Category: About the Blog

My “Other Blog”

I would like to share a recent edition of my other blog, called “St. John Bosco News and Notes.” If you would like to see more editions, there are links to my website and to my Facebook page at the end of the page. For Instagram and Twitter-X, use: #StJohnBoscoNews.

May God be with you!

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How To Receive Blog Posts By Email

I hope that you are enjoying my blog posts.  I certainly enjoy writing them!

Unfortunately, I don’t have any schedule for posting new material.  Here is my list of excuses and/or valid reasons:

  • I want to publish only things which I am excited about.  I don’t want to post something simply because there is a scheduled publish date.
  • I don’t want to try to explain things which other people have already explained very well.  I would rather provide links than re-tell a story.
  • My free time comes and goes.  (Currently I have very little free time, but I was excited enough to make a post anyway.)

I know that it is annoying to visit a site, and find that nothing new has been posted for a long time.  Each time this happens, I wonder if it is worth my time to keep trying.

I don’t have any good solution to this dilemma, but there is something you can do.  This is to sign up for email delivery.  This way, you won’t need to keep going to realsimpleastronomy.org.

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The “Follow” button is tiny, and easily missed!

Signing up is simple, and ought to be safe.  My blog is administered by wordpress.com, which is a well-established company.

To sign up, click on the tiny box at the bottom of your screen called “Follow” .  After entering your email address, press the “Sign Me Up” button.  You will receive an email requesting confirmation.  After you confirm, all new blog posts will appear in your inbox.

I hope that this will save you some time and frustration, and you can devote more time to looking up!

John

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I guess I’ve been away for a while…

You may have thought that I died and went to Heaven, after experiencing a total eclipse of the Sun.  Well, that’s close, but not exactly what happened!

I must be honest and say that I am not the most organized person in the universe.  I got busy with other things, and forgot about blogging.

So, I appreciate your attention while I was doing other things.

Since Eclipse Day, there have been some exciting developments, so I will get busy … soon.

Keep Looking Up,

John

 

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I Haven’t made Any Plans. Is It Too Late to View the Total Eclipse?

No, it isn’t!

No one knows for sure how many people will travel to the band of land where the Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017 will be visible.  Crowding will very likely be a problem, but here are a few ideas to consider:

  • The “narrow band” for totality is actually a vast area. Even with millions of people visiting, there is plenty of room for everyone.
  • Of course, some places will be very popular, and they will be crowded.
  • Our love of automobiles and our road system is the weak link in handling a large number of people. On August 21, the eclipse traffic will be added to the normal traffic load.  A particular concern would be after the eclipse, where most people will want to go home at the same time.
  • Motel rooms will be available at the last minute, because some people (my self included) have made reservations in multiple cities. The unused reservations will be cancelled a day or two before August 21.

So, I offer this advice:

  • Try to make motel reservations as close to the area of totality as possible.
  • Check for last-minute vacancies at places inside the area of totality.
  • Arrive at your destination as early as you can manage.
  • Keep your gas tank full, and bring food and water.
  • Bring printed road maps, since the cellular networks in some areas may be overloaded.
  • Try to plan a route which avoids the major highways. In particular, be wary of expressways, because U-turns are not allowed.
  • Research good locations to view the eclipse. Many small towns have provided viewing areas, with varying levels of support.
  • While the centerline of the band of totality offers the maximum duration of totality, areas a small number of miles away will be almost as good.

In summary, a total eclipse of the Sun is such a magnificent event that many people want to experience it.  Even with advance planning, inconveniences will occur.  The goal is to keep them to a minimum, and have a memorable day!

 

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Sorry for the Sporadic Articles

Thank you for checking into my blog, even though I haven’t posted anything for a while. I started with the goal of posting a new article every Sunday evening. I have found that it is not easy to come up with a good article on a weekly basis.

So, my new goal is to post something every Sunday, even if it is very brief.

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