Spectacular meteor shower won't return until 2098: "The Bay Area is due for an astounding meteor storm Monday night and early Tuesday -- a light show that astronomers say won't be equalled until 2098." [Google Technology News via Juha Haataja's Unversal Rule]

I dutifully bundled up, grabbed coffee and fresh donuts, and drove Sacramento way.

For an hour.

Ditched by a cow pasture past Travis Air Force Base. No street lights for miles. Waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark. And waited. And waited. No night vision. Eyes were fine, just an extra large pizza pie of a full moon. Bright enough to play solitaire. Away from the San Francisco city lights, the full moon made it seem like daylight. Scattered clouds but not enough to get in the way. On the eastern horizon, (Sacramento?) city lights polluted the horizon.

No shooting stars.

Gave the sky an hour, and made it home by 3:45 in the morning. Still caffeinated. Dozed off around 6am.

And read the Leonids are really coming tonight.

So I'm forging on, doing it again tonight.

Sometimes push works better.

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TiVo spells the end of "event" television. Meetup.com says, why not get real fans together?

Meetup with other local fans of the Bartlet White House. Talk about Jed, Abbey, Josh, Donna, Charlie, CJ, Toby, Leo and Sam. What's next?

Other meetups that look like great excuses to ...

• Have Fun
• 24
• Anime
• Harry Potter
• Kuro5hin
• Learning Spanish
• MetaFilter
• Weblogger
• Talk Shop
• Nanotech
• Temp Workers
• Film Industry
• Mobilize
• Abolish the Death Penalty
• Democratic Party
• EFF Supporter
• Iraq Crisis
• No War With Iraq
• Protect Freedom
• Wi-Fi

Around the world, local meetups convene at the same time on the same topic. You sign up, vote for a local venue, and turn up.

Compare this to Ryze events. Also has an RSVP function, but less geographic organization. And not a subscription to an ongoing event. 

The monthly meetup warm-ups (venue vote, rsvp, and reminder) convey a sense of belonging. It helps seeing the same people on the same topic month after month.

 [a klog apart community]