To the Moon . . . and Beyond?

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Woo-hoo, it’s a great day for space fans, like me, as Artemis II sent the Orion capsule to it’s journey around the moon. I was awake at my usual time, around 5 a.m. Indochina time, and I was able to watch the launch on the Youtube NASA page. It was wonderfully exciting to watch the flawless liftoff and the aftermath of the capsule orbiting the earth in preparation for its ultimate voyage to the Moon, which begins tomorrow.

I’m a big fan of space exploration, whether it’s being done by unmanned spacecraft or by humans in space, but especially manned exploration. I hope to stay alive long enough to see humans eventually step on the surace of Mars. I know that there are many who disagree with this opinion, but that’s OK. I won’t hold it against others who might say that we should take care of our problems on Earth before we spend resources on space. I understand that point of view, but in my opinion, we can do both.

So, here’s to more space exploration and good luck to the crew of the Orion space vehicle on this present journey!

Journaling

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I regularly do a lot of journaling using several different methods. I used to do all my journaling in a notebook, and I still use that way on occasion. It’s a visceral feeling, kind of, feeling a pen in my hand moving across a somewhat textured paper. I think it puts me more in touch with what I’m thinking, sending the brain signals to my hand and fingers. It’s unmatched by digital journaling.

However, having said that, I do a lot of my journaling with digital software, in particular with Day One journaling software. I like using Day One because, with a fairly cheap premium version, I can create many different journals, easy to find all in one place. I have several journals that I write in, including a daily journal, gratitude journal, tips, headlines, school, gaming, YouTube, and a few others. This works better than having journals flung far and wide, and having to remember where they’re at. So, yes, I use digital journals now mainly.

But I still use my paper notebook on most mornings, right after I get up. I read “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron some time ago. In it she explains about doing a morning journal, basically freewriting every morning for about 30 minutes, more or less. I started doing this a couple of years ago and I still incorporate this idea into my daily journal, although I don’t freewrite for 30 or 40 minutes, like I used to do. Time constraints. Time is my most precious commodity, so I dole it out to different areas of my life with care. The morning journal is one area that suffered a bit. Again, though, I still do it on occasion.

I find journaling to be an important part of my life. It’s a bit like meditation, especially when done in the quiet hours of the early morning. Do you journal? Leave a comment if you wish. I’m curious to know what kind of journaling you do.

Still Kicking

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Yeah, it’s been a long time between posts. Sorry about that. I’ve been thinking about shutting the blog down after doing it for over 22 years, but I’ll keep on posting and trying to do it more regularly. So here goes.

It’s that time of the year in Laos and, I suppose, most of Southeast Asia–hot, hot, hot! The forecast is for highs of 40C or more for the next week, at least. That’s about 104F. We’re not into the monsoon season yet, so it’ll probably remain hot for quite awhile. I’m certainly not looking forward to it, but what’ll you do except crank up the air conditioner. Luckily, my workplace, Vientiane College, has building-wide air conditioning and I’ve got a small a.c. in my house which keeps us cool. Still, it’s not a pleasant time of year

Laos New Year (Pi Mai Lao) is in a couple of weeks, and one of its features is water play, where folks get out and toss water around at others or fire off super-powered squirt guns. It’s all in fun and the cool water feels nice, but it still doesn’t relieve the heat. Oh, well, gotta put up with it.

OK, a short post, but at least it’s a start. More later.

Typhoon Wipha

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Typhoon Wipha, now a tropical storm and soon to be a depression, is tracking north of us and is supposed to bring heavy rain to our area, maybe on the order of three inches or so. Yuk, just when my front yard was beginning to dry out from previous heavy rain. But, good luck to others who will probably be more heavily impacted than I. Here’s a full report from the Mekong River Commission, whose headquarters is in Vientiane.

As of 7 AM today, Tropical Storm WIPHA was centered around 21.3°N, 109.9°E—just off the northern coast of China’s Leizhou Peninsula, about 220 km east of Quang Ninh–Hai Phong (Viet Nam). The storm is bringing strong winds of 75–88 km/h and is moving west-southwest at 15–20 km/h.
🔜 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝟮𝟰 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: The storm is expected to strengthen as it moves west-southwest into the Northern Gulf of Tonkin, picking up speed to 20–25 km/h.
🔜 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝟰𝟴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: It may weaken into a Tropical Depression over land in Thanh Hoa–Nghe An (Viet Nam), moving west-southwest at 10–15 km/h.
🔜 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝟳𝟮 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: The system will likely continue weakening into a Low Pressure Area as it moves over northern Lao PDR.
📅 𝟮𝟮–𝟮𝟰 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗠𝗕:
Widespread heavy rain is expected in the upper parts of Lao PDR and Thailand, with daily rainfall of 80–150 mm, and locally exceeding 200 mm. On 23 July, some areas in northern Lao PDR could see very heavy rainfall, ranging from 140–200 mm and possibly over 250 mm in some spots.
📍 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:
🇱🇦 Northern Lao PDR: Bokeo, Luang Namtha, Oudomxay, Sayabouly, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Xieng Khouang, Bolikhamsai, Khammouane
🇹🇭 Northern Thailand: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai
🇰🇭 Cambodia: Southwestern areas and the 3S Basin (Sekong, Sesan, Srepok)
⚠️ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁: Heavy to very heavy rain may trigger flash floods, river overflows, and flooding, especially between 23–24 July. Please follow updates and local authority instructions.

Buddhist Lent Day in Laos

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Today, July 10th, marks the beginning of the Buddhist Lent period, or Boun Khao Phansa, which lasts for approximately three months. It’s the time when Buddhist monks return to their home temples, there to stay for the length of the period to study, meditate and reflect for spiritual renewal. It happens on the first day after the full moon of the eighth lunar month and marks the beginning of the three-month rainy season. Well, the rainy season this year seems to have begun much earlier, and it’s been raining most of the morning. It’s been raining here since June and my yard at my house has been flooded for at least the past ten days, making it difficult to go jogging in the morning without getting my shoes soaked.

Anyway, at the end of the three-month period, on Boun Ok Phansa day, Lent finishes. The day after that is the final day of the Vientiane Boat Racing festival.

I’ve posted before about the start of the Lent period here, and here. Although it’s not an official national holiday, quite a few businesses shut down, especially local small mom-and-pop vendors.

Here’s a photo, taken this morning, of Nai preparing a goodie basket for the monks at a nearby temple. Most merit-makers include sweets in their baskets. I kid Nai that he’s going to make the monks fat. But, most people, including Nai, also include cooked rice and other food, like fruit, in their offerings to the monks.

Nai has a small shrine inside the house. He lit some candles and prayed to Buddha before he left for the temple. This evening he’ll probably light a bunch of candles on the porch and add some goodies to the outside shrine he also has.

Rainy Season Full Blast in Laos

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Yes, rainy season has arrived in force in Laos. Many villages and towns have been inundated and flooded, if they’re near a river. I haven’t heard of any deaths, but there may have been a few, although nothing catastrophic. It seems, though, that the entire country has been hit quite hard by recent rainfall.

As for me, I’ve been unable to leave my house to go jogging in the mornings without getting my shoes soaked. For a week now, my yard has been under water, more or less, but today the water receded enough for me to get out and get some running in. It had started to recede earlier in the week, but when it did, we’d get hit with another torrential, overnight storm. Not much fun.

And this is just the start. Rainy season will usually run from now until the middle of October, so I suppose I can look forward to other periods of jogging being postponed due to a flooded yard. Sheesh. Here’s a view of the yard before the water went down. Of course, I shouldn’t complain too much. Compared to folks whose villages have flooded and whose houses are underwater, I guess I’m not too bad off. More later.

Digital Art — Vientiane Presidential Mansion

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Here’s a new piece of digital art that I made just experimenting with various filters and textures in Photoshop. This is a view of the largely ceremonial Presidential Mansion, which is rarely used, in Vientiane, Laos from the top of the Patuxai Monument looking down Lane Xang avenue. Not my best effort, but at least I’ve got something to post after such a long layoff. Enjoy.

Day One Journal App

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I’m pretty much into journaling, whether it’s keeping a physical daily journal in my paper notebook or writing morning pages in another notebook.  I started my daily journal as a modified bullet journal and I still keep it that way. In it I keep ideas for digital art projects, resources, things to do that relate to art or things to do around the house, movies to watch, books to read and other items. Unfortunately, I don’t keep up with it daily and, in fact, I only add an entry maybe once a week. My morning pages journal I just began a few weeks ago, and I write in it every morning, quite happily. Click on the links above if you’re not sure what kind of journals these are.

Although I enjoy writing with pen on paper, which has many advantages, I recently found out about a digital journal app that I’ve completely fallen in love with. It’s called DayOne. . It’s digital journal app that can be used with an Android or iphone, with a Mac or Mac tablet and with a web browser, which I mostly use because trying to type on my phone just drives me crazy. If you’ve always wanted to journal but just hate the idea of writing with pen and paper, give DayOne a try. You can do almost any kind of journaling with it. It’s free, but paying $34.99 a year for the premium version gives you so many more options on how to use. Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with DayOne in any way whatsoever, so I get no compensation for touting this product.

Day One App logo

Merry Christmas to All

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Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope you have a wonderful, happy day, and also, in advance, have a Happy New Year.

Today in Laos it’s a nice 76 fahrenheit (24 celsius) at around 11 a.m. No snow, but plenty of sunshine. LOL Christmas isn’t a huge celebration here, but plenty of people celebrate the season and there are plenty of decorations in various businesses, but no religious connotations. Still, it’s nice. Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.