Now has a new base box to bolt it firmly to the tripod.

Also a new mounting plate for the telescope itself to position the center of gravity a little better, also drilled 4 positions for it so I can move it as needed depending on the weight of the camera attached etc.

The unit is now usable again! Next step is to motorize…

I’ve been into astronomy for a long time now, having had a few different telescopes and binoculars. My current telescope is a Tasco Galaxsee reflector with a 4.5″ mirror, 114mm x 500mm focal length.
My problem with this telescope has always been the RA mount, being confusing and time consuming to setup and find anything useful. So since I also use a computer program to track stars, planets etc and starting to get into astrophotography using a webcam, I’ve been wanting a computerized ‘GOTO’ mount to hook up to my laptop for easier locating and tracking of objects, especially to go with the astrocam applications.

Now the easiest way to achieve this goal would be to purchase one, but since they’re all about $500 upwards and that I have limited funds, I figured I should make it a real hobby and build one.

The following are the current and planned steps, I’ll blog further as I progress to the final product.

Thanks and enjoy!

Radan.

–

Step #1: The Design:

The Sketch

Step #2: The 1st Build (just the mechanics):

Step #3: The Stabilised Mount: TBA

Step #4: The Motors: TBA

Step #5: The Electronic Controller: TBA

Step #6: The Computer Interface: TBA

Step #7: The Final Product: TBA

Long time no hear!

Just added some more galleries to the photo albums. Mostly various zoo photos I took a few years ago.

Go check them out!

mogozoo

34 Photos

natzooaquarium

40 Photos

butterflyhouse

27 Photos

tarongazoo

53 Photos

reptilepark

48 Photos

coffszoo

26 Photos

 

–

Radan.

Currently still in beta testing so I expect possible bugs but so far it looks really good.

Latest ’stable’ version is 0.74 from the above link, however if you go to his main home page theres a download to the latest test version 0.80 which is what I’ve downloaded today.

Many configurable options, allows multiple Galleries which can be grouped into albums. Photos can be uploaded in zip files (great for multiples), entire folders (with compatible browsers) and single pictures. Supports highly configurable watermarks too! The gallery setup page can also generate nested Wp Pages for you!

Individual pictures or galleries can be added to posts and pages with simple tags. eg…

Two sidebar widgets are included -

• a random photo widget – shows any number of custom size thumbnails for selectable galleries or all.
• a slide show widget – configurable size and options like selected galleries or all.

For more information have a look at the plugin site.

To look at my photos check out the Photos page.

Enjoy!

This Plugin will help me to upload some photos and let me insert a watermark.

Just to test it here’s a new photo…

OurLittle Kitty

The only little prob with this plug-in is that it needs you to modify one of the Wordpress core files, however it’s fairly simple to do and the mod is explained on the websites installation page. I just have to remember it’s there when I do an update so that if I have to overwrite the file I re-modify it…

My next project for this blog is a gallery plug-in – looking at one now but will post it another time..

Till then, enjoy!

“The Lazy Journalists Plane Story Generator!”

I’ts been missing for some time now but watching may access logs I’d noticed it was getting heaps of hits…

So enjoy some fun and give it a go.

Greetings!

For some time now my girlfriend (a very active blogger) has been pestering me to start up my own blog site, so here it is!

I’ve never been much of a vocal person, previous websites have been plain and simple without many updates. The only thing I updated regularly was the photo gallery… I’m hoping with this site to be more active and refresh the content more often.

I’m doing this for many reasons, mainly to push through some changes in my own self being, as the problems with being too reserved is that I’ve missed many opportunities and have fallen behind in many projects. I’ve always believed that I can do anything I set my mind to and still do believe, but in the past I’ve not done things for the irrational fear of sticking my neck out too far and getting it cut off or upsetting others by my actions. Basically I’ve always tried too hard to avoid conflicts at my own expense… ( in some cases causing conflicts by avoiding others! )

So hopefully with this site and other changes I’m making to my personality and activities in life I can bring about more positive results for myself and those I around me. I’ve realised that I must act to achieve the things I want in life before they become out of reach. At 35 years old I have missed too much but can still achieve a lot if I act now.

The first 2 posts I’ve made when setting this site up are from my old website, as I work on this blog I’ll no doubt post more such thoughts, dreams or strange experiences. I also hope to integrate a working gallery of some sort, similar to what I had on the old sites, but for now I’ve put a few up for the sidebar random pics.

Other directions for this blog (which may change over time) will be about my hobbies such as the computer programs I work on, games I play both online and offline and indeed my photography.

So keep an eye on me, don’t expect daily updates but I should be able to make something fairly regular. Indeed feel free to prod me as always people trying to change their life need to be reminded of their commitments. This is why I’m linking this new blog to the changes I want to make in my life, by committing myself before others to make changes I become accountable for them, no longer can I hide inside myself from the world. So here I am, taking my big step forward, committing myself to continue this momentum and achieve something good in life.

Thankyou for visiting my blog and I hope to see more and contribute more as time goes on.

• I came out of my bedroom early one morning before work to find a lot of my sons toys scattered along the hallway and into the bathroom, even onto the bathroom sink. My son was not staying over at this time.

• While I collected up the above mess my partner went outside for a cigarette, walking across the dining room floor to turn on the light on her way. When she came back in she saw about a handful of whole peanuts we had in a bowl strewn onto the dining room floor, right where she had walked to turn on the light so they couldn’t have been there before.
• There were quite a few other instances where objects have been found moved around to different locations. Even my little plastic Picachu doll which seems to like moving about overnight and changing poses, sometimes I find it with it’s head turned backwards…
• The best yet was coming home to find this message on my Linux pc… the pc was on with a standard terminal prompt but not connected to the net at the time. (I always left it on to process SETI@home blocks)

This is an actual screen dump of the terminal screen.

The first two lines were me tuning my isp link on then off the day before, then I get the message highlighted in red.
Who knows what strange powers we live with, but that place (and many others) have had some strange occurances.

Do you believe in the human spirit? The life-force of a person or object? Either way, read on because what follows could change the way you look at the world, or maybe reinforce what you already believe…

Most people believe that positive is good and negative is bad, for energies I believe the opposite, that negative is good and positive is bad. For example, an energy source such as a battery, the negative terminal gives out electrons which are negatively charged, while the positive terminal takes them away. Free energy devices work on the theory of doing away with the positive terminal and reusing these electrons over and over. Positively charged air ions hold dust, smoke and other contaminants up into the air we breath, they cause us to feel drowsy and breath in these particles, causing asthma etc. A negative ion generator gives out electrons into the air, neutralizing these positive ions and cleaning the air by causing the particles to fall to the ground, making us feel better and breath cleaner. It is also known than a atom is made up of a nucleus (a collection of positive protons, and neutral neutrons), and negative electrons. If the number of neutrons and protons are not the same, we have an unstable atom with is usually radioactive, dangerous and eventually burns-out. If the electrons are added or taken away we have a positive ion (less electrons than protons) or a negative ion (more electrons than protons).Now the Belief:-

I believe there is a infinite force of “spiritual” energy that surrounds, binds and is the whole universe. This “life-force” of the universe holds all things in existence, from the tiniest atom to the largest galaxy. Like all forms of energy it exists in three states, Positive, Negative and Neutral. Lesser life forms such as plants, animals, birds, etc., even humans, each have their own life-force that is simply a concentration or “focus” of the universal life-force. When a human life is created, a small amount of this life-force is taken from the planet and focussed to form a new life-force. This child then absorbs more spiritual energy throughout it’s life from new experiences. This energy can be negatively charged in the form of good experiences, positively charged from bad, or neutrally charged. When a person is overbalanced in bad energy, they may be overcome and turn into a bad person, possibly causing other bad energy. A person with good energy may become a good person, or a neutrally experienced person could be simply stable. Autonomous life-forms such as us can also convert this energy by our thoughts, actions or emotions. A good person can decide to do something bad, resulting in bad energy being given out, and vice-versa. When we die, this life-force is released and is absorbed back into the planet to be used over. Sometimes a persons spirit remains in focus after they die, usually because of an unrest causing the focus to remain intact. This results in a wandering spirit or “ghost” and because this ghost is the collection of the persons experiences , it often still remembers its past life. When the cause of the unrest is removed, the spirit is then released back into the life-stream. Past-life experiences or memories could be a small amount of a deceased persons life-force, absorbed into a new life before it is fully broken down. People with the ability to predict things that they wouldn’t normally know, such as the past of a stranger, or even the future, are simply those who can tune into the persons, or even the planets life-stream, just like a radio, and interpret these vibes. Controlling events by simple thought is a matter of focusing this energy to your will. All forms are created, exist and die in a similar way, all with this universal life-force, even planets, stars and galaxies.

I believe that if this energy of our planet becomes too much positively charged by bad energies, the planet itself will become overbalanced, resulting in an explosion of all its life-forces, even those in use, just like a nuclear bomb, causing the death of all life, maybe even the planet itself. This could even be what happened to the dinosaurs, the planet became overbalanced and died, all its life-force exploding, dissipating and eventually reforming in a new, neutral existence, starting life all over again. All in a natural cycle, birth, life, death and then starting over again, on all scales beings, planets, stars, even galaxies, think about it.

With this in mind, as we look around the world, with all it’s wars, violence, hate and more people losing sight of love and happiness, we see that more people are becoming overwhelmed by all this bad energy, and slowly becoming influenced by it, often turning them also into bad people and adding to the problem. More and more adding a positive charge to the life-force of our planet, maybe eventually causing an imbalance and a disastrous result of death. The end of the world. Judgment day, as some people call it, causing all bad energies (or as some say, people, sinners) to be destroyed (punished?). Think about it.

For those who believe, do not despair, there is a way. All we need to do is live a little happier, love a little more and believe in hope. By doing this we can create good energies, just like a negative ion generator does to the air, neutralizing the bad, positive energy and stabilizing nature, even helping to influence others to do the same. So as you can see, a little bit of love, happiness and hope can go a long way to fight evil, and maybe we can all live a little happier and live a little longer. It is obvious to me, that if enough people can be happy and love each other, we can create a happier world as we convert others to do the same. Maybe, eventually, stopping the wars, the violence and hate which, one way or another, will cause our demise.

- Radan 19th February, 1998. From a dream.