From: Milton Aupperle <milton@outcastsoft.com>

Date: March 12, 2009 10:15:35 AM MDT

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] OT - Dreaming the Moon


Hi Alberto;


On 11-Mar-09, at 5:41 PM, albe albo wrote:

Thank you Milton.

Nice place -31°  or -41° ...WOW .

The only advantage is about not having dew...isn't it?  LOL.


We have frost to make up for that, which means the optics ice over if there is any humidity in the air. Several night of capture have been ruined or cut short because both the corrector plate and mirror are covered with frost. I have wrapped the optical tube with a electric heating pad and turn that on low to keep the optics frost free. Of course that creates turbulence inside the tube, but it's better than being frosted out. For long focal length you have to let the tube cool down for 30 minutes before you can take images.


Very hard to do astronomy with that temperatures!


I can dress warmly for the cold, but cables, computers lubricants and mechanical systems don't play nice when it's below -30°C, so I don't bother trying anymore.



I watched a vintage documentary (40 years ago) about Calgary and the Stampede so i was thinking of you.

Was it true that the most famous hotel prohibited to take the horse into the room? (i mean 40 years ago!)


I'm sure that's true. Since grand prize money is over $1 million now,  many of these horses are worth a lot of money if they help you win the competition. Stampede week in Calgary is one of the strangest times of the year for Calgary, which is generally quite reserved and business like. There is usually a large spike in pregnancy and STD testing just after Stampede shuts down in mid July each year too.


About the pitch: yes it is very strange. I'm trying to simulate the sound that i hear with voices at telephone.

Do you know the HAM radio SSB mode? (USB-LSB).


Yes, single side band, I had to use radios for communication in the 70's and 80's when I was a mining geologist. At solar maximums, we could go several days without being able to talk to anyone south of us. On the flip side, we could would pick up radio stations that were several thousand miles away during solar maximum due to skips.


Tuning  the BFO produced similar double metallic effect on the voice because currently my hearing is "not linear"  meaning that the intervals are not the same as the original.

Honestly it is pretty interesting to analyze (even if i hope to recover even this effect!)


It really sounds as if your brain isn't measuring the flow of time consistently, which might also affect your balance too?


Hope your out of the hospital soonest..


Milton Aupperle