A solar coronal mass ejection (CME) swept past Earth at approximately 21:50 UT (4:50 p.m. EST) on Tuesday, Nov. 26th, and triggered an ongoing geomagnetic storm. When the CME arrived, the interplanetary magnetic field near Earth tilted south--a condition that favors Northern Lights. Sky watchers in northern Europe, Canada and northern US states (where night is falling as the geomagnetic storm intensifies) should therefore be alert for auroras. Visit SpaceWeather.com for more information, photos and updates.
Also check out Duane Clausen's site www.northernexposure.net for great Northern Light photographs.
Barbie's Got a Brand New Blog or Blogging's No Longer Cutting Edge:
Doc and Phillip are reporting that Barbie's got a brand new blog! Jeeze! Now I get to compete with a blonde plastic-headed bimbo who appears to be trying to pick up every man in cyberspace. Lovely.
For years the week between COMDEX and Thanksgiving has always been a slow week for me, and normally we take this week off to get a few things done before the holidays and end of year. However this week the gods of Murphy have had their hands in my time.
Murphy announced his visit when the Santa Ana winds kicked up late Monday night. For those of you not from around here let me give you an idea what they're like. Imagine a 50-60 mph wind of warm air picking up without warning. With the dryness from the fires this summer in the mountains above us, the wind picks up all the dust and garbage, and then proceeds to blow it down into the valley.
In the process over the past couple days the Santa Ana's have blown down power lines everywhere, including the high power lines which normally float over the CA-60 Freeway in Chino, less than 2 miles from us. This did two things: 1. It took out all the power in our area for nearly 20 hours. (I fired up the generator.) and 2. Knocked out all traffic on the 60 Freeway yesterday, pictured above. Just getting to the local Von's was a disaster.
Thankfully I have gas powered lawn tools, a cell phone, a generator to power the fridge and other important things-- all which allowed me to get something done without relying SCE. Thanks Gray Davis, you've made it possible for me to not need your damn high priced power all the time.
