Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

October 2014

Office Upgrade II

New Chairs and Mats

I spent a couple of hours putting the new office chairs together today and they are quite nice. Our old office chairs were almost 13 years old and had seen better days, although the gas piston air cushions were still functional. The surfaces were worn and the padding was pretty flat (Damsel used a patio chair cushion on hers to soften it up).

The finished products above are (left) my new chair on a new roll around pad and Damsel’s new chair and pad. Click on the image to enlarge.

We use these chairs not only to work at the computers, but sit in them to watch movies on the DVD/TV in the office. We’re looking forward to this evening’s movie in the new chairs. I wonder if we wll be able to stay awake with all the comfort . . . 😉

31 Oct 2014 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Office Upgrade

New ChairWhen we moved to Arizona, we brought only a few items of furniture from the California house. Damsel had designs on furnishing the new house with all new items. That was true for the bedroom-turned-office as well. We bought two new desks and a short filing cabinet for computers and peripherals storage. However, we did not buy new office chairs; the old ones were brought for that purpose.

Now, the original office furniture for the old house had been there for a while. I checked our financial records and found that the office furniture – including the chairs – had been purchased in December of 2001. That’s just under thirteen years ago – time to get some new chairs. Damsel and I both went down to the (greater Phoenix Area) West Valley today and purchased two new chairs similar to the one shown in the graphic.

We also bought two chair pads that sit on the floor in front of the desks for the chairs to roll around on. We had been using area carpets for this, but the plastic pads seemed to be more durable and easier to clean and maintain.

This minor office upgrade is just the beginning. Damsel and I have decided to redecorate the great room and dining area with all new furnishings. The old tables, table lamps and sofas will be donated to charity (as will be the old office chairs) and replaced with new items in the near future.

30 Oct 2014 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Adios AR 2192 (For Now)

AR 2192

I went out to the courtyard to photograph the last image of the great sunspot of 2014, AR 2192 before it rotates out of Earth view. According to the article below, there is a possibility of the spot to return to the Earth-facing side of the solar disk in a couple of weeks. Click on the image to enlarge.

From SpaceWeather.com:

SUPER-SUNSPOT PREPARES TO DEPART: The biggest sunspot in nearly 25 years is about to leave the solar disk.

. . .

As AR2192 approaches the sun’s horizon, it is no longer facing Earth. However, the odds of an Earth-directed radiation storm are higher than ever. The reason is, the western limb of the sun is well-connected to Earth. Solar magnetic fields springing out of that region spiral back to our planet. If a sunspot passing through the area explodes, those spiralling magnetic fields can funnel energetic particles in our direction.

In only a few days, the behemoth sunspot will begin a 2-week transit of the far side of the sun, carried around by the sun’s 27-day rotation. However, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of this magnificent active region. Big sunspots typically persist for two or three solar rotations before they decay. After it leaves, AR2192 will return in November.

28 Oct 2014 by Astronomy Photography Science

Sunset Colors

Sunset Colors

This sunset image was in the file from a week ago. We get a lot of nice, colorful sunsets like this year around. Luckily, we didn’t have a dense cloud cover for yesterday’s eclipse.

The weekend forecast is for more clear skies and we will be looking the International Space Station tomorrow evening. At our location, the ISS will pass over just before seven PM AZ time. I might try and photograph the passing, but no guarantees. 😉

Click on the image to enlarge.

24 Oct 2014 by Arizona Environment Photography

Partial Solar Eclipse

Partial Eclipse Panel

Damsel and I watched periodically as the new moon partially obscured the sun today. The eclipse stats for Phoenix (according to NASA) are as follows (Times MST):

  • Eclipse begins: 14:21
  • Maximum eclipse: 15:38
  • Eclipse ends: 16:45
  • Sun altitude: 24°
  • Sun azimuth: 236°
  • Magnitude: 0.449
  • Obscuration: 0.331

The three-image panel above shows the lunar disc (left to right) just appearing, near maximum obscuration and just disappearing. I used the same setup today as I did for the 2012 annular eclipse and transit of Venus. Click on the image to enlarge.

The terms “magnitude” and “obscuration” above (I infer) refer to the percentage of penetration of the lunar shadow across the solar disc and the percentage of of the total solar area blocked by the moon. Those numbers (more or less) can be seen in the middle image above near max eclipse. I assume that the azimuth and altitude (elevation above horizon) are for maximum eclipse time.

We were blessed with beautiful, clear skies during the event and enjoyed yet another one of God’s wonders from our desert home. We’re still planning to be in a position to see the August, 2017 total solar eclipse event.

23 Oct 2014 by Astronomy Photography

Now THAT’s a Sunspot!

Sunspot 2192

We are going to have a partial solar eclipse tomorrow afternoon. I went out this morning to take some practice shots of the sun and it just so happens that major sunspot AR 2192 is transiting the nearside of the solar disc. There are several other smaller sunspots visible. Click on the image to enlarge.

As for the eclipse, there are some details about it on NASA.

And more about this giant sunspot at SpaceWeather.com:

Earth-effects could increase in the days ahead. AR2192 has an unstable ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful explosions, and the active region is turning toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate at 65% chance of M-class flares and a 20% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.

Watch for some of our eclipse photos here after the event.

UPDATE: Sunspot 2192 has moved to the right and is in a position almost directly facing the Earth. Click here to view photo taken 23 Oct 14.

22 Oct 2014 by Astronomy Photography Science

Wickenburg Weekend Bike Invasions

Bikers in Town

We don’t normally go out on the weekends, but today we had occasion to drive to the post office and then to deposit a check that came in the mail at the bank. We also did some shopping while we were in that end of town (Old Wickenburg).

As we drove through the old section, we noticed a lot of two-wheelers parked at the cafes downtown. We hear the bikes on the weekends from home, but rarely get to see some of the nice motorcycles in person. This bunch of bikers were enjoying some of the great Mexican food available at the only Mexican restaurant in old downtown. Click on the image to enlarge.

18 Oct 2014 by Arizona Food & Dining Photography Something Shiny Wanderlust

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