It is here, tomorrow we are off. That was brought home last night after the club meeting when I looked up and noticed the 20 day old moon. Ralph commented that it was an hour glass with the sands of time running out.

Worries about weather and Swine Flu quarantines still abound. I have read that at least in Shanghai, the authorities have backed off of some of their draconian quarantine measures. However, messages from those who have already arrived in Beijing suggest that they are still involved in the disease prevention measures.

Weather prospects still continue to be a concern. The long range forecasts are dismal at best. Here is a plot of total clouds for eclipse day. It shows essentially 100% clouds on eclipse day. However, wait a few hours, and it might be down to 50% - 60%. The error bars seem to be rather larger. The good news is that people have started arriving in Shanghai and are reporting that the actual conditions are far better than the daily predictions. Local conditions seem to prevail.