FastFreddy2

Cindy Crawford's daughter..... 16 years old, barely more than a child: I wonder how long before someone coins the phrase; "Lolita Crawford"? Her look reminiscent of an early Sean Young: More recognisable (to some) as Rachael ... Even if her mother/parents protect her enough so she isn't abused, as a role model (no pun) she is inadvertently teaching her followers (of which there will be millions) that dressing/acting like an adult at 16 is the way to "get ahead" or get a media career. Given how much child and actress abuse has been in the media over recent years, you might be forgiven for thinking someone/somewhere, might have learned a lesson and decided "Lolita" figures were too much of a temptation for a lot of men, and certainly too much for some individuals in a position to take advantage of that opportunity. While in past weeks that might be a film producer, before him it was a well known comedian and TV personality. Before him ....

And speaking of "recent article", one I'm struggling to believe .... From >> here << From >> here <<

Yep. Gonzales is his name, "Speedy" isn't his Christian name. Sadly, I can't remember the term where I thought I might get away with using an adjective as a preposition. and 'speedy' certainly isn't on the 150 term (full) list. Ho-hum!

People who like to gossip, will gossip, it's what people do. Those who aren't phased by that sort of thing, will take it in their stride. "Best practice" would be: You ought to confide in your line manager. Inform them you have found a way to ease a bad back, in the slightly unorthodox method of wearing a raised heel. Tell them you have some boots with concealed heel, but you have found it better for your feet to wear wedge sandals. Also say you have tried lifts in regular shoes, but these are uncomfortable, so you have resorted to women's shoes with a reasonable heel. Ask if there would be a problem (with them/the company) or would there likely be a problem with colleagues if you wore a wedge shoe. Assuming neither the company, the line manager, nor colleagues would have a problem, the door is "open". Some companies have rules on shoe types. A company I know won't let anyone walk around in open toes shoes, and much prefer employees to wear safety shoes - and in some areas, safety shoes are mandatory.

In your position, or if I found myself in identical circumstances, I would not be able to resist engineering a way to entice some conversation about shoes and heels. It's just too much of a temptation.... Strategically, you could do with an ally or allies. Seems you might have them lined up anyway? Both your son (who seems like someone you are doubtless very proud of) and his girlfriend are two people who can be trusted. If Mrs R-I-B could be induced to helping, perhaps she could ask the girlfriend discreetly and informally, what she thinks of a man wearing (essentially) girls shoes by way of a girl-to-girl chat? Of course this notion might be completely unrealistic (I don't know your circumstances), but you are steadily moving toward a fairly open position about your heels, and I would think the longer you can have some control over the situation (as little as that might be) the better for you if a 'damage limitation' position is necessary. That's when having some additional family support might be helpful in maintaining some balance to a situation that could all too easily turn sour. I suppose the overall thinking is that bringing anyone 'onboard' with your shoe wearing, is going easier with greater chance of success doing it one household at a time, rather than having to confront a larger group who might already have made up their minds. Though I also feel you would/will have less of a battle than most of us. Given what you have revealed about how accommodating Mrs R-I-B has been, and how some of your immediate family might be just as supportive, I'm hoping to hear some good news in the not-too-distant future. On a side note, I was very pleased to read about the 14 year old who is getting support for her emotional needs, where her parents are not so obliging. We lost a family friend who had the same 'problem' and who didn't find the confusion easy to deal with. The truly upsetting thing is that having decided to go the journey and transition - so seemingly happy about the way forward - a night of bingeing on alcohol brought about a set of unfortunate circumstances and the loss of her life. Unlike the 14 year old mention, the family friend had support from everyone around her, but years of being confused about how she felt and why she felt, had taken its toll. No-one thinks self-harm was intentional, but a life-style created as a coping mechanism, may have gotten out of control. The conclusion I reached from this, was that it isn't possible to be overly-careful in these situations, especially with children who seem to be susceptible to giving in to dark thoughts simply because their age makes them prone to emotional extremes. As we read more and more every week, it appears there is a lot more 'gender middle ground' that had previously been realised.

Happy to: From >> here <<

Yes..... I think it has a few more dials/levers, and fewer "menu's" to access to do some of the simple things I like to do. Changing between auto and manual focus is a bit like a treasure hunt on the G5, as is changing the metering mode. I did once alter a couple of the 'Fn' buttons away from the factory defaults, but having to reset all the camera settings one day meant all that extra work was lost. I can't fully remember the need for the reset, but I do remember I'd done something that I couldn't (easily) undo, and time/frustration got the better of me. I had to do the same thing with the G80 at JL when I had a play the other evening. The focus position was fixed off to one side of the frame. In my camera, opening up the articulated screen on the G5 immediately provides an option for re-centering the focusing area, not so with the G80. A reset put it back where I wanted for testing. If Panasonic do some Christmas discount/specials, I might bite, otherwise ....

The Autumn season progresses speedily.... Oddly, the temperature seems to be bouncy around a bit, which must be confusing the hell out of the trees. Many, even most have turned, though some have been left quite green? (I don't mean evergreens.) We are experiencing high winds too, care of Atlantic storms arriving every week. These two things are bad enough, but the storms seem to be quite wet too. It's not nice to be out in. Over the last couple of days I've visited Brent Cross and Westfield (White City), because the wet weather outside has made street walking without a sou'wester, most/moster/mostily unpleasant. Still, better than snow. We have tickets to a gig at the end of the month. It will be dark when we leave the house, and there is an hours drive before our arrival. I would like to wear some courts with a stiletto. There will be younger (sharp eyed) folk there, and I'm wondering if I should feel 'lucky'? Probably not. There are cobbled areas around the venue, and I know from experience, stiletto's don't like them.

I sold one of my bikes today. I've probably got enough (spare) cash to buy a Lumix G80 that would come with a 12-60mm lens. I tried out the GH5 with the same lens too, while I was at JL Brent Cross last night, out in heels. The weight difference was enormous. As was the price..... (Double.) While the collector gene wants the G80 (or an Alpha that looks like a Lumix), I don't know if I actually need more than the G5 I already own.

Anyone fool enough to use the phrase "speedy computer" to me, would be getting the the response' "Yeah? Where are the wheels?" I'm familiar with the term 'speedy recovery', but I personally feel 'quick recovery' is a more accurate wish of good will. Even fast recovery seems more apt. I guess I've been programmed to associate speed with motion. Of course it works as a preposition, as Mr Gonzales rightly suggests.

And I seldom pay anything for software, but 79p is a price worth paying in these circumstances ... That or resetting the whole dictionary would be. My phone has been nagging me to upgrade (yeah right) for almost 4 months. When I get around to remembering, the 'nag' message is going to be switched off. If I'm happy with the version I'm using, I don't need "upgrading" .... I'm looking to hear about an operating system, that at time of launch, is good enough for the authors to declare that "it's as good as it will ever get". Not, this is a the advanced beta version we're launching, and user feedback will help us (debug it) to make it usable....

"The answer is out there...." I would spend the 79p on an app' keyboard.

I think you are on dodgily ground with "speedy".

There hasn't been a grammar checker designed, that won't allow unique/new additions. "Users" understanding how it is done, not so common. As to correcting (joke or otherwise), I very much doubt there could be an adverb "trashily", because I fink trash is a noun. And.... anyway .... "dress (or act) trashy" is a colloquial term and as such, grammar checkers don't apply.

I'm pretty sure the 'collector' gene is almost always the territory of men. There are exceptions, and Imelda Marcos stands out as one. Her shoe collection (amongst other collections) reputedly ran to 1000 pairs. Even I would see that as unrealistic. (Waste of good money.) And as for the gold coin ...

Te following comment seems without empathy, but be assured that is very much not the case .... You were/are fully aware, this situation was inevitable, given your completely understandable choice of wearing what you are comfortable wearing, rather what the social norm demands. You are a crusader of sorts, and there is always a price to pay for being a crusader. Hopefully, this situation will not lead to your martyrdom too. You have a fall-back position; your bad back. A boot with a hidden heel (aka lift) while being something of an innovative medical solution, happens to be something of a contributor to why the boots are worn. As politicians will agree, tell a lie often enough, even the liar will believe the lie is the truth. Under no circumstances, falter from the company line! I don't know that Mrs R-I-B is going to let you put it out of your mind, but a 'united front' may well help with any fall-out, if there is any. I have my doubts much will come of this openly. We Brits have a taste for discretion, keeping things in closets, and burying anything that might be embarrassing. If you get any response to this event at all, it'll be third hand and like a Chinese whisper, barely discernible. In America, I'm sure there would be a family-wide intervention. In the UK it'll be; "You know Russ, he's always had a thing for shoes," End of event.

Google suggests the wine that old would not be pleasant to drink. I would guess the "value" is the unopened bottle?

Someone found some offcuts? Les Dawson (her dad) will be turning in his grave. Talentless no-hoper, pumped up with fillers and living her life in front of as many cameras as she can get interested. Google tells me, "media whore" is a real thing.

I'm not overly happy about it either, but there is no "risk" of imminent loss, if you can remember what one of my past/current interests might be. I won't remind you here, since I choose to be as discreet as possible about it. I would much rather the money was invested in 'bricks and mortar', but as I've mentioned before, I don't have enough to have a second home to use for investment purposes. There is a long term plan to resolve that .... But I get distracted. In my youth (a very distant memory) I was taught why old stuff becomes more valuable: value being in the amount of demand, and bearing no relation to original cost. In this example, a bottle of wine made by anyone anywhere in the world, is unlikely to cost more than £4. My lesson involved something like a Mini Cooper, or might have been a Lotus Elan. I could not understand why cars getting older, could sell for increasingly higher values? As was explained to me: They were made in a finite number. Crashes, and general dilapidation meant their numbers decreased. Fewer vehicles with (over time) increasing demand (through reputation or legend) meant demand increases. If demand increases in a dwindling supply, prices rocket until demand begins to fall off. A fellow welder I worked with circa 1978/79/80 once told me, if he had stored all the Austin 7's he'd buried in his gardens over the years, he'd be a millionaire. Only today I read how a McClaren F1 stored for 20 years, will likely fetch a record sum when it goes to auction. I too can't understand why wine would become more expensive over time, but I understand the mechanics of it. A coupe of years ago, I sold a bike frame that I knew as soon as it was delivered, was never get used by me. I owned it for over 15 years, and only Mrs F complaining that our wedding photo's weren't on a wall anywhere, stopped me mounting that frame on a wall. I see beauty in some odd things I suppose, but sometimes I just like to look rather than use.

They did claim "UK stock", which I guess can be checked with serial numbers, prior to purchase? I too would steer clear of grey imports. With branded names, you are paying for warranty and backup. That's of little use in the UK if the camera has to be shipped to China for repairs. My heating engineer mate came very unstuck with a phone bought in that way. Returned for repair, never saw it again. PayPal (180 day guarantee) was not interested. I've a real thing for detail. I'm hoping the lens I plan to buy over Xmas (assuming I don't change direction go for the G80 and 12-60 lens kit) will greatly improve the image quality of my pictures. At the moment I use a 20mm lens (40mm x 35mm film equiv) which is fine for the bulk of the pictures I take, but I want to get a portfolio of digital work going. Primarily in B+W portraits, which I love. (Old romantic.) Even some landscapes look more dramatic in B+W I think. (Nod to Mr Adams.) The Sony is off the option list for you as you've a compliment of Canon lenses, but one of the things that attracted me, was it's abilities at low light levels, beating many of those already well known for their low light capability. Low light/low noise I should say. Much of my 'alternative' interest is in scenes involving the darker side of life. Not necessarily as a self-satisfying voyeur (though this is not excluded), but more as a social history reporter or recorder. This might not be wholly necessary, with the advent of good quality camera phones, but I have always had a creative urge from as long as I can remember. (Suppressed childhood?) Fortunately the Sony has all the aesthetic appeal of a house brick, which is making a purchasing decision very easy to make. (Or not make, in my case.) The Alpha 7R II camera, looks to have been styled by an ex-Praktica employee. Function over form .... As you well know, pushing ISO upward often allows an image that otherwise wouldn't be possible. Not just because of low light levels, but small aperture lenses. I'm pretty sure I've never owned a lens with a wider aperture than f1.4 despite me liking to use differential focusing for isolating an aspect of an image. I'm pretty sure this can now be done in post with the right software? Which leaves me able to use slower (cheaper) lenses, even with the Alpha - if it ever has a face lift! But with an f4.0 lens I'd be pushing it to capture most candids with the G5, which is why I bought the f1.7 20mm to get me going. Reading this is might seem unlikely I would spend £600 on the Sigma lens, but it (the lens) tied to something like the Alpha has (as you've said several times) the ability to match medium format film, and that being the case, I would spend that money. Perhaps I should take a closer look at a Nikon 610? Or just buy the lens I plan to, and see what I can do... So once again, models?

"Spare cash" need not be lying around, it might be invested. It's still 'spare', (ie ISA) as indeed might liquid assets sat in a bank account. Conversely, cash lying around, could be lying there waiting to be used to pay a bill/debt. (And for most people usually is.) The condition of the money I mentioned, is both. It is money with no requirement or need to be spent, save what I choose to use it for. And it is literally lying there. £460 on my bedroom floor, £100 on the kitchen table and a four figure sum in a cupboard. There is a five figure sum, "spare" but not lying there, languishing in a bank account. I wasn't talking about spare liquid assets sat in a bank account. The nuance in my original prose was made using inverted commas, indicating cash lying around is; 'spare': as in having no debt, or bill, or likely imminent need demanding its use. If I chose to, I could quite literally walk into a camera shop tomorrow and buy any of the 2-3k cameras mentioned without making a dent or ripple in any financial plan I might or might not have. I don't know that I've ever gloated over anything, much less an object. I thought many of those buying mega-expensive wines were treating them as investments? My problem is the reluctance to spoil something that looks perfect. (Brand new.) I even bought a used bicycle in the hope it would get me out on a bike more. So far, it hasn't worked. I am working on resolving that though. (My resolution might be slightly thwarted by my having listed the bike on an auction site, that produced more interest than I was expecting .... Ho-hum.)

I suppose handling them both will be an indicator as to which you will like long term. When I first held the Lumix G3, it was incredibly difficult to handle because holding it nearly always opened up a menu.... It went back as John Lewis was still in the throes of their "happy" campaign with no declared limit on returns. I only had it for a short while but it went back and JL were happy to take it back. (Nuts.) Keeping that camera would have been a big mistake. I completely understand the 5DR S option, if image detail is the main criteria. Large starting image size, and since Canon have intentionally clipped where the ISO rating can be pushed, I would think this camera is tilted toward the best quality image possible, with no compromise. The faintly ironic thing for me ..... I've helped run multi-million pound businesses (planning) on computers with hard drives less than a fifth of the image size created by one photograph the camera produces. And I used to sell (used) 20mb hard drives circa 1997, to home PC builders at computer fairs. Not that you are sure whether to buy, but this popped up earlier. Looks like a pukka company too. Or .... Since they don't have a retail outlet, maybe not so pukka.

I may have found another suspect ...

There is of course a big difference between your needs (working pro) and mine (VERY part time enthusiast). The handicap I have, is 'spare' cash lying around doing nothing. I get to do a lot of window shopping. And even when I buy, I tend to avoid using because I get so much pleasure looking at my purchase. I should become an art dealer ....

Saw today, some landscape photo's taken with digital. Quality was really rather good. Here is one: Photograph by Kenneth Rennie. Some more by him here: https://www.ephotozine.com/user/kmrennie-123151/gallery/photo/fiji-sunset-2-35296853/ Looking into his equipment, I find time has moved on and newer cameras are even more expensive than the one he used on the linked album. In fact looking at a camera that ticked every box I might want to see ticked (full frame no low pass filter blah blah blah) I looked at a body circa £2500. And a decent lens at £600, or any (upward) figure you care to think of ... I may be sticking to the Lumix G5 for a while, though the Lumix G80 has some advantages.... New lens pencilled in for Xmas, maybe a replacement camera next year. I may need to look into selling some pictures first. Which may mean updating my portfolio .... Any volunteers for some modelling work?