2011 Lilac Festival in Rochester, NY
Another Lilac Festival has come and gone. We were fortunate enough to go the first day when the weather was perfect and the crowds were light. The lilacs weren’t in full bloom yet this
It Begins
I was given my first telescope for my fifteenth birthday. For years before this I was fascinated with the stars. Having a real telescope changed everything. It made all the books I had read
My First Astronomical Sketch
This was my first attempt to sketch an astronomical object. It created it on August 9, 2004 by simply by sketching what you see in a telescope eyepiece. Astronomers used this practice for thousands
Schools Fail Because Communities Fail
I have some bad news for you, Sunshine. Schools fail because their communities fail them. Period. Not maybe or probably or possibly. Show me a failing school in an affluent community and I will
Why I Love Astronomy
Most of my childhood was spent in the seventies. Technology was still very new at best and the spectacular images produced by the Hubble Space Telescope and even by amateurs today were not remotely
Clearwater Beach: A Slice of Heaven
If you’re not a native of Clearwater Beach, Florida the first thing you will notice when you step off the plane is the light. Golden sunshine framed in a glowing platinum blue unlike any
Don’t Ostracize For Double Dipping
Retirement. Some people dread the thought while for others it can’t come soon enough. In either case this is a wonderful civilized concept that our modern society enjoys. At least it did. It is
Time To Take Control
What do you know about the BP Oil Spill? As much as the media tells you. What does the media know? They know what BP tells them. The rest of what we know is
Hearse for a Bear
It has been a year since a bear died after falling from a city neighborhood tree in Rochester, NY. The case is considered closed. That is sad. After watching the video perhaps you will
Space Shuttle Program Nears End
I’m old enough to remember when Skylab died a fiery death over the Pacific Ocean. July 11, 1979. The clippings were on my bedroom wall for years. Not long before this Viking had landed