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...