A trip to Heritage Park

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Troy

On Victoria Day we went with some friends to visit Heritage Park, a historical village in Calgary. It was a wonderful day with the kids and friends.

Partial Solar Eclipse – May 20, 2012

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Troy

Image courtesy Amos

It looked like the partial solar eclipse was going to be eclipsed entirely by clouds. We missed the first contact of the moon to the disk of the sun because of thick cloud cover, but after about 45 minutes, the thicker clouds were breaking and we could see the sun through a haze.

Heavy clouds came back as we reached the maximum for our viewing location, and I was only able to get this image of the max.

After another 30 minutes the cloud cover was getting thinner and we were able to see the sun and start taking pictures again.

Just as I was waiting to get a photo of the final contact of the disk of the moon with the sun, the clouds once again rolled over that area in the sky. By this point, there was lots of blue sky with only scattered clouds.

Thankfully, I was able to get a shot of the final contact through a gap in the clouds. Almost missed it!

Two minutes after the eclipse ended, the sky was clearer and I was able to get a clear image of the sun with three groups of sunspots on the surface.

A little weekend project

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Troy

Rifling around the shed I saw an old tire and decided it was time to get rid of it. Then I started thinking about if there was some way to use it around the house. First thought was a really nice planter for Naomi, but on second thought she probably wouldn’t like it. Since I couldn’t think of a cool medieval siege weapon that I could make from it, I opted for a tire swing.

What really motivated me was how Ethan is a die-hard swing fanatic. If he and I are both outside it is only a matter of seconds before I hear him yelling, “Can you push me!?” while he sits on the swing. How does he get there so fast?

If I give him a push and start to step away for any reason I hear, “Can you push me!?”

If both the girls get on the two swings (Only two swings. Three kids. See the problem?), Ethan forlornly sits down and says “Awww. Me NEVER going to get on the swing!!” If Ethan and Adelaine are on the swing and Ellie wants a turn, I might ask Ethan to get off. “Maybe Adewin get off.”

At three years old, he hasn’t quite mastered the whole selflessness thing. At 40, I haven’t either. So another swing was in order.