Author Archives: momdude

momdude's avatar

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
May 25, 2025 · 23:41

501′ Overhead

FAA regulations say that over a populated area if you’re not landing or taking off you need to be at least 500 feet high. We had an LAPD helicopter the other day “orbiting” over a spot about two blocks away (never did figure out what the fuss was about) which meant for about 15 minutes, we had him coming back around right overhead every 60 seconds or so. As low as he could get, so, probably about 501 feet overhead.

Here in our neck of the woods in the big city, between fires, crimes, accidents, rescues, and other emergencies, this happens three or four times a year. There are, of course, areas of the city where this happens three or four times a day. Here, not so much. (That’s a good thing!) How often does it happen elsewhere? In Springfield, Vermont in the 1970’s I don’t think I saw a single helicopter anywhere in five years. Your experience is somewhere between those two extremes.

But it’s a good excuse for me to grab the camera and go look at our personal air show.

Sorry about all of the spots – they’re from dust on the sensor of a decades-plus-old camera. Normally I clean up images I post here using Photoshop, but I just realized that I haven’t re-installed it on this new computer after I got it in March. Another task to add to the punch list for finishing up the install.

Leave a comment

Filed under Flying, Los Angeles, Photography

May 24, 2025 · 23:51

Dragon Reentry

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft have started splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off of San Diego. Tonight there was a Cargo Dragon coming back from the International Space Station and its track brought it in from the northwest to the southeast, following the California coast and coming right over Los Angeles at about 10″35 PM.

I was thinking of shooting a Facebook Live video, but the Dragon came over Castle Peak a minute or two earlier than I had expected and it was going a LOT faster than I expected. I’m used to seeing ISS going over and it can take close to ten minutes to go from horizon to horizon if it’s going straight overhead. Dragon took 1:29. It was slower after breaking using atmospheric drag, but it was also MUCH lower.

Dragon had a long, colorful tail, not unlike a SpaceX Falcon launch, but missing the exhaust trail that a launch will leave.

These first three pictures were taken about 4-5 seconds apart – that spacecraft was making tracks!

Once it got down toward the southern horizon, somewhere south of Long Beach and near Oceanside, the trail faded as the spacecraft slowed further and the parachutes came out.

But the show wasn’t over. The other thing that was expected since we were nearly right under the path was a sonic boom. As it went over the Dragon was doing WELL over Mach 1, and about 2:34 after the Dragon faded from view, a LOUD Boom-Boom, double sonic boom rattled the windows. Outside it was quite noticable – it was heard even inside the house, as The Long Suffering Wife came out to make sure that I hadn’t tripped and fallen and slammed into the door or wall. No tripping, no crashing, just spacecraft returning to Earth.

1 Comment

Filed under Photography, Space

May 23, 2025 · 23:19

Caterpillar Cloud

I came out the front door just around sunset and started the exit rituals. I said hello to the mourning dove hiding in its nest above the door. I said howdy to the medium sized lizard  who was catching the last solar rays on the west-facing front porch. I dropped and gave it a couple of push ups for competition and recognition – it did more, but mine were bigger, so we called it a draw and it scurried off into the bushes.

Then I noticed the isolated and gorgeous catepillar-shaped cloud hanging up there in the sunset sky.

Timing is everything. While it wasn’t going to get pink or orange or truly SPECTACULAR, it was brilliantly white and fluffy and feathery in a darkening sky. It was well above average, and these days that’s worth paying attention to!

If only I had wings to go do barrel rolls around it, through it, touching it, feeling the cold moisture on my face.

But I don’t. *sigh*

Leave a comment

Filed under Paul, Photography, Sunsets, Weather

May 22, 2025 · 23:27

Random Old Photos – May 22nd

Looking at houses in the Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville area (“high desert” or “Victor Valley”) there are quite a few houses that are advertised as “horse properties.” At least, they’re zoned to allow horses. Most don’t have any equipment, stalls, barns, or other necessities, but if you want to invest a few tens or hundreds of thousand dollars in building it, you too can have horses!

Of course, there’s also the place that had all of that, along with at least two mules. We thought about it, especially if the mules could be included in the sale price. (Didn’t happen – probably dodged a bullet there!)

I am not completely ignorant of the ways of the equine critters – just 99.9999% ignorant. When I was a kid growing up in Kansas City we lived on the edge of the housing tract, with a farm over the back fence. Shetland ponies were always there to feed and pet and play with.

And I have been on a horse more recently than 1967. 2005, twenty years ago, to be exact.

Thank goodness we found a slow, old, swayback nag that was safe for me to get on.

God knows what happens if our fantasy forever home has two acres, a barn, a watering trough, and more horse stuff. Of course, I’ll have to learn the real words for all of that horse stuff.

Adventures await!

Leave a comment

Filed under Critters, Forever Home, Photography

May 21, 2025 · 23:10

You Can’t Take A Bad Picture Here – May 21st

There are places on the planet where it is damn near impossible to take a bad picture, no matter your equipment, skill level, or whatever. I’m sure there are folks who somehow do manage to screw it up, but they’re in a different class from us mere mortals.

For example:

Entrance to Cabo San Lucas harbor.

The town and inner harbor at sunset.

Leave a comment

Filed under Photography, Travel

May 20, 2025 · 23:49

Holier Than Thou

We’re losing the war with the gophers. In fact, I’m not sure that we’re even fighting anymore. I can’t even remember the last time I saw the “gopher guy.”

The gardeners were here last Thursday and smoothed and filled everything back in. Five days later there are eight large holes.

I won’t use poison because of the likelihood hat it will in turn kill hawks, owls, or other raptors that could feed on the dead gophers. So if the landlord’s “gopher guy” doesn’t come back and do a better job than he has in the past, I think the only option is getting a sleeping bag and a pitch fork and camping out on the front lawn. When I hear the next hole being dug near me, I can jump up and impale the little monster with the pitch fork!

We may all safely assume that particular plan will be put into effect right after Hell freezes over.

Leave a comment

Filed under Critters, Photography

May 19, 2025 · 23:50

Cosmic Rays

Late this afternoon I was struck by a really neat idea that I wanted to ponder and develop a bit and then share with everyone here tonight.

Unfortunately, a billion years ago (give or take) a batch of gamma rays got emitted from the event horizon of a black hole somewhere on the far side of the Andromeda Galaxy, travelled through the cosmos, and then some time in the intervening five or six hours this afternoon they smashed through the handful of neurons that were holding that thought, and it’s GONE! (That might also explain some of the drooling…) The sense of how über cool the idea was is still there, but no trace of the idea.

Oh, well. Maybe a backup neuron will kick in and the thought will return. If so, you’ll be the second to know.

In the meantime, have a couple more cool pictures from a couple of Saturdays ago when we were at the Ahmanson.

Behold the intersection of Temple and Grand. Behind us to the left is the Ahmanson, and stretching off behind us to the behind-right are the Mark Taper Forum, the Music Center Plaza (which, you’ll remember, was full of a gala this night), the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and across 1st Street, the Disney Concert Hall, and across 2nd Street, the Broad Museum. But diagonally across the intersection is this giant tan, sandstone-ish structure, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Time it correctly and get a day when the May Gray or June Gloom clouds are still offshore and you can see the almost full moon rising.

Not a bad spot to sit and eat the sandwiches you’ve brought for the pre-play dinner.

And for those who might still be spouting the right-wing bullshit about what a hellhole California is – I suggest a long walk off of a short pier.

Leave a comment

Filed under Astronomy, Los Angeles, Photography

May 18, 2025 · 23:10

Fine Feathered Friends – May 18th

While not as brilliant a shade of blue as their Eastern Blue Jay cousins, the California Scrub Jay makes up for it with their squawking.

They’re fairly big, so they have no fear of the crows, and think nothing of swooping in to steal bird seed from the smaller house finches, mourning doves, and juncos.

They also draw a crowd of mockingbirds, who will attack them on sight since the jays will steal, break, and eat eggs from the mockingbird nests. Mockingbirds don’t put up with that shit.

So, loud, obnoxious, a pest, not even bright and pretty, but more like the biker gang type of larger jay.

I like them!

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Birds, Photography

May 17, 2025 · 23:39

Favorite Rose

‘Tis that time of year again – the roses next to the driveway have started to bloom, and the one that’s my favorite color has popped.

There’s just a sublime quality to this particular mixture of red, orange, and yellow.

1 Comment

Filed under Flowers, Photography

May 16, 2025 · 23:29

Silence Unknown Callers

And THIS would be why.

The best feature on an iPhone. (And probably on Android phones as well, but I haven’t ever owned one of those.) The best feature on modern cellphones.

If our late-stage capitalistic hellhole is going to make it so trivial for every asshole on the planet with a bot app to illegally call and scam everyone on the planet, it’s good that there’s at leas one little thing that helps us fight back against the evil bastards.

My answering machine messages makes it clear that if someone from an unknown number gets sent to voicemail but has a legitimate reason to be calling, LEAVE A VOICE MAIL and I will return the call.

See how many of these low life bastards left a voicemail?

There are times when, usually due to an expected and critical call regarding work, I have to turn this feature off for a couple of days. It’s Hell.

Leave a comment

Filed under Computers, Freakin' Idiots!, Paul