Not stargazing? So what are you doing then?

[iPeace]

38 minutes ago, brantuk said:

Crikey! I find it hard enough playing piano sitting on a chair - never mind on a horse.

The horse is getting pretty good at it, actually. Hardly need to touch the keys myself anymore.

[MoonNut]

4 hours ago, swag72 said:

I've decided that I'm a bit into fossils and fossil hunting.... I can often be found researching areas to look, as well as reading about them and cleaning the ones I've found

Ah, I do that here in Bahrain, they are not very old, 20-30 MYA but I have also found some meteorites while fossiling, sort of Astro Fossils, the rocks here are all sandstone so anything hard or magnetic is very likely to be from space.

Keep it in mind next time you are out fossiling... two hobbies in one!

[MoonNut]

So remember to take a magnet with you

[wookie1965]

Reading books gaining more knowledge, making viewing lists, checking collimation on 8 inch Skywatcher more reading.

[bottletopburly]

sweeping the new patio or washing the new car or buying /looking for car cleaning products ,merlins blood is the best purchase lateley

[cloudsweeper]

2 minutes ago, bottletopburly said:

sweeping the new patio or washing the new car or buying /looking for car cleaning products ,merlins blood is the best purchase lateley

Sounds a bit magical - what's it for??

Doug.

[bottletopburly]

5 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Sounds a bit magical - what's it for??

Doug.

cleaning alloy wheels ,ph neutral its magic literally, video`s on youtube  

[bottletopburly]

On 11/14/2016 at 15:53, Alfian said:

My parents told me stories of mainly Fortresses and Liberators flying low limping into local airfield (mainly Grafton Underwood and Deenethorpe I think) with engines out and chunks of wing and tail missing. Heroic stuff to a young lad then, but much more sobering now. Its kind of interesting in a suitably reflective way, to put names and faces and planes to those stories.

my neck of the woods

[bottletopburly]

On 11/14/2016 at 11:47, Alfian said:

I read the many astronomy books and magazines bought to inform and enhance my observing pleasures - when the clouds clear. I do a lot, a very lot, more reading than viewing. I have dabbled with Linux as an operating system for many years and now its my mainstay OS and 'though a near perfect GUI for me I still have a lot to learn regarding the command line - more reading.  From a childhood spent in part bicycling past old and disused 2nd WW American airfields, I have become quite interested in the history of the mainly American 8th Air Force whose bomb groups and squadrons that were based there.  There's a lot  archive stuff on line plus more books to read.  The  B17G avatar reflects this interest.

the B17 at duxford was destined for deenethorpe but the war was over before it flew from there 

[cloudsweeper]

30 minutes ago, bottletopburly said:

the B17 at duxford was destined for deenethorpe but the war was over before it flew from there 

Duxford Air Museum is fabulous - it's huge - you could spend days there.  I loved so much of it, but the Lockheed Blackbird was just amazing.  (I know, everything these days is amazing - but that really was!)

Doug.

[Moonshane]

Recently I have been creating an additional parking space on our front. We wanted to retain a garden though so I rebuilt the walled planting area smaller and then laid the new flags. Just need to grind out a bit more pointing then point the whole area this weekend.  In a year or so i can treat for uniformity.

[Gina]

Still nursing a pesky cold that just won't seem to go away - otherwise I'm usually out quite a lot with one of the four social groups I belong to.  But with this cold I haven't felt like socialising and don't want to spread germs!

[Alfian]

1 hour ago, bottletopburly said:

the B17 at duxford was destined for deenethorpe but the war was over before it flew from there 

I was at Duxford for this summer's big show weekend. Good to see the Sally B fly.

1 hour ago, bottletopburly said:

my neck of the woods

I passed within a whisker this past weekend visiting family just outside Kettering.

[cloudsweeper]

3 minutes ago, Gina said:

Still nursing a pesky cold that just won't seem to go away - otherwise I'm usually out quite a lot with one of the four social groups I belong to.  But with this cold I haven't felt like socialising and don't want to spread germs!

Get well soon, Gina.  My nasty cough is abating now.  Hope you get back to your various hobby and social activities soon!

Doug.  

[Gina]

Thanks Doug   Glad your cough is getting better   My cold is not bad enough to stop my efforts towards imaging systems and image processing entirely but I am running a bit below par and things are taking even longer than usual!

[cloudsweeper]

2 minutes ago, Gina said:

Thanks Doug   Glad your cough is getting better   My cold is not bad enough to stop my efforts towards imaging systems and image processing entirely but I am running a bit below par and things are taking even longer than usual!

Pleased it hasn't got the better of you.  From what I've seen here, you are pretty handy with the hi-tech stuff - way ahead of me! I'm a bit of a theoretician, hence the propensity for maths.

Doug.

[bottletopburly]

1 hour ago, Moonshane said:

Recently I have been creating an additional parking space on our front. We wanted to retain a garden though so I rebuilt the walled planting area smaller and then laid the new flags. Just need to grind out a bit more pointing then point the whole area this weekend.  In a year or so i can treat for uniformity.

if your repointing i highly recommend marshalls weatherpoint 365 (dont buy geofix though not good reviews) brush in mortar its a resin based product goes really hard, easy peasy to apply  ,does not crack like mortar comes in grey too ,dear though £45 a tub does approx 5-6 sq meters , nice work btw 

[Moonshane]

Cheers buddy. I have considered resin based pointing but as it's 40 sqm and I have the materials left to point with sand and cement (and my time is free! - and my wife is away this weekend) I may as well just use what I have.

 

[kirkster501]

Learning some Grade 3 Piano pieces for my grading.  And my scales need some more practice too.

[wookie1965]

34 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

Cheers buddy. I have considered resin based pointing but as it's 40 sqm and I have the materials left to point with sand and cement (and my time is free! - and my wife is away this weekend) I may as well just use what I have.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Webb-Society-Deep-Observers-Handbook/dp/089490034X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479247713&sr=1-1&keywords=Webb+Society+Deep+Sky+Observer's+Handbook%3A+Open+and+Globular+Clusters+v.+3

You should be reading this.

[Moonshane]

I will be soon matey.  ordered 1-3 a week or so ago

[Sargs]

If I'm feeling productive, I'm probably reading up on the latest trends in programming, cryptography and application security for work.

If I'm not feeling productive, I'm probably reading science-fiction, playing video games or messing around with my astronomy kit.

I'm very good at not feeling productive these days. 

[laser_jock99]

On 15/11/2016 at 12:25, swag72 said:

I've decided that I'm a bit into fossils and fossil hunting.... I can often be found researching areas to look, as well as reading about them and cleaning the ones I've found

Not so much fossils these days - but rocks nontheless. I enjoy looking for the traces of our distant ancestors in my locality. Despite not being a particulary promising area 'on paper' I'm starting to find a few locations where worked, Stone Age flint tools can be picked up in the fields near my house.

Some Neolithic field walking finds vs the GPS unit used to log their locations

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

ok, I know "watching tv" is not an option. Let's face it............there aint much to watch on tv (i have over 200 channels).

Time permitting on a daily basis, i am watching movies either recorded,bought or downloaded.

I'm about to make the switch to Sky Q (and all the boxsets)...........i may never have time to do anything else but watch boxsets. 

Tonight, i just ordered online a BR copy of the movie "Deadpool". I hesitated in watching it for months because i really didnt "get it" from the clips i saw of it.

Turns out to be right up my street (humour wise) and one of the best movies i have seen in years. Defo one for the collection.

I also picked up a DVD copy of the movie "The Men Who Stare At Goats" recently for about 8 quid. Brilliantly dry funny movie.

I also have 3-4 books (bought and lined up to read).......if i can only stay awake past 9pm on most nights of the week

[Chris S]

On 14/11/2016 at 14:28, cloudsweeper said:

I do some cycling myself - but only in nice weather.  Recently took a bad fall due to slippery leaves, and consider myself very lucky not to have done myself some serious injury.   More care needed in future!

Doug.

I'm also a cyclist and race in summer when the nights are short..