In early August, several large forest fires burned out of control and sent so much smoke into the air it was hazy all day. Smoky skies herald beautiful sunsets. One evening I read that visibility would increase as the temperature dropped, so I stepped outside to set up my telescope. I looked up to see a blood red moon. I used my portable tripod and captured several shots with my Samsung S21 Ultra phone. I combined (stacked) the photos and ended up with this photo:
Not too shabby for a smartphone! It's still tough to compete with the shots the telescope can take, like this gibbous moon a few days later.
Last time I wrote, I was just starting on a new drug regimen.
"Jeremy, how's that going?"
"Glad you asked..."
Symptoms update
I was happy that the recent switch to add Sinemet only knocked me down for a few days. I've been taking it regularly now and have no side effects. My tremor is still persistent and strong, but the stiffness in my hands is lessoned and I can type well. I can't remember the last time I had a foot cramp. Overall, I'm happy with the change. The only problematic symptom for me right now is twitching causing phantom mouse clicks. Microsoft has an accommodation specialist who will meet with me next week to discuss possible software and hardware-related solutions. I'll keep you posted!
Working it out
The Beat Your Symptoms Challenge is fast approaching and I haven't been working out consistently. I decided to dig in and stick with it and just finished a solid week of training. I'm doing push-ups, diamond push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, kettle bell swings, clean and jerks, squats, one-legged and one-handed variations, elliptical cardio and a lot of walking. So far, so good! I post workout updates on occasion to our Instagram feed if you're interested.
Friends and family
I was so stoked to have my daughter visit us for a week. She brought along one of her close friends from college. We all had a great time. Here is a collage from some of our activities.
Although I was sad to see her go, we plan to visit Colorado in a few weeks. My parents are also coming to the Pacific Northwest for their first time and will be here for my 47th birthday on September 22nd. I'm super stoked!
Deep Sky Workflows
Astrophotography continues to be a passion of mine. I decided to create a separate brand so that people interested have a dedicated feed. Processing a picture is referred to as a workflow and most of my pictures are deep sky targets, so now you know the scoop behind the name. We've had a lot of clear nights and mornings lately, so I've managed to make several observations. You can always keep up with my astrophotography here:
đ Blog: https://deepskyworkflows.com
đ€ Twitter (sorry, had to borrow the wrong color bird): @deepskyworkflow
đŒ Instagram: @deepskyworkflows
đ§đ Facebook: https://fb.me/deepskyworkflows
Here's a collage of some recent pictures. The top two are wider shots using the DSLR camera my wife let me use. It's a Sony Alpha 6300 and I'm learning how to use it but happy so far with what it can do.
I really enjoy the hobby and for my birthday will be getting myself a new telescope setup. It won't replace Stellina, but will give me more flexibility to take close-up planetary shots and use narrowband filters or imaging nebulae. Stay tuned!
Regards,
