New website, clear skies and the TSP

I have finally got round to rebuilding my main website. Actually, I started again from scratch with a new URL. It's on a free host for now, until I can afford to pay for hosting. I have uploaded existing sketches, but these'll be replaced with better ones in due course when I have scanned in ones from recent sessions and also done some more observing. The new site can be found here: FJ Astronomy.
Mentioning observing, the clear sky spreadsheet has gone for a burton as my computer died last weekend, and prat here forgot to back up the spreadsheet, but I have a new computer and can rebuild it. All isn't lost because the files are still accessible and I might be able to print it off and then type it in from scratch. What I can say for certain is that October only had nine clear or partially clear nights, while November has had one clear night and one partially clear night, both of which I couldn't use due to being ill with a staphyloccocal infection in my face after a visit to the dentist. The rest of November has been bloody awful with near continuous rain and gales and the UK under a permanent grey blanket of cloud. Half the UK is also under water.

I have registered for the 2010 Texas Star Party, but I really only have a 50/50 chance of attending at best. I haven't got a permanent job at the moment and the temping has got really hit and miss. I decided to register anyway and keep my fingers crossed for a miracle (and it will take a miracle for me to get something as over 1000 people have/will have lost their jobs here on the Isle of Wight in 2009/2010 - and my qualifications and skills are sorely lacking). I'm not optimistic but here's hoping...

What a tease!

I was up at 0545 this morning as my dog wanted to go out in the garden, to do what dogs do in the garden. The sky was completely clear, for the first time in ages, with Orion high in the south-west and Leo in the east. The sight of spring constellations is always a welcome one, with the promise of galaxies - but what a tease! It's only the second week of November and we have the most depressing time of year yet to get through before spring comes round.
The clear sky spreadsheet for October makes depressing reading. It was mostly cloudy through the month, with only nine clear or partially clear nights.