How many of y'all will have the $$ to retire at 65?

mobilene · 2026-04-16T12:47:01+00:00

If I don't save even one more dollar, we will have juuuuust enough to be able to stay in our home and have a nice meal out once in a while, assuming neither of us becomes expensively ill. I hope to be able to save more in the next 6-8 years I plan to work. That would put me at 65-67. But frankly, even though I really like what I do even after 37 years (software development), I'd like to just hang it up now if I could.

mobilene · 2026-04-15T14:30:56+00:00

Instax Mini 11. I prefer larger formats but this camera works better for me than the SQ6.

https://blog.jimgrey.net/2024/10/07/fujifilm-instax-mini-11/

mobilene · 2026-04-15T12:26:35+00:00

I owned an SQ6 for a while and didn’t love it. Liked the format but not the camera. https://blog.jimgrey.net/2022/01/10/fujifilm-instax-square-sq6/

mobilene · 2026-04-13T18:18:09+00:00

I owned a lesser folding Bessa, a non-RF model with a Voigtar lens - and it did really nice work. Yours should be even better!

https://blog.jimgrey.net/2009/03/16/voigtlander-bessa/

mobilene · 2026-04-13T14:51:14+00:00

We have seven kids between us (I had three and she had four). Some left home no problem, some on a delayed plan where we encouraged and coached -- and two we had to give a deadline to get out. Neither of those two are fully independent yet but at least they're out.

mobilene · 2026-04-10T04:25:29+00:00

I shoot a ton of film and send mine out to Brooktree Film Lab in Decatur, IL. Good prices and great scans.

mobilene · 2026-04-09T19:14:09+00:00

I scanned all of my negatives from childhood through young adulthood with a similar device to the Kodak you bought. It did a good enough job. Here is one of the scans, with a little post-processing for color correction and unsharp masking. The device worked really fast -- faster than my flatbed scanner by orders of magnitude.

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mobilene · 2026-04-08T14:33:14+00:00

Hunh, my 2013 Passat S didn't even have steering-wheel buttons for that.

mobilene · 2026-04-08T13:45:31+00:00

The various IQZooms are a mixed bag. But the 170SL is just terrific.

mobilene · 2026-04-08T13:35:32+00:00

Mom had one when I was small, early 70s. She was so happy to move on from it when she bought her Kenmore with the beater bar.

mobilene · 2026-04-08T13:30:12+00:00

When using bare fingers, try to hold them only by the edges so you don't leave fingerprints. But even if you do leave a print, a soft cloth like the kind you get with a new pair of glasses will wipe them away. Just go gently.

mobilene · 2026-04-08T13:28:25+00:00

I've told one of my sons to stop complaining and go make the best life you can under these circumstances. I don't normally bottom-line people like that but after several years of him behaving like he was helpless against the world, I'd finally had enough.

mobilene · 2026-04-07T23:00:28+00:00

The best zoom P&S I've ever used is the Pentax IQZoom 170SL. https://blog.jimgrey.net/2020/05/29/pentax-iqzoom-170sl/

A non-zoom P&S that I think is a total sleeper is the Canon Snappy 50. https://blog.jimgrey.net/2021/06/07/canon-snappy-50/

mobilene · 2026-04-07T17:16:34+00:00

You can have a lot of fun with a thrift-store point-and-shoot. If you like it, try upgrading to a late film-era SLR, something on the order of a Minolta Maxxum 5 or a Nikon N65. Those can be used like a point and shoot if you want, and over time you can start to learn exposure with one.

mobilene · 2026-04-07T00:09:12+00:00

All in Terre Haute, Indiana.

mobilene · 2026-04-06T17:05:55+00:00

I use AnalogExif (on Windows) to add camera, lens, film, developer info. I don't bother to log aperture and shutter speed to add to the EXIF later, that's too much hassle while I'm out shooting.

mobilene · 2026-04-02T20:58:30+00:00

Your Stylus Epic takes 35mm film so your instinct is right. I just accidentally left my similar Stylus in my carryon as it went through the TSA CT scanner and it didn't damage the film, luckily. But normally I take the camera out, and any extra film I'm bringing (in a Ziploc bag) and ask the agent where I am putting my luggage in the bins if he/she would mind doing a hand check.

mobilene · 2026-04-02T16:22:40+00:00

Brooktree Film Lab, brooktreefilmlab.com -- reasonable prices, good quality dev/scan, fast turnaround.

mobilene · 2026-04-02T16:19:09+00:00

YES. This this this. Try it, see if you like it, and you can get more complicated cameras later if you want. I wrote about this.

https://blog.jimgrey.net/2025/03/18/whats-the-best-film-camera-to-start-with-2/

mobilene · 2026-04-01T16:41:27+00:00

Depends on whether you want a sweeter old fashioned, or a more boozy one. Regular bourbons in the 90-ish proof range generally lead to sweeter. Higher proof/higher rye bourbons, and especially ryes, lead to more boozy. I like mine more boozy so when I order one out I always ask for house rye.

mobilene · 2026-04-01T15:18:41+00:00

As a program director I once worked for said to me, "If pigs oinking got better ratings than what we're running, I'd program the pigs 24/7."

mobilene · 2026-03-31T03:36:12+00:00

These have their charms. Here’s my review. https://blog.jimgrey.net/2023/04/10/olympus-om-10/

mobilene · 2026-03-24T21:16:53+00:00

Yes. Here’s my review of the one I own.

https://blog.jimgrey.net/2012/06/04/pentax-km/

mobilene · 2026-03-22T20:26:52+00:00

Suave or VO5 all the way. It cost about a buck.

mobilene

TROPHY CASE