Sunny New Year

Yesterday was one of my favorite days in Philadelphia: the day of the Mummer's New Year Parade. The parade is great, but the aftermath is even better. The mummers apparently drink their way through the parade, and when it's over they take to the streets in ones and twos, wobbling along in their costumes with "Whatchew looking at?" expressions on their faces. To which you may answer, in your mind only, "You, in your little baby dress, dollink."




It's seventy degrees outside in Philadelphia, and the stores have switched their displays from Christmas festivity to January guilt. You can't walk into a bookstore without being assaulted by guides to help you lose weight, build muscle, and clean out your mental and physical closets.

Astronomical diagrams offer a certain restorative perspective. Imagine the size of your midsection in light of this diagram.




Since it's unseasonably warm, it seems like a good idea to keep an eye on the sun. You can do that on this site , which has live satellite photos of the sun in infra red, blue and green.







There's information about the sun here, as well as links to these movies, which show the last 48 hours of the sun and the activity in the center of the solar body.