Skating Rink

It is like a skating rink around here.

A mid-winter thaw followed by a cold snap has left the trail system ice-covered and slippery.

Sure could use a pair of crampons for getting around.

It got up to a perfectly tropical twenty degrees yesterday.

Wolf Moon

The first full moon of 2010 rose last night and it was the largest full moon of the year.

According to Native American tradition January's full moon is also known as a wolf moon. There are wolves around here but I sure didn't hear any howling last night.

Good thing too.

This year's wolf moon was 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon as it was actually closer to the earth than usual.

The moon is at its perigee - the closest it will get to the earth - a distance of 221,577 miles (356,593 kilometers).

Apogee is when the moon is at its farthest from the earth. Perigee and apogee generally occur in every month - but the moon's wobbly egg-shaped orbit means that the precise distance at each of these events varies throughout the year. The moon's phase can also be different during each perigee and apogee event.

According to astronomer Marc Jobin at the Montreal Planetarium - This month has the largest full moon of 2010 because it coincides with the special moment when the full moon happens to occur on the same day as it is at perigee.

Coincidentally - Mars is directly opposite to the sun in the sky. As the sun sets in the southwest Mars rises in the northeast.

When Mars is in opposition to the sun it is also at its closest to the earth. On January 27 Mars swung by at just 61 million miles (98 million kilometers).

Look for it in the night sky - a bright orange planet next to the wolf moon.

Mystic Blues

I saw Harry Manx for the first time last summer when he opened for Richie Havens at the Peg Egan Performing Arts Center in Ephraim.

This dude is one interesting artist - mixing western and Indian music with the blues.

A virtual one man band - he's a virtuoso with the harmonica, banjo, stomp box, lap steel and the mohan veena (a custom-built twenty string combo sitar/guitar).

He also tells some pretty funny jokes.

This talented Canadian was back to the peninsula to perform in the continuing "Art of Music" winter concert series last night at the Ladder House in Sturgeon Bay.

Catch one of his performances when you can.

Tell him Gas sent you...

Happy 40th Birthday

The Boeing 747 airliner celebrated its 40th anniversary of service this year.

The 747 is an airline staple that revolutionized air travel and ushered in many of conveniences that we take for granted today.

The development of this mammoth plane was anything but convenient. More than 75,000 engineering drawings were used to produce the first version of the 747. The plane also endured nearly two years of wind tunnel testing. The result is an airliner that can carry 63,500 gallons of fuel with wings that each weigh 95,000 pounds.

To put this plane into perspective, the Wright Brothers' first flight could have been performed entirely within the economy section of a 747-400.

Read more amazing facts about the 747 from the Boeing web site.

Slow Learner?

Only a dumb person would install Windows Vista on their PC.

Need I say more?

Having a Bad Day?

Just in case you think you are having a bad day - remember that there is always someone else who is having a worse one.

Have a nice day.

Put Down the Submarine and Raise Your Hands Slowly

A federal judge in Minnesota today ordered Trevor G. Cook jailed for failing to surrender more than $35 million in assets.

Specifically, the judge in the case wants Mr. Cook, a self-styled money manager charged in an alleged $190 million foreign currency trading scheme, to surrender $27 million located in offshore accounts, a BMW and two Lexus automobiles, a submarine, a houseboat, a collection of expensive watches, a collection of Fabergé eggs, Bon Jovi concert tickets and $670,000 in cash.

Yes.

A submarine.