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There was a nice
breeze sneaking under the awning this morning, and every once in a while, a
bigger wind would blow through the bushes making them shudder. Thought we’d be
fighting some wind on our bike ride, but by the time we left, it was no more
noticeable than usual. Riding south or east usually means there’ll be a little
push back from the wind, so pedal assist is a handy thing to have. Riding west
or north, the wind will be helping push us along, so pedal assist isn’t
necessary. At least, that’s my take on it. Kim and I have differing thoughts on
when to use pedal assist. Mom is still learning her style.
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Of course, we rode to the IGA today because it’s Piggy cookie day! Kim bought his favorite Mexican pastry, I bought Piggy cookies and Mom bought Band-aids. Rode to the city park for a break and a snack before heading back to camp. Logged thirteen miles today.
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Temperature was
tolerable when we left at about 8 a.m., but on the ride back, it was less
tolerable. Hotter than when we left for our ride but not as hot as it got later
in the day. When we got back the A/C was turned on and Mom and I sat outside in
the shade of the awning hoping to cool down. It was a losing battle. The breeze
wasn’t breezing anymore so I turned a fan directly on us outside. All that did
was blow the hot air around, but at least the air was moving. Kind of felt like
we were sitting in front of a blow dryer. Everyone agrees that we should leave
earlier tomorrow morning.
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Mom was up very
early today, outside reading and watching the birds as soon as it was light
out. After lunch, she gave in and took a nap. Well, she didn’t think she
actually fell asleep, but I know she did. Not only did I see her sleeping but one
does not lie down on a fake leather couch for an hour and a half without being asleep.
Then I went outside and dozed off in the lawn chair. Just that kind of day.
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Later in the
afternoon, we went to Coolidge on an errand run. On the way back, we stopped at
Hot Dogs Alvarado for supper. We don’t have to twist Mom’s arm for that one…she
comes out here expecting to have a Sonoran hot dog at least once during her
stay….and we’re happy to oblige.
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Kim has wanted to
get some drone footage of an entire train for a project that’s brewing in his
head. He decided that tonight was the night to park by the train tracks to just
wait until a train approached to get drone footage of it. That was the only way it was going to happen
and hopefully one would come rumbling through while it was still daylight. He
left in the truck; Mom and I decided to go for an e-bike ride down Picacho Hwy.
The air was balmy and still; it was another nice evening for a short ride.
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We heard a train
passing through while on our bike ride, so I figured that at least Kim had a
chance to get the footage that he wanted. Not only did he get the video, but he
also got the opportunity to use the tracking feature on the controller because
the drone’s battery was getting low and rather than just letting it crash and
burn, Kim had it land on the dirt road he was parked on and then went in search
of it. I’ve told him before not to lose it, because one is the limit.
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Kim is imaging
the Orion Nebula tonight…a favorite target through the years.
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Back on March 20th,
when I was checking out references to the 400-year Gregorian calendar cycle, I came
across an explanation as to why the Julian calendar was replaced. For the sake
of finishing what I started, here’s that explanation: The Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in
1582 because it was not accurately aligned with the solar year. Its leap
year rule (every 4 years) was slightly too long, causing a 10-day drift in
seasons. The Gregorian calendar improved accuracy by adjusting leap years and
correcting the accumulated, inaccurate date of Easter.
Key Reasons for the Change:
Seasonal Drift: The Julian
calendar calculated the year as 365.25 days, about 11 minutes longer than the
actual solar year. Over centuries, this caused the calendar to fall out of sync
with the seasons, with equinoxes occurring 10 days earlier than expected by 1582.
Easter Calculation: The main goal
of Pope Gregory XIII was to correct the
date of Easter. The church wanted to maintain the spring equinox on March 21,
but the "drift" made this impossible under the old system.
Correcting the Error: To fix this, 10
days were skipped in October 1582 (October 4 was followed by October 15).
New Leap Year Rule: To prevent future
drift, the new system declared that century years (e.g., 1700, 1800) are not
leap years unless they are divisible by 400.
I’ve never given any thought to what went
into determining the calendar. It’s always been there, following the same
pattern year after year; I didn’t feel the need to dig deeper. But now, I’m in
awe of the brains that put the time and effort into figuring out how many days constituted
a year, how to divide those days into the months we currently have, and then factor
in an extra day every four years. Those
are just the starting points.
But what really got me thinking was how would
people have been alerted to the various changes. Or weren’t they? Was the
calendar more important to the purposes of the church and not the common man? For instance, 10 days in October 1582 were
kicked to the curb because the calendar wasn’t in sync with the seasons. How did the people find out that when they
went to bed on October 4th, that the next day would be considered
Oct. 15th? Of course, I’m
thinking along the lines of printed calendars which probably weren’t even in
existence at that time. Still curious about the decision to leave 10 days off
the calendar. I’m tired…this is too big
to wrap my head around right now.
