It is good every once in a while to step back from our electronic work benches and take a look at what other kinds of builders are making. Hack-A-Day led me to this wonderful video from Holland. There is great background information on telescopes, but the really great part is the interview with the Dutch fellow who is actually making -- in his home workshop -- these tiny telescopes. Icing on the cake: One of them will be used in a student Cube-Sat project in Oregon.
Be sure to stay to the end for an intriguing presentation by Dr. Liam Fullersheit.
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Great video. It showed up in my YouTube feed, also, but I resisted watching it until just now. I've wanted to build a telescope since I was in the 2nd grade, actually before I became aware of amateur radio. The Edmund Scientific Company (one of the many outfits built--like Heathkit--on postwar military surplus) had wonderful catalogs of telescope parts and materials for grinding mirrors I'd just pore over for hours. Building a telescope is still on my bucket list.
ReplyDeleteWatching the video, I was reminded just how good most of the Dutch are with English. I've spent some time in the Netherlands, and it's quite possible to get by as a visitor with only English. I've heard it's fairly easy to spot an American in Europe, and I had my own experience in this regard in Amsterdam. I was standing in a line to buy a candy bar, and the store clerk spoke Dutch to each person ahead of me, but addressed me in English when I got to her. "How did you know I was an English speaker," I asked in amazement. "Oh, I didn't just know you spoke English, I knew you were an American. Are you?" "Yes," I said with some wariness, "How did you know?" "Because you were smiling," she said. "Don't Nederlanders smile," I asked. "Yes," she said, "but not for no reason, and never while standing alone in a queue." It was something of a deflating moment. My man-of-the-World, savoir faire cover had been blown by my Dale-Carnegie-Norman-Vincent-Peale-Tony-Robbins facial expression. I'd make a terrible spy.
Outstanding!!! This telescope video is really inspiring and very informative
ReplyDeleteI'd say hook this guy up with the people in MA so Car Talk can be revived, or maybe with the Simpsons (last name: Tinkle, first name: Ivanna)
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