Lunar Eclipse

Tonight, all across the country, thousands if not millions of people are staying up late to watch the only total lunar eclipse of this year.  There's clear viewing across most of the country and this eclipse will have a totality of around 70 minutes, which makes for great viewing.  As I write this, the Earth's shadow is already creeping across the Moon's surface.

Historically, lunar eclipses are thought to be harbingers of evil and misfortune.  A quick survey of lunar eclipse and cultural significance reveals numerous cultures that told stories of Luna being swallowed by a dragon, a snake, a puma, or some other animal.  But tonight, all that is changing in a way that only 21st technology can bring about.

Tonight, people are not watching in solitude or isolated bunches.  As I'm writing this, I have dozens of friends whose Facebook statuses reflect their interest in this phenomenon.  They're staying up late and we're all watching the eclipse together, in a way that only 21st century technology makes possible.  Even those with no clear view of their own can watch via NASA's live feed on the web.

Tonight, I'd give a lot to have a decent telescope or pair of binoculars.  Rest assured, my digital camera is taking great pictures (to be shared tomorrow) but nothing beats a telescope for astronomical observation.

Pictures coming soon.  Happy viewing, everyone!  And Happy Winter Solstice!

"Down Time" Escapes Me

So in what is all too typical of me, I managed to cram everything under the sun into my 5 days off.  My house is finally clean... well, the downstairs is, anyway.  And the finances are updated/readjusted for now and I made some progress on Lego Harry Potter.  But what I'm really excited about is this weekend!  I have an action packed three days coming up:

Friday is a day trip to New Orleans with some of the ladies from the local spouses' club.  This should be a good trip because we really have not taken advantage of the closeness of NOLA yet, so hopefully I'll get some inexpensive day trip ideas.  Plus, I get to hang out with a good friend!

Saturday is the Renaissance Festival in Hammond, LA.  In honor of Veterans Day, this weekend is half off for military families.  I've heard nothing but good about this festival and I'm very excited to be going with yet more good friends!

Sunday is my cram day of sorts... we were originally going to spend the whole day at the semi-local Celtic Festival (complete with jousting, music, and sheep herding dogs!).  But of course I had to get on the internet and one thing led to another (as it often does for me) and I found a Christmas craft fair!  And, even more unsurprisingly, it's only this weekend, just like the Celtic Festival.  Thus, Sunday is just going to be busy and that's all there is to it.

You may notice the lack of book clearing.  Not to worry, I started the list two days ago and just have to go take them off my shelves now.  Going to squeeze in the worst part of that before we go out to dinner tonight.  But first, I have to kick the two napping beagles off my lap!

Back to the Book Question

I feel a bit like a kid today: I'm counting down the days until school is out.  Or rather, till my current class is done (5 days!).  I have three more assignments, including one 15 page research paper, which will be about the systems engineering behind e-readers.

In any case, I get a very short break between classes, only 5 days, so what I'm actually thinking about is how to spend those days.  Two of them, Saturday and Sunday, will be taken up with a Renaissance Festival and a Celtic Festival and Highland Games (very excited about both... even budgeted for souvenirs, i.e. cool jewelry...).  For the remaining three days, there are two goals (big step for me: notice the lack of house cleaning objectives!):

1. Beat Lego Harry Potter (almost done w/ Year 4, just need to go back and play to 100%)
2. Par down my to-read lists.

No typo, lists.  There are 3!  One on Goodreads, one on a spreadsheet, and one that's a stack of books in my room.  Obviously, there's a lot of overlap, but I suspect some books have sneaked onto one list or another without my acknowledgement.   Based on what I wrote before and the awesome feedback I received, here are my new book elimination rules:

1. Any Star Wars books/series that I started and didn't like (I'm looking at you, Coruscant Nights!) or that I haven't yet started will be eliminated.
2. Any book I've owned more than 4 years without reading will be eliminated or boxed, no exceptions (and I can't cheat here, there's yet another list with proof of ownership for that long).
3. Any book that I feel will not be read will be eliminated or boxed.
4. Parts of series that I've never bothered to collect will be eliminated.

Even if I wuss out a bit on #3, I think that's going to take care of most of the dead weight on my shelves.  Anything in a box (call it a "maybe toss it" box) will stay until January 1st.  If I can't remember it in two months, it goes.  I track my reading annually and I want to start next year's reading feeling lightened and not duty-bound to read something because it's on a list.  I want to go to a bookstore and pick up a book without feeling guilty that I have dozens at home that are unread.  I'm inspired by the success of others and knowing that when I eliminate Stuff, I feel healthier.

Are there other rules you would recommend?  Have you successfully done this yourself?  And how do I have a book list party to add some social pressure?  Or should I bribe myself with a treat to celebrate afterwards?

Look Out the Window

The view from my backyard this evening.

Remember that first star you used to wish on as a kid?  The evening star?  This is it... only (and get ready to impress your kids/friends/unsuspecting strangers) it's not a star.  It's Venus!  Ta da!

Go ahead, roll your eyes.  I know you knew but you have to admit... it's a cool picture.  My backyard rocks.

Depending on the timing, Venus can conversely be the last "star" to disappear in the morning.  Historically, Pythagoras (yes, the triangles guy) is credited as the first to figure out that the morning and evening star were the same heavenly body.  Venus also has phases, just like the moon.  Galileo was the first to figure that out, courtesy of his improved telescope.  Today, you can see the phases with a pretty cheap telescope or even a pair of binoculars.  How cool is that?  And how crazy is it that I don't own either!?

You can actually see Mercury with the unaided eye as well, but only if you have a fairly clear horizon (it's visible above the horizon just before sunrise and just after sunset) and then only for a few weeks a year.  To see another planet with the naked eye, check out the night sky after the crescent Moon rises on the 10th.  The red dot off of its bottom right quadrant is Mars.

For stargazing tips, check out StarDate or better yet, Space.  

One last astronomy geek out moment: this month is a great time to see my favorite constellation, the Pleiades cluster.  You've seen it before... it's the background image of this blog.

Changing Seasons to Think Ahead

It's Fall!  It's Fall!  It's Fall!

Well, at least temporarily.  I'm sure Summer will rear its head one more time, but the weather for the last few days has been gorgeous.  In the mean time, I know it's fall because after I got up this morning, the dogs resumed their daily cold weather ritual of trotting downstairs and laying in the sun beam in the living room.  It's terribly cute, especially once it gets cold out and you can watch the dogs scoot as the sunbeam slowly precesses across the floor.

Since I've been looking at my upcoming schedule for the last few days, I'm seriously in the mood for Christmas to be here.  We're already invited to 3 holiday events and there's December's book club to look forward to.  I was looking online this morning to find a local astronomy group for stargazing (unsuccessful, still looking) and stumbled across this little gem: a local Nutcracker show!  It's apparently put on by a non-profit ballet group on the gulf coast for one day in December.  No info on price, but the shows are Saturday the 4th, at 2 and 7 pm.  Who wants to go?!?

Also, who wants to go to the symphony?