but be forwarned, this is one topic I can bore you to tears on.

I learned to navigate in the Navy, and I was introduced to celestial there (just one one of the several techniques used). I was also trained in LORAN, Radar, Dead Reckoning and Piloting, the latter two being centuries-old arts, relying on no technology other than the magnetic compass and the paper chart. Many years later, when I was layed off from my programming job in Silicon Valey, I passed the time by teaching myself the finer points of celestial navigation, and by writing software for my HP calculators to do the calculations. I've found the best way to understand any computational procedure is to code it up and debug it. By the way, don't let the math intimidate you, it is mostly just high-school spherical trigonometry, and with calculators and tables, all you really need to know is how to add and subtract angular measure. There are PC methods available, but that sort of defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?

I'd be happy to help you get started on this, either through the Zone or offline, if you wish to pursue it as a hobby. Navigation is a natural for me, since I'm a sailor, astronomer, mathematician and geographer. It also give you a great sense of accomplishment and connection to history. Men have been doing this for thousands of years and once you learn, you become part of that brotherhood of mariners, something no GPS can do for you. And if you own a boat, the sense of confidence you get is truly priceless.

Besides, real men do not ask for directions.