Thursday, December 28, 2006

Pentax Shoots For The Moon

These are all 1/90th of a second with the 8" f/7 reflector. It is cold, crisp, and clear--and if I can stay warm enough (more hot chocolate, Rhonda!), I'll try this with Big Bertha next. We're past first quarter, so contrast is a bit low, especially on the sections where the Sun is already high in the sky.


Click to enlarge


Here's a more detailed image from within this. Obviously, I don't have the focus quite as crisp as I should yet.


Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge
Improved Lighting

The sky cleared last night with a massive wind storm, and we have blue sky today. I have some more pictures that I took with the K10D and zoom lens and telescope. I've cut these down a bit on size, which is really something of an advantage with these sort of magnifications.

This is the zoom lens at 80mm (equivalent to 120mm for 35mm size):


Click to enlarge


And at 205mm (equivalent to 307mm for 35mm size):


Click to enlarge


Here are a couple of pictures of downtown Horseshoe Bend, about six miles away, using the 8" f/7 reflector:


Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Pentax Camera Zoom

We've had less than optimal lighting conditions for several days because of cloud cover, but I've been able to take some pictures with the Pentax K10D and both an older, non-autofocus telephoto zoom lens, and using an adapter to mount it on my 8" f/7 reflector. (For those of you who think in camera, that's a 1414mm f/7.)

These pictures were taken with an 80-205mm zoom (equivalent to 120-307mm, because of the difference in sensor size relative to 35mm film size). As you can see, at the high end, the image quality degrades substantially.


Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge


This picture is of downtown Horseshoe Bend, using the 8" f/7 reflector. I'm not sure how much of the lack of crispness was failure to get a proper focus (although the camera though it was as sharp as it could get), and how much was the limitations of distance and atmosphere. The target here is six miles away from me, and down.


Click to enlarge

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Humor

I received the following holiday wishes, originally written by one David Ryan:

To all My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere , And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms.

For My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Friday, December 22, 2006

Faking Hate Crimes

I mentioned a while back that a "hate crime" against a homosexual student at Boise State, upon more investigation, turned out to be a fraud. The student attacked himself, punching himself, and beating himself with a stick, so that he could claim that Idaho's passage of a "one man, one woman" constitutional amendment was promoting violence against homosexuals. Not surprisingly, Boise State had a grand mal seizure of guilt about how "homophobic" it and the rest of Idaho is--but precious few words when they realized that this "hate crime" didn't happen.

The student--whose name hasn't been published until now because he was a "victim"--is now identified:
Authorities announced today that Alex "A.J." McGillis, 20, of Boise must appear in court on charges of resisting and obstructing officers. The charge specifically relates to a false report McGillis made to police Nov. 9. in connection with what was initially reported to police as a battery on the greenbelt somewhere between Taylor Hall and Friendship Bridge. According to police reports, McGillis initially claimed a white male struck him from behind with an object while using anti-gay expletives and proceeded to hit him in the face several times, causing him to lose consciousness. McGillis later admitted to authorities he used a stick and his own fists to self-inflict his injuries. The falsified attack quickly prompted student and administrative organizations around Boise State to sponsor the "No Oppression Tolerated, Not On Our Campus," rally and a candlelight vigil in the Quad. Several student representatives and BSU administrators stressed tolerance and the need for civility on campus at the rallies and for several days after. Hundreds attended the rallies. The prosecutor's summons orders McGillis to appear in Magistrate Court no later than Jan. 10th on the charge. Filing a false police report is a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of $1,000 fine and one year in jail.
Now, I'm sure that liberals everywhere will be full of excuses for what McGillis did, minimizing its importance, and saying that he has suffered enough.

Imagine how they would have responded, however, if this had happened?

1. A man reports being grabbed by a group of homosexuals, raped, and taunted, "You'll want to come back for of this, won't you?"

2. Social conservatives organize rallies demanding that "something be done" to make it safe for straight men, and decrying the tolerance of homosexual rape.

3. After police find inconsistencies in his story, and failures to match the physical evidence, the man admits that he faked the whole thing, and there was no homosexual rape.

Do you think that conservatives would be sitting around making analogous excuses such as, "Well, there are homosexuals who rape straight men--maybe it didn't happen in this case, but it could have!" Do you think liberals would be making excuses for why this inflammatory false crime report shouldn't be punished severely?