The Machinery of Night

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Not Dead Yet

In case any of my largely-imaginary readers were worried, I am not yet dead. I may be soon, however, since I will be without internet (except at work), for more than a week. GASP! AIR! GASP!

Photos of the new home will have to wait until I a) am no longer broke, and b) can get them developed and scanned. Oh, and taken. Stay tuned (after a week or so) to read (maybe) of the gripping tale of the home search, with exciting chapters such as "Is the Pig Included in the Rent?" and "Apartment Manager by Day, Fire Dancer by Night".

Late update direct quote: "Awesome!"

Friday, February 15, 2008

Posted 3:38 PM by Angie Schultz

The Classics Are Evergreen

Hopefully there'll be a Foto Friday up a little later, but for now, an appetizer.

I read this over at InstaPundit:

Two men obviously thought James Pickett, 80, was an easy target when they showed up at his home on Saturday with a knife...

What the men didn't know is Picket had taken a pistol and put it in his pocket before opening the door.
"He jumped and turned and I shot him," Picket said.

The two brothers, Paul and Holden Perry, ran but didn't get far before calling an ambulance.

"The only problem was I run out of bullets," Picket said.

And was reminded of this:

He would have finished Goddam off then and there, but pity stayed his hand. It’s a pity I’ve run out of bullets, he thought as he went back up the tunnel, pursued by Goddam’s cries of rage…

--- Bored of the Rings

Friday, February 01, 2008

Posted 9:43 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Dawn Patrol

Sunrise at Lick Observatory, June 1995

This photo may look a little crooked, as if the camera was not being held straight. That's just an optical illusion created by the slope of the ridge line in the background. Yes.

This was taken from Mt. Hamilton Rd. just east of the 3m telescope (above me on my right, out of the picture). The main building is visible on the peak in the background.

The large white dome on the left side of the main building holds the historic 36" refractor. That link says that it's the second-largest refractor in the world, second only to the 40" refractor at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin. That's what I always thought, too, but Wikipedia (WARNING! WIKIPEDIA!) says that the second largest is the 1m (39") Swedish Solar Telescope in the Canaries. Its design is not a traditional refractor design, although it does have a 1m lens. So we'll give it an asterisk.

BUT MY POINT, before I got bogged down in minutiae, was that the tiny white dome on the right side of the main building holds a 40" reflector. Yes, the tiny dome holds a bigger telescope than the huge dome. Bigger in diameter, that is, which is the important parameter. The refractor is of course much longer than the reflector, which is why it needs all that dome.

Through the miracle of Blogger, this post has gone back in time. It was posted on Friday, though it is in fact Sunday as I write. Do not attempt to adjust your browser. We control the horizontal. We control the vertical. And we control time. So don't piss us off.

Labels: California, Foto Friday

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