We had a pretty great viewing tonight of Neowise Comet. Root*Center*Son came over, and so did Youngest, with his eldest: Elder*Grandson, age 7. Our two sons remembered seeing Halley’s Comet in 1986. They were just 5.5 and 3.5 years old, but remember it well and that it was incredibly cold out. Tonight, Grandson saw his first ever comet, as well as a meteor, several planets, and any number of satellites. He really got into it, laying on a quilt on the hillside, wearing his glow-in-the-dark phases of the moon tee shirt and declared: “I’m stargazing. It’s like a big planetarium!”
Oh, that's really fine! Planetaria don't come any bigger. If memory serves me well, the most stars one can see in the northern hemisphere is about four or five thousand, although it sure seems like it should be more.
“ To answer the question, "How many stars in the sky?" The total comes to 9,096 stars visible across the entire sky. Both hemispheres. Since we can only see half the celestial sphere at any moment, we necessarily divide that number by two to arrive at 4,548 stars (give or take depending on the season).”
(1) Thanks for verifying that my mind has not yet gone completely to rot, listener. I read that figure about 50 years ago in an old astronomy text that I later loaned to my brother and never got back.
Charlie Cook: Right Direction/Wrong Track Numbers Tell the Story of the Election [Click] Over the last 40 years, there have been six incumbent presidents seeking re-election. For the four who won, the “right track” numbers were 47% for Ronald Reagan in 1984, 39% for Bill Clinton in 1996, 41% for George W. Bush in 2004 and 42% for Barack Obama in 2012. The two incumbents who lost had “right track” numbers much lower — 20% for Jimmy Carter in 1980 and 17% for George H.W. Bush in 1992. The latest Navigator tracking poll [Click] has right track vs. wrong track at 19% to 75%, down in a single week from 22:70.
The article about Chicago is somewhat misleading, largely because of its focus on a single tweet. Trump says he is sending the agents to Chicago "to fight violent crime." That implies they will be working with the Chicago Police Department, and Lifhtfoot is OK with that. But neither Trump nor Barr has given any clear indication of what the agents will actually be doing, and there is concern about that.
Remember that the stated reason for the federal agents' presence in Chicago is entirely different from the stated reason for their presence in Portland. It is entirely conceivable that this will have an effect on how they operate. We'll see.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Denmark and ignored social distancing advice and tried to shake hands with the other foreign ministers at the meeting — but they all turned him down, The Week reports. [Click]
It seems there is almost no independent polling in the Georgia special election for US Senator. Rev. Warnock is my favorite, and I have sent him a little love.
No surprise to me, but I think this is clearly one for the "go big or go home" file. If they had had any sense they would have stashed it in the Cayman Islands and had bolt holes ready to go, but, again, they're Republicans.
I'm reminded of that Democratic politician some years back, in Louisiana as memory serves me, who had bundles of cash neatly wrapped in foil and stashed in his freezer. The feds thought that was suspicious, but my thought was "Doesn't everybody? You never heard of cold cash?" Back in the 1930's my father worked as a plumber, and from time to time old Italians would come in and have pieces of pipe made with threads and caps on each end, just the right diameter to accommodate silver dollars.
We actually have 4 Republicans running against the popular current Republican VT Gov. none of them stands a chance. But of special note is the guy who was previously convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child...!
OHIO: LATEST STATE DATA: As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been at least 78,742 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 3,235 deaths, and 9,864 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
And Gov. DeWine FINALLY issued a statewide mandatory mask order.
Makes you wonder if they're just regrouping for something larger.
DT is sending his personal militia into more cities, such as Albuquerque and Chicago. I have never felt so infuriated! Is this just the beginning of him trying to take over the country so he doesn't leave office? I sure hope the Judiciary makes a ruling FAST, or what's the point of them even being there?
Vermont: 1366 cases (+2?) [They must have lowered yesterday's number because it was also 1366] 56 deaths (0 x 36 days!) Now 160 active cases Recovered 1152 In Hospital = 2 (-1) Tests 85,742 (+795)
Bovine TB vaccine trials get go-ahead in England and Wales [Click] “Scientific breakthrough could lead to phasing out of badger culling to tackle disease.” Unfortunately, the story doesn’t explain how the vaccination and testing works; Here is the explanation. [Click] I wonder if a variant could work in humans who have been given the BCG vaccine.
Yesterday Miyoko discovered the explanation of a mystery in our back yard. We had recently noticed ground squirrels (one to three) eating clover in our back lawn. We had also noticed that the peaches on a particularly productive branch of our favorite peach tree were disappearing. Yesterday Miyoko saw one of the squirrels run up into the tree, grab ahold of the branch and shake it vigorously until a peach fell off, then jump down, pick up the peach (several times bigger than its head!) and run off through the fence with it. Not only does it get a peach that way, but it gets a ripe or nearly ripe one.
GOP Feuding Linked to Trump Sinking In the Polls [Click] The fractures are emerging now because of worries that the party faces doom at the polls this fall owing to Trump’s handling of the pandemic and his resulting falling poll numbers against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.” Doom at the polls? Bring it on!
Oh my gosh! Susan, did you see the article Alan posted on the last thread about Ohio?
ReplyDeleteHere's NPR's take on it:
Ohio House Speaker arrested in conjunction with $60 million bribery scheme...!!!
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/21/893493224/ohio-house-speaker-arrested-in-connection-to-60-million-bribery-scheme
Actually, I noted it twice, at 12:13 and 11:26. It's very impressive!
DeleteWe had a pretty great viewing tonight of Neowise Comet. Root*Center*Son came over, and so did Youngest, with his eldest: Elder*Grandson, age 7. Our two sons remembered seeing Halley’s Comet in 1986. They were just 5.5 and 3.5 years old, but remember it well and that it was incredibly cold out.
ReplyDeleteTonight, Grandson saw his first ever comet, as well as a meteor, several planets, and any number of satellites. He really got into it, laying on a quilt on the hillside, wearing his glow-in-the-dark phases of the moon tee shirt and declared: “I’m stargazing. It’s like a big planetarium!”
Oh, that's really fine! Planetaria don't come any bigger. If memory serves me well, the most stars one can see in the northern hemisphere is about four or five thousand, although it sure seems like it should be more.
Delete“ To answer the question, "How many stars in the sky?" The total comes to 9,096 stars visible across the entire sky. Both hemispheres. Since we can only see half the celestial sphere at any moment, we necessarily divide that number by two to arrive at 4,548 stars (give or take depending on the season).”
Delete9,096 STARS IN THE SKY—IS THAT ALL?
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/how-many-stars-night-sky-09172014/
DeleteBut what does”visible” mean? With the naked eye, or with binoculars or a telescope?
(1) Thanks for verifying that my mind has not yet gone completely to rot, listener. I read that figure about 50 years ago in an old astronomy text that I later loaned to my brother and never got back.
Delete(2) The unaided human eye.
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Arizona finds Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in the presidential race, 49% to 45%.
ReplyDelete👍
DeletePretty good. Here's to it getting better.
DeleteBeto O’Rourke Calls Texas Republicans a ‘Death Cult’ [Click]
ReplyDeleteThe states at the center of the 2020 voting crisis [Click] Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Georgia could make Bush v. Gore look like a walk in the park.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Cook: Right Direction/Wrong Track Numbers Tell the Story of the Election [Click] Over the last 40 years, there have been six incumbent presidents seeking re-election. For the four who won, the “right track” numbers were 47% for Ronald Reagan in 1984, 39% for Bill Clinton in 1996, 41% for George W. Bush in 2004 and 42% for Barack Obama in 2012. The two incumbents who lost had “right track” numbers much lower — 20% for Jimmy Carter in 1980 and 17% for George H.W. Bush in 1992. The latest Navigator tracking poll [Click] has right track vs. wrong track at 19% to 75%, down in a single week from 22:70.
ReplyDeleteChicago Mayor Says She Won’t Allow Trump To Deploy Troops To ‘Terrorize Our Residents’ [Click]
ReplyDeleteDHS Chief Says His Federal Agents Are ‘Proactively’ Arresting People In Portland [Click] It’s a fucking Schutzstaffel!
Former Homeland Security secretary says DHS not meant to be 'president's personal militia' [Click]
The article about Chicago is somewhat misleading, largely because of its focus on a single tweet. Trump says he is sending the agents to Chicago "to fight violent crime." That implies they will be working with the Chicago Police Department, and Lifhtfoot is OK with that. But neither Trump nor Barr has given any clear indication of what the agents will actually be doing, and there is concern about that.
DeleteConcern?
DeleteI call it infuriated terror!
With all due respect, what is she going to do about it once they’re there and doing what they did in Portland?
DeleteWHERE is the Judiciary?!
Remember that the stated reason for the federal agents' presence in Chicago is entirely different from the stated reason for their presence in Portland. It is entirely conceivable that this will have an effect on how they operate. We'll see.
DeleteI’m not betting on it being better.
DeleteWarren’s New Role as Biden Policy Adviser [Click]
ReplyDeleteThat shows promise.
DeleteHas he also been listening to Bernie?
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Denmark and ignored social distancing advice and tried to shake hands with the other foreign ministers at the meeting — but they all turned him down, The Week reports. [Click]
ReplyDelete🤦🏻♀️
DeleteA new Garin-Hart-Yang (D) poll in Georgia finds Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in the presidential race, 47% to 43%.
ReplyDeleteIn the U.S. Senate race, Jon Ossof (D) is just ahead of Sen. David Perdue (R), 45% to 44%.
👍👍
DeleteIt seems there is almost no independent polling in the Georgia special election for US Senator. Rev. Warnock is my favorite, and I have sent him a little love.
DeleteYes, I saw it. It's all over the news here in Ohio. Are we surprised that he's a Republican? No.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise to me, but I think this is clearly one for the "go big or go home" file. If they had had any sense they would have stashed it in the Cayman Islands and had bolt holes ready to go, but, again, they're Republicans.
DeleteI'm reminded of that Democratic politician some years back, in Louisiana as memory serves me, who had bundles of cash neatly wrapped in foil and stashed in his freezer. The feds thought that was suspicious, but my thought was "Doesn't everybody? You never heard of cold cash?" Back in the 1930's my father worked as a plumber, and from time to time old Italians would come in and have pieces of pipe made with threads and caps on each end, just the right diameter to accommodate silver dollars.
DeleteWe actually have 4 Republicans running against the popular current Republican VT Gov. none of them stands a chance. But of special note is the guy who was previously convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child...!
DeleteNewly excavated tools suggest humans lived in North America at least 30,000 years ago [Click] WOO HOO!
ReplyDeleteOHIO: LATEST STATE DATA: As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been at least 78,742 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 3,235 deaths, and 9,864 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
ReplyDeleteAnd Gov. DeWine FINALLY issued a statewide mandatory mask order.
4.1%
DeleteSo good about the mask mandate!!!
Vermont is still waiting for one.
Federal agents retreat to Portland base as protesters control streets [Click] “Donald Trump’s shadowy police taskforce has given new life to protests and may not be succeeding in PR terms either.”
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder if they're just regrouping for something larger.
DeleteDT is sending his personal militia into more cities, such as Albuquerque and Chicago. I have never felt so infuriated! Is this just the beginning of him trying to take over the country so he doesn't leave office? I sure hope the Judiciary makes a ruling FAST, or what's the point of them even being there?
The courts depend on someone bringing the issue to them.
DeleteOregon officials are doing exactly that.
DeleteVermont: 1366 cases (+2?) [They must have lowered yesterday's number because it was also 1366]
ReplyDelete56 deaths (0 x 36 days!)
Now 160 active cases
Recovered 1152
In Hospital = 2 (-1)
Tests 85,742 (+795)
4.09%
DeleteBovine TB vaccine trials get go-ahead in England and Wales [Click] “Scientific breakthrough could lead to phasing out of badger culling to tackle disease.” Unfortunately, the story doesn’t explain how the vaccination and testing works; Here is the explanation. [Click] I wonder if a variant could work in humans who have been given the BCG vaccine.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting update on the Lomonosov Ridge [Click]
ReplyDeleteYesterday Miyoko discovered the explanation of a mystery in our back yard. We had recently noticed ground squirrels (one to three) eating clover in our back lawn. We had also noticed that the peaches on a particularly productive branch of our favorite peach tree were disappearing. Yesterday Miyoko saw one of the squirrels run up into the tree, grab ahold of the branch and shake it vigorously until a peach fell off, then jump down, pick up the peach (several times bigger than its head!) and run off through the fence with it. Not only does it get a peach that way, but it gets a ripe or nearly ripe one.
ReplyDeleteThey are incredibly smart.
DeleteGOP Feuding Linked to Trump Sinking In the Polls [Click] The fractures are emerging now because of worries that the party faces doom at the polls this fall owing to Trump’s handling of the pandemic and his resulting falling poll numbers against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.” Doom at the polls? Bring it on!
ReplyDeleteLidar technology has revealed a whole new timeline of human occupation across the UK, from prehistoric burial mounds to hidden Roman roads to medieval farmsteads. [Click]
ReplyDeleteHere is a recent update on the US Senate races in Georgia. [Click] Rev. Warnock is attracting a lot of contributions as well as endorsements.
ReplyDelete