Just a Rainbow Over the River

The river, an oyster house, and a pile of oyster shells.

Some people say oyster shell piles stink.  Personally, I think they smell like a pot of gold.

Encouragement for AM Stations

The kick-off post for the I Listen! campaign, over at the SWLing Post blog.

The idea is that broadcast AM stations – really all stations, including FM and shortwave – aren't getting the feedback they need to bring in advertising dollars.  From there we step straight to budget cuts, fewer listeners, feedback loop...  in short, a death spiral.  This is a small, simple effort to help fix the problem.  If there are some stations that you particularly like, read the above-linked article and send'em a postcard.  You can find the mailing addresses easily by going to Radio Locator, typing in your zip code, then clicking on the little yellow "i" boxes next to a station's name.  Look for "Station Address" and hey presto.

It is a funny thing, but here on the Forgotten Coast there are only a handful of FM stations within the horizon, and exactly no local AM stations – everything's either DX over salt water by day or skywave by night.  (take a look)  It does make it a challenge to find new variety, yet even among this limited selection there's an interesting assortment of Tampa Bay area stations and WWL out of New Orleans.

A Thing of Beauty

1973 Mach 1 Mustang, 351 Cleveland.  Half-hour watch.  No, I didn't buy it, but I can admire it.

Well huh.  Direct video embed isn't working.  Go watch over at youtube.

Today's Florida Man Moment

Getting something out of the back of my truck today, I noticed something that looked like grass growing in the debris that had accumulated.  On second look, not grass, but seedling palm trees just emerging from their crowberries.  Of course I saved them in a plastic bag and planted them.  I need some palms across the back fence, and this is as good a way as any.  Maybe they'll make it, maybe they won't.

So yeah, people in other places may find random weeds growing in the back of their pickups.  Here though, it's palm trees.

Biosignatures Found on an Exoplanet

Nothing definitive yet, but still pretty interesting.  Two chemical compounds – dimethyl sulfide and methyl chloride – that are not known to be produced outside of laboratories by anything other than life have been found in the atmosphere of the 124 light year distant exoplanet K2-18 b by UK scientists using the Webb Space Telescope.  This is in addition to the usual carbon dioxide, methane, etc. that are generally encouraging gasses to find as well.

Here's a link to the paper at arXiv and here's a link to an explainer video.

Promising, but we shall see.

Eye-Popping

From the BBC's amateur photography collection on the theme of 'reflections':

You can view the rest of the collection here.

I must take exception however regarding the above photograph in the context of the theme.  The phenomenon in play there is not reflection; rather, it is refraction.  Beyond that one technical quibble, it's still pretty damned cool.

Old Crow at the Opry Tonight

8pm EDT, 650 kHz AM.  Details and listen-via-web (works, but not cool like skywave) at WSM's web site.

ps: During their set, they played Margaritaville in honor of the late, great J.B. and then followed up by closing with Wagon Wheel.  Playing stuff that delights the audience, that's what it's all about.

Coffeeneuring 2023?

Been doing this every year since 2017, then skipped 2022 due to... time, small number of local coffee shops, and... time.  So for 2023?  Put me down as a definite maybe.  Link to Announcement

Yep, a definite maybe this year.

All in a Night's Work

A little treat from APOD:

Trust me, you'll want to embiggen this one to watch.

About the H.E.S.S. telescope.  It's been quite the couple of weeks: a near miss by a Cat 3 (or was it a 4?) storm, radio work at the EOC, teaching a three-hour ham class to get some students ready for next week's Tech test, and fishing... oh man, what fishing.  More fish caught in the past week than I've caught in the last 12 months.  I'm exhausted, but back into the breach again tomorrow.  All in a night's work.

Let's Sum Up This Week

and then move on.

Nah, everything's good here.  Kind of a close call, and now Jimmy's gone.  Off fishing tomorrow.