Magazine Posts

Rings in the Roses,
circles of light,
red is the color
of buds in the night.

Where did it go?
When did it stray,
Away from civility
And a loving Community?

Is the story true?
I'd like to know,
Is there really gold
at the end of the Rainbow?

An olde fable, I do suppose,
so many of those, we've been told.
Providing incentives to look
for the missing Pot of Gold.

Believe not all stories,
which you may find bold.
Hard work with others,
you'll find your gold.

A Western exposure,
a setting Sun,
reflections off our windows,
bringing warmth to someone.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Laser guide stars and adaptive optics sharpened this stunning ground-based image of stellar jets from the Gemini South Observatory, Chilean Andes, planet Earth. These twin outflows of MHO 2147 are from a young star in formation. It lies toward the central Milky Way and the boundary of the constellations Sagittarius and Ophiuchus at an estimated distance of some 10,000 light-years. At center, the star itself is obscured by a dense region of cold dust. But the infrared image still traces the sinuous jets across a frame that would span about 5 light-years at the system's estimated distance. Driven outward by the young rotating star, the apparent wandering direction of the jets is likely due to precession. Part of a multiple star system, the young star's rotational axis would slowly precess or wobble like a top under the gravitation influence of its nearby companions.

(Sadly, the following story is completely true.) As I age, I routinely am reminded that my body – and my brain – are slowing declining. I will never again grace the cover of People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive issue, and I’m pretty, were I to have my IQ re-evaluated, it would no longer be anywhere near 250........Read more

"....the town with no traffic lights collected $487 in fines and forfeitures in 2020 for every man, woman and child, though many of those fined were merely passing by on I-22."
"Total town income more than doubled from 2018 to 2020 – from $582,000 to more than $1.2 million – as fines and forfeitures rose 640%." ...Read more

My body aches,
shoulders and back.
Is it a disk problem
or my sacroiliac?

A hot shower helps,
as does CPD Creme,
which is a must,
for my aching hands,
both have arthritis.

"It's hell to get old"
I've heard many say,
but look at the alternative,
than have a good day.

A bend in your elbow,
a bend in the river,
a bending of the rule,
nothing like this,
for a doddering old fool.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Hot, young stars and cosmic pillars of gas and dust seem to crowd into NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation Cepheus, the glowing star forming region lies about 3,000 light-years away. Within the nebula, bright edges and dark shapes stand out in this colorful telescopic skyscape. The image includes data from narrowband filters, mapping emission from atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur into blue, green, and red hues. The emission line and color combination has become well-known as the Hubble palette. The atomic emission is powered by energetic radiation from the central hot stars. Their powerful winds and radiation sculpt and erode the denser pillar shapes and clear out a characteristic cavity light-years across the center of the natal cloud. Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cutoff from their reservoir of star stuff. This field of view spans about 40 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 7822.

Photo by Mark Carter

Cheese-filled tortellini covered in a heavenly bacon alfredo sauce, Enjoy! Click to read the recipe

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The most distant object easily visible to the unaided eye is M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy. Even at some two and a half million light-years distant, this immense spiral galaxy -- spanning over 200,000 light years -- is visible, although as a faint, nebulous cloud in the constellation Andromeda. In contrast, a bright yellow nucleus, dark winding dust lanes, and expansive spiral arms dotted with blue star clusters and red nebulae, are recorded in this stunning telescopic image which combines data from orbiting Hubble with ground-based images from Subaru and Mayall. In only about 5 billion years, the Andromeda galaxy may be even easier to see -- as it will likely span the entire night sky -- just before it merges with our Milky Way Galaxy.

Photo by R. GendlerR. Croman