Self-sufficient Eclipse Chasers Hit the Road To 'Totality' (reuters.com) 42
An anonymous reader shares a report: Michael Zeiler packed his portable toilet then headed out on a 10-hour drive from New Mexico to Wyoming where, on Monday, he intends to mark the ninth time he has seen the moon pass in front of the sun in a total solar eclipse. Zeiler is a self-described "eclipse chaser," part of a group of avid astronomy buffs, telescope hobbyists and amateur photographers whose passion for such celestial events takes them to the far corners of the earth. For the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the United States in almost a century, and the first visible anywhere in the Lower 48 states since 1979, Zeiler had only to drive some 650 miles (1,046 km) from the desert Southwest to the Rockies. He showed up prepared and early on Wednesday at his destination in Casper, Wyoming, within the "path of totality," the corridor over which the moon's 70-mile-wide shadow will be cast as it crosses the United States over 93 minutes. Along that path at the height of the eclipse on Aug. 21, the sun will be completely blotted out except for its outer atmosphere, known as the corona.
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Re:Stare all you want, Slashdot (Score:4, Funny)
I imagine he'll take umbrage at that.
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I imagine he'll take umbrage at that.
*rimshot*
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I'll be here all week, folks! Mondays are dark days, of course.
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I'll be here all week, folks! Mondays are dark days, of course.
In all fairness the review did say, "Great food, but no atmosphere."
First. To the isolated spot in the wilderness. (Score:2)
>> Hey, that place you posted on your account, we're here too, and we brought our phones and some kids.
F**k
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"You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye"
Self-sufficient (Score:3)
packed his portable toilet
Really, never heard of sitting on a log or digging a hole ... I dont think its really "Self-sufficient" if the main thing to mention is a portable toilet
Re:Self-sufficient (Score:4, Funny)
Well, he packed it himself, and he considers it sufficient...
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But it's a smart toilet, it syncs up to his smart phone.
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> Really, never heard of sitting on a log or digging a hole...
Those are unsanitary things to do that are illegal in many jurisdictions.
> I dont think its really "Self-sufficient" if the main thing to mention is a portable toilet
It's just as justifiable to complain that he's driving around in a car (or even eating food) that didn't come from a universe that he created from scratch.
A portable chemical toilet is far more sanitary (and much better for the health of the environment) than simply shitting wh
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well I have heard it all now, a chemical toilet designed to KILL THINGS submerged in it is better for the environment, how has the earth survived all this time
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The issue is if a bunch of people do that in a relatively small area it becomes a problem. There's going to be lots of people out looking at the eclipse.
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First person to hit the moon wins!
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An official near here made a sensible recommendation: Make sure you have water, food, first aid and a full tank of gas. With that, you can deal with most of the problems. But there's gonna be traffic jams, accidents, shortage of emergency personnel, and general pissed-offness.
By one estimate, the population of Oregon will be up by 25%.
Not a bad idea to plan on an extra day, or half-day. Huge crowds gather in a progressive way, but when the event is over, they all want to leave now.
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I live to the north in Washington and the traffic in Oregon is already reported as being epic- backups for 5 to 10 miles in places already and it's only Friday.
You couldn't get me to drive down to Oregon right now for *anything*.
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(2) Idiots pulling cars with hot underparts on grassy areas and starting brush fires.
I misread that as "hot underpants". That was a disturbing visual.
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The fire service agrees, I sat next to fire fighter in the Phoenix airport who will be up in Idaho because they think a lot of fires will get started.
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All those things make it sound like just another average day.
I, the benevolent lord of /.,... (Score:2)
I, the benevolent lord of /., impose an obligatory minimum Youtube tax on every eclipse watcher. If you do not make a nice video of this, you are just worthless waster of my oxygen.
I'll just use my own toilet thank you. (Score:2)
My road trip consists of walking out my front door. I might walk over to the park two blocks from my house. Weather report for Monday in Salem, Oregon is sunny so I'm all set.
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The difference between 98% and totality is the difference between night and day. It was spectacular to see the total eclipse earlier today.
But there are people in the world who have no interest in things like this. I don't understand how they aren't interested but they aren't.
On I-90 doing the same (Score:2)
Three geeks in a VW Westfalia, cameras, telescopes, and suitable camping supplies, a big solar panel and a bunch of batteries. Trundling down I-90. Our goal is an isolated spot in Idaho or Wyoming.