50 Cloudy Nights Signatures

By Terrance D. Hannan (thannan636), Dec 9, 2010

I have been a CN member for several years. I have noted that It is the practice of many CN posters, to include a philosophical comment in their signatures, in addition to their recitation of telescope equipment. I have often enjoyed reading these, and so started collecting some that struck my fancy. My local astronomy club seemed to get a kick out of reading them when I projected the on the wall during a “slow” meeting. So, on the thought that other CNers might like to read through a collected list of some such comments, I have gathered together 50 for their consideration and/or amusement.

Names of the posters have been withheld to protect the tasteless. Where the poster is using an attributed quote, the author is usually given. The criteria for selection (if I had any) was that the comment appealed to me at the moment. Some comments included quotation marks and some did not, which is why some on the list are enclosed in quotes and some are not. If your favorite signature comment is not included, it means either that I did not see it, or that either my taste or yours, is seriously flawed!

“Signatures” From Cloudy Nights Posters:

1. In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.
2. "Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out."....James Oberg
3. "Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
4. "I have gone to find myself, if I get back before I return, keep me here"
5. Time spent looking at the stars is added to your life.
6. "My qualifications? I will list a few. Many years ago I created an observatory out of blocks. Today, 160 scientists work there. I never say anything looks like a faint fuzzy - not even a faint fuzzy. I am the only person to ever ace a 1951 USAF resolution test. I once punched an astrologer. That's right, you heard me. I have floaters, however mine are optically perfect telenegative amplifiers of 2x and 3x respectively." –the most interesting astronomer in the universe
7. I am the life of star parties I have never attended. If I were to correct one of your erroneous CN posts, you would have to resist the urge to thank me. My personality is so magnetic, it affects the Moon…in a slight but measurable way. I once visited a clairvoyant…to warn her. An hour of casual astronomy conversation with me is equivalent to completing the entire postdoctoral cosmology curriculum at Caltech."   The Most Interesting Astronomer in the Universe
   (Note:  6 and 7 are from the same poster-he just changed his signature line)
8. The moment you stop questioning is when you know you've probably got it all wrong.
9. Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak!
10. Stimulating the economy, one piece of equipment at a time
11. Experience is a difficult teacher, it gives the test first, and gives the lesson later
12. My equipment philosophy... If it ain't broke, fix it anyway.
13. Astrology is the science for ignorants. Astronomy is the science for those who feel ignorant. - Miguel Lopes
14. "The purpose of life is to be defeated by ever greater things." – Rielke
15. Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering. - Arthur C. Clarke
16. A Bad Night With A Telescope
    Beats A Good Night Doing Anything Else
17. Entropy is not chaotic but is rather an expression of organization,  just look up to the heavens above.
18. The night sky is my mistress. She seduces me away from all other lovers.
19. Gravity: It's not just a good idea, its the law!
20. ¡ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ
21. Simple minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas. - Hyman Rickover
22. Be true to your teeth and they will never be false to you.
23. The heavens declare the glory of God;
    and the firmament sheweth His handywork
    Psalm 19:1
24. There are observers observing the stars with their equipment, there are also observers observing their equipment with the stars.
25. It's bad news when you start to hear voices. It's much worse when they tell you it's a private conversation.
26. Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
    I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night. ---Sarah Williams, 1868
27. (Reconstructed from memory) When you wish upon a star, your dreams may all come true, unless, of course, the “star” is actually a rogue asteroid on a collision course with earth, and will soon destroy you, the planet , and all life as we know it!
28. Normal people are the ones who you don't know very well
29. My goal in life, Is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am!
30. Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There's one marked 'Brightness,' but it doesn't work."
31. Yes, I'm addicted to telescopes and binoculars. I am getting help. Every time I look at the heavens, it helps.
32. The secret formula to life is not to take it too seriously, otherwise you grow old faster.
33. "Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise." - Cato the Elder
34. Automatic doors make me feel like a Jedi.
35. If you keep stacks of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you are definitely an astro-redneck.
36. The atmosphere is the worst part of the instrument...Andre Couder
37. "No matter how tall or short you are, your feet just reach the ground..."
38. Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean that you should
39. Water is just coffee that hasn't reached its full potential
40. "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open." - Frank Zappa
41. Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning.
42. A light polluted sky is still better than what’s on TV.
43. Some people have skeletons in their closets, I have telescopes.
44. Have you cussed it yet?
45. So many galaxies, so little time!
46. "The cure for boredom is curiousity. There is no cure for curiousity."
47. Venus through an achromat is better than Picasso!
48. "Man is still the best computer that we can put aboard a spacecraft- and the only one that can be mass-produced with unskilled labor."
    -Dr. Wernher von Braun
49. Life is a non sequitur, but everything else makes sense.
50. " Gentlemen only ever use Refractors "