I picked up a couple 4.5″ mirrors, one an F/4.4 and one an F/8, from an Astromart classified listing and they came in today. So now I’ve got two more ATM projects. The first is going to be a dedicated solar scope so that I don’t have to lug the ETX-90 out when I want to do some solar observing. And with the solar cycle being where it is, there’s plenty of time to complete it. The other one’s going to be a first telescope for Reese when he gets older, so I’ve got even more time to build that one.
Author Archives: Pat
The Cotton Bowl
After I got in a short nap(!) we headed down to Reunion Arena to get on the bus to the Cotton Bowl. Heather volunteered to help out with the Tennessee Alumni Association’s bus, so we got a free ride over. That’s a really good thing considering the parking situation in the Fair Park area. I got some loaner orange so that I didn’t look so out of place since our seats were in the Tennessee section.
This was my first live football game, other than a few crappy games when I was in high school, and it was a blast. The Aggies were obnoxiously loud, but kept getting quieter and quieter as the Vols moved the score higher but I’ll give them credit, they didn’t give up.
We had great seats on the lower level of the stadium at around the 20 yard line which gave us a really good view of the field. I’m still pretty football ignorant, but it was a pretty good game, and I’m hoping to get to a few more.
There’s pictures of the game over here in case you’re interested, don’t mind the orange!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! I went to a party at a friend’s place and really had a good time. It’s now time to get a little sleep because I’ve got an early wake up time to get to the Cotton Bowl on time.
The Phantom Of The Opera
Last night I got together with the Ufies for dinner and a movie and got talked into going to see The Phantom Of The Opera, which I wasn’t too keen on because I’m not really a fan of musicals, at least not after having Grease rammed down my pop culture throat. But, I was pleasantly surprised, this was a great movie. It really wasn’t a musical, it was more of a Broadway production that got filmed. All in all a good time was had, even if I didn’t get to bed until 3:00 in the morning.
10-10 QSLing
Well, I just finished filling out 40 QSL cards and sent them off to the Ten-Ten QSL bureau. That’s all of them to date, so now I’m almost caught up with just a few DX cards to send out.
If the shoe fits…
I finally got back to Bikes, Inc. and got the cleats attached to my shoes this morning. This is really going to be a learning curve, and I think I’m going to have to tweak the clips to release a little easier. I almost fell over trying to get my foot out during the test ride!
More Jeep mods
I picked up a new bumper from Creeper today and put it on. Now I’ve got somewhere to put the bike rack as well, so things are starting to fall into place. There are pictures of it in the gallery on my non-blog site.
Saturn and M42
I set up the telescopes this evening before I realized that there was a full moon, but still managed to get a little stargazing in. There were some high, thin clouds that really smudged out M42, but it was still visible, but barely, with the 8″. I then turned over to Saturn, which looked really good in the 8″, but to really appreciate it I went to the higher magnifications that the ETX-90 could provide. All-in-all not too bad for the back yard and a full moon.
Yay Christmas!
So this is Christmas…
I called Joi and it sounded like Reese had a good Christmas. He got a lot of stuff and didn’t want to stop playing long enough to get dressed so that they could go out. I’m going to try calling tomorrow to talk to him for a little while.
Darleen and Mitch were up to spend part of the day here before heading to Arkansas. We did the gift thing just before they left and I scored! I got three more Calphalon pans to add to my set, a pair of frying pans and a bigger, deeper fryer. The set’s coming together, and now it’s on to the sautee pans.
Mitch liked the Harley shirt and Darleen liked her locket, so a good Christmas was had by all.
After all the fun I took a little nap and then headed over to a friend’s place for a Christmas dinner, which was fun. We did a small gift swap, and apparently someone hinted at what I like because I picked up a Primus DVD and CD and a box of cigars. Yay me!
The Incredibles
I went out today to see The Incredibles. It definitely lived up to the high standards that Pixar has set. Fun for all ages, and definitely one to add to your home collection when it comes out on DVD.