I'm intrigued

I was looking up a historical figure (James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, a Scottish general who was hanged, beheaded, and quartered for supporting Charles I during the War of the Three Kingdoms in 1650)--Battlefield Band has a song called 'Montrose'. Going down that rabbit hole, I found a book by John Buchan [novelist and former Governor General of Canada] called Witch Wood, which sounded promising and put it in as an interlibrary loan request with the Lexington public library. Montrose only makes a small appearance in it, but the story sounded compelling, the story of a clergyman who discovers Scottish witchcraft/paganism being practised and suffers from ensuing politics in the 17th century. It'll probably come from the University of Kentucky, as their library has it. I have a UK library card, but for residents of Kentucky, they expire after a year, and mine is likely expired. The thing I'm most interested in is that in the over 300-page story, a lot of the dialogue is in Scots, which I am interested in, having a lot of Scottish ancestry.

Almost time!!!

[CAVEAT: Some of the information on this post has been gleaned from reading various articles regarding eclipse safety. I'm not a medical person. Don't assume I'm right, although I do truly believe it's a good summation. Make sure you make your own informed choices by reading reputable articles. And if all else fails, view the eclipse indirectly by creating a shadow through a pinhole. Be safe]

On February 26, 1979, when I was 11, our seventh-grade teachers took us outside for the solar eclipse with pinhole cameras. It was total in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, but partial in the Mojave desert, where I lived at Edwards Air Force Base. It captivated me, even though we missed totality. I have always wanted to see a total solar eclipse.. It's one of two things on my bucket list, and the other is seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

In 2017 I really wanted to go to Western Kentucky to see the totality, but my driving anxiety wouldn't allow for it any more than it will this year. For that matter, with the surgery, I didn't even think I'd be driving yet. I remember they handed out glasses at work and those of us could go out to the parking lot got to view the spectacle. We weren't in totality, but it was about 95% coverage, which was still pretty cool but not really that much of a difference in the light or anything. At that time, I had already looked up the 2024 eclipse, swore I took off, and hoped I could travel three hours into totality by going to Indiana or some such place.

But you know, clouds appear everywhere. I didn't want to spend a lot of money to get somewhere only to see nothing. I still don't know if the weather will work for us, as we have scattered thunderstorms in the forecast. I took off from work because in my current job it is busy when the eclipse is supposed to happen I wouldn't have been able to go outside. I'm going to watch it from my own yard, or perhaps the park near here. I have my glasses for me and my solar filter for my phone camera (do not take pictures without one). You will regret it. My roommate does not plan on participating. He's of the old belief, along with certain peoples such as the Hopi and Navajo, that it's a time to go inside and avoid the eclipse altogether, whether solar or lunar. Monday's eclipse will be about 96% coverage in Lexington. Be sure you get authentic glasses or use a pinhole in paper, cardboard, or aluminium foil to view the shadow of the moon over the sun. That's how we did it during the 1979 eclipse, casting a shadow on the light stucco walls of our school. It was still great, and safe. If you're near trees, watching the shadows through the leaves is also fun.

Glasses should definitely say ISO 12312-2 and be printed on them. Use a reputable company's glasses, such as those on this website here. I got some from Amazon and they are Celestron, a maker of telescopes on the approved list. But since anyone could print that, be sure, while inside, you try out the glasses and see absolutely nothing. Then try outside during a normal day and you should see only really bright reflections of the sun, like in a mirror--nothing else. The solar filter I have for my camera I didn't research, but later found out is compliant. It's called VisiSolar. Again, if in doubt, use the pinhole method, as it is safer. Also, if in the path of totality and you do get to take your glasses off for a couple of minutes while the sun is completely covered so you can see the corona, be sure to put them on very soon. The totality time varies. In Mexico it will be over four minutes; in Maine it'll be two. Any sun shining through as the moon moves from covering the sun can damage the eyes. Unlike sunburn, you can't feel pain in your eyes as there are no pain receptors in the retina, and you can't tell how badly you've damaged it. Do not look through magnifying instruments such as telescopes or binoculars without the solar filters meant for them. Be safe.

Still, if you take precautions, it'll be fun, weather permitting. If you can't see it due to the weather, be sure to check out livestreams on the Internet such as NASA's.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington is expected to see a partial eclipse between 1:51 p.m. and 4:24 p.m. The eclipse is expected to be at its peak around 3:09 p.m.

Enjoy!!!

Here's hoping it all goes to plan

So, tomorrow's Easter, but being Pagan, I don't celebrate, and we're just having a quiet weekend. Tuesday is my birthday, and while normally I'd really be looking at the weather for that (I hate it when it rains on mine, but on the other hand I am currently not bothered by the forecast for thunderstorms). No...I'm concerned about April 8th.

We are not, unfortunately in the path of totality for the Total Solar Eclipse of  2024, being about 96%, and I'm not able to drive 3 hours somewhere to see that, which is a pity, as the two main things I would like to see in the sky are a total solar eclipse and the aurora borealis (Northern Lights). But I'm ready nonetheless. I have Celestron eclipse glasses, one of the brands that are advocated as safe, a solar filter for my cellphone camera, I'm off for the day. I just need Mother Nature to cooperate.  So far we've gone from AM showers to mixed sun and clouds. Here's hoping!

Well...

I like this programme, and the ones where you can read off your fines, but our local library, Lexington (KY) Public Library eliminated fines altogether a couple of years ago and that has meant a great deal, they also automatically renew an item unless it has specifically been held by someone else. As someone (a trained librarian who worked for 20 years as a medical librarian) who always had trouble getting her books back on time, this has been a game-changer in how, and how often, I use the library.

US Libraries Accept Pictures of Cats for Book Fees

I do not think that means what you think it means, to paraphrase Inigo Montoya

I really do not care for genealogical genetics. I believe they promise you conclusions based on dubious assumptions so that you'll feel a sense of belonging, when most people, including myself, don't understand the intricacies that can go into genetics beyond simple Mendelian inheritance. I don't think the conclusions they reach regarding people are any better than the companies who purport to tell you what breed your dog is.  Beyond that, there is the matter of how utterly stupid it is to freely give a for-profit company your genetic material that they may monetise later.

Population genetics are a different matter, though, so I find this fascinating, and I loved the following quote:

In any given population, the number of lines in your family tree that reach any specific medieval person is about the same between you and everyone else who belongs to the same population you do. In other words, everyone alive today is equally related, genealogically, to all medieval people from that population.>In any given population, the number of lines in your family tree that reach any specific medieval person is about the same between you and everyone else who belongs to the same population you do. In other words, everyone alive today is equally related, genealogically, to all medieval people from that population.

 

DNA says you’re related to a Viking, a medieval German Jew or a 1700s enslaved African? What a genetic match really means

Interesting

Interesting read on the relationship between climate change, the earth's rotation, and how we measure time

Climate change is delaying world clocks' need for a 'negative leap second'

Fifteen

15. Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask! by Megan Anna Neff

Fourteen

14. Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna by Edith Sheffer

I saw a great t-shirt the other day

 It said, "Don't follow me--I walk into walls." I need this shirt.

This is an excellent portrayal of the threat facing libraries--especially school and public libraries

‘Burn the freaking books:’ Alabama libraries under fire from witch hunters

JD Crowe - Alabama Libraries Under Fire - AL.com