AfterDawn.com: User profiles: Tsarkon

Tsarkon

I'm an old school gamer with a habit of tinkering with things. My latest obsession is tweaking my PSP to do all sorts of things I will in all likelihood never have enough time to use. I enjoy making it work more than using it anyway.

I also love amateur astronomy and have two telescopes (one 7" refractor and one 10" Newtonian) and I studied Astrophysics for 2 years at university.

My links

Bastard Operator From Hell (BOFH) (17 Mar 2008 13:45)

This is just classic. It's the "adventures" of a sys admin with a mean streak a mile wide. Read how he terrorizes the newbies on his network and in society at large. "What WAS your username again?"

Category: Comedy

Zero Punctuation (17 Mar 2008 13:33)

Do you enjoy game reviews where the game falls flat on its face? Well, this is for you, then. It offers a no-holds-barred, extremely critical yet still hilariously funny series of game reviews. If you are a gamer, you'll likely find this funny.

Category: Comedy

Astronomy Picture of the Day (17 Mar 2008 13:24)

A new astronomical picture is posted every day, many of them directly from NASA. It's great for anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy and the pictures are appropriate for all ages.

Category: Science

Nickname:

Tsarkon

Joined:

13 Mar 2008

User level:

Newbie

From:

Northwest Territories, Canada

Gender:

Male

Shoutbox

Ex_hoc (20 Mar 2008 11:56)
Was Astrophysics difficult? I consider myself amateur astronomer as well. Unfortunately, I lacked the mathematical aptitude to pursue a career in it.
Tsarkon (20 Mar 2008 18:38)
Well, the simple answer to your question is "yes, it was difficult" but it really bears an explanation. The actual *Astrophysics* courses were not that difficult and opened up a whole new world of information, experiences, skills, and insight that literally changed my perspective of the world. And I'm speaking to you as a person who, before attending those classes, read hundreds of books on astronomy and spent plenty of time looking through telescopes. The difficulty was the lack of coordination in the *Physics* courses. The physics profs frequently misunderstood what was covered in the pre-requisite math courses and made assignments that required math that had not yet been taught. So, much of your time was spent trying to teach yourself the required math and THEN completing the assignment... And THAT was no piece of cake and very frustrating to all of us studying any type of physics.

Even so, I wouldn't take back that experience for anything in the world. Difficult yes, but well worth it. :)
Ex_hoc (25 Mar 2008 15:01)
Yeah, I can't even imagine some of the math required just for engineering, let alone astrophysics. Like I said, if I had even the slightest bit of mathematical intelligence I would have attempted the course. Unfortunately I don't though. However, I definitely love trying to understand it. Anyways though, I don't actually own any telescopes. I usually just read about astronomy and look at photos taken from other peoples. I suppose that�s how I keep myself up to date with the universe :P. Otherwise, I think I've just about exhausted my resources in terms of books. Its too bad Carl Sagen isn't still around. I enjoyed his books the most.

So I guess I am "fireside" haha

ExHoc
mrgooey (17 Apr 2008 0:09)
Add me to ur buddies. Goin to try to find more Canadians :)
mrgooey (10 May 2008 13:59)
Glad u accept it. Scared u didnt

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Tsarkon

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