Refuge
Petes has kindly invited me to guest blog here periodically. *raises a glass of Guinness in toast* Since he has not specifically decided to focus this blog on any one thing I am going to feel free to post random thoughts or links on various subjects.
As I was struggling to come up with a topic the other day I discovered that I actually think better when I am asleep. Go figure. :p With so many things going on in the world today you would think it would have been a piece of cake, but no. The topic, as you can see from the title, is refuge.
When darkness deeper than the night swallows the light, a place to come to for safety, respite, relaxation, and simple kindness can be an oasis in a troubled world. I thought it appropriate because there are so many people in this world today who are seeking it in one way or another.
This blog will be that refuge for those of us who wish to make it so. We can discuss current events, share our ideas, and our interests. So my first post is an open invitation to our friends and any lost souls out there to stop by and read or leave comments. Of course, for those of us who are interested in a good debate, there will be that to be had as well, I'm sure. :)
A few random tunes for your listening pleasure:
Wayward Son
Joy
Superstition
We didn't start the fire.
Some chips and salsa would be good. :)
25 comments:
"Some chips and salsa would be good. :)"
And a bottle of wine.
I see the Foley family released the last e-mail they got from IS, which says, among other things:
WE WILL NOT STOP UNTILL WE QUENCH OUR THIRST FOR YOUR BLOOD
(caps and typos theirs).
I wonder will the new state be adopting a bill of rights :-/
That was a beautiful video, Petes, thanks for sharing. Weepy indeed!
I could have found all sorts of hard news out there to post about, but for this first post I couldn't resist sharing a little of my feelings about recent events.
Sometimes it feels like people have lost their way.
I understand that ISIS is threatening another American's life if we don't stop our bombing. What they don't seem to understand is that when threatened we will fight. Scare tactics will not work.
Non-duck-shaped comet alert:
Comet Jacques is visible the next few nights. Tonight it's particularly easy to find close to the left hand star of the 'W' of Cassiopeia. This is one of those comets that we never saw coming -- discovered only a few months ago, with an orbit that brings it in from over 30 times the distance of Neptune and Pluto, to well inside the orbit of the Earth, currently approaching its max speed of 120,000 mph. For extra scariness, it's jewel green, due to cyanide gas in the halo.
You probably won't spot this with the naked eye unless you have extremely dark skies and good eyesight, but should be a reasonably easy spot with ordinary binoculars. Don't worry if you don't spot it -- it'll be back in 20,000 years.
Nice blog post Lynnette. And great clips. If you ca keep this up I'll be one of your followers. :-)
Thank you, Marcus. :)
Petes, did you ever get your telescope up and running? Are you going to be out and about tonight observing heavenly bodies? :)
Apparently there has been some quiet cooperation between the US and Iran with regards to drone flights over Iraq. I suppose, with all that swooping going on it really was necessary.
I got the scope up and running briefly this time last year. I discovered that the enclosure I built at great expense is really too small for it, and close to useless. I then ran out of time to think about it for the last 12 months, but plan to get back to it.
Tonight I just happen to have to travel from my dark location to the Big Smoke. Might try and delay it until I can get a look at Comet Jacques in binoculars. Sun is setting just about now.
Bah! Double bah!
Two hours of my life wasted. That comet must have evaporated or something, 'cos I searched all over where it was supposed to be in Cassiopeia and never found it. Took some long exposures with the camera but it didn't help track it down.
Here's a shot of my lonely telescope dome with Sagittarius, Scutum, and Serpens behind it, and a hint of Milky Way. Plus more than a hint of light pollution from Wexford, twelve miles away.
Here's a sunset from this time last year, when the dome was first set up, and I was waiting for dark in excited anticipation ... before the frustration set in.
Wow, you can actually see the stars there. I remember when we had skies like that. We used to park the car and lay on the hood looking up at the stars. Nice.
Two hours? Hmmm...well..*shakes head sadly*...sorry, I just can't come up with anything to console you there.
One of these days I will have to figure out how to upload pictures and post some. :)
The camera sees quite a bit more than the eye can, even on a wide field shot. But yes, the sky here can be spectacular -- as long as it's clear you'll see a decent Milky Way. Nothing like Arizona or the Australian outback unfortunately -- it's not dry enough for that even when it's clear. Last night was great from 10pm til midnight, but then the cooler temps starting wringing the moisture out of the air and things began to dew up. On the big telescope that's a major pain, you have to get out the hairdryers to stop your mirror getting like a plate in a dishwasher. Even with my more casual viewing last night it meant the sky got distinctly milky and the magnitude 5 and 6 stars disappeared. Still good compared to my other location in suburbia, but not a "photometric sky" as the astronomers would say.
Oh, got carried away there ... I really just meant to just say: imgur.com for casual pics. No signup or login required for basic functionality. Just press the upload button, then select, drag and drop, or paste your image, and press Start.
After that you can just click the uploaded image and copy and paste its URL, or pick one of the available thumbnail sizes.
Definitely the simplest no-nonsense image uploader (not for your family album like Flickr or Picasa) -- I find I use it all the time especially for sharing screenshots etc. The combination of Windows 7/8 snipping tool and imgur means you can share a screenshot in a couple of button clicks.
Ahhh...that falls under an OpSec oops for terrorists. Kind of reminds me of that Russian soldier taking the selfies in Ukraine. Sometimes our enemies help us too. :)
Good Salsa recipe for those interested:
4 cups tomatoes
2 cups green peppers
6 jalepino peppers(or to taste)
1 cup onions
2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic
12 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp cumin
sugar to taste
Love this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JVcQqw
Marcus,
It tells me that video is not available. Maybe I should try later...?
Peter Curtis, the American held in Syria, was released today.
"I still have a lot of yer comments to dust and wipe…"
Hell, do it then; go for it.
Why do I feel like I've missed something?
'Cos I deleted I couple of previous posts? :)
Yup.
Everyone must know by now how nosy I am. :)
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