Rain Showers Instead of Meteor Showers

Photo1005.jpgI got a strange call this afternoon from my daughter’s boyfriend.  I let it go to my voice-mail because I happened to be in the middle of a meeting at that time.  When I got a chance to listen to his voice-mail, I nearly laughed out loud.  I always fear the worst when I get calls out-of-the-blue from my kids (or their significant others), but this time he just wanted to let me know he had heard a blurb on NPR about the peak viewing opportunity tonight for the annual Geminid meteor shower.  I called him back to thank him for the heads up, but I already had at least four other feeds (from various astronomy magazines, clubs and websites) keeping me up-to-date on all things astronomincal.  My biggest hurdle to viewing anything in the night sky this week is the non-stop rain and overcast huddled over Kansas.  Check out tonight’s hourly forecast for my viewing area:

The star Castor in the constellation Gemini nearly coinicides with the radiant point of the annual Geminid meteor shower

So just like what happened last month with the Leonids, I guess I’ll be missing the Geminids this year.  I sure hope 2012 allows me better viewing opportunities for meteor shows, comets and the planets.  I remember May being especially disappointing with overcast skies nearly every weekend.  I finally gave up in August and stored the telescope in the basement because the weather just wouldn’t cooperate with my observing goals and schedule.  I almost retrieved it for last weekend’s lunar eclipse, but since the eclipse coincided with moonset and sunrise, I decided looking through the hazy atmosphere with my camera’s telephoto lens would be sufficient.

Parking Temporarily Returns

Photo1006.jpgLast week I reported my home town Public Works Department had installed a ‘no parking’ sign in my court (and twelve other cul-de-sacs spread across the city).  This afternoon when I turned into my driveway, I noticed the sign had been removed from the pole.  Terry will need to let the band members know they can park in the usual locations for tomorrow night’s weekly rehearsal.  I’m just happy I won’t be juggling cars tomorrow or worrying about where to put them, especially since the wet yard would rut if I had to park some of them off the street.  I doubt my previous blog post could have caused so much fervor that it necessitated the complete removal of the sign by the City.  I know they planned to add an addendum to the ‘no parking’ sign to indicate only during snow, but I assumed a second sign would be attached below the first one.  Apparently, something else is planned and I will keep an eye on the sign post for the next few days to see what develops.

Tips and Teaks

I continue to experiment and enjoy the enhancements of the Nook Color software update 1.4.1 released yesterday.  I encountered some diminished functionality from a couple of websites I frequented.  After trying the usual things (clearing cache, cookies and history and powering the device off), I chatted with a customer service representative at Barnes & Noble.  I didn’t agree with his proposed solution and while he went seeking advice from a higher power (second tier tech support), I stumbled upon a solution.  I updated yesterday’s blog post to include my findings.

Continued Prayers Please

My husband saw the specialist today and a biopsy is scheduled for three days before Christmas.  Your continued prayers for healing, strength, understanding and patience are greatly appreciated.