Magazine Posts

Making an omelette  is not difficult. You can do it in a few minutes. and it is a great way to use up leftovers! Click the image below to see Sally Vargas's recipe at Simply Recipes

Someone I worked with
almost every day,
would come in asking of me,
a question or two.
My usual answer,
I would say "I don't remember,
but I'll look on my desk."
This happened many times,
not just a few.
She said to me with a very nice
smile, "I'll call you Al, short for
Alzheimer, if you keep saying
that.
In my defense I would find the
item we discussed, providing
the answer, that was my stead.
A long time ago. Now an old
friend. I'm the old one.
Thank you for your patience
over the years and thank
you for resuming the
friendship.

I write for you.
I write for me,
about the events,
these old eyes see.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The pre-dawn hours of May 3rd were moonless as grains of cosmic dust streaked through southern skies above Reunion Island. Swept up as planet Earth plowed through dusty debris streams left behind periodic Comet 1/P Halley, the annual meteor shower is known as the Eta Aquarids. This inspired exposure captures a bright aquarid meteor flashing left to right over a sea of clouds. The meteor streak points back to the shower's radiant in the constellation Aquarius, well above the eastern horizon and off the top of the frame. Known for speed Eta Aquarid meteors move fast, entering the atmosphere at about 66 kilometers per second, visible at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so. Then about 6 light-minutes from Earth, the pale greenish coma and long tail of Comet C/2020 F8 SWAN were not to be left out of the celestial scene, posing above the volcanic peaks left of center. Now in the northern sky's morning twilight near the eastern horizon Comet SWAN has not become as bright as anticipated though. This first time comet made its closest approach to planet Earth only two days ago and reaches perihelion on May 27.

Photo by Luc Perrot

Difficult times can bring out the best in people—and as the coronavirus spreads across the nation, an epidemic of kindness has followed in its wake. Despite the challenge of social distancing, people are finding creative ways to stand by each other, even while standing apart.

Shortly after the “stay home” order, Kristan McCary of Ajax Café sprang into action. Her Port Hadlock restaurant announced free meals for curbside pickup on social media: “For as long as we are able, the Ajax will be serving no cost meals for those in need.” Soon thereafter, she offered free delivery to the housebound.

Maryland teenagers Matt Casertano and Dhruv Pai organized a grocery delivery service for senior citizens. After volunteering to shop for their own elderly neighbors, they realized they could help on a larger scale. Now seniors in their community can email shopping lists, and a nearby volunteer gets the groceries and leaves them at the front door.

Citizens nationwide have stepped up to feed our frontline healthcare providers. In D.C., Elena Tompkins and Sarah Cannova collect donations to buy meals for delivery to hospital workers, which also helps struggling restaurants. In Bremerton, Ed Van Gil started making large batches of home-cooked meals and personally delivering them to healthcare facilities—and when word of his good deed spread, a group of community volunteers joined in.

Many people also rely on spiritual sustenance, and churches have adapted by holding services inspired by drive-in theatres. The congregation assembles in cars, and the sermon—often delivered from “pulpits” designed for maximum visibility—is broadcast to their radios. In Ohio, Pastor Frank Carl stands 25 feet high in a scissor lift, while in Wisconsin, Pastor John Hanson preaches from atop a dump truck.

As countless celebrations for graduations, weddings, and birthdays have been cancelled, drive-by parades of family and friends have become the new norm. New Jersey native Charles Swody’s 100th birthday was no exception. The World War II veteran and retired local Fire Chief was honored with a festive motorcade through his neighborhood, complete with a fire engine in the lead—and his wife of 78 years at his side.

Such is the generosity and resilience of the human spirit. We’ve learned how to stay close, even from a safe distance. We’ve learned to spread love, not fear. And we’ve learned that no matter how far apart we are, we’re all in this together.

The USS Marsh, DE 699
The ship of mine,
for two years of my service time.

My grandfather worked for the Kittitas County,
Reclamation District. His responsibility was
managing the water flow at the Whipple Creek
Pumping Plant, in Badger Pocket.
There were a series of ditches and canals
carrying water to the farming country, East
of Kittitas.
The Highline Canal, moved water from Lake
Easton through Kittitas County.
My grandfather and grandmother lived in a large
house, near the pumping plant.
My cousins and I would spend many a Summer,
when we were younger; pre teen.
The Highline Canal was up the hill from the
house. There was a spillway that brought
water down to a basin, the water moved via a
short canal to the pumping plant, where it
was pumped up another hill to a ditch that
was East of the pumping plants.
Surplus water would pass through the
pumping plant and was distributed to the flatter
land South.
My cousins and I would fish from the ditch
or swim in the water, below the pumping plant.
Great memories from so long ago.
We would go east of the house and gather
petrified wood. We put that around the flower beds.
I wonder if it is still there?

The Sickness in Our Food Supply

Why We Need Postal Democracy

How To Make Sense of All The COVID-19 Projections? A New Model Combines Them

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

In infrared, Jupiter lights up the night. Recently, astronomers at the Gemini North Observatory in Hawaii, USA, created some of the best infrared photos of Jupiter ever taken from Earth’s surface, pictured. Gemini was able to produce such a clear image using a technique called lucky imaging, by taking many images and combining only the clearest ones that, by chance, were taken when Earth's atmosphere was the most calm. Jupiter’s jack-o’-lantern-like appearance is caused by the planet’s different layers of clouds. Infrared light can pass through clouds better than visible light, allowing us to see deeper, hotter layers of Jupiter's atmosphere, while the thickest clouds appear dark. These pictures, together with ones from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Juno spacecraft, can tell us a lot about weather patterns on Jupiter, like where its massive, planet-sized storms form. Notable APOD Submissions: Flower Moon 2020

He bobs, he weaves, he spins around,
for Teflon Don is election bound.
He says what is needed, no surprise
but can't produce, so he lies.
The lies he says, come from within,
from a man whose purpose is to win.
If this is not OK with you,
in the coming election, please vote Blue.

Many flowers, colorful all,
will disappear before the Fall.

The challenges we have today,
are many and here they'll stay.
It won't get better; not your style,
but you'll soon be gone, in awhile.