Jump to content

Duncan Idaho

Members
  • Posts

    274
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

Everything posted by Duncan Idaho

  1. Happy birthday! Drink a few on me! (Just don't put them on my tab!!). Idaho
  2. Good. Now you better post up some pictures of Deep Space Objects when you get some, or I'll have to hunt you down. Idaho
  3. quote:Originally posted by Remo: I can agree with you there, but... If teachers are paid to teach facts, then why aren't our children taught that our forefather's came to this land, raped and killed the current inhabitants and took ALL the land from them. Heh, actually, that was just what I was taught. 30+ years ago, in fact. I guess not all schools are equal. I do see your point, though. History can be remarkably biased towards the 'winning team', as it were. For the record, I've also been enjoying this thread. Great opinions being voiced here. Idaho
  4. Menchise has a good point. Adding to it: The teacher's paid to teach facts, not opinions. If the teacher wants to spread opinion, let them come here with the rest of us. Idaho
  5. lol make up your mind! Just go buy Mt. Palomar observatory and get it over with. Idaho
  6. I live near Portland Maine, where the teacher was disparaging soldiers, and the effort towards war in Iraq. Much ado about nothing, if you ask me. The real problem was when other children picked up on the teacher's sentiments, and started harassing the kids who's parental units were military. Freedom of speech should be a given today. However, when children enter the picture, I do believe you need to be more cautious. I think the current administration will crack down on free speech, though. I'm sure they will in fact. They're cracking down on all our freedoms, why should free speech be left out? Idaho
  7. I got demoted too. Lt. Commander to Ensign, big step, that. Guess this place runs by the 'What have you done for me lately' rules, heheh. On your machine: Sounds like your hard disk ribbon cable(s) have been unplugged. (I'd think your disk failed, but sounds more like something's been unplugged, since no drives show up at all; you should be seeing at least 1 hard disk and a CD drive in that list). I'd then open the puppy up and check those cables at both ends to be sure they're plugged in. Then check to be sure all your cards are firmly seated in their slots. Another thing to check: The drives could possibly be 'turned off' in your BIOS. On most systems, you hit delete after you turn the machine on, (it usually says what key to press to enter 'setup' at the bottom of the screen while it counts memory). Be careful of what you change in there, though. You should write down any changes you make, in case you mess up, so you can be sure to change it back after. Good luck, man. Idaho [ 02-27-2003, 11:55 AM: Message edited by: Duncan Idaho ]
  8. I actually don't see the point in this. Consider: The government takes care of the vets, and should. They take care of the monuments and war memorials, too. (Not saying they do a great job or bad job, but it's part of their job). I don't blame Target, and would, personally, rather see them help the 30+ million impoverished people here in this great land. Just the opinion of a US Navy veteran. Oh, and...uhh...Grayfox...'lay structural charges'? Over this? Sounds quite a bit like 'terrorism' to me, dude. Idaho
  9. Heheh, ATM junkie...I like that one. Fits me as well. I haven't actually entered my bank in...7 months? Maybe more? I also love online banking. I get no 'paper' bills anymore, all switched over to Email. My only worry there is; what happens when one of these fools actually do manage to shut down the Net with some kind of attack? If I don't get my 'bill', what then? How can I pay if the Net is down? Guess I'll find out if someone does manage to knock out the Net. Idaho
  10. Good God, I'm glad I didn't get that game when I saw it. I'm also glad you're workin' for you, (and us!), and not for Activision. Idaho
  11. Happy birthday Jaguar. Now go make your old bosses PAY! Muahahahah! Idaho
  12. I guess it makes sense...in a sort of twisted sort of way. However, I have an observation here: When I look at our local 'college kids' here, (Bates College), the young women AND men all have watches that cost more than my Geforce 3 did brand new. I'm guessing they got them from their parents. I've had a lot of girlfriends, and not one of them ever got a watch from me. Bracelets, yeah...necklaces or earings, perhaps. A watch? Not a gift I'd buy a girl. My current girl wears a Timex. She bought it herself. Another point, every girlfriend I can think of that I bought a nice gift for reciprocated somewhere down the line. I'm not sure if that's average, but I'd like to think it is. Maybe I'm just lucky I've never been with a golddigger. Or maybe I'm just too cheap to attract one. That said, I'm not young. Perhaps it's different with kids these days. I'll be interested in seeing other responses here. Idaho
  13. One year closer to THE END! "Run, rabbit run...dig that hole...forget the sun...and when at last the day is done...don't sit down, it's time to dig another one." -Pink Floyd: Time Thought that line fit the occasion, (not to mention the nick). Idaho
  14. Doesn't look much better than Homeworld graphically...save for the backgrounds. Mind you, I still love Homeworld. I hope it's better than Homeworld: Cataclysm, which I found vaguely disappointing. Idaho
  15. Use binoculars and pretend? Just a thought...poor guy. Idaho
  16. LOL! His game is almost photorealistic as it is, but why not? Have fun, keep me posted on how you get on with it. Idaho
  17. On some systems, you must have the CD enabled as 'bootable' in the system bios. Many don't come with the CD bootable by default. Furthermore, many systems will not boot off the CD if the HD is bootable. Makes it all a bit tricky. Idaho
  18. I'm surprised so many think it won't pass. Our rights have been slowly eroded away over the last 20 years or so, and I think they're gonna erode even faster now. I think this will pass, and that's a scary thought. 9/11 made it even easier to pass such a horrid thing, all in the name of 'National Security'. Idaho
  19. Heheh...I think all along both Dreada and I did concur that for visual quality, (that's quality, not distance or 'light gathering ability'), a refractor is best. That is because lenses are inherantly easier to make with no abberations than a mirror. That said, problem with a GOOD refractor is they are pricier for a unit with quality lenses compared to a similar sized reflector. Especially if you try going over 5 or so inches. I did state a 4 inch or larger refractor would be great for most of the planets (say, out to Saturn), and for nearby (relatively speaking of course lol) nebula, as well. All that said, a good 8" or larger reflector will produce excellent images, yet will also able to get images of 'faint fuzzy' deep sky objects. I have to point out it is also hard tell what conditions existed when a picture was taken, such as the comparison pictures you mentioned. Not to mention the skill of the person taking them, or the quality of their equipment. Any light pollution, or even poor air quality, can make pictures taken with a 8" or larger scope seem fuzzy, as excess light, and atmospheric distortion will show up more on a scope with more light gathering ability. I'd be reluctant, were I you, to lean upon those pictures you saw as 'proof' of which is better, considering most of the beautiful images I've seen in my life came from reflectors, not refractors. (i.e. National Geographic magazine, Astronomy mag, and most Astronomy books I've read prior to the launch of Hubble...go take a look for yourself!). It's just not as simple as 'Before and After' diet photos, and anyone trying to claim it is is off in their own world somewhere, lol! I'll say this, though, all things considered, it would probably be easier for a beginner to take nice images with a good refractor. Smaller scopes are less subject to vibration, and light pollution, and a host of other things. If your aim is only planets and near nebulae, then jump on the 6 or so inch refractor, if you want room to grow, though, bigger is better. Pretty much as we've said from the start. It's a choice only you can make, based on what you're looking to do. I would suggest you keep looking at such websites as you've visited, it does seem you've found that it isn't as easy as just saying 'I'll get this one and hope it'll do what I want'. Idaho
  20. Yup, reflectors need to be collimated once in a while, (aligning the mirrors), especially if you move them around a lot. You can buy a kit, and do it yourself. It's very simple. I remember being scared of collimation, but it's easier than setting up the scope, heheh. I think the worst thing about reflectors is cleaning the mirror. Even that's not so bad, though. Idaho
  21. I fly VFR and IFR....in MS Flight Sim 2002. I guess that doesn't count though. Idaho
  22. Yup, Dreada's right. 10 inch reflector would beat the pants off a 5 inch refractor. A scope that size could even find Pluto, though the detail would be low. As a plus, you'd also be pretty well set for deep sky objects, too. That's a good deal you found, Tac. Really wouldn't be much you couldn't do with it. Let us know if you get it, I'll be interested to hear how you're doing with it. By the way, the LXD-55 is a Meade, isn't it? I really like Meade's scopes. Idaho
  23. The biggest advantage to a Cassegrain scope is it tends to be considerably shorter in length when compared to a reflector or refractor of the same aperature. It has no other real advantages/disadvantages over reflectors, other than they tend to require more maintenance, because they have more complex innards. I have to correct my previous statement on them, they actually DO make 16 inch versions of this kind of scope...(though the one I just saw was over 12,000$ US). There appears to have been some changes in the hobby since I last looked for a scope. Cassegrains are one of the more complex scopes internally. Also, it seems they can vary as far as image quality is concerned, even when you are comparing two identical scopes from the same manufacturer. I'm guessing that has to do with the fact they actually use a reflective mirror AND a refractive lens, as opposed to the simpler Newtonian reflector. Doesn't take much of an imperfection in one mirror to cause an abberation, consider if you have a few imperfections between the lens, the mirrors, and I guess that could do it. After what I just read, I'd still probably pick a reflector, but that's just my budget talking. That said, the Cassegrains are good for deep sky viewing, if you get a good sized model for it...(8inch plus in my opinion). Smaller sizes would be good for the moon, planets, and larger nebulas and such. Take my opinion here with a grain of salt, however, as even with a 4 inch scope you can still take a picture of say...M31 Andromeda galaxy and discern it's disk. But there wouldn't be much more detail than that. A refractor as you've settled on is a great bet for planets, and some nebulas and the like, and will give you unbeatable image quality, (provided you don't buy a cheap department store scope...steer clear of those). If you outgrow it, you can keep it for a spare, or spotting scope, or sell it to put the cash towards another scope, so you can't really lose. Hope I haven't confused the issue any. Keep looking up! Idaho
  24. I just noticed you mentioned a 600$ or under price point, so Dreada's comments are probably the best advice for you. A 6 inch scope would give awesome shots of the moon, and would do good at resolving Jupiter and it's moons, and perhaps some cloud detail, as well as Saturn and it's rings. It would also do fairly well with some of the larger nebulas (Orion Nebula comes to mind) and clusters such as Pleiades and the like. (Even a 3 or 4 inch scope can resolve hundreds of stars in the Pleiades cluster). Most of the info I gave earlier reflects my strong leaning towards deep sky objects. Idaho
×
×
  • Create New...