After my astro class a student says during roll call you said (girl-name) and I forgot it was me because I go by (boy-name) now. So I said okay, and I crossed out the old name and wrote in the new one. If I were teaching a course on gender there might be more to the story but no.

So begins my 32nd year at Spanel Planetarium. 🔭

The sky is filling with the stars of Autumn, telling their tales of the old gods. 🔭

My wife enjoys hearing me talk about my wood working tools until I get to the boring bits.

"If Andromeda wants to rumble, we'll rumble." ~ The Milky Way 🔭

Living in or near Seattle for 70 years means I say things like "sunbreaks" and "the mountain is out" and "no-room medium drip."

"Oh, Mother Night! Fold your dark arms about me. Protect me in your black embrace."

I feel the caffeine but I'm still waiting for the pumpkin spice to kick in.

That time I safely used my Jeep to view an eclipse. Aug 21, 2017 Independence, Oregon, USA. 🔭

Planetarium fan mail. Note: I don't actually have a blue skull shirt, green pants, and pink shoes. But I should. 🔭

John Dobson once told me an 8 inch mirror he was working was "Too low in the fingers and too high in the palms." Well John, this one was too high in the arm pits (42.25"). 🔭

I pointed out the free shipping but my wife still says no. 🎸

I took this photo of Mt Baker and my wife took the shot of me in the kayak on Lake Whatcom and I schmooshed the two together. Photo-schmooshing is an art form right?

In the 1970s Yasuma made a high fidelity hand crafted clone of a Martin D28 guitar. They were quickly sued out of production and the retail stock recalled and destroyed. My wife bought one before the recall. 🎸

In 1969 my family butchered 100 chickens, fried a couple of them and froze the rest. Then we watched humans walk on the moon on TV. Then we all went outside and stared at the moon. 🔭

Just saw my neighbor's horse shoving on a plank of a board fence with his foot over and over, about to break it, and he is wearing a visor like a card dealer. WTH

No I didn't write-in Jimothy for congress. I thought about it.

We've adopted a dog without intending to. My wife's nephew left it here and we're afraid if we don't feed it it'll eat us.

A guy calls the hospital and says "Help, my wife is having a baby!" The nurse says "Is this her first child?" The guy says "No, this is her husband."

I would have texted you back but my battery pulled a Mitch.

My shop in dawn's early light.

Happy Birthday to Henrietta Swan Leavitt. She found the key that opened the door to our modern view of the cosmos. 🔭

The United States is no longer a collection of British colonies, and Britain is no longer an outpost of Rome, and Rome is no longer a loose confederacy of tribes, and we all evolved from early hominids when a geological rift altered leeward weather patterns in Africa. It makes me so proud.

Summer intro-to-astro classes have started and students are already busy combining their old misconceptions with the material to form new hybrid misconceptions. It's a start. 🔭

Here is your reminder that from Alpha Centauri the constellations would look pretty much the same except Centaurus would have one less star and Cassiopeia would have one extra. 🔭

It's been a long day. 🔭

Happy Solstice to those who believe in such things (photo by me). 🔭

The solstice approacheth.

Thanks Obama.

This is my most recent scope. I have a room-full of astro gear and a very understanding beautiful wife. 🔭