Scared of the dark!

I'm not scared of the dark. To the contrary it's pretty peaceful sitting
out for hours in the quiet, dark. I've only been freaked out a couple
times by animals appearing next to me. They were just as surprised
as I was.

Our house is 700+ feet from anyone else in the direction I observe.
The other day I was sitting out observing, and the trees were blowing
and cracking in the wind. The wind chimes were chiming. Out of the
blue I start hearing a childs toy playing in the wind, nursery rhyme type
music like "the farmer and the dell" played on bells, coming from the
woods adjacent to me, and close! Keep in mind it's 1 AM, totally dark,
windy, and there is nobody nearby for an eighth of a mile minimum.

After a few minutes of this I couldn't relax any more. I am looking around
in the dark shining my flashlight in non sensical directions looking for
intruders I would easily hear approaching.

I walked up into the woods about 40 feet to the top of the hill and looked
down the other side into a slight depression and saw some color lights
flickering in the bushes, the sound is coming from it.

OK, by this time, I'm full on in Kubricks THE SHINING mindset. If I go
investigate this glowing, out of place, suddenly playing childs toy,
when I turn around those little twin girls are going to be standing
at the hilltop between my telescope and I. Play On! Says I, and I
turn on all the floodlights around the house and pack all my stuff up
for the night!!!

I guess my pysche is a bit of a slippery slope in the dark.

SW

I guess my pysche is a bit of a slippery slope in the dark.

SW

How about "scared in the dark."

I have been there.. Observing alone in the mountains near the
California-Mexico border. The forest ranger once told me that when I am there,
it forces the guys who smuggle drugs/people to move their drop off point
somewhere else.

Totally engrossed in the eyepiece, a loud noise startles me, the adrenaline
pumps and I have the shakes. It was probably just a branch falling or a animal
in the bushes, but the effect is the same as if it had been smuggler laying in
wait....

That was the end of my observing session for that night but I didn't have any
trouble being sleepy for that 1 hour late night drive home.

Jon

That was the end of my observing session for that night but I didn't have
any
trouble being sleepy for that 1 hour late night drive home.

This is what I worry about most - sleepiness on the drive home. I try and
keep a little coffee in reserve, but it doesn't always seem to do the trick.
Anyone have any tips?

"Dennis Woos" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
That was the end of my observing session for that night but I didn't
have
any
trouble being sleepy for that 1 hour late night drive home.

This is what I worry about most - sleepiness on the drive home. I try and
keep a little coffee in reserve, but it doesn't always seem to do the
trick.
Anyone have any tips?


Don't have a wee until home. It works if the home is not too far away....

--
--
Beta Persei
45° 35' N
08° 51' E

Remove "_nospam" to reply

"Beta Persei" wrote in message
...

"Dennis Woos" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
This is what I worry about most - sleepiness on the drive home. I try
and
keep a little coffee in reserve, but it doesn't always seem to do the
trick.
Anyone have any tips?


Don't have a wee until home. It works if the home is not too far away....

A variation on that is what I did in my musician days. It was often a 1.5
hour drive home. So I would stop at a convenience store and get a 44oz (1.3
liter) Diet Coke. The caffeine helped, but about the time I *might* be
getting drowsy my bladder had no problem keeping me awake. :-)

It would probably work just as well to save a 1 liter bottle of water and
drink all of it in (more or less) one gulp just before you start the drive.

Clear Skies,
Craig in Tampa

"Craig MacDougal" wrote in message
. ..
"Beta Persei" wrote in message
...

"Dennis Woos" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
This is what I worry about most - sleepiness on the drive home. I try
and
keep a little coffee in reserve, but it doesn't always seem to do the
trick.
Anyone have any tips?


Don't have a wee until home. It works if the home is not too far
away....

A variation on that is what I did in my musician days. It was often a 1.5
hour drive home. So I would stop at a convenience store and get a 44oz
(1.3
liter) Diet Coke. The caffeine helped, but about the time I *might* be
getting drowsy my bladder had no problem keeping me awake. :-)

It would probably work just as well to save a 1 liter bottle of water and
drink all of it in (more or less) one gulp just before you start the
drive.

Clear Skies,
Craig in Tampa




I wonder if that works if someone is Lactose intolerant and they drink a
pint of half and half right before driving home? I think you could also set
a timebomb with a clock, a pipebomb and a five gallon can of gasoline in the
passenger seat. Spin the hour hands in the dark of the car and then take
off. The suspense would keep me awake that's for sure!
Course neither of my suggestions are very good if you're in a rental car or
a lease car.

Then again, if you are weaving from being sleepy the cop who pulls you over
is going to look askance at the bomb sitting next to you. When he asks you
when is it going off and you say I don't know its a surprise - well, he
might get a little upset.

"Dennis Woos" wrote in message
...
That was the end of my observing session for that night but I didn't
have
any
trouble being sleepy for that 1 hour late night drive home.

This is what I worry about most - sleepiness on the drive home. I try and
keep a little coffee in reserve, but it doesn't always seem to do the
trick.
Anyone have any tips?

Hold a $100 bill between you thumb and finger tip. Then roll down the window
and hold it outside like that as you drive. Depending on your income, you
can adjust up or down for what will keep you awake.

;-)

Chuck Taylor
Do you observe the moon?
Try http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lunar-observing/
And the Lunar Picture of the Day http://www.lpod.org/
************************************

"CLT" wrote

Hold a $100 bill between you thumb and finger tip. Then roll down the
window
and hold it outside like that as you drive. Depending on your income, you
can adjust up or down for what will keep you awake.

Adjust what - the window or the dollar amount?

HL

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 11:10:36 -0400, "Dennis Woos"
wrote:

Anyone have any tips?

One of our club members swears by hard candy peppermints, and NOT the
ones with added caffeine.

http://www.kidsregen.org/howTo.php?section=celeb&ID=7

---
Michael McCulloch

"Dennis Woos" wrote in message
...
This is what I worry about most - sleepiness on the drive home. I try and
keep a little coffee in reserve, but it doesn't always seem to do the
trick.
Anyone have any tips?


Sleep in the truck, leave in the morning.

peace,
jon