caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

Happy Friday everyone. Welcome to Friday Night Photos your once a week escape from the day to day insanity of the world we live in. Post any photos, memes, music or whatever else you find of interest that helps tune out the madness.

Last month the camera club went to the Torrey Pines Gliderport located along the cliffs of La Jolla. Last time I was there was ten years ago and hang gliders were the big thing. Now it's paragliders. It looks like fun but I don't know if I could run off the edge of a cliff to get airborne.

I used to be a Democrat, for much of my life.

Although I voted for him twice, my schism with the Democratic Party began with Clinton.

I had high hopes when I voted for Obama the first time, but I became jaded very early on, beginning with his cabinet picks. I voted green for his second term.

Biden was the last straw. I was done with the Democrats. I voted Green for Biden's first term and left the Presidents box unchecked for his second term.

Now I'm a nomad, noncommittal to any party or politician, drifting with the sands of true independence.

Thirteen!
So, it's the thirteenth of August, 2026. 13. A number which apparently really makes people uneasy and worried. I have never been really scared of 13. But I know people who are. So, why? Why is 13 so feared and unlucky, to the point that high rise buildings don't have 13th floors, rooms aren't numbered 13, and more?

Apparently there are a couple of reasons - and none of them make a lot of sense to me. It seems 13th is disliked and feared because of Norse and Christian mythology, at least in part. In Norse mythology, Loki, the god of mischief, crashed a feast to which 12 gods had been invited. Loki was the 13th and he wasn't invited. He showed up anyway and started a fight between two of the gods, who were brothers, Hödr, the blind god of darkness, and Baldr the god of light, joy and purity. Hödr shot Baldr with mistletoe (Loki had to aim and do all of that for him) and Loki had a laugh. And the death of Baldr started the countdown to Ragnarök - the end of the Norse world.

The shooting of Baldr by his blind brother Hödr from this article about Loki.

Good morning everyone.
Temps have leveled off to the low 80s for the next week or so, but no rain forecast.

The next couple of nights will be the peak times to spot the Perseid display emanating from the passing comet
109P/Swift-Tuttle, an icy ball that orbits the sun every 133 years. Best viewing times will be between midnight and