NorthStarNerd.Org

Replacing Google Alerts RSS Feeds

Now that Google has discontinued RSS delivery of Google Alerts, in addition to ending their Google Reader RSS Service, many of you may be wondering how to receive RSS feeds for your custom searches. The process is actually quite simple, but one must switch and use Microsoft Bing's Search Engine!

Eh gads ... Microsoft Bing! For many of us making that search engine switch seemed impossible a few months ago, but give Microsoft its chance. Google has ended many popular services, and their lead in providing optimal search results does not seem to be true anymore.

Thus, like many people I replaced Google Reader with Feedly. The process of replacing Google Alerts is easy:

• Link to Microsoft Bing
• Construct your search query
  • Use advanced operators to obtain more reliable results
• Run your query
  • Add this code to the end of the resulting url
    • "&format=RSS” (without the quotes)
• Copy your new url string into the "subscription" window of your RSS reader.

Here is an example.

I live across the road from a northwoods creek and waterfall that rushes down the hill to Lake Superior. Thus, perhaps I would like a RSS feed on Amity Creek

1. My query starts as: Amity Creek
2. I then insist on an exact phrase using advanced operators
3. My query now becomes: "Amity Creek"
4. However, I know there is an Amity Creek in Oregon. I want Minnesota.
5. My query now becomes: "Amity Creek" AND NOT Oregon
6. I run this query via Bing
7. I add "&format=RSS” (without the quotes) to the end of the resulting url

Here is my url string to which I will subscribe in Feedly:

http://www.bing.com/search?q="Amity+Creek"+AND+NOT+Oregon&go=&qs=n&form=QBLH&pq="amity+creek"+and+not+oregon&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=&format=RSS

I now have the search alerts delivered via RSS to my reader (Feedly).

How do you say good-bye?

How do you say goodbye to a dear friend?

Right now, Spot, is sleeping next to me on the floor next to my desk. Ever since we rescued this stray dog at my brother-in-law's wedding years ago, she has by her choice been inseparable from me. Although she was supposed to be the entire family's dog, Spot adopted me. Whether it was hiking in the Northwoods, fishing on NorthStar Lake or just hanging out around the house, Spot has always been next to me.

My dear friend now has extreme trouble walking, can not hear, and often cries at night due to the pain of old age. This past week we vacationed together for one last time up north at the cabin. Every night she looked at me and refused to lie down in her dog bed until I also lay down to sleep. During my Northern Lights photoshoot this past Friday night, I actually pretended to fall asleep and then snuck back outside the bedroom. Please understand that Spot has slept next to me in her dog bed every night since she joined our family. 

This brings me back to my question, how do you say good bye to an old dear friend? Hundreds of times per day she looks up into my eyes with her big black eyes and seems to be asking me ... what are we going to do next?

Tomorrow morning I will take Spot to the vet and have her life ended. She trusts me.  I hope Spot will understand; it also hurts me. She will always be in my heart. Hopefully in heaven she will catch all the squirrels!

The photo below was taken years ago during happier times.

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Spot during one of our fishing trips on NorthStar Lake

Northern Lights Photoshoot

The life of a Northern Lights photographer involves happily lost sleep. Last night my wife and I had decided to try our hand at taking pictures of star trails as they circle around the North Star. At 12:15 am we walked down to our cabin's dock to start the 30 minute exposures we had planned out at twilight when we set up our tripods with the proper angles. Our goal was to not only obtain star trails, but also get their reflection in our lake just south of the Canadian border in northern Minnesota. Our lake is named appropriately enough, Northstar Lake.

However the heavens had different ideas for last night's photoshoot. A display of Northern Lights was starting to wave across the sky, and reflect in the lake. Given it was a gorgeous night with temperatures in the mid 60's ... a rare event in the Northland ... we stayed up till 2:45 am enjoying and photographing the light show. We felt the experience was better than the fireworks from the prior evening's July 4th displays.

Molly and I both own high end Canon powershot cameras. Normally it would not be possible to take the kind of photos we took last night, but with help from CHDK we had hacked our cameras such that it is possible to take longer exposures with overridden ISO settings than originally intended for my camera, a Canon SX40 (see my post on dual boot software systems for your camera). Our settings last night were 60 second exposures with a 2.7 aperture and ISO 400 (focus set to infinity).

While we are still learning the optimal camera settings for photographing the Aurora Borealis, my advanced research made for good results. This is only our second photoshoot of the Aurora Borealis. Our two primary web sites used for research included:

• Dick Hutchinson - link
• Patrick Andres - link

In addition, the Northland's AstroBob keeps me informed on when to head outside to enjoy the heavens while at the same time teaching me about what I am viewing.

Here are five photos from last night's photoshoot (July 5/6). It was a magical night on Northstar Lake! Click upon any image to view at full size and resolution.

Molly during last night's photoshoot

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A circle of reflections in Northstar Lake

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Our dock

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The Big Dipper gets in on the act!

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Looking down our shoreline ...waves in the sky!