Hello all! I just returned from Lakeside, and it was a very nice night out! I arrived a little after 10 pm and it was quite breezy, but that died down after a while and the warm air made for very pleasant viewing. No bugs to speak of, which is also a plus. As I've made abundantly clear, I'm a hack, so I spend most of my time accidentally observing. Most recently my main interest has been Comet Garradd, mostly because I know how to find it. Using that as my jumping off point, I was delighted to see M71, and since I was in the neighborhood, M29 the Dumbbell Nebula. I met a fellow out there last year sometime who showed this object to me, but at the time I was still too inexperienced with my equipment to find it on my own. What a difference a year has made for me. I also got some great views of Jupiter tonight. About an hour after it appeared, the atmospheric conditions calmed down and made for reasonably sharp viewing. Jupiter is one of my long-time favorites, and it's the only thing I really remember having much of an interest in while taking Astronomy 100D at Ohio University - recently named the "#1 Party School in America." This dubious honor is the reason that I do not have a degree. Anyway, I usually just pick a patch of sky and use Stellarium to see what Messier and NGC objects are in it, then try to locate them. I am usually intrigued by galaxies and nebulae, but after that encounter with M71, I'm broadening my horizons. I got M57 the Ring Nebula in Lyra tonight. First time for that and it was oh-so-cool. I should probably lay off the Monster Energy Drinks, they seem to make me ramble on needlessly. By the way, my niece is visiting from Cincinnati in 3 weeks, and we're going to Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon (9/18-9/21). I'm planning to lug the telescope along. Does anyone have one of those nifty and possibly illegal high-power green laser pointers I might be able to borrow for a couple days? I'd be willing to leave my cat as collateral, or some cash if you'd rather. Good night! Chrismo