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Anyone that has ever been to my lounge would know that I have a little (4.5″) reflector telescope. It’s one of those cheapie department store style ones with the tiny focuser so it doesn’t really accept any of the ‘good’ eyepieces. Eyepieces being basically half the telescope system, so it’s a relatively big deal.

I had been looking at getting some sort of sweet SCT with all the automagic guiding business, but my budget wouldn’t ever reach to the multi-thousands necessary. I compromised, hopefully early next week my new Zhumell 10″ Dobsonian mounted reflector will be here.

I also ordered two of the Orion Expanse knockoff eyepieces from OWL, the 9mm and 6mm. Those two are supposedly as pretty much as good as the more expensive ones, so hopefully that’s true. Eventually I’ll get myself some fairly nice Baader Hyperion eyepieces, but at $130 each that’ll be a slow process. I’ll also need to get some ludicrously expensive collimation tools, though I’m sure the manufacturer/vendor doesn’t feel that $100 for an aluminum tube is overpriced, heh. Precision is expensive.

I’m really excited about the new telescope, even if I still have horrible neighbors with their insecurity lights and the worst offender of light trespass ever, the Cumberland Valley Christian School, whose staff apparently believe that the proper way to light a parking lot all night long is to aim intense lights horizontally away from their building! … right at my house. I’d like to practice some ‘golden rule’ on them, show up at their house and shine a spotlight into their windows all night, every night.

Oh, I never mentioned it, but back before summer started I got a Wii. It’s great fun, but I don’t find myself playing any games (PC or Wii) lately. I also just paid off the balance (in full) on the credit card for my Nikon D40 I bought last month. A very sweet camera, especially considering that with tax and a 1GB SD card, it was $600; only $100 more than my Nikon point & shoot several years ago. I do wish that it had a focus drive for the older lenses, and that it had more than the measly three focus points, but to get those I’d have to spend twice as much. Twice as much would mean I’d not have a new camera at all, so… I can live with it.

I guess you could say that I’ve been quietly aquiring all the fun things that I’ve been wanting for a while.