NZ pictures

David sent four pics from local sources....

One last thing after the NZ earthquake.

Gerry Bond wrote:

 Are you two OK? Any damage to the house? Our ChCh motel is taking bookings so I presume they are OK.
Gerry

Hi Gerry
No damage here although the house was shaking quite considerably for around 1 minute. That was the largest earthquake I've felt since being here. There was a big one off the south west coast a couple of years ago (M8?) but it felt nothing like this one. They say it was only 5km deep. It did knock a couple of things over in the garage and the lights and doors were swinging like mad. Being 250km away we certainly felt it but luckily that's all we got. Christchurch itself is in a total mess with over 500 buildings destroyed, mainly older heritage buildings and brick buildings. Lots of video on http://tvnz.co.nz/news-video

More than 60 aftershocks so far.
David

Back home - debrief.

Back home and a few pounds heavier and a few £s lighter.
Here's a list of all who made it a good time.

1.  The check-in staff at Qantas who moved us and others to Singapore Airlines after a volcanic cancellation.
2. The coffee shop below the Peninsula Hotel in Singapore which was good for breakfast and a cool-off. They waived the bill on our last day! Very friendly people.
3. Laraine and Mike in Perth. All the best - Laraine don't stop laughing!
4. Keith at BTOW (Binocular Telescope & Optical World) in Perth who refused to sell new binos in favour of forcing the left ocular of my old ones back into the socket.
5. Herbert Hoover (deceased) whose old home put the willies up us at bedtime.
6. Fraser Ranges sheep station, nr Norseman. I will spend longer there next time. Moonless nights are fabulous.
7. Laurie and Cheryl and family in Ceduna: laid-back people in a laid-back town in a laid-back landscape.
8. The ex-Greek guy who runs the cafe on the front at Whyalla. This is a steel-making town but it resembles Scunthorpe in no way whatsoever! 
9. Peter and Vicki in Port Augusta and the waiter in The Standpipe restaurant who looks like Roger Federer.
10. David and Barb in South Island who are enjoying their lovely location on few resources. Good luck to you both.
11. All at Explorers' Tours http://www.explorerseclipse.co.uk/ who pulled off the near impossible task of re-arranging when a hotel closed down near to the last minute. Very well done all.
12. Bob Gray of the Sproud Ranch for the 4x4 drive in the Texas countryside and getting my bag back to me after the rain washed over the road too deep for our Hyundai.
13. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection doing their job.
14. All the staff in all the businesses of N America who ask, "How are you guys today". Honestly 'you folks', it sounds tedious and repetitive and gives one the urge to walk right out of the place.
15. David and Doreen who have truly unlimited dedication to their family. And deserve the best cottage in Muskoka.
16. Finally Will and Angela who kept the house intact while we were away!

All the best to you all.

Gerry and Sue


The negative list....

1.  The large blond cabin attendant on Jetstar no-frills airline who did a good impression of the Julie Hagerty part in Airplane! the movie. Her style of ripping off a credit card slip would waken the dead.
2. New Zealand Railways who seriously overcharge foreigners for no good reason.
3. The restaurant manager at the Plaza Resort Tahiti who complained about too many customers being a problem!
4. The 'very important' guy in the lounge at Toronto airport who plugged his mobile phone into the wall behind my left knee without saying a word, then called me an asshole for telling him to take it away when it rang. I suppose office furniture doesn't usually speak.

I got a Perseid!!

13 Aug 2010 about 2359 local time.
From Muskoka Lakes area of Ontario. 30sec at f5.6/Canon400D on 1600ISO (unadjusted or photoshopped).
Our view was restricted by trees but extrapolating for the wole sky we easily acheived 150/hour.
At least half left trails for a fraction of a second after. Nearly all the trails had a greenish tint. The one in the image gives a good impression and one can see the colour change fron green to orange during the descent. This one had a considerable radial velocity towards the camera, being close to the radiant.
The trail ends just below Algol. M34 is visible above and the Pleiades at edge bottom right.

Last night (15th) we were treated to thunderstorms in the area.....

The orange light on the lake is public lighting for the boat dock.

Canadian History

I have just been delving into Wikipedia's history of Canada (and Louis Riel for the sake of balance) in view of finding this banner hanging in a cafe....

If you zoom in and look carefully you can read the mottos* above and below the famous image of King Billy.
Suffice to say the passion has died since 1945. I'll say no more, but feel free to Google the subject.

*If you do not like this plural, replace with 'motti'.

Torrance Barrens

Three new blogs today after a break. This one needs no text, you will need to zoom in.....

Humming birds of Ontario

I have better pictures of these birds but this is the best one taken in flight. Taken through glass the feeder is hanging outside our friends weekend cottage. A more difficult shot would of them be feeding the young, which I saw them do in flight. Why an animal succeeds in such a difficult evolutionary niche is beyond my explanation...

They migtrate for the winter. Everyting here will be frozen solid for weeks.

It's official - laser pointers are A-OK

I pack all my astronomy gear in a separate hard case. Cameras, tripod and clock drive and binoculars together with a mains block for UK plugs clearly marked 'astronomer' (after working in the lodge in Africa). This time it was all protected by - I will not spare you the details - dirty washing packed into the free spaces. On opening in Toronto I found this note lying on top of the stuff. Beside it was my 5mw green laser pointer which had been carefully extracted from where it was situated and left out on top.

1. It was the pointer that had triggered them to look in the bag and perhaps mixed with astronomy gear it did not give rise to concern, hence the title of this blog. Nothing else was disturbed.

2. The case was locked with a combination. When I found it the numbers were 000, I use a different set.

3. The case was not damaged and 000 still keeps the case locked. My combo still works. 

It's a funny old world!

Says it all really

Here's some things that strike this foreigner as odd about drinking and eating in the US; and they are not what you might expect. All the staff show great enthusiasm and loyalty but the result reminds me of a 1950's BR caff.

1. Inebriated customer handles ice-cream cones in waiters' storage jar, takes one, and attempts to get a squirt out of the ice-cream machine long after it was switched off.

2. Barman starts washing the floor with mop while customers are still drinking. There was the mandatory slippery floor sign to go with it.


3. In a 'posh-ish' restaurant a waiter gets on hands and knees with dustpan and brush to remove crumbs and debris from under a table. This was made hilarious by the sight of his bum and the bow of his apron being the only bit to be seen.


4. Portions are usually too big, but never mind, doggy-boxes are readily available. In fact they look at you a bit funny if you do not want to take the uneaten bits home. This is not in a fast-food joint; this is a decent looking restaurant.


5. If you ask for wine they assume you only want a glass.


6. In the world's most famous beef raising area the local recipes decree that it is sliced and bashed and battered to oblivion before serving. Real steaks cost the same as London.

7. When you order more than one course you have to make it clear that you do not want it all at once!


[I apologize to all the places where we have eaten that do not do all the above]


Here are four views of a beer glass (DWI means driving while intoxicated)....

Bon appetit!

A little link back to the Pacific

In contrast to the humorous vein of this blog I regard this item as serious. For the millions which people in the UK spend on restoring stately homes and such like, recent much more important artefacts are allowed to disappear. However in the USA there are wealthy dedicated people who keep things like this in working order....

Now known as the Commemorative Air Force based in Midland, Texas I got the privilege of sitting in the commander's seat of this B29 for a small donation.

The Alamo

The Alamo redoute is now surrounded by buildings catering for tourists and a lot of it is extremely tacky. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas do a good job keeping the standards within the site.

I can't help but notice that although Santa Anna was eventually repulsed and the war won, Mexican is the dominant culture here....

Antonio López de Santa Anna himself would be proud of the security man ushering the Gringos.

In the Heat of the Night - actually daytime.

We drive from Fort Davis to San Antonio. On the interstate the food is all chain restaurants and the road is plastered with billboards so we take Route 90 which happens to pass close to the Mexican border at Del Rio. This is through really beautiful country which passes through green mountains and parts which are as flat and deserted as the Nullarbor. There are very small towns with homely cafes which sell genuine food, untainted by the franchise system which destroys all taste and goodness. Along the road we come to a checkpoint where the border patrol are looking for illegals. Sue is driving so we breeze up to the young guy at the stop line. She winds down the window and blighthly announces "We're English!".

"Can I see you passports?"
"They're in the boot".
"They're in the WHAT?".
"Sorry I think you call it the trunk".
"Pull over there marm".
I get out the passports and hand them to one of the now 5 or 6 guys who have surrounded us. They are passed from hand to hand and each page gets a thorough study from each one.
"You travel a lot".
"We're Europeans, it's what we do".
Looking at me "Your passport's not stamped, When did you arrive?".
"18 July in Dallas". I forgot we cleared immo in LA; that was a cause of confusion. But they are right the immo officer stamped Sue's passport but not mine. Not my problem, I point out.
"Just put the numbers into your computer and you will see where we arrived and when".
One of them disappears into the office with our passports.
No point in being other than light-hearted. Conversation continues with the rest of them.
"Where did you come from into the USA?"
"Tahiti".
"Haiti?".
"No TA-HI-TI! The country is French Polynesia."
By now I realise they have seen our Libyan visas - hand written in Arabic - in the passports. This might be a long stop.
"Where are you going now?"
"The GPS is set for Holiday Inn, San Antonio but we don't have a reservation".

You remember 'In the Heat of the Night' when Steiger wants to find out where Poitier gets his money.

"What do you do?"
"Nothing I am retired".
"What did you do before that? You was a professor or something?" [priceless!]
"I was an air traffic controller".
[Silence]
"Work for the government for 44 years and you can have a pension like mine".

Not the brightest thing I ever said, but they see the point.
Guy comes back with passports and announces we can go. We are legit!
We say goodbye, "Maybe your detention centre would be more comfortable than the Holiday Inn Express?" "No sir, we have Mexican Mafia in there". Well I am in the hotel now and I am not so sure that's a big difference....

All the while we were watching the line of traffic building up and one guy at the checkpoint waving through all types of vehicles. Documents were only getting a cursory check. He was accompanied by what we thought was a highly-trained sniffer dog. Highly-trained that is, until the dog smells another dog in one of the cars and goes berserk!

We set off down the road impressed by how young they all were.

Crossing the Pecos....

Texan scenery....

A 4-wheel-drive safari in Texas

With many thanks to Bob who drove the Jeep we had a fascinating 3 hours driving in and out of the canyons of the Sproul Ranch. Now dedicated to tourism and very effective way of placing this region into context. As Europeans it is facile to derive amusement from the fact that US history starts when most of ours ends (OK. '1066 and all that' was a joke book) but the early pioneers did suffer extreme hardship and to be a member of such a family must be a burden to live up to. As a child I read about the Donner Party - a emigrant wagon train group which had to winter in the Rockies and ended up eating each other - but this country has founding stories of biblical texture and some folks here are trying to live up to it.

Anyway here's some photos of the ranch. The green hills are not typical, we are getting more rain than anyone in Texas can reasonably expect.

Zoom well in to see the road-runner.

 

Bob, Thanks for a good tour.

BTW we ate tonight at the only place in Jeff Davis County allowed to sell alcohol! Talking to visitors from Houston we asked where we should visit next and there reply was San Antonio so tomorrow we are off to the Alomo and the Davy Crockett story.

Hobby-Eberly Telescope

Today we got back to astronomy by booking into a hotel in Fort Davis, Texas. A very small town in the Davis Mountains of W Texas. Nearby at 7,000 ft elevation is the Mcdonald Observatory. The drive up is interesting but a wave of thunderstorms is going through the area at the moment. While inside the dome of the 108in telescope it was struck by lightning. No-one flinched; I think we expected it.

It is the home of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope which is unique in the field of telescope design for its size and utility as a spectroscope. I managed to get a picture of the 91-segment 9.2-metre mirror. The light was not good but the mirror is evident because you can see the roof trusses reflected and distorted in the lower part of the image...

The view from the mountain is good too, when the weather co-operates...

Typical day circumnavigating the world

Yesterday went to Asda (or Walmart as they are known here). Bought a 30 dollar kettle to manage the teabags we nicked from the hotel as we are now in territory that drinks carfffeee.

By the way it's getting tedious but here we get detained by everybody. "Love your accent, could talk to you all day!". I try to explain that I am not related to Bob Hoskins.

Today we did Dallas and ticked the box marked 'Kennedy'. The sixth floor of the book depository is an exhibition that just stops short of being macabre. Salutary to drive down the same road and stand near the corner by the window where Oswald did the deed.

Later on had to replace broken sandals, then got three Chinese polo shirts for $19.95. Would you believe a two minute drive from one end of the car-park to the other? I'm not walking in 40degs! Lookup 'Irving Mall' on google maps and you get the idea.

Ah well! laundry done off to Houston tomorrow.

Tahiti to Dallas

Air Tahiti paint the aeroplanes in two tones of blue that parfectly match the sea within the reefs of the islands....

Here's the original colours....

Baby on board

A small guest took up residence in our car on Tahiti. I wonder if it is still there...

Gordon the Gecko.

While driving around Moorea (a really lush beautiful place) we stopped and watched this crab scouring the beach for sraps....

Eclipse pictures

This is my best mid-eclipse image....

A patch of thin cloud passed over the sun/moon about half way through and I must say it made an artistic improvement....

The blobs and streaks are just camera artefacts caused by pointing the camera at the sun.

Destination Hao

We fly to Hao in the Tuamotu archipelago. Flying at low level the flight takes two hours and on the way you pass over a couple of other atolls. Of course the flight is full of amateur astronomers with cameras....

I notice the right aileron droop as the pilot struggled to keep the wings level as the cargo shifted.

Actually as we passed over some atolls on the return journey we got better pictures.

Eclipse preparations

Just taking advantage of this temporary hotel having a good ethernet in the room but we are sorry for the 5-day hiatus in blogging. We have had a hectic time keeping up with the changes of hotel and logistical business. The travel company had booked our entire stay in the Hilton Hotel in Papeete but it closed for commercial reasons at the end of March. So we have not been able to have continuous occupancy of the replacement. Most luggage has been left in lock-up in Tahiti and we take a limited amount for our camping two days on Hao, Tuamotu. ATR turbo-prop flight, will take a while. Weather looks good; fingers crossed. Will get some pictures on the flight to and from Hao (1,000 kms of sea mainly).

Great to be able to practice the French but the Polynesian language looks to be a real challenge. It puts the achievements of Cook et al in the 18th century in perspective. Negotiating and conferring with the local people without the benefit of a common culture or even an agent who could translate seems to my mind an impossibility but they did it - not without a few misunderstandings though.

Pictures coming soon!

Christchurch to Picton

There are two scenic train journeys on S Island. We did a day return Christchurch to Greymouth across the Southern Alps but the snow was on the upper levels of the hills not down in the valley with the train. But this picture of the stop at Kaikoura on the way north to catch the ferry is the best of all....

There is almost no part of the trip when you cannot see the snow-covered peaks.

The Pleiades and Maori lore

We were too late for the planetarium show at the Wellington observatory but we had time to browse the books and I came across a children's book on Maori lore. In a nutshell the Maori have a lunar calendar and the new year starts on the first new moon after the heliacal rising of the Pleiades. This is from Wikipedia....

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades. When it rises in the north-eastern skies in late May or early June, it signals to Māori that the New Year will begin. In one tradition, Matariki is the mother surrounded by her six daughters, Tupu-a-nuku, Tupu-a-rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-a-rangi and Ururangi.

Interesting parallel with ancient Egypt in that they used a southern star, Sirius, to do the same job. The Maori use a northern asterism to do the same job. This is not difficult to rationalise, each culture has picked a feature that is not circumpolar. To do otherwise would not give a heliacal rising date in such an obvious way. There is an astronomy talk in there some where.

The modern observatory is in the same mold as Greenwich or Dunsink. Observations were kept to maintain clocks for sailors using the harbour. Note the slit and upper hatchway in this picture which was for the use of the transit telescope. It was repeated on the north side of the building so a complete hour-angle could be seen at one go.

Sorry to all who are not familiar with the astronomy terms. Google can explain it all.

Cook Strait

Cook Strait separates North and South Islands and is connected by ro-ro ferry. The first bit of the voyage is through narrow passages out to the open sea.

 

I thought the White Cliffs of Dover were pretty heart-warming to come home to, but this is a bit more picturesque. But the old country does reach out to you; look carefully at this....

The old name is still visible! The 'Pride of Cherbourg'!

I read a long time ago that re-naming a ship was unlucky. Actually it is a common marketing strategy. The history of the Kaitaki is fascinating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Kaitaki

We are officially homesick! There's a Belgian bar in Christchurch.

Never thought about missing home until we saw this....

New Zealand green-lip mussels don't seem quite right and they are the biggest I ever ate, and they cut the head off the beer like Germans, but what the hell, nothing's perfect.

http://www.belgianbeercafe.net.nz/

We're in NEW ZEALAND

Land of scraping the ice off the car in the morning and roaring log fires. Houses that would look normal in Surrey. And views like this....

 

This is what the phrase 'gin clear' means. CAVU; Ceiling and visibility unlimited as in this view....

Last stop in Oz - Bendigo

We found a very nice wine merchants in this town, with a very nice restaurant attached.


http://www.winebankonview.com/

Most evocative of Australia

This scene of eucalypts growing on the banks of the Murray at Mildura is my most evocative of Australia's natural landscape. You can photograph miles of empty road and desert but it is the proximity of water and trees which reminds you of the important elements for life.

Honey Eater

Anyone know the proper name for this bird....

Moon and Venus

Sunset a couple of nights ago gave a good view of the new moon and Venus.

Cloud in the west gave a hint of a sun-pillar....

 

Earthlight on the new moon -just the southern way round....

 

A day in the Flinders Ranges National Park

Thanks to Peter and Vicki we could go with 4x4 driving through canyons of the national park. There is nothing like it anywhere for the quietness and ruggedness of the landscape accessible to a vehicle. But all the time one is conscious of the threat that the elements can be the master of the environment. Yesterday the canyons had quiet streams easily fordable, but the evidence of uprooted trees was all around. Some creeks were filled with saplings which will be washed away at the next flood which may be years away. Older trees at the edge of the streams had survived but at a cost of bearing a root system distorted into fantastic shapes as the tree had coped with successive uprootings over the years.

Pete's Mitsubishi Pajero....

And the inspiring scenery....

 

The locals only appear briefly before sunset....