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The Dangerous Alpha aka Lesson Learned. (1 Viewer)

B

black crow

Well-known member
I said today in another post that I really get it now about the alpha. I finally looked through a binocular that I really thought was a solid step above the binoculars I've been using and frankly I loved it. It WOWed me. I even found myself wondering if there was more and how could I find it?

But something happened today that put it in a different perspective for me. I bought a beautiful Alpha for a fraction of it's worth a day or so ago. I knew the person well and I told myself that basically I had a new binocular in hand. A perfect one to boot. And the actual one I'd had my heart set on. So I set off to enjoy it in the field. Within a half hour I noticed something that wasn't like any other binocular I had and that thing was not good. I didn't know that it wasn't good, I just assumed it wasn't. I think it is a problem. The hinge is loose and so if you hold it by one barrel it very slowly closes down. I thought, that's not good, I would not only have to adjust the focuser but I'd also have to open the binos a little bit so they would fit my eyes each time I lifted them to my face. I might miss a bird in that split second! I thought, damn why didn't she tell me about this?! I got a great deal but it was supposed to be a great deal on a perfect binocular. I was angry. I was going to tell her about this for sure.

Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. All the other thoughts dropped away but one. "NOTHING IS PERFECT". That thought startled me. I knew it sort of but I had never felt it or grokked it quite like this before. Then I asked myself, if nothing is perfect why am I angry? In this state of clarity the answer was obvious. I was afraid. I was afraid that nothing is perfect and if nothing is perfect I am not safe on this earth. An accident or something terrible could happen to me at any time and one day sooner or later it will. I will even DIE. Then I recognized I'd been secretly thinking or unconsciously thinking "But if I can just find that one perfect thing then maybe it's not true and I won't die".

But I knew then that was a lie. I'm going to die. Nothing is perfect and all of a sudden for a moment I was in a calm space where I could face and accept that. And I was no longer so afraid. I knew with absolute certainty that nothing is perfect and I relaxed. I was no longer angry about the loose hinge. In fact I was happy and grateful that I'd been shown that I was afraid and if I faced what was scaring me and could find a way to accept it I wouldn't have to suffer over it nearly as much. I was kinda freed up to just enjoy the day and the stellar views in my new binocular. I hope this freedom sticks with me. It feels like it may just a little bit.

A binocular is an amazing thing for sure but for me the search for the perfect one is a little bit dangerous.
 
Yes, we are going to die. I totally take your points about perfection, and the insights they reflect. Nevertheless, there is no reason to tolerate a floppy hinge. Get it fixed and enjoy your bin all the more. Life is short, but not so short as to not bother with getting this bin serviced.

--AP
 
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I may get around to it someday. :t: Right now I don't want to be without them.

Oh and to be clear on this, I'm just sharing my own insights into myself. I wouldn't know if they apply to anyone else or not. I barely know myself, much less what is true for others.
 
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I read about a preacher and his family. They'd been needing another car for quite a while, and finally came the day their brand-new station wagon stod on their driveway. Being highly aware the thing might become a subject to idolatry, the preacher and his wife decided to hit the car's hood hard with a hammer.
Since it from that moment wouldn't be perfect, any further damage wouldn't be the whole world and they could avoid getting into arguments about worldly possessions.
After all, the law of entropy ensures everything turns into dust sooner or later.
In the meantime, check if the Vortex Binoc-Loc fits, and your alpha might become functionally perfect despite its not so insignificant flaw.

//L
 
black crow said:
I said today in another post that I really get it now about the alpha. I finally looked through a binocular that I really thought was a solid step above the binoculars I've been using and frankly I loved it. It WOWed me. I even found myself wondering if there was more and how could I find it?

But something happened today that put it in a different perspective for me. I bought a beautiful Alpha for a fraction of it's worth a day or so ago. I knew the person well and I told myself that basically I had a new binocular in hand. A perfect one to boot. And the actual one I'd had my heart set on. So I set off to enjoy it in the field. Within a half hour I noticed something that wasn't like any other binocular I had and that thing was not good. I didn't know that it wasn't good, I just assumed it wasn't. I think it is a problem. The hinge is loose and so if you hold it by one barrel it very slowly closes down. I thought, that's not good, I would not only have to adjust the focuser but I'd also have to open the binos a little bit so they would fit my eyes each time I lifted them to my face. I might miss a bird in that split second! I thought, damn why didn't she tell me about this?! I got a great deal but it was supposed to be a great deal on a perfect binocular. I was angry. I was going to tell her about this for sure.

Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. All the other thoughts dropped away but one. "NOTHING IS PERFECT". That thought startled me. I knew it sort of but I had never felt it or grokked it quite like this before. Then I asked myself, if nothing is perfect why am I angry? In this state of clarity the answer was obvious. I was afraid. I was afraid that nothing is perfect and if nothing is perfect I am not safe on this earth. An accident or something terrible could happen to me at any time and one day sooner or later it will. I will even DIE. Then I recognized I'd been secretly thinking or unconsciously thinking "But if I can just find that one perfect thing then maybe it's not true and I won't die".

But I knew then that was a lie. I'm going to die. Nothing is perfect and all of a sudden for a moment I was in a calm space where I could face and accept that. And I was no longer so afraid. I knew with absolute certainty that nothing is perfect and I relaxed. I was no longer angry about the loose hinge. In fact I was happy and grateful that I'd been shown that I was afraid and if I faced what was scaring me and could find a way to accept it I wouldn't have to suffer over it nearly as much. I was kinda freed up to just enjoy the day and the stellar views in my new binocular. I hope this freedom sticks with me. It feels like it may just a little bit.

A binocular is an amazing thing for sure but for me the search for the perfect one is a little bit dangerous.
Click to expand...

Buy ya books, send ya to school, and you’re still whining. You bought that EII didn’t you? If so, you may tighten the hinge to your own liking. The hardest will be to gently getting the thin metal axle cap off without bending it. :cat:

Bill
 
I'm just on the first chapter man. Give me a break. I'm a slow reader.

Will a hammer and a screwdriver work? I might have a pointy chisel somewhere. Never needed much else in my life.

Ell should be here tomorrow.
 
Black Crow,

Very good, you should write more, perhaps some history of your travels. And...oh, don't sweat the small stuff.

Andy W.
 
black crow said:
I'm just on the first chapter man. Give me a break. I'm a slow reader.

Will a hammer and a screwdriver work? I might have a pointy chisel somewhere. Never needed much else in my life.

Ell should be here tomorrow.
Click to expand...

If it's not the EII all bets are off. Post a photo of the axle cap. Reading slowly shouldn't matter. I wrote it incredibly slowly. :cat:

Bill
 
a good book to go along with that lesson is 'zen in the art of motorcycle maintenance'. it puts a practical spin on things that suits the philosophy. i always remember too late, after the contentment is passed, because i dont experience pleasure, just something i never have understood as it is fleeting. it passes me by. but contentment comes from work with the right approach and then it is not work. until it has gone and it is a struggle to reach it again. i understand you i think but i never did look for perfection because i dont understand what most people are trying for, just peace is what look for. i find that sometimes just watching birds through the binoculars.
 
WJC said:
If it's not the EII all bets are off. Post a photo of the axle cap. Reading slowly shouldn't matter. I wrote it incredibly slowly. :cat:

Bill
Click to expand...

If I had a camera you mean. Look if you're so smart then why are to talking about my car? There ain't nothing wrong with my dang car.
 
jape said:
a good book to go along with that lesson is 'zen in the art of motorcycle maintenance'. it puts a practical spin on things that suits the philosophy. i always remember too late, after the contentment is passed, because i dont experience pleasure, just something i never have understood as it is fleeting. it passes me by. but contentment comes from work with the right approach and then it is not work. until it has gone and it is a struggle to reach it again. i understand you i think but i never did look for perfection because i dont understand what most people are trying for, just peace is what look for. i find that sometimes just watching birds through the binoculars.
Click to expand...

See that's the difference between you and me Jape. You're a wise man and I'm a wise guy. 8-P I read that book about 30 some years back. I even named my old 68 Ford Phaedrus . (the ghost of rationality)
 
black crow said:
If I had a camera you mean. Look if you're so smart then why are to talking about my car? There ain't nothing wrong with my dang car.
Click to expand...

If you can gather from those 4 tiny sentences I was talking about anybody’s car, you should stop drinking the cheap stuff. :cat:

Bill
 
Well I have 8 Uke's. Which one should I use? They're all tenors if that matters and half are strung Low G and half Reentrant. All standard GCEA tuning if that matters either.

As you can see I'm probably going to need more help with this than it may have looked like at first.
 
You need to realize you will never be satisfied, there is no perfect, whatever it is. So just deal with it. ;)

And please don't get Bill started on his guitars. :-C

Jerry
 
Axel cap, nuttin a prying screwdriver or hammer can’t fix! If it was the EII that did the wowing, you understand what widefield can do to you... My Rangemaster closes up sometimes, I just hold it so that my thumbs rest on the opposite barrel and keep it as I want it.

Peter
 
NDhunter said:
You need to realize you will never be satisfied, there is no perfect, whatever it is. So just deal with it. ;)

And please don't get Bill started on his guitars. :-C

Jerry
Click to expand...

'Wouldn't take much. But stuck with the bass, sax, or clarinet based on the stroke.

Bill
 
NDhunter said:
You need to realize you will never be satisfied, there is no perfect, whatever it is. So just deal with it. ;)




Jerry
Click to expand...

Now see, this is usable advice. Thanks, it's basically the same conclusion I came to.


I did however once see this perfect girl... but then I woke up.
 
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