Odds and Ends

It seems that with yesterday being 1 week since my last post, quite a few people were expecting a new post from me. My hit counter showed a 300% increase in hits yesterday as compared to the average number of hits over the past 4 days. I don't have my thoughts as organized as I'd like, so I'll just toss a handful of ideas into one quick post.

When I logged into Blogger today I saw a new feature. I figured I'd give it a try. You'll find the "Call Me" button on the right. You can click on it and the free service will call your phone and connect you to me (or my voicemail if I don't answer your call). Since it's free I figured I'd give it a try.

I figured that 2 months past Christmas the number of Nintendo Wii game consoles in stores would reach a reasonable level. I decided my birthday would be a good time to get one. It seems I was wrong. Over the past week I've called 82 different stores trying to find one, with no luck. If you know me well enough to know my phone number, and you are aware of anywhere within 90 miles of my house that has Wii game consoles in stock, call me right away and let me know where. If you don't know my phone number, but you know of anywhere in the Greater Chicagoland area with Wii game consoles in stock, try clicking the "Call Me" button on this web page, and leave me a voicemail. Thanks!

I took some pictures of the Lunar Eclipse last week. It was a perfectly clear night, and it was bitter cold. So cold that my camera battery kept freezing, and I could only get about 20 pictures (or 20 minutes) or so before it indicated it was discharged and I had to bring it into the house to warm up. Fortunately I have two batteries for the camera, so I was able to swap them between the house and the camera to allow continuous use of the camera. I was disappointed that during the "partial" portion of the eclipse the camera couldn't capture the red glow of the eclipsed part of the moon without overexposing the uneclipsed portion. Then when the moon was fully eclipsed I found I needed to use about a 2 second exposure to get a proper exposure of the red eclipsed moon. Because the moon is slowly moving across the sky, and I was using a 600mm telephoto lens, the 2 second exposure left me with a horribly blurred image. I tried faster shutter speeds and managed to get an exceptibly clear underexposed image that Ill post below. Depending on the brightness and contrast settings of your monitor you may or may not be able to see it very well. It looks much better printed out at Jewel/Osco's photo department. The partial eclipse that includes the red eclipsed portion below is actually two separate images that I've pasted together using free photo editing software called "Gimp".

Before

Early

Late

Merged

Full

The Dark Side of the Moon

If you enjoy looking up at the night sky get ready for a show tonight. A total eclipse of the moon will occur between 9:01 pm CST and 9:51 pm CST.

At 6:35 pm CST the east facing edge of the moon will enter the outer edge of the earth's shadow. At this point it is unlikely that you will be able to see any change. The outer portion (penumbra) of the earth's shadow is far brighter than the center portion (umbra).

At 7:43 pm CST the east-facing edge will enter the dark center portion (umbra) of the earth's shadow. Over the next 78 minutes you can watch the dark shadow of the earth slowly overtake the surface of the moon. At 9:01 pm CST the moon's entire surface will be covered by the earth's dark umbra.

Due to the distance between the sun, earth, and moon the earth is large enough that if it didn't have an atmosphere the moon would practically disappear into the night sky. However (fortunate for us) the earth does have an atmosphere. The sunlight that hits the daytime side of the earth lights up this atmosphere and the mostly transparent air acts like a lens to bend the sunlight around the earth and allow some of it to escape on the unlit side of the earth. Because this light must pass through so much of the atmosphere, much like a sunrise or sunset, the redder portion of the sunlight is what survives the trip around the earth the best. If you were standing in the earth's shadow on the moon, looking up at the earth in the sky, you would see a ring of red light surrounding the earth. This red light shines on the darkened moon's surface giving the moon a red glow. Depending on the condition of the earth's atmosphere (storms, pollution, dust, etc) at the time of the eclipse this will range anywhere from a barely perceptible pink hue to an almost blood like red to a deep dark maroon.

Fifty minutes later at 9:51 pm CST the east-facing edge will exit the dark umbra of the earth's shadow and begin to brighten up in the penumbra. The moons surface will slowly brighten from it's east facing edge to it's west facing edge over the next 78 minutes. By 11:09 pm CST the moon will be entirely in the penumbra and the eclipse will likely be imperceptible again. The moon will finally leave the earth's shadow entirely at 12:17 pm CST.

The entire process will take over 5 and a half hours from 6:35 pm to 12:17 pm CST. The part of the show that is most noticeable will happen slowly over a bit less than 3 and a half hours from 7:43 pm to 11:09 pm CST. If you are not completely enthralled by the activities in the sky, this might get a bit boring. I'd suggest taking a look at the full moon at least once sometime between sunset and 7:43 pm CST just to remind your mind exactly what a brilliant full moon looks like. Then head back out at least once between 8:00 pm and 8:45 pm CST (set an alarm so you don't forget). Each time you look during this period of time you'll notice more of the moon disappearing. Finally, head back out as close to 9:26 pm CST as you can (set another alarm). At that time the moon will be as deep in the shadow as it is going to get. The is when you'll best notice any reddening of the moon. Everything after that is just the reverse of what you've already seen. Of course this means that if you forget to take a look between 8:00 pm and 8:45 pm CST, you'll get a second chance between 10:00 pm and 10:45 pm.

I hope to get my telescopes set up in the driveway to take a look tonight, and I'll probably put the digital camera's out on tri-pods as well. I'm not sure how well the cameras will work in the bitter temperatures predicted this evening in my area, but if I get any good pictures I'll post them.

Did you buy a lot of stuff?

It's tax season, and I thought I'd share some useful information I found regarding tax deductions. If you find talk of taxes boring, and typically pay someone to do your taxes for you, skip to the very last sentence in today's post. For those who do their own taxes and those who find talk of tax deductions interesting, read on. . . .

Prior to 2004, when filing federal income taxes, taxpayers were allowed to deduct from their income the state and local income tax they paid. This was great for those, like me, living in states that collect an income tax. However, it was a bit annoying to people living in states with no income tax, such as Florida and Nevada. In 2004 the government passed the American Jobs Creation Act which, among other things allowed tax payers to deduct from their income the state and local sales tax they paid (see bullet point #4 at this link). While this law was due to expire after 2005, it was extended for one year in 2006 and then extended again for one year in 2007. If it is not extended again this year, then this will be the last year you will be able to make use of the deduction.

There are a few "catches" of course. For instance, you can deduct either the income tax or the sales tax, but not both. Additionally the deduction is only available if you itemize your deductions, not if you take the standard deduction.

If you live in a state that has no sales tax, such as Oregon and Delaware, you'll generally be better off deducting the state income tax you paid. If you live in a state with no income tax, you'll generally be better off deducting the sales tax you paid. Those are obvious, and the people who live on those states are probably already aware of this. On the other hand if, like me, you live in a state with both an income tax and a sales tax, it gets a bit more confusing. The only way to be sure is to figure out your tax burden both ways and see which come out better.

So if you live in a state with both a sales tax and an income tax and you kept every receipt for every purchase you made in 2007, go ahead and add up the sales tax amounts on all those receipts. Bah. Like I'm going to remember to ask for a receipt for every purchase I make for an entire year. Even if I did, there is no way I'm going to be able to keep track of them all. The hassle of trying to find the sales tax on each receipt and add it all up? No way. The odds of me adding it all up without making a single mistake? About the same as the odds that gravity will invert and we'll all start falling up.

But wait, don't give up yet. Those ingenious lawmakers seemed to have realized that was too much too ask. So, they offer a way to estimate your sales tax for the year. So now, if you itemize your deductions, you have a choice of keeping all your receipts and taking the deduction for the actual sales tax you paid or tossing your receipts and taking an estimated sales tax deduction. The IRS provides instructions on how to calculate this estimate, and they also provide a calculator online to save you from having to know how to do math. Great!

Most of the time, where I live, the estimated sales tax is less than the state income tax. This has the unfortunate effect of creating a habit of deducting the state income tax. This brings me to the reason I'm writing this public service announcement. One common reason you might come out ahead deducting the estimated sales tax is the purchase of a transportation vehicle. This is because, if you choose to use the estimated sales tax, the law allows you to additionally deduct the sales tax on the purchase of any cars, boats, airplanes, or other motor vehicles as well as any sales tax on the purchase of a home or home building materials.

I found this information to be quite useful, and I suspect that others will as well. If you bought a motor vehicle, a home, or home building materials in 2007, I'd definitely recommend taking the time to calculate the sales tax deduction using the estimated sales tax plus the vehicle general sales tax to see if it reduces your tax burden. If you made several large purchases and still have the receipts, you might want to give serious consideration to finding those receipts and adding up the sales tax. If you typically pay someone to file your taxes for you, and you made several large purchases or you purchased a home, a motor vehicle, or home building materials, bring those receipts with and mention to the tax preparer that you brought the receipts in case your state sales tax deduction comes out higher than state your income tax.

The House Is Filling With Smoke!

Scene: Valentine's Eve. I'm listening to the radio, riding home in rush hour traffic. Traffic is crawling along at 20 MPH. The temperature outside is 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and there isn't much wind at all.

(Cell phone rings)

I search my coat pockets looking for cell phone.

(Cell phone rings again)

I finally find the phone on the floor on the passenger side of the car.

Me: Hello?

Lisa: Which way does the flue open in the fireplace?

I'm thinking it's sweet that Lisa wants to have a fire going in the fireplace for me when I get home.

Me: Pull the handle from the upper left down to the right.

Lisa: (Urgently) There's smoke coming into the house! The fire alarms are going to go off soon!

Me: You've got to get the flue open. Use the log tongs and grab the handle and pull it down.

Lisa: (cough) The smoke isn't going up the chimney! (cough) Bandit, get away from there!

Me: The damper handle should swing freely. Tap it with the tongs or poker, and if it isn't swinging freely, it needs to be opened. If it is swinging freely then the smoke will be going up the chimney.

Lisa: (cough) It is open. (cough, cough) The house is filling with smoke! (cough, cough) I know Bandit, I’m trying.

Me: If you can't get the flue open you'll have to put the fire out.

Lisa: You said the handle should swing freely, right?

Me: Yes, if it's open.

Lisa: It is swinging freely; the smoke is still coming into the house.

Me: You either need to get that fire put out, or you need to call the fire department right now.

Lisa: (cough, cough)

Me: Get some water from the sink and pour it on the logs. You've got to either get the fire put out or call the fire department!

Lisa: (cough) Bandit, get out of here.

Several seconds pass.

Lisa: (a distant sounding shout) Can you hear me?

Me: Hello? Is the fire out?

Lisa: I didn't know where I set the phone down. I couldn't find it.

I realize I must be on speakerphone.

Me: Is the fire out?

Lisa: The smoke is still coming into the house.

Me: I told you, you need to get some water and put it out.

Lisa: I did, but some pieces of wood are still smoldering a bit.

Me: No, you need to soak all the wood. You need to get that smoldering out. There shouldn't be any more smoke at all.

Lisa gets the wood completely put out and comments on how the inside of the fireplace is like a swamp now. Lisa opens several windows in the area around the fireplace to try and get the smoke out of the house. I suggest turning on the exhaust fans in all the bathrooms to try and suck some of the smoke out of the house. Since the bedroom door was closed the entire time, there’s no smoke in there. Lisa heads there to keep warmer while waiting for the smoke to dissipate. She gets Bandit to come with her.

Forty minutes later when I get home, there’s no visible smoke, but the whole house sure smells of smoke. I close the windows near the fireplace, and open the windows that are farthest from the fireplace. I turn off the exhaust fans in the bathrooms. I remove the wood from the fireplace and verify that Lisa did have the flue open. I light the gas burner in the fireplace and crank the flame all the way up. The airflow seems to be going up the flue. I'm hoping that fresh air will be pulled in through the open windows and flow through the whole house towards the fireplace where it will vent up the chimney. I notice that the house is quickly cooling off, and figure this is a good sign that fresh air is coming in. I let the fireplace run like this for about 15 or 20 minutes checking regularly that the fireplace exhaust is not coming into the room. Then I close all the windows, and put some fresh dry pieces of wood on the fire. Before long there is a very hot roaring fire in the fireplace and the room begins to warm.

After talking to Lisa I've discovered that she didn't forget to open the flue like I originally thought. She opened it first, and noticed there seemed to be a bit of a draft coming from the fireplace. Having not lit many fires in the past, she didn't realize this was unusual. The draft was strong enough to blow out the match when she first tried to light the gas. Then when she got the gas lit, the flames weren't vertical, but rather were pointing into the room. This seemed wrong to her, but before she could get the gas turned back off, some of the loose bark on the wood caught and started smoking. The smoke immediately started coming into the room instead of going up the chimney.

My best guess is that the chimney walls were bitter cold and the chimney was filled with cold air. Since cold air is heavier than warmer air it came pouring into the room, much like a column of water with an open valve at the bottom, when she opened the damper. Fresh cold air was pulled into the chimney from the top and this continued the flow as she tried to get the fire started. By the time I got home things had probably evened out in the room. The draft from the chimney was gone. Running the gas fire for a bit heated up the fireplace and the chimney walls enough to create the proper updraft.

I hope this experience doesn't discourage Lisa from trying to start a fire in the future. It is nice to come home to a roaring fire after a long drive on a frigid night. We've agreed that it's probably a good idea to hold off on putting wood into the fire until the gas flame is lit and looks like it’s vertical. I've also suggested waiting 10 minutes or so before lighting the gas flame if there is a noticeable draft from the chimney when opening the damper.

Nothing New

I said I'd post at least once per week, and it's been a week. I'm actually in the midst of collecting my ideas and trying to form something interesting to read out of them. Since I don't know if I'll have that done by the end of the day today, I figured I'd quickly mention that I've added a few new blogs to my blogroll. Take some time to check them out (if you haven't already) while you wait for my next post.

At Least Once Per Week

Hmm. . . . Apparently I'm not very good at this blogging stuff. I mean, I've left all my loyal readers hanging for 3 months without a single update. For me, the official end of sailing season is the crew BBQ. After that winter rolls into Chicago. Hobby on hiatus, short days, long nights, grey skies, cold weather, long dark commutes, snow covered car, road salt on everything, etc. This situation does not lend itself to creative thinking.

Don’t like that excuse? Ok how about this one:

I was procrastinating, but I was most certainly going to write about my road trip to nowhere in particular where Lisa and I tried camping in the Prius. Then she wrote about it on her blog, and I didn’t feel like repeating everything she said. Then I figured I’d write about my niece’s birthday party, but I procrastinated so long that Lisa ended up writing about that before I got to it. Family started asking when I’d post to my blog and I decided I’d probably write about my New Year’s Eve, but Lisa has already done that as well. I could write about the diet we’ve started again, but since Lisa has written about that, I won’t bother.

Enough with the excuses. Basically, I’ve been lazy, unmotivated, and procrastinating. My New Year’s Resolution (a month late) is as of this moment, to post to this blog a minimum of once per week.

There, that takes care of this week. I’ll try to have more captivating monologue available for you soon.

Cooperation

I cooked dinner last night, and I baked buiscuits. Nothing complicated or fancy, just cracked open a can of Pilsbury Dinner rolls and placed them on a cookie sheet. Then I baked them in the oven at 350 deg. until they were black on the bottom and had a smokey charcoal flavor, before transfering them to a cooling rack on the kitchen island.

Since there are only 2 of us, and there are 8 rolls in the can, there were far more of these than we would eat with one dinner. No problem, I'll just wrap them up and save them. We can have leftover burnt rolls the next day. I wasn't in a hurry to wrap them up. I figured I could finish my dinner, and possibly even watch the end of a T.V. show. Then I could head back to the kitchen to load the dishwasher and put away the leftovers.

So about 10 minutes after I settle in to catch the end of my show, I hear a noise coming from the kitchen. It sounds like something fell. I sit up and look over the breakfast table to see what might have made the noise, and I see the cat and dog both running through the doorway to the dining room. The dog and cat frequently chase each other, so I figure I must have just heard them running through the kitchen. When the show is over, I head to the kitchen to clean up, and I discover that there is one dinner roll missing from the cooling rack.

Apparently the pets worked out a plan. See the dog can't really get the rolls off the island without making a whole lot of noise and attracting a lot of attention. On the other hand, the rolls are too large for the cat to carry out of the room, so if he's going to eat them he's got to spend enough time on the island to almost certainly get caught. It seems they figured out that the cat could quietly jump onto the counter and knock a roll to the ground. The dog could then carry the roll off to another room where they could enjoy the spoils of their crime without being seen.

Now I'm not certain that the dog didn't double cross the cat and eat the entire roll himself any more than I'm certain that the dog was keeping a lookout and signaled the cat when it was safe to jump up to the island. However, it does seem odd that the cat would intentionally knock the roll to the floor where the dog could get it unless he was sure he'd still get some for himself. I can't help but wonder what the cat knows about the dog that he's using as blackmail to ensure that the dog doesn't keep more than his fair share.