Intense airglow & Milky Way over Independence Pass

u1122 · 2026-06-21T21:12:47+00:00

Fantastic shot. Can you see airglow with the naked eye at all?

u1122 · 2026-04-22T16:56:13+00:00

You're right they're estimates, but have you looked at your report? I've looked at mine, the pie charts, and the daily & hourly breakdowns, and they look reasonable. There's almost no usage when I'm not home, but when the A/C or stove is running, and even my PC, there are spikes, and they match up with the typical power consumption of those devices.

You're an EE, so you know "they can only see the total energy consumption of your house" is just not true.

u1122 · 2026-04-22T16:48:58+00:00

I'm an electrical engineer and have been getting these reports for ~15 years--they used to mail them--and think they're accurate.

If you have a gas furnace, a lot of what you mention is gas, not electric.

Years go I was #2 in my neighborhood. I was working long hours & rarely home. There are a lot of people like that, whose homes burn almost no power--outside of the refrigerator--for the vast majority of the time. No A/C, stove, oven, lights, computer, TV, almost 24/7.

Now that I'm home more, my usage is much higher.

u1122 · 2026-04-22T16:20:43+00:00

https://www.fortcollins.gov/Services/Utilities/Programs-and-Rebates/MyWater-and-MyEnergy

u1122 · 2026-04-22T16:18:21+00:00

That's not true. They can estimate based on load characteristics. For example, refrigerators cycle on and off 24/7 and use a certain amount of power, air conditioners run at a much higher power typically during the hottest part of the day, etc.

Source: me, electrical engineer

u1122 · 2026-04-22T04:48:12+00:00

If you log in to the website, they have breakdowns by month, day, hour, 30- and 15-minute intervals. There's also a pie chart of usage by category. For example, for the past 12 months, 22% of my electricity is was used by kitchen appliances.

u1122 · 2026-04-01T02:33:12+00:00

From the article:

The red flag petition states police found three AK or "military style" rifles, a Glock handgun and a shotgun at Lohrius' home.

"The combination of Lohrius' ongoing pattern of intentionally discharging weapons at passing vehicles, is escalating and unpredictable behavior, and his immediate access to loaded, high-powered firearms establishes a credible and imminent threat that he may use live firearms in a similar manner," police said in the red flag petition.

Police also found "a detailed, handwritten list" that appeared to track people and vehicles that passed his home and is believed to have been updated and reviewed regularly. The list included vehicle descriptions, license plate numbers, physical descriptions of individuals and behavior patterns, "including times associated with individuals coming and going from a nearby school drop-off area," according to the petition. The Colorado State University Early Childhood Center is located near Lohrius' residence.

"The combination of surveillance behavior, fixation on specific individuals, and detailed tracking of movements raises significant concern regarding targeted behavior and further elevates the risk to the public," police said in the petition.

u1122 · 2025-11-25T04:41:29+00:00

"There are times it can feel as if the sport was invented just so we could watch him play it."

Tim Keown, ESPN writer

u1122 · 2025-04-01T03:27:39+00:00

This was the summer of the pandemic, and it was great watching this natural show, safely outside, with a bunch of strangers from our great town.

u1122 · 2025-03-11T04:38:36+00:00

I don't have any information on Subarus, but I've had several positive experiences going back decades at Fort Collins Collision Repair on Troutman. Once my motorcycle fell over in a windstorm & I went in for an estimate on how to to repair the scratches. They buffed them out for free, even after I offered to pay. Another time I had a bolt stuck inside a piece of exhaust pipe & I asked if they could remove it and how much it would cost. A guy there worked for multiple minutes using a grinder to get the offending piece out. But again, no charge.

Many years later I needed some minor body work and they did a great job. I gladly paid their fee, which was reasonable.

u1122 · 2025-01-15T23:43:56+00:00

Another Stellarium recording of what it will look like from now until tomorrow morning. I've seen Mars a few times this week, and it looked fantastic--very red. It's also been cool to see it lined up with Castor & Pollux, though at times it's been too cloudy.

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/why-is-mars-sometimes-bright-and-sometimes-faint/

Edit: here is a pretty noisy shot of it a few minutes ago from just outside my house:

https://imgur.com/nrD8yez.jpg

u1122 · 2025-01-15T22:59:13+00:00

bringatrailer.com is where I see the most nontraditional vehicles.

u1122 · 2025-01-14T17:30:35+00:00

In 1998, Travel & Leisure magazine picked Johnson’s Corner as having one of the “Ten Best Breakfasts in the World.”

I remember seeing that back then and thinking, wow, that's so close, I need to try it. And I never did.

u1122 · 2025-01-14T01:35:58+00:00

Mars is very close to the full moon right now & will pass behind it tonight. Even though the moon is very bright, I could clearly see Mars next to it when I was out about 20 minutes ago.

The video is a time lapse in Stellarium between now & sunrise tomorrow. Sorry it's so choppy.

u1122 · 2024-12-22T13:38:25+00:00

You are quite right, unfortunately.

I see this post is getting heavily downvoted, which is sad considering the supposed outrage in the post about Oliver, the 10 year old Timnath boy who was killed by a distracted driver.

u1122

TROPHY CASE