2 fireballs in the Midwest last week:

I hadn't heard of these at all (which is another reason to never leave the Midwest). The Bad Astronomer writes about it, and includes footage of one of the fireballs that was picked up by a security camera:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/12/30/midwest_fireballs_two_bright_meteors_light_up_the_sky.html

Daily Peace Quote

Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha.
- Author Unknown

Aurora alert

My local astronomy folks have an "aurora alert". When someone sees it, they can alert the system (I've never done it), which will call people on the list to let them know so they can see it also.*

The astronomy folks have been going back & forth on this, and it looks like there was a Coronal Mass Ejection. Here's the information from SpaceWeather.com: AURORA WATCH: A solar wind stream is approaching Earth and could spark the first auroras of 2014 when it arrives on Jan. 2-4.

So it's a possibility for us near dark skies, or those further north (than southern WI).

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*Cool idea, although northern lights are more noticeable when night is at its darkest, which means that you're more likely to get a phone call from the system when another astronomy person is out looking at stars at 3 in the morning.

Other space stuff: Light Pillars

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131218.html

This is about an observed phenomenon; but really, I just want to provide the hyperlink because they have an absolutely adorable photo when they mention cat food: http://crevette63410.c.r.pic.centerblog.net/x473eda9.jpg

Mapping emotions on the body

Apparently, we all feel it in pretty much the same place:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/30/258313116/mapping-emotions-on-the-body-love-makes-us-warm-all-over

Hmm - I wonder if we could get psychopaths to map their emotions.

New architect: Jean-Jacque Lequeu

That art meme on f/b came back to me when I noted to an architect I know that it's funny that I never think "artist" when I hear the word "architect". In payment, he gave me this guy. Crazy stuff, man:
http://pruned.blogspot.com/2005/10/enigmatic-jean-jacques-lequeu.html

In post-Revolution and Napoleon France, Lequeu produced some of the most imaginative landscape and architectural designs, some a masterful combination of the Gothic, the Egyptian, the Greek, the Chinese, and a smattering of hallucinations. However, except for two folies in Rouen, none were ever constructed. He was somewhat of a pornographer as well and at least in his self-portraits, a cross-dresser. As there are too few sources to go by, the screenwriter can easily color his life some more. After all, he did create portraits of nuns bearing their breasts.

Ok: it's just after 8 a.m. and I've posted, like, five six times today already, so I really need to stfu.