So much for my astronomy aspirations

The other week I outlined how pretty much everything that could go wrong with my amateur astronomy efforts does go wrong. How each time I've gotten a little extra money for a telescope upgrade, some minor disaster has befallen the family that consumes that earmarked cash. I didn't go into how many, many things went wrong during my telescope refurbishment process that kept me from observing the heavens for months. Nor did I mention the motor drive that failed to work when I bought my scope way back when. I did reference these problems as I packed up my cherished, 35-plus-year-old Meade 6" mirror and sent it off for resurfacing, joking that perhaps the astronomy gods would give me a pass this time, since the relatively modest cost of the refinishing didn't rise to the level of "disaster money."

I should've just whacked myself in the head with a ball-peen hammer. My mirror awaited me when I got home. I eagerly unpacked it and this is what I found:

From what I can tell, nobody makes 6" parabolic f/5 mirrors anymore, so my classic, high-performance rich-field telescope is now a magnificently bulky doorstop. To say I am physically ill is an understatement.

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