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.


It's not so much "fallen behind" as 'never knew anything in
the first place.'


Michael May wrote:
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.

Believe me, we understand.



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.


Ouch! Well at least it was a force of nature rather than
your boat-next-door showing up with a grinder to send lots
of fiberglass chips into your fresh varnish.



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.


Thanks for the info, as a general rule I am pretty far
behind on gadgets but these sound like they could be fun...
we always want to show pictures and these days that seems to
require a laptop.



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.

Agreed, we just did some shopping and decided on a Samsung
19" model. It has a wide viewing angle (a problem with
earlier LCD screens) and good control menu.

My advice would be to figure out what you want to plug into
the monitor, and make sure it has compatible inputs. The
Samsung has only one set of RGB-comp inputs but 2 S-video
jacks and an antennae jack, so plugging in several other
components was easy without needing a switch box.


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.


Dang that sounds like a very interesting boat... any pics on
the wwweb?


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.


Putting tarps over the deck to keep the sun off really helps
too.

Hope to hear more from you!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King