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Not only was it windy (moving foliage), but neither of us had a tripod with us, and it was really, really dark. We didn't expect those shots to come out at all.

This is a bad thing? I've always thought that lots of people living in an inhospitable climate - particularly in poorly insulated homes - was as bad as driving an SUV. It is another massive waste of fossil fuels and source of pollution that will need to be resolved.

I now know why we don't have many (any) Russian members. I just got up (7AM) and it is midnight on the east cost. Even in Melbourne it is 1PM. It is impossible to be part of an active thread if you are asleep.

This one was @ 3200 ISO f2;)

The claim is "scheduled maintenance". The truth is that they've been doing it since early in communist times, and haven't gotten the memo that this isn't what "customer service" is about. It is very common for banks and other businesses to have their shops buried deep in the basement of some...

Here in Moscow GoldenWiFi has the whole city wired with 802.11b. I paid ~$30 for a month's worth of access from anywhere. I wish they had this at home...

Good to hear it timwhit. Keep up with the status updates, as I am considering it myself.

I was only in Shanghai for 3 days, Hong Kong for about a week. So far I've been in Moscow for 2 days, and it is pretty much the same. Poor city planing leads to laws that need to be broken, everyone breaking some laws makes enforcement of any laws lax, this leads to chaos and corruption...

I don't think I'll have time to post before the car arrives at 6:30AM, so my next posts should be from Moscow in a couple days.

...except that I personally verified that my father is severely allergic to pot ;)

Not a bad place to start, actually. But the current generation isn't going to be much better; they'll be buried in MySpace and angst-ridden reality shows. Impending doom is really required to keep Americans working. Some other countries have a solid work ethic (Germany, Japan) embedded in their...

Other (more expensive) energy sources have already been found, but I don't think the short-term mentality of corporations (and most consumers) will allow them to get out of the dependency on oil before they hit the wall. All of the CO2 in the oil used to be in the air at some point, but not...

So, based on your statements above, I'm assuming you believe there is plenty of oil to be had? That we won't need to worry about not having it in the future? I think I have found the difference in our positions. I know back in the 60s-80s there was a lot of talk about "oil independence". That...

The cost of refining isn't at issue. The amount that can be refined is. We are at or very near refining capacity; so even if 200% more oil was dumped at our doorstep, the supply of gas (and therefore, it's price) would not be significantly affected. I also think that the high global oil prices...

All the evidence I've seen points to a lack of refining capacity in the US for the high gas prices. Although increasing oil production couldn't hurt, I don't think it would help that much. A 100% tax on gas would probably be the most effective method to encourage intelligent consumption.

Why not get a triple-SLI board and a Q6600? It will pull tons of juice, but should give a healthy point total...

Nice shopping trip Fushigi! I'm envious of that Q9450...

Something I realized when looking at Handruin's fast zoom is that they get big and heavy really fast. Unless you are having a tripod in front of you, the lighter lens will be more useful after hours of watching/shooting. I ended up getting the lightest 75-300 they made (slow and no IS) because...

If you want fixed-price medical care, do it the way I have in the past. Do your own research and find a local Doc-in-the-Box. Walk in, and tell them exactly what you want. I've never had an issue getting a prescription or injection that I asked for, once I convinced them that I had done my homework.

I used the can of air on the brush; strong enough to clean it and statically charge it. I never blew it into the camera.

While I was out, I bought some lens cases and toploading camera holder from LowePro. These should handle some jarring in the backpack pretty well. I also got the EF-S 10-22 as an impulse buy; I just couldn't help it. Time to go outside and play.

I got a dry lens brush and used a can of air to clean/charge it. It took perhaps 15 passes to get it completely clean, but the result is excellent. I can appreciate the technical superiority of the "wet method", but it wasn't necessary for me, and mine was pretty bad!

Some recent pictures @ f22 caused me to finally take a test picture (f22@100ISO with closest focus onto a white computer monitor, moving the camera during the long exposure). After that I upped the levels and wow! I really need to clean this thing! This seems to be a great site for info. I'll...

Yup. For photography geeks there are a few more things up the hill (Skyline Blvd, Russian Ridge, etc). I've traveled a lot, and the thing that always surprises me is that every city is 90% the same: full of people going to/from work. Edit: I didn't realize you were on this part of the coast...

It was great fun. I didn't get any really good pictures, but I've posted a few anyway. It's nice being a tourist in a city you have lived in; we went to places where I had never bothered as a local, and this was my first photography trip there as well. Going with a camera caused me to look at...

Guys, I really appreciate all the discussion on camera bags; but that is not what I am after. How should I protect my camera and lenses when they are sitting in the bottom of a regular bag?

Why not just mount projectors on the trains that light up the wall? I would think that would be cheaper.

No need to worry about that. The headers are rated quite high; any quiet fan will pull a much smaller amount of power.

The spammers are relentless, but considering they can no longer post, we are safe from the storm. Imagine if every new user just make one post per forum...ick.

Actually, my hair is cut like a local, I'll be wearing local clothes, and my bag will be a local rucksack. And my Russian is picking up a distinct Moscovite accent ;) This means that the bag will not be padded and divided properly for camera gear. What level of padding should I be considering...

Yup. Time to meet the future in-laws. Not that my Russian is good enough for us to talk. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. ;)

While I'm in Russia I'll be carrying around my camera gear in a rucksack because all of my camera bags scream "rob me!". I'm thinking of sticking my spare lenses in 2 layers of thick hiking boots, would that be protective enough? What should I be thinking about?

It is quite standard Antec; it works well. The side panels on most of Antec's cases are a bit on the thin and wobbly side, though. If you stick a piece on Dynamat on the door panel, it should help. Just get the one made for a license plate, that should add enough mass to calm any fan vibrations...

dupe

I'm busy getting ready for my Moscow trip next week. This is pretty much my last chance to prep for the trip, as I'm working pretty solid next week.

That sounds like a solid office machine. Let us know how the build goes.

We'll see what happens to Guinness now that the two main production facilities are closing down...

Man, that is a lot of drugs. I have no insurance and pay about $50 a month for us (birth control). In my adult life, I have probably paid $300 for all the drugs I've ever taken. I find it very hard not to blame the consumers.

No doubt a special and expensive drive (150% special, 1000% expensive).

Home Premium @ $129 and Ultimate @ $219? They are getting desperate...

Not me I'm afraid; I'm leaving for Russia week after next and saving all the money I can.

Very interesting find. They don't move and don't generate heat; why do you need a case at all? Do what I've done and attach them using double-sided poster tape to the underside of an optical drive; keeps it out of the way and easy to change cases.

What security features do you want? If you aren't hosting stuff inside, anything with NAT-ing capabilities should be as secure as anything else (no external ports open). Of course, if you are hosting stuff or want to VPN into your house, then a smoothwall would be a good idea. The only thing I...

Perhaps I spoke too soon about it holding off the SSDs; they are now cheaper.

That card is several generations older, and doesn't support DX10. Not that that matters much, but I would choose the faster card if Aero is in it's future.

It is an impressive looking bridge.

All the more reason to kill and eat them ;)

Gigabyte 8500GT w/512MB?

Pity my laptop requires a 1.8"...

Wow, listed on Newegg (almost) as advertised...the 120GB version is actually $649! That is impressive.