Here's my sad story. Those who have read my posts know that I am a Nikon camera user since about 1965. My current one is a D7000 and a recently purchased Nikon 1 V1 with both zoom lenses. I was using my MacBook Pro to edit my pictures, most of which are done pro-bono for various service organizations, the local yacht club, Lions and the local Community Theater. I spilled coffee into the MacBook (purchased with inheritance funds) killing it pretty effectively. All efforts to fix it have proved to be a downward spiral of further damage to it, thus, except for parts it's total loss, the logic board (around $600.00 parts only to replace) is shot. Only two years old, it leaves me trying to edit using an iPad. So, here's my proposal. By the way, I'm a disabled retired former police officer (patrol, CSI - where I honed my photo skill - robbery-homicide detective, etc.) from the L.A. area and certainly not wealthy, so I need to either swap or sell my way out of my problem.

I have a very good condition Nikon D1X with two new batteries, perfect functioning and a Nikon AF 80-200mm f2.8 with tripod mount collar, caps and case lens shade in perfect internal condition with very minor rub marks on the crackle finish. A BH 77mm haze filter has always protected the front element. I also have a beautiful, nearly mint condition Nikon 300mm f4.0 AF telephoto with the sliding built-in lens shade, soft lens cap, rear cap, drop in haze filter and the case, again all in virtually mint condition. So, what's the bottom line? I'll trade the whole pile and throw in a Tokina 18-50mm zoom lens (AF of course) with polarizing filter, haze filter, caps, shade etc. in exchange for a brand new MacBook Pro in 13 or 15 inch screen size having at least 8GB of RAM, a 750GB hard drive and, preferably the higher speed Intel processor. (mine had the i7 at I believe 2.8 GHz and a 500GB hard drive) They don't make that one anymore (early 2011) model. So the newest ones (does certainly not have to be a Retina display or a MacBook Air as I desire the DVD writer for convenient passing along large numbers of images). On my word of honor as an officer and a gentleman, I submit that the condition of the equipment is as stated or better.

I live on San Juan Island in Washington so access to things like Apple stores requires at least a ferry ride.

So, I apologize for the length of my sad tale, but I noticed a number of complaints about folks posting things for sale without a reasonable story as to why, if the stuff was as good as stated. This is all professional gear made to last a lifetime in the kind of use I have given it and the reasons stated is the only thing compelling me to offer it.

Bill Waxman

p.s. thanks for reading this and photos of the gear are available, please ask and I will send them. I can meet a prospective trader in, say Anacortes so the items may be inspected and verified. I would, out of an excess of caution, not welcome a visit to my home for I hope, understandable reasons.

Margaret Thatcher's death caused paroxysms of confusion on Twitter where some users were apparently left with the impression that the singer Cher had died.

Members began posting comments on the microblogging site with the hashtag #nowthatchersdead soon after the news was announced.

But it was apparently misinterpreted and led to a flurry of tweets suggesting it had upset the pop star's fans.

Comedian Ricky Gervais attempted to set the record straight, writing: "Some people are in a frenzy over the hashtag #nowthatchersdead.

"It's 'Now Thatcher's dead'.

"Not, 'Now that Cher's dead'."

Not to be rude, but you did not work 50 years to get the amount of Social Security that you get.... You got a lot more than the check that you are now receiving... Hopefully you raised a family, bought a home and saved some for retirement, maybe you helped some of your children go through school.... you paid a small percentage of your paychecks into the social security trust fund which in all likelihood will payout to you three to four times what you paid into it... not so bad of an investment.... The facts surrounding Social Security are very simple, when it was conceived as a program there were about 6 workers for every retiree, the retirement age was set at an age that you were statistically not expected to reach.... Now that is all changed, back at inception life expectancy was something like 63 years, now it is something like 78, yet the retirement age remains unchanged, now there are something like 2.8 workers for every retired person, soon there will only be 2.1.... so it is becoming quite the burden.... Social Security is the largest single line on the Federal budget with the largest projected increases in expenses as 10,000 baby boomers retire daily! You are expecting the youth of this country to fund your retirement while you demand no changes be made yet you if you have studied the problem at all should be fully aware that the program with be completely bankrupted by the time they retire.... How selfish of you!!!!!!! What do you have to say to them? That they owe it to you???? They don't owe it to you to somehow keep the promises that they never made to you... It was the government that never made the necessary adjustments to the program to keep it viable, it was the government that spent the excess reserves of the system, it is the government that has managed it to a path of insolvency... Tell me, why do you think that the 20 and 30 somethings of this country owe it to you? It will not be there for them so what makes you so special?

There has to be reform, and voices like yours do not speak with reason but rather with a sense of entitlement and a true lack of understanding of the problem.