Total Lunar Eclipse.... Tonight!

 That is right!  A "Blood Moon" as the moon will turn a dark red or orange when the earth shields it from the sun.   This has not happened if over 3 years, from what I can gather... ( And also when Jesus was Crucified!)  So this is kind of a big deal for all of those space nerds out there.  ( Am I a "Space Nerd?)  

Outside Walmart.

The unfortunate part is that it happens around 2 AM for full effect.   You can watch the lead up around midnight, but not many people are out creeping about that early in the morning.   Even I only get up around 3 AM to go for a run ( When I'm not on vacation.....) So that would be early for even me!  And by 3 AM... I'm sure the event will be over. 

My camera is kind of ... bad.   So I will not be able to capture any pics of the moon regardless...  But I shall still try... If I'm up at that time.    The pictures I DID capture this evening were not as bad since the light from the setting sun helps.  A little....

Great Camera,  Fragile!

We had one back in 2015 in Iowa.    Which was kind of fun.  And looking at those pics,   I must have still had the Nikon in our possession.   I miss that camera, but it was so fragile!   We broke two of them, just dropping them off a coffee table onto a pillow!  I was able to cannibalize one for parts to fix the second one, but that did not last long.   It did take pretty good pictures though....

I spent almost the entire day folding the dragon.   This is day 4 and I now am feeling that sense of urgency to be done with it!   Most of the folding now is simply the shaping of the finished model.   And this is the part that can make or break all of that previous folding.   Do a sloppy job shaping, and your elegant origami model will look more like a crumpled ball of paper!   

So.... Take your TIME!

There is also the risk of the thing coming unraveled.  Now it may be true that I tend to give my models... even the complex ones..  Away for free.   I still would like it if they managed to last a while before unraveling and looking sloppy.  Over the years, I have discovered several methods to keep them looking relatively fresh.   

Good paper helps!  Foil backed paper works pretty good too.   Sometimes a touch of glue or a drop of water will help things keep their shape.  

But for seriously complex models... that are not made of foil paper,   Modge Podge is the way to go!

Kind of tricky.   You have to do it in small sections and let them dry... usually for a few hours, before continuing on to the next section.   Otherwise your hands or the model will look like junk!   

And at a late hour like this...  After spending 4 days folding the thing....  I tend to push the limits where I should hold off and take things just a little slower.   Currently, I have about 75% of it modge podged and drying.   I will have to complete the wings tomorrow. 

In other news, I managed to complete another 6 mile run!  (That is 30 miles for the week so far!)   I hurt all over, but I think it is a "good" kind of hurt.  ( Is there a type of pain that is "good"?)  It was nearly 50 degrees outside and the run is the only time I had to get out of the house.  Besides folding, I did manage to work on some Earth and Space stuff for Monday.   I know it will most likely be a waste of time, since most of the class doesn't really care about the Earth... OR Space, for that matter.   (That might not be entirely true, but sounds funny from a ranting high school teacher.)

They actually pester me constantly about Space.  "Mr. Allen!  When are we ever going to learn about space?"   At the end of this chapter about weather.   So... A week and a half from now.   Hopefully.   Personally I think they just want to watch Interstellar with Matthew McConaughey.   It was a good movie.  And may have educational value... So,  I'll consider it.  

Then again,  I have not seen this much enthusiasm about Space Exploration since I was in High School.  After the Challenger blew up,  the Space Fever left almost everyone.  No one paused to watch a space shuttle launch.  We used to take time out of the school day to watch the live launches!  But that all ended with that disaster on Live TV.  

But now there is SpaceX launching a rocket every other week or so.  ( Maybe even more frequent!)   And all of the kids seem to be excited about Space again.  I think that is a good thing. We will need explorers if we ever want to find our destiny in the Stars someday... 

Space X Booster Retrieval!

The browser is acting up, and it is getting late.   If I plan on getting up early to see the eclipse, I should probably end this and call it a night.   Hope everyone had a wonderful day today and got to go outside a little to enjoy that cooler, Spring-like weather. With Spring nearing so quickly, Summer will be just around the corner.   And then....  Victory!   

But for now..  One day at a time.   Small bites.   Small wins where I can get them.   For every second counts.