From commentor Max:
As the folks in NOVA were reporting down in comments, the fabled meteor shower was a total bust. I saw two brief (lasting maybe as long as one second) faint traces out of the corner of my eye that might have been very very small meteors around 1:30 AM. Otherwise, zip. The seeing was fine, so this is a nice star field view from 4:17 AM with nothing in the way of meteors. Saw way more planes than anything, and honestly, the meteor count was low for sitting outside off and on for three odd hours overnight when there is no big meteor shower. Zip. Bupkis. Nada.
Too cloudy here north of Boston to see stars, much less meteorites, and reports from the NASA livestream discouraged the Spousal Unit from driving out towards the coast in hopes of clearer skies.
Apart from the small disappointments to which all life is heir, what’s on the agenda for the day?
raven
Well, I was able to fall back to sleep and sleep much later than usual. I got up at 3 and setup the camera with my new shutter switch and tried for a about 30 minutes. Zip. I was thinking about going to the Cyclorama since they begin a Vets free series but it runs through August so I may not.
Chickamin Slam
I figured it would be as bad as the “Comet of the Century” that vaporized.
“But wait … we learned a lot.”
But wait … they certainly hyped it to beat hell.
And then the skies became overcast here and the damn cat wanted outside and was being a real pain in the ass.
Baud
As with climate change, science fails us again.
raven
@Baud: Most things I read said there was a good possibility it would be a bust.
Baud
@raven:
All meteor showers are a bust for me because I value my bedtime.
JPL
I’m trying to convince myself that it’s much easier to start weeding now then waiting for the hot sun to come up. I have garden beds on both sides of a driveway that reflects the heat.
NotMax
Friend here takes some spectacular long exposure shots through his telescope. Know he posts many of them on Facebook, but don’t have the URL. As his is a very common name, there are probably hundreds with the same name on Facebook who would show up in a search.
WereBear
I woke up at one, checked the skies, and knew My view, at least, would not be worth it.
Sorry no one else got one either.
schrodinger's cat
Hi guys, I is back in Mumbai from short trip up the Western Ghats.
Baud
NPR
JPL
@Baud: Shit!
Baud
@schrodinger’s cat:
Cool. Are you going to post photos?
schrodinger's cat
@Baud: Yes I tooked elebenty photos. I am meeting an old friend in a little bit. I am working on short post as I wait for her.
dedc79
This song will never be more appropriate
OzarkHillbilly
I went out and watched for about an hour and saw nothing. We had a light haze and the light pollution from St Clair and Sullivan spreads pretty far south in those conditions. Glad to know it wasn’t me.
satby
Got up at 3, Which should have been the middle of the peak time, and saw one in about 15 minutes. Would have been good viewing had there been an actual shower.
And I’m just waking up now since I overslept as a result of my nocturnal wandering. The dogs are pissed.
Betty Cracker
Took my dogs for a long walk just after dawn, and it’s already in the mid-70s and 100% humidity. Supposed to reach 90 later. I’ve got that seasonal depression thing going on that you Northern folks experience when fall comes to an end. I hate freaking summer so much. If I had enough money, I’d have a summer house in Vermont and live down here the rest of the year.
MrSnrub
Getting ready for my wife’s birthday party this evening’ to be hosted by a friend. Not much to do: pick up the cake and prepare ingredients for drinks. Really looking forward to it, and hoping that predicted afternoon showers don’t emerge.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Heh. My oldest son wants me to go down to Baton Rouge with him this summer and spend a week with my youngest. I looked at him and asked, “What about me makes you think I am stupid?”
Ferdzy
Woke up at 3 and peered out the window for about 5 minutes. Decided I couldn’t be arsed to actually put on any clothes and go outside, so went back to bed. Sounds like I didn’t miss much.
We have declared the weekend a parent-free zone. I’ll try and catch up on laundry today, and maybe we might even get some gardening done. It’s supposed to be nice for a few days!
WereBear
@Betty Cracker: Sheesh. I got a lightbox last fall and it helped a lot with the far North short days.
But I don’t know what you might get for a Florida version… a refrigerated vest?
Betty Cracker
@WereBear: I hate being cooped up inside, but being outside sucks in the summer. The only thing I look forward to are the afternoon storms. Those are fun to watch from the relative safety of a porch and cool things down…for about 20 minutes. Maybe I’ll just go 100% nocturnal for the summer!
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Maybe he knows you hang out at this blog.
WereBear
@Betty Cracker: And those afternoon storms are 100% reliable.
They used to wreak havoc with my afternoon Underdog enjoyment.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: His answer was, “I grew up with you.” What was I going to say? “I’m still not going to Baton Rouge in July.”
schrodinger's cat
Short blog post from India, with a photo.
geg6
Having a pedicure this morning with my sister, planning some painting around the house (John finally said okay!), and some more cleaning of the unused bonus room so it can actually be used. I really do want to get this house into shape to sell. No couple needs 2 acres and 3300 sq. ft. to rattle around in. Especially when they both work full-time in demanding jobs. I want a little ranch with two bedrooms and, ideally, a finished/partially finished basement for an office space. I found a lovely one right on the Ohio River but above flood level. It has a beautiful sunroom and a gigantic back deck. I forget whether it’s 1100 or 1200 sq. ft., but it’s quite charming and it has an updated kitchen and bathroom. If we sold this place, we could almost pay cash for it. I want, want, want.
Violet
@Betty Cracker: I hear you, Betty. I’m the same way. Summer is an endurance test, not something to enjoy.
tybee
i love summer. and the heat. and high humidity. and biting flies.
only mad dogs and georgians….
one does have to be careful during the hottest part of the day but other than that, i’m out in it. i even go camping in the summer.
and i’m grateful for each and every one of you who avoids the outdoors in the summer. that makes some of my favorite spots deserted.
PurpleGirl
@Betty Cracker: When I was Phoenix for a contract arbitration trial, I had many discussions with our consultants. We decided that a good mix for weather was winter in/around Phoenix and summer in Coeur d’alene, Idaho. (Many of the consultants/witnesses for our side came from Seattle or SoCal.)
Botsplainer
@schrodinger’s cat:
Great photo! India is on my list of places I’ve not been to yet, but want to.
Pogonip
@NotMax: Hey! You know Ignacio Furbleheimer too! Small world, ain’t it??
Great guy, Ignacio.
No meteors here. Went back to bed.
Cassidy
I am waiting with bated breath for our pure, progressive betters to continue mocking trauma victims.
schrodinger's cat
@Botsplainer: Thanks!
schrodinger's cat
I got an upset stomach from eating too much kulfi (Indian Icecream made of cream).
Betty Cracker
@Cassidy: No, you’re the pure progressive better on the trigger warning issue. Feel free to taunt me about my recently deceased mom again to prove your bona fides. No warning necessary.
Ronzoni Rigatoni
@Betty Cracker: Yah, I usta head over to Sanabel (from Miami) just to watch the thunderstorms roll in from the Gulf. Since then I’ve relocated to the Tampa Bay area. An old neighbor of mine used to pack up his belongings, including his refrigerator, and move every summer to the woods around Ashville. I guess the altitude kept the temperatures and humidity down. My only alternative these days is mooching off relatives in NW PA along Lake Erie, but it’s too gd hot and humid there, too. It’s WAYTOOHOT here and even the mangroves are moving north (This is totally true stuff. You could look it up)..
BruinKid
Shit. Last night, someone went on a massive drive-by shooting rampage in Isla Vista, near the UC Santa Barbara campus, killing at least 6 people before also being found shot to death, though it’s unclear if that came from the gunman’s own hand or when he engaged in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies.
It appears the fucker is the entitled son of the assistant director of The Hunger Games. It brings back way too many bad memories of when David Attias went on a killing spree with his car at UCSB, killing the roommates of the boyfriend of one of my good friends at UCLA. He was also the entitled jerkwad son of a bigshot Hollywood producer.
Woodrowfan
sat outside from a bit before 12 until almost 12:30 (EDT). Saw 3 clear ones and several might-have-beens. I’m inside the DC Beltway so there is lots of light pollution and big trees blocking my view to the east. But the 3 clear ones all were in the general area of the Big Dipper.
Elizabelle
@BruinKid:
Hadn’t heard the “Hunger Games” AD aspect. Horrifying story.
From NYTimes recap:
That someone would say “hey, what’s up?” without seeming dangerous and then shoot. That chills me.
Elizabelle
I was watching initial reports of the shooting come in on the LA Times website while up waiting for meteors.
A shock to wake up again and realize there were 7 dead.
ETA: and that’s horrifying on its own; death toll was 4 last time I’d looked. That seemed so ordinary.
It takes 7 dead to become shocking.
Inured to violence, no?
Betty Cracker
@Woodrowfan: That’s where I spotted the faint little streaks I saw too. But overall, the meteor shower was a bust. Oh well.
Elizabelle
@Cassidy:
Step away from the blog, dude.
I hadn’t realized you were the “c” poster people were discussing.
Come on buckaroo, you can behave better than this and often put up interesting comments.
Apologize to BettyC and make nice. You’re mistaken.
BruinKid
@Elizabelle: The Daily Mail, which is a sleazy British tabloid, doesn’t seem to care about privacy, as they commonly reveal the names and photos of both criminals and their victims. And here, they’ve released the name of the shooter, even as The Guardian is not releasing the name yet. Like it or not, especially with the video the fucker released promising a bloodbath, it seems pretty clear who it is now.
Cassidy
@Elizabelle: As soon as her, Cat lady, and mix apologize for mocking victims of trauma and people who have asked for a slight bit of consideration, I will publicly and happily apologize.
satby
@Botsplainer: went there last September and loved it. Part of my bucket list, but now I want to go back.
Elizabelle
@Cassidy:
Yeah, I stayed out of that whole thread.
I wish you guys could get along better, though.
Have not been following the “triggering” posts, but wonder how much damage results from so many losing their empathy. (Speaking society-wide, not BJ local.) Or not ever exercising it (or developing it) in the first place.
Was wondering how much the triggering debate is the flip side of living in a society that’s got too many John Galt worshipers, and too many who fall for the 47% are undeserving drivel. Who think Trayvon Martin was a thug and attacker, despite no evidence of that. Makers and takers, losers and victors (or not-losers, whatever).
Last, I hate to see people here get hurt.
tybee
@Betty Cracker:
the st. john river flows north because cassidy sucks.
what an asshole.
PsiFighter37
Got a good 9 hours of sleep – Benadryl did a number knocking me out. Still have these hives popping up from the medicine, but hopefully it is just residual from the medicine and will start fading in the next couple days.
Otherwise, it looks like a great start to a holiday weekend – going to grab some brunch before taking care of some shopping.
rikyrah
Coates is on MHP this morning.
Woodrowfan
oh good, another flame war.
Ruckus
@OzarkHillbilly:
Spend the second worst 6 weeks of my life one weekend in Miami in July. 100+ deg 100% humidity, outside all day, but I was getting paid to be there.
The money didn’t help.
schrodinger's cat
@Ruckus: Pretty much describes Mumbai. I have been wearing skirts or walking shorts, paired traditional Indian kurtis but all the fashionable women I see here are wearing leggings or skinny jeans, I have no idea how they can survive with clothes clinging to the their skin in this weather. The traditional Indian outfits seem much more weather appropriate.
Ruckus
@schrodinger’s cat:
Traditional middle eastern clothing, loose, white, long sleeves works very well to help as much as possible with the fun of living in sweltering heat and humidity.
On the other hand, tight fitting clothing does tend to make one perspire, the evaporation giving a cooling effect. Of course with 100% humidity, evaporation is nil but still the idea is, what’s that word, oh yes, bonkers.
Maybe we should all get used to this, nothing else seems to be going to happen.
maya
I got to fool around with my many bells & whistles Canon EOS. Made all kinds of special night photo settings involving RAW, 1600 ISO, noise reductions, white and tungsten balance, etc. Great learning experience for capturing the rapture when it comes. Should have known it would not come to pass. Just like AL at the top here on left coast, I thought I saw a streak here or there but so fast and few not sure if it wasn’t just blowback from the guy’s greenhouse growlight display down below.
NotMax
BTW,
Clouds make no difference about that, as places to see meteorites in person are looking down at the ground or in a museum.
While in the sky, they’re meteors. Outside the atmosphere, they’re meteoroids.
J R in WV
@Betty Cracker:
Thanks for informing me about who
may havesaid cruel things about your loss. What a scab on the pimple of the ass of Newt G this guy must be to use your suffering as a tool to hurt you with.Still sorry to hear of your sudden loss, keep up the great reporting from Florida, I liked living in the Keys, and visiting my folks in Osprey while they were still alive enough to live there. Most of the state parks are places of wonder, and it’s a good thing that you can use a kayak to explore them.
Hang in there!
JR in WVa
Higgs Boson's Mate
If it was up to me, Wayne LaPierre and six NRA members chosen at random would have to attend, act as an honor guard, and fire a 21-gun salute at the funeral of every mass shooter.
Cassidy
@J R in WV: why should I have been considerate of her pain when she is dismissive of the pain of others? Is her loss more important than the trauma of a rape victim?
J R in WV
I went out of the house about 1 am, spent about an hour out above the shop where we have the best open sky. Weather was OK, good and dark, maybe a little high altitude haze, the low magnitude stars were barely visible.
I had probably 45 minutes of good seeing once my eyes dark adapted – I used a red headlight to get up there, although the motion detector floodlight went off before I could sneak in the shop door to turn it off.
I did see two good streaks, they were as predicted, slower than most, and a dark orange from burning cooler due to that lower speed. Also saw quite a few little twinkles, likely tiny objects too small to leave a streak.
I felt like I had to go out since the sky cleared up, what if there had been a perfect storm of meteors? And I missed it because I went on to bed at the usual 12:30 or so. Meteor storms are so rare, I may never get to see one, so I plan to never miss one by not even looking.
CaseyL
I lived in Miami for nearly 10 years and never, ever, got used to the summer weather. Hated it; hated that feeling of being wrapped in a hot wet blanket every time I went outside.
Doesn’t cool down at night, either, and my cheapass Mom didn’t have air conditioners, so I’d wake up in the middle of the night in a pool of my own sweat.
I did love the storms. That’s one thing South Florida does right, thunderstorms.
cckids
@Betty Cracker:
I agree, wholeheartedly. We’ve had a few blessed days of cooler weather (in the mid 80’s) this week, after our 4-day trip into triple digits last weekend bummed me out. I just dread summers here, the unending heat 24-7, until October. And I don’t care how dry the heat is, when the average low temp for the summer months is 90, it is too damn hot.
ruemara
@Cassidy: speaking as a traumatized person, you didn’t make it better. I don’t need to see other people hurt just because I hurt. Mind you, I’d love to plant what a trigger event feels like in the heads of every person who think it’s a joke. the loss of place, time & self… disconcerting barely covers it. But I can disagree with Betty’s view without using her dead mother to attack her. It’s just plain dishonorable & unworthy.
Betty Cracker
@ruemara: In honor of your civil comment, I’m done with this subject and replying in kind to Cassidy, whom I will do my best to ignore in the future. Also, if I said anything in the other thread that hurt you, I apologize sincerely. It wasn’t my intent.
Mnemosyne
@Cassidy:
Jesus fuck, go the fuck away. Mclaren has a better idea of what’s appropriate than you do.
Cassidy
@ruemara: I’m pragmatic; You use the tools at hand. People like Betty and Cole and Mix disgust me. They’ll come to a public place and whine for days “oh woe is me” and “something bad happened”, but once they’ve finished the attention whoring, can’t find the basic decency not mock others? Fuck her and the other two shitstains. I have zero sympathy for any of them. When you treat others like shit, don’t expect others to treat you well. So, Betty can take the nails out now and crawl down to her bottle of wine. I’m sure she’s gotten plenty of mileage out being the aggrieved party here. I don’t feel bad at all.
@Betty Cracker: Next time, you should try my advice of shutting the fuck up if you don’t know what you’re talking about.
@Mnemosyne: Not going anywhere. ;)
JoyfulA
@Betty Cracker: Would you take the chickens with you to Vermont?
Anne Laurie
@Betty Cracker: I’ve been to Miami in November and Orlando in January, and both times the heat & humidity had me panting like a dog as soon as I left the airport. Florida is no place for a person carrying as much pink insulation as I am!