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My First Real Astrophoto

I have been studying detectors and image processing in my course lately, and it inspired me to try out an interesting area of amateur astronomy: webcam imaging.  The basic idea is to use an inexpensive webcam to take a video of an object, and to then process only the "good" frames from the cheap camera into a quality image.  I picked up a Celestron NexImage camera to try this out.

Today was the first day I could see the moon at all since I purchased it.  I got in a solid three minutes of observing before the clouds rolled completely over it and began to threaten rain.  This meant that I didn't spend any time playing with the settings of the camera.  In particular, I ended up shooting at low resolution instead of high res.  Just imagine that the image is four times the size...  Please remember that these are "first light" results!

As you can see, there is plenty of work to do!  Out of the 700 frames I took, only 20 ended up being good enough for Registax processing (typically, one would want several hundred).  I dutifully stacked them anyway, and then applied the wavelets and balanced contrast for good measure.  It's a poor quality image, but it's a nice taste of what will be coming in the future!

The two craters near the top are (from left to right) Atlas and Hercules.  Near the middle of the image, you can see Cepheus above the slightly-larger Franklin.

The most obvious paths to improvement: Turn up the resolution, and Don't try to shoot through clouds!

Shot at f/12.1 on 2006-04-02 9:00pm EDT.  Moon at 4.6 days old.  Horrible seeing.

The Saga of the TTC Anagram Map

There has been a recent meme travelling the web causing creative folks to make anagram maps of subway and metro systems.  John Martz made one for Toronto's subway, and the Toronto Transit Commission (the TTC) returned the favour with a cease-and-desist letter.

This bothers me, as the map is clearly satire, and is clearly speech.  Speech being free (as in "speech!") and all...  It just rubs me the wrong way.  I wish the TTC would spend the thousand-or-so of my property tax money that they get every year to do something better.

In protest, here is the original TTC anagram map (PDF, 596kB).  Thanks to Sean Lerner's for re-posting the map, as I did not have a copy.  Please see his open letter to TTC Chair Howard Moscoe.

Life Update

It has occurred to me that I reskin this site as often as I actually post.  Bad me!

What's new with me:

• My team at work has grown huge.  We have 7 testers now, and I'm the leader guy.  It's taking a LOT of getting used to.  I would love to hear from anyone who has spent time standardizing a test process or giving good training to raw recruits.
• School is back in session.  I am taking one course this term: Astronomy Instrumentation.  So far, so good.
• Thinking about joining a new gym.  The old one just feels...  old.  And the new one is so bright and shiny!  [New] [Old]
• Spending too much time in my two favorite TO coffeehouses studying: Tequila Bookworm (open late, 490 Queen W.) and Bulldog (not open late, www.bulldogtoronto.com).  Bulldog has better coffee, but the Bookworm has more relax space and more food.

My New Machine

This is my first post from a new machine.  It's a Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop, with the new Core Duo processor from Intel.  It also features the nVidia GeForce Go 7800 video card, which is really improving my Call of Duty game.

I had three main reasons for an upgrade (besides "I can"):

1. I hated my old 1024x768 15-inch display.  I have dual 19-inch 1600x1200 at work, and they have completely spoiled me.  I felt like I was looking through a porthole on a ship instead of the gigantic observation deck on a train.  This new one has a 1960x1200 display, which should address my concerns nicely.
2. I was getting frustrated by having a separate file system on my laptop as opposed to my desktop.  There were several times where I couldn't do what I needed to do while out and about because I had forgotten to copy something or what have you.
3. My old system couldn't play Call of Duty 2.  After five years of incredible service, it had finally been outclassed.

Despite the size of the system (it's 15.5 inches wide), it's actually lighter than my old notebook.  That, combined with the convenience of the dock, the integrated wireless and the spiffy carrying case will hopefully encourage some mobility.

In any case, it's a nice new toy!  Scott, Jay and Paul: I think it'll handle CoV nicely.

The Simple Joy of Gamecube

You guys in Edmonton did it.  You got me hooked again.  I bought a Nintendo Gamecube. 

Does it have cutting edge graphics?  Not really.  Is it the bleeding edge technology?  Nope.  The stunningly realistic games?  Not a chance.  My computer can beat is six ways from Sunday on all of those counts.  Why, then?

Simple: gameplay.  Nintendo is still the king of making FUN games.  It's about having something more fun to do than watch a movie with a few friends over.  It's about being social.

If you don't think Nintendo is fun, then I challenge you to play Super Mario Strikers in 4 player mode.  You'll be surprised.

Review: The Republican War on Science

I have recently finished reading The Republican War on Science by Chris Mooney.  The book is a review of the actions of congressional and executive-branch Republicans (such as the president) around a host of issues where science conflicts with their ideology.  Topics include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Endangered Species Act, sex education in the classroom, fallacious links between abortion and breast cancer, and global climate change.

Overall, the book was readable, although I would not call the writing "inspired."  Mooney should be given due credit for assembling the various little bits and pieces that seem like isolated incidents into a clear picture of systematic science abuse.  He convincingly shows how the administration and those in Congress work to undermine science through the "back door."

The tactics taken by some of the Republicans in the book range from the blatant (dismantling the Office of Technology Assessment, which previously provided Congress with independent scientific advise) to the subtle (the Data Quality Act, which raises the burden of proof past the point where anyone could possibly reach it).  The work is thoroughly referenced, which speaks volumes to Mooney's fear of being sued.  I'd say that it's definitely worth a read if you're interested in science policy.

I'll close this post with a quote from the New York Times Magazine:

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.

Personal Note: Back from Alberta.  Had a great time.  Thanks to all of you who made it so wonderful!  I'll miss you!

Speeding Up Windows XP

Willer found an excellent article on speeding up Windows XP.  Basically, turn off junk that's useless and stop pretending that your machine is under powered.

BUSY, busy, busy.  Personal update later.

Sony's Nefarious Business Practices

This is my second time typing this article.  Stupid browser button in the wrong place.

The theme of this post is simple: boycott Sony.  If you bought a CD from them recently, then sue.

Sony recently a number of albums with DRM (digital rights management) software installed.  DRM is a blanket term for all sorts of programs designed to let you use content (music, movies, whatever) without being able to copy it.  Sony's version of "DRM" (they call the specific product XCP) goes well beyond just that. 

It installs a rootkit on your computer (PC or Mac) as soon as the CD is inserted.  This rookit allows Sony to gain complete access to your computer at any time.  Worse, the rootkit modifies the operating system to hide itself from prying eyes.  Once this modification is made, code by people with fewer scruples even than Sony, such as virus writers, can hide in the same shadow.

Making matters worse, the uninstaller released by Sony, after much bad press, doesn't really uninstall anything.  It undoes the "stealth" mode provisions, but leaves the back door open to anyone to take remote control of your computer.

A research group recently published results showing that Sony's DRM has now infected over 500,000 networks in North America alone.  All of these networks are presently vulnerable to an attack that could take the form of remote control of machines, or an automated worm that self-propagated across the net.  Several supposedly secure military networks have been infected, causing the Department of Homeland Security in the US to consider legal action against Sony on grounds of national security.

This practice of installing software in secret is reprehensible.  It is done, obstensibly, to allow Sony to check your machine for unauthorized copies of their music.  This is completely unreasonable.  If Sony believes that you pirate their songs, then they can get a court order to search your machine.  A government cannot hack your computer without a warrant.  What would make it OK for Sony to do the same?

Microsoft and several antivirus companies have stepped up to the plate on this one.  MS considers Sony's DRM to be a major security threat, and is thus including it as a target for their anti-virus and anti-spyware packages.  Most antivirus companies are following suit.  If you have purchased music from any Sony label in the past year, be sure to run a scan on your computer once the tools become available!

Several class action suits have already been filed against Sony.  The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation, a human rights group) has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sony, which threatens major legal action against them.  Both the EU and the US are reportedly considering filing criminal computer trespass charges against Sony for this incident.

This is an invasion of privacy and property.  That Sony feels justified in doing this is inexcusable, and unacceptable.  At the very least, please don't buy music from Sony, or any of the other major labels.  This problem is endemic to the industry and will only get worse.  There was a time when there were fewer superstars, and most musicians supported themselves not with recording contracts, but with concerts.  Support your favorite artists - forget buying their music, but go see their shows.

Click here for the EFF's list of infected albums.  Click here for the Boycott Sony blog.

Busy...

It has been a long time since I posted here, and I wanted to rectify that today.  September to November is always our busiest season at work, and I am also mid-term with my course at JCU.  Relaxation has been rare and difficult, usually consisting of a few moves in online chess games, or a Saturday night out.

Being busy is strange.  There is a certain point at which I am maximally productive.  If I am less busy than this point, then I do not fully engage in my work and don't have those flashes of insight that come from really working a problem.  On the other hand, past that point, I spend too much time figuring out how I'm going to get all of my work done to get any of my work done.

I suppose, like everything else, that balance is the key.

Random thoughts from my notebook this week:

• Why does my DI-514 Wireless Access point need to be rebooted daily to keep up wireless connections?

• Is Bode's Law a resonance effect?  Can we apply such an effect to predict the orbits of small extrasolar planets from the orbits of large one?

Did You Pay Tax on Your Taxes?

D'Arcy and I were researching provincial sales taxes for an ecommerce app today, and we came across something sadistic.  In PEI and Québec, the provincial sales tax is charged on the GST!  For example, PEI has 10% (!!!) provincial sales tax, according to the PEI government.  It's applied after the GST, though, which makes this a thinly veiled lie. 

Let's say you buy something for $100 in PEI.  The GST is 7% or $7.  The PST is 10%...  so that's $10, right?  Wrong.  The PST is calculated against the full amount, with the GST!  $100 + $7 = $107.  10% of $107 is $10.70.  The total amount you owe is $117.70.  You just paid 70 cents PST for buying...  the GST!

Québec does the same thing.  They claim to have 7.5% PST, but in fact they charge after the GST.

The correctly adjusted tax rates are:  PEI - 10.7%, Québec - 8.025%.  Most ecommerce software gets this wrong, and that causes the business that use it to be short on their tax remittances.  Theoretically, this could lead to a bill from the provinces.

Clearly this is a way to hide taxes away from the electorate.  PEI and Québec should be ashamed!

More on Canadian Provincial Sales Tax here.