Three Strikes

 "Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

 Aurora Borealis - aka the "northern lights" - courtesy of Getty Images.

For quite a while now, I've been subscribed to free aurora alerts from Spaceweather.com.  I just looked it up, and it seems they are now charging $4.95/month to send out the same emails.  Whatever.  

A few days ago, I received an alert stating that there had been a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that was heading directly toward the earth, and to expect northern lights as far south as the northern US states, and to look for the aurora on the night of the 25th.

I've lived in Northern Idaho for almost 10 years now, and have yet to see the aurora when it's happened - and it's always due one of the following things:  

• I'm stuck at work on night shift.  The facility is well-lit - like Wal-Mart parking lot levels of brightness - and you can't see a subtle glow in the sky.
• It's overcast - horizon to horizon heavy rainfall overcast.
• There's a really bright full moon.
• Wildfire smoke (usually drifting in from elsewhere) obscures anything more than a block away.
• I have to work the following day.  I don't do night sky observations when I have to get up at 4:00 AM for work.

This time there were three strikes.  A near-full moon, overcast sky with rain, and work the following day.  There was also a fourth strike that I wasn't aware of:  The CME struck the earth early, and so it happened during daylight hours here in the US.  By the time night fell across the western US, the show was over with.  I hope somebody got to see it somewhere.

One of life's little disappointments.  I would enjoy going to one of the Scandinavian countries or Alaska to see the aurora, but that's not usually the sort of thing I spend my hard-earned money on.  Hopefully some day the stars will align and I'll get to see it from the back yard.

On a less disappointing note, there was a lot of variety on the way to work today - the shuffle feature is such a blessing!  I got a serious dose of funk:  Isley Brothers - Fight the Power

A couple of hits came and went, then this one popped up.  A bit of instrumental jazz: "It don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)" - Atlantic Five Jazz Band.  It's a cover of the classic Duke Ellington tune, but the audio quality is a lot better.

Lastly as I rolled through the gate, Tool's Lateralus came up.

Every one of these cool tunes helped make my day start off better.  Thanks shuffle!  Since Tool is up, I think I will follow up with Parabol/Parabola on the commute tomorrow (below).  I happen to believe that Tool is this generation's Pink Floyd.