tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238002202024-03-14T02:17:40.572-04:00sevesteen.comSevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15439626386416115766noreply@blogger.comBlogger422125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-41336834661723609452023-02-13T20:59:00.000-05:002023-02-13T20:59:37.234-05:00Nice shoe care<p> This will be about basic smooth leather shoe and boot care for traditional non-sneaker shoes. Some of this may apply to sneakers, but sneaker leather is usually different than good quality dress/casual/boot leather, often having plastic coatings on the leather. (There are "dress shoes" with plastic coatings as well, those aren't good quality for the purposes of this post. If polish doesn't stick or conditioner doesn't soak in a bit it's probably coated) </p><p>TLDR version: Don't wear the same shoes every day, once or twice a year put some <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bick+4&ref=nb_sb_noss_1" target="_blank">Bick 4</a> on, let it dry and wipe it off. That's enough to maximise longevity, the rest is cosmetic. </p><p>There are different levels of care. There isn't all that much you can do for most soles. For leather soles, sole guards (thin rubber sheets glued to the soles by a cobbler) wear longer...or at least switch the wear to an easily replaceable rubber layer. If the soles are durable or worth replacing keeping the uppers in good shape makes more sense. Even minimal care will help with looks. Note, the look I'm going for is "well cared for" rather than "first time wearing". If you are going to replace soles and heels, pay attention to the layers. If you catch the wear at the first layer of sole or heel the job is easier and cheaper, the second layer (in most shoes) somewhat more expensive. If the wear gets to the welt the job becomes much more difficult and expensive, and likely not worth the cost. </p><p>Preventative: Number one is rotate your shoes--Give your shoes or boots time to thoroughly dry out between wears. Alternating between two pairs will give more than twice the life of the uppers compared to wearing one pair daily. Use shoe trees for storing dressier shoes to reduce wrinkling, curling and creasing. Trees don't have to be fancy. Cedar trees will absorb moisture and help the shoes dry faster but plastic or metal will still help hold the shape of the shoes. Trees also make polishing easier. </p><p>Keep your shoes reasonably clean. Brush dirt and dust with a horsehair brush, use a damp rag for salt or dirt that the brush won't get. Don't let salt sit on your shoes. I often see diluted vinegar recommended for salt stains, haven't needed it yet since hearing of it. </p><p>A good conditioner, applied about twice a year under normal use. Shoes that are in severe conditions will need conditioning more often, but unworn shoes still need periodic conditioning--If the leather is stiff, it probably needs to be conditioned before wearing to prevent cracking. Bick 4 is probably the most widely recommended all purpose conditioner among shoe snobs--it protects well without darkening most leather, it is relatively inexpensive but still used by some of the best cobblers. Boot oil, mink oil or neatsfoot oil give more protection in severe use but are likely to darken the leather and prevent a high shine, and over-conditioning is possible. Oils are usually limited to workboots (and similar styles of fashion boots) where durability is more important than shine. </p><p>To use Bick 4--Apply with whatever--sometimes I use fingers, a rag, an old toothbrush gets into crevices better. Let it soak in for 15 minutes or so. If it soaks in instantly, add more. After it dries brush it with a horsehair shoe brush or a soft cloth for a slight shine. </p><p>If you want more gloss, a cream polish in addition to conditioner. Venetian Shoe cream is a good neutral cream--another inexpensive product used by some very good cobblers. Neutrals are great when you don't have color damage, and especially if you have different colors of leather--a natural welt on a black shoe for example. (If you're wearing<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectator_shoe#/media/File:Oxford_full_brogue_spectator_shoes.jpg"> spectators</a>...you don't need advice from me) Creams will give more shine than Bick but not as much as a wax. If there's color damage I use a colored cream, sometimes only where the scuff is depending on how closely the polish matches the shoe. Saphir has the best reputation, Tarrago and Kelly's are also brands I'm happy with. I use mostly Tarrago because it's available at a local shoe store at about half the price of similar quality polish from Amazon. Apply with an applicator brush (a toothbrush works) or cloth, let dry, buff with a soft cloth or horsehair shoe buffing brush. </p><p>For a high gloss, a wax based polish. Kiwi is a low quality example of a wax polish. I use Allen Edmonds for colored wax because it has a good reputation and it was on sale. Saphir for neutral--I don't need much, and it works with all colors. I like to let waxes sit overnight if possible especially if trying to fix scuffs and scratches. Wax polish will build up and crack if over-applied. Cracking is mostly a problem with mirror shined shoes...which I don't do. I concentrate on the toes and heel area, avoiding wax buildup on flexible parts where it might crack. You don't always need more polish to get a shine, just buff what's already there. You also may not need a colored polish to fix a scuff, sometimes just some conditioner or neutral polish will blend in the damage. </p><p>Not all leather shoes can be realistically polished. Oily leather boots are difficult to make shiny. Conditioner still helps with oily leather, and a pigmented polish can help with uneven color. Plastic coated leather is essentially maintenance free...not that it doesn't need maintenance, but rather it won't do much good. </p><p>Avoid getting dark polish on lighter colored areas--you don't usually have to polish with color right to the edge. An exception is for decorative perforations--some people will use a darker polish wiped off immediately to highlight the perforations. Stitching may or may not absorb the color. </p><p>For buffing I have a brush for black, and a brush for everything else. Applicators are specific to that type and color of polish, dark brown and light brown use different brushes, cream and wax are also different. For oddball colors (I've got one pair of navy blue loafers...that I've polished but never worn) I'll usually use a clean spot on a rag. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-48734202099175120402022-05-31T19:32:00.003-04:002022-05-31T19:32:59.074-04:002022 Ford Maverick truck 3000 mile review<p> A while back I started shopping for a new vehicle. Wife was driving a 1998 Ranger--still reliable, but getting old and lacking modern safety features. I was driving a 2018 Honda Fit bought new. I wanted to keep the ability to haul our quad pedal bike around, to haul plywood and such from Home Depot--more than a car can hold by volume, but rarely more weight. We were thinking of a Civic and putting a roof rack or trailer hitch on one car. I saw a video review of a pre-production Maverick that didn't include a test drive. Based on that it looked almost perfect--Front drive unibody 4 door with a useful bed instead of a trunk, with a standard hybrid projected to get 40 mpg city. The only problem was that they were taking orders before any were available for test drives. It turned out that my local dealer wasn't requiring deposits (and others were refundable) so the only real risk was getting harassed by salesmen. I ordered an Ecoboost in early August, then when I found out how the E-CVT worked (It isn't a traditional belt and pulley system) changed my order to a Hybrid on August 10. I had to get the top Lariat model with the top Luxury trim package to get adaptive cruise, a feature I won't willingly go without, I didn't get any stand-alone options other than Area 51 as the no-charge color. </p><p>Then the wait. Ford has a system to inform customers of progress in their order, but that requires the dealer to properly input your email address. Apparently mine didn't. Months passed. I read r/FordMaverickTruck on Reddit, and Maverick Truck Club forums. Journalists started reviewing pre-production models, details were finalized. 2.0 Turbo (non-hybrid) trucks were being built and shipped to customers, but hybrids were delayed. Finally the hybrid EPA ratings were released and they became OKTB (Okay to Buy)...but almost immediately hybrids sold out for the 2022 model year. All Mavericks sold out in January. Finally at the beginning of April my truck arrived. </p><p>The Maverick is based on the same platform as the Escape and Bronco Sport crossovers The base model is a front drive hybrid, combining a 2.5 liter Atkinson cycle engine and 2 electric motor-generators through a planetary E-CVT transmission. This results in 191 combined horsepower, and gas mileage of 33 highway, 42 city, 37 combined. 1500lb payload and 2000 pound towing. Upgrade to the 2.0 Ecoboost turbo and horsepower goes to 250...but city mileage drops 20mpg! With the turbo you can get AWD, with AWD you can upgrade to a 4000 pound tow capacity. </p><p>The hybrid takes a bit of getting used to--push the start button, some clicks and whirrs, but no engine, just a ready message on the dash. Twist the shifter dial and go. The engine never really idles, and there's a power meter instead of a tachometer. If I had to guess, I'd say minimum RPM is around 1800. Engine noise is only vaguely related to throttle in normal use, although it will rev up when you floor the gas pedal. I'm happy with the power--it has substantially more power and acceleration than the econoboxes I'm used to driving despite being bigger. I'm also very happy with the mileage--according to the dashboard readouts of my Fit and the Maverick I'm not sure which one is better...but it appears to be the Maverick. For comparison, my one way commute is about 10 miles of 70 mph interstate, 5 city and 5 back country roads, I typically set the cruise at 5-8 mph over the speed limit. Not an "all city" mix that favors the hybrid. The Fit in the summer got 36-38 most trips (It did best on country roads to , the maverick is 38+ since I reset the 2nd trip meter shortly after I got it. </p><p>I've got experience with the driver assist systems on Hondas, mostly my Fit but also newer Accords, CRVs and an Odyssey. The Fit works about the same as the other Hondas except it beeps and turns off below 25mph where the more expensive Hondas can follow a slowing car to a complete stop. Ford is far more prone to beeping at you--It is much more likely to give a "put your hands on the wheel" message when your hands ARE on the wheel, and when the lane centering can't see the road well enough to center, it beeps at you as it shuts off...then it silently goes back to work, then it beeps again... On the other hand, Honda is more likely to complain about drifting out of your lane. Every few months the Fit would mis-judge either oncoming traffic on a curve or someone turning as grounds for an alarm and a BRAKE message on the dash, that hasn't happened on the Maverick. It is also moderately common for the Fit and I to both decide to brake at the same time resulting in much more braking force than I intended, I haven't felt that in the Maverick. </p><p>The Maverick is substantially smoother in both adaptive cruise behavior and lane centering than the Fit. One factor may be the type of system, Ford has lane centering and lane keeping, while Honda has lane keeping--Ford tries to center you, Honda only tries to keep you from leaving your lane but lets you wander from side to side. Sometimes the Fit would lose sight of a car on a winding road or a hill and accelerate when it shouldn't, and the lane keeping assist would wander if it was wet enough for tire marks to show up. The brakes on the Fit are a bit grabby--I'm not sure if that's some of the driver assist functions or due to it's rear drums. The Maverick's cruise handles curves and hills better. Brakes on the Maverick are also uneven but in different ways, more at slow speeds--I haven't been able to memorize the pressure needed for a particular amount of deceleration. I've had a few trips in an Accord hybrid, the transition between regenerative and normal brakes is much better. Honda's lane assist is a separate feature from adaptive cruise and must be turned on every trip. The Maverick's lane centering is tied to adaptive cruise, but can be disabled. The separate lane assist can be left on, it works without cruise at speeds above 45mph. Honda remembers Eco and Cruise control modes (not your set speed, but whether it's ready to set a speed) between trips, Ford has a couple of other drive modes besides normal and eco, but defaults to Normal and Cruise off for every trip. That's fairly annoying, I prefer Eco--a bit more regenerative braking when you let off the gas, a more gradual throttle, and the cruise control doesn't accelerate as hard. The steering wheel controls are shuffled and cruise control function is a bit different--I think I like Ford's better, but the differences sometimes have me doing things the Honda way, in particular I often set the cruise to the current speed instead of resuming. </p><p>The Mavericks seats are more comfortable for me on long trips. I'm not sure I will like the ActiveX seats (artificial leather) in the summer, but they were part of the package required for adaptive cruise. I do like the electric seat's ability to adjust in very small increments. I've got a very wide range of comfortable positions--I can reach everything with the seat all the way back, but unlike most cars I'm better off a few inches forward, and I can go quite a bit forward with only a tiny difference in comfort. I like heated seats far more than I thought I would . The interior style suits me-not trying to disguise that it's plastic, but nicely done with a variety of colors and textures. Instead of covering bolts with plugs, they put Ford logos on the bolts and made them attractive. (I remember 80's dashboards where fake allen bolts were a thing...) The one exception ( other than seat material) is the bronze accents on the Lariat package--I like the interiors of the lower trim models better. </p><p>I suspect I'll really like remote start in the winter, especially combined with the heated seats and steering wheel--it has been nice on the few moderately cold days so far. (I'd love a version that would let me run only a heated seat back, without having a warm butt, call it "old man mode".) The hybrid affects the air conditioning in a good way--the AC is electric, and the engine doesn't have to run continuously for the AC to run, although the engine will start up briefly every so often to keep the battery charged. </p><p>Navigation isn't available. Instead all trims have Android Auto and Apple Carplay to show your phone's maps on the truck's Infotainment screen. </p><p>The bed is about 4 1/2 feet long, probably 50 inches wide. There are slots for lumber in several places to use as a bed divider or to support 4x8 sheets, and the tailgate has a middle position where it can also support a 4x8 sheet at wheel well height There are multiple tie down points--D rings in the front corners, 4 at the tailgate opening, sliding tie downs on rails on the bed sides, and combination tie downs/bottle openers on the tailgate. I wasn't sure I'd like a tonneau cover so I got a cheap tri-fold. I keep wood in the "plywood hauling" slots--partly to keep things from sliding forward, partly to hold a folding plastic crate to have a place to put stuff where it's less likely to get leaked on if my cover isn't completely water-tight. The combination of the tonneau and locking tailgate is nice--of course someone could slash the cover open fairly easily, but they would have to know there's something worth the trouble. If this cover gets shabby or breaks I'll get a better one but so far it's doing fine. </p><p>The Lariat Luxury package comes with 110v outlets in both bed and cab, limited to 400w. I haven't used them, and like a lot of that package it isn't something I'd have bought separately. Ford includes DIY 12v wiring in the tailgate so you don't have to run your own wires to add an accessory. There's also a cubby on the passenger side that can store tie down straps or similar. </p><p>The Fordpass app lets you start, stop, lock and unlock from anywhere you have cell coverage to anywhere the truck has cell coverage, can tell you where it is, how much gas is left and how long before the next oil change. It turns out that if you try to use it while riding a bike it makes you verify that you aren't driving. (The bike in question is a two person four wheeler, and Wife was steering)</p><p>For my uses, the Maverick is exceptional. Even though it's the cheapest new truck available, I don't know that I'd prefer any of the more expensive ones at the same price. I don't need much of a truck, I don't need a truck that often--but the Maverick is pretty good as a car while being plenty of truck. It's actually a bit more truck in cargo capacity and towing than the Ranger it replaced. </p>Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-35848610543384494632022-02-27T20:48:00.000-05:002022-02-27T20:48:10.346-05:00The hybrid continuum<p>At one end of the scale, there's a pure ICE--Internal Combustion Engine. This is the normal gasoline or diesel engine everyone knows about. At the other is pure electric--Tesla, Rivian, etc. A hybrid is a mix of the two. </p><p>Why add the complexity of a hybrid? </p><p>Conventional brakes just turn speed into heat. Hybrids have regenerative braking--this runs the generator, slowing you down as it charges the battery so you can use that charge to get moving again. ICE engines are generally most efficient at a particular speed...but that speed is rarely the one you want to use for normal driving. They are often particularly inefficient at speeds you need to use most often. Atkinson Engines are an extreme version of this--They tend to make less power per liter/cubic inch of engine size, do more work per gallon of gas, and by themselves do not have enough power for normal driving at low engine speeds. Conveniently, electric motors are best where the Adkinson is worst, so a blend of the two works well. Hybrids also make it more practical to power accessories with electricity so the engine doesn't have to run to keep the AC on for example. </p><p>A mild hybrid system has a relatively small electric system. It recovers power from braking, but the hybrid motors and batteries may not be capable of powering the car alone. An early BMW system merely charged the normal 12v battery to reduce the load of the alternator. The first generation Honda Insights had "Integrated Motor Assist" a 13 hp electric motor sandwiched between the 67 hp ICE and the transmission. This allowed regenerative braking and gave a bit of extra power to the ICE--but the engine had to be running if the IMA was running. Honda continued using IMA with bigger electric motors until fairly recently. There isn't a clear line between mild and full hybrid.</p><p>A full hybrid will have a bigger electrical power system, generally with the capability of running on pure electric for short periods. The Ford Maverick pickup I have on order has a 162 HP Atkinson cycle ICE, plus 131 hp electric from two motor-generators. Electric motors have peak power at low speeds, while the ICE peak is at a higher speed. Since the peaks don't align the total is lower than just adding the two, in this case 191 hp. The ICE will attempt to only run at it's most energy efficient speed. If that's not quite enough power, the electric can help. If that is too much power, the extra goes back into the battery. When the battery nears full, the ICE will shut off, and the electric motors will take over. Under hard acceleration both ICE and electric will run until the battery is depleted, then it will be ICE alone with reduced power. Note, the electric motor-generators on the Maverick are always used even when battery power isn't, it is the various combinations of "motor" and "generator" that "shift" the transmission. In some circumstances one motor generator will generate electricity and send it to the other motor generator to keep the ICE at it's optimum speed and load. Reverse is entirely electric. </p><p>A plug in hybrid has more batteries than a full hybrid with the ability to run some substantial distance on battery alone. It is intended to be plugged in and run off that charge for most trips, but with the ability to use gasoline for longer trips. This may be similar to a full hybrid with bigger batteries, or closer to a full electric, with a relatively small ICE that only charges the battery with no connection to the wheels. </p>Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-73174848738129366602021-03-25T20:37:00.003-04:002021-12-30T16:27:49.805-05:00Sewn Shoes<p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 4rem; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br />"He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.<br />But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet." (Men at Arms, Terry Pratchett)</p><p>Years ago, I had a sole of a pair of sandals come unglued at the toe, leaving the sole flapping. I found a replacement pair. I thought to myself "At least ths sole is sewn on to these, they should last a long time". I was wrong on both counts. When that sole came loose I found out that the stitching was just decorative and didn't attach anything. As I got older i learned that a non-sneaker shoe over $100 was far more likely to last more than a year, but I still had some trouble telling the difference between $100 worth of durability and a $50 shoe with $50 worth of fashionable brand name tacked on. A few months ago Youtube suggested a video by Bedo's Leatherworks where he recrafts shoes as he explains, and I learned the difference between stitched on and cemented soles. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJgiGh0M3YGnA-K5diQE_3TXjWYG24N456T57yt8nnP6Xse5_vgc8R2LbKv_syJwGiuCgq_f4J3ehyfcSh4rHlK4e18umaaa9dzlDnkbH_SxZvLROV87Qb8W-c437srtnjWMung/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="753" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJgiGh0M3YGnA-K5diQE_3TXjWYG24N456T57yt8nnP6Xse5_vgc8R2LbKv_syJwGiuCgq_f4J3ehyfcSh4rHlK4e18umaaa9dzlDnkbH_SxZvLROV87Qb8W-c437srtnjWMung/w200-h134/image.png" width="200" /></a></div>A leather Goodyear Welt is the traditional American construction. A strip of leather (the welt) is stitched to the uppers and insole, then the midsole and usually the outsole is stitched to the welt. Bulkier and stiffer than most other methods, but durable and easy to re-sole. The construction leaves a cavity in the shoe between the insole and midsole that needs to be filled, often with cork or foam. If care is taken while recrafting the welt can be re-used through multiple resoles, and the welt can usually be replaced. (Click to enlarge the pictures--and my blog reader is mangling the layout, you may want to read this directly on Blogger)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjao6o6oT5ERFFOuZemLdQ46F3rYwvQfPD6EBCoSCwxUxE94T0WtULO-vMlGTmRyjL_ssd8K-HRaPqMZQ-nRAiuxI2Fy3OGCihlzJ3oL5eKE28fYq9urjciTRtaquv__g6EhyphenhyphenuEdg/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="751" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjao6o6oT5ERFFOuZemLdQ46F3rYwvQfPD6EBCoSCwxUxE94T0WtULO-vMlGTmRyjL_ssd8K-HRaPqMZQ-nRAiuxI2Fy3OGCihlzJ3oL5eKE28fYq9urjciTRtaquv__g6EhyphenhyphenuEdg/w200-h133/image.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p>A couple of generations ago Goodyear welt was the normal construction for even mid grade shoes, now it is limited mostly to mid-grade or better work boots. Dressier GYW shoes still exist but are relatively rare. Not all GYW shoes are quality--in particular boots that advertise it as a feature often use a plastic welt that is likely to crack. Pictured is a vintage GYW shoe with the outsole and midsole removed, showing construction details at the welt joint. The upper picture shows the welt sewn through the upper, the lower picture is the same area from the bottom. This particular shoe has Poron sheet foam filler, better shoes would generally have cork or leather. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS41d2aa6QpDn0tbSvhKZ8l6nHx1PJYptEWUT3MRM8cDvdPVYRCdqas-SRyamaLmSWQO_70ddRJDdMz_tBYte58KDEMa6_sSI52ldq1ksz3eIRM2bwlZOonrW4h1mV5g7b-Kpo2g/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="984" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS41d2aa6QpDn0tbSvhKZ8l6nHx1PJYptEWUT3MRM8cDvdPVYRCdqas-SRyamaLmSWQO_70ddRJDdMz_tBYte58KDEMa6_sSI52ldq1ksz3eIRM2bwlZOonrW4h1mV5g7b-Kpo2g/w200-h174/image.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />Blake Stitch is relatively simple in concept--the whole stack of insole, midsole and outsole is stitched straight through by a machine that can reach all the way into the toe. Sleeker and more flexible than Goodyear Welt, may need less break in. They can be re-soled, but not all cobblers have the machine to do it. They also can't be re-soled as many times--you can't re-use the holes, and when too many new holes have been made the leather will tear and there's no welt to replace. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJibnTScgv3xoEWU3G7NUnyQZCcfYIPyAd7eCCUwAHKGbS5qRZTQe8UVw6hY1yDWceTTr6jJqtEo86AXGdNf3lBvpdQ9UmbhbNYZ-rb-VCefkU3Y8KtCyRolaOeFdRTL0q3aD8g/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="732" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJibnTScgv3xoEWU3G7NUnyQZCcfYIPyAd7eCCUwAHKGbS5qRZTQe8UVw6hY1yDWceTTr6jJqtEo86AXGdNf3lBvpdQ9UmbhbNYZ-rb-VCefkU3Y8KtCyRolaOeFdRTL0q3aD8g/w200-h126/image.png" width="200" /></a></div>Hand Sewn--The toe of a moccasin style shoe is hand stitched, then the sole is usually Blake stitched to the upper. The shoe pictured is a blake stitched hand sewn loafer with the sole stitching visible inside the shoe. Blake stitched shoes may have a liner covering the inside stitching, you may be able to see traces of the sole stitching between the upper and the sole. On the shoe pictured you can see that there is no stitching visible on top of the sole, ruling out GYW without looking inside.<p></p><p>Blake Rapid is sort of a hybrid between Blake and Goodyear welt. Instead of a welt, the midsole is Blake stitched to the insole and upper, then the outsole (bottom layer) is stitched to the midsole . Eliminates the direct path for water to wick. It can be hard to tell the difference between Blake Rapid and Goodyear welt without disassembling the shoe</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA63tmhT7MNi6vM1iI1Bywxny8r6IURypubIzjBuIQ58OCltMaUgiP1Kg7Ar5pV-59Cbcwx6zvoUOBte241Us7bgcx0cVOE78AIJ8Wb6inuY47iJ_2rijOJLek7vUWiQajFrNcKA/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="544" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA63tmhT7MNi6vM1iI1Bywxny8r6IURypubIzjBuIQ58OCltMaUgiP1Kg7Ar5pV-59Cbcwx6zvoUOBte241Us7bgcx0cVOE78AIJ8Wb6inuY47iJ_2rijOJLek7vUWiQajFrNcKA/w200-h166/image.png" width="200" /></a></div>Stitch Down--The upper is folded outward, then stitched to the sole. More common on boots, and especially chukka or Desert Boots. This picture isn't entirely typical of stitch down, usually the upper leather will extend all the way to the edge of the sole rather than being inset like this one. <br /><p></p><p>A few sneakers (mostly from non-athletic brands) use a cup sole sewn through the sidewall. Born uses a similar construction on many of their shoes they call Opanka. Many of the sneakers are at least technically resoleable, Born says their version isn't. </p><p>Most other sewn sole shoes are variations and combinations of the above...but sewn soles are a tiny percentage of all shoes, mostly in work boots where the durability is more important. Most shoes are some sort of cement (glued) construction. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It turns out my floppy sandals were bondwelt, a form of cement construction that mimics the look of GYW. Bondwelted shoes have a welt that is only decorative with stitching that is only decorative, the sole is held on with glue. These often look tidier than a true GYW because it is easier to stitch in a straight line on a roll of flat welt than to follow the shape of the shoe with an upper in the way. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Shoes don't have to be sewn to be fairly durable--there are plenty of good non-sewn shoes that will last until the sole wears through. However, sewn-on soles are far more likely to be economically reasonable to resole or recraft, and with care can last through several recraftings. I also object to fake details--If there's a welt I want it to be real, if there are stitches I want them to do something. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-48230329836346268542020-11-14T20:13:00.001-05:002021-05-11T20:29:51.071-04:00Trying Google Fi<p>I decided to try Google Fi, their wireless phone service. At the same time, I purchased a new phone for Wife since her phone is ancient with horrible battery life, and wasn't fully compatible with Fi. The new phone was a Moto G Power, a mid-grade phone with excellent battery life. The phone was advertised as carrier unlocked so if Fi service didn't work, I should be able to use it on Verizon.</p><p>Apparently two phone lines require two Gmail accounts and I was supposed to sign up for Fi, then invite Wife. I tried to set her phone up first, which linked it to my account making it difficult to switch that to her phone. I also didn't want to completely leave Verizon until at least one phone was working on Fi. After several hours with support over several days, Support wanted me to abandon my phone numbers and get new ones. Finally got it mostly working except with Wife's appointments showing up on my phone. </p><p>Unfortunately coverage wasn't very good at work or while commuting. After giving it a few months, I decided to go back to Verizon. My computer is Linux. Verizon's website is virtually unusable with either Chrome or Firefox on Linux.</p><p>It turns out that the "unlocked" Fi phone isn't fully unlocked--the Google Fi software only allows phone calls on Verizon's network but does not allow data. This caused hours of support with Verizon--got the phone working by switching sim cards from phone to phone, we assumed that data would eventually show up. It didn't. The phone could do calling and texting, could not send a picture via text, and anything Internet was wifi only. I finally did some research and found that this is a known issue with the Google Fi version of this particular phone--Google's software won't let the phone connect data to Verizon's network. The software can't be changed without voiding the phone's warranty. Google offered to exchange phones with an identical phone with identical software. I questioned that, since if the software is the issue the problem is likely to remain. They persisted, I asked if there were other steps to take if the same software caused the same results, they assured me that there was. The new phone arrived, exact same results and it turns out that the "other steps" was "ask the guy at the next desk". </p><p>I finally unlocked the phone, voiding the warranty and installed Verizon software. The phone works perfectly--pretty much proving that the problem is neither hardware nor Verizon. </p><p><br /></p>Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-52023144799113878612020-07-05T15:29:00.000-04:002020-07-16T17:33:19.532-04:00Black Rights MatterI'm a middle-aged white man.<br />
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I believe that genetic differences between races are almost entirely visual, obvious and unimportant. Differences that matter to me are environmental--things like education. Even if there were no current racism, these types of things are certainly affected by past racism. My grandfather came to the US as a young adult in the 20's. According to family lore, while he was a concrete laborer he was able to start a business by getting materials on credit and paying for them once he was paid. The business grew to employ several dozen people, and my kids are better off as a result. I believe it very unlikely that a black man would have been allowed the same opportunities at that time--as a result, his great-grandkids will likely have a harder time. </div>
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However, based on the <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/publications/empirical-analysis-racial-differences-police-use-force">studies</a> I've seen, I don't think blacks are more likely to be murdered by police than whites. Another data point--June 2020 (the last full month as I write this),<a href="https://heyjackass.com/enlightening-commentary/june-wrap-up/"> Chicago had 469 gunshot injuries, 2 shot by the police, plus an additional 87 gunshot deaths, none of those by police</a>. The police aren't the major problem for life and death here. This is my main disagreement with the phrase "Black Lives Matter"--If the studies I'm basing my opinion on are correct, the death part isn't a racist issue. We need to fix that problem, but if police murders aren't significantly different by race then looking to solve the problem via race is unlikely to work. On the other hand, Black Rights Matter--and the racial aspect is far more likely to be important. I do believe that blacks are unjustifiably abused by police at a much higher rate than whites. This makes logical sense--a racist cop can abuse blacks in smaller ways and be almost guaranteed to get away with it, but a killing will be investigated thoroughly. I also think that millions of smaller abuses are more important than a handful of deaths. </div>
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What do we do? As individuals, I don't know what we can do, other than don't be racist and support government policies that will help. <br />
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Policies that I think will help:<br />
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End the drug war--Not just decriminalizing pot, but legalization of virtually everything. Whether or not a chemical is available to the general public should be based on its danger to others and not on its potential for recreational use. Maybe pure fentanyl or LSD is too potent as a poison to allow unrestricted use, (I don't know) but then it should be treated like cyanide or similar, and more than likely dilute forms should be allowed. The fact that some people might enjoy it should be considered a positive if it is considered at all. I would probably support a prescription requirement for antibiotics and similar where your misuse can harm me.<br />
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Even better, eliminate all victimless crimes--If you aren't harming or seriously endangering someone else without their consent, it should not be a crime. Not just drugs, but prostitution, gambling, sin taxes, etc--you should be free to do really stupid stuff to yourself. Reduce selective enforcement. If we can't or won't enforce a law, take it off the books...and if you can prove selective enforcement that should be an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmative_defense">affirmative defense</a>. You should probably be allowed to be peacefully drunk in public, disturbing the peace while sober should be the same as disturbing the peace stoned or drunk. Note, DUI laws stay, that's endangering others. </div>
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End <a href="https://fee.org/articles/police-accountability-begins-with-ending-qualified-immunity/">qualified immunity</a> If police or a policeman violates your rights in a meaningful way, they should be liable under almost all circumstances. Police departments should be responsible for most property damage they cause--virtually all damage to an innocent party's property, and even to a criminal's property when the damage isn't reasonable compared to the crime. <br />
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End <a href="https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police/asset-forfeiture-abuse">civil asset forfeiture</a> and other forms of policing for profit. There should be no permanent forfeiture without a conviction. Fines and forfeitures go to the general fund, not to the department, and the general fund can't give them back or otherwise incentivize fines. Where state law forbids civil forfeiture, end loopholes where departments can partner with federal agencies for a percentage of the seized assets...or just end federal forfeiture. While it may be reasonable for some items to be held by police until trial to make sure they aren't hidden, the bias needs to be towards the owner. Very early in the process there should be a hearing, and the government should have to show the criminal connection with at least the same standards as a civil trial. The police should be responsible for damages to items they hold, and if they are found to hold something without cause they must return the item plus a percentage of the item's value that's similar to the interest rate that the owner would qualify for. </div>
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End investigatory no-knock warrants, or more likely all no knocks except to capture dangerous, violent felons. In particular, the potential for the destruction of evidence isn't justification for a no-knock. We also need to verify that no-knock warrants are following proper procedures--that the application isn't just a cut and paste, and that the judge is actually reading and reviewing, that there isn't a less risky method available. Judges should be random, police should not be able to judge shop.<br />
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As much as possible, end "the process is the punishment". Bail needs to be reasonable and based on how likely that person is to show up for trial, with a basis in statistics for that particular crime. There need to be incentives against excessive bail or a high bail used as leverage for a plea bargain. I would probably like to see some process for refunding bail bondsman costs for someone found innocent, or for a substantially lower crime.<br />
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Get coercive plea bargains and over-charging under control. I do want incentive for a guilty person to plead guilty, but we need to make sure we don't have incentives for innocent people to plead guilty. Plea bargains should never be for a tiny fraction of the potential jail time or fine. I think I would like something similar to the English system where an early plea to the crime charged gets half your sentence reduced, with less reduced as you get closer to the final verdict. I'd also like to require that prosecutors prove the crime charged or the suspect goes free--in other words if you charge someone with attempted murder but only prove assault then there's no conviction.<br />
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End pretextural stops, where "you crossed the center line, I haven't decided whether to give you a ticket, may I search your car for drugs and weapons?" The officer should have to record what the justification is in a timestamped form before the stop is made, and there should be a bias towards dashcam or body cam evidence. The recorded justification doesn't have to be fancy, just a verbal announcement on the cam prior to the stop would be enough. This goes for stop and frisk as well--if the policeman doesn't have a reason, he doesn't get to stop. There also needs to be some tracking of how often the suspicion is correct--if a particular officer suspects a gun often but rarely finds one...<br />
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None of these are racial, all of them will have a disproportionate benefit to blacks. None of them depend on having just the right people with power.<br />
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Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-48235639242402144222020-01-21T21:44:00.001-05:002021-05-11T20:16:17.451-04:00Selling fearI recently heard a presentation by <a href="https://strategosintl.com/">Strategos International</a> on workplace safety and suicide prevention. The speaker almost immediately set off my BS detector.<br />
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Bits and pieces of the speech, paraphrased and filtered through my memory:<br />
We're a big deal with major clients. I'm Vice President of... (If your company is a big deal, why is a vice president doing a routine speech?)<br />
We love companies like...who hire us before they have an incident. (Incidents are inevitable without their help?)<br />
I bet the White Settlement Texas church wished they had a security plan before there were 3 dead (The murderer was shot and killed by a member of the security team, while several other parishioners drew guns and advanced on the shooter. That sounds like they had a plan, even if it didn't turn out perfectly)<br />
The world is a more and more dangerous place (except statistically <a href="https://stevenpinker.com/publications/better-angels-our-nature">it isn't</a>, murder is at or near the lowest level it has been in my lifetime)<br />
We've had XXXX school shootings since... (No definition given, so what counts as a school shooting? What does it have to do with workplace safety?)<br />
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The speech was padded to be half an hour, but could be summed up in a few lines--Most suicides and spree shooters show signs, talk of violence before they strike. so "see something, say something NOW"<br />
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According to Google, their headquarters is a little <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x87c0dd778d018983%3A0xe1649a10d0d869ad!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP9zkgQXuxQjGMtaP9f-R4RpaHBKl0fiZeYWyBt%3Dw329-h160-k-no!5sstrategos%20international%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipP9zkgQXuxQjGMtaP9f-R4RpaHBKl0fiZeYWyBt&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjKve_HgI7nAhVow1kKHVaCB2AQoiowFXoECBYQBg">one-story building</a> next door to a strip mall. Google Street View shows the strip mall's parking lot to be <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8895498,-94.5229339,3a,75y,39h,79.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3eCK6Gs7HjiJfssdroMzWQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656">oddly empty.</a> It turns out that the strip mall is entirely occupied by the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8904314,-94.5227026,3a,75y,138.12h,133.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skIxYKayBX1O7Cd3D6bcOxQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192">International House of Prayer University.</a> Strategos main focus appears to be church security, but they got their start with a grant to teach defense against school shooting. According to their website, the Vice President for Operations is a black belt in Sho-Lum-Tae Karate. Searching "Sho Lum Tae", the top results are all that the vice president of operations is a black belt. Basically nothing I found on Google helped to disarm my BS detector, it just got more and more odd.<br />
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<br />Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-68287977802444104982019-11-14T22:17:00.002-05:002021-07-13T05:47:37.503-04:00Weight maintenance and random thoughtsAccording to my diet gurus, almost everyone who maintains their goal weight 2 years will maintain it 5. I'm past 3 years well below target. What was my target? 211...(based on my max allowed weight in the USAF)...then 200, then 192 which is what I consider my real goal--that's based on Metlife's maximum longevity. I got down to a one-day low of 176. Now I'm around 183, plus or minus a couple. If I get above 185 for more than a day I get a bit stricter until I'm back down.<br />
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Some of this will repeat from my last weight loss post, this is what I've settled on for maintaining.<br />
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Oddities:</div>
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For a few months my tailbone was sore. That improved. </div>
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My feet are at least a full size smaller. </div>
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My hat is a lot smaller. </div>
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For a while I would occasionally kick myself in the ankle when I walked.<br />
Most candy is too sweet, when I was very strict most candy was unpleasant.<br />
Either fewer or vastly less severe colds.<br />
Less congestion and sinus trouble.<br />
I can't lift as much, but I've got far greater endurance.<br />
Rarely need an afternoon nap.<br />
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I've settled on a relatively limited diet, with days off a few times a month.<br />
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I cook main dishes ahead in big batches and freeze in pint deli containers--2 kinds of chili, several spicy bean dishes, split pea soup, hummus, Alton Brown's Winter vegetable soup. Most of these are about 7 or 8 pints at a time.<br />
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Strong black Aeropress coffee early in the morning. (by strong I mean 3 scoops per mug, Aeropress lets you go this strong without being bitter. The coffee being bitter, I mean)<br />
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Breakfast around 9am at work, varies or skipped at home. A pint of raw vegetables (usually mini sweet peppers), a pint or so of fruit. I was also drinking a smoothie with a pound of frozen fruit and a half cup of almond milk, I've stopped that.<br />
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Lunch is a pint of raw vegetables, a pint of cooked vegetables with Chipotle Mrs Dash, a pint of main dish and a pint of fruit. After lunch I often have about half an ounce of 70% dark chocolate. Not too particular about the brand, most 70% tastes pretty good to me, 80% or higher is too bitter. Milk chocolate is now too sweet.<br />
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Another cup of coffee early afternoon. I was also trying to reduce my caffeine, so I'm limited to 2 cups a day., or sometimes iced tea in the summer. I don't drink pop anymore, I do have selzer, sometimes plain, sometimes flavored but not sweetened.<br />
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Snack is a pint of fruit or raw vegetables.<br />
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Dinner is a huge salad, at least a pound and a half, often over 2 pounds. Kale, spinach, mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, half an avocado (when available) and about 1 1/2 oz nuts and seeds most of the time. I alternate between a small sweet onion and homemade walnut vinaigrette dressing, otherwise a chopped Granny Smith apple, grapes and raisins with half an ounce of commercial raspberry dressing and 2 oz lemon juice. Another pint of main dish, or something from the air fryer--sweet potato fries or crunchy buffalo chickpeas. I weigh many of my salad ingredients to get proportions right and to avoid too much dressing or nuts. I may also have an ounce or so of cheese.<br />
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At first I thought a food processor was essential. I was using it to chop salad among other things. Now I don't use it much, instead I have a family sized salad slicer guide. Dump salad stuff in whole or in large chunks and cut it all at once. I also thought a high power blender was needed, but now that I'm not drinking daily smoothies it gets less use as well. I'm glad I have them and still use them, but I don't consider them essential. In retrospect, I might not recommend daily smoothies--very little effort for the calories, and leaving them out seems to give a bit more leeway for off diet days without exceeding my max weight. I suspect weight loss might be even faster without. On the other hand, I lost half a pound a day for months with them, so they are at least a substantial improvement on what I ate before. Maybe to start, then dropping them when my weight loss slowed? Even though breakfast is usually 14 hours or more after my last meal, I'm not particularly hungry then. I'm more hungry about 4 hours after lunch.<br />
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Restaurants are very difficult, and usually I don't even try to stay on diet if I have to eat out. Salad bars are usually limited in the greens and the dressings are generally fairly bland for the calories. Kind of annoying to plan a day trip if I don't want to be off diet, I'll have an early lunch and a late breakfast.<br />
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My diet gurus wanted very low salt. I eat fairly low salt--I don't add it to anything. I try to get "low sodium" but I don't try all that hard. I'm old enough that I usually have to get up once during the night to pee...but not the night after I've had a normal diet, or even a moderate serving of chips or similar. I don't drink as much liquid as I did, although I'm sure I get more in my fruit.<br />
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At first normal meals would make me a little queasy, especially if there was lots of bread or starch. That's not entirely gone if I go overboard, but it isn't usually a problem.<br />
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There's a common belief that "almost all diets fail, the few that succeed at first almost all fail within a few years". I was trying to find the exact statistics for that...and found that it is apparently based on a single very old study where people were given a single set of diet instructions. My experience with this has not been consistent with "so hard almost nobody succeeds"--this has not been all that difficult, nowhere near at my limit of willpower. It's annoying, there's more time chewing and more frequent grocery visits, but not really a challenge once you're used to it. <br />
Worth it.<br />
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Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-84676146230427344682019-09-19T22:06:00.001-04:002021-02-20T07:58:42.242-05:00why does anyone need an AR-15Recently I bought my first "real" rifle, a Ruger AR-556. This is Ruger's version of the Colt AR15, sharing ancestry with the military M16. (M4 is the current standard rifle, it is mechanically an M16, but with a shorter barrel and telescoping stock) AR15 is a Colt trademark, AR is used to refer to all rifles of this type.<br />
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<i>Isn't that too powerful for civilians? </i> No, the .223 (5.56mm) is at the low end of rifle power. Before WWII, almost all armies used bolt action rifles with a much more powerful cartridge, generally near the limit of what a draftee soldier could handle one shot at a time. During Vietnam we switched from .308 to .223 caliber giving up some range and power for the ability to control full auto fire and carry two or three times more ammo. Most other armies followed a similar path. Hunters of medium to large game generally wanted something closer to the old full power rounds.<br />
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<i>But it will go through a bulletproof vest! </i> Bulletproof vests are a compromise, designed to protect against handguns without excess bulk. Rifles (other than .22 rimfire) are far more powerful than handguns and will penetrate most vests. A vest to withstand rifle fire would be much bulkier for little real world benefit, since rifles are rarely used against police.<br />
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<i>Isn't the AR a military style rifle? </i> Depends on what you mean by style. Many if not most rifles have military ties--in some cases a military design was adopted by civilians, in others the opposite. Most military rifles from the last 100 years are either more powerful or full auto--intermediate caliber semiautos like the AR-15 are uncommon in military use. Before must service rifles were full auto it was common for leftover military guns to be sold as surplus, generally a really good way to get a quality rifle cheap.<br />
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<i>Civilians shouldn't own machine guns! </i>What crimes are you aware of by legally owned machine guns? You're almost certainly wrong, we go decades without violent crimes using legal machine guns anywhere in America. It is possible to legally own a true machine gun, but only if it was registered prior to 1986, if you've had a background check, and you've paid a $200 transfer tax every time ownership changes.<br />
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<i>Isn't the AR an assault rifle?</i> The M16 is, the modern AR15 is not. Assault rifle has a pretty standard definition of a machine gun using an intermediate power rifle cartridge. <br />
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<i>But it is an assault weapon, and it is a rifle, what's the difference</i>? Assault weapon is a term invented to sound like assault rifle. For 10 years, assault weapon rifles (there was a definition for pistols as well..that included most of the pistols that police use) were defined federally as a semiautomatic rifle with a removable magazine and 2 or more of the following:<br />
<b>Folding or telescoping stock</b> (so a stock adjustable to fit 2 different people would fall under this)<br />
<b>Pistol grip</b>--a gun is more deadly if the angle of your wrist changes?<br />
<b>Bayonet mount</b> (do we really have bayonet crime?)<br />
<b>Flash hider or threaded barrel to accommodate one</b>. A flash hider redirects the flash so less shows up to the shooter, it is still visible to others. They are also used to make a 14" barrel legally 16 inches to duplicate the look of an M4.<br />
<b>Grenade launcher</b>--this one is particularly silly. An underbarrel grenade launcher is more restricted than an AR15 by itself (same rules as real machine guns), while a 22mm launcher is a flash hider of 22mm diameter, so a rifle grenade slides over it. Plus each grenade falls under the same rules as a machine gun, including the $200 transfer tax.<br />
If this is the best they could come up with, it indicates to me that there isn't a real functional difference, they are banning things that look scary--or they are banning whatever they can get away with.<br />
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<i>Aren't they easily converted to machine guns?</i> AR15's are not easily converted except by replacing the sear with an auto sear...which is legally a machine gun all by itself, subject to all the laws of machine guns. The receivers of AR15's have enough differences from M16s that the "machine gun" parts of the M16 either will not fit or will not function as machine guns. There was a time when some semiautomatic machine gun lookalike guns (mostly pistol caliber) were easily converted, this loophole closed decades ago--current law says that if it is easily converted, it is a machine gun.<br />
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<i>What about capacity? Isn't that a problem? </i><br />
There is at least some sense to that in the particular, unusual situation of spree murders, but it isn't inherent in the AR-rather almost ANY gun with a box magazine (which is almost all semiautomatics) can take a larger magazine. You probably won't see many extremely high capacities in larger calibers just because the magazine length and weight would be unwieldy. Capacity works both ways though--a good guy is likely to have only the capacity he's legally allowed.<br />
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<i>You don't need an AR for hunting, do you?</i> Did Rosa Parks need to sit on the front of the bus? Although I don't hunt, .223 ARs are used for hunting when the game is small enough, with deer being somewhere around the upper limit. The Second Amendment isn't about hunting--it was written by literal revolutionaries. It was meant for a situation like a president who refuses to leave office, for police turning a blind eye when racists firebomb churches, to protect against rioting, looting or foreign invaders.<br />
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<i>A couple of guys with AR15's can't stand up to the US Army. </i>A couple of guys shouldn't be able to. A majority on the other hand should be able to withstand their own government if the government won't obey or allow an honest election. I see this as deterrence rather than something that will ever happen--As long as we CAN revolt, we won't need to. To be clear, I don't think we are anywhere near needing to revolt, but I don't want to move in that direction.<br />
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<i>The second amendment only applies to guns available when it was written, and it's a collective right </i>Does freedom of the press only apply to literal manual, mechanical presses? Does freedom of speech cover telephone conversations? What would be an unconstitutional infringement of a collective right?<br />
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<i>That's different, speech doesn't kill people. </i>How many kids has anti-vax idiocy killed? And yet giving the government the ability to censor this sort of speech would be worse. We've had bans on sex worker ads under the pretext of protecting exploited women and girls, that in fact makes sex work more dangerous.<br />
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<i>OK, I don't know the details, but isn't it obvious we need to do something to stop these mass shootings?</i> How much should we base laws and loss of rights on sensationalism? We're talking about 0.24% of gun murders, according to Mother Jones magazine. What about the Red Menace and McCarthy? There were a few communist agents in the government and Hollywood back then, there are almost certainly a few now--does that justify purges and blacklists? Another possibility for "do something" is to violate the first amendment instead of the second--these shootings are more likely in the days after a previous one. If we restricted reporting on the first one, if we didn't keep reporting the name of these losers, refused to let them become famous we would have fewer of them.<br />
...and while I would love it if news organizations would adopt that policy voluntarily, or even via threads of boycott, I'm firmly against a law demanding it. A free press is just as important as gun rights. I don't want the Trump administration or any other in charge of deciding what's "fake news"--especially since there is no way to limit this to what was originally intended.<br />
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So why an AR for me? In the 70's and 80's, there were many, many different architectures of personal computers. Eventually IBM released their version. This used many third party parts including the operating system, making the clone industry possible. It wasn't the best or cheapest at first, but the backing of IBM got it past the initial teething pains until it became the dominant type of computer. The AR-15 took a somewhat similar path--Invented by Armalite, sold to Colt, years of improvements resulting in a lightweight and reliable gun. At some point the patents expired and the clone market opened up (this took a lot longer than with computers), now it is the most common centerfire rifle type, possibly the most common overall. (Centerfire effectively means anything more powerful than a .22 rimfire, including most handguns) If you gol look at the rifle section of a typical gun shop, you'll probably find something like roughly a third .22 rimfire, a third ARs and a third everything else--and a lot of that last third are guns too powerful to be practical in an AR platform. There is no worry about the manufacturer dropping support or going out of business. it's the most common for many reasons, and many of those reasons apply to me.<div><br /></div><div>comments are off due to a persistent spammer. <br />
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<br /></div>Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-10873714543628142082019-07-12T22:37:00.002-04:002019-07-12T22:37:56.084-04:00Drug legalizationSaw the same basic argument by <a href="http://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/">Aesop</a> on two of the blogs I follow, <a href="https://borepatch.blogspot.com/">Borepatch</a> and <a href="https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/">Bayou Renaissance Man</a> Turns out my fisking of https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2019/07/if-we-legalize-and-tax-drugs-it-will.html is too long to leave as a comment, so I'll do it as a post here.<br />
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<i>...drug dealers and narco-cartels will line up twenty deep to pay their taxes on their newly legalized products, they being such law-abiding and tax-paying folks since forever.</i><br />
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Properly legalized, current dealers and cartels won't be the ones selling. They won't be able to compete with merely sleazy but mostly legal operations, let alone if "corporate greed" gets involved. (Note, I'm generally in favor of corporate greed). Sure, they might control where the majority is grown and produced now, but there are lots of places you can grow the raw materials...if you don't have some government official with a gun you need to bribe or hide from.<br />
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<i>...cartels will not smuggle drugs in illicitly, unlike they already do with legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco products, which was your most recent argument for why we should stop trying to stop drugs from getting here.</i><br />
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Does anyone smuggle cigarettes to Missouri? If we tax drugs at multiples of their free market price there will be smuggling. Don't do that unless you're trying to fail.<br />
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<i>...drug cartels and dealers will not undercut the price of legal, taxed drugs by selling their product for less, exactly unlike they've been doing with pot in Califrutopia since 0.2 seconds after weed became legal here, because they're not capitalists, and will do nothing to maintain and expand their market share, and profits, even by continuing to break the law.</i><br />
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California tax rates are rarely the right answer, no matter what the question. <br />
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<i>...the cartels will not get fifty times wealthier, once getting their product safely into the U.S. will become virtually consequence free once it hits our shores, and thus be emboldened to try to take over this country de facto if not actually de jure, as they already have in any number of nations south of the Rio Grande.</i><br />
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Profit margins will be similar to other products, unless we do something stupid like California-tax them. With legal competition, the amount of money will not support cartels, especially if they keep their risks and their legit competition doesn't. That's true even if the legal producers have to grow in less than ideal conditions--if it needs a greenhouse to grow in Texas or Ohio, and it's legal, that isn't much of a barrier.<br />
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<i>...drug dealers will never, ever allow minor children to get their hands on drugs, just like that never happens with alcohol and tobacco now.</i><br />
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<i>...they will never expressly market their products to younger users, knowing that the actuarial tables means that as their old clientele dies off from using their products, that's the only way to continue raking in fabulous sums of money, unlike producers of legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco do right now, and since forever.</i><br />
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I knew who to get pot from in about 6th grade, late 70's, a few years later than that for pills. (note. "knew who" isn't the same as "bought from") I was driving before I could reliably get beer, which is what I actually wanted. The dealer was risking jail to sell to anyone, selling to a kid made little to no difference. A carryout on the other hand had plenty of risk-free customers, the tiny extra profit selling to me wasn't worth it. There's a really good chance that legalization would make it more difficult for teens to get drugs. Unless things have improved since the 70's, it can't be much easier.<br />
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And MOST of the point of legalization is that there won't be fabulous sums of money to corrupt everything. Nobody sane is worried about Bacardi taking over governments. Cartels aren't doing this to get people hooked, they are doing it to sell. They can't afford to give drugs away until they are illegal again.<br />
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<i>...drug users will never shoot up in public, they being such famous respecters of community standards in the public square and public sensibilities since forever.</i><br />
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<i>...drug users will never discard their needles and paraphernalia in public places, they being so well-known for their long-term planning skills, their respect of other peoples' welfare, and being such all around great neighbors.</i><br />
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If you want to rid some places of junkies, which would work better: 1. Make drug use illegal everywhere, even though that hasn't worked so far 2. Make drug use legal in private, moderately criminal in public, and very criminal in a handful of places like schoolyards.<br />
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<i>...junkies desperate for a fix will not rob, burgle, and thieve any longer, despite not being able to afford a fix, because they are such law-abiding citizens, and so well-provided with long-term planning and financial responsibility skills.</i><br />
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If someone is going to steal to feed their habit, I'd rather that habit be as cheap as possible so they don't have to steal as much.<br />
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<i>...police enforcing the collection of the taxes on legal drugs will never bungle the address on warrants for violators of same, and never, ever shoot innocent citizens, which every Dope For Dope argues as a reason to end the War On Drugs now.</i><br />
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Do we really have problems and raids collecting liquor taxes, cigarette taxes, etc? I've never heard of a bungled beer tax raid. The idea that drugs will be sold by the same people with the same methods and locations is absurd--it will be the sleazy carryout that used to sell "bath salts" and "tobacco use only" glass pipes.<br />
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<i>...ordinary citizens will not see DUIs skyrocket, once pot, meth, cocaine, heroin, and everything else join alcohol as legal drugs to imbibe prior to a quick trip to the store for more.</i><br />
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Or maybe we allow delivery, or Uber. We aren't going to have a huge spike in use. Chances are pot use will go up, alcohol down a bit and not much change with other drugs, the people who will take them already do. And we haven't even begun to talk about people in legit pain whose doctors are afraid to proscribe medically appropriate amounts of legal drugs. God forbid a cancer patient gets a buzz. And I've yet to see someone seriously advocating legalization of driving stoned.<br />
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<i>...employees and employers will see far less people stoned off their ass at work while using power tools, forklifts, semi-tractors, cranes, and every other machine known to man, just like no one now ever comes to work drunk, which will make work a much safer place than now.</i><br />
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Employers would still be allowed to drug test. I've known more people who say they are clean because of employee testing than fear of arrest. On the other hand, I don't hang out with known users, my sample may be biased.<br />
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<i>...medical insurance prices will plummet once anyone who wants to can get heroin and cocaine any time, anywhere, there being no actual medical consequences to their use, neither once nor serially.</i><br />
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Let insurance companies give better rates based on actual risk--those of us who don't use can get better rates than drunks or junkies. I'll give up a bottle of pee or a chunk of hair every so often, or every ER visit to get cheaper rates.<br />
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<i>...ER wait times will plummet because of the total absence of millions of more drug addicts after legalization, and your father or grandmother having a stroke or heart attack will never have to sit around in the waiting room hoping not to die because every bed in the hospital will not be filled up with the drunk and the stoned in small armies, 24/7/365.</i><br />
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There will be fewer people in ERs just trying to scam some narcotics.<br />
There will be fewer people overdosing on Fentanyl-laced drugs (which EVERTHING I're read says accounts for an overwhelming majority of current overdoses). <br />
There will be fewer people overdosing because they got a stronger batch than expected.<br />
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<i>...the cost to society of even the anemic, hamstrung, and deliberately and corruptly incompetent half-assed current War On Drugs will not pale into infinitesimal insignificance beside the new cost to society and civilization of "Legalize and Tax".</i><br />
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Legalize and lightly tax--tax it like beer, not like California pot or New York cigarettes. If you tax it so poor people can't afford it...you lose most of the benefits of legalization. Let police and prisons concentrate on crime that directly hurts or risks decent people. <br />
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Recreational drugs are generally stupid and bad for your health. Freedom includes the right to do things I think are stupid. Legalization done right may be bad for junkies, but it's their choice. Legalization done right will be good for the rest of us. Prohibition of alcohol was a well-intentioned disaster that we eventually fixed. The War on Drugs is pretty much the same, except it's taking much longer to fix. Maybe "legalize everything" is too far (and maybe not) but "prohibit everything except alcohol" is too far the other direction. <br />
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Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-69874970952893904972019-04-28T13:44:00.000-04:002019-04-28T13:44:31.787-04:00eBay lighting setup<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAdVSItBkC4F5d8P94ncB0nLv8Ddrum-BRp77WY5fq8JPMBFrU8hAbyWTRh_PMkYIz-2-LW22ctYsDEbBN7YCujKs8MTMecrEV-frm1t_NEQyNC94mt-mX27JhDwOzZ8UK19DdA/s1600/tent47.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAdVSItBkC4F5d8P94ncB0nLv8Ddrum-BRp77WY5fq8JPMBFrU8hAbyWTRh_PMkYIz-2-LW22ctYsDEbBN7YCujKs8MTMecrEV-frm1t_NEQyNC94mt-mX27JhDwOzZ8UK19DdA/s320/tent47.JPG" width="320" /></a>Ebay pictures are a special case of photography. As a buyer, I want clarity over artistry. As a seller, I want to give buyers what they want with pictures that are flattering but don't hide significant flaws, and I want to do that quickly. Note, this also applies for documenting my collection.<br />
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My setup evolved, and I might do it a bit differently if I were starting from scratch or had different sources to scrounge from. I started with a cheap light tent that my wife found at a big box store, when I was mostly photographing watches. This could be easily replicated with some sheer white cloth and a PVC or wire frame. It came with lights, but they were inconvenient to set up in a way that gave the light I wanted, and the official background cloth that came with the kit was usually wrinkled enough to show in pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOObO53w0GMRCTKRl-afVpYpQGtDazAqPwJXRkPINUIvWAlC1sgsXPnnpZfGkdG1tVv2dd0WU5V1Xf5eDMRCzHJP47b95uS_Cc_d_Kp2rGuY635Sfj_54TqqZjZI03tIG0Pz4JQ/s1600/cans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="1024" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOObO53w0GMRCTKRl-afVpYpQGtDazAqPwJXRkPINUIvWAlC1sgsXPnnpZfGkdG1tVv2dd0WU5V1Xf5eDMRCzHJP47b95uS_Cc_d_Kp2rGuY635Sfj_54TqqZjZI03tIG0Pz4JQ/s320/cans.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I tried various different backgrounds--smooth cloth, fuzzy cloth, cloth draped on its own, cloth glued to plastic sheet, cloth glued to posterboard. Wasn't happy with any of them. My current setup is a piece of blue posterboard. Doesn't look great in person, looks fine in photos. The downside is that it gets dirty easily. I'm going to experiment with coating the next one in clear spray on finish. To get the corner curve the way I wanted, I cut open a couple of steel food cans, then cut each can into 1/4 of a cylinder and glued the posterboard to the inside radius of the cans. The cans make a small radius without creasing, giving more useful space in the tent. I like blue, but no matter what color I chose it would be a fairly medium shade so it doesn't require compensation in metering. (This is especially true if your subject is relatively small,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTH-hKRPXO43r13JWWSBS3lyxjs7sV3LMwncSvGt8YJbrFzz6__a1AlmzV5Dqbbj1CmNQr9e5c80XSQv8Q6dTDvWcA1MjBbIqxIptQg_QoZakGqEs2yKTMdnfarzz6ouoJ8gImmg/s1600/strips.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="1024" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTH-hKRPXO43r13JWWSBS3lyxjs7sV3LMwncSvGt8YJbrFzz6__a1AlmzV5Dqbbj1CmNQr9e5c80XSQv8Q6dTDvWcA1MjBbIqxIptQg_QoZakGqEs2yKTMdnfarzz6ouoJ8gImmg/s320/strips.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
With my old DSLR, it was hard to get low noise and enough depth of field while handholding with the lights I was using. For a while my solution to that was to borrow my wife's mid-grade point and shoot--its small sensor gave more depth of field at acceptable visual noise levels. Eventually I covered 3 sheets of foam core board (craft section of Walmart) in LED strips from Amazon. The sides were about 40% covered, the top as close to 100% as I could manage. This gives ample light for even my old DSLR. The lights are powered from a 12v power brick from a thrift store. (Side note--a new mid-grade DSLR has less noise than a 10 year old entry level)<br />
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The rest of the setup is not as necessary, but nice additions with stuff that I had already. The whole thing sits on a piece of 3/4 plywood bolted to an industrial super heavy duty tripod, probably a speaker stand. This lets me adjust the height while taking up minimal space. I had an old darkroom enlarger timer in my collection, I've started using it to control the lights--push of the button and the lights go on for about 45 seconds, then the timer resets itself automatically. <br />
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<br />Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-42114065945026167322019-01-26T22:09:00.001-05:002022-05-24T16:33:51.478-04:00Photo Eaze dental camera<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"The PHOTO EAZE CAMERA will permit an inexperienced operator to obtain professional results of the most difficult photographic areas or cavities of the body." From the instruction manual that came with this camera....apparently despite its cobbled together appearance, this was a commercial product from a real company made for multiple decades, and the typewritten paper labels and blobs of paint are original to the camera. The handwritten label on the side of the base appears to be from a previous owner. (Click pictures to enlarge)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYvID-hcoNg9tXyKp4poAaKszWNpVK3xZpHYmf2xl_11eRONmSjC03vxNx8pwtBFViQ4IpoEu6cIFf1rzDNf94Gv0QFL9bLu7bC1Ti2kWaFtpYEAUpbOdhzBhCuCW2WkNj1BCTw/s1600/eaze955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1024" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYvID-hcoNg9tXyKp4poAaKszWNpVK3xZpHYmf2xl_11eRONmSjC03vxNx8pwtBFViQ4IpoEu6cIFf1rzDNf94Gv0QFL9bLu7bC1Ti2kWaFtpYEAUpbOdhzBhCuCW2WkNj1BCTw/s320/eaze955.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I think this particular camera is from around 1989. The camera body is a Yashica FX-3 Super 2000, which was introduced in 1986. One of the accessories is wrapped in newspaper from 1989 and held with masking tape, the handwriting matches the other notes, and <a href="https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0514/23/vinta-kalimar-photo-eaze-dental_1_af42bf2ce3a8dcbe21716db74da09490.jpg">other images </a>of Photo Eaze cameras show similar wrapping and handwriting on a different camera.<br />
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The lens mount has been removed and a bellows permanently attached with phillips screws. Lens is a Russian Heilos 44-2, possibly from a rangefinder--a very inexpensive lens, but likely adequate for the purpose. A collar with a pointer is attached to the aperture ring of the lens, this points to an odd glossy label with numbers that do not correspond to normal F stops. The mounting screw for the collar runs into a painted over blob, this appears to be deliberately preventing setting the aperture wide open. Since this lens does not have a typical SLR auto aperture, the viewfinder ranges from slightly dim to very dark depending on the aperture setting. There is a flash tube on either side of the lens in grey painted cylinders, the lens assembly and front of the bellows appear to be coated in the same grey paint. The flash lenses were not well masked when built, there are spots of paint on them. There are wires soldered to the hot shoe on top that lead into the base. Several places on the camera have hand-painted spots calling out controls, and there's some plastic hacked away to allow easier access to the film rewind button.<br />
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The camera, bellows and flash tubes are mounted to a roughly cast platform connected to an aluminum hobbyist project box by a pistol grip. There's a mount for a cable release in the pistol grip. The box has a switch, a hole with a small neon tube and a rectangular light, plus an assortment of typed paper labels. On the front is a Photo Ease MFG logo that appears to have been cut from letterhead paper, complete with a phone number starting with YU-2. (elsewhere that's YUkon-2. The address currently houses a small copy shop in New York City.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEs8cS2ZbRYH_dMMOHXOU_cp2K719HM0W-6UqjO1whI5iUoaD1fMDLZAUOrfHgQfZ2W7TxOa13KnaVnnhMUn4m1PFcbv6XMZnNH_GN-sstGT5zoMsDsM5XGvJ5NTV9YRX8NJdkaA/s1600/eaze45.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1024" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEs8cS2ZbRYH_dMMOHXOU_cp2K719HM0W-6UqjO1whI5iUoaD1fMDLZAUOrfHgQfZ2W7TxOa13KnaVnnhMUn4m1PFcbv6XMZnNH_GN-sstGT5zoMsDsM5XGvJ5NTV9YRX8NJdkaA/s200/eaze45.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Power cord is to the rear, the bottom has a grey PVC bottom held by 6 sheet metal screws. Under that cover is a tangle of wires and components wrapped in paper masking tape. The ground wire is just jammed into a corner of the box, held by the plastic bottom. I'm guessing not UL listed...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XvYxWfRsacHQWjCYfiWxB3zQZkRm8mriOkYeoF7GqkAyo4zr-u3ZLrg-LBqcn-vxEul_tIXgxQk2McampTF_wciLENHs-Oww-izSO-07VCN0ZSlRWpjWl958lZyV82UWXffkvA/s1600/eaze950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XvYxWfRsacHQWjCYfiWxB3zQZkRm8mriOkYeoF7GqkAyo4zr-u3ZLrg-LBqcn-vxEul_tIXgxQk2McampTF_wciLENHs-Oww-izSO-07VCN0ZSlRWpjWl958lZyV82UWXffkvA/s320/eaze950.JPG" width="320" /></a>The camera came with a fairly flimsy fiberboard case<br />
with some bare wood blocks attached, and an assortment of rods. Most of the rods have a frame at the end with dots of paint near the corners to indicate the picture area, one has a platform. According to the instructions most of the frames are placed even with the part you are trying to photograph. This will push the camera back on the bellows by the proper amount to focus at the appropriate distance for that attachment. Each rod has a large and small number depending on which of the two allowed film types you are using.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ArGUnYrLrBexz2nmU3Y7Vp55kUCfVfCRJJBzfRaP91Fyr61C6PoRcx7DcOUzhE2E0kwtrNOfOygqObgI0LT-N9bEd4Cdod0OUw_bSLtz5cOVniOVgBOaAP5v8syRFQcxAmFu-A/s1600/eaze-led.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="770" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ArGUnYrLrBexz2nmU3Y7Vp55kUCfVfCRJJBzfRaP91Fyr61C6PoRcx7DcOUzhE2E0kwtrNOfOygqObgI0LT-N9bEd4Cdod0OUw_bSLtz5cOVniOVgBOaAP5v8syRFQcxAmFu-A/s200/eaze-led.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjLHNh2Rl-15fUpqwURzx3GS0rI9q7YYB5MvuM3gk1dPpO7mKtz2dpuC1Hm04DrvbDHWu-2HJ1B_-oNZzAAd1k9XzShyphenhyphenDKl7lJQ6GmD8G-OXMP58NLM1DsWoomyo3n1ZtETNM6Q/s1600/eaze948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="602" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjLHNh2Rl-15fUpqwURzx3GS0rI9q7YYB5MvuM3gk1dPpO7mKtz2dpuC1Hm04DrvbDHWu-2HJ1B_-oNZzAAd1k9XzShyphenhyphenDKl7lJQ6GmD8G-OXMP58NLM1DsWoomyo3n1ZtETNM6Q/s200/eaze948.JPG" width="117" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE23aQvCzLv04phwZlllgSLMBA3oHMMGXtqJlRD3BxFy3pgqj8WQqtol8db4Ve8MnaezLy6I5d2ZtxIsDLva1o5RVgweb_8lGaBThG_YYvc5kB5bMoPPCAhBTKXyjsnmZS4IqMAw/s1600/eaze49.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="649" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE23aQvCzLv04phwZlllgSLMBA3oHMMGXtqJlRD3BxFy3pgqj8WQqtol8db4Ve8MnaezLy6I5d2ZtxIsDLva1o5RVgweb_8lGaBThG_YYvc5kB5bMoPPCAhBTKXyjsnmZS4IqMAw/s200/eaze49.JPG" width="126" /></a></div>
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The instructions have one page with professional looking (if old-fashioned) typeset, line drawings and photos showing different cameras and an additional 3 pages of instructions that appear to be typed on a manual typewriter, with xx'd out words and handwritten corrections in blue ink. One of the photographed cameras appears to be a Russian <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bottledog/4352417609/in/pool-camerawiki">Zenit</a>. Zenit-based cameras were among the cheapest and most primitive SLRs available in USA in the 60's and 70's. The other camera in the photos appears to be a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arkku/3879063108/in/pool-camerawiki/">Wirgin Edixa</a> with a waist level finder. The Edixa series ended in 1968, and Wirgin went out of business in the early 70's. There isn't much detail in the line drawings, but they appear to represent an Exakta or more likely the budget version <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thewrongdevice/4973484787/">Exa.</a> The instructions show versions for dental work, plastic surgery and dermatology, pathology, "eye camera", a copy stand, and a gynecology camera with a similar set of frames for 2x3", 4x6", 6x9" and "Cervix (Tubular)" attachments. I think the gynecological version explains the Edixa--In its time it was likely the least expensive SLR with a waist level finder available, so the photographer would not have to put their eye right against the camera while photographing a cervix. On the other hand with the dim viewfinder I'm not sure if they could see anything anyhow. (I'm also guessing that any patient who saw how this was wired and the difficulty in sterilizing would refuse...)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1E_gPH1WN3dEHY6VVHNy7Y_zZ3ITIAJLWStMoLKoVUxQyHAofsLSaSRcn0pQ1bIeq7NPsiohsNaTaqn3nt7Hm28rPZNBXkIALyKqvOm_qVEXDB8IaKh0vzXJjaF3Ht7JjBgtbA/s1600/eaze2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1E_gPH1WN3dEHY6VVHNy7Y_zZ3ITIAJLWStMoLKoVUxQyHAofsLSaSRcn0pQ1bIeq7NPsiohsNaTaqn3nt7Hm28rPZNBXkIALyKqvOm_qVEXDB8IaKh0vzXJjaF3Ht7JjBgtbA/s200/eaze2.JPG" width="175" /></a><br />
By this time Yashica had introduced the Dental Eye for many of the same purposes, even using the same camera body as a base. The Dental Eye was a much more refined camera. All the specialty parts including flash are inside an oversized lens barrel, there are no rods or frames, and focusing sets the aperture.<br />
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Information relating to the Photo Eaze camera is a bit hard to find, compounded by "eaze" being far more common as the name of a marijuana delivery service and a sexual lubricant. I've found a few pictures with Edixa and Kalimar/Zenit bodies, and one with a Pentax K1000 body. One source with a Kalimar bodied version from 1982 showed an invoice for $399. The only picture with a Yashica body I've found so far is the eBay auction I bought mine from. If anyone reading this has information I've left out, please leave a comment.Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-5439642318312573422016-07-10T14:26:00.001-04:002016-07-10T14:26:18.879-04:00Final weight loss update<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNrcEGBiD0rIPZCi_QabvJ2YKMQ8OoO1e4SGiCEG0hd3A_ETqUciFRoNqgMn64yLnsVc9U96ml4zN2wzg4XyxCEV1Wh6LXmEggsbl7l8FzYT60LosEaA0z-ziIev0Wbk96jpWVQ/s1600/fattest.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNrcEGBiD0rIPZCi_QabvJ2YKMQ8OoO1e4SGiCEG0hd3A_ETqUciFRoNqgMn64yLnsVc9U96ml4zN2wzg4XyxCEV1Wh6LXmEggsbl7l8FzYT60LosEaA0z-ziIev0Wbk96jpWVQ/s320/fattest.JPG" width="148" /></a>My stretch goal weight was 180 lbs, about what I weighed coming out of high school. I thought that was an unrealistic fantasy goal--My real goals were 211, based on the max allowable weight for my height when I was in the Air Force, and 192, based on the top end of Metlife's longevity-based height-weight data. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27cv79XNg0IYCIkBAo0uweoquhyphenhyphentx3aoHvG0334HSMuhVyKbDIODqG4kQSraxqvkNFTTUQ5Woq8RcxLehMxknkZqR0UubmLTOZULu6ljHhPggFuambwyhz6is2TOjb9dWZUt4bg/s1600/me-now.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27cv79XNg0IYCIkBAo0uweoquhyphenhyphentx3aoHvG0334HSMuhVyKbDIODqG4kQSraxqvkNFTTUQ5Woq8RcxLehMxknkZqR0UubmLTOZULu6ljHhPggFuambwyhz6is2TOjb9dWZUt4bg/s320/me-now.JPG" width="168" /></a>I'm now 179 lbs. I've gone from a 42 inch waist to a 32. Shirts went from XXL to somewhere between large and medium, depending on brand. I used my phone's health app to track my weight erratically the first few weeks, then pretty regularly. I lost 20 pounds the first month. The next 10 pounds took 23 days, but the last 10 took 88 days. Exporting the data and graphing shows a pretty smooth curve, with slight steps on the weekends--weighing later in the day but still before breakfast was worth about half a pound. If this had been at all difficult, I would have stopped at about 190, when there's little to no health benefit in further loss. I'm not really sure how to "stop"...I've gotten used to eating like this, and I don't feel any real need to go back. I'll figure something out in the unlikely event I get too thin. I've started eating occasional regular meals. I enjoy eating them, but I'm likely to be a bit queasy after, and it isn't always worth it. I haven't quite become a <a href="http://www.cc.com/video-clips/scou2d/comedy-central-presents-vegetarians">Ron White joke</a>...I can have small portions of off-diet foods without problems, but if I eat a full normal meal I'll have a slightly upset stomach. I'm not sure if there's a particular food that is the culprit, but I suspect bread and flour.<br />
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My recommendations--based on a sample size of one, your mileage may vary. Don't take medical advice from bloggers.<br />
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I think one of the keys to success on this diet (from the book Eat to Live, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman) is to NOT go hungry at meals. Fuhrman recommends unlimited fruits, green and colorful vegetables, beans and legumes. Don't portion limit those, eat enough to be satisfied. I'm not sure I can stress that part enough--don't go hungry, even if the amount of beans, vegetables and fruit you are eating seems absurd and you spend more time eating. I was losing 3 to 4 pounds a week for the first 50 or so pounds, eating until I wasn't hungry. I had to get a bigger lunch box to fit all I took to lunch, and I had to eat more on first break to have enough time to eat all of it. For breakfast and lunch I take a fruit smoothie made with a little over a pound of mostly frozen fruit and about 6-8 ounces of almond milk, possibly vanilla extract and unsweetened cocoa. 3 large servings of fruits and vegetables--a serving here is 2 oranges, 2 large apples (or an equivalent amount of smaller ones), a whole grapefruit, 2 cups of white grapes, 2 or 3 cups of raw vegetables--carrots, a whole large sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery, or sweet peppers. Also a family-sized bag or two cups of cooked vegetables, a 2 cup container of soup, chili, or a bean/legume dish. I drink the smoothie and at least one serving of fruits or vegetables for breakfast, the rest for lunch. <br />
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I will often have a couple cups of fruit when I come home from work. Dinner is a large salad--about 10 ounces of chopped kale/spinach blend, 2 cups of chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, and either half a cup of sweet onion or 2 cups of chopped fruit. Probably a quarter cup or so of nuts and seeds, and if there's fruit, another quarter cup or so of raisins. When ripe avocados are available, half of one in my salad, or I'll make a batch of guacamole to split with my wife. After the salad, usually some sort of bean dish--a can of beans, a bean burrito, hummus with vegetable or whole wheat crackers. I'm sure I wouldn't have been successful if I had to control portion sizes of all foods in addition to eliminating many.<br />
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Go all out the first month, be very strict. This is in part to break old habits, but it is also very encouraging to see dramatic results as fast as I saw them. I've had a handful of people around me "sort of" go on the diet, they mostly lost about 20 pounds and stopped. (None of them were as overweight as I was) I wasn't perfect. I was over the "rapid weight loss" recommendation for nuts and seeds, and most of my nuts are roasted instead of raw. I didn't eliminate commercial dressings but I went to barely adequate amounts. I made sure my salads had lots of stuff in them--Kale, Spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, nuts, avocado regularly, sometimes raisins and chopped fruit or onions. I add seasonings or lemon juice instead of more dressing. I didn't eliminate salt, but used barely enough to taste OK, and that amount went down over time. Many commercial foods that I used to like are inedibley salty now--Campbell's Bean with Bacon soup for instance. I didn't eliminate absolutely all white flour, sugar and oils in packaged foods, but I watch the nutrition labels and make sure the unwanted ingredients are far down the list. I eliminated diet soda, (I will sometimes have seltzer but mostly water) and cut my beer consumption from a few per week to nearly nothing. I cut out caffeine for a few months (I'd been cutting back before the diet) and now have 2 small cups of coffee a day, rarely any more than that. I mostly drink water, and less of it than before.<br />
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Weigh yourself at the same time in relation to meals every day. I've found less fluctuation weighing shortly after I wake up. I've gained up to 5 pounds during a day (losing most of it again the next day or two), I've lost a pound and a half in a few hours without exercise. Even weighing at the same time, I'm currently fluctuating between 178 and 182.<br />
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Fuhrman recommends avoiding snacks, and getting most of your food in 2 or 3 meals within about 8 hours. I didn't do this at first, but it was surprisingly easy once I tried--tremendously easier than before the diet. First I eliminated after dinner snacks, then I moved breakfast from early morning to 9am. Lunch is around noon, dinner around 5:30. If I weren't constrained by my work schedule, I'd probably have a combined breakfast and lunch a little later. I don't know if this is necessary but it was easy enough to do for the possibility it helped. I'd probably do it the same way again--get firmly on Fuhrman-approved foods before eliminating snacking. Habits apparently have a huge amount to do with when you feel hungry--I'm more hungry just before dinner, 4 hours since my last meal than I am at breakfast, 15 hours since the last time I ate. <br />
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Most vegetarian or vegan meat substitutes aren't even on the "limited amounts" list, they generally have white flour and extra oil, plus soy protein. I'd have to look up Fuhrman's thoughts on soy protein specifically, I've been treating it as a limited amounts food. There are a couple of bean-based burger substitutes that taste OK and are fairly healthy. (When I say "healthy" here, I mean according to Fuhrman) I've tried a few 100% whole grain breads, but except for a burger substitute bun they aren't worth the bother. <br />
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I sleep better. I used to be able to sleep only about 6 or so hours in bed before getting enough of a back ache to wake me up. (I'd often either start in my recliner, or move there later) Strange beds were worse, now they don't make much difference. I'm less congested at night. Stairs are a lot less trouble than they were. My endurance is better, and I can get up and down off the floor much more easily. On the other hand, I think raw strength is down. I can't lift or carry quite as much as I could, that seems to be roughly proportional to my weight loss<br />
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Things I would do differently--I would not buy very many clothes in a new size, especially pants. I'd do laundry more often instead. I was not prepared for how quickly I lost inches. I started in August. By spring I had no shorts that I could reasonably wear, so I stocked up on size 34 shorts thinking that I'd slowed down enough that those would last the summer...I'm now wearing 32's...and they are slightly loose around the waist. Hips are now the limiting factor instead of waist. The difference between a 32 and a 34 seems bigger than the difference between 40 and 42. My feet had been growing over the decades along with the rest of me, now my pre-diet slip on shoes are almost too loose to walk in. <br />
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Learn to read labels carefully. Lots of food proclaims Healthy! Whole Grain! but doesn't meet Fuhrman's standards--It might be a mix of whole grain and white flour, or have too much added oil. One brand of 7 Whole Grain crackers tasted suspiciously like normal white flour crackers, despite the first 7 ingredients being whole grains. When I read the ingredients list more carefully, I found parentheses around all the whole grain stuff, meaning that instead of white flour being not more than 14% of the total, it could have been up to 49%. Shop often. If you buy fresh cauliflower, eat it quickly--it spoils faster than raw meat and smells worse. Pre-chopping your salad saves some time eating-we run a couple day's salad through the food processor and store in mason jars in the fridge.<br />
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I wasn't diabetic that I knew of, but Fuhrman says that if you are on diabetes medicine you must monitor your blood sugar carefully, and be ready to adjust your medicine amounts drastically. Wife is partially on the same diet, but not nearly as strict as I am. She had some problems with her diabetes medicine, she had to adjust and finally eliminate it, her sugar is lower and better controlled with the diet instead of medicine.<br />
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I haven't found many restaurants that fit the diet, but I haven't tried all that hard. Salad bars have potential, but most don't have greens other than iceberg lettuce. Iceberg is legal, but bland when it's the major part of your meal. Chipotle's Sofritos sort of work, although higher in oil than I would like regularly.Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-31690608540526165882016-06-07T22:56:00.000-04:002016-06-07T22:56:02.637-04:00Rube Goldberg Vivitar XC-4 with XC-A<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0VuQhkTmzgmdKMEqzMK75oxhwM53Nhx3KyOZjBK-5HR9FuZzLOwHfJhyUYb5_KzTjb9pli6ZhjmFUUPGdMxFclljAtBSCBWS_ZktQKPJ-M6grIIFlmoThbLJu2S34xeN7N7TwA/s1600/xc4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0VuQhkTmzgmdKMEqzMK75oxhwM53Nhx3KyOZjBK-5HR9FuZzLOwHfJhyUYb5_KzTjb9pli6ZhjmFUUPGdMxFclljAtBSCBWS_ZktQKPJ-M6grIIFlmoThbLJu2S34xeN7N7TwA/s320/xc4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The Vivitar XC-4 has a peculiar mix of features. M42 screw-mount lens, with manual stop down metering, typical of off-brand cameras of the era. Slightly unusual for an M42 camera are the electronically controlled cloth shutter and the LED metering instead of a mechanical meter. Operation is a bit different than the typical stop-down camera--the lens stops down at the first half of the shutter travel and remains stopped down even when the shutter button is released. What is very similar to the stop down button on a Minolta SRT series is actually a stop-down cancel--pushing it will re-open the lens to full aperture without having to take a picture. Another minor oddity is the marking of the PC sockets on the front of the camera--there's the nearly universal X for a strobe flash, but instead of an M for bulbs, the other socket is unusually marked with an A. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPXnLi9oGTycxQDpoXmwJ6Ug2oIYKkuD5h3CmagREtKIiQdN-12J7xJyQHuzGFeA_wWGPE52otKzuQO5rVXBT-4W38xeRB76yGe9hJJQRucgtUX1XZdCuo_mzIUKuPRQPp5VMdw/s1600/xc4-t.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPXnLi9oGTycxQDpoXmwJ6Ug2oIYKkuD5h3CmagREtKIiQdN-12J7xJyQHuzGFeA_wWGPE52otKzuQO5rVXBT-4W38xeRB76yGe9hJJQRucgtUX1XZdCuo_mzIUKuPRQPp5VMdw/s200/xc4-t.JPG" width="156" /></a>The XC-A accessory is one of the stranger ideas I've seen in cameras, and explains most of the oddities of the XC-4 The XC-A has its own 6v battery. It clips on to the hot shoe and couples with the shutter dial like 60's era clip on meters. Unlike a clip on meter, there's no meter, no photocell, and no shutter control, and there is a cord that is just long enough to reach the PC socket marked A. <br />
The XC-A turns the camera into a slightly clumsy stop-down aperture priority automatic camera. Holding the shutter button halfway mechanically trips the lens stop down mechanism, turns on the meter and sends an electric signal out the A socket based on the meter reading.The XC-A reads this signal and mechanically turns the shutter speed dial until the exposure meter indicates "good". After a second or so the shutter button stops whirring (There's a tiny ringing/clicking that remains) more pressure on the shutter button takes the picture. If you hold the shutter and light changes, the shutter dial will track the light changes--but if you push the shutter early, the camera will take the picture before the exposure is set. <br />
If I understand this right, the light meter sends an electronic signal out of the camera to be translated into mechanical motion, coupled back into the camera to physically turn the camera's shutter speed dial, which then sends a signal to the electronic shutter.<br />
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As far as I can tell this camera is working properly, although the light seals have turned to jelly. It needed some exercise when I put batteries in the camera, but after shooting and winding about 25 times the shutter became reasonably reliable. The lens aperture blades are oily, and it needs the help of the aperture ring to return to wide open. Battery was dead in my shutter speed tester, so I haven't tested it to see if it is worth film testing yet.Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-41849197278914824382015-12-26T21:55:00.000-05:002015-12-26T21:55:01.540-05:00Weight loss updateThe big story is that I'm down from an estimated 265 pounds in early August (257 when I bought my scale) to under 210 pounds--more than 50 pounds in less than 4 months. I've gone from obese to merely overweight. The Eat to Live diet has been much easier to follow than I expected. I'm not any hungrier than before the plan, and while there are foods I miss, no difficult cravings.<br />
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My breakfast started out as oatmeal with banana. Now I almost always have a large fruit smoothie--mixed frozen fruit briefly microwaved but not thawed, a ripe banana and 4-6 oz of unsweetened almond milk. This winds up about a pound total of fruit, or 24 ounces liquid with the almond milk. I'm not hungry first thing, so I take this to work in a thermos. If bananas get ripe faster than I can use them I freeze the excess on their last useful day and use them with a few seconds more in the microwave. If part of the frozen fruit is berries, blend them first with the almond milk to break up the hard bits, then add the remainder of the other fruit. Thermos should be dry, otherwise you wind up with little bits of ice. Fruit is on the unlimited list, oatmeal is a whole grain, supposed to be limited to one serving a day--plus I like the fruit better. Often I'll add cocoa, vanilla and another banana (reducing the other fruit and not microwaving if the bananas are room temp).<br />
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On the weekends I cook a large batch of something and divide that into single serving deli containers for lunch and occasional dinner through the next few weeks. Also on weekends I try to experiment a bit, trying something new before I put it in my work lunch. <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/alton-browns-winter-vegetable-soup-478806">Alton Brown's Winter Soup</a> is really good, but because it is time consuming I make a double batch. <br />
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For lunch at work I rotate chili (usually twice a week--same as before the diet, with mushrooms instead of meat) different vegan soups and bean dishes. I'll also take 2 or 3 fruits, a cooked vegetable and a couple servings of raw vegetables like celery, cucumber, sweet peppers or carrots. This is more food than I used to eat, and I need almost all of my lunch break to eat it.<br />
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Dinner is most often a large salad (Large as in a serving bowl for one person) with lots of different ingredients-mostly kale and spinach, sometimes mixed lettuce (not iceberg--it is OK on the diet, but I don't like it as much) or cabbage. Cabbage gets shredded, the other greens get run through the slicer blade of my food processor. Tomatoes, cucumbers, nuts and seeds, usually half an avocado or a handful of canned beans or cooked frozen edamame. Sometimes I'll add fruit, usually diced apples, sliced grapes and raisins, with a raspberry dressing and pistachios. When I don't do fruit, I'll add raw onions and/or <a href="http://kidtestedfirefighterapproved.com/2012/08/05/buffalo-ranch-roasted-chickpeas/">buffalo chickpeas</a> (Frank's is milder than I expected here, sriracha sauce has a bit more bite) At first I was entirely using commercial dressings that are supposed to be avoided, since then I've discovered a recipe for <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tahini-dressing-105429">tahini-garlic</a> dressing that I like, with Fuhrman-legal ingredients. I add an extra clove of garlic, sometimes nutritional yeast, liquid aminos or fresh basil. Other occasional salad ingredients are bell peppers, poblano peppers (mildly spicy) celery, carrots, radicchio, Mrs Dash garlic-herb. Pomegranate turns out to be good in salad even with a garlic dressing. I still have more nuts than Dr. Fuhrman recommends, and not entirely raw nuts. Having lots of stuff makes a salad much more interesting--each bite is slightly different.<br />
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I'm no longer snacking after dinner or between meals (except when I run out of time to eat lunch I will sometimes finish on my next break), and that has been much easier than before the diet. I've weaned off coffee and almost all caffeine, rarely drink diet or sweetened soda anymore--instead plain seltzer water with lemon. If anything I'm a bit less tired than I used to be, and if I do need a temporary boost a can of diet pop is enough--that's every few weeks. <br />
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A food processor is nearly essential, used daily. I'm happy with the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000645TW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage">Cuisinart </a>I bought based on online reviews. A high power blender is almost as important, especially for smoothies. I've shopped at thrift stores for temporary clothing until I figure out what my permanent size is--I was to the point where my original pants would fall off without a belt, but still well above my goal weight. Even my head has shrunk slightly, I had to adjust my bump cap at work 2 sizes. Weekly weight loss seems to have slowed from 3-4 pounds per week to about 2 pounds--that might be due to less exercise, could also be slowing as I get closer to the goal weight. I've gone from size 42 pants to 36.<br />
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Even though I haven't been as strict on salt reduction as Dr Fuhrman recommends, I have tried to add barely enough salt to taste good. Combined with much less packaged food my taste for salt has changed--I used to love Campbell's bean with bacon soup. It is now too salty to enjoy, like several other packaged foods I've tried. Finding a restaurant with food that matches the diet is a bit hard, so far I've only tried Chipotle Sofritas. I could probably manage at most salad bars, but I haven't tried that yet.<br />
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Christmas I went off diet a bit--about an ounce of ham, a small piece of no-bake cheesecake and one piece of my favorite Esther Price chocolate. Neither of the sweets were as good as I'd remembered, and neither made resisting going farther off diet more difficult. If I go back to eating chocolate at all, it will probably be very small pieces of dark semi-sweet instead of milk chocolate with caramel. <br />
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<br />Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-58843492913494755912015-12-12T23:25:00.002-05:002015-12-12T23:25:30.121-05:00Good Guys with Guns on the Daily ShowI just saw a video of The Daily Show's Jordan Klepper<a href="http://www.cc.com/video-clips/w2bq3a/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-jordan-klepper--good-guy-with-a-gun-pt--2"> "testing"</a> the theory that good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns, with the inevitable scripted comedic failure. Apparently quite a few people believe that this is evidence debunking the concept, that this was a real test rather than a scripted comedy show.<br />
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I watch almost no TV, so I'm unfamiliar with Jordan Klepper--he appears to be playing the part of a stereotypical conservative blowhard. Even assuming this wasn't scripted and he was trying to prove rather than disprove, the scenario was among the most difficult for a marginally trained person to deal with--Few people other than SWAT team members are trained in clearing a building, and the scenarios used as SWAT training are deliberately more difficult than most real life situations. <br />
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Like most trainers, the one in the show thinks most people should have more training, and it was at least edited to appear that he claims that a lifetime of training is required to be effective. In every case I'm aware of spree shooters have no more victims once someone else shoots towards them--even if the spree shooter isn't hit. I have yet to hear of a good guy with a gun making things worse (for anyone but himself in one case) in a spree shooting. It isn't plausible that the various gun control groups would ignore such a case if one existed. (I also think it more likely that the trainer's actual views are that a basic CCW class does not qualify you for SWAT duty, not that basic CCW is useless)<br />
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The trainer also said that very few spree shootings are stopped by armed civilians--I think he said around 3%. He didn't mention on camera that successful spree shootings rarely take place where it is legal for civilians to be armed--I don't know exact figures and they would depend on definitions, but I would be surprised if over 3% of spree shootings are where CCW is generally available and legal. The Gabrielle Giffords assassination attempt is the only incident I'm aware of where concealed carry was legal and widely available. California is one of the few remaining states where carry licenses are issued at the discression of law enforcement rather than based on objective criteria. <br />
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Few if any gun advocates claim that a gun will solve all violence, or that everyone should be armed--most of us think that if you don't want to be armed, you shouldn't be armed. Rather, the majority of people who have taken the time to obtain a license have reasonable expectations, and on balance will do significantly more good than harm even if they don't succeed every time. Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-35303658746162032292015-09-24T22:28:00.000-04:002015-09-24T22:28:22.482-04:00Low willpower, successful dietI'm a big fan of Penn Jillette (and Teller) partly for his act, but more for his overall attitude, politics and what he's done with his fame. I listen to his podcast, Penn's Sunday School. Recently he lost over 100 pounds in a few months on a vegan diet, advised by Ray Cronise. Penn is writing a book, but he explained that the diet is based on Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live plan, with undisclosed modifications to be more effective. (Ray's website is awful--poorly organized and extremely slow to load, so I haven't found a whole lot more about the additions other than it has something to do with cold temperatures helping to burn calories)<br />
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A while back Penn had Ray on the podcast. I was listening in the car while eating Chocolate Riesen candy...A couple days later I ordered Eat to Live.<br />
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The Nutritarian diet recommended by Dr. Fuhrman is relatively simple, although it will require major changes to the diets of most people who need it. <br />
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The strict form of the Fuhrman diet is (from memory):<br />
Try to eat at least a pound of raw green vegetables per day, unlimited maximum.<br />
Try to eat at least a pound of cooked green vegetables per day, unlimited maximum<br />
(These are the most important)<br />
Try to eat a half cup of beans or legumes per day, unlimited max<br />
Unlimited fruits and colorful vegetables<br />
Limited starchy vegetables--corn, potatoes, squash.<br />
A few ounces of nuts and seeds, raw are preferred.<br />
No meat or dairy<br />
No processed grain<br />
No processed sugar<br />
No processed oils or fats<br />
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A less strict version allows under a pound per week of animal products. There is no counting calories or restricting amounts of the main foods. Fat is OK from most unprocessed plant sources. It appears that vegans should take a B12 supplement, but other vitamins as needed.<br />
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It was a week after the book arrived and I started the diet that I got a scale--I was surprised at being "only" 257 pounds. "Loose 20 pounds or more in 6 weeks" on the cover appears to be a bit conservative--I lost that much in the first 4 weeks I had a scale (a week or so after starting the diet). Last 4 weeks I've been tracking my weight on the fitness app on my phone, average weekly weight has dropped 3 pounds each week.<br />
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It has taken a bit to figure out meals. I love salads, so that part hasn't been a problem--I have a mixing bowl full of kale and spinach, raw mushrooms, red or green onion, half an avocado, maybe bell peppers, carrots, celery, lettuce, radish, edamame. I'm not completely on the diet for dressings, I use one of several commercial lite dressings which have more fat and/or sugar than Dr Fuhrman recommends--but I try to go easy on them. I also like beans. Even before the diet I was in the habit of making 2+ gallon batches of chili to freeze for lunches, I just left the meat out of the last batch. I'm now adding mushrooms instead of meat to a lot of dishes. Sometimes I'll just have a family sized package of microwave veggies or a vegan soup and a smaller salad.<br />
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Other areas where I haven't followed the official version--I haven't worried much about salt other than going to the low end of tasting OK, I didn't throw away all my low-meat foods in the freezer (but I'm replacing them with no-meat) and I haven't cut out caffeine yet. (I've been reducing caffeine for the last few years anyhow by necessity, since drinking it past about 2pm affects my sleep)<br />
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The most amazing part of this diet to me is the low amount of willpower needed. I miss some of the things I've had to give up, but since I can eat as much as I like of other things there's very little struggle. It seems easier for me to entirely give up the candy bowl at work than to have a reasonable amount. It is odd to me that a fruit smoothie is considered better than a bowl of oatmeal (Oatmeal is allowed but limited). If you're going to do smoothies, get a really good blender. I bought a 3 horsepower Oster Versa blender because reviews said it was nearly as good as a Vitamix at less than half the cost. I'm going to want a better food processor, I've got a mid size. I've lost several inches around the waist--I can now take my pants off without unbuttoning them. I've got a way to go, I'm still officially obese--but I'm moving in the right direction for the first time in decades.<br />
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Another thing is that this isn't meant to be a temporary diet--If I go back to my old habits, I'll go back to my old weight. Rather, once I'm down to a decent weight I'll be a bit less strict, but I expect to stay on something close to this forever. If it continues to work as well as it has, it will be worth it.<br />
<br />Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-72274545570498852122015-06-23T08:00:00.001-04:002022-03-01T20:34:25.764-05:00Bell & Howell Auto Reflex (Canon EX/EE)In the late 60's and early 70's, Bell & Howell were the US distributors for Canon cameras. The Bell & Howell Auto 35/Reflex is the US version of the Canon EX/EE introduced around 1969. Shutter priority auto exposure with manual capability. <br />
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Rather than fully interchangeable lenses as most SLRs, it has a combination lens--the rear elements, focusing mechanism and diaphragm are fixed, the front elements are changeable with a simple screw thread. In theory this is an optical compromise--but with the advantage of much cheaper accessory lenses since they only require the front optical elements and no mechanical parts. <br />
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The diameter of the 125mm front element is large compared to conventional lenses of similar focal length--see the comparison to a Minolta f2.8 135mm below. Front to back is about the same but the Minolta has a much smaller diameter despite a wider aperture. Only 4 lenses were available, 35, 50 and 125 shown above, and a 90mm.<br />
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Aperture is either controlled by the auto exposure system, or it can be manually set by a dial around the rewind crank. In either case the aperture value is only visible via a needle display in the viewfinder, the dial only has 1.8 and 16 marked. Lenses are either f:1.8 for the 50mm or 3.5 for the others, it is necessary to reset the film speed dial when changing from one type to another. A peculiar result of this arrangement is that the maximum film speed is greater with the 50mm lens than the others. The maximum marked is 800, but the 3.5 lens can only use about 500. (Theoretically the 1.8 lens should be able to use around 2000--2 stops past the max of 500) At the time 35mm film maxed out around 400.<br />
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The main distance scale is only accurate for the normal lens. On the accessory lenses there is a scale on the lens, with a dot on the focus ring. To use the scale the lens ring needs to be rotated to match, it appears to be easiest to set both to infinity. Unlike the normal focus scale the dot moves and the scale remains stationary. <br />
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The viewfinder is a bit odd for a film SLR (but somewhat similar to modern DSLRs), likely to allow a bright screen despite relatively slow f3.5 lenses--the finder has no matte screen to judge depth of field, only a microprism for focus, and an uncommonly bright fresnel screen that is far more "in focus" than the film will be. An additional advantage in an old camera is an exceptionally clean screen--since the rear lens never comes off, there is less opportunity for dust to stick to the focus screen.<br />
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Like the Sears Auto 500 from earlier, this is an easy to use automatic SLR with compromises to meet a price--but the photographic compromises are considerably less.<br />
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Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-24007720061709195122015-06-19T08:00:00.001-04:002022-03-01T20:23:15.812-05:00Sears Auto 500 (aka Mamiya 528 TL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJJvgi2RyjektYchgsM_pIQMSKKCNeoZqfYxvuK6ZL8DzzFBldzaOzRSc9uGf-t4g_VnT8HEQDJIa9rbkv1rU7gfEmwEALlTRvwHNGiBoKqLKi4ShOuWo89ZqiO8_dq0yGOwoWA/s1600/sears+500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJJvgi2RyjektYchgsM_pIQMSKKCNeoZqfYxvuK6ZL8DzzFBldzaOzRSc9uGf-t4g_VnT8HEQDJIa9rbkv1rU7gfEmwEALlTRvwHNGiBoKqLKi4ShOuWo89ZqiO8_dq0yGOwoWA/s320/sears+500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Sears Auto 500 TLS is a Sears labeled version of the Mamiya 528TL, a camera with an odd set of features. It is a leaf shutter SLR with a fixed lens, giving the bulk of an SLR without the advantage of interchangeable lenses. Shutter priority automatic exposure, with the aperture it has selected visible in the viewfinder. The Mamiya version was introduced in 1967, I'm guessing the Sears version about the same time.<br />
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While the camera is operated like almost any other auto exposure SLR (except the shutter speed is around the lens) internally the sequence is complicated--the shutter must be open most of the time to focus and frame the picture, with the mirror blocking light from hitting the film. In addition to the steps needed by a normal focal plane shutter, the shutter must close, wait for the mirror, open for the exposure, close, wait for the mirror again, then open. All this with springs, cams and levers rather than electronics. The aperture has only 2 blades, the lens isn't very fast for the focal length, and it is only a 3 element front focusing lens. As far as I can tell, the main purpose for all this is essentially the status of an SLR, with the ease of automatic exposure on a budget--it lets its owner claim SLR status. I believe the price in 1968 was $89, extremely low for an auto exposure SLR. At the time metered manual true SLRs were typically twice that for budget models--Minolta's base model SRT 100 was around $175 and was metered manual rather than auto exposure.<br />
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This one appears to work fairly well, although I have not tested it with film. Shutter speeds appear accurate, the meter responds to light and the aperture changes as it should. The only problem I can find is that the stop on the lens is missing, so it does not stop at infinity, and without the stopit is possible to unscrew the front element entirely. <br />
<br />Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-23204813103880083622015-06-16T22:06:00.001-04:002015-06-16T22:06:35.813-04:00Praktflex FX AKA Rival Reflex<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvKmXnni0RilYbfKPAL3w_lmjcTbesteHpEf4QAv1tl9pY4jtxELW8hurai0g_ZZr8Al1MftaiIXxEiC9x5gZJf0ezHgETEDjqfYn8AbI00knpq1Xf6I7jM42ODmhe_UublVqng/s1600/pfx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvKmXnni0RilYbfKPAL3w_lmjcTbesteHpEf4QAv1tl9pY4jtxELW8hurai0g_ZZr8Al1MftaiIXxEiC9x5gZJf0ezHgETEDjqfYn8AbI00knpq1Xf6I7jM42ODmhe_UublVqng/s320/pfx.jpg" width="320" /></a>I bought this Praktiflx from Ebay, listed as "Praktiflex with original case"...except the case was labeled Rival Reflex. Further research says that this is a version of the Praktica FX, one of the successors to the original Praktiflex. This was sold under various names, including both Praktiflex FX and Rival Reflex. I found an ad where the Rival Reflex was sold by Peerless Cameras, while the Praktica version was sold in the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=gV4zAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=rival+35+reflex&source=bl&ots=eRryZkb78Q&sig=voAEL6liWfKmsnMksSok-4tu3Ds&hl=en&sa=X&#v=onepage&q=rival%2035%20reflex&f=false">same ad</a> for $10 more. Some sources say that many of the alternate names were merely glued on badges--however all the pictures of the Rival show a screwed on badge. It also appears that the usual practice on a rebadged camera was to (usually crudely) deface the original logo beneath the badge. I'm pretty sure that this camera was not rebadged. (click on pictures for larger versions)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKrI65MkPBpg-fGbRqm7qYFqplfExe6_80vy8j0bx0fmhYtgHblJ7-ZI8eKPmPnpJM4aFbbl3akGsxmHEqGT9VK_fWY6WkYP4nEcykNzccE4gnNLLfMebmwNxvGtd6Nef8zNgYA/s1600/pf-fx-open.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKrI65MkPBpg-fGbRqm7qYFqplfExe6_80vy8j0bx0fmhYtgHblJ7-ZI8eKPmPnpJM4aFbbl3akGsxmHEqGT9VK_fWY6WkYP4nEcykNzccE4gnNLLfMebmwNxvGtd6Nef8zNgYA/s320/pf-fx-open.JPG" width="320" /></a>In many ways this camera is very similar to the Kine Exakta. Like the Exakta it has a fixed waist level finder with ground glass and a magnifier, no focus aids. A flip up cover lets the finder box double as a sport finder for standard lenses. Film advance is by knob rather than lever and the film counter is manually reset. The back cover has no hinge, comes off entirely when changing film. Shutter is a standard cloth focal plane. The shutter control is a dual range dial that rotates when the shutter is released and rotates back when the film is wound. The upper dial selects fast or slow speeds, while the lower dial selects 1/25 through 1/500 or 1/2, 1/5 or 1/10. B is available on either range. Touching the dial as it rotates will affect the shutter speed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-M5Qc1ewEBcdO9SmyFbw6hwU-_CDF2YV_-ba1U9vDZGLBKzztWSipeFQFmpv-nvYLHpH9kZejPCL-lKXn_BNwws25U7SnCMOWZLahyphenhypheng_cxRRP43SbsOaI815tb2FFVVwEhq-aQ/s1600/pf-fx-shutter1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-M5Qc1ewEBcdO9SmyFbw6hwU-_CDF2YV_-ba1U9vDZGLBKzztWSipeFQFmpv-nvYLHpH9kZejPCL-lKXn_BNwws25U7SnCMOWZLahyphenhypheng_cxRRP43SbsOaI815tb2FFVVwEhq-aQ/s320/pf-fx-shutter1.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
The lens mount is a very basic 42mm screw without the usual bar to operate a "modern" automatic aperture lens. Instead the camera has an automatic aperture lens, similar in operation to many Exakta lenses. In this style the lens has an arm that aligns with the front mounted shutter. Pushing the button on this arm stops the lens down, pushing more trips the shutter. On a camera without a matching shutter button this lens can be used as a preset, where the aperture is pre-selected on a ring while leaving the lens wide open with a lever to stop the lens down to the pre-set value. Note, the Exakta version has the shutter and therefore the arm on the other side of the lens mount. <br />
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The FX in the model name refers to having both F and X flash sync available. This was the 3 sockets that look like pop rivets on the body to the left side of the lens. My camera came with an adapter to convert to a standard PC flash socket, unfortunately it has to be removed to change the lens. Since the adapter hasn't been lost, I'm guessing that this camera didn't have any auxiliary lenses with it.<br />
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While the automatic aperture is a significant improvement over manual or preset lenses, it is still bulkier and more difficult to use than a rangefinder from the same era. I'm not sure about relative prices at the time, eventually Praktica became a bargain brand, generally lagging behind Japanese competition. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81iwYdgBLJ0WuHZHWbEm-mqbGvr_1nWQ6nLn31PHj4Tk43mQDAnddn9H9M_AfjmMfdF_tVRcr9LRKB9BLpIGFRy3alKSgrqzUdS9MZOQlfmfscX4xkLFNKsmSS46FOXc2BTi4dg/s1600/vf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81iwYdgBLJ0WuHZHWbEm-mqbGvr_1nWQ6nLn31PHj4Tk43mQDAnddn9H9M_AfjmMfdF_tVRcr9LRKB9BLpIGFRy3alKSgrqzUdS9MZOQlfmfscX4xkLFNKsmSS46FOXc2BTi4dg/s320/vf.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-17799222501001641732015-06-08T08:00:00.000-04:002015-06-08T08:00:10.460-04:00Exacta Varex<br />
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The VP Exakta was a single lens reflex camera using 127 film, often called Vest Pocket film after the Kodak Vest Pocket camera that popularized the format. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7EZKKpMTjaQarqR__MNdPB3Idod2uHiltN9wSRk6fQHd21JymIOPg-jlmJlaRlnulYUv5nyvqr0XGBC9P0kG8F1WTpU19vVkKsUTXYVGCIuBq0WYSUq_0aHENU-7zDjYqssbyg/s1600/exacta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7EZKKpMTjaQarqR__MNdPB3Idod2uHiltN9wSRk6fQHd21JymIOPg-jlmJlaRlnulYUv5nyvqr0XGBC9P0kG8F1WTpU19vVkKsUTXYVGCIuBq0WYSUq_0aHENU-7zDjYqssbyg/s320/exacta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Kine Exakta (also spelled Exacta, depending on the country it was exported to) was the first mass produced 35mm SLR, introduced in 1936. It was based on the VP Exakta . Kine indicated 35mm cinema film. It included a single stroke wind lever (most cameras still used knobs) a focal plane shutter and a wide variety if interchangeable lenses. This camera is a 1952 VX, the US version of the Varex VX--very similar to the Kine except for the interchangeable viewfinder.<br />
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While the modern 35mm SLR dominated serious general purpose photography from the late 60's until digital, early SLRs were specialty cameras, significantly more difficult to use than most other cameras.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKP6CECNfVTGTeanYF5Daub0MJov9Yp8RS9_OjamDI1szs17G5Ch8_BDfhLbCH78VMPoCBibG2NcVwb828fprlYhyFEj-Ace0sERhhJOQ8Yr4k5rMbegNsJ9vWlZOjXJzls15Z_A/s1600/exactavfSocks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKP6CECNfVTGTeanYF5Daub0MJov9Yp8RS9_OjamDI1szs17G5Ch8_BDfhLbCH78VMPoCBibG2NcVwb828fprlYhyFEj-Ace0sERhhJOQ8Yr4k5rMbegNsJ9vWlZOjXJzls15Z_A/s320/exactavfSocks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
These early Exaktas had waist level viewfinders showing an image that was right side up but reversed left to right. This made following moving subjects difficult, so the viewfinder hood had square holes cut in the front and back to use as a sports finder roughly approximating the view of a 50mm lens.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrwUCQWEVmsVay-7Pv_3jTJIkPFE-wWpWhjcSc6O2i5ZYfAiEnOiechsMRWOExFnWs-g35o6n2odQ_bY4bS11Nw7QiULGJTk_7zlZZZ_vesHXvMT-vTdtkwV6CdDeBro-2m61Tg/s1600/exactaback.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrwUCQWEVmsVay-7Pv_3jTJIkPFE-wWpWhjcSc6O2i5ZYfAiEnOiechsMRWOExFnWs-g35o6n2odQ_bY4bS11Nw7QiULGJTk_7zlZZZ_vesHXvMT-vTdtkwV6CdDeBro-2m61Tg/s320/exactaback.JPG" width="320" /></a>Focus was via ground glass, with a magnifier for fine focus. No split image or microprism, so more difficult to focus than a rangefinder. The mirror requires more distance between lens and film making wide angle lenses difficult. On the other hand, since you use the taking lens to focus telephoto and macro lenses can be focused accurately and without parallax. Rangefinders had difficulty with both.<br />
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The aperture affects the image in the viewfinder--smaller apertures dim the image and hide focusing errors, so it is necessary to set the aperture after focusing, then use the dim image to frame the final shot. The procedure for taking a picture was to wind the film, calculate exposure (few cameras had meters yet, so use experience or a handheld meter), set the shutter speed, compose the picture in the reversed viewfinder, focus, set the aperture, re-frame the picture in the dimmer viewfinder then take the shot. As soon as the shot is taken the view goes blank until the film is wound again.<br />
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With most other cameras the procedure would be to set both shutter and aperture in advance, frame and focus in one step and push the shutter. <br />
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A slight improvement was preset lenses, adding a preset aperture ring. This did not control the aperture, rather it set the minimum aperture available on the other ring so the photographer could stop down by feel. Eventually semiautomatic and automatic aperture lenses were introduced. These had their own shutter button over the camera's button, and pressing this would adjust the aperture before tripping the shutter. Semiautomatic apertures didn't re-open automatically, there was a separate lever or button.<br />
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In 1949 Contax introduced the first SLR with a pentaprism--this allowed a normal view through the lens--right side up and unreversed. Exakta began a series of running changes working towards an interchangeable viewfinder. In 1950 all the pieces were ready, and Exacta introduced the Varex/V with an available pentaprism finder.<br />
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$269.50 in the <a href="http://www.cameramanuals.org/booklets/sears_catalog_52/sears_52_35mm-2.pdf">1952 Sears Catalog</a><br />
<br />Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-3789456193629904442015-06-02T09:00:00.001-04:002022-03-04T16:13:49.245-05:00Revueflex T<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYQBb9SCQOqmJsavwf-ey1BUUpE1j-FUcuN7MI7u2EZdIBb6UJ-CEUbdxHq4axmf8iCGweOhDawgcXWKkHvuaN8rXEetfv_8izIYUUxtNUKmkjBEB9ViGlk5xksXzK_DlwFpU2A/s1600/revueflex+t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYQBb9SCQOqmJsavwf-ey1BUUpE1j-FUcuN7MI7u2EZdIBb6UJ-CEUbdxHq4axmf8iCGweOhDawgcXWKkHvuaN8rXEetfv_8izIYUUxtNUKmkjBEB9ViGlk5xksXzK_DlwFpU2A/s320/revueflex+t.jpg" width="320" /></a>Revue was a brand sold by the German photo giant Foto-Quelle (Google translates as Foto Source). Cosina is a Japanese company known for building cameras to be sold under other brand names, both private label like Revue and for other makers like Nikon and Olympus. <br />
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The Revueflex T is a variation of the<a href="http://anusf.anu.edu.au/~aab900/photography/cameras/pics/cosina-slr.jpg"> Cosina SLR</a> (with SLR being the model name, not just a description). As best I can tell, this was introduced around 1971--one source puts the original SLR model at 1968. Universal M42 screw mount with stop down metering, Copal Square type vertical metal shutter with 1/125 sync speed. Appears to have also been sold as the Carena 1000, a house brand of Photo Porst, another large German photo retailer. A very similar camera was sold as the Vivitar 220/SL with similar features and layout, except the shutter speed was on the top. Vivitar is a distributor only, not a manufacturer.<br />
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Chinon, Cosina and Ricoh all made a number of cameras with this basic layout--shutter speed dial on the front rather than top and a vertical metal focal plane shutter. These shutters were made by Copal as drop in units, simplifying the camera design, but also dictating the control layout. The Copal Square was an extremely durable shutter especially when de-rated to a max speed of 1/1000--most were capable of 1/2000. (Ricoh made some models derated to 1/500--probably an artificial limitation for the cheaper model)<br />
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Other than the metal shutter, not a particularly noteworthy camera, but representative of the many cameras of smaller makers that copied the Pentax Spotmatic format. However because of the name Cosina SLR a difficult one to track down (As if Ford had a model called Truck)--I tried to figure out the OEM model that matched this and originally failed--the closest match was the Vivitar 220/SL. I stumbled across the picture above on a page of Google Images searching for Vivitar Cosina, and when I looked at the <a href="http://anusf.anu.edu.au/~aab900/photography/cameras/vivitar.htm">source page</a> I found the specification matched my camera, and the differences were limited to trim. While the source page had both the Vivitar and the Cosina SLR it didn't note the similarities, nor did it mention the Revueflex.Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-50298520037930120102015-05-26T23:31:00.001-04:002022-03-04T16:14:34.311-05:00My first good cameraAs a fairly young child I was interested in photography. My parents had an Instamatic--I remember it clearly enough that I was able to figure out it was a Model 100, with pop-up flashbulb holder. (Later cameras used cubes)<br />
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When we lived in Kentucky in the early 70's I got my own 126 Instamatic camera. I don't remember it as clearly, but it was a lesser version using more plastic. I think mine took Magicubes--these did not require a battery, instead they were fired via a tab rising from the body of the camera. I loved taking pictures, but had to pay for my own film and processing so didn't take many.<br />
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When I was in high school around 1979 or 80, I became interested in photography again. At first I borrowed a camera from the yearbook, a relatively recent Yashica, with manual exposure via LED in the viewfinder. None of the yearbook staff were Sophomores, (the first year at my high school) so there were few pictures of sophomores--many of my pictures made the yearbook.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruMdb4sf3udRvWuiIIbA8WO5N0CAqsMBh7Gu6f68naaafr7aZHPEIdvlnnCNfM8e4WkDGIJkwTaIqf6vO24H3okLaXFVSh453G7pNhQMUsrGCpne81l2H_FGs7hyua4XlIGoXCA/s1600/om10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruMdb4sf3udRvWuiIIbA8WO5N0CAqsMBh7Gu6f68naaafr7aZHPEIdvlnnCNfM8e4WkDGIJkwTaIqf6vO24H3okLaXFVSh453G7pNhQMUsrGCpne81l2H_FGs7hyua4XlIGoXCA/s320/om10.JPG" width="320" /></a>I started saving money, and when I had enough bought an Olympus OM-10, a 2x Teleconverter and a manual adapter. The OM-10 is an aperture priority automatic, somewhat smaller than the usual SLR of the era. Shutter speed display via LED dots in the viewfinder. I picked the Olympus because that combination was the least expensive name brand camera with both auto exposure and manual shutter speeds. Serious photographers had to have manual shutter speeds. Serious photographers didn't use teleconverters, but high school kids on a budget did... I carried that camera through high school, taking pictures for the yearbook and school newspaper. I eventually lost the manual adapter and didn't replace it, and finally lost the camera when I was in Air Force tech school. <br />
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At around the same time I bought the camera, I wound up buying an enlarger and accessories at an estate auction and setting up a darkroom in a basement room. The auction included various expired chemicals and paper, some of the paper had expired 30 or 40 years prior--I had some fun with those, but they were pretty fogged and couldn't get much of an image. The enlarger was also very old and meant for medium format, not 35mm. I had to modify a film carrier and raise the rails to get reasonable sized enlargements. I bought film in 100 foot rolls and re-rolled into my own cassettes--If I remember right I could shoot a 36 exposure roll of Tri X, develop the film and print a contact sheet for around a dollar. I didn't have the setup to develop or print my own color--I did it a couple of times at either the high school darkroom or the college where Dad taught so I shout mostly black and white. I disliked flash (since I didn't own one...) so shot mostly Tri X, often pushing it a couple stops to 1600 instead of the rated 400. <br />
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The camera in the picture is a replacement that I bought via Ebay. If you are in the market for an OM-10 get one with the manual adapter. A bit less common, but no real price difference--and if you don't want the adapter you can likely sell it separately to someone else for about the cost of an OM10 body.Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-51374404465984840472015-05-21T10:00:00.000-04:002015-05-26T21:48:48.121-04:00Instamatic 500<br />
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The Instamatic system was a huge hit for Kodak. Most of the Instamatic cameras were simple and inexpensive-Other than simpler film loading not much different than previous cameras, with a simple meniscus lens and single or two speed shutter. <br />
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At the time Kodak's European division had separate management and very often produced much higher quality cameras--like this Instamatic 500 made from 1963-67. Unlike ordinary Instamatics, this was scale-focus metered manual with a 4 element lens and full control of shutter and aperture. Also unlike ordinary Instamatics, it was $95<br />
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Metering was via a Gossen Selenium cell--Gossen was known for separate handheld light meters. This had the meter pointer visible in the viewfinder. <br />
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Viewfinder showing frame lines and meter reading underexposed. Film speed is set via notches on the cartridge.<br />
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Properly exposed meter indication. Oddly for a selenium meter this one is still functional after 50 years, although I have not verified accuracy.<br />
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Lens collapses for storage--this also locks the shutter. Uncluttered top with only hot shoe and shutter button.<br />
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Like most paper-backed film, the counter is numbers on the paper.<br />
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Zone (guess) focusing is a handicap, especially with a lens this fast--wide open apertures were probably best left for distant subjects. However, zone focusing is still considerably better than no focusing.Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23800220.post-1764604523884652982015-05-19T23:12:00.001-04:002021-05-11T20:34:39.892-04:00Fotron Camera<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmBhmJV1LPoe_BM-Y5QBZaz6mjVJcl83tL7j8Sy-VTUu98yMI2o5CNlsl4poKCCNpihZ_kXGK4B6Jj1MpN1NuEfMX4Y6kxWcTZL-q6PyOljBvvGZfTsY6HzALhuO2rvHqYvC8lA/s1600/fotron.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmBhmJV1LPoe_BM-Y5QBZaz6mjVJcl83tL7j8Sy-VTUu98yMI2o5CNlsl4poKCCNpihZ_kXGK4B6Jj1MpN1NuEfMX4Y6kxWcTZL-q6PyOljBvvGZfTsY6HzALhuO2rvHqYvC8lA/s200/fotron.JPG" width="200" /></a>The Fotron camera was sold in the 60's door to door at absurdly high prices--from $150 to $500 This was roughly the price range of complete name brand Japanese SLRs at the time, and quite a bit more than auto exposure rangefinders with far better quality, and almost as easy to use. Marketed towards women, "especially the 99 out of 100 wives who refuse to fuss with their husband's cameras" (a quote from a <a href="http://www.butkus.org/chinon/fotron/body07.jpg">Fotron ad</a>)<br />
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The Fotron is astonishingly large, especially considering the features and quality--Basically similar to a 126 Instamatic (although introduced several years before the first Instamatic) with the addition of electronic strobe flash and electric winding. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwVbLWJOsM6MdxzCHfBiT1ZmYZJy-y3Mosfj0PGz3VW8naOn4MgYLrCHg9vTd5j5y6gecfOfZxbQNswDKvqm0vECLYWN2LXRRzcm6a6oCIGLbR7KoIx25CUHGLhqnC2y8YVWRoA/s1600/fotronfilm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwVbLWJOsM6MdxzCHfBiT1ZmYZJy-y3Mosfj0PGz3VW8naOn4MgYLrCHg9vTd5j5y6gecfOfZxbQNswDKvqm0vECLYWN2LXRRzcm6a6oCIGLbR7KoIx25CUHGLhqnC2y8YVWRoA/s200/fotronfilm.jpg" width="200" /></a>Like the Instamatics, film is paper-backed unperforated 35mm in a cassette--the Fotron uses Kodak's 828 roll film inserted in a proprietary cartridge rather than 126 Instamatic. Film was returned to Fotron for processing, and it is evident that the cartridge was meant for multiple uses. The cartridge comes apart with a single (proprietary) screw into a threaded metal insert. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1H0Z5uUvCa4y2G5bgO9dQK1WibNl1Bh9HUZQwn3Fh_w0Q_yhC-bRkTw6869_Os2L91z36NyRKKgFqAG3nlvVM6C-O0BVpAE8ckXk3bUKMQVwi4nF-cIeFQwjLzLUrtVCtgei_sg/s1600/fotronBak.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1H0Z5uUvCa4y2G5bgO9dQK1WibNl1Bh9HUZQwn3Fh_w0Q_yhC-bRkTw6869_Os2L91z36NyRKKgFqAG3nlvVM6C-O0BVpAE8ckXk3bUKMQVwi4nF-cIeFQwjLzLUrtVCtgei_sg/s200/fotronBak.JPG" width="200" /></a>Rather than a film door, the cartridge snaps into the back of the camera. When you snap it in it automatically winds to the first picture. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cERqlK-fDG84k8NRKZQpeSNcBlV2vdfWQn7GVxk4bbudY_nsfSOwPoQTxoxfWC2-d888QZscpKPd0cKuk_vSLTxWQ9dLKSwvdvIbRscX-eaM_yVSdZJmJHGG6ydAMSrbSmhvOA/s1600/fotronTop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cERqlK-fDG84k8NRKZQpeSNcBlV2vdfWQn7GVxk4bbudY_nsfSOwPoQTxoxfWC2-d888QZscpKPd0cKuk_vSLTxWQ9dLKSwvdvIbRscX-eaM_yVSdZJmJHGG6ydAMSrbSmhvOA/s200/fotronTop.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
Operation of the Fotron is odd--Separate "indoor" and "outdoor" power buttons, then 3 separate shutter buttons marked Near, Medium and Far. You were instructed to push the appropriate power button, wait until the light in front of the lens flashed 5 times, then aim and push one of the shutter buttons. Bright sun at medium range was not recommended. When the camera is off, a flag blocks most of the viewfinder, a tunnel with plain plastic covers at each end, no optical elements. To preserve battery life you were asked to turn the camera off between shots. Charge time was 18 hours for a single roll of film, up to 72 hours.<br />
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Internally, the camera is also unusual. Power is by a large 500mfd capacitor (roughly the size of a 4 oz juice can) at a relatively high voltage. I didn't measure it, but it was enough to give a significant tingle when I accidentally touched it. Mine is still working, although operating the camera it sounds abnormally slow and weak--I don't know if that is dried lubrication or weak power. A series of cams and levers operate the camera from a single motor on the opposite side from the capacitor. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1uzIecTxYfrcpttBImNGz9WpeaAnYMI-EXXfqJA-U2R2eCuUJXaWVGMum5lHFQrtaPQQAm9KT37DrayGW9NAJ5mWxaMT9ahP9m8-q-3lH6_8OWyv3zNuhP2r-grjLo6pSFRU-A/s1600/fotronInside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1uzIecTxYfrcpttBImNGz9WpeaAnYMI-EXXfqJA-U2R2eCuUJXaWVGMum5lHFQrtaPQQAm9KT37DrayGW9NAJ5mWxaMT9ahP9m8-q-3lH6_8OWyv3zNuhP2r-grjLo6pSFRU-A/s200/fotronInside.JPG" width="200" /></a>The lens is no bigger than an instamatic, appears to be a cheap 2 element with a plain clear cover on the front camera housing. Single speed rotary shutter, 2 position swing away aperture plate.<br />
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Aperture and focus are controlled by the combination of shutter and indoor/outdoor control, with no compensation for actual lighting.<br />
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Far, the lens does not move. Aperture plate is in for outdoor, out for indoor.<br />
Medium, the lens moves forward a bit, aperture out. <br />
Close, lens moves forward more than medium, aperture plate stays in lens.<br />
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No shutter speed control, no exposure meter, no automatic exposure--what appears to be a metering panel around the lens covers a pair of neon lamps that indicate the flash is ready. According to what I've read, the flash always fired. Eventually there was a class action lawsuit saying that the camera was vastly overpriced, with an actual value around $40. Compared to cameras of the era that's probably about accurate, with most of that price for the flash.Sevesteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167315201563562644noreply@blogger.com5