Me too: this series is most interesting. Please do keep us informed.

Hmm. Reminds me of another lens, though this one covers the full 24x36mm 'K-mount': http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/394223-REG/Pentax_20290_smc_Pentax_FA_31mm.html [ I'll leave Mike to massage the link to include the TOP reference: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/?BI=2144&KBID=2882 ] The Pentax Limited 31/1.8 is a wonderful lens. I trust the Zeiss measures up.

I've just done a bit of mental arithmetic: Ctein will be making on average two or three prints per day for the next two months. That's real commitment, and even more so considering the reasonable price for this print offer. Thanks again. (I wonder how Mike will TOP this?)

Ah. Memories. I recall fondly many many games of snooker while at uni. Of course Walter Lindrum is considered by those of us 'down under' to be one of (if not the) greatest exponents of the felted tabletop.

I too, despise spammers. To assist with the flow of my beloved TOP, I'm more than happy to assist with minimising the demands on Mike's time. I'm more than happy to log in with my (essentially inactive) typepad.com account. Besides, I can then quickly find all my previous comments -- a bit like my personal bookmarking into TOP. Oh. That's interesting. There's no 'captcha' box.

Record shots are funny things. Often they can be quite banal, but sometimes they soar to heights, as Mike's one of Ned exemplifies. That's why I endeavour to have a camera with me all the time: I never know what opportunities will arise, be they record shots, or something for which I have greater intentions. And after the event, it can at times be difficult to decide which was which. My condolences, Mike, and to Ned's family. I feel like it's not just an empty sentiment.

I'm very enamoured of (in order): - "O'helo sprouting from pahoehoe", and - "Moon& bare branches". I'm sure whatever is offered will be exquisitely printed.

It seems to me that if I like an art work, and it will give me pleasure in my home, and I can afford the purchase price: then to buy that piece of art is well worth considering. I've no plan of reselling. Why would I, when the art was purchased for my enjoyment? There's the added good feeling, buying directly from living artists, of supporting them in the creation of yet more art. That's the beauty of TOP print sales. The re-sale or secondary market has only limited interest for me. At the "stratospheric price" end, it is about gambling -- oh yes, that's meant to be "investment" -- and trophies to display to "friends".

Just a tiny clarification, if I may: Does "Eastern Time" refer to UTC-5 hours (GMT-5 hours in old-speak), currently not within Daylight Saving time? Andrea from overseas in Oz.

Generally I regard cars as transportation: "tin boxes on four wheels". The ultimate form of transportation is the humble bicycle. The mechanical advantage it provides the hu-per-thing (I'm not going to fall into the trap of being speciesistic, oh no) was discussed in a Scientific American article in 1972 or '73. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle#Female_emancipation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_performance However, after gaining my license to drive a motor vehicle in my late 20's, two of the three vehicles I've owned are worth mentioning for their excellent design. (a) the Peugeot 205 GTI, great fun to drive; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_205#205_GTI (b) the Citroën C3 (first series sensodrive), a delight to drive, comfortable, and very stylish -- my current wheels. http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=33429279%40N00&q=citroen+c3&m=text

What a quandry. I have a succession of Pentax's dSLR cameras: the venerable *istD, K10D, K-7. Some now on "permanent loan" to good friends and family (seems like a better option than the relatively token amount received from selling them). Maybe I'm just lucky, but I quite like a focal length close to the sensor diagonal. Meaning the 31/1.8 Ltd and the 35/2.8 Ltd Macro both get a lot of use, on these well-sorted, delightfully "good enough" photographic devices. Earlier this year I took something of a leap into the unknown, purchasing one of the two weather sealed medium format bodies, and a sensor diagonal focal length lens. It too, is a pleasure to use. BUT. (There's often a but.) It doesn't have Pentax's wonderful (almost completely) sorted ergonomics. What a nuisance. I've suggested some firmware changes, so here's hoping.

It's not just 'piqued', there's also "lense" -- where'd the final "e" come from? Maybe it's a sign of impending (or arrived) curmudgeonliness. http://grumpy-people.com/Article/11/What%20is%20a%20Curmudgeon

Reminds me of an unpleasant experience a few years ago: Adobe bought out Pixmantec's "RawShooter premium". http://www.dpreview.com/news/2005/10/27/rawshooterprem Still the best RAW processing software I've used. The big "A" "gave" us paid users a licence to Lightroom v1.0. What a joke: slow, pathetic, bloated. A complete contrast to RawShooter. Now up to v4, Lightroom has sped up, does useful things, but is still bloated. (Oh yes, it's really only "sped up" because my computer is now _much_ faster.) Why oh why must small elegant tools be spoilt with bloat? All the best to those Nik users out there.

Well, presumptuously speaking for all of us in the Commonwealth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations we'd be pleased to have you as part of our gathering of peoples. Besides, we already consider you "one of us", me cobber. http://andc.anu.edu.au/australian-words/meanings-origins?field_alphabet_value=81

RIP Neil Armstrong. It seems my life is now extending back into 'history'. I vividly recall sitting with all the other pupils and staff, in the school foyer, with my attention riveted to the single school B&W telly. And we _saw_ Neil step onto the Moon. And then Buzz. What a moment. The moment. For all of the planet's people. On an ever so slightly different tack, there is a wonderful film set at the time of the Apollo 11 mission: "The Dish". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dish If you have the opportunity, it's a pretty accurate view of the times -- with just a bit of artistic license.

Must be a horrible feeling: being in proximity to such a senseless act. My best wishes go out to all affected. Not much more to say.

Mike, thanks for the links. Some interesting material. I'm not big on watching others participate in sports: I'd rather be doing something of my own. However, coming from sports-mad Oz, even I can't help but hear something of the current events in London. And the coverage here, at least at the end of the news, makes mention of the gold medals for the UK in the women's coxless pair rowing, and cycling (by the same guy who just won the Tour de France). There was a Radio National interview with the coach of the Hellenic judo team. Thank goodness to hear of other's efforts. After all, to even be competing at the Olympics is a wonderful achievement.

Classic. What more can I say? ... except that even (especially?)here in Oz, it's usual to see people wandering along, heads buried in their smarty-pants 'phones.

Enjoy your break Mike. I'll miss my TOP installments for the next week and a bit. But I'll appreciate them a LOT more when they do resume. It's now Tuesday afternoon here (15:35 hrs UTC+10, 26th June), and the clothes are nicely drying on the line. I'm looking forward to seeing this post in eight-days. But if it were me, I wouldn't be at home _and_ off the internet for that long. The only times I've been off-line for prolonged periods, there has been NO connection within cooee.

All right. I've happily participated in a number of the print sales so far. So... I'm willing to act as a "distribution point" in Oz (aka Australia). My email is why@bigpond.net.au I envision sending out suitably packaged prints via Australia Post, because the post office is a short walk from my abode. So now we wait until Wednesday (Thursday our time). Andrea.

I joined in last time. I won't miss this one for quids! Just deciding which one... or maybe... This is so exciting. Thanks Mike and Peter.

That's the thing about the "western" world's idea of entertainment: it's just a business. (Sport by paid players is also part of that entertainment business.) If the participants can grab media attention, almost at any cost, they appear to do so. After all, it's their livelihood, and what puts food on the table for their families. Viewed in that light, we realise that all the publicity material, calculated to make us think we "know" the person, is a mere construct. Whatever happens to that person affects their friends and family, but not me. My friends and family are those whom I know. Some of those, are individuals I've had online exchanges with over many years. We've not met face-to-face, but I still know that person.

Nerdy woman here. I think No.1014 too, was a good xkcd for this article. Possibly even better than No.322. Though the latter has the title. Interesting how things work out. Andrea :) (That's a left-handed smiley.)

Well not all male. I'm here too. I'm pleased I read sufficiently far to see the bit right at the end "... like a camera coming along that had a 6-MP full-frame sensor, no viewing screen, no JPEG engine, buttons and knobs assignable by loading in third-party apps, and that had a viewfinder like an OM-4T*. And that was made of metal with leather gripping surfaces." It seems to me, that each of us would like our particular selection of operational controls exposed on our camera. Of course my 'in-camera multiple exposure on a single frame' button is likely not desired by many others. (It'd be quite a large button too, to fit all those words. Or even the ICMEOASF acronym. Just glides off the tongue, doesn't it?) But it's the button I want. Oh yes, back off topic: my little Citroën C3 manges to happily zip around 'down under'.