Author: paultmorrison

Today at 4:14 PM the Super Moon will rise on Cape Ann into screamingly clear skies except for the sea smoke blowing away from the coast. Anywhere you can get a look at the ocean horizon to the ENE and you can watch it rise.

But if you really want to see awesome Super Moon I suggest two locations. The upper level of Granite Pier in Rockport or Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester because then you either have the Rockport Breakwater or Thacher Island as back drops.

But if you are into it you want to know to the second and your phone clock can give you precise time so:

Granite Pier Rockport moon rise: 4:14:14 PM

Good Harbor Gloucester moon rise: 4:14:26 PM

You will notice those are to the second. Things that might change it by a few seconds: Warm air steaming off the ocean might bend the light around the horizon speeding the appearance of that first glimmer of the moon. The sea smoke might mask moon rise by several seconds maybe even a minute. If you are on Good Harbor Beach the moon is going to rise right behind the North Tower of Thacher. If the island blocks moonrise this might delay it by several seconds.

You can also go to the website here at mooncalc.org and find your favorite spot. Just pick up the marker and move it around. If you are planning on a shot from Good Harbor Beach I suggest going to the website and zoom in and out to see how Salt Island and the shore can get in the way depending on where you are. Back shore is also good because the moon will be to the right and clear of Thacher Island.

You can go to these spots and marvel at my amazing powers of prediction or you can take a photo and post it on the Good Morning Gloucester Facebook Page.

The Alison Carol and Pete Mondello and crew arrived today at Captain Joe & Sons just like every day. But the fresh lobsters offloaded were special Christmas Eve lobsters. Spreading joy from here to Boston restaurants but the last five girl lobsters went in my bag for the annual Christmas Eve feast. Sue has put up with me for over 30 years which means Christmas Eve is our 30th wedding Anniversary.

We call it lobster casserole but really I want to invent a new name for it. Because it is really five baked stuffed lobsters without the hassle of the shells. You get the crispy Ritz Cracker thing going on top but buttery goodness below without having to fight through the shells. I now call it Boneless Baked Stuffed Lobster. The shells are saved to make a stock for some soup on Christmas day before the big beef. I’m getting fat just typing this.

Dockside conversations with my hearing aids tuned to the machinery so I say “what” a lot.
Joey: What are the blue and yellow ducks?
Me: Ducks?
Joey: Ducks
Me: What ducks?
Joey: Dots!
Me:(figuring out it is analemma dots) The yellow dot is Christmas and the blue dot is when you jump in Gloucester Harbor!
Joey: Who the fuck figured that out?
Me: The Greeks.
Joey: Did they have a clock?
Me: No. Eratosthenes used a deep well at noon to mark the time.
Joey: Cool.

You can also google in youtube, “Say “what” one more time I dare you” 🙂

Skeptics in the Pub of Gloucester is sponsoring the viewing of Food Evolution tonight at 7:30 PM at Gloucester’s Cape Ann Community Cinema, 21 Main Street.

If you have strong opinions about GMO foods you might find out you are dead wrong. Check it out tonight and arm yourself with actual facts.

From their website:

FOOD EVOLUTION shows how easily misinformation, confusion, and fear can overwhelm objective analysis. How do we ensure that our food supply is safe, and that everyone has enough to eat? How do we feed the world while also protecting the planet? Has genetic engineering increased or decreased pesticide use? Are GMO foods bad for your health? And, most importantly, what data, evidence, and sources are we using to approach these important questions?

Cape Ann Cinema and Stage, 21 Main St, Gloucester, offers beer, wine, and snacks for sale. Doors open at 7 PM, movie at 7:30 PM.

Greg posts good quotes at Good Morning Gloucester. Sometimes I scratch my head. Take this one for instance. A quote of Andy Warhol:

“Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, ‘So what.’ That’s one of my favorite things to say, ‘So what.’”

I have thought of several translations of this quote to rationalize my non inertia about a lot of things. “Don’t let small unimportant things get your knickers in a twist.”

So I find myself saying “So what” a lot these days. I may mumble it or just not say it out loud. 🙂

Happy Birthday Greg.

[edit, note added] Everyone knows Greg so the line, (Greg is the one on the right) is superfluous. I added it because I ran into a Wkipedia editing argument. They thought this was superfluous too and it had to be removed. 😦

Quick! Be the 315th crazy person to sign up!

http://www.blackburnchallenge.com/BBC_Race_Info.html

300 boats maximum but lots of boats have six nut jobs or more aboard so still room for one more. Do it. Think of it as a 90 dollar T-Shirt plus pain and the chance to be eaten by a shark. What’s not to like?

Your map to the road to perdition: BLACKBURN MAP