Significant solar flare’ prompts G3 Geomagnetic Storm Watch, NOAA says

The sun emitted a “significant solar flare” on Oct. 28 and because of it, the Earth is under a G3 (strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watch until Oct. 31, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The solar flare was categorized as an X1.0-class flare, according to NASA.

“X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. Flares that are classified X10 or stronger are considered unusually intense,” NASA said in a Thursday news release.

The solar flare took place at about 11:35 a.m. ET on Thursday after it was observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, according to NASA.

Any impacts the solar flare may have on Earth’s technology are minimal, but the G3 storm has the potential to push the aurora further out, giving people who live in Iowa, Oregon and Pennsylvania a chance to see it over the weekend, the NOAA said.

The aurora borealis and aurora australis — also known as the northern lights and southern lights — are the eerily beautiful green and purple lights seen in the sky at the north and south poles of the Earth. The lights occur when space weather, such as solar flares, interferes with the planet’s magnetic field, according to NASA.

“When we see the glowing aurora, we are watching a billion individual collisions, lighting up the magnetic field lines of Earth,” NASA said.

“Rust” crew member dead after shooting incident involving Alec Baldwin

A female crew member has died and another injured following an accident involving a prop firearm on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” according to a law enforcement.

A distraught Alec Baldwin lingers in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s offices on Camino Justicia after being questioned on Oct. 20, 2021 about a shooting when a prop gun misfired earlier in the day on a local movie set.

According to the Santa Fe County Sherrif’s Office, the prop firearm was discharged by actor and producer Alec Baldwin, 68.

The female victim was identified as director of photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, according to investigators. She was transported to the hospital via helicopter and pronounced dead by medical personnel at University of New Mexico Hospital.

The other victim, 48-year-old director Joel Souza, was transported to Christus St. Vincent’s Hospital by ambulance for care. Details on his condition were not released.

“According to investigators it appears that the scene being filmed involved the use of a prop firearm when it was discharged,” a statement from authorities said.

“Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged.”

Police said the incident happened Thursday at approximately 1:50 p.m. local time.

“Rust,” from director Joel Souza, is a western film set in the 1880s that stars Baldwin, Travis Fimmel and Jensen Ackles.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation “remains open and active” and no charges have been filed.

Super 16 High School matchups in Orlando

District champions could be crowned and career records broken Friday night in Week 9 of the high school football regular season.

Tavares hosts Eustis in a Class 5A battle of Lake County rivals who have gone nearly two decades without a district title. The Bulldogs can claim the trophy outright for the first time since 2004 with a win.

Eustis, district champs in 2005, likely needs a win Friday and another next week vs. Mount Dora to end its drought. The Eagles won four in a row against Tavares from 2015-18 before the Bulldogs scored a 22-20 win in 2019.

Four district matchups between Sentinel Super 16 teams will help paint the postseason picture moving forward.

Continue reading

Ocoee allows Chews A Puppy to bypass county pet sale ban

The city of Ocoee’s reworked pet-sale ordinance was widely panned Tuesday night by more than two dozen animal welfare advocates who tried but failed to persuade city commissioners to stick with a county ordinance that will outlaw the retail sale of puppies, kittens and bunnies beginning next summer.

The hotly debated Ocoee ordinance passed 3-2 with Mayor Rusty Johnson leading the way to benefit a city pet shop.

The new rule allows one store — Chews A Puppy on West Colonial — to keep selling puppies and kittens after the county ban kicks in June 22.

Unless the county rule is overturned in court, Chews A Puppy would be the only pet shop lawfully permitted to sell puppies not only in Ocoee but also in Orange County and throughout most of Central Florida as Lake, Osceola and Seminole counties have adopted similar bans on retail pet sales.

Frustrated animal-welfare advocates, who lobbied for Orange County’s ban, vowed to keep fighting.

Continue reading

Colin Powell, Who Shaped U.S. National Security, Dies at 84

A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, secretary of state and national security adviser, Mr. Powell died of complications of Covid-19, his family said.

President Ronald Reagan in a White House ceremony in 1987 announcing that Mr. Powell, right, would succeed Frank Carlucci, second from right, as the administration’s national security adviser. Mr. Carlucci was succeeding Caspar Weinberger, far left, as secretary of defense.

Colin L. Powell, who in four decades of public life served as the nation’s top soldier, diplomat and national security adviser, and whose speech at the United Nations in 2003 helped pave the way for the United States to go to war in Iraq, died on Monday. He was 84.

The cause was complications of Covid-19, his family said in a statement, adding that he had been vaccinated and was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., when he died there.

Continue reading

EGGcellent, Whats in a label?

Is there a way to tell from the egg carton how old the eggs are?

To determine freshness, a pack-date calendar (or Julian Date calendar) can be used like the one below. This three-digit code indicates the date of packaging, starting with January 1 as 001 and ending with December 31 as 365. These numbers represent the consecutive days of the year. For example a egg carton with a packaging date of 032, means the eggs were packed on February 1st. You can store fresh shell egs in their cartons in the the refrigerator for four to five weeks beyond this date.

Here is an example of the date stamp on a package of Vital Farms Organic Pasture-Raised Eggs. The day that these eggs were packed into the carton is Day 251 on the Julian Calendar which is September 8, 2021. Vital Farms take there labels a bit further and allows the consumer to view the farm that these eggs were harvested. https://vitalfarms.com/farm/.

James Toney Farms: https://vitalfarms.com/farm/jt-farm/

Continue reading

Evidence why you would NEVER get a fountain drink at a gas station convenience Store

The photos below are from an ice machine mounted atop a fountain drink dispenser at a very large national chain of gas station/convenience stores in Orlando. It’s funny how the name of the national chain gas station used to describe its hours of operation. After Covid-19 hit, restaurants and bars cut back their maintenance budgets and ice machine cleanings were one of the first to go. The basic theory behind what you are looking at is the following premise…. mold grows in a cold, wet and dark environment. It is essential to keep the plates of the evaporator very clean because this is the surface that produces cubes of ice.

The photo below is where the filtered (supposedly) water cascades over the evapoartor and freezes onto a metal plate that forms the cubes.

Here is a close up shot of the sections that make the cubes.

For comparison, here is an ice machine from a national chain of restaurants and bars. This demonstrates the difference in decision making at a corporate level to end maintenance programs due to finances.