Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)

Big day in science. 

Just after these two large and extraordinarily sensitive devices were set in operation last fall they observed the signal above—a gravitational wave. This discovery confirms Einstein's theory of relativity and confirms the existence of black holes.  What I find fascinating is the amount of knowledge that can be deduced from these squiggles. According the the scientists involved, the signals illustrated above tell us that 1.2 billion years ago two black holes spun into each other and coalesced, sending out a big wave of gravity. This wave has been traveling toward Earth all that time and arrived just a few days after the detector had been turned on. Buried in this signal is even something called "ringdown" which is when two black holes shake off anything extraneous and settle into a globular shape. 

Longer Days, Frigid Nights

Very cold. Walking a challenge, though Pax has not yet complained.  We now have an hour and twenty minutes of light that we did not have at solstice time. So, as I've said before, If winter's here, can spring be far behind?

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Winter is a mood as well as a season.

On a calm lake at night one can row a small wooden boat across the stars.

There are places worth visiting that can only be reached by sitting silently in an empty room.

A paw print in the mud is enough.

A book of poems and a pot of tea are almost too much to handle.

--Leath Tonino

Too Soon To Think Spring?

Windy and cold, but Pax and I still had good walks—actually pleasant in the sun when sheltered in the woods. 

But serious cold is in the forecast. 

Sue is out this evening to dinner and a play with some of the neighbors. Much to my regret I began noticing a strange malady early this morning, and it has lingered, so I had to pass on tonight's outing. But not to worry...I think I'm feeling substantially better every minute. And, I'm looking forward to watching election results; curious to see if voters will vote for an android—the MR1, also known as the MarcoBot.

Back to Snow and Cold

Half an inch of fluff this morning and more coming down this evening,  Thermometer starting to drop rapidly. We appear to be in for the coldest stretch of winter so far.

On our morning wak Pax and I went in street shoes without creepers. No falls, but big mistake. That was a long, hard walk. 

An email from Jeff at CERN advises that a gravity wave created by the collision of two black holes will pass by our panet this Thursday, so hold on to your hat. And if you end up on the ceiling, don't say I didn't warn you.

All In The Same Boat

Another beautiful day on the ice—sunny, warmish, and windy!

Ferry service. The starting line was a mile offshore, and people needed to see the action close up.

Tony finishing fast in the Gold Fleet.

Bri on the starting line in the Silver Fleet.

Run! Push! And then quickly and smoothly jump in, while trimming the sail.

Get her going. Get clear of the other boats' wind shadow.

Point up, and head for the weather mark, finding the sweet spot between speed and point.

Three laps later, (quite a bit more than six miles later), (and about 8 minutes later) come screaming across the finish line.

A Lot In One Day

Up early to get to Pewaukee in time for the skippers meeting (although only providing moral support).

A starting lineup. 

Tony getting a good start. 

Bri getting a good start. 

A photo finish. 

Mimi and Bubba had charge of a wide selection of grandkids for a large part of the day. So home late.

Solstice vs Wombat

Nite nationals called ON. And on Pewaukee, which is convenient. Bri took the afternoon off, so he and I set the boats up on the ice and then went for some practice sails.  Nice ice, and just enough wind to get going.

Wombat is still a bit slow, at least slower than Solstice, but she still goes pretty well, for an oldster. Furthermore, we know what the impediments are, and we are working on fixing them. Actually, it was quite a big thrill to have #10 out on the ice and moving well in a relatively light breeze. 

Thanks to Bri (in Solstice, the yellow boat) for the video. I was too busy sailing to shoot back.

Geodes

Geodes were the topic of Elie's science for project, and she ha become quite an expert on them. 

Explaining things to the judge. 

A very interesting fair with everything from geodes to volcanoes to electric motors—and lots of excitement about science. 

Boots on The Sidewalk

Pax is having intestinal problems, and last night he needed to go out immediately quite a few times during the wee hours. On one of those trips I wore primarily my crocks (which tend to be porous) so I did a good deal of chilly wading through pools of ice water where the sidewalks had been dammed by hardened snow. 

Today we took Pax to the vet, where we learned that he had been in for exactly the same condition almost exactly one year ago. I don't know how to make sense of that. Does Groundhog Day cause diarrhea? Or what?

Gray, windy day, with he meter slowly dropping below freezing.  A few snow showers, BUT no accumulation. The ice is going to be nice. Except on the sidewalks.

Wrenching

Hanging out with Will this morning while Ab worked on farm stuff. 

Will waned to fix the flat tire on his bike, a noble idea, so I assisted while he did the wrenching—removing the chain guard and the rear wheel.  He is quite a skilled mechanic, and meticulous too, placing all nuts, screws, and washers in one place (the white plastic tray, above).
After lunch we dropped him off at the Schlitz/Audubon for his afternoon preschool.  Before leaving we helped him suit up for today's initial class activity, a hike through the woods and down the ravine to the lakeshore.
It must have been a memorable hike—sleety snow mixed with rain riding a wind so strong that the roar of the surf could be heard a mile inland.

Never Live in Iowa

Looking To Iowa

It will be interesting to see how things develop.
I watched the last Republican debate—at least a substantial bit of it, actually as much as I could stand—the one without Trump. What came clear, almost immediately, was that Cruz, Rubio, and Christie are loathsome mud-dwelling scum-bags. Really vile and really despicable. Really. Of the others, Rand Paul is defines the word loopy, and Ben Carson is sleepwalking across the poppy fields in Oz. Surprisingly, and against all my better instincts, I found Bush the most likable, and Kasich the most electable.
And that leaves Trump (if you discount all those at the kid’s table). I have come to the conclusion that he is not really capable of sustained thought. Listening to him talk I hear words, phrases, and the occasional sentence, usually repeated, but that’s it. Never a paragraph, and certainly never any sustained logically developed reasoning. I have always maintained that if you can’t speak coherently and at some length on a topic, and if you can’t write, then you can’t think.
But Trump, thoughtless as he is, remains an enigma to me. And this is because I don’t believe a thing he says. It is all a show.
So I wonder if there is there really anything underneath the orange comb-over.  I don’t know. But, knowing nothing, I still like what I don’t know better than what I do—which is Cruz, Rubio, and Christie. So—hold on to your hat—I would vote for Trump over most other Republicans if I had to. Of course, I’m not a Republican, and if I were really voting on the dark side I would vote for Kasich.

Stepping into the sunlight, I love Bernie. I have always admired him, and I love his ideas. However, when the voting comes to Wisconsin, I’m punching a chad for Hillary. We need a chief executive who can do at least as much as the much maligned and much under appreciated Mr. Obama.

Bright sun. Above freezing. But treacherous waking with lots of black ice slick patches.  No sign of the impending blizzard. Let it go north. Let it go north.

Symphony Pathetique

With Abby and Tony to MSO concert, availing ourselves of thier unique Christmas present. (Also a little Bartok on the program.)

This photo was not taken today, but rather two days ago. Today, dense, dark clouds extending from stratosphere down below most manhole covers. And all day today, clouds dispensing rain, mist and fog. Dozens of trucks, however, out on the ice in Oconomowoc, which proves that the ice is still strong or that Wisconsin ice fisherman are more interested in the Darwin award than the fishing derby trophy.

Another big rain event is forecast for Tuesday, and lots and lots of ice boaters are doing rain dances trying to keep the freeze line well north of here (which is predicted). If we can get back to cold without more snow we will be sitting pretty (which is iceboat talk for sailing fast).

Nowhere Fast

Got both boats set up on Pewaukee on a sunny ad mild day, only to sit perfectly still due to lack of wind. 

Even these young sailors couldn't get the boat to go.  On the up side, we were able to work on Wombat—shorter shrouds, new pedals, and re-sharpened runners—so if there had been wind she might have moved.

Blaze Orange Markers

Cold last night—down to single digits, or nearby.  Breeze slowly building from the south this afternoon, with tomorrow predicted to be in the forties.

Ice boating scheduled for tomorrow, and thanks to Mimi's sewing skills we now have a pair of markers that will enable us to set up our own course if there is no official one, or provide Darling marks if so.

Do to a mistaken buying decision about a month ago we are enjoying corned beef and cabbage tonight. (As opposed to the traditional Wisconsin fish-fry.) Summary: way better than I thought.

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THE CAVE

Sometimes when the boy was troubled he would go
      To a little cave of stone above the brook
And build a fire just big enough to glow
      Upon the ledge outside, then sit and look.
Below him was the winding silver trail
    Of water from the upland pasture springs,
And meadows where he heard the calling quail;
      Before him was the sky, and passing wings.

The tang of willow twigs he lighted there,
      Fragrance of meadows breathing slow and deep,
The cave's own musky coolness on the air,
      The scent of sunlight... all were his to keep.

We had such places — cave or tree or hill...
      And we are lucky if we keep them still.

                   —Glenn W. Dresbach

Dinner With The Girls

Renee at a function and Bri on his way home from Minnesota so we got to take Ellie, Maddie, and Becca out for dinner. 

Gray, damp day with a blustery, penetrating wind. 

Emulating Pooh

Pooh has it figured. Though it is still a bit too cool outside to sit under a tree long term just contemplating things, Pooh has the right idea. 

And, this is pretty much the plan for the coming summer. 

Today, mostly sunny, with water running off the eves (solar power), and with a perfect iceboat wind (although no iceboats were in sight around here).

This morning, while trying to relearn Adobe InDesign, I had a great time watching the action at the bird feeder. We have doves, four I think, and these are big birds. When they come in, everyone else gets shunted aside, and one dove takes up one whole side of the feeder. Jays, however, can easily persuade doves to move on, while cardinals are content to wait until all occupation issues are resolved.

Watching the doves, it is apparent that they know what they are doing. Leaving the feeder, they often alight on the redbud, They don't have to really look at the twigs they choose to land on, and once there, a simple flick of the tail up or down keeps them perfectly balanced in spite of adverse conditions. 

Placeholder Day

All days are good days, it's just that some are more interesting than others. Today's highlight was a trip to the dentist. No, wait, cancel that—Sue is making a cranberry/apple pie!

Kentucky coffee tree still wearing ornaments. 

A walk up the hill in the snow. 

Not cold, but chilly and damp, with steady, light, mixed precip all day.  The plan is to watch some basketball, which we have not done yet this season. Gotta start gearing up for March madness.

Literary Mystery

This book showed up on the doorstep, out of the blue, anonymously. I'm thinking it might be a hint to get back to practicing the clarinet. 

Even without the music this is a nice collection of Pooh poetry. (Some of which below.)

Looking back at the up-north weekend, here are some sledders taking a trail break.  (Thanks to Dawn and Mark for sleeping quarters and snow machines.)

Above freezing all day, with a little misty drizzle right now. This is Mother Nature's prodigal son, Zamboni, working desultorily to get the ice ready for this weekend's racing.

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Lines
 —Pooh

On Monday when the sun is hot, 
I wonder to myself a lot:
 "Now is it true, or is it not,
That what is which and which is what?" 

On Tuesday, when it hails and snows,
The feeling on me grows and grows
That hardly anybody knows
If those are these or these are those.

On Wednesday, when the sky is blue, 
And I I have nothing else to do,
I sometimes wonder if it's true
That who is what and what is who.

On Thursday, when it starts to freeze
And hoar-frost twinkles on the trees,
How very readily one sees
That these are whose—but whose are these? 

On Friday—
On Friday— 
On Friday—
What did happen on Friday?

Winter Wonderland

In the Harrison Hills of north-central Wisconsin, the glacially amazing place of hills, hollows, lakes and trails.  Ice fishing, ice skating, sledding, snow-mobiling, hiking over the ice to Wild Cat Island for exploration and a treasure hunt among the giant pines. Also, reading, doing puzzles, and lounging by the fireplace.

North Woods Sojurn

Up at Bri and Renee's cottage near Rhinelander. No real internet connection. More later.