Eight things about me

Posted by Photonstopper on May 21, 2008
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Emjay tagged but politely asked me to write eight random things about myself. So here ya' go:

  1. This sort of thing can be very difficult for me. As I float between different moods and facets of my life the resulting random mentions might be shocking to anyone who knows me. Far too many people who know me also know about this blog! Lately I've been in no mood for self-expression. Tonight I'm in a transitional mood.
  2. I can't figure out what to do with my hair! You'd think, after all these years, I'd have figured it out. You'd think that, like most guys, I'd have settled on a style I liked when I was in high school or college and just stuck with that for the rest of my life. I haven't fixated on that "look," except that my hair sometimes looks like it did at some time in the past because I ask my cutters to make effortless for me to maintain –I don't style— and there are just so many ways to make hair effortless. Maybe the "Einstein" look. Gad, I need to go in again and don't know what to ask her to do!
  3. After all these years most guys my age would just be happy to have their hair! I know I am. So, while I don't know what to do with it, I'm glad I've got it.
  4. I used to be a member of Mensa. Then I realized I wasn't getting my money's worth out of the seemingly high dues and quit paying them. Was that smart?
  5. Money, or more correctly the lack of it, has always stood in my way. I've always seen it as an obstacle to my accomplishing things.
  6. So if I'm so smart, why am I not rich? I'm smart enough to know I wouldn't be happy doing the things that would make me rich. In fact, I'd probably hate myself and the life I created getting the money.
  7. I can't stand rich, snotty celebrities, especially certain young women. I'm sick of hearing about the mating habits of the rich and famous. Unfortunately, they're allowed to reproduce.
  8. Happily, there's enough material comfort around me that I can't really complain too much about the way life has gone. Food, clean and warm place to stay, nice toys. Better than the majority of the world's people. If I had a lot more money, I'd probably just spend it on candy.

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An interesting garden accent

Posted by Photonstopper on May 19, 2008
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May Hail Covers Car
May Hail Covers Car

Not much to say about the weekend. She spent a lot of time and effort on her patio garden. New plantings and a fresh coat of mulch –lots of it– made the place look great. A couple more trips to the garden center and we are equipped with new planters and soil for home grown organic herbs.

The weekend was mostly cloudy, rainy, and there was a definite chill in the air most of the time. There were periods of sunshine and even some clearing at night. In general, however, it was a gray weekend.

Hail on the Mulch
Hail on the Mulch

Sunday capped it off with a midday thunderstorm. Three deep rolls of thunder set the mood as did heavy rain falling on the spring green grass. Then we noticed… a lot of that "rain" was hailstones. The pellets were tiny –smaller than peas– but numerous and the fall continued for a couple of minutes. Sheets of ice slid off of our car and piled up on the fresh, black mulch. It took a while to melt away but it made for an interesting garden accent.

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Tiny PC fit to the job

Posted by Photonstopper on May 16, 2008
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For the first time in a while I actually had some fun on the job. It involved the smallest full-featured PC I've ever worked with and the Ubuntu Linux package that came with it.

We've had a number of older dedicated compact PC systems fail recently due to age, more than anything. I'd been looking for replacement solutions… something that is very small and only needs to do one job: serve up Web pages from our online library catalog system. I'd thought about Mac Mini and heard good things about their use. Still, I really wanted something less expensive that could run Windows. I know, "Windoze." We have certain tools that make configuring a Windows box easy so I was leaning in that direction. Then I read about the fit-PC. When the machines were first offered for sale they were so popular amongst enthusiasts and tinkerers that they were immediately sold out of stock! Recently, however, our need became urgent and the fit-PCs became available.

Fit-PC
Fit-PC

Ubuntu Linux comes pre-installed on these little machines but Windows XP can be installed by the end-user if desired. This was a perfect opportunity to see just how good Ubuntu is and, if it didn't fit our needs, I could always dump it and trudge back to the familiar territory of Redmond.

It turns out I didn't need to change a thing. Ubuntu with its expert user community provided nearly everything I needed. To create a secure browser kiosk I needed only to do a few "Linux things" and install and set up Opera's browser in its kiosk mode! It works great.

The fit-PC uses only 5 watts of electrical power (monitor not included) whereas the machine it replaced ran on 75 to 100 watts. The Fit is installed in a bracket within the base of the carrel that supports the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Users don't notice any difference — they're still looking at our catalog Web pages — and the system has the added benefit of being practically silent. Fit-PC is air-cooled (no fans) and its internal notebook hard drive contains the only moving parts. It runs using free, open-source software bringing the CPU system price in at about $300 compared with more than twice that price for the system it replaces.

I've also become very enthusiastic about Ubuntu. I'd played with Red Had Linux a couple of times over the years. I have also installed and used Solaris. They seemed very difficult to install, required payments and registrations for basic OS updating, and never seemed to have the kind of polish necessary to make a good system for desktop users.  Servers are another matter and another story though, as I've said before, Sun's update process is weak. Ubuntu is beautiful. Installed in half an hour on an old PC in my shop, another 15 minutes for initial automatic updating, and shows great promise for special applications around the home and office.

Fun at work returns –for a while anyway– at last!

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Weekend of stars, rain, family

Posted by Photonstopper on May 12, 2008
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Diamond Drops on Emerald Leaf
Diamond Drops on Emerald Leaf

We spent Saturday doing mostly practical things: grocery shopping, gardening (She), a thorough cleaning of my car (me… finally). Then, as the skies grew hazy with a layer of thin clouds, I headed off to the Observatory for a scheduled open house and public stargazing session — it was national Astronomy Day.

Saturday evening the clouds gave the Moon –even through the telescope– a hazy look. Yes, we could see detail, beautiful detail, in our views of Luna but the overall effect was one of looking through a thin blanket of fog. As the Moon sank behind our neighboring line of trees and the skies grew darker, I turned the big telescope to Saturn — one of the few identifiable objects in the sky. It was beautiful! First we looked at the Ring World at 100X and it was good, though tiny. Next we saw the planet at 133X and it was still very good. Finally I bumped the power up to 266X and the view was glorious! We could see hints of color in the planetary body, glimpses of cloud banding, and the ring shadow across the face of that world more than 800 million miles distant. We also observed the planet's shadow falling across the rings as they passed behind that globe so far away. More than one visitor, on realizing what they were seeing, was awestruck. Over the evening we hosted 23 visitors of all ages and looked at Saturn again and again. It was a good night and perhaps my best-ever observations of Saturn.

Sunday was Mother's Day so, sleeping in a bit after a long night, we headed west and into a couple of hours of rainy driving. It was wet, chilly, and miserable but a fairly easy drive to see Mom and my sister with her family. All three of use kids brought or sent flowers: two planters and a corsage. Lots of flowers! Mom is doing great after her surgery, physical therapy, and balancing out of blood chemistry. My oldest nephew is excitedly preparing to move into a house he and his parents took from "delapitude" to coziness. We spent a pleasant afternoon catching up, had a pizza dinner –little work for anyone– and headed east, homebound.

This morning's email brought an update from Cincinnati regarding Howie, the cat. It seems he was picked up from the vet Saturday and moved into his foster home. After the expected adjustments there, he seemed to calm down and enjoyed being petted and spoken to. He didn't like being picked up, however, according to his hostess. I wouldn't be too worried just yet about him being anti-social… after all, he got put in a cage, neutered, then locked in a strange house all within about 48 hours! I'm not sure I'd want a stranger holding me, either!

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Holiday Inn “Howie”

Posted by Photonstopper on May 9, 2008
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Howie
Howie

I received good news from Blue Ash, near Cincinnati, via email last night. The pitiable homeless cat that was hanging out at the Holiday Inn Express has been rescued. It looks like a network of individuals and organizations took action on my emailed pleas and "Howie," as he is now named, is hopefully headed towards a great new life. Here's the message I received:

I just wanted to give you an update on Howie. I caught him yesterday morning; well, I didn't really have to catch him. He just walked into the carrier, and I pushed his back-end in. :)  He is a petite to medium size kitty and is just gorgeous. He has tiny eyes. He's a brown tabby with very bold, black stripes.  His beauty is just breath-taking. Yes, I think all kitties are beautiful, but oh my goodness! 🙂


I dropped him off at the blue ash acc. They checked for the microchip, and he had none. So, they went ahead and microchipped him, vaccinated him, tested him (of course they did this first), and neutered him. Yes, he wasn't neutered. I can only imagine how calm he will be now.
 

I will be picking him up on Sunday from the care center. I will be adopting out the other two fosters I have on Sunday and need to wait until they're gone to bring in Howie. But, at least for the time-being, he's safe at the vet's office.  — A.A.

So thanks to the good folks at HART, O'Bryonville Animal Rescue, The Pet Alliance, and all of the compassionate others in the chain who got Howie off the streets and on his way to what we all hope will be a great new life ahead.

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The “other” Cincinnati observatory

Posted by Photonstopper on May 7, 2008
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There are actually two observatories at the Cincinnati Observatory Center. The original Cincinnati Observatory was located on Mt. Adams with a cornerstone (laid by John Quincy Adams) in 1843. That facility earned the moniker, "Birthplace of American Astronomy" was equipped with a 12-inch Merz und Mahler refracting telescope. The widespread burning of sooty coal sullied the air such that, by the 1850s, astronomy from Mt. Adams became impractical. A new site for the observatory was sought and that was Mt. Lookout, five miles away from the original location.

The Mitchel Building
The Mitchel Building

The new observatory was built in 1873. The original telescope was installed and used at the new location. To keep up with technological progress, a new telescope was purchased in 1904 — the 16-inch Alvan Clark machine from the previous post. Happily for the original telescope, and for the public, the older and smaller Merz und Mahler instrument was still valued.

Merz und Mahler Telescope
Merz und Mahler Telescope

In 1904 a second, smaller, observatory facility was built –the Mitchel Building, named in honor of Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, founder of the Observatory– to house the fine old 12-inch which has a wooden optical tube assembly! The 12-inch was installed in the Mitchel Building where it helped maintain the tradition of public viewing begun at the original 1845 site and which continues today. How many generations of Cincinnatians have looked through that grand telescope, the same old glass as their forebears, and wondered at the starry realm above them?

During the conference along with other astronomers, historians, telescope experts, and preservationists, I was afforded full access to the Cincinnati Observatory grounds and facilities. It was a wonderful experience and a joy to see the institution flourishing in the 21st century.

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A good visit to an old observatory

Posted by Photonstopper on May 4, 2008
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Cincinnati Observatory
Cincinnati Observatory

The day of presentations seemed to go on forever at the Antique Telescope Society's workshop. There was really good content but way too many hours of it. So I got up and walked out of the classroom –the former meridian transit room of the observatory– or shifted in my seat. Often. At times rain poured down in sheets as we heard discussions of the viability and survivability of "Vintage Observatories" in the 21st century. Don't get me wrong… the presentations were both interesting and informative. My bottom still got sore from all the sitting, though. Fortunately the sky began to clear off in the late morning hours and many of us enjoyed strolling around the grounds of the Cincinnati Observatory Center. I shot many photos both indoors and outdoors showing various views of the main observatory building and the smaller Mitchel Building on Mt. Lookout.  After dinner I listened impatiently to presenters but was really anticipating sunset and a chance to look through the grand 16-inch Alvan Clark & Sons telescope, showpiece of the Center.

The Big Telescope
The Big Telescope

From inside the classroom I heard a rumble. Someone said that was the sound of the dome being rotated. So I ran up the stairs and into the dome room and got to see the huge dome rotate above me. The presenting astronomer for the evening offered me the honor of opening the shutter for the night's observing. He said to be careful to stand directly under the rope-operated pulley so as not to derail the rope and cause it to fall off. I got the shutter opened but managed to drop the rope! {Sigh.} Fortunately it was easy to fix: rotate the dome so that the aperture was over the observer's chair, climb up, loop the rope over the pulley — fixed!

The astronomer also let me turn the crank to wind the drive weights into position. Or was that something like Tom Sawyer "letting" his friends paint the fence? No matter, I grabbed hold with both hands and turned the crank lifting 300 pounds of cold iron. Conversing with the observatory staff and just hanging around in the dome was a fine time for me, far from the yammering crowd below!

As luck would have it –this always seems to happen– clouds began to roll in at about the time it got dark enough to spot Saturn. We all got at least one glimpse of the ringed world before solid overcast moved in and shut us down. I was allowed, and requested, to run the R.A. slow-motion control to center up Saturn before clouds could obscure it. That would allow some lead time should another opening appear in the cloud deck (and one or two did) whilst the telescope was tracking. The telescope is the largest refractor I've ever used and it moved smoothly and easily with the turn of a knob. I got one good, brief look at Saturn but that second or two hinted at how good the telescope is: I glimpsed at least three of Saturn's moons, some banding in the planetary body, and my first look at the Cassini Division — the dark separation in the ring system.  And that was on a night of poor seeing!

The conference ends tomorrow (Sunday) with a half-day of sessions, door prizes, and a fond farewell to the Observatory Center. I may post one more photo here, but I'll have much to think about and photos to share and enjoy for quite some time to come. It's been a good visit.

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Beauty and sadness

Posted by Photonstopper on May 3, 2008
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Today I traveled from Northeastern Ohio into Columbus. I ran a little delivery errand there, then headed out for Cincinnati. The trip went fine until I hit the Cincinnati ring road — I-276. I'd done really well up til then — not a single missed turn or problem. In Cinci, however, I watched for my first exit and did not find it. I found my motel (it will remain unnamed but it has a red roof) and didn't like the location or looks. So I set off cross-town in the best way I could seeking the address of my Cincinnati delivery errand. Well, if you've got business in two cities and you happen to be visiting both of those cities, why not make it a part of the trip? After long bouts with bad traffic, bad weather, bad neighborhoods, bad maps, I finally found my way to I-71 (thanks to my trusty hand-held GPS), eventually delivered my packages, canceled my previous reservation, and sought an alternative motel. I wound up at the Holiday Inn Express. It's very nice, moderately priced, and convenient to I-71 and, presumably, to my astronomy workshop location — the Cincinnati Observatory Center. Good high-speed Internet access is included and the entire property is non-smoking which suites me perfectly! I decided to go out again to explore and to find dinner winding up at the gigantic Kenwood Towne Centre shopping mall. (Don't you just love their creative use of "olde-fashioned" and European spellings?). The place was huge. Didn't have enough parking. And is about the busiest shopping mall I've ever seen outside of the Christmas shopping season! Anyway I settled for baked ziti at Sbarro's. I know, ewwww… but I couldn't find anyplace else. That is, of course, until I went across the street to a smaller shopping center to visit and stroll around a Barnes & Noble store. All kinds of trendy and interesting dining places there. Oh well.

Sunset Fading
Sunset Fading

Heading back to the Holiday Inn the sky lit up with brilliant yellow-orange colored mammatus and cirrus clouds. I ran to the room to grab my camera as quickly as I could as the clouds were smoothing out and the light was fading fast. I managed to catch the last of the beautiful display but was left wishing I'd been back a few minutes sooner to record the splendor that I had seen.

Holiday Inn Howie
Holiday Inn Howie

Walking back to the motel entrance I was greeted by a four-footed resident — a beautiful male tabby cat that, according to the desk clerk, hangs around this motel in an industry-laden area. He was very friendly and curious walking towards the camera every time I pointed it at him. The sweetie cried and cried and seemed to want to follow me inside. Loved being petted. Heartbreaking. He's so tame he certainly grew up as a pet. I hope he finds a good home but fear he never will.

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Greetings: you’ve got no mail!

Posted by Photonstopper on May 1, 2008
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Dell PowerEdge 2950
Dell PowerEdge 2950

I came in to find the email server was down. The system power was "off" so naturally I tried to turn it back on. No-go! Power would come on, then go off. Working by phone with a Dell technician, he concluded that the system processor or main board had failed. It's the machine I did a simple backup on last night. It was fine when I used it at 12:20 AM from home as a test. Apparently it was just "its time" and the system went down. So, at the support person's suggestion, I upgraded our support service from next-day to 4-hour turnaround and Dell's dispatching parts and an on-site tech to install them later today. I don't know what time they'll arrive but I'll have to stay til the bitter end. Nice way to start the day… especially before a planned trip out of town on what was supposed to be a pleasant astronomy workshop weekend! On the bright side, some businesses have declared No-Email Days on certain days of the week or month. It's supposed to force employees to make personal contacts through face-to-face or phone conversations instead of via electronic memos. We get to do that today at no extra charge! Surprising, though, how much we really need email now to get our work done.

UPDATE: It turns out there was a misunderstanding down at Dell… I had purchased (for several hundred dollars) an upgrade of service level from next-day to four-hour turnaround with the understanding it would help our immediate situation. Dell wasn't going to put it into effect for about 48 hours but I didn't know that! When nobody called me after three hours, I called Dell Support and was disappointed to learn what was wrong. The Support Technician worked hard and ironed out the issues. Things moved really fast after we got the service grade straightened out. Within a couple of more hours the prescribed replacement parts arrived and five minutes before their promised earliest time. The technician arrived about a half-hour later. By about 6:10 the Mail Server was back up and doing its mail serving thing. At 6:30, only an hour and a half late, I left for home. Our spam filter system had been saving up mail that it couldn't deliver all day and, over about an hour, delivered all of those messages. Apparently the Mail Server failed between 12:20 and about 4:00 AM. Whew! What a day.

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Tasha’s delicate condition

Posted by Photonstopper on April 30, 2008
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I spoke with Dr. B. this morning regarding Tasha's Delicate Condition. He said the lab results of the culture from kitty's urine sample indicated a staph infection bothered her bladder. The particular bug implicated was sensitive to a wide range of antibiotics including the Clavamox prescribed for Tasha. The cat is obviously feeling ("feline" — hee! hee!) better so we'll finish off the course of medicine at the end of this week as per doctor's orders.

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