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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

I'm out of the Alpha club. (1 Viewer)

You must be a near pauper, given the amount of dicretion in your posts 8-P
H

You got that right. I have no retirement from anywhere. Being put out to pasture is not the same as being retired. I have the right to place “Ret.” after my Navy rank but I certainly don’t get any of the money that should come with it. And, although most of my week is spent in writing I still keep BF in the corner of my screen. If anyone wants a piece I just did on night-vision gear for Cruising Outpost, just send your real email address—[email protected] And, yes, I did recognize being slammed.

And Gunut: I only figured my book would keep me in hamburgers. It’s still doing that ... barely! :cat:

Bill
 
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Try writing "Optics In Space" Sci fi novels with lots of alien sex. I'll be your agent.

On another note I got paid finally for the sale of the 8x50B and they liked them so much they gave me an extra $100 smackers. I had reduced the price $100 because I knew them. It pays to sell things to rich people. They also bought my Oberwerk monopod which I used with those monsters. Now I can by a new Mini Mac and keep posting. Yipee!
 
For 1/2 the cost of the "A-list" bino you can have 95% of its performance. I bought my "A-list" bino before the crowd came to accept it as an A-lister. Some people feel the need to fit into the A-list crowd. I choose to be thought of as a fellow with more discretion than money. I must work hard on the prior because I certainly fall short on the latter. :cat:

Bill

I couldn't agree more, and the reason I only have one "A-lister" left. Haven't missed a thing as far as I can tell.
 
I too agree. I'm glad to see some others feel similar. I think optics are so good today that for $150 to $500 you can have something that is fully capable of wowing your eyeballs and you need never feel deprived at not having spent $1-3000. And another thing is if my $300 binocular gets busted or stolen I won't shed many tears, nor will I worry too much about protecting it from every scratch or bump in the field. That's a major consideration for me. I don't want to be worrying about my jewel. I want to play hard with it. If I spent more than a grand I'd be too protective of it to just forget about it. That comes from growing up lower middle class and others may not experience that fear.
 
that's a phrase that loses in translantic translation...
I don't know the meaning.
It was purely lightly jocular in a warm way, from me.:t:
Best
Harry


Harry:

How many times has using humor (okay ... humour) gotten me in trouble? But, that's okay, too; I'll let you live ... this time. Becides, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. :cat:

Bill

PS And if the above offends you, talk to Lee about it. I think after 15 years he has figured me out.
PPS I din't know they were into humour: I thought they were into pudding and dogs.
 
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I too agree. I'm glad to see some others feel similar. I think optics are so good today that for $150 to $500 you can have something that is fully capable of wowing your eyeballs and you need never feel deprived at not having spent $1-3000. And another thing is if my $300 binocular gets busted or stolen I won't shed many tears, nor will I worry too much about protecting it from every scratch or bump in the field. That's a major consideration for me. I don't want to be worrying about my jewel. I want to play hard with it. If I spent more than a grand I'd be too protective of it to just forget about it. That comes from growing up lower middle class and others may not experience that fear.

I've noticed a disturbing trend in my binocular obsession. As a binobolic, I have a morbid fear of finding myself without a binocular, and so I keep a binocular (OK sometimes 2) in the car for just such an emergency. At first it was a $60 reverse Poro 8x25, and when I went on a road trip with no birding or astronomy events I wouldn't "risk" my regular $179 binoculars. As I started spending more on my regular binoculars, my risk threshold increased, so that the $179 binocular became my emergency backup in the car.

The impact of a $60 or $200 or $500 loss is no different than it was before, but my sense of the tragedy of such a loss is somehow tempered by what I think it is worth paying for my regular binocular. Or maybe it is just that the $179 binocular is a sunk cost, and it has more utility in the car than the closet. And when I do find myself unexpectedly in a great birding spot with a little time on my hands, I am both thankful to have that binocular in the car and pleasantly surprised at how well it serves me.

BTW, not long ago I spent $150 to put a better quality emergency binocular in my wife's car though I rarely drive it. My name is Alan and ...
 
Sadly, I've never been in the Alpha Club. I've considered it. I've handled and admired plenty, but from a pure enthusiasts standpoint, I guess I'd rather have 3-4 sets of different sized $500-800 glass at near Alpha quality than one single Alpha.

I find the best deals on what I call Beta level glass that can actually be had on the slightly-used market or discontinued market for a much bigger discount than used Alpha glass.

It's not that I can't afford Alpha, it's just a matter of principle. Nothing makes me happier than finding a great deal on quality glass.

The closest I've come to Alpha is almost buying a set of discontinued Swaro companion 10x30's on sale at Cabela's for $849 last month. Yes, I know the Companions still are not considered 'Alpha' by some folks. (I was going to use $100 gift card acquired on ebay when they are discounted to $80 each. They would have only cost $680 plus tax, which is a bit over half their retail, but I spent money on a spotting scope and tripod instead.)
 
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Harry:

How many times has using humor (okay ... humour) gotten me in trouble?
to quote Reverend Jim.... 7?

Was I right?


But, that's okay, too; I'll let you live ... this time.
Most gracious

Becides, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
but they do
. :cat:

Bill

PS And if the above offends you, talk to Lee about it. I think after 15 years he has figured me out. genuinely fail to see how it could offend anyone

PPS I din't know they were into humour: I thought they were into pudding and dogs.

Now I am baffled by this one.

I am always oversensitive to offending people on forums, I ve seen the most innocent remarks turn into WWIII

Cheers
Harry:t:
 
I am always oversensitive to offending people on forums, I ve seen the most innocent remarks turn into WWIII

Cheers
Harry:t:

Hi, Harry:

That's because you can't see the forest for the trees ...

Yorkshire pudding and Yorkies. :cat:

Bill
 
Hi, Harry:

That's because you can't see the forest for the trees ...

Yorkshire pudding and Yorkies. :cat:

Bill

thank goodness for that, my mind is so warped i had imagined other horrific things
like new zealanders and sheep (wooly jumpers)
and i couldnt see how to knit dog products ...
 
I am always oversensitive to offending people on forums, I ve seen the most innocent remarks turn into WWIII

Cheers
Harry:t:

I was once not very kindly urged to not post any more because I suggested that there were too many sensitive "snowflakes" here.

A nice member PM'd me and encouraged me to ignore the suggestion ......... so here I am.
 
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