Great smackdown there Michael!

Look at the bright side, at least Capt. Rob brings out the lurkers.

It almost sounds as if you did some design work on the iPod.

Again, great work on the smackdown!

Glory!

"Michael May" wrote in message
...
Joe wrote:
No kidding Scotty... I felt the deck shutter the slamdown was so solid.
Lets hope MM stays around as our new king of tech news and advice,
clearly the commode has fallen way behind the times.

I apologise. I am not normally so rude to people but after having read
this, (among a half dozen others) newsgroup for some time now, I am sick
of the miasma of rudeness, arrogance and inanity that seems to surround
our little iPod denigrating pretend sailor. The final straw for me was his
recent ad hominem attack on other men's wives.

I am also blessed with an attractive, charming and very intelligent wife,
but if she for one instant thought that I valued her only for her sex
appeal she would be extremely offended. If she was to find me using her to
put other women down, she would probably go out and have her face tattooed
or something similar, to teach me a lesson. She would also permanently
lose all respect for me.

It has been a trying time here (Oz - Queensland) with very high
temperatures compounded by a succession of violent storms. Have had our
boat on the hard for the past week and after several days of breathing
anti-fouling dust, had a sudden storm that destroyed a two-pack brightwork
makeover. Had just finished - everything still wet when it hit, complete
with gale force winds, dust then rain and hail.

My more delightful half has gone to cooler climes, visiting a daughter
down south, and entrusting me to my own devices. One of which was actually
responding to a newsgroup post.



Thanks for the real scoop on ipods MM!

The video iPods, as far as video goes, are of limited use to someone like
me. Very much a one person thing. My kids love them for personal viewing
but I only tend to watch a movie etc., as a shared experience, so don't
find that aspect so useful. The resolution is too poor to be used as media
source for displaying on a larger screen, but as a device for storing
music, audio of all types, and photos, they are hard to beat. I have, as
well as a great deal of music, a large collection of old-time radio shows,
all available on the net and legal, not under copyright. Everything from
Amos and Andy to The Shadow. My wife and I find them entertaining, often
more so than many modern TV shows. They are also good for audio books,
language courses etc.



Any suggestion on a flat screen TV?
I have 22"X34" of space... viewers will only be 8 ft from the screen.
Should I go plasma, LCD, what? Like to keep it under 2K and fill the
space. Needs to be 4" thin ambient lighting would be cool to. What do
you suggest?

Hard to make a suggestion for someone without knowing what is available
locally to them. My answer, while ideal for me might not suit many others.
I have a MacIntosh iMac with a 21" widescreen that serves as my main
computer, my Nav computer and as a media centre when swiveled to face the
Saloon. It also feeds - via UHF radio, flat screen (LCD not plasma) TVs in
the staterooms and crew cabins. The system has DVD and audio plus mast
mounted all weather security cameras triggered by active infrared sensors
that will pop up on screen whenever triggered. I don't find the difference
in quality between Plasma and LCD to justify the cost, though in the early
days the difference was noticeable. The iMac has two external 240 gig
drives for media storage and can store in excess of 200 full length, full
quality DVDs. We record a great many movies and shows when able, for
viewing when cruising. It allows us to rent, record and return videos for
later viewing, much better and less illegal than copying DVDs.

I do not use an inverter, all of my AC electronic devices use twelve, six,
five and three volt rails and I have a current limited power supply
providing these voltages when and where required and have modified all
equipment to input what is necessary. They still work when plugged into
conventional AC outlets but work from the ship's 12 volt supply without
the losses incurred by an inverter.

BTW, I have a 22 Metre, Danish designed, locally built, all steel, pilot
house, cutter rigged sloop, (Regina Bellus) purchased after previously
sailing for more than twenty-five years with a Roberts Mauritius Ketch.
She heels a lot more than a ketch would, much taller rig, but considering
her size, the rig in conjunction with (radio controlled) remote steering
is about all that will allow her to be single handed if necessary. We
usually have volunteer crew, but often sail with just the two of us.
Haven't *had* to test her single handed yet, but it shouldn't pose a
problem if need be.

I am English born, ex Navy, relocated to Australia in the eighties, now
have an Australian born wife. We sold our primary home, plus the Mauritius
and one of our investment homes five years ago to purchase the Regina
Bellus and haven't had cause to look back since. I am in my fifties and my
wife in her early forties - we have quite a few years of cruising ahead of
us. I am a writer, my wife a photographer and we supplement our income
with our skills. Don't make a fortune, but sufficient to avoid dipping
into our savings or selling another investment home.

I often read various sailing oriented newsgroups but seldom post, mostly
because of the constant foolish and annoying behaviour of people like
Capt. Rob and his apparent collection of either sock puppets or emulators.
I will try to ignore him in future rather than set an equally bad examples
for others.

We have to be back in the water by Feb in order to keep a rendevous with
cruising friends in Vanuatu so the recent setbacks are more than usually
annoying. It is also much hotter on the hard as far as living aboard goes,
(I don't believe in air conditioning ... but have recently purchased a
number of industrial quality fans ) so am looking forward to Feb.

Cheers

Michael