Posts Made By: Thomas Holst

Tinchi Lee said:
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Texting-Whilst-Driving-UK_703414.htm#commentTop
I can't describe how pi$$ed I get when I see teenagers texting each other while on the road.

Here's another video on that subject, of an actual double fatal accident that occurred in Utah. It's about 15 minutes long but worth watching. http://ut.zerofatalities.com/texting.php

Just the other day some stupid woman (sorry to be sexist, but why is it always a woman?)...

You're not being sexist. That's reality. After I noticed the predominance of female cell phone drivers, I started keeping track by marking them down on a business card. I've done this several times and got the same result each time. I've found an average of 85%~90% of the cell phone drivers in my area are female. In addition, every near miss I've experienced in the past year has been with female cell phone drivers; about half teenagers and half soccer moms.

I don't know how to get through to these people. On my last trip to California, which now has a no-cell-phone-in-your-hand-while-driving law, I observed just as many cell phone drivers as before the law went into effect. I'm tempted to chase them down, grab the phone out of their hands and throw it under a passing truck.

Rod Kaufman said:

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-health-religion3-2009nov03,0,2239900.story
How crazy can a bunch of senators be?

Obviously they're much crazier than we could ever imagine.

Having been a binocular nut for a long time, I've owned one or more examples from every major manufacturer, of various types and sizes, and still have around a dozen bino's on hand. I've been partial to higher end porro prism binoc's, being rather disappointed with early examples of Nikon and Leitz roof prism models, which only seemed to be sharp in the center of the field of view.

Back in 2001, I decided to buy my wife a larger/better binocular to replace her little pocket sized Nikon. I wanted to get her a good binocular (well made, good optics, user friendly, not too big) but not go overboard on price. After weeks of searching and hands-on comparisons, I settled on the Pentax 8x42 DCF WP with full multi-coating and phase-coating (forerunner to the later, improved WP II, SP and ED models). This binoc cost me about $350 at the time but in a 30 minute side-by-side comparison to a similar $1000 Zeiss binoc, I could not tell the difference in daylight viewing, indoors or out. (This was at a time when phase coatings were becoming common in higher end roof prism binoculars and the image quality was getting much better.)

I was so impressed with the Pentax DCF WP, I started looking for an even better, similar binocular for myself. I purchased a Fujinon CD 8x42 (about $650 in 2001) and spent a weekend camping trip in high mountains, comparing the two, during both daytime and at night. I ended up sending the Fujinon back for a refund, as the Pentax were noticeably sharper and much lighter. (The Fujinon was unusually heavy for its size.)

I continued searching for the perfect 8x42 roof prism bino that could finally beat the Pentax and eventually settled on the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL, for a lot more money. They are quite similar in daylight performance but the Swarovski has the edge at night, with stars being a little more pinpoint, as best I can tell with my older eyes. The edge to edge sharpness in both is about as good as it gets with roof prism bino's.

The bottom line is that the Pentax DCF line of binoculars has changed little since their introduction, with mostly minor cosmetic and internal changes and constantly improved optics. They are compact for an 8x42 (or 8x43), not too heavy, focus quickly and smoothly, have good eye relief and have the convenient extendable eyecups (like the Swarovski). Having experience with other Pentax binoculars and Pentax medium format camera lenses, I don't know how they manage to produce such good optics for the price.

Although I haven't tried any lately, I would think that the current versions of the Pentax DCF binoculars would easily meet or exceed your expectations. I'd guess that you would have to do a careful side by side comparison between the SP and ED versions, looking at stars, to see any difference. Other than the glass in the more expensive ED version, they are pretty much the same, optically.

Jeff,

That was a great idea. The only problem is that in my area, we don't get many trick-or-treaters. Instead, my astro club has been regularly participating in our city zoo's yearly "Boo at the Zoo" event. This is an all day event held on a Saturday before Halloween, where parents bring their costumed kids to the zoo to collect candy provided by us and other local organizations and the turnout is amazing. We handed out 2,400 pieces of candy (one per kid) and ran out 90 minutes before the zoo closed.

We set up a white light filtered refractor and a PST on tracking mounts for solar viewing for both the kids and their parents. We also hand out club brochures and answer many questions about astronomy. This year we lucked out with a clear sky from 12-noon on and a sun with visible sunspots and prominences. The photo attached below was taken before the sky cleared and things got busy. It was a tiring day but lots of fun for everyone.

mike selz said:
Anyways, i was thinking of upgrading it...turn it into the Blue Whale...or Blue Battleship....black truss rods and blue bottom and top base . Any special kind of spray paint i should use? Any other suggestions for mods? I use a metal cord attached to a weight that i attach to the back fan , when i load on heavy 2" eye[ieces and it seems to do the job for now...any other suggestions?

Mike,

You need to make a hemispherically shaped top cover to place on top of the upper tube when it is collapsed and bolted to the bottom tube for transport. It will look exactly like R2D2.

Lee Spain said:

Any of you guys been watching R. Lee Ermey's "Lock-n-Load" on TV?

Yep, he's pretty entertaining. He really seems to have a thing for blowing up watermelons.

For extra fun, try recording episodes on the DVR and then seeing how many you can watch in a row before your wife asks you to watch something else.

Hey, that's a great idea! It's a good way to get back at her for all the "Dancing with the Stars" episodes I've had to suffer through.

I noticed that during commercial breaks, they ask for people to submit more privately shot film footage of the war. Are they planning an extension or sequel?

Maybe this is why he has refused to meet with the police or the press...

Sonya,

I'd start by making absolutely sure the RA cable and connectors are good. Use a multimeter to check continuity and resistance through each conductor at each end of the cable. Check the condition of the plugs with a magnifier to make sure nothing is broken or bent. Remove the panel face to expose the interior of the RA connector to make sure there are no broken wires, shorts to ground or other defects. Chances are that it is something simple that can be easily fixed.

You're gonna shoot your eye out with that thing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppOXpyhM2wA