A Cold Winter

(Don't worry, we'll be back to astronomy stuff soon.)

Collected from the internet:

It was late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going t o be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.

But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked if the coming winter was going to be cold. "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold," the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find. Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Serviceagain. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.'

I've Often Wondered The Same Thing Myself

Flying The Champ

I've been thinking about fulfilling an old dream and getting a pilot's license, so I took an introductory flight in a beautifully-restored 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champion. The wind was pretty gusty, so we didn't do a whole lot, but I flew the plane through level flight and made some left and right turns. The instructor did some steep turns and power-off stalls before landing. I was pleased that all the time I've spent flying on the computer translated to the real thing--the control movements felt very familiar.

I haven't decided if I want to continue, but it's sure fun to think about!

More pictures here.

Bruce Springsteen Halftime Show

Who are all those old geezers? =)

Those Dam Astronomers

I think last night was the first good friday night since before Christmas at Mansfield Dam. A little chilly, but practically no wind. The sky was pretty steady and transparent, making it a nice time to get out. I worked on some starhopping skills with my old 6" dob before returning it to Barry. Managed to jump right to the Double Cluster and M81/82. The crescent moon never disappoints in that scope either. Got my first look at Saturn this time around--the rings are closing rapidly. I'll start shooting pics as son as it's a little higher earlier.

Didn't shoot any astro pics last night myself, but gave lots of free advice to John--I hope some of it was useful! I did shoot pics of other people shooting pics though--see them here.

Run For Your Lives!

My Brush With Fame

I had the opportunity last night to meet and shake hands with the fourth man to walk on the Moon, Alan Bean. I lucked into a ticket for a panel discussion with him and some other NASA types talking about Return To The Moon, followed by a reception at the LBJ Library.

I feel fortunate that I was able to ask Capt. Bean a question that had been weighing heavily on my mind. "Captain Bean, are you a Turtle?"

He is! =)

Pinewood Derby

Congratulations to Ian and the number 95 Rust-eze car for finishing second overall in the Pack 312 Pinewood Derby! True, his involvement was mostly limited to putting on the stickers since I wouldn't let him loose with the jigsaw, belt sander, hammer, graphite, super glue, cordless drill or can of red lacquer spray paint ... Maybe next year I'll let him try out the power tools. I'm still keeping him away from the super glue though.

Pictures here.

Visiting the Cedar Park PD

Den 1 paid a visit to the Cedar Park police station last week:

Bored With Living?

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Hope For The Future

As we close out 2008, I wanted to share a scene I came across today that gives me hope for the future. Trudy, Ian and I went to the local outlet mall so I could pick up a couple of pairs of new jeans, and while we there we went into the KB Toys to check out their going out of business sale. Everything in the store was half off, and was pretty well picked over at this point as you'd probably expect. Still, there was one shelf left that seemed to be fully stocked: the one with all of the toys and dolls featuring pro wrestlers.

Here's to 2009 everybody!

The Rosette Nebula, NGC 2237

The Rosette Nebula is a large, circular H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula's matter.

The cluster and nebula lie at a distance of some 5,200 light years from Earth (although estimates of the distance vary considerably) and measure roughly 130 light years in diameter. The radiation from the young stars excite the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission nebula we see. The mass of the nebula is estimated to be around 10,000 solar masses.

Exposure: 30 x 5 minutes
Camera: Modified Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D)
Scope: Astro-Tech AT80ED 80mm APO refractor, TeleVue 1.1x field flattener
Mount: Meade LX200
Guider: Meade LX200 @ f/3.3
Filter: Astronomik CLS
Software: PHD Guiding, Nebulosity, Photoshop

Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) & Horsehead Nebula (B33)

Not the first light with this modded XT/350D, but my first light as its owner. Here's a stack of 50 x 4 minutes with an Astronomik CLS through the AT80EDT, plus 20 darks & flats. Mount & guiding was the 10" LX200 @ f/3.3 using an original DSI with PHD Guiding. Capture & initial processing with Nebulosity, finished in Photoshop w/Noel's actions. Focus with the Stiletto only.

Some nights, everything just comes together. Every frame a keeper, almost no movement between subs--I could probably have doubled my exposure times.

Skater Boi

Just before he stuck a skate between my feet and sent me hard to the ice. Nearly a week later and my ribs are still sore.

The Next iPhone?

I gotta get me one of these.


(Jeez, two weeks without posting? Sorry 'bout that y'all.)

Christmas Parade

Pictures from the 2008 Woodlands Christmas Parade are here.

The Moon Visits Venus & Jupiter

Lovely conjunction this evening.

The BCS Can Bite My Longhorn Ass

It's not just the BCS, but the way the Big 12 tiebreaker works. Here's a comment from the Austin American-Statesman:

Oklahoma is fortunate to reside in the Big 12. It is one of five leagues that is broken up into divisions – and it's the only league whose tiebreaker system would've ended up with the Sooners as the champion.

ACC: Texas (fifth tiebreaker)
Overall record for non-division teams (Texas wins; Longhorns opponents are 21-15, OU's and Tech's are 20-16)

Big 12: Oklahoma (fifth tiebreaker)
Team with top BCS ranking (No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Texas, No. 7 Texas Tech)

Conference USA: Texas (sixth tiebreaker)
Records against cross-division opponents in descending order of finish (Texas wins; Longhorns defeated North champ Missouri)

Mid-American: Texas (fourth tiebreaker)
Cross-division opponents in rank order (Texas wins; beat North champ Missouri)

SEC: Texas (sixth tiebreaker)
Team with highest BCS, unless second tied team is ranked within five or fewer places of highest ranked team. In this case, head to head of winner of top two is the representative. (Oklahoma is No. 2, Texas is No. 3, Texas Tech is No. 7; Texas beat Oklahoma)

Stars Fading Over Austin

Our local NPR affiliate did a story about light pollution in Austin.

My Day at Work

It's funny 'cuz it's true!