Originally Posted by Heathpack

The driver was charged yesterday with two additional charges beyond felony hit-and-run:
1. Vehicular manslaughter
2. DUI

The DUI part is interesting, given they didn't catch him for two days. I'm wondering if he either confessed or if maybe they have witnesses/survellience video of him drinking.

He killed the teacher at 4:45 on a weekday afternoon BTW.

Originally Posted by LAJ

I get few raises, and actually took a pay cut on paper to come here. That said, once I decided to stay here, I sold all my manufacturer specific scan tools, and paid off the Snap On truck account. All the rest went to Mrs. LAJ to do her savings and budget magic. Once I settled in here, I realized how much free time I gained, and that's worth more than one could imagine. Plus, the tool payments and the big one time expenses to keep abreast of auto technology stopped, which was a big ol yearly raise. What looks like less on paper could really be a whole lot more.

Originally Posted by LAJ

I get few raises, and actually took a pay cut on paper to come here. That said, once I decided to stay here, I sold all my manufacturer specific scan tools, and paid off the Snap On truck account. All the rest went to Mrs. LAJ to do her savings and budget magic. Once I settled in here, I realized how much free time I gained, and that's worth more than one could imagine. Plus, the tool payments and the big one time expenses to keep abreast of auto technology stopped, which was a big ol yearly raise. What looks like less on paper could really be a whole lot more.

Originally Posted by rjones28

What are these "raises" everyone keeps talking about. I just have revenue and net income. Some years they are higher than others.

Also, free time is priceless.

Originally Posted by LAJ

I get few raises, and actually took a pay cut on paper to come here. That said, once I decided to stay here, I sold all my manufacturer specific scan tools, and paid off the Snap On truck account. All the rest went to Mrs. LAJ to do her savings and budget magic. Once I settled in here, I realized how much free time I gained, and that's worth more than one could imagine. Plus, the tool payments and the big one time expenses to keep abreast of auto technology stopped, which was a big ol yearly raise. What looks like less on paper could really be a whole lot more.

Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels

Exactly. I could be making a little bit more right now at Lockheed Martin or L3, but it would require an awful commute and a higher stress work load with likely more overtime. Screw that. I live less than ten miles from work and I think we did one or two Saturday sessions near the end of last year, but that was it. Plus, we get a nice holiday bonus as well as the occasional random performance bonus after busy months. That and we take off from Christmas Eve to after New Year's Day. Totally worth making a touch less for all that.

Originally Posted by WhyFi

Telephoto compression is a matter of perspective (position of the camera relative to the subject) and nothing else - FoV doesn't matter.

As far as background blur, there are already a bunch of apps that do a poor job of simulating selective focus (the faux tilt filters are so damn tacky); if any of them have halfway decent masking ability, I'm sure that most casual users would be happy with them.

Sensor tech is the tricky bit - most cell phones seem to have a moderately wide FoV, something in the range of a 28mm on a FF. To get in to the 'normal' range of ~50mm, you're already looking at digitally cropping your proposed 50MP sensor down to 12.5MP. For an FoV equal to 200mm on FF, which really isn't all that long, you're cutting that 50MP down to under 1MP. IOW, even after overcoming the problems inherent with capturing light on such vanishingly small photosites, once you start digitally cropping, you lose resolution in a big hurry. This is why I was saying that, for an enthusiast/pro, digital cropping wouldn't been seen as a replacement with photography (lenses/sensors) as we know it.

Originally Posted by Dan333SP

I'd imagine at some point in the future the technology for image sensors will be so far ahead of where we are today that you could produce 50+ MP shots that could be digitally altered in-device to simulate telephoto compression and background defocus like you'd get with the best lenses on the market today.

It is definitely a long way off and the software and sensor tech would have to overcome the basic hurdles of the physics of gathering light, but I'm sure it will happen eventually.

Think about it... Hasselblad medium format image quality and simulations of every imaginable lens you could mount on that body out of a cell phone or whatever the future personal device equivalent will be. Hopefully I'll still be physically capable of taking photos when that day comes

Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels

So I got an overdue review at work yesterday. I got a raise of just over 7% (I was still on a slightly lower starting pay as my last review was really my post 90 day review) and backpay to when the review was supposed to happen. I was also surprised that there wasn't a single "you really need to work on this" talking point. First time I've had a review/evaluation where I got perfect marks. It looks like I'm going to have to try harder to get fired.

Originally Posted by WhyFi

I really dislike in-ears, so I'm no help, personally. A friend of mine writes for CNet though, under The Audiophiliac, and we're mostly on the same page (except for Gallo speakers - I don't know what he's thinking there) and his budget recommendations are usually pretty strong. He's probably got a few recommendations in that price range if you don't drum up anything elsewhere.

Originally Posted by thin_concrete

What's your price range? Look at Grado for excellent over ear speakers.

Originally Posted by jtaylor996

I too like unicorns, and can't wait because I'm sure they'll be available for purchase before too long.

Originally Posted by WhyFi

I lived in Brooklyn and sold Grados for a decade - you don't have to tell me.

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

Regarding the digital zoom, yes the squared relationship between the focal length ratio and pixel ratio does hurt.

Having said all that, it still is nice to know that using a camera with high resolution you can painlessly realize some significant extra reach with digital zoom.

Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels

Ok, so I think I might splurge on something small. I know we have some audiophile-ish folks here. I've been meaning to buy some nice in-ear headphones. My wife always loses hers and steals mine, so I keep telling her I'm going to buy some expensive enough that she'll be afraid to touch them. Any recommendations under the $100 mark?

Originally Posted by Heathpack

Seriously, I will be racing several TTs at Fiesta Island in SD next year. Maybe we will be able to finally say Hi one day.

Originally Posted by Doug28450

Yes, congratulations.

I probably missed it. What are you going to study?

Originally Posted by Mumonkan

i like my ipod headphones a lot they just dont stay in my ears

Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels

I was actually thinking about going full bore for some nice over ear speakers. I have seen the Grados and have heard good things. Any recommendations for a mid-range purchase from them?

And while we're at it, what about impedance? I know really nice headphones typically need an amp if you're going to plug into something battery powered. I would like to avoid that.

Originally Posted by Dan333SP

I'm telling you, in 2065 you'll all come back to this thread and tell me I was right, you can replicate the quality of a Hasselblad with a 100mp camera the size of your pinky nail.

Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels

I was actually thinking about going full bore for some nice over ear speakers. I have seen the Grados and have heard good things. Any recommendations for a mid-range purchase from them?

And while we're at it, what about impedance? I know really nice headphones typically need an amp if you're going to plug into something battery powered. I would like to avoid that.