The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 crossed the continent, from Oregon to South Carolina, and gave millions of people the chance to witness one of the most awe-inspiring events in the natural world.

But you had to be within the "path of totality", a narrow band across the earth's surface several thousand miles long but only about 70 miles wide. Outside that band you would only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.

And there is no such thing as a "partial total eclipse", despite the impression blogs and the news media might give. I honestly think that's why so many people misunderstand the utter beauty of the spectacle; they may have seen a partial eclipse in the past that was total somewhere else, and even though they weren't in the path the news kept gushing about it being a total eclipse, so they assume they must have seen a total eclipse and just didn't find it all that impressive.


Posted by Dan 08/29/2017, revised 09/06/2017

Splat would like to attend also.
Posted by Kim 01/03/2011

Went to watch Nik in his final road race with the Cal Poly team. Since he'll graduate in the Fall, he'll be able to race the Fall Mountain Bike season but won't be around for next year's Spring RoadRace season.

This one was a criterium--a fast, multi-lap race around a short, flat course on paved city streets. Although hosted by Stanford University, the course was a five-cornered, half-mile loop in Morgan Hill, adjacent to the headquarters of Specialized Bicycle Components (who just happen to be one of the most popular makers of racing bicycles in the world).


Posted by Dan 04/25/2011

Second day in Bogota today. Yesterday was a blast. I learned how to play tejo, an incredible game that needs to come to the states. It's kinda like bags or horseshoes, but you play with these heavy discuss-type lumps and try to hit little papers filled with gun powder, and it's a delightful amount of explosives! Then I had a GIANT bbq in the hostal i'm staying at - the whole hostal gathered for a feast of deliciously tender steak, grilled chicken, chorizo, grilled whole onions, potatoes, and amazing spicey guac. For $7!


The game of tejo - like horseshoes with explosives.

I think i'm gonna head for the Caribbean coast in a few days. I'm getting antsy. It's gonna be a long haul - about 20 hours on a bus (sure wish I could read on buses). But I just wanna get to the ocean and a hammock and relax.

Traveling in Colombia is much more expensive than I'd planned. Buses are not cheap relative to Ecuador, which is generally $1/hour on the bus. You can get all the way across ecuador for $15 or so. But I'm about to shell out probably 4x that much to get to the coast now. Sigh.


Posted by Whitney 07/09/2011, revised 08/15/2011