tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81963511328982428402024-03-20T00:22:59.446-07:00Random Synaptic FiringsMartin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-62953316951246896012017-09-02T17:50:00.001-07:002017-09-02T19:45:02.274-07:00Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 - Part III<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dUCS6wmHby2PjB212KHNC2_8pjjSVpLDFaR9uoiHSrJnxabofL7ENCjMXZTCUjnjTvrd24jsVu7PGbu7fVfTgFMvekww2s6jOFVH3DtkyGR6XDHOB-bcV1RW4YNLiZot_1QDfJqKM0IT/s1600/IMG_1109e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dUCS6wmHby2PjB212KHNC2_8pjjSVpLDFaR9uoiHSrJnxabofL7ENCjMXZTCUjnjTvrd24jsVu7PGbu7fVfTgFMvekww2s6jOFVH3DtkyGR6XDHOB-bcV1RW4YNLiZot_1QDfJqKM0IT/s400/IMG_1109e.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Part III - The Technical Details</h2>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
My Equipment</h3>
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Basically my eclipse equipment doubles as my astrophotography gear. That included my 8" Celestron SCT and a Celestron 500mm Mak lens piggy-backed on the telescope. I used two Canon cameras: my new EOS 6D was mounted on the C8 and my older EOS 50D was on the 500mm.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwo-zOvytCkLST9kMEQHtCy9tkxW-P60UtRsLj68t0vHRc8vMY_-2Az9zybfb84pzAQGNyBY3hvGoCJjgJKir-bImMj-dw82y9d2-8DZ6hyAFph8cogOKtxZNvWwdAPXJgtaXmeQzc-dZq/s1600/IMG_1801e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwo-zOvytCkLST9kMEQHtCy9tkxW-P60UtRsLj68t0vHRc8vMY_-2Az9zybfb84pzAQGNyBY3hvGoCJjgJKir-bImMj-dw82y9d2-8DZ6hyAFph8cogOKtxZNvWwdAPXJgtaXmeQzc-dZq/s640/IMG_1801e.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Primary Equipment</h4>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Celestron Celestar8 Deluxe <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmidt%E2%80%93Cassegrain_telescope">Schmidt-Cassegrain</a> (Schmidt-Cass or SCT) reflector telescope </li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">standard "Wedgpod" (wedge and tripod)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">custom aluminum and 3D printed "piggy back" rail w/ Manfrotto quick-release adapter (I designed this adaptor and feature it on Thingiverse: <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2153923">C8 Camera Mount Assembly</a>) </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Thousand Oaks Optical white light, silver/black polymer solar filter (RG-9187)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Celestron Reducer / Corrector f/6.3 (model #94175)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Orion T-Adapter (#5116)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">TalentCell 12V/9V/5V 8.3Ah Power Bank w/5.5x2.1mm power cable (model YB1208300-USB)</li>
</ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Canon EOS 6D full-frame DSLR</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Opteka intervalometer w/ Kirkland AAA batteries </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Canon LP-E6 and Powerextra batteries </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">SanDisk Extreme PRO 32GB SD cards</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Celestron 500mm f/5.6 Mirror Lens - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksutov_telescope">Maksutov-Cassegrain</a> (Mak or MCT) Spotting Scope </li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Thousand Oaks Optical white light, type 2+ glass solar filter (S-4250 I believe)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Manfrotto 200PL quick-release plate</li>
</ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Canon EOS 50D crop (1.6x) DSLR</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Zeikos battery grip (ZE-CBG50)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Neewer intervalometer (EZa-C3) w/ Kirkland AAA batteries </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">STK BP-511A batteries </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">SanDisk Extreme 8GB CF cards</li>
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Secondary Equipment</h4>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Canon FS100 digital video camera</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">XX tripod</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">GoPro Hero (original) action camera</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">custom 3D printed base (and duct tape)</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Garmin Virb X action camera</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Manfrotto 200PL quick-release plate and adaptor</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Manfrotto ball head</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Manfrotto tripod</li>
</ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Samsung Galazy S4mini Duos</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">w/ <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foxwoodastronomy.solareclipsetimer&hl=en">Solar Eclipse Timer</a> app</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Unifun 10400mAh waterproof battery bank</li>
</ul>
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<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Miscellaneous Stuff for the Event</h4>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Garmin "Colorado" 400t GPS</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Sperti Inc, Astro Compass Mark II (WWII vintage)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">green lasers for pointing to starts, planets, constellations, satellites, etc at night</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Pin-hole viewing "equipment"</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">retasked lens aperture and telescope end-cup for an adjustable pin-hole</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">black foam board and aluminum foil pin-hole 'slides'</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">fingers, hats, etc work too</li>
</ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">white foam board for a 'screen'</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">camp chair to rest the screen on</li>
</ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">A few 4/5" x 5.5"shade #14 welding glass</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">miscellaneous "eclipse" glasses including sets from the WyoParksEclipse (came with the parks passes I purchased) and some older "Eclipser" glasses from the Venus transit</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">mason's line for setting-up / checking North alignment</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">folding table</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">scrap carpet remnant for placing more delicate equipment on the table (and keeping it from rolling / sliding around)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Walmart 'easy-up' sun shade (kept me from getting sunburn when not in totality)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">camp chairs</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Settings</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1btBB-3LUn6SUkKvOCo1qfoOsVUEP7aqGZ3xRAWa0yvtxxn-ItXZwkrU-hdpazT8ILqXczHHh56K8kFAFsHSZ91Ral8hpuv9deRZrY-fM4OMyNz3J3dqQAs6Uh6ixY2vunQFeq4OUrLui/s1600/IMG_3469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1btBB-3LUn6SUkKvOCo1qfoOsVUEP7aqGZ3xRAWa0yvtxxn-ItXZwkrU-hdpazT8ILqXczHHh56K8kFAFsHSZ91Ral8hpuv9deRZrY-fM4OMyNz3J3dqQAs6Uh6ixY2vunQFeq4OUrLui/s320/IMG_3469.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The camera's were set with the following notable exposure values...</div>
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<b>Canon EOS 6D</b> (t-mount on C8 w/ reducer)</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">effective focal length 1280mm</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">'un-reduced' focal length is 2032mm</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">fixed aperture f/6.3</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">'un-reduced' aperture is f/10</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Custom 1 (partial phase):</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"M" mode</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">ISO 100</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Tv 1/800s</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">no bracket</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Remote timer settings: </li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1min interval</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">N=81</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Custom 2 (totality):</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"M" mode</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">ISO 400</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Tv 1/30s</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">+/-2stops, +/-4stops bracket (5 shots)</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">+/-2stops = 1/8s, 1/125s</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">+/-4stops = 0.5s, 1/500s</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Remote timer setting (planned): </li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1/2s interval</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">N=272</li>
</ul>
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<b>Canon EOS 50D</b> (piggy-back on C8 w/ 500mm lens)</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">focal length 500mm</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">fixed aperture f/5.6</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Custom 1 (partial phase):</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"M" mode</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">ISO 100</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Tv 1/200s</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">+/-1stop bracket</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">+/-1stops = 1/100s, 1/400s</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Remote timer setting:</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1min interval</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">N=81</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Custom 2 (totality):</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"M" mode</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">ISO 400</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Tv 1/8s</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">+/-2stops</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">+/-2stops = 0.5s, 1/30s</li>
</ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Remote timer setting (planned):</li>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1s interval</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">N=136</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qpOnM8ntbdZOyLm-W91MMhDZaddBHXxLfKRCQt4ULQ78LhBZRs2F5KNPMga3KHH2LZHIyO9fdoxPtxVszd-9f5jf6mC-zVrq_A-Y6wVB5IfXLQLo1Df04RcgP8yOhorIaF9jTnHsUjfw/s1600/IMG_1828e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qpOnM8ntbdZOyLm-W91MMhDZaddBHXxLfKRCQt4ULQ78LhBZRs2F5KNPMga3KHH2LZHIyO9fdoxPtxVszd-9f5jf6mC-zVrq_A-Y6wVB5IfXLQLo1Df04RcgP8yOhorIaF9jTnHsUjfw/s200/IMG_1828e.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">50D under-exposed at 1/400s</td></tr>
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These exposure settings were based on Fred Espenak's exposure guide: <a href="http://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html">MrEclipse.com SEphoto.html</a> and the results of a few test shots.</div>
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For example, the 50D on the 500mm was test-shot at ISO 100, using shutter times of Tv = 1/1000s, 1/800s, 1/640s, 1/400s, even 1/25s, finally settling on a bracket at 1/200s.</div>
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Similar testing was done for the 6D on the C8, shooting at ISO 100, using shutter times of Tv = 1/400s, 1/500s, 1/640s, 1/800s, and 1/1000s. For the 6D/telescope setup I settled on 1/800s as the best exposure.</div>
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Lessons Learned</h4>
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Practice, practice, practice! OK, that was the advice of the Canon site, and a number of others that I visited pre-eclipse. The problem was, I did not follow it very well and when it came to totality, I was mesmerized. My biggest mistake: I did not switch my camera customs settings from C1 to C2. All told, photos came out OK anyways and I witnessed an amazing event.</div>
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What would I change for next time:</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Spend more time on focusing the telescopes</i> - I had tools at my disposal that I did not use. I brought along a laptop to view the test shots--did not pull that out. I had a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahtinov_mask">Bahtinov focus mask</a> I could have used--but didn't. I could have done more with the "live view" and a magnifier, but didn't.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Adjust the orientation of the 50D</i> - I had the Moon traveling across the Sun from bottom of frame to top of frame. This was mostly old habit because the camera orients better when mounted piggy-back on the C8. However, the solar corona tends to be "wider" in the solar plane or ecliptic. Because of this, I would have captured more corona if the camera was oriented 90deg or "landscape" mode.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Change the exposure settings for totality</i> - as already noted, I had planned to do just that, but the emotion of the moment apparently got in the way.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Don't forget the other science</i> - I had planned to bring my hand-held weather station, but forgot. I considered trying to video record the shadow bands, but figured I had enough going on. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Try wide-angle shots of the eclipse</i> - it is very common to see wide-angel stacked photos (multi exposure pictures) with a visually appealing foreground and the eclipsing Sun / Moon in the sky. Equipment limitations were my primary reason for not trying this--I already had two DSLRs and three (four) video cameras going.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Try making video of totality (magnified shot of the Sun/Moon)</i> - again, equipment limitations were my reason for not trying this.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Bring my ham equipment</i> - one of the guys I met on the hill (from TX) was a ham and he had been following the <a href="https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-ballooning-project">NASA balloon experiments</a>. I should have thought of that!</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>See if there are other phenomenon that can be mixed with the event</i> - A great example is that one of my long-time buddies who is also a photographer (much closer to pro than me), captured the ISS transitioning the eclipse (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154858661844135&set=pcb.10154858667174135&type=3&theater">BlairCraft Photograpy</a>)! Blind luck, considering the whole transition took less than a second, but he caught it.</li>
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Next Chance</h4>
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With all the reading, videos, etc that I followed leading up to this event, I heard a similar mantra repeated by folks who had already experienced totality: it is addicting. I have to say, I now understand. The event went too quickly and I want to experience it again. Is that a consequence of today's high-tech society were repeated videos are just a click away; where you can find literally thousands of photos, from different angles, times, colors, ... of the same shot? Maybe. </div>
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This was an experience.</div>
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Now, just like back in 2014--prior to the total lunar eclipse--I am looking forward to 2024 in Texas.</div>
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Thank you for visiting my blog!</div>
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Just a little plug for my equipment:</div>
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#Canon #EOS #CanonEOS #6D #50D #Celestron #Garmin #virb</div>
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As with the original Star Wars trilogy, the best part of the story starts with a later episode. I have captured this total eclipse adventure in a number of postings for my own recollection--and you are more than welcome to visit the other pages...</div>
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<b><a href="https://gargoyleeyes-rsf.blogspot.com/2017/09/total-solar-eclipse-of-2017-part-i.html">Part I - The History</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://gargoyleeyes-rsf.blogspot.com/2017/09/total-solar-eclipse-of-2017-part-ii.html">Part II - The Eclipse</a></b></div>
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<b>Part III - The Technical Details</b></div>
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Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-29730492724773125922017-09-02T17:48:00.003-07:002017-09-02T19:44:18.315-07:00Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 - Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dUCS6wmHby2PjB212KHNC2_8pjjSVpLDFaR9uoiHSrJnxabofL7ENCjMXZTCUjnjTvrd24jsVu7PGbu7fVfTgFMvekww2s6jOFVH3DtkyGR6XDHOB-bcV1RW4YNLiZot_1QDfJqKM0IT/s1600/IMG_1109e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dUCS6wmHby2PjB212KHNC2_8pjjSVpLDFaR9uoiHSrJnxabofL7ENCjMXZTCUjnjTvrd24jsVu7PGbu7fVfTgFMvekww2s6jOFVH3DtkyGR6XDHOB-bcV1RW4YNLiZot_1QDfJqKM0IT/s400/IMG_1109e.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Part II - The Eclipse</h2>
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Start of the Day</h3>
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As with the other mornings in Wyoming, on Monday the 21st of August, I was up around sunrise (~06:30). However, this morning I could not ease myself back into slumber. The reason why was obvious--it was the day of a total solar eclipse.</div>
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My first goal was to pack. Our whole group was going to be leaving the area, some right after totality, others would wait until the partial was complete--I was going to be one of the 'laggers' because of my photography. In an effort to not be "that person" who everyone else was waiting for, I packed-up early. </div>
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Having stacked my camping gear near the truck, I grabbed all my observation equipment (cameras, tripods, etc) and wandered up the hill. A few folks in our group had already popped up top to photograph or just witness sunrise. I have to say, I was relieved to see an absence of clouds given the previous day's weather.</div>
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Once again, I setup the telescope which had over-nighted in its weather-proof cocoon. Next, I started preparation for the coming photographic adventure: programming custom settings into my cameras. </div>
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After having reassembled the telescope, programmed the cameras, gotten my mobile phone ready with the timer app and a battery pack connected, and having deployed multiple video cameras, I basically sat back and watched the crowd gather for the start of the early-morning festivities.</div>
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<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Initial Partial-Eclipse</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSbc5saIuFIwVLXsy0Z3hc2TY3CYbZGB2Pxkn9mVuwLyPw9lpaIpzYQuPU8q4WS8kD3DAlJk6ck7pfzHgcYBoaJAwbm1UCXaJoTmjv-6GhCXAjw0OQfUDVoFto7DOP5Fhaku8mLQDrIys/s1600/C1-C2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="1600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSbc5saIuFIwVLXsy0Z3hc2TY3CYbZGB2Pxkn9mVuwLyPw9lpaIpzYQuPU8q4WS8kD3DAlJk6ck7pfzHgcYBoaJAwbm1UCXaJoTmjv-6GhCXAjw0OQfUDVoFto7DOP5Fhaku8mLQDrIys/s640/C1-C2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The big event started at 10:23 that day and there was quite a crowd gathering. Since we had a good 81 minutes until totality (yes, that is pretty precise), I was able to mingle. Some of the best fun I had for this event was sharing my enthusiasm with anyone who was interested. After meeting several great people in the days leading up to the eclipse, it was wonderful to see most of them gathering on the hill.</div>
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I had forgotten to bring my hand-held weather meter (wind speed, temperature, pressure, etc) so the "scientific observations" I had thought about recording, just did not happen. But for all of posterity, here are the interesting aspects of the eclipse that we witnessed:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>The temperature drop leading up to totality was dramatic</i> - The temperature dropped by maybe ~20°F (~10°C) in the lead-up to totality. Some folks walked back to camp to get a jacket.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>I did not observe <a href="https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/exploring-shadow-bands">shadow bands</a> ("shadow snakes")</i> - I had not setup anything special for observing them, so no surprise.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>No observed changes in animal behavior</i> - I do not recall the crickets starting to chirp or any change in birds--although we were not in an area that was overpopulated by either.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>There was a noticeable change in the wind </i>- The light breeze calmed down during totality. To some extent I expected this. Since the preceding day was windy (10~15mph) and I had kept a side-tarp on the canopy rolled up due to wind on the day of the eclipse, it was notably calm during totality.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Noticeable changes in shadows and sharper vision</i> - This was a dramatic phenomenon that I had not expected--but makes sense. As the relative size of the Sun shrinks, it becomes more of a point-source of light. The Sun and the Moon are just over 0.5° in size as vied from the Earth (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_diameter#Use_in_astronomy">Angular Diameter</a>). My younger son, who was with me to witness this event, observed how the shadow of his hand was ultra-sharp, even when held at a distance from the ground. My vision felt like someone had turned-up the contrast on my "TV" to 11--it was surreal.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALGZOheMMzxrnB20NbS_10Fsk7fIG5G8HxQq3i8Na1EoN_1MBIMdD-h4ea8e6YGgR4SuGff5oPhbr8ihtMcuBuq1lZf2LdHwOzQJe-4nQcg-r2kOl8BNHWij9-y9U3LH8VIickauOBhh_/s1600/IMG_3469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALGZOheMMzxrnB20NbS_10Fsk7fIG5G8HxQq3i8Na1EoN_1MBIMdD-h4ea8e6YGgR4SuGff5oPhbr8ihtMcuBuq1lZf2LdHwOzQJe-4nQcg-r2kOl8BNHWij9-y9U3LH8VIickauOBhh_/s200/IMG_3469.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Related to the sharp shadows, I had come prepared with a few pin-hole projector examples and a white, foam-board as a screen. This certainly had a "wow-factor" for the crowd. Demonstrating how "pin-hole" cameras could be make a with their fingers, or any other object such as mesh from a camp chair or their straw hat, resulted in wonderful entertainment.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxU9NgjQzX_LVoc1xn7LWFuhn5LDzLOYr1Hz42yNKUwIY3Bcan7cgrpsJGQzCWvg7NRel9AO4amuJSDn2E5yghiS7U_oyme2jiU83r-EbqxkdZvU8ti4qOe3R3KTwrCs1bpo10BLXF2IJ/s1600/IMG_3455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxU9NgjQzX_LVoc1xn7LWFuhn5LDzLOYr1Hz42yNKUwIY3Bcan7cgrpsJGQzCWvg7NRel9AO4amuJSDn2E5yghiS7U_oyme2jiU83r-EbqxkdZvU8ti4qOe3R3KTwrCs1bpo10BLXF2IJ/s200/IMG_3455.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Totality</h3>
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I have to say, even as an engineer/scientist who likes to write about my observations, it is hard to explain my reaction to totality in words. I think a deeper, primitive section of my brain took over during those two-plus minutes, and even though I was mostly working on automatic processes (breathing, balancing on two feet, thumbs pushing the shutter buttons :-), etc) I was not able to hold back a shout of excitement. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPAeZF7_9f3tNjLW3VcHdosDoQwVNQMLP4fTcUbMrjZlEMwhP25BIx17tybtQCf1tKgW6fabMkxPwZe7AhmgKiXGO6hSNV3_0TBC486PLlR-A24jMOW2zX4VRJlX4mPC82K4dDZh9f6PY/s1600/Esterbrook+Hill+Eclipse+Times.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="1256" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPAeZF7_9f3tNjLW3VcHdosDoQwVNQMLP4fTcUbMrjZlEMwhP25BIx17tybtQCf1tKgW6fabMkxPwZe7AhmgKiXGO6hSNV3_0TBC486PLlR-A24jMOW2zX4VRJlX4mPC82K4dDZh9f6PY/s320/Esterbrook+Hill+Eclipse+Times.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Where we were located, the time of totality was calculated to last 2 minutes 16 seconds. This was based off of maps from NASA, a French mapping web site, and the Solar Eclipse Timer app, all focused down on our GPS-based location: N 42° 25' 10.95" W -105° 20' 43" give-or-take.</div>
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Better than trying to describe the event, it may be easier to just show you. Here are a number of videos and animations from our total eclipse viewing...</div>
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Videos</h4>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PdfgT9LMZ_c/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PdfgT9LMZ_c?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe><br />
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Here is a 15min long video, clipped down from an hour-long capture. Totality starts around the 2:30 mark. This was taken on a Canon FS100 video camera and was looking North towards the "viewing site". A majority of our group is in-frame. Things to notice are how dramatically the background lighting changes from partial, to total, back to partial and the crowd's reaction at each stage!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z5P9XxUfKOk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z5P9XxUfKOk?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe><br />
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This camera was positioned to gaze northward from our viewing site, overlooking the Wyoming plains. A Garmin VIRB X was used to capture this video.</div>
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My intention was to try and pick up the eclipse shadow as it moved across the landscape. The original video was also an hour long but I shortened the clip down to 5min with totality starting at about 1:30. If you slide through on the video, the darkening and subsequent brightening of the sky and landscape becomes more apparent.</div>
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There is also a complimentary version from a buddy who used his GoPro, pointing in a slightly more easterly direction.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2bB_GijvXcY/0.jpg" float:="" frameborder="0" height="266" right="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2bB_GijvXcY?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe><br />
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For an idea of how short the totality event really is, this last video is a time lapse of the crowd starting ~30min before totality and ending about 30 minutes after. This was compiled from an original GoPro Hero, duct-taped to a stump, clicking off stills every 5 seconds. The angle was shot towards the South with the 'flare' of the Sun creeping across the upper-left, just out of frame.</div>
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I have at least one other video that I have not posted (and may not, mostly because the audio is very distorted). For that capture I used my dash-cam sitting on the table next to the telescope. I had hooked this camera up to the same battery pack as my cell phone, which is possibly the cause of distortion. </div>
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Photos</h4>
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My shots from totality were mostly under exposed due to my basal matter malfunction...</div>
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As the shadow passed over us, I celebrated just like everyone else, eventually jumping on my telescope and camera gear to remove the filters from both scopes. Success! Well not quite. It had only taken about 15 seconds to get the filters off but the next step was supposed to be me switching the exposures over to those custom setting I had so carefully programmed into both cameras. ...enter 'cave man' Marty... that was the point where my event rehearsal broke down. I did not bother with reprogramming the shutter/times and just opted to bang on those two remotes buttons as if I were playing an old sports game on an original Nintendo. I just clicked away, "going manual".</div>
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Because my exposures were set for a much brighter target (with the filters), my shots were mostly under-exposed and I did not get the bracketing I had so carefully planned.</div>
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You tell me, what do you think of these...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoU6IVCQOigSYPtXHkXs0gBICk6vv6jWGhyphenhyphenKM8l745AxWUFh2ANoD2ZL8rLUrWIE7hKXumn23PP5sKC3lKxi0Sv4IXvimSFQ_SUBdKf350smkBmnJIqViNIcsyb48ccq4WPUVTFv1PgDmA/s1600/Eclipse11.44.58combo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoU6IVCQOigSYPtXHkXs0gBICk6vv6jWGhyphenhyphenKM8l745AxWUFh2ANoD2ZL8rLUrWIE7hKXumn23PP5sKC3lKxi0Sv4IXvimSFQ_SUBdKf350smkBmnJIqViNIcsyb48ccq4WPUVTFv1PgDmA/s320/Eclipse11.44.58combo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a combination shot very near C2 (start of totality). I superimposed the corona from my 50D and the detailed prominence from my 6D. The red prominences on the right-side of the photo were visible with the naked eye. </div>
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If I were to estimate from memory, I would say the corona was visible out to about 6-radii. Because my totality shots were under exposed, I wanted to just capture a version here that did not push the digital editing process too far. For this and other combo shots, I simply expanded the size of my 50D photo to match the size of the 6D--so more detail came from the full-frame camera.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeicov4zS1WxkvNSvtLA0iiOpK9xGBJkMbq2xOAYzbvlmIGL6NXMbgE8ybfu7aEppBnUiZpzYQqvExAV7Kw6YffRpAlacar0t4qpXlGw9K9VFx_uPqJMJp5slcW9HhcZjJiSxduhL9ILF/s1600/Eclipse11.46.44combo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeicov4zS1WxkvNSvtLA0iiOpK9xGBJkMbq2xOAYzbvlmIGL6NXMbgE8ybfu7aEppBnUiZpzYQqvExAV7Kw6YffRpAlacar0t4qpXlGw9K9VFx_uPqJMJp5slcW9HhcZjJiSxduhL9ILF/s320/Eclipse11.46.44combo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here I have a similar combination shot very near C3 (end of totality). Like the one above, I used a corona shot from my 50D superimposed on a prominence shot from the 6D.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXylIbOWm8TXyu5VxcwVes9xfQu_Sn8jt6nFCXz1h6YWHNgUF5-DKHh9UzOMXXI9z8lUJFKNbUx5kFngpSmAYSCrof8UVcduNFs0MWXgsbVPhosCVVUfUQEqUppvpHjt-whM-OMxm6ZpeE/s1600/IMG_2148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXylIbOWm8TXyu5VxcwVes9xfQu_Sn8jt6nFCXz1h6YWHNgUF5-DKHh9UzOMXXI9z8lUJFKNbUx5kFngpSmAYSCrof8UVcduNFs0MWXgsbVPhosCVVUfUQEqUppvpHjt-whM-OMxm6ZpeE/s320/IMG_2148.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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This is an un-doctored image from my 6D, very near C3. The "diamond ring" is just about to appear and the red prominences are very visible on the right-side of the Sun. I think this technically counts as a "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baily%27s_beads">Baily's Beads</a>" shot. I just love the detail the prominences (unfortunately they are slightly out-of-focus).</div>
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In summary: </div>
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It happened <b>too fast</b>! </div>
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<b>I want more!</b></div>
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If I were a betting man (and I am), I would place money on just about everybody we met on Esterbrook Hill, trying to make the <a href="https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2024Apr08Tgoogle.html">2024 eclipse</a>. </div>
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Final Partial-Eclipse</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbmXZ-ZubxZxVuUfucVWlrchMQBibvULCXKsKM_BNZu9D05fDRyPGNW7GpvQ8SwocDhydKAUCi9pmx74GZZEYyYn_ZsVYqcYnIQKD65hWrmbaZPELnhrwCkU6ZY2Hc5fmRd0FHtQlCi8Y/s1600/C3-C4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="1600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbmXZ-ZubxZxVuUfucVWlrchMQBibvULCXKsKM_BNZu9D05fDRyPGNW7GpvQ8SwocDhydKAUCi9pmx74GZZEYyYn_ZsVYqcYnIQKD65hWrmbaZPELnhrwCkU6ZY2Hc5fmRd0FHtQlCi8Y/s640/C3-C4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The time after totality, running up to C4 (the end of the partial eclipse) was very reflective for everyone who was still milling around at the viewing site. Most of the folks decided to depart--helplessly trying to beat return traffic--but some people stuck around. I was still photographing the partial as the Moon moved on in its orbit, so we hung out for a while talking through our shared experience. It was good to chit-chat with the others who stuck around. Eventually, I started to pack-up my gear as we all basked in the renewed warmth of our nearest star.</div>
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Other Shots</h3>
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I compiled this .gif animation from my Canon 50D. Individual frames were taken at 3min intervals during the partial eclipse phase. Two totality shots are included, since totality lasted less than 3 minutes, these two shots are only around 2min apart. The sequence does a good job of showing how brief the period of totality really is. Sorry if the 'jitter' is bothersome, this was a first-cut, manually stacking photos, positioning, filling, etc with GIMP. I should have an updated versions posted here in a little while.</div>
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Returning Home</h4>
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Driving home was a test of ones patience, but I have to say, most people were in a good mood. What had taken about 5hrs to drive up from Colorado Springs, eventually took over 8hrs on the return--and we were the lucky ones. Others in our group took more than 10hrs to return home.</div>
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Conclusion</h4>
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I have a list of people I met on the hill that weekend whom I will be pointing to this blog. Please feel free to copy these photos and share with family, friends, etc--I only ask that you give credit with my name:</div>
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Martin D. Stoehr</div>
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Photos and video here are © 2017 by Martin D. Stoehr, All Rights are Reserved. These low-resolution version may be distributed as you wish with the noted proviso of providing credit. If posting on the web, please try to include a link to this blog. </div>
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I will spend the next month or more producing many high-res shots including a panorama/composite of the total eclipse. If you are interested in printed copies of any photos here, please feel free to contact me.</div>
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Thank you for visiting my blog!</div>
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As with the original Star Wars trilogy, the best part of the story starts with a later episode. I have captured this total eclipse adventure in a number of postings for my own recollection--and you are more than welcome to visit the other pages...</div>
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<b><a href="https://gargoyleeyes-rsf.blogspot.com/2017/09/total-solar-eclipse-of-2017-part-i.html">Part I - The History</a></b></div>
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<b>Part II - The Eclipse</b></div>
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<b><a href="https://gargoyleeyes-rsf.blogspot.com/2017/09/total-solar-eclipse-of-2017-part-iii.html">Part III - The Technical Details</a></b></div>
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Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-69940269343694703822017-09-02T17:30:00.001-07:002017-09-02T19:43:36.080-07:00Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 - Part I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52n74T93OeHeFRMGILlecs1XvRjgans61PIp_0oVW2RIKgGGQyvXycFgk8ZZeIUeR8Ry9rlTcMbUONupnEYfpdzV97nswgAfT6J43rfyhV9ftl2J-68hIPbOB0mPGof8_02l5WoEo-f0U/s1600/IMG_1109e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52n74T93OeHeFRMGILlecs1XvRjgans61PIp_0oVW2RIKgGGQyvXycFgk8ZZeIUeR8Ry9rlTcMbUONupnEYfpdzV97nswgAfT6J43rfyhV9ftl2J-68hIPbOB0mPGof8_02l5WoEo-f0U/s400/IMG_1109e.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Part Ia - The History</h2>
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Total Lunar Eclipse of 2014</h3>
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Back in early 2014 I was browsing the <a href="https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html">NASA Eclipse</a> web site in preparation for the coming <a href="https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2014.html#LE2014Apr15T">Total Lunar eclipse</a> of 15 Apr 2014. Seems so long ago. That was a fun event for me and I was able to take my astrophotography to a new level that year using my Celestron C8 telescope and my Canon 50D crop camera.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6AVqhkwq5Q94M90xgwGlEMY6mgT2MlQifECuvGVw5q9iWd68-TSXUxCZa-qKkAbKH0NltNnMq7oHjIIKPwy9VYrvpkpvp-LPcQx-iKtLY1pvrcU7t3SIjNlLi6DyfQUBl0P2o7qzOA_c/s1600/Moon+C5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="1600" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6AVqhkwq5Q94M90xgwGlEMY6mgT2MlQifECuvGVw5q9iWd68-TSXUxCZa-qKkAbKH0NltNnMq7oHjIIKPwy9VYrvpkpvp-LPcQx-iKtLY1pvrcU7t3SIjNlLi6DyfQUBl0P2o7qzOA_c/s320/Moon+C5.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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After staying up until the wee hours of the morning at a friend's property in eastern Colorado, and spending many, many hours on GIMP, I ended up with my piece de resistance: an 18" x 48" metal print of a Lunar eclipse panorama.</div>
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Total Solar Eclipse of 2017</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI_bquYPxY6L1emRLWHs9K8LqyJrBTOvLvcr8eBi_sxk_YRBKp8wIFE39CMfLoO1fTn84uxhoCtJx2guWh9qAYex_OCbwME00YQ0SbuYlpDpVyEuWkEN0XWCSvT0x84LrgtN_jIRS_zS_/s1600/TSE2017-usa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1421" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI_bquYPxY6L1emRLWHs9K8LqyJrBTOvLvcr8eBi_sxk_YRBKp8wIFE39CMfLoO1fTn84uxhoCtJx2guWh9qAYex_OCbwME00YQ0SbuYlpDpVyEuWkEN0XWCSvT0x84LrgtN_jIRS_zS_/s200/TSE2017-usa.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from NASA's site</td></tr>
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Back to the reason for this blog... what I tripped across earlier that year was information about the up-coming total Solar eclipse of 2017--eventually to be known as the Eclipse Across America or the Great American Eclipse. Unless you live in a cave and have NO access to modern media (radio, TV, cable, or the internet) or possibly are reading this from a different continent, you already knew about this event. Hopefully you participated in a trip to the totality zone yourself, or if not, you at least walked outside on the 21st of August to witness the partial obscuring of the sun.</div>
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This is the story of my first encounter with totality. Any eclipse is a wonderful act of celestial mechanics and I cannot do it justice in explaining the details--most of which I am familiar but do not have the fortitude to document here. In case you wish to know more, there are a few sites which I recommend:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html">MrEclipse</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html">NASA.gov</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/future/">Great American Eclipse</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/how-to-photograph-a-solar-eclipse.html">How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse</a> (Nikon)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2017/eclipse.shtml">A Total Guide to Totality: Solar Eclipse Photography</a> (Canon)</li>
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Back to the story: after gathering a little information in 2014, by April of 2015 I had finally committed to the idea of seeing this total eclipse. At that point I started investigating locations, travel times, equipment--very rudimentary plans. </div>
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Another year passed and around February of 2016 my planning started in earnest. First-things-first, I needed to upgrade my equipment. To start with I needed get my hands on a solar filter which I could use with my 8" Celestron telescope. That was easy enough; I had already purchased a smaller filter for my Celeastron 500mm catadioptric lens (that is a fancy word for "mirrored"), so I went back to the supplier of these filters--<a href="http://thousandoaksoptical.com/">Thousand Oaks Optical</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51eb70vXzl0F4Uhyphenhyphen8SxuWvwNChr3wV09Pb2l1HWu1TXu0WD_5MVlU6zJNryipTNrsiFV2Mi4aTa-NABe7S5BPLonFBBVkSxR1EjOpdTpEgmrDw03TxAyyjbUnppgv8fUG4dAXfusJxRTY/s1600/IMG_4948ss+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51eb70vXzl0F4Uhyphenhyphen8SxuWvwNChr3wV09Pb2l1HWu1TXu0WD_5MVlU6zJNryipTNrsiFV2Mi4aTa-NABe7S5BPLonFBBVkSxR1EjOpdTpEgmrDw03TxAyyjbUnppgv8fUG4dAXfusJxRTY/s200/IMG_4948ss+-+Copy.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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What prompted earlier purchase of the smaller filter? That one I picked up for witnessing the 2012 Transit of Venus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Venus,_2012">Transit of Venus, 2012</a>). In that event I attempted to make an aperture filter for my large C8 telescope using foam board and a piece of welding glass as a filter. Unfortunately the welding glass was not optical quality and the reduced objective aperture enhanced that deficiency. I was still able to get some good shots with the 500mm lens and my 50D despite the frequent cloud cover.</div>
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Scouting trips</h3>
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August 21st 2016</h4>
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My initial plan was to drive up to Wyoming and pick out a nice location within the zone of totality--at the same time of year as the actual event. Thus 21 Aug... <b>2016</b>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDn-TZzoYJN_JQ1oFd41VUBzb8Oe_gXIQD02QGoPuZqpg8o3ftK6YP4ZQ2Ob6bxBrlD1YrpSTKJeEwaoVnLXmVi8d7Nhec3eMTbI1rWZtbjD9bCc7t8YZeQFyMgpUyEI6lzgEUvf_L8Y0K/s1600/Wyoming-1024x682.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDn-TZzoYJN_JQ1oFd41VUBzb8Oe_gXIQD02QGoPuZqpg8o3ftK6YP4ZQ2Ob6bxBrlD1YrpSTKJeEwaoVnLXmVi8d7Nhec3eMTbI1rWZtbjD9bCc7t8YZeQFyMgpUyEI6lzgEUvf_L8Y0K/s320/Wyoming-1024x682.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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My first targeted location was Glendo Reservoir. Half-way between Douglas and Guernsey, right off of I-25, there lays a relatively large reservoir surrounded by a state park--perfect for camping and recreation. I figured that would make a great location: setup a camp early eclipse-weekend, assemble all my equipment, and hang out until the shadow swept by. Turns out it was a good idea which a lot of other folks had too. About that later.</div>
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Camping has always been a hobby for mine, my family, and my friends, so invitations went out to drum-up interest for a scouting trip. There was a good bit of back-and-forth discussing the location, camping, and even canoeing / kayaking at the scouting site. </div>
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Unfortunately work got in the way of plans as it often does, and nothing materialized in Aug 2016. </div>
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Early 2017</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYx6NtwbUJMVvyb7zezy5bMphUipDoSetCew0XKLFgxJy9ezxTQARpPMkpDh4cC0aZKqcWg2BbAbEgvbnyaRFYwhKHH1YoSghsqoibewyxAqDgF7Qq2KcPESiGD_Sloa7L2Kes5LbBqCT/s1600/320px-Analemma_Earth.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYx6NtwbUJMVvyb7zezy5bMphUipDoSetCew0XKLFgxJy9ezxTQARpPMkpDh4cC0aZKqcWg2BbAbEgvbnyaRFYwhKHH1YoSghsqoibewyxAqDgF7Qq2KcPESiGD_Sloa7L2Kes5LbBqCT/s1600/320px-Analemma_Earth.png" /></a></div>
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Fast forward to February 2017--now into the year of the event. I was randomly digging through solar eclipse information on the web, occasionally checking out weather maps, alternate locations, etc. It turns out that Wyoming was not only the closest location for us folks in Colorado Springs but it also tends to have some of the best viewing weather for that time of year. February turned into early April and I started making plans to actually go on that scouting trip. April was important because it would provide a good reference to where the Sun would be in the sky during the eclipse. Just like scouting a site on the same day the year prior, referencing an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma">analemma</a>, I found that the perfect "Spring" match to the 21 Aug eclipse date would be 19 Apr. </div>
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Next step was to look into a camp site and possible reservations for the scouting trip. That was when I learned... </div>
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WyoParks had put weekend passes up for early reservation. "Great!"--I though, I am ahead of the game. We should be able to get a site at Glendo... Nope! It turns out that rather than opening up reservations 90-days in advance, WyoParks had already offered camping reservations much earlier and all the passes for Glendo State Park had sold out in October! That put a bit of a damper on my plans. At the same time I also learned that they were selling one-day car passes for <i>any</i> WY state park, so I purchased two. </div>
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OK, so now I needed to find an alternative--primary site.</div>
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Late-April 2017</h4>
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Additional research showed some interesting prospects: Ayres Natural Bridge Park, Medicine Bow National Forest and Campbell Creek Campground, etc. The only way to tell which locations would be good and which would be mediocre would be to get 'boots on the ground'.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV06nGUVc8yTA2TUqwkg9UKSc1YRnaGtXnDtweLWRbfotJdLrTk8JUfXTs52Kg1QxnSOkP4lgITDZhJcXPy3LCZS-a08Usbguw0Hipbcs0hzd96aHdKNEsRQCedqFCufeDfW1QMTCby8Mv/s1600/IMG_0511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV06nGUVc8yTA2TUqwkg9UKSc1YRnaGtXnDtweLWRbfotJdLrTk8JUfXTs52Kg1QxnSOkP4lgITDZhJcXPy3LCZS-a08Usbguw0Hipbcs0hzd96aHdKNEsRQCedqFCufeDfW1QMTCby8Mv/s200/IMG_0511.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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So, for the weekend of 22-23 April I brought along my youngest son (he needed driving hours, and Wyoming is good for that), and a collection of folks from work. We piled into a couple of vehicles and drove up to Wyoming to scout for the 'perfect' total eclipse viewing site. I wanted to check out Glendo, even though it was not available for camping--it would still be a great spot for the viewing. My father was even considering bringing along his 5th wheel camper and parking it at the General Store lot for a nominal fee.</div>
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My buddy Steve is much more experienced, and frankly better at this blogging thing. He made an entry about our scouting trip in April:</div>
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<a href="https://sklcolorado.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/scouting-for-the-august-eclipse-in-wyoming/">Scouting for the August Eclipse in... Wyoming</a></div>
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As Steve mentions, we had lunch in Douglas on Sunday--the Village Inn is where our luck turned. I started chatting-up some local residents as we were checking out. One gentleman and his wife had been living in the area for quite a while and was curious about the "eclipse traffic" but had very little interest in the event himself. Very friendly folks. I always like an impromptu conversation and that one happened to pay off for us. He had mentioned that they lived south of Douglas, in the small town of Esterbrook. He did note that private property was interspersed with National Forest land--which raised my interest. </div>
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After consulting the shadow map and seeing that Esterbrook was well within the area, we decided to drive down there and check out the location. What we found eventually became the location for our eclipse viewing adventure: Esterbrook Hill.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d23563.02385598268!2d-105.36304928744585!3d42.41968871769027!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x876695bafed258df%3A0xc376d2ba070668d5!2sEsterbrook+Hill!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1504388193378" style="border: 0;" width="400"></iframe>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-O4-qT5UuE32HfGJ-CRgWroPiWNdzOpOrkOtIYYgsIbl5H4narVHfN7WrcnLUlXZ2Cex2t5bwxvfPTMHigAPVCETPSRQCstaZuciGcXqeD4Wb_FE-IKgF5Oy1_t2R4uvcbRYH1j8iAeW8/s1600/IMG_0584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-O4-qT5UuE32HfGJ-CRgWroPiWNdzOpOrkOtIYYgsIbl5H4narVHfN7WrcnLUlXZ2Cex2t5bwxvfPTMHigAPVCETPSRQCstaZuciGcXqeD4Wb_FE-IKgF5Oy1_t2R4uvcbRYH1j8iAeW8/s320/IMG_0584.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laramie Peak from Esterbrook Hill</td></tr>
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Part Ib - Preparing for The Event</h2>
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The Nerding-Out and the Trip to the Viewing</h3>
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Throughout the Summer, I would set up my astrophotography equipment to test it out, in preparation for the coming eclipse. A few test shots here-and-there. Eventually I caught this video by Destin Sandlin at SmarterEveryDay. This is where I first found out about the "shadow snakes" and quickly decided to download the Solar Eclipse Timer app.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qc7MfcKF1-s/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qc7MfcKF1-s?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right; text-align: justify;" width="320"></iframe><br />
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This video pushed me to be even more aware of other phenomenon. The animal reactions, the diamond ring, and Baily's beads were all phenomenon I was familiar with--shadow bands was new.</div>
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Drumming-up a Crowd</h4>
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I chatted up many folks about the solar eclipse and I was starting to gather a crowd of interested viewers. My plan was to take Friday off of work and head up to Esterbrook. Hoping the camp ground would have an open site was 'Plan A' but the expectation was 'Plan B': to setup a dispersed camp on NF land.</div>
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A buddy from work, Troy, was planning to convoy up with me. My father was planning to head up to Glendo with his 5th wheel camper. Steve, the guy with the blog, would come up with his wife on Saturday--possibly bringing Jeff (another buddy from work) as well. My wife would come up on Sunday and bring both boys--she would stay at the trailer and the boys would camp out with me. Another two buddies from work: Jon, was planning to bringing his wife; the other: Paul, intended to bring two of his three kids. Another good-old friend, John, his wife and one or two of their boys. That made a grand total of 17-18 people. </div>
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Unfortunately, not everything worked out as planned. A number of folks had come down with a pretty bad cold including my family. Eventually we had a grand total of 12 in our group: myself and Troy arrived on Friday; Steve, Lisa, and Jeff arrived on Saturday; Jon came by himself, Sherrie (John's wife) showed up with one kid and my youngest boy, and Paul arrived with his daughter and son.</div>
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Early Preparation at the Site</h3>
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Getting there on Friday</h4>
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Troy and I planned to check out a few 'escape routes' on our way in to Esterbook. We planned to drive up I-25 and get of at Exit 94, Fish Creek Rd, rather than Exit 111 at Glendo. Having stopped in Cheyenne to fill-up the trucks and ourselves we made good time to Chugwater, then Wheatland, where we stopped to top-off the vehicles again. We were carrying extra fuel, not knowing how stretched the local infrastructure would be for the return journey, but planned to fill-up often. It was a good thing that we did not need much gas at Wheatland since they were charging over $3.30/gal whereas earlier in Cheyenne it was a more reasonable price at ~$2.40/gal.</div>
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After finally reaching the exit, we headed out west from the highway. At the Harris Park Rd (Co 71) turn-off, there happened to be a temporary Forest Service - Ranger Information stop. We pulled over to chat with the two guys manning the station and heard confirmation that 'Plan A' was no more--the Esterbrook Campground had filled-up on Thursday. They politely suggested that the Esterbrook Hill area was "nearly full". We explained that it was the rendezvous point for our group, so we needed to check out the area before deciding to camp elsewhere. </div>
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Driving up Harris Park we eventually intersected FS 633 which would take us to our final turn--FS 633A. Once we arrived in the area, it was apparent that we were not the only ones to think this would be a good viewing location. We pushed on through and eventually drove to the top of Esterbrook Hill, where the footings were all that remained of an old fire watchtower. There was already a trailer setup on the switch-back just below the peak and a tent up at the top. Moments before we arrived at the Hill, another vehicle had parked there as well. Deeming Esterbrook Hill to be too crowded for the existing folks let alone Troy and I, and the others of our group--we decided to drive back and explore the small loop of FS 633AA. Nice thing too. The second piece of luck came as we drove around looking for a good camping / viewing location. After chatting up Tim, the work center head ranger, we eventually ended up sighting a smaller hill just North of Esterbrook Hill. </div>
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That was the spot!</div>
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Setting Up</h4>
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Troy and I could not decide if we should camp by the vehicles or ~100m up the hill. The small peak was a bit rocky, so we set up a 'base camp' by the road and placed the easy-up canopy at the top of the hill. Later-on Friday, we walked around scoping out the area. </div>
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Setting up an older telescope can be tedious if you are impatient, or it can be fun if your a little bit of a nerd. I am the latter. So after staking out a decent location with the canopy, opening up the folding table, and finding a good spot for the telescope, I went about doing some initial alignment. </div>
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These telescopes, and all others for that matter, need three basic components to make the "star tracking" work properly: the tripod base needs to be level, the "wedge" needs to be set to the same angle as your latitude, and the base needs to be pointed directly North. Making the tripod level is a pretty easy endeavor given the built-in bubble level on the wedge. Determining our latitude has become very easy given that not only my hand-held GPS but even my phone can provide a location down to the fraction of a 'second'. Setting the angle on the wedge is not very complicated, though it tends to be a course setting. The final step: pointing North, can sometimes be a challenge. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYJZlVhB9U72p5qxOE3EhhZYRNOprK4W4OlpeRPIy6bWb5KRcH4ZDOHfLRaNtL__JI4sgrZvRYbqmKPfM-NexMFjeaG6XXVUG6TFeaf2-y6HpTcQMuMhpSzjiEujxYC1t5PoYCEbyBqkj/s1600/IMG_1019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYJZlVhB9U72p5qxOE3EhhZYRNOprK4W4OlpeRPIy6bWb5KRcH4ZDOHfLRaNtL__JI4sgrZvRYbqmKPfM-NexMFjeaG6XXVUG6TFeaf2-y6HpTcQMuMhpSzjiEujxYC1t5PoYCEbyBqkj/s320/IMG_1019.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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When setting up a telescope, just locating the "North Star", Polaris, is the easiest way to get started. However, setting up during the day can pose a bit of a complication--there are no stars visible. Enter the Astro Compass. This neat little anachronism is still used today for airborne navigation when you happen to be flying very far north or south, near the poles. Using it, along with a good time piece, and the annual Air Almanac, can yield very accurate bearings (ie which way is north).</div>
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Being a little bit of a nerd, I set up my astro compass, shot a north bearing, confirmed that bearing with some notable topography and my mapping GPS, then went about aligning the telescope tripod. This all worked out remarkably well and was fun to boot.</div>
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Meeting New People</h4>
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Needless to say, with such a nice location for the viewing, it did not take long for people to wonder up the hill and take in the view. Since everyone was there for the same event, finding a subject to talk about was pretty easy. </div>
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I met folks from Texas, many from Colorado, a few locals from Wyoming, a couple of people from Wisconsin, and even a few from outside the US. Backgrounds were just as diverse: optometrist, lawyer/engineer, retired oil industry/naturalist, student, eclipse chaser, ...</div>
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After the event had concluded on Monday, I had a list of over 20 people interested in my photos and video. Hopefully this blog will be the landing point for everyone at Esterbrook for the Total Solar Eclipse to meet again.</div>
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Thank you for visiting my blog!</div>
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As with the original Star Wars trilogy, the best part of the story starts with a later episode. I have captured this total eclipse adventure in a number of postings for my own recollection--and you are more than welcome to visit the other pages...</div>
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<b>Part I - The History</b></div>
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<b><a href="https://gargoyleeyes-rsf.blogspot.com/2017/09/total-solar-eclipse-of-2017-part-ii.html">Part II - The Eclipse</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://gargoyleeyes-rsf.blogspot.com/2017/09/total-solar-eclipse-of-2017-part-iii.html">Part III - The Technical Details</a></b></div>
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Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-51381561055181896232016-12-01T19:15:00.002-08:002016-12-01T19:15:30.462-08:00A Skeptic at Heart<br /><br />The following is a re-post of one I made on LinkedIn back in June 2014…<div>
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Whenever I see a new scientific gadget, I am immediately interested. So when my company recently trumpeted the installation of a new fuel cell system to help with electricity production at our headquarters facility, I started reading the internal news post with a small bit of excitement. Unfortunately, being a open skeptic and a staunch believer in the scientific method, my initial interest quickly turned into a critical analysis of what I was reading and watching.<br /><br />The first few statements made by the manufacturer of the fuel cell system made me question my understanding of basic chemistry or at least my definition of a few words. I am not a Chemist, nor am I an expert in fuel cells, I just have a degree in EE with a minor in Physics. However, being an engineer I tend to work on the application of science to real world problems and while this topic seemed to touch more on classic Chemistry, that never keeps me from asking questions and learning more.<br /><br />What was it that got me spun up? The claim that the manufacturer makes about the <a href="http://www.bloomenergy.com/fuel-cell/solid-oxide-fuel-cell-animation/">Bloom Energy Server</a> [1]:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Next, an electrochemical reaction converts fuel and air into electricity without combustion.</blockquote>
I found that to be a misleading marketing "fluff" statement at best; unsound scientific reporting or a down-right false statement at worst. A second comment on the page and in the video seemed to fit into the same fluff category:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
The oxygen ions combine with the reformed fuel to produce electricity, water, and small amounts of carbon dioxide.</blockquote>
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From my old-school understanding, combustion is an exothermic chemical reaction that always releases thermal energy and in some cases (like this) also releases energy in the form of free electrons (electricity) and/or light. Combustion is synonymous with burning in our modern lexicon which implies a flame; but in Chemistry, "combustion" is just an oxidizing reaction (or redox reaction). The chemical equation that both Bloom and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion">Wikipedia</a> [2] show is: CH4(g) + 2O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2H2O(g). When I perform this chemical reaction in my kitchen with a gas range, it is usually call "burning" by the general public or "combustion" by nerds like me.<br /><br />There is no magic here: methane, natural gas, CH4(g) is oxidized or combusted (the “+ 2O2(g)” part), and gives off CO2(g) and water vapor. Both of these gasses happen to be "a greenhouse gas" one is a major and the other is a minor greenhouse gas. Try to guess which is major—of course, that is a separate discussion that I may cover in a later post. The amount of CO2 given off does not come from the method of generating the reaction. So the “small amount" of carbon dioxide byproduct is no different when Bloom uses a fuel cell to oxidize methane than when I use a stove-top burner to combust natural gas. Mole for mole, the amount of carbon dioxide created is the same when consuming equivalent amounts of methane. By the way, I am willing to bet the Bloom Energy Server consumes a whole lot more natural gas than I do in my kitchen.<br /><br />My understanding of the most efficient form of fuel cell combustion is the Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC) which uses the reaction 2H2 + 4OH- → 4H2O + 4e- or the even simpler Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) with the reaction 2H2 + O2→ 2H2O. These PEMFCs were used in the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs and they were capable of producing electricity at nearly a 70% efficiency level [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_fuel_cell">3</a>] [<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/fuel_cells.html">4</a>] [<a href="http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/history">5</a>]. Unfortunately it takes a high level of industrial energy (jet engine-style compressor) to produce liquefied hydrogen. The combustion of liquid hydrogen still gives off a greenhouse gas (water vapor) as a byproduct of the reaction, but there is no "nasty" CO2. This chemical process allows hydrogen to act as a nice battery—a method of storing a portion of that same industrial energy it took to produce. However, the inefficiencies in the production and the difficulty of storing hydrogen have not been solved to the extent that makes hydrogen fuel cells marketable to the public, thus our reliance on hydrocarbon versions.<br /><br />It may be fair for Bloom to argue that their system is more efficient at using a chemical reaction in a thermal cycle to produce electricity versus using the intermediate mechanical stage common in power plant-generated electricity, but it is not valid for them to claim it works without combustion. The efficiency argument is also scientifically questionable from my perspective. Our modern power industry can squeeze every bit of efficiency out of their plants by benefiting from scales of production. I assume Bloom must convert the DC electricity in their Server to AC line voltage (at three phases for industrial use?) which is inherently an inefficient process. Just for a comparison I found a table on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_conversion_efficiency">Wikipedia</a> [6]... Bloom claims over 60% efficacy, which as noted in the link, is pretty close to that of a “gas turbine plus steam turbine” (natural gas power plant). Economic and market games played by the electric utilities to convince consumers when best to place their load onto the grid (peak demand charges) is different than electricity production and transmission efficiencies. Thus, this new on-site power generator may be a good deal for my company, but not because of any magic with hydrocarbon-based electricity production.<br /><br />If Bloom's customers are hoping to get an independent power source, controlled on-site, and driven by an alternative fuel, then this new fuel cell system seems to be a reasonable investment and should stand on those merits. However, I am not convinced this technology is any “greener”, nor more efficient, and I doubt it costs any less in the long run (a 100kW installation has an estimated cost of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_Energy_Server">$700k-$800k</a> [7]). In my mind this new fuel cell system may help to reduced the chance of a blackout or brown-out occurring on a business campus since it allows electricity to be generated on-site. However, it is still dependent on a utility, it just happens to be a natural gas provider rather than an electricity provider.<br /><br />"Skeptic" is not a bad word in my dictionary, in fact I feel it embodies what we need more of today. The founder of Maxim, Jack Gifford had a set of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gifford">principles</a> that he lived by and founded the company on [8]; one of those was:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
question everything and everybody</blockquote>
...caveat emptor; be a skeptic. These are wise words.<br /><br />One of my personal principles is to not be a hypocrite and thus I try to keep an open mind, ready to change if I can be convinced with a sound, logical argument without fallacy. I may have the facts wrong, so please feel free to point out where I have misinterpreted the science. I am willing to be led through the description of a newly found "energy source” like the Bloom Energy Server, and maybe they will read this post and help lead me to a better understanding. However, the laws of Physics, Chemistry, and Thermodynamics often make it difficult to find a free lunch, even with a good guide.<br /><br />The following are my references for the above text:<br />[1] <a href="http://www.bloomenergy.com/fuel-cell/solid-oxide-fuel-cell-animation/">http://www.bloomenergy.com/fuel-cell/solid-oxide-fuel-cell-animation/</a></div>
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[2] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion</a></div>
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[3] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_fuel_cell">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_fuel_cell</a></div>
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[4] <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/fuel_cells.html">http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/fuel_cells.html</a></div>
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[5] <a href="http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/history">http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/history</a></div>
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[6] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_conversion_efficiency">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_conversion_efficiency</a><br />[7] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_Energy_Server">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_Energy_Server</a><br />[8] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gifford">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gifford</a></div>
Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-22261322851756106242016-11-27T10:20:00.003-08:002016-11-27T10:43:15.501-08:00The Truth Behind the 97% Number<br />
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A mirrored posting from Quora: <a href="https://martinstoehr.quora.com/The-Truth-Behind-the-97-Number">https://martinstoehr.quora.com/The-Truth-Behind-the-97-Number</a> <br />
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Based on an answer I provided on Quora and a subsequent discussion (<a href="https://www.quora.com/Why-is-only-97-claimed-to-support-the-idea-of-AGW-when-most-skeptics-and-deniers-actually-support-it-too/answer/John-Kes/comment/19270690">https://www.quora.com/Why-is-onl...</a>), I finally decided to break down for others, my concern about bias from the original Cook et al study which is the source for the oft miss-quoted consensus number.<br />
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My deeper analysis started with a comment from Mr Tarr, and here is the statement that finally drove me to document my concerns:<br />
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<i>"Cook et al conducted a scientifically rigorous analysis of published abstracts on climate science and reached a scientifically defensible conclusion that the abstracts showed a general consensus regarding AGW. I don’t know why you’d claim that’s not science."</i></blockquote>
Mr Tarr’s assumption was not much different than the others I have encountered on Quora and elsewhere.<br />
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For a link to the original Cook et al “letter” from which a number of quotes are taken directly: <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024/meta">http://iopscience.iop.org/articl...</a><br />
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The following is my step-by-step analysis of the Cook study, why it is biased ‘research’, how it goes off the rails, and why people should not blindly believe there is an all powerful consensus backing up their opinions…<br />
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To start, Cook's own assessment of the "type" of research the team was performing was not claimed to be rigorous science:<br />
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<i>2. Methodology</i><br />
<i>This letter was conceived as a 'citizen science' project by volunteers contributing to the Skeptical Science website... we searched the ISI Web of Science for papers published from 1991–2011 using topic searches for 'global warming' or 'global climate change'.</i></blockquote>
As noted, these were"citizen scientists" doing a web search to gather a collection of papers which had "global warming" or "global climate change" listed as a topic in the ISI Web of Science database (<a href="http://ipscience.thomsonreuters.com/product/web-of-science/">Web Of Science</a>).<br />
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The Cook et al methodology section goes on to describe how the initial team of 12 categorized and then rated the abstracts of about 11,530 of the 11,944 papers they found in their search. They worked in pairs and had a third reviewer join the rating effort if the initial two reviewers disagreed (which occurred 33% of the time).<br />
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Then I submit the team's own assessment of bias (emphasis is mine):<br />
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<i>Two sources of rating bias can be cited: first, given that the raters themselves <b>endorsed the scientific consensus on AGW</b>, they may have been more likely to classify papers as sharing that endorsement. Second, scientific reticence ... or 'erring on the side of least drama' (ESLD...) may have exerted an opposite effect by biasing raters towards a 'no position' classification. These sources of bias were partially addressed by the use of multiple independent raters and by comparing abstract rating results to author self-ratings.</i></blockquote>
As noted, the Cook et al team readily admits they are biased. Unfortunately they do not provide any information on how they validated the unbiased perspective of the"multiple independent raters" nor did they indicate who these raters were or how many were involved. As for the "ESLD"—that is a term (and paper: <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378012001215">Climate change prediction: Erring on the side of least drama?</a>) arising from the Climate Change community itself and has very little credibility as a means to prove "an opposite effect [of bias]". Circular arguments are not usually permitted in a logical deduction and I see this self-ascribed anti-bias as little more than an excuse to be scientifically lazy.<br />
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With the above indications from the Cook et al team, I hold a high level of skepticism which AGW believers may not. As Mr Tarr had previous posted, Cook et al conducted a <i>"scientifically rigorous analysis…" "and reached a scientifically defensible conclusion"</i> ...and thus accused me (rightly) of <i>"…suggesting that the scientists who found a 97% consensus WEREN’T QUALIFIED to conduct or interpret their study."</i><br />
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So let us see how qualified and biased these 'scientists' may have been. Here is a list of the lead authors to Cook et al and their qualifications: <br />
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<li>Cook - BS Physics -blogger, author, cartoonist </li>
<li>Nuccitelli - BS Astrophysics, MS Physics - researcher, author </li>
<li>Green - Environmental Chemist - faculty Michigan Tech U </li>
<li>Richardson - Physics,PhD Climate - NASA JPL developer </li>
<li>Winkler - ? - blogger, zoo volunteer </li>
<li>Painting - ? - police officer, environmentalist </li>
<li>Way - BA Geography -student, researcher </li>
<li>Jacobs - MS Environmental Science and Policy - student, researcher </li>
<li>Skuce - BSc Geology, MSc Geophysics - consultant, surveyor, author </li>
</ul>
Note that every one of these people are associated with the SkepticalScience web site and blog (<a href="https://www.skepticalscience.com/team.php">https://www.skepticalscience.com...</a>). I would draw attention to the fact that 3 of 8 may not have the typical credentials needed to qualify them as 'scientists' let alone 'climate scientists' or 'experts'.<br />
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Here is the list of people who were claimed to have "collect[ed] email and rat[ed] abstracts": <br />
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<li>Jokimaki - BSc Computer Engineering - blogger, author * </li>
<li>Reitano - PhD Physics- materials research * </li>
<li>Honeycutt - ? -entrepreneur * </li>
<li>Cook - ? - ? </li>
<li>Scadden - BSc Geology- thermal modelling, geochemistry </li>
<li>Tamblyn - Mechanical Engineering - researcher, IT * </li>
<li>Blackburn - BSc Environmental Policy - blogger * </li>
<li>Hartz - ? - blogger </li>
<li>Brown - BSc Geosciences - IT security, student * </li>
<li>Morrison - ? - ? </li>
<li>Coulter - Earth Sys Science and Engineering - student </li>
<li>Stolpe - Climatology,Meteorology - researcher </li>
</ul>
Note that 6 of 12 (marked with *) are also directly associated with the SkepticalScience web site and blog. In this list, 4 of 12 do not seem to be 'credentialed'.<br />
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I will not speak negatively on those who do not have a technical degree nor are directly educated in the field of 'climate science' because I have not ascribed a valid definition of such a thing and I do not care about authority, I simply care about the data and the science. I presume that anyone who took basic, university-level courses in the hard sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) should be more than qualified to speak to these papers’ conclusions. I will leave it to the reader to decide if they are willing to accept the conclusions of bloggers, volunteers, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, and students—heretofore refer to as non-accredited—as credible researchers and 'scientists'.<br />
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Given that Cook et al used an initial pool of 12 reviewers with each abstract being initially assigned to two of those 12—I calculate that they could have had one of every 22 abstracts reviewed by two non-accredited individuals (3/12 x 2/11 = 0.0455 assuming 3 in 12 were non-accredited). Similarly about 1 out of 4 abstracts could have had at least one non-accredited reviewer.<br />
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Now, here is the trickery they used to get their 97% number…<br />
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First they categorized the abstracts of 11,944 papers with their own arbitrary system and “found” the following results:<br />
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<i>We find that 66.4% of abstracts expressed no position on AGW, 32.6% endorsed AGW, 0.7% rejected AGW and 0.3% were uncertain about the cause of global warming.</i></blockquote>
<img src="https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-86d5d5449f1ae451dacfb6bcb1dd216a?convert_to_webp=true" /><br />
(BTW, these are my graphs. The Cook team did not seem to be interested in providing data visually—maybe because it does not help their argument)<br />
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Then they took the sub-categorized abstracts and found that within those 3896 papers; 3783 of the original papers explicitly expressed that position (my emphasis) :<br />
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<i>Among abstracts expressing a position on AGW, 97.1% endorsed the consensus position that humans are causing global warming.</i></blockquote>
<img src="https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-94d0b0980badb04d9a1a382f50b6709b?convert_to_webp=true" /><br />
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There it is: 3783 papers of 11944 papers endorsed the consensus AGW and expressed such a position in the abstract—clear as you would expect from any scientific research paper, right?<br />
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Note that the final percentage of papers that “endorse the consensus” <b>out of all the papers reviewed is 31.7%</b> (3783/11944), not 97.1%.<br />
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Plus you need to remember, these results are all based on the opinions of the Cook et al team. What is amusing is that the ‘research team’ was able to compare their opinions to some actual authors and found that they were no better than chance at rating the abstracts. As noted in Table 5, based on direct responses from the authors (discussed below), half of the abstract ratings were mis-categorized—they would have saved more time by rolling dice.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
I argued with Mr Tarr that rather than using their own rating system, the Cook team could have conducted an actual direct poll of the researchers responsible for each of the abstracts / papers they assembled. As it turns out, to some extent they did exactly that (reference the Supplementary Information document,section S2):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>S2. Survey of authors</i><br />
<i>Email addresses ... were determined for [8547] scientists... The text of the self-rating survey form provided to authors follows. </i></blockquote>
... and in the report, these self-ratings were summarized thus:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>... 2142 papers received self-ratings from 1189 authors. The self-rated levels of endorsement are shown in table 4. Among self-rated papers that stated a [Cook et al] position on AGW, 97.2% endorsed the consensus. Among self-rated papers not expressing a [Cook et al] position on AGW in the abstract, 53.8% were self-rated as endorsing the consensus.</i></blockquote>
Unfortunately for Cook's team the response rate from 1189 authors was not as impressive a number as the original 11,944 papers that they started with. Also unfortunate for the ‘science’ aspects of their citizen project, rather than reporting on the survey data they collected (ie which authors responded with what endorsements), the Cook 'research team' applied a number of biases to those direct-email poll results: <br />
<ol>
<li>they did not provide the direct-poll data as a reference in their paper </li>
<li>they summarily dismissed the mediocre 'consensus' response </li>
<li>they arbitrarily re-categorized the direct-poll responses in order to gain a larger 'consensus' percentage </li>
<li>they claim the trend was toward more endorsements of the AGW position yet their own data show it trending down over the time period of their investigation (Figures 1b and 2b) </li>
</ol>
Table 4 shows this relevant information:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>% of respondents [of the 2142 papers that:]</i><br />
<i>"Endorse AGW" = 62.7%</i><br />
<i>[hold] "No AGW position" = 34.9%</i><br />
<i>"Reject AGW" = 2.4%</i></blockquote>
Re-read those results because they come directly from the paper's authors—<b>The consensus of scientists that endorse AGW from the direct poll is less than 63%!</b><br />
<br />
<img src="https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-05435f6dd42d300e874023e20bf4af65?convert_to_webp=true" /><br />
<br />
Taking either their own rating system or the direct responses from authors, the 97% consensus number is completely indefensible and is essentially made-up by the Cook et al ‘citizen science’ team.<br />
<br />
One could argue that the author response rate to the poll would be biased in favor of those who endorsed the AGW perspective. Because of the public reputation of the Cook et al team at the time and the language of the survey (noted in the S2 supplementary information section), this would not be a surprise. Even if it was not slanted, the absolute most Cook et al could claim would be a 63% endorsement, not 97%.<br />
<br />
<br />
Unfortunately 63% endorsement does not make for sensational headlines, nor does it really indicate much of a consensus. So Cook et al, plays one more trick to get back to their original number. Again, by cherry-picking an arbitrary category of authors “among papers with [an] AGW position” they return to a 97.2% of authors “Endorse AGW”.<br />
<br />
<br />
This just goes to prove:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.</i><br />
<i>—Benjamin Disraeli (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics">Lies, damned lies, and statistics - Wikipedia</a>)</i></blockquote>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I personally reject the sub-categorization of "% among respondents with AGW position” shown in Table 4. Remember, the self-admitted, biased authors of Cook et al were the ones who categorized papers as "endorsing AGW"; they cherry-picked a sub-category to strengthen their 'consensus' number. What difference does it make if an author's abstract was deemed to endorse AGW, as judged from the perspective of Cook’s team? Is it not more important that the authors STATE they endorse AGW?</div>
<br />
What may have been more relevant was the qualification of the papers' authors as 'climate scientists'. Cook himself frequently uses that term throughout the propaganda which followed the public release of Cook et al—but no where in the paper do they provide backing for which scientists were ‘climate scientists’.<br />
<br />
Remember, the “abstracts expressing a position on AGW” is their own sub-category and they chose it to be 97%! It could be whatever they wanted it to be. Cook's team does not even expressly state that 97% of 'climate scientists' endorse AGW, only that their team’s metric of "expressing a position on AGW" in the original abstract is sufficient.<br />
<br />
So it is my <b>opinion</b> that the Cook et al team demonstrates and admits to being biased, that they misrepresent the poll numbers which they collected but did not share, AND they continue to spread misinformation through the media to the point that John Cook brags about President Obama's slanted tweet:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>He also lead-authored the paper [...], which was tweeted by President Obama</i></blockquote>
President Obama's Tweet (my emphasis):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: #climate change is real, man-made and dangerous. Read more:...</i></blockquote>
No Mr Obama, 97% of scientists did not agree that “climate change is real, man-made and dangerous”; but Cook et al wants you to believe they did.<br />
<br />
Hopefully that explains my perspective on Cook et al's ‘citizen science’ project.</div>
Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-45442607496423514252012-07-21T13:21:00.001-07:002012-07-21T13:21:26.015-07:00Thinking about the Aurora shooting<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After waking to the radio alarm Friday morning and groggily hearing about “another shooting”, I was a little apathetic but also had that pang of sorrow for innocent lives lost at the hands of a another crazed gunman. Not catching the full story of the tragedy, it was after coming down for breakfast that my wife mentioned the shooting was in Denver. Before heading out the door I took a few minutes to quickly skim the headlines to learn a few reported details about the incident which had struck Aurora Colorado, right on the heels of the wildfire tragedies in Colorado Springs.<br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do not want to distract or reduce the attention that should be paid to the victims and families of this heinous crime—everyone should be given their time to grieve and heal. <br />For disclosure: I am a member of a local Izaak Walton “gun club” and go target shooting with my friends and family on a semi-regular basis. I own a number of firearms including a Winchester shotgun and a Glock semiautomatic pistol (G20) supposedly similar to those used in the shooting. A number of my friends hold concealed carry permits (CCWs), I even had one myself in the past, and I am now considering a renewal. I am a firm (but not very vocal) believer in the “individual” 2nd amendment to our constitution.<br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After an initial sharing of sorrow with a few friends at the office, the discussion inevitably turned to speculation that one concealed carry movie-goer may have been able to lessen this tragedy—and apparently we were not the only ones thinking that [<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/rep-gohmert-did-no-one-else-in-aurora-theater-have-a-gun/">1</a>]. Since politics are not a shy subject at work either, the discussion also edged toward how this incident would likely be jumped on by the gun-control lobby as one more piece of evidence for regulation. After hearing that evening that the discussions had already heated up on the radio waves and that the theater at which this shooting occurred my have had carry restrictions, I figured it was time to do some “internet fact checking” myself. <br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So my understanding is that the <a href="http://www.cinemark.com/theatre-detail.aspx?node_id=1647">Century 16</a> operated by <a href="http://www.cinemark.com/about-us.aspx">Cinemark Century Theaters</a>, does seem to have an unpublished “gun-free” policy [<a href="http://mobile.wnd.com/2012/07/colorado-theater-called-gun-free-zone/">2</a>] </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[</span><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/07/20/Ebert-Gun-Free-Theater-Proves-Concealed-Carry-Doesnt-Work" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">]</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. To me this seems to indicate why there were no “return shots” fired. I do not claim that things <i>would</i> have turned out better had this policy not been in place, merely speculated on what <b><i>I</i></b> would have or could have done had I been there with my family or friends. What would you have done? Would any of the victims’ families wished that this <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jul/20/71-year-old-florida-shoots-teenagers-video">71yr old Florida man</a> was there?<br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What we all should keep in mind is that focusing our laws on an inanimate object will not prevent this from happening, just like making drugs illegal does not stop the use. And I feel the exploitation of emotion around this event is sickening.</span> <blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Congress should “prevent future tragedies” and pass stricter gun control laws in response to the movie theater shooting, Dan Gross [<a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/about/bio/dan?s=1">4</a>], head of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement. The Washington-based group describes itself as the country’s largest pro-gun-control lobby. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-20/colorado-shooting-suspect-avoided-gun-reporting-requirement">5</a>] [<a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/press/view/1510/">6</a>] </span></blockquote>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The folks over at the Brady Campaign feel that:</span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is yet another horrific reminder that guns enable mass killings </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[<a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/">7</a>]</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look—I understand the position of the Brady Campaign folks. I also understand the position of the NRA (I am a lifetime member). But this kind of non-discussion, sound-bite oriented back-and-forth will not bring back the victims of this shooting. New limitations will not <i>stop crime</i>, it will not <i>prevent people from dying</i>, and it will most certainly not <i>prevent suffering</i>. As much as people would like to live in a perfect utopian society, history has taught us otherwise. Though the feel-good, knee-jerk reaction to “join together in calling for restrictions on the sale and possession of deadly weapons” [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/opinion/weve-seen-this-movie-before.html?_r=1&hp.html">8</a>] may make people feel safer, it is an illusion. I can guess at the consequences of limiting or revoking the rights of legally abiding citizens to protect themselves: it is not good for the citizen, it is not good for the moral framework of this country, and it is not going to keep a deranged, mis-guided individual from committing a crime. It displaces the problem from a person to an object—it is a lot easier to hate an object than it is to hate a person. Remember, the crime of murder is already illegal. The crime of assault with a deadly weapon is already illegal. And unfortunately a deadly weapon can be a car [<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/28/car-runs-down-bicyclists-brazil_n_829425.html">9</a>], a bat [<a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20120421/NEWS03/204210338/Funeral-for-father-killed-in-baseball-bat-attack-is-Wednesday">10</a>], or a spatula [<a href="http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12372717">11</a>]. Granted, the ability of some to murder on a greater scale is exacerbated by the use of modern firearms, but that genie has been out of the bottle for a very long time [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_firearm">12</a>]. AND this should not be a question about the method, but about the motive. Remove the motive and the crime will not be committed. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please, let us first help comfort those that are suffering from this tragedy. If you know someone who is impacted, give them your support—I know how this can help [<a href="http://home.comcast.net/~mtstoehr/bls.htm">13</a>].<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, if we must, let us <b><i>discuss</i></b> changes to “gun laws”, not shout past each other. Do we need to change how we sell firearms, who we sell them to, what is manufactured, what is available? Maybe. What we more likely need to do is look inside ourselves, look at society, and ask why a PhD candidate with no background of violence snapped and decided to shoot up a movie theater killing, wounding, and imposing massive suffering that radiates beyond Aurora. Answer that question and you may be closer to the utopia you dream of—though I doubt it. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From my view, more government is not an answer it is an aversion.<br />--Marty</span></div>
</div>Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-25871638208126876222011-05-30T07:19:00.000-07:002011-05-30T07:39:47.622-07:00Memorial Day in SpaceHere we are, one launch away from not having a manned space program. My last post was almost two years ago and at that time I was concerned with the lack of progress in the past 40 years--two more did not make much of a difference. Endeavour is on its way home today, Memorial Day, 2011. That leaves Atlantis in STS-135 as our last shot into space. A "resupply" and minor upgrade to the International Space Station.<div>At least we had the fortitude to complete the ISS. </div><div>This country is so fickle and it amazes me that we can be so heads-down on cell phones, video games, and the latest portable electronics and not look up at that vast open expanse and see the countless stars--then ignore it all and demand our government provide high-speed connections to read our e-mail. </div><div>We will shortly be left with no way to get an American into LEO on our own, let alone to the Moon or beyond. What a legacy to leave behind for our aging space adventurers; what a sad story to tell the the children and grandchildren of those who died, giving their life for the exploration of space. I visited the <a href="http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/astronaut-memorial.aspx">memorial</a> before it was carved with the names of the Columbia crew. That is what we have on this Memorial Day: a legacy of triumph followed by loss--loss of a dream.</div>Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-45159707188051104322009-07-23T19:42:00.000-07:002009-12-24T07:37:01.511-08:00Space Exploration - 40 Years LaterWhat would you say if you were part of man's greatest triumph ever, and yet after 40 years of scientific achievement, unimaginable advancements in chemistry, physics, and biology, along with other peripheral sciences, you could not repeat that feat even if it meant the preservation of the human race? I am referring to our human exploration of the Moon. As most people know by now, it started with Apollo 11, 40 years ago on 20 Jul 1969--six months before I was born; and it ended with the last mission, Apollo 17 on 19 Dec 1972--only weeks before my third birthday.<br /><br />In a 2001 interview [<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/62281main_armstrong_oralhistory.pdf">19 Sep 2001, Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, Neil A. Armstrong</a>] Armstrong stated "Well, had you asked me that question thirty years ago, I probably would have said, no, I can't imagine that we'll make such a small number of steps over the next three decades. " Though he also noted that he understood why the manned missions, or any missions to the Moon had fallen out of favor (due to "conflicting requirements for resources that the country has"), I suspect that he was being gentle with NASA and the various administrations between 1972 and that day.<br /><br />I have been a space fanatic for most of my life. I think it may have started with movies like Star Wars in 1977, my first viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), or the likes of The Right Stuff (1983), all of which inspired me to learn more about space. In my early grade school years my family was living in Maryland, just a stone's throw from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I was an active member of the Rocket Club in junior high and high school, developing my own designs and flying them when I could afford engines. I also participated in many of the monthly model rocket launches at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html">Goddard Space Flight Center</a> in Greenbelt when I could convince my mom to drive me down there. At some point I told my dad, an Aerospace Engineer working for the USAF, that I wanted to become a "space architect". I followed the early adventures of the new Space Transportation System (STS, better known as the Space Shuttle), the crews, and the missions themselves. I remember where I was when the Challenger was lost--it was my young generation's equivalent to Kennedy.<br /><br />Later, my interest turned into serious efforts to pursue the same engineering degree my father had received but mine would come from the University of Colorado at Boulder. First semester, freshman year was when my dreams encountered reality. Beyond the fact that I was shortly thrown out on my ear from the College of Engineering, I also began to understand the true reason for the US space program. I learned that the space race, the Mercury and Apollo missions were started more for political reasons than for reasons of true science or exploration. I became disillusioned with NASA and what it stood for. As I tried to sweep up my shattered dreams of being a proud member of the armed forces (Air Force ROTC) and a member of the next generation of "rocket science" engineers, I continued in fits-and-starts with my education at CU Colorado Springs. I stayed abreast of space activities through memberships in the National Space Society and the Planetary Society. I read about the current happenings in Aviation Week and Scientific American, all the while fighting my way through the morass of higher education. Eventually I migrated from my interim studies as a Physicist, back into the school of engineering and finally graduated with a BSEE.<br /><br />In the mean time I had thought of getting my private pilots license, of joining a group of private aviation developers (<a href="http://www.eclipseaviation.com/index.htm">Eclipse Aviation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Aircraft_Industries">Adam Aircraft</a>), anything to get back into my dream of aviation and space science. Eventually I was left with living vicariously through my friends who had jobs in the aviation community--a community that I still had not obtained citizenship to.<br /><br />That is where I come back to on this 40 year anniversary. I have not witnessed a man on the Moon in my personal memory--oh sure, there is the footage, the photos, the sounds; but the closest I have come is my memories of Pathfinder's landing on Mars (4 Jul 1997). Its success, of course was shortly followed by the losses of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter">Mars Climate Orbiter</a> (23 Sep 1999), the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander">Mars Polar Lander</a> (3 Dec 1999), and later the disastrous loss of our second, original STS OV, Columbia on 1 Feb 2003. NASA finally got the "recovery" boost it needed with the successes of Sprit (4 Jan 2004) and Opportunity (25 Jan 2004) landing on Mars--two semi-autonomous robots, not humans.<br /><br />It was with Columbia that I finally gave up on NASA and turned to the possibilities offered by private enterprise. After following the highlights of the X-Prize and the various competitors vying for press and money, it was obvious where that trophy would go: the future winner had finally thrown their hat into the ring when Scaled Composites joined the race. I had the chance to witness this best new prospect for private space exploration when Scaled took their first baby steps with the White Knight and SpaceShipOne. I actually got to see the toddler walk when Robert, Jeff, and I flew out to the Mojave Desert to witness the first private attempt to graze the firmament by the space-plane marked N328KF (21 Jun 2004). Not long after that, we learned that the design was to swing into full production with the SpaceShipTwo, under the guidance (and with the finances) of Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic. There has been progress but not the grand leaps that I expected from the commercialization of such a bold venture. It seems that private space may be plagued by failure as much as NASA. Scaled suffered an accident, loosing three members of their team on 26 Jul 2007. And later that year a valued member the modern-day explorers club, Steve Fossett, was lost to the wild blue yonder (c. 3 Sep 2007).<br /><br />I started writing this blog entry back in July of this year and got depressed. I found myself putting it off until now. Why? Because, I have had to contemplate the thought that the flame of exploration is dead. I had hoped it was not, but I fear that I no longer have the drive which I once did back in the 1980s—back then I thought I could change the world and I thought I would be a member of the first generation to know space as a homestead for my children. Now I see that four decades have pass for the most well know of the astronaut generation. Neither he nor I have seen anything more impressive than an expensive looking glass in orbit around our wet orb, peering at the prize but no longer seeking to land on its shores.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-30386618074864283662009-04-16T20:50:00.000-07:002020-11-22T18:56:48.105-08:00Volumes in PerspectiveI was talking with Paul <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kalthoff</span> today about the “biomass” of the human race. I was driving into work and looking over at Pikes Peak (since traffic was running slow on the highway), and thought to myself that we humans really are small compared to that mountain. In fact, I thought to myself, I bet we could throw the whole human race into some imaginary volume hidden behind the peak. Little did I know how much I over estimated, after spending about 10 minutes with Paul doing mental calculations we figured that the whole of the human race would take up <em>only</em> around a cubic kilometer. Here is what I found later that evening:<br /><br />An accurate estimate of the average volume of a human being was a little hard to come by. However, a rough estimate was proposed in a number of sites found in a Google search that hypothesized the following: the human body is approximately the density of water (1.01kg/l [<a title="blocked::http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(density)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(density)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(density)</a>]), the average mass of the human body is around 70kg [<a title="blocked::http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/AlexSchlessingerman.shtml" href="http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/AlexSchlessingerman.shtml">http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/AlexSchlessingerman.shtml</a>], so the average volume of a human comes in around 70.7 liters.<br /><br />Next is the simple math of translating a human into a cubic meter:<br />1<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">hu</span> = 70.7l = 0.0707m^3<br />1m^3 can hold a little more than 14 people (assuming you hit the puree button on the blender):<br />1m^3 = 14.1443<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">hu</span><br /><br />So how many people are on this planet? That you can find all over the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">internet</span>:<br />6.790062216E+9 (July 2009 estimate [<a title="blocked::https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/xx.html" href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/xx.html">https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/xx.html</a>])<br /><br />So, again some simple math shows that we human beings, one of the most prolific forms of dry-land life, would take up the massive volume of around:<br />480E+6m^3 which of course equates to 0.48km^3<br /><br />That’s right! We add up to less than half a cubic kilometer.<br /><br />When you read articles that state “The biomass of human bodies now exceeds by a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">hundred</span> times that of any large animal species that ever existed on land.” [<a title="blocked::http://www.newstatesman.com/200402230015" href="http://www.newstatesman.com/200402230015">http://www.newstatesman.com/200402230015</a>]<br />You are left with comparing that to what: how much we use in resources? How about how much biomass was morphed into coal?<br /><br />Just for some perspective, comparing the human race to the volume of coal mined on a yearly basis [<a title="blocked::http://www.lewrockwell.com/reisman/reisman15.html" href="http://www.lewrockwell.com/reisman/reisman15.html">http://www.lewrockwell.com/reisman/reisman15.html</a>], I found this interesting article that noted in 2004 approximately 2.1km^3 were mined. So we could pack the mass of the human race into the hole left over from three months of mining coal.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurg5c6a-E6cs5GdIbDy_fq3Svzhn56QdGjIjwTwuiM9P-DwUKTs6ka_fdMEi3Ei7Ccj-T0I5poTZFfh2dTAAxPXBLkJG997c5Xo2x3Ppd3s_g-5Sm3cGz0rSWl3dSMAyltj0018qeXDKf/s1600-h/GoogleEarthPikesPeak-small.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325507860344632306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurg5c6a-E6cs5GdIbDy_fq3Svzhn56QdGjIjwTwuiM9P-DwUKTs6ka_fdMEi3Ei7Ccj-T0I5poTZFfh2dTAAxPXBLkJG997c5Xo2x3Ppd3s_g-5Sm3cGz0rSWl3dSMAyltj0018qeXDKf/s320/GoogleEarthPikesPeak-small.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />So it would take just a small portion of the top of Pikes Peak (think about a 1km x 1km x 480m box) to hide the whole of the human race.<br /><br />If you are a visual person, click on the capture of Google Earth where I mapped a 1km line across the Peak.<br /><br />We are so small.<br />And yes, I know I’m weird.<br /><br />--MartyMartin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-73408469252803404582009-04-02T21:02:00.000-07:002014-10-21T22:21:28.351-07:00Manmade global warming, huh?What happens when a non-scientist (Seth Borenstein, Boston University, BS Journalism [<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/8/b5a/438">http://www.linkedin.com/pub/8/b5a/438</a>]) reports on science:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090402/ap_on_sc/sci_quiet_sun_2">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090402/ap_on_sc/sci_quiet_sun_2</a> [original link is dead, try this one:<br />
<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2009Apr02/0,4675,SCIQuietSun,00.html">http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2009Apr02/0,4675,SCIQuietSun,00.html</a>]<br />
<br />
Note the second sentence in the AP report…<br />
<br />
WASHINGTON – The sun has been unusually quiet lately, with fewer sunspots and weaker magnetic fields than in nearly a century. A quiet sun is good for Earth: GPS systems are more accurate, satellites stay in orbit longer; even the <em>effects of manmade global warming are marginally reduced</em>, though just by three-tenths of a degree at most. [emphasis added]<br />
<br />
If I am not mistaken, the sentence is drawing a connection between fewer sunspots and a lower temperature. Is that not reducing the effects of <strong>sun-made</strong> global warming?<br />
<br />
Also, I think the effects of global warming are supposed to be on the order of about 0.1ºC to 1.0 ºC per decade over 50 years [<a href="http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2120">http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2120</a>] or 1.4ºC to 5.8ºC over the next century [<a href="http://www.greenfacts.org/studies/climate_change/level_1.htm#3">http://www.greenfacts.org/studies/climate_change/level_1.htm#3</a>], or 0.74ºC over the last century and <strong>2.4ºC to 6.4ºC in the 21st century worst-case</strong> [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report</a>], depending which source of hysteria you reference.<br />
<br />
Hmmm, sunspot activity accounts for <strong>0.36ºC to 0.54ºC</strong> in one year (main statement in first paragraph <em>does not use units</em>, forth paragraph from bottom notes Fahrenheit) and Cicerone states that “manmade heating effects are 13 times greater than the variations from solar activity.”<br />
That would mean that manmade heating is expected to <em><strong>move temperatures by 4.68ºC to 7.02ºC a year!</strong></em><br />
<br />
Does nobody actually check these numbers?<br />
I guess the general public is just willing to swallow whatever they are fed, as long as it sounds official.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-66232007098469547422008-12-02T22:40:00.000-08:002008-12-02T22:56:45.658-08:00I finished Michael Crichton's NEXT last night. It fit into his typical formula of writing: open with a death, jump characters, slowly join them into the final story line. I like his writings and his research (his bibliography had 36 references plus a list of 24 combined press articles and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">internet</span> sites). Who but Crichton would even have a bibliography in a fiction book? Interesting fictional analysis of the extremes of politics, law, and the media (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">PLM</span>)--similar to what he addressed in State of Fear.<br />On my vacation in Cancun, I finished reading Cool It by Bjorn <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Lomborg</span>, that gives an economist's point of view to the solutions offered up for solving the "global warming crisis."<br />I also read all the way through George Orwell's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/1984-Signet-Classics-George-Orwell/dp/0451524934">1984</a> while on vacation. <br />I am finding an interesting thread in my reading selections from Animal Farm, 1984, State of Fear, and some subjects discussed on the Thomas Jefferson Hour.<br />I picked up quite a few books on US History subjects such as the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Federalist-Papers-Signet-Classics/dp/0451528816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228287037&sr=1-1">Federalist Papers</a>, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Federalist-Constitutional-Convention-Debates-Classics/dp/0451528840/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228287037&sr=1-2">Anti-Federalist Papers</a>, and a collection of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Common-Rights-Essential-Writings-Classics/dp/0451528891/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228287120&sr=1-1">Thomas Paine</a>'s writings at our local B&N. These are next on my reading list and hopefully I can actually fit those in over the remainder of the holiday season.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-67166049094062101192008-11-16T08:09:00.000-08:002008-11-16T13:47:29.768-08:00Loss of a Great WriterI recently learned of the loss of one today's greatest authors: Michael Crichton. I have come to appreciate the rebellious streak in his writing and I had hoped to enjoy another of his novels with my purchased of his most recent book: <a href="http://www.michaelcrichton.net/books-next-history.html">NEXT</a>. My memory of early science fiction movies is almost founded on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066769/">Andromada Strain </a>and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/">Westworld</a>. I had also receive inspiration to <a href="http://home.comcast.net/~mtstoehr/gwcritic.htm">investigate</a> global warming with a critical eye after reading <a href="http://www.michaelcrichton.net/books-stateoffear.html">State of Fear</a> and his <a href="http://www.michaelcrichton.net/speech-ourenvironmentalfuture.html">speeches</a>.<br />I am sure many who found Michael to be inspirational or a bane will have many more eloquent things to say about this remarkable man. Having lost my brother suddenly and not too long ago, I can empathize with his family. I add my sympathies to the many that may be directed their way over the next year and as the anniversaries pass.<br />Rest well.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-84704938456362892822008-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:002008-10-19T10:33:32.457-07:00When was the last time you read <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=SGAZdjNfruYC&dq=animal+farm&pg=PP1&ots=vsI7-fmPPE&source=bn&sig=Cafzopyw96A7_L_eEolchofgJ04&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result"><em>Animal Farm</em></a>? I remember it being required reading back in grade school, and rumor has it that the book has been removed from reading curricula of late. I do not know if that is true but for whatever reason, probably the latest election cycle, I felt compelled to read it again. After finishing <em>The Trouble With Physics</em> by Lee Smolin, I picked up a copy of George Orwell's <em>Animal Farm</em> at the local B & N.<br /><br />The Signet Classics version had a Preface by Russel Baker talking about Eric Blair (George Orwell), his experience in Spain, and his belief in socialism--but not the Soviet interpretation. This short back-history along with the 1954 Introduction by C. M. Woodhouse, and the fairy-story itself, made for some interesting re-reading.<br /><br />What do you think about the following analogies?<br /><br />Pigs : The Seven Commandments :: US Politicians : Constitution of the United States<br /><br />Napoleon : Milk :: US Political Parties : Money<br /><br />Boxer : Windmill :: US Public : Climate Change<br /><br />Not that these are perfect comparisons, nor have I really thought them through, but it is something to ponder.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-91024597760400737812008-09-20T17:45:00.000-07:002008-09-20T18:06:24.503-07:00Mt. Antero rock hounding, et cetera<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jFD_UB7-M12FJfi2ABKM_VHUiwvWX2LgL_SVUHU6-O2KMIEos9mVkrWRod0TC6cgEAcNqmmAwLihK64MJruOh3fvONFlGBJvTc6VmBBIOe5PwuO_gYvBPvlctl06HEVbH3wvdhcnmqcZ/s1600-h/IMG_9601.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248272603361127538" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jFD_UB7-M12FJfi2ABKM_VHUiwvWX2LgL_SVUHU6-O2KMIEos9mVkrWRod0TC6cgEAcNqmmAwLihK64MJruOh3fvONFlGBJvTc6VmBBIOe5PwuO_gYvBPvlctl06HEVbH3wvdhcnmqcZ/s320/IMG_9601.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br />After all of the outdoor adventure this summer, Troy was still itching for more. He worked up plans to squeeze in one more drive and I agreed to go along with the boys. The result: Mt. Antero on 7 Sep.</div><br /><div>There were three phases: a 4WD, a hike up Mt. Antero, and rock hounding.<br />The drive was very bumpy in spots and I would have to say it had one of the steepest dirt road stretches I have dealt with in a while. I did not spin wheels, but I was right on the verge of doing so a couple of times. Once we broke above tree line, the drive was pretty easy if you have no problems with the "exposure". Maybe if you were riding shotgun or if you have a strong fear of heights, then it would be uncomfortable. The boys have no fear in the truck so they were just fine. Near the end of the drive, the trail flattened out and snaked through a high park until making a zigzag up the last portion. The final leg was a little sporty on the switch-backs, with one that I had to do a two-point turn on. This part was even more interesting on the way down. Not really any more difficult, just a bit nerve racking if that stuff bothers you.<br />Once we got to the parking lot up top, three of us decided to summit the peak (Troy, Bernie, and myself). Troy's wife said she would keep an eye on the kids so we started off. Bernie decided a short way in that he did not want to continue due to the stress on his back, so he turned back for the trucks. Troy and I spent the next hour searching for the trail on the rock-strewn peak. Just short of the summit, there was a nice spot overlooking an easterly ridge line and a steep drop-off to the north. A few more vertical feet and we were at the top of 14,269 foot Mt. Antero. Troy and I shuffled around a bit and I picked up some nice white and pink quartz specimens before signing the log.<br />On our way down, very near the base of the summit trail, I noticed a vein of green stone and started to follow it off trail to the west. It was evident that others had been scrapping in the area before. I quickly found some small but fully formed quartz crystals. After hunting around for five or ten minutes I caught back up with Troy and we headed for the trucks to pick up the kids. Both Alex and Andrew were more than enthusiastic to finally have a focused rock hounding effort. We probably spent an hour poking around, with Alex and I finding some keepers but nothing that would be considered high quality.<br />Most of the return trip was uneventful except for the other drivers discovering some of the disadvantages of ABS while four wheeling (I already had my differential locker engaged so my ABS was disabled). Also, half way down to timberline, we literally ran into a herd of mountain goats.<br />Pictures of the day can be found on my Picasa album: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/GargoyleEyes/MtAntero08">http://picasaweb.google.com/GargoyleEyes/MtAntero08</a></div><div></div><div>--The picture at the top was taken by Alex--</div>Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-32357011888381576572008-08-20T22:03:00.000-07:002008-08-21T20:48:41.603-07:00Gunny Canoeing<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisj1vv-iKNuHceAhcGBmJvLqZbyr-pnyImsQnqVcqraLvqRo0CceUrFpi4koCIC1RtjB0qoj4bqtkzqMci4IFhF2jMisJ0s1GTxaD5I4uEuzHrdeia1yD12OO_onf3c5LaHHXdZIaXzF5E/s1600-h/IMG_3009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237182613926313714" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisj1vv-iKNuHceAhcGBmJvLqZbyr-pnyImsQnqVcqraLvqRo0CceUrFpi4koCIC1RtjB0qoj4bqtkzqMci4IFhF2jMisJ0s1GTxaD5I4uEuzHrdeia1yD12OO_onf3c5LaHHXdZIaXzF5E/s320/IMG_3009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This last weekend, six of us <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Maximites</span> (John K., Troy L., Robert W., Robert P., Mike F., and myself) went on a canoe trip down the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Gunnison</span> between Delta CO and Whitewater. We left a little early on Thursday from work, heading for some nondescript camp site near Blue Mesa. After a decent sleep, we got up and had breakfast at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">McD's</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Montrose</span> on our way to the put-in. Following the requisite car shuffle, we were on the river around 11:30 and enjoying the laid-back ~1200<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cfs</span> flow. Our first day had very little excitement as we all left the high tension environment of work behind and came down to "river speed" (as John likes to call it). By mid-afternoon we passed under the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Escalante</span> bridge and took a few minutes on dry land to stretch and discuss the plans for that evening's camping sight. This location was the usual put-in for people making the same run through Dominguez Canyon, so a few of us tried to make it to shore from the "island" we were on, in order to read the check-in log. John failed in walking across the deep (not really, not even to his calf) and swift (OK, maybe) water, and Mike and I failed in our attempts to ferry over (I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">mis</span>-paddled and we "landed" a few meters down river). Luckily "the Roberts" were successful and they noted that there were about 50 people ahead of us on the river. Around 17:00 we stopped at the first designated camp site within the wilderness study area and settled in a little early. Each of us leisurely made dinner for ourselves, popped open some brews, and initiated the evening discussions over a miniature camp fire.</div><br /><div>The next morning we all started to roll out of our tents around 07:00 to breakfast. Two hours passed as we broke camp, packed everything up, and some folks even squeezed in a few casts on their rods. Fishing had been poor the day before, only improving slightly just before we got back on the water: Robert W. captured (snagged) a small, unidentified fish (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">UFnoO</span>). Even attempts to use a native frog as bait did not pan out as we started our second day on the Gunny. The laziness of the river was starting to sink in as the landscape grew in grandeur. The canyon walls were looming taller while becoming more varied in color. As the morning was about to hand-off to the afternoon, we stopped at the Dominguez Canyon confluence. This is where we finally bumped into the 50+ people listed in the register! Even though it looked crowded (12 canoes, a raft, and all kinds of tents spread out in the area), we encountered very few people. One here, two there, as our group walked a short distance up the trail. We did not really want to eat lunch here so we all hopped back into the boats and started down the river again, looking for a nearby place to pull off and eat.</div><br /><div>This is where the story picks up a bit. When we first approached this stopping point Mike and I noticed that there were many places where the water was spilling out of the cove to make its way down stream. We decided that the left-most spillway was the best looking (most adventurous). As we started our paddle, I noticed an inner tube floating in an eddy and mentioned it to Mike--big mistake on my part. We both had our eyes on that inner tube as we rounded the left-turn spill way, then <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">chicaned</span> right, unfortunately we did not pay enough attention to the exit path. As we were passing by the tube that came up at us faster than we thought, we were swept past the eddy and were headed right for a large rock that I had now noticed. This huge monolith had the swift current flowing <em>under</em> rather than around it. In a split-second I had put my hands out and slowed our impact speed so the canoe did not exactly smack the rock head-on. At this point though, the tail end was being pushed into the rock as Mike and I frantically stroked at the water to get us around (rather than under) the obstruction. We almost had cleared the pinnacle but as we did the up-stream gunwale dip ever so slightly into the water. That was all it took! The next thing I know, I am standing in chest-deep water, trying to decide what I should salvage from the flotsam washing by. I snagged my small dry bag which held my digital and video camera in it and started wrestling the canoe the remainder of the way around the rock. Mike and I drug the swamped canoe up onto the rock plateau just behind that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">blameful</span> piece of sandstone, then we took pause and assessed our situation. We were obviously wet, about two-thirds of our stuff was on its own course down the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Gunnison</span> (with our buddies snatching at it, trying to hold back full-blown belly laughs), but we were sound. We dumped the water out, packed up what we were able to salvage ourselves, and slipped back into the river with a grand experience now under our belt.</div><br /><div>To say the least, the remainder of the trip was less adventurous than those few minutes. We passed both a new and an old foot bridge soon after "Turn-over Rock", followed by some orchards and more scenic canyon walls. Around 17:30, we pulled up on a willow-strewn beach and posted our last camp of the trip.</div><br /><div>The next morning left us with a short paddle to the take-out point (about four miles remained). Except for five minutes of excitement, the whole trip was very leisurely. It turned out to be just what we had hoped for: a quiet, lazy, river paddle with a good group of guys.</div><br /><div>For select pictures go to the album on Picasa: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/GargoyleEyes/GunnisonCanoeTrip08"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">GunnisonCanoeTrip</span>08</a></div><br /><div></div>Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-67118008709013488322008-07-09T19:37:00.001-07:002008-07-09T19:45:16.356-07:00Canoe Trip Prep WorkI spent yesterday evening with the boys pulling down the canoe and preparing for this weekend. Alex and I will be joining two other father/son pairs from my work as we head up to the North Platte on Friday. We plan to run the same <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">stretch</span> of river that Mike and I <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/GargoyleEyes/NorthPlatteCanoeTrip07">ran last fall</a>: from Pick Bridge (just north of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Saratoga</span> WY) to Ft. Steele (rest stop off of I-80). It is about 33 river miles and will be the first time in our "new" canoe, the first time Alex and I have gone <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">canoeing</span>, and the first time for the other father/sons as well. It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully it is manageable, my worry being that when Mike and I went last year the flow was about 300 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">cfs</span>, this weekend it should be around 2500 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cfs</span>!Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-92118624202453168412008-07-06T20:05:00.000-07:002008-07-09T19:36:37.057-07:004x4 on the 4th in Chihuahua<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdmiifWYjPmpyNoGWQplaudtoLh3auGJd_9ml7NEQppSyz5bggi_Cox2wIpRMl566WswtZGb51HCrfBnpC4YCaAnH5SznSBEzEBzbK2YaT7ndyLK8kwtUXoB3wsKML8maWmBncwLIOCcj/s1600-h/IMG_1610.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220103887715404994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdmiifWYjPmpyNoGWQplaudtoLh3auGJd_9ml7NEQppSyz5bggi_Cox2wIpRMl566WswtZGb51HCrfBnpC4YCaAnH5SznSBEzEBzbK2YaT7ndyLK8kwtUXoB3wsKML8maWmBncwLIOCcj/s320/IMG_1610.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Reason #1 to buy a 4-wheel drive and use it: get the family out into Colorado vistas such as these. We spent the Fourth-of-July weekend in the mountains, with my primary goal of driving up Chihuahua gulch. This place is just east of Keystone, and is within view of the two 14-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ers:</span> Grays and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Torreys</span> <span style="font-size:85%;">(back-side is to the right of the picture)</span>. The drive itself was only a little over an hour, from Keystone to the beginning of the trail head, but of course there were quite a few wondrous places to stop before reaching the end of the road. Troy joined us in his "new" 4Runner on this bumpy ride, and it was the first of its kind for my wife. There were a couple of creek crossings, one of which could be tricky having 2-foot-sized rocks in the way, as you ford through axle-deep water. After lunching at the trail head, we walked a little ways towards the upper lake taking pictures along the way. I think everyone enjoyed it, encountering beautiful flowers in bloom and wide-open vistas featuring waterfalls, marshy flats, and rubble strewn mountain sides. The weather was about perfect while we were there, with a few clouds breaking up the blue, mountain-cut skyline. We closed the day with a drive back to Siverthorn through a long missed 4-o-clock thunder storm.</div>Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-90482324627624091412008-07-01T06:10:00.001-07:002008-07-01T06:19:37.748-07:00Changing US Government (sort of)If you have visited my web pages you may have stumbled upon my pages on my (now stalled) <a href="http://home.comcast.net/~mtstoehr/gwcritic.htm">global warming research</a>. I still find that subject fascinating but have not devoted any time to that line of questioning since the death of my brother.<br />Lately I have had a radical idea (not really) of how to restructure the United States government, specifically the House of Representatives, in a way that some may find unique. I believe that this change could solve many of the issues Americans have with their federal government. I am planning to assemble a well thought out argument for this change on my web site along with an executive summary posted to this blog. Stay tuned, for a look into my thoughts on this and many more subjects.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-28212504357729825832008-06-29T19:02:00.000-07:002008-06-29T19:17:00.263-07:00Yesterday at Florissant<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKAA-wdkWmLVOgz3GNHVQCghAeKUERD8SgyJGU0vMXCOeZUD3nIY6E6fmpbNUs7iTkh39Ay2RX2PLihSoxRDa_BWPnP79oIooaCk6trbov5FJ8ffJsKWSAGv32B0lcW8cX7IsSFUZ7soj/s1600-h/IMG_1427.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217491341216768514" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKAA-wdkWmLVOgz3GNHVQCghAeKUERD8SgyJGU0vMXCOeZUD3nIY6E6fmpbNUs7iTkh39Ay2RX2PLihSoxRDa_BWPnP79oIooaCk6trbov5FJ8ffJsKWSAGv32B0lcW8cX7IsSFUZ7soj/s320/IMG_1427.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><p align="left">Yesterday was a fun mini-adventure for the family. My father ("Pops" to the boys) joined us on our little excursion to <a href="http://www.nps.gov/flfo/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Florissant</span> Fossil Beds NM</a>. We had a good bit of fun at the National <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Monument</span> with a well guided tour given by a park ranger. The boys both picked up Jr. Ranger badges and in doing so, they learned a good bit about petrified wood, carbonized plant and insect fossils. After the one mile walking tour we went to the yurt and learned about how the paleontologists work through the shale to find various fossils. Currently they are not "digging" at the monument site but they <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">definitely</span> have a good bit to see. After we wrapped up our visit there, we made our way to the preserved homestead just up the way. Our final stop was to spend an hour at the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">private</span> quarry inside the town of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Florissant</span>. Given a little bit of time, we were able to pry <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">apart</span> some of the shale and find our own small <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">collection</span> of leaf fossils.</p></div>Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-4134204295790930132008-06-29T18:48:00.000-07:002008-06-29T19:19:16.644-07:00Interesting Morning<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vFCRfXnPxZFJOGRicei8n3KNcSeI91X3zPJNThyR2ZGKEK_UpgP6fjsAATXRJeRBXwDxwvPLPWZN0KZ4cWSTKtAXAMDfK5vDhDNSEEu7L4NP35k6JpnR8wnJt7tUfkyeMae4EVLdvENX/s1600-h/IMG_1490.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vFCRfXnPxZFJOGRicei8n3KNcSeI91X3zPJNThyR2ZGKEK_UpgP6fjsAATXRJeRBXwDxwvPLPWZN0KZ4cWSTKtAXAMDfK5vDhDNSEEu7L4NP35k6JpnR8wnJt7tUfkyeMae4EVLdvENX/s160/IMG_1490.JPG" border="0" /></a> It was one of those Sunday mornings: I'm just laying there in bed, on the edge of sleep and I hear that noise. It is kind of like a strong, directed, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">whooshing</span> tone. Well the picture at the right is the give-away. Every so often, usually in the spring, we will have an early morning <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">visitor</span> above the field behind our back yard. It just so happens that this was one of five hot-air balloons traveling through our neighborhood this morning. This one <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">disappeared</span> to the north, probably landing at Challenger MS. Of the other four, I saw one touched down across the street, a second one did a touch-and-go (which I had never seen with balloons), a third came down in the same area but I only caught a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">glimpse</span> of it over the tops of some houses to the south of us. The last one I watched land in the field behind our house. I was able to stir both of our boys for just moments--long enough for them to see some evidence of the balloons before passing out again for more shut-eye.<br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: right"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-77838925880422917162008-06-28T07:45:00.000-07:002008-06-28T07:54:05.529-07:00Is the family web page really that bad?Yes and no. When our service provider changed from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Adelphia</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Comcast</span>, I moved a majority of the web site across to the new account, but not all. I guess I need to give it a little sprucing up. Currently plans are to add links to this blog, to the Picasa site for pictures, and to remove some of the older, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">uninteresting</span> content. I hope to also freshen up the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">genealogy</span> links and maybe get more of the family involved with the site itself. I have even considered registering a domain to have a permanent <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">presence</span> on the web for the family.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-8382120562114119632008-06-27T22:55:00.000-07:002008-06-28T00:01:51.787-07:00Anyone out there?Well, that may be what people are thinking if they ever visited this site and came back a second time. I think it has been nearly a year since I signed on for a blog, and nothing. Well Steve Lave just sent me an invite to his blog and I thought maybe I should start making some entries here. I have been posting photos to my Picasa site and if you are interested in airplanes and the like, it has some nice shots. I was impressed when I handed over my older digital camera (Canon S410) to Alex and he actually snapped some nice shots. Pictures are one thing, content is another.<br />So things that I have been up to lately:<br />- New job position at Maxim<br />- <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Pre</span></span>-planned Summer activities with the family<br />- Mildly studying US History (through <em><a href="http://www.jeffersonhour.org/">The Thomas Jefferson Hour</a></em>)<br />- Getting back into books--heavy stuff right now<br />- Yard work<br /><br />My preoccupation of late has been the new reading. My latest finished book was <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Darwins-God-Scientists-Evolution/dp/0061233501/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214634047&sr=1-1">Finding Darwin's God</a></em> by Kenneth R. Miller. I picked this up on a recommendation from Mike Fuchs (coworker at Maxim) and I was able to burn through it in less than two weeks. It helped that for one week I was on a business trip to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Champaign</span></span> IL for training in my new position. Anyways, the book was a good follow-up to the "bible survey" that Mike and I had been attending. This was a weekly, one-hour review of various chapters out of the bible, directed by Charles <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Sharman</span></span> and attended by a number of folks at work. I was able to stick it out for over a year--a little longer than Mike, and I feel that I got out of it what I had been expecting.<br />The book however, was more down the lines of my beliefs (or thoughts at least) with a strong focus on the realities of physics and the undeniable truth of the real world. I won't go into my view point right now, but suffice it to say that this book was enlightening and refreshing. It was good to see that someone could articulate the juxtaposition of science and religion so well. I try to keep an open mind, to always be willing to participate in a discussion on the subject of religion and science. This book pointed out why that is a good thing for people on both sides of the debate: to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">always</span> be willing to listen to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">each other</span> and to adjust your point of view.<br />I have just started into a book that I have had sitting on my shelf for about 15 years: <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/PI-Sky-Counting-Thinking-Being/dp/0316082597/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214634131&sr=1-1">Pi in the Sky</a></em> by John D. Barrow. It is a book on the history of numbers and mathematics. I also just bought <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Physics-String-Theory-Science/dp/061891868X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214634264&sr=1-1">The Trouble with Physics</a></em> by Lee <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Smolin</span></span>, again on the recommendation of Mike. We seem to share an interest in the background of science and I find it refreshing to have someone to talk to about the subject again. I even brought in a couple of my older books in for Mike to flip through: <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Making-Science-James-Gleick/dp/0140092501/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214634376&sr=1-1">Chaos</a></em> by James <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Gleick</span></span>, and <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/WORLD-TREASURY-PHYSICS-ASTRONOMY-MATHEMATICS/dp/B000HONE0C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214634571&sr=1-4">The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics</a> </em>by Timothy Farris.<br />Next on my Amazon wish list (though I seem to keep popping into Barnes & Noble to pick them up) is <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Universe-Matter-Energy/dp/0801885922/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1T78P8JUUFE4L&colid=1LIXSGA4USGA6">Dark Side of the Universe</a></em> by Iain <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Nicolson</span></span>, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Skeptical-Environmentalists-Global-Warming/dp/0307266923/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3P46MTKS52N67&colid=1LIXSGA4USGA6">Cool It</a></em> by Bjorn <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Lomborg</span></span>, and <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Jeffersons-People-Re-Inventing-Twenty-First/dp/1930806221/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IJUEMKH46PTXM&colid=1LIXSGA4USGA6">Becoming Jefferson's People</a></em> by Clay <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Jenkinson</span></span>.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196351132898242840.post-1545785550960901102007-08-12T14:38:00.000-07:002007-08-12T14:40:01.624-07:00The StartHow to start on an et cetera page...<br />First thing is to have a subject which I will try to start with the fun I had at TTO<span style="color:#ff0000;">R</span>A Takeover down in Farmington NM.Martin D. Stoehrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769984626827128484noreply@blogger.com0