Plowed, blown and shoveled out.
Officially, 8” on Friday, another 5” yesterday and 3" overnight.
I’m calling it snowshoe depth.
My dog is insane about snow……
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Schneehund
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Don't Look Up
On this day in history thirteen years ago a meteor entered the atmosphere above Chelyabinsk Oblast in the southern Ural region of Russia. It exploded with the force estimated to be more than thirty times that of the nuclear device used on Hiroshima.
Likely originating from the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter it was estimated to be approximately 60 feet in diameter and 9100 tons. Its approach to earth was a shallow trajectory with an estimated speed of 43,000 miles per hour. The blinding light was visible up to 60 miles distant and exploded in an air burst at an altitude of about 18 miles (97,000 feet). Remarkably, nobody saw it coming as its radiant (direction of approach) was from the sun.
Even more remarkable, there were no deaths; although, almost 1,500 individuals sought medical treatment for injuries mostly from indirect injuries (broken glass) as a consequence of the shock waves from the blast. 7,200 buildings in six cities across the region were damaged.
In the aftermath of the air burst a significant number of small meteorites fell in areas west of Chelyabinsk; described as gravel falling from the sky. In 2013 Russian scientists identified a two foot sized chunk buried in the muddy bottom of Lake Chebarkul. It was recovered, broke the scales used to weigh it and split into three pieces.
This meteor event is the largest known object to have entered the atmosphere since the Tunguska event in 1908 which destroyed a large forested area in a remote part of Siberia.
Word Of The Day
I taught eighth-grade language arts (English) in an earlier life so I can totally relate to this.
Word of the day....
Friday, February 14, 2025
Patron Saint
In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith Valentine is the Patron Saint of betrothed couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, fainting, epilepsy, plague, travelers, and young people. His feast day is today.
As a consequence of so little being known
about the man the Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar
in 1969. Nonetheless, he persists as a
recognized saint.
One of many
stories about Val is that he was imprisoned for committing the most heinous of
crimes - marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Emperor
Claudius of Rome. Angered to the point
of rage Claudius commanded Valentine to renounce his faith or be beaten with
clubs and beheaded. Refusing the emperor
- Valentine was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.
In case you’re wondering if Valentine was a real
person - archaeological excavations have unearthed
a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to him. In 496 Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as
a celebration honoring his martyrdom.
Today his relics can be found throughout the world – including his skull
at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome.
Happy Valentines Day
Friday Music
This bluegrass instrumental was composed in the common breakdown format by Earl Scruggs. It was recorded and released by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs along with the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1949.
In 1968, the 1949 version recorded by Mercury Records along with a new version recorded by Columbia Records were simultaneously listed at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. In 1969 Flatt and Scruggs were awarded a Grammy for Best Country Performance, Duo or Group and were subsequently inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2002, Scruggs won an additional Grammy for a 2001 performance featuring Steve Martin on second banjo, Albert Lee, Vince Gill, Randy Scruggs on guitars, Marty Stuart on mandolin, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Leon Russell on organ, Gary Scruggs on harmonica and Paul Shaffer on piano. Wow!
In 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
The number of times it has been covered or used as background music is too many to tally.
Foggy Mountain Breakdown....
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Begging The Obvious
How Many Federal Worker Resignations Would Be a Lot?
Seventy-five thousand have submitted resignations as part of Elon Musk’s “fork in the road” offer.
But 150,000 voluntarily leave every year anyway.
Feel free to parse the data here.
EDIT To Add:
A federal judge in Massachusetts allowed the Trump administration's bid to offer "deferred resignations" to federal workers who voluntarily leave government service to continue and lifted a previous court order pausing the program's deadline.
Shortly after the ruling, Office of Personnel Management spokesperson McLaurine Pinover said in a statement that the office was "pleased" with the court's decision and that the deferred resignation program was closed as of 7 p.m. Wednesday. Roughly 75,000 federal workers have accepted the offer to leave their government positions, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The White House had expected as many as 200,000 workers to accept the offer.
February Night Sky
Venus is the Roman Goddess of Love and among other things is associated with beauty, desire and fertility. In ancient Greece she was the Goddess called Aphrodite.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and what I know for sure is that normally bright Venus will attain her highest state of brilliance tomorrow evening. Over the next several weeks our bright planet will fall closer to the western horizon losing more it its brilliance all along. By the time March rolls-around Venus will disappear from view to emerge in the morning sky in April.
Happy Valentine's Day.....
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