Do you ever feel mad?

[Austin]

I,ve had a police helicopter light me up for about five minutes once before! They only left me when I gave them a wave!! It was like someting out of close encounters

[JamesF]

I,ve had a police helicopter light me up for about five minutes once before! They only left me when I gave them a wave!! It was like someting out of close encounters

"It's ok Sarge, he can't be a terrorist. He just waved to me."

James

[FarSide]

I,ve had a police helicopter light me up for about five minutes once before! They only left me when I gave them a wave!! It was like someting out of close encounters

That's funny, actually, because i too had a police helicopter come out and hover over the part of the street i took one of my grab and go set up to so i could view Jupiter. Maybe someone reported me for trying to shoot at the sky!

[LukeSkywatcher]

I once had a hedgehog wander by me in the garden. It stopped right beside me for a couple of minutes as if having a look at what i was doing then it simply carried on about its nocturnal business. It was probably annoyed that i was on its "manor".

[sam mayo]

i set up a few nights ago and was chilling on the bench looking at the moon early on and on 80 yr old neighbour walked by and asked what i was doing so i offered him to have a look though the scope he walked of laughing, later found out he thought it was a model cannon its amused me for a while

[jezhughes]

I'm not mad, i'm cool!

The people who tut and shake their head most probably those who take the bible word and word and believe in Genesis. They are the mad ones.

(sorry to any religious people here )

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The Televue Genesis I trust

[FarSide]

In reports of good weather we DON'T trust.

[Mr_Si]

Some of the guys at my church and I love space and stargazing etc...

Anyway,

I was out using my Binoculars last week, Thursday or Friday night and there was someone watching me out of her window, a younger person. I think it doesn't often happen in our area - people sitting in a camping chair looking up at the sky with bins, but I'm sure it will now, what with me living there.

[sam mayo]

love it

[FarSide]

I think my neighbours thought i was already mad in the first place. Not only do i have six chickens wandering about as they please; i also collect bonsai trees and i have a telescope that to me needs a hell of alot of work, and is ameteur but to them probably seems overly complicated and far to digital, who knows?

[CKemu]

I sometimes set up in front of my house in a small cul-de-sac - for the most part I've had kids exclaiming to their parents "WOW, BIG TELESCOPE" and a few "dads" pop over with excited kids wanting to take a look, and it's extremely pleasing when you get gasps of "WOW" from Dad and son alike - though I've always noticed that the Mum hovers around their house looking worried and possibly with the police on hold - just incase I turn out to be a peeping tom.

However my location is divided between some young professional families and some less "informed" - well frankly doley scum. Who curtain twitch away and when confronted with "I'm looking at the Moon", generally respond with "BS, yah a perv" - my normal response tends to get a little derogatory at that point, possibly suggesting that a ball of rock in space is far more - dare I say it, attractive!

But generally I get the usual "WTF" looks when I lug my telescope in to the field behind my house, three trips and a slight sweat possibly is a sign of madness - well it's all worth it - even if I have had the odd person yell weirdo at me!

[freeflyjay]

Put it out one evening with some fins and a nose cone on

James

Oh love it, gonna have to try that one, off the get the corn flakes packet, that`ll freak the neibours.

i have been called mad by many a person but thats probably due to some of my hobbies over the years, skydiving, paragliding , motorbikes, ect, but i`m fine it`s all the other buggers you got to watch out for.....................wibble!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Perhaps I should buy a white lab coat and get some thick, dark-rimmed glasses for that genuine "mad professor" look.

[JamesF]

You also need to back-comb your hair and speak with an eastern European accent...

james

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

You also need to back-comb your hair and speak with an eastern European accent...

james

Zat is not beink a problem, nein! I am told I do a very good dr. Strangelove immitation. At my public PhD defence, the first questions were asked by a German professor (with prototypical accent), and two members of my student drama society got the giggles at the idea of me answering in tha dr. Strangelove way

"I haf don some experiments UND I haf come to ze followink conclusions!!"

[JamesF]

In the dim and distant past when I was a student we were taught formal language theory by a Polish chap called Wojciech Ritter who was spending some time at Warwick Uni. He was so "mad professor" that his lectures were almost completely impenetrable. The drop-out rate for the course was enormous. It's not exactly the most intuitive of subjects and if you couldn't work things out from the course textbook (and sometimes it was difficult to work out which bit of it he was trying to teach) then you were completely lost.

James

[Moonshane]

I am lucky as my next door neighbour's soon is into astronomy (i sorted him a telescope out) and my next door but one is my home observing partner! i don't really care what people think and if anyone ever wondered what I was doing, I'd invite them round for a look.

[Astrosurf]

I am soooo lucky with my neighbours. Buckinghamshire is quite a happy, nice place research has shown! That's generalisation of course.

My nearest neighbour has a scope (which he hasn't time to use) so he understands and will turn off his porch light if I ask him. (A very talented artist: http://www.paulbursnall.co.uk/ ). The other neighbours don't worry that much it seems.

Mind you, I often take my large corn snake, Whizzbee, out for a slither so they see me walk in and out of the garden with Whizz wrapped round my neck and me talking to him as he slithers through the grass.

But I guess that's not as weird as when I used to keep exotic praying mantids. I cultured flies but still tried to catch wild ones in summer. So they'd see me with a big yellow net, stalking around the garden!

Not a peep from anyone. Have I scared them off?!

[Bart]

If I wasn't into this, I would wonder why that nutter stays out all night in the absolute freezing cold, dressed like the Michelin Man, with a snood, red head torch and eye patch. Has he not found what he's looking for, he's been doing it for years

[Mr Moff]

I am soooo lucky with my neighbours. Buckinghamshire is quite a happy, nice place research has shown! That's generalisation of course.

My nearest neighbour has a scope (which he hasn't time to use) so he understands and will turn off his porch light if I ask him. (A very talented artist: http://www.paulbursnall.co.uk/ ). The other neighbours don't worry that much it seems.

Mind you, I often take my large corn snake, Whizzbee, out for a slither so they see me walk in and out of the garden with Whizz wrapped round my neck and me talking to him as he slithers through the grass.

But I guess that's not as weird as when I used to keep exotic praying mantids. I cultured flies but still tried to catch wild ones in summer. So they'd see me with a big yellow net, stalking around the garden!

Not a peep from anyone. Have I scared them off?!

Aaaaaa, snakes, noooooo. I've got goose bumps just from the description.

I bet I have a nightmare tonight involving snakes.

[Astrosurf]

He's just a lizard without legs. Very soft and smooth. He's a delight to hold and very gentle, honest!

[Mr Moff]

One of my friends has 2 of them. Well when I say 2, one is in its tank and the other one is missing. He got out a few months ago. I'm too scared to go round there now because he thinks it's still in the house somewhere. I just know if I go round there I'll be the one to find it. (shudders)