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Date: 17 Aug 2006 14:26:38
From: Willie R. Meghar
Subject: Re: Telescopes may come and go...
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. . . when they become self-propelled and have a mind of their own.
Meanwhile they pretty much stay where they're placed by their human
masters.
What's that? There's a knock, knock, knock on my observatory door.
Oh, look! It's a poor, homeless telescope that ran away from its
previous master's light polluted, urban yard. It's begging me for a
new home under a darker sky. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Do I
give in to the telescope's wish or do I contact the authorities and
have the telescope returned to its grieving owner?
The telescope senses my indecision. It assures me that it will remain
loyal as long as I promise to feed it well-aged photons on a regular
basis, or at least when weather permits.
I reach out and touch the telescope's objective cell. Suddenly I hear
the soft whirl of motors and gears. The objective and eyepiece covers
open up revealing pristine, fully multi-coated optics. The
telescope's seductive voice tempts me: "Just say the word and I'll
darken my objective to within safety limits and show you that nice
sunspot group you've been hearing about on saa."
"Word ;-)"
Willie R. Meghar
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