BuffaloBarCamp #Fail

Well I can only say that after signing up on Facebook, then signing up on the BarCamp Wiki site as the 7th presenter, then finding out that they built another site called BarCampBuffalo.org and signing up as a presenter in the top 12 presenters to find out that it depends on when you actually show up and sign in. Also they say that they wanted to keep it to 15 presenters on the website but allowed 30 people to sign in. I could not be there early as I had two major presentations during the day and I ended up being 24th when I signed in at 6:30. So at 9:30 p.m. I was exhausted and still had about 40 minutes or longer till I went on, so I just left. Ugh. There is 3 hours I would like back. The presentations were good, some better than others. I was just disappointed as I was looking forward to this as I love sharing Astronomy but it wasn't meant to be. I was happy as several friends came to support me but I feel terrible that I was set to go on so late and didn't even go on.

They actually moved someone else in the 25th spot up to the 18th spot after the break. Just poorly planned event. Would I go again? No thank you.

Random update...

I am stuck at home on a wonderful Memorial Day with a stiff neck! I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone but I am plagued by a nagging neck injury that bothers me from time to time, especially when I am trying to move heavy things. We opened the Pool on Friday after work, and that means lots of pulling and lifting heavy objects and I did something late night last night. I figured I could take a minute while laying here with a heating pad on to at least throw an update out!

My Garden is planted and looking like some stuff has started to bloom up! 

The weather has been perfect lately with mid 80's and Sunny most of the time. What a nice weekend!

I got the scope out late last night around 11 because I didn't lay down as my neck was bothering me. There were Thunderstorms in the southtowns and I could see brief flashes of lighting far away and occasional rumbles of low thunder, but it was mostly clear over my head, so I said why not. It was 77 degrees and a nice light breeze. I got to hang out with Emma and she took the picture above of me! It wasn't great seeing due to the breeze, haze and occasional clouds but there were many times clear breaks that allowed me to use all of my eyepieces on Saturn (4mm, 9mm, 12.5mm, 26mm) My clearest view is my Meade 26mm and I have a nice Zhumell Barlow that doubles any eyepiece so I use them both and get a real nice shot of Saturn. No pics as it is too dim and I would need to get a decent camera or something else but let me show you a cool site I found that might change my mind altogether now.

http://www.astrotrac.com/Default.aspx?p=holiday-deal

Now back to last night, I clearly saw dark clouds on Saturn, but still unable to see the Cassini Division. 

What is the Cassini Division you ask? Well look here! :) 

Its the dark ring separating the Ring Structure's known as Ring A and Ring B. The next really clear, calm night will give me a shot at Saturn with the 10in Dob and that might change everything.

Well I am going to take another Extra Strength Tylenol and find a cold pack for my next and then heat it later! Hope you have a great Memorial Weekend!

3 Day old Moon!

A picture of the new Moon from my iPhone through my 5 inch ETX-125

May 24th, 2012 8:45 p.m.

Annular Eclipse of May 2012

This is what is looked like from Buffalo NY

This was my view from a top of a hill by my house.

A really neat view of the Annular Eclipse! 

And a brief view of what to Expect on June 6th when Venus transit's the Sun!

Solar Filter

Oh and I got my Solar Filter for my Telescope and here is my first image taken around 6:30 p.m. in my front yard!! You can see the Sun Spots and I cannot wait until June 5th as Venus will Transit the Sun!!!

I will take more photos!! I hope you enjoy them!!

The second photo wasn't as good but I just hurried to take it because I was making dinner at the same time!

Buffalo Lab's Open House

I got to go to Buffalo Lab's Open House - http://www.buffalolab.org/blog/

It was awesome, I mean the things they have, the things they built and the people themselves are all cool and laid back but highly intelligent! I was humbled by their awesomeness!! Mike D. who is one of the Founders is a great guy and makes you feel great while being there. The group works on projects together, or in groups or sometimes alone to make different things happen. This is the type of group we all wish were around when we were kids to have good people, with bright minds sharing everything they know and more!

I believe I will join, although I don't think I will be doing anything except watching and learning my first year or two as they have really advanced ways of doing things and I am just a novice.

They have a cool 3-D Printer and we made dice and a whistle, out of plastic string into shapes. I was highly impressed. I am very glad I met this group!

Video of the 3D Printer in action!!

Landscaping and Buffalo Bar Camp!

Well, I joined the Barcamp Buffalo! http://barcamp.org/w/page/400577/BarCampBuffalo

I will be doing a presentation on Astronomy 101. Its 10 minute presentations with 5 minutes of Q&A.

I am looking forward to it. Wednesday May 30th at Pearl Street Brewery 5 - 7 p.m. Bar and food, and 7-9 all the presenters go on. If you want, stop out and check it out.

Also, I have met some great folks from the Development Community and another great event is happening this Monday - http://www.buffalolab.org/blog/ an open house on the Lab and what's going on. I look forward to learning more and helping out where I can. I will take pictures and post them from both events.

On the home front, I just moved 2 yards of soil and will be planting a garden and throwing mulch this weekend. Yard work is hard but quite rewarding. It certainly helps if you have some great tools! It saved me a lot of time using my mower and a dumper. It took 10 loads to move all the dirt. I built up my front beds and I am re-seeding some areas in the back of my property. It was a gorgeous day out.

Happy Weekend!!!

Super Moon!! May 9, 2012

Well the Super Moon came and went and I did grab some shots but nothing really is exciting about a Full moon except that it is bright. When looking at a full moon, since the Sun is Directly over the Moon you lose depth and definition as there are no shadows on the surface. It's actually boring to look at.

This picture was taken at 1/4 moon and you can see so much more detail and depth to the craters, that is because the sun is at a lower angle and not directly overhead.

Today's Sun Imaged by the Buffalo Astronomical Society

Today's Sun Imaged by the Buffalo Astronomical Society

Buffalo I/O May 3rd 2012

Well with the weather being bad around here it has been tough to get out at night to do any viewing but I can do other things when not watching the night sky.

I got the opportunity to represent the InfoTech Board last night at a seminar called Buffalo I/O

http://www.buffaloio.com

It was a great time and I met a lot of grass root programmers who are doing very cool things with in the Development/Engineer Community. Our Board sponsored the event and I got to take about 10 minutes to discuss the benefits of being a member.