Summer drips away like softened mint chocolate chip down the inverted incline of a waffle cone

So how has summer been working for you? After being scorched and burned last year, the dam area has just finished draining after a really wet July. I feel like it's time for another bullet-point post to recap random stuff.

• Pittsburgh-based Cello Fury made a tour stop in Houston at the end of July and we got to enjoy a free performance at Market Squre. A trio of cellists backed by a drummer, Cello Fury's expressive sound spans that gap between chamber music and Headbangers Ball that you didn't even ask to be bridged. Their YouTube channel is well worth the visit.
• Last weekend the summer Olympics left us for another four years. Requiring a cable or satellite TV subscription turned the online offerings into a non-starter for me, and made NBC look like the old legacy media company that I guess they are. So among the garbage I had to scrap for the worthwhile moments on the network broadcast -- especially Meb Kefleghizi's fourth-place finish in the men's marathon. My gut feeling told me that he was the USA's best shot at a medal, and I was correct.
• We took a tour of the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting. As a contributing member of KUHF, I finally got to see exactly where my dollars go, including the studio where The Front Row is recorded and the workday desks of news staffers like Carrie Feibel.. Our guide was Eric Ladau, whose voice I've heard on evening traffic reports. 
• My running mileage is on the upswing. This morning I hung on pretty well during our group run of five miles. The Aramco half is now less than five months away.
• I've been surprised that site traffic on Houston Running Calendar has merely leveled off during the summer when I thought it would nosedive. On August 1, the Facebook "fanpage" reached 500 Likes, which I think is a happy metric for something that isn't being actively marketed; people are searching for this stuff.
• My "must-see TV" right now is Breaking Bad. The conclusion of season 4 was so decisive that it could have easily served as a series finale. But I suppose the fans now get one last season to see exactly where "ever after" takes the characters. As counterweights to that heavy drama I've discovered Portlandia and The Guild on Netflix; both are comedy gold.

Now, if you'll pardon me, there's a carton of Breyers waiting for me in the freezer....