what2


		WHAT I LIKE TO DO: CONTINUED


4) PHOTOGRAPHY I really enjoy taking pictures. The subjects can be wide ranging, but I prefer to take an object and shoot a closeup of it or portions of it. You could say that that's abstract art, but I'd prefer to that it is a different way of looking at everyday objects. Most of my photography is in Black & White or Positive (Slide film). I have three different cameras and they are all made by the same company which is synonomous with optical quality; Olympus. The first camera I "bought" was the IS-100s, which you can't get in the US. But somehow, it was on the shelf at Ritz Camera as a display model for the IS-10. So when I was orderd the IS-10, they let me use the IS-100s while waiting for my camera to come in. Well when the IS-10 came in I started to have doubts about it. First of all, the IS-100s is a nice shade of black, where the IS-10 was a light grey with blue buttons. Then I found out that the IS-10 didn't have some of the manual features of the IS-100s. So after about a week I decided I wanted the IS-100s display model over the IS-10. I went back to Ritz Camera, exchanged the IS-10 for the IS-100s, had the warrenty switched to the IS-100s, and left a happy individual. I've had it ever since and it continues to take great pictures. My second camera is an OM-2000. I love it to death, even though it is a basic manual camera. The major reason for getting this camera is that I needed a maual camera for the college photography courses I took at my community college and I wouldn't settle for anything less than an Olympus camera. What I really like about it is the fact that it is made of METAL. No light-weight plastic chassis, but a nice, solid metal frame that gives it the necessary strength and heft of a good field camera. Plus, the sturdy aluminum lens mount is fully compatable with all OM series lenses, some of the best in 35mm photography. It came with the good quality S-Zuiko 35-70mm Auto-Zoom lens. This lens covers all my needs except for a wide angle lens and a long distance telephoto lens. I also have a 50mm F. Zuiko lens that is razor sharp optically! My flash is an Olympus T-20, which works out pretty well for situations needing flash support. What's really great about both of these cameras is that they use the same standard 52mm diameter thread mount for screw on filters and lenses.This way I only need one set of filters and close up lenses for both cameras - which I do have. My newest camera is the D-340R, a great digital camera by Olympus. I've always wanted to either get a digital film scanner or a digital camera so that I could be able to put images on this site and send them via e-mail. Well as it happened, I ended up getting the D-340R instead of a film scanner for the following three reasons: 1 - the price was below $300.00 and included and additional 16MB smartmedia card ("film") whereas the Minolta Dimage film scanner (the one I had planned on buying) costs over $400.00 and requires a SCSI adapter which I would have to purchase seperately, 2 - Taking pictures and transferring them to your PC within minutes sure beats waiting a day or two for your film to be developed, plus you get to preview your images on the digital camera to see if it came out, 3 - Though the image quality is below that of film scanners, the D-340R is a great compromise (see images below) since most of my images from it will probably end up on my monitor rather than on paper. Its a great digital camera. And all the images on this page were taken with it. As you can see, I like all of my cameras! Images of my cameras (except for the D340-R) IS-100s OM-2000 Select this text to go to my picture album 4) DRIVING (MY 1990 ACURA INTEGRA GS) Work in Progress. Well it was love at first sight. The first time I saw the car I now drive it was as if the Corsica I was thinking on buying was ugly (it is - both outside and inside). I just love how the angular body flows and the small hood to top of wheel well distance. And the ergonomics inside are just about perfect for me (except for the fact that the roof is less than 1/2" from the top of my head - but that's what the sunroof is for). Everything is postioned how I like it: tachometer to the left, pedals and steering wheel just the right distances, buttons and switches all at apropriate distances, and good speaker arrangement locations. The only thing is that it is an automatic. But it is still a great car! I bought it after the previous (and only) owner drove 115,000 miles in it. It still runs great 2 years later with 165,000+ on the odometer and I've only had two problems with it so far. The first was about a month after first getting it and involved the master cylinder. I was coming of the freeway onto the feeder to get to the overpass leading home. Well when slowing down after the offramp I discovered that my brakes were not working - they would initially hold but then after about 1 second fade to nothing. And I was just entering the tight right and left sequence of turns to the overpass which wasnt that long. Well through constant pumping of the brakes my car managed to stop before the light at the intersection. So I took it slow and easy the rest of the way home. After my dad and I removed the master cylinder, we found that the seal was nearly gone and that the brake fluid was unusually dark ....hmmm, you know, brake fluid is not supposed to be black (but the seal is)! Well that was fixed and no problems thus far after two years of braking. The second major problem was more recently. A few months ago I noticed that the ALB warning light and the charge indicator were coming on while I was driving but then go off after a while. My mom had driven the car the previous day and I asked her if she noticed those lights coming on and she replied that she didn't. Then my mom went to the store and the car died on her. So my dad had to go and jumpstart the car (with his '90 jetta) and follow my mom as she drove it home. We left it running for about an hour so that the battery would charge. The next morning however, the car wouldn't even crank. So my dad and I figure that the alternator is the problem as the battery was fairly new. So we went about taking out the alternator that night - what fun! The only ways to get to the alternator is either by pivoting the left front spindle out per the manual (tried this for replacing the CV shafts but but broke two tools trying to release the suspension from the spindle - had to spend the extra money and take it to a foreign car repair place for this) or take it out from above in the engine compartment. We were forced to do the latter (previous experience with the CV shafts) and about 2-3 hours later after removing a lot of parts in the way, we had the alternator out of the vehicle. So we have it tested and it is definately dead. So I get a replacement alternator and my dad and I install it in the car. We then charge up the battery. While the car runs we notice a kind of burnt smell that gradually fades aways. We check the belts and the're fine. Well two days later, the problems occurs again. Images of my Integra GS (taken with my D-340R): Front View Side View Wheel View Cockpit View Instrument View Door View* (* I replaced the blue cloth with black window screen material)