NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Sun squash- was Green Flash and Longitude
From: Ken Gebhart
Date: 2006 Jan 19, 17:38 -0600
From: Ken Gebhart
Date: 2006 Jan 19, 17:38 -0600
On 1/17/06 10:03 PM, "Bill"wrote: >> I had in mind to publish a book on celestial navigation anyway, and the sun >> squash chapter could be ?the hook?, that is, some information that had never >> been published before to give it intrinsic value. There would be an insert >> with ellipses of 5, 10, and 15 % printed on sun shade material, that could be >> held up to compare with the actual sun. Trouble was, I could not produce >> such >> ellipses of suitable quality for publication. I needed a PC with a desktop >> publishing program which had not yet been invented. So, the whole project >> languished in a file cabinet all these years. Now the issue is moot except >> for the interest some list members may have in knowing about it. > > Ken > > You run a business, and very well it would appear. It would be a shame if > your book was never published. Any chance of a compromise? Publish your > chapter on squash. You now have the PC and graphics programs you wished > for, as well as on-demand printing. Celestair has the marketing vehicle. At > a $10-15 price point (at 100 units you would probably pass break even) I > would jump at the opportunity to have your insights. (Woodworkers gladly pay > $10-15 for a self-published blurb regarding cove cutting and angles on a > table saw). Hire some high-school kid (not the same one that claims this is > the 30th issue of the Celestair catalog on the inside-front cover for years > ;-) > > Even it is a break-even proposition, it does give you and Celestair yet > another unique selling proposition--the Gebhart sunset/sunrise sextant (for > a lot less than another curiosity, the Bris sextant). > > Heck. I would be more happy to produce the graphics for the ellipses in any > increments you would like, gratis. Feed me the major and minor axis--its a > piece of cake. Bill, Thanks for the nice words. However I am afraid the "some day I'm gonna write a book procrastination" is probably more addictive that the latest designer drug. However, having just turned 70, I realize that I have a whole 20 years more to go before I get old. So maybe there is hope. Ken > > Bill >