Hi,

My name is Ken. I've been living in Okinawa since August 2002,
currently working on a SOFA status contract at Camp Kinser. I live
near Camp Courtney, so it's pretty dark and quiet over on that side of
the island.

As a kid i was big into astronomy, but my first telescope was pretty
much a crack pipe on a tripod (not to mention i left it behind dad's
van and it got crunched...), so i sort of gave up. After speaking
with my mother on the phone recently though, i started thinking more
and more about getting into it, now that i have some extra time to do
so, and pursue it further.

I tried to contact Mike Swanson via his work phone number (posted on
the Sky & Telescope community search page), however it drops to his
voicemail box over at the Lester Naval Hospital...and since the group
was formed in 2002 and most of the RAC information on the website is
somewhat dated, i wasn't sure if you were all still a "club" anymore
(hey..people PSC, get bored, move one, whatever...so i didn't actually
expect to find anyone out here).

Anyway, i'm looking to meet people interested in astronomy who could
possibly help me out. I've been toying with photography for about two
years, but nothing serious, and i definitely have very little grasp on
the terms and mechanics behind telescopes and cameras. I mean,
reading is one thing, but actually looking at detailed listings of
what parts are on what scopes, it just doesn't make a whole lot of
sense to me.

I was snooping around Celestron and Meade's web sites looking at some
of their equipment, but i wasn't sure which ones would do what i
wanted to. I mainly chose the few i found with pictures that
customers had taken with that specific model. I'd like to scope out
the planets and moon, but i have a very large interest in the various
deep space objects lying out there. I was actually hoping that
someone in the Ryukyu Astronomy Club who was still on island might be
able to let me take a look at their equipment and get some basic
training on how to work it.

So with all of that said, if anyone is still out here, i'd appreciate
getting to know you and getting some advice before i start putting the
time and effort into it (possibly on a bad scope, etc? Kinda why i'm
looking for some help).

Cheers all,
Ken.

You can reach me at samuraiken@... or if you're still on island,
give me a ring at 080-3955-0697 (Vodafone, so it should be free
depending on your plan if you have the same company)