David Lee Summers's Blog, page 73
November 26, 2018
Blood Communion
One of my birthday presents this year was Anne Rice’s latest Vampire Chronicle, Blood Communion. By my count this is her thirteenth vampire novel if we count both the official “Vampire Chronicles” and “The New Tales of the Vampires.” This is one of the few series I’ve made a point of keeping up with over the years. The first two books in the series, Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat were recommended to me by one of my co-workers at Kitt Peak National Observatory circa 1994. M...
November 24, 2018
Reassembling the Mayall
Back in July, I discussed some of the different components that had come in for the DESI instrument being installed at Kitt Peak National Observatory’s Mayall 4-meter telescope. You can read about them in the post, Assembling the Puzzle. The corrector optics and hexapod alignment system have been installed into the telescope’s top end. Here I am, hard at work torquing the bolts that hold it all together.
[image error]If all goes according to schedule, the new top end will be lifted to the top of the tele...
November 19, 2018
Sandman Mystery Theatre
When I first discovered Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comic in 1989, I may have been one of the only people disappointed that it wasn’t about a guy in a suit, a fedora, and a gas mask who fought crime. Of course, I’m alluding to the Sandman from the Golden Age of comic books, who was actually mentioned in that first issue of Neil Gaiman’s comic. In time, Gaiman’s comic would win me over on the merits of its own great writing, but it still didn’t satisfy that interest to see more stories about the Gol...
November 17, 2018
Shogun
Looking back on it, 1980 was a very influential year for me. It was the year Carl Sagan’s Cosmos aired, which helped me consider a career in astronomy. It was the year I started high school. It was the year my father passed away. While it seems something of a blip compared to those other things, it was also the year the mini-series Shōgun ran on television. The series was based on James Clavell’s novel of the same name. It told the story of a Dutch ship piloted by an Englishman, John Blackth...
November 12, 2018
Short Sleeps
When I tell people I live in Las Cruces, New Mexico, but work at Kitt Peak National Observatory outside Tucson, Arizona, one of the first questions I’m asked is some variation of how that works, especially once they realize the two points are approximately 325 miles apart. The answer is that I have a dorm room at the observatory. Here’s what it looks like.
[image error]The room is assigned to me permanently, so as you can see, I’ve added some personal touches. This time of year, I’m afraid I don’t get to...
November 10, 2018
Exploring Space
Today, I’m at TusCon, in Tucson, Arizona where I’m anxiously awaiting the world premier of the film Revenge of Zoe, in which I have a small part. If you’re in Tucson, please drop by the convention and say hello. You can learn more about the event at: http://www.tusconscificon.com
A little over a week ago, I received an email from Bill Nye the Science Guy in his role as CEO of the Planetary Society, an organization I proudly support. The email encouraged members to take a photo with a Planetar...
November 5, 2018
See You Space Cowboy…
Last week, NASA announced that after nine years of service, the Kepler Space Telescope has run out of fuel and will be switched off. It’s in an orbit around the sun, far from Earth. To date, it has been credited with the discovery of some 2,681 planets outside our solar system from both the Kepler and K2 missions. The K2 mission was the follow-up that happened after two of Kepler’s reaction wheels failed and it could no longer point at its target field. There are 2,780 candidate planets still...
November 3, 2018
TusCon 45
Next weekend, I’m proud to be a participant at TusCon 45 being held at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites in Tucson, Arizona. The guest of honor is Joe R. Lansdale, the author of more than forty novels and numerous short stories, including Paradise Sky, the Edgar Award-winning The Bottoms, Sunset and Sawdust, and Leather Maiden. This year’s toastmaster is Weston Ochse. TusCon is a small convention but one that attracts dedicated and enthusiastic fans of all ages who share a love of the writ...
October 29, 2018
October Adventures Continue
In my last post, I shared some of my adventures traveling around the country this month. Admittedly, a travelogue may seem a little out of place for a post appearing just two days before Halloween, but I’ll share a book at the end to put you in the spirit of the season and it’s even a quick read.
[image error]I left Kansas City on the train on Sunday night, October 14. By the time I woke up on Monday morning, the ground was covered in snow. I like traveling by train when I can. It’s a great way to see th...
October 27, 2018
October on the Road
This has proven to be a busy travel month for me. Given that I live in Las Cruces, New Mexico but work at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, this says a lot. Fortunately, I don’t have to make that commute daily. I have a residence at the observatory and I typically work for six nights, then have nine nights off. My work nights at Kitt Peak average right around 13-14 hours, which is how this works as a full-time job. To make this month’s travel work, I took four nights of vacation time...
