Flash

Clouds obscured one part or another of the sky all night, but I still managed to see a handful of meteors. It was not the best celestial event I've ever witnessed, but not the worst. There may be a few more meteors Friday night-early Saturday morning. The peak of the shower will actually be during the day today, California time, so I wouldn't be able to see it even if I were awake- but they'll be up there.

The balmy night was quite comfortable, and undisturbed by any intrusions of raccoons or other nocturnal beasts. A few moths fluttered about, and a couple of crickets were chirping, but other than that, I had the outdoors all to myself. I didn't even get any mosquito bites! Indoors is another story. There is a plague of gnats. I've squashed a few, but there are still a couple hanging around. Obviously, I need more spiders.

From jdlasicadarknet: Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Fred von Lohmann believes that the main benefit that the media-entertainment complex expects to get from Digital Rights Management is not the ability to control piracy, but rather the ability "... to control, via licensing, the feature-set of the entire DVD player/recorder market." Interesting.

Birds chirping. Time to turn off the artificial lights and enjoy the morning twilight.

Warm Afternoon

Soft white masses cling to the mountains, and the valley is hazed, but here the perfect blue sky and perfect gold sun prevail. Mulberry leaves mute the brilliance, and in their green shade birds peck at the yellowing lawn. A squirrel darts along the street, gray on gray, refusing to linger on the hot pavement. Its motion scribes a fluid line that reminds me of rippling water. I hear the drone of a small airplane, but do not see it. I am watching the dense but filmy cobwebs on a nearby bush. A light afternoon breeze is making them belly like sails. I imagine the bush uprooting itself and drifting off at a stately pace, powered by the wind. The day's heat and serene repose make me drowse, until the day itself seems something I might have dreamed.