thanks so much everyone! i sense a dob around the corner...
and nightstalker... thanks for the help... you've really cleared up a bunch of things... one more question though... the lightbridge dob... is the finderscope one of those red laser things that meade often uses? my last telescope had a faulty one... and i'm a little bit down on the whole product... and are lightbridges generally the best way to go? i realise i may be asking questions whose answers require personal opinion only...
i'm so freakin excited... i'm going to (humbly) brag my arse off when i get it! thanks again, everyone!