I’m a big Hendrix fan: this live version of Voodoo Child (Slight Return) has a beautifully constructed solo where each part seems to be perfectly connected to the next , the solo seems just the ‘right’ length and the band just rocks. Of course, it gets a little out of tune towards the end.
The Winter Olympics kick off tonight! Love to watch the free style skiers and snow boarders killin it in the half pipe and pretty much all of the downhill stuff. Not so much interested in the artsy figure skating and curling (game). Anyone else enjoy watching it?
I enjoy most of the events and admire the courage, skill and perhaps craziness of some events, such as the ski jump and skeleton - some of those people must be absolutely mental.
Freestyle skiing is great, not so curling. As Jimmy Kimmel put it, it’s just watching some people using mops.
Some Aussies might get a medal this time.
The 2026 Winter Olympics (Milano Cortina, February 6–22, 2026) feature **nine** athletes with strong ties to Steamboat Springs, Colorado—primarily through the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC), as hometown athletes, or long-term training/residency in the Yampa Valley area. This aligns with Steamboat’s nickname as “Ski Town U.S.A.,” boasting the most Winter Olympians of any U.S. town historically, with this group pushing the SSWSC alumni total over 100 at the Games.
From last night, cruising to the Orion Nebula from the comfort of my living room while watching/listening to Joe Bonamassa Live at Red Rocks and NOT the corporate network sanitized version of the Winter Olympics.
This is a lightly edited screenshot of M42 after less than an hour of light capture.
We were very disappointed in the opening ceremonies. Turned that off and watched a movie we’ve seen multiple times instead.
Nice shot of orion. What did you use to capture and process this image?
Missed the opening ceremony. Youtube doesn’t seem to have any decent coverage of it. Either some very short segments or some shaky handheld stuff.
Thanks Ani. Taken with a Vaonis Vespera II smart scope. I took a .jpg from the app and boosted the contrast a bit on my iPhone. I expect quite a bit more punch when I post-process the stacked .tif file from the 2+ hour exposure, so stay tuned.
The jukebox is missing all the ROM discs 
Thats really cool , you must live in the country ? No light pollution ?
That’s from my backyard on the east edge of Ankeny, less than a mile east of the DIY Iowa site. Bortle 6 light pollution. Not good, but doable for certain parts of the sky. I can get to Bortle 3-4 locations within an 80-mile drive, if I plan ahead. But I’ve only had two nights with this rig so far. Certainly still honing the craft.
That’s really cool Turn2!
Yeah, pretty cool
Nice photo!
My knowledge of telescopes is limited, but I think it is amazing that you can take such a long exposure without blurring from camera vibration!
Right, because the telescope has to be moving to track whatever you’re looking at.
This particular scope takes sequential 10 second exposures. If the exposure passes whatever test occurs in it’s black box, it becomes part of the final stack. If I’m looking at the data correctly, I’m getting about a 60-75% keeper rate. What that means is that if I program 3 hours of tracked photography, I’m getting around 2 hours or more of light data in the stacked .tif file.
So far my post processing sucks ass. If I ever get up to speed, I’ll have the full glory of those captures to show, rather than just the screenshot posted above.
Any Jeep guys here? I just acquired an 04 WJ from a family member. Steering and supsension needs alot of work. There is a huge dead spot in the steering (scary 3hr highway drive home). I already tried adjusting the steering box. When stopped, the tires begin turning as soon as I move the steering wheel off center.. Looks and feels more tight/correct when stationary. The huge slop shows up when moving. My experience is with IFS, not SFA stuff.
Guess I’ll need to wait until the snow is gone and get the front axle up on stands to see what is sloppy without weight on it all.
Friends of ours bought a property in central rural Victoria near Maldon purely for astronomy. It’s very clear of towns and other artificial light sources and weather patterns are such that it usually has low cloud cover. They built an observatory which looks like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon - all domed and white - and mounted a huge telescope in about two tons of concrete. The photos, taken with a Nikon attached to the eyepiece, are simply stunning.
Front end bushings would be my guess. She wobble going down the highway?
