As many seem to be doing, I am weighing whether to purchase the Stihl MM55 tiller or a Mantis. My online research has revealed the opinion on the various blogs and message boards to be that the Stihl is a good tool and comparable in performance and quality to the Mantis in most every way. Opinions vary from person to person, but adjusting for this, the two seem to be in a statistical dead heat. However, I have noticed something which I feel may be the fatal flaw of the Stihl. Whether in Facebook video clips, or even in the demo video clips on the official sites of both brands, it looks like the Stihl just doesn?t dig down anywhere near as far as the Mantis. In the multiple clips I have viewed, rarely is the Stihl to be seen in up to the "axle"; that is, the rotational axis of the tines; but the Mantis can often be seen buried right up to the fender. Hence, the Stihl seems to only be providing half or less of the tilling depth on average as does the Mantis. Has anyone else noticed this? I have a theory as to why this tilling depth disparity exists? The in-line configuration of the Stihl; i.e., the engine being between the operator and the tines; combined with the design of the handlebars, which induce the operator to lean forward or hunch over, results in the tiller being held at a severe angle to the ground. If you envision the thing laying on the ground and call this "zero degrees" and imagine it standing perfectly vertical and call this "ninety degrees" it appears that in most Facebook clips of the tool in use and even the demo video clip on the official Stihl site the tiller is usually only 20-30 degrees from horizontal. I am not a physicist or a degreed engineer, but I have to believe this takes a lot of the Stihl?s weight off the tines and forces the operator to carry it. After all, the engine is between the end supported by the ground and the end supported by the operator, thus, the operator has to be carrying some of it. The closer to horizontal the tool is held the more weight is carried by the operator. For a nominally 20 pound tool, I would not be surprised if only 12 pounds or so was working to push the tines down into the ground. By contrast the configuration of the Mantis puts nearly all of its 20 pounds above the tines. I suspect the operator of the Mantis carries none of its weight, but rather only holds it up in operating position. This then accounts for the greater tilling depth I see the Mantis achieving. Any physicists out there care to comment?

It's been a long time since I thought about this. I was having an issue recently that I think was probably just water in an igniter (overflow or from a pot put back on the stove to dry after cleaning). I'd been meaning to check back and remind myself what I did and maybe update if I change something out. I did notice that the screws attaching the igniters were pretty corroded. That may have been a bad material choice on my part. My quick and dirty troubleshooting would be to trade igniters from a working burner to a nonworking burner to decide between module and igniter. If the same burner still doesn't work, you might also check out the wiring to see if it's been pinched or otherwise has a problem. That's my mute-the-work-conference-call-and-type-real-quick response.

Hi ... using my wife's call sign. I am in the process of digitizing my slides and will eventually digitize a boat load of my father-in-law's (60+ years worth). I did some research and found that, as mentioned, scanners will do the job, but they're very slow. So, if you're digitizing a few rolls of slides, they'll work fine. But, it's probably takes too much time if we're talking about hundreds or thousands of slides. I have a DSLR, a Nikon D80, and some old slide copying equipment ... a Nikon PB-5 bellows and a Nikon PS-5 slide copier. I attached to this set up a Nikon 28-85mm zoom lens, set at 85mm. With this set up, I can take a digital image of a 35mm slide without cropping (see the picture in the link). You need to use a lens longer than 50mm to avoid the APS-C sensor cropping. My 85mm may not be ideal (a Nikon 105mm Micro/Macro is probably better), but it's what I have available. So, how's this work? Images are OK, not as sharp as the original slide but acceptable. Speed is outstanding. If you don't need to alter the exposure, it's a matter of popping in one slide, hit the trigger, pop in the next. I can digitize a 36-exposure roll in about 15 minutes. I also understand you can use a macro lens (attached directly to the camera body ... no bellows) along with a extension rings in front of the lens, attached to a slide copy holder. Here's a link: http://www.scantips.com/es-1.html Here is a link that might be useful: Digitizing 35 mm slides - Nikon D80

We had a 34 x 36 shower in our previous house and it was quite large enough. The important aspect is not the exact size but the quality of the shower. I much prefer tile and would downgrade the vanity and spend more money on the shower. For me, shower curtain instead of a door is a valid cost savings. Solid surface shower systems are a great look but material cost is more than for tile. I suggest spending some time at the home improvement stores and looking at midrange shower systems. The major cost of your bathroom will be the plumbing work and labor and upgrading the shower material will not be a huge difference on total project cost. Another issue is the marketability of your home with a basement bath. In my particular area, a large part of the housing stock was built prior to 1960 with a single bath. Small houses with affordable prices means any type of basement bath is a desirable feature. If a basement bath is expected in your area, the large part of value of the upgrade is in your life improvement, not market value. In any case, be sure the materials used in your bath are consistent to slightly above the expected range in your local market. Don't over improve with luxury materials but don't go below local standard with cheap materials (or poor quality workmanship). I am not a big fan of either black or white floors. I am much more into the practicality and ease of cleaning than looks. My shower floors are 2 x 2 speckled gray tiles with gray grout. The basement bath also has a gray rubber floor with white swirls. My basement bath is combined with my laundry room and it is where I wash paint brushes and gardening dirt.