May 11, 2024 · 23:00

No Context For You – May 11th

IT’S MAY???!!! And a third of the way through it?? WHO KNEW?

Well, I guess that I sort of did in the sense that the deadlines I had this week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday all got met, but for my internal calendar and clock it was more like these are critical and they’re due Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, not May 7th, May 9th, and May 10th. It might seem to be a subtle distinction, but it’s a big difference in my head.

(YES,  the interior of my head might be a bizarre place at times. Anyone reading this site for a decent chunk of the last 11+ years should have noticed that before now.)

Some may wonder – “What *IS* a ‘No Context For You’ post?” Well, first and foremost, it’s an indication that my brain is fried and my creativity on that day is probably at a low point. So, you know how when making a TV series there were various tricks they use to create a weekly episode or two to catch up with the calendar when they were falling behind schedule? The original series of “Star Trek” for example, re-edited the original pilot with a few minutes of quick, simple new footage using only a couple of actors to come up with the two-part episode, “The Menagerie.” Even shows like “Murder She Wrote” and “M*A*S*H” did this sort of thing.

“No Context For You” is similar for my use. They usually use an image which gets taken by accident (the photographic equivelent of a “butt dial” on my cellphone camera) but which I keep instead of delete because I find it somehow interesting or useful. Then I stick it on here with some random train of thought blatherationings (like…THIS!) that have nothing to do with the image and generally doesn’t explain a thing.

Presto! Change-o! We have a daily post and pray for more inspiration (or time, or both) tomorrow. Thank god for “tomorrow!”

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Filed under Photography, Random Blatherationings

May 10, 2024 · 23:49

No Aurora For Me

Another obvious bucket list item for me would be to see the Northern Lights or aurora. I figured I would need to book a trip to Iceland or Northern Canada or Alaska to see them, but tonight a huge CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) from the Sun has slamdanced the Earth and we’re getting the most vivid and widespread aurora in 50+ years. On social media there are amazing and detailed photos from places like Detroit, Chicago, upstate New York, and even as far south as Nashville and Ohio. Even further south, there are photos of the sky glowing red and purple from Miami, Texas, and Mississippi, and even Southern California. I saw one set of pictures from Thousand Oaks, which is only a dozen miles from here.

Here, I’ve been taking cell phone pictures and looking a couple times an hour all night, but with no luck. We have light pollution near the horizone and the Little Dipper, and some haze and clouds off to the north.

Straight overhead you can see the Big Dipper, which would look even better if I wasn’t too lazy to go get the iPhone tripod and use it instead of shooting these pictures handheld. But no aurora, no purple or red tint to the sky. And now the clouds have moved in here.

Maybe on the next once in a lifetime occurrance. Maybe that will either be stronger so that the skies light up even at 34º12’03″N, or I’ll be somewhere further north so that I can see them.

If you’re further north tonight, I hope you had clear skies and a great view of a colorful sky, excited by high energy particles and plasma thrown out from the Sun! Enjoy!!!

And please, everyone try to take a peek for aurora on Saturday and Sunday as well. This solar storm might be strong enough to last a couple of days. If at first you don’t succeed…

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Space

May 9, 2024 · 23:52

LOVE That BOOM!

I’ve been REALLY busy all day, a tight deadline looming.

On the one hand, I knew that SpaceX had a Vandenberg launch scheduled for tonight, and it was going to be right at sunset so it had a good chance of being spectacular, but then I got a notice that it had been bumped by a couple hours to 21:30-ish. I didn’t even know exactly what time, and I was TOTALLY heads-down in the deadline tasks.

Until, at about 21:45-ish, the wall and west-facing window in my office gave a good, sharp, shake and rattle from the sonice boom from the Falcon 9 that had launched and gone supersonic off of the Ventura coast about t6hirteen minutes earlier.

I’ve heard it before when I’ve been listening for it, but for some reason, when I was NOT expecting it, it seems so much louder and more distinct.

I love living “near” (100+ miles) a freakin’ spaceport!!!

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Filed under Paul, Space

May 8, 2024 · 23:44

Roses Are Pink (At Least, Some Of Them Are)

That whole “Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue” thing is PR at best, BS at worst.

I don’t have any violets in the yard, but while some of the roses are red, most of ours are not.

This is almost fluorescent pink.

Hot pink, mixed with touches of yellow and lots of white.

And the shapes and curls!

Life on Earth – it can be wonderful. If only we could stop screwing it up for a while.

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Filed under Flowers, Photography

May 7, 2024 · 22:20

Two Hundred Years

Two hundred years ago today (apparently) Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was played in public for the first time.

You’re probably most familiar with the final movement, the Ode to Joy, which is one of the most stunning, brilliant, and beautiful pieces ever created anywhere, any time, by anyone.

If the alien overlords land and point at Trump and Gaza and ask why we as a species should be allowed to live, I’ll point to this.

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Filed under Music, Video

May 6, 2024 · 23:52

Checking In On Our Lizard Friends

Some days it’s getting warm(er), when it’s not cool and foggy like it was on Saturday. When that happens, the fence lizards come out to sun themselves on the wall and on the sidewalk and wherever they can grab a sunny spot that’s just a quick dash from safety if/when danger (i.e., me or a hawk) appears.

They all seem to have their own little territories.

This dude hangs out either under these trees or on the side near the ground.

Several of them lounge along this wall at the back side of the yard. Here you can see his blue belly.

And again. These Western fence lizards are often known colloquially as “blue bellies” for obvious reasons.

They’re also big on giving me side eye.

This little goober has repeatedly sat here and will stand his ground instead of running off into the bushes.

I just step over him, of course, and then he runs – I wonder if he’s capable of learning that I’m really not a threat. I remember that some of the larger and presumably older lizards at the Pomelo house seemed to finally learn that I was safe and they wouldn’t run when I walked over. But that might be more of a perception issue on my part rather than actual behavorial modification.

 

 

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Filed under Critters, Photography

May 5, 2024 · 21:50

Roses Are Red (Mostly, Ish)

The roses next to the driveway have started to explode into color and life. This is a glorious thing.

Compared to some of the neighbors, ours is a small and simple crop.

But so, so many of the houses I’m looking at on Zillow (in a completely different part of SoCal) have none at all in the pictures.

If/when we get one of those houses and move, finding a stretch of the front yard to put in roses will be a priority.

Plenty of time to unpack later.

Seeing this every spring and all summer when you go out or when you come home is more important.

It’s one of those key little things that will change a new house into our forever home.

Roses, and hummingbird feeders. Even if we don’t see hummingbirds on Day One. They’ll find us.

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Filed under Flowers, Forever Home, Photography

May 4, 2024 · 23:51

My First ALS Event

I work for the ALS Network (previously known as The ALS Association Golden West Chapter). I’ve been there over four and a half years. COVID interrupted many of our regular events, but we’ve been back to in-person fundraising and community outreach events for a year or so and I figured it was way past time for me to get my butt out there and get out from behind the desk. So today I was at our Southern California Ride & Rally To Cure ALS event.

It was cool (mid 50’s F) and foggy to start the day, didn’t warm up much and the Sun never came out. I’m told that last year it was the exact opposite, hot as Hell all day. Gotta love SoCal!

We had two bike rides (different distances), a hiking course, and a walking course. This is the start of the walk.

That’s a LOT of pallea! If you’re going to cook, COOK BIG! It was excellent!

Lunch

The post ride/hike/run/lunch party with a local band and other activities. A nice day, especially since I really like the folks I work with and now that I work from home 99.99% of the time, this is one of the few chances I get to see them.

If you’re in California or Hawaii, keep an eye on our calendar for an event in your area. We would love to have you there, I might see you (let me know you’re coming and I’ll try to get there!), you can learn about ALS and help us to fundraise for research and helping those suffering from the disease, and have some fun to boot!.

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Filed under ALS Network, Photography

May 4, 2024 · 00:02

Offline

Which god’s dog did I accidentally kick? Payroll one night, bank statements being reconciled the next, those are on me. But tonight having the internet connection crash and burn at 23:04 was not on my Bingo card for today.

And my teeth are killing me… And it’s going to be a busy, busy weekend…

Yeah, that’s how it feels. Well, THERE‘s your problem!

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Filed under Photography, Travel

May 3, 2024 · 00:02

More Boca Chica Photos!!!

I’m brain dead and burnt out. I’ve been to the dentist again, I have to go to the endodontist, they’re talking about multiple root canals in my future, and all is shit. So, since I shot HUNDREDS of pictures at Boca Chica a month ago, let’s look at more of them.

The Rocket Garden.

The launch site from the construction site.

That’s a freakin’ big launch tower.

The Starship booster was on the pad. The cloud is some sort of cryogenic fuel that was venting.

That’s the Quick Release connection. It moves over to connect to the top of the booster, and fuel pumps through it into the liquid oxygen and supercooled methane tanks. When the launch starts, it disconnects in just a second and pulls back away from the rising rocket.

Waaaaay off in the distance, about eight miles away, is South Padre Island, which is the best place to watch a launch from if you don’t work for SpaceX and can’t get onsite.

The “chopsticks” which rise up, spread wide, then close around the top of the booster to lift it off of the transport vehicle and up into position on the launch pad.

The space above the top of the booster is where the Starship rocket goes, also picked up and put into position by the “chopsticks.”

The “hopper,” the first test vehicle that flew and landed safely on its own.

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Filed under Photography, Space, Travel