Magazine Posts

It is the weekend and residents
in memory care are experiencing
the joy of seeing family and friends.
Visits may be short or can be long,
and soon people will start to say their
Goodbyes. Little white lies are said,
"See you soon" when it really means
I must go and may see you in a while.
A sense of sadness when leaving your
loved one. It is for me, and I am a floor
above her. My heart aches, for this woman
who has been the pillar of my life for so
many years.

The setting Sun,
burnt a hole
in the horizon,
so, I was told.

My mind blew open,
sanity has fled,
if I didn't know better,
I would be brain dead.

Locked in a rut
and to my dismay,
emotions lost,
won't return today.

Southbound on the Interstate,
I am running hard,
if I don't get some sleep
I'll be in the graveyard.

Radio is silent,
all my gas is gone.
Slap, slap of the tires
lyrics to a Song?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 170 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only star currently thought to emit natural LASER light. This featured image brings out details in the unusual nebula that surrounds this rogue star. Diffraction spikes, caused by the telescope, are visible as bright multi-colored streaks emanating from Eta Carinae's center. Two distinct lobes of the Homunculus Nebula encompass the hot central region, while some strange radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the image right. The lobes are filled with lanes of gas and dust which absorb the blue and ultraviolet light emitted near the center. The streaks, however, remain unexplained.

Photo by NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt

A discussion,
concerning my wife.
A need, I was told,
to move her to Hospice.

I shudder to think
about such a move,
she goes further away,
my own true love.

Without aplomb,
or knowing who,
a new life
is awaiting you.

A sad day
it will be,
when you're alone
without she.

Sitting in the courtyard,
among the shrubs and flowers.
It is so pleasant here
I could spend hours and hours.

Have you ever seen a Frog,
do a back flip?
Neither have I, but
let me give you a tip.

Frogs do not like to be
suspended in space,
for if they are they
become green in the face.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered both the Red Planet's moons in 1877. Over 9 kilometers across, Stickney is nearly half the diameter of Phobos itself, so large that the impact that blasted out the crater likely came close to shattering the tiny moon. This enhanced-color image of Stickney and surroundings was recorded by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it passed within some six thousand kilometers of Phobos in March of 2008. Even though the surface gravity of asteroid-like Phobos is less than 1/1000th Earth's gravity, streaks suggest loose material slid down inside the crater walls over time. Light bluish regions near the crater's rim could indicate a relatively freshly exposed surface. The origin of the curious grooves along the surface is mysterious but may be related to tidal stresses experienced by close-orbiting Phobos or the crater-forming impact itself.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

This pretty starfield spans about three full moons (1.5 degrees) across the heroic northern constellation of Perseus. It holds the famous pair of open star clusters, h and Chi Persei. Also cataloged as NGC 869 (top) and NGC 884, both clusters are about 7,000 light-years away and contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun. Separated by only a few hundred light-years, the clusters are both 13 million years young based on the ages of their individual stars, evidence that they were likely a product of the same star-forming region. Always a rewarding sight in binoculars, the Double Cluster is even visible to the unaided eye from dark locations.

Photo by Mårten Frosth