2012 Perseid Meteor Shower

 

 

Every year around this time, the Earth is pelted with fiery stones from the frigid depths of outer space. Instead of as being as terrifying as that concept has every right to be, it is beautiful and awe-inspiring. For skywatchers, this year’s Perseid meteor shower should be a particular treat, with Jupiter and Venus getting in on the action as well.

ProTips on how to view the coolest light show of the year and a video from the smart folks at NASA, who when they are not sending robots to perfect 10 landings on another planet, are apparently getting other people to do their more menial tasks — like counting meteors — for them. Nice work if you can get it, right?

Get Out of Dodge: If you can afford to take a little late-night trip and, yes, lose a little sleep, getting away from city lights is going to make the Perseids a much more enjoyable show. Escaping light pollution will make for a lot more visible meteors. I didn't see anything particular set up at the observatory SW of the city but it might be worth while checking it out anyway.

Sunday Funday: This Sunday, August 12th will mark the height of the show, which goes on every year when the Earth passes near the comet Swift-Tuttle.

Coffee. Also, More Coffee: Though you can catch a glimpse of the meteors pretty much anytime after 10 or 11 pm, the best viewing is going to be in the early morning hours, just before dawn. So be prepared to either get up real early, or stay up real late. Hot coco is also nice or some kind of tea. Just something warm to put in your tummy and don't forget some comfy blankets to lay out on. This is one thing that is best enjoyed on your back.

Look to the East. Also, A Little North: The majority of the evening’s shooting stars will seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. For those of you who (like me) have no idea where to begin looking for that cluster of stars, it is to the northeast. For those of you who (again, like me) have no idea what direction northeast is, your phone probably has a compass that will come in handy.

For more tips, we turn you over to the capable hands and dulcet tones of the professionals at NASA. While you’re watching, the space agency would appreciate if you could count meteors for them to help determine the trajectory of Swift-Tuttle. They’ve even cooked up a smartphone app to make it easy for you — at that point, it’s kind of rude not to lend a hand, right? Right.

 

 

and for a special treat, watch this video!

and then check out this month's Star Chart from the TELUS Spark Science Centre.

(via Space.com, pic via Logan Brumm)

Cute Car

If hybrids entice you with their environmental assets but don’t get your lead foot excited, Peugeot may one day have a hybrid that fits your needs.

The French car makers recently unveiled the HX-1 concept car, which the company claims to be the world’s first diesel hybrid. The designers at Peugeot got creative with this plug-in hot rod as a 2.4L turbocharged diesel engine powers the front wheels with 204hp while an electric motor powers the rear wheels. Peugeot claims the innovative design cranks out an impressive 299 horsepower while still allowing for an equivalent 88.1 miles per gallon.

The HX-1 is still in the concept phase so keep an eye out for further info and keep your Prius pedal off the metal in the meantime.

and to top it off, it's kind of sexy.

**

I took some lessons in June with a Prius, it made me laugh and screwed me up when all I had to do was press a button to turn the car on.

A few years ago when I went to Montreal with JS, we had a Prius. We called it The Space Car because it looked and sounded like one especially being that at home JS had a Land Rover LR3 (I loved Larry the LR3). I'll never forget... I remember we had parked it in Old Montreal and either it was the fact that it was parked on the side walk or because it was a Prius and looked like a space craft, people stopped and stared. Maybe it was just Quebec.

Good times.

Introducing: B. in the City

I have been wanting to do this for a long time. A few years ago I started a blog series in My Dog, Dinner called B. in the City and it was all about all the things I did or you could so in the city of Calgary.

It didn't last that long. I still labeled some of my adventures as B. in the City but I stopped going out of my way to post things.

A few months ago I created a new blog called B. in the City (B. being me of course) and I have been updating it with information and events as they come to me. Sadly, I don't have the time to put all the events that I find but I put the ones that interest me the most. I always receive feedback about the amount of knowledge that I have of happenings in the city so I thought it might be nice to have a "go to" place where all of my information can be accessed (as side from picking my brain).

My intention is to bring attention to the things I think deserve attention. Events, festivals, eats, adventures, free stuff, local products, presale codes for concerts I am interested in, etc. I am not really sure how it's going to look in a year. I hope it will be full and well developed like My Dog, Dinner. I haven't been able to figure out how to make it stand-out in Google searches but it will come. There is a hair place in the states that I think is kind of pissed off I have the same title.

There is a link on the right side of my blog (exact picture that is posted above-- for now) that will take you directly there or you can also find it in my blog list just below on the right side again.

It's been fun so far finding stuff to write about. There should be lots more in the coming months to update and when I get my cookie business up and running, I'll be posting about that in there as well. GO ME!

If you have any feed back, please let me know. I am all ears.

I do this for that one person on a Saturday night, wondering what the hell they can do in the damn city that doesn't involve going to the bar or to the movies.

I do this for the person who has just asked out their soul mate and has no idea where to take her and wants to do something special.

I do this to help spread awareness about the gems this little city of ours has to offer.

I do this to try and make life a little easier and a lot more fun.

I do this for all of you. You have supported me this far, and I love you.

Lets hear it for funny dreams and know-it-alls! *cheers!

Confession: I Know My Skunk

"Ew. Something smells like Coffee, or pot... is that you?"

Sitting here at work the smell of something is wafting in through my office door. The funny thing is, I can't tell if it's coffee, pot or skunk. This happens to me a lot, when I'm walking down the street and I'll catch a whiff of something and it could indeed be any one of the three.

• I don't drink coffee- I don't like the caffeine. the last cup of coffee I had was documented as a year ago. It was good but totally not my thing. I wish it were, it seems so cozy and romantic to spend a few lazy hours poured over a book or the paper at a local shop down the street. I have herbal tea instead. Or milk. Or just cookies.
• Pot, I have even less experience with. All I've got for you on this one is I know people who smoke it and I watch the TV show Weeds.
• Skunk, now that's something I know. Being an outdoorsy kind of girl who likes to take long walks with dogs, I've come across and been around a lot of skunks who have (to put it nicely) defended them selves. I can tell the difference between a baby and an adult just but the smell they let off. Lucky for me, I've never been the one sprayed but I've had to sit in the car with 4 smelly dogs for a few good hours on the way home from an encounter.

Considering my option, I'm pretty sure the smell I smell is coffee- the chances of a skunk getting loose at my work or someone smoking a joint down the hall are far less likely then someone brewing a fresh pot of coffee.

So that's me, what about you? Can you tell the difference? Are there any smells that you have a hard time trying to identify?

Plastic Cash

The times, they are a changing- slowly. According to the Canadian Fiance Minister it appears that Canada will be adopting the trend of Polymer bank notes as apposed to the cotton-based paper bills that we currently use. They will be introduced late next year as a way to modernize the currency and crack down on counterfeiting. The change over has been implemented in many countries such as New Zealand and appears to have gone rather well. With positive changes seen in environmental impact, cost in production of currency and fewer counterfeit notes being created. In Canada the bills are expected to have a revamped design which includes a window that prevents it form being photocopied.

I can't even imagine what these new bank notes might feel like, I am reminded of a set of playing cards that were considered "anti-tear" and made out of a very thin Polymer plastic type material. Very easy to clean which is kind of exciting!

As for the coins, they will be taking on a bit of a revamp as well. Though they will look and feel much like the current ones that will be a change in the composition. Using the same patented multi-ply plated steel technology technology which was adapted in 2000 for Canadian nickles, dimes and quarters. This is a less expensive process then making coins primarily made of nickle and copper.

With all this new "plastic" money I will no longer be able to say that I have "burnt" through my cash. Perhaps the term "melted" or "boiled" might be more appropriated (Hehe- had to say it).

And what exactly do they plan to make Canadian Tire money out of?

So what do you think? Have you ever used Polymer bank notes before? I am curious to hear some feedback that isn't funneled through the Internet or media.

A much better article then my post regarding the topic

It's Coming

Tonight it's suppose to start raining and then by Saturday- snow. Welcome to Calgary weather 101. 2 weeks ago it was +35°C and now it's going to snow. It's lovely and makes for wonderful small talk, I'm sure things will be back to normal in a week or so and everyone will be wearing shorts again.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Hope you all have lovely plans for this first week in October...

What Might Lurk On The Patio

The patio. It's a scary place right now. There is a spider web the size of Australia.. actually there are two so one is Australia and the other is New Zealand. Both very scary and both I am sure have some big ol' spider watching over them that, I'm sorry to say (call me shallow, call me narrow minded, call me ignorant- call me what you will!) I really don't want to meet.

Spiders are very scary to me I will avoid them at all cost. Check out this spider I found at my family's country house:

for real. This is a REAL spider. I found it September '07 on the fence post. I've never seen anything like it in my life- EVER! We don't have meaty spiders like this in Canada- or at the very least not in Alberta. The ones we have are usually fairly wispy with the exception of a Wolf Spider that lends its self to thicker legs but it never gets larger then the end of a pencil (the body that is.). THIS spider (said picture above) was almost 2 inches in diameter (!). After spending some time on Google I finally decided that it was a Araneus gemmoides (Cat Face or Jewel Spider) and 100% harmless.

And that is your spider lesson for the day. No need to thank me, it was truly my pleasure. Perhaps I'll share with you someday the 15 minute video of me trying to capture another spider that I had found in my condo. It truly is enlightening.

Photo credited to ME! Actually my mum because I was too scared to get that close even with the digital zoom.

Happy September- no wait...

I just had the strangest thought (and I must admit that it illustrates my current mental condition perfectly!)...

I haven't posted ANYTHING for September yet.

Why? You ask, is that strange? Well... it's August 12th 2009. September hasn't happened yet but my head is already there! I was in and already past the long weekend and loving every moment of it. Geesh!

So yes, it's Wednesday, August 12th 2009 and I haven't posted anything since Friday, August 7th 2009.

It was a busy weekend, didn't get a chance to put on my bikini because it just wasn't warm enough. Our summer has been mild this year with just a few weeks of above +25°c weather. I went to a football game Saturday night which was a total blast (it always helps if you have amazing company, killer seats and the home team wins!) wandered about Sunday- I think I watched a movie called Fanboys but the best thing about it was seeing a cameo from Kevin Smith. Maybe I need to know more about Star Wars to fully appreciate it. Regardless, I think my IQ went down a few points (which I don't mind. I'm sure that you are aware that I am ridiculously smart and could use a little "dumbing down". A perfect example of this would be seeing that I spelt "ridiculously" as "ridiculassy" before the spell check. Genius material over here! Gotta keep that spell check in check and on it's toes, it gets lazy if you don't).

Monday night I walked around with a runny nose because there is something in the air that I am super allergic too. If I didn't know better I'd say that clouds were made out of cats because I am really allergic to cats and the way I've been sneezing that makes the most sense to me. I tried to get some important shopping done but sadly got distracted by the dollar store (the dollar store is like those celebrity gossip magazines at the front of the store- I don't want to go there but I can't help myself. It's such a wonderful cheap guilty pleasure.) which had some Halloween costumes in stock- ie: WIGS. Laura and I played as we usually do but then something got broken *gasp!* I was SO ashamed. I carried the shattered angle to the front counter and sheepishly informed the employees that I had broken it and would be willing to pay the $2 it was worth. The guy just grunted at me and said "No worries, no one would have purchased it anyway." and that was it. I felt horrible for the rest of the night. Oh and I don't really have bad blond hair- just in case you were wondering. OH and I don't usually look stung out- that is a result of my random allergies.
Last night after eating 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, a bowl of organic veggie soup and over a half dozen fresh chocolate chip cookies, I stayed up late with my eye glued to the sky. The Perseid meteor shower is making it's way though Calgary between August 11th and August 14th- I've seen them before but never like this. I live downtown in a city of over a million people. There is a lot of light pollution so it can be hard to make out more then 50 stars in the night sky when I look out over my patio. I could see some small flares in the sky but nothing until about 11pm when I saw a bright, fiery, slightly-bigger-then-a-star speed across the sky for just under a second. It was lovely! I saw a few more and got really excited for a moment went I saw a HUGE ball of light- but that just turned out to be an airplane. There should be more of a show tonight. Ideally I should go to a place outside of the city limits and watch to get the full perspective. I've been lucky to have witnessed a meteor shower while I was away on a small island off the west coast of Canada. There were maybe 3 street lamps on the whole island (plus one taxi cab) and so at night I would sit by the ocean and watch as hundreds of tiny stars speed through the sky seconds at a time.


Tonight I have advance screening passes for The Goods so I'm sure once the movie is done (Hopefully this one won't add to my lowering IQ but I have a sneaky suspicion that it might.) I might be able to deek out of the city for a bit and see what I can spy in the sky.

Anyone get into any interesting trouble these last few days? Spot any meteors or shatter any angles of your own?

Tree 101

So on Friday I wrote a little post and mentioned that I wanted to research some trees that I talk about a lot ( in real life not blog life.) and admit- know NOTHING about. Well except that Aspen is what we have out at my family's country house, pine trees are what I call ALL tree's that have needle on them instead of leaves and Poplars are the ones that blow fluff in the spring.

Really, a very juvenile knowledge about them- but I love them just the same.

So I Googled it Friday afternoon and then sent my simple findings to my friend Calvin ( who is my hiking buddy- you may know him from previous pictures posted in my blog.), you see- we have a conversation during our last hike about what the different types of trees are. We fell on the realization that we were both aware of them and had simple understanding of them but never really got around to find out what the true difference were between them.

Poplar Tree

"Populus is a genus of between 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar, aspen, and cottonwood. "


In Calgary we know Cottonwood Trees as the ones that produce fluff in the spring- it's the female trees (those females- always causing issues.) and make everyone all sneezy and watery eyed with allergies. I always use to call them Poplars but really that is just the tree nationality, it's like saying I'm from Canada (with is true) but really- I'm a Calgarian (a city with in the province of Alberta that helps to make up the country of Canada.).

Aspens are these fabulous trees that I am most use to seeing out west, closer to the mountains. They tend to have long trunks and a canopy of leaves at the tops. Usually their bark is whitish/ grayish with black marks and leaves that whisper in the wind.

Pine Trees aka Evergreen Trees
"The family Pinaceae (pine family), is in the order Pinales and includes many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces... They are trees (rarely shrubs) growing from 2 to 100 m tall, mostly evergreen with subopposite or whorled branches, and spirally arranged, linear (needle-like) leaves. The female cones are large and usually woody, 2-60 cm long, with numerous spirally-arranged scales, and two winged seeds on each scale. The male cones are small, 0.5-6 cm long, and fall soon after pollination; pollen dispersal is by wind. Seed dispersal is mostly by wind, but some species have large seeds with reduced wings, and are dispersed by birds"


My simple understanding of Evergreen Trees is all trees with needles as leaves are pine trees. I've never paid much attention to any of the sub species though I love them all equally, enjoying their fragrance and making Christmas Crafts with the pine cones. We don't have Cedar tree's in Alberta because our climate is dry and so I see most of them when I travel out west to BC. We typically get Spruce, Firs and Pine.


Here is a link from the Canadian Forest Service that explains the difference between the three.

So that's my story about tree's. I started this post yesterday but got distracted... like I usually do when I try and research trees. I love looking at them, playing under them and enjoying them in my world however the horticultural part of it- I get a little lost. I think it's all the Latin names that mix me up.


*ps: If you don't already own a copy of the book The Giving Tree- buy it*

'Tis Friday... finally!

It's Friday, almost time to go home and I have a relaxing weekend planned. I just finished a project I've been working on all month- well to be honest I have to work on it EVERY month and I leave it to the last minute. It's because it's a lot of work and I have way more important things to do with the rest of my month like come on here and write rambly blogs and scour Craig's List for used, well priced treasures. Oh and Google stuff I want to learn about- that reminds me... I wanted to find out about the defining characteristics of Aspen vs. Poplar and Fir Trees vs. Pine. Anywhooo.... I will leave you now with a song I've been enjoying. It pretty much sums up my next week!

Have a lovely weekend! I'm off to go learn about trees so I hope to hear some stories on Monday!

(if you are reading this on Facebook look at the bottom of the post and click on "original post" to come to my blog and see the video.)

A Long Overdue Post About My Holidays

So I went away for 15 days at the start of June (yes, that long ago.)- went along on a road trip to the far west coast of British Columbia. The main objective was to get to the pacific rime- a stunning little area along the western shore line of Vancouver Island. You will find old growth rain forests with lush towering trees, whales and other wonderful sea monsters. I'm going to keep this short and sassy but I do think that these pictures need to be shared.

Went to a place called The Enchanted Forest my whole life I have always driven past it with my parents on our way into BC. This time I was the one driving the car so I got to do what I wanted!


The whole forest was filled with little scenes depicting different fairy tales and nursery rhymes. It was allot of fun for a big kid like me.


yaaargh!

tea for two

me and a creepy bunny.



Arrived in the Sunshine Coast which is just north of Vancouver. Saw this Starfish imprint on the doc.



arrived in Tofino which is a small town in the pacific rim. This is a cute little place to eat called The Botanical Gardens.



statues in the gardens



Went on a small hike through an old growth rain forest- look at the size of that tree!!! can you see me in there?





The boardwalk through the old growth forest

the beach in which our cabin was in Tofino.

Mussels

dried up drift wood along the beach.

Beach in Tofino

Sunset from the cabin

Morning beach walk in Tofino

They don't call it Long Beach for no reason

the picture says it all

another old growth forest

Me and the big tree

In Nanamio- a city on Vancouver Island

saying goodbye to the mountains- for now.

Take The Long Way Home- Sunday Hike

I went for a 22 km hike on Sunday to a lake west of Calgary called Lake Minnawonka (or in my speak- Lake Willy Wonka). It was beautiful- here are some pictures to illustrate the stunning beauty of a portion of the Rockey Mountains.

First view of the lake just past the boat launch.

Lake Minnawonka is deep and an ideal place (because where I live there is no ocean.) to learn to scuba dive. I don't know why they would rather be under the water rather then enjoying that amazing mountain view.


I've been told though that there are ruins from an old coal mining town at the bottom of the lake so that would be interest to investigate. Being a mountain lake I can imagine it being a bit chilly.



Waving at the camera


a little mountain goat family. They were loosing their winter fur- STILL... I really wanted to brush them because I think it would have helped a lot. They were all matty looking. First rule of hiking though- do not approach the wild animals.

first bridge that crosses a decent sized cannal.. look at the color of the water. That's real boys and girls.

Me and the bridge

Look at the design on the mountain... interesting.

Deer or in my speak- Bambi.

There is a small marina at the lake but it was very quiet. Very relaxing and quiet.

We found part of the abandoned town that was above the lake. These are the stairs that led up to the church. They were build in 1902. in 1912 ( I think) the church was cut in half and taken to Calgary where it functioned as a church till 1962- not sure what happened to it after that. I must do a little research. It was some what erie being there because almost 100 years ago there were people unaware of the future walking up those steps...

Ogopogo Body Found

Move over Nessie- Canada's own Lake Monster, the Ogopogo is making waves! A Kelowna kayaker found what they thought was the washed up carcass of one smallish Ogopogo. Reports state that the body measures about 1.5 meters long- about that of an average beaver *gasp!*, coincidence... they think not. Excluding of course Arlene Gaal, who has written three books about the creature and has documented its many sightings over the years. She's calling this a "very important" find.

The Ogopogo lives in waters of Okanagan Lake and has the body of a snake and the head shape of a horse. It is usually reported as dark blue, black or brown with a lighter underside. It can move with astounding speed but many sightings in calm weather have been made of the creature apparently feeding on either fish or aquatic weeds.

Skeptics however have come to a less creative idea of where this monster actually comes from. British cryptozoologist Dr. Karl Shuker has categorized the Ogopogo as a 'many hump' variety of Lake Monster suggesting it may be a kind of primitive serpentine whale such as Basilosaurus. Due to the lack of clear physical evidence it has also been suggested that the sightings are misidentifications of common animals, such as otters, and inanimate objects, such as floating logs. It is also possible in some cases that Ogopogo could be the misidentification of "a seiche" which is a standing wave in a lake that travels below the surface in a long serpentine motion.

Regardless, the Ogopogo myth has resurfaced again for the moment which to my child like glee sends shivers down my back. I am reminded of hot summer days spent in Lake Oakangan, one time in particular I was learning to water ski. The skis had fallen off and I was left there bobbing in the water as the boat turned around to pick me up. My eyes were glued to the murky water below me, I couldn't even see my feet as I treaded them slowly. My imagination went wild as my feet connected with drift wood and weeds floating just below me, I couldn't get out of that water fast enough.