🏏 What an exciting match between Pakistan and South Africa!!! Finally, a match going to the wire after 28 one-sided ones. Pakistan going home empty-handed this time.
Annular solar eclipse 2023 - first empty nester trip
When we watched the total solar eclipse in 2017, I knew the next one was going to be in April 2024 and was excited about it as it will be visible from close to home. Sometime in 2021, when I read about the Annular eclipse in October 2023, I wanted to go watch it but, thought that it was going to be impossible. October is when schools are back in session and kids activities are going at full throttle. Then it dawned on me that in October 2023, I don’t have to think about all these things as my son will be at college and we will be empty nesters.
A few months ago, we started planning our first empty nester trip. Driving to this event was too far and as we started looking at possible airfares and travel time, San Antonio won over Albuquerque. After taking a 6:10am flight (which meant leaving home at 3:30am), we reached San Antonio by lunch time. After some sumptuous Tex-Mex food at Market Square, we searched for a possible eclipse viewing site for the following day. The long barracks at the Alamo seemed to fit the bill. Nice open area with the proper clearing to view the entire eclipse. Planned to get there early enough to beat the crowds and to allow enough time for setting up the equipment.
On the morning of the eclipse, we decided to have breakfast at the oldest restaurant in San Antonio called Schilo’s. Because of a little snafu with my omelet order, it took a long time for getting our food. I was getting concerned about finding a good spot for viewing but, we reached the Alamo well ahead of time. Just as I got everything setup, the clouds thickened. It looked like all the efforts of making the trip were going to be wasted and we won’t be able to see the eclipse. Thankfully, within 30-40 minutes, the clouds started to break up and although we missed the start of the eclipse, we were able to see it till the end. Some of the early shots with clouds were quite dramatic.
Of course the total annularity was spectacular. It lasted for more than 4 minutes. This is the first time I experienced it and probably will be the only time in my life.
I have posted some composite images of the eclipse earlier and also made a 12 second time-lapse video from images taken over 9 minutes or so around total annularity.
One more nice thing happened during this trip. I got to meet with @pratik in person. He drove down to San Antonio from Austin with his family to meet us for lunch. I have known him for almost 20 years through various interactions/platforms on the internet but had never met him in person.
Overall, the trip worked out nicely. Now I am looking forward to viewing the next Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024.
Fall foliage in my neighborhood, captured during a walk last evening.
Another mass shooting
The news about recent mass shootings in Lewiston, ME is really horrible and they haven’t captured the guy yet. Lewiston is home to Bates College which was in the top 3 for my son when he was deciding on college early this year. It is also 20 miles from Brunswick which is home to Bowdoin college where my daughter studies. My son decided not to go to Bates and my daughter is away from Brunswick doing her semester abroad. Can’t believe how worried all the parents of students at these colleges must be right now.
I am sure the morons politicians in congress are spitting out their useless thoughts and prayers.
Went to our favorite Japanese restaurant for dinner tonight.
Waitress: I am new here. So, you’ll have to be patient with me today. Me: Don’t worry. We’ve been coming here for 16 years. We know what we like here. Ask us if YOU have any questions.
Not sure if she was amused/annoyed by my response. 😊
Heard a story on NPR this morning about an organization called PinkAid. They provide compassionate support to women who are going through breast cancer treatment. This is so essential, especially for single mothers. Went to their website promptly to send a donation their way.
Over the last 6 weeks or so, we were getting used to our new life as empty nesters. Yesterday, our neighbor’s high schooler came to stay with us as her parents are out of town. It was so nice to have a young person back in the house for a day.
Excellent guide to forest bathing from NPR podcast, “Life kit”.
Surprised to see the time recommendation - 2 to 6 hours. That seems quite long but, maybe needed once in a while to get the optimal effect.
On NPR, heard an interview with Republican congressman from South Dakota who blamed Democrats for joining the efforts of 8 rogue republicans in getting rid of speaker McCarthy. The reporter missed the chance to ask the congressman why they are not voting for Jeffries as speaker which is a valid option to this current republican chaos.
As a part of parent weekend, the music department at Davidson put on a great show. This photo is of the final performance by the choir and the symphony orchestra together. Amazed that they put this together in less than 2 months.
Was at the Bushnell in Hartford to watch the taping of one of my favorite NPR shows, “Wait wait don’t tell me”. It was nice to be among my people - NPR nerds.
We were talking about the cost of meals and prices on the menus at the restaurants. It was quite noticeable that food was cheaper in San Antonio last week compared to here in Connecticut. It can be easily explained by just one thing ==> State minimum wage!
CT - $15.00 per hour
TX - $7.25 per hour
Made a quick video from the images taken around the time when ring of fire was seen during the annular eclipse on October 14. 2023.
Some photos from today’s eclipse event. I was really bummed when it started out cloudy but it nicely cleared out so we could see the “ring of fire“. Can’t wait to process all the photos and make a time lapse when I get back home tomorrow.
