Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

George – the Sixth Naked-Eye Planet

If you’re up early on April 17 through 19th and skies where you live are clear, don’t miss this opportunity to see “George,” the sixth naked-eye planet!

From NASA:

NASA – Venus Meets a Planet Named George

April 11, 2006: Ancient people didn’t have TV or electric lights. So, when the sun went down every night, they got their entertainment by watching the sky. And it was entertaining. Without city lights to interfere, the Milky Way was spectacular. Meteors flitted across the sky. Zodiacal lights chased the sunset.

Right: Voyager 2 took this picture of Uranus in 1986.

Of special interest were the five naked-eye planets, the ones you could see without a telescope. (The ancients didn’t have telescopes, either.) Countless hours were spent watching Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, whose movements were thought to control the affairs of men.
Would you believe, in spite of all that watching, they missed one? There is a sixth planet you can see without a telescope, a planet named George.

“George” is not as bright as the others, but it is there, glowing like an aqua-blue star of 6th magnitude. It measures four times wider than Earth, has more than 30 moons and a dozen or so thin rings. George goes around the sun every 84 years, always spinning on its side as if something knocked it over.

George is better known as Uranus.

[ . . . ]

On April 17th, 18th and 19th, Venus and Uranus are going to have a close encounter in the dawn sky. Simply look east before sunrise. As a guidepost, Venus can’t be beat. It is so bright, people often think it’s a landing airplane. Simply scan Venus with a pair of binoculars (or a small telescope) and you’ll see Uranus right beside it. If the sky is very dark, you may be able to lift your eyes from the optics and see Uranus directly.

[read more]

12 Apr 2006 by Astronomy

Global Warming takes a Break

More and more evidence surfaces about the true nature of global warming. Real scientists looking at the hard evidence of the phenomenon, realize that claims of man-made greenhouse gasses causing warming are false.

Right: Current SOHO Sunspot Image.

Professor Bob Carter, a geologist at James Cook University, Queensland, who is engaged in paleoclimate research, wrote this excellent article addressing the “Man-made global warming” myth:

There IS a problem with global warming… it stopped in 1998

For many years now, human-caused climate change has been viewed as a large and urgent problem. In truth, however, the biggest part of the problem is neither environmental nor scientific, but a self-created political fiasco. Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero).
Yes, you did read that right. And also, yes, this eight-year period of temperature stasis did coincide with society’s continued power station and SUV-inspired pumping of yet more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

[read more]

11 Apr 2006 by Environment Global Warming Whacko Politics

Taxifornia

Meathead, and other California Democrats, think that it’s OK to levy additional taxes on hard-working-but-financially-viable Californians. This table gives insight into why raising taxes is a bad idea. In the US Census table below, notice that while California has the largest tax base in the country (and nearly twice that of second-place New York), the tax-per-individual Californian is only in ninth place. It should be obvious that not all 37 million Californians pay the amount shown; the higher-income folks carry a disproportionately large burden, while many in the state (and ALL illegal immigrants) pay no income tax at all. Those of us who earn decent wages suffer the highest tax burden in America.

I am sick-to-death of the freaking “Robin Hood” mentality of stealing wealth from those who earn it and giving it to those who don’t.

11 Apr 2006 by California Money and Business Whacko Politics

Front Line Forum

Michael Yon has inaugurated a new feature on his weblog to enhance coverage of the War on Terror – FRONT LINE FORUM.

Greetings,

Today we open a new frontier. My site gets much traffic and exposure, making this an excellent venue for our people in harm’s way to tell their stories. Please click here http://flf.michaelyon-online.com/ for our first story from a soldier in Iraq. The story is well written and complete with photos.

If you know someone at war who would like to submit a story to FLF, many people are waiting to read it. Photographs are encouraged.

Please spread the word about the Frontline Forum–there are graphic links and related resources in the Press Room off the FLF main page.

Respectfully,

Michael Yon

(Clarification: Many people have assumed I am in Iraq. I am in Afghanistan. My first dispatch from Afghanistan will be published in about two days.)

Michael Yon

UPDATE: The first article in the new forum is a hit! A home run actually! Blogger TF Boggs submitted an excellent story about some Iraqi kids and families.

10 Apr 2006 by Blogosphere Islamic Terrorism Military Patriotism

California Poppies

Our poppies are showing up late this year, perhaps because of the late peaking of the rainy season here. I snapped this picture of a pair of our state flowers in the garden this weekend. Later this month, we’re planning a trip out to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve to enjoy a walk among the fields of poppies and other plant and wildlife.

Wikipedia has more information on these flowers:

California Poppy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is native to grassy and open areas from sea level to 2,000m (6,500 feet) altitude in the western United States throughout California, extending to Oregon, southern Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and in Mexico in Sonora and northwest Baja California.

It can grow 5-60 cm tall, with alternately branching glaucous blue-green foliage. The leaves are ternately divided into round, lobed segments. The flowers are solitary on long stems, silky-textured, with four petals, each petal 2-6 cm long and broad; their color ranges from yellow to orange, and flowering is from February to September. The fruit is a slender dehiscent capsule 3-9 cm long, which splits in two to release the numerous small black or dark brown seeds. It is perennial in mild parts of its native range, and annual in colder climates; growth is best in full sun and sandy, well-drained, poor soil.

It grows well in disturbed areas and often recolonizes after fires. In addition to being planted for horticulture, revegetation, and highway beautification, it often colonizes along roadsides and other disturbed areas. It is drought-tolerant, self-seeding, and easy to grow in gardens.

09 Apr 2006 by California Home & Garden Photography

A Bathtub Analogy to Illegal Immigration

Here’s some fluid advice from California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R):

Republican congressman offers immigration solution

By Dana Rohrabacher

If a bathtub is overflowing and water is spilling onto the floor, the first thing most rational people would do is turn off the faucet, remove the tub stopper and let the water drain. Then the cleanup would begin. If only the federal government was as rational.

Unfortunately, there are many in Congress who would mop up the floor before turning off the faucet and draining the tub. Instead of turning off the massive flow of illegal aliens in our country and demonstrating that the government can keep that flow at a very low trickle, Congress is proposing to legalize the millions of illegal aliens in the country first. This strategy has not worked in the past and it will not work for our country now.

There is only one way to stop this unfettered flow of illegal immigrants: cut off the jobs and benefits that attract them to America. The federal government must demand that businesses verify the legal status of their employees and administer heavy fines to those who violate the law and hire illegal aliens.

[read more]


Rohrabacher used to be our congressman before the Democrats in California Gerrymandered my Republican ass into Jane Harman’s District. We had actual rational representation up until then. Now, we have a congressperson who prioritizes Rowe v. Wade above National Security and Immigration Enforcement.

08 Apr 2006 by California Law and Order

Three Years In Iraq

Critics of Operation Iraqi Freedom often allege that little or no progress has been made since the invasion. The Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Donald Rumsfeld, has written an excellent article about our progress and addresses critics’ allegations.

From CENTCOM:

What We’ve Gained In Three Years In Iraq

By Donald H. Rumsfeld

Some have described the situation in Iraq as a tightening noose, noting that “time is not on our side” and that “morale is down.” Others have described a “very dangerous” turn of events and are “extremely concerned.”

Photo by Capt. Joe Vanty, 138th MPAD, US Army Reserve – Young children watch as U.S. Soldiers from Alaska’s 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team pass by.

Who are they that have expressed these concerns? In fact, these are the exact words of terrorists discussing Iraq — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his associates — who are describing their own situation and must be watching with fear the progress that Iraq has made over the past three years.

The terrorists seem to recognize that they are losing in Iraq. I believe that history will show that to be the case.

Fortunately, history is not made up of daily headlines, blogs on Web sites or the latest sensational attack. History is a bigger picture, and it takes some time and perspective to measure accurately.

Consider that in three years Iraq has gone from enduring a brutal dictatorship to electing a provisional government to ratifying a new constitution written by Iraqis to electing a permanent government last December. In each of these elections, the number of voters participating has increased significantly — from 8.5 million in the January 2005 election to nearly 12 million in the December election — in defiance of terrorists’ threats and attacks.

[read more]

07 Apr 2006 by International Islamic Terrorism Military

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