Good work Men (and ladies) of SAA

I just wanted to say that I am pleased and impressed with the general
positive demeanor of the good folks here in the face of this
ridiculous (and humorous) barrage of inane blather. You all do really
have a great sense of humor, thanks for that.

Well, except maybe for Rod, he _is_ a bit of an SCT snob...


rat
~( );

On Aug 25, 8:02 pm, "rat ~( );" wrote:
I just wanted to say that I am pleased and impressed with the general
positive demeanor of the good folks here in the face of this
ridiculous (and humorous) barrage of inane blather. You all do really
have a great sense of humor, thanks for that.

Well, except maybe for Rod, he _is_ a bit of an SCT snob...

Oh, I wouldn't be so harsh. An en passant remark in a Yahoo group
by another person recently was:

" ... but the whole point of a refractor is to add elegance to the
stubby SCT,
" and adjustable plumbing clamps won't do that...

Many apparently feel the same way. :-)

Face it, there will always be different camps for:

-- SCTs
-- refractors
-- Dobs

etc. and each camp believes its choice is best. Disparaging the other
camps achieves nothing useful in the niche amateur astronomy hobby
(unless we're disparaging and dissing Tasco and Bushnell :-)

On Aug 25, 9:33?pm, " wrote:
On Aug 25, 8:02 pm, "rat ~( );" wrote:
Disparaging the other
camps achieves nothing useful in the niche amateur astronomy hobby
(unless we're disparaging and dissing Tasco and Bushnell :-)

Bushnell now has an Elite line of spotting scopes, binoculars and
rifle scopes that are supposedly on the cutting edge of technology. I
bought a 2.5-10x40 rifle scope that is Nitrogen purged, has Rain Guard
anti fog coating, a glow in the dark reticle and a limited lfetime
warranty that I have been thusfar very impressed with. Their new
spotting scopes and binoculars appear to be top notch as well. Perhaps
someday their effort will filter down to the relatively small by
comparison amateur astronomy market and we can all benefit from their
efforts.

rat
~( );

On Aug 25, 9:33?pm, " wrote:

-- SCTs
-- refractors
-- Dobs

etc. and each camp believes its choice is best. Disparaging the other
camps achieves nothing useful in the niche amateur astronomy hobbysnip

Yeah, that's what I meant. I don't know why he thinks the only good
telescopes are "CATS."

It's like he thinks my refractors are something to poop on.

rat
~( );

"rat ~( );" wrote:
I just wanted to say that I am pleased and impressed with the general
positive demeanor of the good folks here in the face of this
ridiculous (and humorous) barrage of inane blather. You all do really
have a great sense of humor, thanks for that.

Hi, there, Rat, and I'd agree as a newer participant here that the
barrage was very surrealistic, and did have its humorous moments, as
well as its opportunities to affirm and further build our community
here.

Sometimes Usenet does seem to fit a quote attributed to Admiral Blake
of England sometime around the early 1650's I guess, the epoch of
Hodierna's deep sky discoveries -- and maybe also worthy of his poetic
namesake William Blake in the era of the Herschels: "This is the island
of Great Bedlam, so let's all be mad together."

Well, except maybe for Rod, he _is_ a bit of an SCT snob...


Could it be a bit of "reverse psychology" to incite us Dob users to
reaffirm our self-esteem? Anyway, I think that SCT's are neat -- a bit
like a very pleasant and sonorous instrument curiously called a bass
"racket" (actually quite audible but not riotous by any means) that
is physically very compact, but has in effect a most impressive "focal
length." It's used for Renaissance European music, and around 20 years
ago, shortly after the apparition of Comet Halley, I knew some people in
an ensemble that included at least one, and very harmoniously.

Thus the SCT has auspicious associations for me, and I know that my
not-quite-Nagler 30mm and 20mm EP's might actually fare rather better
with an SCT at f/10 or f/12 than with my 20cm Dob at f/6 -- around the
low end of the recommended range.

By the way, good ole' Unk Rod wrote a review on an Anacortes 30mm
BirdsEye EP that I'd guess is basically an earlier version my Garrett
Optical variation, and tested it with Newtonians (including a 12" f/6
Dob) as well as his beloved SCT, evidently enjoying the process -- so
I'd say he's a friend of those of us in the "light bucket brigade" as
well.


rat
~( );


Best,

Margo

wrote:

Face it, there will always be different camps for:

-- SCTs
-- refractors
-- Dobs

etc. and each camp believes its choice is best. Disparaging the other
camps achieves nothing useful in the niche amateur astronomy hobby
(unless we're disparaging and dissing Tasco and Bushnell :-)

To this I might add that it's quite possible to be in more than one camp,
as I might be to a degree as a Dob owner if my 7X50 binoculars count as
a refractor (or possibly two?).

Also, I can view my choice as best for me, but not necessarily for someone
else -- and also recognize the real disadvantages with which I put up as
a consequence of that choice.

Thus while enjoying my 20cm Dob in its apartment observatory through an
open window, I might sometimes wish that it were a refractor -- because
then, as with the binoculars, I could observe sitting with my eyes below
the level of the window sill, and getting shielding from the wall of the
room against light trespass. Putting an Orion Lights Out Canopy over my
head helps -- but having my eyes below that window would be nice!

Most appreciatively,

Margo Schulter

Lat. 38.566 Long. -121.430

On Aug 25, 10:02 pm, "rat ~( );" wrote:
I just wanted to say that I am pleased and impressed with the general
positive demeanor of the good folks here in the face of this
ridiculous (and humorous) barrage of inane blather. You all do really
have a great sense of humor, thanks for that.

Well, except maybe for Rod, he _is_ a bit of an SCT snob...

rat
~( );

And damned proud of it. ;-)

Actually, more of an SCT PROLETARIAN!

:-)

On Aug 25, 11:14 pm, "rat ~( );" wrote:
On Aug 25, 9:33?pm, " wrote:

-- SCTs
-- refractors
-- Dobs

etc. and each camp believes its choice is best. Disparaging the other
camps achieves nothing useful in the niche amateur astronomy hobbysnip

Yeah, that's what I meant. I don't know why he thinks the only good
telescopes are "CATS."

It's like he thinks my refractors are something to poop on.

rat
~( );

There you go thinkin' again, Rat...you ain't equipped for it. :-)

Actually, I own and regularly use a pair of APOs, and I NEVER poop on
'em.

Rod was saying
Actually, more of an SCT
PROLETARIAN!

In the colder months, with my old rabbit fur trooper hat, I've been
accused of being an SCT BOLSHEVIK.
Marty

On Aug 26, 9:48 am, (Marty) wrote:
Rod was saying

Actually, more of an SCT
PROLETARIAN!

In the colder months, with my old rabbit fur trooper hat, I've been
accused of being an SCT BOLSHEVIK.
Marty

Power to the People, Right ON! :-)

Unk Rod