Eclipise thoughts

Knowing I wanted to get up early to see if the moon was visible
I went to bed at 1 am. After a good nights sleep I got up at 5
am to see if the TV weatherman was right. He was not. When he
threw his darts at the weather map last night and predicted a
cloudy morning I almost overslept.

Although I didn’t see any orange in the moon the first part of
the eclipse was visible and I took a few pictures before the
moon went behind a row of trees and disappeared. So we’ll share
them in case you didn’t see it.

The above photo was taken shortly after 5 am as the moon was
already caught in a tree. At this point I thought it would be
the only one.

At around 5:30 am, after walking a block down the alley, the
eclipse started. As mentioned it did not look red. I walked
back to the house to gulp down a cup of coffee before venturing
out again.

Walking the block back down the alley produced this picture
which still didn’t look red to me. And I kept hoping the clouds
would stay away.

This last one was taken around 6 am and was the last clear shot
to be had before distant clouds and the treeline got in the way.
By the time the moon did turn red it was a hazy blob caught in
those trees.

But we saw it and took the pictures. If I had a photo editor
these could probably be made to look red, but that isn’t what
was seen. Still feel blessed we beat the odds and got see a part
of the eclipse anyway.

Enjoy our Wednesday. Now I need more coffee and a Snicker’s.
Comments are always welcome.

Counting down

We’ve been waiting for the lunar eclipse that we probably won’t
be able to see anyway. On the cruise over to visit Dad this
morning it was cloudy, when outside to photograph critters it
was cloudy, and when I went out to see if there was going to be
a sunset it was cloudier.

The guy who throws darts at the weather map on TV assured us
during the local news it would remain cloudy through Thursday
evening. According to him we could even see a little snow before
we see the sun, moon, and stars again.

I’m going to try and get a picture of the full moon including
the eclipse. At the moment it isn’t looking favorable for that
to happen but I’ll get up early tomorrow to see if I can see
anything besides gray clouds. If outside long enough and I get
lucky we will have a picture.

If not, I read somewhere NASA is going to do a live video of
the rare occurrence and that should be online to watch. There are
always options. Perhaps if it stays too cloudy to catch the
eclipse I could get some shots of the clouds.

So if it’s clear where you live in the morning and you’re up
early, try to catch the eclipse. We won’t see another blue moon,
super moon, total eclipse again in our lifetime. Enjoy our
Tuesday. It’s the last day of January and the Eve of February.
Comments are always welcome.

Chances are

In the wee hours of Wednesday, January 31st, North America will
experience a blue moon, a super moon, and a lunar eclipse on the
same night. The last time that happened here was on March 31st,
1866.

A blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month and
does not appear blue, A supe rmoon is a moon that appears bigger
and brighter than the usual full moon. During the eclipse the
moon will appear red.

from EarthSky.org

Odds of observing or getting a picture of this event range from
great to not going to happen depending on which part of our
country you live in. Here on the east coast of Iowa the eclipse
begins on January 31st at 4:51 am and lasts 2 hours and 26
minutes. You can add your location to the search bar on the
eclipse calculator to see what times are in your area.

Seeing this event will involve good weather conditions and
living in the right spot. Check the map below from accuweather
or go to the web page and learn more.

With that being said, all we have to do now is wait. Even if
you’re not an early riser, don’t worry. We’re sure there will be
pictures online from those who do get to experience the event.
Enjoy our Monday.
Comments are always weather

Confused

I kept hearing this racket that sounded like someone knocking
on door. It kept up for some time so the camera was grabbed and
outside we go. Knowing who the usual culprits are a look in
their general direction found nothing amiss.

So I listened again before realizing it wasn’t someone knocking
on a door but a woodpecker working away on something. A quick
look around and the creature was spotted on a nearby telephone
pole.

Then the noise stopped and looking up I saw the bird must have
taken a break. I wasn’t arguing because the bird wasn’t
sounding like a jack hammer.

It was around this time I remembered it was around 22 degrees
out and without hat or coat it was getting chilly standing in
the middle of the alley just to get a picture of the offending
bird.

Now that I’ve had several cups of coffee and a bowl of 5 alarm
chili the warmth is back in the bones and this post can be
done. Not much else going on along the east coast of Iowa as the
sun is setting on a now cloudy day.

Enjoy the rest of our Sunday.
Comments are always welcome.

Sunday snicker

Turmoil rocked Heaven this morning as allegations arose that God had had an affair with a former worshipper. The scandal was begun when a 21 year old woman, known only as Mary, claimed that she had given birth to God’s “only son” last week in a barn in the hamlet of Bethlehem.

Sources close to Mary claim that she “had loved God for a long time”, that she was constantly talking about her relationship with God, and that she was “thrilled to have had his child.” In a press conference this morning, God issued a vehement denial, saying that “No sexual relationship existed”, and that “the facts of this story will come out in time, verily”.

Independent counsel Kenneth Beelzebub immediately filed a brief with the Justice department to expand his investigation to cover questions of whether any commandments may have been broken, and whether God had illegally funneled laundered money to his illegitimate child through three foreign operatives know only as the “Wise Men”. Beelzebub has issued subpoenas to several angels who are rumored to have acted as go-betweens in the affair.

Critics have pointed out that these allegations have little to do with the charges that Beelzebub was originally appointed to investigate, that God had created large-scale flooding in order to cover up evidence of a failed land deal.

In recent months, Beelzebub’s investigation has already been expanded to cover questions surrounding the large number of locusts that plagued God’s political opponents in the last election, as well as to claims that the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was to divert attention away from a scandal involving whether the giveaway of a parcel of public land in Promised County to a Jewish special interest group was quid pro quo for political contributions.

If these allegations prove to be true, then this could be a huge blow to God’s career, much of which has been spent crusading for stricter moral standards and harsher punishments for wrongdoers. Indeed, God recently outlined a “tough-on-crime” plan consisting of a series of 10 “Commandments”, which has been introduced in Congress in a bill by Rep. Moses. Critics of the bill have pointed out that it lacks any provisions for the rehabilitation of criminals, and lawyers for the ACLU are planning to fight the “Name in Vain” Commandment as being an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.

Best intentions

Our day started with two goals in mind, do a blog post early
and get a picture of the moon.

The deli had a sale on meat and a little farther down the
aisle the bakery had a sale on doughnuts. Then the wife
said she a coupon for a free dozen fresh cookies! I was batting
1,000. The deals just kept coming.

So we arrived home, unpacked the groceries, and the wife said
she wanted to go get a new wireless router. Our internet speed
had been slowing down so we thought it worth a try since the
tests I ran couldn’t find a problem.

So off to the big box store we run to replace our 5+ year old
router. A clerk who didn’t look old enough to shave and kept
mentioned games we’d never heard of, was helpful but not pushy.

I learned a long time ago that if the box says easy to install
or mentions less than than 5 steps in the installation, I’m in
over my head. This was such a case. The box stated that in 3
easy steps we’d be surfing the internet on our wireless devices.
Liars!

After almost shooting the computer, threatening to throw it out
the window, and almost having a heart attack in the process, the
wife took over. In less than 15 steps she had the router hooked
up to the network and we were ready to change networks on our
laptops.

Didn’t get the moon picture because while we were wrestling with
the computer the clouds blew in and hid it. So now I sit with the
day almost done yet closer to getting out this post. So yes, the
post is late again. I don’t think it would have been any earlier
though if I had just shot the computer.

Enjoy the rest of our Friday as I know we will, now.
Comments are always welcome.

Busy days

I mention distractions quite often so thought to share some
images of what said mind wanderings are. Yesterday after the
feral cats and wild birds were fed this distraction faced
me and I fell into those eyes.

I’m used to green or yellow eyes on most cats these had my
attention as he watched me watching him. I did manage to get
this photo as he gave me his opinion on the idea.

After much thought it was decided that the original group of
feral cats roam the neighborhood at night telling all their
buddies that they have a human trained to put out food and water
every day and tell them how to get here.

Later, sipping on a hot cup of coffee, I noticed a cardinal
jumping from limb to limb and caught him in flight between
branches.

Another bird was posing like a hood ornament on an old classic
car so long a picture was needed. He took off shortly after the
camera clicked and I lost track of him.

And the critter shown below has been given me fits. Even though
I put out separate critter chow this squirrel insists on eating
the bird food. If I keep watch he doesn’t sneak in yet when I
just pop out the back door I catch him in the bird seed.

Looking for a solution to this minor problem it makes one
wonder if a life-sized cardboard cutout of myself hung on that
side of the house would do the trick.

Enjoy our Thursday as the weekend is just a dream away. Now for
some more coffee and thought.
Comments are always welcome.

Is green really green?

Yesterday while cruising the information highway an article
about wind turbines grabbed my attention. It should be no big
secret that I don’t think much of these overglorified windmills
but the information in the article got me thinking.

This guy never bought into the hype that wind energy is clean
energy, the article mentioned was on a conservative site, and I
didn’t check the numbers or research data. That being said,
here’s what I took away from it.

If the article is correct, and I have no reason to doubt it,
you can’t build or operate an offshore wind turbine without
using a lot of oil. Up to 18,857 barrels each not including
lubrication oil. And some of these structures leak contaminating
the ground around them.

So besides killing birds of every shape and size said turbines
can also pollute. Cost has been an issue also and the article
claims a offshore wind farm costs $25,000 for every home it
powers! Coal and natural gas sound better now.

On our nations east coast it will cost $1 billion to build an
offshore windfarm that would produce 200 megawatts of
electricity, which would be enough to power up to 64,000 homes.

Perhaps our technology isn’t there yet to make these turbines
a real alternative to what we have. Through research and
development the technology could reach a point that such energy
sources are viable and cost competitive. We just haven’t reached
that point yet.

If you wish to read the article please go to the web page.

Enjoy the rest of our Wednesday as I have. At least if getting
constantly distracted counts.
Comments are always welcome.

Lucky day

While returning home from Dads and about 3 blocks away from our
house I spied a hawk spiraling in a tight circle close to home.
When I arrived home and jumped out of the car for a look, it was
gone. Or so I thought.

Went in the house and grabbed the camera, checked the settings,
opened the back door, and saw this.

Turned out the hawk settled in a tree not 30 yards from the
back door. The hawk seemed calm so I got closer and took another
shot. The bird was still calm so a few shots were taken before
venturing even closer.

The hawk stayed in the tree quite a while watching me watching
him. Which cause me to wonder, what does a predatory bird with a
4 foot wingspan eat? Surely not people? Yet I got the feeling
the bird was hungry and sizing me up.

Turned out I had no worries as the hawk took flight to find
prey elsewhere. And out of all that I got lucky enough to get
a few good shots of our neighborhood predator. When I finish
this it will be research time to see if hawks get hungry, or
mad enough, to attack people. As always, you can click on the
pictures to enlarge them if you wish.

Hope today was lucky for you also. Enjoy our Tuesday. Now for
some coffee and a Snicker’s.
Comments are always welcome.

Cruising while thinking

We are supposed to get rain or snow tonight and will experience
a cool down for a while here. That makes me think of coffee and
as I was cruising the information highway on a straight shot of
two lane blacktop I came across a link to a tale behind a new
coffee.

In my youth many a shot of Jack Daniel’s old No 7 ended up
warming my insides and turning my brain into something akin to
a monkeys. 30 years have past since my last drink but I remember
it well.

What does that have to do with coffee you ask? While cruising
I discovered that Jack Daniel’s is now making coffee and while
it is non-alcoholic the coffee is said to smell and taste like
whiskey. The claim is when you drink it hints of caramel and
vanilla will caress your taste buds.

The coffee should hit stores soon. It won’t be a cheap coffee
as an 8.8 ounce can will run $21.95. Or if you just want to
try it to see if you like it, a 1.5 ounce bag is $6.95. And it
comes in decaf and caffeinated.

You can go to Jack Daniel’s Coffee website to learn more if you
are so inclined. At the bottom of the link is a list of where
you can buy the product now. Iowa isn’t listed. Even though
flavored coffees aren’t my favorite, this is one I might try.

Sometimes it pays to cruise the information highway. Enjoy the
rest of our Monday.
Comments are always welcome.