From koopm at best.com Fri Aug 4 16:17:09 2000 From: koopm at best.com (Michael Koop) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Re: [SJAA] Re: Help with C8 Message-ID: <01bffe6a$1d7bbbe0$265156ce@koopm.vip.best.com> Damon, Tonight is the Star Party at Houge Park. Why dont you bring the scope over before sunset and we can look it over. While we might not be able to get the digital setting circles working tonight, we most certainly can show you the basics on operating the scope. You can find the map to Houge (Near the intersection of 880 and 85) at the SJAA website at www.sjaa.net. Mike Koop VP SJAA -----Original Message----- From: Bill Arnett +ADw-bill+AEA-nineplanets.org+AD4- To: SJAA +ADw-SJAA+AEA-seds.org+AD4- Date: Friday, August 04, 2000 1:51 PM Subject: +AFs-SJAA+AF0- Re: Help with C8 Can someone help this guy?.... on 00/08/04 1:36 PM, Damon Smith at damon.smith+AEA-asi2000.com wrote: +AD4- My name is Damon Smith and I was a member of the SJAA a couple of years ago. +AD4- I have a Celestron C8 and I have a motor drive on it and I recently +AD4- purchased an electronic star finder on it. I have never been able to get it +AD4- to work and am seeking help. I am very much a novice and in serious need for +AD4- help. I was hoping you could direct me to some one who can help. Any +AD4- assistance you can provide I would greatly appreciate. +AD4- +AD4- Damon Smith +AD4- Day- 510-226-8000 Ext. 227 +AD4- Home- 408-445-9755 +AD4- DayandJ+AEA-flashnet.net +AD4- Damon.Smith+AEA-ASI2000.com +AD4- +AD4- Thank you, +AD4- Damon Smith +AD4- Help Desk Specialist-ASI Corp +AD4- Fremont, California 1-888-888-4ASI -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From koopm at best.com Wed Aug 9 09:02:34 2000 From: koopm at best.com (Michael Koop) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Observational Class (fwd) Message-ID: For those of you on the board who did not get this...... Doug's next two topics were scheduled to be on deep sky observing. I can not remember the actual class content but I think it covered a survey of objects, strategies in finding objects, use of filters ect. Is anyone interested in teaching this last class this Saturday? Mike ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2000 03:20:17 -0700 From: Douglas Davis To: north@znet.com, JVN@sjpc.org, billa@znet.com, Michael Koop , mojo@whiteoaks.com Subject: Observational Class To all: 1.. I'm currently in Southern California job searching; the leads I've uncovered down here a pretty promising. I was planning on coming back Friday but I will be extending that to Tuesday or Wednesday of next week so I can fit in additional interviews. 2.. I am planning on leaving my current job within the next 1 to 3 months depending on what I find. There are several reasons for this, but the escalating cost of housing on the Peninsula ranks highest (I've also realized the continual 60+ hour work weeks at my current job will eventually kill me). At this point, finding a new situation ranks as a highest priority in my life. 3.. The implications are pretty obvious for the Saturday class and for the future. I apologize for my short notice, please bear in mind alot has been going on over these past six months. If David or anybody else wants to take the Saturday class over please do so; if not cancel the Saturday class. The SJAA should probably begin a search for a new instructor for 2001. 4.. I've enjoyed being with the SJAA and with TAC; and I wish I had the opportunity to have spent more time, however it has become clear that my future lies somewhere else than San Mateo or Santa Clara counties. Hopefully, I'll get to see everyone before I go. Best Regards Doug D. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bartolij at pom-emh1.army.mil Wed Aug 9 09:06:23 2000 From: bartolij at pom-emh1.army.mil (Bartolini, Jim) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Observational Class (fwd) Message-ID: <9112B1E00AB4D311A9F3009027AF88B6019194AF@pom-emh1.army.mil> From: Mike Koop >>Doug's next two topics were scheduled to be on deep sky observing. I can >>not remember the actual class content but I think it covered a survey of >>objects, strategies in finding objects, use of filters ect. >>Is anyone interested in teaching this last class this Saturday? Sorry -- I'll be on vacation this weekend and next week (which is a reminder that I won't be at the next board meeting)........ Jim ........... :-) ================================================= Jim Bartolini ================================================= -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From mojo at whiteoaks.com Wed Aug 9 09:08:38 2000 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Re: Observational Class (fwd) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Unfortunately I expect to be in San Rafael this weekend banging out the Ephemeris. But it's possible that could change. I'll have to think on it a bit. Mojo On Wed, 9 Aug 2000, Michael Koop wrote: > For those of you on the board who did not get this...... > > Doug's next two topics were scheduled to be on deep sky observing. I can > not remember the actual class content but I think it covered a survey of > objects, strategies in finding objects, use of filters ect. > > Is anyone interested in teaching this last class this Saturday? > > Mike > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2000 03:20:17 -0700 > From: Douglas Davis > To: north@znet.com, JVN@sjpc.org, billa@znet.com, Michael Koop , > mojo@whiteoaks.com > Subject: Observational Class > > To all: > 1.. I'm currently in Southern California job searching; the leads I've uncovered down here a pretty promising. I was planning on coming back Friday but I will be extending that to Tuesday or Wednesday of next week so I can fit in additional interviews. > 2.. I am planning on leaving my current job within the next 1 to 3 months depending on what I find. There are several reasons for this, but the escalating cost of housing on the Peninsula ranks highest (I've also realized the continual 60+ hour work weeks at my current job will eventually kill me). At this point, finding a new situation ranks as a highest priority in my life. > 3.. The implications are pretty obvious for the Saturday class and for the future. I apologize for my short notice, please bear in mind alot has been going on over these past six months. If David or anybody else wants to take the Saturday class over please do so; if not cancel the Saturday class. The SJAA should probably begin a search for a new instructor for 2001. > 4.. I've enjoyed being with the SJAA and with TAC; and I wish I had the opportunity to have spent more time, however it has become clear that my future lies somewhere else than San Mateo or Santa Clara counties. Hopefully, I'll get to see everyone before I go. > Best Regards > > > Doug D. > > -- Morris Jones <*> San Rafael, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From mojo at whiteoaks.com Wed Aug 9 22:43:50 2000 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] October speaker info wanted Message-ID: Can anyone confirm the spelling of the speaker's name for October? Mojo -- Morris Jones <*> San Rafael, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2000 22:40:20 -0700 From: Jim Van Nuland To: Morris Jones Cc: Editor Subject: Re: Item for Ephemeris Morris Jones wrote: > Did you already send me the October calendar data? OOPS! Thanks for the reminder: October 6 -f- Houge Park star party. Sset 6:43 pm, 66% moon sets 1:27 am. 7 -s- Possible Astronomy class, see next month's Ephemeris 14 -s- General Meeting: Wyn Wachhorst on "Energy on the Near Edge of Infinity". 20 -f- Houge Park star party. Sset 6:23 pm, 41% moon rises 1:04 am. 21 -s- Fremont Peak star party Sset 6:21 pm, 30% moon rises 2:11 am. 28 -s- Fremont Peak star party Sset 6:12 pm, 4% moon sets 7:29 pm. 29 Darkness-Squandering Time ends. Set your clocks back 1 hour. November: Sale Night December: Picnic/Social I'm uncertain of the speaker's name -- I hope you have some additional information about him. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From koopm at best.com Fri Aug 11 10:50:20 2000 From: koopm at best.com (Michael Koop) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Re: Observational Class In-Reply-To: <001601c001eb$6b142ac0$3226b3d1@calixtus> Message-ID: Hi Doug, I got your message and your phone call. I sorry to here that you are leaving the area, but I understand the reasons. Thank you for all the support you have given the SJAA over the last two years. I know you will be missed by the folks on TAC also. Please stop on by one of the meetings or a star party so we can say goodbye. Mike BTW if you get a chance, please send the slides for the last two classes, I can teach them. Unfortunately, I can not make it this weekend since I'll be helping on a Perseid Meteor Campaign tonight and Saturday Nite. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Fri Aug 11 15:01:55 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Re: Observational Class References: Message-ID: <399477D3.69C5@sjpc.org> Michael Koop wrote: [snip] > BTW if you get a chance, please send the slides for the last two classes, > I can teach them. Unfortunately, I can not make it this weekend since I'll > be helping on a Perseid Meteor Campaign tonight and Saturday Nite. Mike, do you have someone to run the key? I have not heard of a substitute teacher, nor have I seen a cancellation notice. I don't know what Dave can pull out of his sleeve -- he's already covered one class by jumping in with his moon presentation. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From koopm at best.com Fri Aug 11 16:35:16 2000 From: koopm at best.com (Michael Koop) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Re: Observational Class In-Reply-To: <399477D3.69C5@sjpc.org> Message-ID: Jim, Yes the cancellation notice was sent at Noon today. Mojo was considering running the class, but he just has too much to do this weekend (It's Ephemeris Time). I think Dave North is on travel this week, so he could not do it. I was thinking of doing it myself, but Jenniskens and I are running spectrograph at Fremont Peak tonight and tomorrow night. Since nobody was able to teach the class with this late notice I canceled it after waiting as long as possible. I did get a notice from Mark Wagner offering to teach the Deep Sky observing Class. Since I have already sent a cancelation notice it's too late for this month. Shall we take him up on his offer for the September Class? A month notice should be plenty of time for him to prepair. Of course, if I get Doug's slides I can continue with his format, closing the class for the year. Jim, you might want to put a sign on the Houge door saying that class is canceled. The observational Class should be a topic of discussion at the board this month. Mike Wagner' Email ________________________ On Fri, 11 Aug 2000, Michael Koop wrote: > Deep Sky Observing. It's a busy weekend with Ephemeris Deadlines and > Perseids. FYI, Doug is currently interviewing down in So Cal with > more interviews next week. He's looking to move out of the area, and has > given notice to the SJAA Board to find a new instructor. Sorry to see him > go. I always enjoyed observing with him. Too bad. I was wondering why I'd not seen him out observing in a while. I could have done the deep sky talk. I don't mind helping the club with things like that. Mark Wagner _________________________ On Fri, 11 Aug 2000, Jim Van Nuland wrote: > Michael Koop wrote: > > [snip] > > > BTW if you get a chance, please send the slides for the last two classes, > > I can teach them. Unfortunately, I can not make it this weekend since I'll > > be helping on a Perseid Meteor Campaign tonight and Saturday Nite. > > Mike, do you have someone to run the key? I have not heard of a > substitute teacher, nor have I seen a cancellation notice. I don't know > what Dave can pull out of his sleeve -- he's already covered one class > by jumping in with his moon presentation. > > -- > Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. > Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org > JVN's home page > SJAA's home page > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net > Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bill at nineplanets.org Fri Aug 11 17:46:56 2000 From: bill at nineplanets.org (Bill Arnett) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Re: Observational Class In-Reply-To: Message-ID: on 00/08/11 4:35 PM, Michael Koop at koopm@best.com wrote: > Jim, > Yes the cancellation notice was sent at Noon today... And I fixed the hotline on the web site. (BTW, isn't it about time for a hotline update, Jim?) -- Bill Arnett bill@nineplanets.org Emerald Hills, CA USA http://nineplanets.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Fri Aug 11 21:45:08 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Re: Observational Class References: Message-ID: <3994D654.33F4@sjpc.org> Michael Koop wrote: > > Jim, > Yes the cancellation notice was sent at Noon today. > I did get a notice from Mark Wagner offering to teach the Deep Sky > observing Class. Since I have already sent a cancellation notice it's too > late for this month. Shall we take him up on his offer for the September > Class? YES! It's an excellent talk. He had brought in his computer and a large monitor, but perhaps would like to use the projector. > A month notice should be plenty of time for him to prepare. Of > course, if I get Doug's slides I can continue with his format, > closing the class for the year. That would be great! His material is good. > Jim, you might want to put a sign on the Houge door saying that class is > canceled. I'll go over there and do that. Maybe stick around a little while, if I feel that I can. I'm getting better, but today has been a regression. I gotta get the hotline updated, too. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Treasurer at SJAA.net Sat Aug 12 18:52:22 2000 From: Treasurer at SJAA.net (Mark Taylor) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> Boardies, Trying to stay ahead of the workload... I've (masochistically) been considering producing and selling APDs again this year, and as such would need to have a firm calendar plan ready Real Soon. I took the liberty of a "first stab" at working out the 2001 schedule. I hope Jim doesn't mind the help :-) Please take a look at the attached file before the board meeting this Saturday so we can make any necessary changes and otherwise talk intelligently about it. My own notes on it are as follows: - I've included approximate sun/moon times with each star party date to help visualize what the lighting conditions will be like. - There are TWO full moons in December this year, one of which could easily have been the November meeting. I thought two meetings in December would be a bad idea since it's typically such a busy month for people. So... - Working backward from there to ensure only one December meeting, I ran into a problem with Labor Day which just happens to be a full moon Saturday this year. I thought this would ALSO be a bad idea for a meeting date. The only option I could come up with was to have the Sept meeting on the following "Gibbous Q3" weekend which wouldn't be very good for observing, anyway, and drop the "dark sky" entry for that date. - I've slated Astro Class dates monthly from Jan-Oct, but we obviously need to decide what we're going to do in light of recent news. June has two potential dates, so if we go ahead with the classes, we'll need to nix one of them. Regards, Mark -------------- next part -------------- (Tentative) SJAA 2001 Calendar Date Activity Luna SolSet Luna ---- --------------------------------------- ---- ------ ---- 0105 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1327[1650]S0338 0106 Astronomy Class 0113 General Meeting 8pm 0119 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1323[1705]R0409 0120 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1402[1705]R0505 0127 Dark Sky Night R0908[1713]S2014 0202 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1159[1722]S0336 0203 Astronomy Class 0210 General Meeting 8pm 0216 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1201[1738]R0300 0217 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1242[1738]R0354 0224 Dark Sky Night R0739[1746]S1906 0302 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1035[1754]S0123 0303 Astronomy Class 0310 General Meeting 8pm 0316 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1037[1809]R0148 0317 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1123[1809]R0240 0324 Dark Sky Night S1758[1816]R0635 0330 Q1 In-Town Star Party R0916[1823]S0021 0331 Astronomy Class 0401 Darkness Squandering Time Begins 2am (+1hr) 0407 Annual SJAA Swap Meet and Auction (XXI) 0413 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1014[1938]R0133 0414 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1103[1938]R0222 0415 Easter Sunday 0421 Dark Sky Night S1748[1945]R0604 0427 Q1 In-Town Star Party R0901[1952]S0019 0428 Astronomy Class 0505 General Meeting 8pm 0511 Q3 In-Town Star Party S0853[2006]R0015 0512 Q3 Dark Sky Night (gibbous/short night) S0945[2006]R0101 0519 Dark Sky Night S1635[2012]R0431 0525 RTMC through May 27 0526 Freebie Dark Sky Night (young crescent) R0849[2018]S0008 0528 Memorial Day 0601 Q1 In-Town Star Party (very gibbous) R1547[2024]S0341 0602 Astronomy Class (extra) 0609 General Meeting 8pm 0615 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1420[2031]R0232 0616 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1521[2031]R0259 0623 Dark Sky Night R0741[2033]S2251 0629 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1446[2033]S0214 0630 Astronomy Class 0704 Independence Day 0707 General Meeting 8pm 0713 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1308[2028]R0059 0714 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1409[2028]R0127 0721 Dark Sky Night R0631[2024]S2128 0727 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1345[2018]S0048 0728 Astronomy Class 0804 General Meeting 8pm 0810 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1159[2002]R2328 0811 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1300[2002]R2357 0818 Dark Sky Night R0519[1952]S2001 0824 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1240[1942]S2320 0825 Astronomy Class 0903 (SJAA meets NEXT week due to Labor Day) 0903 Labor Day 0908 General Meeting 8pm 0914 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1751[1908]R0408 0915 Dark Sky Night S1832[1908]R0525 0921 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1132[1857]S2152 0922 Astronomy Class 1006 General Meeting 8pm 1012 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1627[1823]R0300 1013 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1704[1823]R0415 1020 Dark Sky Night R1127[1813]S2106 1026 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1557[1804]S0239 1027 Astronomy Class 1028 Darkness Squandering Time Ends 2am (-1hr) 1031 Halloween 1103 General Meeting 8pm 1109 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1405[1648]R0058 1110 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1437[1648]R0211 1117 Dark Sky Night R0913[1642]S1843 1122 Thanksgiving Day 1123 Q1 In-Town Star Party * Black Friday R1326[1638]S0026 1201 Holiday Party 8pm 1207 Q3 In-Town Star Party S1241[1635]R0000 1208 Q3 Dark Sky Night S1311[1635]R0111 1215 Dark Sky Night R0758[1636]S1722 1221 Q1 In-Town Star Party R1154[1639]S2312 1225 Christmas Day From jvn at sjpc.org Sun Aug 13 00:56:56 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> Mark Taylor wrote: > > Boardies, > > Trying to stay ahead of the workload... > > I've (masochistically) been considering producing and selling APDs > again this year, and as such would need to have a firm calendar plan > ready Real Soon. I took the liberty of a "first stab" at working out > the 2001 schedule. I hope Jim doesn't mind the help :-) I don't mind, but I must apologize for omitting you when I submitted a proposed calendar to the Bills (Arnett and O'Shaughnessy). They had helped / critiqued in previous years. Since you've been doing the APD I certainly should have included you. My proposed General Meetings are close to full moons, and the astronomy class is the week before or after, trying to keep them together. I'd proposed Apr.7 for the Auction, but Dave has suggested that we do it on Sunday so as to get out of the way of that child-care class. I've done a survey and gotten nearly unanimous votes for Sunday. Someone asked that it be moved away from Tax Day (Apr.16 this year). I suppose we could do it on the 22nd, but that's near new moon. The 29th may be better. Or even May 6. Here's the proposal: =============================== =============================== Here is a proposed Calendar for 2001. Check it carefully. When you print this, PLEASE use a M*O*N*O*S*P*A*C*E*D font so that the columns will line up. General Astro Houge Park Dark-sky 2001 Meeting Class Star Party Star Parties January 13 6 5, 19 20, 27c February 10 3 2, 16 17, 24c March 10 3, 31 2, 16, 30 17, 24c April 7* 28 13, 27= 14, 21c May 5 12@ 18 19, 26mc June 2 30 1, 15,29 6, 23c July 7 28 13, 27 14, 21c August 4 25 10, 24 11s,18c September 1 29+ 14, 28 15c October 6 - 12, 26 13, 20mc November 3 - 9, 23 10, 17c December 1 - 7, 21 8, 15c * Auction: April 7. @ Class early to clear RTMC weekend. + Decide how far we want to go with the class. = Astronomy Day is April 28; Houge on 27th. (4 day moon). STAR PARTY notations -- c Coe and Peak. Others Peak. m Late moonset, up to 2 hours after astronomical dark. e Early moonrise, 3 hours of dark but not 6. s Even earlier moonrise, not even 3 hours. OTHER dates and events -- DST start Apr.1 TAX day - Apr.16, Monday Easter - Apr.23 (school vacations week before or after) RTMC -- May 25-28, 1Q moon following Tuesday Star-B-Q I would recommend July 21 but who asked me? DST ends Oct.28 GENERAL MEETINGS on 2nd Saturday, then 1st Saturday. ASTRONOMY CLASS Try for the week before general meeting, but it jumps from 1st to last Saturdays, two in March. Then breaks again in May to clear RTMC weekend. COE: Coe dates are also official Peak dates. Coe is the second of consecutive weeks, because Coe isn't bothered by the (probable) small new moon. QUESTIONS: The class schedule is somewhat choppy. It could be put on 1st Saturdays all year, but then the General Meetings would be choppy. DOUG: what's your feeling about it? Aug.18: 3Q moon up just after midnight, only 2.5 hours of dark. Keep it? Clear Skies! Jim. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Sun Aug 13 09:46:33 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <3996D0E8.D23F632E@znet.com> >>I've done a survey and gotten nearly unanimous votes for Sunday.<< I'm sorta surprised, Jim, though I like the result. Could you say how many folks responded (roughly?) Good work. dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Sun Aug 13 12:55:50 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> <3996D0E8.D23F632E@znet.com> Message-ID: <3996FD46.332F@sjpc.org> JVN wrote: > >>I've done a survey and gotten nearly unanimous votes for Sunday.<< Dave North wrote: > I'm sorta surprised, Jim, though I like the result. Could you say how > many folks responded (roughly?) To date, I have 20 replies: Either: 5 But 2 prefer Saturday Saturday: 1 Sunday: 13 Get it away from Tax Day: 1 So even if we count the two "Either but prefer Sat", we still have 13 for the change, 3 opposed. One didn't state a preference but said that we should move it to a non-income-tax month. I presume that Sunday, April 22 would suffice; however, that's a new moon weekend. There have been other comments about being so close to Tax Day, so perhaps the best date would be May 6, at full moon. It would replace the General Meeting that would otherwise be on May 5. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Treasurer at SJAA.net Sun Aug 13 13:28:17 2000 From: Treasurer at SJAA.net (Mark Taylor) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey In-Reply-To: <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> Looks like we chose mostly the same dates; we should scrutinize the reasons for differences and decide which is the better choice. Some of the dates were tough calls. > I'd proposed Apr.7 for the Auction, but Dave has suggested that we do >it on Sunday so as to get out of the way of that child-care class. I've >done a survey and gotten nearly unanimous votes for Sunday. Oops, I forgot about that suggestion. Your grid should reflect the 8th too (it still says the 7th below). Also, to avoid the last-minute deliberations we've had for the last two years (and the inevitable "the materials have already gone out" non-resolution) we should definitively resolve the ordering of the events EARLY this time. I seem to recall the decision hinging on what Joe S. thought. Did you talk to him, Dave? Anyone? >Someone >asked that it be moved away from Tax Day (Apr.16 this year). I suppose >we could do it on the 22nd, but that's near new moon. The 29th may be >better. Or even May 6. I can understand not wanting it to be the *same* weekend as taxes. What kind of "just for you because you're special" padding do these individuals expect? To my mind April 8th is well "away from tax day" and I can't seem to muster much pity beyond that. On to the calendar at large... The only differences were across May/June, and a couple choices in September. I've inserted comments where appropriate below: > General Astro Houge Park Dark-sky > 2001 Meeting Class Star Party Star Parties > January 13 6 5, 19 20, 27c > February 10 3 2, 16 17, 24c > March 10 3, 31 2, 16, 30 17, 24c > April 7* 28 13, 27= 14, 21c GM(Auction) should at least be changed to the 8th as above. To some other date completely if we collectively have "tax fever". I guess moving it to the May meeting (permanently?) would work; at least the weather would more likely cooperate on average. > May 5 12@ 18 19, 26mc Having a class on the 12th puts it just two weeks after the prior class; awfully soon. If May's meeting is done on June 2, that puts a month in between; There's a good opportunity on June 30 for June's meeting, also about a month separated. Besides, May 12th is a VERY viable dark-sky night, enough so that I can see people planning to go out of town for the 5 hours of dark. May 11th would actually be OK for a Houge night; nearly 4 hours of usable darkness, and then there's a terminator to look at if anyone is still around at midnight. Worth adding in. > June 2 30 1, 15,29 6, 23c If we have the May class on June 2 as I suggested above, that would put the GM on the 9th -- a very moony night, and apparently free. On your dark sky column for June, you list the 6th. I think you intended to write the 16th? > July 7 28 13, 27 14, 21c > August 4 25 10, 24 11s,18c > September 1 29+ 14, 28 15c Having the GM on the first puts it on Labor Day weekend, so I had it moved off to the 9th on my schedule (which is a free date above). The 28th is WAY too moony for a Houge. Why not use the 21st? And while at it, why not have the class on the 22nd where they can go out and see a nice crescent phase? Looks like the terminator would be in a fairly sweet spot. Or if you prefer to keep the class on the 29 so it's near October's GM, at least move the Houge back from the 28th to the 21st as above. > October 6 - 12, 26 13, 20mc > November 3 - 9, 23 10, 17c > December 1 - 7, 21 8, 15c > > * Auction: April 7. > @ Class early to clear RTMC weekend. > + Decide how far we want to go with the class. > = Astronomy Day is April 28; Houge on 27th. (4 day moon). > >STAR PARTY notations -- > c Coe and Peak. Others Peak. > m Late moonset, up to 2 hours after astronomical dark. > e Early moonrise, 3 hours of dark but not 6. > s Even earlier moonrise, not even 3 hours. > >OTHER dates and events -- > > DST start Apr.1 > TAX day - Apr.16, Monday > Easter - Apr.23 (school vacations week before or after) Oops!!! Easter is on the 15th in 2001 > RTMC -- May 25-28, 1Q moon following Tuesday > Star-B-Q I would recommend July 21 but who asked me? > DST ends Oct.28 >... > > Aug.18: 3Q moon up just after midnight, only 2.5 hours of dark. >Keep it? I don't get this; 8/18 is New Moon. Did you mean to write another date? ---- Please, let's discuss (online or on Saturday) and get it finalized so I can get the APD process under way nice and early this year. Thanks, M -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From akkana at netscape.com Sun Aug 13 14:17:04 2000 From: akkana at netscape.com (Akkana) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> <3996D0E8.D23F632E@znet.com> <3996FD46.332F@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <39971050.EED1D625@netscape.com> Jim Van Nuland wrote: > There have > been other comments about being so close to Tax Day, so perhaps the best > date would be May 6, at full moon. It would replace the General > Meeting that would otherwise be on May 5. I was out of town for the survey, but chalk up another vote for Sunday so as not to conflict with the child care program. When is Memorial Day/RTMC? Avoiding that is probably more important than avoiding Tax Day, because some of our sellers may have a lot of preparation to do for RTMC and it might be difficult for them to prepare two swap-meet events in short succession. (Or it might not be any problem at all; but it's worth putting the question out if we're considering pushing the swap meet to May.) Personally I agree with Mark that the 8th is far enough away from Tax Day, but I don't feel strongly about it either way. What about the talk last year about having the swap and auction as separate events? There seemed to be a lot of positive comments about that idea, but the schedule doesn't reflect that possibility. And if they both continue to be on the same day, as Mark Taylor says, we need to get the ordering of the two events straight and make sure everybody's on the same page. ...Akkana -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Sun Aug 13 15:12:02 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <39971D32.5C0F@sjpc.org> Mark Taylor wrote: > > Looks like we chose mostly the same dates; we should scrutinize the > reasons for differences and decide which is the better choice. Some > of the dates were tough calls. I spent 2 full hours going over your suggestions, with comments in deail; then this wretched version of Netscrape hung and I lost the note. I accepted most of your suggestions, and will re-create those items where I feel strongly. But I'm out of time, and will do that later tonight. Netscape and/or Win3.1 has some memory trouble whenever I start a DOS task with netscape running. &^#$^%&^*(*&*^%$#%! -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Sun Aug 13 22:02:47 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <39977D77.758F@sjpc.org> Hi, Mark and all, I'll summarize the changes that I made per Mark's suggestions, and defend the two places where I feel I have the "correct" dates. Consider whether to schedule a star party on Aug.11, with only 2.5 hours between astronomical dark and moonrise. The Auction is moved to May 6. We could have a board meeting on the 5th if we want. Still to do is decide on format of the Auction & Swap. I feel strongly that we are doing it right. Mark wrote: > I can understand not wanting it to be the *same* weekend as taxes. > What kind of "just for you because you're special" padding do these > individuals expect? I have my own taxes done by the end of January, but many people, including some astronomers, get going only in April. BTW, I suspect that the fellow who asked for non-tax-month is a professional tax preparer. > > General Astro Houge Park Dark-sky > > 2001 Meeting Class Star Party Star Parties > > May 5 12@ 18 19, 26mc > > Having a class on the 12th puts it just two weeks after the prior > class; awfully soon. I've moved the class from May 12 to June 2, moved the GM from June 2 to June 9. The next class is June 30. So the spacings are 5 weeks, 4 weeks. Better! > Besides, May 12th is a VERY viable dark-sky night, enough so that I > can see people planning to go out of town for the 5 hours of dark. Astronomical twilight ends about 9:50, moon comes up about 1:10 am, so it's only 3.3 hours of dark. With the class moved, those who wish can do it. There are already two star parties that month, without using May 12. > May 11th would actually be OK for a Houge night; nearly 4 hours > of usable darkness, and then there's a terminator to look at > if anyone is still around at midnight. Worth adding in. We can use May 11 or 18. Since it's intended to be a non-moon night, I think we should stay with the 18. Too, it's not really 4 hours, as we can't show much until navigational twilight, about 9 pm. > > June 2 30 1, 15,29 6, 23c > On your dark sky column for June, you list the 6th. I think you > intended to write the 16th? YES! Thanks for catching it. > > September 1 29+ 14, 28 15c > > Having the GM on the first puts it on Labor Day weekend, so I had it > moved off to the 9th on my schedule (which is a free date above). OH OH! I missed labor day, even after writing it on the calendar. Sep.9 it is. > The [Sept] 28th is WAY too moony for a Houge. Why not use the 21st? The 21st has the moon only 30 degrees up in mid-twilight, so it won't show well. On the 28 the moon will be well up, and the 11-day moon has some spectacular stuff on the terminator. (DAVE? Akkana? What's your opinion?) > And while at it, why not have the class on the 22nd where they can > go out and see a nice crescent phase? Agreed! Nice! > >OTHER dates and events -- > > > > DST start Apr.1 > > TAX day - Apr.16, Monday > > Easter - Apr.23 (school vacations week before or after) > > Oops!!! Easter is on the 15th in 2001 Boyoboy. I wrote 15 on the calendar, copied to my draft, then typed it wrong. 15th it is. I just re-checked Meeus. > > Aug.18: 3Q moon up just after midnight, only 2.5 hours of dark. > >Keep it? > > I don't get this; 8/18 is New Moon. Did you mean to write another > date? Yes, I intended the 11th. It has less than 3 hours of dark. Shall we keep it? Attached is the new version. Please re-check it, especially the changes. I think we are very close. Clear Skies! -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page ========================== begin ======================= To: sjaaboard@SJAA.net Here is a revised proposed Calendar for 2001. Check it carefully. When you print this, PLEASE use a M*O*N*O*S*P*A*C*E*D font so that the columns will line up. General Astro Houge Park Dark-sky 2001 Meeting Class Star Party Star Parties January 13 6 5, 19 20, 27c February 10 3 2, 16 17, 24c March 10 3, 31 2, 16, 30 17, 24c April 7 28 13, 27= 14, 21c May 6* -- 18 19, 26mc June 9 2, 30 1, 15, 29 16, 23c July 7 28 13, 27 14, 21c August 4 25 10, 24 11s, 18c September 8 22 14, 28 15c October 6 27+ 12, 26 13, 20mc November 3 - 9, 23 10, 17c December 1 - 7, 21 8, 15c * Auction: May 6, a Sunday. + Decide how far we want to go with the class. = Astronomy Day is April 28; Houge on 27th. (4 day moon). STAR PARTY notations -- c Coe and Peak. Others Peak. m Late moonset, up to 2 hours after astronomical dark. e Early moonrise, 3 hours of dark but not 6. s Even earlier moonrise, not even 3 hours. OTHER dates and events -- DST start Apr.1 TAX day - Apr.16, Monday Easter - Apr.15 (school vacations week before or after) RTMC -- May 25-28, 1Q moon following Tuesday Star-B-Q I would recommend July 21 but who asked me? DST ends Oct.28 GENERAL MEETINGS on 2nd & 1st Saturdays. ASTRONOMY CLASS Try for the week before general meeting, but it jumps around sometimes. COE: Coe dates are also official Peak dates. Coe is the second of consecutive weeks, because Coe isn't bothered by the small newish moon. QUESTIONS: Aug.11: 3Q moon up just after midnight, only 2.5 hours of dark. Keep it? Clear Skies! Jim. ====================== end========================= -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Treasurer at SJAA.net Mon Aug 14 00:33:00 2000 From: Treasurer at SJAA.net (Mark Taylor) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey In-Reply-To: <39977D77.758F@sjpc.org> References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> I'll start by stating that I think it's pretty reasonable and could settle on it as-is. But I think there are still some things worth going over just to be sure... At 10:02 PM 8/13/2000, Jim Van Nuland wrote: > Consider whether to schedule a star party on Aug.11, with only 2.5 >hours between astronomical dark and moonrise. Consider this: 8/11 is almost identical (actually a few minutes shorter) than the night on 5/11 that you already said you felt was too short to use. Seemingly we should drop both or keep both. But I still believe both will be quite usable -- a brief dark sky followed by the OTHER side of the terminator, which people usually don't see at Houge (if anyone is still around at 11-12). The terminator looks interestingly-placed for both dates, but especially August's. O'course I'm not the one to ask about such things. I'd keep both dates, though. > The Auction is moved to May 6. ... ... many people, >including some astronomers, get going only in April. Heh, in spite of the best of intentions, I typically put it off until the last few days myself. But I can usually spare the few hours one afternoon (especially a week prior to the 15th) to do something non-tax-related. >BTW, I suspect >that the fellow who asked for non-tax-month is a professional tax >preparer. I'm not trying to be difficult, nor is my intention to disregard a request without thinking it through. I just keep asking "Should we radically change a date that everyone has come to expect, just because of one attendee's personal conflict?" I believe it's possible to please most of the people most of the time, and all of the people none of the time. Somebody will likely complain that they "count on" the event being in April, and have planned to be away in May. Also there's the Joe S. equation; how's the date going to be with one of our biggest vendors? (Personally I'd survive OK even if we moved it a full 6 months off, but I expect others will have something to say about that, too.) > > Besides, May 12th is a VERY viable dark-sky night, enough so that I > > can see people planning to go out of town for the 5 hours of dark. > > Astronomical twilight ends about 9:50, moon comes up about 1:10 am, so >it's only 3.3 hours of dark. FWIW, the 12th is dark for almost an hour *longer* than the 8/11 date that's been deemed "worth considering". WRT measuring usable darkness, I tend not to follow the strict definitions of twilight for start time, nor the instant of moonrise as an end time. I start counting from about an hour after sunset until about an hour after moonrise. And depending on what's rising, the observing night ain't over yet! :-) > > The [Sept] 28th is WAY too moony for a Houge. Why not use the 21st? > > The 21st has the moon only 30 degrees up in mid-twilight, so it won't >show well. On the 28 the moon will be well up, and the 11-day moon has >some spectacular stuff on the terminator. (DAVE? Akkana? What's your >opinion?) I'd expect there to be a juicy terminator on the 21st as well, (also a question for Dave/Akkana). And that is then followed by *darkness*, which isn't such a bad thing, either. Let's let our resident Lunar experts decide which is the better Q1 night; I certainly don't know. Maybe we should use both!? RE the class dates: The way it stands now, we have 11 scheduled in the period including January and October. If we want to keep it to a series of 10 we can either start a month later, or drop October. Thoughts? M -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Mon Aug 14 01:41:01 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> <3996D0E8.D23F632E@znet.com> <3996FD46.332F@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <3997B099.75F718EE@znet.com> jvn: >>One didn't state a preference but said that we should move it to a non-income-tax month.<< So that's two people who think the tax issue is important; 10 percent. I suspect we won't be able to do much about it unless we follow the advice of the person above -- move it to May instead of April. Should we consider this? Even though it has been in April since time immemorial, it might not be a bad idea. My own take, however, is that it isn't that big an issue, and the impending release of students from school may be as much trouble, as well as RTMC. The other direction, March, may mean bad weather or interfering with the usual spring cleanups most people have to deal with. So I'd just leave it alone. Thanks for the breakdown, Jim. I wish more people had seen fit to reply, but obviously most folks don't think it important enough to comment on. Given that situation, I suspect we should go with the best Sunday in April and hope it works out. mt: >>I seem to recall the decision hinging on what Joe S. thought. Did you talk to him, Dave? Anyone?<< Joe didn't seem to mind auction first or auction last, or for that matter I don't think he'd care much about the April/May thang. He's an easy guy. But he's also moving to Santa Rosa. At this time, he still expects to be involved in these activities, and I believe him. But he'll probably want a little extra notice. Obviously there are logistic issues to work out if we put the auction first, but I still think it would be a good experiment to run. Perhaps we should discuss this at the meeting and nail down what we want to do. ak: >>What about the talk last year about having the swap and auction as separate events?<< This also is worth consideration, and might be the best way to do things. Perhaps we could consider instituting an auction/slide/equipment night...? mt: >> Having a class on the 12th<< The classes are very much up in the air now. I suspect, with Doug moving on, we should actually consider moving them to Houge Friday nights. This is a perfect situation: it means only having to show up with the key one night instead of two, and there will always be a bank of scopes available for post-class observation (or, logically, an extension of the classes). I think this would be a win-win, and strongly suggest it. jvn: >>Netscape and/or Win3.1 has some memory trouble whenever I start a DOS task with netscape running.<< I used to have that problem with nonNS/DOS with 3.1 back in the dark ages, so I doubt it's Netscape (though it could be; things were dicey in those days). Highly suggest at least Win95SR2; pretty good system by comparison. Even more highly recommend Linux. You won't have that problem any more... >>The 21st has the moon only 30 degrees up in mid-twilight, so it won't show well. On the 28 the moon will be well up, and the 11-day moon has some spectacular stuff on the terminator. (DAVE?<< Agreed. I get the terminator around 45 degrees west, which is a fully open Humorum and a sunrise Aristarchus Plateau. If we really do get Schroter's Valley and maybe even Rumker along with the Humorum rilles, it would be quite a treat at Houge. Also, elevation won't be too bad. The four-day moon at that time of year will be moderately low all night, and get lower fast. I suspect it would also hold some interest for a while, but that's not a great terminator position. mt: >> But I still believe both will be quite usable -- a brief dark sky followed by the OTHER side of the terminator, which people usually don't see at Houge<< This is a good point, but bear in mind that a late-rising moon is right on the Horizon for quite a while, and looks like it's under boiling water. This is fine for low-power views once it clears the building, but that takes (I think) about an hour at Houge. Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Treasurer at SJAA.net Mon Aug 14 08:53:56 2000 From: Treasurer at SJAA.net (Mark Taylor) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey In-Reply-To: <3997B099.75F718EE@znet.com> References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> <3996D0E8.D23F632E@znet.com> <3996FD46.332F@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000814084126.00b30500@indigoskies.com> At 01:41 AM 8/14/2000, Dave North wrote: >So that's two people who think the tax issue is important; 10 percent. ...of those who responded; but as you say, people with "no issue" aren't as likely to respond to a survey as those who have one. For example, if 200 people saw the question the 2 complaints would be 1% > Thanks for the breakdown, Jim. I wish more people had seen fit to >reply, but obviously most folks don't think it important enough to >comment on. Given that situation, I suspect we should go with the best >Sunday in April and hope it works out. Especially since this ("Sun. instead of Sat. in April") is the alternative that people were surveyed about. If we wanted to move it to an entirely different month, we should probably poll the attendees on that as well to see what kind of response there is to the idea. >ak: >>What about the talk last year about having the swap and auction as >separate events?<< > >This also is worth consideration, and might be the best way to do >things. Perhaps we could consider instituting an auction/slide/equipment >night...? Wow, and I had always imagined it as two new events (one of which would still be on the traditional date), but that may just be perfect if it turns out that less "junk" ends up in the auction, and it can go faster. >mt: >> Having a class on the 12th<< > >The classes are very much up in the air now....we should actually >consider moving them to Houge Friday nights. This >is a perfect situation: Agreed! This is a win-win. If the classes (or part of them) remain indoors, the Q1 Fridays are probably the best choice since the room lights are visible outside. >This is a good point, but bear in mind that a late-rising moon is right >on the Horizon for quite a while, and looks like it's under boiling water. >This is fine for low-power views once it clears the building, but that >takes (I think) about an hour at Houge. Does that mean you think it would be best left off the calendar, or that it's still worth scheduling? M -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Mon Aug 14 09:04:48 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <399654C8.2A8@sjpc.org> <3996D0E8.D23F632E@znet.com> <3996FD46.332F@sjpc.org> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814084126.00b30500@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <3998189D.DDD05071@znet.com> mt: >>Does that mean you think it would be best left off the calendar, or that it's still worth scheduling?<< It means I didn't check the schedule carefully on that day and just dropped in an opinion without running the numbers. Wooo! dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bill at nineplanets.org Mon Aug 14 12:22:58 2000 From: bill at nineplanets.org (Bill Arnett) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey In-Reply-To: <3997B099.75F718EE@znet.com> Message-ID: on 00/08/14 1:41 AM, Dave North at north@znet.com wrote: > ... So that's two people who think the tax issue is important; 10 percent. >... I'd just leave it alone. I agree with Dave. We'll probably lose fewer people to last minute tax preparation than to the alternatives. (And I have little sympathy for those people anyway. Taxes just aren't that hard and can usually be done weeks in advance with only a few hours' effort. Anyone who's burning the midnight oil on 4/15 ought to hire an accountant or a personal time management consultant :) >... there are logistic issues to work out if we put the auction > first, but I still think it would be a good experiment to run. Perhaps > we should discuss this at the meeting and nail down what we want to do. Yeah. > ak: >>What about the talk last year about having the swap and auction as > separate events?<< > > This also is worth consideration, and might be the best way to do > things. Perhaps we could consider instituting an auction/slide/equipment > night...? Oh boy, maybe we'll have something real to talk about at the meeting Saturday :-) > mt: >> Having a class on the 12th<< > > The classes are very much up in the air now. I suspect, with Doug moving > on, we should actually consider moving them to Houge Friday nights. This > is a perfect situation: it means only having to show up with the key one > night instead of two, and there will always be a bank of scopes > available for post-class observation (or, logically, an extension of the > classes). > I think this would be a win-win, and strongly suggest it... And yet more red meat for the discussion! (I think I agree with Dave but maybe we ought to try it a couple times as an experiment.....Nah, I guess we have to nail down the calendar before we could get the results of any useful experiment. So maybe we should just consider all of next year as the experiment :-) -- Bill Arnett bill@nineplanets.org Emerald Hills, CA USA http://nineplanets.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Mon Aug 14 16:05:48 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <39987B4C.7D23@sjpc.org> Hi, All, Off-topic, I owe Netscape 3.04Gold (windows 3.1) an apology. I have that same version running on my new laptop under Win98 2nd ed; and despite having lots of DOS tasks started after Netscape, jumping around, opening and closing, everything worked OK. So it appears that the culprit is defective memory management in Win 3.1. OTOH, I'm not quite ready to convert my desktop machine to Win98, I'll get more experience with it on the laptop. I moved the star party / Houge stuff up first, and the auction discussion down. > At 10:02 PM 8/13/2000, Jim Van Nuland wrote: > > Consider whether to schedule a star party on Aug.11, with only 2.5 > >hours between astronomical dark and moonrise. Mark Taylor wrote: > Consider this: 8/11 is almost identical (actually a few minutes > shorter) than the night on 5/11 that you already said you felt was > too short to use. Seemingly we should drop both or keep both. Um, you mean 5/12. I see that I'm inconsistent; I suppose I was trying to put 2 and only 2 star parties in each month, and May already has 19 and 26; but August has only the 18th. OKAY! Since May 26 is also RTMC, lets keep both. Our people like lots of star parties. The newsletter must warn that it's short. MT, speaking on Houge May 11 vs. 18: > But I still believe both will be quite usable -- a brief dark sky > followed by the OTHER side of the terminator, which people usually don't > see at Houge (if anyone is still around at 11-12). The terminator looks > interestingly-placed for both dates, but especially August's. O'course > I'm not the one to ask about such things. I'd keep both dates, though. We don't want two in a row, I don't think. For the moon to be 15 degrees up, the time is 2 am.; so let's stay with the 18th. After all, it's intended to be a dark-sky night, not a moon night. MT: > > > The [Sept] 28th is WAY too moony for a Houge. Why not use the 21st? > [snip] > Let's let our resident Lunar experts decide which is the better Q1 > night; I certainly don't know. Dave seems to agree that the moon on the 28th will be the better one, and that on the 21st, it starts out low and gets lower. I'd like to keep the 28th. > RE the class dates: The way it stands now, we have 11 scheduled > in the period including January and October. If we want to keep it > to a series of 10 we can either start a month later, or drop October. Dave has pointed out that this is in limbo with the loss of Doug. There is also the suggestion to combine with Houge public star parties, which I feel will stretch us too thin, but I'm willing to listen. For now, I want to keep the dates (all 11 of them) on the calendar in case we decide that we want to use them. By December 1, when we gotta reserve the hall, we will hopefully have decided. OKAY? > > The Auction is moved to May 6. ... ... many people, > >including some astronomers, get going only in April. > Heh, in spite of the best of intentions, I typically put it off until > the last few days myself. But I can usually spare the few hours one > afternoon (especially a week prior to the 15th) to do something > non-tax-related. > >BTW, I suspect > >that the fellow who asked for non-tax-month is a professional tax > >preparer. > > I'm not trying to be difficult, nor is my intention to disregard a > request without thinking it through. I just keep asking "Should we > radically change a date that everyone has come to expect, just because > of one attendee's personal conflict?" No, not for just one; but (as you've illustrated) others also bump their nose against Tax Day. If we don't want May 6, I'm willing to use April 8 or 29. Easter (15) is laden with family / church activities, including myself. The 8th may be best except for the tax preparer. The 22 is new-moon weekend: people will be star-party-pooped. My preference is the 29th, not so much for tax day as to avoid conflicts with school Easter breaks. > Also there's the Joe S. equation; how's the date going to be with one > of our biggest vendors? As Dave points out, Joe is flexible. SUMMARY: Since the only changes are (1) add May 12 dark star party; (2) retain the class dates; and (3) the decision as to the Auction date, I won't resend the table yet. I'm asking Mark to accept Houge on May 18, and also Houge on Sept 28. I'm open to moving the Auction back to April, as discussed above. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Treasurer at SJAA.net Mon Aug 14 17:16:47 2000 From: Treasurer at SJAA.net (Mark Taylor) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey In-Reply-To: <39987B4C.7D23@sjpc.org> References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> At 04:05 PM 8/14/2000, Jim Van Nuland wrote: >culprit is defective memory management in Win 3.1. Heh, imagine that; an ill-behaved dos/win3.1 program! ;-) >Mark Taylor wrote: > > Consider this: 8/11 is almost identical (actually a few minutes > > shorter) than the night on 5/11 that you already said you felt was > > too short to use. Seemingly we should drop both or keep both. > > Um, you mean 5/12. Nope; I was comparing it against a potential Houge date (Friday 5/11) because of their similar conditions. Your original question was whether 8/11 would be worth keeping as an out-of-town dark sky night. My point in comparing the dates was that if 5/11 wasn't good enough for a Houge event, then 8/11 wouldn't be good enough for a road trip out of town. The bottom line being to keep both dates (1 houge, 1 dark-sky) or trash both. Saturday 5/12 is another story; it's dark an hour longer than the above dates, and I think it would be a good night for folks who like a mix of dark and moon in their night. Definitely a keeper. >OKAY! Since May 26 is also >RTMC, lets keep both. Our people like lots of star parties. Right-O. >MT: > >> The [Sept] 28th is WAY too moony for a Houge. Why not use the 21st? > > [snip] > Dave seems to agree that the moon on the 28th will be the better one, >and that on the 21st, it starts out low and gets lower. I'd like to >keep the 28th. Okeydokey. Of course I'll probably still try to get out somewhere the afternoon of the 21st to look at the moon during day/twilight, and then move on to dark sky objects after it gets dark. No sense in wasting a perfectly good weekend night! ;-) > Dave has pointed out that this is in limbo with the loss of Doug. Yes, I also acknowledged that issue in the notes of my original calendar posting; I'm still concerned about it, especially since... >By December 1, when we gotta >reserve the hall, we will hopefully have decided. OKAY? What I'm thinking is more like "by September when we gotta get the APD data to the printer". We REALLY need to work this out ASAP; even if most of the discussion happens outside of board meetings. If we just can't decide what to do with the class in time, I guess I could always just omit them from the APD data and let people check other resources for class dates if we have them. What I'd really like is to annotate the preceding Houge nights with "and Class", but that's something we'll have to discuss at the meeting. (Heck, the Houge nights basically *are* classes for the public as they stand) Taxes and Auctions... > No, not for just one; but (as you've illustrated) others also bump >their nose against Tax Day. Actually, the illustration was that even a tax-retarded individual such as myself can wait until he last minute, still get taxes done in time, and also manage to have enough of a life to attend the Auction (even if it's the *same* weekend as taxes, let alone the weekend prior). (Tax preparers excepted) Of all the bay area people who know the event is always in April, very few have ever complained, right? I'm guessing they're of similar mind on this topic. Anyway, IIRC this whole thing was about whether to have the event on a Sunday, not whether anyone had issues with April (which we would have head about more often in the last 20 years if it were a real problem). > If we don't want May 6, I'm willing to use April 8 or 29. So far I've heard 3 or 4 board opinions that keeping it in April is probably the better choice, so let's drop 5/6 as an option. That leaves two. >My preference is the 29th, not so much for >tax day as to avoid conflicts with school Easter breaks. Yep, the 8th is the Sunday before Easter, and some students may well be on break starting the 6th. This could affect some people's availability (though this dad will have no problems with it). And at least the 29th is a couple weeks closer to reliable weather! I'd be content with either. >SUMMARY: > > Since the only changes are (1) add May 12 dark star party; (2) retain >the class dates; and (3) the decision as to the Auction date, I won't >resend the table yet. Sounds right. I'm still confused about the disposition of the 5/11 & 8/11 dates which are almost identical in darkness, but which at last call have been handled two different ways. > I'm asking Mark to accept Houge on May 18, and also Houge on Sept 28. I was always OK with the 18th since it came up; IIRC, my comment was "why not use both the 18th and 11th". Sept. 28th/21st was a similar thing. Dave agreed that the 28th looks better, but I'm wondering will the 21st be so bad? It'll be dark for the most part. Or is the point that we don't want to have more than 2 Houges/month? Would that be bad? > I'm open to moving the Auction back to April, as discussed above. So it's just a matter of deciding 8 vs 29; either is fine for me. M -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Mon Aug 14 18:00:32 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <39989630.6D280A9C@znet.com> mark: >>is the point that we don't want to have more than 2 Houges/month? Would that be bad?<< I think we're stretched a little thin as it is. Yup, sounds bad to me. But I think, since Jim is willing to consider Friday classes, we might as well assume that's what we'll do... it makes far too much sense, and the one time I did it, attendance was WAY up. Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Mon Aug 14 22:09:03 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> Message-ID: <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> > >Mark Taylor wrote: > > > Consider this: 8/11 is almost identical (actually a few minutes > > > shorter) than the night on 5/11 that you already said you felt was > > > too short to use. Seemingly we should drop both or keep both. > > > > Um, you mean 5/12. > > Nope; I was comparing it against a potential Houge date (Friday 5/11) > because of their similar conditions. > > Your original question was whether 8/11 would be worth keeping as an > out-of-town dark sky night. My point in comparing the dates was that > if 5/11 wasn't good enough for a Houge event, then 8/11 wouldn't be > good enough for a road trip out of town. The bottom line being to > keep both dates (1 Houge, 1 dark-sky) or trash both. AHA, now at last I understand: you are proposing an additional Houge date. We don't want Houge Public more than every other Friday. We don't want to be stretched any thinner than we are. There are school star parties too. But my objection to *moving* the Houge from the 18 to the 11 is that the moon does not come up in time to show it -- by the time the moon is 15 degrees up it'll be 2 am. (It also makes the 2-weeks scheduling more awkward.) > Saturday 5/12 is another story; it's dark an hour longer than the > above dates, and I think it would be a good night for folks who like > a mix of dark and moon in their night. Definitely a keeper. Yes, I've put it on the schedule. The only caution is that people realize that it's a short night, and that's why I include the moonrise time in the calendar material. CLASS CONSIDERATIONS: JVN: > > Dave has pointed out that this is in limbo with the loss of Doug. MT: > Yes, I also acknowledged that issue in the notes of my original > calendar posting; I'm still concerned about it, especially since... JVN: > >By December 1, when we gotta > >reserve the hall, we will hopefully have decided. MT: > What I'm thinking is more like "by September when we gotta get the > APD data to the printer". We REALLY need to work this out ASAP; even > if most of the discussion happens outside of board meetings. AHA! Sorry, I did not think well enough to realize that the APD schedule is much tighter than December 1. YES, this is urgent. MT: > If we just can't decide what to do with the class in time, I guess > I could always just omit them from the APD data and let people check > other resources for class dates if we have them. The hot line is available to everyone, even if the web site isn't. OF course I'd like to have the dates in the APD if possible. MT: > What I'd really like is to annotate the preceding Houge nights > with "and Class", but that's something we'll have to discuss at > the meeting. (Heck, the Houge nights basically *are* classes for > the public as they stand) I don't think we can nail it down soon enough. I hope I'm wrong. > Taxes and Auctions... [big snip] > Anyway, IIRC this whole thing was about whether to have the event on > a Sunday, not whether anyone had issues with April (which we would > have head about more often in the last 20 years if it were a real > problem). JVN: > > If we don't want May 6, I'm willing to use April 8 or 29. MT: > So far I've heard 3 or 4 board opinions that keeping it in April > is probably the better choice, so let's drop 5/6 as an option. That > leaves two. JVN: > >My preference is the 29th, not so much for > >tax day as to avoid conflicts with school Easter breaks. MT again: > Yep, the 8th is the Sunday before Easter, and some students may well > be on break starting the 6th. This could affect some people's > availability (though this dad will have no problems with it). And > at least the 29th is a couple weeks closer to reliable weather! > I'd be content with either. GOOD! We are in agreement on 4/29; will the rest of the board agree? The only urgent thing left is the class. My feeling is that, given the vagaries of the weather, we need to do the class indoors. If the sky is bad, we stretch the class (?) If we do it simultaneously with a Houge Public, I'm not sure how it would work. I'll give it some more thought as to just how they'd be co-ordinated. In summer the class would be nearly over by the time the sky was dark enough. In winter it'd be the other way. Would the combination make for a too-long evening? Some people might like to bring a scope but also attend the class. (Random thoughts, intended only to stir up some ideas in my head.) Clear skies! -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Tue Aug 15 01:02:51 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <3998F92B.DD0E52BC@znet.com> jvn: >>My feeling is that, given the vagaries of the weather, we need to do the class indoors. If the sky is bad, we stretch the class<< Of course the class should be indoors. I don't think that was ever in dispute, save that when the weather does cooperate, it should certainly be possible to do part of some of the classes outdoors. On the other hand, they should probably all start indoors. >>If we do it simultaneously with a Houge Public, I'm not sure how it would work.<< Class indoors, folks with scopes outdoors. >>In summer the class would be nearly over by the time the sky was dark enough.<< That would be, of course, just about perfect. >>In winter it'd be the other way. Would the combination make for a too-long evening?<< I don't think so. Either activity is optional to folks involved in the other. And the fact that there are scopes outside might well make the class more brief and to the point, when it would be possible to go outside and illustrate the point. In planet season, if Rich is set up, it would be hard to bow on too long about what you *could* see on a planet when you can simply walk out and look... >>Some people might like to bring a scope but also attend the class.<< Properly coordinated, this would be no problem. And anyone who wants to set up, then go into the class, should have minimal problem. Bear in mind that at least half the winter/spring classes will be just classes, because the sky will suck. And perhaps a quarter or third of the others will be the same situation. The last few years, probably 2/3 of the Houges have been useless for one reason or another. At least, that's a few more thoughts to kick around. Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bill at nineplanets.org Tue Aug 15 01:14:37 2000 From: bill at nineplanets.org (Bill Arnett) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey In-Reply-To: <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> Message-ID: on 00/08/14 10:09 PM, Jim Van Nuland at jvn@sjpc.org wrote: >... > My feeling is that, given the vagaries of the weather, we need to do > the class indoors. If the sky is bad, we stretch the class (?) > > If we do it simultaneously with a Houge Public, I'm not sure how it > would work. I'll give it some more thought as to just how they'd be > co-ordinated. In summer the class would be nearly over by the time the > sky was dark enough. In winter it'd be the other way. Would the > combination make for a too-long evening? Some people might like to > bring a scope but also attend the class. (Random thoughts, intended > only to stir up some ideas in my head.) I kind of like this idea. In the winter we observe for a while and then go in to the class; in the summer we observe afterward. And if the weather is bad at least there's something to do. -- Bill Arnett bill@nineplanets.org Emerald Hills, CA USA http://nineplanets.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Tue Aug 15 13:13:38 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> <3998F92B.DD0E52BC@znet.com> Message-ID: <3999A472.77E4@sjpc.org> Hi, Dave, Bill, You've made it sound like it'll run smoothly -- I've no objection to trying a year with the class on Fridays along with a public star party. Now, putting on my administrator hat, I'll look at the calendar and try to suggest some specific dates. Presumably we'll want one class per calendar month, tolerating some irregularity to reconcile the biweekly star party and the calendar month. Let's see, we'd want the moon available, but maybe not every time -- certainly when Dave does his moon talk. Not when (Mark?) does the deep-sky night. Jan 5, moon Feb 2, m Mar 16, dark (6 week gap) Apr 13, d May 18, d Jun 1, moon (2 week gap) Jun 29, m (2nd in June) Jul 27, m Aug 24, m Sep 14, dark (3-week gap) Oct 12, d That's 11 dates. We can stop whenever we want, but the reservation must include the hall as well as the grounds. Winter is moony as we can see the moon throuh thin clouds. Spring is dark so we can see galaxies. Summer moony so there's something while we wait for darkness. I have not put them into my master list yet, as I want your input -- perhaps I'm out of the ballpark. Clear Skies (and classes)! -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Tue Aug 15 16:27:57 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> <3998F92B.DD0E52BC@znet.com> <3999A472.77E4@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <3999D1FC.36993EC5@znet.com> Jan 5, moon Feb 2, m Mar 16, dark (6 week gap) Apr 13, d May 18, d Jun 1, moon (2 week gap) Jun 29, m (2nd in June) Jul 27, m Aug 24, m Sep 14, dark (3-week gap) Oct 12, d >From my point of view, that's just about as backassward as possible. The one thing I'd like it a March or April justafterfirstquarter, if possible. That's when it's highest in the sky ... so observing is good if it can be seen. In the summer, the evening moon is awfully low, and really something of a poor target. In Jan and February, the 9-10 day moon is excellent. I would not bother with darksky spring, because there are no bright objects. The summer is the best time to do deep sky (or dead winter) because there are plenty of bright things to be seen from Houge. Anyway, that would be my take. Fall? Means not much from a moon standpoint; third quarter is high (a bit late). d -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bill at nineplanets.org Tue Aug 15 16:38:38 2000 From: bill at nineplanets.org (Bill Arnett) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey In-Reply-To: <3999D1FC.36993EC5@znet.com> Message-ID: January-April will be the best times for Jupiter and Saturn next year. -- Bill Arnett bill@nineplanets.org Emerald Hills, CA USA http://nineplanets.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Wed Aug 16 11:33:10 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> <3998F92B.DD0E52BC@znet.com> <3999A472.77E4@sjpc.org> <3999D1FC.36993EC5@znet.com> Message-ID: <399ADE66.3F42@sjpc.org> Okay, Dave, let's try again, optimizing for the moon spring & fall, and for dark during the summer. No optimization is needed for planets. Jan 5, moon 1Q+3 Feb 2, m 1Q+1 Mar 2, m 1Q Mar 30, m 1Q-2 (2nd in March) Apr 24, m 1Q-3 May 18, dark Jun 15, d Jul 13, d Aug 10, d Sep 28, moon 1Q+4 Oct 26, m 1Q+3 Nov 23, m 1Q+1 Granted that the autumn moon may not be the best, but we're past the good stuff in the summer Milky Way. We can decide later how many classes to have. We want the on the schedule so we reserve the hall along with the grounds. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Wed Aug 16 15:35:56 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> <3998F92B.DD0E52BC@znet.com> <3999A472.77E4@sjpc.org> <3999D1FC.36993EC5@znet.com> <399ADE66.3F42@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <399B174B.BF40944@znet.com> jvn: >> Mar 30, m 1Q-2 (2nd in March) Apr 24, m 1Q-3<< Dang good shot, Jim, but these two dates are both unfortunate. They'll work, but they're low. I feel your pain... but I don't know what to say. M30 will be okay, and April 24 should be somewhat okay, but it's pretty early. That's a pity... dangit. >>Granted that the autumn moon may not be the best, but we're past the good stuff in the summer Milky Way.<< I wouldn't argue that point; some stuff would still be sorta high, but that's not a bad moon night either. Call it either way and I'm happy. >>We can decide later how many classes to have. We want the on the schedule so we reserve the hall along with the grounds. << For a trial, I'd hold it down a bit, but that's just blather. I think we can handle this at the meeting, if everyone agrees to this in principle... d -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Wed Aug 16 23:35:26 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> <3998F92B.DD0E52BC@znet.com> <3999A472.77E4@sjpc.org> <3999D1FC.36993EC5@znet.com> <399ADE66.3F42@sjpc.org> <399B174B.BF40944@znet.com> Message-ID: <399B87AE.65AF@sjpc.org> Dave North wrote: > > jvn: >> Mar 30, m 1Q-2 (2nd in March) > Apr 24, m 1Q-3<< > Dang good shot, Jim, but these two dates are both unfortunate. They'll > work, but they're low. > I feel your pain... but I don't know what to say. M30 will be okay, and > April 24 should be somewhat okay, but it's pretty early. That's a > pity... dangit. They fall out of the need to run alternate Fridays. Sure would be nice if these week / moon-th / month / year would have some common factors. If we'd move that Mar.30 down a week, the moon would be full -1 day. That Apr.24 is a blunder! Should be Apr.27, and it's still 1Q-3 days. To push it a week would be FM-2, rather much. ONE LAST CHANGE: Earlier discussion put the June general meeting on the 9th, to allow the class to precede it. With the Class moved to Friday, I propose putting the general meeting back to June 2. MARK: check this over, please. With that, I think we've reached agreement with all recent discussion. I'll put the class-on-Friday dates into the master schedule and tack it onto this note. Hopefully I've made all the changed correctly. Look it one more time. -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page ===================== Begin ===================== To: sjaaboard@SJAA.net Version 5, 2000 Aug.16. Latest change: Classes on Friday. Here is the proposed Calendar for 2001. Check it carefully. When you print this, PLEASE use a M*O*N*O*S*P*A*C*E*D font so that the columns will line up. General Astro Houge Park Dark-sky 2001 Meeting Class Star Party Star Parties January 13 5 5, 19 20, 27c February 10 2 2, 16 17, 24c March 10 2, 30 2, 16, 30 17, 24c April 29* 27 13, 27= 14, 21c May 5 18 18 12s, 19, 26mc June 2 15 1, 15, 29 16, 23c July 7 13 13, 27 14, 21c August 4 10 10, 24 11s, 18c September 8 28 14, 28 15c October 6 26 12, 26 13, 20mc November 3 23+ 9, 23 10, 17c December 1 - 7, 21 8, 15c * Auction: April 29, a Sunday. + Decide how far we want to go with the class. = Astronomy Day is April 28; Houge on 27th. (4 day moon). STAR PARTY notations -- c Coe and Peak. Others Peak. m Late moonset, up to 2 hours after astronomical dark. e Early moonrise, 3 hours of dark but not 6. s Even earlier moonrise, not even 3 hours. OTHER dates and events -- DST start Apr.1 TAX day - Apr.16, Monday Easter - Apr.15 (school vacations week before or after) RTMC -- May 25-28, 1Q moon following Tuesday Star-B-Q I would recommend July 21 but who asked me? DST ends Oct.28 GENERAL MEETINGS on 2nd & 1st Saturdays. ASTRONOMY CLASS Try for the week before general meeting, but it jumps around sometimes. COE: Coe dates are also official Peak dates. Coe is the second of consecutive weeks, because Coe isn't bothered by the small newish moon. Clear Skies! Jim. ===================== End ===================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Thu Aug 17 09:06:44 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] 2001: A Calendar ODDyssey References: <4.3.2.7.0.20000812181858.00b02f60@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813104050.00b1b930@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000813233858.028f0820@indigoskies.com> <4.3.2.7.0.20000814162010.00b30500@indigoskies.com> <3998D06F.4F30@sjpc.org> <3998F92B.DD0E52BC@znet.com> <3999A472.77E4@sjpc.org> <3999D1FC.36993EC5@znet.com> <399ADE66.3F42@sjpc.org> <399B174B.BF40944@znet.com> <399B87AE.65AF@sjpc.org> Message-ID: <399C0D94.676B5EFA@znet.com> jvn: >>They fall out of the need to run alternate Fridays. Sure would be nice if these week / moon-th / month / year would have some common factors. << I agree, but I think you've done about as well with it as can be done. I didn't spot the mistake either ... (face red...) >>With the Class moved to Friday, I propose putting the general meeting back to June 2.<< That looks good here (just before full). >>Star-B-Q I would recommend July 21 but who asked me?<< Maybe if you went to one... dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From billosh at accesscom.com Sat Aug 19 22:39:32 2000 From: billosh at accesscom.com (Bill O'Shaughnessy) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] My absence from SJAA Board Meeting Message-ID: <399F6F14.5438B43F@accesscom.com> I had been planning on making it to the SJAA board meeting Saturday night but I had a flat out on I280 and had to mount one of those puny spares. I took the car to Wards where I bought the tire originally. I wanted to keep the same kind of tire on all four wheels. I took the car in at 5:00pm and they said they would be done in time for me to get to the meeting, but they ended up getting done at 7:15. Sorry I didn't make the meeting, Bill O. Ps. This tire manufacturer(guess name) does seem to be more prone to road hazard than others. I've had two failures this year compared to 2 in the past 18 years on Goodyear tires. And my tires are only 13 inches. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From north at znet.com Sun Aug 20 09:51:40 2000 From: north at znet.com (Dave North) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] My absence from SJAA Board Meeting References: <399F6F14.5438B43F@accesscom.com> Message-ID: <39A00C9B.D14CEF1C@znet.com> BillO: >>I had a flat out on I280<< That's a very good reason! >>This tire manufacturer(guess name)<< Beats me; haven't been to Sears Auto in many years. Got some Yokohama AVSIs last year on Ak's recommendation; extremely highly recommended... d -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Wed Aug 23 23:04:44 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Speakers, especially October References: <39A430BB.7781@sjpc.org> <39A45AD7.E305B84F@znet.com> <39A45C1C.4D24@sjpc.org> <39A467EF.F3175E84@znet.com> Message-ID: <39A4BAFC.5F3E@sjpc.org> Dave North wrote: > > Who's October? I don't know who arranged him, nor just what his topic means. I'll copy the Board and ask. Hey, Boardies: Who knows more about October's speaker: Wyn Washhorst (sp?) on "Essays on the Near Edge of Infinity" It's written on the master calendar, but I don't recall who sent it to me. I hope it's for real! What's the correct spelling of his name? -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Sat Aug 26 00:29:44 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Vacation absence Message-ID: <39A771E8.5B04@sjpc.org> Hi, All, I'll be in Wisconsin Sept.20 thru Oct.12. This includes two Houge Park public star parties, and also three or four school events. I've asked Bill O'Shaughnessy to cover for the school program. Since my health is much improved, I can take the Houge key from Mike for some of the coming events. I expect to keep current on my e-mail this trip, as my new laptop allows me to use my regular mailer and internet server (sjpc.org). Clear Skies! -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bill at nineplanets.org Sat Aug 26 11:43:06 2000 From: bill at nineplanets.org (Bill Arnett) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Vacation absence In-Reply-To: <39A771E8.5B04@sjpc.org> Message-ID: on 00/08/26 12:29 AM, Jim Van Nuland at jvn@sjpc.org wrote: >... my health is much improved... Glad to hear that, Jim! -- Bill Arnett bill@nineplanets.org Emerald Hills, CA USA http://nineplanets.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From jvn at sjpc.org Wed Aug 30 16:42:30 2000 From: jvn at sjpc.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Sat Sep 30 03:57:07 2006 Subject: [BOARD] Speaker for Class, Sept.9 Message-ID: <39AD9BE6.1655@sjpc.org> Hi, all, Mark Wagner has agreed to tell us about deep-sky observing at the class on September 9. Big thanks! Clear Skies! -- Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Association. Jim Van Nuland, Postmaster, sjpc.org JVN's home page SJAA's home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sjaaboard list: sjaaboard@sjaa.net Changes made only by list administrator: mojo@whiteoaks.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------