RenoVous

  In May of this year, NASA tracked the most intense solar storm in decades.  The Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded 82 notable solar flares. This video highlights flares classified at M5 or higher, with nine categorized as X-class - the most powerful being an X8.7 flare, recorded May 14. This video shows a solar storm messing with Rover's camera on Mars. While auroras are beautiful, they can signal danger as well.  Scientists have been working to identify when these storms can cause the most devastation, and new research emphasizes the influence of the angle at which an irregularity in the solar wind arrives. Most often we are hit at a substantial enough angle to produce a glancing blow, but more direct hits create the strongest currents (above 20 amps) in long stretches of conducting material.  In this day and age, with our powerlines and pipelines, this can be worrisome. In Mantsala, Finland a gas pipeline received 332 shocks between 1999 and 2023.  The resu...

 We picked up a black Jeep Patriot that we're calling RamJam - Black Betty, Bamalam. We got new tires on, so we've been driving around more than usual. Dinner on the river in Truckee. It's also been nice with the heat to get out and feel the cooler mountain air.

  I sure meant to post this last week, but here we are! I purchased the above for my Kindle, and I am stoked.  Two of my favorite things! "Power.  Courage.  Wisdom.  These three tenets comprise the foundation of Hyrule's lore and history, but they resonate just as strongly in our own society." Between this and finishing last month's Doomed, I read a few more Fitzgerald short stories from Tales of the Jazz Age.   "The Jelly Bean" and "The Camel's Back," then I started "May Day."   What have you been reading??

Apparently this day was started by Chick-Fil-A, and while I don't support them, I do support cows. And yes, I ate beef last night for dinner.... But they're so much more than just food - look at how sweet and happy they are!  They are very social creatures who create tight bonds.  They also play a role in a sustainable environment by preventing the spread of noxious weeds and maintaining the health of grasslands. Supporting small-scale family farms strengthens local economies and ensures cows get the care and respect they deserve. Whenever we pass open range, I always moo to say hello. I met a Highland cow in Alaska named Seamus, and I miss him. BEEF is also something my best friend and I came up with in high school - best ever everly friends!  So I have a cow necklace she made and I made her a cow apron.  :-D Love the cows.

  ArdAzAei Tony Ward Marc Jacobs

 A research program led by the Australian National University has been studying blue whales in the waters off the coast of Timor-Leste in Southeast Asia. This part of the sea is known as a "crustacean hotspot" that many whales regularly pass through.  Deep ocean channels serve as a major migratory highway between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The nearshore waters, particularly in the Ombai-Wetar Straight, provide one of the most accessible locations for blue whale research. For the first time, we have footage of a mother nursing her calf. These waters "really are providing blue whale scientists with some of our first glimpses into the private lives of one of the world's largest but most elusive animals," says Associate Professor Karen Edyvane.  (She is also Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University). This information suggests that the region is not only important for foraging, but is also critical for reproduction and early life. Although stil...

  I forgot that it's a day off today. 🥳