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Total Solar Eclipses --Without doubt, one of life's
greatest experiences is personally witnessing a total solar eclipse. Once
you do, you quickly realize that partial solar eclipses simply don't count.
I've been photographing total solar eclipses for years and present the
best of my images here. Included are my photos from the events of August 1999
(Hungary), February 1998 (Venezuela), November 1994 (Paraguay), and July
1991 (southern Mexico). Incidentally, the background photo for this title
page captured the last second or so before totality during the August
1999 eclipse as the sun's final rays streamed through lunar mountain
valleys. Those red plumes around the sun's edges are prominences in the solar
chromosphere and extend tens of thousands of miles above the solar surface.
There are some close-ups of these on the page.
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Venus and the Maya --Pictorial story of my expedition
to document the southernmost rise of the planet Venus as seen from the
ancient Mayan city of Uxmal in the Yucatan Peninsula. This event only occurs
once every eight years and the account describes efforts necessary to view
and photograph it from a spectacular Mayan temple specially oriented to
face it. If you're an archaeoastronomy fan, check this out; this is the
first time this event has ever been photographed and this is the only place
on the Web you'll find it.
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Rescue from Mt. Shasta --After a combat flying tour in Vietnam, I joined the California National Guard where I was a pilot for nearly three more decades. Most recently, I flew the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in its MEDEVAC configuration. My unit was the 126th Med Co (Air Ambulance), headquartered near Sacramento. If you're interested in what we were doing--and what they're still
doing these days, check out this link. Also, one of our more rewarding accomplishments came after we
returned from our tour flying MEDEVAC support for NATO forces in Bosnia (see the link below this one). We created a humanitarian
project that delivered more than a ton of children's clothing to kids there. As one of the founding members of the 126th (in February, 1974), I still run the 126th History Page so, to see it, click here.
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Bosnia --Our
unit was activated and sent there to provide helicopter MEDEVAC support for NATO
as part of their Stabilization FORce (SFOR). We were called up for
270 days and served in Bosnia from August of 1998 until just after the bombing
of Serbia began in late March of 1999. This Web page is the last of the monthly editions I created
during our tour and it chronicles our adventures during the "escape" from the zone.
Also, if you'd like to check out the rest of the Web pages I made for the
unit while we were there, click
here (lots of photos).
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Real-time Space Weather --I've chosen and assembled some links to sites around the
world providing real-time and near-real-time information on conditions
in the near-earth outer space environment (also known as the solar-terrestrial
environment). HF and VHF radio communicators will find particularly useful
information concerning current conditions and forecasts of ionospheric radio
propagation conditions. The site also includes a glossary of solar-terrestrial
terms and links to sites providing further background. What? Can't wait to get right to that real-time data? Here's a direct link to the Space Environment Center's Geophysical Alert Broadcast text so you won't have to waste time scrolling around to find it.
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Articles for QST Magazine --Through the years I've
particularly enjoyed writing for QST Magazine, the oldest and best-known periodical
for amateur radio enthusiasts and experimenters in the world. Click here for
links to .pdf copies of the most recent ones.
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The Hat Page --see Cesar Romero's Stetson! ...and more...
NOW
with
Hat Cam!
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