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Posted by: djellison Feb 6 2009, 10:29 AM

http://astronomy.ie/lecture200902.html

It would be great to see any of you who can make it.

Posted by: ngunn Feb 6 2009, 11:15 AM

I can't make it unfortunately, but how are you travelling to Dublin? Via Holyhead by any chance?

Posted by: PhilCo126 Feb 6 2009, 11:44 AM

Any chance this will be recorded and put on YouTube later ?

Posted by: djellison Feb 6 2009, 11:53 AM

Not You Tube - Astronomy Ireland generate a few quid by selling talks on DVD.

And I'll be using one of those fancy metal bird things, out of East Midlands Airport. Hopefully. If the snow doesn't ruin EVERYTHING.

Posted by: helvick Feb 6 2009, 08:13 PM

Well I'll be there, assuming that the current delay that is keeping me in Madrid Airport doesn't turn into a full blown cancellation. Now there are far worse places to be stuck than Madrid I have to admit but I really don't want to miss Doug Live!.

Posted by: ngunn Feb 6 2009, 09:19 PM

Well the ferry's running normally I believe, likewise the Holyhead pubs.

helvick - Madrid? That's a terrible place to wait for a ferry.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Feb 7 2009, 05:38 AM

Sounds like fun. Do me a favor and give Doug a good handshake when you see him so he can pass it on when I see him in California next month. Doug, give him a pat on the back for me and I'll pay you back when you get here.

Posted by: djellison Feb 7 2009, 09:23 AM

rgr that. Problem is - I've got 40 minutes to give my talk. Last night I did the same talk. 90 minutes. Anyone got an axe?

Posted by: lyford Feb 7 2009, 04:54 PM

Do 40 and then include the rest in the extended mission profile.....

And are you coming to California? Or did ElkGroveDan let slip confidential info?

Posted by: djellison Feb 7 2009, 05:47 PM

Only very very briefly, there wont be time for a big meet up I'm afraid - but one of the things I'll be doing is a talk that the public will be able to come to - at quite a nice venue. More details when the details are confirmed. Early Evening, Tue March 17th

Posted by: Enceladus75 Feb 7 2009, 11:41 PM

I plan to be there. Hope to meet up afterwards Doug.

Posted by: djellison Feb 9 2009, 10:51 AM

Contrary to the website, I will not be on the radio today - because I don't actually get to Dublin till 2 hrs after the show ends

Posted by: djellison Feb 9 2009, 11:31 AM

The departures lounge of East Midlands Airport really is rather dull. But hey - I just got to see an Antonov 125 land, and fingers crossed the 225 (Buran's old carrier aircraft ) is at the end of the apron as it was the last time I flew from here.

Posted by: nprev Feb 9 2009, 11:55 AM

I dunno if this is OT or not, but gotta ask: What the heck would an An-225 be doing ANYWHERE? That thing is just massive; seems odd to just use its internal cargo capacity alone given the fact that it's gotta feed six, count 'em, six engines to go places.

It just can't be cheap to run by any stretch. Did they develop an overhead cargo module?

Posted by: djellison Feb 9 2009, 12:10 PM

They tend to use it to transport crazy stuff - like power station turbines, trains, big huge stuff. I think when Helen and I saw it at East Midlands Airport ( here - http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=52.827532,-1.346812&spn=0.003209,0.009602&t=h&z=17 ) it was doing humanitarian work. Nothing beats 250,000kg of aid in one hit. I saw a documentary about taking it from a decommissioned state in Russia, and returning it to flight, to turn a profit as a heavy lift cargo carrier. It's so popular, they're finishing the second one to flight status in 2010. I know the Thrust SSC team used a 125 to shift EVERYTHING they needed for their record attempt in Black Rock, back in 1997 (and another two trips to Jordan as well).

I don't think it's carried anything overhead since Buran - just biblical internal cargo. Bigger than an A380 I just learnt. Wow.

Posted by: PhilCo126 Feb 9 2009, 03:08 PM

Ostend-Bruges airport also gets regular visits of the large Antonov cargo airplanes, mostly the AN-124 CONDOR 4-engines version.
Not for heavy stuff but because of its large volume

Posted by: djellison Feb 9 2009, 03:35 PM

Damn - we went to the other end of the runway, so not past the normal Cargo end to see if anything cool was there. And there was a lot of Fog. I don't like flights when the first thing you see of the destination is the runway threshold.

Posted by: djellison Feb 10 2009, 12:25 AM

Done - and video documented on the banks of the Liffey after a great lecture ( big, friendly crowd and great AV facilities, in a lecture theatre previous used by Schrodinger (of cat fame). ) and great food with Helvick.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Feb 10 2009, 12:52 AM

Sounds like you stayed clear of the flask and the Geiger counter. Have you called back there to check if there is a paradoxical Doug-corpse still in the theater?

Posted by: nprev Feb 10 2009, 01:06 AM

How would he know if the phone really rang, though, if he did? I suspect that most things associated with Mr. Schrodinger only probably happen or exist; there's no guarantee.

Posted by: Enceladus75 Feb 10 2009, 01:17 AM

Great Lecture Doug. Here's to many more!

Posted by: PhilCo126 Feb 10 2009, 09:51 AM

Looks like I'll have to order that DVD

Posted by: djellison Feb 10 2009, 11:35 AM

Tried to take some push-frame imaging from the flight home, 1280 x 720 @ 15fps.. I'll see how it works

Posted by: helvick Feb 10 2009, 06:59 PM

We had a great evening - Doug is a fantastic speaker and he really has put together an impressive and very entertaining lecture. If you ever have a chance to get to see him in full flight, you absolutely must do so.

The Schrödinger Theatre in TCD was definitely a great venue for the talk too - it's a proper old school lecture theatre that almostly certainly looks and feels exactly the way it did when Schrödinger (may or may not have) lectured there in the 1940's. Despite the class old school environment they have managed to add in the sort of modern presentation conveniences that are kind of important for a lecture like Dougs - like a projection system that works, and a decent sound system.

Doug's opening slide (the one with John Zarnecki's "It's called a cock-up" comment re the original Huygens release plan) was particularly funny this time round and set the event up perfectly as Astronomy Ireland's last guest lecture was by none other than John Zarnecki himself.

Posted by: ngunn Feb 10 2009, 11:05 PM

Thanks for that account of the event. I wish I could have been there.

(So near and yet so far. Work gets in the way - even an instantaneous transporter would have been no use. We had a college open evening that night.)

Posted by: stevesliva Feb 11 2009, 12:42 AM

If anyone went to the lectures he definitely did one or the other.

Posted by: Floyd Feb 11 2009, 01:30 AM

Just ask the his Cat. If the cat is dead (good chance after 60 years)--he was there, if the cat is alive, he wasn't.

Posted by: djellison Feb 11 2009, 02:10 PM

Better late than never - I'll be on Phantom radio ( www.phantom.ie ) at about 4.20pm today.

Posted by: djellison Feb 11 2009, 04:50 PM

That went quite well - Simon seemed interested in what I was talking about - and the forum got a nice plug!

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Feb 11 2009, 05:01 PM

Did you capture it?

Posted by: djellison Feb 11 2009, 05:08 PM

http://www.dougellison.com/dougstuff/phantom_interview.mp3 - 6 meg

Posted by: nprev Feb 11 2009, 05:20 PM

Very well done, and that was indeed quite a plug!