Monday's random mutterings - March 23rd 2015 (FD)

Did you know that Friday (March 20th 2015) was the Spring Equinox?

Well, you do now!

At least, it was here in the Northern hemisphere... It would have been the Autumn Equinox in the Southern hemisphere though.

If you don't know, the Equinox is the time of year when the day and night are equal in length, which happens twice a year.

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Did you know that there was also a solar eclipse on the 20th of March?

Could you see it from where you were Did you try?

We should have been able to see at least a partial eclipse, so we took a flask of hot peppermint tea and the camera with us to sit out by the ocean Friday morning, hoping to grab photos.

But there was too much mist and cloud cover, so we couldn't see the sun...


Some neighbours had the same idea as we did...


(They had dogs with them, but the dogs were all over the place, so we didn't get their photo).

But the only evidence of the eclipse we could see was a slight darkening of the sky, and the sea birds going crazy...


The neighbours gave up first, then we did; or, rather, I did... I think Kelly would have given up sooner if I wasn't so stubbourn... Despite being cold...


I know Kelly had been looking longingly towards home for a while...


But when we went home; after one more attempt at a photo...


This orange cone head alien was still patiently standing out in the cold... Waiting - and hoping - for a glimpse of the eclipse...


He had the right idea, if you ask me, since he was stood a short distance from the door of a nice little tea shop, where he had easy access to a selection of very tasty cakes and pastries, and all the tea or coffee he could want!

Since the tea shop the orange cone head alien was outside of was just around the corner from our door, I asked him to give us a shout if the clouds cleared away. They did... Once it was too late to see anything... *Sigh*

Well, it was a nice outing... If a bit chilly... Despite the failed eclipse watching attempt.

For those who may be interested... The rodent gang didn't even care that there was an eclipse. In fact, as far as we can tell, they slept through it. At least, they were sleeping peacefully when we got home.

Oh... I almost forgot to mention... The camera's time is an hour ahead of the time it actually was. We never changed it last October, and since I wasn't usually bothered about the time when photos were taken, it wasn't noticed before. I didn't give it a thought until Kelly mentioned the time stamp on the first photos we took on Friday, which I know were taken an hour earlier than it says on the camera. We could probably figure out how to change the time on the camera if we looked, but since the clocks change this coming weekend, there's not much point.

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In a recent Thursday thoughts blog post, Mindy McGinnis mentioned her worries about the possibility of being a robot, due to the internet constantly challenging her to prove she isn't one.

This made me worry about the possibility of being one and not knowing it. I mean, the internet does keep asking...

Even more worrying is the fact I know it's possible to bypass the annoying "please prove you're not a robot" word verification thingy sometimes, and have done so on several ocasions. Does this increase the chances of me being a robot?

I'm pretty sure I'm not one. But what if I'm programmed to think that way?

***

My hospital appointment to sort out my tooth was this past Thursday, and they didn't seem to find any evidence that I'm actually a robot, which is comforting, and probably decreases the chances of me being one. Unless they're supposed to make it seem that way? Hmmm...

Anyway...

The appointment was a waste of time, if you ask me!

Despite my having already seen my own dentist first, I had to have a consultation with the hospital's dentist, plus have new mouth x-ray's done (because, apparently, the ones the dentist do aren't clear enough). They also did a blood test, because of the reason for me being referred to the hospital in the first place.

Then they told me it would be "7 or 8 more weeks" before I could go back for it to be sorted.

I wasn't impressed about that, and pointed out to them that I've been in pain since before Christmas, and this is ridiculous.

They replied that it was "procedure" - of course.

With some whining and complaining, I managed to get them to bring it forward by a few weeks. So, I have an appointment to get the painful tooth, plus the wisdom tooth on the same side as it pulled out on April 15th, and will then have to go back a couple of weeks later to have the other wisdom tooth out.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to continue to be grateful that clove oil is fantastic for toothache. *Sigh*