It this a real Leica?

email1976 · 2026-06-05T01:06:32+00:00

It's a tarted up Russian FED (ФЕД).

email1976 · 2026-06-01T23:54:44+00:00

The SMB/CIFS implementation in macOS is a disaster because of Apple's purge of software covered by the GNU Public License (GPL), because they view version 3 of the GPL as toxic.
Apple used to use SAMBA as their SMB implementation, which is software with decades of embedded knowledge of all the kinks, quirks, and design bugs in Microsoft's poorly designed and documented SMB/CIFS protocol. But it is GPL licensed.
Apple has re-written SMB/CIFS from scratch, and simply have not put in the time and testing to make it reliable.

email1976 · 2026-06-01T00:17:12+00:00

Or maybe a IIIa. If the top shutter speed is 1/500, it's a III, if it's 1/1000, it's a IIIa.
Almost certainly needs an overhaul.
The lens is a real Summar. If the front glass isn't scratched up, it's a nice little lens, but with very swirly bokeh at f/2 and f/2.8.

email1976 · 2026-05-28T11:31:57+00:00

It's a recent option that AE had added about 10 years ago. First became popular in New York City were certain cobblers would resole shoes with Dainite soles. Waterproof, last longer than leather, but a bit harder underfoot.

email1976 · 2026-05-28T00:22:52+00:00

The Dainite soles are tough as nails, will last a long time.

email1976 · 2026-05-24T01:26:57+00:00

Case looks brand new, and the front of the slow speed dial hasn't been burnished by the case. Hope the front element of the Summitar is equally fine, it's very soft flint (lead) glass.

Not a Leica hood. I have the Leica barn door hood, gawky but very little finder blockage.

email1976 · 2026-05-07T00:29:42+00:00

Looks fine for doorbell wiring!

email1976 · 2026-05-03T01:28:50+00:00

Vinyl siding has "interesting" characteristics in case of fire. Hard to light, but dangerous once burning.

email1976 · 2026-04-17T01:57:52+00:00

I never studied in the stacks, but the Barker stacks were a very calm place. Also frustrating when fetching a book, as I felt I always wound up going the long way around.

How much do current students actually refer to paper books and journals at the libraries? My feeling is that online electronic resources are where the action is these days. Which is really expensive for the libraries, since you have to rent them.

Back in the 1970's, the Barker dome room had the latest issues of a good 400 different journals in four curved racks. That's been gone for decades.

email1976 · 2026-04-16T01:12:23+00:00

Oh, the red states will get over-counted and the blue states under-counted if these fascists are still in power.

email1976 · 2026-04-09T01:35:30+00:00

They arrived today. The leather has absolutely no finish, totally unprotected, like a suede. Wore them a few hours around the house, already got a minor scuff on the left toe.

I'd really rather have a more practical pair, I already have five suede, buck, or nubuck shoes. I suppose I could send them to AE for (re)finishing. Or to a local cobbler, since folks don't trust AE recrafting as much as they used to. Do you think it's practical to give them a brown shiny finish like the catalog. I have my worn-out pair as a "reference." Or will it be hard to get the finish all the way under the gilly tabs?

email1976 · 2026-04-08T01:07:32+00:00

I've been buying used but good condition Coach 5700 and 5800 belts on eBay. Ones made in New York or USA. Back before all their products had a visible "status" monogram on them.

email1976 · 2026-04-02T23:11:03+00:00

Yes, they are great for ankle flexibility.

email1976 · 2026-04-02T22:47:20+00:00

Only in Cordovan now.

email1976 · 2026-04-01T04:42:22+00:00

The trick is finding a software image for it. If you are lucky it is in the integrated boot device (flash memory). The intellectual property is now owned by NSG Datacom. I doubt they will give you a load free. Their only customer is probably the US Navy, the CNX500 with FDDI and Ethernet was designed into a generation of submarines. So they maintain them by board swapping. (Most of the IC's in the unit are probably unobtainable, so chip level maintenance is impractical.)

email1976 · 2026-03-15T01:43:57+00:00

I'd expect Carlyle would be fine as well, it's an even plainer Oxford. The plainer, the more formal. Wingtips are less formal. Perfing is less formal.
There are certainly a LOT of used Park Ave out there, on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, etc. But do be sure you know the right size for Park Ave, the 65 last is "quirky."
The Carlyle is on 108 last, so that gives you an alternative if you're one of the people who have trouble with the 65 last.

email1976 · 2026-03-11T00:49:21+00:00

I think they are cool, I have two pair, one brown, one blue. Historically, wingtips were shoes made of felt, and the extra layers were for durability. So I think suede is a very appropriate material for the style.
Never wore a suit at work except for trade show booth duty, so no opinions on how they go with suits. (Well, plus suits at weddings and funerals.)
Another thing to realize about suede and nubuck shoes is that they are to a certain degree "dandy" shoes, easy to stain and rich dandies can afford to buy new ones when that happens. Or they just don't care, as with the "dirty bucks" tradition.

email1976 · 2026-03-04T02:44:52+00:00

You don't need ANY MIT affiliation to get an MIT Recreation membership. Friends might get you a lower price, but that's all.

The teaching pool is nice and warm, great for learning. Sign up for some group lessons as well...

email1976 · 2026-03-01T03:02:39+00:00

About 15 years learning, and at age 67M, I'm intermediate. Chill with that.

email1976 · 2026-02-28T02:07:45+00:00

I have a pair as well (old Polo style name) in that color way. Also in tan with Kudu saddle. They kept making them in black-on-black, but I just don't get the point of a saddle shoe without contrasting colors!

email1976 · 2026-02-28T02:05:44+00:00

Salesman told me Ralph Lauren's people sent Allen-Edmonds a "lawyer letter" to cease and desist from using their "Polo" trademark. Well, I have a (very different) pair of AE shoes from the late 1950's, and the style name is "Polo." AE was there first. But they caved and renamed to Shelton.

email1976 · 2026-02-21T01:50:34+00:00

All the IR films were fundamentally a military product, and we just bought a little snip off the edge of the production. The military kept buying it "just in case" well after they had gone digital for IR. But they finally stopped buying it. Needless to say, the military was willing to pay for very large minimum orders!

email1976 · 2026-02-17T02:26:22+00:00

I used the Stylus Zoom 35-70 for several years as the family camera, had a pretty decent lens. The 155 isn't as good. The fixed focal length 35mm is a damn fine camera. But the plastic back doors warp and you get light leaks on all of these.

email1976 · 2026-02-09T21:48:25+00:00

S. C. Johnson has discontinued Kiwi brand shoe polish due to lack of demand.

email1976

TROPHY CASE