WOW! JUST WOW! No one is proposing to close or bulldoze Gettysburg! When Osama bin Laden was killed, our military disposed of his remains in an undisclosed place in the ocean - so that there could be no relics to attract followers. When Saddam Hussein was deposed - Iraqi citizens famously pulled down his statue and beat on it. When communism fell across eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union - statues of Lenin, Stalin and Marx were torn down by the victims of their totalitarian brutality. If you want to talk about traitors to this country and human decency - the Confederacy ranks number one! The statues should be put in a museum - with historical documentation and perspective - as a remembrance to never let slavery, and attempted succession from the Union, happen again! (hear that - Cal exit?) While local jurisdictions should have the final word - considering that the atrocity that happened in Charlottesville centered on Confederate statuary - and it's symbolic use by Neo-nazis, KKK and other sub-humans - I say - take em' down!

NO! THEY DON'T!

Those are great. Thanks for sharing. I just happen to keep a pair of 3D glasses next to my desk - just for fun decor - and so I could enjoy these immediately!

To be fair - let's credit the photographer!
The credit given on the website for the photo - Martinezbeavers.org is as follows:
"PIC BY LEOPOLD KANZLER / CATERS NEWS – (PICTURED A beaver that looks like it is taking a picture) This is the hilarious moment a beaver was spotted LOGGING on to its laptop computer. After taking some photographs using its tripod and camera, the EAGER BEAVER appears to be excited to see its latest snaps. But all is not as it seems, as the GOOFY pictures were ingeniously devised by photographer, Leopold Kanzler. Taken on the banks of the Danube river just east of Vienna, Austria, the 57-year-old managed to capture the animal pulling the perfect pose by hiding apple slices behind the screen of the computer and camera. SEE CATERS COPY **NOT FOR SALE / USE IN RUSSIA / POLAND**"
http://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/2014/03/12/the-best-letter-to-the-editor-ever/beaver-uses-laptop-3/

Hi again!

The warning had a real basis, in the fact that a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) is literally an electron "gun" on a swivel, shooting electrons out the front - to hit and "excite" the phosphorous dots on the glass screen - that creates the picture. The phosphorous didn't stop the "radiation", and the closer to the screen - the more electrons shot into you. Just like light - the inverse square rule applies - and sitting twice the distance from the set would reduce the radiation exposure by four times, as well as reducing your relative size in the "field of fire"!

May I suggest an article that can be found at techconnect.com? It is titled "Streaming TV industry says "meh" to 4K, but it loves HDR" It is subtitled "Streaming video execs prefer better pixels to more of them, but will these two technologies ever be decoupled?" It is dated June 5th, 2017. You will need to put HDR, or copy and paste this title into the search box for it to come up. I would highly advise reading it before making a purchase. "HDR improves image quality by dramatically increasing contrast—the difference between the dark and light areas of a scene—instead of simply cramming more pixels into the same space. Increased contrast results in deeper blacks, more vivid colors, and increased levels of detail. It’s also enabling less-expensive LCD displays to compete with uber-expensive OLED displays."
I have a 2012 Panasonic Plasma (1080p)- their top of the line model. They were the only manufacturer that I am familiar with that used "levels of gradation" in their spec sheets. My model has 24,000 shades of gradation. Their mid-priced model was advertised as having 16,000 and their budget models came with 12,000. I can't compare that to other types or models - because no others give that information. I absolutely love my Panasonic - it has the best picture and color that I have seen! Also, plasma has a refresh rate of 600 Hz - far superior to the 60 and 120 available on many 4k's. Alas - plasma is dead. Panasonic has temporarily left the US market, but I've seen that they plan a late summer comeback with 4k HDR OLED's. One downside to plasma - that is unfortunately also true of OLED is image burn-in! I have to limit my viewing of CNN - because their damn bright logo starting being retained on my screen! Fox news used to have rotating logo that didn't burn-in - but they went static, also - but at least not bright red and white! Also of note, it has been written the the organic pigments used in OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) will fade with time. From a 2016 article on tech connect - "Then there’s a longevity issue. The electroluminescent materials used in OLEDs have a fixed lifespan. This is particularly true of blue OLEDs, which must be compensated for by using a larger volume of the material and varying voltage over the life of the TV. My contact at Universal Display Corporation claimed 50,000 hours for its OLEDs, but I’ve more often heard 20,000 hours or less. I was unable to obtain any hard information on decay in a normal environment. When I do, I’ll update this.
Assuming the latter, less optimistic 20,000 hour figure, you’re talking about 2.25 years of 24/7 viewing, or about 11 years at the 5 hours per day the Nielsen Corporation says that TV viewers average. Eleven years isn’t very long, especially when compared to the lifespan of older CRT TVs, so you might not want OLED if you plan on running your display in a kiosk or in a point-of-sale system. But for the average person (not as defined by Nielsen) buying a TV for home use, longevity is probably not an issue."
I hope that this information helps!

Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks -

Just a quick heads up - especially for those of us 62 years old or up - the National Park Service is still offering a Senior lifetime pass - that covers all of the parks in the country - for $10! It is scheduled to rise to $80 - but the date for the increase hasn't been announced, but should be soon. If you order the pass online, there is a $10 dollar handling charge, which does not apply if you buy your pass at the gate. Here is the link to their online store:
https://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html

This is National Parks week - and today and tomorrow - all parks have free admission!

So true! I have their sauerkraut sitting in my fridge right now - the best that I have ever tasted - and my grandfather and father used to homemake it. Ummmm!

I, too, used ACT! for many years. They advertise themselves as the #1 Customer and Contact manager. If that's still true, I don't know today - but they at least were the best CRM (Contact Relations Management) software available. A CRM is a database, but with an interface that is aimed at keeping track of customers and your interactions with them.

ACT! has had a few different owners over the years. Sage was their previous owner - they are now owned by Swiftpage ACT! LLC out of Denver. They were originally owned by Symantec - which is where I started with them.
ACT! Pro sells for $239.99 for a license - while ACT! Premium sells for $500 for a license - or $25 month.

One very important fact to know about them - is that they are a Windows only software program. About 4 years ago I switched from Windows to Mac - and losing ACT! was the biggest drawback, for me, to the switch. Yes, I could either partition my hard drive or run Windows in virtual machine - but I wanted to simplify my life - not add to the complexity. I switched to FileMaker Pro. It's not a CRM - and though it has many advantages over ACT! - such as storing images along with your contact files - it does not start out with simple CRM functionality. There is available a Studio Management Software program called Studio Suite Xi - that uses FileMaker Pro as it's base. They offer a Solo perpetual license for $400 - you need to purchase FileMaker separately. I haven't used it, and so can't offer a review - but am considering it for the future. It is a product of AlterMedia out of Burbank, California.

The OP stated that "Another" camera store closed because their rent was raised from $3,000. The article that the OP included - I assume from the San Jose Mercury News - clearly states that Terry Schuchat owns the buildings. Yes - they are worth millions! In the on-line article about this closing on the San Jose Mercury News website - it states that Mr. Schuchat is looking for tenants to rent the buildings - the first floor of which must remain retail - by city code.

Please read the article - Mr. Schuchat OWNS the buildings that his business are in. This story is about the great difficulty of running a full service retail operation in the era of the internet and cell phones.

You should read before you rant! The article clearly states that Terry Schuchat OWNS the buildings that his business is located in. It also clearly quotes Mr. Schuchat as saying that it is the competition from online marketers and cell phone photography that has led to the declining profits that have led to the closing of the business. No where does he mention government or political reasons!

Thank you for posting this - very sad news, indeed!

Nearly 20 years ago - I did a lot of business with Keeble & Schuchat - as a vendor representative. The late 1990's were a golden age in photography - when the commercial world was adopting digital imaging - and Keeble & Schuchat was THE source for digital solutions in Northern California. We sold millions of dollars of Leaf digital backs, SINAR digital backs - SINAR cameras, Broncolor lighting equipment and FOBA studio gear to the top commercial photographers and corporate in-house studios in northern California - as most of them were replacing all of their photo gear with the new digital equipment. I left the industry at the time of the "dot com bust" - and only recently have been catching up with what has since transpired. It seems that Keeble & schuchat had given up their dealership in the above named equipment to a competitor that is located only a few blocks away - Bear Images.

Terry Schuchat was always a gentleman - and he had put together a great staff of professionals to serve their market. That market has radically changed - and I feel most sorry for the loss of jobs for those 35 remaining employees - especially since they will most likely have to seek employment in a different field, negating their many years of in-depth photography experience. This is also a great loss for those photographers looking for advice, service and rentals. I can only offer my best wishes to all who are losing their ability to earn a living, offering service, in the declining photographic industry!

Sad, sad, sad!

No, I didn't - but you clearly missed my point! Hey, I thought that this was a forum for people interested in sharing pertinent and technical information to become better Photographers. Clearly, I was wrong! Yeah, who needs camera skills when you can just correct it all in Photoshop! Good luck to you all!
Signing off!

I DID read through the topic before commenting! I commented on "The only worse thing, IMHO, is a bride in white next to a groom in black. Hey, that's why they made PhotoShop!" Sorry, I didn't read your bio info to see that you haven't shot professionally. Iv'e shot well over 500 weddings, with an average billing of over $5,000 - 30-40 years ago! I was chief photographer of a chain of three studios - that employed about 20 photographers during the season. We shot at a ratio of 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 - which is to say, that one out of every two to three exposures would be in the album - or a wall portrait. There was no excuse - ever - for a less than perfect exposure. Eye blinks are the only Uncontrollable - and the only reason that we would take one or two exposures of a group!
Weddings do not a full time career make - and so the bulk of my weekday career was spent as a technical representative for some of the major players in the industry - analog and then digital- in photography, the Graphic Arts, and the Printing industry. As such, I worked with some of the top photographers in Northern California - in that I was responsible for assuring that the digital backs, lighting equipment, view cameras etc. that I sold - delivered what was promised. The high end retailers, book publishers and catalog companies that were usually the clients of said photographers - often brought me in as a trouble shooter or to suggest methods to achieve given visual marketing goals - which almost always involves critical color management. If that logo color or product color is not spot on - heads will roll!
Well, there you have it! Far more than I originally planned on offering about myself. I didn't want the post to be about myself - just making what I would hope would be a self evident statement on a forum devoted to learning and sharing photography tips!
While my comment was more aimed at a professional - I stand by it for an amateur, also! The craft of photography is a wonderful thing to try to master. I know more than most in the fields of photography and image reproduction - but I am by no means a professor of photography or believe for a minute that I know it all. I think the same can be said for a professor at RIT or the Brooks Institute. It's simply way too big and technical of a field for anyone to know everything. My criticism lies strictly in the vein of - defaulting to short cuts will not improve your basic photographic skills. No offense was meant.