February 24, 2023 · 23:52

Soggy Critters

I did a quick check of several National Weather Service sites and a few local weather sites, trying to see if anyone has an exact figure for how much rain we’ve gotten. Couldn’t find one, I’m sure we’ll have a total in the morning. Let me just say, as a semi-educated amateur, it was A LOT! Probably as much as I’ve ever seen here in SoCal in almost 50 years here.

Surprisingly, we haven’t lost power. There have been a few flickers, but we’re still online, warm, dry, with a roof over our heads and the lights on. The wee wild critters can’t say the same.

When I went out to put out seed, this guy didn’t even wait until I was back in the house before he was charging the critter banquet table.

He was soggy and looked the worse for wear. I don’t know if he was grateful, be he sure wasn’t going to look a gift meal in the mouth.

While he attacked the seed that I had dropped on the porch, a gazillion birds descended to pick the rest of it out of the mud.

The hummers were also buzzing around both feeders. They need all the energy they can get when it’s this cold, and more so when it’s also this wet.

I topped off both feeders and they were put into use within seconds of me getting back into the house.

What kills me is the way they immediately come over and hover around the empty space when I pull the empty feeder down and take it inside to clean it and refill it. I’m at the kitchen sink looking right at this spot and they’re buzzing around like, “Wait! WTF! Where did it go? Man, it was RIGHT HERE! Now it’s gone!!”

Later this evening it got downright nasty. It’s warmed up about 10º over this morning (meaning that it’s about 50º instead of 40º) but the rain has just been falling in sheets and the winds have been gusting to over 50 knots. For the last several hours we’ve been under a flash flood alert. For about ninety minutes tonight we were under a severe thunderstorm alert. (Never saw any lightning or heard any thunder – RATS!) About four miles away, at Warner Center Park, the LAFD was doing a rescue of passengers trapped in a car after a big tree fell over on it.

Let’s hope all of the soggy critters stay warm and as dry as they can tonight. This rain and nastiness is supposed to last until Wednesday or so.

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Filed under Critters, Photography, Weather

February 23, 2023 · 23:56

Here Comes The Rain

No sign of snow here yet (and probably still highly unlikely HERE-here) but there is snow on top of the Santa Suzanna Mountains just a few miles north. The coldest part of the storm isn’t due until tomorrow and Saturday.

I just got a new cover for the BBQ and it’s all black and plastic-like. The rain we got today beaded up nicely.

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Filed under Photography, Weather

February 22, 2023 · 22:51

Venus & Jupiter & Crescent Moon

I told you! We got one last clear sunset to see Venus (at the bottom), Jupiter (at the top), and the 12% illuminated, three-day old crescent Moon before this cold, snowy storm moves into SoCal.

Stunning! This is using a hand-held iPhone in 30-gusting-to-40+ winds.

Using the big camera on a tripod there was a little less shaking and bouncing.

And close-up on the Moon and Jupiter. I was hoping to get a picture that showed a couple of Jupiter’s moons (three of the Galilean moons were visible) but with the wind, longer exposures look like modern art, not astrophotography.

You’ve got a day or two to see this with the Moon hanging around and a week to watch Jupiter and Venus get closer to each other. The closest approach will be March 1st. Then you have weeks to watch them pull apart. If you get a couple minutes after sunset and it’s clear, go take a few minutes to gander at our corner of the Universe!

That cold storm is definitely on its way. It was pushing 80º yesterday – tonight it was 43º headed to a low of 38º and with the wind the wind chill was right around freezing.

As for that even weirder weather headed our way, it’s a weather pattern that’s rare so there’s not a lot of baseline information in the computer models. For our location there’s still a chance of up to an inch of snow, but only down (as of the latest) to about 1,500 feet. Castle Peak (see in the bottom right of that first picture above) might get some snow on the top, as might the Santa Monica Mountains, south of us between the San Fernando and Conejo Valleys and the coast around Malibu. If we don’t have snow, we’ll get something on the order of 5″ of rain between now and Monday, so either way it’s going to be fun.

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Weather

February 21, 2023 · 23:36

Watch The Skies The Next Few Days!

If you’re just about anywhere for the next couple of weeks and you have a clear sky at sunset, look to the west just after sunset.

Remember when Venus and Saturn (and sometimes the young Moon) were all near each other in the evening sky about a month ago? Well, something similar and very bright is happening again.

This time it’s Jupiter and Venus. And for the next couple of days, the young Moon as well. For the next nine or ten days you’ll see Venus nearest the horizon with Jupiter above it, both quite bright. On March 1st they’ll appear the closest to each other (from our viewpoint, of course – in reality they’re a billion-plus miles apart) and then Jupiter will continue to sink toward the sunset and Venus will continue to rise above until Jupiter disappears in the glare in mid-March.

Again, as always for this sort of thing, ignore the mass media clickbait that will try to tell you, “TONIGHT!!!” March 1st they’ll appear the closest, but if it’s clear you’ll be able to easily see them for another month.

Yes, there will be pictures here. Later. After we get past…well…

In Los Angeles (and most of California) there’s no seeing anything other than clouds for several days as a large, unusual, and COLD storm moves in. It might not be the same cold that they’re getting in Chicago and Vermont, but there’s a finite chance that it could mean the oddest of odd events in places like San Francisco and Los Angeles – SNOW.

“1-4 inches” possible down to 1,000 feet??!! And yes, folks are asking specific questions about places near us like the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Clarita, the Antelope Valley, and so on.

Our house? We’re at about 1,060 feet according to the GPS fix on ForeFlight.

This could be interesting…

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Filed under Astronomy, Space, Weather

February 20, 2023 · 23:06

Inquiring Minds – February 20th

On all of my PC’s running both Windows 10 and Windows 11 the volume goes from 0 to 100 in steps of 2. Even numbers only. No way to set it to 17, for example.

Why?

Why don’t they set it to go from 0 to 50 in increments of one?

[Image - 198362] | These go to 11 / Spinal Tap | Know Your Meme

Does Microsoft think that their amps should go to 22?

Seriously, is there some bizarre limitation to the OS or programming reason that prevents there from being any prime number other than 2 being used?

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Filed under Deep Thoughts, Silly Shit

February 19, 2023 · 23:25

Solvang

Today’s adventure was a day trip up the coast to Solvang. It was my first visit.

A cute little tourist trap town based on the Danish architecture of its early founders and settlers.

Lots of interesting shops (we found and bought some neat things) and, on the Sunday of a three-day holiday weekend with gorgeous weather, way too little parking. (This is my surprised face.)

Driving up through the mountains the views were stunning and the California wildflowers were blooming. I didn’t stop to take pictures of those, but they’re worth another trip.

It was an adventure, so I was wearing my adventure hat. Hans Christian Andersen was wearing something more formal. I claimed the win based on not being bronze and not being dead.

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Filed under Photography, Travel

February 18, 2023 · 23:32

Sunset – February 18th

A little bit of color tonight.

Warming weather coming to SoCal for a day or two, then rain.

Again, we always need the rain.

But when it’s completely overcast, grey, and raining, we do miss the colorful sunsets.

It’s all a tradeoff.

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Filed under Photography, Sunsets, Weather

February 17, 2023 · 23:46

Sticking Out Like A…

There’s a reason that phrase sticks around.

A stupid, tiny little nick from cutting my thumbnail too close on my right hand. I’m so right handed that if I broke my right arm I would starve to death before I learned to feed myself with my left hand only. So now, nearly a week after my horrific thumbnail clipping incident, I still am extremely aware of my sore thumb every single time I try to type (and I’m typing all day long), or use my computer trackball, or try to get my phone or wallet or keys out of my pocket, or try to use a pen, or eat with a fork or spoon, or…

You get the picture.

How can one itsy-bitsy little nick cause so much grief and trouble even a week later?!

I swear, next time I go to a manicurist and let them do it professionally. I’m not sure how that makes sense, but this is ridiculous.

(Yes, I’m a whiny woosie boy. This isn’t news.)

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Filed under Health, Paul, Photography

February 16, 2023 · 23:31

Leftovers

Following the party on Sunday, there were leftovers. Salads for the next week, soft drinks, BBQ, beer, desserts…

…and enough red & yellow M&Ms (plain AND peanut) to feed a battalion.

To get the monocolor M&Ms you have to buy them in one pound or two bound bags. Most folks at the party were snacking on the other appetizers and the Crumbl cookies and the M&Ms were pretty and admired but not eaten.

So much for my diet!

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Filed under Castle Willett, KC Chiefs

February 15, 2023 · 23:35

Random Old Photos – February 15th

With the NFL season over and my beloved Chiefs having won their second Super Bowl in four years and their parade through downtown Kansas City held today…

With the NHL season about 2/3 done and my beloved Kings hanging onto 2nd place in their division and in a good position to make the playoffs and make a run at what would be their third Stanley Cup…

…it’s getting time to think about Angels baseball! Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training yesterday, position players report on Monday, and we’re about ten days out from the first spring training game, about forty days out from the first regular season game.

This photo I found from ten years ago, March of 2013, when my son and I were in Arizona for a couple of spring training games. The rest of February, and March, and already into April is looking busy, busy, busy, but it’s not THAT far to drive for a long weekend, right?

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Filed under KC Chiefs, LA Angels, LA Kings, Photography, Sports