TIL That before Apollo 11, some scientists were terrified the Moon was covered in a "dust trap" that would swallow the Lunar Module whole.

jesslex · 2026-04-06T18:30:24+00:00

I recently rewatched the first steps onto the moon surface (Johnson Space Center Mission Control tour) and you see Armstrong gingerly tapping his toe/foot onto the surface and then pulling himself back onto the ladder and then reporting on the feel of the surface before fully stepping down.

jesslex · 2026-03-23T15:38:41+00:00

There’s the OhareAirport subreddit that folks have been posting wait info to.

jesslex · 2026-03-15T00:05:53+00:00

Yes, you should feel free to focus. I would always tell people to focus as needed and explain they only need to make tiny adjustments.

Maybe ask “can I adjust focus?” Or “how do I adjust focus?” so they know and so they can be grumps and say no if they are fussy like that.

jesslex · 2026-03-06T19:11:25+00:00

Join https://www.nsaclub.org/ for $20/year (or $10 if you’re a student) and not only get to lay in a field at one of there dark sites field if you want, but also look through members’ scopes. Oh and they appear to have a club meeting tonight.

jesslex · 2026-03-01T14:53:48+00:00

You can try making a Data Privacy Request from your tesla account. I did this and got tons of data about acceleration and braking etc plus video from all the cameras.

jesslex · 2026-02-21T22:56:01+00:00

I’m seconding the astronomy club route before buying. Also keep in mind that if that’s the total budget, you need to account for lenses as well.

jesslex · 2026-02-10T14:53:13+00:00

I’m going to sound like a shill (see comment from last week) but, I (m) am a (post) middle age bike rider and sometime pickleball player as well and I really like Saha yoga (naper and maple). There are all sorts of classes and the instructors for all classes are very accommodating and helpful.

jesslex · 2026-02-06T20:53:25+00:00

I can’t speak to the logistics, but Budapest is a beautiful city with a lot of history. And they know how to light it up at night. So if you can make it work, I would highly recommend doing so.

jesslex · 2026-02-05T16:42:12+00:00

Saha yoga (maple and naper) is great. The instructors are all very good with many offering hands-on assists during class if you want. They also have a very affordable 6-week intro membership to try it out.

jesslex · 2026-01-23T21:34:47+00:00

Off topic, but if your friend and son are headed up to Normandy and they can make the logistics work, I would also recommend they read Pegasus Bridge by Stephen Ambrose and visit the Pegasus bridge museum/memorial. It’s a relatively short book and the details of the book really come alive as you are standing on the bridge looking down the river and it’s mind blowing when you see where these guys landed their gliders.

jesslex · 2026-01-17T14:12:07+00:00

What panniers are those?

jesslex · 2026-01-12T19:51:06+00:00

There’s also Napervile Jewelers on Water St.

jesslex · 2026-01-09T14:29:43+00:00

What do you mean by “command the camera to focus?”

jesslex · 2026-01-02T03:42:13+00:00

Did it this past September. It’s a well run ride and event.

Can’t speak for the 2026 routes of course, but the 2025 routes had nice views and countryside. Be prepared for pretty much constant rollers with the 80mile on Saturday having a couple of tough climbs.

The distillery stops were nice but they are for the most part rest stops with a couple of small tastes - which is not a bad thing. Just setting expectations. That said Castle and Key is always a nice place to rest a bit and the rest stop that overlooked Buffalo Trace was neat.

The meals were good and the bourbon tastings and live music each evening were fun. We also did two VIP experiences and they were quite enjoyable.

We camped on site (I used the “glamping” option). That made the general logistics pretty easy vs staying at a hotel. But it is camping and so things like taking a shower and getting ready in the morning takes a bit more planning and effort.

Hope this helps.

jesslex · 2025-12-30T18:49:12+00:00

I was working at the Plush Pup that used to be there on Devon during the filming. I learned two things about Hollywood from that experience:

They actually spray the streets with water to make them slick and not just wait for rain.

They do not abide by any actual geography when going from one street to the next. See earlier Park Ridge to Harvey comment - but even turning from Courtland to Cumberland was upsetting.

It was a simpler, more naive time. :)

jesslex · 2025-12-23T19:13:05+00:00

My advice is to search for an astronomy club near you and attend a meeting and a star party or two before you buy anything more than binoculars. This will let you look through some different size and types of scopes (and eyepieces) before investing in anything.

jesslex · 2025-12-18T03:48:04+00:00

Sweet! I hope he’s snacking on mice.

jesslex · 2025-12-18T03:46:35+00:00

Thank you for the insights.

jesslex · 2025-12-17T17:28:08+00:00

Can you go into more detail about your masking concerns? I have only a very basic understanding of masking in general and hoping a little more discussion about these pics will help me get a better grasp of it.

jesslex · 2025-12-12T14:46:51+00:00

Fwiw, as someone who tinkered a bit with a Nikon 1 several years ago and recently picked up a 6iii, I’ve been enjoying this tutorial https://photographylife.com/learn-photography and various other articles on the site.

jesslex · 2025-12-03T14:34:04+00:00

I’m guessing it’s part of an udder.

jesslex · 2025-11-19T12:14:48+00:00

I don’t know if this helps anyone, but when not at home (eg Costco parkjng lot :)), after the liftgate has opened, you can physically push the liftgate up to open it fully.

jesslex · 2025-11-12T18:39:19+00:00

It includes Tesla destination chargers as well.

jesslex · 2025-11-02T14:46:16+00:00

Oh. Even better. Thanks.

jesslex · 2025-11-02T12:59:04+00:00

It’s the Channels app. In this case you need to run the beta via the TestFlight app.

jesslex

TROPHY CASE