Insomnia

 Last night was one of those nights when I simply could not sleep.  I don't know what was going on, but no matter how long I lay there, not matter how much I tossed and turned, sleep would not come. I'm pretty sure it was after midnight before I finally dropped off. 

Considering I get up at 4:30 -- yes, that is ante meridian -- as you can imagine, I'm a might tuckered today.  

Anyway, while I was laying there in the throes of insomnia, I thought about my telescope.  And fretted.  I was so excited to get it, and it's pretty much been a disappointment so far.  Oh, the scope itself is OK, but ... well, it's got issues.  

You know about the broken battery pack that they wanted $40 to replace, but the other problem with it is the app.  That is the only way to control the scope, as attempting to move it by hand could damage the motor.  But the app is nearly impossible to align to the scope.  In the year I've had it, I've only been successful one time, and you have to re-align the stupid thing every time you move the telescope.  Even worse, if you get frustrated and give up and try again later, you can't just exit the app and start over.  The app stays stuck where you left off.  The only way I've found to start over is to completely delete the ap and re-install it on your device.  

So, I was thinking, my telescope has a couple of auxiliary ports on it. 

I thought if I could find a manual controller that could be plugged into one of those ports, I could dispense with the app altogether. Grabbing my phone, I opened my Amazon app and began looking for one.  I was intending to find one that just moved the motor, with nothing more than up/down/left/right buttons, but the only thing I found was a computerized controller that cost like $250.  I'll have to look into it more and see what it's all about, but for now, we're going to have to pass on that, at least until the overtime starts back up.  I'm going to keep looking around, though.  I might have better luck, not in the middle of the night...

In my search, however, I found a lithium battery for Celestron telescopes.  I added it to my shopping cart, but haven't ordered it yet, as it's a bit pricy itself.  I know I just ordered the ac adapter, but with a battery of some sort, I won't be tied to the length of my extension cord, you know, if I ever managed to leave the house and go somewhere with less light pollution.  Still, between the price of replacing the battery holder, and constantly replacing the batteries, I think that lithium one might eventually pay for itself over time.  

In other news, tomorrow is inventory day at work, so I'm going to bed a bit early tonight.  OK, I say that, but by the time I actually get to bed, it'll be the usual time.  But before I go, I wanted to show you the next blanket square.

Square #3

Only two more to go!