The Story of Lori

[davina61]

I watched this at school, they put the TV on in the hall for us all to see.

[ChrissyRyan]

I have always been the outdoor type. Growing up in the California desert, we had a ranch where we raised rabbits commercially. There were about seven ranches grouped together, so all of us kids hung out together. Rockhounding, hunting snakes, lizards, and jackrabbits, riding horses or motorcycles. As a family, we did a lot of hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting.

Of course, all that sun exposure is now why I have to see the dermatologist every six months. But given the chance to do it over, I doubt I would change anything.

Interesting anecdote about my dad:

He worked for NASA as an Electronics Engineer during the Apollo program. While he was working there, two historical events occurred that had never before occurred in the history of humankind. He worked out at the Mars Deep Space communications station.

Goldstone Tracking Station

In preparation for the Moon landing, NASA needed to know things like how far away is the Moon, how much fuel is needed, etc. To measure the distance between the Earth and the Moon, they would fire a laser at the surface and see how long it takes for the light to travel there and back. It was not a very good system because the light would scatter when it hit rocks or craters on the Moon's surface. But since no one had been there before, it was all they had.

One of the many tasks my dad did was to align the telescope. Our veterans and shooters will be familiar with boresighting. My dad had to look through a small telescope up on the dish and align the dish with a point on the Moon's surface. Then the operators would set the dish's settings accordingly and they could easily move the dish to those coordinates and it would be pointing at the Moon.

During Apollo 8 when astronaut Lovell and crew were going to orbit the moon for the first time, as they traveled around the back side of the moon there was no line-of-sight and thus no communications with the spacecraft. Using geometry and knowing the distance to the Moon and its diameter, they could calculate the circumference. Knowing how fast the craft was traveling they could calculate how long the craft would be out of communication with Mission Control. It turns out that their calculations were wrong.

But the first time the craft went behind the Moon and lost communications was the first time in human history that a human being could not see Earth. Think about that.

The second event was during Apollo 11 when Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the Moon's surface. One of the greatest achievements in human history and my dad worked for NASA and helped with that mission. But at the moment when that happened, my dad was not at work. He was on a camping trip with me!

We went backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. We spent eight days hiking 53 miles of the John Muir Trail. One morning as we were having breakfast, one of the other members of our party was listening to a portable radio. He said, "Well, we have now walked on the Moon."

While the astronauts were there, one of their projects was to install large prisms to act as mirrors. Now when they fire lasers at the Moon's surface they get very accurate data and know exactly how far away it is. All the Conspiracy Theorists who say that the Moon Landing never happened can't explain how those mirrors got there. They can be seen from Earth, so we know they are there.

Is this trail near or in the Muir Woods area?

Windy roads near there along the coast.

[ChrissyRyan]

Going to go to a golf club in about an hour.  I never been there.  Girl lunch.

I prefer to snow ski than golf, and I am not much good at golfing.  Although jet skiing looks like fun.  Do have a good day!

Chrissy

[LoriDee]

Is this trail near or in the Muir Woods area?

I can barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday and you want me to remember where I was in 1969? I was 12 years old! 

I know the trail we hiked was from Rock Creek to North Lake on the John Muir Trail. I know we climbed Mount Whitney, San Gorgonio, and some other peaks along the way. Mono Pass and Bear Ridge were cliffs we had to ascend. The trail would switch back and forth, it was a long slow climb. So fun!

[Jenn104]

Muir Woods is around 15 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge, down mount tam.

Jenn

[LoriDee]

We were much further south than that!

Thanks, Jenn. I had no idea where it was. I thought she meant a National Forest.

[ChrissyRyan]

Maybe you can grow some veggies from seed to save on money?  Maybe use one of those indoor produce growing systems bought on sale?  Some places have community gardens too.

Buy the ugly looking produce to save money where it is available.  Just as fresh and nutritious, it is just not pretty.

Eat canned veggies when on sale or fresh produce in season?

[LoriDee]

I am on the Resident Council here in my apartment building. It is a resident liaison group that brings complaints and such to management and helps management keep residents informed of policies and upcoming events. At our last Council meeting, we discussed putting in a community garden.

There is one about a block away that repeatedly gets trashed by homeless people. They leave trash and destroy the plants. So we plan to fence off an area only available to residents, and they must contact a Council member to gain access. We have funding for $5,000 for the garden itself, but the fencing falls under a "build" category because we need a property line survey, fencing permits, etc. We have requested the funding for the fence build, but won't receive those funds until later.

I will be curious to see how many residents make use of it. From what I have witnessed, many want a hand-out, not a hand-up. Especially if they have to put in some work to get anything. It is so sad.

[LoriDee]

I went outside tonight to see if I could see the Northern Lights. We have a clear sky and I can see stars, but no lights. Kristi Noem probably banned them from appearing over South Dakota.

"We have Mount Rushmore. We don't need any fancy lights in the sky."

It could be all the city lights make it nearly impossible to see. I had a similar issue in 1986. I took my four-year-old daughter up on a mountain above the city, away from the lights, so we could photograph Halley's Comet as it went by. She had no clue what we were doing, but I wanted to try to show her. Because the next time the comet passes by Earth, she will be 80 years old. She will be one of the very few people who will have seen Halley's Comet twice in their lifetime.

I still have the pictures, but it is hard to see if you don't know what you are looking for. It just looks like any other star. But I took pictures from the same location a month later, and then comparing the two before and after pictures, you can see that the "star" has moved.

[Paulie]

You inspired me to go out and look too.  No Northern Lights visible here too.  From the map I saw, we were on the fringe of the viewing area.  I think the city lights on the other side of the hill are just a little too bright.

[ChrissyRyan]

I am on the Resident Council here in my apartment building. It is a resident liaison group that brings complaints and such to management and helps management keep residents informed of policies and upcoming events. At our last Council meeting, we discussed putting in a community garden.

There is one about a block away that repeatedly gets trashed by homeless people. They leave trash and destroy the plants. So we plan to fence off an area only available to residents, and they must contact a Council member to gain access. We have funding for $5,000 for the garden itself, but the fencing falls under a "build" category because we need a property line survey, fencing permits, etc. We have requested the funding for the fence build, but won't receive those funds until later.

I will be curious to see how many residents make use of it. From what I have witnessed, many want a hand-out, not a hand-up. Especially if they have to put in some work to get anything. It is so sad.

See:  https://americanliterature.com/childrens-stories/the-little-red-hen

[LoriDee]

I tried again last night to view the Northern Lights, thinking that maybe the early morning hours might provide better environmental conditions.

Still no lights.

I saw two deer ambling through our parking lot. So I named them "Aurora" and "Borealis". I tried to snap a picture but they were having none of it, so I went back inside and went back to bed.

[Gina P]

No lights here in NJ either. The weather was rainy when I went to bed Friday. Was supposed to be mostly cloudy closer to morning. 4:00 am was still very cloudy, 5:00 am thick fog. Raining again after a mostly sunny Saturday. Rain all last night. Oh well, maybe next time.

[LoriDee]

This is turning out to be a great week.

Had a great visit over lunch yesterday and learned a lot!

Had my third Voice training this morning. The first two were just backstory and paperwork. Today, we went through some exercises, and I'll get homework to do over the next week.

@Jessica_Rose had given me some pointers and coincidentally that is the stuff we covered today. I always enjoy learning new things, especially if it is something that helps me improve myself to be a better me. It could be anything from learning gestures, unlearning habits, practicing my walk, or my speech. I am digging it!

My rock tumblers are completing their cycle, so it is time to wash some rocks. Then I can take a break for a couple of days until Saturday when we have the DAV / VA LGBTQ+ Listening Session. I'll get to meet up with some of the gals from our local VA Transgender Support Group.

Every morning when I get up, I think about the things I will be doing that day. I don't think of them as things I have to do. I think of them as things I get to do. Keep thinking positive thoughts. Always find a way to see things from a positive point of view. Never say, "I can't do this." Instead, ask yourself, "How can I get this done?"

Laundry seems to be the exception.

"I don't have to do this, I get to do this."
No. You have to do this.

"How can I get this done?" Hey, kid, wanna make $20?

[Maid Marion]

I wanted to run a rock tumbler when I was a kid but the electric bill would have been too high.

One idea I have is to use a windmill to power a rock tumbler!  I already one that is 8ft tall in my yard that doesn't do anything but look pretty.

[davina61]

I find changing my bed a chore and taking the rubbish out (have to go down and back up 3 flights to go out side, down side of living on the 2nd floor but the view is great) .I am used to the how can I do this, comes from being a mechanic I suppose and I will try anything at least once . When I say anything there are some things I will never do!

[LoriDee]

@Maid Marion

Modern rock tumblers use very little electricity. I run three (one single-barrel, and two double-barrels) processing 15 lbs of rock 24/7. My electric bill went down so I know they are not a factor.

In one of the Rock Tumbling Groups I belong to, someone wanted to power their tumbler using a solar panel. Of course that would require a battery and the solar would keep the battery charged. I think a similar setup would work with a windmill. We did some calculations and determined that it could be done, but would not be more efficient than just running it off the line power coming into the house.

A truck driver has his tumbler in his truck running off an inverter. He does this because he is seldom home. All of these can work as an interesting experiment. But for the purpose of polishing rocks, it is easier and less complicated to just plug it into an outlet.

If you do go for the windmill power, let me know how it works out. I think it would be an awesome idea to share.

[LoriDee]

@davina61

I truly understand that. My previous apartment was on the third floor. Carrying a case of bottled water up those stairs put me in a world of hurt.

Fortunately, my new apartment here (2nd floor) has an elevator, a trash chute, and laundry on each floor. But I live towards one end and it is a LONG walk to the center of the building where all of those things are. I use a cart to haul my groceries now. Work smarter, not harder!

[Maid Marion]

Now that I'm outside most of the time my electric bill has dropped below $60 for the 2nd month in a row!
I'm inside today because it has been raining on and off all day.
I use a Big Red Wagon with large tires for gardening.  I use it all the time to move stuff around the yard.