"Charlie Self"
I love this time of year, early morning before it's light, and nippy air
that
helps clear the head. Today, I need to cut some cabinet doors, and I don't
want
to waste plywood, so I was standing outside thinking it out--this
sometimes
works better than pencil and paper--when I realized my rural area was
suffering
from a bit of light pollution that wasn't here a few years ago.

I think it's these blasted dusk to dawn insurance lights. Every small
church
has at least five (insurance companies require them at every entrance and
every
obstacle of certain types). Many houses, including one across the road,
and two
others a quarter mile up the road, have one.

In a recent vacation to Kona Hawaii, I was struck by the lack of light in
the evenings. It didn't take long to figure out that the whole island has a
light restriction. The Keck Observatory. It really was nice, compared to
the virtual daylight of LA.

Palomar,North of San Diego also has light restrictions, but not nearly the
scale of the big island.

Dave