August 2010

Welcome to the month of August! - I did my stretches and ran a mile.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 80 to 101 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 28 percent, hazy skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming southeast between 4 and 7 mph. Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. West southwest wind between 3 and 11 mph.”
Sometimes we get so upset with events in the world that we have to do something even though it won’t affect any change. I’m talking about how we’re destroying our planet. The oil disasters that are going on in the world, the Gulf and in China are very upsetting to all of us. If we didn’t use so much oil the oil companies wouldn’t have to go to these deep water extremes to drill for it. But what do we do? What can we do? We really have to take control of how much we pollute. Cut down on what we waste and what we use. Earlier last month I bought some more solar panels to add to the ones powering my home. Today I bought an electric conversion kit for my bike after spending a whole lot of time searching online for the past couple of days. The kit includes a front hub motor, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) 36Volts 10Ah battery, along with a back mount rack and a few other items. I should get the kit by next week or so. I’ll install it on my bike and let you all know how it goes. It may not get me to town but it will get me around up here and to my mailbox that is six miles away. It’s a start!
I watched a movie called “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” (2009). I don’t usually go in for vampire/werewolf movies but the Underworld series do a dang good job keeping me entertained!
I did my stretches and lifted weights, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 02- I did my stretches. I pulled a leg muscle so I ain’t going to be running for the next couple of days, dang it!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 80 to 101 degrees, SE/SW 6 to 18 MPH, humidity around 24 percent, hazy skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 102. North northwest wind at 7 mph becoming east southeast. Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind between 10 and 13 mph becoming light. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.”
I went on over to Stoney’s to check on the place, do my laundry, and run his car for a bit. While my clothes were in the dryer I went over to take some pictures of the insides of Andrew’s house he wanted. After that I dropped by for a visit to Mac’s and chatted with him for a long spell. I got back to Stoney’s and my clothes were dry and headed on back home.
I went for my evening walk.
I read aloud from the astronomy textbook “Astronomy Today” and finished the chapter on Meteors.
I’ve been going outside the last few nights but it has been overcast. Tonight was the same but I just sat there for over an hour hoping to see something. I did! I saw five meteors shoot across the sky.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 03- I did my stretches; still resting my pulled leg muscle.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 81 to 104 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 26 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 101. North northwest wind at 7 mph becoming east southeast. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 73. Southwest wind between 11 and 14 mph becoming light.”
I was up until 5:30 last night. I had a very hard decision to make and it wouldn’t let me go to sleep until I made it. The idea has been simmering in my subconscious for some time now and it boiled over last night. I’m going to buy my friends 91 Harley Davidson Sportster 883! It’s really a sweet bike! Later in the day when I awoke I called and asked him if he still wanted to sell it; he did. He can’t ride it anymore because of an injury. I had helped him unload it from his truck last year and fell in love with it. He asked me at the time if I wanted to buy it while I was sitting on it playing with the throttle. I told him that I’d better get off of it now before I got anymore interested. Now the bike is in Arizona and I’ll have to find a way to get there to pick it up. I spent the rest of the day calling my insurance company, bank, and other places getting it all set up. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep tonight!
I went for my evening walk.
The night wasn’t overcast so I sat outside hoping to see if there was any aurora borealis from the massive solar ejection from last Sunday. I didn’t see any but I did notice a lot of meteors coming from the direction of the Perseus constellation!
I did my stretches and lifted weights, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 04- I did my stretches; again I’m still resting my pulled leg muscle.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 to 103 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 17 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 104. Light wind becoming south southwest between 12 and 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 70. West southwest wind between 8 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.”
Yesterday I told you that I hardly had any sleep because of a decision I had to make. Well, last night I went to sleep at 2am and slept until 11:30am!!!
I had to deposit a check at my bank so I ended up driving to Yucca Valley to do that. On the way back I stopped off at the health food store in JT to get some yeast that I put in my oatmeal I eat for breakfast. I saw Nancy who works there and we jawed for a spell; I met her a few weeks ago when she dropped by my house with Seimi.
I started reading a book called “Lightpaths” by Howard W. Hendrix. I only read a few pages and haven’t made up my mind on it yet.
I watched a new episode of “Warehouse 13” and another of “Cosmos” Blues for a red Planet.
I went outside to watch for meteors and I saw a few.
I wrote my column for the Hi-Desert Star Newspaper and sent it in.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 05- I did my stretches; I’m going to run tonight.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 84 to 107 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 13 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 101. Northwest wind 6 to 13 mph becoming south southeast. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. South southwest wind 7 to 14 mph becoming west northwest. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.”
I cleaned up the kitchen and a few other things around the house.
I decided to scrap Windows 7 from my HP Mini Note and put XP back on. The Mini Note just wasn’t performing as it should and there weren’t any real Win7 drivers from HP for it.
I read a book few chapters of “Lightpaths” by Howard W. Hendrix; I still don’t know who the good guys are yet.
I went for an evening run. It seems that I get feeling rundown and cranky when I don’t run for a couple of days. My leg is feeling great!
It was still 87 degrees when I took my binoculars outside to do a little stargazing. I saw one really bright meteor flash across the sky; best one yet this year!
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 06- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 to 104 degrees, nice breeze, humidity around 18 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 100. Light wind becoming south between 10 and 13 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. West southwest wind between 7 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.”
I didn’t do much of anything today because I only got three hours of sleep last night. I got up at 7am and stayed up until noon and went back to sleep for an hour or so. So I was feeling lethargic all day. I did get all the Microsoft update on the HP Mini Note done today and it seems to be running fine with XP now.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
Before I went on my evening walk I watered most of the plants and left water out for the critters.
I read a little from the book “Lightpaths” by Howard W. Hendrix; it’s getting better now.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 07- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 78 to 100 degrees, nice breeze, humidity around 13 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 98. Calm wind becoming south southeast between 12 and 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. South wind 7 to 15 mph becoming west northwest. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.”
Jimmy called to say that he and Clarice made the trip out here and are at Stoney’s. They are here to talk to their new renter and sign papers so the new renters can move in. I told Jimmy that I’d be over to visit after I had breakfast.
I was had just got off the phone when Brian and Naomi dropped by with their two daughters. I told them I had to go to visit a friend who just arrived in town, so we all yapped for a bit.
I got over to Stoney’s about 45 minutes later. They were up at the rental so I walked up there. Sherry and Chris Jonas were also there along with everyone else. Sherry had to leave so I walked here to here truck and left Jimmy and Clarice to settle things with the new renters. I sat at Stoney’s and after a spell Jimmy and Clarice came back down. I stayed there yapping with them until 2:30 when they had to leave to get back home so their daughter Angela who stayed at home watching grandma could go to a party later that evening. It was mighty fine seeing them again even if it was for a little while.
It’s Saturday and that’s when I call family and friends; that’s what I did for the rest of the evening.
I went outside to do a little stargazing; didn’t see any meteors tonight :(
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

My Birthday- I awoke at 2:30pm and did my stretches and ran two miles; felt good!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 75 to 98 degrees, SE winds at 6 to 12 MPH, humidity around 16 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 98. Northwest wind at 9 mph becoming southeast. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68. South wind 6 to 10 mph becoming west.”
Okay, here’s the story why I stayed up until 6:30am last night and awoke at 2:30pm today. I decided a few months ago to quit chewing the nicotine gum I’m addicted to. I’d quit it on my birthday as a sort of present to myself. Since my hours are different from most folks; when I go to sleep that’s the end of the day- when I wake up that’s the start of a new day. So I spent all last night chewing nicotine gum getting enough into my system (I’m thinking) to carry me through Saturday. Well so far it has worked and I haven’t had any nicotine gum but been chewing a lot of Wrigley’s Spearmint! This is a big deal for me to be rid of nicotine once and for all in my life.
Another thing I did was turn off the ringer to my phone so I wouldn’t be disturbed and have the time to reflect on my life and where I’m going; I still don’t know but I’m getting closer :)
I did go online and found a whole slew of emails from FaceBook friends wishing me a happy birthday and I answered each and every one of them.
I read a chapter in “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix. I also read aloud for a bit in the textbook “Astronomy Today” beginning chapter 15 The Formation of Planetary Systems. After this chapter we’ll leave the solar system and get into the stuff I’m most interested in: stars, galaxies, space...
I went for my evening walk and took a few pictures of the setting Sun.
I went outside to do a little stargazing; I saw a few meteors tonight but not that many.
I did my stretches and went for a night run, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 09- I did my stretches, rode my bike, and lifted weights.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 75 to 100 degrees, SE winds at 6 to 10 MPH, humidity around 15 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 98. Light wind becoming south southeast between 10 and 13 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind 9 to 16 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.”
I went to work cleaning the front porch of the things I had moved from the inside when I was laying tile and all the accumulated trash. I took a rake and a broom and got all the dead plant leafs and trash out of there and then took a hose to it. Now it’s all nice and clean.
While I was cleaning the porch I found a ceiling fan that I had bought several years ago; I’m not really sure how many several it was! I decided to hang it in the front room. The instructions were missing but I went ahead and figured it all out, I mean how hard could it be? After two hours I finally got it done. Looks good and most importantly it works!
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” about; ten outstanding properties we observe in our solar system that took place and make it what it is today and how we may compare these “ten outstanding properties” with extrasolar planets. 1) Each planet is isolated in space. 2) Orbits are nearly circular. 3) Orbits are along the same plane. 4) Planets orbit the Sun in the same direction as the Sun turns on its axis. 5) Most planets rotate on their axis in the same direction as the Sun rotates. 6) Most moons revolve about their planet in the same direction as the planet rotates. 7) Our planetary system is highly differentiated; inner planets have high density and moderate atmosphere. The outer planets are low density, thick atmospheres, have more moons, and rotate rapidly. 8) Asteroids are very old. 9) The Kuiper Belt is a collection of icy bodies that orbit beyond Neptune. (10 The Oort-cloud comets are very primitive and the Oort cloud is a part of the outer solar system. Okay enough of that :)
I read few chapters in “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix; this is one heavy thinking book to read.
I went for my evening walk and took a few pictures.
I went outside (between readings of “Lightpaths”) to do a little stargazing; saw a bunch when I went back outside later in the evening. One was an earthgrazer that came in low from the north and left a nice white trail all the way to the southeast! Around 11pm is a good time to get out there to watch for meteors!
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 10- I did my stretches. I have a FedEx shipment coming sometime today and have to stick around the house. I probably needed the day off from exercising anyways.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 73 to 98 degrees, nice breeze, humidity around 16 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 99. West northwest wind 5 to 14 mph becoming south southeast. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 70. West southwest wind between 7 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.”
I called up my neighbor Joyce who left me a singing message on my birthday. We yapped for over an hour catching up and talking of old times.
I spent the rest of the day writing my column for the newspaper. I just took my time going over it trying to get it right. I thought I had a good “Thought of the Week” but I ran it by my friend Kula when she called; she didn’t like/understand it. So I had to come up with something similar and rewrite it.
The FedEx Guy showed up near 5:30 and he helped me off load the parts for the electric bike I’m going to build. I opened the box to check out everything and it looks like the only thing missing were the instructions! I took some pics and then put everything away.
I thought about the “Thought of the Week” on my evening walk and came up with something not too clever so that Kula could understand it :)
I read a chapter in “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix.
I went outside looking for meteors and saw a few. Even had some shoot pass while I was looking through my binoculars at Jupiter; only two more days!
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 11- I did my stretches, ran two miles, and lifted dumbbells.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 74 to 103 degrees, nice breeze from the SW later in the evening, humidity around 11 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 99. West wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 69. Southwest wind between 10 and 13 mph becoming light.”
I am getting my study area cleaned up and moving the computer, printers, and scanners into the computer room and off my study desk. The less distractions the better!
Joel came by with my mail and a pizza! He got one of those Pizza Hut $10 anything you want on it pizzas. Cool, it had pepperoni, red onions, pineapples, mushrooms, and dell peppers! We sat in my kitchen eating and talking crazy stuff.
I haven’t opened any of my birthday cards because I was waiting to get them all in. I had a few that I picked up two weeks ago and this was the first chance I had to get the ones waiting in my mailbox; remember it’s twelve miles round trip to my box. So I sat and read them all. It made me mighty happy to know there are folks out there who care. I want to thank everyone who sent me a card!
I watched episode 8 of “Cosmos: Travels in Space and Time”. You can see the little kid in Carl Sagan when he talks about the future and the wonderment of science.
I read another chapter in “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix. I still don’t know what’s going on yet but whatever it is it will be coming soon; things are building up.
I went outside hoping to see an aurora from a CME that was supposed to arrive tonight but I guess I’m too far south to see it. Maybe my online friend Steve who lives in Seattle Washington has a better chance. Steve said he was going to watch it where the skies were dark.
Tomorrow I will be outside most of the night watching the Perseid meteor shower and may not post my journal or I will write it early.
I did my stretches and went for a night run, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 12- I did my stretches, rode my bike, and lifted weights.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 73 to 102 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 15 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 101. North northwest wind at 8 mph becoming east southeast. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 73. Southwest wind between 12 and 15 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.”
I’m still working on getting my study area cleaned. The problem is that I start going through old papers from when I was in college and I kind of start reminiscing about them days and lose track of time.
The FedEx delivery truck came with the AlphaSmart Dana Palm PDA. The Dana has a really nice full sized keyboard along with a simple word processor. They are basically a keyboard without distractions. I’ve wanted one for a few years now but the price was over $399; I picked this one up for $25 on EBay. I set it up and it works just fine!
I called Ginger to remind her that the Perseid Meteor Shower is tonight. She, her son, and daughter will be going outside to have a look-see.
I got outside around 9pm tonight and had my chair and everything setup really comfy. I listened to two Astronomy Cast lectures on Johannes Kepler and the space probe that bears his name. The probe’s mission is to look for Earth sized planets in other star systems.
I saw some but not many meteors, I think they’ll be more later on, so I came inside to write my journal and do the other things I do and then I’ll be headed back outside.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and went back outside to watch for meteors!

Friday 13- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 73 to 101 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 16 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 103. West wind between 6 and 9 mph becoming calm. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. South southwest wind between 11 and 14 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.”
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter. Then I mostly just bummed around the house doing not much of anything important. Seems like my brain has been scattered since I quit the nicotine gum, but that’s okay, I can deal with it! In a few weeks when I work it all out of my system I’ll be able to focus again.
I went for my evening walk and listened to Astronomy Cast Ep. 193: Astronomy with the Unaided Eye. Very nice!
I got back home to do some computer work until late into the night. Then I did my stretches and practiced my guitar, and went back outside until 1am to watch for anymore meteors. Last night it really got going very late in the evening. I saw many more earthgrazers than I did earlier. So tonight I went out around midnight, kicked back in my chair, listened to another Astronomy Cast Ep. 194: Dwarf Planets, and saw many more earthgrazers; just awesome!
I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 14- I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 75 to 104 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 9 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 105. Northwest wind at 8 mph becoming southeast. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Southwest wind between 10 and 13 mph becoming light.”
It’s Saturday and I called family and friends throughout the day.
When I wasn’t yakking on the phone I was messing around with computers. I got this old one that runs on Win98 that I got setup on wifi and on the internet. Win98 is running out of browsers to use. The only up to date one I could get running was K-Meleon. The update for Opera died after install, and there hasn’t been an update of Firefox for Win98 for some time.
I went for my evening walk and listened to Astronomy Cast Ep. 189: Johannes Kepler and His Laws of Planetary Motion. I listened to it on Thursday night when I was watching the meteor shower and thought I’d listen to it again today on my walk.
I went back outside tonight around 11pm to watch meteors while I yakked with my friend Mike from Hermosa Beach. I’m still seeing earthgrazers but not as many as the last two nights.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 15- I did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 84 to 107 degrees, Winds SE 7 to 16 MPH, humidity around10 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 102. West southwest wind at 11 mph becoming north. Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. Southwest wind between 17 and 20 mph becoming light. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.”
After my exercises I was eating my oatmeal while checking my email when I started to get drowsy. I decided to go and do something. There is this 60Amp solar controller I need to install and after reading all the instructions, that’s what I did. The process consist of mounting the new controller, removing the solar and battery wires from the old controller, and connecting those wires on the new controller. The new controller has these little dip switches that need to be set just so or you can ruin everything. So I made double sure that the switches were set right before I connected anything.
I didn’t noticed that the temp outside got to 107 degrees while I was working on the controller. My shirt was soaked with sweat when I was done. I was going to start work on the electric bike conversion but it just got too dang hot.
I went for my evening walk and listened to Astronomy Cast Ep. 190: Kepler Mission. I also listened to it on Thursday night when I was watching the meteor shower.
I read a chapter of “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix, and then watched a new episode of “Warehouse 13”.
Again I went outside tonight around 11pm to watch meteors while I yakked with my friend Mike from Hermosa Beach. I didn’t seeing any earthgrazers but did see a few meteors.
I did my stretches and went for a night run, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.


Here’s another song I wrote and still working on called “Little Boat”. If you like it let me know :)
I have a few more songs I've written and will be posting them all in the next few weeks.






Monday 16- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 83 to 103 degrees, Winds SE 6 to 13 MPH with lots of dust devils, humidity around 48 percent, hazy skies with a few clouds and cumulonimbus off in the near horizon.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming south southeast between 14 and 17 mph. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. Southwest wind between 14 and 17 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.”
The dang humidity is through the roof! I took a hose shower outside and was sweaty and needing another an hour later. I stayed inside most all of the day messing with my songs I wrote. I decided to start putting them online to share. If folks like my songs that’s fine, if they don’t that’s fine also. I posted one earlier and got a few nice responses.
I read a chapter of “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix; it’s a slow going book!
I went outside tonight around 11pm again just to sit and cool off. There were a few meteors but the sky was mostly hazy and I couldn’t see all that much.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 17- I did my stretches; the humidity has drained any energy out of me :(
Today’s Weather was ( about the same as yesterday) Temps of around 86 to 107 degrees, Winds SE 3 to 10 MPH with lots of dust devils, humidity around 51 percent, again hazy skies with a few clouds and cumulonimbus off on the near horizon.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 102. Calm wind becoming southwest between 11 and 14 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. West southwest wind between 7 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.”
I spent the day inside again because of the dang humidity and heat. I needed to write my column for the Hi Desert Star Newspaper, so I took my time at it finishing it in around three hours.
There is this website called the Gadgeteer I visit every day and they reviewed this neat leather wallet from Saddleback Leather Company that I may consider purchasing. I used to have a leather wallet many years ago. It went through a lot of tough times with me and held up well. It would have lasted forever except that I had lost it. The person who found it mailed me my license, credit cards, and money, but kept the wallet! Who knows where it is now and what journeys it has taken!
I messed around with webwork all evening long and didn’t do much of anything else; dang humidity!
I did go outside for a short spell and sat in my “astronomy chair” just to escape the heat.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 18- I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 to 104 degrees, Winds SSW at 6 to 14 MPH with lots of dust devils, humidity around 44 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 102. West southwest wind between 3 and 8 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. West wind between 8 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.”
I found a neat quote from author P. J. O’Rourke: “The weirder you are going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person.” It reminded me of a time many years ago I was standing in line at Carl’s Jr. waiting to order a burger when some kid in front of me quickly turned to face me with piercings all over his face (I thought he was trying to freak me out). I said to him “hey those look cool” and showed him my peace sign tattoo on my arm :)
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 186: History of Astronomy, Part 4: The Beginning of Modern Astronomy. I heard it before but had forgotten; it was worth the re-listen.
Seimi called to say that he received my notice for pick up in his mailbox. I was expecting it today and had followed it online. I guess the mail courier had a rough day and put it in the wrong box by mistake.
I read a chapter in “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix; still waiting for something to happen. It has a long build up, everything is in place, and all the signs are there for it to go off whatever it is.
I watched a new episode of “Warehouse 13”; been getting kind of corny lately.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 19- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 86 to 105 degrees, Winds SW at 6 to 13 MPH, humidity around 42 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 102. West northwest wind at 10 mph becoming southeast. Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 74. West southwest wind between 7 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.”
I went over to Stoney’s to pick up his truck and head down to town. I first stopped off to get gas and then got my package at the post office in Joshua Tree. I Went to WalMart and Stater Bros to get some supplies. I am really starting to get upset at Staters because every time I go into the store they change things around. I wrote about this before but it’s getting worse; even the folks that work there don’t know where some stuff is. I asked where the pancake mix was and I was sent to the aisle where there was flower. Raisins are under the bananas, refried beans are not with the Mexican foods, and on and on. They even moved the beverages to the opposite side of the store. I saw this little old lady who just sat there in her electric cart confused not knowing where to go. Me, I like to get in there, get my stuff and get out of there as fast as I can; I used to be able to do this. Not anymore! I have to hunt for what I want and I don’t like that.
I got home and put everything away and then I opened my package. It was an old Apple Newton 120 I got on eBay for around $70. I put the batteries in, fired it up, and found that all the data from the previous owner was still on the system; even his social security number, yikes! Of course I’ll erase it all once I find out how; there were no instructions included. I’ll go online tonight and download the manual. Otherwise it runs okay so far. I just love messing with the old stuff that I couldn’t afford when they first came out.
I watered the plants and went for an evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 187: History of Astronomy, Part 5: The 20th Century.
I read a chapter in “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix; still waiting!
I went outside again to cool off, look at the night sky, and jawed with my friend Mike Long from Hermosa Beach. The Moon is a little past first quarter and washing out the stars, so the seeing isn’t all that good. I’ve been keeping an eye on this variable star for a few weeks now and I wasn’t sure which one it was out of the three surrounding stars, until tonight.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 20- I did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 86 to 107 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 33 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 103. Calm wind becoming south between 8 and 11 mph. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 76. Southwest wind between 7 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.”
I went to work on the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I was kind of burned out from the exercises so I just kicked back today going over a few doodads and playing around with old computers; I guess that’s one of my passions. I ventured outside later in the evening to water some plants and fill the critter’s water bowl.
I went outside later at night to cool off and jawed with my friend Mike Long from Hermosa Beach again.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Here’s a new song I wrote called “Hay Ya”! I hope you enjoy it and if you do please let me know!
Thanks :)










Saturday 21- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 86 to 106 degrees, SE winds of 7 to 16 MPH, humidity around 30 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 101. Calm wind becoming south between 11 and 14 mph. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind 7 to 15 mph becoming west northwest. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.”
I called family and friends throughout the day. I always save my Saturdays to do this.
I was saddened to read of the passing of Jack Horkheimer; he had a show on PBS called “Star Gazer” for many years (usually late at night). Jack had a great way of explaining difficult subjects in astronomy in laymen terms. He’d end every show with “Keep looking up”. We will Jack!
One of the doves has started a nest with two eggs outside my bathroom window. I hope it’s not too late into the season for the chicks, but they do grow up fast once they’re hatched.
So dang hot and humid I just stay in the house reading “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix and messing with computers.
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Episode 188: The Future of Astronomy.
I got restless around midnight and did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for a night run. I felt mighty good after doing that.
I practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 22- I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 81 to 102 degrees, SE winds of 6 to 19 MPH, humidity around 39 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 101. North northwest wind around 7 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 76. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.”
I got a call from Joel telling me he was going to bring Courtney’s computer over for me to fix. She needs it for high school. I fixed it a couple of years ago, it was running Windows ME, and I got to thinking that I have this nice mini Dell desktop that I’m not using and could let her have it. It needs more memory and I talked to Joel and he’d help pay for that. We’re going to let her “borrow” it to see if she likes it, and if she does I’ll say that her old computer can’t be fixed and then we’ll get the memory for her new one. Ain’t I a nice guy?
I spent some of my day getting the desktop ready for Courtney and Joel dropped off her old one and picked up the new around 4:30pm.
Still dang hot and humid!
I read a few chapters of “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix.
I went outside under an almost full Moon. It was nice and bright and I spent a while just looking at it through the binoculars. I could make out a lot of features of its surface, mighty cool!
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 23- I did my stretches and ran two miles again! Tomorrow I rest!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 84 to 105 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 30 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 106. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 77. East southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west northwest.”
I took the disk drive out of Courtney’s old computer to see if I could recover the files to back them up. I hooked it up to my laptop and had no problem seeing her files. I called Joel later in the day for him to tell Courtney that her computer was too old to fix and that she could have the desktop I sent to her yesterday. Now all we need to do is get more RAM for it and her files loaded up. Joel said he’d pay for the RAM upgrade. In a couple of weeks Joel will bring her computer back to me so I can do all the upgrades.
Still dang hot and humid!
I finally started my studies. I’ve been having trouble concentrating lately. My mind has been a little scrambled and I’m having mood swings since I quit the nicotine gum. But I’m sticking to it and haven’t had any since August 7th. So today I said to myself it’s time to move on and focus on my studies. I did some Latin lessons, and a chapter in pre-algebra; I’ve forgotten all my college algebra so I thought it wise to start over. The Latin I’ve never had but keeps popping up in texts I read, and that’s a good enough reason for me to study it!
I went for my evening walk and I am re-listening to Alex Filippenko Berkeley Astronomy class series starting with Episode 2 “Journey Through Space and Time”; about the scale of the universe and how we measure distances.
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” about the formation of the solar system.
I read a chapter of “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix.
I went outside under a full Moon listening to Episode 3 “The Supreme Informant”; about light. I had the binocular with me but the sky was washed out by the Moon’s brightness making difficult to see much of anything but the Moon and Jupiter.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 24- I did my stretches and lifted weights.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 86 to 110 degrees, calm winds humidity around 36 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 103. Calm wind becoming southeast between 7 and 10 mph. Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 80. South wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.”
I spent the afternoon writing my column for the Hi-Desert Star newspaper.
Still dang hot and humid!
Watered the plants and filled the critters water bowl.
I did my studies: Latin and pre-algebra.
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” about the formation of the Jovian planets.
I went for my evening walk listening to Alex Filippenko lecture 5 “Black Body Radiation”; he really didn’t go into blackbodies much but what he did talk about was very interesting; he gets sidetracked a lot.
I did some webwork the rest of the night.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 25- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 85 to 109 degrees, calm winds humidity around 38 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 104. Calm wind becoming southeast between 6 and 9 mph. Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 79. South wind at 10 mph becoming west.”
A man, Rick, called to ask me if I knew anything of meteorites. He thinks he found one and after reading my column in the newspaper on stars and such he thought he’d give me a call. I told him that I’d check into it for him.
Still dang hot and humid!
I did my studies: Latin and pre-algebra. I have found that doing simple adding and subtracting by longhand without a calculator is hard. I am so use to a calculator that I totally messed up on some of the problems.
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” about Angular Momentum; how the Sun has less angular momentum than the planets that brought into question the Nebula hypotheses early after its conception by Laplace in the 1700s, but brought back in favor in the 1980 with the discovery of new stars with dust around them.
Seimi came by to look at the electric bike parts. It has been just too dang humid lately for me to work outside on anything.
I went for my evening walk listening to Alex Filippenko lecture 6 and 7 “Fingerprints of Atoms” and “Tools of the Trade”.
Ginger came by with her kids to chat for a spell. She also brought my telescope back to me. There is a double-double star in Lyra called Epsilon Lyrae that I want to check out! After Ginger left I stayed outside and finished listening to the astronomy lectures.
Andrew called and we jawed for a spell. I told him of the songs I posted on my journal and he said he’d give them a listen.
I did my stretches lifted weights, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 26- I did my stretches, ran two miles, and lifted weights,
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 to 105 degrees, SW winds at 16 MPH, humidity around 39 percent, cumulonimbus clouds but no rain for us.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 102. Calm wind becoming south southwest between 8 and 11 mph. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. West southwest wind 17 to 20 mph decreasing to between 8 and 11 mph. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.”
I did my studies: Latin and pre-algebra. The Latin is slow going but I am learning a few words. Interesting that in Latin you can have a sentence with words in no specific order: Sum nauta or nauta sum= I am a sailor. Sum meaning I am. And then there’s the word et that means “and” or if used twice means “both…and” Like: Sum et nauta et Agricola= I am both a sailor and a farmer. I got a long way to go on this Latin stuff :)
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” about Interplanetary Debris: asteroid belt, Kuiper belt objects, comets, Oort cloud.
I went for my evening walk listening to Alex Filippenko lecture 8 “Lunar Phases and Glorious Eclipses”.
I finally finished “Lightpaths” by Howard Hendrix. A hard book to read, lots of interesting ideas to absorb, but well worth the time!
I sat outside for a spell looking at the Moon and Jupiter.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 27- I did my stretches and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 to 102 degrees, SW winds at 17 MPH, humidity around 38 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 95. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 9 to 12 mph increasing to between 20 and 23 mph. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 21 to 24 mph decreasing to between 11 and 14 mph. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph.”
Ginger called saying she needs my help getting her truck unstuck from the sand. I told her I’d be right over and gathered my shovels into the back of the Gross Polluter and headed down to her house. Along the way there was this dog limping along in the middle of the road. I passed him by slowly to see what kind of dog and assess the situation. He looked mighty thirsty and I decided to pick him up. I opened the door and he jumped in wagging his tail as he did so. He looks to be a cross between a bulldog and something else. He is very tame and friendly. I took him over to Ginger’s where her daughter Lahla got him a bowl of water which he drank right down. He has no collar or id tags. I hope nobody abandoned him out here in the hot desert; that would be cruel. Well we found him later soaking inside the water tub and drinking the water while he splashed around. Ginger wants to name him Bob. I told her she’d better wait till we can find the owners or not. We got the truck unstuck after shoveling out a bunch of dirt from around the wheels; it drove out easy. I think I sprained my hip lifting up the trailer to move it around so it could be hooked up to the truck easier. Ginger was trying to pull the horse trailer with the pickup when it got stuck. She needed it to collect some horses that would have probably been destroyed by Animal Control. The owner of the horses had lost his home of twenty-four years and was being evicted for nonpayment; very sad story but we hear a lot of them lately. She called me later on in the day telling me that she has the horses and Bob the dog is doing well!
I did my studies: Latin and pre-algebra. I’m going to make up some flashcards for my Latin course.
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” about other solar systems.
I went for my evening walk listening to Alex Filippenko lectures 9 and 10 “Celestial Phenomena” and “The Copernican Revolution”.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I sat outside listening to the rest of lecture 10 and looking at the waning gibbous Moon.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 28- I did my stretches; hip still hurts from lifting the trailer.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 74 to 95 degrees, SW winds at 6 to 26 MPH, humidity around 22 percent, clear skies. Dang fine day!
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 87. West wind between 6 and 13 mph. Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 62. Breezy, with a west wind 21 to 24 mph decreasing to between 10 and 13 mph. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph.”
I called family to say howdy before I had to leave the house for the day.
I went over to Doug’s house to help him and Brianna sort and pack stuff and load it into a U-Haul truck. They have to have all their belongings out by next Thursday. Larry Carlock came all the way from Vista Ca. to help them move. It’s a long and personal story about why they have to move and I shouldn’t go into it here. I felt the sadness in the house as we packed; sometimes overwhelming. I was glad when it came time for me to go off to potluck.
On the way over to potluck I saw this truck with a house on a trailer going past the community center and just had to take a picture of it.
We actually had 14 folks showing up! Marcie Hines brought potato salad and a meat and cheese platter. Marie Morrison baked up a fabulous blackberry cobbler. Rose brought stewed carrots and peas. Chris Jonas brought his fantastic macaroni salad. Ruth Malton whipped up a really nice fruit salad. And I brought some macaroni and cheese I made all by myself.
I watched “Underworld” (2003). I watched the whole series of them out of order; this one being the first to come out. I don’t think it really mattered because the first one I ever watched was a pre-sequel to this one. Anyways I’ve said this before, I don’t care much for vampire movies, but these are done so well that I enjoyed them.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 29- I did my stretches and lifted weights; hip still hurts a bit but not as much as the last two days.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 67 to 84 degrees, NW/W winds at 4 to 19 MPH, humidity around 24 percent, clear skies. Another fine day!
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 87. West wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm. Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 63. South wind 5 to 9 mph becoming west northwest.”
Doug called asking me if I knew anyone who has a car dolly that he could borrow today to tow some of his cars out to his friend’s property. I told him I didn’t know anybody off hand, but I’d check around. I drove over here and there to a few friends I know and found two car dollies; one had a flat and the other needed to be welded on one of the struts. I called Doug back and told him. He said he’d get back to me and I haven’t heard from him since.
I kind of messed around with my computers for the rest of the day. The AlphaSmart Dana’s rechargeable battery wasn’t holding a charge. I went online and found a way to bypass and remove that battery, cut and solder a few wires, and use regular AA rechargeable batteries in it. I had the dang thing all apart, its guts hanging everywhere, and had it all back together and working in about half an hour.
I watched “Jurassic Park” (1993). I haven’t seen it since it first came out and it still surprised me and kept me entertained. Dang the little girl who played in it, actress Ariana Richards, is now thirty! I’m getting old! Such a fantastic film!
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 30- I did my stretches and did a short run. The hip is still sore but getting better. Yesterday I told Ginger to remind me that I’m not 18 anymore if she sees me trying to lift something that heavy. My problem is I forget sometimes.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 70 to 87 degrees, light breeze, humidity around 28 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 91. North northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming east. Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 66. South southwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm.”
I started to put the electric bike kit on my mountain bike and found that it is missing some hub washers. These washers keep the hub motor from rubbing against the fork. I phoned and emailed the company who sold me the kit to send me the missing washers.
I did my studies: Latin and pre-algebra. I made up some flashcards for my Latin course; I need them badly :)
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” finally getting to Part 3 Stars and Stellar Evolution, yea! Reading the chapter called “The Sun”.
I went for my evening walk listening to Alex Filippenko’s Astro 10 lectures 11 and 12 ”On the Shoulders of Giants”; about Newton’s laws, and “Earth Our Home”.
I watched “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997) Not as good as the book but still a great movie. I don’t even think it followed the book all that much.
I went outside to do a little stargazing and listening to Astro 10 lecture 13 “The Moon, Mercury, and Venus”.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 31- I did my stretches, rode my bike, and lifted weights. The hip is feeling much better today.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 71 to 93 degrees, light breeze, humidity around 31 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 96. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm. Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 68. Southwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm.”
I made a quick stop over at Mat’s to drop off Lauren’s birthday card. Manda was there and I gave the card to her. I also gave her all the Nicorette gum I had stashed in my backpack. It’s been almost a month now that I’ve been nicotine free; yea for me! I’ve probably been addicted to the dang stuff all my life. Growing up I lived in a house of smokers. They smoke in the car, in the house, and at the dinner table. Then in my teens I started smoking. I quit smoking and started chewing Copenhagen in my thirties. About ten years ago I started the Nicorette gum. Now I’m done with all that and I feel good!
I did some cleaning of the battery room, clearing it out, throwing old junk computers away, and storing some others in the trailer.
I did my studies: Latin and pre-algebra.
I read aloud from the textbook “Astronomy Today” about the proton-proton reaction that powers our Sun. Six protons are used to create one helium-4 atom. There are three stages this process goes through. The first uses four proton that collide and fuse into deuteron (one proton and neutron). Also releasing a positron and a neutrino (the positron quickly collides with an electron annihilating both sending out gamma rays). The second stage has two protons colliding each with the two deuterons forming two helium-3 nucleuses. Stage three has the two helium-3 colliding forming one stable helium-4 and releasing two protons. Of this about 1000 Watts per meter squared makes it through the Earth’s atmosphere and falls upon its surface. I think I got this right.
I went for my evening walk listening to Alex Filippenko’s Astro 10 lecture 14 “Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn”.
I watched “Jurassic Park III” (2001). I can’t recall ever reading the book. The movie wasn’t as good as the last two, but still worth the watch.
I went outside to do a little stargazing and listening to Astro 10 lecture 15 “Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto”. I’m kind of getting in the habit of going outdoors and doing this lately.
I wrote my column for the Hi-Desert Star Newspaper and sent it in.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.
Goodbye to August, you been a hot but very interesting month.