There was a cold wind blowing today but in the hottest/sunniest parts of the day it calmed down. During this time we moved the ASM from the clean room up to the Clay dome:
![I remember the days when this operation brought out the whole mountain to see](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/MovingASM.jpg)
![Juan and Laird wanted this pic](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ComeAlongStrap.jpg)
It’s beautiful up here. Breakfast was amazing: fresh-squeezed orange juice, oatmeal with warm milk, dos huevos fritos por favor, and unsweetened whole-milk yogurt — yum! I hiked up and down the mountain 5 or 6 times and it’s really helping with my jet lag to be out and about in the sunshine.
I connected Clio and got it up and running. Victor helped me cool it down as we were doing this. First Laird and I put the new washers Manny made in to help support the gold electronics box as the Delrin was starting to crack/warp.
![Oh Clee Oh](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/oh_clio_oh.jpg)
![Here are the washers from Manny that Laird and I put in the Delrin plate](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ClioDelrinPlate.jpg)
![I did a couple fills too](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ClioCooldown.jpg)
![First time I did it by myself](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/CliosAlive.jpg)
![Clee oh take images complete](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ClioReadsOut.jpg)
Meanwhile, Jared did the same thing with VisAO — plugged everything in, moved the motors, took test images. Later Laird cleaned the optics and Jared tested characterized the images:
![V to the I to the Z squared Y](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/jared_hacks.jpg)
![Here he looks like a real doctor](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/laird_cleans.jpg)
![Do we look like real doctors?](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/kt_wollaston.jpg)
And we saw all sorts of wildlife today! Donkeys, a guanaco, a snake (little garter snake), and a vizcacha bounding up the stairs! Here are the ones we were able to get pictures of:
![Hee haw](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/asses.jpg)
![It's like a vision test that will show the real MagAO aficionados](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Guanaco1.jpg)
So those were the fauna, now for the flora. It’s spring here and the desert flowers are coming up – beautiful!
![Enjoy!](/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/flowers_600.jpg)
This song makes me think of home, more MN/WI than NM b/c of the farm refs. For the Moms, the Dads, the Grandmothers, and the Grandfathers, we miss you. <3 Agnes