RE: New telephoto lenses?
I've learned a thing. I've learned the meaning of the word impervious ;-) I'd still recommend silencing this guy (urbanlegend) up, until he starts acting in a more civilised way, and he picks up photography. Tim Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian) Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds (Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of P. J. Alling Sent: 28. juli 2006 06:56 To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? I don't think you can offend Godfrey, he's impervious, (Interesting idea for a Super Hero there). Still you do have a point. Tim Øsleby wrote: You have offended Boris (and the rest of the list with him), and now you are trying to offend Godfrey. Why don't you go and find yourself another hobby? I'd recommend photography ;-) This is my last response to your posts, until you prove worthy of a reply. Tim Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian) Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds (Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 26. juli 2006 18:27 To: pdml@pdml.net Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? I think you better stop talking about cars before you hurt yourself. That whole BS about FWD being the same amount of work as RWD for transaxle repair exposed your ignorance. Before working for an aircraft company, I was a mechanic/instructor for 15 years. They dont compare period. Now you are talking about Prius and its transmission is continuously-variable gearing. No such thing. The transmission is an electric motor/generator. There is a second motor/generator attached to a gasoline engine (it should have been diesel for even more efficiency). Power is shunted around between all the components, both electrical power and mechanical power. But ultimately an electric motor is atached to the drive shaft and the continuous nature of it is due to electric motor characteristics, not to any fancy gearing. Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: Jerk factor? Are they talking about themselves or the cars? ;-) I was never very interested in that. I prefer properly balanced, responsive power delivery. My Alfa Spider is only around 130-135 hp and weighs 2400 lbs, but it's responsive and fun to drive: it requires skill to get the most out of it, not a heavy foot. Not something to jerk me around. No wonder I've never been interested in American automobiles much. The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Godfrey -- Peter Grove Seattle WA Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
580 miles in the Prius means 52 mpg (11 gallon tank). Mileage improves in inner city use as the electric motor gets more of the load, and in traffic there are virtually zero emissions ... the gas motor only fires up to charge the battery if it gets low, it's off when stopped in traffic. Good diesels are very efficient too, although they're harder to clean up emissions-wise. It's a shame that they do so poorly in the US market ... there are a ton of superb diesel powered cars in the UK and Europe. I've rented them when traveling and found the performance and economy superb. G On Jul 26, 2006, at 7:24 AM, graywolf wrote: Hell, my 86 Escort would get up to 700 miles on a 13gal tank full. Of course it was a diesel. Ford claimed 38mpg but I consistently got 45 combined, and 50-55 on the highway. Now if my S-10 would only do so well (15 town/25 highway). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 26, 2006, at 10:56 AM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: Good diesels are very efficient too, although they're harder to clean up emissions-wise. It's a shame that they do so poorly in the US market ... there are a ton of superb diesel powered cars in the UK and Europe. I've rented them when traveling and found the performance and economy superb. They sell well enough up here that VW run Diesel-specific TV ads, at least in Ontario and Quebec. -Aaron -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
How did I know... Cotty wrote: On 23/7/06, P. J. Alling, discombobulated, unleashed: Actually Brazil seems to be doing well on ethanol, but I don't know what they're using as a feed stock, probably cutting down the rain forest. Correct. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3024636.stm -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Cotty wrote: On 23/7/06, P. J. Alling, discombobulated, unleashed: Actually Brazil seems to be doing well on ethanol, but I don't know what they're using as a feed stock, probably cutting down the rain forest. Correct. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3024636.stm Not correct,Brazil's ethanol comes from sugar cane plantations.They've had that programme running for decades, since the end of the 70's/beginning of the 80's (I was living in Brazil then).The programme slowed down in the late 80's when oil was cheaper and Brazil increased its oil output, but it has been revived in the last few years. The ongoing deforestation in the Amazon basin doesn't have anything to do with ethanol production. Carlos -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Hum, so you did a google search, did you find these numbers, broken down by ethnic groups. This takes a little work so bear with me. The current Ethnic makeup of the US is 80.4% White which includes White Hispanics 12.8% Black which includes Black Hispanics 6.8% Other Chinese, American Indian, Indian, etc., which includes of course Other Hispanics. Hispanics can be of any ethnic group but their overall birthrate differs from the larger ethnic group they belong to due to cultural differences so I'll correct for that, (there are more nuances but I didn't bother looking for more data). Total Hispanics of all ethnic groups is 14.1% The population replacement birth rate is 2.1 live births per couple over a lifetime. Now lets look at birth rates by ethnicity. Birth Rate Non Hispanic White 1.7 Non Hispanic Black 2.5 Non Hispanic Other 2.5 Hispanic (over all) 3.9 This is the outlier but as I said I'll make allowances. Lets keep this simple by estimating a weighted average. 14.1% of 80.4% ~ 11.34% (Hispanic White) ~ 68.70% Non Hispanic White 14.1% of 12.8% ~ 1.80% (Hispanic Black) ~ 11.00% Non Hispanic Black 14.1% of 6.8% ~ 0.96% (Hispanic Other) ~ 6.14% Non Hispanic Other Total14.10% (Hispanic) 84.84% (Everybody else) Which equals ~100% This tells me that, given rounding errors, my Math so far is at least half right! Now 1.7 * 68.7% = 1.17 (White NH) 2.5 * 11.0% = .28 2.5 * 6.1 = .15 3.9 * 14.1 = .56 Total 2.16 I come out with a over all birth rate just over replacement for current residents! considering that I don't know the exact break down of Hispanic White, vs Hispanic Black vs Hispanic Other I'm I think I'm pretty close to zero population growth. I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt and say my sigma is +/- .06 live births per couple over all in the population. The increase in US population is almost entirely, if not entirely, due to in immigration. True we are seeing a shift in native born population over time, to a more Catholic and Hispanic heritage, with a minor shift to more a non white over all, group. But you can't really blame the current native born population for run away population growth in the US. Unless you can find better numbers than I could find. If you can do simple math you can figure things out for yourself. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Searching the Net I have found nothing to indicate that the US population growth has slowed to 0. Overall growth has slowed, but the population is still growing by quite a bit. A major surge occurred in the 1990's. Anyone curious can check census bureau facts. Also, in almost all areas US imports exceed US exports. A simple google search will turn this stuff up. Later, Marnie aka Doe -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Sounds like the same design philosophy as the Porsche(VW) 914... [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yeah, the Fiero wasn't exactly a classic. It was a low-budget throw-together project from GM that did nothing to boost their reputation. The engine and transaxle were almost identical to the front-drive units in the X-body cars. The steering knuckles were simply locked into position. I believe the rotation problem was solved by having the engine run counterclockwise, although I could be wrong about that. Paul -- Original message -- From: frank theriault [EMAIL PROTECTED] On 7/24/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I wrote an article for Popular Mechanics some years ago about car repair difficulty. I arranged for about a dozen popular models to be delivered to an automotive service center. The best mechanic in the house performed six repairs to each car. He scored them one to ten, easy to most difficult. When the results were in the big loser was a rear engine V-6 Pontiac Fiero (a car long since out of production). That car was followed by seven or eight front-drive cars. I think it was a Honda that came in as second hardest to repair. All of those that scored well were front-engine/rear drive cars. The top finisher was a front-engine/rear drive Chevrolet Caprice, a dinosaur by any measure, but very easy to repair. Apparently, repairing those V6 Fieros was mostly moot anyway. They lived up to their name and tended to catch on fire a lot. Although the V6 was a huge improvement on the little straight 4 in terms of power and torque, that big engine in a tiny engine compartment had a tendency to severely overheat. The results could be somewhat disconcerting, as the mid-ship-mounted motor was about 6 inches behind the driver's head. cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I think you can thank me for sending this car-eening wildly off topic... frank theriault wrote: On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hmm, have you ever dropped a transmission on a front wheel drive car vs a rear wheel drive? The labor is probably 5+ times. You basically have to remove a huge number of suspension components on FWD *and* take out the split axle before you even get to the transmission assembly. On a RWD, its a piece of cake. So, I hadn't looked at this thread until just now. The first post was Pal, asking about a telephoto lens. I scrolled directly down to the last (and 68th) post on this thread, and we're talking about dropping trannies into front-wheel vs. rear-wheel drive cars. I love this list! I love you guys! LOL cheers, frank -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
John Francis wrote: On Wed, Jul 26, 2006 at 04:02:51PM +0800, David Savage wrote: At 08:34 AM 26/07/2006, Paul Stenquist wrote: A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. Paul We call it Wank Factor in our office. Usually used to describe something flashy that is really unimportant but looks good and the client loves. That totally misses the double meaning of jerk, though. I would think triple meaning. But I probably wouldn't have thought of that without the association with Wank... -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I don't think you can offend Godfrey, he's impervious, (Interesting idea for a Super Hero there). Still you do have a point. Tim Øsleby wrote: You have offended Boris (and the rest of the list with him), and now you are trying to offend Godfrey. Why don't you go and find yourself another hobby? I'd recommend photography ;-) This is my last response to your posts, until you prove worthy of a reply. Tim Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian) Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds (Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 26. juli 2006 18:27 To: pdml@pdml.net Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? I think you better stop talking about cars before you hurt yourself. That whole BS about FWD being the same amount of work as RWD for transaxle repair exposed your ignorance. Before working for an aircraft company, I was a mechanic/instructor for 15 years. They dont compare period. Now you are talking about Prius and its transmission is continuously-variable gearing. No such thing. The transmission is an electric motor/generator. There is a second motor/generator attached to a gasoline engine (it should have been diesel for even more efficiency). Power is shunted around between all the components, both electrical power and mechanical power. But ultimately an electric motor is atached to the drive shaft and the continuous nature of it is due to electric motor characteristics, not to any fancy gearing. Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: Jerk factor? Are they talking about themselves or the cars? ;-) I was never very interested in that. I prefer properly balanced, responsive power delivery. My Alfa Spider is only around 130-135 hp and weighs 2400 lbs, but it's responsive and fun to drive: it requires skill to get the most out of it, not a heavy foot. Not something to jerk me around. No wonder I've never been interested in American automobiles much. The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Godfrey -- Peter Grove Seattle WA Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I'll offer rights to the comic book at a reasonable rate. ]'-) G On Jul 27, 2006, at 9:56 PM, P. J. Alling wrote: I don't think you can offend Godfrey, he's impervious, (Interesting idea for a Super Hero there). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
At 08:34 AM 26/07/2006, Paul Stenquist wrote: A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. Paul We call it Wank Factor in our office. Usually used to describe something flashy that is really unimportant but looks good and the client loves. Dave -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Tue, 25 Jul 2006 22:50:38 -0700, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Good choice! I have been driving one for a year and a half now, after having had a 6-gear Celica for over 5 years :-) I really like it, and with a mix of arround town / highway I do an avarage of 53 mpg (4.3 ltr/100km) in the summer. (In the European winters it takes almost 10% more!) Note that my average cruising speed is between 55 and 60 miles or 90 km on the highway :-) Driving it is really comfortable and relaxing! Regards, JvW -- Jan van Wijk; http://www.dfsee.com/gallery -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Hell, my 86 Escort would get up to 700 miles on a 13gal tank full. Of course it was a diesel. Ford claimed 38mpg but I consistently got 45 combined, and 50-55 on the highway. Now if my S-10 would only do so well (15 town/25 highway). -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- keith_w wrote: Paul Stenquist wrote: On Jul 25, 2006, at 5:05 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex little devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there is engine by a factor of 10. Nice car to drive, however. A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. Paul You mean, the charge is too small to be practical? Runs out of power too quickly? A 1.5 litre engine, of 76 hp, in a car weighing almost 2900 lb is not going to be much of a performer, but 580 miles on a tank of gas is not all that bad! Also, performance will depend on how it's geared. Interesting concept. Know the price? keith whaley -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Wed, Jul 26, 2006 at 04:02:51PM +0800, David Savage wrote: At 08:34 AM 26/07/2006, Paul Stenquist wrote: A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. Paul We call it Wank Factor in our office. Usually used to describe something flashy that is really unimportant but looks good and the client loves. That totally misses the double meaning of jerk, though. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I think you better stop talking about cars before you hurt yourself. That whole BS about FWD being the same amount of work as RWD for transaxle repair exposed your ignorance. Before working for an aircraft company, I was a mechanic/instructor for 15 years. They dont compare period. Now you are talking about Prius and its transmission is continuously-variable gearing. No such thing. The transmission is an electric motor/generator. There is a second motor/generator attached to a gasoline engine (it should have been diesel for even more efficiency). Power is shunted around between all the components, both electrical power and mechanical power. But ultimately an electric motor is atached to the drive shaft and the continuous nature of it is due to electric motor characteristics, not to any fancy gearing. Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: Jerk factor? Are they talking about themselves or the cars? ;-) I was never very interested in that. I prefer properly balanced, responsive power delivery. My Alfa Spider is only around 130-135 hp and weighs 2400 lbs, but it's responsive and fun to drive: it requires skill to get the most out of it, not a heavy foot. Not something to jerk me around. No wonder I've never been interested in American automobiles much. The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Godfrey -- Peter Grove Seattle WA Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Well, the only problem with your post is that Godders is right about the Prius's driveline and you are wrong. The Prius uses a mechanical planetary gearset to connect the engine to the wheels, as well as the two electric motor/generators. The electric motors running in generator mode when needing a charge, adding their power to the wheels when accellerating or with only the electric motors driving when in cruise mode. The motors also do regenerative braking, with 1 motor per drive wheel. It's essentially similar in application to a CVT, although the design is different. Godfrey may have been incorrect about the differences in servicing modern FWD and RWD cars due to lack of recent experience but everything else he has posted on this thread has been thoroughly accurate. -Adam [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I think you better stop talking about cars before you hurt yourself. That whole BS about FWD being the same amount of work as RWD for transaxle repair exposed your ignorance. Before working for an aircraft company, I was a mechanic/instructor for 15 years. They dont compare period. Now you are talking about Prius and its transmission is continuously-variable gearing. No such thing. The transmission is an electric motor/generator. There is a second motor/generator attached to a gasoline engine (it should have been diesel for even more efficiency). Power is shunted around between all the components, both electrical power and mechanical power. But ultimately an electric motor is atached to the drive shaft and the continuous nature of it is due to electric motor characteristics, not to any fancy gearing. Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: Jerk factor? Are they talking about themselves or the cars? ;-) I was never very interested in that. I prefer properly balanced, responsive power delivery. My Alfa Spider is only around 130-135 hp and weighs 2400 lbs, but it's responsive and fun to drive: it requires skill to get the most out of it, not a heavy foot. Not something to jerk me around. No wonder I've never been interested in American automobiles much. The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Godfrey -- Peter Grove Seattle WA Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
RE: New telephoto lenses?
You have offended Boris (and the rest of the list with him), and now you are trying to offend Godfrey. Why don't you go and find yourself another hobby? I'd recommend photography ;-) This is my last response to your posts, until you prove worthy of a reply. Tim Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian) Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds (Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 26. juli 2006 18:27 To: pdml@pdml.net Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? I think you better stop talking about cars before you hurt yourself. That whole BS about FWD being the same amount of work as RWD for transaxle repair exposed your ignorance. Before working for an aircraft company, I was a mechanic/instructor for 15 years. They dont compare period. Now you are talking about Prius and its transmission is continuously-variable gearing. No such thing. The transmission is an electric motor/generator. There is a second motor/generator attached to a gasoline engine (it should have been diesel for even more efficiency). Power is shunted around between all the components, both electrical power and mechanical power. But ultimately an electric motor is atached to the drive shaft and the continuous nature of it is due to electric motor characteristics, not to any fancy gearing. Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: Jerk factor? Are they talking about themselves or the cars? ;-) I was never very interested in that. I prefer properly balanced, responsive power delivery. My Alfa Spider is only around 130-135 hp and weighs 2400 lbs, but it's responsive and fun to drive: it requires skill to get the most out of it, not a heavy foot. Not something to jerk me around. No wonder I've never been interested in American automobiles much. The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Godfrey -- Peter Grove Seattle WA Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
graywolf wrote: Hell, my 86 Escort would get up to 700 miles on a 13gal tank full. Of course it was a diesel. Ford claimed 38mpg but I consistently got 45 combined, and 50-55 on the highway. Now if my S-10 would only do so well (15 town/25 highway). In this present hot spell, I'm getting about 600 from 11(imp) gallons. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
From: Keith McGuinness [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 2006/07/24 Mon PM 09:41:58 GMT To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? mike wilson wrote: From: Keith McGuinness [EMAIL PROTECTED] graywolf wrote: Well, I like the idea of killing everyone who has an income above the median, they are resource hogs having more than their fair share of everything. You want to kill half the population on the planet? Seems a little drastic! Probably more like 10%. Ineffective. Nope -- exactly half. The MEDIAN income is that which divides the population into two halves: 50% above and 50% below. If graywolf had said MEAN income, you might be about right. Apologies for being pedantic; it's genetic. 8-) Keith McG But Tom's talking about median _income_. Median is the midpoint in a series of numbers, not the number that causes a 50/50 split in a derivative of it. In modern society, say incomes go from 0 to 10million, the median is 5million. But the number of people with higher than 5million will be much lower than the number below. Sorry, you're just not pedantic enough. Pedantic would be pointing out that I'm assuming one pass. 8-) - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
those are uncorrelated measures. best, mishka On 7/23/06, DagT [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Wow, if you are feeding a large part of the world with food it really explains why you are so popular, and why you have the world record in debt to other countries. DagT Den 23. jul. 2006 kl. 20.57 skrev P. J. Alling: If your definition is true then you are wrong. The carrying capacity for the US is much higher than the current population. We feed a large part of the rest of the world. The US does import lots of luxury foods, (any fruit or vegetable out of season is a luxury by the way), which require large amounts of human labor. The foods we produce are those that can be machine harvested and processed. The difference in labor cost in Mexico is the only thing that even makes importing fruits and vegetables remotely possible. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 7/23/2006 9:55:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: But even the US isn't overcrowded by any stretch of the imagination. Europe is far more densely populated. You can make a good argument for overpopulation in Europe, but not for the US or (especially) Canada, both of which have very low population density, even if much of the population tends to stuff itself into small areas of high density. -Adam === Overpopulation is when the land people live on can no longer support them. The US passed that point a long, long time ago. Need I remind you how the US has drained the third world of resources to keep its population going? Let's just take food. The Central Valley in California used to feed most of the US and other parts of the world as well. I don't know what happened to it, but now about all our produce comes from Mexico. Which does leave one wondering what Mexicans eat. Or where other countries will get their oil etc. when they need it. Get real. Marnie aka Doe -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 24, 2006, at 5:13 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: That said, I recall a Citroen DS21 that took about 22 hours to change a left side motor mount too. A nightmare. 22 hours is a bit excessive. I've done it in a lot less. The difference is that if you follow the official shop manual procedures, doing anything on a Citroën takes twice as long as it should. I think the shop manuals were written to maximize mechanic's pay. There was always an alternate, simpler way to do things. The rear motor mounts on DS cars always collapse in a few years, so some friends and I developed an alternate procedure for changing them that didn't require pulling the engine out of the car. We also figured out a way to change piston rings without pulling the engine. The other thing you figure out from official shop manuals is that mechanics are supposed to have foot-long fingers the diameter of pencils! Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
because the most efficient process that turns dollars to oil, is simply bying oil from the producers :) best, mishka On 7/23/06, DagT [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sorry about that. I´ve never understood why the west does not use it´s technology and wealth to become independent of oil. DagT -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
you get rid of him means there are two of you. i wholeheartedly subscribe to your statement regarding logic and this group best, mishka. On 7/23/06, graywolf [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: No, everone on the planet. As you continue executing them, the median income goes down until one person has it all. Then you have to get rid of him. Logic does not seem to be the forte of most of the folks involved in this thread. The idea that the world is falling apart but know one but you cares is so old that people have been crying about it since before they fell out of the trees, while in fact life has never been so good. Shut off the damned TV and go for a walk. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Keith McGuinness wrote: graywolf wrote: Well, I like the idea of killing everyone who has an income above the median, they are resource hogs having more than their fair share of everything. You want to kill half the population on the planet? Seems a little drastic! Keith McG -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: OT: global warming and Re: New telephoto lenses?
On 7/23/06, Butch Black [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yet, you could not believe all the trees when you were out here. I believe you, Marnie, the environment in San Francisco has deteriorated vastly in your lifetime. I on the other hand having grown up in places like Detroit, and Buffalo am amazed at how much better things are now. snip WRT Buffalo, I don't doubt that the air and water are cleaner than they were 20 or 30 years ago. That might be because it's been about 20 or 30 years since a factory there has actually been in operation. The industrial areas of Buffalo look like a bombed out war zone, with crumbling factories and warehouses. The rust belt indeed! cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 25, 2006, at 3:11 AM, Bob Shell wrote: That said, I recall a Citroen DS21 that took about 22 hours to change a left side motor mount too. A nightmare. 22 hours is a bit excessive. I've done it in a lot less. I would hope so! This one was not only the usual inaccessible problem but the threads were corroded and boogered. And we had seen so few of these cars that doing the job was not something we had enough experience with the particular car to understand the best, fastest way. Lots of things contribute to cost of service... The other thing you figure out from official shop manuals is that mechanics are supposed to have foot-long fingers the diameter of pencils! LOL ... Uh huh. And they bastids higher little tiny dwarves with files to sharpen all the corners you can't see... :-) Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
If you have a shop equipped for working on those things you simple drop the entire drive train from the car and work on it separately. Trying to disassemble the thing in the car is a nightmare. Old Volkswagons were the same way you could hoist up the car and drop the engine/transaxel in a few minutes, or you could lay under the car for hours, cussing it. Modern vehicles simply are not made to be repaired at the roadside like the very old ones were. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Gonz wrote: Hmm, have you ever dropped a transmission on a front wheel drive car vs a rear wheel drive? The labor is probably 5+ times. You basically have to remove a huge number of suspension components on FWD *and* take out the split axle before you even get to the transmission assembly. On a RWD, its a piece of cake. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
There are a couple of Fieros around town here that have V8's stuffed in them. Anyone care to guess what a Fiero with a 421 tri-power is like? No, I have not ridden in it. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- frank theriault wrote: On 7/24/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I wrote an article for Popular Mechanics some years ago about car repair difficulty. I arranged for about a dozen popular models to be delivered to an automotive service center. The best mechanic in the house performed six repairs to each car. He scored them one to ten, easy to most difficult. When the results were in the big loser was a rear engine V-6 Pontiac Fiero (a car long since out of production). That car was followed by seven or eight front-drive cars. I think it was a Honda that came in as second hardest to repair. All of those that scored well were front-engine/rear drive cars. The top finisher was a front-engine/rear drive Chevrolet Caprice, a dinosaur by any measure, but very easy to repair. Apparently, repairing those V6 Fieros was mostly moot anyway. They lived up to their name and tended to catch on fire a lot. Although the V6 was a huge improvement on the little straight 4 in terms of power and torque, that big engine in a tiny engine compartment had a tendency to severely overheat. The results could be somewhat disconcerting, as the mid-ship-mounted motor was about 6 inches behind the driver's head. cheers, frank -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
As far as I know the US government defines Median income as the middle of the population, not the middle of the dollar amount. So in this case Keith is correct. However as I pointed out in a previous post, I was considering repeated iterations, so it hardly matters which way you define it. In the end there would be only one person/family left. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- mike wilson wrote: From: Keith McGuinness [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 2006/07/24 Mon PM 09:41:58 GMT To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? mike wilson wrote: From: Keith McGuinness [EMAIL PROTECTED] graywolf wrote: Well, I like the idea of killing everyone who has an income above the median, they are resource hogs having more than their fair share of everything. You want to kill half the population on the planet? Seems a little drastic! Probably more like 10%. Ineffective. Nope -- exactly half. The MEDIAN income is that which divides the population into two halves: 50% above and 50% below. If graywolf had said MEAN income, you might be about right. Apologies for being pedantic; it's genetic. 8-) Keith McG But Tom's talking about median _income_. Median is the midpoint in a series of numbers, not the number that causes a 50/50 split in a derivative of it. In modern society, say incomes go from 0 to 10million, the median is 5million. But the number of people with higher than 5million will be much lower than the number below. Sorry, you're just not pedantic enough. Pedantic would be pointing out that I'm assuming one pass. 8-) - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Sure, but on FWD, you still cant do that easily, it has to come out the bottom, and on most of the ones I've seen, you have to still remove alot of stuff before you can do that. Again, its because the two half shafts are connected to the transaxle and the front wheels, which in turn is connected to a bunch of suspension stuff. And the ones I've seen also cant go down without taking some frame members off because the transaxle sticks out the side too much. I dont claim to have seen them all, and as Godfrey points out, there are exceptions to both sides, but generally speaking most of the FWD drive trains have the same rough removal procedure. graywolf wrote: If you have a shop equipped for working on those things you simple drop the entire drive train from the car and work on it separately. Trying to disassemble the thing in the car is a nightmare. Old Volkswagons were the same way you could hoist up the car and drop the engine/transaxel in a few minutes, or you could lay under the car for hours, cussing it. Modern vehicles simply are not made to be repaired at the roadside like the very old ones were. -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Graywolf asked, Anyone care to guess what a Fiero with a 421 tri-power is like? Um, twisted? Hopefully, it's just a Fiero body on a tube chassis. Paul -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
The engine and transmission of all the FWD cars I've worked on was most easily removed by pulling them up out of the engine compartment. Some come out most easily as a unit. Others require they be separated in the car. It's been relatively straightforward to do. I have also changed the clutch on a few of them without removing them from the car. It was easy on the SAAB 99 and Austin Mini, a bit of a pain on the FIAT 128, and you have to remove the engine to get to it on the SAAB 96. I think you're making a much bigger deal out of the job through unfamiliarity than it actually is. Disconnection from the front wheels has generally been quite easy. You don't have to take the suspension completely apart except in the rare instances of an atrocious design. It's often a matter of unbolting a suspension upright to allow some movement, slide the half-shafts off the transmission unit, and you're done. I haven't done much work on anything newer than 1980 because *all* cars got to be too much of a pain to work on to be worth my time, and because I stopped doing auto/motorcycle mechanics for a living in 1980 when I moved to California. That said, I've had the clutch replaced on both my Alfa Romeo Spider (front engine, rear drive) and Toyota MR2 (midengine drive unit lifted from a Corolla FWD car) within the past eight years. Discounting cost of parts (the Alfa was cheaper), the labor charged to do the jobs was identical. No other car I've owned since 1980 (about seven different ones) has ever required any service to the transmission or driveline components, and they've all cost roughly the same thing to service otherwise. G On Jul 25, 2006, at 8:38 AM, Gonz wrote: Sure, but on FWD, you still cant do that easily, it has to come out the bottom, and on most of the ones I've seen, you have to still remove alot of stuff before you can do that. Again, its because the two half shafts are connected to the transaxle and the front wheels, which in turn is connected to a bunch of suspension stuff. And the ones I've seen also cant go down without taking some frame members off because the transaxle sticks out the side too much. I dont claim to have seen them all, and as Godfrey points out, there are exceptions to both sides, but generally speaking most of the FWD drive trains have the same rough removal procedure. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey, Most modern FWD drivetrains can't be removed by pulling them up, there's simply not enough room to get the engine and transaxle out that way (The LH cars are an exception, but you still normally drop the engine/tranny when working on them). If you haven't worked on most post-1980 cars, which are the vast majority of FWD designs, you probably shouldn't be commenting as an authority on servicing FWD drivetrains. Because you aren't an authority as your experience predates 90% of the designs to hit the market. And comparing servicing costs on two relatively exotic cars is probably not a good method for making assumptions on anything (Yes, the MR2 is fairly rare and exotic despite being a Toyota with a relatively off the shelf driveline). That's the notional equivalent of commenting on the last generation Celica's reliability based on your experiences with a Lotus Elise 190 (Same basic driveline there too) -Adam Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: The engine and transmission of all the FWD cars I've worked on was most easily removed by pulling them up out of the engine compartment. Some come out most easily as a unit. Others require they be separated in the car. It's been relatively straightforward to do. I have also changed the clutch on a few of them without removing them from the car. It was easy on the SAAB 99 and Austin Mini, a bit of a pain on the FIAT 128, and you have to remove the engine to get to it on the SAAB 96. I think you're making a much bigger deal out of the job through unfamiliarity than it actually is. Disconnection from the front wheels has generally been quite easy. You don't have to take the suspension completely apart except in the rare instances of an atrocious design. It's often a matter of unbolting a suspension upright to allow some movement, slide the half-shafts off the transmission unit, and you're done. I haven't done much work on anything newer than 1980 because *all* cars got to be too much of a pain to work on to be worth my time, and because I stopped doing auto/motorcycle mechanics for a living in 1980 when I moved to California. That said, I've had the clutch replaced on both my Alfa Romeo Spider (front engine, rear drive) and Toyota MR2 (midengine drive unit lifted from a Corolla FWD car) within the past eight years. Discounting cost of parts (the Alfa was cheaper), the labor charged to do the jobs was identical. No other car I've owned since 1980 (about seven different ones) has ever required any service to the transmission or driveline components, and they've all cost roughly the same thing to service otherwise. G On Jul 25, 2006, at 8:38 AM, Gonz wrote: Sure, but on FWD, you still cant do that easily, it has to come out the bottom, and on most of the ones I've seen, you have to still remove alot of stuff before you can do that. Again, its because the two half shafts are connected to the transaxle and the front wheels, which in turn is connected to a bunch of suspension stuff. And the ones I've seen also cant go down without taking some frame members off because the transaxle sticks out the side too much. I dont claim to have seen them all, and as Godfrey points out, there are exceptions to both sides, but generally speaking most of the FWD drive trains have the same rough removal procedure. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
It sounds like thats where the disconnect is then. You worked on cars before 1980, I worked on them past 1982 or so. lol. They *are* a pain in the butt now. I'm sure what you say about the pre '80 cars are true. Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: The engine and transmission of all the FWD cars I've worked on was most easily removed by pulling them up out of the engine compartment. Some come out most easily as a unit. Others require they be separated in the car. It's been relatively straightforward to do. I have also changed the clutch on a few of them without removing them from the car. It was easy on the SAAB 99 and Austin Mini, a bit of a pain on the FIAT 128, and you have to remove the engine to get to it on the SAAB 96. I think you're making a much bigger deal out of the job through unfamiliarity than it actually is. Disconnection from the front wheels has generally been quite easy. You don't have to take the suspension completely apart except in the rare instances of an atrocious design. It's often a matter of unbolting a suspension upright to allow some movement, slide the half-shafts off the transmission unit, and you're done. I haven't done much work on anything newer than 1980 because *all* cars got to be too much of a pain to work on to be worth my time, and because I stopped doing auto/motorcycle mechanics for a living in 1980 when I moved to California. That said, I've had the clutch replaced on both my Alfa Romeo Spider (front engine, rear drive) and Toyota MR2 (midengine drive unit lifted from a Corolla FWD car) within the past eight years. Discounting cost of parts (the Alfa was cheaper), the labor charged to do the jobs was identical. No other car I've owned since 1980 (about seven different ones) has ever required any service to the transmission or driveline components, and they've all cost roughly the same thing to service otherwise. G On Jul 25, 2006, at 8:38 AM, Gonz wrote: Sure, but on FWD, you still cant do that easily, it has to come out the bottom, and on most of the ones I've seen, you have to still remove alot of stuff before you can do that. Again, its because the two half shafts are connected to the transaxle and the front wheels, which in turn is connected to a bunch of suspension stuff. And the ones I've seen also cant go down without taking some frame members off because the transaxle sticks out the side too much. I dont claim to have seen them all, and as Godfrey points out, there are exceptions to both sides, but generally speaking most of the FWD drive trains have the same rough removal procedure. -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
graywolf wrote: As far as I know the US government defines Median income as the middle of the population, not the middle of the dollar amount. So in this case Keith is correct. However as I pointed out in a previous post, I was considering repeated iterations, so it hardly matters which way you define it. In the end there would be only one person/family left. Indeed. Interestingly, the rest of this post disappeared when I opened the Reply window. Was it in a footer, or something like that? -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: The engine and transmission of all the FWD cars I've worked on was most easily removed by pulling them up out of the engine compartment. Some come out most easily as a unit. Others require they be separated in the car. It's been relatively straightforward to do. I have also changed the clutch on a few of them without removing them from the car. It was easy on the SAAB 99 and Austin Mini, a bit of a pain on the FIAT 128, and you have to remove the engine to get to it on the SAAB 96. I think you're making a much bigger deal out of the job through unfamiliarity than it actually is. Disconnection from the front wheels has generally been quite easy. You don't have to take the suspension completely apart except in the rare instances of an atrocious design. It's often a matter of unbolting a suspension upright to allow some movement, slide the half-shafts off the transmission unit, and you're done. I haven't done much work on anything newer than 1980 because *all* cars got to be too much of a pain to work on to be worth my time, and because I stopped doing auto/motorcycle mechanics for a living in 1980 when I moved to California. Many (most?) modern FWD cars require a hoist and an engine jack. The whole car is lifted, the jack placed under the engine and, after the usual disconnections, the whole power unit is dropped, in its subframe assembly, to be worked on. Very quick and efficient _if_ you have the hoist and engine jack. About £120,000 worth of kit here. That said, I've had the clutch replaced on both my Alfa Romeo Spider (front engine, rear drive) and Toyota MR2 (midengine drive unit lifted from a Corolla FWD car) within the past eight years. Discounting cost of parts (the Alfa was cheaper), the labor charged to do the jobs was identical. No other car I've owned since 1980 (about seven different ones) has ever required any service to the transmission or driveline components, and they've all cost roughly the same thing to service otherwise. G On Jul 25, 2006, at 8:38 AM, Gonz wrote: Sure, but on FWD, you still cant do that easily, it has to come out the bottom, and on most of the ones I've seen, you have to still remove alot of stuff before you can do that. Again, its because the two half shafts are connected to the transaxle and the front wheels, which in turn is connected to a bunch of suspension stuff. And the ones I've seen also cant go down without taking some frame members off because the transaxle sticks out the side too much. I dont claim to have seen them all, and as Godfrey points out, there are exceptions to both sides, but generally speaking most of the FWD drive trains have the same rough removal procedure. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 25, 2006, at 12:02 PM, mike wilson wrote: Many (most?) modern FWD cars require a hoist and an engine jack. The whole car is lifted, the jack placed under the engine and, after the usual disconnections, the whole power unit is dropped, in its subframe assembly, to be worked on. Very quick and efficient _if_ you have the hoist and engine jack. About £120,000 worth of kit here. That's how I (we) used to do the Jaguar E-types and various others. I don't know about £120,000 of gear, though. We used a great big crank operated crane to either pick the engine or frame up, whichever was needed for the particular vehicle. I guess if you want hydraulics and/ or electrics it might run something like that. G -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 25, 2006, at 10:25 AM, Adam Maas wrote: If you haven't worked on most post-1980 cars, which are the vast majority of FWD designs, you probably shouldn't be commenting as an authority on servicing FWD drivetrains. Because you aren't an authority as your experience predates 90% of the designs to hit the market. LOL ... I did say I worked as a mechanic in the 1970s right at the beginning of this dialog. And comparing servicing costs on two relatively exotic cars is probably not a good method for making assumptions on anything (Yes, the MR2 is fairly rare and exotic despite being a Toyota with a relatively off the shelf driveline). That's the notional equivalent of commenting on the last generation Celica's reliability based on your experiences with a Lotus Elise 190 (Same basic driveline there too) Come now, that's rather more extreme than is warranted. I don't know where you live, but MR2s are a dime a dozen around here. There are six of them parked in the lot I just parked in, within 60 feet of my car. The MR2 is hardly an exotic ... it's a Corolla with the engine stuffed in the middle rather than the end, both sold and serviced by Toyota anywhere. I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex little devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there is engine by a factor of 10. Nice car to drive, however. G -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 25, 2006, at 10:39 AM, Gonz wrote: It sounds like thats where the disconnect is then. You worked on cars before 1980, I worked on them past 1982 or so. lol. They *are* a pain in the butt now. I'm sure what you say about the pre '80 cars are true. Most likely ... but *all* cars are a pain in the butt to work on now. I haven't seen a single car, FWD, RWD, AWD or whatever, that I'd *want* to work on made since 1980. On the other hand, I haven't seen my service expenses rise precipitously either, other than by a factor similar to cost of living increases. Happily, most of the cars I've owned/driven made since 1980 require very little other than oil changes, tires and brakes unless abused. The MR2 ran 160,000 miles and 18 years with very little service cost, and the Land Rover I've been driving for 42000 miles has required only four regularly scheduled service appointments. Cars have overall become far more reliable and long lasting, in my opinion, than what we used to have to deal with despite the increased complexity. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 25, 2006, at 10:25 AM, Adam Maas wrote: If you haven't worked on most post-1980 cars, which are the vast majority of FWD designs, you probably shouldn't be commenting as an authority on servicing FWD drivetrains. Because you aren't an authority as your experience predates 90% of the designs to hit the market. LOL ... I did say I worked as a mechanic in the 1970s right at the beginning of this dialog. And comparing servicing costs on two relatively exotic cars is probably not a good method for making assumptions on anything (Yes, the MR2 is fairly rare and exotic despite being a Toyota with a relatively off the shelf driveline). That's the notional equivalent of commenting on the last generation Celica's reliability based on your experiences with a Lotus Elise 190 (Same basic driveline there too) Come now, that's rather more extreme than is warranted. I don't know where you live, but MR2s are a dime a dozen around here. There are six of them parked in the lot I just parked in, within 60 feet of my car. The MR2 is hardly an exotic ... it's a Corolla with the engine stuffed in the middle rather than the end, both sold and serviced by Toyota anywhere. I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex little devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there is engine by a factor of 10. Nice car to drive, however. G Godfrey, You live in California. MR2's are a lot less common elsewhere. Here in Toronto (Which is exotic car central in Canada) I see more Lamborghini's than I do MR2's. I can't recall the last time I actually saw an MR2, and I'm a car buff who is always on the lookout for little gems like the MR2. -Adam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
graywolf wrote: As far as I know the US government defines Median income as the middle of the population, not the middle of the dollar amount. So in this case Keith is correct. I hope I'm right! I'll be in a room in about 4 hours with my introductory stats class. It would be a bit of a problem if I had got something as elementary as this messed up! Keith McG PS The median of any set of observations, is the middle one when the observations are ranking in order of increasing (or decreasing) magnitude. If the set is even, then it is the average of the two middle values. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
The magic of dash-dash-space (removed from my sig line in this instance) that makes it easy to get rid of excess verbiage. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- mike wilson wrote: graywolf wrote: As far as I know the US government defines Median income as the middle of the population, not the middle of the dollar amount. So in this case Keith is correct. However as I pointed out in a previous post, I was considering repeated iterations, so it hardly matters which way you define it. In the end there would be only one person/family left. Indeed. Interestingly, the rest of this post disappeared when I opened the Reply window. Was it in a footer, or something like that? -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 25, 2006, at 4:20 PM, Adam Maas wrote: You live in California. MR2's are a lot less common elsewhere. Here in Toronto (Which is exotic car central in Canada) I see more Lamborghini's than I do MR2's. I can't recall the last time I actually saw an MR2, and I'm a car buff who is always on the lookout for little gems like the MR2. Just because they don't sell in your neighborhood doesn't mean that they're exotic, however. I drove mine for 18 years. It was hardly exotic, although it was a darn fine handler and went well enough to suit me. I see more BMWs and Mercedes than MR2s. Not Lamborghinis, however, although there's a dealer not 4 miles away. No one drives Lambos or Ferzzaz around in daily use anymore. Heck, recently I've seen more Lotus Elise around than Lambos. (The other day I happened across one of my favorite true exotica: a 1966 Lancia Fulvia Zagato Sport, parked in downtown Palo Alto. Beautiful little thing... I don't think I'd seen one on the road for 18 years until then. FWD ... I remember doing a transmission on one in 1975 or so. Nicely designed, easy to work on.) G -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 25, 2006, at 4:20 PM, Adam Maas wrote: You live in California. MR2's are a lot less common elsewhere. Here in Toronto (Which is exotic car central in Canada) I see more Lamborghini's than I do MR2's. I can't recall the last time I actually saw an MR2, and I'm a car buff who is always on the lookout for little gems like the MR2. Just because they don't sell in your neighborhood doesn't mean that they're exotic, however. I drove mine for 18 years. It was hardly exotic, although it was a darn fine handler and went well enough to suit me. I see more BMWs and Mercedes than MR2s. Not Lamborghinis, however, although there's a dealer not 4 miles away. No one drives Lambos or Ferzzaz around in daily use anymore. Heck, recently I've seen more Lotus Elise around than Lambos. (The other day I happened across one of my favorite true exotica: a 1966 Lancia Fulvia Zagato Sport, parked in downtown Palo Alto. Beautiful little thing... I don't think I'd seen one on the road for 18 years until then. FWD ... I remember doing a transmission on one in 1975 or so. Nicely designed, easy to work on.) G Godfrey, Toronto isn't exactly the boonies, sports cars sell quite well here. I see 360's and 360 Modena's every day, Boxters are a dime a dozen, even see GT2's and GT3's every so often. Lambo's and the more exotic Ferarris are a once a week thing. Aston Martins are seen on occasion (Had a V12 Vanquish parked outside work a while back, only 2 of them in Canada). Saw a Whale Tale 911 cabriolet on sunday night and there's 2 Z8's and a 1st gen Celica Supra in my neighbourhood last I counted. Note the MR2 was killed for extremely poor sales in North America. If you're seeing them everywhere, you're in one of the few places they sold well. Elsewhere they _are_ exotics, because they're rarely seen (And thus rarely worked on, even if the parts are readily available). Also the later ones are a fair bit more exotic in design than the earlier model you had. -Adam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 25, 2006, at 5:05 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex little devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there is engine by a factor of 10. Nice car to drive, however. A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. Paul -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I lease my daily transportation cars and never service them at all. I
may change the oil every 20,000 miles or so if necessary, and I have
the brakes pads and tires replaced if they wear out. My last six
cars, going back to 1994, have been Chrysler products (because I was
writing their advertising). I never had to take even one of them to a
dealer. No repairs necessary.
I do service my '55 Chevy BelAir Convertible on a regular basis. I
change the oil approximately every 1000 miles, which is once a year.
I use only Mobil 1 synthetic. I rotate the bias ply tires at each oil
change. I change the spark plugs once a year just before the Dream
Cruise, because fresh plugs give it a chance to survive stop and go
driving in 90 degree weather without loading up. ('55 Chevies were
notorious for loading the plugs, due to a horrible spark plug
location. GM moved the plug for '56.) I wash the underside once a
year with mineral spirits and fantastic. I wipe the top of the engine
down almost every time I drive the car. I clean the exterior with
detailing spray wax quite frequently. Water never touches this car.
But my daily drivers? Forget it.
On Jul 25, 2006, at 5:13 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
On Jul 25, 2006, at 10:39 AM, Gonz wrote:
It sounds like thats where the disconnect is then. You worked on
cars
before 1980, I worked on them past 1982 or so. lol. They *are* a
pain
in the butt now. I'm sure what you say about the pre '80 cars are
true.
Most likely ... but *all* cars are a pain in the butt to work on now.
I haven't seen a single car, FWD, RWD, AWD or whatever, that I'd
*want* to work on made since 1980. On the other hand, I haven't seen
my service expenses rise precipitously either, other than by a factor
similar to cost of living increases.
Happily, most of the cars I've owned/driven made since 1980 require
very little other than oil changes, tires and brakes unless abused.
The MR2 ran 160,000 miles and 18 years with very little service cost,
and the Land Rover I've been driving for 42000 miles has required
only four regularly scheduled service appointments. Cars have overall
become far more reliable and long lasting, in my opinion, than what
we used to have to deal with despite the increased complexity.
Godfrey
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Re: New telephoto lenses?
Paul Stenquist wrote: On Jul 25, 2006, at 5:05 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex little devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there is engine by a factor of 10. Nice car to drive, however. A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. Paul You mean, the charge is too small to be practical? Runs out of power too quickly? A 1.5 litre engine, of 76 hp, in a car weighing almost 2900 lb is not going to be much of a performer, but 580 miles on a tank of gas is not all that bad! Also, performance will depend on how it's geared. Interesting concept. Know the price? keith whaley -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
No, I mean the acceleration is brisk right off the start -- that's the jerk factor. But it diminishes quickly. A GM engineer once told me how they played with throttle linkage action to improve the jerk factor, because that's what people felt. Real acceleration was less important. Electrics have high torque from a standstill, so they deliver deliver a good jerk factor. Paul On Jul 25, 2006, at 9:00 PM, keith_w wrote: Paul Stenquist wrote: On Jul 25, 2006, at 5:05 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex little devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there is engine by a factor of 10. Nice car to drive, however. A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. Paul You mean, the charge is too small to be practical? Runs out of power too quickly? A 1.5 litre engine, of 76 hp, in a car weighing almost 2900 lb is not going to be much of a performer, but 580 miles on a tank of gas is not all that bad! Also, performance will depend on how it's geared. Interesting concept. Know the price? keith whaley -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I think this should be renamed the never ending thread. Content changeable. Marnie aka Doe ;-) -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 25, 2006, at 6:00 PM, keith_w wrote: I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex little devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there is engine by a factor of 10. Nice car to drive, however. A decent jerk factor as automotive engineers are fond of saying, but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my standards. You mean, the charge is too small to be practical? Runs out of power too quickly? A 1.5 litre engine, of 76 hp, in a car weighing almost 2900 lb is not going to be much of a performer, but 580 miles on a tank of gas is not all that bad! Also, performance will depend on how it's geared. Interesting concept. Know the price? Jerk factor? Are they talking about themselves or the cars? ;-) I was never very interested in that. I prefer properly balanced, responsive power delivery. My Alfa Spider is only around 130-135 hp and weighs 2400 lbs, but it's responsive and fun to drive: it requires skill to get the most out of it, not a heavy foot. Not something to jerk me around. No wonder I've never been interested in American automobiles much. The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
Just think of the photo opportunities... G On Jul 23, 2006, at 5:45 PM, Keith McGuinness wrote: You want us all to go back to a hunter-gatherer life-style? How could we use or Pentax's then? -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
In a message dated 7/23/2006 5:47:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: You want us all to go back to a hunter-gatherer life-style? How could we use or Pentax's then? Keith McG I meant a scientific formula based on nature, re animals, re carrying capacity does not apply to man who distributes resources differently than animals do. Overpopulation cannot be defined that way for mankind. I thought I was pretty clear. You jumped way off the board from the point I made. Marnie aka Doe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On 23/7/06, P. J. Alling, discombobulated, unleashed: Actually Brazil seems to be doing well on ethanol, but I don't know what they're using as a feed stock, probably cutting down the rain forest. Correct. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3024636.stm -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Searching the Net I have found nothing to indicate that the US population growth has slowed to 0. Overall growth has slowed, but the population is still growing by quite a bit. A major surge occurred in the 1990's. Anyone curious can check census bureau facts. Also, in almost all areas US imports exceed US exports. A simple google search will turn this stuff up. Later, Marnie aka Doe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
graywolf wrote: Most ethanol is synthesized from petroleum these days, except for the stuff we drink. So is a large amounts of the hydrocarbon chemicals used in industry. Much of our clothing is made from petroleum. And of course most of the plastics we use. Fuel is actually far from the biggest use. Not in my case. I am currently using up to 10gallons/45litres of fuel a week. I can't see any way I am using that volume of other petroleum products, especially as many of the other products I use can be recycled - the fuel is gone (effectively) for ever. I suspect the same is true for most non-business consumers. m - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Re: New telephoto lenses?
From: Keith McGuinness [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 2006/07/24 Mon AM 12:45:49 GMT To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? graywolf wrote: Well, I like the idea of killing everyone who has an income above the median, they are resource hogs having more than their fair share of everything. You want to kill half the population on the planet? Seems a little drastic! Probably more like 10%. Ineffective. - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 23, 2006, at 8:24 PM, graywolf wrote: Most ethanol is synthesized from petroleum these days, except for the stuff we drink. Sez who? Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Go read Future Shock by Alan Toffler. He seems to have called it pretty close (especially about population growth in the US) unlike most writers who predict the future. Population growth for whites is below zero, for other races way above zero. The import/export ratio is not a matter of necessity, but management/buyer decisions. That is far different than not being able to support our population. Also it is now a world economy, not a local one we live in. It has been moving that way since WWII. It is a transportation issue, you import non-luxury goods that can be moved to your location in a time frame that prevents spoilage. These days that is about everything. If you do not like it I suggest you do not buy foreign goods; get rid of your cameras immediately (you can send them to me via pre-paid post). GRIN! -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Searching the Net I have found nothing to indicate that the US population growth has slowed to 0. Overall growth has slowed, but the population is still growing by quite a bit. A major surge occurred in the 1990's. Anyone curious can check census bureau facts. Also, in almost all areas US imports exceed US exports. A simple google search will turn this stuff up. Later, Marnie aka Doe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Well for one thing natural forests are pretty mono-species, most of North Eastern North America was forested mostly with White Pine when the first Europeans arrived. Even in forests intense species competition exists with the more successful driving out the less successful. However there is a thousands of years long cycle of fire, grass, deciduous, then evergreen that the normal way of unmanaged forests. The evergreen forest like in North America is called a climax forest* because it is the last stage of the cycle. Note the interesting point that massive forest fires are a natural part of the cycle. *Different in different climates -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Keith McGuinness wrote: graywolf wrote: No, everone on the planet. As you continue executing them, the median income goes down until one person has it all. Then you have to get rid of him. LOL! Wouldn't you have to get rid of half of him? Then a quarter? Then... Logic does not seem to be the forte of most of the folks involved in this thread. The idea that the world is falling apart but know one but you cares is so old that people have been crying about it since before they fell out of the trees, while in fact life has never been so good. Shut off the damned TV and go for a walk. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: And some people thought that coming down from the trees had been a bad idea. (Quoting from memory, so don't expect accuracy!) A colleague of mine used to teach an environment subject in which, early in the term, he took them on a walk through the forest so that the students could appreciate its natural values. Towards the end of the walk he pointed out that they were actually in a managed plantation -- and therefore largely artificial -- forest. The fact that the students couldn't tell the difference (between artificial and natural forests) always caused some deep discussion. Keith McG -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
graywolf wrote: Well for one thing natural forests are pretty mono-species, most of North Eastern North America was forested mostly with White Pine It was more of a climax mixed hardwood/pine forests. Huge stands of 200-year-old oaks, sycamores, poplars, maples, hickory, chestnuts (the chestnuts are now basically gone) and pine. One interesting thing that has happened with reforestation of the east is the huge rise in the white-tailed deer population. 300 years ago, deer where much more scarce because they are forest-edge dwellers. They need the underbrush of the forest edge and forest clearings to feed. These areas only existed in clearings created by tree falls and fires. Now with all the young forests, pretty much the whole Eastern US is forest-edge habitat and the deer population has boomed. Add to this the elimination of large predators in the east (bye-bye mountain lions... bye-bye wolves) and you have a species pretty much unchecked. Now, top it off with human hunting... Stupid animal rights activists that freak out when someone kills Bambi and the machismo of the stupid hunters and wildlife managers who have a hard time putting does in their crosshairs (it's more manly to kill a male animal? or is it just the trophy rack?) and it just adds to the issue (I am pro-hunting but question the management policies; most hunters are not stupid, that was there just for emphasis). Kill the females and you control the population; but that's not what the managers are trying to do. Trivia: What's the most dangerous animal in North America? http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/09/25/coolsc.critters.attacks/ -- Christian http://photography.skofteland.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 22, 2006, at 8:33 AM, Adam Maas wrote: The co-location of steering and drive makes even the simplest FWD car more mechanically complex than a RWD car, even if both have fully independant suspensions. The CV joints and drive shafts are what drive up the cost of repair, sometimes by quite a lot. Also transaxles are more difficult to work on as they are more mechanically complex (Primarily due to co-locating the differential and transmission). While I agree that the design is more complex, I disagree that it drives up the cost of repair by any substantial amount. I say this having had several years career as an automotive and motorcycle mechanic. In some ways, it proves to be easier to work on combined transaxle drive systems than on traditional separate component systems, but that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: I don't see how repairs become much more problematic. The only thing that becomes more difficult to repair about a front drive car vs a typical front engine/rear drive car is the fact that the engine and transmission are enclosed in a smaller space so it can be a little more difficult to get to the parts. If you've ever worked on any densely packed machinery (try a 1966 Jaguar XK-E, for instance) you'd understand that this is a function of how much machinery you're putting into how much space, not a matter of front drive vs rear drive. Hmm, have you ever dropped a transmission on a front wheel drive car vs a rear wheel drive? The labor is probably 5+ times. You basically have to remove a huge number of suspension components on FWD *and* take out the split axle before you even get to the transmission assembly. On a RWD, its a piece of cake. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:48 PM, Gonz wrote: Hmm, have you ever dropped a transmission on a front wheel drive car vs a rear wheel drive? The labor is probably 5+ times. You basically have to remove a huge number of suspension components on FWD *and* take out the split axle before you even get to the transmission assembly. On a RWD, its a piece of cake. See previous message. G -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hmm, have you ever dropped a transmission on a front wheel drive car vs a rear wheel drive? The labor is probably 5+ times. You basically have to remove a huge number of suspension components on FWD *and* take out the split axle before you even get to the transmission assembly. On a RWD, its a piece of cake. So, I hadn't looked at this thread until just now. The first post was Pal, asking about a telephoto lens. I scrolled directly down to the last (and 68th) post on this thread, and we're talking about dropping trannies into front-wheel vs. rear-wheel drive cars. I love this list! I love you guys! LOL cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I wrote an article for Popular Mechanics some years ago about car repair difficulty. I arranged for about a dozen popular models to be delivered to an automotive service center. The best mechanic in the house performed six repairs to each car. He scored them one to ten, easy to most difficult. When the results were in the big loser was a rear engine V-6 Pontiac Fiero (a car long since out of production). That car was followed by seven or eight front-drive cars. I think it was a Honda that came in as second hardest to repair. All of those that scored well were front-engine/rear drive cars. The top finisher was a front-engine/rear drive Chevrolet Caprice, a dinosaur by any measure, but very easy to repair. Paul -- Original message -- From: Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 22, 2006, at 8:33 AM, Adam Maas wrote: The co-location of steering and drive makes even the simplest FWD car more mechanically complex than a RWD car, even if both have fully independant suspensions. The CV joints and drive shafts are what drive up the cost of repair, sometimes by quite a lot. Also transaxles are more difficult to work on as they are more mechanically complex (Primarily due to co-locating the differential and transmission). While I agree that the design is more complex, I disagree that it drives up the cost of repair by any substantial amount. I say this having had several years career as an automotive and motorcycle mechanic. In some ways, it proves to be easier to work on combined transaxle drive systems than on traditional separate component systems, but that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On 7/24/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I wrote an article for Popular Mechanics some years ago about car repair difficulty. I arranged for about a dozen popular models to be delivered to an automotive service center. The best mechanic in the house performed six repairs to each car. He scored them one to ten, easy to most difficult. When the results were in the big loser was a rear engine V-6 Pontiac Fiero (a car long since out of production). That car was followed by seven or eight front-drive cars. I think it was a Honda that came in as second hardest to repair. All of those that scored well were front-engine/rear drive cars. The top finisher was a front-engine/rear drive Chevrolet Caprice, a dinosaur by any measure, but very easy to repair. Apparently, repairing those V6 Fieros was mostly moot anyway. They lived up to their name and tended to catch on fire a lot. Although the V6 was a huge improvement on the little straight 4 in terms of power and torque, that big engine in a tiny engine compartment had a tendency to severely overheat. The results could be somewhat disconcerting, as the mid-ship-mounted motor was about 6 inches behind the driver's head. cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Ease of repair is very closely related to space under the hood in my experience. The Fiero had none, especially in the V6 versions. Most compact cars have little space under the hood. RWD front engined cars tend to be larger with the extra space that comes with it. They also have simpler drivelines. Both are an aid to repairs. Chrysler LH cars are FWD and quite easy to work on, but you can practically dance in the engine compartment, they have enough space in there for a large V8 while harbouring only a mid-sized V6 (3.3L or 3.5L). -Adam [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I wrote an article for Popular Mechanics some years ago about car repair difficulty. I arranged for about a dozen popular models to be delivered to an automotive service center. The best mechanic in the house performed six repairs to each car. He scored them one to ten, easy to most difficult. When the results were in the big loser was a rear engine V-6 Pontiac Fiero (a car long since out of production). That car was followed by seven or eight front-drive cars. I think it was a Honda that came in as second hardest to repair. All of those that scored well were front-engine/rear drive cars. The top finisher was a front-engine/rear drive Chevrolet Caprice, a dinosaur by any measure, but very easy to repair. Paul -- Original message -- From: Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 22, 2006, at 8:33 AM, Adam Maas wrote: The co-location of steering and drive makes even the simplest FWD car more mechanically complex than a RWD car, even if both have fully independant suspensions. The CV joints and drive shafts are what drive up the cost of repair, sometimes by quite a lot. Also transaxles are more difficult to work on as they are more mechanically complex (Primarily due to co-locating the differential and transmission). While I agree that the design is more complex, I disagree that it drives up the cost of repair by any substantial amount. I say this having had several years career as an automotive and motorcycle mechanic. In some ways, it proves to be easier to work on combined transaxle drive systems than on traditional separate component systems, but that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Yeah, the Fiero wasn't exactly a classic. It was a low-budget throw-together project from GM that did nothing to boost their reputation. The engine and transaxle were almost identical to the front-drive units in the X-body cars. The steering knuckles were simply locked into position. I believe the rotation problem was solved by having the engine run counterclockwise, although I could be wrong about that. Paul -- Original message -- From: frank theriault [EMAIL PROTECTED] On 7/24/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I wrote an article for Popular Mechanics some years ago about car repair difficulty. I arranged for about a dozen popular models to be delivered to an automotive service center. The best mechanic in the house performed six repairs to each car. He scored them one to ten, easy to most difficult. When the results were in the big loser was a rear engine V-6 Pontiac Fiero (a car long since out of production). That car was followed by seven or eight front-drive cars. I think it was a Honda that came in as second hardest to repair. All of those that scored well were front-engine/rear drive cars. The top finisher was a front-engine/rear drive Chevrolet Caprice, a dinosaur by any measure, but very easy to repair. Apparently, repairing those V6 Fieros was mostly moot anyway. They lived up to their name and tended to catch on fire a lot. Although the V6 was a huge improvement on the little straight 4 in terms of power and torque, that big engine in a tiny engine compartment had a tendency to severely overheat. The results could be somewhat disconcerting, as the mid-ship-mounted motor was about 6 inches behind the driver's head. cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
How about the Pontiac Sunbird which requires either engine removal or using a hole saw in the firewall structure behind the dashboard to get to the rear two sparkplugs? Or the Jaguar XKE which requires removal of 3/4 of the interior, most of the front suspension, the entire exhaust and intake assemblies, the distributor and all of the other engine driven assemblies to change a clutch? Or removal of the entire exhaust and rear suspension assembly to service the rear brake calipers? Or the Nissan 300Z which requires 2 hours of component removal just to FIND the spark plugs? All front engine, rear drive cars. Yeah, a Chevy Caprice *is* a pretty easy old lump to work on. Lots of space = ease of service. On the other hand, a good mechanic can pull the entire engine- transmission assembly out of a densely packed Austin Mini, strip the transmission and replace the bearings, and have the car back on the road in less than 5 hours. It's all a matter of the particular design. Front engine/rear drive cars are simpler designs, but not necessarily always easier to work on. Well designed FWD cars can be a piece of cake too. That said, I recall a Citroen DS21 that took about 22 hours to change a left side motor mount too. A nightmare. G -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. IMO, the particular design doesnt matter. What matters is that the basic assembly is the same. On a FWD, in order to move the split shaft assembly out of the tranny case, you have to take the wheels off, loosen and move to the side the brake assembly, loosen the suspension from the wheel assembly, probably loosen and/or remove the major suspension frame member closest to the tranny (because that member usually holds the tranny mount and the tranny usually has to come downwards to get out), loosen the shaft support on the long side of the shaft, take the short shaft off the tranny and the wheel assembly, and finally pull off the long shaft. Now, you've just gotten started. You next have to support the engine, take one or more engine mounts off (this is usually because there is not enough space to pull the tranny off the engine in its normal position and you will have to drop the engine/tranny assembly downwards), take a huge part of the junk above the tranny and engine (air intake assembly, battery, etc, 90% of the time, this is just to get to the top side bolts from the top). Pulling it out is no fun either, in theses transverse mounted situations, there is barely enough space to do it and it first has to come straight out then a bit of a tilt before coming down, all the while permanent crap like air conditioning hoses keep getting in your way. Of course you could take them out, but then you have to put it back and evacuate/re-charge the cooling system, not fun. Compare that to a RWD, where I've never run into anything remotely resembling the difficulty of a FWD tranny replacement. Its pretty much a simple shaft loosening, hose and linkage removal, followed by dropping the tranny, no suspension hacking, no wheel/brake/air conditioning/air intake stuff ever. Give me a RWD job any time. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Mini-vans are the worst FWD, small cars can be real bad. American are worse than foreign. For RWD, like I've said, never ran into a hard one. Trucks are a joy. Never done a 4WD yet. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
mike wilson wrote: From: Keith McGuinness [EMAIL PROTECTED] graywolf wrote: Well, I like the idea of killing everyone who has an income above the median, they are resource hogs having more than their fair share of everything. You want to kill half the population on the planet? Seems a little drastic! Probably more like 10%. Ineffective. Nope -- exactly half. The MEDIAN income is that which divides the population into two halves: 50% above and 50% below. If graywolf had said MEAN income, you might be about right. Apologies for being pedantic; it's genetic. 8-) Keith McG -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. IMO, the particular design doesnt matter. What matters is that the basic assembly is the same. On a FWD, in order to move the split shaft assembly out of the tranny case, you have to take the wheels off, loosen and move to the side the brake assembly, loosen the suspension from the wheel assembly, probably loosen and/or remove the major suspension frame member closest to the tranny (because that member usually holds the tranny mount and the tranny usually has to come downwards to get out), loosen the shaft support on the long side of the shaft, take the short shaft off the tranny and the wheel assembly, and finally pull off the long shaft. Now, you've just gotten started. You next have to support the engine, take one or more engine mounts off (this is usually because there is not enough space to pull the tranny off the engine in its normal position and you will have to drop the engine/tranny assembly downwards), take a huge part of the junk above the tranny and engine (air intake assembly, battery, etc, 90% of the time, this is just to get to the top side bolts from the top). Pulling it out is no fun either, in theses transverse mounted situations, there is barely enough space to do it and it first has to come straight out then a bit of a tilt before coming down, all the while permanent crap like air conditioning hoses keep getting in your way. Of course you could take them out, but then you have to put it back and evacuate/re-charge the cooling system, not fun. Compare that to a RWD, where I've never run into anything remotely resembling the difficulty of a FWD tranny replacement. Its pretty much a simple shaft loosening, hose and linkage removal, followed by dropping the tranny, no suspension hacking, no wheel/brake/air conditioning/air intake stuff ever. Give me a RWD job any time. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Mini-vans are the worst FWD, small cars can be real bad. American are worse than foreign. For RWD, like I've said, never ran into a hard one. Trucks are a joy. Never done a 4WD yet. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
LOL Obviously, you've made a living as a mechanic, right Bob? G On Jul 24, 2006, at 3:00 PM, Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Bob, Go pop the hood on a Chrysler LH car (Intrepid, 300M, Vision or Concorde) and tell me there's no room to work on a FWD car. It really does depend on the car. I still will insist that CV Joints make a FWD car more expensive to miantain if everything else is equal, but that's my experience with AWD/4WD coming out (the front end is always the moneysink in AWD/4WD setups, usually due to CV joint wear. Luckily not everything is as bad as a Saab 99 or Chevy S10 4WD. -Adam Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. IMO, the particular design doesnt matter. What matters is that the basic assembly is the same. On a FWD, in order to move the split shaft assembly out of the tranny case, you have to take the wheels off, loosen and move to the side the brake assembly, loosen the suspension from the wheel assembly, probably loosen and/or remove the major suspension frame member closest to the tranny (because that member usually holds the tranny mount and the tranny usually has to come downwards to get out), loosen the shaft support on the long side of the shaft, take the short shaft off the tranny and the wheel assembly, and finally pull off the long shaft. Now, you've just gotten started. You next have to support the engine, take one or more engine mounts off (this is usually because there is not enough space to pull the tranny off the engine in its normal position and you will have to drop the engine/tranny assembly downwards), take a huge part of the junk above the tranny and engine (air intake assembly, battery, etc, 90% of the time, this is just to get to the top side bolts from the top). Pulling it out is no fun either, in theses transverse mounted situations, there is barely enough space to do it and it first has to come straight out then a bit of a tilt before coming down, all the while permanent crap like air conditioning hoses keep getting in your way. Of course you could take them out, but then you have to put it back and evacuate/re-charge the cooling system, not fun. Compare that to a RWD, where I've never run into anything remotely resembling the difficulty of a FWD tranny replacement. Its pretty much a simple shaft loosening, hose and linkage removal, followed by dropping the tranny, no suspension hacking, no wheel/brake/air conditioning/air intake stuff ever. Give me a RWD job any time. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Mini-vans are the worst FWD, small cars can be real bad. American are worse than foreign. For RWD, like I've said, never ran into a hard one. Trucks are a joy. Never done a 4WD yet. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Godfrey, Never earned a penny as an auto mechanic although I was employed as a mechanical engineer long ago. Like Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers on Car Talk, I always figured it was a fall-back job I could do if nothing else came along. Now, I wouldn't care too much for the knuckle busting... My experience started with a used 1961 Sunbeam Alpine that I couldn't get repaired in a timely manner or for an affordable price. I nursed that car, rebuilding it piece by piece until I gave it away in 1972. (You've done a clutch, how about a crank shaft? Ever change a starter motor outside when it's 0 degrees F.?) I became pretty good with Olds Cutlass's too, '71-'73. My best diagnosis was on the way into work one day when the oil light went on. I stopped and bought a new oil sending switch, installed it that night, and that was that! But then family time and work caused me to change my grease monkey ways. We found a good local shop in Chicago. I even quit changing the plugs and points. It was easier to pay somebody to fix what I needed than to do it myself. (Hard for me to do as I still have my lunch money from kindergarden.) I got a company car - free maintenance. Sadly, the only time my kids have ever seen me work on a car was with my Dad, who saw me doing it and took it up after he retired from dentistry. Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Godfrey DiGiorgi [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: LOL Obviously, you've made a living as a mechanic, right Bob? G On Jul 24, 2006, at 3:00 PM, Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Adam, I'll have to take a look at those. Here's what I've seen of FWD... '8? Toyota Tercel:-( '88 Olds Delta 88:-( '93 Buick Park Ave. :-( '02 Olds Aurora :-( '04 Accura T6 :-( Not enough room for a sack lunch under the hood of any of them! Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Adam Maas [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Bob, Go pop the hood on a Chrysler LH car (Intrepid, 300M, Vision or Concorde) and tell me there's no room to work on a FWD car. It really does depend on the car. I still will insist that CV Joints make a FWD car more expensive to miantain if everything else is equal, but that's my experience with AWD/4WD coming out (the front end is always the moneysink in AWD/4WD setups, usually due to CV joint wear. Luckily not everything is as bad as a Saab 99 or Chevy S10 4WD. -Adam Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. IMO, the particular design doesnt matter. What matters is that the basic assembly is the same. On a FWD, in order to move the split shaft assembly out of the tranny case, you have to take the wheels off, loosen and move to the side the brake assembly, loosen the suspension from the wheel assembly, probably loosen and/or remove the major suspension frame member closest to the tranny (because that member usually holds the tranny mount and the tranny usually has to come downwards to get out), loosen the shaft support on the long side of the shaft, take the short shaft off the tranny and the wheel assembly, and finally pull off the long shaft. Now, you've just gotten started. You next have to support the engine, take one or more engine mounts off (this is usually because there is not enough space to pull the tranny off the engine in its normal position and you will have to drop the engine/tranny assembly downwards), take a huge part of the junk above the tranny and engine (air intake assembly, battery, etc, 90% of the time, this is just to get to the top side bolts from the top). Pulling it out is no fun either, in theses transverse mounted situations, there is barely enough space to do it and it first has to come straight out then a bit of a tilt before coming down, all the while permanent crap like air conditioning hoses keep getting in your way. Of course you could take them out, but then you have to put it back and evacuate/re-charge the cooling system, not fun. Compare that to a RWD, where I've never run into anything remotely resembling the difficulty of a FWD tranny replacement. Its pretty much a simple shaft loosening, hose and linkage removal, followed by dropping the tranny, no suspension hacking, no wheel/brake/air conditioning/air intake stuff ever. Give me a RWD job any time. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Mini-vans are the worst FWD, small cars can be real bad. American are worse than foreign. For RWD, like I've said, never ran into a hard one. Trucks are a joy. Never done a 4WD yet. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I did. For quite a few years. Passenger cars and race cars. And I agree with Gonz. There's no comparison. Yes, there are some rear drivers, like the Jag XKE, that are tough to work on, but on average, they are far easier. And that comes from a former XJ12L owner. Worked on that car for 22 years until I couldn't take it anymore. Paul On Jul 24, 2006, at 6:24 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: LOL Obviously, you've made a living as a mechanic, right Bob? G On Jul 24, 2006, at 3:00 PM, Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Yes, the LH cars were better than most front drivers when it came to ease of repair. The K cars were also better than a lot of imports and the GM And Ford front drivers of the eighties. Chrysler always focused on ease of repair. But in regard to the LH cars, were is the operative word. They're gone. Replaced by the rear drive Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. Paul On Jul 24, 2006, at 6:37 PM, Adam Maas wrote: Bob, Go pop the hood on a Chrysler LH car (Intrepid, 300M, Vision or Concorde) and tell me there's no room to work on a FWD car. It really does depend on the car. I still will insist that CV Joints make a FWD car more expensive to miantain if everything else is equal, but that's my experience with AWD/4WD coming out (the front end is always the moneysink in AWD/4WD setups, usually due to CV joint wear. Luckily not everything is as bad as a Saab 99 or Chevy S10 4WD. -Adam Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. IMO, the particular design doesnt matter. What matters is that the basic assembly is the same. On a FWD, in order to move the split shaft assembly out of the tranny case, you have to take the wheels off, loosen and move to the side the brake assembly, loosen the suspension from the wheel assembly, probably loosen and/or remove the major suspension frame member closest to the tranny (because that member usually holds the tranny mount and the tranny usually has to come downwards to get out), loosen the shaft support on the long side of the shaft, take the short shaft off the tranny and the wheel assembly, and finally pull off the long shaft. Now, you've just gotten started. You next have to support the engine, take one or more engine mounts off (this is usually because there is not enough space to pull the tranny off the engine in its normal position and you will have to drop the engine/tranny assembly downwards), take a huge part of the junk above the tranny and engine (air intake assembly, battery, etc, 90% of the time, this is just to get to the top side bolts from the top). Pulling it out is no fun either, in theses transverse mounted situations, there is barely enough space to do it and it first has to come straight out then a bit of a tilt before coming down, all the while permanent crap like air conditioning hoses keep getting in your way. Of course you could take them out, but then you have to put it back and evacuate/re-charge the cooling system, not fun. Compare that to a RWD, where I've never run into anything remotely resembling the difficulty of a FWD tranny replacement. Its pretty much a simple shaft loosening, hose and linkage removal, followed by dropping the tranny, no suspension hacking, no wheel/brake/air conditioning/air intake stuff ever. Give me a RWD job any time. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Mini-vans are the worst FWD, small cars can be real bad. American are worse than foreign. For RWD, like I've said, never ran into a hard one. Trucks are a joy. Never done a 4WD yet. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Yep, The K cars really needed the ease of repair. Tough they were, but they weren't all that reliable. The LH's (at least the first gen ones) had tranny issues too. And don' forget the Dodge Magnum, which was the first of the LH replacements. Great car, if only it had a 6 speed stick in it. -Adam Paul Stenquist wrote: Yes, the LH cars were better than most front drivers when it came to ease of repair. The K cars were also better than a lot of imports and the GM And Ford front drivers of the eighties. Chrysler always focused on ease of repair. But in regard to the LH cars, were is the operative word. They're gone. Replaced by the rear drive Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. Paul On Jul 24, 2006, at 6:37 PM, Adam Maas wrote: Bob, Go pop the hood on a Chrysler LH car (Intrepid, 300M, Vision or Concorde) and tell me there's no room to work on a FWD car. It really does depend on the car. I still will insist that CV Joints make a FWD car more expensive to miantain if everything else is equal, but that's my experience with AWD/4WD coming out (the front end is always the moneysink in AWD/4WD setups, usually due to CV joint wear. Luckily not everything is as bad as a Saab 99 or Chevy S10 4WD. -Adam Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. IMO, the particular design doesnt matter. What matters is that the basic assembly is the same. On a FWD, in order to move the split shaft assembly out of the tranny case, you have to take the wheels off, loosen and move to the side the brake assembly, loosen the suspension from the wheel assembly, probably loosen and/or remove the major suspension frame member closest to the tranny (because that member usually holds the tranny mount and the tranny usually has to come downwards to get out), loosen the shaft support on the long side of the shaft, take the short shaft off the tranny and the wheel assembly, and finally pull off the long shaft. Now, you've just gotten started. You next have to support the engine, take one or more engine mounts off (this is usually because there is not enough space to pull the tranny off the engine in its normal position and you will have to drop the engine/tranny assembly downwards), take a huge part of the junk above the tranny and engine (air intake assembly, battery, etc, 90% of the time, this is just to get to the top side bolts from the top). Pulling it out is no fun either, in theses transverse mounted situations, there is barely enough space to do it and it first has to come straight out then a bit of a tilt before coming down, all the while permanent crap like air conditioning hoses keep getting in your way. Of course you could take them out, but then you have to put it back and evacuate/re-charge the cooling system, not fun. Compare that to a RWD, where I've never run into anything remotely resembling the difficulty of a FWD tranny replacement. Its pretty much a simple shaft loosening, hose and linkage removal, followed by dropping the tranny, no suspension hacking, no wheel/brake/air conditioning/air intake stuff ever. Give me a RWD job any time. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Mini-vans are the worst FWD, small cars can be real bad. American are worse than foreign. For RWD, like I've said, never ran into a hard one. Trucks are a joy. Never done a 4WD yet. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
- Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? Yeah, the Fiero wasn't exactly a classic. It was a low-budget throw-together project from GM that did nothing to boost their reputation. The engine and transaxle were almost identical to the front-drive units in the X-body cars. The steering knuckles were simply locked into position. I believe the rotation problem was solved by having the engine run counterclockwise, although I could be wrong about that. I always thought the Fiero was really badly handled from the get go. When it came out it had poor suspension, and was underpowered for what it was trying to be, so they jack-knifed a v-6 in which screwed up the balance, and had some other issues with overheating IIRC. I don't think the suspension issues were ever dealt with, I read somewhere they took the suspension pretty much straight from some econo box whose neame eludes me at the moment. By the time they scrapped it, they had what should have been the ideal engine in the Quad4, though it had some reliability issues as well (mine did, anyway). William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
William Robb wrote: - Original Message - I always thought the Fiero was really badly handled from the get go. When it came out it had poor suspension, I don't think the suspension issues were ever dealt with, I read somewhere they took the suspension pretty much straight from some econo box whose neame eludes me at the moment. That would be the X body Citation I think. -- Christian http://photography.skofteland.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
In Europe you can get a Dodge Magnum with Chrysler badging and a Chrysler 300 grille. It's called the Chrysler 300 Estate Wagon. Paul On Jul 24, 2006, at 8:40 PM, Adam Maas wrote: Yep, The K cars really needed the ease of repair. Tough they were, but they weren't all that reliable. The LH's (at least the first gen ones) had tranny issues too. And don' forget the Dodge Magnum, which was the first of the LH replacements. Great car, if only it had a 6 speed stick in it. -Adam Paul Stenquist wrote: Yes, the LH cars were better than most front drivers when it came to ease of repair. The K cars were also better than a lot of imports and the GM And Ford front drivers of the eighties. Chrysler always focused on ease of repair. But in regard to the LH cars, were is the operative word. They're gone. Replaced by the rear drive Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. Paul On Jul 24, 2006, at 6:37 PM, Adam Maas wrote: Bob, Go pop the hood on a Chrysler LH car (Intrepid, 300M, Vision or Concorde) and tell me there's no room to work on a FWD car. It really does depend on the car. I still will insist that CV Joints make a FWD car more expensive to miantain if everything else is equal, but that's my experience with AWD/4WD coming out (the front end is always the moneysink in AWD/4WD setups, usually due to CV joint wear. Luckily not everything is as bad as a Saab 99 or Chevy S10 4WD. -Adam Bob Sullivan wrote: Gonz, Thanks. Godfrey's I know it all attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. The bullshit detector was going off every time I read his commentary. I've pulled the transmissions on RWD cars and wouldn't even try a FWD. Things are way too cramped in a modern engine compartment with FWD. Regards, Bob S. On 7/24/06, Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: On Jul 24, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Gonz wrote: ... that's really more a reflection of the quality of the design than the type. I'm sorry, but you're still not convincing me. I've changed transmissions on both types of cars and there is a *world* of difference. As I said, differences in difficulty reflect the quality/ serviceability of a particular design and are not indicative of a type distinction. I probably pulled, overhauled and reassembled at least 100 transaxle and separate component setups over the years since 1971 and today. IMO, the particular design doesnt matter. What matters is that the basic assembly is the same. On a FWD, in order to move the split shaft assembly out of the tranny case, you have to take the wheels off, loosen and move to the side the brake assembly, loosen the suspension from the wheel assembly, probably loosen and/or remove the major suspension frame member closest to the tranny (because that member usually holds the tranny mount and the tranny usually has to come downwards to get out), loosen the shaft support on the long side of the shaft, take the short shaft off the tranny and the wheel assembly, and finally pull off the long shaft. Now, you've just gotten started. You next have to support the engine, take one or more engine mounts off (this is usually because there is not enough space to pull the tranny off the engine in its normal position and you will have to drop the engine/tranny assembly downwards), take a huge part of the junk above the tranny and engine (air intake assembly, battery, etc, 90% of the time, this is just to get to the top side bolts from the top). Pulling it out is no fun either, in theses transverse mounted situations, there is barely enough space to do it and it first has to come straight out then a bit of a tilt before coming down, all the while permanent crap like air conditioning hoses keep getting in your way. Of course you could take them out, but then you have to put it back and evacuate/re-charge the cooling system, not fun. Compare that to a RWD, where I've never run into anything remotely resembling the difficulty of a FWD tranny replacement. Its pretty much a simple shaft loosening, hose and linkage removal, followed by dropping the tranny, no suspension hacking, no wheel/brake/air conditioning/air intake stuff ever. Give me a RWD job any time. Some are a major pain in the ass. Others are a piece of cake. Of both types. Which ones have you worked on? Mini-vans are the worst FWD, small cars can be real bad. American are worse than foreign. For RWD, like I've said, never ran into a hard one. Trucks are a joy. Never done a 4WD yet. Godfrey -- Someone handed me a picture and said, This is a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture of you is when you were younger. ...Here's a picture of me when I'm older. Where'd you get that camera man? - Mitch Hedberg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
In a message dated 7/24/2006 8:01:15 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Go read Future Shock by Alan Toffler. He seems to have called it pretty close (especially about population growth in the US) unlike most writers who predict the future. Population growth for whites is below zero, for other races way above zero. === Already have. Long, long time ago. Don't want to be racist or ethnocentrist or anything, but population will continue to grow a great deal in the US if people of Hispanic descent and other descents continue to not use birth control of any kind and believe in large families. The US is overpopulated already and will continue to be so for a long, long time. World infrastructure does not led to equitably distributed resources which is why infrastructure cannot be factored into an overpopulation equation in any meaningful way. IE, there are too many factors to factor. Marnie aka Doe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 7/23/2006 5:47:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: You want us all to go back to a hunter-gatherer life-style? How could we use or Pentax's then? I meant a scientific formula based on nature, re animals, re carrying capacity does not apply to man who distributes resources differently than animals do. Overpopulation cannot be defined that way for mankind. I thought I was pretty clear. You jumped way off the board from the point I made. Marnie aka Doe My point was that the natural/unnatural divide is too simplistic. Animals differ considerably ecologically, as do human societies. Some animals farm. Some animals use resources from distant locations. Obligate parasites rely absolutely on the presence of hosts. All of these are different uses of resources. It is difficult to argue that the hunter-gathering lifestyle, probably the earliest human lifestyle, is not natural. Then some societies developed agriculture. At what point do you decide that human society is no longer natural? Our technology gives us considerably greater power to obtain, transform and use resources but the idea that we do things in fundamentally different unnatural manner is, as I said, too simplistic. Further, estimates of carrying capacity for human societies depend critically upon the assumptions made, particularly with respect to recycling and future technology. We are doing things now, which people 100 years ago could not possibly imagined and which people 1,000 years ago would regard as completely magical. I see no reason to expect this to change. Keith McG -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
In a message dated 7/24/2006 8:08:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It is difficult to argue that the hunter-gathering lifestyle, probably the earliest human lifestyle, is not natural. Then some societies developed agriculture. At what point do you decide that human society is no longer natural? = You're really focussing on that word natural. Sorry, I may not always express myself, but that was NOT really my point. Have fun. Maybe I will try to elucidate later. Marnie aka Doe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 7/24/2006 8:08:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It is difficult to argue that the hunter-gathering lifestyle, probably the earliest human lifestyle, is not natural. Then some societies developed agriculture. At what point do you decide that human society is no longer natural? = You're really focussing on that word natural. Sorry, I may not always express myself, but that was NOT really my point. Have fun. Maybe I will try to elucidate later. I guess I'm confused! Not to worry! Keith McG -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
At 11:13 AM 25/07/2006, Marnie wrote: Have fun. Maybe I will try to elucidate later. Don't bother. Whatever that is it sounds painful. ;-) Dave -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
In a message dated 7/24/2006 8:30:58 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Have fun. Maybe I will try to elucidate later. I guess I'm confused! Not to worry! Keith McG === If I do, it will take a lot of thought and effort and writing. Which is why I hesitate to do so. Maybe sometime, in a week or two. If I can find someone's words on the Net that do it better than I could that would be easiest. I'll look around later. Marnie aka Doe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: [OT] Carrying capacity (was New telephoto lenses?)
In a message dated 7/24/2006 8:33:32 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Don't bother. Whatever that is it sounds painful. ;-) Dave == LOL. You got it. Marnie -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I wonder if the condition of the roads makes any difference? I don't know whether Bill's locality has rough roads or not: but, for me, since 99.99(recurring)% of my driving is on city or highway surfaces, I'm not surprised that my Honda Integra is now 10 years old and has cost me very little apart from regular servicing. One air-conditioning module in the non-consumable range so far, and it's about to have the power steering seals and the rear suspension bushes replaced, both due to the age of the vehicle. No sign of any deterioration or breakages to the drive train at all. In Australia, Honda's have a very good reputation for quality and reliability, which keeps their re-sale value well up! John Coyle Brisbane, Australia - Original Message - From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:45 AM Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? SNIP My Honda used to eat front suspensions and CV joints, my wife's Toyota required regular CV joint replacement, and my Isuzu required an expensive tranny rebuild at about 100,000km (GM crap transmission to be sure). I'll stick to rear drive trucks now, they seem to have better reliability. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Here and in the UK the bodies rust and fall to pieces while the engines remain good. Don John Coyle wrote: I wonder if the condition of the roads makes any difference? I don't know whether Bill's locality has rough roads or not: but, for me, since 99.99(recurring)% of my driving is on city or highway surfaces, I'm not surprised that my Honda Integra is now 10 years old and has cost me very little apart from regular servicing. One air-conditioning module in the non-consumable range so far, and it's about to have the power steering seals and the rear suspension bushes replaced, both due to the age of the vehicle. No sign of any deterioration or breakages to the drive train at all. In Australia, Honda's have a very good reputation for quality and reliability, which keeps their re-sale value well up! John Coyle Brisbane, Australia - Original Message - From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:45 AM Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? SNIP My Honda used to eat front suspensions and CV joints, my wife's Toyota required regular CV joint replacement, and my Isuzu required an expensive tranny rebuild at about 100,000km (GM crap transmission to be sure). I'll stick to rear drive trucks now, they seem to have better reliability. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- Dr E D F Williams www.kolumbus.fi/mimosa/ http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams/ 41660 TOIVAKKA – Finland - +358400706616 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
That used to be my experience too! I don't think any one of the half-dozen or so cars I owned in the UK did not have rust in them after a comparatively short time. In Oz, it seems(at least in Queensland) they go on for ever - serious rust is comparatively rare. Has to be down to the climate, which although damp in summer, is also hot, so maybe the wet dries off quickly rather than sitting there sulking and creating rust! And, of course, no salt on the roads in winter... John Coyle Brisbane, Australia - Original Message - From: Don Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 5:54 PM Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? Here and in the UK the bodies rust and fall to pieces while the engines remain good. Don John Coyle wrote: I wonder if the condition of the roads makes any difference? I don't know whether Bill's locality has rough roads or not: but, for me, since 99.99(recurring)% of my driving is on city or highway surfaces, I'm not surprised that my Honda Integra is now 10 years old and has cost me very little apart from regular servicing. One air-conditioning module in the non-consumable range so far, and it's about to have the power steering seals and the rear suspension bushes replaced, both due to the age of the vehicle. No sign of any deterioration or breakages to the drive train at all. In Australia, Honda's have a very good reputation for quality and reliability, which keeps their re-sale value well up! John Coyle Brisbane, Australia - Original Message - From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:45 AM Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? SNIP My Honda used to eat front suspensions and CV joints, my wife's Toyota required regular CV joint replacement, and my Isuzu required an expensive tranny rebuild at about 100,000km (GM crap transmission to be sure). I'll stick to rear drive trucks now, they seem to have better reliability. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- Dr E D F Williams www.kolumbus.fi/mimosa/ http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams/ 41660 TOIVAKKA – Finland - +358400706616 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
On Jul 22, 2006, at 1:13 PM, Paul Stenquist wrote: Today's front wheel drive cars handle relatively well, but like others have noted, rear drive cars handle better under most circumstances. Early front-wheel drive cars were a mess. Almost all of them came with a handling characteristic known as trailing throttle oversteer. When the car's natural tendency to understeer in a corner would cause the driver to lift his foot off the throttle, the car would suddenly go into oversteer. So one minute you were ploughing off course, seconds later, the tail would be hanging out. Not much fun. I drove Citroën cars from the 60s through to the 90s. I only stopped because parts for my DS cars got too hard to get when Peugeot pulled out of the US market (they used to also stock Citroën parts). The key to driving one of those older front wheelers was to teach yourself not to do what you mention, but keep accelerating right through the turn. Once you got the hang of it, you could point the front end where you wanted it to go and forget about the rear, since it would catch on to what you wanted. If I had the money and a proper garage to work in, I'd buy a Citroën SM. Most fun to drive of any car I've driven. Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
In a message dated 7/23/2006 12:53:50 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Here and in the UK the bodies rust and fall to pieces while the engines remain good. Don === Weather is a big factor. In California, you can see classic old cars on the road. No snow, no salt on the roads, etc., no rust. People not only collect old classic cars here, they also drive them around now and then. Even though I am not a car aficionado, I do get a thrill when I see a well maintained older one on the road. I've seen cars going back to model Ts all the way up to some great old 1950 classic cars. I suppose, car clueless as I am, some 1960 cars are now classics too. California seems to go very easy on older cars. Marnie aka Doe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
I own two Subaru wagons and I have never driven a car that handles as good as these all-wheel drive vehicles. Rain, snow, sleet, and we get them all here in Canada, are nothing to worry about. On regular pavement or dirt roads ... these things handle like no other vehicles... I love 'em. vic From: Adam Maas [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 19:00:16 -0400 Cotty wrote: On 22/7/06, Adam Maas, discombobulated, unleashed: . FWD overloads the fornt tires cause earlier traction loss and a tendency to understeer badly when things go wrong. You wanna come for a ride in my Disco on a wet roundabout mate. Perfectly balanced - four wheel drift only. No o/s and no u/s :-) Not sure what a Disco is, but I believe you about the handling. A properly tuned FWD car can certainly be perfectly balanced. It's just rare to find one (Especially in North America where they tend to put overly plush suspensions in them, even in the 'sport' versions, but the same goes for most RWD cars over here). -Adam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
Very good for car buffs, very bad for air quality. Older cars can generate 10X as much emmissions. The best thing to clean up air polution in the US would be to put a bounty on old, beater cars. Regards, Bob S. On 7/23/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: California seems to go very easy on older cars. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
IMO, the best thing to clean up air pollution and all the other problems we have is to address overpopulation. Tom Reese Very good for car buffs, very bad for air quality. Older cars can generate 10X as much emmissions. The best thing to clean up air polution in the US would be to put a bounty on old, beater cars. Regards, Bob S. On 7/23/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: California seems to go very easy on older cars. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
As the late Hugh Morton said, there are seven coal burning power plants here in VA that are grandfathered in and do not have to meet environmental standards. Each of them put out more pollution than all the cars in the state. Funny how this environmental stuff works, isn't it? Before all these government mandated safety and smog requirements a new full sized Cadillac cost $3500, with inflation that would only be $15-20,000 instead of $50,000. Damned expensive if you ask me, cheaper to fix those power plants. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Bob Sullivan wrote: Very good for car buffs, very bad for air quality. Older cars can generate 10X as much emmissions. The best thing to clean up air polution in the US would be to put a bounty on old, beater cars. Regards, Bob S. On 7/23/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: California seems to go very easy on older cars. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New telephoto lenses?
- Original Message - From: Vic Macbournie Subject: Re: New telephoto lenses? I own two Subaru wagons and I have never driven a car that handles as good as these all-wheel drive vehicles. Rain, snow, sleet, and we get them all here in Canada, are nothing to worry about. On regular pavement or dirt roads ... these things handle like no other vehicles... I love 'em. My first experience with AWD was a 1990 Nissan Axxess. I loved the way it handled itself on slick surfaces, but for some inexplicable reason, Nissan chose to put front ABS on the thing, and leave the rear wheels with regular disc brakes. It would ground loop quite easily if you had to stop hard in a slippery surface. I just bought my wife a Nissan X-Trail. It is shiftable from FWD to AWD to locked differential 4WD. It seems good so far, but it hasn't seen a winter yet. My 4WD Titan truck seems to handle most anything. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
