(dont) blame it on the weather

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

how many times in astronomy forums have you seen a post where someone owns up to buying a new piece of gear-doesn't have to be a telescope, I think even a bhatinov mask does the trick, maybe even a plastic eyepiece case, or even a subscription to AS&T-and being the cause of weeks of bad weather

It led me to think what people who have other hobbies-(I mean there must be people, right, who have other hobbies beside astronomy?)-and what they blame when they buy a new piece of gear

say the macrame fanatics-what happens when they buy a new ball of yarn? or a new set of needles?

or stamp collectors when they buy a new penny black? or fishermen when they buy a new rod?

or is this a curse only for astronomers?

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

ummm..maybe they dont use needles for macrame

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

A new tent or similar camping implement does it for me. Guarranteed, unavoidable and completely reliable rain making.

[sheeny (Al)]

Originally Posted by seeker372011

ummm..maybe they dont use needles for macrame

But, hey... I think I can relate to a ball of macrame yarn full of needles!



Al.

[sheeny (Al)]

There's no doubt that as astronomers we are at the mercy of the weather...

and software...

A while ago I did some work on my mount and pier and refitted my C11, so tonight I was looking forward to fine tuning the polar alignment again. I fired up K3ccdttols to use the drift explorer and immediately get an access exception error I can't get past.

In the process EQMOD stops working...

OK reboot the lappy and try again... no K3, but EQMOD is good again, so I decide to make some manual adjustments...

... and the clouds close in!

Not saying its the clouds fault! Not in this thread!

I took the hint... and came back inside to watch Masterchef... it was not shaping up as a productive night! I think I've made the right decision... sense of humour is still intact.

Of course, the real culprit, behind the weather and the software, is anticipation.

Rough seas and chop have the same effect on new dive/snorkelling gear, flat seas on surf gear, bushfires on bushwalking, droughts on canyoning, (bat) roosting season on caving, snow on swimming, road closures on getting to your destination, and of course too much westerly wind can sometimes team up with not enough Australia on hot air ballooning...

Astronomy's pretty tame really...

Al.

[Ric]

Spending the day polishing the chrome on the motorbike is good for rain as well.

If you want a dust storm just wash your windows, that works well for me (twice).

Cheers