I WAS ROBBED !!!!!!!!!

or get the kind that is loyal and prefers biting to barking. (really big cats are good for that too, so long as you don't mind them running into the neighbors places as well)

dvd rewritable drive? running low res video, it would probably last all day, then just restart again.

There *is* truly such a thing. Yes, focal length is a good part of it angle of coverage, but beyond a certain angle, you need rather extreme corrections to focus with an even field of illumination onto a flat space (either film, or a CCD sensor).

As a matter of fact, some cameras got around that partially by curving the film plane -- e.g. the WideLux, which took in 180 degrees horizontally, with a rather narrow vertical coverage. These were used by photographers who specialized in class photos, and the lens swung with the focal plane shutter. Kids who knew the tricks made sure that they were at the starting end of the swing, and as soon as the lens passed them, they would run around behind the camera -- before the lens completed its swing, and thus appear twice in the same photo. :-_

Another factor, when making interchangeable lenses for 35mm cameras, or for standard video cameras, the back focal length must remain large, often larger for a wide angle than the effective focal length of the lens, to clear the moving mirror (for an SLR, at least).

Agreed here. The "number" is the ratio of the focal length to the aperture, and the higher numbers are the smaller apertures. The reason that this ratio is used, instead of the absolute aperture, is that the illumination on the film is constant for differing focal lengths, as long as the ratio remains constant.

And it is possible to have a larger aperture than an f 1. I've got one f 0.95, 50mm. A big hunk of glass with a 50mm focal length, but with a lens mount for a C-mount video camera. I would expect vignetteing if I were to adapt it to a 35mm SLR. (I had another, designed for a 35mm rangefinder, but a friend got the matching camera before I did, so I accepted several Nikon F camera bodies and lenses in trade.

Enjoy, DoN.

That's the way it outta be. Make the punishment swift and severe, bound to have an effect on the crime rate.

michael

A good Sherrif always has a couple untraceable pistols handy, just in case such an occasion should arise.

Notice I said "companion dog", not some poor wretched bastard chained out and semi forgotten in the back yard.

gunner

"A vote for Kerry is a de facto vote for bin Laden." Strider

Jon,

Get a shop "goose". They make better quard animals than dogs. If you have a male dog it's easy to get by him. All you need is a female in heat and he won't care less what you walked off with. A female dog is another situtation, a bit of posioned meat and you come back the next day. Besides dogs are to noisy as it is. I sometimes think they bark at their own shadow.

Bernd

Hi Guy's, just some reading from Oz for you.

The Government's Home Invasion (Occupants Protection) Act 1998 has not allayed the concerns of the ordinary citizen of New South Wales, who still does not know where he or she may stand before the law when confronted with the need to defend himself or herself in the face of danger. This was highlighted recently in Maitland where a shopkeeper was charged with assault for attempting to make a citizen's arrest of a youth caught stealing videos from his shop. Under this bill, persons convicted of a criminal offence will not be able to sue their victims for compensation as a consequence of actions taken by the victims to protect themselves or their property. This will ensure that we no longer encounter such ridiculous situations as that reported in the Daily Telegraph of 17 November 2000 where a man who broke into a house and attacked the home owner is now launching a civil action against his victim for compensation.

In October last year, shopkeeper Kolja Nikolic, a shopkeeper in western Sydney, was accosted by a man who demanded that he give him $20 or he would be thrown into the shop's deep fryer. When Mr Nikolic gave the man the cash, the thief threatened to return for more money.

The police were called, and they informed Mr Nikolic that he had the right to protect himself if the man returned. When the thief only minutes after the call to police did come back, walking around the shop towards the counter, threatening to belt the shopkeeper if he did not give him more money, Mr Nikolic pulled a gun from under the counter and fatally wounded him. The jury took less than one hour to acquit the shopkeeper of murder.

In 1998 a shopkeeper in Orange was faced with this situation when he shot dead a man during an armed robbery. Mr Cikaric's shop had already been robbed three times within a year, causing him to fear for the safety of his wife, who worked in the store. When a thief armed with a rifle walked in and demanded the day's takings, the shopkeeper produced a handgun and fired several shots. The thief was shot and died from his injuries. In this case, the Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to press charges against the store owner.

Ian Sutherland, Down Under.

||That was one of the things I liked about living in Texas. Story in the ||paper about a contractor (home out in the country robbed a couple of times) ||comes home during the day to find two guys loading their car with his stuff. ||They jump into car and start to drive away. He pulls lever action ||Winchester off gun rack in pickup and starts to blast away. Car stops ||against power pole on edge of yard with both guys dead. Sheriff arrives, ||finds gun on floor of car, decides it was self defense and doesn't press ||charges against home owner. This was back around 1986-87 so I don't know if ||things have changed.

I remember that. The guy was no-billed. Rex in Fort Worth

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 05:45:27 GMT, Gunner brought forth from the murky depths:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dog owners all say that their dogs never bark, but that's only because they're used to it and are now deaf to it.

What they fail to realize is that people are upset by the barking the dogs perform when their owners are away. Dogs go into "protective mode" and bark like hell when the owners are not there to hear them, but all the neighbors are and do. I had audio tapes of neighbor dogs barking which I presentd to the owners, the landlord, the land owner, the police, and the County Animal Control guys. Over half the owners disputed that it was their dog even though they know that bark as well as they know their child's cough in the night. Fidiots!

A bark of alert to you is a bark of irritation to your neighbors. In some of us who are sensitive to noise, a loud bark (is there any other type?) triggers the fight/flight mechanism. I, for one, don't want to have needlessly pumped adrenaline into my system dozens of times a day, thank you very much. It's not conducive to a relaxed lifestyle. (Nor do I like pinchin' buttonholes in my skivvies every time I hear a 120db bark.)

I'd rather they register/license/control dogs than small arms.

--- - Friends don't let friends use FrontPage -

Most of the barking I hear when the owner is gone is the "I'm lonely" variety.

Richard J Kinch wrote: : Gets the adrenaline going, doesn't it? Few thrills bigger in life than : walking in on a thief. --Try walking in on a crooked cop some time.

Larry..most dogs bark.

Evidently you fail to understand the term Companion Dog. Its a critter that is with you virtually 24-7.

When Im working in the shop, there is Always at least one dog close by. I tend to work late at night, and more than once they have alerted me to someone stopping by, or someone out in the back alley etc. The wife is the same. She is never without a dog close by except for her trips to the doctor.

There used to be a number of houses in my area that tweakers lived in. One night while we were kicked back and watching a movie, the front door opened up, and some scumbag simply walked in, and announced he was there for the party, and wanted to score some crank.

He was instantly backed into a corner by at least 3 large dogs (and two pissed and hissing cats ), giving me time enough to produce a firearm and handle the situation.

Im not sure if it was the critters or the large hairy naked man with the big firearm that made him piss his pants. Or the much smaller semi naked woman with a big firearm.......but he did fill his shoes...

Yes, dogs do bark. Its part of their job description. On the other hand, the owners should make sure they only bark when proper.

Some do, most do not unfortunately.

No suggestions on that subject.

Gunner

"A vote for Kerry is a de facto vote for bin Laden." Strider

Similar case where a repo guy snagged a guys pickup at 2am. He wound up dead from rifle fire. No charges filed.

Gunner

"A vote for Kerry is a de facto vote for bin Laden." Strider

I thought handguns were prohibited in Oz? Or only some?

Gunner

"A vote for Kerry is a de facto vote for bin Laden." Strider

Yup. Dogs are a gregarious pack animal, and its patently cruel to pen or chain them up alone. Bring them in with the family or at the least, get them a companion dog.

Gunner

"A vote for Kerry is a de facto vote for bin Laden." Strider

My dog wakes me up at 3AM to listen to her bark, she will go out to find a puddle only after I catch her, sometimes under Junior's bed. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

||On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 14:06:55 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@REMOVEtxol.net (Rex B) ||wrote: || ||>||That was one of the things I liked about living in Texas. Story in the ||>||paper about a contractor (home out in the country robbed a couple of times) ||>||comes home during the day to find two guys loading their car with his stuff. ||>||They jump into car and start to drive away. He pulls lever action ||>||Winchester off gun rack in pickup and starts to blast away. Car stops ||>||against power pole on edge of yard with both guys dead. Sheriff arrives, ||>||finds gun on floor of car, decides it was self defense and doesn't press ||>||charges against home owner. This was back around 1986-87 so I don't know if ||>||things have changed. ||>

||>I remember that. The guy was no-billed. ||>Rex in Fort Worth || ||Similar case where a repo guy snagged a guys pickup at 2am. He wound up ||dead from rifle fire. No charges filed.

As I understand it, that situation can go either way. If you know you are behind on the payments, you are presumed to be expecting repossesion. OTOH, if it's your son's car, and you honestly do not know he's behind, and it's 2 AM and the repo guy is not using a marked tow-truck, you may have a defense. But get a good lawyer. Rex in Fort Worth

Don't they get metal shavings in their feet?