OT: Imports

Dear Roland,

I was under the impression it was a Kodak KAF-10500. Kodak was the first US company I named in the original post. And that was one of the products I had in mind.

Funny how no-one thinks of Kodak as an electronics company...

Cheers

Dear Roger,

The chip was manufactured by a different Kodak-partner company in Vermont. But you are right,
when I read Kodak, I first (wrongly) read "film". Personal bias, I guess.

Best,

Roland.
 
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Well I live on the East Coast where there is no longer anywhere to drive, which is not basically bumper to bumper...

You live in NYC, Fred. I live two hours from you and both my neighbors have livestock. Plenty of room out here in the country. :D
 
if I had to move... to the states...
- european social security network ;-)
- french cheeses (especially the ones with unpasteurised milk)
- living beers... (belgian)
- raw dried ham...

an old 2 cv...

What I need from the state... oversized jeans (levis only import up to 40-42... and I need larger ...) and music... some kind of freedom...

(but I would love to ban Harley davidson bikes from my vicinity... too much noise...)
 
Eu Goods/ US Goods

Eu Goods/ US Goods

France, mustard, Sauterne, Fois Gras, Herbs de Province, Margeaux, and any kind of cheese, plus bread when you can get it, various alcols.

Czech, Pleas shorts, any Czech beer, Foma 200, R09. I like Croatian beer as well, the Czech cheeses are great, but do not see them here, actually, I try to buy shorts there, plus Schnitzel, well I guess it is not imported ;-).

Italy, well, I live two miles from Little Italy, and the most common restaurant here is Italian, and Amarone plus wines that begin with B, and expresso machines.

Britain, well, the fuel pump is bad on the MG, I may offer it to Roger, any thing to trade? 1970 Roadster BRG. Do not understand mushy peas, did the can get run over? ;-) Scotland, whisky of course, especially Islay.
Anything Ilford.

US, great steaks and BBQ, plus A1 on the fries (chips). Good Napa wine.
Roger's articles in Shutterbug.

Germany, Zeiss and Leitz glass, various sausages, ORWO film, too late, Dobros Torte. Is Jobo still around?

Japan, any number of lenses choices, and the German Japan stuff.

Switzerland, watches and knives.
 
100+ is fun, but if you want to do that regularly, take it to the track, where one can enjoy high speed and relative safety. As for public roads, it's a blast driving the Hill Country on hilly, curvy, two lane roads at more reasonable speeds that won't attract too much sheriff attention. :)
 
Well pretty much everything seeing how I live in Australia and basically everything except for the crap local beer is made overseas.
 
Ilford and Monfrotto I would miss. I'd miss the occasional specialty food item.
I don't know. Maybe I need to look around and find that my home is full of things I did not know came from the EU, but I don't think so.
I associate imports from the EU as high end luxury items that I can get by without or find cheaper alternatives from the other side of the world.
I've never owned a fancy car, and would not if money were no object (my car friends say I have no soul). There are a great many very good American wines on the odd occasion when I want wine.
I don't imagine I'll ever own a Leica when my Bessa is functionally more than adequate to my needs at a fraction of the cost (again, no soul I guess).

Nothing from any part of the world that can't be found from another part.
 
Nothing from any part of the world that can't be found from another part.
Dear Steve,

Definitely untrue with foodstuffs, as you say. Also for cars, though you carefully exclude those. But after that, you do get regional expertise: cast-iron cookware (American if not enamelled, French if enamelled), specialist cutlery (Solingen, Sheffield), twelve-bore shotguns (England), watchmaking (Switzerland), etc.

Yes, you can often find a substitute; but it may not be as good a substitute.

Cheers,

R.
 
Funny about the origin of certain brands, and how they change: I was recently looking up some info on some Quad electrostatic speakers, and discovered, rather late, that this venerable British hi-fi company is alive, well, and thriving...in China. (A former colleague of mine, from a previous lifetime, wrote up this piece about it.)

Anyway...a glance around the joint here brings up the following items:

Ilford XP2 (UK)

Boddington's Ale (UK, but my fave brews are very local [Blue Point Brewery, Long Island] and Blue Moon [a few states West])

Assorted red wines (Spain)

Victorinox Swiss Army Knives! (Guess where): Why has no one mentioned these yet? I have two: a Super Tinker/Explorer that replaced a much older one I lost a few years back, and a CyberTool (with flashlight and additional tech-related tools) that I got for my Birthday in January. Possibly the most useful single item I've ever owned, or at least damned close.

Alex Moulton bicycles (UK) Nothing like 'em. Expensive, though.

Schwalbe tires (Germany): they make great tires for my Moulton's oddball tire size (17"). Actual manufacture is Asian, however.

Sigma Sport cyclcocomputers (Germany): I have an older wireless model on my Moulton.

Braun Triumph electric toothbrush (Germany): No, not the one with the silly separate "brushing progress" LCD panel, but the slightly cheaper version with the (only slightly-less-silly) display built into the handle.

That's about it. Things get murky with some of my other stuff: Example: I have a quintet of manual-wind Hamilton watches, dating from 1959 to about 2004. Depending on date of manufacture, the cases, dials and wristbands hail from either here (US), or Asia (HK for the earlier stuff, PRC for the most recent). But all the movements are Swiss.

It'll be interesting to see how spikes in energy costs reshuffle the deck in terms of our current "globalized" manufacturing chain.


- Barrett
 
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How could we in the U.S.forget a great homegrown maker of aircraft Boeing ?One of the all time greats.Try getting along without their products.
 
Dear Roger,

interesting question ! I am often asked by friends what I do miss most since I started living in Japan and except for German bread and Wurst (I second Roland on this), there is nothing that I really miss being "Made in Germany" ...

If I couldn't get Kodak's photo-chemicals (developer) and films or Gitzo tripods or parts / service for Leica and Hasselblad, that's something I would really miss. Cameras made in Japan ? No alternative for me ...

Cheers,

Gabor
 
Hmmm...interesting topic.

I really enjoy Newcastle Beer, old Marshall amps, Vox, Kilkenny, English breakfast at The Cock 'n Bull in Santa Monica (the place from the opening scene of "Leaving Las Vegas") and older, American inspired, British Music.

It seems that a lot of Brits end up in Los Angeles - possibly for the good weather?

Also, a good point was made earlier about the borderless nature of modern day products. A good example is Cooke. A British company, that still produces its lenses in the UK, but is owned by an American, and whose current products were created by an American lens designer. Also, they are beautiful.
 
Sigh. THAT just make me miss Douglas all the more. I grew up watching old DC-3's going in and out of our local airport. Those remain the greatest of all airplanes.

William
You are right when I lived in Florida used to fly from Key West to Miami in a DC-3 nice gentle bird low and slow breathtaking views of the keys.
 
Dear Steve,

Definitely untrue with foodstuffs, as you say. Also for cars, though you carefully exclude those. But after that, you do get regional expertise: cast-iron cookware (American if not enamelled, French if enamelled), specialist cutlery (Solingen, Sheffield), twelve-bore shotguns (England), watchmaking (Switzerland), etc.

Yes, you can often find a substitute; but it may not be as good a substitute.

Cheers,

R.

I seldom need "as good." Good enough does it for me.

My (American made) Toyota is actually better than a BMW, if value as transportation is factored in. As a soul stirring thing of beauty to make the heart beat faster and the adrenaline pump...it falls behind just a tad...but that's not what I buy a car for.
Really, it's not that I don't appreciate fine things, it's just that I don't usually indulge in them.
Given a choice between driving a nicer car and funding my kid's education (not to mention my retirement), I'm (almost) happy to drive my 10 year old 160,000 mile econo-box. Heck, I'm old, bald and terminally married...how cool am I going to look even in a sports car?
 
Things I would hate to do without:

From the U.S.:
Jeep Wrangler
Les Baer 1911 handguns

From the U.K:
Barbour jackets
Land Rovers

From Belgium:
St. Feuillien's Cuvee de Noel beer

From Italy:
Stipula fountain pens
 
Really, it's not that I don't appreciate fine things, it's just that I don't usually indulge in them.

Dear Steve,

Bit of a dull life, that.

Besides, 'the best' is not always the same as 'the most expensive'. I buy air-dried hams -- a couple a year -- from a tiny shop in Biota in Spain. I've never had better hams. But they're about $100-$110 each, and you can easily pay twice that for a French or Italian ham with more snob appeal.

Also. 'the best' is often a matter of opinion. There's only one motorcycle that comes close for me to my 30-year-old BMW R100RS -- and that would be my second choice (Hesketh V1000). Likewise my 36-year-old Series III 88 inch Land Rover. Yes, I've spent quite a lot on trying to get it the way I want it, and there's more to come (leaky gearbox). But it's worth it to me. Others might think I'm crazy, and prefer a newer 'bike or car.

Well, they're welcome. But within the realms of what I want, 'good enough' is generally quite a bit above 'kinda average'. At the least, if I can afford it, I want 'very good': good Greek olive oil, Mephisto boots, Levis jeans, Leatherman and Wenger or Victorinox pocket tools. My wife feels the same. I'm 12 years older than you; possibly balder; certainly terminally married (26 years last June); and my wife is, for me, part of 'the best'.

Cheers,

R.
 
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