Forum: General Talk
02-27-2024, 07:42 AM
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I know a lot of our choices are based on experience. My first Android phone was not a good one. It was also a very early phone and I considered getting a newer one. At the time, phones were really cheap and sometimes free as long as you signed a contract to continue carrier service for 2 years. In early 2013, I needed surgery on my right foot. The big toe joint was eaten away by arthritis and needed to be cleaned out and fused. I was mostly immobile for 2 months. Just prior to the surgery, I bought an iPad and I quickly fell in love with it. I streamed video constantly, read books, communicated with everyone all without moving anywhere. In the beginning, just getting to the bathroom was an adventure. It also operated flawlessly, unlike my Droid phone which mostly just sat on my desk during that time. So when my Droid finally died, I replaced it with an iPhone based on my iPad experience.
I use a Samsung Android tablet at work. The company buys it and it has custom software installed that does all our work repair orders, parts and time. It's a big improvement over the Droid phone I used over 10 years ago. But now, like a lot of "old" guys, I want to stay with what I'm accustomed with. I bought my third iPhone last year, an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Probably overpriced but I really like it and has a very capable camera that's always with me and handy. These kind of discussions will always sound like the old Windows vs Mac argument. All the newer phones are pretty good these days and I think people buy what they feel most comfortable using and/or what they can afford to pay.
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Forum: General Talk
02-25-2024, 03:33 PM
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My first smartphone was Android, a Motorola Droid. It lasted about a year and a half and was very wonky. About once a week, I would have to take the battery out to reset the phone. I replaced it with a iPhone 5S. I bought an iPhone 8 five years later and my wife used the 5S for another year or maybe longer. Both iPhones still work fine but are no longer updated. You couldn't pay me to switch to Android.
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Forum: General Talk
02-25-2024, 03:26 PM
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I still have a CD player and cassette tape deck plugged in to a stereo amplifier if those devices count. I have to admit I don't use them much anymore, mostly out of laziness because it's so easy to just stream on my phone. I do still play CD's in my car sometimes as well as downloaded music on my phone because I live in the Adirondacks where there is no cell service except in the villages. My Garmin Fenix 6 Pro watch is completely self contained. All the maps are stored on the watch so you can always get your location and follow your route without any phone or internet connection as long as you have a clear path to the GPS satellite.
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Forum: General Talk
02-13-2024, 07:33 AM
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I dislike it. Probably the biggest reason it that its so easy to accidently bring up screen you don't want just in the process of handling the device. It happens with my phone a lot. Probably my worse experience was with watches. I work out a lot and use a fitness tracking watch. My first one was a Garmin Vivoactive 3. It was a good tracker but had problems in water. I swim a lot and was never able to scroll data screens when wet EXCEPT when I didn't want to. I had an Apple watch for a while since I'm pretty much an Apple guy. I gave that away after 3 months. For the past 3 years I have been using a Garmin Fenix6 pro. It has buttons all around the watch to do different functions and scroll screens. It works anywhere and in any conditions. A bit old school but I love it!
I still prefer to edit photos on my Mac with the mouse. I have an iPad Pro that is a wonderful device but I rarely use it to edit photos. Maybe it's my large arthritic fingers but I'm staying with my mouse.
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Forum: General Talk
02-13-2024, 07:15 AM
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I posted in here last year and am still drinking the same blend of the Dunkin' brand. When you find something you like, why change? I do enjoy trying different blends from time to time and occasionally find one that I like but I often find that some of the smaller brands are inconsistant in taste. I'll buy another bag and it's not the same. I'm not grinding my own beans and measuring the coffee out like a chemist in a lab. So I'm mostly drinking the same stuff. For one, I like it and two, a couple of rounded scoops makes a consistant single mug every morning. I'm pretty impressed with the Ninja coffeemaker and I think it makes a much better cup of coffee than my Keurig did.
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Forum: General Talk
01-22-2024, 05:50 PM
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On top of the very valid issues brought up, I think one of the biggest issue to overcome is charging infrastructure in the cities where the majority of people live in apartment complexes and high rises. It would be no problem for me to charge an EV at my house but is every apartment complex going to put a charger in every parking spot? What about people who have to park on the street? Where do they all charge their cars? It's easy to just say this will all be phased in over time but it's not happening. In NY state they want all new cars electric by 2035. In my town there isn't a single charging station so if you can't charge at your house, you have to drive 15 miles. This is just not going to work! Can this problem be solved? Yes, but who is willing to pay the price for charging infrastructure? A couple of miles away from me, they are building a new 60 unit apartment building for "low-middle income housing". They aren't putting in 60 charging stations. They will still be arguing about this in 11 years when the electric mandate starts.
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Forum: General Talk
01-14-2024, 06:09 PM
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I pretty much ignore ads. I despise pop ups. I have made it a rule that I will never purchase a product that uses pop up ads that fill the whole screen. I know I'm not the only person who feels this way. I realize sites need ads if our internet is going to remain free and I do click on ads on occasion IF it is for something I am interested in but NEVER for a pop up that interrupts my reading. As for ads during streaming, I know they're coming and I'll do what I always did during commercial breaks, go to the bathroom or get snacks.
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Forum: General Talk
12-23-2023, 08:23 AM
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I live in the Adirondacks in upstate NY and most road trips around the region are pretty good. I'm an old biker and have my favorite motorcycle roads but since the whole ADK Park and all of Vermont and the Berkshires in MA are within easy day trip range, it's hard to say which trip is a favorite. For several years during the annual motorcycle week in Laconia NH, I worked hard to travel a different route across VT. While Rt 4 from NY to White River Junction and Rt 9 from Bennington to Brattleboro are the most travelled east-west routes across VT, there are numerous other roads. One other favorite is the combo of Rt 11 and 103 from Manchester to Charlestown. If you want a real weekend road trip in NY, consider Rt 28 which travels from Kingston in the Catskills to Warrensburg in the Adirondacks. You go through the heart of the Catskills to Oneonta, Cooperstown, Herkemer and then into the central Adirondacks through the beautiful towns of Old Forge, Blue Mountain Lake, Indian Lake, and finally to Warrensburg in the Lake George area. I travel sections of this road probably once a month.
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Forum: General Talk
11-28-2023, 01:52 PM
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It's been one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs for a long time and as I grow older, I appreciate it even more. I like this live version of "Forever Young" with The Band. You Tube |
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtFEzhaNrT4?controls=1" allowfullscreen> |
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Forum: General Talk
11-21-2023, 02:45 PM
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I've been using them occasionally for years although I prefer cross country skis. Around here in the Adirondacks, you are required to wear snowshoes or skis on public trails once they are snow covered and rangers will write you a ticket if you're caught post holing. I use an aluminum pair with the ice claw. They work well and don't take a lot of getting used to. You really should have poles. I don't even hike in the summer anymore without them as I'm feeling the effects of age and years of wear and tear on the knees. I use a Cotton Carrier harness which keeps my camera close to my chest and handy. On skis, my camera stays in my backpack as it's safer there both for me and the camera.
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Forum: General Talk
11-21-2023, 02:31 PM
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Good to hear from you Norm and Happy Birthday. I turned 73 in October and I fully understand, especially your comments about time. Everything seem to take me longer these days and I'm also taking far more photos with my phone. My problem is carrying my camera hurts due to arthritis in my neck and shoulders so I don't very often. My phone is capable of some awesome shots but my hands shake sometimes. Anyhow, good to hear from you and I glad you're still out and about enjoying life.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-11-2023, 10:41 AM
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On my last visit to that part of the country in 2016, I brought a good collection of lenses with my K5. Most of my shots were with my Sigma 17-70 which was my walk around lens and a good collection of shots with my DA15. The rest was dead weight in my backpack. By my third day of hiking around, I only brought the camera with the Sigma mounted on the camera on a Cotton Carrier harness and my backpack held several bottles of water and if I remember, it was over a gallon along with some food. While there were some opportunities with wildlife, they were lost because my long zoom was in the backpack. Most of the spectacular scenery there calls for a wide lens and the Sigma was perfect as the long end of the zoom worked for people shots. As for weather sealing, you're in a desert so dust will be more of a worry but I do have a gift of bringing rain to my vacations and experienced rain in Death Valley of all places.
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Forum: General Talk
10-14-2023, 10:47 AM
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While I am fussy about the taste of my coffee, I'm also a bit lazy when it comes to making it. The one thing I like about the Ninja is it starts brewing and then stops for a minute or more before it starts pumping water again. Getting the grounds wet and letting it absorb the water for a minute is supposed to enhance the flavor of the coffee when making small amounts and it appears to work well. As for the French Press, I do let the coffee soak for 4 minutes before I plunge. My pot only makes two mugs. It's the best solution for camping. We only go to state park campgrounds which are $22 a night but have no hookups. Most coffeemakers are around 1000 watts so a plug in coffee maker off an inverter will pull down your batteries fast. ---------- Post added 10-14-23 at 01:55 PM ----------
I really like Death Wish but it does get me wired up. They are a local company here and a lot of coffee shops and almost all the grocery stores sell Death Wish although it's still expensive. Dunkin' Original is still my daily choice.
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Forum: General Talk
10-12-2023, 06:34 AM
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A few months back, I decided to ditch my Keurig and replaced it with a Ninja coffeemaker. Being the only coffee drinker in the house, I wanted something to make a small amount of coffee and also have more choices than the expensive K cups. I'm very happy with it. It does a very good job making a single mug of coffee. I still have the K cup option which I don't use but I didn't toss the add on attachment out in case I ever want to use it. I work for a food company and occasionally get good deals on damaged cases and sometimes it's coffee. That said, I'll probably not buy K cups again. I'm currently drinking Dunkin' Original roast which I really like and have also been trying some of the offerings from Black Rifle.
I also have a French Press, made by Stanley and I mainly use it camping. It makes great coffee but lazy as I am, I don't like the clean up every day. On a camping trip in August, I noticed I forgot to pack any coffee. I went out to a local convenience store/market and alll they had was Maxwell House. I had stopped drinking it years ago when it began to taste bitter. Maybe it was just me but I switched brands. It tasted surprisingly good in the French Press. Getting back home, I did finish off the can in my Ninja drip coffeemaker and it had that burnt, bitter taste that made me stop drinking it before. Strange how coffee can be so different in brewing it in a different manner.
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Forum: General Photography
07-11-2023, 06:09 AM
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Your K 70 is more than capable as well as the lenses you mention. While the northern lights are occasionally visible here in upstate NY, I've never been taken a photo as I've missed the past few displays. A lot of good advice here. If you live in the northern areas of the US you may get some practice this week. Our local weather forecasters have been predicting a high possibility of aurora visibility on Wednesday and Thursday this week if this endless rain ever ceases. I missed a good show this spring but had friends get some very good photos with just their phone cameras. Even if it turns out to not be visible this week, get your camera and tripod out for some night sky shooting before your trip so you are comfortable doing it.
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Forum: General Talk
06-09-2023, 07:12 AM
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I have to say (and I have said it before) I have learned more about photography and using my cameras more in this forum than anywhere else and the overwhelming majority of that knowledge would apply to photography generally, not just Pentax cameras. In any forum covering any topics, there is going to be some off the wall topics as well as some very off the wall replies to any post. I have become very used to just dismissing some posts. It's something I expect. Lots of people are naturally going to have different opinions. I'm old school and treat people with respect in forums in the same way I would in a face to face discussion. Since I spend more time in biker bars than on the internet, respect becomes a way of life.
In a Q&A thread, if I don't really know enough to be helpful, I skip it. To be honest, so many topics concerning digital photography are so technical, very few of us understand any of it. In the end, the best answer is to go out and shoot and learn what works and what doesn't. There is a learning curve to everything and far too many people are looking for short cuts to avoid it. Even perfectly correct answers to a question won't work sometimes if the person doesn't really understand how to apply it. Then the problems start. Anyhow, that's my morning monologue. LOL
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Forum: General Talk
05-04-2023, 07:28 AM
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Those lithium ion batteries don't perform well in extreme cold either. I have a perfectly good John Deere snowblower that's a few years old but still starts and runs and clears anything the sky throws at it and I'll keep it until it's no longer functional. I've seen that same video and if I buy an electric snowblower, it will most likely be an EGO. These products WILL improve in time. I'm stunned with the output of my newer Dewalt battery power tools compared to my older ones from just a few years back. I do have a good collection of batteries. Currently, I'm using 2 drills (one regular, one hammer), an impact driver, impact wrench, and a 3/8 ratchet with 7 batteries and 2 chargers.
Up until recently, I was using a gas generator for outside projects and have now added a battery power station which handles short power outages, remote power, camping power and charges with solar, 12V from a vehicle and AC. Trying to get a generator started when it's below 0 is just as much fun as a snowblower. This unit stays inside where it's warm.
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Forum: General Talk
05-03-2023, 03:51 PM
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I'm still mostly gas but am converting to battery slowly as my old tools fail. I have an EGO weed whacker and really like it. I think I charge it 3 times every season at the most. Next in my sights is the EGO 16 inch chainsaw. I don't cut much wood anymore and I usually spend more time getting my aging Stihl Wood Boss running than I do cutting. I'm not convinced a battery lawnmower will do the job and very skeptical about a battery snowblower. Yeah, it would have worked fine this past winter but this is upstate NY where you measure snow by the yardstick on bad years.
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Forum: General Talk
04-02-2023, 11:50 AM
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Did Bezos really have any part of the decision to shut down DP Review? I thought he retired and stepped down from operations a couple of years ago. I see commentators on some financial pages blaming Amazon's losses on the fact that Bezos is no longer in control. Whether that's true or not, who knows. Clackers is right about protecting investors and shareholders. Not everybody who owns Amazon stock is a millionaire. It's been a great stock for years for individual investors with a few hundred $$$ to invest and being down over 50% really hurts. The suits have to cut losses.
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Forum: General Talk
03-10-2023, 08:17 AM
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I can't say I disagree with you. I dislike hospitals as a patient and also as a visitor. The experience seems to get worse as time goes on. Part of the problem is that as hospitals have grown along with the local population, they have had to add on. Because of limited real estate and/or architectural issues, many hospitals become a maze that can rival the devious mind of any game creator. Just one example of a nearby hospital, you can't walk from one side of the third floor to another without doing down to the street floor and taking another elevator back up on the other side of the building. Going down to Albany Med, the largest hospital in the region, you navigate several buildings, sometimes crossing streets underground or on enclosed bridges. While I have had success finding a room, I have sometimes exited the building blocks from where I was parked after getting lost in the maze. I thought I was retracing my steps but obviously not.
As for care, that can be sketchy too. My wife had great care as a cancer patient at our local hospital back in 2017-18. It's a great cancer center with a good staff. But we both can't say much good about the rest of the facility. The ER is a nightmare and I avoid it at all costs. My last experience, I went in for a rapid heart rate. I spent 36 hours in a hallway after some "inconclusive" tests. I never saw a cardiologist. I recently took a nasty spill skiing on a Friday evening. Based on past experiences, I waited until Monday to see my Orthopedic doc. My shoulder was broken but it didn't show on an X-Ray but showed up on an MRI. I know the ER would have just sent me home in a sling after spending hours waiting.
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Forum: General Talk
10-11-2022, 02:28 PM
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Seeing some of our newer employees, this is no longer a joke. I'm glad I'm close to full retirement.
A standing joke we had was "The definition of a managers meeting - A rock garden." It also now defines a group of newly hired 20 somethings.
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Forum: General Talk
08-29-2022, 05:45 PM
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My knees have gone south me in the last year and my Raleigh has been sitting idle. My newest addition is this electric. I know some cyclists don't like them but for me, it's getting my legs some exercise without the severe pain. This is a Lectric XP 2.0. I've mounted front and rear cargo baskets on it since this photo. Its been my errand ride around the village all summer. |
Forum: General Photography
07-19-2022, 11:57 AM
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I don't know about calling it beloved but I have had the unpleasant experience of selling my camera gear when hard times came along. My very first SLR was a Miranda Sensorex 2 which I had saved up for. It wasn't a terribly expensive camera but it was the early 70's, we just had our first child and approximately $250 was a big expense. A few months after our second child was born, I was laid off and I ended up selling my camera and all my gear to pay for prescriptions for the kids. Calling a camera "beloved" kind of reminds me of Gollem in Lord of the Rings, "My Precious". LOL. My kids were more important.
Six months later, I was working again after moving to Upstate NY and I had a new camera, my first Pentax, an SP1000. I still have it along with my old Taks. They're just short of 40 years old and still working.
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Forum: General Talk
07-12-2022, 07:25 AM
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RIP Steve! Your knowledge and advice about photography helped us all and will be missed.
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Forum: General Talk
06-14-2022, 03:51 PM
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Around here the pollen count is so high that drug dealers are turning crystal meth back into Sudafed.
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