grozzle

It could make sense if... the engineering deck is in the upper hull, and the lower hull is actually just a cargo hold with the life support usually left off? It looks like there are no windows. Maybe in order have no other active power systems nearby which could interfere with that sensor array?

The Andes are so tall, they slow the winds. (My guess. I am not a geographer)

It's from 台风 (sounds like typhon, more than it sound like typhoon tbh) and tbh the "ty" part might just be from "dai" meaning "big", so just "big wind", but I've heard it's just as likely to be "wind from Taiwan", the same 台 ty as in 台風, Taiwan.

And yeah, this map proves that Taiwan (and northern Philippines) is the world capital of strong typhoons.

This map is a great illustration of why the "ty" of typhoon is from the "Tai" of Taiwan in the original meaning of the word.

Bonus fun fact - "hurricane" is from a native Caribbean word, from the same language family as another loanword "hammock".

is Bogdan another cognate, then? from the same root?

what do you reckon about spotting-scopes with camera-mounts?

i can't quite figure out why "camera" lenses suitable for wildlife are so much more expensive than spotting scopes.

i use my astronomical telescope with my full-frame digital camera. it is a 450mm f/5 prime lens, but it was a fraction of the price of any similar "camera" lens, even including the substantial tripod (which cost about as much as the tube). it actually can focus on things not too far away. no good for indoor use, sure, but fine in a park.

what's the advantage?

the Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8, (that one with the concave front element), is my one desert-island lens, for sure. Me developing my own style went hand-in-hand with getting to know it better for a few years.

I used to love using "weird" and specialist lenses, but it's so versatile, it killed my trying all kinds of cheap/vintage glass- since getting the Zeiss, everything else just stays in the bag.