This is the Message Centre for Gnomon - time to move on

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Post 1

Gnomon - time to move on

Lots happening at the moment, which I haven't filled you all in on.

Daughter Iz is gone to college - she's learning Japanese on a three-week residential course with a lot of other like-minded teenagers.

Daughter El is gone to France with a few friends to learn French. Her friends are entering their final year in school so they need the French to do well in their exams. El is finished school, so she's going along for the fun of it. I've been told it's very hot in the south of France at the moment - 32 degrees at 10pm.

So Mrs G and I are at home in an empty house. Just the two of us and three guinea pigs. Last night we went to see Chanticleer, the phenomenal American a capella singing group. Although they are all men, they had three sopranos! I'd never seen a male soprano before - like a counter-tenor but much higher. They did a program of religious music with some Orlando di Lasso and Victoria from the really old era, a Tavener number from more recently and finished off with some Negro Spirituals. The acoustic was big and echoey, which suited the old, slow music, but not the Spirituals. Nevertheless, I have never heard such singing in my life. Absolutely perfect, and without a conductor too.

I've just almost completed a mammoth sub-editing job: Kitrapsjani's 7,000 word tribute to Bollywood, Part 1. Most edits take me about 20 minutes. I've been working on this one since the 8th of June - that'll be a month by the time I finish it tomorrow.

I won't be sub-editing anything else for a while, as at the end of the week, I'm off on my first of three holidays this summer. This one is with Mrs G and Iz to Wexford. Then I'll be off with Azara for a weekend in Hull, meeting up with some of my h2g2 friends - GB in particular, but others such as lil and Moonhogg as well. At the beginning of August, the whole family is off to the UK for our Stratford / Cardiff / Dyffryn Ardudwy holiday. Finally at the end of August we'll have another week in Wexford, although Mrs G will only be able to make it for the weekends, as she's run out of annual leave.

I haven't written anything for the Guide recently, as I've been too busy between reading "The Lord of the Rings" again, and sub-editing the Bollywood entry. You never know, now that that's nearing completion, I might embark on something. There are a few topics I'd like to tackle: Newton, Mendelssohn and the First Crusade spring to mind, but I'd have to be in the mood for each of those. The "Red" entry I'd started was stopped in its tracks when a Red Entry appeared on the front page last week, written by a load of other researchers. But my Archimedes entry is still in Peer Review and since nobody has commented on it in weeks, I assume it is ok and it's only a matter of time before it gets picked.

Last week I took delivery of a new toy: a camera for taking pictures of the stars through the telescope. I'm somewhat surprised by it. You connect it into the telescope instead of an eyepiece lens which means that it is a fixed magnification. You can't zoom in or out at all. But you can take 100 or 1,000 photos at a rate of about 15 per second, and combine all the results to make a much more detailed picture, which you can then zoom in on digitally. At least that's the principle. I haven't done it yet, as this is the worst time of the year for seeing the stars, since it doesn't really get dark. Also, I need to connect the camera to a computer for it to work, so I've had to dig out an old laptop which I can carry out to the garden, and the battery on it was dead. I've been charging it up over the last few days, and if the sky clears I might venture out tomorrow and try it out.


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Post 2

Baron Grim

You'll enjoy this. It's a fish eye view of the sky over Fort Davis, Texas 20 second exposures taken once per minute and replayed at 15 fps.

http://www.vimeo.com/4505537


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Post 3

Galaxy Babe - eclectic editor

Well done on the Bollywood job; I know of old how tough Kit's entries are to subedit, but so rewarding. smiley - applause

I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon toosmiley - okand also of meeting Azara smiley - smiley

Do enjoy your holiday and the empty house (for a while)smiley - towel

There's other colours; sorry about the red, I had no idea you were planning one. I had started a Violet & ultraviolet but stalled over the science. I wonder if you want to finish my Stephen Hawking which also stalled as I didn't know how to write about his achievements smiley - sadface

The camera, is it a CCCD one? They cost £1,000 in 1999, I know because I helped raise the funds to purchase one for the Cleethorpes & District Astonomical Society and the pics from their large telescope were smiley - magic I still have my moon shot.

The singing sounds... wonderful smiley - magicand any new experience at our age is one to be relished. I'll pass this link onsmiley - ok

GB
smiley - galaxysmiley - diva


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Post 4

Beatrice

That's an amazing link Count Zero.

Enjoy your various travels, Gnomon!


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Post 5

AlsoRan80

Dear Count Zero,

I have watched that little video show four times already this morning!! It is wonderful.

Dare I ask if that bottom star right at the bottom of the video, at the end is Venus/evening star? I believe we also called it the Morning Star star in the southern hemisphere.

Then I read your home page, I wanted to write to you immediately and then I was distracted with a whole lot of things appearing on my computer and then it "slipped "from my memory. . !!

it is really old age, hence my rather caustic/ridiculous(?)post of mine about our being bipeds on another posting of mine to do with Descartes. !!"

Go well, and what a wonderful job you have. Much to grand and intelledtual for me.!!However, may I still ask you if I may put you down as a friend?

Tuesday 7th July, 2009 8.31 BST

Christiane
Also Ran80


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Post 6

AlsoRan80

Dear Gnomon,

I have written already but must have forgotten to post it. !!

Wonderful to hear all your news. What a choir - and the counter -tenors were called sopranos. That is interesting- And no conductor. !!

Well enjoy the rest of the summer

Tuesday 7th July, 2009 8.40 BST

Christiane
AR80


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Post 7

Gnomon - time to move on

Christiane, I've checked the sky charts and I think you are right that that is Venus, but it could possibly be Jupiter which is almost as bright. Venus is called the morning star throughout the world when it is there in the sky before sunrise, and is called the evening star throughout the world when it appears just after sunset. Because of its position close to the sun, it is never up in the middle of the night.


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Post 8

Gnomon - time to move on

GB, I think all digital cameras are CCD (charge coupled device). I don't know whether you intended that extra C in your £1,000 one, but it's an expensive C if so, as mine didn't cost anything like that. It was about £150.


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Post 9

Anoldgreymoonraker Free Tibet

Hope you don't mind me asking but what is your daughter learning Japanese for? even possibly how old is she?


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Post 10

Gnomon - time to move on

She's 14. She's learning Japanese to increase her knowledge, and because Japan is the most interesting country in the world (to a 14-year-old).


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Post 11

Recumbentman

My 20-year-old nephew is taking Japanese in college (in Canada). He wanted to do Mandarin but was told it was impossibly difficult. Japanese can't be all that much easier . . . smiley - erm


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Post 12

Beatrice

I'm teaching myself a bit of Mandarin through langauge CDs at the minute. Spome aspects are very difficult - the tonal bit. But other parts are very easy - no complicated verb endings, turn something into a questions with "ma", turn something into negative with "bu". I can imagine that learning to write it is quite demanding.


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Post 13

Baron Grim


>>GB, I think all digital cameras are CCD (charge coupled device).<<

Some cameras are CMOS. (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, CCD stands for Charged-Couple Device).

CMOS chips are typically cheaper to manufacture and weren't as light sensitive but recently this is beginning to change. While they are still inherently cheaper to manufacture, their quality has increased greatly. My new Canon 50D, similar to the one that took the video above has an advanced version of the CMOS chip.

For anyone who's interested in the technical details here's a link:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D30/D30A4.HTM


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Post 14

Gnomon - time to move on

Checking the spec of my camera, it is indeed a CCD.


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Post 15

AlsoRan80

Dear Gnomon,

I hope you notice that I am, at last, thanks to Paul H. (who pointed out my error,) spelling your name correctly. Wonders never cease. !1

I am so pleased that you appear to think that I might be correct in thinking that the bright star at the end of the video could be Venus. I never knew that she was called the Morning and the Evening star world-wide.

Also plesse note that I am using the term you indicated I should use- i.e. - BST - on all my entries when indicating the date and time of that particular posting. !!

I hope you will give me high marks for being an attentive pupil. !!

And thank you so very much for finding the very first time I joined this marvellous web site. It is a pity I knew so little about it, and was not such a bright pupil when I was seventy than now when I am eighty odd. !!smiley - laughsmiley - laugh

Tuesday 7th July, 2009 18.20 BST

Go well,

Christiane
AR80


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Post 16

Elentari

You've been busy! Enjoy your holidays!


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Post 17

Fizzymouse- no place like home



Well the credit crunch obviously hasn't hit your house yet - hope you enjoy all your holidays and I'm particularly jealous of the Hull meet - give Hoggster a slap from me.smiley - evilgrin


Have to say that video is awesome Count and I've watched it a dozen times and it doesn't get any less awesome.smiley - applause


smiley - mouse


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Post 18

Gnomon - time to move on

>credit crunch

Well, two of our three weeks off are to be in Wexford where we can stay in our mobile home at no additional expense (we paid the year's rental before the credit crunch).

To continue the story of our busy life, we went to see the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland last night. The daughter of a friend of ours is one of the violins. They played two percussion pieces in the first half, one with just percussionists and the other a concerto for percussion and orchestra. The soloist was Evelyn Glennie!

The second half was Bruckner's rather long and repetitive 4th Symphony which puts a huge onus on the brass players and particularly the horns, but they were well able for the task. The conductor picked out the horn players for special applause three times at the end!


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Post 19

Beatrice

smiley - wow I'm going to that concert in Belfast tonight!


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Post 20

Gnomon - time to move on

Enjoy!


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