Sun on Sunday, March 24. So many sunspots! I guess there is a higher chance of seeing northern lights due to with all this solar activity.
To prepare for the Solar eclipse next month, I have been taking test shots and playing with equipment almost every day when the Sun is out. Today, I dropped the solar filter and shattered it. DAMNNNN! Thankfully, I have another filter for a different telescope that I can use. That means I have to restart all the prep.
New comet in the sky named 12P-Pons-Brooks. Getting brighter every day. It is possible that it will be visible during the total eclipse. That will be so cool!!!
We were planning to go watch ‘Dune2’ in a theater last night. But by the time my daughter came back from her conference it was late. Also it was raining quite hard. So we ended up retiring on the couch after dinner and watched Great British Baking Show.
Today, my daughter presented her research from last year’s Summer fellowship at Connecticut Land Conservation Conference at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
The trails of Lyme Land Trust preserves are enjoyed by many, including some of the most ecologically damaging invasive plant species in our region. Ashwini Sahasrabudhe will describe the trail-side patterns of infestation for several focal species based on two months of fieldwork using a simple custom-designed smartphone app, and Jim will address how LLT will use this information to inform management options. The workshop promises to be eye-opening for those who enjoy CT trails, and will be useful for anyone wishing to address invasive plant issues on land they own or manage.
Unilever to Cut 7,500 Jobs and Spin Off Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Unit
Cool! Doesn’t matter which company takes my money, as long as I keep getting my favorite ice cream in the grocery store.
Typical pretty Winter day in New England! Most of the time there is no snow. Even when there is snow, it is just water in the end, innit?
Heard on the radio yesterday:
SYDNEY JORDAN: There are estimates that Americans consume, on average, one credit card worth of plastic every week.
Didn’t realize the amount of micro-plastics consumed was that high.
As I continue planning for the total Solar eclipse next month, I reserved a campsite at Buchanan dam near the centerline of the zone of totality. Here the total eclipse will last for about 4 and half minutes compared to Austin where it will be under 2 minutes. It will be an hour of driving from Austin but will be totally worth it.
It is the Spring equinox today - first day of Spring. Did my bit of Spring cleaning and shaved off my Winter beard. That should make the missus happy.
Finished reading: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 📚 ★★★
Seems like all John Green books are alike. My daughter was surprised that I read John Green because it is all teen fiction. I don’t need to read more than 2 books I have read already. That said I really liked his non-fiction “Anthropocene reviewed”
Last night, started watching “Shogun”. Haven’t read the book so, didn’t know anything about it. Daughter left the room in about 15 minutes. After an hour-long evening bike ride, at 9:30 pm it was hard work for me to read the subtitles to figure out what was going on. So, turned it off at ~30 minutes. I’ll have to give it another try when I am more awake.
On my walk yesterday evening, heard a lot of spring peepers at the pond. That means Spring is almost here. There wasn’t much of a Winter this year and the last year and the year before that. Sad!
Heard on the news this morning that trump was calling facebook, the enemy of the people. Maybe, it is time to go back to facebook after all these years.
Did another community outreach program last night about the solar eclipse. I think I did the wear-eclipse-glasses-don’t-look-at-the-sun bit a little too much. At the end, one lady asked if it was safe to look at the Sun on TV while watching an eclipse broadcast. Maybe, she was annoyed with us for stressing eye safety so much and being sarcastic.
Well…. make sure you always keep the eclipse glasses on while looking at the eclipse (except during totality). As there are no pain receptors in the retina, you can burn your retina without knowing about the damage.
East Bay Bike Path in Providence, RI
I have been thinking about riding on this bike path in Providence for a while. Finally an opportunity presented itself. I had a free afternoon after dropping off my son at Providence airport. Took my bike along for the drop off and then went to the bike path which was only about 10 minute drive from the airport. It was partly cloudy and warmer with 45F. It is flat trail but, the crazy crosswinds made it feel colder and harder to ride all afternoon. Still, it was a fun ride and I’ll have to go back there again in the Spring or Fall. I can imagine it will get busy during Summer months. The bike path seemed to end at Independence park in Bristol. Should look up in maps if there is another section of it.
Link to Strava.
Kids only have this weekend overlapping between their Spring breaks. They want to do something fun together. So, they are going to spend it in NYC while leaving the parents at home.