It's raining outside my office window right now.

What is the significance, you ask? Well, the Gulf Coast has been in a drought for quite a while. Last summer was very dry, up until Katrina. And after Katrina blew through, there was not a cloud in the sky until a rain band (one of those extending swirly arms of a hurricane) of Rita came through, a month later.

Then after that, it was mid November before any real rain.

Mind you, dry weather is better than wet weather for cleaning up outside. But still, without water, stuff starts dying.

Last I noticed the weather report in the Times-Picayune, the rain gauge at Louis Armstrong International Airport was roughly 2 feet (0.6 meter) below normal for the year.

I'll take a rainy FOJ if it means stuff won't die here.

Oh, and here's some lagniappe for anyone reading this: how to say "Fourth of July" in sign language!

"Fourth of July" is generally abbreviated as "F O J", where, at this time of year, it's understood what "F O J" means.

So, to sign the letter F:

Take your dominant hand (the one you write with), and make a circle with your thumb & index finger. The other three fingers, let them spread out, that all three fingers are visible when you look at the 'o' head-on.

The letter O:

Make a circle with your thumb & all four fingers. Your thumb should be touching between the middle & ring fingers.

The letter J:

Make a fist with your thumb outside of your fingers, the back of your hand should be facing you. Stick your pinky finger out, but keep the other three clenched. Use the pinky finger and draw a hook (like the capital letter J, but without the crossbar) down, and rotate into your other hand. (It looks like a J to you with your right hand, but like a mirrored J with your left hand.)

That concludes your ASL lesson for the day.

-KIE