Posts Made By: James Brown

Hi all, I've posted some "first light" photos taken with my new (to me) Traveler here:

http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=783860&poll_id=&news_id=&page=

What a superb lens! I'll be busy for a few weeks preparing my astrophotography set-up (I use a FLI camera, wheel and PDF focuser that I can switch quite simply as one connected unit between my TEC 140, Pentax 67 lenses and my new AP telescope. I'll let you know when I have some astro-subjects to post.

Jim

They are blogging this unexpected decision right now at the SCOTUS blog. Roberts joined the left

More info later.

J

Can you wish happy birthday to a dead guy? I hope so. Milton Friedman was born 100 years ago today. He was a great American mind.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444226904577558882802335216.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/07/31/milton_friedmans_centenary_114960.html

Hi all:

The attached is our Sun in Ha light on September 29, 2012. In this version, the Solar disk is "normal" and the prominences and sky background are inverted. Inverting either the disk or the proms looks better to my eye since this technique helps the filaments and proms match up, more or less. I think I like this orientation better than the other way around, but I'm not sure, you'll have to let me know what you think. (See the post immediately below.)

I used about 15 of 20 sub-frames in Registax for each of the disk and prom images.

A full resolution version is available here:

http://home.comcast.net/~jameslbrown/pwpimages/final%202%20crop%20full%20res.jpg

My gear for solar is:

80 mm telescope, home assembled using an f7 WO lens, StellarVue tube and Moonlight focuser;
Solar Spectrum Ha filter kit with Baader Cool DERF energy rejection filter and Baader 4x telecentric lens;
Finger Lakes Instruments Microline ML 11002M camera;
Maxim DL for capture and Registax plus Photoshop for processing.

Thanks for looking and commenting, Jim

I found this article enlightening because it cuts through the hysteria and gets to the central abortion issue: When do fetuses acquire human rights? The article appropriately notes that this is a political and moral issue, not an issue solvable by science.

Also, I had no idea that our allies throughout Europe limited abortion to the 1st trimester - although that does comport with US public opinion.

http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2013/06/27/a_science-based_abortion_policy_is_impossible_106577.html

Jim

Huge thunderheads over the eastern Colorado plains last night an hour or two before sunset. You could just barely hear almost continuous thunder in the distance.

Jim

All of Richard Davis's forum posts are gone... This reminds me of the old days! Anyone know what happened?

Jim

This year, thanks to a party line vote by Colorado's D controlled statehouse and governor, every registered voter in Colorado was mailed a ballot a few weeks before election day. The ballot can be mailed back, or dropped off up to 7:00 today. In addition, we now have same day registration/voting. Time will tell if these changes favor one party over the other. When we register to vote in Colorado, we declare as R, D, Independent, Green, Constitutional Party, etc. Only registered party members can caucus or vote in the primary.

Interestingly, the Secretary of State has diligently been tweeting out links detailing the current number of ballots received back, (not votes of course). The Secretary's information is tabulated by county and party affiliation. See for example this data from this morning:

http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/COSOS/2014/11/04/file_attachments/338124/Gen%2BTurnout%2B11%2B4%2B2014.pdf

As you all know, the fight for our senate seat, between Gardner (R) and Udall (D) is close, has been hotly contested and is of national importance. The information released by the Secretary of State is informative I think. With 1.6 million votes out of an expected 2 million already cast, the R's would seem to have a numerical advantage (See attached image, which is my Excel spreadsheet from the Secretary of State Data).

But there are plenty of outstanding ballots that will be returned today, maybe 400 or 500k. So many issues: How are the independents going to break? Will there be a late surge of ballots due to the ground games? How prevalent is R/D crossover voting in either direction? I feel pretty good, as a Republican...but, as Richard can vouch, Colorado Republicans have thought that we had the advantage before and had the rug pulled out from under us!

Tonight will be very interesting!

Jim

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/11/25/giulianis-claim-that-93-percent-of-blacks-are-killed-by-other-blacks/

Shame on the Washington Post. This "Fact Check" gives Giuliani two Pinocchios when the fact checked statement is demonstrated to be 100% true in the article itself.

"Giuliani responded by citing a statistic from a 2010 Bureau of Justice Statistics report which did, indeed, conclude that 93 percent of black homicide victims from 1980 through 2008 were killed by black offenders."

The author feebly claims that lack of "context" and an alleged "implication" magically discerned from Giuliani's well documented fact makes Giuliani's statement "misleading." In essence, Rudy earns two Pinocchios for a 100% true fact which offends the author through imagined "implications." This demonstrates once again that many so-called fact-check articles are nothing but editorial spin.

Jim

Merry Christmas to you and all of the A-Mart Politics Forum!

Jim