Sandman

You got balls, I'll give you that. This is popping up with alarming regularity.

We have some terrible players.

I think what last night has shown (for those that insist otherwise) is that it's possible to play aggressive attacking football without spending a shed load of cash to assemble a team and that great coaching can get them playing well quickly. Also that if you have money to spend then you need to spend it appropriately, if your vision is to play direct football with a big striker upfront then by all means purchase the players to do so, as a coach / manager that's your prerogative. But then coach your team well enough so that they do your vision justice.

24 Cups and 8 League Titles is a fantastic record for a club that has the recruiting restrictions that they have. Don't dismiss them as a small club, they're hugely storied. The statement that they've all grown up playing together in this way is also incorrect. Until last season they were pretty much a direct long ball type team, this change in philosophy has come about with Marcelo Bielsa. Over the course of half a season. It really is a fantastic achievement.

It hasn't been 18 months has it ? He joined Athletic this season. Love the way his teams play the game. Should have been out of sight last night.

What software are you using once you get the images from the 550d to your computer ? Generally you can adjust contrast by manipulating either 'Curves' or 'Levels' regardless of which software package (Photoshop/Aperture/Lightroom etc) you're using. Well worth it.

Very Nice withnail. A contrast adjustment would really make the images pop.

I have the 550d as well. It's a fantastic little camera. What lens do you have ? This camera (well like all cameras really) benefits from good glass. If you have the kit lens, then you're not getting the most out of it. Pick up a good prime and you'll be blown away at the quality. Turn off Auto ISO and change your Max ISO to 400. Images shot at ISO 800 and up show a lot of noise in low light and require a lot of effort to clean up in software. If you're going to be shooting a lot of low light stuff then you should definitely pick up a 1.8/1.4 Prime Lens, and invest in separate Noise Reduction software. If you plan on shooting video with this then you may want to consider investing in the battery grip as it makes the camera better balanced. Video Quality is terrific, again with the same caveats with regard to High ISO numbers. But most importantly, shoot a lot and have fun!

Nice pics rainblood! Especially like the colors on the ship in the first one.

Agree with Anubis. As an aside, my cousin has one with the pancake lens. Decent enough images, however...add a Nikon/Canon Prime lens with a Fotodiox adapter and the images are incredible! Has a lot of cool technology. I'd suggest getting a bounce flash as well, as High ISO performance is not stellar.

Try this mate: HDR Tutorial | High Dynamic Range Tutorial

The D5000 shoots video at the following resolutions: VGA 640x424 / 24 fps QVGA 320x216 / 24fps HD 1280x720 / 24 fps VGA and QVGA are pretty much unusable these days - think of the crappy videos cell phones used to put out a few years ago. 1280x720 @ 24fps is fine. The thing with shooting video on a DSLR is that you need decent lenses, probably more so than if you were just shooting stills. The ability to focus on objects further than 3 feet away is a function of the aperture you're using. I don't know what lens you're currently using, but I've found that prime lenses work best with video from these DSLR's - even when compared to the top of the line zooms (L Series from Canon and Nikons pro range). You can't go wrong with a good prime lens. The 50mm f1.8 is a good lens to start with, affordable, fast and very sharp. I'd get the D version and avoid the G. If you're finding it a bit long on your D5000 - as it's equivalent to a 75mm (50mm x 1.5 crop factor) then you can look into either a 24mm/28mm or a 35mm. But those will cost significantly more. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions!

I've been with my woman for 4 years and have no complaints. Is it just a marriage thing ? I have a couple of married friends who're pretty frustrated - and this is a little over a year into it.

The North West - Sikkhim, Mhow, Ladakh etc - is beautiful too. Not many people seem to head down there, but it's fantastic. Get the Lonely Planet Guide, it's got a lot of info. And give me a shout out when you land in Mumbai, beer's on me.

My favorite system ever. Super Metroid Contra 3 Super Mario All Stars The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Super Mario RPG Chrono Trigger Michael Andretti Racing Super Soccer Super Tennis Good Times.