reviewed observing sessions

Early in December I began compiling observation data so to statistically review activity. Driven out of curiousity as I began to reflect on the year. 2013 will be always remembered as the year I finished the Messier list. And I recalled Gaherty's observation log entries where he keeps a serial count. It got me thinking: I wondered how many times I have observed at the telescope!

I shared the preliminary data with Charles on the 10th, emphasising that joining the RASC Toronto Centre was good, for me. It got me observing. A lot. A lot more! OK, here we go...

Here's a snapshot of the complete dashboard. Used Google Docs and Excel 2003 to produce and reduce the data. Google to aggregate; Excel for the PivotTables, graphs, and full-formatting control. Now let's dig deeper...

The graph above shows the number of observing sessions per year. Everything starts arbitrarily at 1990 as that is when I procured my first telescope and serious observing began. If you can call it that. Recorded observing sessions were 7 or less each year. Rather low. Partly because, in general, I would only take the telescope out when camping. Another factor was dew. I had a dew cap in 1997; it wasn't until 2000 that I had heaters and portable power. Then started to waver, wondering if I should stay in the hobby or not.

Mom received her 'scope in 2003 and in 2005 I finally took a lot of interest in it, wanting to sort it out and get it working. Joined some astronomy Yahoo!Groups. And, at last, joined RASC in January 2007. Sessions jumped from around 25 to about 80 to 90 per year. RASC city observing sessions and star parties initially and later going to the Carr Astronomical Observatory.

The next big jump, in 2010, I attribute to a couple of things. Being a CAO supervisor. And photography. It was in August that year I began to very actively use the MallinCam. I learned it thoroughly, found control software for it, acquired accessories, maintained it, improved our documentation, used it for solar and deep sky imaging.

Observing sessions have been holding fairly steady since then, around 146 per year.

The above graph shows the same data but is now broken down by type of astronomy session. I record observing details when viewing the whole sky without optical aid, when I use binoculars, when I use a telescope. I also note when I make sketches and when I've captured images or photographs.

It is intriguing to me that everything increased in 2007. I was doing everything, all types of observing and sketching and imaging, more. And I continued to do a little more each year. Again, in 2010, there was a big jump overall. It is clear now that about half of this increase was due to imaging. But my telescopic observing increased a lot too.

Looks like 2013 telescope time dropped while naked eye increased.

A slightly unsettling trend is seeing the sketching decreasing. It was at its highest in 2007 but has steadily decreased. Photography is stealing away from this, no doubt.

Now we depart from the year-by-year analyses; the graph above shows career (through 2013) observing sessions by month. And this should really not come as any surprise to the Canadian astronomer. November and December data points reveal the least amount of observing while July and August are the best. Winter sucks! Or, perhaps, it is that I don't like winter.

The chart above, again, shows the splits by type of observing. Again, not surprising, to see that telescope time and sketching is higher in July and August, when it is comfortable at the eyepiece (or screen).

The chart above shows aggregated, career observing sessions by type. My logs are mostly from sessions at the telescope ocular.

I am a little surprised by the amount consumed by naked eye observing. More than I expected. But I attribute this simply to looking up. When I step outside, I look up. It's usually the first thing I do.

Again, I'm a little disappointed to see sketching at the low point.

The chart above is showing the affect of the season, the month, once again. Clearly July and August are the big months, November and December the smallest. But then all the other months are roughly the same.

Considering this pie graph and the stacked column by month, it looks like there's a steady climb out of January, probably the result of some cabin fever, but then April showers grind us back down.

§

This was an interesting exercise. And something I feel strongly about, all things considered, is that I want to sketch more... And take great advantage of long winter nights, when possible.

launched web page, readied registration

Built the web page, with a few photos, for the 2014 new owners telescope clinic. It went fairly smoothly. Huh. Remarkably similar to the old CMS...

http://rascto.ca/content/learn-how-use-your-telescope

Reached out to Lora. To let her know that registrations might start showing up...

We reviewed the page. She caught a typo. We consider some different wording. I applied the changes as we spoke.

We discussed registration matters. And then I sent over the files from the previous run. The 2013 registrations for her review. The 2014 file I built with no-shows and wait-listed people.

As I applied more changes to the page, they disappeared. What the...? I discovered that Allard was editing the page. He made a dozen suggestions and some structural changes which overwrote my edits. He apologised. We clarified some issues with layout.

I asked him to deploy a form.

logged objects, again

After days of editing, I finished reconstructing the lost SkyTools data. Primarily the log entries I lost. It gave me a chance to reconcile my life lists too, in particular the NGCs and double stars.

It also gave me an idea. I created lists in SkyTools which mimic my life list pages. And I, once again, created a "to view again" list. Also lost in the hard disk failure... Kinda feel normal again.

reached out to past vendors

I followed up with the vendors who helped us at last year's clinic. Phoned and messaged Kendrick, Khan Scope, KW-Perceptor, Gifts From the Earth, and Radio World. Jim and Ray and Brian are positive. Have yet to hear from the others. Meanwhile, Chris is calling the "new" vendors...

Yahoo!Groups photo madness

At long last, I uploaded the new owners telescope clinic 2013 photos to the RASC Toronto Centre Yahoo!Group. Limited to 50 pix at a time. And I think Rogers throttles uploads. It took a while.

Then about 50% of the time, after I initiated the "post" action, an error would occur. Now, as I examine the folder, there are 336 photos. Funny. I uploaded less than 220 objects.

And now? I can't delete the duplicates.

And when I try to sort them... it doesn't work.

Yahoo! Smarten up! Now!

received the shoe

Before heading across the pond, Charles informed the crew that I'd be preparing the announcements slide deck and handout for the January 8 meeting.

learned of OzSky 2014

Katrina relayed some information about an annual sky "safari" at an Australian motel. Mar 29 to Apr 5, near the Warrumbungles National Park.

Interesting... Ha ha, didn't notice it at first: a wo-mur-rang.

researched UPSs

Started researching uninterruptible power supplies. We need two more at the CAO.

gifts 2013

As per usual, received some science fiction and astronomy themed gifts.

Sis gave me the first two graphic stories from the Firefly-Serenity series. Cool!


Just can't get enough...

Mom gave me snowshoes. Light-weight aluminium. Claws. Polyethylene decking. Not strictly astro-related but they'll help me get to distant observatories in the Great White North.


Teeny tiny alkaline batteries. LR44 and LR1130. Ten each! w00t! (It's the little things.) The LR44 are used in my red LED pens and the Celestron MicroGuide reticule eyepiece (among other things). The LR1130 are required in my blue and green LED pens. The Kick Me Not LED tripod leg illuminators require BOTH types. Yeh! Perfect timing...

Received a mini-calendar for The Big Bang Theory show. Appears to have quotes from the show.

A DVD. Yes! Season 5 from Third Rock From The Sun.

Some other items... Alpaca Insoles from Ziraldo Alpacas. Freaky creatures... To keep my hooves warm in the winter. A decorative metal star. A black Maxell Qubehub with 5 ports. Very compact. Will be handy when trying to drive lots of USB devices off John Kim Chi or John Phil. And hand-made infinity scarf, in Dr Who colours, from Mom.

The coolest gift was the book The End of Night by Paul Bogard. From sis. A very late addition to my Amazon wish list. Thanks!

no reindeer (Union)

Did I spot the Moon rising in the east, through hazy clouds, before heading off to bed? Meh.

Didn't hear any reindeer. They don't like the Moon either I guess.

watched pump repair part 2

At Mom's, watched spacewalk to connect new pump module. Tuned in just as they were struggling with the jumper box. Glad it worked out.

remembered the old photos

Phil sent Katrina and me a note. Said Paul was looking for photos from the 2013 telescope clinic. Reminded me I still had not uploaded them...

informed new vendors

Chris phoned some vendors regarding the telescope clinic. Durham Skies Astronomy & Birding, CAMTECH Photographic, New Eyes Old Skies, and Sunward Hobbies. Fantastic!

watched pump repair chapter 1

Watched the (first) spacewalk at the International Space Station. They made excellent progress removing the old coolant pump assembly and installing the jumper.

Will tune it for part 2 shortly...

that time of year

Happy shortest day everyone in the northern hemisphere!

opened backup dialogue

The president checked with the web team about site backups. They are happening. Sporadically.

made functional diagrams

Built a functional diagram for the Carr Astronomical Observatory's electrical systems. In Visio. With hyperlinks. Not trivial. In the process, I realised that I did not have detailed photo documentation of the GBO or the garage. Damn.

flyer design underway

Ralph asked Maggie, our enthusiastic youth member, to make a flyer for the telescope clinic.

uploaded big dox

With the increased individual file size limits, I was able to at last upload more documentation, large files, and notes for the Carr Astronomical Observatory.

SN acquires SS

Big news on the planetarium software front: Simulation Curriculum Corp. of Minneapolis (the owners of StarryNight) acquired SkySafari. Initially I read it the wrong way 'round.

§

Intriguing, the remarks in a business journal web site, on this matter. This will help Simulation get a better footing in the mobile device arena. But going into bio and other non-astronomy fields? That's a little strange, no?

incoming gear

Gilles volunteered to coordinate the large donation of astronomical equipment to the centre. Telescopes, mounts, lots of eyepieces, etc. Excellent. The gear will be distributed to the DDO, CAO, and loan program.

We need some eyepieces and could really use a decent mirror for the NexStar 11 at the CAO.

fixed typo on Vimeo

Lora spotted a spelling mistake on the Facebook page. Alerted Allard. Allard pointed out that the copy was absorbed from Vimeo. He alerted me. I took a look. Saw the mistake. Fixed it. But it was not something I had entered. It was text entered by Dietmar as he uploaded his video. A little typographical error in the observatory name. Ha.

outage on the mountain

We learned the power went out atop of the Blue Mountains for about 7 hours yesterday when a garbage truck operator crashed into a hydro pole. Happily, Michael helped us with some on-site tasks. Saved me driving up. Must have been a very ungraceful outage: a good number of breakers were tripped.

spirit

Form response?

Thank you so much for your Christmas Card.  Very thoughtful of you.  We both sincerely appreciate it.  We also wish you all the best life has to offer.  May the true spirit of Christmas be present and guide us in the new year.  Look forward to see you in the new year.

I don't know.

Gaia away

The Gaia probe launched today! The esa Gaia probe will map stars with unprecedented accuracy.

Not a lot of people are talking about it in my immediate circles but I'm looking forward to better double star data.

shared view

The past president asked me to share my perspective with the current president on matters IT in the centre.

dead Dell

Received a second hand Dell laptop. I was interested in turning it into a backup or spare unit in case the main telescope control machine goes down. But it has a dead battery. Tried cold soaking it, twice, to no avail. Not a deal breaker. Found the power cord flaky. So weird. Almost exactly the issue with my Dell... Again, not catastrophic; can always get a new cord.

But the Blue Screen of Death? That's not good. They persisted even after two factory restore attempts and three wipe-erasure attempts. Overheating?

Possibly. But even after de-linting the innards, it was still not working right. Looked deeper into the BSOD coding. Network equipment? Huh. Disabled the wireless circuitry and the machine stabilised! All right. We can live without wifi. But then I couldn't get the onboard ethernet board to function! Crikey. Doesn't look like I'm any further ahead...

get a bachelors from BU

After a lively discussion on lead acid batteries, kicked off by Dave, Matthew shared a useful link from Battery University.

asked an expert

Phoned Dr Chou regarding focusing masks.

I'm under the impression that the diffraction pattern is produced "inside" the telescope. Or is an absolute. So, then, wearing or not wearing corrective lens will not affect the image. And therefore the operator should not remove their eyewear... I shall report this to the RASC group.

brrr

We hit -30 degrees with the wind chill at the observatory on the Blue Mountains this weekend...

first 2014 SkyNews arrived

I received my copy of the newest SkyNews, the Jan/Feb issue.

Delivered to the correct address. And there was much rejoicing.

Phil received his last week and offered it on the weekend. So I have already skimmed it.

In fact, I have already noted the "big things" for 2014 in my personal astronomy calendar...

delivered calendars

Despite the poor road conditions, a frozen power steering pump, frozen windshield fluid, I was able to make like Santa and hand-deliver items to Katrina's home. I had meant to hand them over on Saturday but forget them!

would if I could

Some typos on the Facebook page were pointed out to me. Except there's nothing I can do about it...

helped sort family members

Helped Phil audit family memberships, comparing the data from RASC national office, to our database.

DDO MN cancelled

Due to the poor weather and road conditions, the Members Night at the DDO was cancelled. Come on. It's just snow! Are you Canadian or what? Drag! I wanted to see Steve's talk on using Photoshop with deep sky images...

concluded sales

No new sales of RASC 2014 calendars at the DDO event. And Jason did not show again. So, that's it. Finally. Well. except I want to keep some set aside for the clinic...

attended web editing lecture

Attended the RASC Toronto Centre web site training seminar. With Lora, Katrina, Leslie, and Stu. Allard was late. He showed a guidelines page with lots of suggestions and "requirements." Huh. Not unlike what I wrote in 2007 for my team of authors and editors. Lots of cookies!

He sorted some account issues for Leslie. Showed us the Drupal editing interface. Answered our various questions. Showed links to a couple of videos (that appear to have no audio at all). And then Allard wrapped. Done!

Little or no editing by us to speak of. Despite being told to bring our laptops and that "The course will be hands-on. At the end of it, we will have some new articles on the site written by you." I knew I'd be OK; I was wondering how the others felt. We departed the DDO.

rounded up mentors

Chatted with the past mentors to see if they wanted to participate at the next telescope clinic.

Lost a couple but most were keen. Added a few new people to the team. The numbers looked good.

tried to beat the Devil

Stuart called a Go for the city observing session. But he was clouded out. Only one member showed... For 4 years now, at least, no session happened in December. Bloody Canadian weather.

sever

I messaged Manuel about the RASC calendars. Explained how I had made arrangements for him to receive them in a timely fashion. His reply:

It was no reason for your email.

I prefer you don't contact me again.

I was disappointed.

telescope clinic on Sat 8 Feb

Chris sent out a note to the team. The new owners telescope clinic date and time had been booked with the DDO crew... Lora caught the mistake. The date he noted was a Tuesday!

Chris did a virtual face palm and clarified he meant the 8th.

Saturday 8 February from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

delivered talk on focus masks

Delivered my presentation on focusing masks. Provided a handout.

Took questions at the end. Some of which I will have to research.

Accolade from Lourdes and Mike after. Some interest in my false star too! Ha.

§

Presentation materials now online at the lumpy companion.

a few more

Delivered and sold more RASC calendars ahead of the evening's meeting. The last instance will be the DDO event... Good. I'm done with this. Glad to help. But...

Made a note to send a quick update to the treasurer and the president.

no backups?

Chatted with Nicole, Gilles, and Charles before the meeting on RASC, the DDO, telescopes, web sites, projectors, software, family, vacations, etc. But I was distracted. I perked up when the topic of data backups was raised.

beck and call

Kiron called me out of the blue. Of course, he wanted me to help him with his new computer and Stellarium software. Haven't heard from him for months. Sheesh.

met with organisation team

Had a meeting with Lora, Ralph, and Chris, via Skype, for the new owners telescope clinic. They all sounded keen and willing to help. We divided up the tasks. Katrina said she'll have more time in the new year. It's really good having a team helping out with this...

asked to deliver 2014 TSTM

Markov asked if I'd conduct The Sky This Month for January. I was not comfortable with this. I suspected I'd be busy with the clinic. He immediately asked about February. OK, OK. So I'm on duty for the 19 February 2013 meeting.

like it

Asked the CAO supervisors on Facebook to like Dietmar's video.

shared dashboard

Shared my observing session dashboard with the prez. RASC has "been berra berra good... to me."

observatories in entropy

Matthew sent a link to io9, specifically an article on abandoned derelict observatories. Cool and sad at the same time.

The Innisfil Observatory was included...

will demo focusing masks

I'm presenting this week on focusing masks which can be used with a telescope or a camera lens. Will demonstrate focusing with a mask with a Canon DSLR, stock lens, a false star, the Canon remote control camera software, and diffraction pattern detection software. Wednesday at the Ontario Science Centre.

updated X calculator

Built version 6.00a of the Lunar X calculator.

It is much more robust than the previous versions. And easier, in the end, for the end-user.

• re-did all date/time calculations to use complete serial date/time value
• accommodated for early morning pre-dawn sky conditions
• added a look-up table for the Moon's elevation
• added a look-up table for the month/event cycle
• automated the "fudge" factor adjustment
• added an assessment flag considering darkness at peak and Moon elevation

I need to send it off to Phil for review...

§

This means the best X for 2014 is February. And in December there's a poor-quality event.

heard Consolmagno

Tuned in a little early to Astronomy.fm radio and caught the tail-end of Bob McDonald's Quirks and Quarks. He replayed an interview with Guy Consolmagno. I recognised the name right away. Author of Turn Left At Orion. One of my favourite astronomy books. Very interesting person!

learned about ST3P Sync

Read about the user data Sync feature in SkyTools 3 Pro. I think I'll use this in the future to reduce the chance of data loss.

In the past, I treated the ST3P on the netbook as "the master" which I think I'll continue to do. The desktop computer I'd use just to quickly check things, do tests, etc. But I think if I make a point of periodically syncing them, I'll gain the best of many worlds.

he went back

Stu reprocessed an ISON shot from November.

Grace fixed the wind

Huh? The wind data was back! The Davis weather station was reporting, once again, the wind speed and direction.

Grace fixed it! Looks like the disconnecting and reconnecting of the console from the server somehow fixed our no-wind condition. Whew! Saves us climbing on the roof of the garage again...

withdrew

Hitched a ride with Elaine and Tony from Mississauga to the restaurant in Newmarket. Millie, Dietmar, Lora, and Phil joined us. Took care of a MODL lease matter; ready for the final stage. Food was good but the general noise level in the small restaurant was astounding! They need baffles in the ceiling. Why the owners were blasting the television volume was beyond me. Stupid. Could barely hear the person sitting beside me. When I really wanted to enjoy some pleasant conversation with these wonderful people. And then the service... Ugh. Just can't seem to get good value for my money.

invited to Baden

Manuel had invited me out tonight to an observatory near Baden, west of K-W. But never called back. Not surprisingly. I was interested in seeing this new location for myself. But I suspected that was not going to happen ever.

we worked on the Swann

Did some work on the Swann security system. Had Tony, at the observatory, apply a new password. And I had him enable the password authentication. He continued to build an automated heating system for the DVR. Meanwhile, I tried out a new and/or different software application.

out in the open

Rajesh took a pot shot at the web team. On the RASC TC main Yahoo!Group. "Does no one update the TC web site anymore with the decision for the events?" Good ole' passive-aggressive snipe. Forgetting for a moment that we're all volunteers. I'm not defending anyone but he would not take to kindly to a similar remark hurled at him. And somehow I suspect he'd get really quiet if I said I'd be happy to train him on the editing of the new web site. Allard updated things within 2 hours. Rajesh could have said thanks.

sandy taupe

Manuel had made noises that the Baden observing pad was darker than the CAO.

We're getting creeping light pollution from Collingwood, to be sure.

I dunno. Same or worse, I would argue. Curious if there are SQM readings... Would I see it for myself?

At least his drive time (1:10) is reasonable!

new high

Broke last year's numbers. 1199. And still rising.

sent a nudge

Nothing yet... Asked Cathy if NYAA needed my mailing address...

they're gonna try

A bunch of members planned some early morning comet observing... To spot ISON in particular. Some were heading to the Glen Major Forest; others to Long Sault. Ugh. Just couldn't see that happening...

§

Stu got some great shots of Lovejoy.

Bill got it the next day.

grab the shovel

Reminded supervisors that if they now want to use the CAO north entrance as an emergency exit they will need to clear the snow...

four next year?

Phil sent me a note. He had not put the December Lunar X event in his calendar. So thanked me for my recent note. He also shared his Lunar table pointing out there appeared to be four events for 2014.

• Feb 7
• Aug 3
• Oct 1
• Nov 29

I'll have to check...

§

Upon review, I found the Feb 7 (actually starts on Feb 6) is the best. For all the others, the Moon is below the horizon.

I "found" two other events. He was missing the late October event, the second first-quarter Moon in the same month. But it was moot with the Moon below, again. The other was a brief event on Dec 28. Peaking at 3:24 PM, Moon 33° up, Sun setting at 4:48 PM. So a twilight op.

X op soon

Shared, on the RASC Toronto Centre Yahoo!Group, that there was an upcoming Lunar X opportunity on Monday...

Good luck with the clouds.

listened to Dr Seager

Listened to CBC Ontario Today online as they interviewed Dr Sara Seager and took calls from across the province. They asked the question: would you go on a one-way trip to another world? They focused on Mars. Seager specialises in exoplanet research. A little strange. Did I feel her discomfort?

last word?

One final email. Looking for an admission. Humility. Shared my feeling on transparency, conflict, being a better person. But that I felt it was for naught.

certain

Manuel sent me an email. Even included my detailed message from the 2nd. Said that the phone numbers he had listed on his cell were the ones I had shared. Verified he didn't have my old phone number. He was certain he had called my cell number. Pointed out he was very competent. Reminded me that he had a law degree. Thought I was mocking him about how to enter phone numbers in his database. Said he never showed disrespect to others. Said I was upset about something trivial and without importance. Thought I showed a lack of respect when I phoned him.

so much for that

I telephoned Manuel. He was in a store. I asked if he had a minute or two. I explained I was upset. Challenges with phone numbers. Communicating clearly. I wanted to be transparent and air differences. I didn't like how he intimated that there was something wrong with my phone numbers. It seemed to me that he had mixed them up, probably entered them in the wrong fields on his new phone. But. It quickly spiraled out of control. Then he hung up.

number mix up

Manuel emailed me.

Forgot to mention.  When I called you on your cell earlier, I got a voice mail from [the house].  I checked my phone and confirmed I dialed correctly.  Just to let you know.

I was confused. I don't forward. He had reached me on other occasions at the mobile number. I think he either dialed the land-line by accident or has the land-line number in the cell phone field.

twisting

Picked up the voice mail from Manuel. He sounded irked. Frustrated that he can't reach me by phone. And frustrated that I'm not confirming.

Man, you don't answer your phone, you don't answer your cell.  I wonder what kind of plan you have.  Is it that expensive?  That you have a phone plan that probably is not working for you. 
 
Anyways, I responded to your email about Saturday.  So, you have the free will to arrange your own agenda.  But again if the weather is going to be good, I would like you to confirm with me that you are coming [to Baden].  If you're not coming, that's fine, that's OK, even though the weather is good.  OK?  But let me know.  Now we are twisting the functions here.

I kept a copy of it.

put aside two

Manuel asked me to hold two RASC calendars. I set two aside for him. Maybe I'd drop them off on Saturday?

locked in

Manuel replied to my email.

If weather is not good for Saturday, as it probably will be, you can go ahead with your agenda.  However, if weather is good we are on.

So, I was locked in. I could not commit to other plans until he made his official decision. I felt uncomfortable. Boxed in.

Perhaps we can get together after the new year when things turn back to normal.  I will use the spare time to work on my presentation for January 22. 

So, at last, now I knew that it was complete. Bad weather, we'd not get together at all.

I strongly suspected the weather would be poor. It didn't occur to me at the time to urge him to completely scratch the Baden plans for when the weather prediction was much more favourable.

triple booked

Tried to clarify my position, via email, with Manuel. I explained that I had been invited to two other functions on Saturday night. It is always busy this time of year. I was interested in seeing Baden. I was interested in meeting up. But if the weather was bad and he was going to cancel everything then it might leave me in the lurch. And I truly thought the weather looked iffy. No guarantee of clear skies. I asked if he still wanted to get together, regardless of the weather. I hoped he could let me know sooner versus later.

decision deferred

Received an email from Manuel. He wanted to defer the weather call decision until Friday. He said, "I checked it yesterday night again for Baden and it does showed scattered clouds but no rain or flurries." Optimistic again. Encouraged me to bring a camera if we were a go. He hadn't answered my other question though.

§

I think I'm beginning to understand... I think what he says will happen with future weather is his wish, not a factual presentation of the prediction. Wishful thinking. Which I can certainly understand. But in this case, I want a reasonable viewpoint.

confirmed MODL renewal

Confirmed the lessees of MODL 4 wanted to carry on. Finally getting on top of this task... Prepared the paperwork.

chance of flurries

I sent a electronic mail to Manuel. Told him that I seeing poor predictions. Cloudy with a chance of flurries! I asked if he still want to get together? It'd be nice to catch up, look at photos. But I suspected he'd not want to do anything. I asked if he might make other plans.

only if clear

Manuel sent an email reply. Suggested I drive to his house on Saturday. Then we'd depart from there. He thought the weather was going to be okay. But if "cloudy then we abort mission." OK. I was not sure what weather resource he was checking...

rain or shine?

I sent an email to Manuel. Said it would be fun to go to Baden. I asked if it would go rain or shine. And I suspected he'd cancel if the weather was poor. Wasn't much point in going if we couldn't enjoy the dark skies. My impression was that the weather was lookin' sketchy...

he called

Manuel phoned my mobile. I couldn't take the call at the time.

SpaceX serves another customer

Watched the SpaceX launch. A Falcon 9 hoisted an SES 8 comm sat.

Congrats!

shoot high speed

Ordered some Lexar Pro high-speed large-capacity Compact Flash memory cards for the Canon 40D. I don't know if it was a special sale for Cyber Monday or not but I discovered the price at Henry's for the 16 GB was the near that of the 8 GB. And cheaper than the SanDisk 16 GB I had been eyeballing.

Eligible for free shipping too! They just sent an e-confirmation that they are on their way. Woo hoo. The 800x will help reduce lag when trying time lapse...

updated CAO LAN dox

Updated and uploaded the local area network documentation for the Carr Astronomical Observatory. For the new DVR... Rather stale. I had updated it for a while. Noted the hard line to the Tony Horvatin Observatory and MODL 6 too.

Baden again

Manuel emailed me. Said he had not wanted to phone me after getting home so late. Asked, again, if I wanted to go to Baden.

in memoriam

The ISON campaign web site showed a memorial for the comet, Bryon shared.

An ex-comet.

sorted

Manuel emailed a reply to my detailed message. Acknowledged calling Tony. Said he had lost his phone. Copied my email address from his iPad.

When I accidentally deleted your phone numbers was when I got confused by the 905 number it was registered when you phoned me so I deleted the whole thing by accident.  Had a new phone then.  I have now registered your phones correctly.

OK. Good.

have ID will travel

Eric reminded members, on the Yahoo!Group, to print their RASC membership card.

resent contact info

During the class's afternoon break, I sent Manuel a detailed email. Told him I had learned he phoned Tony looking for my telephone numbers. I re-sent my current mobile and land-line numbers. Reminded him to delete my old land-line. Explained that if he called the current land-line, he'd hear the roomie answering. But he could still leave a voice mail message and it would be forwarded to me. If he wanted to leave a private voice mail, it would be better to use my mobile phone. Also gave him my Text+ free text messages number. Facebook? Skype? Lots of ways to reach me.

looking for my number

Manuel phoned Tony and asked for my phone number. Tony checked with me by email as to what he should do. I wondered why Manuel had not asked me directly... Odd.

dinner scratched

Manuel cancelled dinner. Because of the weather! What? Drag. I was looking forward to catching up... Was very interested in his trip of the Atacama desert. And the photos!

He must have had other plans (although he hadn't shared any of that with me). To image after dinner, perhaps. If we were just meeting to chat and view photos, what would the weather have to do with it? Or perhaps, as is often the case, something came up at work. Alas, I would be dining at home now. Maybe family issues. I dunno. Could be anything.

It's binary for him and I don't know if he understands that, for me, it's different. Let's hang out regardless of the weather. For him, if the weather's bad, there's no point in getting together.

I was disappointed.

confirmed dinner

Manuel emailed me. We confirmed our restaurant meeting this week. He was curious about my Carr trip, particularly because the weather had not be conducive for observing. And asked if I wanted to visit the Baden observatory on Saturday. He'd need to register us in.

made dinner plans

Manuel by email asked if I wanted to go to dinner on Wednesday at 8:00 PM. OK!

built box

Tony and I finished building the environment box around the Swann DVR. I did most of the labour; Gimpy directed and pointed.

flicked the switch

Inspected Dietmar's IP camera. Nothing wrong with it. Power bar was off...

righted two tables

Righted the blown-over picnic tables at the Carr. Did the "small" one on my own. Needed Tony's help for the "big" one. And still had to shovel off a lot of snow. Both Tony and I weren't surprised that they had fallen down in a big wind. We moved them back under the deck. Wouldn't happen again.