Hello Friend,

   It's getting close to that time of year again, and it will be time soon for another STARFEST star party.

Yes, August 21-24th is when the next STARFEST occurs, and the theme this year will be "Exploring New Worlds".

Khan Scope will be there on hand, displaying and showing off the latest goodies in the world of amateur astronomy
plus a whole

If you are visiting the Ontario area during this time, be sure to attend.

I'm reminded of an incident that happened several years ago at STARFEST, one evening.

After we finished work for the day at the Khan Scope booth, the whole crew heads into town for dinner
at a local restaurant, before stargazing activities for the night begin.

During dinner, I received a phone call from the store, on my cell phone,  and the mentioned that a particular English customer
was at the store,  and I asked would I mind speaking to her, as she had a particular question for me.

During our conversation, she mentioned that her Pussycat  , was not doing well at all, and might have to be put down.

 I have both a Maltese Westie and a black cat, called Merlin, so I am very sympathetic to anyone having health issues
with their pets. 

It can be quite a difficult time.

It was a bit noisy in the family restaurant, which was not very big, so I had to speak a bit loudly, and I blurted out:

"I'm very sorry to hear that your pussy is not doing well".

All of a sudden the whole restaurant went dead silent.

You could hear a pin drop.

For about 60 seconds..........the longest 60 seconds you could ever imagine.

When I realized that in a small town such as Mount Forest, most folks aren't used to the English vernacular.

I quickly ended the call, and we continued on to dinner.

Starfest  Star Party will be during August 21-24th this year and is held in Mount Forest, Ontario.  

You can get more information here; www.nyaa.ca/starfest.htm

Clear Skies,

Ray Khan

PS If you are interested in joining our crew this year at Starfest, we are looking for a couple of people to
     assist with manning our display. If you are an enthusiastic amateur astronomer, then drop me a line
     at ray@khanscope.com for more information.