Shane
I have followed your posts but keep getting interrupted when I try to reply, workmates, customers etc!!
Anyway well done on the scope and on the battle scars!!
Another reason I like dobs, no counterweights to drop on feet or bang on heads!!
Just regarding point 2, that pinpoints are still pinpoints at 227x. I sometimes hear from beginners who bemoan the fact that they cannot see stars as anything other than points. I personally think it is wonderful. To think that something as huge as a star, maybe millions of kms across is still so far away that all we see is a tiny point just adds to an appreciation of how vast the universe is. Also to think we have been able to learn so much about those little points to the point we can detect planets, sunspots even "starquakes" on those stars is a testament to human ingenuity and imagination.
Clear skies
Malcolm