Scattered Thoughts . . .

We have a fairly significant astronomical event fast approaching so I've been trying to get ready for it in case, by some miracle, we have clear skies here.  If we go by statistical data about our climate here on the flats nestled between multiple ski resorts and mountains tells me that the chances that I will have clear skies are relatively slim but I'm hopeful.  On the morning of November 11th, we will have a rare opportunity to watch Mercury transit across the face of the sun.   Mercury is tiny compared to the size of the sun so this isn't anything that will be noticed with the naked eye but it can be seen through a solar telescope if the sky is clear.  I feel the need to make it crystal clear that you must use a solar telescope and not a typical nighttime telescope unless you want to be painfully blinded.   The sun is actually 277 times larger than the size of Mercury so Mercury will only appear as a tiny dot silhouetted in front of the sun as it passes between

The weather has been lousy this week so I've been indoors.  As luck would have it, for a change, my health is also lousy as I continue to rebound from the side-effects of my last Shingles vaccine so not much has been lost solely due to the lousy weather this time around.  I'd be stuck inside anyway due to my poor health.  It's worth noting that it is rare when the weather and my health are in sync like this!  Regardless of the lousy weather and lousy health, I have managed to do some much needed organization of astronomy gear a little bit each day over the past couple of mornings.  I'd do a little bit...  take a break...  do a bit more...  take another break...  go back to it the following morning...  take a break...  etc.   My first priority was to find and purchase a couple of heavy duty cases for two of my mount heads.  I purchased a large sized case for my smaller mount head and an extra large case for the larger, heavier mount head.  I had also ordered some close

Back in May, I got my first of two Shingrix vaccinations in an effort to avoid developing Shingles.  Shingles, alone, is bad enough but an illness such as this would more than likely compound problems with my primary illness so I wanted to do whatever I could to avoid that situation.  The good news is that I had absolutely no reactions after my first shot other than a slightly sore arm for a day or two.  Other than the sore arm, I felt no different than any other day.   After the first shot, you are supposed to get a second vaccination within two to six months.  I did that a week ago and, honestly, didn't expect any difference in the way of side-effects or reactions since my first shot was so unremarkable.  I was wrong. I was told to expect flu-like symptoms...  that didn't really happen other than perhaps some initial body "aches".  The body aches very rapidly progressed to inflamed joints and inflamed nerves.  My joints felt like a red hot marble was injected

After our exciting and memorable walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, we boarded a Presidio shuttle bus to make our way to the other side of Crissy Field to the Palace of Fine Arts. Because this iconic landmark is right outside the gate of Crissy Field and the large dome is seen from many points on The Presidio, I was constantly being drawn to it.  This was definitely a place I wanted to visit and to photograph. This landmark, which is seen in many movies and television shows, was built after the great earthquake of 1906. As fires burned throughout San Francisco and spread across the eastern parts of the city, survivors moved west toward The Presidio.  The Presidio set up refugee camps which housed 16,000 or so residents as the city recovered and rebuilt.   Within four years, the people of San Francisco were eager to show the world that they "had risen from the ashes".  In 1910, the city's leaders decided to host the twentieth century's first great world's

I was finally able to stain the countertop in the outdoor kitchen this past weekend.   Assembling this countertop was an exercise in patience and woodworking skills.  In a quest to keep the budget as low as possible, I chose to use cheap 2x4's to make the butcher block countertop.  The moment I ripped a 2x4, it bent in two directions...  a lot!  This happened with every single 2x4 I ripped!  Needless to say, assembling these bent strips of 2x4's into a straight countertop was frustratingly tough.   Once the two six-foot-long countertops were assembled, I then cut them to size and screwed them together in place.  At this point, I hit them with 60 grit sand paper...  then 80 grit...  then 120 grit...  then 220 grit.  All this sanding happened between rain showers.   Saturday morning was beautiful here (actually, it was a bit too hot for my health) so, while we had some unusually good weather, I applied a stain conditioner to the countertops and then applied a few coats of s

We were back at the hospital today...  back in Oncology...  and back seeing Sheila's surgical Oncologist.   On the drive up to the hospital, Sheila and I were talking about being unsure of where our emotions are at this point in her treatment.  In the beginning, it was a bit of a roller coaster ride of emotions. Then, for a long while, especially during the months of daily visits, we were definitely a bit numb.  It was like we were on auto-pilot and just going through the motions...  one step at a time.  Then we had another roller coaster ride during her last treatment stage which included an ambulance ride to the ER.  Neither one of us is quite sure about where we are at now.  I think we're just bit weary of hospital visits.   So we headed back up to Burlington today to spend some time in the Breast Care Center at UVM Medical Center... Today's visit, fortunately, was uneventful.  Sheila's imaging looks good so that is good news.  There is no swelling anymore,