Camera repair

I shipped my FZ30 to Authorized Panasonic Repair/Service center. The outcomes would be one of

1: The lens can be cleared of dust, camera re-conditioned and sent back. (About $250AUD)
2: The lens has to be replaced, camera re-conditioned and then sent back. (About $400AUD or more)
3: If #2, would I prefer to have an FZ50, ex-show model, that is still under warranty. FZ30 still returned.

Well, I now have an FZ30 and an FZ50. I have to admit, it is a step in many ways. I can still use the FZ30, but that dust makes auto-focus, especially for macros very dicey. It can be easily used for Non-macro shots (scenics, portraits etc) because I can edit the 'mote' out should it appear.

A few of the improvements: I can set the external flash settings to manual or have the camera manage it. (Manual, fershure) 10.1 megapixels. All the equipment I got for the FZ30 will work with the 50.

The first photo taken with the FZ50. This is a 1 meg file, 3600x2400

Oh yum

It hit a high of 35c today.

An ice cold home made strawberry daiquiri was just what it takes to cool things down!

It's not necessarily hot today, but after all the cold and rain, to have it jump to 35c after in the low 20s.. it feels hotter than it really is. *sip*

An annoyance..really

I have been having a problem with my Acer overheating and shutting down. Vents are clear, not blocked. I used canned air to make sure no dust or dander from our three cats and assorted flotsam was gumming up the works, and even have a small clip on desk fan circulating air to keep it cooled off, as core 2 duos can run a bit hot.

But after 3 shutdowns, I decided to hobble my machine. I set both CPUs to run at only 80%. Yes, it has slowed my system down a bit, but if you figure how much time I was losing because of the shutdowns (no warning, just faded to black and then off) and had to reboot and restart whatever I was doing, it's not that big a price to pay... I hope.

And of course, my XP laptop has decided to lock up when starting some programs. *sigh* Running NOD32 scan on it now.

Mao's Last Dancer

Wow. This was an excellent movie, and I recommend it for several reasons.

SPOILER SPACE

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A small village boy, taken from his home by the Communist gov't, to become a dancer, a propaganda tool. He is inspired by one man, who wants him trained as a classical ballet dancer, instead of a political tool, and that man is 'disappeared', but his love of the dance is in Li's heart.

He is spotted by the director of the Houston Ballet Company as the only one of the Chinese dancers that felt the dance, and was alive with it. "The are more like athletes than dancers" was a pretty good description. Li is partnered with the female principal dancer during practice. She replaces his dancing partner, and they perform on stage in China.

Li gets to come over to the US, after being told by the Ministry that America is bad, evil, and not to be trusted. Most of that is blown out of the water in the first day. He visits the Chinese consulate, as require, and again is told that he can't trust Americans, especially the women, and that he would only be shown the good parts of Houston. (Considering the village he grew up in, just about every part of Houston was the good parts!) He finds more and more that what he has been told about the US isn't true. People are free to speak out against the president and he is shocked to see them not being arrested for it. Just this bit of freedom gets him thinking.

He makes one helluva name for himself in the Houston Ballet when he has to sub for an injured dancer only 3 hours before showtime. Perfection on stage would be the only way to describe it.

Li, after all he has seen, all he has learned and experienced wants to stay in the US longer. He knows he can't just go back to that confining life he had in China. So, on advise of attorney, he marries his US girlfriend in a bid to stay. When he does the right thing and report it to the consulate, they kidnap him, keep him locked in a small room, and try to brow beat him (You are all alone, your friends have already left, think of your family in China) into going back voluntarily. None of it works. He wants to stay.

After much publicity, he is told he can stay, but he no longer has a home or family, that he is a man without a country. He is released and allowed to stay in the US. But he is plagued by nightmares of his family being murdered for his choice.

I could go on and on, but don't want to do a synopsis. This was an excellent movie. Definitely worth seeing again.

And on a political side: Should I hear or read any more blather about Obama indoctrinating kids by telling them to "set goals, study hard and stay in school", I suggest they watch the first 20 minutes of this movie. That is indoctrinating children, not Obama encouraging kids.

Just when you think society has pulled its collective head out of its collective ass.

Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long

You know you have been on Ebay a long time

When one or more of your favorite sellers has "No longer a registered user" under their names, and have 98 to 100% positive feedback.

Another icon of my childhood has died.. *sigh*

(CNN) -- Legendary wrestling figure Captain Lou Albano, perhaps best known for his association with pop singer Cyndi Lauper, died Wednesday, according to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Albano, 76, was "one of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," the company said in a statement.