Another Conjunction in the Sky 12-29-08

Tonight the evening sky gave us another nice view. The slender crescent Moon is approaching a conjunction with Venus. Then the next two nights it will move closer to Venus and at the same time Mercury and Jupiter are converging for their own Dec. 31st conjunction. All of this happens in the Southwestern sky just after sunset.

This was the diagram for tonight. I got some pictures but they just don't show up here well enough.

This is a diagram of what we can expect tomorrow night.

This is a diagram of what to look for on Wednesday Night.

Hopefully I'll have some better pictures tomorrow that I can add here.

Happy Sky watching!

Skywatch Friday #6 Christmas Week in the Ozarks

We have had clouds it seems for weeks, but finally they cleared and I was able to get some shots. All of these were taken in the last week and we had very few clouds to speak of most nights. But regardless of the lack of clouds we had some spectacular sunsets! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.




The Sunsets of Christmas Week

I loved the way the clouds looked on this night. Dec. 19, 2008

This was taken on Sunday Dec 21, 2008

I took this because of all the contrails, air traffic was busy on Christmas Day!

The Sun Sets on Christmas Day 2008

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Thank You for visiting!

The Saga of the Shoplifting Dog

This is just so funny, you have to see this!

The shoplifting dog

"A thief remains at large after pulling off a daring heist - in the pet food aisle," the Associated Press reports. "Surveillance video at a supermarket in this Salt Lake City suburb caught a dog shoplifting, KSL-TV reported Wednesday."

Not to worry, this guy will catch the thief!

This came from a friend of mine on Newsvine.

'Back Through the Checkout Line'

David Turner negotiated a cart stuffed with gifts through the aisles of the department store, swiping his card or reaching into his wallet for cash. This was the first year he could buy little Sarah every gift she had pointed to or torn from the Sunday paper. It was a good feeling. I sure don't have to worry about money this time, he thought as he dropped a few more items into the cart.




A new job, a fat raise, and a bigger house had all been part of his success package this year. Turner paused to let another shopper pass him in the electronics aisle. He plucked a video game console from a shelf and somehow found room for it in the cart.




He made it through the checkout line and pushed his heavy cart of Christmas loot across the parking lot to the van. As he tossed the unwrapped gifts through the side door, he noticed a woman and a little girl returning to an old station wagon next to the van. He tried not to stare, but seeing the ragged clothes on the girl and the tired face of the young woman holding her hand, it was hard not to notice.




The woman gave him a polite smile and popped the hatchback on the old wagon. She carefully placed two small plastic bags in the back and began checking the contents. The little girl gave David a huge grin. "We're having Christmas dinner! Santa Claus is coming to OUR house!" She did a little dance and spun around, shivering a bit in the cold air.




One of the plastic bags split and rolled its contents onto the ground. David knelt down and helped the woman retrieve the items and put them into the other bag. He saw two cans of beans, a package of hamburger, and a couple of cheap toys from the discount bin.




"Thanks," said the woman. Their eyes met for a moment, and then she looked away. She took the little girl's hand. "Let's go, Jessica."




Turner touched the woman's elbow. "Wait a minute."


Another force, perhaps the Christmas spirit itself, grabbed him firmly by the scruff of the neck. He popped the hatchback on the woman's car. He transferred all the gifts from the van to the wagon and shut the hatchback with a bang. The woman stared at him in surprise.




"Merry Christmas," Turner said.


He headed back into the store.


The End
Source is a friend of mine on Newsvine

Questions That Haunt Me

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... But it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Source unknown, someone sent me this in my email.

Wal-mart Husband

This is just too funny not to share, but first I want to give credit to the source. http://titaniumspork.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/19/2230376-wal-mart-husband

Be very careful around bored husbands, their creative juices start to overflow!!--

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her tripsto Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boringand preferred to get in and get out. Equally, unfortunately, my wifeis like most women ---she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wifereceived the following letter from Wal-Mart.

Dear Mrs. Hill,

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Hill are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras..


1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people' s carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4. July 19 : Walked up to an employee and told her in an officialvoice, 'Code 3 in House wares.. Get on it right away'.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. ! August 14: Moved the 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. September 4th: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna Look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: He hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed by, he yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loudspeaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO!IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'
and last, but not least. . . .

15. Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paperin here!!

Received in an email.. author unknown.

Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life.

Someone sent me this in an email, I thought it was good enough to share.

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.

The dog said: That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten? So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.

'The monkey said: Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?' And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer u nder the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.

The cow said: That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty? And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.

But man said: Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

Okay, said God, You asked for it.

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.

For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family.

For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.

And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you. Hope you enjoyed it!