Posts Made By: Bill Burghardt

John Holt said:

This was once explained to me, though in an abridged version. Additionally, to make sure the assailant is(was) within the living space.

John,

I am not sure, but I suspect you are referring to the case where the party that owned a remote property got tired of it being robbed, and proceded to set a trap for the next intruder. SADLY, the owner used a trip wire to set off a gun that critically wounded the "perp" better known as the scumbag that knowingly entered anothers property to rob the party of his rightful goods. THIS case went against the property owner BECAUSE no ones life is in danger if the home was unoccupied at the time of robbery. THEREFORE the innocent home owner became the bad boy for using excessive force to protect his property. The law reads in most states that one may use force equal to that used to inflict injury as a preventative measure: i.e.: one cannot use a shotgun to stop a kid pilfering a candy bar, but the shotgun would be appropriate within your house AFTER the slime ball takes a shot at you, BUT only if the slime ball is facing you. If the slime ball has turned to escape and his weapon is not aimed at YOU, you have NO REASON to return fire as the deadly threat is now absent as the bum runs for the door to escape your return fire. IF the intruder drops the weapon and takes a position of non-resistance, and you then injure the bum, YOU are the attacker, even in your own house!

Ever wonder why so many police shooting are challenged in the court system, and why most police keep the camera in their vehicle running for ANY incident that arises. Cameras in the front and rear of your own vehicle could save your butt if you are the victim of an auto accident that is obviously anothers fault, yet hang you if you goof and cause the accident.

YMMV

David Dearing said:

Why?

I posted an add, and now it's gone.

Was that the ad selling something that belonged to someone else, a flagrant TOS violation????

Danny Halstead said:

Hello all,
Your moderator is now on line and hopefully will be able to continue to do so depending on the fate of the Gods. Some of you may have heard the old joke "If you want to make God laugh just tell him your plans"-smile.

I have been catching up on things and see that there have been some exciting new products coming out. It is so nice to have APM so aptly represented here in the good old USA by Mark.
I would like to thank all of you for the kind remarks during this recent illness. I have to say that moderating this forum is a non sequitur. People here are so well balanced and courteous all I do is quietly set back and read the posts with enjoyment. Again many thanks to everyone on this forum for being just who you are.

Respectfully,
Dan

We can arrange to send some of the "P" and "R" forum groupies down here to keep you awake, IF you wish.

Welcome back,
bill

Lee Spain said:

Issue #1: I think it totally stinks that universities, football coaches, and pro team managers can't restrain themselves from making moves before the bowl games have been played. I don't think it is too much to ask for coaching changes to be made after the season has ended and after the bowl games have been played. It's completely ridiculous that Rich Rodriguez is leaving WVU prior to their bowl game and that Bobby Petrino abandoned the Falcons before the season ended.

Issue #2: It's also completely ridiculous that a coach leaves after the alumni association and university have committed to millions of dollars of construction projects and facility renovations based on his record and based on his wishlist.

Issue #3: Do coaches who leave jobs at their alma maters have souls? Why win a championship for another team? What would it mean? What's the point of Florida Alumni Spurrier trying to win an SEC championship for South Carolina or WVU alumni Rich Rodriguez trying to win a national championship for Michigan?

Issue #4: Why would a coach trade the ability to be a legendary figure in the mode of Bear Bryant, Vince Dooley, or Bobby Bowden for the more fleeting reputation of a Bobby Petrino-like mercenary?
A legendary coach could have roads buildings & stadiums named after him, he could own multiple Ford dealers, and he could have his own TV show. Most importantly, he could have the respect of legions of alumni, and achieve lasting fame in the history, and lore of a state.

PERFECT title for the thread! Poachers have no morals. Money talks no matter what time of the year it is offered.

Charles Geiger said:

It looks like the Alpine Astro and Astro Physics mounts are nearly identical. Alpine Astro claims their mountings are made in Italy. Maybe Roland can clear all this up? Are they designed by the same person?

These mounts showed up at NEAF one year. VERY PRETTY, close copy, but price appeared to scare most away.

Uncle Al's comment to me at NEAF was to the effect that the eyepiece TAKES TO POWERMATES being added for higher power. I DOUBT if he meant hanging that piece of golden design off the end of a 1-1/4 inch POWERMATE, but openly was happy with the rseults he had seen with the 2 inch POWERMATES.

Of course, as with every optical configuration, and the unique problems within each individuals own eyes, YOUR mileage may and will vary. I just hope to live long enough to be able to try the combinations in my telescope someday.

Good luck with your experiments and enjoyment of one of TeleVue's greatest magical innovations.

bill

Bill Meyers said:

Hello, all,
Has anyone tried this? It might produce good high power wide field views of the moon, for example.
I have tried with a TeleVue 1.8x Barlow, and later a 2.4x 1.25 inch Barlow, but the combination of 1.25 inch Barlow and my Ethos produced such a spindly result from a mechanical viewpoint that I felt it might be too mechanically unstable to be worth the risk. So I didn't get far enough to actually look through this combination.
Has anyone tried Barlowing an Ethos?
Bill Meyers

James DellaPenna said:

I just finished watching the NBC nightly report on D.B.Cooper and and I am more baffled than the FBI investigator who occasionally works the case. The report said he requested "several parachutes" plus $200,000. in cash, which he got. It also said he was apparently not familiar with parachutes because he ignored a perfectly good one for one that was "sewed shut"!

I served 4 years in the Navy, 3 of it as a crewmember on P-3 antisubmarine patrol craft. Never in my experience have I heard the terminology "sewn shut" in conjuction with a parachute. I can not imagine why a parchute would ever be described in such a manner.

Either NBC got the terminology wrong or D. B. Cooper was intentionally given some parachutes that would not open. If it was the latter, why has there been no follow-up by the news media on that startling revelation?

Anybody got a clue what's going on? Something I'm missing in the facts?

Are there safety "pins" installed after packing to prevent accidental opening while suiting up? I believe sport chutes do have a storage locking device of some sort, removed after the chute is on and correctly adjusted. Could the drogue chute, some main chutes are opened by, have been packed in its case and its use not known or clear?

Just passing questions, I do not like the sensation of falling and the 150 mph bounce if all does not go well sorta ruins yer day.

DANGEROUS STUFF, but brake cleaner will remove grease and probably paint.

A bit messy but safer, WAL-MART, RED LABEL 91% ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL. Will be a bit slow and yes messy, but seems to cut most greases and lubricants without too much effort, may affect some paints. Works great on bicycle parts that over greased with what ever they use over there for grease.

YMMV,
bill

Lee Spain said:

Any suggestions for how to get the goopy Chinese grease off of a telescope focuser? I usually take a little bit off at a time with my hand and and then inadvertantly swipe it on my shirt or pants. But, there has to be a better way.

THE ONLY [SIZE="Large"][COLOR="Red"]WORSE[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE="Normal"][/SIZE] idea I have heard is the continued bellyaching that the waiting list is not public allowing the greedy with gobs of money to try to buy out the honest man willing to wait for Rolandos version of a FERRARI!

Keep things as they are and RESPECT the integrity of one of the first class companies in this country!

I doubt if the mileage will vary for those with any personal pride and respect for a master craftsman!

When one tightens a screw on the mirror housing, the other two should be loosened, each about half of the amount the one was tightened. Sounds as if you kept tightening, or loosening, screws without maintaining the average tension on the mirror housing, now the housing is, most likely, too tight making for the funny images. GENTLY loosen things up and see if you can find a happy medium, preferrably with an experienced amateur there to assist you.

Good luck.