Watching

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain

This pandemic still has many still working at home. I’m not working at home but retired at home instead.

I did some watching. Watching the heavens (I’m not convinced about this religious heaven concept but calling the dark sky the heavens still sounds good to me) fuels my wonder.

Why bother to watch the heavens? Jupiter and Saturn are mostly huge balls of gas. Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell.

I believe knowledge of the night sky objects creates more wonder as you watch these objects move through the heavens.

Back to the original thought for this post, this past month (sorry this is not a site for what’s in the sky tonight) the northern hemisphere had the opportunity to view a comet zipping by. It was given the name comet NEOWISE. The strange name was assigned for a reason. The NEO part stands for Near Earth Orbit and WISE stands for Wide-field Infrared Space Explorer. The NEOWISE project is the asteroid-hunting project that discovered this comet, hence the name.

I saw the comet with binoculars on two different evenings. Sadly the suburban area around Chicago is not the best for a good dark sky. I managed to see this fuzzy stretched out dirty ice ball but I’m sure it would have look better in a darker sky. I recall seeing the comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. That one was easier to see.

 
On nice afternoons I’ll find myself enjoying a beer and watching clouds pass overhead. Clouds have pros and cons. Clouds on the ground (fog) are bad unless you’re a psycho murderer stalking their next victim (how did I go off on that tangent?). Clouds blocking the sun are good on a hot day but bad at night when I’m trying to see a comet. Of the many things I really don’t know, clouds are probably low on the list.

 

Please enjoy a few thoughts that popped up in my brain long enough to be written down: 

 

• “Stand By Your Man” - While I’m not an expert, I don’t think it applies well to grizzly bear families.
• It occurred to me that receiving long sentences doesn’t help you write long sentences. However, it does give you time to work on it.
• I’ve noticed that Tik Tok is a popular app for the younger generation. If anyone is developing an app for the older generation they should call in Ticky Tacky.
• I heard this good advice the other day: “But I’m going to take a step back and make sure that we learn the facts before we start talking about it.” - Dr. Fauci 
  

 

Even if you don’t watch the weather it will change your day. Don’t most people enjoy a good storm if they are in a safe place? No matter, the weather will find you.

If you read my last post, you should be expecting these two musical videos.

A better position

The sleeping position works well for me. I’m probably in the sitting position too often too.

I’ve had positions of some authority somewhere in my past, I’m sure of it.

a bed or a bench?

A few thoughts to nibble at before I offer a more consequential one. Grab a drink, some might be a bit dry.

Walking on sunshine - certainly more stable than walking on moonshine.

Facebook confession: Bless me Facebook, it’s been 14 minutes since my last reaction to someone’s rant.

Poor Renee - So many people telling her to walk away. Wow, such a multitude of “Walk Away Renee” covers. And when I see the sign that points one way, I’m going to just stand, stare and cause a traffic jam.

Start playing bridge - I just discovered the game of bridge uses the terms, no-trumper and dummy. I’ve never even tried to play bridge but our dummy president doesn’t even make a good joker. It would be nice to have a no-trumper day.

When you retire you work by the hour. You punch out when you die.

I was just a kid with black and white TV when JFK was shot. I didn’t need technicolor to eventually learn that our world should not be viewed as black and white.

a sign found at an art museum

Now a slightly more serious thought regarding position. Are we/world/you/family/anybody in a better position today than a generation ago? Looking backwards can distort your view. The good stuff will appear larger in the rear view mirror. What exactly was better back then?

There are a few books out about this idea (I have not read them but did read a magazine article on this subject). Here’s my short take - yes in general we are in better position regarding life expectancy, crime, education, air quality and other stuff like availability of flavored yogurt. However, the better positions/conditions are not evenly distributed. Also, the billions of connected internet users become more aware of news. (first quarter of 2018, Facebook had 2.19 billion monthly active users - I didn’t know the number was that high) Since stories of tragedy, threats, disasters, deaths, and general awful events sell much better in the news business than the wonderful stories there are more people than ever before learning about awful stuff. It makes us think our world situation is very bleak.

One more thought about viewing/remembering the past. Often the bad times are forgotten more than the good times. (let the bad times roll??) The result of this is the past looks better than now. I reason this is because if the bad didn’t actually happen to you, you probably were upset because of its uncertainty. Uncertainty of possible bad events can be very scary. If that possible bad event never happens or at least if it doesn't happen to people you know, then later on you forget about it.

I recall a time when news organizations and government would worry about spreading a panic. Do they still worry about panics or have they discovered there is revenue in little panics?

Certainly we are better off. We have youtube. Ok here’s a cover (from Ally McBeal soundtrack) of that simple song about Renee and a street sign:
 

birds of a feather, what the flock

Hanging out with the flock is good and educational but we need to explore too. Diversity has benefits too if you have an open mind. Different thoughts, ideas and views of this world can open your mind if you let it. Often those strange birds ruffle others feathers. If no one is being harmed or hurt what is the big deal?

I'm going to make my move

You can uncover plenty of diversity in blogland. I don’t care for all of it. I don’t understand much of it. I still click around and will even drop a comment on some of it.

I don’t believe progress was ever a smooth and gentle process. I abhor violence. Yet I can understand how some passionate people can go over the top in their protesting. Understand but not agree. I watched a rebroadcast of this eco-terrorism documentary the other day. It won an award in 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival.




 The destruction of private property by this group was wrong. Firebombing is not a solution for anyone’s cause. Fires become uncontrollable. Complete destruction of our environment is also wrong. There should be a balance between these extremes.

I find a large spectrum between the extremes. It’s unfortunate that rating seeking news media emphasized the extremes. We don’t need to do the bird thing. We can mix it up with other flocks and still progress.

To add a bit of diversity to this post, I offer you below, two links to completely unrelated posts that I read recently. Two bloggers that I discovered awhile ago, Anita and Jene, posted about love. Love - very different than firebombing and more effective. Too bad it doesn’t get noticed by as many people. Very touching words - check them out.

15 Minutes Can Form a Lifelong Bond
Blink

something in the water

It would be exciting to witness a big dolphin party like those being reported off the coast of southern California. Scientist have long known that dolphins are very social animals. In the video clip below you’ll see a jumping party that has been estimated to total in the thousands. These dolphins know how to party.

Not I-pods but a mega pod of dolphins.  Except for perhaps the clown fish these dolphins find and create the fun of the ocean.

So why the big crowded party?

Lisleman’s theory - dolphins have either discovered Facebook or Twitter. Maybe both.
 



another circus 

mother nature post or what hell was that

This post was inspired by mother nature.  This morning at 4 AM I got to experience my first earthquake.  

I realize that some readers may have experience a few earthquakes in their life - but I live in northern Illinois.  

 

This farm field on Plank Road in Hampshire was the epicenter of an overnight earthquake in Illinois, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  (Stacey Wescott/Tribune) 

You probably know Illinois as the place shaking things up with our politicians not natural disasters.  Hmm, maybe Blago (former governor awaiting trial) combed his hair this morning.  

My initial reaction to the boom and shake - What the hell was that?

Shortly afterwards I heard my daughter getting ready and then leaving for her opening shift at Starbucks.  She didn't report anything, so I figured the loud boom and window rattling was from a snow plow which have awaken me before.  It wasn't until she returned that I found out it was an earthquake.  I had taken my time before getting on the internet today so I had not seen any news about it.

But it certainly was an unusual event that I wanted to share.  Also, it got me thinking about the many potential and actual disasters I have witnessed in my life.  Now I can add earthquake to my list.

The hurricane while living in Biloxi Mississippi was probably the scariest.  Right up there on the list has been tornadoes here in Illinois.  Funnel clouds are amazing and scary at the same time.  I understand the fascination those tornado hunters have.

Another disaster I found myself and family in while not in Illinois was a forest fire.  This huge blaze added some memories to our vacation to Montana.  The town of West Glacier was evacuated about 15 minutes after we finished dinner there and headed back to the hotel.  Do you prefer your salmon smoked?

In Costa Rica, wife and I watched huge flaming globs of lava being thrown from a volcano - a natural fireworks show.  I guess that had some disaster potential but I felt we were a safe distance away.

And I had detours on a road trip coming back home with one daughter caused by floods and a tornado.

Maybe when you stop and think about it, mother nature can really throw some nasty stuff in your life's path.  Any natural disasters to share?  please comment.

you can't take it with you but

YOU CAN STILL BE MAKING IT after you're gone.

Yesterday (and still big coverage continues) the world lost two big celebrities - Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.

They are gone but they will still be making money.



The world lost two legends which is sad. Both of them impacted my past and its memories. However, neither of them were much of an influence on me.

During this extensive coverage I picked-up on an unusual Forbes list. The Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list.

NOT a list I want to be on. (also if you're on it do you know?? --- that's a discussion for another time)

I was very surprised by who came in number five on the list. Want to guess?
I will put the answer in the comment section.

Did you know (probably not since I don't know of any celebrities reading my blog) there is a 1984 law dubbed The Dead Celebrities Act, that grants posthumous rights for 70 years? So even after you're DEAD you still need a LAWYER!

That Forbes list (2007)

OH - somewhat related thought to yesterdays events -
I heard the MJ news in the late afternoon. Later that night I was checking a favorite blog over in Australia and read a post that started:

"It's kind of sad to wake up today and hear about the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett ...."

That got me thinking about the international date line and events. For example, the tragedy 9/11 was a Tuesday. However, it was Wednesday the 12th in say Sydney.

So if a celebrity from North America dies in the Far East (not much past the date line) which day does history record his death? I would assume the local time but I bet his close friends and family near his home would remember the previous day as the event.

The big conference that established this date line was held in October 1884 so I think we would be used to it by now.

Turn off the lights for earth hour

There are really big BIG problems in our world.

When we join together in common interest we can combine together to become very big too. Earth hour is an idea that will have an impact if it keeps spreading.

Here's the earth hour page for Chicago.
Last year we did our small part - here's the post about it

Ok on a less serious note here's another example of combining individuals to make something big. Hey it's a big ad.

did you play in the dark

I heard about this earlier on the radio but to be honest I probably would have forgot if not for the Google search page. I actually liked the black version better.

We turned out the lights at home and played a board game by candle light.

Now in one fairly wide spread article on this, the Irish seem to be getting slammed some. Here's a quote from the AP article I found on the Chicago Tribune site:

Ireland's more than 7,000 pubs elected not to take part -- in part because of the risk that Saturday night revelers could end up smashing glasses, falling down stairs, or setting themselves on fire with candles.

IMHO - probably the alcohol has more to do with this problem than the lighting.