THOUGH, I am not too thrilled about the idea of going all "digital", meaning no prints at all. From a historical and archival stand point there are issues. Yes, technology changes, and technologies go obsolete, but a few seem to extend into the future and are less lost. Vinyl records and paper books from the past and today are still here. So look at all the formats that are virtually obsolete now but you can't easily find anything to view or read it with: VHS, Beta, 8" Floppy Disks, 5.25" Floopy Disks, Diskettes, Audio Cassettes, Laser Disks (video), (consumer 1/4") Reel to Reel Magnetic Tape, 78 rpm Records. Not every music album or movie has been reissued to CD, DVD or Blu-ray. Also there are formats that never caught on and may have had releases that were unique such as DVD Audio, HD CD, Mini-CD, Enhanced Music CD and others. There are old computer games and software that were DOS or Apple O/S that are unusable today. And some might still be fun. Game Boxes keep changing as well. What would happen as "display" screens change, can you still view your old image files? Pre-RGB? Look what changes computers have gone through. Just think of all the UHH discussions of the incompatibility of Canon lenses through the years from pre-AE-1 to "AE-1" to "Rebel" to Full Format and Cropped Factor lenses of today. Not everything is on the Web, especially things prior to 1980. I have 1950's and even later Jazz and Rock LP albums that have never been reissued. The true fan of music and film lives in the past as well as the present and future. Note vinyl has made a come-back as it sounds warmer and more natural and real to many music fans. I've noted before I like color photography as digital fine, but for black & white I much prefer silver prints. Just think if there were no enlargers or printers at all anymore. Scanning a negative to digital is not quite like using a negative directly to print. A file is more like a specific "print" of a negative image not the original film negative. Ansel Adams printed a negative differently from time to time, trying different interpretations by dodging and burning differently. And how could you create a Wynn Bullock print from a scanned negative other than by using a lot of Photoshop processing? Why do people collect 1950's Automobiles?

But yes, for much of the consumer market, your points are totally valid. But it does not portray a future I'd want. But, then I am seldom a futurist. I bought my first PC in 1994 and first DSLR in 2010. And own 5,000+ LPs & CDs.

I still shoot digital like when I used film, slowly and methodically, never "spray & pray". Oh, I know the Steppenwolf song you mean. ;-)

Yes, you are right. he cost of film plus processing can be daunting. I have both digital and film bodies, and the day all the film is gone, I will be unhappy...in a way.

There are two sides to it. Someone gave me a Leica IIIC and a couple of lenses, but I never used it. If film is gone, I'll never get to see why people praise Leicas so much.

But, on the other hand, the logical side of me says to not throw good money after bad, i.e., don't buy more film. I suspect there is no really good answer.

HEART, I suspect you fear the Monarch Crisis is yet another excuse for liberals to confiscate our money, spend it where they want, and to take control (over ride our rights), for the "betterment of man" and "salvation of the planet. Pure bullshit.

If each liberal who confesses concern over this butterfly would spend thier own 2 dollars and start a small patch of milkweed and other butterfly friendly plants, problem would be solved. But most good limo liberal don't want thier views, golf courses, and lawns spoiled with weeds. Instead the want to spend my money, and fill my yard and my kids used parks with weeds.

Speaking of that pipeline...I am apolitical, so I don't really have a dog in the conservative/liberal fight over it...I just wonder what the advantage is, of a pipeline that takes Canadian oil, transfers it to the Gulf, where it is put on tankers to be taken to foreign refineries... The number of jobs created in the US is minimal, and like you say, when oil prices drop, it becomes an expensiver to maintain "White Elephant"...I think the only Americans who benefit are those who have contracts to build it...

A man in Alberta went to the RCMP to report that his wife was missing.


Husband:
My wife is missing. She went shopping yesterday and has not come home.


Sergeant:
What is her height?


Husband:
Gee, I’m not sure. A little over five-feet tall.


Sergeant:
Weight?


Husband:
Don’t know. Not slim, not really fat.


Sergeant:
Color of eyes?


Husband:
Never noticed.


Sergeant:
Color of hair?


Husband:
Changes a couple times a year. Maybe dark brown.


Sergeant:
What was she wearing?


Husband:
Could have been a skirt or shorts. I don’t remember exactly.


Sergeant:
What kind of car did she go in?


Husband:
She went in my truck.


Sergeant:
What kind of truck was it?


Husband:
Brand new 2015 Ford F150 King Ranch 4X4 with eco-boost 5.0L

V8 engine special ordered with manual transmission. It has a custom

matching white cover for the bed. Custom leather seats and “Bubba” floor mats.

Trailering package with gold hitch. DVD with navigation, 21-channel CB

radio, six cup holders, and four power outlets. Added special alloy

wheels and off-road Michelins. Wife put a small scratch on the drivers

door...


At this point the husband started choking up.


Sergeant:
Don’t worry buddy. We’ll find your truck.