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Golden Eagle > Honey Badger

IMHO, if you do just a little bit on all the lights, it looks more natural than doing big crosses on just a couple.

Sections of the towpath up in the Cuyahoga Valley NP are shut down during spring's nesting season... 3 or 4 mating pairs up there now.

There's a despeckle filter in the GIMP (http://www.gimp.org) if PSElements doesn't include it.

Probably easier to show some of the shots I've gotten off with my existing gear: Worthington-Kilbourne HS, 2009. WAAAYY up in the top nosebleeds http://bbhhs96.dyndns.org/~czakelj/cr/IMG_1813.JPG http://bbhhs96.dyndns.org/~czakelj/cr/IMG_1828.JPG Solon HS, 2010. No nosebleeds, but still kinda far back http://bbhhs96.dyndns.org/~czakelj/cr/IMG_2608.JPG http://bbhhs96.dyndns.org/~czakelj/cr/IMG_2637.JPG I'm getting that feeling as well... if I'm not going to notice a huge difference in the glass, and the extra grand is just for a name, well, I'm not in it for the names or the bragging, just to get better shots

I did, but apart from the basics learned during high school photo class, and the occasional useful nugget dropped by my parents' neighbor, I'm pretty much learning as I go. Right now, I'm frustrated by the glass I have, and I know just enough to recognize that as the limiting factor. It also means I don't really have enough experience to know what's important when shopping... Example: You tag IS as being a questionable feature, but at $840, it seems to be a big deal. Said parents' neighbor once told me shutter speed should be at least equal to focal length, notched one faster (ie, 85mm focal becomes 1/125 shutter). But I've been getting decent shots off at 1/40 or so with no mechanical support on the 17-85 lens I have now, so it's hard to say just how important that "rule" really is. Is it the IS giving me that much of an edge, or is his rule just bunk? One thing Tim suggested was a fixed 100 f/2, though that means I'm only halfway to the 200mm Jeff recommended. Are 2x converters/extenders still around? Or do they make everything look like shit?

Yeah, not going to be able to drop $2k on a piece of glass right now, but browsing the BH site opens the question... if I spend $1k for a 70-200 f/4 (as opposed to f/2.8), or even a 70-300 f/4.5, will I be screwing myself over in the long run?

Might take you up on that in February (next show I know of that's coming up) if I haven't splurged by then Besides the name, what would I gain/lose by choosing Canon versus Sigma (or any other third-party mfg)?

Yeah, makes sense. Even standing still, it's easy to peg a Flip video by the amount of shaking compared to even small palm-held camcorders. Would solar be an option to recharge while not filming? These things don't chew up all that much power, though the added weight could be an issue.

That's what I'm not sure of... what is a "long enough" focal length to make the performer(s) fill the whole frame and still look good? Or put another way, if I'm trying to frame someone's little one singing "I"m a Little Teapot" from the nosebleeds of the Worthington-Kilbourne HS auditorium, what will I need to have a non-jittery shutter (1/60? 1/125?), slow enough ISO to not get noise, and enough DOF to adapt to someone not standing in one spot?

Looking for some shopping advice... At least a couple of times a year, I find myself sitting in darkened auditoriums trying to get off some shots of people doing solos on-stage. Currently using a Canon EFS 17-85mm (f/4-5.6 IS USM) lens with Rebel XTi, and getting off some respectable shots, but it's still clear that I'm sitting way back, and I'm having to use high ISO plus wide-open aperture just to keep my shutter speed above 1/30 (and I've had "how the hell can you hold your hand steady that long" comments from a semi-pro). SO... I know I'm looking for a relatively long focal length to get the zoom in, and I'll need wider glass just to collect more light at that length, but after that, I'm pretty much clueless. Hopefully won't need to spend a couple grand on this, and not limiting myself to just Canon glass, so school me up and give suggestions :dumb:

Why not keep a couple of batteries in your pocket? Having carried a Flip around China this summer, I don't see how sticking it in your pants or shirt would cause too much of an issue while mushing.

Did a 401k > Roth direct rollover/conversion last year, and the process was relatively painless. If possible, make it a direct rollover (even if you don't do the conversion) so that you don't have to worry about the whole 60-day BS. This is usually easy to do (one phone call, maybe one form) if it's within the same investment house (eg. employer 401k was with Vanguard, and you're staying with Vanguard), if you're changing houses you'll have to see how the new house wants the money (typically a check from the old house with something like "payable fbo cementhead"). Finally, if you do convert from 401k to Roth, be sure to have fed taxes taken out, otherwise you'll have a potentially HUGE bill to pay come tax season. Hell, you'll still have a huge state (but not local, usually) bill to pay, but at least you can take care of the fed as part of the transfer process.

GF and I took a Cisco Flip camera with us to China this summer. Thing worked beautifully, although being so small (it's the same size as a deck of cards), you get a LOT of "handycam" shaking.

Up to 97k on all Mobil1 synth for my dd... but 0w20 doesn't come in dino-flavor, so it's not like I have a choice in the matter.

Delta vs. Wye is basically how the wires inside the motor or transformer are wound. The physics behind them are the same... wire loops create a magnetic field which is then used to create motion (a motor), or a flux inside some material which is then used to create a new voltage inside a second set of wire loops (transformer). Where they differ is how the loops are connected in relation to each other, at the ends or in the middle. With regards to voltages, what you can get from the different systems is different (you can't get 277V from a 480V delta without transformers, but it's right in front of your face in a wye, likewise you can get 240V from a delta, but not a wye). So if you're able to measure what's inside the panel, you can usually figure out what you have to work with, but if all you have are sockets, then there's no way to tell whether you have 120/208/240 high leg delta, 120/208 wye, or 120/240 split.

Meh, I'm not going to pounce on that. HVAC gear is regularly stamped 460V even though it's damned near impossible to find that in the US.

*THIS* is the piece of info we were all after. Knowing this, we can say as long as the prices aren't totally out of line with each other (3ph version costs 10x the 1ph or something stupid like that), and the voltages match up (208V socket and 208V oven, or there's space and money for a transformer), go ahead and get the 3ph unit. Others have pointed out the efficiency gains to be had on a higher voltage unit, and being a purely resistive load (not a motor), depending on the design it may even continue working should one of the phase coils fail

Because people don't always have the option of going either way. Assuming it's been grounded at all. One of the nice things about delta is that in an ungrounded system, one leg CAN go to ground without Bad Things happening. No... I kinda get what you're trying to describe, but it's just not doing it. Three ocean waves on top of each other isn't three-phase power, it's a surfer dude screaming "Cowabunga!!!" A better analogy is this: Start with your ocean, and waves come in EXACTLY 20 seconds apart. Every single friggin' time, like there's a giant dude out there at sea with nothing better to do than send waves in with atomic clock precision. The first wave crests, breaks, and hits the shore while the next two are still coming in. The first wave starts receding as the second begins to build, break, and crash. The first and second are now receding as the third does its thing. Over and over and over. Now what you've got is either two waves building as one recedes hard, or one at its very peak while the other two are falling away from shore. Finally, stick some sort of floating object out there, and watch as it doesn't so much as budge. It just sits there, neither rising nor falling. That is the magic of three-phase power.... the sine waves are aligned in such a way (120 degrees apart) that the sum of all three is ALWAYS zero. Because the sum is zero, you no longer need a neutral wire to carry current back, and one less wire means less cost to install, maintain, and some day decommission that equipment. I'm not going to beat shit out of anyone. He wants answers, he can either quit being all cagey like some high school girl discussing prom dresses, or post/PM what the goal is so we can give proper assistance.

Besides the "you're too stupid" response from Dennis, the better response is "Why do you ask?" If you're trying to do something specific, those who need to know the difference either learn it in trade school or college, while those who don't are carefully spoon-fed bullshit as to why you have to buy one (usually the one you don't have available) versus the other, even when it's not in their best interest. On top of that, getting 3phase to a residential application is a PITA (no electric utility I know of makes it a "standard" offering), while getting 1phase from 3phase is a simple matter of how you hook up the wires (though possibly requiring a transformer if you're given certain forms of "delta" power instead of "wye" power). If you're just looking for general eddification, those wiki pages give a sort of very basic overview, but not much more.

As the owner of a hybrid, I have only one thing to say.... Shove that bitch's mouth around the tailpipe and make her suck fumes for a good hour or two. There's absolutely zero excuse for that sort of behavior.

There will always be a place for brick-and-mortar retail, because there are times when next-day air simply isn't fast enough. We've already sent customers of ours to MicroCenter while they're doing installs because they needed something RightThisDamnedInstant. Where's my facility? The former CompuServe headquarters.

Yeah, quit worrying about the processor's nameplate. Between 2000-2009, every system I built was AMD because, as you noticed, Intel was more expensive, and on a performance-per-dollar metric, AMD kicked ass. AMD also pushed Intel's hand in releasing true 64-bit desktop computing (Don't bring up Intel's Itanic. Just don't. You'll make a fool of yourself). Anyways, with the release of Core, Intel got back on top, so the last two builds I've done were Core2 and Core i5 based. I was looking for balls-out performance, money wasn't an object. If money IS a concern, then don't complain that it doesn't say "Intel Inside."

So what qualifies as exotic? I mean, are the neon tetras in my fish tank exotic? They're from Brazil, you know. Or maybe it's the red cherry shrimp in the other tank, they're from Indonesia (well, the original ones were... but I'm on something like the 15th generation of kiddies by now, the original parents died long ago).

Need more info to give good recommendations. Any good rep will ask you: - What are your loads? Lights? Computers? HVAC stuff? - How sensitive are your loads? Using the above choices, computers are a lot more picky about clean power than a bunch of ballast-buffered metal halide parking lot lights. HVAC gear sucks massive inrush when a compressor starts up. - What fuels are available/desired? Propane and gasoline are easy to come by, but not the greatest if you need lots of power. Diesel can be a pain to work with, but is the best at driving really heavy loads. - Is this to be a temporary or permanent installation? If it's just an evening gig every couple months, you might just want to rent something. If it's an ongoing concern, then a permanent installation with proper transfer switches is preferable. - Single phase or three phase? Food for thought