A Heavenly Sight

If you're not doing anything tonight, check out of the city and look to the night sky for a spectacular meteor shower that peaks well into tonight! Here's an article I found to give more info about it.

The 2008 Perseid Meteor Shower
07.22.2008
Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show.

"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

Serious meteor hunters will begin their watch early, on Monday evening, August 11th, around 9 pm when Perseus first rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.
"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

A warm summer night. Bright meteors skipping overhead. And the peak is yet to come. What could be better?

The answer lies halfway up the southern sky: Jupiter and the gibbous Moon converge on August 11th and 12th for a close encounter in the constellation Sagittarius: sky map. It's a grand sight visible even from light-polluted cities.

For a while the beautiful Moon will interfere with the Perseids, lunar glare wiping out all but the brightest meteors. Yin-yang. The situation reverses itself at 2 am on Tuesday morning, August 12th, when the Moon sets and leaves behind a dark sky for the Perseids. The shower will surge into the darkness, peppering the sky with dozens and perhaps hundreds of meteors until dawn.
Above: The eastern sky viewed during the hours before sunrise on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008.
For maximum effect, "get away from city lights," Cooke advises. The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. (Scouts, this is a good time to go camping.)
The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show!
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Author: Dr. Tony Phillips Credit: Science@NASA
more information
NASA's Future: US Space Exploration Policy

I'm Famous!

Okay. This will only really be applicable to those of you who live in the Sacramento area, but for everyone else, still check this out. I work at a little place called Folsom Optometry Center. If you go to our website (http://www.folsomoptometry.com/), you will see ME, and my other co-workers. I'm still just posting them here, so I guess you don't have to go to the site to see me, but still check it out.

We have a plethora of fashionable sunglasses!

This very important test, called the Optomap Retinal Scan, can detect certain health issues in the eyes like Diabetes, Retinal Detachment, Macular Degeneration, and even high blood pressure. I recommend it!

And make sure to schedule your yearly eye exam with your local optometrist/ophthalmologist today!

New Do!

So, a few weeks ago, I played model for our sister, Amanda, as she took the practical part of her state board exam for cosemetology. We had so much fun, and BONUS, she passed! As a thank you from her, she offered to cut and color my hair. I jumped on that train! Here's the before.

And here's the after.

Okay, so there's not that much of a difference, especially when it comes to the cut, but I'm great with that. And there is a lot more blond in my hair than what this picture reveals, but this is the best shot I could find. Thank you, Amanda! You're the best, and congrats again!

More Redwoods Pix

Here are more pictures from our Redwoods trip. I must note, though, that the eye is the best camera, so I recommend going up there sometime to experience Mother Nature at her best.

This is at the beginning of our trek...when I was the most cheery. Neither one of us paid much attention to the signs along the trail b/c we were so caught up in the scenery. We ended up taking the Nature Trail, coming back, and starting over at the Miner's Ridge Trail, taking that to the beach, and coming back on James Irvine Trail. I just did the math, and that's 11.3 miles! Here's what we saw on the hike.

I'm so small!

So green and Secret Garden-like!

Josh caught between a stump and a hard place!

Our reward...the beach!

As you can see, absolutely no one was there.

On our way back to the hotel, we saw some elk on the side of the road. Beautiful!

They were shy and didn't want to face us, so here is a spectacular shot of elk bum!

Like I said, Mother Nature at her best!

Breaking Dawn

All right, all you Twilight addicts out there. As I'm sure you're well aware, Breaking Dawn comes out this FRIDAY. Yay, Hooray, yippie skippie, and all those immature excitement exclamations! My only problem is....I'm only halfway through the Host!!! So, what am I doing blogging??? Peace out.

More Redwood tales to come, I promise.

It's About Time!

I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago.

Josh and I had our second wedding anniversary on the 14th. Hooray!! We made it. In Hollywood years, that's an eternity! Anyway, to celebrate we went up the the Redwoods near Eureka. Neither one of us had been there before, and Josh thought that was inexuseable for him at least, since he's lived in California his entire life. Plus, it was the perfect opportunity for us to get away from the smoke that had settled in Folsom from all the forrest fires in the surrounding areas. So, this is the story....

I had just finished work on Friday, the 11th. I go home, and just about everything has been packed for us to begin our journey that night. We figured it would take about 5 or 6 hours to get up there, so we went about halfway up Friday. We didn't want to take anything to hard or rushed. The goal was total relaxation. At the halfway point, we found this older inn where some friends had suggested we stay. It was gorgeous! It surrounded by virtually nothing but forrest and garden and a golf course. The feel was very Victorian; inside was dark mahogany wood everywhere. There were no modern forms of entertainment aka no television, radio, ipods, etc. There were, however, fabulous Victorian sofas in front the main fireplace, a board game corner, puzzle areas, and an older upright piano free for anyone to play. Everything was pleasantly old fashioned. In our room, again there was NO television. Replacing it on the dresser was a bottle of brandi and two cups. There was a little sitting area with tons of books. The chairs were red velvet in band-aid pattern. I could picture Hugh Hefner sitting in there in his ever present robe and scarf, smoking a pipe, maybe picking up one of the books. I've never stayed in a hotel like this. It was a cool experience. P.S. We didn't drink from the brandi bottle.

This is the back pattio.

After our cozy stay there, we went farther up on the Avenue of the Giants, which is just this winding road with tons of oversized trees. We took some stops along the way to stretch our legs on some nature walks. I must note that they were just walks; the actual hike was yet to come. On the walks, we came across the BIGGEST tree I'd ever seen. Take a look.

So, now I have to get back to work. More will come....

Blue Tooth

So, starting July 1st this year, Californians are not allowed talking on the phone while driving...something due to excess accidents, I guess. I think it's a crock really b/c one's more likely to get in an accident while eating than talking on the phone in my opinion. Anyway, like good citizens Josh and I bought Blue Tooths (teeth?) and have been using them successfully, but they crack me up because picture this. I, Amy, am driving, hands free of my telephone, and say I'm talking to Josh or a girlfriend, and I think something's funny. I laugh, right? Yes. But along with the laughter comes head bobbing and flailing arm movement b/c that's just what I do. Now, imagine pulling up next to me watching me do all of those things...and my hair's covering the blue tooth. I must look pretty retarded!