Thanks for your salutation, Bob. I just came back from Sky Optics, in Burlington, where I purchased the Meade #140 2X Barlow. Hopefully that will give us better resolution than we got with the cheapo that came with the scope. Of course, I just had a peek at the Clear Sky Clock and guess what. Oh well, maybe after the snowstorm.
Gail's mom bought us a Rigel Quickfinder for Christmas (don't you love people that can take a hint!) and also a Celestron LED flashlight.
We decided to mount the Rigel at the top of the scope and remove the 6X30 finderscope (leaving the mounting bracket on just in case). This made the scope bottom heavy but that problem was easily solved with the removal of a 10 oz. iron plate counterweight that covered the primary mirror cell. From what I have read, this plate would have prevented the mirror from cooling anyway.
As I now know, there are other ways to make it cloudy, besides washing your car, and so I used the time to make other modifications:
So we wouldn't have to be bent over (or kneel to use the viewfinder) I fastened 3 16" table legs to the base (using angled brackets) and put rubber tips on them to dampen vibrations. The wee bit of extra flex was virtual eliminated by the (1 1/2") round Teflon furniture sliders I added to improve the azimuth motion. This tip I found somewhere on the Internet and highly recommend. The discs are self-adhesive and slightly higher than the supplied nylon pads so there is no need to remove the originals.
Another tip I heeded was to make some washers (about 7) to go around the pivot tube. I cut them out of a plastic Tropicana jug and made enough so the stack was just barely higher than the Teflon pads. What ease of movement we now have.
Anyway, as soon as the weather cooperates we'll be hunting down your suggestions, Bob.
Can't wait!

Glenn