Seriously, why did the turkey cross the road? We saw a gaggle (flock?) of turkeys heading towards the road and crossed to the other side. Really…did these turkeys escape from the farm? They’re flying the coop before they become dinner.

So much excitement for the day… Caleb is ready for bed. But not before he has a little chat with his papa while he rests his arm on the railing of his crib. “So Pops.. what are you doing to my crib?”

Papa: “Raising the side because you’re such a little rascal.”

The little rascal then pulls himself to standing in the crib for the first time.

I had a scare yesterday. We were done with a diaper change and I went to get my hands washed before buttoning him back up. Mr. Caleb was on his back when I left the room. When I came back…

…he had gotten on his tummy, the change table sheets were half off, his pant legs were underneath his arm, and his left arm was hanging off the side of the change table.

I was gone for less than a minute!

Obviously, I can’t leave this guy alone for a second unless he is in his crib, saucer seat, or playpen. The change table used to be one of those safe places.

He had this “I didn’t do it” look. *shakes head*

1. OKLAHOMA (2-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated Florida State 23-13 | THIS WEEK: Vs. Missouri

THE RUB: Yes, the Seminoles played much of the second half without their starting quarterback, but the Sooners still won a huge road game a top-five team. Looks like Oklahoma will be saying this to the other nine teams in the Big 12 …

2. OKLAHOMA STATE (3-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated Tulsa 59-33 | THIS WEEK: At Texas A&M

THE RUB: Anchored by their 42-year-old quarterback, 19th-year running back and Dez Bryant’s clone, the offense look unstoppable. Nobody wants this …

3. BAYLOR (2-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated Stephen F. Austin 48-0 | THIS WEEK: Vs. Rice

THE RUB: Suddenly the Bears look legit. Too bad they’ll be in the Mexican League next year. But, for now, it’s this time of the year in Waco …

4. TEXAS A&M (3-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated Idaho 37-7 | THIS WEEK: Vs. Oklahoma State

THE RUB: We’ll find out this week is the Aggies are for real. For now, thanks to A&M, the Big 12 is experiencing …

5. MISSOURI (2-1) | LAST WEEK: Defeated Western Illinois 69-0 | THIS WEEK: At Oklahoma

THE RUB: That Arizona State loss hurts even more after the Sun Devils throw one away Saturday at Illinois. Think Oklahoma remembers last year’s loss at Mizzou? The Tigers have no hand …

6. TEXAS (3-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated UCLA 49-20 | THIS WEEK: Bye

THE RUB: Anybody outside of Texas not hate the Longhorns right now? Maybe we’re all …

7. IOWA STATE (3-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated Uconn 24-20 | THIS WEEK: Bye

THE RUB: Believe it or not, it is Iowa State …

8. TEXAS TECH (2-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated New Mexico 59-13 | THIS WEEK: Vs. Nevada

THE RUB: Tommy Tuberville vs. Mike Leach. You’re talking apples vs. onions …

9. KANSAS STATE (2-0) | LAST WEEK: Defeated Kent State 37-0 | THIS WEEK: At Miami, Fla.

THE RUB: Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Snyder …

10. KANSAS (2-1) | LAST WEEK: Lost to Georgia Tech 66-24 | THIS WEEK: Bye

THE RUB: Ladies and gentlemen, KU’s defense …

Week Two Big 12 rankings: The awful music video edition

Week One Big 12 rankings: The Kingpin edition

Preseason Big 12 rankings: The Star Wars edition

He should have been sleeping, but this was the result – including shades pulling completely off the window.  Silver lining…an opportunity to test out my new $22w/shipping ebay camera? Still not sure what I did to get the vignette(anyone know?)  I love that sweet little rascal…

Predictions (CliffsNotes version)

1. Kansas (29-2, 14-2)

2. Texas (24-7, 11-5)

3. Missouri (25-6, 11-5)

4. Texas A&M (23-7, 10-6)

5. Kansas State (22-9, 10-6)

6. Oklahoma State (21-9, 9-7)

7. Baylor (18-11, 8-8)

8. Iowa State (19-12, 6-10)

9. Colorado (17-14, 6-10)

10. Nebraska (17-13, 5-11)

11. Texas Tech (11-20, 3-13)

12. Oklahoma (11-19, 3-13)

All-Big 12

G Jacob Pullen, Senior, Kansas State

G Marcus Denmon, Junior, Missouri

G LaceDarius Dunn, Senior, Baylor

F Marcus Morris, Junior, Kansas

F Jordan Hamilton, Sophomore, Texas

1. KANSAS JAYHAWKS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 29-2, 14-2. Until somebody knocks the Jayhawks off, this is the team to beat. With guard Josh Selby on the roster, Kansas is a legitimate national title contender.

TWO TO WATCH: F Marcus Morris (15.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Selby (15 ppg).

IN FANTASY LAND: Realizing they have no shot at winning the Big 12, the other 11 teams cancel their seasons. The NCAA Tournament field follows suit, and KU wins another national title. The Jayhawks then play Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson (all in their primes), LeBron James and Jesus, pulling away in the second half for a 15-point win.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Selby gets lost before the first round of the NCAA Tournament and can’t find his way back to school, failing to locate the City of Kansas on a map drawn by his mother. Along with Morris, suspended for shooting the basketball manager he’s dating with a pellet gun, Selby doesn’t play during a first-round loss to Oxnard Trucking School.

Jayhawks’ theme song …

2. TEXAS LONGHORNS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 24-7, 11-5. No Big 12 team has been more impressive in the nonconference than the Longhorns. But a brutal schedule against the South, plus a road game against Kansas, will prevent Texas from taking the top spot.

TWO TO WATCH: F Jordan Hamilton (19.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg), G Cory Joseph (11.2 ppg, 3.1 apg)

IN FANTASY LAND: The Longhorns finally live up to/exceed expectations, making a run at the national title. Fearing it has a legitimate foil, Kansas leaves for the MIAA, and Texas takes over as the conference basketball power.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Rick Barnes loses his mind, making guard Dogus Balbay (Doug Gottlieb-Lite) the focal point of the offense. The Longhorns proceed to finish 3-13 in the Big 12.

Longhorns’ theme song …

3. MISSOURI TIGERS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 25-6, 11-5. Mike Anderson has done an amazing job in Columbia considering what he walked into. Anchored by guard Marcus Denmon, a surprise contender for Big 12 player of the year, this could end up being Anderson’s best team.

TWO TO WATCH: Denmon (17.6 ppg, 50% 3’s, 87% FTs), F Laurence Bowers (12.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg)

IN FANTASY LAND: The NCAA stops boning Tony Mitchell, declaring the five-star recruit eligible, and the Tigers make a run at the school’s first national title. Anderson signs a 20-year extension after the season, adding Norm Stewart as an assistant.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Anderson resigns midway through the conference race to coach at Arkansas and Mike Alden hires Quin Snyder to finish the season.

Tigers’ theme song …

4. TEXAS A&M AGGIES

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 23-7, 10-6. Mark Turgeon doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s done in College Station. Forward Khris Middleton leads a strong frontline that makes the Aggies contenders.

TWO TO WATCH: Middleton (15.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg), F David Loubeau (11.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

IN FANTASY LAND: As a favor to a former Jayhawk, Bill Self loans Selby to the Aggies for half the conference season, helping Texas A&M tie KU for the conference title.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Self leaves to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, and Turgeon takes over at his alma mater. The Aggies rehire Billy Gillispie, whose staff includes Melvin Watkins, he of the 0-16 Big 12 campaign, and Tony Barone.

Aggies’ theme song …

5. KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 22-9, 10-6. Not comfortable with this pick. The Wildcats have some issues, but they’re still extremely talented. Ultimately, however, they’re asking too much of Jacob Pullen.

TWO TO WATCH: PG Pullen (17.2 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.7 rpg), F Curtis Kelly (10.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

IN FANTASY LAND: The NCAA grants Denis Clemente another year of eligibility, the Wildcats sweep Kansas and advance to the Final Four. In the offseason, Frank Martin signs a contract with HBO to play Tony’s long-lost brother Vito in “The Return of the Sopranos.”

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Martin finally explodes, going Hulk Hogan on his starting five, drawing a 20-game suspension and injuring half his roster. The Wildcats finish the season losing to Butler in the CBI.

Wildcats’ theme song …

6. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 21-9, 9-7. This team’s still a bit of a mystery and doesn’t own a signature win. The Cowboys lost by 21 at Gonzaga and by five at Virginia Tech. Still, Travis Ford is a rising star in the coaching biz.

TWO TO WATCH: F Marshall Moses (17.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg), G Keiton Page (13.9 ppg)

IN FANTASY LAND: The NCAA allows Bryant Reeves to return for another season, giving the Cowboys a needed boost inside. The 37-year-old Reeves rediscovers his youth, leading OSU to another Final Four.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Struggling due to a lack of depth, the 5-foot-1 Ford (OK, he’s 5-10), puts himself on the roster and also adds Skee-Lo, who still wishes he was a little bit taller. The Cowboys start four borderline midgets and are outrebounded by an average of 50 while finishing under .500.

Cowboys’ theme song …

7. BAYLOR BEARS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 18-11, 8-8. Wildly talented, but there’s something missing. Scott Drew did a great job bringing Baylor back, but can he take the Bears to the next level? Just don’t see it. Baylor has no notable wins and losses in its only games against good competition (Florida State, Gonzaga and Washington State).

TWO TO WATCH: G LaceDarius Dunn (23.4 ppg, 42% 3’s), F-C Perry Jones (11.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg)

IN FANTASY LAND: Dunn sets an NCAA record for 3-pointers in a season with 400 (never mind that it takes him 1,200 attempts), Drew relaxes and doesn’t act like a professional wrestling manager on the sideline, and Baylor lives up to its potential while winning the Big 12.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Drew tears an ACL while jumping around on the bench and coaches the rest of the season from a Little Rascal, Dunn inadvertently punches somebody on the court and is suspended, and Baylor fails to make the NIT.

Bears’ theme song …

8. IOWA STATE CYCLONES

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION:  19-12, 6-10. Iowa State welcomed back Fred Hoiberg with open arms (see video below), and he’s rewarded them with a strong start, though the only notable win is against Virginia. Still, expect ISU to be a tougher out this season.

TWO TO WATCH: G Diante Garrett (17 ppg, 6 apg), G Scott Christopherson (15.1 ppg, 52% 3’s)

IN FANTASY LAND: The Cyclones channel Marcus Fizer, Jamaal Tinsley and Julius Michalik, finishing above .500 in the Big 12 while advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where they beat Larry “Natty Lite” Eustachy and Southern Mississippi in the first round.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Hoiberg resigns to coach at Iowa, the Cyclones bring back Greg McDermott, half the roster immediately transfers and ISU finishes 0-16.

Cyclones’ theme song …

9. COLORADO BUFFALOES

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 17-14, 6-10. Some expected the Buffaloes to take a big step forward in their last season in the Big 12, but they already have four losses and no signature wins. A good start would be winning their opener Saturday against Missouri.

TWO TO WATCH: G Alec Burks (19.1 ppg), G Cory Higgins (16.6 ppg)

IN FANTASY LAND: Told by school officials he’s related to Cam Newton, the NCAA allows Chauncey Billups to return for his senior season. Billups joins Burks and Higgins to form the nation’s best backcourt as Colorado dominates the Big 12.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Colorado announces that Dan Hawkins will serve as co-head coach the remainder of the season. Thinking he’s coaching intramurals, where there are no fouls, Hawkins neglects to substitute and Burks and Higgins foul out in the first half of every league game.

Buffaloes’ theme song (you picked a fine time to leave us, Colorado)…

10. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 17-13, 5-11. Some might be excited by the Cornhuskers’ 12-2 start, but Nebraska’s schedule looks like Bill Snyder put it together. Doc Sadler’s a decent coach, but Nebraska and basketball just don’t mesh.

TWO TO WATCH: C Jorge Brian Diaz (10.9 ppg, 62% FG), G Lance Jeter (10.1 ppg, 3.9 apg)

IN FANTASY LAND: With a year of eligibility left, Ndamukong Suh returns to play basketball, dominating in the paint. Led by Suh’s 10 points, 15 rebounds and 19 personal fouls (four called) per game, the Cornhuskers earn a bid to the Big Dance.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Sadler hires Bo Pelini as an assistant. Pelini becomes the first coach to punch all three officials in a game, plus seven of his own players, leaving the turmoil-plagued Cornhuskers in ruins. NU fans still make excuses for their overrated, volatile, bully football coach.

Cornhuskers’ theme song …

11. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 11-20, 3-13. I admire Pat Knight for saying he should be fired if Tech has another mediocre season. Call it foreshadowing. This team isn’t good. Tech already has seven losses and its best win is against … Oral Roberts.

TWO TO WATCH: F Mike Singletary (13.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg), G Brad Reese (13.3 ppg, 50% 3’s)

IN FANTASY LAND: Mike Leach takes over, locks both Knights in a closet and leads the Red Raiders to the NIT.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Broadcasting a game coached by his son, Bobby Knight chokes Pat for playing a 2-3 zone, throws a chair (with Dick Vitale still in it) onto the court, and Craig James is hired as the Red Raiders director of basketball operations.

Red Raiders’ theme song (watching this team any time is punishing) …

12. OKLAHOMA SOONERS

HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PREDICTION: 11-19, 3-13. Prediction? Pain. And lots of it. Talk about rapid falls from grace. Just two years ago the Sooners were in the Elite Eight. Now they’ll be lucky to hit double digits in wins.

TWO TO WATCH: F Andrew Fitzgerald (13.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), G Cade Davis (13.1 ppg, 41% 3’s)

IN FANTASY LAND: The Thunder loans Kevin Durant to OU, the Sooners win the Big 12 and Barry Switzer is hired as AD.

RIDICULOUS WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Jeff Capel changes cell phone plans, unwittingly picking the “Kelvin Sampson” deluxe deal. The NCAA hands OU the death penalty, demanding that every phone in Norman be destroyed.

Sooners’ theme song …

Now this is the sort of thing that would make me want to throw in the towel – decide that I have too vivid an imagination, or that I’m color blind.  Except when I look at the scientific data I find that the spectral classification for the primary is A1. The convention is to consider the “A” stars to be white, though the apparent color – what we tend to see – leans towards blue.  Being A1 means it’s very close to the blue end of “A” – not the yellow end. An A9 star might have a slight yellow tint. So I’ll conscede that the spectral information doesn’t fully explain why 54 Leonis appears “whiter than white” to me, but “banana-yellow” to Haas. Does this mean I’m right and the other observers quoted are wrong? Of course not.  But if you don’t understand why, I suggest you read John’s piece mentioned earlier:  “Star Colors.” Meanwhile, let’s look at the relevant facts about 54 Leonis.

54 Leonis
RA:  10h 56m   Dec:  +24° 45′
Magnitudes         A: 4.5    B: 6.3
Separation          6.3″
Position Angle    111°
Distance: 290 LY
Spectral Classification: A1V,A2V

Looking in mid-December, 54 Leonis was an early morning object for me and easy to find as it’s 4th magnitude and so visible to the naked eye in my skies. But even if you’re battling light pollution, you should be able to find the bright triangle  of second and third magnitude stars that mark the Lion’s rump.  Get it in your binoculars or finder than move northwest just six degrees from Zosma and 54 Leonis is marked by a pair of sixth magnitude stars that form a triangle with it. A brief study of these two charts should make it clear.

Click image for larger view. (Labels and lines added to Starry Nights Pro screenshot.)

Click image for larger view. (Labels and lines added to Starry Night Pro screen shot.)

I first tried to split 54 Leonis with the 50mm Little Rascal, but even with using a 3mm eyepiece on this short-focal-length scope, conditions were too much for it. Under better seeing I think it would split at 68X with this little scope. But this morning I needed to switch t0 s0mething larger, the 60mm Unitron, which has a 900mm focal length, vs. the 205mm focal length of the  Little Rascal. There I got a solid split with a 10mm eyepiece. In fact, it split with a 12.5mm (72X)  and gave a hint of splitting with an 18mm (50X).

Now here’s the curious thing. With the 60mm my notes says “primary yellow, secondary a puffball.” Uh oh! Notice how those colors pretty much agree  with Haas? So where did that pesky “whiter than white” come from? The answer is by using my 8-inch Celestron EdgeHD – a SCT.  After looking with the Unitron I had switched to the larger scope because I wanted to check out nearby Porrima. And with it I had written that 54 was “very white” and its companion was “pale blue.”  I got a delicate split with a 30mm (66X) – remember, the  Little Rascal couldn’t split it with that power, but 8-inches of aperture gives you a lot more resolving power. The split was fine with a 24mm (83X)  and delightful with an 18mm (111X).

So is it whiter than white, or banana yellow?  Color, as noted, is not only in the eye of the beholder, but also in the amount of light gathered. With 54 Leonis Haas was using a 60mm – and with my 60mm we were in general agreement as to color. It was only when I switched to the larger scope that things changed.  Did I mention John has a nice article discussing this sort of thing and more? Go here

Oh- and Porrima? Yes, I got a split with the 8-inch SCT at 266X – but not all that I wanted. As I reported in the voluminous comments section of the Porrima post, “. . . .there was still too much light spilling into the diffraction rings and dancing all around. It was like seeing two pearls caught in a candle flame. I could see the individual stars and black night between them, but there was light shimmering all around – over, under, and mostly beside them.” I want to do better than that – one of these nights conditions will be ideal.

It’s easy to have all the ‘What if” questions when you have a child that dies. There is not a day that goes by I do not think of Jody. On the 4^th I sat there watching the fire works go off and I thought to myself “He must have the most beautiful view right now!” Often times you get an idea of where he is right now, then that leads you to where he should be. How drastically different our life would be right now, but how amazing to see what he would look like at 15 months. Who knows right?

Things in our mind are always so different then what they would be, to be quite honest I don’t mind living in a dream world when it comes to our precious Jody. I often ask him to come to me in my dreams… I hear it works. 15 months later I have yet to see him in my sleep. I will continue to be patient and just keep asking!

To show her spirit on the 4^th of July, Ms. Jennifer and her friend did something a little silly… This is what I saw the morning of the 4^th when I woke up! I was scared!!!

Bad Blogger

All right so I have been a bad blogger, have not been updating this puppy like I should be, but to be honest I need time and more ENERGY!!!! What happened to the idea that during second trimester you will full of spunk?!?! Well my 2^nd trimester is filled with lost of couch time and a crazy early bedtime! Even before the kids go down I am out for the count… Joe just loves it (insert sarcastic tone here!)!

The name game…

We know A LOT of pregnant people right now! Mom’s who have dynamic stories of love and loss. But are expecting their RAINBOW baby/babies. I think I can simply say that we have 6 rainbow babies on the way. Wait, make that 7 because one Mum (she is from London) has just brought me to tears lately. She is expecting twins after losing two little ones in the same year. Add our other dear friend that is expecting we are excited to see 8 little ones welcomed into the world soon!

Sorry to digress, back to my point. There is a ton of pregnant people! I needed something to call this little girl and much to my surprise that name came from Joey. We have been trying really hard to come up with a name for this little one but are keeping it private until she makes her way into the world! So we needed a nickname and those pregnant ladies mentioned above have taken all the regular nicknames. Needless to say we need to call her something other then GIRL!

Recently we were putting pen to paper with all of us and Joey came up with some really special names, some perfect for a girl that start with J. However, others need a little bit of work. He put us in stitches with some of them! Still we put them on the list and when he was not looking marked them out while laughing!

Joey’s name selections:

Little Rascal  (reason… She is a girl)

Skyler

Point being, Joey came up with her nickname! Until further notice she is… Little Rascal!

FINALLY!!!!

I can count on both hands and feet the number of ultrasounds we have had since the pregnancy with Jody. There have been tons! And with this one we thought the dark cloud would not follow us but surprisingly it did. Finally we went into an appointment today, and smiled. Our little Rascal is looking pretty damn cute!!

The bilateral cysts have already disappeared! We were so delighted!!!  Even though  the 2-vessel cord is here to stay. Good news is that she weighed in at just over 1 lb, so far growth is not affected. We still pray that everything is going to be just perfect with her, honestly though we will not be happy until she is in our arms.

Take a look at her little profile!

It’s a wee fuzzy, because it was taken with Joe’s phone… She is stinking adorable!

So in an attempt to spare (and keep) my readers, I propose to you a clever but poignant end-of-week recap known simply as The Buffoon of the Week.

There were several contenders and many honorable mentions that I carefully considered before extending this award, but I believe that my choice of jackass to receive this honor is spot-on and well deserved.

Ladies and gents, I present to you Mr. Corey Poitier. A stauch opposer to President Obama’s Healthcare Reform (which he so affectionately refers to as Obama-care), and a budding GOP congressional hopeful, Poitier thought it reasonable, warranted and acceptable to liken the President to one of Spanky’s homeboys in a speech he made to his supporters:

“Listen up Buckwheat, this is not how it is done!”

After a slew of bad press and outraged emails, calls and letters, Poitier felt the need to “clarify,” explaining that as a black man himself, he’s certainly no racist, AND he’s never seen Buckwheat as a disparaging African-American character, but one that people love.  Admitting that he and his brother have often called each other Buckwheat when chiding one another about dumb or silly behavior, Poitier says that his reference to the president was not to call HIM dumb or silly, but to express that his ideas on healthcare reform where.

With that said dear Corey, I don’t think that YOU are a jackass per se, but your thought process (or lack thereof) in believing a Buckwheat comparison to ANY progressive brown person was a good idea reaks of jackass-ness!

It is for this reason that I wholeheartedly bestow upon you the Buffoon of The Week Award. I’ve placed it in the mail today. Once you receive it, feel free to make a brief acceptance speech and then by all means go get missing…O-tay?

The only thing good about Wal-Mart

I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t fun.. last night was only the second time I’ve been out of the house since the accident.. click the photo for the full story..

-spaztech

As if it was the Star Wars saga!  (I’m not sure if I’ll do the prequels… I’ll probably do the prequels…)

EPISODE IV
A NEW YORK

As we arrived in Newark, NJ (that we being cousin Steve and I), we parked our car in a 24 hour lot, stored our ticket to retrieve said vehicle, and noted that we needed gasoline prior to our journey home.

Realizing we had no idea exactly how we were getting to NYC via the train system (each for our various reasons), we flew by the seat of our pants, as we’re prone to do, and which usually tends to be more expensive.

We walked up some train tracks to find a NJ Transit machine, and luckily, a woman offered to help us the entire way through the process.  She almost missed her train, which ended up being our train as well.  Guilt-free help!

May not be inspiring to the locals, but to a guy from Detroit: "It's alive!"

Upon arriving at Penn Station (we thought we were heading to the WTC station – we were way off!), I witnessed a monk wearing a baseball hat and an old man in a super pimped-out Little Rascal cart.  We reached surface level and my first view was this:

We had attained some sizable pamphlets from underground, and after ripping away all the advertisements, we had all the map that we’d need.  We pinned down our location (Madison Square Garden), and our hotel’s location, and we got moving.

On the way, the saw Fuse Network Studios, the Sbarro restaurant that I thought Michael Scott on The Office referred to as “authentic New York cuisine,” and a comic shop that had a Silver Surfer in its window.  (We stopped inside because of this, but not much else was going on.  This is obviously why they have a Silver Surfer in the window.)

"Look up for power lines." "But I don't see anything." "That's good." (Detroiter inside joke)

Then I had a chance to take this photo up above.  When I take things like this, I hope to impress my sis that’s a photog.  Eees good, Becks?  (Too bad she doesn’t read this blog.)

I think it's so the pigeons can be comfortable.

At my hotel, we had a nice view of the back of buildings, which I still thought was cool.  For some reason, there were a bunch of pillows, down below. 

Anyhotelincidentals, I have to put the brakes on this post.  To quickly wrap up the rest, we walked from our hotel to 30 Rock because of the show (the skating rink is not as big in person).  We hit up Broadway and Times Square, and figured out how to take the subway down to the World Trade Center reconstruction.  The Statue of Liberty was visible in the distance (has anyone realized her initials are SOL?), and I think we found the area that Will Smith rented jet skis in Hitch (over in the financial district).

Okay, there’s more to come for sure.  Stay tuned!  (I’m losing my TripleDoubleU connection shortly hence the wrap up… EPISODE IV is not finished.)

North American T-28S Fennec

In the late 1950s, with war raging in Algeria, French forces needed a close-support aircraft urgently. Their light strike aircraft being used in North Africa (in what would now be called a COIN role) included large numbers of  the T-6G Texan. This aircraft had been upgraded, fitted with underwing gun pods and thrown into the fray. Standard French operating procedure was to use a pilot and an observer in the Texan on missions. This left the aircraft slow, underarmed and very vulnerable.

Two North American Nomads (civilianized versions of the T-28A) were purchased by the French for test purposes, quickly followed by 146 ex-USAF T-28A Trojans. These primary trainers were handed over to Sud Aviation at St. Nazaire, who oversaw the rebuilding of the machines; this included fitting standard French radio gear, armour protection for the engine and crew, and additional underwing hardpoints. The aircraft lost their 800hp R-1300 Cyclone engines, and were upgraded with a Wright R-1820-76B putting out 1425hp (these were sourced through Pac-Aero, who had produced the Nomad conversions). The aircraft was named Fennec, after the swift, cunning desert fox of North Africa, and the designation changed to T-28S; first flight took place on 10 March 1960, with each aircraft conversion taking approximately two months.

The war in Algeria was being fought over rugged mountain terrain, as well as in urban settings, and the Fennec suited the task. As well as being faster, more powerful, with extra armour protecting the engine and crew, the armament fit included a mix of  .50 calibre Browning machine pods, SNEB rocket packs, 87mm rockets, napalm containers and ‘iron’ bombs.

The Fennec seen here is based at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and is one of only two T-28 aircraft in the country. It was originally built by North American in 1951 (51-7545) as a T-28A, but was converted as the 119th Fennec. It carries the markings of one of the French light strike units (Escadrilles d’Aviation Legere d’Appui) EALA 7/72 ‘Fennec’ of the Armee de L’Air. Eventually, this example was disposed of to the Haitian Air Force, where it served until 1978. After a time on the US civil register, it was bought by Radial Revelation Inc, of Wilmington Delaware, and shipped to the UK, under management of The Aircraft Restoration Company.

This aircraft carries nose art, as ‘Little Rascal’, and the badge of 7/72, appropriately a fennec under the moon, under the cockpit. This feisty fox has been described as ‘a poor man’s Hurricane’; indeed, when the Fennecs were withdrawn to Metropolitan France after the Algerian War was over in 1962, they were issued to training and secondline defence units, and it is a matter of record that a Fennec claimed a ‘kill’ on an ‘opposing’ Dassault Mirage IIIC during air exercise ‘Carte Blanche’ in 1963!

‘Little Rascal’  is a fine performer on the European air show scene, and is shown here parked in the warbirds section at the GVFWE, Hullavington. A splendid conversion of an already successful type.

Perhaps – but only extended use will tell. Maybe where it really belongs is as a finder for the 15-inch Obsession, but it’s funny. Give it that role and my attitude towards it tends to change. Call it a “telescope” – something that can hold its own with the big boys and act independent of them, and it becomes a different animal. So what does it do for me in that role? I think it helps supply a sense of context – especially in a day of “go to” and red dot finders. Actually, I hadn’t thought of that before, but with the “go to” scope and the red dot finders we’re losing that sense of context. The red dot finder is like using your naked eye – but on a “go to” scope it only gets used to identify a couple bright stars at the start of a session, so “go to” folks miss entirely the experience of seeing the sky through an optical finder of about 50mm.

Why is this important?  Binoculars, finders and the Little Rascal – all roughly the same size -  provides a different excursion into the dimension of light and it’s that dimension that I think makes it so interesting to use scopes of various sizes, all aimed at the same object. Obviously the field of view changes as you change scopes – but that can happen to some degree by just changing eyepieces on a single scope. What I like is simply the different appearances brought about by the different number of photons harvested. This really hit me as I looked at M44, the Beehive, in the Little Rascal. I did a double take. I guess it’s been a while since I used anything less than an 80mm on this cluster, for suddenly I saw it as a huge triangle of stars – a Christmas tree really, with a scattering of lesser lights – dust of snow that seemed to have been shaken off the outer branches. Funny, with larger scopes the small triangles within this cluster always attracted my attention – there are several that jump out at me – but the whole cluster just seemed to be a loose, rather shapeless conglomeration. Now it took on a form that was startlingly obvious. I’m sure 10X50 binoculars would reveal the same thing,  or for thatmatter the traditional optical finder,  but, of course, with the Little Rascal you can zoom in some and in this case that enhances the impression – at least for me.

Maybe Christmas trees were on my mind. I had just used the little scope to visit the Christmas Tree cluster in Monoceros – NGC 2264. Now I must admit, this was tough with the 23mm eyepiece that comes with the Little Rascal. The cluster was there, but it took something like the 13mm or 7mm Nagler to make it large enough so it took on more obviously the aspect of the Christmas Tree.

Using Starry Night software screen shots I’ve tried to show this, limiting stars to roughly what is seen in the  “Little Rascal.”

Looking at the Beehive with the Little Rascal at low power it took on the aspect of a Christmas Tree for me.

Zoom in with 7mm and 5mm eyepieces (29X and 41X) and we get the "dust of snow" shaking fromt he Christmas tree branches - at least that's how the Behive looked to me when the light was gathered by a 50mm lens.

At low power (9X) the Christmas Tree cluster, NGC 2264, hardly lives i up to its name, though the bright star that is the trunk is obvious. (At this particular date and time the "Christmas Tree, in the correct image "Little Rascal," seemed to be lying on its side, it's trunk to the left.)

Zoom in at 29X and 41X and NGC 2264 really does look like a Christmas tree, though leaning on it's side - well, more towards upside down. This ability to change power is what sets the Little Rascal aside from the usual finder scioe, or 50mm binoculars.

So the Little Rascal provided nice context from which to move on to the same object with an 80mm Eon and later the 15-inch dob which made obvious the nebulosity around the bright “trunk” star. As I looked at various objects witht he tiny scope  I found myself settling on four eyepieces – the 23mm it comes with, plus a 13, 7 and 5mm Nagler. I tried 40mm 32mm Plossls, but, of course, these create far too large an exit pupil for my eye to use. For that matter, the 23mm probably exceeds my dark adapted eye exit pupil. Be interesting to see how the 20mm Expanse – it’s “in the mail” right now – will do instead. Higher powers – a 3.5 and 2.5 Nagler – came to focus, but seemed to overwhelm the scope. Hey – it’s an F/4.1 – I don’t expect miracles.

Most disappointing were views of Saturn – and what seemed to be the inability to handle high power well. Yes, I could make out the rings, but the image of the planet wasn’t good. I found that somewhere around 40-50X is the maximum it was willing to handle under what were above average seeing conditions. In theory a two-inch telescope should be able to handle 100X. So was it me – perhaps failure to focus properly? The Nagler eyepieces – not a good choice at this power for this scope? Or is it just that you shouldn’t expect that performance out of an inexpensive, F4.1 achromat? I guess if you want to press the envelope you need to spend about three times as much and get the 45mm mini-Borg? Of curse, it’s an F6.6. Anyone ever done a side-by-side comparison of these two? I have no clue what the Borg can do and my curiosity isn’t great enough to cover that price tag

When I posted this report to the Stellarvue group, another Little Rascal user reported that he was able to get a very sharp image of Staurn and its rings using the Celestron 2.3 mm X-Cel ED eyepiece. I experimented some more this morning – this time with a 3.2mm Burgess Planetary eyepiece and both the 3.5 and 2.5 Naglers. My target was Mizar and the skies were getting light in the pre-dawn. No luck. Mizar  looked like a comet – or there was a ghost image – even when I moved the image to the center of the field and did my best to focus sharply.

I also was disappointed in the quality of the image of Mizar – of course Mizar and Alcor are widely split, but you have to increase power quite a bit to split Mizar itself and the result was a crude approximation of what I’m used to – of course, what I’m used to is scopes in the apo, or apo-pretender class, so again, I’m probably just expecting too much. I’m trying to buy some used Expanse eyepieces for use at public events. I would like the public to see that you don’t need a huge, expensive, computerized scope to have a lot of fun. So I’ll be interested to see how these work. Of course, I’m getting them because I’ve read good comments about them online .  But I have a feeling the 6mm Expanse offering 34X will become my “high powered” eyepiece – and at that it will have close to a 2-degree fov! But I need to do some serious study of lists of binocular objects to determine what will be the best targets for this little scope. For example, Cor Caroli made a nice split and M42 was terrific, though I had difficult seeing more than three stars in the Trapezium – and much of the time saw only two.

My most enjoyable views of the evening were of M81/M82, M65/M66 and M35 – one of my favorite star clusters that in the “Little Rascal” made me feel for all the world like what I was seeing was part of a model railroad set-up – the cluster was obviously M35, but in miniature! Bottom line – it’s fun getting a fresh perspective on old, familiar sights. The ability to change powers gives an edge over 10X50 binoculars, but a side-by-side comparison showed good 10X50s giving a brighter image. And, of course, this is the ultimate grab and go – but I’m working on other plans to incorporate it into my observing routine.

But what am I to do for the next few days? I mean, yesterday I contacted Hands On Optics, some nice folks whose business, coincidentally,  is located just 10 miles from the small village, Libertytown, Maryland, where my mother grew up. From them I ordered a “Little Rascal,” a tiny telescope that until a couple of days ago I never knew existed.

Am I out of my mind? Perhaps. 

I mean I do own a 15-inch Obsession, so what the heck am I doing spending $119 on a miniscule 50mm (barely 2-inch) refractor? In the 80mm Eon I already have an excellent “grab-and-go” scope that I can take anywhere with minimum hassle. But two inches? No one uses a 50mm telescope any more. Hell, no one makes one except for some department store junk – well, I thought no one makes one. Stellarvue – known for excellent refractors – evidently has the same kind of crazy thoughts I – and apparently quite a few others – have.  Small is fun. Tiny can be a real blast!

And here’s a little math that might shock you. This comes from Mr. Obsession himself, David Kriege, king of huge telescopes, who writes in his book with Richard Berry, “The Dobsonian Telescope,” that:

Compared to the .2-inch aperture of the naked eye, the 2-inch aperture of a pair of 7×50 binoculars gives you a 10-fold gain in aperture and a 100-fold growth in light – an astronomical jump into the universe. Another 10-fold jump in aperture and 100-fold increase in light takes you to a 20-inch telescope. . .

Whoa! Put on the brakes just a moment, David. What I am hearing here is that I get one heck of a jump when I go from the naked eye to 50mm – and that’s the jump the “Little Rascal” will give me. So take it seriously. Especially when you consider that it takes my 15-inch Obsession – or more – to make a similar jump. Watch it – there’s a little sleight of hand going on here perhaps – but seriously – here’s another way to look at it.

In my skies a good night allows me to see stars to magnitude 5 with the naked eye. That means, according to some calculations, that I have the potential to see close to 3,000 stars. The 50mm  should take me to magnitude 10 – that’s a 100 fold increase and that means I have more than 600,000 stars in my grasp!. That is, with every five magnitudes there’s 100-times difference in brightness, but what that does in terms of what you can see is not so simple math.  And yes, the 15-inch allows me to get near to seeing 15th magnitude stars which brings me up to more than 130 million!  Well, truth is I’ve never identified anything fainter than magnitude 14.3 – but that’s in keeping with Kriege’s math, and what’s a few million stars one way or another?

The point is. while the “Little Rascal” may look like a joke, I don’t think it’s a laughing matter. Hell, I’m in love with this telescope and I have yet to hold it in my hands! I feel like Walter Brennan’s Judge Roy Bean in the Classic Gary Cooper movie, “The Westerner.” In it the Judge  is willing to turn his whole world upside down just for a lock of hair form the legendary actress Lilly Langtree!

But it’s great to feel this way. See, I’ve always been a nut about getting the most out of small things. As a ham radio operator I disdained the big, 1,000 watt rigs of friends and preferred to try to “work” the world with the three-watt output of a transmitter that could be built inside a sardine can – literally. Little and simple – I love it. But up until now no one has seemed to have taken this approach to telescopes as seriously as I would like – though the 66mm AT I just sold to Jim is very, very close to it. It’s a terrific little scope and i loved it dearly – but that’s half again as big as the 50mm in terms of light grasp. I know what it can do – I even saw M110 with it, the fainter companion galaxy of the two well-known neighbors of M31 – the Andromeda galaxy. Will I be able to do the same with the 50mm? Maybe – and that’s the kind of challenge I like.

But this wasn’t on mymind when I sold the 66AT – at that point I meant to go right on to something much bigger and much more expensive. But I couldn’t make up my mind. You can buy a 120mm refractor for $300 or $2,000 or $5,000. What an incredible range of choices! And when it comes to performance, you have to be an experienced observer to tell the difference – well, at least on manyt of the things you will observe.  Your wallet knows right off, but your eyes have to work at it a bit. So I kept wavering and deciding one thing one day and another thing the next and then while exploring the Stellarvue options for the umpteenth time I stumbled on “The Little Rascal” and what they were offering sunk in.

A pocket sized 50 mm spotting scope that mounts to any camera tripod. Comes with a 50 mm f-4.1 fully multicoated objective, 1.25″ helical focuser and 23 mm fully multicoated 50 degree eyepiece with 16 mm of eye relief. Works great with the Nagler 13 also!

YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!

Hell, these people have my number. Oh what a sucker I am. I feel like Opus of Bloom County ordering “Ronco Salad Shooters” from the TV commercial – yes, yes, I want it!

It’s already delivering my money’s worth in anticipation. Like buying a lottery ticket. Any one with a tad of common sense and the minimum of math skills knows you might as well throw your dollar in the river. But you buy the ticket and you dream a little – you anticipate – and you lose. But the dreams were fun and worth the price of admission as long as you don’t make it into a habit and start thnking you can beat the system. Well part of the system, maybe – I’m already making lists of double stars I want to try to split with this scope.

But I’m not trying to beat the system with a 50mm telescope just 8-inches long – just shock it a little. Hell, the “Little Rascal” is just half a binocular. But there are a couple big differences – huge differences. First, while most binoculars can be mounted on tripods – and this is important – they’re still awkward to use because you have to crane your neck to look up. The “Little Rascal” employs the standard 90-degree star diagonal, meaning you look down to look up – much more comfortable.  And you can mount it on a simple photo tripod and use it comfortably which you can’t do – comfortably – with binoculars.

But – and this is really important – with the Little Rascal you can use any of your astronomical eyepieces. Binoculars are stuck on one power, for the most part, but the Little Rascal can deliver a wide range – in practical terms from about 8 to 60X. That’s more than enough to see the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter, hundreds of features on the moon, and many of my favorite double stars, open star clusters, globular clusters, nebulae and a handful of galaxies.  In other words, you can use this tiny, convenient, inexpensive scope to get a great sampling of what the universe has to offer.

Of course you can see many of these things better – and see many more examples of them – with bigger scopes. I’m not abandoning my Obsession.  And before you run out and buy one, consider this. I’m excited in part because I have a wonderful collection of top-of-the-line eyepieces that I use in my other telescopes and will also work in the Little Rascal. You could get by with the one it comes with plus a few inexpensive ones – but I have to admit, that what I am really looking forward to is using my wide-field Nagler eyepieces in it, each of which costs (used) twice as much as this scope! So I am not saying this should be the first telescope for everyone – or anyone. I’m just saying that I plan to have a lot of fun with it. Stay tuned. I’ll post more here when it arrives and I put it through it’s paces.

But the bottom line is simple: I like being this excited. I like applying the KISS principle. And I’m so glad Vic Maris and the minions at Stellarvue decided to have some fun and make this little scope.

This cute little rascal was skipping along, at the Lynchburg, Virginia Community Market, while eating a peach…I can barely walk and eat a peach these days. Ahh, the magic of youth!

2008 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs (THAT MEANS NO ADDS AND NO SELLING OF ANY KIND) but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used…(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.

Just look at those eyes …

And getting more curious about this strange lady laying on the floor, taking his picture …

And playing hard to get …

I think that this one is my absolute favourite …

I am so much looking forward to taking more photos of both James and Alex as they grow up.  I wonder what their futures will hold … and we are looking forward to being a part of it.

Hugs xxx

Mom is on the phone with Nonnie and Papa, and he finds the bag of m&m’s. And eats lots of them. 20 minutes before bedtime. Can you say sugar high?

And this is his favorite new trick, especially with “no hands”. Yeah. He turned the stool upside down to stand on the tiny legs.

Thing is? He is SO DARN CUTE. Ryan can definitely talk his way out of things (he is incredibly good at trying). Jack charms his way out of things. Or attempts too, anyway. Oh these boys!

This is J’s new word…he has had momma and daddy and papa and nana (banana) down for months, but is mainly into sound effects. But this one? It stuck. And it’s unbearably cute to his mother.

]]> http://thelaundryisneverfinished.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/mischieviousness-defined/ Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:34:50 +0000 Jennifer http://thelaundryisneverfinished.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/mischieviousness-defined/ So far as I hear it, this must be second child syndrome. As in you can’t turn your back for one minute. As in as soon as things get quite, you best get worried. All day, people, all day. I’m constantly on guard with this little rapscallion! This is just a snippet-only 2 pictures out of the 20 messes/near disasters in one day.

Mom is on the phone with Nonnie and Papa, and he finds the bag of m&m’s. And eats lots of them. 20 minutes before bedtime. Can you say sugar high?

And this is his favorite new trick, especially with “no hands”. Yeah. He turned the stool upside down to stand on the tiny legs.

Thing is? He is SO DARN CUTE. Ryan can definitely talk his way out of things (he is incredibly good at trying). Jack charms his way out of things. Or attempts too, anyway. Oh these boys!

This is J’s new word…he has had momma and daddy and papa and nana (banana) down for months, but is mainly into sound effects. But this one? It stuck. And it’s unbearably cute to his mother.

]]> http://thelaundryisneverfinished.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/plop/ Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:16:55 +0000 Jennifer http://thelaundryisneverfinished.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/plop/ I can’t stop this morning-I’m on a blogging roll! Doesn’t help that we moved the computer downstairs, where it is much more accessible.

I had to share with you, though, that while I was blogging my last post about Ryan, I heard a Plop! Plop! in the bathroom.

Nooooooo! Whenever I leave the door open to said room, and whenever I lose sight of my Jack, the inevitable happens. This morning, into the toilet go Erick’s beard trimmer and deodorant. (Don’t tell, please. I did dry them off really well).

This child is downright attracted to trouble.

(Edited to add: You would think, from the last few posts, that I spend all day on the computer and let my kids veg in front of the tv hours upon hours. I promise I don’t! )

I had to share with you, though, that while I was blogging my last post about Ryan, I heard a Plop! Plop! in the bathroom.

Nooooooo! Whenever I leave the door open to said room, and whenever I lose sight of my Jack, the inevitable happens. This morning, into the toilet go Erick’s beard trimmer and deodorant. (Don’t tell, please. I did dry them off really well).

This child is downright attracted to trouble.

(Edited to add: You would think, from the last few posts, that I spend all day on the computer and let my kids veg in front of the tv hours upon hours. I promise I don’t! )