New kitchen arrangement and 1/2 bath floor

We have been in our house since last January and during this time the wife has complained about the location of the dishwasher to the sink for loading and to some cabinets for unloading. It just so happens that while cleaning out some old pictures of a model home (this model) I discovered that there was a different arrangement. Yesterday we had our 10 month inspection so when the people from the builder showed up I had to ask whether the kitchen was to 'print' or at the judgement of the installer. I asked this question this way because I have complained before and I was told it was 'to print'. Well they went and checked and we weren't to print. They proceded to swap one cabinet and the dishwasher. In doing so they discovered that the cabinet had, in their opinion, installed with too many screws. One had been ran in from the top before the counter top was set thus they couldn't get to the screw head to back it out. This required splitting the side piece so it could be moved. It couldn't be seen but they felt it was wrong. A new cabinet is on order and will be installed.

Also while they were here I had them look at the basement floor where I am going to install a 1/2 bath. I paid good money to have it roughed in properly 'to print' but I have a problem. The sump pump pit is too close to what would be one of the walls for the bath. It is the wall that the toilet and sink would sit on. This is the wall that is critical in the fact that it would hold the plumbing and the toilet as to sit 12-1/2" from it on center. When they put the door into this room they set it 6" too far to one side so that it is close to where the sink would be when it swings open. No room to move because there is a floor drain for the water softner, a/c condenser and hotwater tank blow-off. The wall has to be built over this open drain and then collect the drain the sink will go into and continue on. In order to install one of only two walls that I must build for this room this one wall will end up with a double off-set, on of approx. 4" -and then a 10" off-set to get around the sump pump pit. Okay, now I have thouroughly confused everyone with this description (pictures to come later) I am back to where I talked to the homes builder about the floor. The floor and a pitch to the sump pump that intails approx. 50% of the bath's floor. I tried to put a leveling compound down and even though I'm not a mason, I didn't do too bad. However, there is still some uneven issues with it when I put a straight edge down. I started with a 1-1/4" difference between the bottom of the board that would be the lowest point of the wall in that area and the elevation of the floor. I now have that up even with the wall but I still have pitch in that direction and some waveness to it. Now, to make this too long of a simple story short, I asked the service crew for the builder for some help with the 'to print' issue and they didn't even question it. Said they would have a manonry crew out within the next 14 days. If I had only asked before this, but then, I did point it out during the homes walk through and was told....'it's to print' with a grin and shrug.

Bad news

I e-mailed Canon support this morning to find out if my Keystone speedlite that I purchased with the film Rebel was compatible with the XTi. I felt I had an issue, dark but flashed pictures. Not cutoff as if they weren't flashing at 1/60 but just not much light. Canon responded this afternoon that my speedlite is not compatible with the digital cameras. Bummer! I really liked it because I could bounce off ceilings or walls, I could set it on wide, normal or one of two zooms for different concentrations of lighting needs. For now, I have to use the pop up, a convenience flash, and impervise if I want to tweak the flash down. I have put scotch tape or wax paper over the flash area in the past. Not very scientific but it works. You can even put colored tissue over the source as long as it is strong enough to push through the weight of the paper.

By the way, this reponse time was less than four hours. The one before this was somewhere between 8 and 10, hard to tell since I sent it on the weekend and at night.

Close up practice

As you can see from the pictures of the Ferrari, I have some practice sessions coming. This is a model in a case that Steph and Greg got me when they went to Italy earlier this year. It is in a plastic case so there are all kinds of prizm effects going on. That will be the next thing to learn, lighting and its effect(s). I took these shots on a tripod at about 12" range. I was on medium quality at 1/5 shutter, f5.6 and an ISO of 400. Lighting was from outside about 12 feet to the right. I also used the timer to release the shutter. Lots of blury pictures before this one. Doing shots like this is where the Olympus has an advantage but being a film type of guy, it wasn't an issue. It's is just that I did get a little use to the back of the camera viewing on the first point and shoot Sony as well as the video camera. That one was never good outside so I went back to looking through something before this.

Did it.

Well, Gene and I met up Friday morning and went to a local camera store. I checked out my lens functionality on the EOS XTi and just as Canon support said, they worked great. I have no idea what the guy on the forum had or what his complaint was except his lens combos didn't work. I'm not even sure what camera he had but I do think he mentioned the EOS.

Gene went in to the store with a pretty set mind of the Olympus E-510. He really likes the live view through the screen on the back of the camera. I beleive he has changed his mind a little when the sale rep showed him how much slower it was when the camera had to move the mirror out of the way and then back again when taking pictures. I also reminded him of the quality of the sample pictures we had seen on a website. Final declaration, the rep said Nikon and Canon were considered the number one and two brands in digital, currently.

OSU just beat Michigan. Go Bucks.

I didn't make a decision then but I actually had. I had a thought that I could get it cheaper locally but found out I was wrong. Went back today an bought the XTi body. I have been playing around with it for the last hour or so plus loading the software and pdf files. I just have to get my 35mm habits back and I will be in business. I can hardly wait until next summer when I go to some car shows and maybe some races. Oh yea, I get to do the family pictures at Steph's house. She just loves for me to bring the camera. Right Steph? Okay back to more playing around with the camera.

1956 356A My first and only

Guess who...not their car!

Camera shopping

Went b'day shopping for someone today and while standing in line at a food establishment in the food court I get a cell phone call. It was my good 'ole buddy Gene. I had to cut the conversation short because it was my turn to order. I picked up my order and turned to be face to face with Gene. We had lunch and decided to go camera shopping tomorrow. I'm going to take my two lenses and make sure they work perfectly well on the XTi. I feel confident that the small lens will but I want to make sure the Promaster will. Canon techsupport.com said they would but then I read a forum report recently that said "thanks Canon for the bad information". The writer didn't go into a lot of details so I don't know which lens he had or was complaining about. I figure that if I take the lens in they can prove to me that everything is perfectly all right.

Notice the new pictures. Once I get my auxillary hard drive on I will post MY Porsche, not a wannabe.

Gene, enjoy Detroit this weekend.

Decision, decisions.

I'm wanting to finally upgrade my camera to a newer digital. Currently running with a Sony 3.1 that doesn't do bad for what it is but I had my AE-1 with lenses that went to Steph for college and that got me a EOS Rebel. I really like the old AE is some ways better. The weight was not a good thing the the fixed lens was fantastic. Can't remember exactly what it was but it was some were near a 1.8, 55mm. I doubled it up with a magnifier because it was the cheap way and then I bought the 200mm tele photo. The newer camera has two zoom lenses with one being a macro and the long lens being a 100 to 300mm. Now the delima, do I go ahead and get a Canon XTi body or maybe a 30D or do I go for the new Olympus Evolt 510 or one more step to consider, the Nikon D40X. I have spent several hours looking at reviews trying to decipher the good and the bad of each camera. Then, along with questioning which one is best for the money and the needs of this user I have to remember that I already have two lenses that drops the cost of staying with Canon. Fixed income people must think of that on a routine basis. I have a friend that is looking at the possibility of getting a new camera, maybe we can go in and swing a deal with the purchase of two cameras and some related gear. I'll have to run this by Geno, new thought and he doesn't know about it yet. He's been in Canada since last Friday and even went to a Camera store where he fell in love with one of the Olympus', the 410,500 or 510, not sure. Cost prohibitive up there. He and his wife, the real better half, will get in tonight so I will have to spring this thought on him tomorrow. I'll let you know the outcome.

All new.

This is new to me and is only being done at the suggestion of my daughter, Stephanie. I will struggle through this first adventure of blogging to the best of my ability and in time I will surely enjoy it. Hopefully, I won't treat it like a diary, I don't like diaries, at least not for men. If I do then someone needs to point it out to me. In time I will explain the name of the blog PorcheCorvetteMusic and the fact that there is one missing.