2017 Total Solar Eclipse...

[tractorshopper]

Michael,

I am originally from NC, but I taught at Clemson for 30 years. Since retiring in 2007, I spend most of my time at my farm in NC, but I still have my home in the Friendship community.

I traveled Highway 59 quite a few times back in the day -- it was my preferred route to I-85 when I was headed south.

Do you remember going to Seneca High with any Suttons? One of my colleagues had three sons: Wes, Matt, and ??????. Wes is the oldest but he may be younger than you. How about any Lytles? Another colleague had three daughters: Cindy, Stephanie, and ????????. I think Cindy is the oldest, but again she may not be as old as you.

Steve

Steve, I graduated with Wes. Great guy. Was voted most likely to succeed in HS. And he has done well since. I always respected him. Carried a brief case to school and almost always wore a tie.

 

[jk96]

Maybe it's already been posted, but bears repeating. Pets and livestock have eyes too. If you can keep them indoors during the eclipse, please do so.

Lol. We had a few people post warnings around here about animals. I really hope they weren't serious.

Eclipse here was a bust. Darkness was cool and happened faster than I expected but mostly full clouds for the entire event. Still had a great time with friends and family.

I will say I was surprised how bright it was with only a sliver if sun until it completely disappeared. Now I understand why everyone says even a 99% eclipse is nothing like a full eclipse.

 

[tractorshopper]

College?!?!?!? Really???? Where?

Not sure if your lovely wife has mentioned it to you, but our daughter, Amy, is in her class this year. She transferred over from WOMS for 7th grade. She's excited to be there!

Dropped Maria off at USC Beaufort. Going to be playing college ball! It was her first choice, so I'm happy for her, but terribly sad nonetheless.

No, my bride didn't tell me. I'll talk to her tonight. We've been focused on this college thing...

Good luck; the Mrs. has a reputation as a tough teacher. But, her students always come back to her in HS and tell her how much she did to set them up for the future. Good news/bad news kind of thing. I'll say, Seneca banks the scholarships every year for the graduating classes. I don't think you'll be disappointed with this change.

 

[Sigarms]

I will say I was surprised how bright it was with only a sliver if sun until it completely disappeared. Now I understand why everyone says even a 99% eclipse is nothing like a full eclipse.

+1

Never really dark here in NC.

 

[JRobyn]

Temperature trace from the weather station (red trace) - starts at 90.1 deg at 12:34 pm and drops to 81.1 deg at 1:54 pm before beginning back up. Last is at 85.1 deg at 2:21. We had 2:33 min of totality and PERFECT atmospheric conditions in central TN. An occasional thin cloud.

I really liked the post I saw about just how is it that the moon happens to be EXACTLY the right diameter to totally obstruct the sun when this happens. It's almost as if it were designed and planned that way. I have little doubt that there is life elsewhere in the entire vast universe, but clearly THIS solar system was designed just for us!

 

[smstonypoint]

Steve, I graduated with Wes. Great guy. Was voted most likely to succeed in HS. And he has done well since. I always respected him. Carried a brief case to school and almost always wore a tie.

David,

Wes and his brothers were quite a handful when young if their dad, Russ, is to be believed. Russ's wife, Julia, had taken the boys to their pediatrician. The pediatrician chastised Julia for her sternness when disciplining the boys; however, he lost it when one of the boys broke an office door while swinging on it.

I still chuckle when I recall some of the stories Russ related in the coffee room, although I think some (many?, most?, all?) of his stories may have been embellished.

Russ reported on his first trip with a new faculty member, Mark.

Russ: You know, Mark does great animal impersonations.

Me: Really?

Russ: Yes, their smells, not their sounds.

Steve

 

[buckeyefarmer]

sun was less intense, other than that, you wouldn't have known it happened.

 

[smstonypoint]

THAT'S why I'm still a relocated Yankee:laughing:

Heck, it took me a couple of years to figure out that the river separated Jonesville / Elkin.

Don't feel bad. I have spent most of my life in the Carolinas, but I always have to look up the location where the Yadkin becomes the Pee Dee.

Steve

 

[Sigarms]

View attachment 519413sun was less intense, other than that, you wouldn't have known it happened.

That's what I found most surprising. Even when it looked like the sun was pretty much "covered up" except for a sliver still showing, it wasn't really dark by any means.

 

[Sigarms]

Don't feel bad. I have spent most of my life in the Carolinas, but I always have to look up the location where the Yadkin becomes the Pee Dee.

Steve

In my defense, I do have my Wilkesboro "Yeah boy!" down pretty good

 

[smstonypoint]

In my defense, I do have my Wilkesboro "Yeah boy!" down pretty good

You may be able to pass if you start pronouncing "chimney" as "chimley." Also, watch your pronunciation of "salmon."

Steve

 

[MitchellB]

Here in the NC Triad we got about a 3/4 eclipse and cloud cover during most of that. I took advantage of the shade and mowed our yard when it began. Dark is dark, so I don't get the big deal for most folks. I also took the opportunity to see if my daylight ham radio propagation improved, but I could not see a difference there either.

 

[Sigarms]

You may be able to pass if you start pronouncing "chimney" as "chimley." Also, watch your pronunciation of "salmon."

Steve

Funny enough, the only other time I heard "chimney" as "chimley" was when I lived in upstate NY.

I did take some guys down to Atlanta for some technical training end of last year. One guy was staying extended to take his wife in Atlanta afterwards. Another guy told me he was staying for the state fire. I couldn't figure out what he meant and asked him where they were going to get all the firewood. He looked at me perplexed. He repeated, "No, the state fire!" One of the other guys next to me told me he meant "fair":laughing:

 

[smstonypoint]

Funny enough, the only other time I heard "chimney" as "chimley" was when I lived in upstate NY.

I hear it locally, but I have heard Jim and Jesse (bluegrass legends from SW Virginia) use "chimley" in a song.

Have you ever talked to any of the natives of the Outer Banks?

Steve

 

[Sigarms]

I have heard it locally, but I heard Jim and Jesse (bluegrass legends from SW Virginia) use "chimley" in a song.

Have you ever talked to any of the natives of the Outer Banks?

Steve

No. Only place I go to is Topsail. I'm one of those people that when I find something I like, I just stick to it.

Did have a co worker when from a previous company when I worked in Pennsylvania who was a native from Mt. Pleasant SC (he recently moved to Pa like myself back then). What is so funny is I still talk to him now, and I understand him 100% on everything he says, whereas when I worked with him years ago, I couldn't figure out half the things he was saying when we talked on the phone LOL (I joke with him that I did spend some time working in Charleston which helped me out).

Spent some time around the Gulf Shore area working with some guys from Louisiana, and man, that "cajun talk", I was completely befuddled the first couple of weeks.

We have a VERY diverse country when it comes to the english language

 

[Wagtail]

Were any maidens sacrificed to appease the gods?

Steve

I reckon that we'll find out in approximately 9 months.

 

[JRobyn]

A better trace -



Returned right back to 90.1 deg at 3:45

 

[BrandonR]

Further to what I've written about Captain Cook & Co., and a wee bit more recent... I just watched a story on my local news about a bloke who anticipated this eclipse far enough back that he bought land (acreage) directly in the optimum path, built his house and has set up his own observatory.

Now that's dedication!

Those folks are dedicated amateur astronomers who already lived and worked in the area. So when it came time to buy their property they chose that land. They didn't just buy it for the eclipse.

 

[Wagtail]

Those folks are dedicated amateur astronomers who already lived and worked in the area. So when it came time to buy their property they chose that land. They didn't just buy it for the eclipse.

Well of course not, obviously the bloke wouldn't build an observatory for a one-off solar eclipse.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Well of course not, obviously the bloke wouldn't build an observatory for a one-off solar eclipse.

Some people would, if they could spend $50,000 to make $50,500.

And of course the government over here would build it for one event.