I've been trying very hard to cheerful!post this week because I'm frequently struggling to breathe, as one does these days. You all know how it is. I was planning on posting from the perfect 4 July book (The Westing Game). But when I looked at the exact words of the quotation, it felt much too on the nose:
The sun has set on your Uncle Sam. Happy birthday, Crow. And to all of my heirs, a very happy Fourth of July.
So, okay, I thinks to myself. I'll quote my other favorite Fourth of July bit from the end. But when I looked it up, uh. That didn't feel any less apropos to the moment?
Turtle?"
"I'm right here, Sandy." She took his hand.
"Turtle, tell Crow to pray for me."
His hands turned cold, not smooth, not waxy, just very, very cold.
Turtle turned to the window. The sun was rising out of Lake Michigan. It was tomorrow. It was the Fourth of July.
Ah, well. Ready for a nice game of chess?
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epod_feed Jul. 4th, 2025 12:02 am)Photographer: Ray Boren
Summary Author: Ray Boren
Almost two centuries ago, on July 4, 1830, a brigade of about 80 fur trappers and traders led by William Sublette, headed toward the Wind River region just to the west, paused to celebrate the Fourth of July — Independence Day in the young United States of America. They camped beside a massive, free-standing mound of bald granite along central Wyoming’s Sweetwater River. Sublette is generally credited with giving the monolith its name: Independence Rock, shown here in a photograph taken on June 19, 2025.
During the mid-19th century, this emigrant route over the Continental Divide and through North America’s Rocky Mountains was traveled by an estimated half-million explorers, adventurers, would-be gold miners, farmers, tradesmen and other settlers — men, women and children. All were walking, riding horses or seated on often oxen-powered wagons, and some were even pulling handcarts. The Oregon, Mormon Pioneer and California National Historic Trails and the route of the Pony Express all passed by this impressive outcrop. Independence Rock and the Fourth of July became goals for pioneers because the landmark was about halfway between their trek’s beginnings, near the Missouri River, and their Far West and Pacific Coast destinations, which they hoped to reach before snow started to fall in the Sierra Nevadas and other ranges later in the year.
In diaries and letters, emigrants variously wrote that the great mound looked like “a huge whale,” “a giant bowl turned upside down,” or “a big elephant mired up to its sides in the mud.” And on cliffs, in alcoves and caves, and on the rock’s rounded top, thousands of them scratched, chiseled or wrote with paint, axle grease, or tar their names, initials and dates onto the granite. Time, weather, erosion and rock-covering lichen have erased or obscured most of the inscriptions, but scores remain, as shown in the bottom photo (also taken on June 19). One of the earliest known signatures, made by “M.K. Hugh” in 1824, has vanished. But others, even from the 1840s and 1850s, can be found by determined searchers, especially along a path that encircles the rock.
The emigrants, as an informational sign at Independence Rock observes, probably did not realize they were beneficiaries of millions of years of geologic activity. The monolith — roughly 1,900 feet (580 meters) long, 850 feet (260 m) wide, and 130 feet (40 m) high — and other, more-jagged peaks nearby are composed of Archean granite, a hard, coarse-grained igneous rock that slowly cooled under the Earth’s surface. The rise and fall of the land and erosion eventually exposed the summits we see today. A highway rest stop along Wyoming 220 now provides viewpoints and pathways to the steep-sided mount, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and which is managed today by the State of Wyoming as the Independence Rock State Historic Site.
Independence Rock, Wyoming Coordinates: 42.4935, -107.1318
Related Links:
Crossroads on the Upper Green River
Idaho’s Granitic City of Rocks
Northeastern Nevada’s Pilot Peak
The full case name is "City of Eugene v. Debutante Society of Oregon", but the abbreviated version is fine too.
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tahnan
epod_feed Jul. 3rd, 2025 12:01 am)
Photographer: Greg Parker
Summary Author: Greg Parker
epod_feed Jul. 2nd, 2025 12:01 am)
Photographer: Anthony Ayiomamitis
Summary Author: Anthony Ayiomamitis
One of the most beloved myths from Ancient Greece involves the father-son duo of Daedalus and Icarus who were jailed by King Minos in Crete after the latter had asked for the construction of a complex labyrinth by the crafty Daedalus for the jailing of the Minotaur (illegitimate son of the King's wife).
The older Daedalus came up with the ingenious idea to construct wings made of wax and bird feathers so that he and his son could fly their way out of prison and away from Crete. Prior to their dramatic escape, Daedalus advised the younger Icarus not to fly too close to the Sun since the heat would melt the wax and lead them to their demise. Similarly, he advised Icarus not to fly too close to the sea since the moisture would dampen their wings, thus making them heavier and which would also lead to a destructive ending.
Although the escape went as planned, the younger Icarus was so excited by their ability to fly that he soon forgot his father's advice by flying higher and higher and which eventually led to the melting of the wax and his ultimate demise where he tragically fell into the Aegean Sea. Daedalus located his son's body and buried Icarus in the immediate vicinity of his tragic drowning and named the nearby island Icaria in honor of his cherished son.
Featured above (at top) is a stunning stainless steel statue depicting Icarus with the spring equinox Sun setting in the immediate background. The bottom photo required seven trips to Cyprus to get the alignment just right because of the greater distance from the statue than the top photo as well as various nuances due to the weather and a broken tripod connection. Top photo taken on April 9, 2002; bottom photo taken on March 15, 2025.
Photo Details: Top photo - Canon EOS 6D camera; Baader BCF2 filter; Baader ND5 filter; Canon EOS EF 50mm/f1.8USM lens; f8.0; 47 x 1/320 second exposures; ISO 200; Digital Photo Pro V4.6.30.0; Photoshop CS5. Bottom photo - Canon EOS 6D camera; Baader BCF2 filter; Baader ND5 filter; Canon EOS EF 70-200mm f/4 L; 200 mm/f14.0; 11 x 1/60 second exposures; ISO 640; Digital Photo Pro V4.6.30.0; Photoshop CS5.
Boardwalk, Ayia Napa, Cyprus Coordinates: 34.981898, 34.001602
Related Links:
Equinox Sun at Pegasus of Corinth
Anthony's Website
epod_feed Jul. 1st, 2025 12:01 am)
Photographer: Meiying Lee
Summary Author: Meiying Lee
It turns out that those of us living in the mid and low latitudes have only been seeing half of the Moon's trajectory! We're used to the Moon rising in the east and setting in the west. If we observe closely, we'll notice that its path shifts north and south every month, while the Sun only shifts north and south once a year. From February 22 to March 7, 2025, I traveled to northern Norway, around 69 degrees north latitude. The first few days I was there, I found that I couldn't see the Moon at all, day or night. It then dawned on me that because of how far north I was, the Moon's path was too far south for me to see.
However, in the latter half of the trip, on March 4 and 5, I discovered that the waxing crescent Moon stayed in the sky all day and night! In fact, if the weather was clear enough, we could observe this waxing crescent remaining near the level of the horizon for five to six days, much like the phenomenon of the Midnight Sun during the summer solstice, where in the vicinity of the Arctic Circle the Sun stays on the horizon continuously.
Unfortunately, due to the weather and my travel schedule, I couldn’t capture the entire trajectory of the Moon across the sky. But during the early hours of March 5, while photographing an aurora, I managed to capture two segments of the Moon's path. The left image shows the time from 12:30 to 1:52 am (local time) on March 5, and the right image is from 2:48 to 4:07 am. In the left image, the Moon is still descending, while in the right image, it appears to be moving horizontally just above the horizon. From the position of the North Star (at the center of the concentric circles), we can see that the Moon has reached its lowest point and is beginning to rise again, though the movement is so subtle it’s almost imperceptible.
Additionally, the Moon that appeared in the northern low sky at this late hour was a waxing crescent Moon, which shouldn't have been visible at this time and direction. This phenomenon, where the Moon never sets, is actually the other half of the Moon's trajectory below the horizon. It's a sight that people living in the mid to low latitudes have never imagined and is truly fascinating! Photos taken on March 3, 2025.
Senja Island, Norway Coordinates: 69.2965, 17.6459
Related Links:
Perspective of the Moon from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Meiying's Facebook page
pick one science!
pick one plastic pal who's fun to be with!
murderbot
12 (25.0%)
lieutenant commander data
18 (37.5%)
lieutenant commander murderbot
6 (12.5%)
murderdata
12 (25.0%)
pick one cat!
a cat who does crimes
1 (2.0%)
a cat who does naps
3 (6.1%)
trick question, they're the same cat
45 (91.8%)
pick one poll type!
radio button
9 (18.4%)
ticky boxes
24 (49.0%)
free text answer
2 (4.1%)
scientifically constructed and balanced poll with an IRB approval and crosstabs
14 (28.6%)
pick one brassica!
brussels sprouts
10 (20.4%)
box choy
5 (10.2%)
cauliflower
7 (14.3%)
turnip
2 (4.1%)
kohlrabi
4 (8.2%)
mustard
5 (10.2%)
sauerkraut
4 (8.2%)
candytuft
1 (2.0%)
horseradish
8 (16.3%)
purple pickled horseradish, maybe with a little charoset
3 (6.1%)
pick one way to feel better!
petting the cat
8 (16.3%)
eating cheese
1 (2.0%)
throwing your phone into the fires of mount doom
2 (4.1%)
medication
1 (2.0%)
looking at pictures of nebulas
1 (2.0%)
throwing the technology of your choice into the fires of mount doom
1 (2.0%)
petting this other cat
7 (14.3%)
doing crimes
5 (10.2%)
reading
6 (12.2%)
writing
2 (4.1%)
'rithmetic
0 (0.0%)
digging in the dirt
1 (2.0%)
listening to music
2 (4.1%)
being in the ocean
5 (10.2%)
throwing mount doom into the fires of mount doom, just to see if you can create a singularity via recursive destruction
7 (14.3%)
epod_feed Jun. 30th, 2025 12:01 am)This EPOD was first published May 16, 2012
Photographer: Rebecca Roush
Summary Author: Stu Witmer
The photo above shows a stack of driftwood on the beach of the bay of Hunafloi near Drangsnes, in the Westfjords district of Iceland. This is no casual bonfire in the making. Trees are few in Iceland. So much so that a popular joke for tourists is “What should you do if you’re lost in the forest? Stand up.” Most of the native trees were cut down in the early days of settlement and a reforestation program is underway to help bring the forests back. Meanwhile, driftwood fills the gap. There’s more driftwood than you might expect. Primarily spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus) and larch (Larix sibirica) the majority of these trees originally stood along Siberian rivers such as the Ob and the Lena where they may have eroded from the shores or escaped from logging operations. Once at sea, the trees drift with the Arctic Ocean currents. Studies have shown that it takes about five years for these trees to travel to Iceland. Driftwood can only stay afloat for about ten months indicating that these trees are primarily carried by sea ice. Along the way, the wood becomes impregnated with so much salt from the seawater that it is hardened thus making it excellent for use in construction. These days it is mainly used for fence posts. Since the wood belongs to whoever owns the land it washes up on, it makes a cost-effective building material and sometimes a cash crop. Photo taken September 13, 2011.
Photo Details: Camera: Canon Powershot SD 1300 IS; Focal Length: 5 mm; F Number: f/8; ISO Speed Ratings: 160; Flash: off.
[2/25]
"Academia: Staying Afloat" by Timothy Burke from the end of January made me feel warmer. It's about everything. AI slop. Fascism. Modern employment. Greed. The broad gesture at everything. Hope. Determination.
You are the right person to do what you do, know what you know, study what you’re going to study. You do it.
You are a lifeboat.
You are not the passenger being rescued from a shipwreck. You are the rescuer. Your skills, your knowledge, your experience reside in you. You have pulled them from the cold ocean where cruel and careless captains have set them adrift.
You are a lifeboat.
epod_feed Jun. 27th, 2025 12:01 am)Photographer: Ray Boren
Summary Author: Ray Boren
Under a big blue sky, the morning sun illuminates a central portion of Wyoming’s majestic Teton Range, which is mirrored via specular reflection in a calm and equally blue bay of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. In this photograph, taken on May 23, 2025, the park’s namesake Grand Teton peak, topping out at 13,775 feet (4,199 meters) above sea level, is on the far-left side of the image, to the south. Blocky Mount Moran (12,610 feet; 3,840 m) rises prominently just left of center.
The snow still covering the Tetons on this spring day makes it easy to envision the Pleistocene ice-age glaciers that helped carve the mountains’ jagged summits, cirques, and U-shaped drainages. The Park Service explains that the Teton Fault began tilting the range’s primarily granite mountain block upward about 10 million years ago while also dropping the valley of Jackson Hole. Although masked by snow in the photograph, almost a dozen glaciers remain in the park today, some moving and some mere remnants. They, and erosion from water, wind and gravity, continue to shape the dramatic terrain.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Coordinates: 43.7904, -110.6818
Related Links:
Sunset and Specular Reflection at Great Salt Lake
Davey Jackson’s Valley in Winter
The Tetons, from the Idaho Side
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