A day out

Today is a beautiful day (the weekend coming up is forecast to be lousy again). My wife suggested a trip to our favourite local winery (Domain de Chaberton) to have lunch in their famous Bistro, located right beside the grapes that produce some their wine, and to pick up some of that wine. We invited Derek and Airdrie come along and we all had a wonderful lunch. The food at the Bistro is French gourmet - my wife and I usually have our favourite meals there - mussels for my wife, and stuffed crepes for me. Derek and Airdrie had a great meal, too. Were happy to see Derek have such a good appetite.

Update:

If you're interested to visit the winery, here's the Google map:

Some "drop of a hat" decisions sure have enjoyable outcomes.

Astronomy by proxy

During these days (and nights) of lousy weather, persuing my Astronomy hobby "live" is not easy. However, the internet provides the means to enjoy what technology can do in that regard. I subscribe to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Newsletter. It notifies me of new discoveries in areas in which JPL is active. In any case, even if the weather were absolutely clear, nobody on Earth could see the things shown below, even with the most sohisticated telescopes. So, I would have to use the internet "technology options (my wording)" anyway, JPL being the "proxy". What a marvellous use of technology.

One of the technology options is a Martian satellite named "Odyssey" which is orbiting Mars capturing images and other remotely sensed data, using various instruments on board. Among the latest images are some which suggest that caves may exists in some areas on that planet. Here is one of the images (more complete news are found here):









The NASA description is as follows:

Each of the three images in this set covers the same patch of Martian ground, centered on a possible cave skylight informally called "Annie," which has a diameter about double the length of a football field. The Thermal Emission Imaging System camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter took all three, gathering information that the hole is cooler than surrounding surface in the afternoon and warmer than the surrounding surface at night.

This is thermal behavior that would be expected from an opening into an underground space. The left image was taken in visible-wavelength light. The other two were taken in thermal infrared wavelengths, indicating the relative temperatures of features in the image. The center image is from mid-afternoon. The hole is warmer than the shadows of nearby pits to the north and south, while cooler than sunlit surfaces. The thermal image at right was taken in the pre-dawn morning, about 4 a.m. local time. At that hour, the hole is warmer than all nearby surfaces.

Annie and six other features with similar thermal behavior are on the northern slope of a high Martian volcano named Arsia Mons, which is at 9 degrees south latitude, 239 degrees east longitude.

Mars Odyssey is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing, Santa Barbara, Calif., and is operated by Arizona State University. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/USGS

Fall is here

The weather here today, and for the next three or four days is indicative of what fall is like in this area. The sky is grey, and the rain is coming down. In anticipation of that, yesterday I went up on the roof to make sure that the downpipes are clear of debris and that the roof was ok.

Oh, the joys of Fall.
Derek and his family have taken a minivacation in Victoria over the weekend - we're glad that he's feeling well enough to do that. They are staying at a nice hotel - swimming pool and other amenities - a little "pretend summer". We'll "veg out" here today; no point in getting dressed. The granddaughters' fish need their daily feeding - we are looking after that. After all, what are grandparents for?

Summer's goodbye

You know that summer has passed when it's time to reel in all the hoses and to stow away the sun umbrella and the plastic chairs, the outdoor table, and the other paraphenalia which are part of maintaining and enjoying your garden and lawn. So, this we did during the last couple of days.

It's time to "hunker down" for the colder days ahead - no more outdoor garden dinners or picnics for this year. Maybe we'll get some days with some sunshine during which sitting on the (covered) back porch will give us the illusion of summer.

This year seems to be passing exceptionally quickly in some ways, and yet it also seems to be endless in some others. Derek's fight with cancer certainly contributes to the latter impression.

Who stole them?

Today is one of the typical fall days that are common in our area during this time of year. Here are two pictures taken from our living room window comparing a nice, sunny late fall day of last year to today. Somebody seems to have stolen the mountains.

Today














Last year












Our Mexican guests left yesterday; it seems as though they took the nice weather with them.

People

We have guests from Mexico at our place right now, and this means a lot more social activity, of course. We all enjoy home cooking, and we also sit around in the evening for a "happy hour". All of us here are members of an informal international group of friends, who travel and meet at various spots in the world.

Tonight, we've invited Derek and family to dinner here, and I anticipate lively discussions, along with the excellent food, which one of our friends, who is a professional chef and runs his own small hotel in Mexico, is in the middle of preparing.

As you get older (as I am), you understand more and more that we humans are social animals, and that being alone is one of the worst situations in which you can find yourself. So, hug and talk to friends and family, and especially the children - we all appreciate companionship and caring.

Home attention.

As an owner of a house, you're always aware that it requires ongoing maintenance. It was time again for some of that this weekend. I replaced four door locks, the garden needs attention - trimming of hedges, bushes (a couple of dead ones were removed), and trees; some replacement planting is also necessary. This is work in progress. Derek's family is painting some rooms; there's always something that needs looking at.

You may have read Dereks' blog, but, if you haven't, I recommend you do. He has posted a link to his video appearance at the Seattle Gnomedex - I'm sure you'll find it interesting.