Andrea, I shoot RAW exclusively now for the reasons you stated except occasionally flip it over to sports because it goes auto to burst (I think), and does only .jpg. I love Photoshop, has a very steep learning curve, waited years until I got a $299 upgrade with Elements to CS2. I don't just use it for my photographs, and I agree with you about some of the software that comes with cameras, read about Nikon's, refused to get in the camera wars, was really torn between Canon and Nikon, at the time I thought Canons had better noise reduction at the expense of IQ, understood that going in. I started just doing graphics learning all I could with PSP (quit upgrading at 5 because I didn't like some things), then bought Photo Impact (fun for awhile but a waste of money), but when I saw the power of PS, I was sold. I don't use all the features, no, don't jump on the upgrade bandwagon (lightbox is really cool, can't afford it), but I love their USM and ACR white balance corrections and several others such as highlight/shadows tool (because of the limited dynamic range with all digital cameras, may be better with the more expensive, super-high resolution ones), when I want to make them pop more. And a lot of it is strictly a matter of taste. There are some incredibly talented with PS; I'm not one of them. The actual conversion process doesn't take more than 30 seconds, and when I can, I batch convert using scripts. I know everything you said is true, especially you can use Nikon pics right out of the cam, sharp as a tack, same with some good P&S cameras. Have to watch oversharpening, too. For web viewing, people probably can't tell the difference about sharpening. I can see it, very occasionally I don't bother with it, depending, but do like to do my own cropping and straightening, can't stand really crooked photos unless for creative effect. Other software does that just as well. I highly respect your opinion, and it sounds like you are some kind of pro. I don't presume to know everything. Blowing blows more dust in than I get out sometimes, always do that first regardless, a couple tries, then test, but I have used the wet method only once, got it better, but just let the dustbunnies I missed be for now and try to be careful changing my lenses. The only people I'd really trust to clean my sensor filter, not the sensor on Canon, but extremely delicate, is Canon. Nobody on the Canon dslr forum I've read yet on dpreview for almost 5 years now sends theirs anywhere for sensor filter cleaning; they all clean them themselves, most very confidently (not me!) many, many use a wet method usually Copperhill or a pen. I used extra pure alcohol and qtips I got at the medical supply center, just a drop w/eyedropper. I first try the dry method with Walgreen's brand q-tips very gently. The camera store person told me some use plastic knives from McDonald's! Not for me! I don't really trust my local camera store or Best Buy technicians. With the camera store, last time I was in was tempted to butt in and tell the customer something I happened to know, while the salesman didn't seem to, held my peace. Had some photos and a painting scanned I wanted to retouch, state-of-the art, awful, ended up using my camera and tripod. The camera store wasn't set up to cater to dslr users, maybe they're more with it now. I hate cloning out dustbunnies once a bad one gets in there, most don't show at the sizes and resolution I use, but do clone quite a bit for other reasons and like the healing tool. Once a piece of fiber got in there, it drove me nuts, that I got out by blowing, need a better blower, the Hurricane one. Sorry for taking up so much "airtime". Sooner or later most dslr owners are going to have to choose how to deal with it. Then if I screw up, I screw up, and will pay the consequences. You HAVE to clean your lenses, even on P&S cameras, which I do as little as possible. I know Nikon has fine cameras and lenses; that is why the choice was so hard, and sometimes I still look back, but now I'm invested heavily in a few lenses not as many as some have, don't need them, but very expensive and wouldn't get near what I paid for them if I sold them, even though they are all in mint condition.

I've been using the Taylor thermometer for a couple of weeks. Despite its flimsy appearance, it seems to be functioning well, as far as I can tell. When I've compared its readings to those listed for nearby weather stations, they agree within a degree or so, in a consistent direction (for example, my high and low are always about one degree cooler than those recorded at a station about 20 miles southeast). It seems sufficient for my purposes. Mark, I think your suspicions are right; quality control on the Taylor may be inferior to its earlier models, but in any case you got a bum lot. Another note: The site I mentioned says that among "analog" thermometers, it prefers mercury, as generally more accurate than spirit-based ones. Personally I'd never allow a column of mercury housed in a fragile glass column anywhere near my home or garden.

Dcarch, I've been considering ordering an infrared thermometer for a long time, thanks for providing a few uses for it that I hadn't thought of! (a little extra justification never hurts!) Jadeite, thanks for pushing me over the edge by providing the link to the sale at Thermoworks. I've purchased a few items from them, and I'm on their mailing list. I don't know why I didn't get that email! DebraK, I had and threw out a number of digital thermometers because I couldn't trust them to be accurate. I asked for, and received, my Thermapen for Christmas a year ago and I use it all the time. It's accurate and reliable, and best of all it has a very slim, very sharp probe that can be used on thin things, like a steak, thin pork chop, or pounded chicken breast or even fish (though it's easy to tell when fish is done). I have also used it to find out how hot foods are in a warming tray on my Thanksgiving buffet--and also how cold a salad is, so I know when to put it back in the fridge. I've also used it to measure the temp of hot water for brewing green tea or coffee, and the temperature of the water going into the fish tank, and various other things. It's one of the most used things in my kitchen, and I count it very much worth the money spent. Cj

We have a Honeywell that was installed about a year ago when we replaced our central AC, and we're very pleased. It has separate settings for AC and for Heat, and you can set times differently for weekdays, assuming you're at work during the day, and for weekends, assuming you'll be around during the day. You can also override your settings very easily, either temporarily until the next cycle comes up or permanently. That latter is sureful if you're going away for a few days or longer and want to save fuel during your absence. Then, when you return, you just please the "run program" button, and your previous settings are back in place. This is our second Honeywell. The first one dated from 1991 and we replaced it because it was not compatible with our new AC. I'm sure there are other good brands out there, but we're very happy with ours. Whatever you buy, you should make sure that it will work with you heating and AC systems, otherwise you might risk compatibility problems.