The weather here in the upper midwest (Northeast Iowa, to be more specific)
was beautiful and clear as a bell around 4:30am local time, about an hour
before sunrise. Unfortunately, as the hour approached, and as I readied
our filtered Meade 8" scope and
digital camera to take a few shots of the exit of Venus from the Sun's disk
(we were to have
about an hour of viewing before egress) the clouds rolled in. :( Ah well,
perhaps in 8
years, but being early June at that time as well, I have my doubts about
our ability to see it.
Perhaps I should pull a Cook and head over to the South Pacific.
----------
Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical
mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the
work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical
mechanics. Perhaps it will be wise to approach the subject cautiously.