Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday Rachel and Sara.

Rachel, hopefully I'll see you around sometime. It's been nearly two years since you wanted to set me up with your friend. I wasn't holding my breath anyways.

And Sara... haven't seen you in years. But have a nice day anyways.

Pronunciation Rules

One thing I hate, is people that can't pronounce things (names, etc) correctly. Case in point:

Today is the anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, where astronauts Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom, and Ed White lost their lives in training to fly the first Apollo mission, back in 1967.

Now, Roger's a home town boy, and there a street named after him (Roger B. Chaffee Boulevard), a planetarium (Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium at the Public Museum), and a scholarship (Chaffee Scholarship). Needless to say, he’s well-known.

Now, a local television station did a story on the Apollo 1 fire. And the “news person” – whose name is Suzanne Geha – mispronounced his name, saying “ChAffee (long “A”) instead of “chaffee” (short “a”). This is not the first time she has done that. In fact, it’s a constant mistake.

So I got mad that she kept doing that, and I called down to the station and complained extremely loudly to the person who answered the phone, telling them they better let “Geha” know, because the science element in town were not going to stand by and let her screw up a national hero’s name.

I don’t know if it did any good, but it felt good.

Kong!!!

Had some fun tonight. Got to see a sneak preview of King Kong, because I won passes from the GR Press.

It's three hours long, but it's really good. I figured that Peter Jackson would do a good job, but this is amazing. And it's got so much more emotion than the LOTR films. You are really sucked into the experience. Of course, the "pit of creepy crawlies" gave me the wiggings, but I managed to watch it.

I hope to see it a few more times before it's gone. I think it's the best film of the year.

Mileagestone

Another year for the car.

Mileage is 62094.

Wow. Is that all I've got to say? Guess so.

And then, Depression set in

This recent underappreciated feeling came from this past Tuesday night. Last week I had gotten a bunch of free passes to a sneak preview of the movie "Serenity" - a good old fashioned science fiction film. Since I knew a bunch of people online who would like to go, I put them up for grabs on the Yahoo group we frequent. They got snapped up just fine, and I had a couple left for my br other and some of his friends.

Come the night of the movie, we all meet up at Studio 28, and I read off the list of names and hand out the passes. Everything's shiny. Except for one thing: except for Tom (Slager), only one person thanked me for the passes. I gave out 30 passes good for 2 people each. Later I did get an email from one of the people on the group thanking me, but still. And then, when I said somethin g to my brother, he even *posted* to the group thanking me (they don't know we're related) for the passes. He got two replies to that - people thanking HIM for the passes!!

So these people were very eager to accept my offering of the passes, but not grateful enough to thank me. And it just made me feel like I do every once in a while about the astronomy club. I do all this work: website, newsletter, publicity, Inside Orbit, etc., and nobody gives a darn or goes out of their way to thank me. I don't *need* to do all that stuff, but I just do it. But it would be nice to get some recognition once in a while.

Now, I'm not talking about vanity or pride or any of the other deadly sins, but just would like to hear it sometime. It just feels like I'm being taken advantage of by everyone. Tell me. Is it too much to ask? No wonder I get depressed sometimes about it.

And it didn't help the week before agonizing over what to charge John and Paula for Alice's photos. And even now, I still think they don't want me around anymore. I don't know.

Oh well, guess there's nothing to be done about it. If I say something - or if someone else does - it will sound like I'm whining about it, or I made them say something about it. So it's a no win situation all around.

Serenity Again

Well, the screening went well tonight. Handed out the passes to everyone just fine. Only problem was with the special "Blogger Passes" that I was supposed to get. But, oh well.

And except for 2 people, not one other person thanked me for the passes. Sheesh. I guess they didn't appreciate them. Why the heck did I bother then? I have no damn clue.

Wow, I had a great time with Stephanie tonight. It's just too bad that we didn't get to have dinner, but perhaps in a couple days before she goes back to school.

At least we got to catch up, since she was in Texas all summer with her school roommate.

We gave Catherine a surprise with the phone call from the observatory, I'm sure. And since Steph hadn't talked to her for quite a while, it was really nice.

Hopefully we'll get together again this week. If not, when she's home for break.

Sky on Fire II

Written without any fatigue setting in, for some reason. Must be an adrenaline high.....

It was a Dark and (Solar) Stormy Night. Stormy with shafts and rays of light streaming from the heavens.

We all knew there was a chance of another auroral display tonight. We were waiting. And then around 10:30pm or so (from Grand Rapids), the wait was over. This time I went out with my brother, taking back roads and such until we finally found a great spot in northeastern Kent County. We ended up off Old Belding Rd on Lessiter Rd, which is on the way to the Grattan Raceway.

The road faced north, so we were shooting right down the middle of it. There were some clouds around to the north, but nothing too bothersome. Most of the action was to the northeast, with not much seen in the way of color except green, and an occasional red and blue. There were curtains, rays, shafts, and some really good pulsing going on.

I of course used my 35mm film camera, and my brother had his Canon Digital SLR. I was a tad pickier this time, and only shot 3 rolls by the time 1:30 rolled around, and it started to wane. Also, we were getting some clouds coming in, so we bailed.

On the way back to civilization, I noticed it was picking up again, but not very strong. We got to my brothers' place, and I jumped in my car to get home. On the way down the E. Beltline (I know those of you not from around here have no clue as to these roads, but it's my story!!!) I could actually see in my rearview mirror that it was flaring up again, so I turned east of Knapp St and headed for darker northern skies. I finally found a place a few miles down the road with a good northern horizon, and set up the camera again.

Oh… My… God. The curtains! The pulsing rays!! The pulsing shafts of light as they flickered up the magnetic lines of force to the corona. I was seeing pulsating shafts from the south!! All of them converging near Orion, forming another spectacular corona. I shot, moved the camera, and shot again. Always looking for the best display, and ever mindful to watch for composition (at least I was keeping my photographers' hat on during this), I shot frame after frame. At one point I was going to leave, as it was dying again. But as I put my camera in the car, it flared up to the point I HAD to get set up again; another roll of film in the camera. I finally stopped around 3:00, as it was dying down, and also because I knew if I didn't force myself, I'd shoot until I ran out of film. And I wanted to shoot the Moon/Venus/Jupiter this morning.

Fortunately after packing up and driving home, it was calm enough that I didn't want to shoot the aurora anymore. I'm now here sitting downstairs, not even tired. Writing this and waiting until I can go out and shoot the moon, etc. This will be the finish of the sixth roll of film tonight, and they will be at the lab by 7:00am.

In all my years of observing the aurora, I've never seen such intense pulsating effects. Also, the coronas (all 5 I counted) had more detail in them than I had ever seen.

Bring on the next one!! I'm waiting!!

Addendum: After two days and nearly seven hours standing near various roads in the county, not once did the Sheriff show up.:)

Fire in the Sky!

As I type this I can still see the aurora blazing away outside my window.

I got the alert around 7pm, and took off for the big "M" because I didn't have any film. But even from Meijers parking lot I could see it great. Very green.

After calling nearly everyone I know to inform them about the aurora, instead of heading out to the observatory I instead headed north to the intersection of Fruit Ridge and 6 mile road (a few miles north of Grand Rapids. I perfect northern horizon over a corn field, with no lights to the north. You could see the glow of Grand Rapids to the south, and a bit of Muskegon to the northwest.

There were clouds. Lots of them. But, they were lit from behind an eerie green color from the aurora. But we stood around for a little bit, and the clouds began to part. In fact, there were some great views of the aurora with the clouds around.

We had reds, greens, purples; rays, spikes, shimmers, coronas, jets - the whole works. It started to die down around 10.30, so we packed up and left. I had shot 5 rolls of film.

It's going to be there all night, and might erupt again. And there's a chance for the next few days as well.

This was amazing, but I will give it second place to the aurora of November 5, 2001.

Well, today's officially the 10 of October, and I've had my car for two years now. I wrote down the milage when I got home form the observatory just now. 51455 miles on the odometer.

I've driven 19952.1 miles since I got the car two years ago from the Marron's. That's just under 10,000 miles a year. Way too much, but I don't know how to cut it down. But, for a nearly 5 year old car (the car was made in April 2000) it's not bad.

Maybe I'll write something more later. It looks like its a few months between posts, but no one reads them anyways.

Yes, it's True

Just got back from seeing Yes here in Grand Rapids, and it was a great show. Proves that the music of the 70's (and the other times they have recorded) is TONS better than what passes for music today.

We were halfway back on stage right, and had wonderful seats. Steve Howe was on our side, with Wakeman on the right. The set design by Alan Dean was fantastic.

They started rocking right from the start, with "Going for the One" and taking a 15 minute intermission after "Yours is no Disgrace." Total time of the first half was one hour.

Coming back from break, they surprised us (well, at least me) by all sitting down for an acoustic section of the show. And the biggest surprise of that part was the re-arrangement of "Roundabout" with a Chicago-style Blues feel (the rearranging was described by Rick Wakeman). That brought the house to its collective feet.

Going back to full concert mode a few songs later, "Rhythm of Love" had Jon Anderson coming down off the stage and walking through the whole crowd on the floor level (figures, the first concert at this area I wasn't sitting on the floor).

They really kicked out a great version of Mind Drive, and just before the end they played "Ritual" and for the encore they featured "Every Little Thing" and "Soon." The lights came up at 10:30. Much too soon for all of us.

A few observations:

1. My god, can't people sit and watch a concert without having to get up every 15 minutes to get a frickin' beer? Sheesh. Wait until the intermission.

2. An older guy just to the left of us was up dancing and prancing around, much to his (much younger) wife's dismay. But by the end of the show, she had enough beer in her to put on an exhibition as well.:)

3. A show like this, from a group that has passed the test of time as one of the greatest bands, proves you don't need to hop/dance/bop around with a bunch of crappy backup people and lip-synching the songs because you can't sing. Hear that Britney? Christina?

4. I was disappointed that they didn't play "Starship Trooper" or "Close to the Edge." But hey, you can't have everything.:)

Too bad I can't afford the tickets to "The Eagles" and "Simon and Garfunkel" coming up here.

Photo Sessions are Fun!!

It was a great fall day today, and Cat and I went out to a little park I know in Ada for some portrait shots. I had used this park before when I did some senior portraits for clients, and knew it was a great place.

We had a terrific time. I think I shot about three rolls of film on her, which is pretty easy considering she's probably the most photogenic person I know.

We spent about 3 hours wandering around, trying different poses (and changes of outfits), and decided to head home as the sun was setting. As we were about to get off the highway to her house, I asked her if she wanted to try a sunset shot. She was game.

(Note: when I was in college one of the projects I turned in for a photo assignment was a shot of a friend of mine at the beach. She was holding the setting sun in her hands, it turned out really good).

So we raced up the highway to the west of GR, and get way out past Fruit Ridge on a road going west. We ended up in a drive area at a farm, and we hopped out of the car as the red sun hung low in the west sky. I showed Cat where to stand and hold her hands out, then I set up the camera and shot off a bunch of photos (bracketing is your friend). I got a real good feeling about those shots.

We then left and I got her home around 7 I think. I had a great time, and I hope she did. Film will go in tomorrow, and we’ll see how I (and her) did.

Yawn!!!

Why am I up at this early hour? I don't know. For some reason I just was wide wake at 5:30, and couldn't get back to sleep.

Time...

...goes by. I just saw that I haven't written any thing in here for almost three weeks. Either I’m that boring to myself, or nothing’s been going on. Or, most likely, I just forget to write in here, as there’s no one else who reads this.

And I’m not going to get on that kick again. Why beat a dead horse?

At least Summer’s here!! Woo hoo!! Almost 90 degrees today, and it’s about damn time.

Otherwise, I just keep on doing what I’m doing. The only thing different is that I got fired from that website job I’d been doing for a year. Oh well, if they think a newbie can handle it, so be it. Screw ‘em. They’ll be back, and then the price goes up.

Why Me?

Part sighfully complaining, part fun. Boy was this past weekend the yin and yang.

Saturday I had to work, but then open house at the hill. Jake and I premiered the new A/V show on the computer to - well I don't know how well it was received. After Dave introduced us as the ones responsible for it, I watched the premiere then went up into the dome.

Part of Sunday was good. Kendall IM'd me and said that he was installing the Gallery to the site, and asked me how I wanted it set up. Then he activated the www.astronomyguru.com. I guess I don't thank him enough for putting up with my requests, but I do appreciate the hosting and work. I've never been good at compliments where it counts. Especially when I have to thank customers at the store all day, I don't want to "thank" another person when I get out of work.

Then the day went to hell. GRAAA Board Meeting. Where we were basically given an ultimatum by one of our donors. And Dan B. was behind it all. We are all so sick of him... well, the less I write about him the better. Suffice it to say the day was ruined by this bomb dropped. And then, to make it worse, I was elected President. Which would be cool, but tainted due to this blackmail. And it's now my burden (along with the board too, but...). This is going to get dirty, and one of two things will happen: I will be remembered for being in charge when the club was brought down/disbanded, or be hailed as a great leader if we make it out alive. And although things look like they are on our side, who really knows?

Hopefully more fun news later...

Am I?

Digerati: di·ge·ra·ti [ dìjj rtee ]
plural noun

computer experts: people who have or claim to have a sophisticated expertise in the area of computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web.

"Not too long ago, computer expertise was considered nerdy. These days, many people strive to be among the digerati."

[Late 20th century. Formed from digital on the model of literati.]

Or Not?

Think Think Think

That's what Winnie the Pooh says.:) Actually I was going to write in here about stuff, but suddenly drew a blank, as I really don't have anything going on. So I guess I'm writing this mainly because I'm in here, and nothign to do.:)

However... possible severe storms late Sunday. We'll see.

Addiction?

Recently someone said again how the internet and computers can be addicting. So I asked a friend of mine who is a doctor (MD) and who specializes in Addiction Consulting. Here's what he wrote to me...

"For something to be considered an addiction it needs to:

1. Take control of the person's life
2. Result in harm to that person or others and be continued despite the harm that it is doing
3. Be carried out at inappropriate times and to the exclusion of other important activities
4. Be associated with craving (withdrawal) when in a state of early abstinence
5. Result in excitation of the reward cascade (dopamine and endorphin) in the mesolimbic system of the brain

With these points in mind, I leave it to you to decide if this or any other activity contitutes a true addiction, or just something that takes up a lot of a person's time and energy. Just because a person devotes time and energy to a pursuit doesn't mean that the pursuit is addictive behavior."

So who's an addict? You tell me.

Messing With People's Minds

I just got a spam call (telemarketer) who was dumb as a post. Here's the conversation...

Me: "Hello?"
TM: "Hello, this is _______ from Talk America. Are you the person responsible for the telephone service at your household?"
Me: "We don't have a telephone here."
TM: "Oh, I'm sorry."

And then she hung up!!!

And they say people aren't funny anymore.

Important Strategic Note To Self!!

When doing things at the spur of the moment, take another moment to think about the situation.

Case in point: Got today off. Around 1:30pm I walked outside, where the conditions were beautiful for this time of year...

Temperature: 66 °F / 19 °C
Humidity: 46%
Dew Point: 45 °F / 7 °C
Wind: South at 15 mph / 24.1 km/h
Wind Gust: 22 mph / 35 km/h
Pressure: 29.78 in / 1008 hPa (Steady)
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy

So it’s nice out, for the last part of March.

And I know from the past few days that we have flowers coming up: crocuses, etc. So, seeing it was great outside, I grabbed camera 1, the macro lens, the only roll of slow film I had (Portra 160), and headed out to the front yard.

There were purple flowers, white flowers, and yellow flowers. Lots ‘o flowers. And I proceeded to lie down and take some really close-up shots.

I’m clicking away, checking settings, composition, etc., when suddenly I say, “Hey, why is my ass all wet?” D’oh!! It’s Springtime, you idiot. The ground is still sopping wet from the winter, and the recent rains.

Sure enough, I get up and my whole shirt is muddy, and so are my pants. In fact so bad, I went straight downstairs and threw them in the washer.:)

Ah, the tortured life of a photographer. How we suffer for our art! :)