Last year, a few days after my birthday, I scrapped my MySpace blog, mostly due to interface changes, and ventured here to WordPress with a backup blog at Blogger. My original intention was to journal my astronomical adventures here and do some inspirational topics on the backup site. While I didn’t blog daily, I did manage to craft over two hundred blog entries here (this being my 225th).
In honor of my original intention to explore the heavens, I wanted to encourage everyone (and motivate myself) to participate in this year’s Great World Wide Star Count. Don’t be shy! Anyone can participate and it doesn’t require any equipment beyond your eyes. This project is an annual survey of the night sky, held this year between October 14th and 28th (7-9 pm optimal viewing window) to record how many stars you can see in the constellation Cygnus (the Swan) in the northern hemisphere (follow the link above if you reside Down Under). This helps map the spread of light pollution. I plan to get out my telescope (for the first time this fall) and view the beautiful blue/yellow double-star Albireo. I can’t tell from the survey’s website if they are affiliate with the IDA (the International Dark-Sky Association), but I’m doing my bit (via this blog) to raise awareness about the value of dark skies and their preservation and restoration.
And now, a brief retrospective of some of my favorite blog entries (indicated with asterisks) from the past year and a few popular (according to the stats) highlights:
- Less than 60 days … (Oct 2010)
- North Texas Thanksgiving (Nov 2010) *
- unHoliday Decorations (Nov 2010) *
- Christmas eLetter (Dec 2010)
- Number One Son Graduates from Guildhall (Dec 2010) *
- To Eleventy and Beyond (Jan 2011) *
- Mezzo Soprano Grouto (Jan 2011) *
- Crocheting Cap for Daughter (Jan 2011) *
- Rottweiler Close-ups (Jan 2011)
- Blizzard Baking (Feb 2011)
- Great Thermostat Debate (Feb 2011)
- Valentines With My Hubby (Feb 2011) *
- Mansfield Park Victorian Visit Via Local Library (Feb 2011)
- Altered States and Warped Zones (Feb 2011) *
- Sunsetting and Moon Rising (Feb 2011)
- More Than Just Bread Baking (Feb 2011) *
- Mixed Media Meltdown (Feb 2011)
- Fabulous Chicken Pot Pie (Mar 2011) *
- Planned Obsolescence for Bibliophiles (Mar 2011)
- Meeting Rothfuss in a Basement in St. Louis (Mar 2011) *
- Other Worldly Choral Compositions (Mar 2011) *
- My First Book Title Poem (Apr 2011)
- All Dogs Go To Heaven (Apr 2011) *
- Celebrating 25 Years with My Hubby (May 2011) *
- Astronomy Week 2011 (May 2011)
- A Farewell to Stargate (May 2011)
- Astronomy and My New Nook Color (May 2011) *
- My Pseudo-Google Alter Ego (May 2011) *
- First Anniversary of My Grandmother’s Passing (Jun 2011) *
- Daughter’s 22nd Birthday (Jun 2011) *
- Tau-Day (Jun 2011)
- How to Get Soaked in Less than Five Seconds (Jul 2011) *
- Less Cake, More Pi (Jul 2011)
- My 15th Anniversary at Work (but wait, I had to password protect that entry to protect unnamed entities; send me an e-mail if you want to read that super secret blog post) (Aug 2011) *
- The Hugo Awards and My Nook Color (Aug 2011) *
- An Evening at the Family Tech Support Opera (Sep 2011) *
- The Dying Question (Sep 2011)
- 7s and Styx (Sep 2011)
- Autumn Reveries (Oct 2011) *
Well, I guess I’ll be stargazing this fall
Awesome! I’m looking forward to stargazing this weekend! I love the fall, mostly because the nights are clearer.
Thanks for stopping by,
Jon