Parents' nightmare

As parents, you don't expect your child to die before you. Unfortunately, that is the reality for us. Derek has stopped chemo treatments, because they do not work any longer. See his blog:http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame. Our only consolation is that he'll live on for us in his daughters Marina and Lauren and our daughter-in-law Airdrie. Still, it's devastating.

More info on solar scope

Some additional information: I took some trial shots on the last clear sunny day, but found that it was nearly impossible to focus the image accurately. This is due mainly to the small screen on the Canon XT DSLR. When downloaded onto the computer and displayed on the screen, the images were somewhat out of focus.

The camera can be connected to a computer so that at the time of taking the pictures, the image is captured to the computer and displayed on the screen after a few seconds delay. The software for this is on the CD that came with the camera, and I downloaded a program from Canon which allows remote control of the camera from the computer. This way, the shutter can be released from the computer. Now I'm waiting for a clear day to experiment with that. A clear day may be a long time coming here. We're more than half way through fall; rain is the norm at this time of year. Below is an example of the "tuning" referred to in my previous post:

surface details (unsharp mask in Photoshop used to sharpen the image)

prominences (lower edge - no enhancement)

These are a first try - refinement is necessary.

Sun view

Today we had a sunny day. I took the chance to set up my new solar telescope  (Derek wrote a blog about it - see http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/grainy-red-sun). This time, I found enough time to experiment with using an additional etalon filter. The "double stack" of filters certainly enhances the H-alpha details on the sun. The bandwidth of this double filter is around 0.5 Angstrom. By tuning the filters it is possible accentuate various details (faculae, flares, prominences, etc.). I also got an impression of looking at the H-alpha sun in 3D. That's an illusion, but it makes the view really interesting. Below is a picture which approximates the view in the telescope.

                                                     Picture by Michael Karrer (flickr.com)

I've also come up with a system to mount a camera - when there is another chance, I'll start taking pictures.

A micro holiday

 We went for an extended walk again today. This time, took the skytrain to Waterfront, walked along the Coal Harbour shoreline (with a pause on the bench dedicated to my mother), walked past Lost Lagoon, along English Bay to the little ferry to Granville Island, had dinner at the Cat Social House restaurant (we call it the Cathouse), walked to the Canada line on Cambie, went downtown, back onto the skytrain, walked home from Metrotown.  A Great Day - totally clear and sunny, if somewhat cooler than a summer day. This was almost the reverse of a walk we took in June, see http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/2010/06/see-town.html
We have all this for free; tourists pay a lot of money to come here and enjoy this scenery. Let's keep it "green".

Eventful times.

We've had some visitors from Europe during the last month (daughters of good friends and their partners), and have done our "tourist guide" obligations. It's always interesting to view our area through their eyes - we take so many things for granted.

The guests have left, and it's back to regular life. One of the unpleasant situations right now is that, just after going through the latest 3-day chemo session, Derek is back in the hospital with a blood clot in his left leg. This is apparently a not unexpected occurrence with colon cancer. He's on blood thinners and is scheduled to stay in there for two or three days. It has spoiled his and Airdrie's planned weekend at the Ti-Na-Mara resort on Vancouver Island; this really "sucks" - both had very much looked forward to this.

An update: the hospital doctors have determined that Derek is fit to go home, and he arrived here this evening, feeling much better. We're all happy to have him back. He'll be on blood thinners for an indeterminate time, but of all the medical problems, that's a small inconvenience. Perhaps there is a small consolation in Derek and Airdrie's missed trip to Vancouver Island: there is a big storm brewing in the area of their destination.

Parents' concern

Derek is blogging and facebooking again. This means that he is feeling better after the latest 3-day chemo session (Monday to Wednesday). That makes us feel better, too.

Parental concern does not cease when your adult child has his or her own family. It includes them all.

Spider

Spider is back - a new net and more wasps caught. I used my trusted Canon XT and uploaded the pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimiandpapa/sets/72157624814683502/

Spider - a set on Flickr

www.flickr.com










Two of these pictures were taken about a month ago. If it is the same spider it sure has grown since then. Judging from the latest two images he (or she - I can't tell) has been successful enough securing meals in that time.