Blog (April 15, 2008)

Darkness rules the earth... The Ringbearer is lost... or it's nighttime and I'm at home asleep. (The image should automatically update every 20 seconds.)

goodbye ADHM, and thanks for all the fish

It seems my favorite online dice store is closing up shop. This is a shame since no other one even comes close to matching the variety Advancing Hordes has. Also, no other dice store site looks anywhere near as great or is as easy to use. Here are some rather poor alternatives I've found so far, so I'll have a list of places to refer to later.

G-Squared Collectibles & Hobbies - specifically the RPG Sets section

Valiant Games - dice manufacturer

Crystal Caste - another manufacturer

RPGShop - even though they've been around a while, the poor site design and spastic navigation make it look like a fly-by-night operation

Paizo's dice section

I may update this post later if I find anything better.

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Star Trek, online! (Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 2:00:34 PM)

I love the internet!

Star Trek espisodes at CBS

Oh, and look, they also have MacGyver!

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winter skies and favorite galaxy (Monday, February 11, 2008 - 12:26:25 PM)

This weekend was the regular monthly meeting for the astronomy club I'm involved in. That Saturday, we had absolutely clear, beautiful skies. Before we left for the meeting I remembered that my favorite galaxy, NGC 1365, might be up. A quick check of Stellarium showed that it is indeed currently visible to the south early in the evening.

We left early enough to arrive about an hour before the meeting to be able to set up the scope. I figured we'd be among the first to arrive, but nearly everyone had arrived before us! I guess the lure of clear skies and beautiful weather is hard to ignore. I had just enough time to get the scope out and assembled, with a little visiting before the meeting started. They kept it short so we could enjoy the skies--rare for a meeting night.

I rushed to the scope from the classroom and began my search for NGC 1365. I had guessed that it would be a challenge to find since we have a light dome from Little Rock to the southeast and possible tree foliage blocking the horizon. Neither were an issue, but it still wasn't easy. After a lot of searching, I thought I had found it. The star charts I had with me weren't helping since they didn't show the dimmer magnitude stars I could see in the eyepiece. So, I tried to memorize what I saw in the field of view as best I could. Once I got home, I finally figured out that I must have seen NGC 1316. Along with it's companion galaxy, 1317, they're called the Galactic Dustbunnies. It was odd that I didn't see 1317, but we did have a crescent moon. That may have been why I wasn't able to find 1365. Unfortunately, by the next new moon, this part of the sky will be setting with the sun. I've lost my chance to see it this year, but hopefully the weather will cooperate for me to try again next year.

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