Yeah, the "steady spot" thing is key. I learned that the hard way tiling a bathroom. Found one high point on the subfloor with a long level, marked it, and ran everything from that line. Saved me from some weird slivers at the end.

Wait they're not even magnetic?

How do you keep them from chipping near the handles? Mine looked good for a year but then the paint started wearing off in all the high touch spots.

So where does it end, exactly? If a mid-range scope shows more than a cheap one, and a premium scope beats that, are we all just waiting for the next big purchase to finally "see" space? At some point the gear is just a tool, not the experience itself.

Oh man, tell me about it. I stood at the base of Monks Mound and felt so small... and not in a good, deep way. More in a "I get winded carrying groceries up a flight of stairs" kind of way. Just thinking about the work that went into moving all that earth by hand... my back hurts just from looking at it. It really puts my own life's achievements into a sad, funny light.