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8/3/2026 — Kármán vortex street, knockdown, and lost oars. We got caught in a von Karman vortex street! We’ve been battling this rare system for three days, caught between a counterclockwise circulation and a clockwise one, with last night bringing the worst of it—57-knot gusts and 5–7 meter seas pounding Spirit of Waubun. One oar snapped in half, and this morning I watched the broken blade section fly off into the waves 🌊; luckily our grab line kept it from smashing into the cabin doors. Around 10:00 UTC, a huge wave knocked us sideways about 120 degrees. It happened so fast that I was thrown onto the electrical panel in my stern cabin, turning everything on—the boat suddenly lit up like Christmas! Ran and I were both safely inside, and the boat quickly righted herself, but we lost another oar, my rowing foot pedal, and several splash guards. By 19:30 UTC we saw a narrow chance to escape southeast before the clockwise system could push us southwest and away from the UK. Ran and I went on deck and, like the practiced team we’ve become, retrieved the para-anchor in under ten minutes. I switched on the autohelm, the bow turned southeast, and I saw Ran smile.

THE NERVES!!! 😂😂😂 My cousin called me asking if I could loan her $300 to help pay her rent. Now, anybody who knows me knows I’m usually willing to help family and friends when I can. So I told her, “Give me a little time to think about it, and I’ll call you back.” Before I could call her back, my brother called me and said, “Don’t give her that money! She’s lying. She really wants the $300 to get her boyfriend out of jail so he can be under the same roof with her for his birthday.” I thought about it for a minute and said, “Well… everybody needs help sometimes.” 😂 So I called my cousin and told her to come get the $300. A couple hours later… MY PHONE RINGS. It’s the jail. My cousin is crying, screaming and asking me: “WHY DID YOU GIVE ME COUNTERFEIT MONEY?!” 😭😂😂😂😂😂 I said: “So YOU and your boyfriend could be under the SAME ROOF for his birthday!!!” 🤣🤣🤣 Listen… I was trying to be a good cousin. I just didn’t know I was apparently sponsoring a birthday celebration AND a counterfeit-money investigation! 😂😂😂 MORAL OF THE STORY: Sometimes you really have to ask MORE questions before you help somebody. 😭😂 Because $300 can turn into a whole Netflix episode REAL QUICK! Would you have given your cousin the $300? 😂

8/2/2026 Big storm coming, 5-day “break” The weather forecast for the next 5-6 days is a big storm coming our way which may take us westwardly. So decide to take a 5-day “break” which will be well-used for recovery and repair, replenish the body; read/write/SM, revisit my soul searching; learn how to get through a storm… Today it was a dark, rolling/pitching/yawing (or multi-dimensional non-stop motion night. We are safe. The first thing I check is my rowmate Ran. Radio him at 0500 UTC and heard nothing. No news is usually a good news, as from where I can see, his Bow cabin and things on deck are tidy except one of the steering line got hit loose, which is one of a few to check on deck (e.g. para anchor is in position). After that, I check the equipment and nav information. Battery power is good, tracking route is as expected (the loss of a few nautical miles towards west and north). Read/write/share in a rocking, beat up (by waves) boat cabin is fun and an experience in itself. In the meantime, continuously wipe off water forced into the cabin. Sometimes I wish I could get on deck to “bully” the waves for once! Hope today’s videos help to provide sufficient insight of where we are on the ocean and where we started and where we head to. Cheers!

Yes!! Mexico has won the CONCACAF gold cup! How’s everyone feeling right now??

A ring around the moon means rain is on its way, and this is one of the more scientifically reliable pieces of weather folklore out there. That glowing halo is called a 22 degree halo, and it forms when moonlight passes through millions of tiny ice crystals suspended in high altitude cirrostratus clouds, roughly five to six miles up in the atmosphere. As light travels through these hexagonal ice crystals, it bends, or refracts, at a consistent angle of 22 degrees, creating that perfect ring you see encircling the moon. The reason this connects so reliably to incoming rain is what cirrostratus clouds typically represent in weather patterns. These thin, high altitude clouds are often the leading edge of an approaching warm front or low pressure system, arriving well ahead of the thicker, lower clouds that eventually bring rain or snow. So when you see that ring, you are essentially seeing the atmospheric preview of a system that is still hours to a couple days away, moving in ahead of the actual precipitation. This same phenomenon happens around the sun during the day, though it is much harder to look directly at and notice. The moon version is easier to observe because you can look right at it without discomfort, which is likely part of why this particular saying became so widespread in weather folklore across many cultures. It is worth noting this is a probabilistic signal, not a guarantee. Not every halo is followed by rain, since the front bringing those cirrostratus clouds can sometimes weaken or shift before it arrives. But compared to a lot of old weather sayings, this one has a genuine, well understood atmospheric mechanism behind it, which makes it a satisfying one to actually explain rather than just repeat.

TWO SPECTACULAR SKY EVENTS ON AUGUST 12, 2026! August 12, 2026, is shaping up to be one of the most exciting days for skywatchers. A Total Solar Eclipse will sweep across parts of the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and nearby regions, turning day into twilight for a few unforgettable minutes. During totality, the Moon will completely cover the Sun, revealing the Sun's glowing corona—a breathtaking sight visible only during a total solar eclipse. Later that night, the Perseid Meteor Shower will approach its peak, producing up to 100 meteors per hour under dark, clear skies. Although the eclipse and meteor shower occur on the same calendar date, they happen at different times and are separate astronomical events. The Perseids, caused by Earth passing through debris left by Comet Swift–Tuttle, are among the brightest and most reliable meteor showers of the year. Whether you're traveling to the eclipse path or simply heading outside after midnight to watch the Perseids, August 12, 2026, promises to be one of the most memorable astronomy dates of the decade. Sources: NASA, ESA, International Meteor Organization (IMO), American Meteor Society (AMS). #TotalSolarEclipse #PerseidMeteorShower #Astronomy #NightSky #Skywatching #SpaceEvents #facts #universe #Amazing

I'm in the process of becoming a whole new me.

NASA Plans to Grow Plants on the Moon During Artemis 3. For the first time in more than half a century, astronauts are preparing to return to the lunar surface—and they may bring something unexpected with them: plants. NASA has selected LEAF, the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora experiment, as one of the first science investigations planned for deployment during the Artemis 3 mission. The experiment will study how plants grow and respond to the Moon's unique environment, including reduced gravity and space radiation. LEAF will monitor plant photosynthesis, growth, and stress responses while collecting environmental data. Scientists hope the results will reveal whether growing plants on the Moon could eventually help provide food and contribute to life-support systems for future lunar crews. The plants won't be the first to reach the Moon. China's Chang'e 4 mission carried cotton seeds to the lunar far side in 2019, where a cotton seed successfully sprouted before the experiment ended. But LEAF would take the idea much further by studying plant growth under the actual lunar surface environment. Artemis 3 is also expected to deploy two other important experiments near the Moon's south pole. LEMS will use autonomous seismometers to monitor moonquakes and study the Moon's interior, while LDA will investigate the electrical properties of lunar soil and look for clues about frost or possible ice deposits. The lunar south pole is particularly important because permanently shadowed regions there are believed to contain water ice—a potentially valuable resource for future astronauts. If Artemis 3 goes according to plan, these experiments could mark an important step toward something much bigger: learning how to grow food and support human life beyond Earth. One day, the first lunar garden could become part of a permanent human presence on the Moon.

Apparently, even robots have bills now. 🤖 A bizarre video filmed in Chengdu, China, on June 11 shows a humanoid robot kneeling on a sidewalk as if it were begging passersby for money. Beside it was a QR code for digital payments and a screen asking for help with an "electricity bill." Reports say messages around the setup claimed the robot had no money to recharge. The machine has been identified in reports as a Unitree G1. That part makes the joke even better: Unitree says its standard G1 has roughly two hours of battery life per charge. But there is one important detail. The robot didn't suddenly develop financial problems and decide to start panhandling. Nobody has publicly established who arranged the scene or why. CGTN Europe says it remains unclear whether the bizarre setup was an art project, marketing stunt, social experiment, or something else. Whatever the explanation, someone managed to combine one of the world's most futuristic technologies with one of humanity's oldest problems: the bills are due. Sources: CGTN Europe, Firstpost, Unitree Robotics, The Tribune. If a robot asked you to scan a QR code to help pay for its next charge, would you actually do it?

Is there a formula to keep the family together?