Its gonna be a good year

2004...

Here's why, but first a little background,
can't imagine I'm alone.

Started in this hobby 4 or 5 years ago with a 10"dob.
Laser this, setup that, on a "truck" for quick setup. Enter
the encoder, laptop, yadda yadda. Turn left at Orion,
chart thingie, hand full of eyepieces. Cool down, adjust,
blah blah. Wow factor is there, Saturn looks way cool,
our moon is like you never imagined.

Grab a little ST80, nice bogan setup for quick looks and
camcorder use, even watch the birds a bit and snap some shots
with a digital camera. Very robust! Ouch, whats with all the
color in the dark???

Must need a TV (waited for a Traveler, my order disappeared
into the abiss). Tried a Pronto for 5 minutes, very nice,
whats with the color??? Here comes the TV85, radian 8mm, on
and on. Holy crap, it can't get any better than this!!!

Oh yeah, a mount. An old systems mount. Wow, solid as a rock.
Tracking? Epoc? What year is this? A bit dated. $1,500 mount?
I don't think so. Whats that? CG5? Take it apart, lube it?
I can do that! This is alot of work, but hey, it works!

Whats this, goto? 8" SCT, a guided tour? Cool!!! Where's the
light? The old dob looks too good! you're outta here!

Lets do a SLR for the TV. Wow! Neat! It works! Film sucks.
CCD? I'm outta money!

IRA? Dot bomb? Where did it all go? I got a mortgage!
Time to sell. This is gonna hurt. A guys gotta do what a
guys gotta do (bummer).

Enough of of that...

Al, Televue, a fantastic job! All you dedicated dealers, thanks
for a job well done. I'm only a gauker sp, read a few specs
(10 billion light years away, 100 million miles across,
yadda yadda. We are here for only a blink of an eye)
enjoy the moment, expose the kids, theres lots of life to
experience.

The holidays are over, Harley is on hold, can't paint the house
in the cold, time to lurk around here again...

Whats this??? APO??? $400 or $500??? 80 mm? Orion????
More to come??? 100mm? 120mm? Now I'm excited!!!

Sure, I know, that will turn into $1k or $2k, one small
step at a time, but this can breathe new spice into a
spot in ones life that feels long lost.

Yeah, corners must be cut, sacrifices will be made.
Critical mass will be reached with innovations like
this.

2004 looks like a good year around here if someone
exploits the opportunities and from where I'm sitting,

Looks to me it has already started!!!! 2004 WILL be
a good year, its coming like a freight train.

Am I alone?

Peace,
BD

Looks to me it has already started!!!! 2004 WILL be
a good year, its coming like a freight train.

Am I alone?

Peace,

BD

According to Gary Hand, there is lots of new stuff in the pipeline.

For me what makes a good year are those nights spent under the stars, the new
targets discovered, those special nights when the seeing is like it should be
every night, those trips to places where it is darker than dark and you can see
a single bulb 15 miles away, the people met, friends made, images taken,
techniques learned....

And too, a nice new piece of equipment to enjoy.....

jon

Looks to me it has already started!!!! 2004 WILL be
a good year, its coming like a freight train.

Am I alone?

Peace,

BD

According to Gary Hand, there is lots of new stuff in the pipeline.

For me what makes a good year are those nights spent under the stars, the new
targets discovered, those special nights when the seeing is like it should be
every night, those trips to places where it is darker than dark and you can see
a single bulb 15 miles away, the people met, friends made, images taken,
techniques learned....

And too, a nice new piece of equipment to enjoy.....

jon

Looks to me it has already started!!!! 2004 WILL be
a good year, its coming like a freight train.

Am I alone?

Peace,

BD

According to Gary Hand, there is lots of new stuff in the pipeline.

For me what makes a good year are those nights spent under the stars, the new
targets discovered, those special nights when the seeing is like it should be
every night, those trips to places where it is darker than dark and you can see
a single bulb 15 miles away, the people met, friends made, images taken,
techniques learned....

And too, a nice new piece of equipment to enjoy.....

jon

Looks to me it has already started!!!! 2004 WILL be
a good year, its coming like a freight train.

Am I alone?

Peace,

BD

According to Gary Hand, there is lots of new stuff in the pipeline.

For me what makes a good year are those nights spent under the stars, the new
targets discovered, those special nights when the seeing is like it should be
every night, those trips to places where it is darker than dark and you can see
a single bulb 15 miles away, the people met, friends made, images taken,
techniques learned....

And too, a nice new piece of equipment to enjoy.....

jon