Public Posts Seattle, WA Seattle, WA (zoom)

A Grouse,
an Old Speckled Hen,
were drinks of choice
way back when.
We would go have
a drink at the
local watering hole.
The Grouse was Famous,
a nice, blended Scotch.
The Hen was English
beer. A nice tasting brew.
We would watch
soccer matches, having a few.

A lone, single hand
was resting at four.
A minute hand working;
doing it's chore.
The hour hand was missing,
unable to find it's place
in the correct position,
on the clock face.
What time is it?
someone would yell,
it is 20 minutes after something
is all I can tell.

When I grow old,
getting in the way,
please treat me kindly,
keeping embarrassment at bay.
I may be quite slow,
but dumb I am not.
Having more knowledge
than you, but I just forgot.

Drink = I did imbibe.
Drank = I imbibed more.
Drunk = I'm on the floor.

When was the day,
where was the fear?
Was victory close,
to being here?
I don't know, but found,
my mind has gone,
short to ground.
Talk not to me about Apps,
when my brain is functioning
with an intermittent synapse.

Voltaire - (1694-1778)  François-Marie Arouet, known by his nom de plume Voltaire. was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state. He was one of the greatest of all French writers.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What's that unusual spot on the Moon? It's the International Space Station. Using precise timing, the Earth-orbiting space platform was photographed in front of a partially lit gibbous Moon last month. The featured composite, taken from Payson, Arizona, USA last month, was intricately composed by combining, in part, many 1/2000-second images from a video of the ISS crossing the Moon. A close inspection of this unusually crisp ISS silhouette will reveal the outlines of numerous solar panels and trusses. The bright crater Tycho is visible on the upper left, as well as comparatively rough, light colored terrain known as highlands, and relatively smooth, dark colored areas known as maria. On-line tools can tell you when the International Space Station will be visible from your area.

Photo by Andrew McCarthy

"By one estimate, the average American had data stolen at least four times in 2019. And the hits keep coming. For instance, a data breach at the wireless carrier T-Mobile reported in August 2021 affected 100 million people." Read more

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Yesterday there was a total solar eclipse visible only at the end of the Earth. To capture the unusual phenomenon, airplanes took flight below the clouded seascape of Southern Ocean. The featured image shows one relatively spectacular capture where the bright spot is the outer corona of the Sun and the eclipsing Moon is seen as the dark spot in the center. A wing and engine of the airplane are visible across the left and bottom of the image, while another airplane observing the eclipse is visible on the far left. The dark area of the sky surrounding the eclipsed Sun is called a shadow cone. It is dark because you are looking down a long corridor of air shadowed by the Moon. A careful inspection of the eclipsed Sun will reveal the planet Mercury just to the right. The next total solar eclipse shadow will cross parts of Australia and Indonesia in April of 2023, while the one after that will cross North America in April of 2024. Notable Eclipse Submissions to APOD: Total Solar Eclipse of 2021 December

Photo by Petr HorálekESOPhoto AmbassadorInst. of Physics in Opava

Wayward the wind,
leeward the sea.
I cross the broad ocean,
searching for thee.

Visiting all the islands,
the smallest of isle,
searching them all
for you to beguile.

Over the land masses,
after a great while,
hoping for a glimpse
of your bright smile.

Now here I am,
many years, gone bye,
my search for you, love
with a wandering eye.

"Plastic waste of all shapes and sizes permeates the world’s oceans. It shows up on beaches, in fish and even in Arctic sea ice. And a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine makes clear that the U.S. is a big part of the problem"..."On a per capita basis, the U.S. produces an order of magnitude more plastic waste than China" Read more

It's a quarter past 4,
what should I do?
Get up now?
Go enter some words?
Write from the heart,
avoid being absurd.
Talk about the past
and your love of life.
For all the stories,
stuck in your head,
unless they're in writing,
so they can be read.