Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Time: 07:53 PM
Duration: 2 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 20°
Approach: 20° above WSW
Departure: 11° above S

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Time: 08:39 PM
Duration: 2 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 21°
Approach: 19° above WSW
Departure: 14° above S

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Time: 08:14 PM
Duration: 3 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 89°
Approach: 26° above NW
Departure: 19° above SE

Date: Friday, March 19, 2010
Time: 09:24 PM
Duration: Less than 1 minute
Maximum Elevation: 18°
Approach: 16° above W
Departure: 18° above W

Date: Friday, March 19, 2010
Time: 07:48 PM
Duration: 5 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 26°
Approach: 10° above NNW
Departure: 12° above E

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010
Time: 09:00 PM
Duration: 1 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 44°
Approach: 20° above NW
Departure: 44° above NW

Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Time: 08:34 PM
Duration: 2 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 25°
Approach: 10° above NNW
Departure: 25° above NNE

Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Time: 08:10 PM
Duration: 2 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 12°
Approach: 10° above N
Departure: 10° above NE

Date: Monday, March 15, 2010
Time: 09:20 PM
Duration: Less than 1 minute
Maximum Elevation: 12°
Approach: 10° above NNW
Departure: 12° above NNW

Date: Sunday, March 14, 2010
Time: 08:56 PM
Duration: Less than 1 minute
Maximum Elevation: 11°
Approach: 10° above N
Departure: 11° above N

We updated the membership roster and changed the id and password for the Members Only section of the Web site on March 1. You can have the new password e-mailed to you. (If you made an account on this new Web page, its password has not changed.)

Our brackets are ready for you to test your skill (and luck) in our March Madness Contest.  It is an interesting year with two campuses of the University of California in the tournament, but neither is UCLA.  You must make your picks by Thursday, March 18 at noon.  Make your picks

It is time to form BRR teams! There will be wonderful team prizes this year! Well, not that wonderful, but we promise that whatever it is, it will have traveled many miles from China. Additionally, bunks and camping at the start will be very reasonable this year. For more information go to:  BRR Teams | BRR Accommodations and Meal Reservations

Kari Brown was the female winner of the 50km at the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon and 50K held on March 6, in Montgomery County, Maryland. Several other VHTRC members finished the two events.
 
Results

Former VHTRC member Ian Torrence won the 1999 and 2000 MMT. Like many members, he moved out west.  Here is an interesting recent interview of Ian.

Six people completed what Quatro calls the the "Fish Hook 46 miler" - Signal Knob Parking lot to Camp Roosevelt. As he notes, this may be a preview of Camp Roosevelt's new status as a popular drop point at MMT. Results
 
Take Read More for reports during the event.

Setting aside that Thomas Jefferson is probably turning over in his grave that women are at his academical village, the University of Virginia has produced several impressive female members of the VHTRC. One of them, Sophie Speidel, is profiled in the University of Virginia Magazine.

The snow has claimed another victim.  The Hashawha Hills 50km has been cancelled due to heavy snow that makes the trail inaccessible and  parking (for 120 people, anyway) impossible.
 
Entrants in this year's event will receive a credit toward the 2011 entry fee.  Hopefully, the snow will have melted by then.
 
At right is Pam Gowen on the trail in show shoes. For more information, go to the Hashawha Hills 50km page.  Entrants should have received an e-mail. For more pictures of the snow, go to the Flickr site.

Amy Sproston and Sean Andrish took the top honors at the annual VHTRC awards party held on February 20.

Bobby Gill and Justine Morrison were the top VHTRC finishers at the Holiday Lake 50K on Saturday. Bobby was 4th overall in 5:10 and Justine was 11th overall and first female in 5:15. Jack Kurisky was first male master and fifth overall in 5:11, Martha Wright was first female master in 6:21, and Janice Heltibridle was first female supermaster in 6:55. Many VHTRC members were there, no doubt trying to get in a "trail" run after Snowmageddon. Times were slower than usual due to 5+ inches of snow and ice on the course, which is now closer to a true 50K than in years past with more single track. Because of the snow, RD David Horton extended the cut-off time to 9 hours and 244 out of 268 runners finished. Results are here.

'Feed a fever, starve a cold. Lightly sup with rickets.'

'Good taste is the worst vice ever invented.'

'Humor is always based on a modicum of truth. Have you ever heard a joke about a father-in-law?'

'The nice thing about being a celebrity is that when you bore people, they think it's their fault.'

'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'

'No man ever listened himself out of a job.'

'It is a sign of a creeping inner death when we no longer can praise the living.'

'But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.'

'Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content.'

'Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question.'

'The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.'

'California is a fine place to live--if you happen to be an orange.'

Actor Peter Graves, best known for TV's 'Mission: Impossible,' was found dead at his home, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Half a million homes remained without power across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region on Sunday, as rain continued to pound states from West Virginia to Connecticut for a second day.

Technicians who tested a Toyota Prius after its owner claimed its gas pedal stuck were unable to recreate the same condition, according to a draft congressional memo obtained by CNN.

A drive-by shooting in the violent border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, claims the lives of three people associated with the U.S. consulate there.

Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the center of Bangkok Sunday, bringing the city to a virtual standstill in an effort to topple the Thailand government.

The top Republican in the House and a senior White House adviser on Sunday debated a plan for closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay and moving some of the terrorism suspects held there onto American soil.

A television station in Georgia triggered a panic when it broadcast a mock half-hour report about a Russian invasion of the country.

Authorities recovered eight explosive-laden vests and three rockets in Kandahar on Sunday, indicating that the series of deadly explosions that rocked the southern province a day earlier were an organized attack, the interior ministry said.

At least three people were killed and 17 injured when an avalanche struck a snowmobile competition in western Canada, authorities said.

On a Saturday at the Lamar Edward Salon, a small cluster of women watch a demonstration of a new product.

A Montana prison sex inquiry reveals that female guards are often accused of sexual abuse of male inmates, but the problem is not always simple.

3 with ties to US consulate slain, 2 children wounded in Mexican city plagued by drug violence

House's Democratic vote-counter still hunting for votes on Obama's health care overhaul

Search ends after avalanche hits snowmobile rally in Canadian Rockies; 2 dead, 30 injured

Vatican newspaper defends pope, denies celibacy requirement is cause of clerical sex abuse

Research findings released today have dashed doctors' hopes that intensive blood pressure and blood fat management could drive down diabetics' higher risks of heart problems.

Smart phone malware could tap into your phone's microphone, GPS, battery.

Web site helps socially responsible local businesses and consumers find each other.

Peter Graves, the tall, stalwart actor likely best known for his portrayal of Jim Phelps, leader of a gang of special agents who battled evil conspirators in the long-running television series 'Mission: Impossible,' died Sunday.

Dumb Criminals Caught on Tape

Police say a man attacked a woman in a bar after she refused to dance with him.

Surveillance video shows the magnitude of the crash into the convenience store.

IBM and Stanford University team to develop a green generation of plastics.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs there are an estimated 6,500 homeless female veterans on America's streets, double the number of a decade ago. Women veterans are four times more likely than their male counterparts to wind up homeless.

The feared release of a convicted child molester from a California prison was thwarted Friday by 11th-hour federal charges involving child porn and a woman's allegations that he bought her as a child in Asia and subjected her to years of sexual abuse while molesting her young friends.

10 Reasons to Love Kathryn Bigelow, The First Woman To Win Best Director

With the climax just days away, tonight Democrats admit they still don't have the votes for health care reform. Yet at the same time, they are expressing confidence they will have enough votes in the House, where 216 must vote to pass the Senate health care reform bill passed late last year with some changes.

In the town of Nederland, Colo., packed inside a creaking shed, lies the resting place of a Norwegian man known as 'Grandpa' Bredo Morstoel. He died in 1989 and has been frozen ever since.

George Will, Cokie Roberts, Anita Dunn and Ed Gillespie.

Special roundtable with George Will, Cokie Roberts, Anita Dunn and Ed Gillespie.

American woman released in Irish probe of possible plot to kill cartoonist.

Adventurers observe great white sharks from the safety of a steel cage.

Feasty Boys go head-to-head with Scott Peacock to make the cheapest meal.

Special roundtable with George Will, Cokie Roberts, Anita Dunn and Ed Gillespie.

The California teen's friends and family vow to turn their grief into activism.

Heavy wind and rain halted travel and left many areas bracing for flooding.

Vatican says Pope Benedict didn?t cover up sex scandal as German archbishop.

relationship - Technology - Business - Advice - Information Technology

No cash, no credit card? No problem. TabbedOut lets you settle tabs, bills with iPhone.



IPhone - Credit card - Apple - Smartphones - Handhelds

Is blogging going out of style? In December 2007, 28 percent of all 18-to-29-year-olds with an Internet connection kept some sort of blog. By the same time last year, that number hovered around 15 percent. Meanwhile, the number of teens who say they blog regularly continues to shrink, as the Web's youngest users ditch the blogosphere for the frantic pace of the social-media world.



Twitter - Social media - Blog - Online Communities - Social network

The volume of Internet crime has continued to rise steadily since 2007, with victims reporting $559 million in losses in 2009, a 110 percent increase compared to losses in 2008. Investigators and officials say part of the reason may be the economic downturn. Scammers are increasingly using social networking sites -- such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace-- and smartphones such as the iPhone.



Facebook - Twitter - iPhone - MySpace - Social network service

Sony unveils new motion controller for PlayStation.



PlayStation - Sony - PlayStation Move - Nintendo - Games

The Internet is among 237 nominations for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.



NobelPeacePrize - Wired - 2010 Nobel Peace Prize - Italy - Nicholas Negroponte

This GPS-based application could change the way people use social networks.



Social network - Foursquare - Twitter - Gowalla - Online Communities

Proposed 'Chelsea's Law,' named for murdered teenager Chelsea King, Could Track Sex Offenders Via GPS



Sex Offenses - Crime - Sex offender - Law - Chelsea King

Brain scans could revolutionize consumer marketing, researchers say.



Marketing - Business - Marketing and Advertising - Consulting - Employment

Three-year-old Tenn. toddler shoots herself after mixing up real gun with video game controller.



Video game - Game controller - Wii - Games - Nintendo Wii

Sex.com goes to auction next week; opening bid is $1million.



Auction - Domain name - Sex.com - Disputed Domain Names - Shopping

Scientists propose unit of energy efficiency, named for guru of the field.



James Watt - Alessandro Volta - Steam engine - History - Engineering and Technology

Web service matches animations, pictures to messages on Twitter.



Twitter - Online Communities - Social Networking - Trending and Popularity - Browser Plugins

A U.K. proposal for mandatory microchipping of dogs brings about outcry.



Dog - Pets - Recreation - Animal welfare - Law

Smart phone malware could tap into your phone's microphone, GPS, battery.



Global Positioning System - GPS - Business - Telecommunications - Geomatics

The number of photos printed worldwide is dropping by the billions as Facebook makes the glossy print old-fashioned.



Facebook - print - Math - Recreations - Specific Numbers

Caroline McCarthy explains platforms for location based social networking.



Caroline McCarthy - Online Communities - United States - Social network - Services

Google adds bike lanes to online mapping tool.



Google - Searching - Search Engines - Companies - Tools

MySpace co-presidents chart course for the future.



MySpace - Facebook - Social network - Owen Van Natta - Mike Jones

Google App Marketplace is online store for business applications.



Google - Online shopping - Google App - Cloud computing - Searching

'Nightline' visited a preservation funded by the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where tigers, ligers and other rare hybrid species live.



Rare species - Hybrid - United States - Travel and Tourism - Recreation and Sports

IBM and Stanford University team to develop a green generation of plastics.



Stanford University - IBM - United States - California - Education

TV makers Samsung and Panasonic makers unveil 3-D TVs this week.



Panasonic Corporation - Samsung Group - Television - Sony - Panasonic

A researcher reveals little-known facts about microwave ovens.



Microwave - Cooking - Home - Collections and Indexes - Microwave oven

In science, units of energy are often named after people who did pioneering work in the field. A watt of electricity is named for James Watt, who made the steam engine practical. The volt comes from Alessandro Volta, inventor of...



James Watt - Alessandro Volta - Steam engine - History - Engineering and Technology

...but not a drop to drink. You'll recall NASA's LCROSS mission last fall, which crashed a spent rocket into the moon's south pole in the hope that it would kick up frozen water there. It was apparently successful. Now, an...



Moon - United States - Earth - Solar System - Water

Michael Mann, a Penn State scientist who appeared prominently in those famously-hacked e-mails from climate researchers last fall, has been cleared on three of four points raised by a university panel investigating him. You'll recall that the e-mails -- more...



Pennsylvania State University - Michael E. Mann - United States - Penn State University - Pennsylvania

NASA photo tricks eyes into making you believe that Mars has trees.



Spiral galaxy - Galaxy - Astronomy - Galaxies - Images

Australia's second elephant born at Melbourne zoo.

British bank worker allegedly finds the face of Jesus in his frying pan.

Plump skunk named Mr. Bumble tries to lose one-third his weight.

Ringlike solar eclipse was visible across a narrow stretch of Asia and Africa.

Owner wants Guiness Book of Records to recognize Boomer

Scientists find astonishing richness in species in Arctic and Antarctic oceans.

Humpback whale wanders into New York harbor.

Thousands evacuate as the Mayon volcano spews lava and ash.

Backwards-flying, green comet makes its closest approach to Earth today.

A look back at Apple co-founder Jobs and the company he created.

More than 1,000 new species are discovered in the Mekong region.

Pres. Bush protects a huge expanse of the Pacific, leaving a bright blue legacy.

Barrow, Alaska, perched on Artic Ocean, is threatened by climate change.

Check out the hottest tech offerings from this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

Photographer shows effects of climate change on a fragile part of the world.

Researchers spot hundreds of new species of underwater animals.

Hurricane Ike evacuees come to Galveston for the first time since Ike.

Lake has liquid -- but enough to water ski?

Strange explosions may be the force behind dazzling phenomenon.

Conservationists believe the ugly fish should be listed as endangered.

UNESCO has named new sites deemed worthy of preservation.

Messenger spacecraft reveals never-before-seen color images of the Swift Planet.

NASA has selected Jones Edmunds & Associates, Inc. of Gainesville, Fla., to provide civil and environmental design, engineering and other professional services.

NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate is inviting teams of undergraduate and graduate students throughout the country to participate in the fourth annual Systems Engineering Paper Competition.

NASA Television will cover the landing of two current International Space Station crew members and the launch of three upcoming station residents later in March and April.

NASA Television provides a standard digital television channel as a resource for news media.

NASA has announced opportunities to test emerging technologies during flights on an airplane that simulates the weightless conditions of space.

The heads of the International Space Station (ISS) agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, and the United States met in Tokyo, Japan, on March 11, 2010, to review ISS cooperation.

NASA will highlight the educational activities planned on the next space shuttle mission during a news briefing at 12 p.m. CDT, Tuesday, March 9.

NASA has exercised a $60 million, one-year extension option for a contract with Science Applications International Corporation of Houston to provide support to safety and mission assurance activities at the agency's Johnson Space Center.

NASA today unveiled an interactive computer simulation that allows virtual explorers of all ages to dock the space shuttle at the International Space Station, experience a virtual trip to Mars or a lunar impact, and explore images of star formations taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA today announced its founding partnership of Launch, an initiative to identify, showcase and support innovative approaches to sustainability challenges through a series of forums.

Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Lows in the lower 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Mostly cloudy. A chance of showers. Mainly in the morning. Highs in the lower 50s. North winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of showers in the evening. Lows in the upper 30s. North winds around 15. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 50s. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Sunny. Highs around 60.