Two Years Before the Masts

On my harbor walk I went by a few boatyards along the way, and all I saw were wall-to-wall masts.  The boatyards really pack the boats in for the off season.  The masts look like picket fences!  I experimented at several different locations, trying to find the most dramatic photo.  I think that this one is it.  Oh, The title "Two Years Before the Masts" makes no sense at all, by the way.  I was just desperate for a title.

"...you lookin' at?"

I went walking with my camera down along the Glen Cove waterfront.  They are building a brand new ferry terminal (more on that later) to replace the inflatable ferry terminal that was there for a few years, along with a high-speed ferry operated by a group from Connecticut, but that ultimately went out of business.  Anyhow, this view from the Glen Cove side is looking across the channel to the Sea Cliff side where this is all that remains of steel bulkheading that has been like this for years.  I was composing the picture and realized that it looked as if three pairs of eyes were looking at me.  I thought it made a picture.

Science Project

So I am working on a really interesting project.  There was a fascinating presentation at the Antique Telescope Society Convention in San Jose about an amateur astronomer in Germany in the mid-18th century who did drawings of sunspots for nearly fifty years!  The short version of the story is that a professor at Stanford University is trying to "calibrate" the amateur's drawings to more modern observations.  He had hoped that ATS members with antique telescopes could do observations.  No one with an antique volunteered, so my friend John in Magdalena came up with the idea for two of us to build modern versions of an antique telescope and make the observations.  John has been doing drawings for two months now.  This is my brand new "antique" - an octagonal tube telescope made from Philippine Mahogany.   It only has a one inch lens in the front, however, which is really small for a telescope.  Today I made my first sunspot drawing!  It is really exciting to be part of of such an interesting project.

A Builder of Cities

This stunning model railroad layout has been constructed by my friend and former work colleague Michael.  He left the paper about 9 months after I did, and this has been his project during retirement.  It is absolutely astounding to see in person!  The incredible detail is beyond imagining. When showing me details of individual buildings, Michael would refer to neon signs on specific buildings that he knew of in Brooklyn and Queens, and that he reproduced in his new city.  And the cool thing is that he can change the lighting so that it goes from day to night.

"Telescope Night" at the Astronomy Club

Here is a conclusion which I just reached - if I had taken ONE good photograph last night, then I would only have posted one photograph here.  Instead, I am posting five photographs, to make up for the fact that I don't have one great shot.  Oh well.  So we had a program last night where members brought their favorite telescopes and gave a brief presentation about why they loved their particular instruments.  We had telescopes wall-to-wall, and it was a terrific evening.

The Howling Wind

Because it was a beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine, I decided to go out and look for photographs.  I was successful.  The wind was howling down by the water, and there were whitecaps everywhere.  Fortunately it was not below freezing.  I spent some time at this point trying different locations, and different kinds of waves depending on where I was shooting from.  Be sure and click on this to see all the whitecaps in the distance.

A Good Book, and a Warm Fire on a Cold Day

I finally had a chance to try reading in the new back room.  It was chilly, so I started a fire - that involves all of pushing one button on the remote control of the gas fireplace!  The room is cozy and the couch is really comfortable, and it is nice to read in a quiet room.  The book, by the way, is "On The Beach" by Nevil Shute, published in 1957.  It is the story of the end of life on Earth after a nuclear war.  It is a riveting book. The New York Times called On the Beach "the most haunting evocation we have of a world dying of radiation after an atomic war." The Economist has called it "still incredibly moving after nearly half a century."