It’s a fun activity. Beautiful scenery. You are in the neighborhood of Mesa Verde NP which is a great experience too.

My 3 are Pictureline, B&H and Adorama. All three are knowledgeable and honest in every purchase made over several years.

Only bad ones.

Remembering what happened truly is the important point. It was horrible and the numbers come in with several different tallies. The fact remained that despite the horrible error of one of the manufacturers, the net result was a major drop in the number of overall cases. I have very low faith in the Post reporting. I have personally seen the events that post reporters wrote on and they were horribly inaccurate. Horribly sloppy and inaccurate and obviously biased. The original press release from Eisenhower listed 29 cases. The book by Paul Offit MD reported that the doses manufactured by the California-based family firm of Cutter Laboratories, had caused 40 000 cases of polio, leaving over 200 children with varying degrees of paralysis and killing 10. The CDC lists over 100,000 bad vaccines, 256 confirmed cases of paralysis and 10 deaths. An additional death from transmitted virus introduced by the tainted virus has also been mentioned. The NIH lists ‘over 250 cases’. The epidemiologist usually undercount, the lawyers usually over count. My 300 was indeed an estimate based on the typical undercount.

Remembering what happened truly is the important point. It was horrible and the numbers come in with several different tallies. The fact remained that despite the horrible error of one of the manufacturers, the net result was a major drop in the number of overall cases. I have very low faith in the Post reporting. I have personally seen the events that post reporters wrote on and they were horribly inaccurate. Horribly sloppy and inaccurate and obviously biased. The original press release from Eisenhower listed 29 cases. The book by Paul Offit MD reported that the doses manufactured by the California-based family firm of Cutter Laboratories, had caused 40 000 cases of polio, leaving over 200 children with varying degrees of paralysis and killing 10. The CDC lists over 100,000 bad vaccines, 256 confirmed cases of paralysis and 10 deaths. An additional death from transmitted virus introduced by the tainted virus has also been mentioned. The NIH lists ‘over 250 cases’. The epidemiologist usually undercount, the lawyers usually over count. My 300 was indeed an estimate based on the typical undercount.

Just took the time to read the posts. One thing that was mentioned was the polio vaccine. The polio vaccine is a major success story saving millions of lives and tens of millions of severe disabilities. However, the polio vaccine as initially administered was one of the largest medical mistakes in US history. 6 companies produced the vaccine. One company Cutter Labs had a contaminated manufacturing process. The initial vaccine doses were inadvertently laced with live active poliovirus and not the inactive virus as was intended. 100,000 contaminated doses created by Cutter labs caused over 300 polio infections and 11 deaths. In other words, the initial doses of the vaccine made by Cutter actually spread the infection. After the mistake was discovered, the tainted vaccine was pulled and effective doses were administered. Millions of lives were spared the ravages of polio. The polio vaccine manufacturing mistake led to major changes in the FDA, pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and in the vaccine liability laws.

Chicken Pox infections are usually no big deal until you get shingles as an adult from latent viruses. Measles, on the other hand, continue to maim and kill and always have. The antivaxers, in regards to measles and polio, are simply wrong and destructive. Measles are a feared infection for good reason. Measles infections even without complications are wicked: high fevers, uncomfortable rashes, oral lesions, cough, pneumonia, severe headaches etc. Before the vaccines, measles were a leading cause of childhood death, deafness, and viral encephalitis with subsequent lifelong neural damage. Pneumonia and encephalitis from measles killed about 3 individuals per 1000 infections. If a pregnant woman contracted measles and carried the child, they would often be born with severe complications and lifelong neural deficits. Chicken pox infections can be mild, as can measles. But too often measles infections are fatal or induce severe lifelong damage in a child. Nothing has changed except the diminished frequency due to vaccines.

I’m currently on a bus in Amsterdam. In my right front pocket I comfortably carry a Canon G7X Mark III. A 24-70 2.5 lens with 20 MP and shoots RAW.

I chose the lower cost, faster lens and simplicity over the longer lens of the Sony.

This is how Stellenbosch used to look. Beautiful photos.

Samsung T7 or the newer T9 is a great SSD choice. That is my choice for active use. If it is for off site storage where it will just sit for months to years, you may want a traditional hard drive which is less expensive. SSD’s will be most stable if you plug it into the computer every year or two.

Really Right Stuff. One and done. They are great.

May is Fall in Botswana, although it is a very warm fall. The fall and winter are dry which is key when driving on dirt roads. Check with the operator, but May would seem like a good time to go.

I agree. A gullible public does not make a paid amateur into a professional. To denote someone as a professional they need to have a high level of skill and expertise AND receive a reimbursement for services. Digital photography has made amateur skill levels a paying commodity. I can’t tell you how many lousy photographs, especially wedding photographs, that I have seen in the last few years. Anyone can create a decent portfolio if they take enough pictures and then use that portfolio to sucker the public. A professional gets great shots consistently at every shoot.

I travel with a small table top RRS tripod that is super stable. I may start bringing a monopod as well. I have an older Benro travel carbon tripod that works well, but rarely take it when flying. I would love to buy the Really Right Stuff travel tripod with the integrated head, but I can’t justify it because I travel with the larger travel tripod so rarely. Gitzo makes a great travel tripod too. I won’t buy them though because I wouldn’t use them often enough.

One of the most underrated historically significant castles is Doune Castle fairly close to Sterling. It is where the epic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, along with a few TV series, was filmed. “Run away, Run away” and “Spank me” takes on new meaning. It is a fun stop. Historically pretty insignificant if it wasn’t for the modern notoriety. Sterling Castle is spectacular at night. I recommend an afternoon touring there with a stay at one of the many amazing Sterling B&B’s.