First light
Last night the weather forecast predicted some clear patches in the sky, so this was a good chance to test my new Orion XT10 telescope. Around midnight, I hauled the telescope outside : not an easy job, as the scope weighs around 25 kg... I would not say the observing conditions were ideal : far from, the moon was almost full, and rising in the south-east, there was lots of high altitude cirrus clouding and only a big patch open sky, so I needed to hurry.
I had quite some problems with the Object Locator : this uses an initial calibrating procedure called the 2 star alignment procedure (2SAP). After performing this, the Object Locator indicates the manual alignment error which they amusingly call 'Warp factor'. The warp factor should normaliter be below 0.5. An initial 2SAP attempt gave me a warp factor of 26. A second one gave a warp factor of 34. Then I knew there was something wrong. The next day, I tested out the alignment calibration function in the daylight, which indicated that the telescope wouldn't transmit any vertical movement to the Object Locator. In the Problem section guide of the manual, this should occur if
- there would be a problem with the cabling
- or the tension knobs of the telescope wouldn't be turned fit enough.
Unfortunately, both of these were Ok. I decided to disassemble the scope, and study where the Intelliscope system went wrong. It quickly seemed that the altitude encoder disc, which was responsible for the vertical movement measurement, didn't moved with the telescope. Only after studying this page with assembly instructions, it seemed that an extra nylon spacer on the tension knob prevented movement of the altitude encoder disc. After removal of the spacer, the disc nicely moved along with the scope. So, I was pretty glad I sorted this out. Next weekend, better weather is forecast, so I'm keeping my hopes high...
As the Object Locator was out of order, I quickly glanced to M13 in Hercules. There was lots of hindering light from the full moon, but the 20cm Dobson nicely resolved the center of this globular cluster into all of its stars. A second object was M57, the Ring cluster in Lyra, rather awkwardly located in the zenith. The ring was nicely visible, but the central star couldn't be resolved. I guess the moon was too much of an impediment. I then tried the UHC-E filter, which gave a slightly better result, but I was disappointed, cause I expected more of this filter. Again maybe the moon... At that moment, Lyra disappeared after the clouds, which took back control over the skies.
So, a rather disappointing first tryout. There's better weather announced, and the moon will slowly move out of the way, so I hope to have a better try in the next weekend...
I had quite some problems with the Object Locator : this uses an initial calibrating procedure called the 2 star alignment procedure (2SAP). After performing this, the Object Locator indicates the manual alignment error which they amusingly call 'Warp factor'. The warp factor should normaliter be below 0.5. An initial 2SAP attempt gave me a warp factor of 26. A second one gave a warp factor of 34. Then I knew there was something wrong. The next day, I tested out the alignment calibration function in the daylight, which indicated that the telescope wouldn't transmit any vertical movement to the Object Locator. In the Problem section guide of the manual, this should occur if
- there would be a problem with the cabling
- or the tension knobs of the telescope wouldn't be turned fit enough.
Unfortunately, both of these were Ok. I decided to disassemble the scope, and study where the Intelliscope system went wrong. It quickly seemed that the altitude encoder disc, which was responsible for the vertical movement measurement, didn't moved with the telescope. Only after studying this page with assembly instructions, it seemed that an extra nylon spacer on the tension knob prevented movement of the altitude encoder disc. After removal of the spacer, the disc nicely moved along with the scope. So, I was pretty glad I sorted this out. Next weekend, better weather is forecast, so I'm keeping my hopes high...
As the Object Locator was out of order, I quickly glanced to M13 in Hercules. There was lots of hindering light from the full moon, but the 20cm Dobson nicely resolved the center of this globular cluster into all of its stars. A second object was M57, the Ring cluster in Lyra, rather awkwardly located in the zenith. The ring was nicely visible, but the central star couldn't be resolved. I guess the moon was too much of an impediment. I then tried the UHC-E filter, which gave a slightly better result, but I was disappointed, cause I expected more of this filter. Again maybe the moon... At that moment, Lyra disappeared after the clouds, which took back control over the skies.
So, a rather disappointing first tryout. There's better weather announced, and the moon will slowly move out of the way, so I hope to have a better try in the next weekend...
Talisker, 10yo
Talisker is one of the renowned distilleries in Scotland, located on the isle of Skye. Situated on the banks of loch Harport, the Talisker distillery was created by the brothers Mac Askill in 1830. It changed hands and was renovated a few times before 1915 when a consortium including John Dewar & Sons and John Walker & Sons took it over. Until 1928, Talisker triple distilled their spirit. The distillery was badly damaged by a fire in 1960 and 5 replacement stills, exact replicas, had to be made.
Talisker is since 80 years an important ingredient in Johnny Walker, and their logo (the striding man) was on their bottles until the eighties. It's almost 46%, which makes it a malt for men. I hesitated long before buying this, mainly because it is said to resemble Lagavulin (I ain't a big fan of Lagavulin).
The taste then :
Smell : almost exactly the smell I remember from Lagavulin, lots of smoke, peat, saltiness, some sort of cheese. This doesn't promise lots of good.
Taste : this is a strong whisky, it numbs the mouth, and is difficult to drink pure. Again lots of smoke, sweeter tones, creamy. The salty taste stays absent, luckily. Much sweeter than expected. Pepper and a hint of mint in the aftertaste. It's ... alot : rich, and complex and creamy and satisfying and ... good. I like its complexity and creaminess.
As I said before : a grand whisky for real men. Not something to sip, but to drink in large gulps. A drink to get warm by after a long days work in the cold pouring rain.
Talisker is since 80 years an important ingredient in Johnny Walker, and their logo (the striding man) was on their bottles until the eighties. It's almost 46%, which makes it a malt for men. I hesitated long before buying this, mainly because it is said to resemble Lagavulin (I ain't a big fan of Lagavulin).
The taste then :
Smell : almost exactly the smell I remember from Lagavulin, lots of smoke, peat, saltiness, some sort of cheese. This doesn't promise lots of good.
Taste : this is a strong whisky, it numbs the mouth, and is difficult to drink pure. Again lots of smoke, sweeter tones, creamy. The salty taste stays absent, luckily. Much sweeter than expected. Pepper and a hint of mint in the aftertaste. It's ... alot : rich, and complex and creamy and satisfying and ... good. I like its complexity and creaminess.
As I said before : a grand whisky for real men. Not something to sip, but to drink in large gulps. A drink to get warm by after a long days work in the cold pouring rain.
Heavier gear
My current 20cm Helios Dobson telescope is now over 4 years old,and has been a true eye-opener since I upgraded from my old 114mm telescope. It offered a crystal clear view at deep-sky objects, and thanks to the high-quality finder scope, finding objects has never been that easy.
However, I recently discovered that my regular astro-shop decided to stop its astronomical activities, and thus offering its last stock on dumping prices. This computerized Orion SkyQuest Intelliscope XT10 was too beautiful to resist. It's a 25cm (10 inch) Dobson scope which is a nice upgrade from my current scope. As a bonus, it includes a laser collimator, in order to keep the telescope calibrated, and a Intelliscope Object Locator, which is a small keypad based device, which attaches to the base of the scope. It offers an easy way to locate objects by simply choosing one from a 14000-object database, and tells you how much you need to turn the scope.
Unfortunately, using the scope will be for later : we're experiencing a typical Belgian summer, which means that it has been raining for weeks...
However, I recently discovered that my regular astro-shop decided to stop its astronomical activities, and thus offering its last stock on dumping prices. This computerized Orion SkyQuest Intelliscope XT10 was too beautiful to resist. It's a 25cm (10 inch) Dobson scope which is a nice upgrade from my current scope. As a bonus, it includes a laser collimator, in order to keep the telescope calibrated, and a Intelliscope Object Locator, which is a small keypad based device, which attaches to the base of the scope. It offers an easy way to locate objects by simply choosing one from a 14000-object database, and tells you how much you need to turn the scope.
Unfortunately, using the scope will be for later : we're experiencing a typical Belgian summer, which means that it has been raining for weeks...
RIP : Farouk
Altijd vreemd gevonden hoe sommige mensen moeten rouwen om hun gestorven huisdier. Nu onze eigen hond gestorven is, begrijp ik pas hoe zo iemand zich voelt.
Farouk was een Berner Senner, en is na een slepende ziekte met een beetje hulp van de dierenarts vredig ingeslapen. Berner Senners hebben sowieso een heel lief karakter, en zijn rustige beesten.
The Balvenie, 12yo
The Balvenie distillery is settled in the very heart of the Speyside area. The distillery has been built in 1892 from an old manor from the 18th century. The first distillation took place in 1893. Very few has changed since that time, and the distillery is really proud of its roots, and does everything it can to preserve it. The stills come from the Lagavulin and Glen Albyn distilleries, because the distillery wanted to be sure the stills are working and producing a good spirit.
The Balvenie Doublewood Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a 12 year old single malt which gains its distinctive character from being matured in two woods. During its period of maturation The Balvenie Doublewood is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill Spanish oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt - the traditional casks, having previously held bourbon, soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour.
Tasting notes - the smell : honey, fruity, with a strong hint of pear.
The taste : again pear. Soft sherry tones, smooth and mellow.
Not overall impressive, this is a nice and mellow malt though, presenting a enjoyable daily dram.
The Balvenie Doublewood Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a 12 year old single malt which gains its distinctive character from being matured in two woods. During its period of maturation The Balvenie Doublewood is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill Spanish oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt - the traditional casks, having previously held bourbon, soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour.
Tasting notes - the smell : honey, fruity, with a strong hint of pear.
The taste : again pear. Soft sherry tones, smooth and mellow.
Not overall impressive, this is a nice and mellow malt though, presenting a enjoyable daily dram.
Femke
"Blossom plucking not allowed"
Unfortunately, the wind doesn't know to read...
Unfortunately, the wind doesn't know to read...
Comet C/2007 W1 Boattini
Serious comet chasers have been watching Comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini) for some time. For awhile, it exceeded its predicted brightness but is back to cruising at normal. During the last weeks, Boattini was a southern hemisphere object… But not for long. Now its about to round the Sun and head north!
In the next couple of weeks, Boattini will slowly become visible in Belgium as a bright object in the morning sky, visible with the naked eye. Here's a finder chart.
In the next couple of weeks, Boattini will slowly become visible in Belgium as a bright object in the morning sky, visible with the naked eye. Here's a finder chart.
Highland Park, 12yo
Highland Park is the northernmost whisky distillery in Scotland as Blackwood distillery on the Shetlands is not yet producing whisky. Highland Park is positioning itself to enter the top 10 selling single malts over the next 5 years and have launched their line in new, award winning packaging. Unusual for distilleries, HP's water is hard and many feel that this has a great influence on the unique character of its whisky. Only 4 other distilleries have hard water, and there is a myth that soft water is necessary for the production of good whisky.
Sometimes lovingly refered to as HP sauce, Highland Park is well known for adding depth of flavour to blended whiskies. But Highland Park is a respected brand as a single malt, winning awards and accolades the world over. Michael Jackson has called it 'the greatest all-rounder in the world of whisky" and F. Paul Pacult decided the 18yo was "The Best Spirit in the World" in 2005.
Tasting notes :
The smell : brown sugar, anise, sweet, but with a complex layer. Some fruit, most likely pear.
The taste : whoa, even more complex. Herbal, spicy, some pepper. Is that a whisp of smoke ? Very malty, very rich flavour.
Conclusion : I like it. I like this alot. Very complex, but quite balanced. Lots of tastes which all go along. Not like Lagavulin, where the many tastes sortof collide. Definitely something completely different from which I'm used to. Deserves a permanent place in every whisky cabinet. Surely in mine.
Sometimes lovingly refered to as HP sauce, Highland Park is well known for adding depth of flavour to blended whiskies. But Highland Park is a respected brand as a single malt, winning awards and accolades the world over. Michael Jackson has called it 'the greatest all-rounder in the world of whisky" and F. Paul Pacult decided the 18yo was "The Best Spirit in the World" in 2005.
Tasting notes :
The smell : brown sugar, anise, sweet, but with a complex layer. Some fruit, most likely pear.
The taste : whoa, even more complex. Herbal, spicy, some pepper. Is that a whisp of smoke ? Very malty, very rich flavour.
Conclusion : I like it. I like this alot. Very complex, but quite balanced. Lots of tastes which all go along. Not like Lagavulin, where the many tastes sortof collide. Definitely something completely different from which I'm used to. Deserves a permanent place in every whisky cabinet. Surely in mine.
DVB-T on the eeePC
I acquired a Freecom DVB-T USB stick. This should extend the possibilities of my eeePC with digital TV capabilities, and make it into a better mobile device. I originally anticipated to get the ASUS U3000 (perfectly supported by Linux), but as these things go, the Loveno shop didn't had these in stock. Finding stuff like this which works flawlessly in Linux isn't easy, so I wasn't happy when I found out I got the Freecom revision 4 model, carrying the RTL2831U chipset, which isn't yet supported. Luckily, I stumbled upon this Ubuntu forum thread, which offers a quick and dirty workaround for Hardy.
After plugging in the stick, only thing left is firing up Kaffeine, and choose a dvb-t region file. After that, I tried scanning with the supplied little aerial antenna, but didn't received any channel. Only after I engaged a decent antenna with amplifier, all channels from the vrt and rtbf mux became available.
After plugging in the stick, only thing left is firing up Kaffeine, and choose a dvb-t region file. After that, I tried scanning with the supplied little aerial antenna, but didn't received any channel. Only after I engaged a decent antenna with amplifier, all channels from the vrt and rtbf mux became available.