A recent report says that our sun is not kicking out sunspots like it used to. The paper, by solar astronomers Matthew Penn and William Livingstone, says that the magnetic field strength of the sunspots appears to be waning.
If the trend continues, sunspots could vanish completely by 2016. The last time this happened there was a prolonged cooling spell on Earth, known as the Little Ice Age.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of this.
I spent most of the weekend sick with a cold. I wound up staying up late Friday night working on my slides for Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange. Then after waking up early Saturday for the Exchange I felt sapped most of the rest of the day (even at Sparkcon). I paid on Sunday for Saturday’s burst of activity, though. Even though it was an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday (low humidity and moderate temperatures) I didn’t want to do anything but stay inside. Even took an afternoon nap. Finally we did get out of the house yesterday, spending the late afternoon at the Lions Park playground.
It was a restless night for me last night, with many coughing spells that woke us both up. Fortunately I think I’m turning a corner and feel more energetic today than yesterday. I’m certainly ready to feel better, I can tell you that!
I’ve been a-waitin’ for this day to ARRRRRRRRRRRive!
We spent our afternoon at Sparkcon, Raleigh’s art and design showcase that “celebrates creativity.” Fayetteville Street was covered with hundreds of beautiful chalk drawings. circusSpark performers did acrobatic tricks. Bands played on the stage in City Plaza and the Turner family played drums in the drum circle provided by Raleigh Drum Circle members.
Playing drums is interesting. I struggled to keep a steady beat at first, but then something clicked and the drum seemed to play itself. I noticed subtle changes in the group dynamic, where someone would start a cool-sounding beat and others would then latch on. This would go on until someone else would take us in a different direction and then we all began to follow the new leader. Before I knew it I was playing non-stop for 20 minutes or more without feeling fatigued. Sure, it was a workout but rather than have tired hands after playing I had “happy hands.”
We spent the rest of our time drawing our own chalk drawings at the corner of Martin and Fayetteville streets. Then it was home for pizza and rest. It’s been a long day!
I spent the morning attending the Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange, a half-day of talks and information booths designed to strengthen Raleigh’s neighborhoods. It was sponsored by the city’s Community Services department, which supports the city’s CACs, including mine. I was asked to be a presenter at this year’s Exchange, and so this morning I did two sessions with Eugene Weeks (a fellow member of the Parks board) and Jason Hibbets (chair of the Southwest CAC) on the topic of using high-tech and low-tech methods to strengthen neighborhoods.
I was originally planning to speak off the cuff at today’s meeting, but last night I became inspired to create what I hoped was a captivating slide presentation, Lawrence Lessig-style. I was up until 2:30 this morning assembling my slides, grabbing about 4 hours of sleep before I had to get up for the meeting. I arrived at the Convention Center with plenty of time to spare. The only problem is that the Exchange was being held at N.C. State’s McKimmon Center! I arrived at the correct venue about 10 minutes before our session was scheduled to begin. I had time enough to wolf down a muffin and grab my badge before the session started.
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We saw a movie trailer on a recent DVD rental for The Blind Side, the story of Michael Oher’s journey from the projects of Memphis to the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, thanks to his adoption by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy.
We saw this movie a while ago and loved it. The whole time I watched it I kept thinking “this could never happen,” but the truth is it did happen. And just when I thought it was getting hokey, there would be some dynamite scene with Sandra Bullock which would floor me. I don’t typically watch movies more than once but seeing the trailer tonight makes me want to watch the whole movie again.
One of the best things about The Blind Side is its excellent casting. Everyone seems perfectly cast for their roles. Nothing turns me off of a movie supposedly set in the South than to hear a fake Southern accent. Bullock is a Southern girl who can do the accent. Well, she’s southern Germany, mostly. That’s where she spent her youth, but she did go to ECU and was born in Virginia. She is so intense and believable that her scenes make me smile. To think that Julia Roberts was first cast in this role is laughable. I can’t see her ever pulling off the accent in a believable way.
If you haven’t seen this movie, give it a watch. I think you’ll enjoy it.
This evening I was elected vice-chair of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board at its monthly meeting. It’s a great honor, coming as it does exactly two years after I was appointed to the board. There are more responsibilities, of course, but nothing unmanageable.
I really love the work I’ve done on the Parks board and look forward to doing even more as it’s vice-chair!
I was just marveling to Kelly tonight about how quickly my life has been moving. So much has happened just in the past month that I would hardly recognize my life a month ago. Two months ago is even more of a difference, and the past year has been nothing short of transformational.
With the huge exception of Gerry’s passing it’s mostly been good, and even Gerry’s death has spurred my growth. These lessons are not necessarily the way I wanted to learn them but you have to take what life gives you, I suppose.
I guess I can stop asking the question “when does life slow down,” because to date it has only sped up for me. I have a hunch that the trend will continue!
Here is a beautifully poetic tribute to Owen Thomas created by his friend, Justin Reilly.
I read the sad story of Penn football player Owen Thomas’s recent suicide and its possible connection to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, is a degenerative brain disease brought on by repeated concussions. It can lead to a host of mental issues: depression, memory loss, aggression, confusion, and dementia. There is evidence that Lou Gehrig died of CTE and not Lou Gehrig’s Disease. I hadn’t heard of CTE before yesterday’s article.
Kelly and I are convinced we’re both on the fast track to dementia, thanks to a history of concussions. As a kid, I routinely received concussions from falling out of bed, and to protest being left in my crib I would repeatedly bang my head against the wall. I like to think I got smarter and less destructive as I grew older.
I do have days when little details don’t come to me the way they should, but I’m sure everybody experiences that once in a while. The question I want to know is whether CTE can be diagnosed without a peek at brain tissue as I’m still using my brain, addled as it may sometimes be. Regardless, I’m happy to see that knowledge about the brain is progressing so rapidly.
