Andrew Thompson

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:05:40 GMT

Oh, yeah... I canceled the earlier entry I was working on, so I guess I didn't actually comment on my journal being considered "adult" now. Some mighty sensitive feelings somebody has, apparently. I mean, I could understand one or two entries being flagged, but EVERY ONE??? Yeesh! Oh, well, I don't use this thing enough to care that much. If I ever do, I'll probably look at Facebook or something.

Anyway, I just had to remark on a recent installment of Penny Arcade. I'm not 100% sure, but this strip just might be the first and only web comic to reference Minority Report:

Congratulations, gentlemen, a new milestone in obscurity. Well done!

As long as I'm carving this out of my earlier aborted entry, I might as well salvage some of the old bits, especially since they were about all I had going for the Apollo 11 anniversary. You know, it just occurred to me: that would make for a cool band name. Maybe a comedy troupe, given such a high number. Or maybe... I wonder if NASA already has a football team?

I marked the anniversary mostly by following this site recreating the mission in "real time" from launch to landing. I was sorry to miss the moment of launch, but there were appointments, unwisely made, which nonetheless must be kept. I did get to catch some of the later stages when I got home... oh, but that was all three days BEFORE the landing. I'll tell you, following along in "real time" should make anyone appreciate just how long a trip it is up to the world next door. And if you think that's bad, just imagine, after all that time getting up there, you've finally landed... and you don't actually step out for another eight hours?!? Yup, that's real time recreation for you.

Anyway, check it out if you haven't been there already, although I'll warn you, it's an all Flash site. If it were anything else, that would kill it for me, but hey! Moon landing, people! Don't worry. You still step through all the stages, but you don't have to wait through them all in real time now, and there's a nice certificate when you return to Earth! If that's not exciting enough for you, you might like to see it recreated in Google Earth. Now, THERE's a real-time recreation for you (Can't get the sound, though, myself)

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:58:20 GMT

So Michael Jackson died yesterday. Along with Farrah Fawcett, I hear. I don't really have much to say about either, except these losses are coming uncomfortably close to my own generation. Guess I'd better start scanning the obituaries for my friends...

Of course, my real topic is only superficially connected to Mr. Jackson. It's no secret, these days, how quickly the death of a noted celebrity is followed by the release of his or her biography. Sometimes, it even makes it out before the movie! Well, I must say, I came across a new twist, this time.

Cartoonists have of course posted tribute panels many, many times before. However, this may very well be the first time I've seen a full strip go up the very same day:

Now, THAT's pushing the envelope. Congratulations, guys!

Okay, So, Here's the Story...

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:46:29 GMT

There was this comic and game store in Kalamazoo that I patronized for years. I almost never missed a weekend getting over there in probably at least five years, which, given the drive from the Creek to the Zoo and back, says something. What, I'm not sure.

In any case, my financial situation started getting a bit lean around the end of 2007, so when I got back from my Christmas "vacation" (read: holiday shutdown), I decided to cut back a little on those trips in '08. In fact, it wasn't until that April that I went in to pick up some of the pulls that had piled up. After that, I occasionally remembered about the ones I'd left, and more undoubtedly piling up, but with the money situation doing anything but improving, the time never seemed quite right.

Well, apparently, the economy finally caught up with them, too, as I found around the middle of last month. After more than ten years and the valiant efforts of at least three different managers, that venerable institution no longer makes its home beside the Christian middle school next door. Those young minds craving a few pages of sometimes thoughtful, often mindless entertainment, will have to walk a bit farther to satisfy their comic cravings. On the other hand, they might give a thoughtful gaze at what the new neighbor has to offer. I would suggest they ponder soon, and quickly. I just can't see this convivial association lasting long. Like, say, past summer:

As for the late, lamented former tenant, for whatever part I might have had in its demise, I truly am sorry. I did enjoy many a wasted hour there, with more than a few friendly faces. That said, I could not ignore a certain obligation to honor its passing in truly tasteless fashion, by presenting the new neighbors to a crowd most likely to appreciate the incredible irony.

Now, I'm not in the habit of posting to the Fail blog, so I'm not entirely sure how it's supposed to work now. The only other time I submitted a picture, I just emailed it, and it showed up the next day. Things seem to have grown a bit more complicated, which, given the recent growth of the entire franchise, does not surprise me. In any case, I think I have to drum up a little support for my entry before it even gets a chance on the vote page. And for those eagle-eyed readers who may be wondering, yes, I did just link it a third time.

So, seriously, I don't know if I'm doing this right or not, but like I said, I don't post many of these things. I'd really like to see this one make the front page. It deserves it! So, please, if you agree, see if you can't bump it up a little, eh? (Yup: That was four!) Oh, and tell your friends, too, KTHX!!

For a Bit of Old-Fashioned Mystery...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:19:25 GMT

...that is NOT Sherlock Holmes, might I recommend www.futrelle.com for tales of Prof. Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, Ph. D.,LL. D., F. R. S., M. D., M. D. S., A. K. A. The Thinking Machine.

I first came upon the character myself in one of those Scholastic books kids used to order back in elementary school. I don't know if anyone even does that any more... shame if they don't. In any case, Jacques Futrelle's stories of the rather well-lettered professor should be a welcome addition to the library of any devotee of the more cerebral sort of mystery. If not quite on a par with Doyle, they're memorable enough to me some thirty-odd years after I read my first three.

Have a read!

HO-ly Sherlock Holmes!!!

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:16:48 GMT

If you're a fan of the great literary detective, or just interested in the author himself, you have to watch this!

Of course, if you are that sort of fan, you probably know all about this clip anyway, but with less than a thousand views over a year after posting, it looks like one of YouTube's better kept secrets. Someone really ought to fix that...

In this ten-minute film, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle takes a moment to talk about how he came to create the character of Sherlock Holmes, and his amazement with the detective's following, many convinced that he actually existed. He also discuss his interest in psychical phenomena.

If you ever wanted to hear it from the man himself, this is about as close as you'll get without a time machine. Don't miss this one!

Dubya Dancing

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:43:40 GMT

So, I was reading one of those Elitist Liberal Diatribes, and ran across this little four-panel gem of Our Fearless Leader. I've been wanting to dink around more with simple animation, and a piece like this just cries out for abuse, so after a little photochopping, here's a nifty little cheap shot for ya!

It's pretty good with a little Jetthro Tull in the background, actually.

It's Darwin Day!

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:20:08 GMT

Yes, on this very day in 1809, the man who would become the world's most notorious biologist was born. That means that exactly one year from today will be the bicentennial.

Expect all hell to break loose.

Better yet, why not start a little yourself?

A Holiday Greeting

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 07:56:58 GMT

and any and all of those other wonderful holidays you may be celebrating this season!

Thanks and kudos to Darren Bleuel at Nukees for his guide to making your very own Amazing Atomic Snowflake!

DOOP!! As long as I'm at it, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEETHOVEN!!!

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 03:01:19 GMT

Well, it's official. Just before the release of Ubuntu Edgy, Mark Shuttleworth announced the name for the next cycle: Feisty Fawn. *grumble!* I wanted Fancy Fox! Oh, well.

Just For the Record...

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:18:47 GMT

I have to say, I know exactly where this photo was taken. I still take that exit every day I go to work. Just a pity that place is in the opposite direction...

What they don't tell you is, I-69 is about 10-15 miles down the road yet. No, I'm afraid it won't take you directly to Climax, but you will come sorta close.

Of Art and Life... Which Imitates Which?

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 08:46:57 GMT

Here's an interesting bit of news. It seems astronomers have discovered a nebula near the center of our galaxy shaped much like the double helix of the DNA molecule.Yahoo News has a story on it, and UCLA News has an article which includes the image at left, linked to a larger version on their site.

What amuses me, though, is how much this image reminds me of a sketch I posted way back in 2000. The completion of the first human genome map had just been announced, and I felt some lame philosophical musing was in order. I never thought I'd find an echo of my inspiration near the core of the galaxy itself, but of course, it's not like I'm the first to come up with this kind of motif, either. Like I said, it just... amuses me.

A Thoughtful Chuckle

Fri, 25 Feb 2005 07:13:26 GMT

I just had to share a chuckle over this Ozzie and Millie. I just think it says so much more than might seem to the casual reader. In four panels, it lays bare the broad range of thought one can give a simple yet potentially profound philosophical question, from insightful logic to... well, a six-foot-tall grape. I guess I can't say much more about it. I just thought it brilliant. Well done, Mr. Simpson, again!

More from the Back Room

Fri, 11 Feb 2005 08:51:17 GMT

The redesign is moving right along, slow but sure. The navigation system I mentioned previously is working well on the test bed. I still have to transfer the database and muck around with things a bit, but it's looking good. Basically, I have comic and navigaor "object blocks" I can just drop into the page document, along with anything else that goes in. Of course, this is probably all Web Design 101 to anyone who does this for a living, but anyway.

This week, I turned my attention to the page's framework, and the nightmare that is CSS. Being the progressive sort, I hoped to avoid using tables if I could avoid it at all, but it's still a treacherous trail. It took two or three days of experimentation before I finally worked out how to get multiple columns to work more or less consistency, but I think I'm finally close. Have a look at this "snapshot."

This works in both Firefox and Konqueror; my versions, anyway. What you should see is a blue bar running down the page near the left side, with a few colored bars stretching across from the left edge and under the blue bar. Some dark blue boxes with gold borders should also be floating over the backdrop, which on MY browsers is a dark blue with greyish veins running through it. Trust me, these are not the final colors. I'm just using them to identify the various components I'm trying to develop.

You Internet Explorer users are probably going to see much different background: very light grey veined with dark trails. This is because I decided to try something "clever" that IE doesn't support even in version 6: partial png transparency. I thought it would be wicked cool to overlay the solid background color with a grayscale image of variable transparency. That way, I could get a variety of backgrounds just using the same image over different colors. Firefox and Konqueror both seem to support this just fine, as should Safari on the Mac, I'd wager. I don't know about Opera, but a friend running IE side by side with Foxfire pointed out that one little difference to me tonight. It looks like I'm going to have to abandon that idea for now. Ah, well. It was just a test.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with what I have here so far, although the colors and background will be changing before the final version goes up. Have a look, let me know what you think! I hope I'm at least getting things looking a little more professional. All this may not be done 'til well into April, but it will get there, and this Monday, I promise: new Vale!

News From R&D...

Mon, 24 Jan 2005 08:58:28 GMT

Tonight has seen an important step forward for Academy Vale.

If you've followed my online comic at all, you probably know my slow pace and all-too-frequent sabbaticals, like this one now. I won't bore you all with the perpetual frustrations of procrastination. I plan to have things going again come February, so just sit tight. Unfortunately, the redesign I'd hoped to accomplish still hasn't even begun. Tonight's little breakthrough, however, may finally bring that one step closer.

After months of dinking around with MySQL and PHP, I finally got the current archive information into a working database structure, and created a couple of test pages. Still far from complete, it should at least support a more workable navigation system. All I need to do now is implement it. I'd been wanting to do so for a long time, but lack of time, fear of breaking the (deeply flawed) current system, and my own laziness all conspired to keep pushing things back. Only now have I finally managed to make some progress. With a MySQL database ready to replace the original flat file index, I'll finally break free of some early bad decisions.

I don't know whether the new navigation system will be ready by February, but there's a slim chance I'll manage it. Things are likely to be a little touch-and-go for the next couple of months, assuming I get this transition going. All I can do is ask you all to bear with me, and if want to wish me luck, well, I certainly don't object.

'til later!

Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:39:47 GMT

Take a good look at this photo.

It's a shot of my apartment's front yard after the snows of the past day. That's about six to ten inches of pure Lake Michigan water nicely frozen, packaged, and dumped on our collective doorstep.

Now, see those footprints? Picture them out of the picture. Imagine no path there, that whole trackless waste pristine, unspoilt, neither shaped nor touched by any agent but the driving wind. Sadly, I missed the opportunity to actually show you that image, an opportunity which arose several times over the day.

I first stepped out about 4:30pm to clear the snow off my car (That gray Camry at the end of the trail, in fact). It looked at the time like nobody had set foot outside the building all day. I was a little disappointed that the apartment's maintenance crew hadn't shoveled either the walk or the path to it as they've often done, but later on, the futility of the effort would make itself known.

I tracked three times down that unmarked trail: first to clear off the car, then back in to fetch the DVDs I meant to return to the library. Upon my return, not more than an hour and a half later, I could not have proven I'd ever passed between car and building. The wind and snow had obscured my tracks that thoroughly. A couple hours later, I was on my way out again, and once more, it looked as though not a single soul had dared venture out or in. I believe the snow had at least eased up somewhat by late afternoon, but the wind alone had been strong enough to catch up what snow it needed to completely obliterate all sign of encroachment by man and beast. Had the maintenance crew actually taken the trouble to clear the walks, as they might well have done, I could easily imagine the forces of nature wiping out all sign of it by the time I ever got out there. Shades of Ozymandias; gaze and despair indeed!

For good or ill, the act must have ended by the evening, as the last tracks were still there when I went out a third time. Still, it's a little eerie to have seen how quickly and thoroughly the evidence of one's passage can be erased by unthinking nature. Last month's tsunami demonstrated this unequivocally, of course, but it's still a lesson well taken.

Something else caught my eye this afternoon, just after dinner. Not being any kind of football fan, I don't tend to keep in mind the number of the upcoming Super Bowl, so I didn't realize until I saw "XXXIX" on a banner today that this year's is number 39. The first thought in my head was, "Oh, God! How did it get to be THAT high?" Hell, I still remember Time magazine's cover article on Superbowl XII! That (I believe) was the first one played in the Louisiana Superdome. Of course, for all I know, that enormous edifice might have been torn down years ago, and the leagues moved on to greener pastures... or not. I really don't plan to check. In any case, the NEXT thought that came to mind was, "Next year is going to be Super Bowl 40... which in Roman numerals is...?"

Okay, so get this: If you have a product to sell; if you've ever wanted to advertise during a Super Bowl halftime; if you've ever, EVER wanted to have SOME official connection to the event whatsoever, but never felt you could spare the money; well, 2006 just might be the year to pull out the stops. I just can't imagine many slogans more powerful to an American audience than:

Proud Sponsor of Super Bowl XL!"

Team America: Thunderbirds Are GONE!

Sun, 10 Oct 2004 08:50:49 GMT

And to think they said irony is dead. To the live action version of Thunderbirds Are Go, which came out earlier this year, Team America: World Police makes a fitting, if obscene bookend. Filmed in something much like the original Supermarionation, this film takes on what has become (so far) the defining mood of twenty-first century America and turns it into a puppet show. A seriously twisted, positively demented, hideously obscene, and damn funny puppet show.

I am told that its creators (the same Trey Parker and Matt Stone who gave us South Park) take an apolitical stance, and true enough, neither Bush nor Kerry put in even a token appearance, at least that I noticed. Michael Moore, on the other hand, is in with a BANG! and he's just the first celebrity slaughtered. Before it's all over, Sean Penn, George Clooney, Jeannine Garofalo and at least a dozen others meet their collective demise, and believe you me, it ain't pretty.

Those of you who've seen Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds Are Go!, Captain Scarlet, or any of a half dozen others can skip this paragraph. The rest of you are going to want to read about Supermarionation. No, it's not a top secret Nintendo project. Supermarionation was (or is) the name given to a production style which relies almost exclusively on a cast of specially designed puppets, or marionettes. Besides the puppets themselves, sets were almost exclusively artificial, and obviously so. Buildings, vehicles and props were almost all toys or toy-sized, and water scenes (of which there were plenty) looked like they might have been in an aquarium, or the tub of somebody's sky-blue-painted bathroom. The brainchild of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, it was used in several British children's series of the 1960s, most of them cheesy, but a lot of fun. It was probably only a matter of time before the technique was revived in parody, then finally glorified in a film like this.

Well... maybe not quite like this. While Parker and Stone seem to have improved on the technology, any respectability they might have gained it was immediately sold ten times over by what they chose to do with it. This is a film which steps right up the podium and proudly drops its shorts to the world.

The plot (yes, there is one) comes straight from the afternoon hero cartoon. Team America is a small band of heroes and heroines chosen to defend their nation and the world from terrorists, whom they track down and take out (along with the odd landmark or two) wherever they find them. The world is their beat, and they're not shy about it as they swoop down on Paris in their star-studded red, white and blue aircraft, making short work of a small band of middle eastern types, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre. Obviously, this is their first Paris action, since all three are still there to be toppled. Their mission completed, one of the members decides to take this moment to pop the question to his lovely teammate, just before getting popped in the back himself by a (briefly) surviving terrorist. Thus begins our story.

With the team down a member, its mentor quickly finds a replacement: the lead singer of the Broadway hit, AIDS. It seems the terrorists are planning a major action, and what the team really needs is an actor. Someone who can act his way into their midst, find out what they're doing, and get the word back. A little persuasion, a soul-searching journey, and one painful-looking plastic surgery session later, our reluctant hero is off with the team to Cairo, the Middle East. (Honest to God, that's what it says. Credit where it's due: they know their geography, however vaguely)

The plan goes wrong, as all plans do, but the terrorists are thwarted, their WMDs recovered, and the world made safe again... until the Panama canal is blown sky high. An angry world turns against the team. Actor Greg, blaming himself, resigns, and Team America is once more short a member. Nonetheless, duty calls, and another terrorist group must be taken down. The team is fast approaching its new target when suddenly a new and wholly unexpected enemy rears its ugly head: North Korea. Kim Jung Il's forces quickly capture the unsuspecting team, and once more, it falls to Greg to save the day, the world, and his acting career.

And now, a completely unnecessary word of warning: If you don't let your kids watch South Park, you do not want them to see this movie. If you do let them watch it, shame on you! You might still want to think twice about letting them see this, though. Remember all the filthy language in South Park? The cartoon violence? Suggested nudity? Sexual innuendo? Well, picture that with marionettes, and scratch 'suggested', 'cartoon' and 'innuendo'. Thus having scorched your brain, picture your kids sitting in the middle of a darkened theater staring up at a sixty-foot screenful of this. Me? I'm picturing Roger Ebert staring up and thinking, "God, why did you take Gene and leave me?"

Then again, maybe he likes this sort of thing. I must say, it's funny as hell. You just have to be ready for more "action" than you might have expected. There are naked marionettes in this picture, and they ain't just standing there. True, they're not anatomically correct, or at least they didn't look that way. I honestly didn't look that carefully. Thankfully, that was only one scene, and it didn't last overly long. You might not agree when you see it, but I'm sure the later vomit scene will change your mind about that. Then, there's the violence. That's worth a paragraph or two of its own, but I think I can sum it up with this: Have you ever watched a scene where someone's staring down at a falling person, then winces or turns away as the body hits? Well, if you ever wondered just what that person saw, this movie will answer that question. If you're a marionette.

I have no idea how often Parker and Stone stand accused of comic genius, and perhaps this movie isn't even their brightest example, but it has its moments. The film opens on a pair of marionettes being manipulated by... a marionette. I'm not even sure if it's a moment of irony, self-reference, breaking the fourth wall, or what. For that reason alone, I have to admire it.

Politically, this film could be a land mine. On the one hand, it seems to be attacking, through biting satire, a certain American view of our place in the world. At the same time, a surface reading might suggest that they actually embrace it. It's hard to say, though given South Park and everything else, I wouldn't bet the farm on their believing in anything they put on film. A little like Andy Kaufman, who they really are, what they're really about, is difficult to fathom. Then again, maybe they only want the political sides even madder at each other than they already are. It's hard to say.

My recommendation: Good film, but not for the overly sensitive or underly humored. If you're easily offended, this film will offend you. It tries, really hard, to offend just about everybody. If you can get past that and enjoy a cheesy action film that doesn't take itself too seriously, you just might like this one. My only advice: Don't take your children. Don't take your parents. Don't take your girlfriend, your boyfriend, or even your dog. If you don't want to go alone, this film is probably best seen with your drinking buddies, preferably coming straight from the bar. Then, again, through the haze of drink, this satirical vision might start making some real sense.

Now, there is a frightening thought.

Mon, 16 Aug 2004 07:02:26 GMT

Well, I'm sure by now that anyone interested has already viewed JibJab's take on Decision 2004. I must confess, I'd lost track of the guys since 2000, so I was pleased to see them still at it four years later. Going to have to catch up on their antics, I can see.

The cool thing about these guys is, they don't take sides. Both sides get nicely skewered, and folks seem to love it. Not everyone, of course. Ludlow Music (part of The Richmond Organization), for example, really seems to hate the thought of someone using their melody without their permission, according to CNN. I especially like this part:

TRO believes that the Jibjab creation threatens to corrupt Guthrie's classic -- an icon of Americana -- by tying it to a political joke; upon hearing the music people would think about the yucks, not Guthrie's unifying message.

An icon of Americana. Okay, true enough, I think. But, corrupted by tying it to a political joke? Uh, guys, you might be a little late on that one. If I may direct the interested reader to
The Prairie Home Companion Songbook, I know various contributors tacked on some rather potent political messages of their own to this "icon", which in my opinion adds to the message and give us all a few more things to think about. The American Indian gets a verse in there, for example:

This land is your land
It once was my land
Until we sold you
Manhattan Island

Yup! More political humor. How dare they? Sorry, guys, but there was more to Guthrie's song than a "unifying message". I'm no expert, but if I recall correctly, Guthrie was something of a champion for the working classes, the poor, the downtrodden... you know, the little guy. "This Land" wasn't a simple "unifying message". It was a reminder to the better off that this country doesn't exist for their benefit alone. "This land was made for you and me."

Which makes The Richmond Organization's objections all the more ironic. Sure, it's all well and good to talk about unifying messages and 'for you and me' and all that rubbish, as long as we get our percentage. After all, it's our song. Right. Anyway, I came up with a little variation of my own on the matter a few days ago. Were it not for Illiad and his User Friendly strip on the subject, it might have languished in my journal 'til God-Knows-When, not to be rediscovered until long after it all became irrelevant.

All I have at the moment is a chorus. I can be a bit slow coming up with good lyrics, so I've decided to offer this much to you, Gentle Readers (sorry, Asimov), with the invitation to submit your own additions in the noble spirit of "Open Source". Considering all the opinions I've heard on the RIAA, DMCA, MPAA and everything else in the IP alphabet soup, I have no doubt you can come up with a few of your own, and I'll gladly add any more I can dream up myself. This chorus and all my added verses may considered freely redistributable, provided proper credit is given. I only ask that contributors grant the same permissions, so as to ensure any reproductions may remain complete.

That said, on with the chorus!

This song is our song!
No, it's not your song!
To us forever
It'll always belong!

If you want to use it,
Then you'll have to pay us!
This song belongs to only us!

A Cloudy Borealis

Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:09:43 GMT

So, anyone catch the aurora this weekend?

This was supposed to be a good one for it, according to SpaceWeather.com (http://www.spaceweather.com/). CNN even had a few comments on the recent solar storms expected to trigger the evening displays (http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/10/24/solar.forecast/index.html). I've never seen one in my 30-odd years, but from what I've read recently, they're not all that uncommon. I'd probably have more luck if I actually put some serious time into skywatching, but that's what makes prediction sites like SpaceWeather so useful to me. Unfortunately, they seem to be rather good at predicting something else around here: clouds.

In the past three years, I have yet to get a good look at the Leonids meteor showers. Almost without exception, the nights of peak activity have been marked by total cloud cover, thanks to the lake effect. I'd almost believe it were God's way of telling Michiganders not to get into astronomy. The most insulting round was in 2000, if I remember correctly. I remember setting my alarm for 3AM on a crystal clearn night before turning in for a bit of shuteye before the big show. I got up to discover the blanket spread thick and wide overhead. I think it happened a couple of nights that year; during peak activity, of course. We finally did get a clear sky about the third night after, by which time the shower had dwindled to barely a drizzle. I did manage to spot three or four.

No luck since then. Not during predicted showers, anyway. My luck's been better at night on the highway. I've spotted at least three at times like that. One especially memorable event was after midnight. I was westbound on I-72 out of Springfield, Illinois, with 'Block-Rockin' Beats' playing on the CD. I remember THAT because there's this break in the song marked by a sort of dropping whistle. You know the kind, that 'bombs away' sort of sound? I swear, that's exactly when it happened. Dead ahead, about twenty degrees above the horizon, this streak drops out of nowhere, pointed almost directly at the road ahead. No, it didn't hit, didn't even make it halfway down to the horizon. If it had hit, it would have probably been thousands of miles away, but just seeing something like that, at such a perfect moment, well... that's not something you forget.

So, all together, I'd say I've had a lot better luck when I HAVEN'T been looking. Not so with aurora's, but considering this weekend's weather, I imagine I'll be surprised by the sight of one sooner than I ever manage to find one I'm looking for. Those Michigan clouds can be reliable when they want to. Even today, the clear morning sky has grown completely overcast as I've been writing this. Makes me wonder what the Lansing and Ann Arbor observatories have to see some nights. Ah, well, one of these days, I'm sure.