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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
2 Days Ago
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+1 to that. Even "hands free" is typically distracted driving. And texting-while-driving is illegal here, but there's virtually no enforcement.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
4 Days Ago
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no, afraid not. Eyesight saver, maybe -- "modern" LED headlights are too bright for oncoming drivers.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
4 Days Ago
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No, one can be stopped for non-functional headlights, too. They aren't independent of one another, the same switch controls both.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
4 Days Ago
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Indeed. The inspections here predated the ubiquity of hazard "flashers", but I'm sure they became part of the inspection process at some point. Theoretically I have no major issue with "safety" inspections. If I had a nickel for every vehicle I've seen without functioning brake lights and turn signal lights, I could have retired to Tahiti decades ago. But there's the matter of the driver not using turn signals that's the real problem, IMO... the lights work, the driver's an inconsiderate idiot for not using them. I think a driver here can be ticketed for not using a turn signal, but find me a cop who will even notice (they are major abusers themselves) let alone enforce that. Hopeless.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
4 Days Ago
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Long ago, we had mandatory vehicle inspections. They were cursory...pull inside the station, prove that all the lights - brakes, turn signals, headlights, etc -- were functional. No emission test at that time. It was a ridiculous hassle.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
5 Days Ago
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Oh, well, this was -- I think, it was some years ago -- a state of Florida boondoggle, administered on the county level. I don't remember that there were any particular fees involved, but one had to pass the inspection or the vehicle could not be registered (there are registration fees). The frustration was that they were crazy about this for passenger cars, and we could see the big diesels belching huge plumes of black smoke on the street outside the inspection station. Plenty of time to observe that, the inspection line was often quite long. I finally found a station way down south, not too far from my workplace, that wasn't as busy. This went on for several years, the program was eliminated in 2000.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
5 Days Ago
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Yah, traffic cameras are an issue here, too. Some municipalities want to use them, passed special ordinances to get around the citizen outcry (doubtless by the worst offenders). Boss's vehicles got nailed multiple times at a particular intersection, for running red lights. At most intersections we have "right on red" allowed, but only after a full stop...roll through the stoplight, camera catches it, bingo! Traffic ticket in the mail within a couple of days.
Honestly I don't know why the emissions testing was implemented, because Miami did not (and does not) have an air quality issue. Biggest pollution source was/is the airport, big diesels and buses. State came down hard on the big diesels and the county has replaced nearly all diesel buses with CNG or electric. One still sees belching black exhaust from heavy dump trucks but not as frequently as it used to happen. And of course a few yahoos in tricked-out oversize diesel pickups leaving smoke trails at every red light. I think the gendarmes are authorized to have a roadside chat with them.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
5 Days Ago
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A few years ago, local authorities implemented an emissions inspection process...one had to present one's vehicle for said inspection. Involved camera-on-a-stick to view the exhaust system (catalytic converter in particular) and a probe inside the tailpipe -- rude! -- to measure exhaust gas. They set up special inspection stations, had to do it before registration could be renewed. A major hassle.
No longer required, I don't honestly remember the circumstances of its demise.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-12-2024, 02:22 PM
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Well -- Racer knows this -- I'm not a smartphone aficionada. I have a cel phone, but that's all it is, all it's used for, and infrequently. It's not even turned on unless I'm using it I have no interest in spending my time faffing with a phone all the time.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-12-2024, 07:01 AM
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To each his own, Racer. I'm just not a fan of having one's face in the phone all the time. If it works for you, great.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-12-2024, 06:59 AM
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Understood. No cameras here. (well, no security cameras...:lol:)
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-11-2024, 06:44 PM
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One only needs timer switches for lamps and aquarium. The only (minor) drawback to them is that they need to be re-set after power outages. We use them on a couple of lamps (again, so the house isn't black dark when we're not at home), used to have one when the aquarium was running. Inexpensive and effective.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-11-2024, 12:27 PM
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We've been replacing incandescents with LEDs for a while now... they are cheaper to operate and produce less heat. I suspect there may be one or two old incandescents in hardly-used fixtures around the house, but when they fail they'll be replaced with LEDs.
No interest whatsoever in "smart" lamps. I refuse to let my life be controlled by "apps".
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-06-2024, 12:32 PM
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That cake looks spectacular! Happy day! Congratulations to her!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-05-2024, 09:52 AM
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Well, the "city of Miami" is the largest of 30-odd municipalities in the "Metro" area, basically all of Miami-Dade County, much of which is unincorporated but indistinguishable -- except for the color and style of the street signs -- from the incorporated bits like "city of Miami", city of Coral Gables, etc etc. Several millions clogging the roads at all times, but worst in the morning and afternoon "drive time" periods (complicated by "shift change" at the airport, mid-afternoon). Not terrible out here in the 'burbs except for these wretched "school zones", which produce utter gridlock on some streets.
This was the boondocks when we first moved out here. Friends of my parents asked if we "circled the wagons" at night.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-05-2024, 08:25 AM
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Miami traffic is notoriously bad. Yesterday I had to take my newish car to the body shop, after an utter cretin backed into it and smashed the passenger-side doors. That's a different story (lots of very bad language, you may be sure). The body shop is 1.5 miles away, but the morning "rush" traffic on the street will set you back nearly an hour to move that mile and a half. Long ago somebody . built a middle school and an expressway interchange cheek-by-jowl on that street. School-zone speed trap and expressway on/off traffic? Ridiculous. Can't get around it, the expressway blocks all east/west movement except at certain points. So, while my inclination would be to go to the body shop early and get things arranged, my experience (and the body shop manager) told me to just wait until after 10am.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
02-20-2024, 03:06 PM
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We mods knew, we've been grieving with Racer since it happened. But it's been his decision -- rightly so -- on how and when to be more public. We have respected his privacy in that regard.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
02-07-2024, 04:04 PM
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But as one police chief was quoted, "you can't outrun Motorola"
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-31-2024, 01:55 PM
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If you have an available USB port you can get a USB controller, little plug-in jobbie, not expensive. I did it when the internal ethernet adapter in my laptop went south. Works just fine. Netgear brand.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-23-2024, 07:42 AM
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Probably but not all together, as long as you're willing to pay for the extras. I think "transitions" are a trademarked brand of highly specialized polycarbonate lenses, meaning, probably no "transitions" glass.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-20-2024, 10:03 AM
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Indeed. I used to know some fairly serious "audiophiles", but they were rather tame compared to others in their circle... that snake oil stuff was 100% par for the course for some of them. Worse than fanboys by a huge margin.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-03-2024, 01:04 PM
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Aaaand...turns out the warning lights on the runway had been out of service for about 6 days. Lots of errors to go around.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-02-2024, 03:09 PM
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I heard it was a Japan Coast Guard DSH-8, 6 crew aboard, 5 killed, captain hospitalized
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-31-2023, 04:50 PM
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And to you and yours, as well!
We've been out to dinner (R's birthday today, believe it or not), back home now ahead of the noise, craziness, et al. I will, shortly, retreat to the back of the house, to remove myself to a safer place. My hispanic neighbors "celebrate" by making as much loud noise as possible... firecrackers and explosive thingys like cherry bombs and M80s, and sometimes, guns :eek: The fools don't seem to understand that when they shoot into the air, what goes up must, inevitably, come back down. So I put as much distance as possible between me and them.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-24-2023, 05:36 PM
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Thank you, same to you!
Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20. Go Fins!
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