so.

But we all those 90s can easily carry into September and make for some hot Friday night football games.

Fun stuff.

Prep Sports

It’s all but here. Monday is the day. Less than one week. Just four days from today. August 18.

That is the date for prep athletes in the state to take the field (or court, or course, or whatever venue) and begin preparations for the upcoming season.

The first day of practice is getting ever closer. Tick. Tick. Tick. Football season is just around the corner.

The Referee House

Rules meetings. I guess you should know the rules if you officiate huh? A trip to Hutchinson for the football rules meeting last night was in store for the Jon Shaver crew. The option for an online meeting is there. Yeah, it is easier but you can’t really ask questions to a video. Well, you can, but you won’t get an answer.

Plus, it is just nice to see some fellow officials. It’s also good to say hey to Mark Lentz, the football guy for the state. He does a really good job and is a very personable guy.

It is also a time to discuss what we learn at the meeting on the way home as a crew. What we agree with and disagree with and what not.

And Finally

The song playing in the background is by the Four Tops. Not by Alice Cooper.

I’ve gotta go back, back, back to school again. Whoa, whoa, I gotta go back to school …. again. That is the Four Tops song currently being played. School’s out for the Summer and Alice Cooper, well, that is now nine months away.

Here at Chase we swung open the doors on Tuesday. Great Bend flings them open today as do a couple others in the area. The bulk of schools in the Golden Belt gets underway next week.

With some improvements being made to the school in Chase, I am currently working from an alternative room. My normal room is the best in the high school. It’s good sized, has ample windows to the outside world and still has carpet. Nice.

So placing me elsewhere, well, you know.

But it honestly isn’t that bad.

The room I have is still pretty big and has ample windows. My biggest class is just over 20 kids. For Chase, that is a pretty good size group. World History class. Fun stuff.

Perhaps the best thing about the temporary room is that it is right next to the FACS kitchen. I have access to a refrigerator, microwave, stove, ice machine and what not. That is pretty dad gum nice.

Also in a new setting meant some prep work on the bulletin boards and what not. This is not my strong suit. Artistic stuff. So I put my wife in charge of that. Monday afternoon, a teacher's workday, she came over and made the room look, well, not so sterile. Made it look way more homey.

The first few days are all about getting things in order. Chromebooks lined up. Syllabuses gone over. Or is that syllabi? Expectations laid out. Workbooks handed out and the like. Ground work, so to speak.

There was also some time spent getting the kids lined up to take Barton courses online. The folks at Barton, spearheaded by Karly Little for high school classes, are a great group of people. Sophomores and up can do online at Barton. About 60 percent of those eligible showed up for the Barton contingency. Good stuff.

So plug in the Four Tops and let’s get rolling. It is indeed time to go back to school.

08/08/2025

At the Mike - August 8, 2025

Party in the Park, prep sports get closer and a mosquito barrage

Party in the Park. The last big party of the summer for the city of Great Bend.

That event will take place this weekend at Veterans Park. Mud Volleyball. Wet/Dry Parade. Kids Fun Zone. Dunk Tank. Car Show. Corn Hole. Wrestling. A concert. And, of course, vendors all day long at the park.

Many a Party in the Park for me was spent in a tent as Mike and Ice Shaved Ice was there making all the children happy. I have since retired from the Shaved Ice business but I do miss the times we had at events like this. Well, when it wasn’t lined up busy anyway.

So make your way to Vet’s, dodge the mosquitoes and enjoy the day Saturday. It’s a good way to wrap up the summer in the Golden Belt.

Prep Sports

One week from Monday. Just 11 days from today. August 18. Practice begins.

That is the date for prep athletes in the state to take the field (or court, or course, or whatever venue) and begin preparations for the upcoming season.

The first day of practice is getting ever closer. Tick. Tick. Tick. Football season is just around the corner.

And Finally

Let’s evaluate a few things here.

I grew up in a era where daylight summer hours were spent outdoors. There were no computers. Video games were few and far between and for the most part afternoon TV was pretty much soap operas. Cable TV didn’t take it to Glen Elder until I was 12 years old.

I grew up by a lake a spent a lot of time at said lake. Waconda Lake was literally, to use a term the kids use quite often today, just over the hill. Less than a half-mile from my house. My neighbors had a swimming pool as well. Many an afternoon was spent in that pool.

Make no mistake, my summers up in God’s Country in Mitchell County were spent outside.

Even as an adult, I have always enjoyed the outdoors during the summer months. Heat is not a huge factor for me. It is much more tolerable than the cold.

So I like to think I have some street cred when I say I don't remember been too many summers where where the mosquitoes have been to the level they are this year. Man oh man.

I’ve told you that my 2-year grandson Wade and myself enjoy our time outside doing ‘yard work’. He loves to be outside. But right now, that is a challenge. I had to grab him by the foot the other day as a couple mosquitoes tried to carry him away. Okay, maybe I embellish a bit, but wow. It is crazy.

My phone tells me that it is due to a myriad of factors. Okay, it uses the word combination, but myriad is way more fun to say.

A wet spring and a warm, humid summer. Standing water provides a breeding ground. Warm temps accelerate mosquito development. Kansas has an extended mosquito season. All things my phone tells me.

But, you know what, it’s not the first time these things have happened. My memory may not be the best, but as I said, I grew up by a lake. We got rain. It was hot. A lake is standing water. I don’t recall them being this bad.

And big. They are absolutely huge. I am not even sure anyone has heard from Roger Ward since he mowed at Al Burns Field the other day. Mosquitoes drug him off mower and all.

I understand the city is now going to spray on Mondays and Thursdays in Great Bend for said mosquitoes. Hopefully that helps, but it certainly will not alleviate the problem. This will go through the month of August at least.

Shoot, the Kansas Department of Health put the entire state on a high risk of West Nile. Go figure.

Good luck out there.

07/31/2025

At the Mike - July 31, 2025

That dadgum word school, a final officials summer meeting and teaching a little science

So long July. Hello August. For many, it is the ‘unofficial’ end of summer.

For teachers, especially. School starts back up for them that first week of August. Second week for some. Inservice they call it. Dates in your teaching contract you have to attend. Important things and information are taught.

There might be breakfast. For us at 401, that first day has breakfast, this upcoming Monday. Important stuff there. At least for me. I like breakfast.

Then there are things like classroom management, district things, vertical alignment (not getting your back popped), technology updates and support info.

In addition there are the acronyms you need to know. There is ESSDACK, KESA, MTSS, SEL, and PD. They are all involved during Inservice. I think I know what they mean. Well, most of them. Okay, at least some of them.

Did I mention breakfast the first day? Yeah.

School at Chase starts Aug. 12. It’s the earliest start time in our area. Maybe the state, not sure. For Great Bend, USD 428 gets started two days later on the 14th. Macksville and Stafford start the 14th as well.

Other schools in the Golden Belt start the following week, Central Plains starts the 19th, while Hoisington starts Aug. 20. Ellinwood, Larned, St. John doesn't start until the 21st. Nice.

Get those book bags ready. School is just around the corner.

The Referee House

A much needed referee meeting took place last Friday night for the Jon Shaver crew. All five crew members were in attendance as it was mandatory. Important topics were discussed. Very important.

KSHSAA booklets were received in the mail this week. Yep, high school officiating is knocking on the door.

For the Jon Shaver crew, it is the 14th year we have had the same five members. We will get into more detail about our crew as the season approaches. Fun times are just around the corner. I can’t wait.

And Finally

When I was in school, back in the day, my favorite core subject was social studies. History has always fascinated me. Government as well. So it is no surprise that it is the subject I now teach in high school.

I also had at least a decent interest in English and I was pretty good at math. I do not like it when you put Xs and Os in math. Word problems were my thing. In fact, I won awards at the Math Relays at Fort Hays while I was in high school in word problems. Even won for another student, but that is a different story for a different time.

The one subject I was not fond of was that dad gum science class. Ironically, about the only teacher I had from my days at Waconda East I still have contact of any kind with is that science teacher, Henry Armknecht.

As I type and think about it, my English and social studies teachers are no longer with us. They were truly two of my favorite teachers in high school. Pretty sure my math teacher is still alive. Gary Wilson had unreal hearing. You could be talking about him while he was down the hall in the office and he would come back and tell you he didn’t like you talking about him.

Anyway, back to my science story. For the second straight year I taught the science portion of Vacation Bible School at the Methodist Church here in town. The First United and Trinity Methodist Churches combine their efforts to put it on.

While there is always a bible verse tied to science, there were also a couple of ‘experiments’ each night. Three classes, two experiments. Six times each night for five nights. It didn’t go terrible, for the most part.

Some things were easy. Stacking five pool balls and if you roll one ball into the stack and one ball will bounce off the end. Roll in two balls and two balls with bounce off the end. Drop a tennis ball and a volleyball from the balcony and they both land at the same time, despite size and weight differences. Magnetize a needle, put it on a piece of paper in a bowl of water and it will point north. No problems.

Some, however, were not so easy. Shoot, I even learned a thing or two. Did you know you could make ice cream out of dry ice? Yep. Did you also know there is no place in Great Bend that sells dry ice? Had to send the kids to Russell that day to get some dry ice the day of. But it worked better than I thought it would.

I also learned that when you light a candle, then blow it out, the smoke that rises is actually still v***r that will light the candle. Put the flame on the smoke trail, up to like 4-5 inches above the candle and it will light.

A couple projects, the dry ice bubble (warm water, dish soap, dry ice) and the skyward eruption (yeast, warm water, and dish soap) didn’t work so well. I just realized they both involved soap and warm water. Interesting.

One of the projects simply amazed the kids. Even more than the dry ice and lighting the candle through smoke. It was old school, in a way. A projector.

Cut a hole in the end of the shoe box, glue a magnifying glass on it, then pull up a video on your phone and put it inside the box to project on the wall. It was as primitive as it could be. Very small on the wall and hard to see. We had it as dark as we could. Had to blue tooth the sound to a speaker. But some of the kids were captivated by it.

Since light through a magnifying glass refracts (is that a word?) the image was even upside down. I could get my phone to be upside down with the video, so it was upside down on the wall. I warned them and explained why. Well, I told them light refracts through a magnifying glass but words don’t. I actually don’t know why, it just happens. Oh well.

All in all, it was a grand time and a great experience once again. Science. Yep. Mr. Armknecht would be proud.

07/24/2025

At the Mike - July 24, 2025

Heat finally gets here, convenience fees and a goodbye to Ozzy, a true rock legend

We made it to the final half of July. The first heat warning from the National Weather Service didn’t hit the Golden Belt until this past weekend.

Now, the NWS went ahead and made the warning from last Saturday until, originally Wednesday evening but they removed the final day, making the warning four days in all. It was a hot stretch for sure, but like I said, we made it until the last half of July.

Just for fun, a thunderstorm was tossed in there Monday night that we didn’t really expect. Close to 2 inches at my place. Larned got a trace. Places around Great Bend had up to 3 inches and more.

While guessing more than a handful of days into the future with the weather can be just that, a guess. My phone for the next 14 days looks like Hiway 14 from Lincoln to Beloit. If you have traveled the road to God’s Country, it involves a lot of hills. Down to 84 today, up to 102 Monday, then down to 89 the final day of July only to roll back into the mid-high 90 over the first weekend of August.

I will add that over that stretch a handful of days have at least a 50 percent chance of rain. But, as I said. More than a few days into the future is just a guess.

July, be nice to us this final week.

Things I Don’t Understand

Since I’m not smart, I will throw in some ‘Things I Don’t Understand’ every now and again. Today is charging me more for using my debit card.

Remind me why I have to pay extra to use by debit card. Or, better yet, just explain it to me. The other day at the courthouse on vehicle stuff I was an extra 2.5 percent to use my debit card. Why? Seriously, why? It is not just the courthouse, they are just my example.

My phone tells me that due to some Dodd-Frank thing, businesses are limited in what they can charge on debit cards to protect customers. Most businesses do not charge extra. In fact, they can not charge a ‘surcharge’ on debit cards. It’s prohibited by that Dodd-Frank thing.

It also tells me that government entities, utility companies and some business often charge a ‘convenience fee’. Huh? Convenience fee for whom? I don’t understand.

I would think that the use of debit card makes it easier for all involved right? Especially debit cards. You are guaranteed your money. The bank says the money is there and it is now yours. I should get a ‘convenience discount’ actually. No cash is exchanged but you are guaranteed the money.

Oh well, there are several things I don’t understand. This is just another one of them I guess.

And Finally

Sometimes we throw the word legend around too much. But rock music lost a legend this week. A true legend as Ozzy Osbourne passed away. The Godfather of heavy metal. His real name was John Michael Osbourne. Ozzy was short for Osbourne and thus an unforgettable name was hatched.

What is crazy about his death was that Ozzy just performed what was billed as his last concert. Back to the Beginning was held on July 5 in his hometown of Birmingham, England as he sang not only with his band he had as a solo singer, but with the iconic Black Sabbath, the band it all started with for Ozzy. A farewell event. It has been in the works since February.

He sang nine songs in all. Five from his solo days. Four from Sabbath. The final two of his solo days were Mama, I’m Coming Home and Crazy Train. Just 17 days later, he boarded that Crazy Train and indeed was Coming Home to Mama.

In true Ozzy style, all money from the event went to local charities, including Birmingham Children's Hospital, Acorns Children's Hospice, and Cure Parkinson's. It raised over $190 million. A record that broke Live Aid for charity donations from a concert,

I watched the Back to the Beginning event. Not live, but the next day Crystal and I watched it. Ozzy couldn’t stand. He sat in his ornate, skull adorned throne like the king he is and belted out the songs. It was Ozzy. It was memorizing. Especially Mama, I'm Coming Home and Crazy Train. Chilling stuff.

We knew he wasn’t well. We knew there were ailments. Parkinson’s. But I don’t think anyone watching knew it would be a short 17 days until he was no longer with us. He was 76.

For those old folks like me who are also big sports fans, I thought about Bear Bryant. One of the greatest college football coaches of all time. He retired the winningest coach in college football in December of 1982. He died one month later in January of 1983.

Ironically when Bryant was asked what he would do after he retired, he stated ‘probably croak in a week’. He wasn’t far off. Four weeks later a heart attack took the Bear.

Anyways, one of the things I did while coaching girls’ basketball at Chase was incorporate 70s and 80s rock music into the team. We always took the floor at home games to a rock song. Are you Ready from AC/DC. Queen’s Renegade were a couple.

One year it was Ozzy’s Crazy Train. Our theme for the year was hop on the Crazy Train because it’s going to be a fun ride. Ozzy yells out ‘All Aboard, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha’’ and follows with ‘ay, ay, ay, ay, ay’ then Randy Rhoads guitar rift. At that point, we would enter the floor, circle our end and start layups with the song playing. Fun stuff.

For those of us in our 50s and 60s, we grew up listening to Ozzy. He was a legend. But the younger generation is also very aware of the music icon. In fact, my daughter Katelyn and her husband Robert watched the livestream to Back to the Beginning. Very much aware of what was going on. They are in their 20s. He was one of my nephew's favorite musicians and has been for a while. Brady is in his 30s. Ozzy transcended age. A true rock legend.

Ride that Crazy Train, Ozzy. Thanks for the memories.

07/17/2025

At the Mike - July 18, 2025

A family outing, prep sports closing out the summer and ‘real feel’ temperatures

It seems to be a pattern the last few weeks of a bunch of hot then sneak in day in the 70s or low 80s. Today is one of those days. Then back into the 90s, flirting with three digits.

Last Saturday was one of those days as well. Temps hung in the 70s. A Saturday with nice temperatures … something to take advantage of. The Marzolf clan did just that.

We loaded up the eight of us in a couple of vehicles and went on an adventure. It’s nice to get all eight of us – Crystal and myself, our daughter Katelyn, husband Robert along with the grandkids Wade and Willow, and our daughter Kinsley and her boyfriend Christian – together for a family outing.

The destination - Rolling Hills Zoo near Salina. This is a place that Crystal and I have been going to with Katelyn since the zoo was a youngster. It opened in 1999 and we started going in 2004. The evolution of the zoo over the years has been amazing.

The day was fulfilling. Watching the kids and grandkids enjoy themselves - and yes Katelyn and Kinsley are still kids, especially when it comes to animals. I kind of stayed in the rear and observed. That observation, according to my phone, lasted for 8000 steps and nearly four hours. Thank goodness it was 70 degrees.

Another solid aspect of taking grandkids who spent most of the time in the twin stroller, is the pace is nice and slow. There are even some breaks where a fella my age can sit a spell.

A good Saturday for sure. Now I return you to your 98 degree Saturday this weekend. Enjoy.

Prep Sports

The craziest part of the summer activities for student/athletes is about to close out as the weekend passes. Starting next week some restrictions start to apply for all sports to varying degrees.

However, we are just one month from the start of the fall season. The first day of practice for fall sports is a mere 32 days away. August 18 marks the official start of the 2025 fall sports year for KSHSAA schools.

For our area that entails football, volleyball, cross country, girls golf and tennis as well as boys soccer.

It also means that football officials should begin preparations for the fall season. I am doing so by practicing to stay up past 10 pm. We are never home before 10 pm, so I need to prepare myself. I know it's a challenge, but heading into year 25, I hope to be up to the late night tasks.

And Finally

I am a bit confused. But, then again, when aren’t I?

Here my issue – what is ‘real feel’ or ‘feels like’ in temperature? Wouldn’t that be the temperature? I’m confused.

So my phone tells me it’s 93 degrees outside but the ‘real feel’ is 102. Then isn’t it 102? Help me here.

I get windchill. Say it’s 15 outside with a windchill -1. Got it. If the wind isn’t blowing it’s 15. It can get to -1 when the current wind is blowing. No problem.

But ‘real feel’? I don’t get it. When I Google it, my phone tells me it is what the temperature actually feels like on the human body. Huh? It’s a more personalized measure, that AI thingy tells me. Obviously Google and/or AI has never met my wife.

I know for a fact Crystal’s body judges temperature differently than mine. Our bodies have a ‘real feel’ temperature of a good 15-20 degrees difference. She could live in an Igloo. Seriously. Thank goodness our main vehicle has temperature adjustments for each side of the car.

So, say I’m on Venus and it’s 210 degrees but the ‘real feel’ is 215? Is my bottle of water boiling or not? If it is, then it’s 215 degrees. If it is not then it’s 210. Which is it?

I remember a thing called heat index, which took into account humidity. I get that more or less. Phrases like ‘it’s 95 out, but it’s a dry 95’, were not unusual. Nor was ‘it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity’. Kind of easy to explain like wind chill. But my phone tells me that ‘real feel’ is not the same thing as the good ol’ heat index.

It says that ‘real feel’ is not just air temperature and humidity, but it considers factors like cloud cover, sun intensity, and even the angle of the sun

I guess I just assumed the actual temperature takes into account all those factors as well. Silly me.

I still don’t understand. And it can be great at times. There was a time last week it was like 87 and ‘real feel’ had it like 102.

I’m so confused. Scratching my head in ‘real feel’.

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