Easter Weekend! What are you doing?

[iceman]

4 day holiday! Gotta love that.

Anyone doing anything special or exciting this weekend?

I don't think we've got too many plans.. a trip to the zoo on one of the days, and some work around the house (gardening included), take the kids to the movies.. probably not much else.
The weather is not looking good (showers all days) so it's unlikely i'll get to do any observing or imaging.

What about you?

I've only got a 3-day week next week as well, as I'm taking Friday off for SPSP!

[[1ponders]]

Hmm, let's see....
Friday, finish researching essay topic and finish writing second draught of my Uni essay. Hopefully get some time under the stars later in th night to christen a few new astrogoodies.

Saturday, working in my wife's shop for the morning and then writing my final essay draught and getting it in. Go out to dinner with my lovely wife and dog. Garlic prawn nachos down the beach at Mooloolaba :D

Sunday... help my boy photograph all his Warhammer and get it up onto ebay. Read chapter 21 of my homework and start preparing for my first exam next week. Maybe catch a couple of old Star Trek Voyager episodes in the evening before hitting the computer again.

Monday....study, work on my uni project and maybe do some retail therapy in the aftenoon. Monday night - Mythbusters :cool: though last weeks was a bit of a disappointment.

And then there is the rest of the week I have off :D

[acropolite]

Down to the shack (holiday house for you northerners) for me, hopefully catch heaps of fish and enjoy the dark night skies (No streetlights) and a walk along the beach. Work and home commitments have meant that I haven't been able to observe from the shack yet so I'm looking forward to it. We also have a new car so we're looking forward to our first long trip in it.

[Dujon]

Perhaps, like Phil, I'll take my newly purchased vehicle for a bit of a run, not too far as it's second hand. Other than that it is going to be work, work, work and work.

[bloodhound31]

:party: :party: Four days off....thats 3 sleep-ins.....thats 3 nights up all night at the eyepiece...and the moon waning later and later...WOOHOO!!!!!

Baz.:D

[h0ughy]

Lets see,

Dodge the police
Empty and clean trailer
Check tyres and electrical connections on trailer
Clear spot in shed for trailer
Fend off disparaging remarks from wife
Dinner with Wife’s Mum and Mine
Play with new modded camera
Play with kids
Pack the trailer
Prepack the astro gear
Check and top up all batteries
Recharge all camera batteries
Pack cameras for SPSP
Remove data from lappy to take to SPSP
Back up and remove data from 100 gig HDD for Mike to fill up at SPSP
Clean out car
Cook BBQ for family
Watch mythbusters from last Monday (I recorded it but haven’t seen it yet)
Watch a few footy games, maybe the cricket, some motor racing.
Get camping kit together for Daughter for her camp with brownies
And watch the rain……..

Really not a lot?:whistle: ;)

[nightsky]

G'Day,
I hope to get the Observatory finished :) as my M8 will be off work for a few days be able to give me a hand to finish the slide of hatch,cut the colourbond sheeting,attach the rollers,finish the final touches of the pier,then paint all the wood other than that, I'll be having a rest :P When it's finished I'll post a few pic's.
P.S. Well thats the plan anyway,if the old bones don't give in

[rogerg]

Ahh good, a holiday thread, I was looking forward to one of these popping up :)

We've got a couple of family lunches (friday & sunday probably), my partner has a hens night to go to :eyepop:, and I'm taking the opportunity of a night without her to spend doing planetary imaging with a mate and his 15" obsession :D (let's hope it's clear!).

I still don't have my LX200 back, but will probably be setting up my portable setup, try and use up some of the film I have in my astro film camera from the ASWA astro camp a couple of weeks back. Maybe just enjoy a little visual stuff too, but all in my back yard, not going travelling.

We're hoping to get some hiking or something like that outdoors-ish in, but it hasn't rained over here yet, so the bush is still very dry and relatively un-inviting :(, I was hoping we would have got some rain before easter to make it more friendly. The tics might still be a bit too bitey.

All in all, looking forward to 4 days of freedom :D:D:D:2thumbs::party:

[rogerg]

Now that's a good weekend! Hope you have a good run and get it finished smoothly :thumbsup:

[ving]

friday: sleep and maybe swim for an hour or so at the local pool. generally relax.
saturday: cheryls birthday. organise breakfast in bed with rebecca, go shopping, possible dinner and movie... not sure. basically whatever cheryl wants :)
sunday: heading over to the human body exhibition at moore park with a friend + lunch.
monday: cheryl and i are going for a drive to batemans bay, just for a day trip :)

i of course am hoping to get some observing in too but the weather looks to be cloudy all weekend.

[snowyskiesau]

Being unemployed, holidays don't have the same impact for me :)

I'll be installing a new kitchen sink and taps, refinishing the kitchen benchtops,
replacing two windows, laying some paving, mowing the lawn.
Make a start on building some cases for my telescope/mounts.

At night, I'll be trying to catch up on 20 hours of recorded TV shows while I curse the moon and/or clouds.

[matt]

Sleeping in.

Spending time with the girlfriend and her family.

Working on a magazine article.

Maybe a bit of imaging if the weather co-operates.

Drinking the occasional beer...

[ballaratdragons]

Nuffin.

Maybe a picnic on Sunday.

[DobDobDob]

Friday: Work all day and all night at the Bike show at Bankstown (dodging bullets and iron bars :P )

Saturday: Dig a hole in the backyard for stormwater channel. Work Saturday night.

Sunday: Walk and move gingerly from the previous days physical labour. Sunday night, sweat on a clear sky to drag the scope out.

Monday: Write up to 50 posts on IIS. Monday night work.

Sheesh, when you look at it, work dominates most of my life and in fact reading through the other posts, it seems that others are also working in various capacities, even though it's meant to be a holiday season.

I am however thankful for my lot in life, if I get a few hours in on Sunday night, all the other days of work will be forgotten as I peer backwards in time ever closer to the moment it all began :P

[nightsky]

G'Day,
Seems like most people will be doing a bit of hard yaker over the holidays ;) but also remember that it's a very important date in the Christain calendar to celebrate the death of Jesus on Good Friday and the rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. Also the Irish will be celebrating the Easter up rising on Easter Sunday against the British in 1916 :P I wish everyone a very happy Easter.
Cheers
Arthur

[DaveGee]

Hi Mike,

>Anyone doing anything special or exciting this weekend?

Remember, there is to be a spectacular Lunar Occultation of
Antares this Saturday night. A summary of event times
and a diagram of Luna showing event sites is here...

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/daveg/occ_maps/070407_Antares_LO.pdf

While both events will be interesting, the
reappearance is the main event where you should see
the Antares secondary star pop out from the dark limb
some 7 seconds before the primary.

I hope to record the event on video for timing
purposes however owners of web cameras (hint hint)
might be able to record the green/blue secondary
before the ruby red primary pops out and overwhelms
it.

Regards
DaveGault

[OneOfOne]

I am looking forward to moving back into the house!

Our extension is finished and we used the new room to store all the furniture from the rest of the house while we had the floor boards done. Friday we hope to move the furniture back and sleep in our own beds again, we have been living at the in-laws (who are away in Swan Hill). Then we can get the new room done in a week or so.

The next job is to fit out the new cupboard with shelves etc to store the tripod, scope, eyepiece case and other astronomical bits. Hopefully by the end of Easter I can actually take it outside and use it again.

[toetoe]

I'll keep the world spinning around for everyone, I'll be working, no time off for me.:(

[JohnG]

Dodging the bloody tourists, :lol: they are already arriving in droves, the place is already getting over run, think I will hide in the Observatory all weekend. :P

Cheers

JohnG

[Ric]

Observing, observing, imaging, observing. :lol:
weather permitting :prey:

Have a happy and safe Easter all.

[sheeny]

Well, I'm on call for work till 00:00 Monday:sadeyes: so no alcohol:rolleyes: and no going too far away, or doing anything interesting in the bush. ..and the weather looks decided ordinary at this stage, so probably no observing.

Lyn's ex is arriving tonight and will take the girls with him for a week or so, so we'll have some time to ourselves again for a while.

On Monday we plan to go bushwalking - somewhere around Kanangra probably.

I have taken 2 days in leiu and 2 days annual leave for next week, since my brother is coming to visit and he wants me to take him to some speccy spots for photography (waterfalls, etc) so that will be good!:thumbsup:

Al.

[astro_nutt]

Ditto DaveGee..I'll be at Mt Ridley Saturday night..and since it's my only night off...why not?

[wavelandscott]

Everyday is a "special" day just being alive!

As a Northern Hemispherer by birth, Easter was always a huge time as it signaled spring and all that it implies...after a cold snow filled winter it is hard to describe how wonderful seeing nature becoming reborn truly is...it makes the Christian church Easter stories very comforting and compelling. As a kid I remember well the long tradition of getting new dress clothes for Easter Sunday...there are some really cool pictures of me and my brothers in my new poly leisure suits that my Mom made for me (and my brothers)...they were kind of a cross between the Jackson 5 and the "Keep on Trucking" guy from the semi-truck mud flaps..."flair" pants and wide collars the whole she-bang

Easter does not have the same resonance to me going into fall/winter down under...

Most of this long weekend time will be getting ready for SPSP and an overseas business trip right after SPSP (leave Sunday night for a Monday am meeting ouch).

Of course I have to prepare for the normal Easter traditions, Egg Hunt, special meal and write my annual Easter Sonnet for my wife (a silly thing I started before we were married)...

Hope everyone has a happy and safe time!

[Rodstar]

...you old romantic, Scott!!

The Berries will be doing some spring cleaning (yes, seasons mixed up), a trip for the kids to the local Olympic pool, maybe a wander down Umina beach. My mother is coming tomorrow pm to bring some goodies for the kids, Sunday we will be enduring my mother in law, made slightly more pleasant by an easter egg hunt. Fingers crossed that at some stage we get some clear skies to do some observing, too.

And we will head off to church on Sunday to remember the significance of this particular holiday.

[John Saunders]

Being a "man of the cloth", Easter is a busy time for us...it is after all a religious festival where Christians remember Christ's suffering and death and then celebrate his rising from the grave and the hope it gives us all.

Having said that - if the sky keeps clear and the mozzies cease being so hungry, I will be doing what we all love to do...gazing upward. If it happens to rain, then hopefully the ham radio bands will be open and I can work some really good dx (long distance stuff).

Easter blessings to all!

John

[nightsky]

:thumbsup:

[norm]

Hmmm lets see.

Friday morning, few laps around Centennial Park
Come home, tidy yard, do some painting around the outside of the house (weather permitting)....wait for the inlaws to arrive - coming down and staying the whole weekend !:doh:

I can't complain though, he'll be bringing down a ute load of rocks for my pond :P
Hopefully I can convince him to help dig the hole too.;) :lol:

Hope everyone has a great Easter break and take special care on the roads.

[nightsky]

nice one M8:clap: :clap:

[gaa_ian]

Easter service tomorrow ... 3 days in Cairns with the kids ... who knows, it might even stop raining long enough to do a spot of observing !

[nightsky]

:thumbsup:

[okiscopey]

Wet and windy in Bondi.

What to do?

Ah yes! Make up that Jaycar motor controller PWM kit to control the dew heater.

Had the kit for ages ... might even be ready for SPSP.

Haven't made up anything like this for decades.

Fingers crossed for no dry joints or short circuits.