Posts Made By: Paul Atkinson

I know that it can get slow on the forums. I come here a lot and enjoy the information and conversing with people.
However, it always amazes me the number of times you read the same posts over and over over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. How many threads can there possibly be on the Orion ED80 or the Meade vs. Celestron debate, or refractor vs. SCT, or APO vs. Achromat that seems to appear every other day? Is that all there is to talk about?

I know I may sound critical but come on guys... some of these dead horses need to be allowed to rest in peace.

...the new Denkmeier Diagonal w/ built in barlow and focal reducer? I was just visiting the Denkmeier Optical site. They are advertising a new diagonal that will have a power switch very similar to their binoviewers (if you are familar with them). Only on this diagonal there will also be a 40mm fully multi-coated reducer element and 2x Barlow lens. You will simply slide them in and out when you need them. This sounds like a winning combination for SCT owners that are faced with small FOV's as well as those that don't want to put on and take off the currently available reducers or barlows. You can simply leave in one EP and have 3 different viewing options. Can anyone think of any drawbacks to a design putting the lens element this close to the diagonal mirror or any other problems this might cause?

Neigh... Neigh.... you guys thought I was going to beat this like a dead horse didn't yah? Not.

Anywy... what I did want to say is that the new Meade EP line is certainly going to make things very interesting. If they are high quality you might see a shift in the market with prices dropping slightly in the other high end brands. Certainly, it is interesting that Televue dropped prices in this "recent" sale that has "never before happened" on some of their EP's. Way back I speculated here in the forums that either Televue was coming out with new EP's or they knew of competition from others and were trying to get a jump on it.

I think we will also see a lot of EP's coming up for sale on Astromart as people dump them to try this new line.

In the end, it won't hurt to have more choices in area of our hobby where the high end EP's are dominated by pretty much Televue and Pentax (excluding the recent planetary EP's from TMB and AP). I am hoping that they live up the hype. I am wondering if Celestron will follow suit with a new line of Ultima's or Axiom's?

I am just curious about the concept of "super planetary" EP's. There has been a great deal of hype surrounding some that have hit the market, or are destined to hit the market. Personally, I don't see all the hype surronding the mimimal benefits that one of these EP's might deliver over other available brands. For instance, in one recent yahoo group discussion on EP's Televue (Al and David Nagler) posted this when questioned if they had considered a super EP for planets:

"There seems to be a myth that you must have a small field to get optimum sharpness. All Tele Vue eyepieces are diffraction limited at center, even for fast scopes. Our philosophy has always been to retain that sharpness over the widest possible fields. However, contrast and light throughput are enhanced by simple designs. Our 4-element Plossls, with 4-air/glass surfaces were measured as 97% transmissive by Sky and Telescope. It's just fine if other manufacturers can eke out a bit more transmission with fewer surfaces, at the expense of reduced field, reduced eye-relief, reduced edge field correction for users who can accept that. It's just not for us, since we feel our patented Plossls do a fine job on planets."

Further when questioned if the statement above held true about their other EP lines like the Radians, Naglers, and Panoptics they responded:

The 11mm Nagler, 10mm Radian and 11mm Plossl are equally sharp for planetary viewing. We compared them again, and found that in no case could we see more detail in the Plossl. However, given four more air-glass surfaces plus higher index glasses in the Nagler, Radian and Panoptics, the Plossl was confirmed very slightly whiter. The 97% Plossl transmission in the S&T test report was not subjectively brighter than the estimated 94% transmission measured in the other eyepieces. Our feeling is that with the equal perception of contrast, comfortable eye-relief and dramatic field of view outweigh the very slight extra whiteness of the Plossl. Purists may disagree(to a small degree), but that's why we have more than one eyepiece type in our offerings.

Is there anyone out there that can make a strong argument for the minimal gain of a Super Planetary EP over the already high quality and high transmission rate EP's like the ones that Televue and Pentax are bringing to the table?

Okay... there have been some great posts and threads as a result of the question I posed on the Super Planetary EP's. If you followed it, it spun off into the optical coatings and there was also mention of the quality of glass being used in various EP's. So here is my next question:

1. How often is is safe to assume that a manufacturer updates or improves on an existing EP design? For example, lets say you bought a Nagler 31 mm in 2000. Are the Nagler 31's being made today using the exact same glass and coatings or is it possible newer ones could be different without knowing it?

2. Do manufacturers upgrade existing designs without notifying the public, or would they use it as a marketing tool and make it known?

Paul Atkinson

I came here to check out a few of the posts and made some not so surprising observations:

1. Do you notice which party is here posting the most "attack" type of posts? That's right. There are a bunch of democrats in here all in a lather about the election. One said he will "punch the poll worker" that tries to stop him from voting... blah... blah... blah... By the way, that poll worker is there to keep you from voting 3 times in different counties. But I know no self-respecting, integrity laced democrat would do that. All the past elections where that has happened has just been rumor and made up stories.

2. Another observation. Have you ever noticed that only the democrats are too dumb to vote? Republicans don't seem to have this problem. In Florida the problem last time was with a ballot designed by the democratically run elections offices. That is correct, the democratic party controls the election office in Palm Beach, designed the ballot, and then somehow they wanted to blame everyone else because they said it wasn't fair. Hah Hah Hah Hah... whew... and I thought this stuff only happened in cartoons when Road Runner (Coyote... Thanks Rick)bought bombs from Acme Co. and then proceeded to blow himself up.

3. About number 2 above, democrats shouldn't worry they have more than enough people voting 2,3, 4 times a piece to make up for all the voters who "mess up". Hmmm... Nixon vs. Kennedy seems to come to mind as an example of how this works.

4. For all those people voting 2 or more times... Kerry starts with a K....K....Kerry. Bush starts with a B....B... Bush. Double check the box you mark to be sure. Just thought you might need a last second voting lesson before heading off to the polls.

5. Have you ever noticed democrats are all "one issue" voters? Have you ever asked one why they would vote for Kerry? If you did you would find it is because he has promised one thing that hits their button. If you want higher minimum wage, you vote democrat. If you are getting freebies, you vote democrat, if you are against the war, vote democrat... stem cells, abortion... they never look at the big picture and vote on all the issues as a whole making a sound judgement on a course of action that conforms to the majority of their beliefs.

6. The fact that democrats are so silly as to blame Bush for the lack of Flu vaccine says a lot about our country. Oops... I should say about democrats. That one is a hoot.

7. Have you ever noticed who supports the democratic party? Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Martin Sheen, Sean Puffy Combs, Alec Baldwin, Cristy Brinkley, Jane Fonda, Dixie Chicks, Michael Moore, and on and on. These are role models? Political giants? You'd let these people into your home and help you raise your kids. You trust them to help decide who is best to protect our country and your children. Madonna? Michael Moore? Oh, now I am really rolling on the floor. These people live in fantasy land. Hell, Martin Sheen thinks he's the president just because he plays one on TV. Hey, I know I am not the president, but I did stay a Holiday Inn Express last night.

8. Bottom line is that the Democrats can't stand that somebody they don't support is in office and will win re-election today.

I'd like to stay here and post more, but I am busy running two businesses, paying employees, and creating jobs and goods for the economy.

Good gosh... there are sure a lot of passionate folks in here. Must of been kind of close to the mark to get such an angry, hateful response.

To those offended by the ebonics comment, I sincerely apologize. The way it reads, is not how it was intended. It was suppose to be poking fun at the people who claim they didn't vote right because of the improper ballot and not being able to tell whether they had punched the Gore or Bush slot on the ballot the last election. I was poking fun at that, and the use of the word was incorrect for the meaning I was trying to convey. Probably too late for this group, but it was truly not meant in a racist way. I will amend my original post of that immediately.

Of course my view is wrong, and everyone else is right and getting everyone riled up is pretty good proof. Others can post slanted jokes, PIPA reports, mindless views, angry views on court decisions because they don't agree with it, etc... and yet, I am nothing but an ignorant, racist, dumb ass, Neo-Nazi Republican selling white hoods.

To those correcting me, I meant to say dribble, not drivel as you so helpfully tried to point out. You know, as in drool dribbling down your chin. But thanks for the help and for the fact you weren't smart enough to catch my meaning or the humor that was intended.

Lastly, I understand that my views may preclude people from buying my stuff. I respect that. However, I am also man enough to come here, post what I think, and not hide in some back corner biting my tongue to the comments I disagree with because I am afraid 5-6 people won't ever visit my site. I hope, in kind, you are at least man enough to respect that whether you like what I say or not.

David,

Funny on Michael Moore. That is one guy that is probably beside himself with angst. Maybe he and Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Bruce Springsteen, and Dan Rather can have a big group hug.

Paul

Jim,

Hopefully the have "MOVED ON".

Paul

I have really gotten a kick out of posts here and posting a few of my own just to get a few individuals all riled up. It isn't hard to do. What is really funny to me is that some of my best friends are democrats and we never get all heated like this in our political conversations. In fact, I am getting ready to spend a week observing with my JEWISH, democratic best friend. He and I can talk issues all day without getting all lathered up like rabid dogs as some do in here. Many of the Democrats representing themselves here appear to be normal, impassioned party members with strong beliefs. They post that way without going automatically on attack mode. That being said there is always a faction that remind us of some truths that seem to hold true for the extreme left. Notice I said "Extreme" left Democrats.

-To and extreme Democrat being conservative with moral beliefs, and religious convictions, is somehow evil and the reason for all the bad in this country.

-No matter what you say, what evidence you present, if you are conservative or republican with your own thoughts and ideas on issues you are wrong in the eyes of a die hard, know it all, democrat.

-Extremist democrats are always poor losers and bite back the hardest even when faced with the facts or reality.

-Extremist Democrats say they would rather live in Canada (or another country) just because their party or candidate lost, rather than realize how great this country is even when they don't like the outcome. Side Note: If that is how you feel, please go! Don't let us stop you. Maybe Iran or North Korea will let you in. You obviously don't get what America is all about.

-Extremist democrats always blame the other side never admitting that their party could be responsible for anything no matter what the issue, or what the facts actually are.

-It is okay to be offensive if your an extreme Democrat. I was called a racist the other day after a post where I was trying to be funny and the meaning was lost. Yet, just today, I read where one poster said heatedly that there will never be a black president or woman voted into office because of the southern voters. Living in the South I find that both sexist and racist to imply. Is he saying that all Southerners are racist and that no black man could be elected because of this? Sounds like it to me. But that's alright as long as you're a Democrat because their view is right.

Lastly, I sure hope that the democratic party gets it together. They can blame the conservatives, republicans, or religious right all they want, but they need to look at themselves in the mirror. Their party has some fundemental problems but rather than admit it, they'll just spend time blaming the conservatives or someone else like Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, or Bill O'Riley, or some conspiracy theory. Isn't it ironic that since 1992 the Democrats have lost control of the Presidency, the Senate and the Congress? Each subsequent election, the Democratic party has continued to lose seats in both houses to boot. Just look at the what happened this year! Heck, you couldn't even get your incumbent ranking Senate member re-elected in South Dakota. I already know your answers, the Presidency was stolen, ALL the elections were rigged, people were turned away, your vote wasn't counted, there were intimidating GOON squads... blah... blah... blah... However, if you really look at the results the last few years it seems to say something if you ask me. Maybe people are tired of the same old tactics of blame, stalling, hate, deciet, lies, and the anything goes mentality to all issues the exteme left continue to push. Sure the Republicans have a lot of work to do and they have a lot of issues of their own. However, it sure seems like more people like our path rather than the path we we were on before with the previous administration, and the house and senate that were controlled democratically the previous 40 YEARS! The last 12 years of elections are proof of that. If you guys don't get it together, you will be in the dark for a long time to come.

Paul