Solar Eclipse Phots 8-21-2017

A week ago Monday, I went for a bike ride at lunch hoping to notice some odd lighting changes related to the scheduled “Once In A Lifetime” solar eclipse.  I do recall seeing some kind of solar eclipse when I was in elementary school in Southern California – we made a viewing device out of cardboard that had a reflecting surface upon which to safely see the eclipse.  I think I had trouble making mine; recall seeing something and looking at the sky; my eyes kept working so I guess I didn’t take a long look at the eclipse.  I took my ancient Pentax Optio WP kayaking camera with me to work and snapped a few pictures during the day.  But on my ride, I noticed nothing out of the norm – too early by at least an hour.

None of my afternoon appointments presented, so I was able to snap a few pictures during the eclipse later.  One of my co-workers gave me her extra pair of bona fide cardboard and plastic solar eclipse glasses.  I was able to see the event pretty clearly, snapped a few phots with the Pentax with poor results, then someone suggested holding one of the eclipse viewer lenses over the camera lens.  That produced better results.

At full eclipse, I took a couple of pictures without the special viewing lens.

Probably the oddest phenomenon I observed during the eclipse, though, besides the early afternoon darkness, was the crescent shadow effect.  Behold the effect of the crescent shadow-inator:

Life

isn’t color-coded.  Those who imagine that the value of human lives or whether human lives matter depends on skin color are: racists; have well-below average cognitive horsepower; make their living by ensuring large numbers of human beings see themselves as primarily their skin color.

Do black lives matter?  Not any more than the lives of members of any other race.  And the extent to which human lives matter is best determined by other human beings on an individual basis.

In the world of work as in the larger society, I tend to value human lives according a rule of three.  I ask whether the individual with whom I have contact is:

1. A person of goodwill;
2. Oriented to reality;
3. Competent or moving toward competence.

Obviously a man or woman can be a person of goodwill and still not be oriented to reality or competent.  A human being can be oriented to reality and be a person of ill-will and an incompetent.  A competent person is usually a person oriented to reality, but that person may lack the quality of goodwill.  An individual who meets all three of my criteria, or Christov10’s Big Three, is not often found in media, in politics, in government middle management positions, or really occupying positions prestige in most realms of human endeavor.

I’m reminded again of C.S. Lewis’ address, The Inner Ring.  I’ve either linked to it previously or mentioned it in this space.  I first ran across when working for a largely unknown and strictly small-time (by the standards of modern bureaucracy) state government agency.  It was while so employed that I also developed my Rule of Three, which appears as a numbered list, above.  No imagination should be required to understand why it was that I turned my mind to matters of this sort during that period of my life.  By the way, it was at that time that I first read Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.

Keep your speech free, people of the left, the right, and center.  Resist anyone who tries to silence you and to diminish your ability to think for yourself and experience your own circumstances according to your own perspective and within your own values.  None of that is infallible, but to what extent a genuine manifestation of your real self, to that extent meaningful and of value.

Dos centavos, people, dos centavos.

 

Thinking About Another Kayak Part 3

Although in anything but a hurry, I’ve spoken with the owner of another Seavivor for sale.  This kayak’s in need of a repair and I have not yet seen photos.  I was able to get some longerons made for the Pionier I owned a few years back, and successfully dealt with tears on my Pouch solo’s deck closure arrangement.

Thinking About Another Kayak Part 2

I was able Monday at lunch to speak with the Seavivor’s owner by telephone.  He’d already sent photographs by email.  The kayak’s beautiful, but at present I cannot justify spending what the Seavivor’s doubtless worth.  Still, it was certainly worthwhile to meet, however briefly and by telephone, another folding kayaker.

Back at my desk, I found myself effortlessly and efficiently going about my work-related tasks – paperwork associated with a long, structured interview conducted during the morning hours.  In that work, I experienced a sense of inner peace which came as a surprise when I noticed it.  Contentment for the time being and living reasonably, well within my means.

Thinking About Another Kayak

I’m thinking about getting another kayak. This, the holy grail of American made kayaks, a Seavivor Greenland Solo.  I’m very interested.  The kayak’s long at 17’4″, and reputedly fast.  It has no sponsons which, I think, is a bonus in terms of skin fit, weight, handling.  The Seavivor’s located a long way off, which is logistically maybe  a problem.  Also, it’ll be heavy compared to my Folbot Aleut, but I may still be strong enough to manage its weight.  Anyhow, I want to go far and go fast on the water.

A few things I’ve learned about myself and folding kayaks are:  I like to keep them put-together most of the time; my driveway and yard are lousy environments for storing a folding kayak assembled; I tend to dislike assembling at the put-in even when that makes better logistical and kayak-care sense.

My experience with the RZ96 has informed me that the squirrels in my neighborhood pose a hazard to any stationary thing softer than their teeth.  My experience with 450s has informed me, to my shame, that even covered, in the yard moisture will wreck wood parts.

The two kayaks I currently own are safely stored disassembled in their bags.  I have room for a third.  I DARE the local squirrels to take their teeth to my aluminum canoe, which does stay out in the yard.

Fredonia’s Not Klopstokia…

…but I rode out there anyway, last Saturday morning.

Fredonia, or Freedonia – I don’t recall which, is a fictional European country that borders on another fictional country, Sylvania, in an old Marx Brothers film.  The Marx brothers were, along with Charlie Chaplin, a sort of Alan Alda and/or Jerry Seinfeld of the black and white era of comedic film.  Self-important, sometimes funny, very well paid, and so forth.

When it comes to fictional European countries, I prefer Klopstokia every time.

Here are some photos from my Fredonian ride – an easy 21 mile loop from Pixley, in Pot County, Tennessee, where I took my car to get new tires early Saturday morning, through the Fredonian countryside.

Saturday 5 August 2017 was the most beautiful August day I can remember in about 20 years living in Tennessee.  Warm but not hot.

I returned to the modern world riding across Interstate 24 and then on in to town, loaded my bike back up on the station wagon’s bike rack and drove home on new tires.

Barren Fork River Float, McMinnville, Tenn.

Last Sunday, my son and I skipped church and floated the Barren Fork River through McMinnville in Warren County.  We put in at Smooth Rapids (who shuttled us back for about $11.00) and took out at a concrete ramp in the VFW parking lot – a downstream journey of about six miles.  Another father and son team paddled with us; the kids threw rocks in the water, talked, went for a swim, shared snacks.  After we got back to the outfitters and put the canoe back on the Cross Country, we had a pretty good lunch at the restaurant the outfitter operates overlooking the riverside launch point.  Here are some pictures – I’ll add a few more later as I noticed none of those I’ve posted below are particularly good representations of the river as seen while paddling downstream.

We saw at least three guys paddling sit-on-top purpose designed fishing kayaks not too far downstream from Smooth Rapids put in, and tried to keep our noise to a minimum until we got past.  Much later on, we saw three or four guys in what looked like an Oregon drift-boat (only with an outboard motor) – they were also fishing.

We saw numerous turtles along our route sunning themselves on logs.

Some rocky cliff faces with undercuts, as above, in many places to our left as we paddled downstream.

A lot of this kind of water grass we saw during the entirety of our trip downstream.

Got out of the canoes here so the kids could swim and throw rocks into the water. It was here that we picked up a number of rocks, and piled them in the boats so the boys could throw them when we continued.  Easy fun, and I was happy to note they didn’t throw them at each other.

Here’s where the Collins River meets the Barren Fork River.  On the map, the stream’s marked Collins River past this point.

This point is not too far from the VFW parking lot take out.