I don't think I could help much, my daughter has the A95 but only uses P mode. Focussing on thorns would be "thorny", pardon the pun, plus you may be trying to shoot in the shade. The camera will likely backfocus on such a small subject, although they like something vertical so if you pick a straight stem you might be ok. Did you try the macro mode? Sometimes you need to use a tripod or other stabilization to avoid camera shake in that mode, but you can get closer. I usually shoot aperture priority, and would be hard put to lock focus on a thorn, and I have a good macro lens now. I would suggest the AV setting and dial in the aperture number. The higher the number, the smaller the lens opening. For flowers, using something in the range of f4 to f5.6 is usually pretty good. You have to experiment. If you want a deep depth of field with everything in the photo in focus, try f8, but then the camera might pick too slow a shutter speed, depending on light. To get a really shallow depth of field with good bokeh in the bg, try the largest lens opening your camera will allow (smallest number). Depending on what it is, you may not get everything you want in focus, like the whole blossom, face, etc. ISO on those p&s cameras will force a faster shutter speed, but then you run into noise problems. I would set the ISO to the smallest number your camera will allow in good light and not bump it up more than two notches. Offhand, I can't think of why your pictures are dark, but bumping the ISO up a little higher might help, not too much or you will get noise. I don't think you can bump it up past ISO 400 anyway, if that. Something else you can try, I think it works in P mode, is to bump up the exposure compensation. If you move it to the plus side, you will have to watch blown highlights. If you move it to the minus side, it might be underexposed/dark. You may have inadvertently reset some setting you shouldn't have in there or something could be wrong with your camera or metering. I would try restoring the camera to the default settings and start over. There should be some place in the menu for that. If you have an option for center point focus, I would use that, but use pattern or evaluative for metering (if you get a choice for that). If you can post a sample showing the exif info, that helps, but only certain programs and saves preserve that. The regular Canon forum on dpreview.com would be a good resource for you to achieve a higher skill level. That camera is capable of taking good photos with the proper skills and knowledge. If all else fails, you can try the flash. You can adjust that through the menu, too, look for FEC. Outside, I would start on the negative side, in -1/3 increments, not going below -1, (same with exposure compensation, don't go below -1 or above +1) because you don't want too much of a blast. It's called fill flash. On those cameras, in bright sunlight situations, you should always probably use about -2/3 to -1 exposure compensation or they will be overexposed and have blown highlights; otherwise, leave it at 0. Now Joe could have answered this with a lot fewer words :-). And I might not have thought of something.

I wholeheartedly second Soilonthebrain about Medicine Garden, its like tossing your money into a black hole. ------------------- The Elder tree rhyme that I know goes: Old Lady of the Elder trees Please give me some of your wood, When I grow into a tree You may have some of mine. ------------------ I think Mandrakes are fun and interesting, I've been growing them for several years. The "cheapest" place to Mandragora officinarum/ officinalis/ officinale (which are all the same thing) that I've found is: Horizon Herbs (USA) http://www.chatlink.com/~herbseed/ Mandrake is US$9.95 per packet of 13 seeds, although the postage is a killer. The usual germination rate is less than 10% Another seed source is B & T World Seeds (France) about 10 seeds for EU$18.00 http://www.b-and-t-world-seeds.com/homepage.htm Womandrake - Mandragora autumnalis sometimes M. vernalis Apparently has the same medicinal properties, has a slightly higher germination rate up to 15-20% and is much easier to grow. Seeds are cheaper - US$4.95 for 20 seeds at Horizon herbs. B & T World Seeds 1 packet (I don't know how many this contains) for EU$11.00 or 1g seed EU$33.00 Mandragora autumnalis plants are available from All Rare Herbs - at $19.95 (I think) email - mcplant@hotmail.com Remember if you buy seeds overseas to check with ICON. ICON is the Australian Quarantine Inspection Services import conditions database. http://www.aqis.gov.au/icon32/asp/ex_querycontent.asp Man and womandrakes are loved and eaten by slugs, snails, caterpillars, white fly and red spider mites here in Adelaide. They are VERY prone to root rot (even with our 410mm annual rainfall), usually from the crown down, if keep too damp or in too heavy a soil mix. They will also drop their leaves and go dormant if kept too dry. Yes, this is a poisonous plant, it is also rare and endangered in its natural habitat, and while I don't recommend that you grow it in your veggie patch, to make a rule that it should not be grown because part of it is toxic would consign many plants commonly grown to oblivion eg daffodils (poisonous bulbs  cardiac glycosides), wisteria (seeds  convulsive poison), oleander (all of which poisonous  something like 10 leaves will kill a horse) and there are many others. This is not including plants like foxglove (Digitalis spp) and Monkshood (Aconitum spp) which are common cottage garden plants, both of which can make you ill just by handling them under perfect conditions. The Solanaceae family has many toxic plants like henbane, belladonna and the like but also many that are not, tomatoes are only poisonous if you eat the leaves, potatoes if you eat the berries or green tubers, eggplant, capsicum not at all as far as I know, and people only think they've been poisoned by chillies. Of the other genus in this family Lycium sp are used in Chinese medicine, Pituri was traded across the continent by the Aborigines, and death by petunias seems...

For a long time, I kept my laptop on top of a tray. The tray could then be set on the couch to the side for casual surfing (not heavy typing). It sat on top of the tray, leaving space below for air circulation, pens, pads, etc. I had a mouse pad and mouse next to it also. Worked pretty well. My laptop is collecting dust now, though, as I typically only use my Mac which is set up in the corner of the family room, and my kindle, and my phone.

ISO in search of H. T. Cushman furniture catalogs 1870 a 1934. Thanks!