[ATMoB-discuss] Re: Stellafane, car problems

[valleli at rcn.com]

Open letter to Tal Mental:
(His car had a leaking head gasket and he left the convention after only a few hours).
.........At Stellafane, I was concerned enough about the oil leak to decide not to stay until the evening. I didn't want to be on the road after dark with the cah not 100% okay. I walked around the area chatting with friends, and looking for you. I saw Dennis di Cicco, Roger Sinnott, and Kelly and Cheryl Beatty from Sky & Tel, and some friends from the Springfield (MA) Stars club, who said that they had been told to be sure to invite me to their annual star party and picnic which is held in Buckland, MA in the western part of the state. That will be held in two weeks. I always go there. I also saw quite a few members of the ATMoB, of course, and people from out of state that I only see at Stellafane, like John Bortle, the comet expert who used to write the Comet Digest column for S&T .
 
At 11:30 am I went back to me cah, checked the oil again, and headed home, where I arrived at 2:00 pm, surprising Ann. She had not expected me to show up until between 11 pm and midnight, and she was properly sympathetic to my tale of woe about paying the $30 entrance fee for just 2 1/2 hours. C'est la vie!
 
I heard about the award that you won. You won it because I was out-voted! I told them that no one who refuses to read six or seven pages about the conspiracy against Velikovsky should be given ANY kind of award! But, did they listen to me? Nooooo! So, enjoy the award, even though you don't deserve it.
Thy pal,
Tal 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cahs! You can't live with 'em or without 'em.
Tal,
I am sure the instigators that sanctioned Velikovsky felt they were doing the world a favor - no need to worry their tiny brains with daring new ideas.

Most of the video taping took place under poor weather conditions but I did get a chance to chat with Tim Ferris for a little while. Be sure to read "Seeing in the Dark" if you haven't already. Quite good, and more advanced than I expected. 
The PBS video will be quite quite different according to Tim.

Much of their shooting was with Canon CCD cameras - a frame every 30 secs. for sunset, in one case, and 24 hours in another.

Apparently, Stellafane will be the only convention venue in the film. You lost your chance at fame and fortune because of a stupid cah!

Barbara came with me, despite constant back pain, to relieve cabin fever. I wanted her to see the new flower gardens and renovations to Hartness House.

I got to bed at 4AM on Sat. after a great night of observing in clear skies. Finished up with a nice view of M31 with the Schupmann and 55mm TeleVue Plossl EP. After 3.5 hrs. of sleep Barbara woke me up before the included breakfast ended and then had to pick a few things up at the hardware. I probably passed you as you left the hill. STM thanks you for the donation.

You missed nothing at the awards, as I talked about WSH, not myself. It was video taped and later on, the program will be re-broadcast on our web site so that you can see a replay. 

After the keynote talk, it was cloudy, so a bunch of ATM's got together for a coffeeclatch at Lou-ee's Dining Tent We broke up at 3 AM because it had cleared. I had my 12-inch Lightbridge set up so Al Takeda and myself observed until dawn. Hit the sack at 6:00 AM. Checked out at noon after visiting the Museum of Telescope Making and Barbara drove part of the way.  

There is now too many simultaneous events and I missed seeing the binocular observing chair. 

What did you think of the new Flanders Pavilion?

Regards, Paul