BINO THOUGHTS #9, The Inexperienced Shopper (1 Viewer)

[WJC]

BINO THOUGHTS #9, The Inexperienced Shopper

Of all the binocular forums I’ve visited, BirdForm undoubtedly has the savviest of observers. However, while sorting my computer today, I found the following snippet that was written 21 years ago but was left out of my first bino book.

Possible of dubious value to most here, it might be useful to the lurkers who bashfully wait in the shadows.

Bill

 

[WJC]

Sorry, Gang. I tried hard to delete the duplicate. But I saw no way to do so.

Bill

 

[eronald]

Bill, you never fail to entertain.

Btw, re your quote, I've been struggling with General Relativity for a few months, and have started to feel I'm not the sharpest knife in the box at my age. I told a friend so, and added that maybe there is a real mathematical difficulty in this theory as Einstein was grappling with the maths for years, and brought in a colleague to assist, as one can see from his notebooks. My friend found the perfect words to reassure me and put me in my place: "And he was Einstein".

Edmund

 

[NDhunter]

Bill, that is an interesting perspective, sales is an interesting profession, to say the least.

I suppose you have lots of stories to tell, and I imagine you could write a book about your thoughts..............

Jerry

 

[WJC]

Yes, Jerry,

I have too many stories of the alternate realities people have concerning optics or binoculars. But saying no more than the verifiable truth would put another nail in the coffin of me being an arrogant, self-serving, condescending, jerk. Leaving discussions of telescopes and astronomy for discussions of binoculars, I thought I would be safe. Alas, no.

You may note, that when my first bino book was released it received 5-star ratings again and again. But then, as soon as it was being purchased by those who didn’t know me or my motivations, I got the lowest rating allowable. Why do you suppose I could go from 5-stars to one? Did my decades in the optics industry or time on the optics bench go away? No. I was just a victim of refusing to waste time and cloud realities with obfuscation to grease the skids of the snowflakes who couldn’t deal with the truth unless it was coated with sugary political correctness.

But if you know what you’re talking about, aren’t afraid to share it unabashedly with boldness, and feel that truth need not be sugar-coated, you leave yourself open for such ridicule. Sadly, so few of those I have helped will step to the plate for me as did Tom Dey recently on Cloudy Nights.

“I use Bill Cook's Methods and Insights. There's this never-ending contention regarding alignment, which boils down to the proper/complete 3-axis alignment (left, right, and mechanical hinge) vs "conditional alignment", which is only good for your own personal IPD (Interpupillary Distance). Bill explains all of that in his books, and also provides plenty of discussion regarding how binos are built and how to adjust them. A great read! So far, in my travels... the only two people I've ever encountered who completely understand alignments are Bill Cook and Ralph Dakin. Ralph and I worked together at Bausch & Lomb, back in the days when B&L was a full-service, world-class Optical Shop. Tom”

and

“I have spoken to Bill a few times lately, seems happily retired. Bill and Ralph Dakin are the only guys I have known who truly understand binoculars, inside and out. That comes from servicing hundreds ... thousands ... over the years. Neither suffered fools, which laudable personality trait tends to annoy ... fools!”

Cheers,

Bill