priorities

well it seems that the great state of ohio will hold off worrying about counting the provisional ballots for one of the tightest congressional races of this election.... until the day after they're allowed, because they dont want to miss a second of the OSU vs Michigan football game. interesting priorities. when i was deciding whether i would go to michigan or UT-austin for grad school, i actually had people tell me ... not so jokingly... i shouldnt even consider michigan because of the football rivalry. because of a football rivalry? really?

meanwhile.... germany's top prosecuter is seeking a criminal investigation against donald rumsfeld just days after he resigned from office!!!!! this is some of the best news i've heard in a long time. now that rumsfeld no longer has the protection of being a high level US official, i hope he is forced to take responsibility for the despicably inhumane acts he has authorized over the last few years.

hawaii's telescopes

after the major earthquakes that hit hawaii sunday morning, it appears that most of the telescopes on mauna kea are all in pretty good shape. one of the keck telescopes has some pointing and guiding issues, but the technicians predict it to be up and running in a week or so. the most damage seems to have been at the canada-france-hawaii telescope (CFHT). the offices were shuffled and a full assessment of damage to the telescope and dome is not complete yet. check out their website to see some pictures and to keep updated!

if youre interested, here are some pictures from my observing run on mauna kea 3 years ago!



in the first picture, Keck I is on the left, Keck II is in the center and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) is on the right. CFHT is further off to the right.


in the second, CFHT is the third from the right (actually, its the 4th from the right, but two of the telescopes have morphed into one in this photo!) and the kecks are the two little bubble domes near the middle.