Stupid hobby! - How do you suffer?

[Owmuchonomy]

Yes, the older I get the more I must exercise my brain to keep sane.  This hobby is just the ticket.

[Marky1973]

And the older I get, the more grey hair I have anyway....

[Gina]

 

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

The trouble with 'easy' is that it's easy - and so not very interesting. Everything I've ever enjoyed doing has been either difficult or an indulgence enjoyed as a reward for having done something difficult.

Olly

I used to work in research and we had a motto "easy we give to other people, difficult  we do straight away, the impossible takes a little longer." 

[Linda]

48 minutes ago, Marky1973 said:

Nail and head, Olly.

That's exactly the reason I keep at it. I have had more nights where everyone has gone to pot and I have either not managed to even get imaging, or find my images won't stack/process into anything worth looking at. When this happens, I am all but ready to give up and sell-up... but then you get that one night where you look at Jupiter, or an image comes out better than expected and you remember why you do it. Easy is definitely boring...

That is so true. Those great nights certainly make up for some frustrating nights.

[ollypenrice]

1 hour ago, Owmuchonomy said:

Yes, the older I get the more I must exercise my brain to keep sane.  This hobby is just the ticket.

Heheh Or maybe,  'The older I get the more I feel myself degenerating into sanity so this hobby is just the ticket.'

Olly

[Owmuchonomy]

As an example,  I have just spent the last half an hour convincing myself that to invest any further in planetary imaging kit would be madness.  From now until at least 2020 at this latitude my planetary views (other than the ice giants) will be below comfortable altitude.  Why would anybody bother, but they will and then be disappointed. So have I just restricted my expenditure successfully or as my neurones fire again have I just opened up the ability to spend on DS imaging kit?  Oh, for goodness sake!

[Dave In Vermont]

An Oldie but a Goldie:

One Day At A Time!

Dave

[MattJenko]

<jealousy>I think all those that have permanent setups should immediately tear it down and get back to setting up every session and pulling down at the end to remind themselves of the primal joy of repetition</jealousy>

[xtreemchaos]

your lucky Neil, i havnt had a drink stronger than coffee for over 10 years with the meds im on, oh i long for a dram...charl.

[Piero]

Although I like whisky, it is not really my secondary hobby!  

If it is cloudy out there, I generally read, study maths, or chat on SGL.

When I was a student I used to study more, although this was often alternated with wild times!    (in a good way of course!) 

[Starlight 1]

I  got a big all one  that the wind or cold can not get in  its have a full iner lineing that you can unzip , I added a electric blanket to the lineing the only down side is pull a lead around  .

So for me its all about thinking of something that work , ect LP or keeping cold out.

[Gina]

I've given up suffering - only do astronomy when I feel like it and the weather is suitable - I've branched out into other things.  Still interested though.

[Starlight 1]

This my all in one electric blanket .

[Scosmico]

On 01/04/2016 at 01:40, Stub Mandrel said:

What kind of hobby is this that has me sitting up at 1:39 waiting for a camera in the garden and looking forward to a night on he couch?

At least I have a small flask of Bell's. Would prefer Laphroaig, Glenlivet or Glenmorangie.

How do YOU suffer for astronomy?

clouds, clouds, clouds everywhere. Specially on those rare astronomical events.

[bish]

I can't think of anything else were a good night means being out from 6pm to 6am, with temperatures dropping to -10c, and have everything go from soaking wet with dew to frozen solid. You then get in your cold tent for a few hours hoping for another night like it to follow. It was one of these nights when I cricked my neck and couldn't turn my head for a week.

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 01/04/2016 at 02:43, Amyb said:

I don't actually drink but it seems the more into astronomy I get the more likely I am to turn to the bottle if I go by your guys comments lol ?

I didnt drink before getting into astronomy (well i was only 6 yrs old) . I'm now a litre bottle of vodka a week kind of astronomer. 

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 01/04/2016 at 08:41, Marky1973 said:

By that time it's too late... you won't be able to afford alcohol... You'll struggle to afford clothing if you get into astrophotography as well.

No worries. I have two good kidneys. Get a good price for them online these days.

[cloudsweeper]

I like astronomy; I like the occasional beer.  

But I avoid having the latter before indulging in the former in case I trip and drop something in the dark which could cost £00s!

Doug.

PS: As for suffering, it's restricted to the usual matter of planning, waiting, setting up, then yet again being thwarted by cloud - especially the sneaky, hazy type.

[LukeSkywatcher]

10 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

I like astronomy; I like the occasional beer.  

But I avoid having the latter before indulging in the former in case I trip and drop something in the dark which could cost £00s!

Doug.

PS: As for suffering, it's restricted to the usual matter of planning, waiting, setting up, then yet again being thwarted by cloud - especially the sneaky, hazy type.

Cloudsweeper (i'm guessing that aint your real name), i see in your signature: " Celestron Nexstar 8SE SCT - a small oildrum on three short telegraph poles, with WiFi control.  Fabulous! ".

Mind talking me through that setup?. I have the same scope and am just curious as to how you control it remotely (and wireless). 

[cloudsweeper]

1 hour ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

Cloudsweeper (i'm guessing that aint your real name), i see in your signature: " Celestron Nexstar 8SE SCT - a small oildrum on three short telegraph poles, with WiFi control.  Fabulous! ".

Mind talking me through that setup?. I have the same scope and am just curious as to how you control it remotely (and wireless). 

Paul - please see bottom of my posts - it's Doug!

I looked into StarSense, SkySync, and SkyPortal WiFi Module.  

You don't need SkySync, because date, time, and lat/long are obtained from your tablet.

You don't need StarSense, because alignment is easily done with the HC or Skyportal.

So I got the WiFi Module (plugs into the 'scope), and put the Skyportal app on my tablet.  Now there's no entering date, time, lat/long.  You tap Connect & Align, and control the 'scope from arrow keys on the tablet.  It takes you through the three-star method, then you're off.  Tap on a target (or select one from the database), then tap GoTo, and off it slews.  Brilliant.

C. Sweeper (AKA Doug).

[johnfosteruk]

The only suffering I've done for the hobby so far is falling asleep thanks to too much malt or home-brew prior to or during a session. Quite embarrassing if anybody knew....... ahem.

Plenty of difficulties and things that were hard to do but nothing I'd describe as suffering.

Speaking of malt, have any of you Laphroaig drinkers had 'non chill filtered' Laphroaig. A completely different drink and probably the start of a whole separate discussion I suspect.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Doug it is. Missed that somehow.

[cloudsweeper]

4 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

Doug it is. Missed that somehow.

Easily done!  I called you Luke for a while!

 

[Pete Presland]

Lack of sleep mostly, but  immense irrational hatred of cloud's, the jet stream, light pollution...........

[niallk]

Yesterday was typical - during the day the weather was unusually good for Ireland - this triggered a flurry of checking various weather satellite sites, cloud cover simulations, and jetstream. Get home from work, and while cooking the dinner for the family, I threw my 15" out the back garden. Then I have to keep an eye out that the 4 year old doesn't go near it ... while it sits out there cooling as I wish it to get dark.  Then putting the kids to bed, I'm checking on my phone the real time rainfall radar, making sure a rescue isn't needed. Check on Sky Safari for well placed DSOs, make a little target list. Finally when kids asleep, chores done, cup of tea made for the wife, I nip outside nervously looking for signs of cloud. Get on with collimating, aligning and in those couple of mins - an ominous lack of stars starts encroaching from the horizon. Panic sets in as I try to see something before having to give up - last night I still managed a lovely stroll along the terminator - but didn't get onto any DSOs on my list. Pack up, come inside, flop on the couch while giving time for dewing to evaporate before capping EPs etc; put everything away before hitting the hay so that the kids who are up at the crack of dawn don't get sticky finger prints all over my optics.

Repeat every time I can when there's a chance to observe