So what’s up with all of the earthquakes in Montana?

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July 6, 2024

Earthquakes happen every day here in Montana because the ground we live on is constantly moving. Some of them you can feel while yet others are smaller and not as noticeable.

Butte, Anaconda, Cut Bank, Helena Valley, Virginia City, Seeley Lake, and Bigfork have all had earthquakes over the past week.

This video below, from the Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (SAGE), will help to explain why we are always having these earthquakes.

What are the lithospheric plates and how do they interact?

Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (SAGE) is a distributed, multi-user national facility operated by EarthScope that provides state of-the-art seismic and related geophysical instrumentation and services to support research and education in the geosciences.

Happy Aphelion Day!

By

Alan

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July 5, 2024

Today, the Earth reached its greatest distance from the Sun, a point known as aphelion.

We’re now 94.5 million miles from the sun. In six months we will only be 91.5 million miles away; or Perihelion Day.

The Earth is closest to the Sun, or at the perihelion, about two weeks after the December solstice, when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

Conversely, the Earth is farthest away from the Sun, at the aphelion point, two weeks after the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is enjoying warm summer months.

Due to variations in the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit, the dates when the Earth reaches its perihelion or aphelion are not fixed.

In 1246, the December Solstice was on the same day as the Earth reached its perihelion. Since then, the perihelion and aphelion dates have drifted by a day every 58 years.

In the short-term, the dates can vary up to two days from one year to another.

Mathematicians and astronomers estimate that in 6430, over 4000 years from now, the perihelion will coincide with the March equinox.

Celebrating Independence Day with Rodney Atkins

By

Alan

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July 5, 2024

GAWD I love this town —

They day started off with a great Independence Day parade down Central Ave and ended with a great concert by Rodney Atkins.

Rodney Atkins plays “I’m Watching You”

The Independence Day Hootenanny started at about 1 o’clock but it wasn’t until much later than that when Rodney Atkins took the stage – we had roughly three hours, mostly raining, to buy beer and pizza before Rodney came on. The guys that came on after the Melissa Lynn Band and before Rodney were just a bit long in the tooth when they played I guess – pretty much all you could hear was the base.

It was a whole ‘nuther story when Rodney came on though – Rodney’s sound guys ran the sound board with skill and ease – you could hear every instrument and could actually hear the words being sung.

Rodney absolutely didn’t disappoint. Everybody knew the words to all of the songs and readily sang along.

I loved the fact that there were a ton of young people there too … singing along and dancing.

Rodney Atkins topped off the day, and even in spite of the rain that moved through that afternoon, it was one of the best Independence Day celebrations in my recent memory.

I’d like to thank Dascoulias Realty Group, Enbär Craft Cocktail Lounge, Fat Tuesday Casino, The Mighty Mo Brewing Co. and all of the other great folks that brought Rodney to town for this free concert … it really means a lot.

You can learn more about Rodney Atkins by visiting his website here: https://www.rodneyatkins.com/

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens

By

Alan

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July 5, 2024

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.

Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifetime as “perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history”.

He set three world records and tied another, all in less than an hour, at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan — a feat that has never been equaled and has been called “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport”.

He achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, by winning four gold medals: 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay.

He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black American man, was credited with “single-handedly crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy”.

The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track and Field’s highest accolade for the year’s best track and field athlete.

Owens was ranked by ESPN as the sixth greatest North American athlete of the 20th century and the highest-ranked in his sport.

In 1999, he was on the six-man short-list for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Century.

Whipped Cream Fruit Salad

By

Alan

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July 3, 2024

Ingredients:

3 apples, cores removed and chopped into chunks
2 bananas, sliced into 1 inch thick pieces
1 cup of grapes, sliced horizontally
1/2 cup of pitted dates, diced (optional)

Homemade Honey Sweetened Whipped Cream:

1 cup of whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Peel and chop fruit and dates and set aside in a large bowl (NOT your serving bowl)
In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, whip whipping cream on high speed until peaks begin to form.
Once cream is whipped, add in honey and mix for another minute.
Add whipped cream to your fruit and stir to coat fruit.
Then transfer to serving bowl.
Refrigerate if not serving right away.