Author Archives: momdude

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About momdude

Space cadet | Family dude | Photographer | Music lover | Traveler | Science fiction fan | Hugo Award nominee | Writer | 5x NASA Social participant | KC Chiefs fan | LA Kings fan | Senior Director of Finance & Administration for ALS Network | Member & former staff Finance Officer at the Commemorative Air Force SoCal Wing | Hard core left-wing liberal | Looking for whatever other shenanigans I can get into
November 1, 2022 · 22:17

Return Of The Juncos

It was actually Saturday the 22nd, but I haven’t had a chance to get a picture of them yet. They’re small and zippy!

Even these pictures sort of suck since they’re just cell phone zoom photos shot from 15-20 feet away through a double sliding glass door. It’s the best I could do today – these little clowns spook easily.

As I’ve reported in the past, we have two who seem to live here year around. (“Uno Junco” and “Dos Junco” because creativity isn’t my strong suit?) The others all vanish overnight in the spring, then come back in late October.

I think there were between 15 and 18 out there tonight, but again, “small and zippy.” They’re in those bushes along the fence on either side, up in the trees, on the gutter, in the bushes beside the patio, munching on bird seed, flitting, flying, fighting…

I was never able to get more than six in a picture at one time (like this one) but there was a crowd of them. They’re cute little clown birds and it will be fun to watch them every day for the next few months!

 

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Filed under Birds, Critters, Photography

October 31, 2022 · 21:55

And Then The Halloween Sunset Came

There were a few clouds moving in this afternoon, a tiny chance of rain for the next day or so (and by “tiny” I mean non-zero, but so close to non-existant it’s not really funny), and when I went out I saw this quarter moon floating up there through a thin layer. “That’s a nice photo for my blog post today!” I thought. And it was.

An hour or so later, just before dinner, I saw a glow and decided to check it out.

The Halloween sunset had come and it was loaded for bear!

These rows of low hanging virga were lit up like nothing I had ever seen before.

And where the sun had gone down, it was shades of orange and red that looked like they came straight from Armageddon.

No editing on any of these. No filters. No fiddling with the hue or saturation. All straight out of the camera.

WOW! Perfect for Halloween!

And then, because of the huge hill we live at the top of, for the fourth year in a row, not a single trick-or-treater came by.

Tomorrow… November.

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Sunsets, Weather

October 30, 2022 · 23:52

Sunday Night Blues

The end of October, the hockey game on Thursday, the fantastic Danny Elfman show last night at the Hollywood Bowl, deadlines at work, the Chief’s off week, family in town for the concert and hockey game…

It’s played “fifty-two pickup” with my schedule, and more importantly, my perception of my schedule.

For better or for worse, all evening I’ve had my internal clock telling me that today was Saturday, which is great because I could really, really use tomorrow to chillax and kick back.

Oops!

Tomorrow’s Monday. Tomorrow’s Halloween. Tomorrow’s payroll, and month end.

“Good thing I’m having such a great time doing so many things,” he said, dazedly, still slightly in shock. “Otherwise I could be double booking panic attacks and nervous breakdowns!”

Oh, and then NaNoWriMo starts on Tuesday…

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Filed under Paul

October 29, 2022 · 18:45

More Excellent Noise Tonight

Yesterday I noted that my watch warned me on Thursday about the noise levels at the Kings game.

There will be slightly fewer folks here than at the Crypt on Thursday. Capacity here is 17,500 vs 20,000 at Crypto.com Arena – but our band tonight will be a LOT louder.

It’s night #2 at the Hollywood Bowl for Danny Elfman’s Halloween 🎃 concert.

The moon was setting as we climbed the hill.

The crowd is packed – this is a hot ticket. The use of legal recreational pot is widespread, “No Smoking” signs be damned, and those of us not partaking are in danger of a contact high.

The opening act was loud and okay, but I didn’t catch their names and I have no urgent need to track them down.

Now, the full orchestra is assembled and momentarily it will be a Dead Man’s Party – literally!

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Filed under Los Angeles, Music, Photography, Uncategorized

October 28, 2022 · 23:35

More Where That Came From

Last night at the hockey game, my watch tried to warn me…

As they say, “No shit, Sherlock!”

There will be more of that tomorrow night. LOTS more. (That’s a good thing!)

Later, walking to the subway station (did you know that LA has a subway/light rail system, and actually a pretty good one that’s growing every year?) I could see that downtown LA at night can be spectacular and beautiful.

It’s also a very urban environment, with all that brings. Keep safe.

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Filed under Los Angeles, Photography

October 27, 2022 · 20:41

A Night Out With The Family

At least, a bunch of them! We’ve got something special going on Saturday, so as long as folks were coming into town…

So far it’s been a great game, the Kings up 3-2 after one period.

Time to scrape that ice!

And let’s start the second! Go, Kings, GO!!

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Filed under Family, LA Kings, Photography

October 26, 2022 · 22:45

Skyscapes – October 26th

It was a good morning for playing this game!

Oh, to be a hawk and go dodging in and out of those fluffy white expanses just for the pure joy of it!

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Filed under Photography, Weather

October 25, 2022 · 23:01

Fantasy House Re-Imagined

I’ve been spending a lot of my spare time cruising Zillow, looking for that rainbow unicorn property that’s out there for our “forever home.” There are some truly spectacular places out there — if you have several million dollars to spend.

There are some very nice and perfectly acceptable houses in a number of different locations around the country, for $600K to $800K. Which is still a problem since we need to be paying about half or 2/3 of that if possible.

For $400K to $500K there are some very nice and perfectly acceptable houses – except for “something.” In a town that’s way too small. In a city that’s way too big. In a state where I would make it about a week before there would be folks with torches and pitchforks out on my lawn. On a lot with about three feet between us and the neighbors.

We’re going to move once, and ONLY ONCE if I have anything to say about it. The “forever home” doesn’t have to be 100% perfect, but it would help if it’s in the high 90%’s.

Oh, but those “fantasy homes!” The ones with fifty or sixty acres, on a river with a dock, an in-ground pool, six or seven thousand square feet or more, a barn and paddock and kennel and workshop, that huge built-in BBQ and patio and jacuzzi…

I don’t know if it’s worse to look at them and drool and dream and occasionally deal with the disappointment of knowing that we’ll never have one, or to swear off looking at them and just settle for so much less.

If you happen to know of a 2,500 to 3,500 square foot, one-story ranch on a 1/3 or 1/2 acre lot in a mid-sized college town in a blue or purple state for under $500K, let us know, okay?

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Filed under Art, Castle Willett

October 24, 2022 · 23:12

Ballot Deposited & Blood Donated

Getting things done, checking things off the list!

I know that there are vast stretches of this country where one of the two political parties has been working very hard for decades to make it extremely difficult for some people to vote. I understand why – it’s because they know that they can’t possibly win a free and fair election, they’re fascists who have to stay in power at all costs, and the ony way they can do that is by cheating or stacking the deck. That’s not a conspiracy theory, that’s documented fact. Just read the laws they’ve written and look at the gerrymandered maps that they’ve rigged up.

California’s the exact opposite of that and I sort of love it. When it’s time for voting, EVERY registered voter gets a ballot sent in the mail, and it’s easy to get registered. If you want to be kept in the loop on where your ballot is, sign up and they’re happy to overwhelm you with notifications. When they are going to mail out the ballots in a few days, I get a text, and email, and a phone call. Again when they actually do mail out the ballots. Again to remind me that the ballot should have arrived to remind me how many days there are to get it sent back.

Then when you put the ballot in a drop box (like I did tonight) you’ll get another round of texts, emails, and calls when they pick it up from the dropbox. And again when it’s scanned and counted.

Overkill, FTW!!

Every time I get even the tiniest little bit of annoyance or bother about it I think about Florida and Texas and Ohio and Mississippi and Georgia and I’m just fine with what California has going for it.

After dropping off my ballot, it was time to go donate a pint. I asked them to take only the blood that was saturated with those little hemoglobin H1C molecules and leave behind the ones that are still fresh and empty and happy. They smiled and nodded a lot, but I have suspicions about their sincerity.

The needle thing is fine, but I would really like to get back the arm hair on those patches where they yanked it all off  while removing the adhesives. Yanked it off gleefully, I might add.

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Filed under Health, Photography, Politics

October 23, 2022 · 23:29

Texas Thunderstorm

It was a dozen years ago, a cross-country trip, somewhere on I-10 in Texas.

Big clouds. Bright white from a distance, convection reaching for the heavens.

Getting darker and darker underneath, heading toward black punctuated only by lightning. Lots of that, small hail, winds that might or might not have been a tornado or at least tornado-adjacent, and sheets and sheets of rain.

It was an experience!

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Filed under Photography, Travel, Weather