Phosphor

Much better than this afternoon. Getting over a cold and just got done with the rounds of aches, chills, fever and sweat. 
I should be good to go now. Thankfully my immune system is potent

I've always been interested in astronomy. Saturn has fascinated me since childhood. Use to love checking out books from the school's library to look at pictures of the planet 

Speaking of, I need to finish unpacking my telescope gear. Summer Milky Way season is upon us

Pics of the kerosene lamps I recently bought. The first two were given to me by my neighbor.

Favorite is the last one: Rayo center draft lamp. Throws a ton of light (and heat too)

Fresh fuel and wicks is usually all that is needed to get these types of lamps going again. I use Klean Heat since it burns much cleaner than regular kerosene. No soot, even with the flame cranked up.

Bought a few kerosene lamps last week: 5 flat wicks and 1 center draft lamp. I've always loved the soft light they put out and plus they can serve as a backup heat source in case the power goes out in the winter.
 

I'll have to post some pics when I'm back home.

Should've used PEX line instead of PVC. Lesson learned

Lately, not that great. Been feeling like a tire spinning in the mud, getting nowhere. Dreary winter weather hasn't helped at all either.

Things are starting to look up tho. Temps are getting warmer and the days are getting longer. Plus construction of the new house has been ongoing, so looking forward to that.

On 11/5/2018 at 6:22 PM, Phosphor said:

My gaming PC is about 10 years old. I built it right after graduating high school, but didn't really use it til well after college graduation. I took a long break from gaming during time. 

I plan to buy a new one at the end of this year. I want to use my old gaming pc for astronomy video processing. My laptop is getting tired. lol

2 years later: Ended up buying a new laptop for my telescope cameras.

I'm still using my old gaming pc tho. It's really showing its age, so a replacement is on the horizon

Come as you are - Nirvana

Especially the guitar solo at 2:01

Not that great. I've lost both of my grandparents within a 5 month span and 2020 still isn't finished making life hell for me.

Sonic CD! I love the time travel aspect of the game and how the game shows you the consequences of just blowing thru it.

Next favorite would be Sonic 2

Would love to see a cartoon series based on the Shantae games.

007: Tomorrow Never Dies boss theme

My current commute is 30 minutes to work. 2/3 of which is on an interstate highway. The remaining is on a curvy, congested 2-lane highway. Overall the commute isn't too bad, but there are some days where you just question how you have any hair left. Worst part is getting on the interstate in the mornings cuz school traffic is insane.

When I move, my commute will become an hour drive, but nearly all of the commute is on a straight 2-lane highway with very few people. Rather peaceful drive actually.

Yeah, I remember the Beetlejuice cartoon from when I was a kid. Don't remember any of the specifics tho

I live way out in the country. Closest McDonald's is like 30 something miles away.

There isn't a single traffic light in this county either. The two little towns just have 4-way stop signs.

I use my TV as a computer monitor 

I don't really watch much TV these days, but I still keep an antenna connected so I can receive local weather and news. (I like the format of local news channels).

Internet would be tough to go without. I love youtube a bit too much, plus I enjoy chatting with my online friends.

One. Secretary at my work had it but thankfully she quickly recovered.

Not much. Ate breakfast this morning.

Have to mow the grass at some point today 

A bit better now. Had a pounding headache and light sensitivity earlier this morning.

Not gonna go into the reason why. 

Besides the Gulf of Mexico, the closest class 1 sky for me would be Big Bend National Park in Texas. I'd like to go there once I settle in at my new place.

10 minutes ago, Megas said:

5 or 6. Not bright like major cities, but it was a lot more impressive 15-20 years ago when it was a really small community, but now my town's been developing at an alarming rate and as a result the night sky is no where near as cool as it was back then

Much brighter than that and the Milky Way will fade into the skyglow. 

I'm not picky. Anyone with a parachute. *evil laughter 

I'm with Partialgeek on this one. Lots of bacon and cheese.

Oh and that mayonnaise packet goes in the trash where it belongs. Yuck!  

On 8/23/2020 at 1:24 AM, WWolf said:

Can you see the andromedas or triangulum galaxies ?

Yep. Andromeda galaxy is very easy to see directly. I can also see the Triangulum galaxy here, but it needs to be at a fairly high altitude.

The humidity often limits what you can see here in the southeast. Right now, sky transparency is horrible with a mucky haze below 20°. Fall and winter skies are much better.

I'd love to add a S&W top break revolver to my collection one day. Finding one that hasn't been shot loose is pretty hard, and when ya do find one in good shape, they cost a fortune.

Ah, this topic certainly has my attention. 

One thing to keep in mind when using the Dark Site Finder LP map is the satellite data and computations are from 2006. A lot has changed since then. I recommend this map which uses satellite data from 2014 or so.

https://cires.colorado.edu/Artificial-light

With that said, my skies rate at Class 3 Rural Sky (Blue Zone on both maps). Zenith usually measures 21.6 mpsas with my sky quality meter. Clouds at night are as dark as charcoal briquettes, except along the southeast horizon. There's a low light dome about 12.5 degrees above the SE horizon. My meter measures 21.0 when pointed towards it. I can see the dark lane structure and bulge in the Summer Milky Way. Winter Milky Way is also easy to observe. Zodiacal light is quite bright, especially in the fall.

Put simply, the night sky here is beautiful and full of stars. I don't know how you city folk can tolerate all those street lights and that orange skyglow.