Dave Ambrose

We saw the eclipse! Our plan A site was going to be clouded out, so we relocated to Llano, TX. We had some disturbingly thick clouds. It wasn't looking promising until about 15 minutes prior to totality when a big hole showed up. We got to see all of totality, albeit through some high, thin clouds. Lots of prominences for this one. The city was well prepared for the influx of people, and we got to support some local organizations. Here is one of my better shots:

I rebooted again, but it still seems to be misbehaving. Unfortunately, I won't get back home until later this week but will dig into it when I get home.

Rebooted the server, and that seems to have resolved the problem.

It's behaving strangely for me too. I'll take a look at it.

My Christmas present finally came. It's an ornithopter from the new Dune movie. Nice detail and pretty simple too. Built the Harkonen version and will tackle this one soon.

I agree this is very sad. I've crossed under a lot of bridges on a sailboat, and they always seem so spindly from underneath. I'd find myself a little anxious until we cleared the bridge.

I'm going to disagree in this particular instance. I've seen high vacuum systems defeat some of the best people on the planet.

You can chrome plate plastic like you do metal car parts. They apply a conductive coating to the plastic before the first plating step. The electroplating process uses lots of toxic chemicals, and is probably why the EU banned it. "Chrome" parts on plastic models are actually vacuum deposited aluminum with a clear overcoat. It doesn't use toxic chemicals, but does need high vacuum systems and plating chambers. This type of vacuum system is something of a black art, and difficult to maintain. It doesn't surprise me that nobody wants to pick up the mantle when people leave the business. It's hard. We have a similar contraction in the world of telescope mirrors.

They're probably harvesting the images, and selling them. Where did you find your images?

Yes, you're getting the Chrome notifications because push notifications are turned on. Apparently, when you turn those on, email gets turned off.

Unfortunately, we can't do that. You can order back or current issues from Burbank Hobbies, Spotlight Hobbies, and Hobby Round Up.

I looked at your notification settings, and when you activated push notifications, it deactivated the email notifications. Just go back and reactivate the email notifications, and you should be good. Let me know if you need help with that.

You used to be able to tell a lot about a person by their bookshelf. (mine still work that way) E-books don't afford you that opportunity. Have to say they take up less space and won't get lost in a house fire.

As much as I'd love to, I cannot claim credit for the phrase. I first encountered it in an article about books. Apparently, avid readers have the same problem we do, just with a different medium. I realized that the same thing could be said about our kit stashes, so the term stuck in my head and I've used it ever since.

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