Weird Dream

I had the oddest dream last night...

I think it was insprired by this news story... I dreamt that I had inadvertently(?) killed someone, and needed to run away. I don't exactly remember a lot about it, but I think I broke into someone's house trying to get through it, but every room I went into didn't have a window I could break through to the outside. The lady who owned the house was just looking at me in this sad, disapproving way. I think she recognized me from the news reports, but she didn't do anything... maybe she called the cops after I left...

If this recollection of my dream seems to be sparse on the details, I'm sorry. I usually don't even remember my dreams...

Back in Austin tomorrow!

Observing Trip, Part II

So, I'm officially on a night schedule. It's 5:45 am, and I'm not dog tired. I spent my night and a half observing HRC 270, a young star in the Ophiuchus star forming cloud. Hopefully, I'll be able to use the high resolution spectroscopy to measure the surface gravity and hence the age of the star.

Last night, Jeremy, Scott, and I observed the M57, the ring nebula in 3 bands, (V)isible, (R)ed, and (I)nfrared. I spent today and most of tonight reducing the data, and these images are the fruits of my labor.







If you look hard enough in the second one, you can see a galaxy. I did some research, and the galaxy is named IC 1296. If you want to see a better picture than the one we made, go to APoD.

If we have extra time tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can grab a shot of either Saturn, Jupiter, or Mars.

West Texas is beautiful. There's been an unusual amount of rainfall lately, so looking out of the TQ (Transient's Quarters), it's hard not to think I'm in Ireland.



We've had so-so luck with weather. We lost about a night to storms and clouds. I managed to take some fun pictures of lightining and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope.



Next post, I'll put up some pics of me using the telescope.

Back in Austin on Tuesday. I'll be glad to get back...

Observing Trip - Part I

I'm observing at McDonald Observatory in west Texas right now... it's really freakin' beautiful. Probably b/c they've been getting lots and lots of rain, which means it's been slim pickin's for Astronomy. Seriously, if you look out the window to the valleys below, you'd think you were in Ireland, not the normally-desert-like west Texas.

I hitched a ride with Jeremy. Since his truck doesn't like going faster than 75, and since the other students were riding in a van that did 80, we kinda got left in the dust. So, we took our merry time and enjoyed the trip. Once we got to Balmorea, we decided to take a dip in a natural swimming pool. Jeremy's truck doesn't have A/C, so the dip in the water was well worth it. Of course, it's been "modernized" with diving boards and ladders and what-not, but all the water is spring fed, and there's tons of fish and even a few turtles. The water was so clear, it was amazing. I hate to say it, but it beats the hell outta Barton Springs.

happiness

:-)

crit racing...

So originally, the plan for today involved going kayaking on Town Lake with Miranda, Mike, and Polaris. So, I hopped on Gertie and headed downtown to meet them at the Rowing Dock. About halfway there, I called Athena at a red light telling her that I might be a few minutes late. However, she informed me that the threat of thunderstorms had effectively canceled kayaking. Since I was already out and about, I decided to take Gertie for a little spin. Luckily, my route wandered through downtown, and I stumbled upon the 2007 Downtown Austin Crit. The course is a short (~1 km) track, usually on blocked-off city streets. There's some strategy involved, like drafting and pacing yourself. I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about Crit racing. Crit racing is kinda like NASCAR, but for road bikes. As much as I dislike NASCAR, after watching a few crit races, I can see how it could be kinda cool. But still... you're just driving! Sitting on your ass and making a left turn every once in a while with a bunch of guys who, to borrow a line from a Will Ferrell movie "just wanna go fast!" is not a sport. I guess the saving grace for crit racing is that the strategy actually depends on your endurance and ability to handle a bike, not how well you can manage your pit stops. Now if I'm offending you because you like NASCAR, I'm sorry, but it's just not for me.

Anyway, a few highlights:

- In the first race I watched, there were two riders who broke off from the peleton and tried to make a break for it. They led for ~20 minutes, but then the peleton caught up to them. Right as the peleton caught up to the leaders, one dude turned on the afterburners and rocketed out to an impressive lead. At one point, he was 20 seconds ahead of the pack. The peleton let him go for a while, but eventually a few people broke off and caught up to him. One of the riders who caught up to him was from his team, so they were able to fend off the other guy and sprint the last lap for the win.

- The last race was the men's professional race. It was pretty intense... For the first half of the race, no one was able to get a very commanding breakaway, as the peleton was moving at a pretty blistering pace. After half-way, three guys broke away and opened up a 15 second lead, and maintained it pretty much the rest of the race. However, the peleton was able to stay close enough for the sprinters to reel them in at the end. During the last lap, one sprinter was able to make up the 15 seconds and leave them in the dust. I think they were just too worn out from keeping out in front of the peleton.

I definitely enjoyed watching the races. Who knows... maybe it'll be something else I can get into.

Bike Messengers Are on Crack

These guys are crazy... but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little impressed and/or jealous...

English is f'ed up

Check it.