Today, I watched a lunar eclipse, sunrise, and sunset. Probably a first.

Sunset over the ocean.

Today, I watched a lunar eclipse, sunrise, and sunset. Probably a first.

Venus & Jupiter just popped into view. It would’ve been nice to add Mercury too, but it’s below the horizon.

Also: I really should’ve brought gloves.

If I’d thought about it, I could have gone back to the spot where I watched the sunrise this morning to catch the moonrise for full symmetry. Oh, well.

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Lia BrownCool! I don’t think it was visible here…and it was so cold last night I wouldn’t have had much patience anyway…

Dec 10, 2011, 7:38 PM

Kelson VibberYeah, I think you might have been able to see the beginning of it in your area, but not much else.

Dec 10, 2011, 11:06 PM

Wendi HeckathornWhere did you watch it at?

Dec 11, 2011, 2:10 AM

Kelson VibberI watched most of the eclipse from home (well, across the street), then went down to an area of Redondo Beach where a street runs along a bluff above the beach (Esplanade & Avenue A). I tried to watch the moon set while eclipsed, but the sky was too light by then to really see it at that point, so I drove over to an east-facing hill to watch the sunrise. I came back to Esplanade at the end of the day to watch the sunset.

Dec 11, 2011, 11:25 PM

Wendi HeckathornThat’s awesome! I’m bummed I missed it, but I did enjoy seeing the beautiful full moon. Thanks for sharing the gorgeouspics you took. 🙂

Dec 12, 2011, 12:36 AM

Graphic showing consolidation in the US telecommunications industry

Interesting timeline.

Consolidation in the Telecommunications Industry – Graphic

AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA would cap two decades of deal making that has left the U.S. telecom industry with just a handful of major players. Today’s AT&T…

The US government broke up the AT&T monopoly in the early 1980s, leaving the original AT&T doing little more than long-distance service. NYNEX, US West, Pac Bell and the rest were all separate companies until they started buying each other up again.

Looking back at it, what I find weird is that while Pacific Telesis ended up as part of AT&T, and MCI ended up as Verizon, their wireless divisions ended up owned by the opposite companies.

Level 2 coffee? Character profiles? Is this a new Coffee-themed RPG?

Level 2 coffee? Character profiles? Is this a new Coffee-themed RPG?

For the record: The back explains that it's roasting levels.

Katie: I can see coffee having strength, constitution, and charisma, but the rest…not so much.

Wayne: roasting levels themselves are a stat right? ;> Actually, how does one measure charisma on coffee? How sane it ends up making you after you drink it? ;p

Katie: I'd think of coffee charisma as being layperson appeal…how friendly it is to the general public's palate. But tea automatically has a better charisma, being CHA.

Wayne: (forehead slap) groooan TEAed off good there

Kelson: That's a measurement of Total Effective Armor, right?

Wayne:totally 🙂

Katie:Yeah, that stat increases steeply over time. Makes a big difference in whether you take one lump or two.

Wayne:ba-lump-dump!

Glenna:now, do you want Charisma to mean attractiveness of a person or how hyper-bunny that person is thus driving the rest of us insane? lol 😀

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At least 100 squirrels

I must have seen at least 100 squirrels just walking down one block in Irvine. That’s the EDGE of the lot. There must be even more inside.

Observations uploaded to iNaturalist in 2019:

There were a *lot* of squirrels in the hedge and lawn between an empty lot and the street. I posted on Twitter at the time that I’d seen at least 100 along the edge of the block.