Comments for Donnie's Blog http://www.donniepinkston.net (there are many more like it, but this one is mine) Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:33:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Comment on Do-It-Yourself Java Profiler by guga http://www.donniepinkston.net/2005-12-15/diy-java-profiler.html#comment-15856 guga Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:09:15 +0000 http://sloppy.cs.caltech.edu/dpdn/?p=5#comment-15856 Hi, Nice article, that really explains the subject, and doesn't confuse even more like som many articles on the web. Thank you. Now for that javassist article ... :) Hi,

Nice article, that really explains the subject, and doesn’t confuse even more like som many articles on the web.

Thank you.

Now for that javassist article … :)

]]> Comment on Butterflies by Ammon http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-03/butterflies.html#comment-13933 Ammon Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:54:22 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-03/butterflies.html#comment-13933 That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.

]]> Comment on Butterflies by donnie http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-03/butterflies.html#comment-13754 donnie Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:22:42 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-03/butterflies.html#comment-13754 That soup is good. I have to make more again. It's even better with roasted garlic. A few days ago I made some pasta with a creamy mushroom and sundried tomato sauce. When I cook, food disappears so quickly. That soup is good. I have to make more again. It’s even better with roasted garlic.

A few days ago I made some pasta with a creamy mushroom and sundried tomato sauce. When I cook, food disappears so quickly.

]]> Comment on Butterflies by Amy http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-03/butterflies.html#comment-13752 Amy Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:45:17 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-03/butterflies.html#comment-13752 Donnie, you crack me up. Maybe your friends could make a tasty squash soup (http://www.donniepinkston.net/pages/cooking-notes/butternut-squash-soup/) with their new food processor. You should come visit me and we should do some cooking. Donnie, you crack me up. Maybe your friends could make a tasty squash soup (http://www.donniepinkston.net/pages/cooking-notes/butternut-squash-soup/) with their new food processor. You should come visit me and we should do some cooking.

]]> Comment on Science-Fair to Middling by donnie http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-02/science-fair-to-middling.html#comment-13724 donnie Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:35:37 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-02/science-fair-to-middling.html#comment-13724 Well, you know the mind of 12-year-old boys. But the blood didn't even come from an interesting place - and it wasn't even really blood. He got his "blood" by buying some red meat and getting the juices from the meat. Which <em>everybody</em> knows is red because of myoglobin and not hemoglobin... sheesh. Not to mention the absence of plasma and all the other stuff in blood. Well, you know the mind of 12-year-old boys. But the blood didn’t even come from an interesting place - and it wasn’t even really blood. He got his “blood” by buying some red meat and getting the juices from the meat. Which everybody knows is red because of myoglobin and not hemoglobin… sheesh. Not to mention the absence of plasma and all the other stuff in blood.

]]> Comment on Science-Fair to Middling by Amy http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-02/science-fair-to-middling.html#comment-13700 Amy Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:50:57 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2008-03-02/science-fair-to-middling.html#comment-13700 What I am curious about is where they got the blood from and why the need to find the best cleaner. Perhaps as a judge you should have been nervous and gave them first place for your own personal safety! What I am curious about is where they got the blood from and why the need to find the best cleaner. Perhaps as a judge you should have been nervous and gave them first place for your own personal safety!

]]> Comment on You had me at delete. by John http://www.donniepinkston.net/2006-05-02/svn-delete.html#comment-13431 John Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:31:18 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/?p=68#comment-13431 The lack of globbing for delete sure seems like a nuisance, but xargs to the rescue... Eg: to remove all the (uppercase) jpegs... ls *.JPG | xargs svn rm The lack of globbing for delete sure seems like a nuisance, but xargs to the rescue…

Eg: to remove all the (uppercase) jpegs…

ls *.JPG | xargs svn rm

]]> Comment on Portable Telescope by Asterix http://www.donniepinkston.net/2007-09-11/portable-telescope.html#comment-12736 Asterix Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:55:15 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2007-09-11/portable-telescope.html#comment-12736 Hi Donnie, Greetings from Singapore. I bumped into your blog while searching for a Portable Equatorial mount. guess google just used the word Portable and threw up your blog in Page 7 of its hit list :-) anyways... i have a Celestron 6SE which I bought with the alt-az mount. I took it to Australia last August to shoot the Total lunar eclipse on 28th Aug. Transporting the entire setup in an aeroplane is a real big nightmare. first of all, Celestron doesn't provide any carryon case for the OTA unlike Orion. I really hated that part when I spent US$999 and they didn't even ship a basic 20 dollar carrying case. whatever. the main problem was with the tripod. its too big to fit into a 30 inch suitcase. I had to dismantle the legs and the base plate and finally barely managed to squeeze the entire thing into a suitcase. I wonder if you use an equatorial mount and how you transport your entire setup in an aeroplane. I am mainly into eclipse photography and I am currently looking into the Orion table-top equatorial mount. I believe it can be mounted onto a sturdy camera tripod. what i am not able to figure out is if the Orion min-EQ mount can take on the weight of the OTA + the Canon 30D. You've got a good blog going. looking forward to seeing some photographs of your astrophotography setup. Cheers Asterix Hi Donnie,
Greetings from Singapore.
I bumped into your blog while searching for a Portable Equatorial mount. guess google just used the word Portable and threw up your blog in Page 7 of its hit list :-)

anyways…

i have a Celestron 6SE which I bought with the alt-az mount. I took it to Australia last August to shoot the Total lunar eclipse on 28th Aug. Transporting the entire setup in an aeroplane is a real big nightmare. first of all, Celestron doesn’t provide any carryon case for the OTA unlike Orion. I really hated that part when I spent US$999 and they didn’t even ship a basic 20 dollar carrying case. whatever. the main problem was with the tripod. its too big to fit into a 30 inch suitcase. I had to dismantle the legs and the base plate and finally barely managed to squeeze the entire thing into a suitcase.
I wonder if you use an equatorial mount and how you transport your entire setup in an aeroplane. I am mainly into eclipse photography and I am currently looking into the Orion table-top equatorial mount. I believe it can be mounted onto a sturdy camera tripod. what i am not able to figure out is if the Orion min-EQ mount can take on the weight of the OTA + the Canon 30D.
You’ve got a good blog going. looking forward to seeing some photographs of your astrophotography setup.
Cheers
Asterix

]]> Comment on Astrophotography with the Canon 40D by Jack http://www.donniepinkston.net/2007-11-07/astrophotography-with-the-canon-40d.html#comment-11644 Jack Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:41:45 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2007-11-07/astrophotography-with-the-canon-40d.html#comment-11644 A camera (35mm film or DSLR) can be coupled to a telescope in several ways. First though; what type of telescope are you using: Refractor, Reflector, or Schmidt Cassegrain? For any telescope you can use a Piggyback mount. This is probably the best way to start learning how to take astrophotos. The camera is simply mounted to the top of the telescope using a bracket. This "camera mount" has a 1/4 x 20 threaded bolt that screws into the bottom of the camera. You can then use any lens on the camera for wide field photography and the telescope is the tracking platform. With most astrophotography you will need a “T-ring” to couple the camera to the various pieces of equipment. The T-ring has internal threads and is attached to the camera in lieu of a lens. This configuration allows for the attachment of several pieces of astrophotography equipment. These T-rings can be purchased through any telescope dealer and are made for specific cameras. If, for example, you are using a Canon 40D, you will need a T-ring built for a Canon EOS. For a Schmidt Cassegrain there are several ways to couple the camera to the telescope: 1. Prime Focus Camera Adapter – screws directly into the T-ring. This entire assembly (camera, T-ring, Adapter) then attaches to the back of the telescope in place of the eyepiece. Simply speaking, you are using the telescope as a big lens for the camera. 2. Tele-Extender – is used for high power "eyepiece projection" photography. The Tele-Extender fits over an eyepiece and couples to the camera via a T-ring. This entire assembly attaches to the telescope. The camera takes the place of your eye, so to speak, and looks through the eyepiece. These Tele-Extenders are available for all types of telescopes. 3. Off-Axis Guider – is similar to the Prime Focus Camera Adapter, but has an eyepiece attachment set at 90 degrees to the line of sight. The Off-Axis Guider screws into the T-ring allowing for attachment to the telescope. An Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece (a special eyepiece that has illuminated crosshairs) is set into the Off-Axis Guider. The guider has a small prism that picks off a portion of the field of view and projects it up through the Illuminated Reticle. By finding a star within this small field of view the observer can then use the telescope mounts directional controls to keep the star centered in the Illuminated Reticle during a long exposure. This is a complicated setup which requires good Polar Alignment and a great deal of patience and practice. The Prime Focus and Tele-Extender applications can also be used with a Reflector as well as a Schmidt Cassegrain. A camera (35mm film or DSLR) can be coupled to a telescope in several ways. First though; what type of telescope are you using: Refractor, Reflector, or Schmidt Cassegrain?
For any telescope you can use a Piggyback mount. This is probably the best way to start learning how to take astrophotos. The camera is simply mounted to the top of the telescope using a bracket. This “camera mount” has a 1/4 x 20 threaded bolt that screws into the bottom of the camera. You can then use any lens on the camera for wide field photography and the telescope is the tracking platform.
With most astrophotography you will need a “T-ring” to couple the camera to the various pieces of equipment. The T-ring has internal threads and is attached to the camera in lieu of a lens. This configuration allows for the attachment of several pieces of astrophotography equipment. These T-rings can be purchased through any telescope dealer and are made for specific cameras. If, for example, you are using a Canon 40D, you will need a T-ring built for a Canon EOS.
For a Schmidt Cassegrain there are several ways to couple the camera to the telescope:
1. Prime Focus Camera Adapter – screws directly into the T-ring. This entire assembly (camera, T-ring, Adapter) then attaches to the back of the telescope in place of the eyepiece. Simply speaking, you are using the telescope as a big lens for the camera.
2. Tele-Extender – is used for high power “eyepiece projection” photography. The Tele-Extender fits over an eyepiece and couples to the camera via a T-ring. This entire assembly attaches to the telescope. The camera takes the place of your eye, so to speak, and looks through the eyepiece. These Tele-Extenders are available for all types of telescopes.
3. Off-Axis Guider – is similar to the Prime Focus Camera Adapter, but has an eyepiece attachment set at 90 degrees to the line of sight. The Off-Axis Guider screws into the T-ring allowing for attachment to the telescope. An Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece (a special eyepiece that has illuminated crosshairs) is set into the Off-Axis Guider. The guider has a small prism that picks off a portion of the field of view and projects it up through the Illuminated Reticle. By finding a star within this small field of view the observer can then use the telescope mounts directional controls to keep the star centered in the Illuminated Reticle during a long exposure. This is a complicated setup which requires good Polar Alignment
and a great deal of patience and practice.

The Prime Focus and Tele-Extender applications can also be used with a Reflector as well as a Schmidt Cassegrain.

]]> Comment on Astrophotography with the Canon 40D by MikeTannenbaum http://www.donniepinkston.net/2007-11-07/astrophotography-with-the-canon-40d.html#comment-11586 MikeTannenbaum Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:44:26 +0000 http://www.donniepinkston.net/2007-11-07/astrophotography-with-the-canon-40d.html#comment-11586 How do you couple your camera to the telescope?? How do you couple your camera to the telescope??

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