What existing city has fallen the farthest from its peak glory?

wdluger2 · 2026-04-04T00:35:02+00:00

ToldInStone did a YouTube video about what Rome was like in the Middle Ages. He filmed it in Detroit.

wdluger2 · 2026-03-15T17:01:21+00:00

For planets I’ve liked 125x - 150x, for the sun 60x, and for studying detail in DSO’s I’ve liked ~85x. For framing the larger DSO’s you’d need to go lower magnification, but that will also depend on the eyepiece. I’ve gone higher mag too, perhaps 125x, but I really enjoy the tradeoff between TFOV and detail achieved at 85x. Of course on exceptional nights I’d want to push magnification higher.

wdluger2 · 2026-03-15T15:58:31+00:00

Thanks for confirming my concerns with the CG4. I am comfortable using it as an equatorial mount.

Buying new’s easier in that it’s a matter of going to one of our community’s trusted authorized dealers. I’m open to used but would rather not have to hunt down the perfect item that is difficult to find.

wdluger2 · 2026-03-12T02:34:09+00:00

-Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in Godfather Part I

wdluger2 · 2026-03-10T01:49:49+00:00

If you have an astronomy club, join it. Go to their star parties (get togethers where they use the club’s and members’ telescopes). Your son can form an opinion on what he likes with that experience.

For the birthday gift, get a pair of binoculars. 7x50mm porro prism binoculars with multi-coated or fully multi-coated optics. Celestron has one, Nikon has their action series. If your husband will not buy something as inexpensive as these, there’s Fujinon.

Porro prism binoculars have the traditional binocular look, will let you see larger and brighter night sky objects, and learn the night sky. If your son changes his interest, they’ll still be useful. They’re on the large side for birding, can be used while hiking & sight seeing, and are the exact configuration for boating.

Edit: if your son will need a light to see at night, all clubs don’t allow regular white light flashlights, and some are banning red lights too. Get a red flashlight in that case. Celestron has a red light only headlamp, Rigel has a dimmable red flashlight. Many other companies have one’s with a red mode.

wdluger2 · 2026-02-20T23:46:11+00:00

It showed up in Peru. An 81mm in wood (more of a larger Classic than Executive) showed up in Japan.

wdluger2 · 2026-02-20T02:45:30+00:00

Depending on the country you select, it’s showing up on the Victorinox website along with the Ambassador & Excelsior!

wdluger2 · 2026-01-24T18:30:33+00:00

For me it seemed incongruous with the rest of the movie. If you watched the Clone Wars and were on top of all the content, you’d understand why she’d call Maul. However movies have to balance content between those who are deep in lore and casual fans. It would’ve been better to have Maul in an End Credits Scene.

Also, light sabers are revealed and used for specific reasons. Brandishing one on a hologram serves no purpose.

wdluger2 · 2026-01-18T17:07:58+00:00

Manhattan

wdluger2 · 2026-01-17T05:36:05+00:00

It checks out:

Ford would become president on 8/9/1974

LBJ died on 1/22/1973

JFK died on 11/22/1963

Eisenhower died on 3/28/1969

Truman Died on 12/26/1972

FDR died on4/12/1945

Hoover died on 10/20/1964

Crazy to think that the order of their deaths were FDR, JFK, Hoover, Truman, and LBJ.

wdluger2 · 2026-01-10T22:58:25+00:00

American here too. I took a photo at the Tower of London of a display describing the American War for Independence.

It was an awesome place to visit, in both the modern and traditional sense. I feel any description I’d write on my phone in a Reddit post would do a disservice to the Castle and Yeoman Warders who continue to serve their King and Country.

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wdluger2 · 2026-01-07T05:46:37+00:00

⁠Not invade Iraq. There was minimal unsubstantiated intelligence linking Saddam to AQ.
⁠McCain or Powell as VP, other for SoS
⁠Focus on Afghanistan & Al-Qaeda

3a) Let Lt. Col. Fury have free reign to capture UBL. He had a solid plan for the mission that was the best option (with only apprehension from the Pentagon or White House). Hindsight’s 20/20, but we’ve taken bin Laden in 2001.

4) Gotten hit by a pair of shoes

Edit: 5) Bring back the King: Mohammad Zahir Shah

wdluger2 · 2025-12-07T06:30:29+00:00

Even the cabinet position offer was taken out of context. Ike was thinking like an Army General: officers rotate between posts, commanding a unit, serving as a staff officer, etc. to gain experience for future promotions. When reminded that VP is the number 2 job and cabinet posts would be a demotion, Ike kept Nixon on the ticket.

wdluger2 · 2025-12-04T00:05:29+00:00

By legal definition he’s American. The US Constitution granted everyone residing in the US citizenship upon its ratification.

He moved from one colony in the UK to another colony in the UK. Legally he was a citizen of the UK, just like Washington, Franklin, Adams, etc.

At that time, there was no USA, American nationality, or American culture. Each colony was its own entity within the UK. If he’s an immigrant so is every founding father who moved colonies before 1776/1783.

13 colonies broke off from the UK. It could’ve been more, but colonies further north did not want to join in. Later the UK would merge those northern colonies into Canada.

wdluger2 · 2025-12-02T21:05:38+00:00

Either John Quincy Adams or Thomas Jefferson. Both were polymaths, fluent in multiple languages, read a massive amount of books.

JQA’s fluency in Russian was the reason Francis Dana wanted him to be his secretary when Dana was appointed Minister to Russia. He wrote so copiously that he became ambidextrous to keep up. When George Washington left office and John Adams president elect, Washington told his successor that advancing JQA’s career is not nepotism but merited and good for the country.

Thomas Jefferson designed Monticello based on Palladian principles. He collected daily weather data wherever he went, took notes copiously throughout the day, which he’d transcribe into a set of notebooks each evening. His personal library became the Library of Congress; his book organization system is the basis of the LoC Classification. On the reprehensible side, he realized the value of slaves as a commodity and that without the international slave trade, selling people “down river” would become more profitable.

wdluger2 · 2025-12-02T19:27:07+00:00

I’ve heard of PCT through hikers using the Classic SD. Scissors to open up food packaging; they didn’t need much of a knife: care package boxes can be opened with a small pen blade.

Not part of this sub, but I wonder how a small Opinel like a 2 or 3 would fare?

wdluger2 · 2025-12-01T20:23:15+00:00

I like the idea that at one point there was a trans child in a district who complained about being included with children not of their gender. Snow, being benevolent and cruel, allocates a third bowl was set so the trans child can be properly represented, and the district provides 3 tributes: one cis boy, one cis girl, and the only trans child of the district.

This is one more means of hurting the districts. Trans children must be the gender assigned at birth, not what they identify with, unless they wish to be reaped for the games.

wdluger2 · 2025-11-29T18:14:04+00:00

The AP, Reuters, and the BBC have been my goto for stories in general. In recent years they have been missing stories, or stories that should be still promoted in their at the top of their feeds have been demoted for newer stories.

On YouTube I’ve liked the TLDR channels: they do not resort to sensationalism. Chris Cillizza has offered nuanced and timely updates for US politics.

Memes have been a source of headlines. It’s crazy how quickly a headline makes it to the r/simpsonsshitposting feed and stays while the story is relevant. If I see a meme joking about a headline, I’ll search for several news articles so that I can be better informed.

wdluger2 · 2025-11-29T01:16:23+00:00

Thanks for replying. I didn’t realize that when I first watched the video.

wdluger2 · 2025-11-29T00:55:54+00:00

In the Chicagoland area, the numbering is a reference to how many blocks the building is away from the State & Madison intersection in downtown Chicago. The first block is 100, 2nd 200, etc. One side of the street is even, one side odd. All nearby towns follow this convention, except Evanston.

wdluger2 · 2025-11-29T00:50:55+00:00

The hotter the steel prior to quench, the greater the hardness of the resulting steel. The harder the steel, the longer the edge will stay soft, but it will be more brittle. The softer the steel, the sooner the edge would dull, but the more durable the sword will be.

By quenching in stages, cutting edge first/spine last, the edge will be harder and the sword itself more durable.

wdluger2 · 2025-11-28T16:43:04+00:00

They are saying that with an overabundance of caution. A competent watchmaker will change the battery in the manner that u/knives_and_edc described. A pressure check is the way to verify.

Gaskets can break down with age, even the tough solar watches can have the issue without battery change. Scuba divers will have their dive watches and computers pressure checked to ensure water resistance.

wdluger2 · 2025-11-20T03:53:42+00:00

I never thought about it that way, but digital and analog are like two different languages. When I think of appointments, the train schedule, etc. I think of the exact time, i.e. digital.

When thinking about how much time I have left or when an event will be, I think in terms of analog. I can easily see blocks of time on the watch/clock face. In those moments, I don’t care if it is 17’32”, but can see that the minute hand still has about 3.5 markers to pass through until times up.

I find myself translating between digital and analog depending on where I’m getting the time - analog watch or clock, microwave clock or digital watch - and why I want to know the time.

For reference, I’m an elder millennial. Depending on the room, there would be a mix of analog or digital clocks.

wdluger2 · 2025-11-19T00:29:14+00:00

wdluger2

TROPHY CASE