Posts Made By: John Hopkins

Those quotes got me to remembering others:

"'Whom are you?' said he, for he had been to night school." --George Ade

"I did not say this meat was tough. I just said I didn't see the horse that usually stands outside." --W.C. Fields

"The reverse side also has a reverse side." --Japanese proverb

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative." --Oscar Wilde

"Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." --last words of Pancho Villa

"Yes, country music." --last words of jazz drummer Buddy Rich, after a nurse asked if anything was bothering him

And from the Actual Headlines archive (or at least those I can remember right now):
WARRING FACTIONS DON'T AGREE
ACID RAIN LINKED TO EMISSIONS BY REAGAN'S AIDE
MOUNTIES CHARGE TRUDEAU'S EX-WIFE
MAN STRUCK BY LIGHTNING FACES BATTERY CHARGE
MAN GETS NINE MONTHS IN VIOLIN CASE
WOMEN SOUGHT FOR STATE POLICE
BREAST IMPLANTS SEIZED BY MARSHALLS
MISSOURI GAS CHAMBER IS UNSAFE

Finally, a few alleged court transcriptions:

"What is your date of birth?"
"July 10th."
"What year?"
"Every year."

"Mr. Gonzalez, can you read and write and understand the English language?"
"Si."

"You say you have expertise in physics. Please tell us what Newton's first law is."
(pause) "I don't believe I remember that."
"Who was Newton?"
"I believe he was the guy who came up with the first law."

For a newt or refractor intended mainly for planetary viewing, what kind of focal length and/or other specs should I be looking for? Have always been confused on this aspect.

TIA!

Someone said the GP-DX wasn't quite up to it for the long refractors. Any ideas for prefab mounts/tripods that would be? A G11 maybe? Seems like a solid mount could be more than two or three times the cost of a long tube achromat...

Christopher Kraft, flight director for the early NASA flights, wrote in his book something along the lines of "We didn't imagine that the USA would turn into a nation of quitters."

Ouch.

It does seem pretty amazing that mankind witnessed the awesome spectacle of 12 men walking on the moon and then said, "Well, that's enough of *that*."

There was a 2-hour NOVA episode called "To The Moon" which was very good and was put out on a fairly cheap DVD. Found my copy at Border's.

Clockwise from top left: TV-101 on Gibraltar, Tak FSQ-106 on a Giro, Orion XT8, me & my first scope Celestron C5+, Meade LX-90. Believe it or not I'm scopeless at the moment -- hope to remedy that by Spring.

Notice how I managed to get the huge 13mm Nagler in two of the shots?

A variation on a familiar graffito:

"God is dead." --Nietzsche
"Nietzsche is dead." --God
"Some are born posthumously." --Nietzsche

Holy frijoles. Somebody's a few worm gears short of a focuser.

Anyone my age or older can remember a time when the words "Made In Japan" meant cheap, stupid trinkets (or a killer Deep Purple album, depending on how much hair you had back then...) -- but now certain AM ads will make sure to mention "Made In Japan" to signal "quality product." If you have to admit it was made in China, you then are nearly forced to add "but it's a GOOD one..."

Now, China is far and away *not* Japan, but a similar turnaround isn't out of the question. The question is if they're ever going to get a bug up their whatsis about the reputation they're getting. Astro stuff is a niche market; what else are they in on?

By the way, the C102HD I just bought is a good one! Ha! Beat the odds!

Sorry, but that spelling error bugs me the more it gets repeated by thread responses. =}

Just kidding.

Actually I have a hell of a view of Earth in my office. I can watch traffic patterns and hear deep voices singing "Koyaaaaaanisqatsiiiii..."