An astronomer caught glimpses of the James Webb Space Telescope, even though it's more than half a million miles away. Apparently it's pretty bright!
Saturday, January 08, 2022
Far Away, But Still Visible
An astronomer caught glimpses of the James Webb Space Telescope, even though it's more than half a million miles away. Apparently it's pretty bright!
Approaching an Omicron Peak in Europe
There are some indications that the Omicron surge may be beginning to peak in Europe. Not everywhere, but in certain places: UK, Ireland, Finland, Greece. Rates are really high, though - up to three times higher than in the U.S.
Tuesday, January 04, 2022
Omicron Is Moving Fast!
Omicron is moving so fast in the U.S., outstripping all previous variants. The Daily New Confirmed Covid-19 Case Rate increased by 19% IN ONE DAY! The case rate is taking off like a rocket!
Some real novelties are present too. For the first time, Hawaii is fully participating in the pandemic. And Idaho now has the lowest case rate in the country. How can that be? Idaho case rates are still pretty high, recovering from Delta.
So, what's happening is that case rates exploded elsewhere in the country, but not quite yet in Idaho. The state is momentarily a comparatively-healthy orphan.
The Omicron wave is still mostly east of the Mississippi; mostly urban - but that situation won't last.
Sunday, January 02, 2022
RIP, Betty White
(h/t IK)
I know everyone is saying this is a sign that 2022 is gonna be worse. This is copied from someone else's comment and I'm gonna stick with this thinking and hopefully her passing was a sacrifice for a better 2022.
"Betty White didn't die.
Nope.
She grabbed 2021 by the throat, and whispered in its ear "I'm taking you with me, you son of a bitch."
And then she threw them both into the fires of Mordor to save us all.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
It is canon. Deal with it."
Appalled By The Fires in Colorado
The worst possible nightmare, complete with what appeared to be something like Chinook winds. Reminds me of what I fear most about living in California - even this part of California:
Hundreds of homes have been lost after two wildfires started and grew quickly Thursday as high winds whipped through the Front Range in Colorado, forcing tens of thousands of residents from their homes, the Boulder County sheriff said.Sheriff Joe Pelle estimated 580 homes or other structures in and around Superior may have been lost.
A shopping center and a hotel in Superior also were engulfed by the flames.
"Historic" 80-100 mph winds, with gusts in the state as high as 115 mph, fed the wildfires that injured at least six people, prompted a hospital to send patients elsewhere and forced the evacuation of Superior and Louisville near Boulder.
Friday, December 31, 2021
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Slumber Party - December 29-30, 2021
Egads! Jumanji, Aladdin!, Babe, and Chicken Run. (I tear up with Babe.)
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Wet Winter Still Holding
The 2021-22 La Niña rainy season in northern California has so far been erratic af, but in Sacramento we are still holding at about 230% above average. Goodness knows we can still snatch drought from the jaws of inundation, but the longer the precipitation lasts, the better things look. We just broke a December snow record in the northern Sierra that had held for 50 years:
The Sierra has officially beat a snow record for this month that was set more than 50 years ago.
As of Tuesday morning, the new December record is at 202.1 inches. According to the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab, the previous record was set in 1970 at 179 inches.
Even more snow is expected to come to Northern California Tuesday night into Wednesday.
Although the previous record is from 1970, that year is also the first time they began keeping track of Sierra snow. It’s possible there may have been years before 1970 with more snow that wasn’t recorded.
The Standells - "Dirty Water"
I've always been puzzled why the Classic Rock radio format often ignores the songs that people were actually listening to back in the day. Like an alternative reality I only half belong to, even though I was there.
Listening to rock music on the radio in the Sixties, I gravitated to Motown - so energetic, and for someone from Corrales, NM, so exotic! - but I also liked anything with a good beat.
I'm amused that none of the California-based Standells had been to Boston before releasing this song. According to Wikipedia, "Tower Records producer Ed Cobb wrote the song after a visit to Boston, during which he was robbed on a bridge over the Charles River."
New Covid-19 Case Rates in the U.S. are Now at the Highest Level of the Entire Pandemic
And wham! - just like that, new Covid-19 case rates in the U.S. are now at the highest level of the entire pandemic. There are places overseas with higher rates, but the U.S. keeps striving. New Covid-19 cases in Washington D.C., and the state of New York, are just as high as in Denmark.Monday, December 27, 2021
That Transistor Radio!
When I was twelve years old, early in 1969, I fetched the AM transistor radio out of storage. Our family was supposed to use the newly-purchased radio to get updates from the government after the Cuban Missile Crisis went nuclear in 1962, after we had fled Corrales and relocated (by family consensus) to the ironically-named town of Cuba, NM (provided we weren't incinerated first, of course), but since that didn't happen, the radio, along with the newly-purchased 50-gallon water tanks, had been collecting dust ever since.
Playing with the radio, outdoors, after the sun set, I was shocked at just how many radio stations I could listen to, from all over North America - KSL (Salt Lake City), KFI (Los Angeles), KRLD (Dallas), WHO (Des Moines), KSTP (St. Paul) - from all over! So sensitive!
Totally beguiling!
Rock music was red hot in 1969, of course. I loved listening to Wolfman Jack, broadcasting from XERF in Ciudad Acuña, just over the Mexican border from Del Rio, TX,, broadcasting at 250,000 watts, five times the regulated U.S. maximum limit. XERF dominated the airwaves. Apparently you could drive from New York City to Los Angeles and never lose the signal. The radio station was so powerful that Europeans and even Soviets could sometimes receive it.
And so many good Sixties tunes! Like this one, from 1966. Never gets old!
Friday, December 24, 2021
Sacramento Woman Pleads Guilty
No other way out:
A California woman has pleaded guilty to punching a flight attendant in the face -- bruising her and chipping three of her teeth -- during an argument over mask wearing and other air safety requirements.
Vyvianna Quinonez, a 28 year old resident of Sacramento, had initially claimed she was acting in self-defense, before accepting Wednesday the federal charge of "interference" of a flight, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The incident took place on May 23, when Quinonez's Southwest flight began its descent into Sacramento, according to the plea agreement.
The flight attendant requested Quinonez to fasten her seatbelt, stow her tray-table and to reposition her mask so that it covered her mouth and nose.
In response, Quinonez pushed the flight attendant and then began "punching her in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbing her hair," the agreement stated.
"The flight attendant who was assaulted was simply doing her job to ensure the safety of all passengers aboard the plane," said Randy Grossman, a federal prosecutor in California.
The prosecutor's office said it intends to ask for a jail sentence of four months plus six months of house arrest.
Quinonez will also be banned from flying for three years.
Thursday, December 23, 2021
The End of the Cretaceous Was in Late Spring or Early Summer
(h/t, John) Amazing the detail from 66 million years ago!:
In the new research, scientists turned to the Tanis fossil site in western North Dakota, a part of the vast Hell Creek Formation, a geological layer that spans several states and is dated to have been laid down at the time of the impact. Some 10 – 13 minutes after the impact in Mexico, immense seismic waves passed the Tanis site, causing flooding that most likely came from the nearby Western Interior Seaway, a huge but shallow sea that ran north/south across western North America at the time. This in turn created what’s called a seiche, a huge standing wave in water that can generate waves a hundred meters high. This is similar, for a much smaller and mundane scale, to when you scooch back and forth in a bathtub in time with the waves generated, amplifying the crests enough that you can splash water out of the tub.
Now picture the tub being a lake, and the waves reaching 20 stories high.
This happened quite suddenly at Tanis, and the geography of the area makes it possible to actually get extremely fine time resolution of the events. It’s also replete with fossils, including fish, insects, plants, and more. Here’s where this gets cool: By examining these fossils, it’s possible to figure out the time of year of the impact.
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