Northern Lights

 I can't believe I never blogged about this and it's been eight months.

I've always wanted to see the aurora borealis (also known as the northern lights). And I thought to do so I'd have to go to Alaska (most likely) or at least somewhere far north of where I live.

On May 10, 2024, there was a solar storm and the borealis was visible where I live! It was overhead. I was amazed. Here are some pictures I took that night:

The camera on my iPhone showed a lot more color than my eyes did.

The interesting thing is, now I don't care. I've seen the northern lights and when they say they will be visible again, I don't want to put in the effort to see them. For example, on October 10th, the borealis was visible as far south as Texas. I didn't bother to go see them. (There's sure been a lot of solar activity lately.)

There's a man who lives in the same town I do, and he goes out and photographs the northern lights all the time. I see his pictures on Facebook. And that is, now, good enough for me.

Have you seen the northern lights? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below.

Red Mist and Marbles

In the past (not recently, however), I have driven on a race track. 

In racing circles (and perhaps other groups) there is a term called "red mist."

Red mist is when you get angry or frustrated and make bad decisions because of it.  This doesn't only happen on race tracks. It can happen in all sorts of situations. A lot of them involve driving. It's not road rage, just more frustration. 

For example, I was behind a guy at a stoplight. The light turned green. The car in front of him turned right. Interminable seconds later he put on his right turn signal and slowly turned the corner. And I got frustrated and nearly floored the gas in my car (I was trying to make the tires squeal but with all wheel drive that's nearly impossible) and went across the intersection. Red mist.

Another racing term is "marbles." Once you get off the racing line (the path around the track that is fastest), you get into an area where there are "marbles." Not literal marbles, but pieces of tire and maybe some gravel and you lose your grip on the track surface. That's why they are called "marbles."

Once on the track I got red mist (I don't remember why) and ended up in the marbles. I don't remember how. I just remember saying later "red mist and marbles don't mix." I didn't crash, but I did have to work to get my car back under control. It was a scary moment.

So, my friends, try to avoid red mist and anything that will make it worse, like the marbles on the track. Or ice on a road. Or anything that will make a lousy situation much worse.

Have you experienced red mist? Were you driving or doing something else. Let me know in the comments below.

SiriusXM and Regional Songs?

I've come to the conclusion that some popular songs were regional hits but were rarely if ever heard outside those regions.

Why? Let me explain. 

I have SiriusXM satellite radio in my car. When the idea of satellite radio was first put forward, I thought one would be crazy to pay for radio when there's free radio over the air. Then I bought a car that came with a year-long free trial. By the end of that year, I was hooked. For one thing, no commercials on the music channels (just a lot of promos touting that). And also, for trips, you don't have to search for good radio stations. You just have to listen to the satellite radio. It does have drawbacks beside the cost. It doesn't go through foliage well so leafy trees can block the signal. And mountains do too. It doesn't work very well when I travel down the Columbia River Gorge toward Portland to see my grandson. But other than that, it's great.

Since getting SiriusXM (used to be two companies called "Sirius" and "XM" but they merged in the hope of surviving), I've heard a few songs I've never heard before. For example, Angry Eyes by Loggins and Messina. And something called Jeans On by David Dundas (whom I'd never heard of). Also Jessica by the Allman Brothers (I'd obviously heard of the Allman Brothers, just not that song). And Lovely Day by Bill Withers. And finally Ariel by Dean Friedman. Never heard of the song or the artist. And the song sucks.

It might be that I stopped listening to Top 40 in about 1977 and switched to what the radio biz called "Album Oriented Rock" or AOR. 

But still, I'm wondering if those songs never made it to the Pacific Northwest where I've lived most of my life (except for when I lived in California when I was in the Army). Another interesting fact is I never heard Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd until I was in the Army.

Have you heard of those songs? Were they hits where you live? Or are they as unfamiliar to you as they are to me? Let me know in the comments below.

We Aren't a Quarter of a Century into the 21st Century

Happy New Year!

This year a lot of people are going to start saying we're a quarter of a century into the 21st century.

That's not correct. We won't be a quarter of a century into this century until 2026.

Why?

Because there was no year zero. We went from 1 BC (BCE) to 1 AD (CE).

So the first century was 1 to 101.

The second century was 101 to 201.

The third century was 201 to 301.

And so on until the 21st century will be 2001 to 2101.

So 25 years into the 21st century will be 2026.

I know it's not fun. But it's the truth. But man, a quarter of a century next year already. That amazes me.

Huskies' Bowl Game and Season Wrap Up

The University of Washington's 2024 season is over. And, it wasn't a great one. New head coach Jedd Fisch had a near impossible task of making the Huskies a winning team after all but two starters left and he had to rebuild the program.

The Huskies last game was the Sun Bowl on December 31st against the Louisville Cardinals who had an 8-4 record versus the Huskies' 6-6. 

When our true-freshman quarterback threw an interception that was ran in for a touchdown on his second pass attempt, I thought the game was over. But the Huskies came back and fought hard. Their final drive started on the 3-yard line and they put it in for a touchdown in the final seconds of the game. A PAT would have tied the game but Coach Fisch wanted to go for two to win it. But not getting the two points would lose the game. And, of course, we missed the two-point conversion. And the Huskies lost the game 35-34.

Back around 2008 when the Huskies weren't doing very well (worse than this year, even), I came up with my criteria for a "good season." They were:

• Win at least 8 regular season games
• Beat Washington State
• Beat Oregon
• Go to a bowl and win it

And they managed exactly none of those.  Their regular season record this year was 6-6. They lost to WSU and Oregon. And they went to the Sun Bowl and lost.

So, I guess there's always next year. With that season, Fisch probably won't be hired away like Kalen DeBoer was. That'll help build continuity in the system. If we can hang on to our coaches, that would help too. Next year we'll have a sophomore quarterback who this season showed some real talent. So, we'll have to see. Their first game is on August 30th against Colorado State at home.