Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
http://tomjmartinez.blogspot.com/2015/01/comet-lovejoy-near-plieades.html?m=1
Awesome photo taken by astrophotographer Tom Martinez over the weekend.
I observed the comet several times with binoculars.
Come down to Powell Observatory this Friday night to see the comet and other astronomical wonders.
Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon
Mega coolness!
Never before have astronomers been able to see individual stars inside an external spiral galaxy over such a large contiguous area.
Hubble’s high-definition panoramic view of the Andromeda Galaxy | Astronomy.com.
Judy: A Dog in a Million by Damien Lewis
Read in late November 2014
Publisher’s Synopsis:
British bestselling author Damien Lewis is an award-winning journalist who has spent twenty years reporting from war, disaster, and conflict zones. Now Lewis brings his first-rate narrative skills to bear on the inspiriting tale of Judy–an English pointer who perhaps was the only canine prisoner of war.
After being bombed and shipwrecked repeatedly while serving for several wild and war-torn years as a mascot of the World War II Royal Navy Yangtze river gunboats the Gnat and the Grasshopper, Judy ended up in Japanese prisoner of war camps in North Sumatra. Along with locals as slave labor, the American, Australian, and British POWs were forced to build a 1,200-mile single-track railroad through the most horrifying jungles and treacherous mountain passes. Like the one immortalized in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, this was the other death-railroad building project where POWs slaved under subhuman conditions.
In the midst of this living hell was a beautiful and regal-looking liver and white English pointer named Judy. Whether she was scavenging food to help feed the starving inmates of a hellish Japanese POW camp, or by her presence alone bringing inspiration and hope to men, she was cherished and adored by the Allied servicemen who fought to survive alongside her.
Judy’s uncanny ability to sense danger, matched with her quick thinking and impossible daring saved countless lives. More than a close companion she shared in both the men’s tragedies and joys. It was in recognition of the extraordinary friendship and protection she offered amidst the unforgiving and savage environment of a Japanese prison camp in Indonesia that she gained her formal status as a POW. From the author of The Dog Who Could Fly and the co-author of Sergeant Rex and It’s All About Treo comes one of the most heartwarming and inspiring tales you will ever read.
My Thoughts:
Reminded me quite a bit of Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, but not as well written.
I love a good dog story, but Judy became a minor player during most of this book. Continue reading “Book Review: Judy by Lewis (3.5 stars)”
I attended the Big Read kick off of The Things They Carried by O’Brien yesterday at the Lansing Community Library. Here are a few photos I took with my smartphone (flash turned off):
I have not yet started reading The Things They Carried, but the documentary of interviews with living combat veterans definitely got me thinking. I now wish to write letters to all my living family members who are veterans and ask of them the questions I heard asked by the students in their documentary. Sadly, I desperately wanted to ask them of those who have already left us, namely, my father-in-law, my grandfathers and my great-grandfather.
But that regret just makes me more determined to not waste any more time. My apologies in advance to friends and family whom I will be ‘bothering’ in the near future, once I read The Things They Carried, devise an interview and a plan of action to capture those memories on paper, in audio or video. Whatever they are most comfortable with.
The next event on the schedule is a book discussion lead by Tom Prasch, History Department Chair at Washburn University. Join us on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lansing Community Library to share insights from The Things They Carried.
I went to bed slightly early last night, but first I set my alarm for 4:45 a.m. Central. As I noted a couple of days ago, I wanted to get up early to observe a total lunar eclipse. As usually happens, I woke up early at 4:15 a.m. Who needs an alarm?
I decided to go ahead and throw on my clothes, grab my purse and smartphone and take the van to Dillons to fill it up. While I drove west (one mile) and north (two miles), I noted that the full moon was already missing a good chunk in the upper left-hand quadrant. After filling up the van, I continued west on Eisenhower Road, crossing Tonganoxie Road and heading up over the ridge. I crossed over 187th street, leaving the paved roads behind and continued until I was forced to turn left at 195th street, just south of an electrical substation (talk about light pollution out in the middle of no where). Continue reading “Observing the Blood Moon Eclipse”
There is a total eclipse of the full moon on October 8, 2014. This is the Northern Hemisphere’s Hunter’s Moon – the name for the full moon after the Harvest Moon. It’s also a Blood Moon, and this eclipse is the second in a series of four so-called Blood Moon eclipses. For North America and the Hawaiian Islands, the total lunar eclipse happens in the wee hours before sunrise on October 8.
For more information about the total eclipse and answers to questions like ‘What’s a Hunter’s Moon?”, please visit the full article at EarthySky.
Good morning!
And Happy Birthday to myself. I’ve crossed over. I’ve reached another dreaded milestone. Today is the first day of my fifth decade.
To make myself feel better about this dubious event, I’ve reverted to two of my favorite past times: math and astronomy.
I decided to calculate how many days I’ve been breathing air on Earth. For that I had to find a date calculator. Plugging in the relevant date (today in 1964 and 2014), the following results popped up:
From and including: Friday, October 2, 1964
To and including: Thursday, October 2, 2014
Result: 18,263 daysIt is 18,263 days from the start date to the end date, end date included
Or 50 years, 1 day including the end date
Alternative time units 18,263 days can be converted to one of these units:
1,577,923,200 seconds
26,298,720 minutes
438,312 hours
18,263 days
2609 weeks
In addition, the Earth is travelling through space, via the Milky Way, at the incredible speed of 3,728.23 mps. Roughly, the Earth has moved 5.88286061194e+12 miles since I was born, give or take a few. That equates to approximately 63,256.57 astronomical units. A rolling stone gathers no moss . . .
And the .5c I included in the title of this post? No, I’m not travelling at half the speed of light (except in my dreams). I’m merely reflecting upon reaching my half century mark.
I decided to make a four day weekend out of this auspicious occasion so I’m relaxing at home, reading and doing other none stressful activities. No parties (that I know of) and no surprises. Just Terry, me and the dogs hanging out.
Just another day in the neighborhood. Eighteen thousand two hundred sixty-three and counting.
http://io9.com/a-5-year-old-worries-voyager-will-get-lonely-receives-1639256314
All together now on three …
1 … 2 … 3 …
“Ah!”
Dialing back the cuteness entered now.
Enjoy!
http://io9.com/trench-warfare-in-world-war-i-was-a-smarter-strategy-th-1637657733
And this article ties in nicely with my Great War Great Read reading project.
Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140922.html
My favorite time of year officially arrives today.
Happy autumnal equinox!