I think the spam load this site attracts has been partially responsible for the server flakyness of late, so things are now set that you need to register as a user to comment now.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Engineering I approve of
Are you bored? Then why not make a Thermic Lance out of tin-foil and spaghetti?
Go on, you know you want to.
Server problems
The server that hosts this site as well as others of mine and those I host for friends seems to have developed a fault. A hardware fault. Seeing as this server is a virtual server from RedwoodVirtual I don’t quite see how this has happened.
I’ll have to notify Redwood and arrange for them to poke things in their datacentre with big sticks.
Part of the conspiracy
One disadvantage of having a working email address listed on a university physics website is that you tend to get copied into all the 11-9 and 7-7 conspiracy theory messages. People expect you to be able to explain what ‘really’ happened (i.e, agree with everything they say).
Comet McNaught in the Daganeese sky
Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is currently visible in the low sky just after sunset – look in the direction of the setting sun about 5 minutes after the top of the sun clears the horizon.
Comet McNaught caught between two houses. Taken with Tamron 70-300 mm lens at 300 mm on a Nikon D50. 1/4 sec exposure at f8.
The comet was only visible from my location for about 30-45 minutes, from sundown until it vanished behind the houses. I didn’t really get time to tune the camera settings to get best results, but I’m rather happy with this image.