I got the smaller version because I didn't really want to burn down my house with the bigger one

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/deal-discussion/979211/

At first they said they had fixed it with a firmware upgrade,
then they started exchanging the transformer part, but still
people reported meltdowns

At least Apple can't switch it off at concerts like they can with the iPhone link

I was never as fast as I used to be.

US Mag Popular Photography actually measure focusing speed in their tests.
At EV 12 the K-5 was faster than the Nikon D7000 and Canon 60D (0.28, 0.37, 0.35 secs) It was slightly faster at EV 10 and EV 8 at EV 6 (light in a kitchen) they were all about the same.

The problem could well be your charger. If your not using one that charges each battery independently you'll never get a properly charged set. I've just bought one of these link absolutely brilliant can even be left running in refresh mode to try to increase capacity. Also shows how much capacity each battery is capable of when used in test mode which is CHARGE-DISCHARGE-CHARGE so it measures the capacity on the discharge cycle.

It's actually 4 separate chargers you can put say 1 or 2 batteries in to charge up when the others are discharging etc.

Edit: Sorry just noticed that you already have a La Crosse RS-900 intelligent Charger which is pretty similar to the one I mentioned.

M42 adapter for Canon

Here's how it's done.... beanpole?... not even a monopod

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/75900443/

Those last shots are really superb

Forget about tripods, insects won't hang around long enough and
the ground in a garden is usually too soft.

Lord V does OK just using a monopod, but handheld can be just
as good. See Lord V's shots on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/

To get really close focus stacked shots you would need a
very good tripod and other specialist gear.

This looks an interesting site for colour space information:
link

Very nice shots! Imagine the earache you'd get
taking something like No: 16 in this country

No: 8 and No: 9 are my favourites.