Ross Cunniff

Last night (December 20, 2010 in Colorado), there was a total eclipse of the moon.  I was watching the weather with trepidation - it had been mostly cloudy all day - and as night fell, I was pretty pessimistic about the chances for seeing anything.  But I dutifully put the telescope outside to cool, and got the camera equipment ready, just in case things cleared up: Wonder of wonders, the sky cleared up during the eclipse.   There were clouds coming and going all evening, but nothing that diminished the enjoyment of the event.   Here is a shot of the fully eclipsed moon north of Orion, with Taurus and the Pleiades in the shot (and some tree branches in the foreground).  A cloud, illuminated by Fort Collins city lights, drifts in front of Orion.  This was taken with at 18mm focal length on a Canon EOS 40D (1.6x crop factor): Switching lenses, here is a shot at 100mm focal length on the same camera: But the real exciting shots were taken throug...

Yesterday, I announced that I am running for Mayor of Fort Collins in the upcoming April 5, 2011 city elections.  You can see my website and press release at Ross Cunniff for Mayor.   It should be an exciting few months! PS - if you want to see my old home page for some reason, look here .

I went to China this week for business.  Unfortunately, I did not get much time for picture taking in China.  However, I had one extra day today that I spent in Hong Kong.  Here are the best pictures from my excursions. I got to Hong Kong about noon.  This is the view out my hotel window: After getting settled in, I took the ferry over from Kowloon (where I'm staying) to Hong Kong island proper.  I wandered the streets, and eventually  made my way to the tram that took me to the top of Victoria Peak (this picture was actually taken by a professional; I bought a digital copy): The glowing tower on the far left is the International Commerce Centre tower - 1588 feet - fifth tallest in the world. I hung around there long enough for the sun to set over the South China Sea: ...so I could take some pictures from the top of Hong Kong by night: I made my way back to the ferry, stopping for a few pictures on the way.  This is the Legislative Coun...

Today, the morning was spent on work email. But this afternoon, Ken and Fred arrived from Germany, and Jeetendra joined us to go on an excursion. We started with some shopping in one of Pune's shopping districts - Ken wanted to buy some things. I may or may not have bought anything - only me and Mr. Visa know for sure. Anyway, I caught this picture of one of the oldest wooden buildings in Pune, with hand-carved wooden decorations: After wrapping our shopping up, Jeetendra took us to a combination theme park / restaurant named Chokhi Dhani - it's kind of like a Rajasthani Cultural Center, or maybe a North Indian Standing Renaissance Faire. The buildings are decorated up like historic buildings in Rajasthan, and there are various exhibits, activities, shows, food, etc. scattered throughout the park. Here are Ken, Fred, and I saying " Namaste " to you all along with Chokhi Dhani's plaster host: This is the main entrance. They really go for the electric light...

It's been a while, so it's time for another business trip to Pune, India. This is the first time I've been here in spring (the previous two trips were in November and June). It's pretty nice here in March - decent temperature, clear skies. This is the view to the southeast of my hotel - what look like Ashoka trees and others that I'm even less familiar with: And the view to the northwest - NVIDIA Pune - very convenient walk: It will be pretty much all business again this week, so I don't expect to get out much for sightseeing.

My mom came across this 1967 or 1968 newspaper clipping from the Kansas City Star. You can read the caption for yourself, but the reason she saved the picture is because our family is actually in it: Look just over the right shoulder of Shorty Powers to the mother, father, and child looking on: That's my mom Donna, my dad Roy, and me. I was three at the time. So, probably, my sister is there too but not visible to the outside world :-) My family was always very good about nurturing our interests - space, dinosaurs, chemistry, engineering, music, books, you name it. Combine that with the fact that my dad's military career gave us many opportunities for first-hand experiences that otherwise would not have been available - including, during my early elementary school years, monthly visits to the Smithsonian. The result was three successful, engaged adult children. All kids should be so lucky! Thanks, Mom & Dad.