Scattered Thoughts . . .

Shortly before arriving at our house the other day to spend some time with Gee and Papa, Kenzie got whacked under the eye by Ace's hard head.  I'm not sure Ace felt anything but Kenzie's eye quickly started swelling up.   Even after arriving at our house, she still spent much of the night with an icepack on her eye trying to bring down the swelling.  That night the swelling was just in a relatively small area right where Ace's head made contact with her face...  right on her left cheekbone.   By bedtime, her eye was becoming more bruised and it was becoming more obvious.  By the next day (yesterday), she had a more noticeable black eye and the swelling was more like a puffy swelling all across under her eye rather than just on her cheekbone!   She kept asking us whether or not her eye would be better by the time school starts later in the month.  Of course Gee and I teased her by telling her "oh no...  it will just keep getting worse...  with oozing puss and you

In order to keep my astronomy gear at the highest quality possible, I need all sorts of specialized tools.  The more specialized my gear gets, the more specialized my tools need to be.  That being said, one of the most common tasks an astronomer needs at a high level of proficiency is the task of collimating optics. Lenses comprising a lens group need to be square to each other...  lens groups need to be square to the focuser...  and mirrors, if your telescope has any, need to be perfectly aligned so the light focuses at one sharp point after reflecting off of two mirrors.  The solar spectroheliograph I am building also needs each of its four optical elements to be aligned perfectly with respect to each other.  Astronomy isn't just about looking at the sky.  Your gear needs to be properly maintained otherwise your observing sessions will be less-than-stellar (pun intended).  Of course, I'm also not your typical backyard astronomer who is just looking for some "gee whiz&quo

W hen I got up this morning, I immediately noticed that the sun was streaming in our windows and it was a color of light that we haven't seen in quite a while.  It took me a few seconds to recognized it but it was normal, bright sunshine not discolored nor diffused by smoke!  When I peered out the window, I noticed that the sky was a nice blue!  My first thoughts were that I should take advantage of the rare good weather to do some solar astronomy.   Unfortunately, my spine still has not fully recovered from my latest spinal problems that left me crumpled on the bathroom floor a few days ago.  This meant that I would need to keep my astronomy gear to a minimum to limit the amount of gear I would need to lift and carry outside.  So, I decided to go back to basics with simple gear.   I chose my smallest telescope (physical size)...  my Apex 102mm Maksutov-Cassegrain.  I chose my simplest solar filter which is a glass filter that mounts on the front of the telescope.  I chose a tiny s

The day after our cruise on Lake Champlain, we did some typical tourist sightseeing around Waterbury with Lukey and Kenzie.  It was a quiet weekday morning so we beat the tourist crowd.   We started at Cold Hollow Cider Mill... Tasting the apple cider...   I found it to be a little bitter on this day but the taste does vary from season to season. After tasting the apple cider, we roamed around the store looking for things to purchase.  (We found plenty and went home with plenty.) Making the cider donuts... The kids and Gee had planned on getting some apple cider slushies but the slushie machine was being cleaned so they had no slushies available.  We did, however, get a dozen freshly made apple cider donuts instead of the slushies...  oh...  and quite a few other products that would have been purchased regardless of whether we got slushies or not. This is a view from out behind the cider mill looking toward the Worcester Range (and our house)... After the cider mill, we went to Lake Ch

L ukey and Kenzie were staying with us when we went on the cruise with the whole family so, a fter our cruise on Lake Champlain, we spent the evening in the backyard with Lukey and Kenzie.  Sheila and I haven't really had any time enjoying the backyard this summer due to the weather so it was nice to have suitable weather while Lukey and Kenzie were staying with us.  While Lukey started a fire in the firepit, Kenzie and Gee moved Kenzie's dollhouses to the deck so she could play... Since we had eaten well on the cruise and then stopped at The Longhorn for another meal on our way home, we weren't all that hungry for a full dinner so we opted for a weenie roast over the fire in the backyard.  I'm just about always up for a few hot dogs over a fire! After some hot dogs, the kids and Gee had a few S'mores too! As always, the sailboat got some attention... Playing soccer in the road...  not ideal footwear but she is a far better soccer player than she realizes... I'm

After our cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen on Lake Champlain, we headed to a restaurant for a nice meal.  We usually head up the hill from the waterfront to a restaurant on or near Church Street.  I can't remember why we didn't do that this time but we instead went to The Longhorn in Williston.  We all enjoy the food and service at The Longhorn so that is always a place to play it safe for a good meal.  When Sheila was going through cancer treatment, we stopped here on most days to eat lunch since it is so close to the hospital.  We were very much regular customers at this restaurant but then we stopped going to all restaurants for three years during the pandemic.  A couple of the same waitstaff are still working there so we continue to be recognized and treated very well.   Ace really likes this restaurant because of all the cows in paintings and art throughout the restaurant.  Every now and then he will notice another herd of cows and will excitedly point and scream out &q

A t 6:30 this morning, I got up for the third time to use the bathroom...  which itself is becoming more and more common as I get older...  but what was a bit unusual this morning is that I ended up in excruciating pain as a crumpled mess on the bathroom floor.  Getting up out of bed was extremely painful so I knew I was in for a rough morning at least for a short while.  I certainly wasn't expecting what happened though.  Getting out of bed was so painful this morning that I actually thought about grabbing my cane.  I quickly dismissed that idea, I think, because if I had to wake up enough to remember where I left my cane or to go looking for my cane, I would not be going back to bed after using the bathroom.  Too much thought would wake me enough that falling back asleep would be impossible.  I actually have two canes now but I have no idea where my older cane is located at the moment.   After carefully and painfully swinging my feet down off the bed and standing, I limped toward