GAS, we know what it means here at UHH. I am employed part time at a major outdoor retailer and I observe a slightly different iteration where I work. Every day customers come in thinking that a new fishing rod and/or new fishing reel will transform them into world class fishers. A new bait is seen on a TV show; it is made out to be the latest/greatest sure fire fish getter yet; when it is not in the store's on hand inventory when they are there, they grump about it and storm off. The store I work at has over 100 feet of linear floor space just crammed with who knows how many baits and lures and hooks and rods and reels, yet this is never quite enough. To this I add...IF there is ever a focused ecological effort to cut way back on plastics overall for the sake of the health of our planet, fishing will be impacted. Most all baits, both hard and soft, are made of plastics of some sort.
GAS in fishing has its onset at a very young age, and I blame that partly on competitive fishing where junior high and high school aged kids insist on having THE BEST to compete regardless how much the tackle costs; and parents and grandparents shell out mega bucks to their kids and grandkids. When will it stop???
GAS is not exclusive to photography!!!

My Dad and I watched the fights on TV every Friday night. Our TV was a Magnavox, 10 inch screen with one of those old magnifying screens on a stand. Unless you were seated directly behind, the image was always distorted. Nevertheless, every Friday night we were glued to the TV. The link below is for the Heavyweight Championship in Philadelphia in 1952. My Dad suddenly passed away in Jan. 53', at age 41. So, this is a fond memory for me.

If you are old enough, it may be a fond memory for you too.

Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott - 1952
https://youtu.be/ZaKPg7gXtW4

Enjoy,
Mark

I've mentioned this several times before, and I'm mentioning it again. I bet I have a hundred little power transformers for various devices. 5v, 9v, 12v 15v, positive and negative ground, and all with slightly different connectors. Really? Is that much variation necessary? I'm tempted bu buy one of those universal power supplies. You can set the voltage and select the correct connector, but they seem too iffy.

Maybe they could start by all using the same size connector. In a pinch, I've used a 12v in a 9v item - without problems. I now use a label maker to identify each power supply, and that makes it a lot easier to find the right one.

Of course, batteries for cameras and other electronics will never be interchangeable. I have a Canon SD800 and a Sony WX9. Their batteries are so similar that I had to write on them with a Sharpie. Being interchangeable would have made things so much simpler.

Companies always try to have proprietary accessories - until they realize they are shooting themselves in the foot. Sony tried to have its own hot shoe, so you would have to buy a Sony flash. I think they stopped doing that, but I still can't use generic mics on my Sony camcorders.

Remember when all cars used the same headlights? How nice! I remember the sealed beam headlights costing under $10. You know those LED headlights on Subarus that blind you day and night? I costs between $600 and $800 for a replacement. Naturally, you have to add tax and installation to that. My Fits use $10 bulbs - easy to install.

Here's an update on Gabby cat, presented in a quick review of details of a 20MP cropped sensor pocket camera. I still think a dedicated camera does better than a phone, here captured in RAW and processed in LR6.

Gabby cat by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II is a compact camera with a 1-inch CMOS sensor, roughly a 2.7x crop factor, for this model / lens giving a 28–84mm equivalent focal length. The camera features a pop-up flash with flash exposure compensation and in-body image stabilization (IBIS).

The 1:1 pixel level crop below shows the fine details the camera will capture, if opened to the embedded 1947x1217 crop.

Gabby close-up

I received my Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 smart watch today. Naturally, it requires an app to get it working. I was surprised that both of my phones were able to install the app, but I was disappointed that neither phone can find the watch. I guess this will be another Amazon return. This watch cost only $62, but I'm not going to take a chance on their $200 or $300 watch.

Another oddity. Of course, it comes with a neat little magnetic charging cable that snaps onto the watch. The other end has a USB C plug. I have several dozen USB chargers, but no one of them has a USB C port. Fortunately, I can charge the watch using my Moto e6, which uses a USB port for charging.

Reading online, I'm not the only one having trouble connecting to the watch. Even if it does connect, it loses contact occasionally, so there goes the "smart" feature. Back it goes!