Staring at the clouds instead
So… Yesterday morning it was time to have a peak at the über-hyped solar eclipse. I had no intentions of staying awake the whole night, so I had my alarm clock set to go off at around 04:35, a couple of minutes before the whole thing started. My alarm clock starts making its familiar and annoying beep-beep sounds, and I’ll give you three alternatives on what happened next:
- I jump out of my bed, because I’m really excited, knowing that I’m about to witness a phenomenon that won’t happen again in Norway in 45 years.
- I turn off my alarm clock and go back to sleep, because that’s what you do when you hear an alarm clock.
- I never notice the beeping and wake up several hours later.
The right answer, my intelligent friends, is alternative #2. Yep, I manage to fall asleep again. It takes more than a solar eclipse to get me up in the middle of the night, it seems.
Luckily, I wake up an hour later, just minutes before the eclipse hits its maximum. But when I get out I realize I’ve missed out on absolutely nothing. I know the sun is up there somewhere, but I’m unable to see. All I can see are dense clouds. So that was the great solar eclipse of May 31 2003 for me. Clouds. But I’ll get a new chance in 2048. No sweat.
Some of you might have noticed a new menu option to your left - or on the top of the page, it depends on what theme you are using. Exits is a collection of links to various sites I visit on a regular basis, sites that you, too, might find interesting. But, to be honest, I’m not sure how long the exits page will last. I’ve been planning to add a links page to the site for quite some time, but every time I’m about to do it, I get the feel that it just doesn’t belong here. Why I managed to get it up this time, I don’t know. The bottom line is that you should use it while it’s there, tomorrow it might just be gone.
A couple of minutes ago, I bought WinZip, bringing the total number of applications I’ve bought to four, if you include Windows XP Home, which came with my Dell laptop. If it had been up to me, I would’ve gotten the laptop without XP installed, but I had no choice. That I only own four pieces of software might make me look like on hell of a pirate, but compared to quite a lot of other people, I’m a saint. Most of the software I use are free, and I’ve got very little pirated material on my computer. Yeah, I’ve got some, I admit that. Sue me.
Feedback
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KlasI saw the eclipse with two of my brothers and Håkon (from the cast) and his father and sister yesterday morning. we had excellent conditions, but I think it was overrated. I’ve read about birds shutting up, and partial darkness would enclose us, but none of these effects really hit us. Maybe the light was a tiny bit dimmed, but the birds payed no notice. maybe they didn’t read the instructions in advance. :-P
btw. what happened to our moneymaking plan?
I think you need to have a full solar eclipse for that to happen, not a partial one, like we had yesterday.
It might even be an urban legend.
.beldinBesides it was to early in the morning for the really fun effect; the temperature drop.. The achive this you need a clear, hot day and a fairly large partial eclipse, like the one we had in Norway back in 99 .. THAT was fun.. :)
.beldinwhuhuh.. I’m on the Exits list..
KristofferI overslept the eclipse too… Stupid eclipse anyway! Imagine 50 000 people getting up early to NOT see the sun – Which they wouldn’t have anyway if they stayed in bed with their eyes closed, like I did zzzz….
You sound like a frustrated young man. Here, have good kick at this American G.I.
