Picked up my beloved Kia Clarus today from the garage that was doing the MoT. On the way home, the brakes came on again unasked. The same garage, and an independent mechanic, have tried to sort the problem for about year and have replaced the master cylinder, servo, one suspect caliper, a hose and even the b****y front axles, which apparently send signals to the ABS system. No luck. Car problems? I'll trade you. On the other hand, it runs beautifully when the brakes don't come on.

Al (going nowhere fast but with an MoT)

At the risk of being pedantic (perish the thought): http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/forum?view=uk

At our service

Al

Two out of two wrong would be an achievement even for a French photographer.

Al

Not a very subtle one, if it is.

Al

You could do a lot worse than check out Bombardier, Stefan. They're a massive company with a wide spread of interests. I much prefer their Canadair Regional Jets, which are sometimes used on the Aberdeen-Paris or Aberdeen-Amsterdam runs, over the little Fokkers that we see more regularly.

Good luck in your endeavours.

Al

I haven't used any of the other flashguns mentioned but I'm more than satisfied with my 360. The lack of a swivel function is relevant only if you're shooting portrait with the flash attached. I find that for decent lighting you're better off shooting wirelessly with the flash off to one side, and you can point it in any direction you want. A swivel head could be useful in theory but the lack of it isn't as big an issue as you might think. Aside from that, the 360 is a very sophisticated piece of kit that does almost anything you ask of it, and it's keyed in totally to your Pentax.

Al

I looked into cable systems a couple of years ago but, typically, didn't take it any further. Then I found a single cable set-up at Boots that works well for me. The cables are only 4ft long, so probably not long enough for a commercial display.

Anyhow, photos are held on to the cable by small magnets. I use just two -- one at the top and one at the bottom -- for each A4 print and they don't move. The wall keeps them flat enough for casual display. A relatively small weight holds the cable perfectly vertical. A strong draft can move it around but this rarely happens. You could use two cables to give the photos extra support but I haven't found this necessary.

For a professional display, you'd probably be using larger, mounted prints and I doubt the magnets would take the weight. Generally, though, even this simple cable system works well and proves the concept. Longer cables fixed to the floor would be even more stable. I can't see any advantage in a rod set-up.

Al

Minolta MC lenses are closed "at rest" and the actuating lever moves clockwise, the same as K mounts. Presumably Minolta MDs work in the same way to allow compatibility.

Al

Years ago, I remember a how-to article in a magazine on grinding your own lenses. I think it was aimed at telescope enthusiasts. It seemed to take rather a long time so I didn't pursue it. It would be interesting to see what sort of camera optics you could produce. They cheated a bit and used bought-in blanks rather than making their own glass but I suppose you have to draw the line somewhere. It's good to see some people still have that can-do attitude, Whelmed. I'd love to hear how you get on.

Al

Just a quick endorsement of the IR remotes for the K20D sold on eBay. I wanted one for a Samsung GX-20. It cost £2.66 including postage from Hong Kong!! Delivery took about 8 days.

At that price, I gave it a 50:50 chance of working but it seems well built and performs flawlessly. Indoors, the range is 40-50 feet aimed at the front or back or the camera. Aimed at the sides, it's about 9 feet. I got mine from Jiazhichun2010, who is listed under international sellers.

Edit: I've just noticed Glover's post along the same lines. Apologies for the duplication.

Al