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Posts Made By: George Blahun

March 3, 2011 12:11 AM Forum: Politics

Preamble being rewritten???

Posted By George Blahun
I'm glad you brought the issue up. However, when I call my local Board of Ed, if they are not using it I'll suggest they consider it. Yeah, I do think our basic needs should be met.
I know a lot of you conservatives would like to return to the days when there were no child labor laws, miners could be forced to work in mines without masks and be paid in company money, shipyard workers would be told asbestos was harmless dust and when people retired they ate petfood and froze during the winter. Not me though. In a country where CEOs can earn millions in bonuses while running companies into the ground, we have an obligation to meet the BASIC needs of citizens of all ages.

March 9, 2011 08:58 PM Forum: Politics

It's about time.. ;)

Posted By George Blahun
The one issue I strongly object to is the removal of tenure. Tenure came about to ensure academic freedom. Tenured teachers can still be removed for cause, but it has to be a good reason. Without tenure we will go back to the days when controversial positions (like evolution, racial equality, religion in schools etc.) will get a teacher fired for bogus reasons. It takes time in a system until a teacher gets tenure, so it's not as if they get it as soon as they start. I'm also uncomfortable with the layoff proposal. This opens the door to the buddy system. Perhaps there is a compromise, but this could be difficult. On the other hand, taking pay cuts when districts run out of money is a reasonable request. Republicans have always had a problem with unions, but since 1947 they've had Taft-Hartley, so what's the big damn deal?

March 12, 2011 03:11 PM Forum: Celestron

Re: Optical Cleaning at Celestron in Torrance, CA

Posted By George Blahun
Michael:
Two years ago I sent my orange tube C14 to Celestron, for what was to hopefully have been a replacement of the secondary. As it turned out the optical system had to be matched perfectly and it wasn't possible to replace just the secondary. Therefore, they replaced the whole optical system. They did a great job, keeping me informed about the new system which they made and tested. They sent the OTA back to me in a new box with custom foam packing, the tube and optics were spotless and exhibited excellent star test. It wasn't cheap, but the charges were very reasonable given the work done and I have no complaints about their communication, service or prices.

May 21, 2011 01:19 AM Forum: SCI-FI

Favorite Movies: Favorite Moments

Posted By George Blahun
Animal House. Bluto: "Christ, seven years of college down the drain." I know it's not Sci Fi, but it might as well have been.

July 30, 2011 01:46 AM Forum: Global Warming - REAL or NOT

New Nasa Data...Blow to GW Alarmists

Posted By George Blahun
Hmmm, reported by Yahoo, interpreted by Spencer. How could it possibly be wrong or biased? Then again, I lost count of the number of times the word "alarmist" was used in this purely objective assessment.

September 30, 2011 06:42 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Uranus

Posted By George Blahun
Nice shot, Joe. I've been spending more time looking at the ice giants. It seems everyone is looking at Jupiter and Saturn and not so much beyond them.

October 1, 2011 07:59 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Dust in Western Cepheus

Posted By George Blahun
Maciej, that is a superb image. Thanks for sharing it.

George

November 6, 2011 02:18 AM Forum: Celestron

C14 Lift

Posted By George Blahun
David, I did it for a couple of years. First with the forks (big pain but doable) and then on a GEM (much better but not trivial). I found myself only taking it to dark sky sites when conditions were excellent. I sold it, primarily due to weather here in New England being marginal most of the time and dew being difficult to deal with. Now my TEC 140 seems easy. If you can easily lift 65 lbs over your head several times, you'll probably be OK. If you struggle with a barbell of that weight, you should reconsider your plans.

George

November 28, 2011 05:19 AM Forum: Telescope Making

Big Refractor ATM Parts

Posted By George Blahun
Rick, you could always air space them with pieces of tape and check them out on a star test. If you do a search for Roger Ceragioli's refractor making pages there will be enough info to get you started. I have to believe there are some notes around the shop where these were made, which would help. Depending upon the price, I'd have a difficult time staying away from an 8 inch refractor objective. I'd bet on a close spaced system.

December 6, 2011 01:03 AM Forum: Religion

Music for Christmas - 1

Posted By George Blahun
Despite my being agnostic, I really enjoyed the performance. This is beautiful music performed exquisitely by this choir. Thanks for posting the link.

George

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