Much as photography is just part of my activities, I enjoy the off topic forays, as I usually learn something, as I do from even the more esoteric photo posts. I'm thrilled with my Mercer chefs knife; it has added a lot of pleasure to the several nights I'm head chef. Ahh, but there is a catch, sharpening. For the kitchen, I keep a medium diamond hone, and a 10" steel; if I need more, I can take them out to the studio and run them through the tiered Japanese waterstones. That, and learning to hold with the fingers bent out of the way. 8-) Carry on and Blog free!

Highly recommended: the Lido II, from Orphan Expresso, a very well thought out hand grinder, from literally, a Mom and Pop outfit from Idaho. The Faq's on their site gives some lucid thoughts behind their design decisions. Our houshold has gone from RO water filtration, back to filtering the hard water with a carbon/charcoal type filter. The RO water was bland and neutral as to being distasteful; guess we like some minerals.

From another crafsperson, and to make John Camp's advice even briefer, JUST DO IT! There is no magic bullet in anothers methods, nor at all the workshops, books, and psycho-babble; JUST DO IT!

Forgot to mention, Amazon has a large discount on PS Elements 13 for Prime members, and yes Mike, I just bought it and some other doo-wahs through your linxz

I'm enjoying my new a6000; not much bigger than the ancient Canon G9 it's replacing. (I'm slow on the upgrade) The kit lens has issues, though software corrects many of them,JPG mainly, and in the learning phase I'm in it's size is a blessing. Two other issues; the LCD seems "delicate", and the manual is comically concise, to be gentle. There is a pretty good guide book by Gary Friedman and Ross Warner, however. Oh, and dealing with lens caps again; 6 years since I've owned ans SLR type camera. I can never remember where I put them. 8-). Just waiting for the 35 1.8 to go on sale.

And to you and yours, blessings and thanks!

Lo, much time has passed since the threat to divulge the identity of the new "Topmobile". My interest in cars and cameras is unabated, and this "aside", this brief hint of some "uber Honda" with a MT. Well, Sir, do tell! Speculation runs rampant. 8-)

Have a nice trip! Check out I Pass or Ez Pass for paying tolls; very convenient and the tolls are usually discounted. Illinois and Indiana sell them at Toll plazas or CVS has them. Photogene is an excellant editor for the iPad.

Might I reccomend "Blogsy" for the iPad. Straight forward and easy to use mobile blog software.

Well, Congratulations! Looks to be a lovely house, soon a home! Though personally I'd rather have a stove top in lieu of one of the ovens ... 8-)

Since it is a walking city, it is also a great city to sit and watch. The Pariseans have conveniently placed cafe's with outdoor seating for that purpose. La Chappelle is a wonderment. Oh, and learn a few "politenesses", I was amazed how far courtesy would take me, and I have a terrible accent. I also found smaller, working parish churches to be more interesting than tourist draws; just walk in. Relax, you can't see it all in a city that has a restaurant devoted to L'Escargot. Enjoy what you do see.

Looking forward to Zander's story. "Organizational Aptitude". My youngest has none, but is stubbornly independant, and contrary to a fault. Go figure. Why not use Pages on your Mac, then copy and paste?

A superb explanation of lens quality, with illustrations that, do illustrate. I love that it is also an illusive quality, and that "measuring" with the eye is how one discerns it.

"Someday I will tackle an essay as to why art appreciation is not just "a matter of opinion." It should make for an entertaining rant even if you don't end up agreeing with it. But it will have to wait until the puppy grows up. At the moment, I'm exhausted. --Mike]" Looking forward to it! Bron

Song Sparrow (I looked again). Song Sparrow, with 24 valid sub-species, is a "cryptic" species; hard to sort out who is who. 8-)

It looks to be a female House Finch, protecting the territory around it's nest.

"Egregious canard". Is there a universally accepted "standard", or is it opinion? Must have missed that class. Sure hope there is an iPhone app for that, an easily applied standard of good vs bad art, that doesn't require education, thinking, and then having an opinion? Having an external editor, or critic, changes a personal vision to a collaborative vision; guess I'd rather muddle along with my bad personal vision. [Hi Bron, Nobody here said you had bad personal vision. Someday I will tackle an essay as to why art appreciation is not just "a matter of opinion." It should make for an entertaining rant even if you don't end up agreeing with it. But it will have to wait until the puppy grows up. At the moment, I'm exhausted. --Mike]

Apropos of #1 in murder, some local statistics found while seeing if any copies of John' s latest are available at my local library. St. Joseph Co. IN. Of the 65 copies, all hardbound I'm sure, the library has, all are out, and 20 patrons are waiting in line for some to be returned. No E-book copies, yet. After dinner, through your link of course, I will brave the weather of the ether, go to Amazon, and get my very own Kindle copy.

What John Camp said! The problem with flat to flat is understanding what the camera and lens distorts; photography has been a great boon as a resource for draughtsmen. I do think the photo should be ones own, though. Silly me.

Having grown up the son of a landlord, no, focus on what you do best. The pain and suffering of dealing with tenants will never be compensated by the monetary gains, though maybe I was at the wrong end of the equation. (Cleaning up after tenants). I am however, a firm believer in making an offer on property you are interested in. Low ball is good; don't let the broker tell you it's insulting. My wife and I halved the asking price of the house we are in; I knew they could never sell it the way it was, except to somebody like me, and all of the problems were surface. Mike, make an offer based on where you are now, don't take any BS from agent, their job is to present offers, and don't worry, let them counter. It is possible to insult sellers, but again, the agent needs to do something for their commissinon, convince the sellers this is a serious offer based on your position, not an insult!!! We remodeled, but we are 1 mile from my wife's museum, and 50 feet from my studio, (though there are zombie raccoons and snow drifts), and we like our home. We can fit a lot of kids in here. It just sounds as if the other house is better; and don't hesitate to let everybody involved know your situation; it might be a factor.

It did make me smile, though it was more at the distinguished linguist acknowledging that a living language trumps him.

First "real" camera, Nikon F, 50 F1.4, black, 1968, built like a tank, heavy like a tank, even sounded like a tank .... no wait, .... Canon S110, small, fits in pocket, almost silent, shoots in available darkness, and is usually with me. Like it a lot! 8-)

Kinda late, but ... Chandler, Stout, Richard Stark, and amongst contemporary crime authors, John Sandford, AKA John Camp.

Thanks Ctein, and a John Sandford/Ctein novel; I'm intrigued.

I've manfully controlled myself, no snark, but sometimes an image just is ... to alter something the painter, Edward Hopper said, "If I could say it, I wouldn't need to photograph it". Nice discussion, but sometimes words get in the way of what is a visual medium.