Muddling Along

Muddy River

At the Keswick dam. 10/16/09

Mark dropped by today and we went to the superfund site to see if that was the source of the brown color of the Sacramento river. I took the Vivitar HD video camera, the Sanyo 10 megapixel camera, and the little Olympus digital voice recorder. Mark helped me take plenty of pictures and video.

We learned some new things about the river.

Mark's binoculars.

Spring Creek arm of the Keswick lake. 10/16/09

There are a few hours worth of video, audio, and photographs to edit and make a short, informative movie about the brown river-water after the recent rainstorm. We got a firsthand view, and information from a Fish and Game guy, as well as observations from a cyclist on the path.

This, and other information on the state of the Sacramento river will be useful when Mark goes to the state capital for a meeting about the proposed river recovery plan, next week. I have been helping with the research, and it is a very complicated issue. Mark has a salmon fishing guide service, and is one of those people affected by the fishing ban on the river.

More on this toxic story, after I edit the movie.


The Cone Nebula


Resembling a beast from a nightmare rearing its head from a crimson sea, this celestial object is just a pillar of gas and dust. Called the Cone Nebula (in NGC 2264) because in ground-based images it has a conical shape this monstrous pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region. This picture, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the Cone, a height equal to 23 million round trips to the Moon. The entire pillar is seven light-years long.

See NGC 2264, and more, at ESA

Fresh Beans Anyone?

Medium roasted Columbian beans. 10/16/09

A tip I found at Lifehacker.com;
To check if your beans are fresh, scoop 1/2 cup into a zipper-lock bag and press out all the air, then seal the bag and leave it overnight. If the beans are within seven to 10 days of roasting, they will make the bag puff up from the carbon dioxide that they release. If the bag remains flat, then the beans are not producing gas—a sign they've passed the point of peak freshness. FULL STORY

Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;
Java Jive - The King Sisters


Here And Now