/David Too funny that you don't like the taste of papaya fruit and grew one anyway. I guess that's the mark of a true lover of plants. Try eating papaya with some fresh lime juice squirted on top - it's key! Thanks for sharing your tips for growing papaya and mango from seed. I really like all the brown tones in the surigaoensis, especially when there are still closed buds nearby. What a cluster! I keep chopping my padangensis, so I'm probably never going to see flowers, but this is one of my favorite Hoya blooms - like tiny water lilies. /Mike I like to use the papaya seeds in salad dressings, although I'm not above simply crunching them beneath my teeth either. A bit bitter that way, not exactly what I'd eat a whole bowlful of, but it's hard not to interact with such pretty seeds. I guess I don't have to worry about worms! My birthday was Monday (May 30 - Memorial Day) and today is my sister's birthday, but I just love the birthday wishes. Thanks everyone! I always feel like people should get to celebrate their birthdays all month. Pug, I'm so impressed that you noticed when my birthday was! :O /dance

That would describe motion blur if, if you are on auto settings and the flash doesnt fire that means that there is enough light and the flash is not necessary. Essentially there is enough light for the shutter to actuate at speed to stop motion. Shutter speed for an object not moving can be around 1/80- 1/100. If your own hand is causing enough movement to cause motion blurr at those shutter speeds, then your hand must shake like the San Andreas Fault. If the subject is moving you should be at lease at 1/160. When using the zoom at it's extended range, take your focal length and x's by 2 to help eliminate camera shake. then work from to eliminate motion blurr of the subject. As this can be the cause of your blurred pictures, Ithink it the focusing mechinism causing probllem. Are you using on focal point or multiple? What AF is it on C, S, M? One other tip to help eliminate camera shake cause by the hand, use the 2 second timer, that way there is a 2 second delay from the time you hit the shutter and the pressure from release your finger wont cause any movement. Peace out. ZJoe

I went shopping for a digital camera the night before last and I had my mind on a Cannon Powershot S3, one that I have read some great reviews about. While at the store I had two different people come up to me while I was holding the display model on the Z612 that I stumbled upon. They both said that it was the best camera they have ever owned. One lady said she worked on the highschool yearbook and that the school had two $3000 Nikon DSLR's, used for yearbook photos. She took pics with her Z612 and compared them to the exact same pics taken with the Nikon, and no one could tell the difference. The Z612 has 6.1 megapixels, more than enough for most pics that amature photographers take. It has a 12x zoom lens, equivelent to a 35-45mm SLR lens. It has electronic vibration control. All these features are also on the Cannon Powershot S3, which costs $400. The Z612 I bought at Costco was $269. Reading reviews, one shortcomming of the camera is it has a tendency to not stay in focus when zooming in and out when shooting video. If you desire video footage and the quality is important, perhaps the Cannon is the better rout. I my opinion, it seems that the Z612 rivals most $400 digital cameras out there, for a whole lot less. But believe me, the more you read, the tougher it gets. After reading a couple reviews, I was on the verge of bringing it back to go with the Cannon. It seems Cannon is the choice of most gadget review sites such as cnet, pcworld, etc. but I'm going to stick with the Kodak. John

Moonshadow, I've not looked at the C180, but our daughters first digital was in the C series and it was super easy to use. Hers was purchased with one of Kodaks little printers. The first time she sent home prints of photos she'd taken and called to see if we'd gotten them I asked her why she wasn't using her printer. She said she'd used it. I was shocked at how wonderful this little tiny printer printed 4x6 inch photos with the quality of being professionally printed. I'd recommend getting her the printer also. The print paper and ink is very reasonable and if I remember right costs a bit more than taking the photos to Walgreens, but then you add in the gas and time and it's a great deal. Gosh, I just tried to search for them and I can't even find them for sale on their site. I wonder if they quit making them. Maybe they figure their newer combo printer scanner copiers are inexpensive enough and sell more that they didn't need the little printer docks anymore. If I find one somewhere online I'll let you know. But yes, even my camera which is aimed at someone that takes photos and is close to an SLR is extrememly easy to manage all the buttons and controls.