14 Auriga, my old Star

I was surprised to find this picture, it is of 14 Auriga. I studied this star 20 years ago, can't believe it has been so long. This is actually a Binary Star System, two stars orbiting very close together in a relatively short time. While in College I studied Binary stars and this was one of my subjects. We did differential photometry, collected light and studied the star by the changes in brightness.

M81

This is a dwarf galaxy in the M81 group. Found on the NASA site and it is from a Hubble Space Telescope image. This small galaxy is made up of many young bright stars that will only last a few million years, then they will blow up as super nova. Maybe we will see one sometime, maybe not...

The ISS

I found this picture of the ISS on the NASA site. I saw it fly by the other night and was surprised at how bright it was and the shape. You can see that it is elongated and not just a point of light. You can find a viewing time on the NASA site and find a day to go out and see it. You may think it is an airplane at first, but it will be the brightest thing in the sky, moving fast from west to east (could be North West or South West) and be visible for up to 6 minutes.

Sailing, continued....

The next morning we took the boat to the dock and tied up, then went up to use the facilities. We were going to head across to Tiburon and get some food at Sam’s, a great place that is a favorite of sailors and has a dock to tie up to. A good Bloody Mary and some good food is a nice relaxing way to start a day before we sail for the day. It is always nice to arrive by boat for breakfast, once finished we headed for the boat and out we go into the bay.

Even though it was still kind of early, the wind was already blowing at or near 15 knots. We would sail with just the main up, it is easier and with the wind there was no need to more sail area. The view is always great and it was again this time with a clear sky and no fog. The wind was almost too much so we just circled Angel Island and headed up into the North Bay.

Once in the northern bay, the wind was more like a breeze and it was warmer. We slowly sailed and just relaxed as we head north towards San Rafael. We decided to anchor for lunch so we headed to a little park area were we could drop the line and stop and eat. Once the anchor was set, we fired up the BBQ and just hung out on deck. It was so nice and quiet with just the sound of birds flying by and the breeze through the rig. It was getting late afternoon so we pulled the anchor and headed for the dock. Once we boat was asleep and everything was back in the car, off for a change of clothes and get ready to head into the city for dinner.

It was decided that we would eat in town and as we drove to the city we could see the fog and knew it would be cold… San Francisco is notorious for being cold and windy in summer, most people think it is nice and sunny and warm, they get quite a shock when the fog comes over the hills. But we know that it is that way so we had jackets ready, into

Clement Street

and we decided that we would get pizza. There is so many pizza or Italian places in the city with great food, but this place was Giorgio's Pizzeria not the best. I had wanted Viet or Thai food, but it was not to be. The one thing I hate is doughy pizza, this was it, they didn’t cook it in a hot enough oven and not long enough either. Basically it was crap, worst service or I should say no service. But this isn’t a restaurant review so let’s just say dinner was bad.

Back across the GG and finish the night relaxing with some good wine then to bed. Next morning would be a long lazy affair, then out for some food. A good place is the Marin Farmers Market, lots of food stalls and just interesting things to see. Oyster BBQed with butter and garlic, pork tacos and Falafel Sandwiches. No more needed after that. We then drove to a hole in the wall bar in Sausalito and had another Bloody Mary and played shuffle board till we had to head to the airport. Fun way to end a trip...

Sailing in San Francisco

Weekend sailing in San Francisco is always a fun and relaxing time, this past weekend was no different. With nice clear days and warm temperatures, moderate evenings and lots of good food and drink, couldn’t ask for more. Flew into Oakland Friday afternoon and within an hour was at the boat loading provisions.

The original plan was to sail around but the wind was strong and we wanted to get a good spot to tie up for the night, so we headed to Angel Island and did the mooring dance. I say dance because it takes some skill to do the navigating and positioning to grab the mooring. We had a nice tool to set the line on the mooring and on the second pass got it. The first pass was a little off and we had to circle around but the second pass got it. Now for the back mooring, we reversed to the mooring but the wind was blowing us sideways so we tied the line. This meant someone would have to go over and help redo the mooring line. We had a dingy so I climbed in and worked my way to the mooring, tied a second line and untied and set the main line. Then I followed the line back up to the boat, but we had to pull the boat close to the mooring so we could tie off. It was a little harder than planned but all went smoothly and it was just a little more effort.

On the hook

Morning at Angel Island

Once the boat was secure, we took the dingy to the island a wondered around a bit, since it was Friday late afternoon most people were gone. The rangers and a few campers were the only ones there. The island has a number of trams and since on one was around we climbed on and took some funny pictures of us pretending to drive around. Was more childish than anything but what else can you do, just have fun. After a bit we went back to the boat and settled in for some drinks and dinner.

Flowers, spring for sure now.



 I was out walking the other day and came upon a few flowering trees. A chestnut tree on the street and several Rhododendrons, which are the size of a small tree. I had to stop and take a few pictures to document the flowers. This is what Portland Oregon is like in spring, lot of flowers though not as namy roses as you might think. Portland is called the Rose city, but Rhodies are the ones that are seen everywhere.

 

Olympics

I will have to add the second half of my Olympic experience. If you read the first set of posts, you will see that the Olympics, at least having to deal with all the work in the background can be very stressful. Today the Greeks are facing a lot of economic uncertainty, and some of that is from the Billion + Euros they spent on the games. Like most countries that put the games on, they soon realize that the Olympics is a business and the business makes the money, not the city or country. Athens is left with little to show for it, they have a few new(er) infrastructure elements, but in general what they built is not being used. Kind of a big waste. they hoped tourism would improve, but the world economy killed that.

The old flying site

Looking out from above the airport

It has been some time since I last flew, I mean the last time I few a plane. A sailplane to be precise. I few from Warner Springs for a few years, it has been a while but I enjoyed it when I did it regularly. The drive was about an hour and a half, the terrain rocky and dry, but it was always interesting to go out to that part of the county. Sailplanes are the ultimate RV, they have no utilitarian capability. They are like a motorcycle in the sky. Very maneuverable, not as fast as a power plane, but they need much more skill to stay aloft. A power plane, like a power boat is just like a car, anyone can drive one, doesn't take much skill. A sailplane or sail boat take skill to sail them well.

Looking down the runway on landing

To the beach!

I needed to get my feet wet. I decided to drive to the beach and spend a little time on the sand and feet in the water. It was a hard week and the weekend was going to be nice, so I grabbed a few things and headed out in the morning.

The drive is about an hour and a half to get where I wanted to go and the drive is an easy one. As always, Sunday has a lot of people on the beach and this being good weather, more were there. But there are long sections with few people and it was nice to see the water and feel the sand in the toes. As I walked the beach I picked up sand dollars, most were broken but they were interesting to look at. A few people on horse-back rode by and the sun was shining on the blue water.

I grabbed something to eat and relaxed while sitting in the sun. I headed up the beach a bit to another spot, found a place to sit and did a little drawing. I was getting a little sun burnt so I grabbed my stuff and headed for the car. I needed to do a few things that day so I headed back to town in the early afternoon, got to town with time to take care of a few things. Not a bad day, it made me feel good to see and smell the ocean, the sand and see the wonderful views of the coast.

Skiing again: But maybe the last of this season

Last weekend I decided to head up and do a little skiing. Since the drive is only about an hour, I hoped in the car with my gear and headed out. It was an easy drive, since not a lot of people were going to ski on a late April morning. Once at the lodge, I found the lot quite empty, which was good since I didn't have to walk far. I paid the parking and suited up, got he skies and headed to the slope. Hardly anyone was there, and I started down. But I stopped because I saw that the lift wasn't going. There are a few lifts and I wondered if I would go down and find that these lifts weren't running. It would be a huge climb...

I spotted one other lift and it was going so I continued. It was warm already and the snow was slushy. That meant SLOW SKIING!!! I was also over dressed as well, heavy jacket but I survived. There were so few people that the lift line was no line. Some runs had no one on them and I only had to deal with a few snow boarders in one spot. But the snow was melting and some wholes were starting, plus some parts of some runs were closed. After a few hours of constant skiing I was done. Rode up and headed for the car, a snack and back on the road home. With in an hour and a half I was in the shower and getting ready to spend the rest of the day out in the town.