Think it's hot today ?

Nice pic, Glenn. What 'scope have you got ?

Regards,

Hi Ivor
It's a Dobsonian F6.4 with 10inch mirror. I built it a few years ago
Mostly made from 3/4" plywood and gas pipe.
Very stable and smooth.
From Richard Berry's book "Build your own telescope". Excellent.

Took it to a local Primary school on the day of the transit and had all the children and teachers looking at Venus in small groups. Good fun- lots' of oooh's and aaah's.
Sadly no sunspots around to see on the day.
Also showed them the rotation of the earth. Lady headteacher said I made the earth move for her - lol.

Glenn

A 10" instrument - I'm impressed. No wonder the headmistress swooned. Did you grind the mirror yourself or was that a commercially available one?

Hi Roger
Didn't grind the mirror although the book tells you how to do it to a millionth of an inch in your garage ! :-)
I'd like to have a go one day, maybe a 6" to start with.
It's a David Hinds mirror, cost about £250.
Pic attached.

How are your options going ?
Just looking into Ftse diag cal spreads and hope to start soon.
Sold some June 4025 puts a while back and just bought them back. Only 11.5p profit but happy enough.
Cheers
Glenn

That's a really smart looking piece of kit Glenn. In 1965 when I was 12yrs old I wanted to grind my own 6" mirror but my parents talked me out of it. I tried using a shaving mirror instead and one of my Mum's old make -up mirrors as a flat. I mounted them in a plywood frame and it worked surprisingly well, but with one major drawback - there was a quadruple image because there was a reflection off the front of the glass and the silvered back of the primary mirror, and the same again from the surface and silvered back of the flat. All the overlapping images were more or less in focus tho' , although of no use for serious observations. So I bought a 2.5" refractor secondhand for £6-10shillings (£6.50 for those who can't remember!), which was nearly £80 in today's terms

http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerbp/?action=...ce=0&year=1965

I still have it and used it to observe the transit using a projection much like you did - but I would still like to build my own reflector. There is no doubt in my mind that had I dug my heels in and ground my own mirror I would have been successful.

Currently short the June 4625/4175 strangle, with long puts underneath at 4125 for a net +32 per strangle. Not anticipating any drama here, but never spend it until it's nailed down!

No cover on the calls ? 140 pts away today.
Flippin 'eck, you are bearish just a tad then ? :-)
Good luck.

Not sure where you can get the blanks etc for a mirror nowadays. Perhaps Beacon Hill Telescopes up North.

1965 - doing 'A' levels and going to ballroom dancing classes with local girls high school - all those sweaty blue blouses :-)
Also hitchhiked to Germany that year for a fortnight with £20 in my pocket and a tent on my back. Came back with 2d.
The Beatles and the Stones etc......Those were the days :-)

Glenn

I tend not to cover the calls 'cos I can always either hedge them with futures, or more likely, roll them out into July if they look like going into the money and staying there. I always like to have cover for the puts tho' cos not only can markets collapse a long way overnight, the implied volatility would surge enormously as well so it would be a double hit. It would be nice to cover the calls, but ultimately we are being paid to carry a risk, and if the risk is removed then so is all the potential profit!