A lot of people are super-excited about the coming eclipse. They're buying glasses that will allow them to stare at the sun. Btw...what ever happened to the pinhole in a box idea? I don't trust those glasses they're selling. It's a conspiracy to blind millions of people.
Anyway, what's so exciting about an eclipse? It gets dark most places on earth every night and people don't get too excited about that.
I even read an article about how the eclipse is going to affect solar energy. How would the effect be any different than a cloudy day? Or night time?
People are crazy? I have friends in Texas that tell me there are believed stories of food (and toilet paper) shortages to be caused by this fairly common event. (Happens somewhere on this planet about every 18 months,.)
I'm in San Antonio on business (our annual customer conference) and we have time scheduled off for viewing. My company gave out the "special glasses" to all of our attendees. It's overcast and supposed to get worse. So we already don't see the sun.
I’m having a little sadness that I don’t get to see totality, but I didn’t feel like driving for a day to get to northern Maine and more importantly, dealing with the crowds and traffic.
Watching the coverage on TV now makes me glad I decided not to go- the older I get the less I can stand large gatherings of people. I can’t help but having some anxiety; I really hope nothing bad happens anywhere these crowds are gathering.
If I had gone someplace for totality I would have wanted to be in the woods of Maine, away from people. All the human cheering and screeching is obnoxious. I would want to see it in quiet and hear the changes in the animal sounds around me. I guess I am a full fledged misanthrope.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
Hm, am I the only one here who actually saw the eclipse, the totality of the eclipse, live and in person?
A Total Eclipse of the Sun has been a bucket-list item for me for years, and I've lately been watching that ol' bucket getting nearer and nearer. So my wife and I drove down to southeastern Missouri last weekend, stayed a couple of nights in the tiny Ozark town of Pilot Knob, Missouri * (which was near the edge of the path of totality, but by the time I started planning for the trip, back in January, anything anywhere near any of the "better" locations [e.g., Carbondale IL, Cape Girardeau MO] had accomodations that were either already completely full or completely unaffordable). We spent a couple of days enjoying ourselves, just exploring the tiny twisty backroads, and when we checked out on Monday I started driving east, toward the general direction of Cape Girardeau.
By 12:45—the start of the eclipse—we were driving into the town of Jackson MO, right on the centerline of the totality. So I pulled onto a smaller side road, then onto an unbusy part of what seemed to be a housing development construction site. We got out our eclipse sunglasses, got out of the car, and stared at the sky like idiots for the next two and a half hours every few minutes on and off while the eclipse sloooowwwly approached totality. Looking through the eclipse glasses, it looked just like it was supposed to look. Then totality happened, and since we were almost exactly on the centerline we got to take off the silly glasses and observe the sun's corona for the whole 4 min 9.7 sec. When the first tiny sliver of the sun emerged from behind the moon it seemed suddenly blindingly bright, but of course we were prepared with our trusty plastic glasses in order *NOT* to be Blinded By The Light (not even the Manfred Mann version).
There weren't any birds, frogs, insects, or other animals close enough for us to observe any of their weird behaviour. All 3 parts of the eclipse process looked just like they were supposed to look like, just like we expected it all to look like. Was it worth the trip? Yes, of course: it's always worthwhile taking a long road trip! It was impressive and way cool to finally see one of these things, but I wouldn't call it awe-inspiring or life-changing. I'm glad we did it and glad to throw one more thing into the bucket before I kick it. YMMV.
*MajGenl.Meade justmiiightrecognise that name from way back in September 1864, but everyone else here, including me, has probably never heard of it before. (BTW, we also stayed at the Fort Davidson Hotel too, Gen'l.)
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
— God@The Tweet of God
Glad you enjoyed it; I thought about doing something similar, but couldn't get away (I'll substitute the Northern Lights instead). We had a partial eclipse or a little over 90% and I just sat on my deck watching it without looking at the sun (I didn't have the glasses either). When it was near its peak some clouds rolled in dimming the sunlight more, and you could see the moon over the sun briefly; we also got a lot darker and cooler and it looked lke some birds went to roost in the trees. Seeing the total eclipse would have been nice, but this was pretty cool by itself.
It was a mostly clear sunny day here in South Jersey until the moment the eclipse actually began, at which point, as if on cue, the clouds rolled in to obscure the entire event. We did notice a significant drop in temperature as the Sun was snuffed out though. I'll catch the next one, I guess.
In 20 years I'll be 86, so not inconceivable; I was visiting with my mom during the eclipse on Monday and she's 95. I saw the eclipse in 1970 (not total for me, but over 90% as I recall), so I won't feel deprived if I never see another. I have a cousin who actually travels the world to see total eclipses as they happen; literally plans out his life to see every one.
I'll be a bit older than that if I'm still around. I've seen many people that in great shape in their late 80s, even their 90s, but as you get older the chances of that are reduced--but I can hope, I guess.
Yes, Econo. I recognized it immediately. The Missouri battlefields are on my bucket list. Managed Arkansas a year or so ago and fitted in a visit to the St Louis arsenal and the General Nathaniel Lyon park on the way through MO. Also visited a graveyard there to (successfully) find the almost unfindable grave of Isidor Bush, one of Fremont's aides (and bank president, insurance actuary, viticulturist, newspaper publisher, railroad freight manager, synagogue founder and friend to orphans, general store owner with his brother-in-law, Charles Taussig, delegate to the 1861 Missouri Convention and member of the State Board of Immigration).
Hope to visit Wilson's Creek, Pilot Knob, Sedalia and other Missooo sites before croaking.
And we stepped out of our front door on Monday last to join about 20 neighbors in an Eclipse Feast. Enjoyed the cold, the dark (spoiled a bit by so many automatic lawn lamps turning on), the solar flares, the ring (twice), the flash and all of it.
BSG: Spain huh? Hmmm. It's a thought. After all, we have to be somewhere.
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
BSG: Spain huh? Hmmm. It's a thought. After all, we have to be somewhere.
As it happens, I am looking at re-locating to southern Spain for a year or so sometime in the next few years (why not?) -- probably not in time for the 2026 eclipse but very likely for the one on August 2, 2027 that will put Gibraltar and Tangier in the path of totality, a short drive from my planned city of residence.
Oh, and Meade, your birthplace of Cadiz is nearby as well.
Last edited by Sue U on Wed Apr 10, 2024 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sounds good; where are you thinking of relocating to? Andalusia is a great place with a lot of different seaside towns (and some nice ones inland as well--I really love Ronda. And if you are there is 27, I would suggest taking the high speed ferry to Tangier--a lot more open space than Gibraltar.
I am looking at Malaga. Decent sized city with great weather and plenty of culture (two symphony orchestras!). But if you have other recommendations, I'm all ears. I've never been to Spain. Was planning to visit both Iberia and North Africa after law school, but life got in the way.
Depends what you're looking for; Malaga gives you the city(I can't speak for the symphonies, Marbella the luxury seaside resort, Torremolinos a place where a lot of English is spoken (mostly British ex pats--at least it used to be), but most places along the southern coast are nice. I'd suggest taking a couple of weeks to a month and renting a car and visiting them. Further afield, Cadiz (not too far from Gibraltar) is nice and has more of a city feel) and Seville is great.
Ab it more inland, I'd look at Cordoba and its surroundings, and I would visit Ronda, a great little mountain town. You might also want to look at Grananda (home of the Alhambra and not too far from skiing), and the eastern coast from Valencia south--still on the Mediterranian, but a different feel (the big city there is Alicante, but I have only driven through it. If you don't mind an island, Mallorca is nice, and I have heard good things aout the Canaries. Just a start. There are other nice regions as well.
Interesting coincidence, I was just reading an article last night about an American woman who was killed in Malaga during drug-fueled ‘extreme sex’; her American husband is being charged under Spain’s gender violence laws.
BigRR, thanks for the info! We're looking for a pretty urban lifestyle with a location that allows relatively easy travel to the interior as well as along the Mediterranean coast. The spousal unit speaks Spanish and had taken a year in Barcelona during college, so with that experience I don't think navigating the country will be a problem.
Oh, I'm not planning a permanent move and climate change is going to be an issue no matter where we go. But once the kids are done with college, we'll sell the house and move overseas for a year or so, do some traveling, then come back (maybe!) to settle in Philadelphia. At least, that's the current plan.
