The OLDER Photographers' thread...

I have actually never used a snowblower. Imagine that, a Canadian that has never used a snowblower. Well, I get to use the ancient old Massey Ferguson tractor to clear the driveway, and road when needed. Dad has been banned from any strenuous snow work, and that includes anything more than just a short time on the tractor. The clutch on that tractor is so heavy that it really tears the knee up switching between forward and reverse all the time. I'll take the painful knee over him having to deal with a knee that's already had surgery.

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #11844342
I have actually never used a snowblower. Imagine that, a Canadian that has never used a snowblower. Well, I get to use the ancient old Massey Ferguson tractor to clear the driveway, and road when needed. Dad has been banned from any strenuous snow work, and that includes anything more than just a short time on the tractor. The clutch on that tractor is so heavy that it really tears the knee up switching between forward and reverse all the time. I'll take the painful knee over him having to deal with a knee that's already had surgery.

You are a good daughter!!

I've never used a snowblower either.

My wife's been bugging me to teach her how to run the tractor. She's a real tool girl. You never saw anyone so happy as her when I gave her a 10 inch compound miter saw for her birthday one year. On the other hand, I'd be a dead man if I gave her a vacuum cleaner or a steam iron. Go figure!

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #11843598
I will always work at a job that requires me to use my hands. Hands and mind. That is if I manage to keep my hands in decent working order. 5 years ago I came close to seriously damaging/possibly loosing my left ring finger. But I got 'lucky' and only have several scars. Any pine cone is tough when it's just been launched by a string trimmer, bounces off the tree and nails you in the face. They're even nastier when the lawn is covered in the little round ones that act like marbles under your feet and you're trimming along a cliff face.

I guess I have the best of both worlds. I get to use my mind at work, and my hands for all my other interests. Although, I built all my new offices for my warehouse myself. Did plumbing, rough construction, electrical, drywall, hung suspended ceilings, painted. Only thing I didn't do was carpet. I'm a skinny guy that doesn't want to wrestle around 12 foot long rolls of carpet!

My first job was a lab technician, so I got to use hands and brain all at once. Actuall, doing manual work exercises the brain as well. If only I was gaining brain cells rather than losing them!

Oh, the pine cones? I thought you meant they were physically attacking you. I know they can gang up, as I've heard them talking when I've been out by the pine trees. Don't they speak Pinese?

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #11844342
I have actually never used a snowblower. Imagine that, a Canadian that has never used a snowblower. Well, I get to use the ancient old Massey Ferguson tractor to clear the driveway, and road when needed. Dad has been banned from any strenuous snow work, and that includes anything more than just a short time on the tractor. The clutch on that tractor is so heavy that it really tears the knee up switching between forward and reverse all the time. I'll take the painful knee over him having to deal with a knee that's already had surgery.

I can't believe you don't have a snow blower! I have one for the half-dozen times I need it a year. It's a Moto-Mower, and they went out of business in 1967! I have had to put new drive chains on both the main and auger drives, but that's all the heavy maintenance I've had to do since owning this thing. Bought it from an old friend of mine in 1979 for 50 bucks. (I was also a small engine mechanic years ago, so maintaining motorized equipment is relatively simple. And yeat another one of my too many hobbies)!

We've never really had much need for a snowblower. Us kids always got to run a shovel and now we use a tractor. Or the neighbour uses his backhoe to dig everyone out. Gravel driveway too. In fact we usually just drive over the snow unless it gets too deep, then we clear it out.

Being a mechanic is using both the brain and the hands. You should see the schoolwork I'm having to do right now. Just wrote a 15 page report on component failure analysis.

With all the electronics on the newer cars, it's not simple anymore, is it?

I have the same issue with my current motorcycle, I have to bypass the computer that controls a stepper motor in the throttle body so I can tune it properly. Or otherwise buy a very expensive BMW motorcycle engine tuning device, which doesn't tune it half as well as I can. It used to be a lot simpler, tweak the valves, set the timing, balance the carbs, and away you go.

Timphoto wrote in post #11844712
With all the electronics on the newer cars, it's not simple anymore, is it?

I have the same issue with my current motorcycle, I have to bypass the computer that controls a stepper motor in the throttle body so I can tune it properly. Or otherwise buy a very expensive BMW motorcycle engine tuning device, which doesn't tune it half as well as I can. It used to be a lot simpler, tweak the valves, set the timing, balance the carbs, and away you go.

It definitely is not simple anymore. And it gets crazier all the time, ever tried figuring out the inner workings of a hybrid?

I've had some peripheral involvement in turning a gas engined Focus into an electric car, but I don't know much about hybrid systems.

sam walker wrote in post #11844124
My wife has interesting ideas about yard work. Very old school back to my mon's time Lawnmowers are made only for men.

I wish.

My wife "likes" doing the lawn (we have a ride on lawn "tractor").

Her problem is that she still hasn't figured out how to navigate between the swing set, despite landing the tractor nose up several times after getting wrapped up in the swing chains.

Well, your weed-whacking/eating/strimm​ing/snow-blowing chat has been very detailed, but has anyone (in the USA or elsewhere) seen articles related to the Saudi oil reserves recently?

Here's the one that came to my home-page a couple of days ago:

http://www.guardian.co​.uk …audi-reserves?INTCMP=SRCH

Ignoring whether we can believe oil-producing countries estimates or not, if we assume oil will be uneconomical to extract and sell within the next year, or 5 years or 10~20 years, what will happen to photography?

Obviously, it might be the last thing we'll be worrying about at the time, but recording events has, for quite a while now been the ace-in-the-hand for photographers....but if there's no oil, will our beloved Canons simply cease to be?

Any of you guys know how to paint a picture in 1/8000 of a second?!?!?!

That page seems to be unavailable.

Roy Mathers wrote in post #11846282
That page seems to be unavailable.

Fixed it!

Thanks skygod. Don't forget that it's written by Jeremy Leggett, the founder and chairman of Solarcentury, the UK's largest solar solutions company. Is it biased?

Roy Mathers wrote in post #11846472
Thanks skygod. Don't forget that it's written by Jeremy Leggett, the founder and chairman of Solarcentury, the UK's largest solar solutions company. Is it biased?

Well of course it's biased, Roy - what can you think of that we can read which isn't biased? - but that's not the point.
What are we all going to do when oil has truly peaked and the prices begin to go up to the point where we think, "Nope...too much for me?!"