Cajones

This has been a huge pain! There is more to learn about DVD's than I thought possible. The big problem I have come upon is the rapid scene changes inherent to the Bridge Day production wreak havok with the encoding process. We made a sizeable investment in excellent DVD encoding software and this has helped but it does not automate the process with a project of this size. The finished product is right at 4 hours long (split into two parts for each side of the DVD) and I am discovering requires manually encoding small pieces in multiple passes to make them clean (free of "digital noise"). This step was not planned and has forced me to recall all of the videos previously shipped. The fix for this is laborious but is the only way to keep quality high for something this large with the resources we have. And I thought I was going to have some time off for fun... - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

I need to start a troll-food distribution. I'd make a fortune. I don't believe it, either. The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

The video looks awesome! I have gone through and cleaned up everything and I am running the first encode session, right now. We have been turned on to some double-sided DVD-R recordables that are being used instead of two separate discs. The manufacturer claims over a 92% compatibility - the highest in the single-layer industry. The first few should trickle out late this week with the rest in delivery over the following week. Thanks to all of you for your patience with the short learning curve of DVD production and the setbacks resulting from the fire. You will be rewarded with a very high quality video. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

The two laptops were a Dell 1.13GHz Pentium 3 and a Compaq 1.7GHz Pentium 4. They definitely were more productive than the Powerbook in Photoshop. We did not use them for video editing at WFFC. We had an Avid desktop machine on-site for editing the nightly videos. We also had a rather potent server on-site that was underutilized and could have prevented some major hiccups but that is another story... As far as laptop editing, until Apple figures out how to make a multiprocessor G5 in a laptop configuration, the Pentium 4 is far more productive. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Oops! My goof! You do NOT need to use the washers if you use the backplate. The washers can be used instead of the backplate! It can be: Neptune - Handmount strap - Washer - Bolt OR Neptune - Handmount strap - Backplate - Bolt The washers are not necessary with the backplate. I hope I haven't created too much confusion. Ed "Cajones" Dickinson Alti-2 Field Rep The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

The washers go between the bolts and the plate. This will not interfere with the operation of the unit. The unit will beep at 1000ft on the climb to altitude to remind you to take off your helmet, regardless of your warning settings. Setting your third warning at 1000ft AGL is too low to be useful for freefall. The training feature will be available with future updates. Development has been focused on improving battery conservation, accurate logging, and compatibility with ParaLog. Hope this helps. - Ed "Cajones" Dickinson Alti-2 Neptune Field-Rep The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Nope. Elsinore has the most professional staff. Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

The FM-50 is the same physical size as the FM-30. You can get half-a-day of jumping out of the FM-30 and a full day out of the FM-50. The camera is compatible with the "M" series batteries but they don't fit well into a d-box and stick out the side of a side-mount/l-bracket. We have a HUGE "M" battery we use for special ground stuff - it'll last through three tapes without a hiccup. The still resolution is quite excellent (3MP) for a video camera. I also should mention the camera does not come with a memory stick. If you shoot stills without a memory stick, they are recorded to the tape. I haven't had a chance to do any frame grabs, but I'll let you know how they look from tape to memory stick. Sony specifically markets this camera as an alternative to carrying two cameras. - Cajones edit to add: The shutter release is remote-able. Sony Mavica wired remotes work on the Handycam LANC port, also, giving zoom, record and shutter functions. The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

The PC 330 is a single 1/3" CCD. Lew is jumping one. It is nearly identical to the body of the 120. The wrist-strap swivel is a bit bulky, LANC placement is on the side (instead of the front with the 120), and it comes with an FM-30 (kinda wimpy) battery (instead of the same-size/more power FM-50). Image quality is excellent. Image quality has been rated on-par with the older 3-chip TRV-900 - that may be where the confusion is. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

When? Where? What guidelines are you using for determining when it is or is not safe to pull 1000' higher than planned? Are we still talking about "one time..." scenarios? Also, I have serious doubts Chuck (Mono Uno) tracks on the line of flight into other jumpers opening canopies. It's just one of those skills you really focus on as a wingsuit jumper. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Here's the news, straight from the source... Final cuts have been delayed a bit. I am presently making backups of the original footage. The master tapes were lost in the Elsinore fire and I have become quite paranoid. If something happened to the edit before backups were made, I'd be completely screwed. As soon as the backups are done, I'l finish cleaning it up and get copies out ASAP. The video is a non-nonsense painfully long educational experience. Plenty of picture-in-picture views of exit viewed from above and a smaller view of the opening viewed from below. I have done my best to sychronize every one of these beauties so you can see staging of openings and body position/packing relationships. It is being encoded at a high bitrate to preserve as much quality as possible and split into two DVD's because quality this high will not fit onto a single 4.7GB DVD. We spent a good bit more on the encoding software to get AC-3 audio and increase compatibility. Grab your remotes and keep your trigger-finger on the slow-mo button. Just a little more patience... - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

But wouldn't longer time in freefall increase the chances of horizontal drift and therefore increase the chances they are in your airspace? It seems like you are assuming groups are pulling at progressively higher altitudes in exit order. Not so. Exit order is more determined by discipline (ff vs. rw vs. ws, etc) and size of the group. If you see a group exit closely after you exit, they are placing everyone in danger. Pulling high also should not place other loads above your canopy at opening altitudes if you fly your canopy away from jump run. You are descending as you fly back to the DZ and if you are following the simple rules we all should be following you should merge right into traffic. We can all talk about the "one time in band camp..." scenarios. These are generally examples of jumpers not doing the right thing. Not examples of the majority, nor examples of why we should all pull at 1000 feet. Be a good defensive driver. My 1/50 of $1... Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Happy Lori Day! I hope you celebrated it so much you promised never to celebrate like that ever again... - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

No, your tunnel training kicked ass! I was just there to remind you to relax every-now-and-then. It looked like you learned a few new tricks... - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

It is just the software. It is a little picky about what firewire cards you use. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Don't wait too long. I'll be mighty thirst by the 1st... Let us know when you are ready to go to the tunnel! Even when I can't get my fix it's fun to give a little coaching and see the lights come on. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

I got some e-mai feedback on the Russian 8mm and 12mm... "The 8 is superwide but only good for specail shots as the photo does not fill the whloe frame. The barell of the lense is around the edges. The 12 is hard to find but glass quialty is very high.It is heavey and goes way out with adapter ring but smaller than 14 and 15 Ive seen jumped." I've asked for some sample images from both the 8mm and 12mm... I'll let you know when I get them. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

You might look around for a CoolPix 5000 and pair it up with a Harbortronix 5000 remote release. 5MP and far cheaper than "several thousand dollars." - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Concur with both statements. I've personally had two FXC misfires. One well after a normal deployment of the main, when I switched the FXC to the "Red" position as I was instructed by the local S&TA. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Don't do it. It's crazy and insane. And you could get hurt really bad and you could die. Stay in the house. On the couch - it's pretty cushioney. But park it under a sturdy doorframe - in case there is an earthquake. But make sure its a really high doorframe - in case you accidentally forget it there and you stand up on the couch and hit your head. Which is why you should always wear a helmet. Especially if you are going to BASE jump. - Cajones P.S. Enough meaningless rant? Search the BASE forum and then search yourself. There should be some good reasons to pursue BASE and some serious talks with some of those around you... The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

It's also flightless. Not very graceful looking, either. Kind of reminds me of the Chevy "Nova" - of course it was quite fast in its day. That might explain a few things... - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

Shweet! I feel so special... Thank you for coming out to support us! I hope you had a groovy time and got some time with your knees in the breeze. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

We do linear edits. The DVD recorder functions just like a VCR. The DVD has a leader pre-recorded on it. Just drop the leader in, hit record and do the edit. If you goof-up the edit, just erase the bad edit and hit record to start your edit again. The "menu" shows the two titles (the leader is just called "Skydive Elsinore" and the title of the linear skydive edit is the date and time of the edit) and the empty space on the DVD. We do far too much volume to consider non-linear edits. - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

We use the +RW's and have very, very few call-backs/returns. The key part is the "+" here. No finalizing required with the "+" format. If a "+" is returned, we copy it over to a "-" format and send it back to them. The "-" format is considerably more time-consuming to make than the "+" format. In fact, it takes about the same amount of time to make a "+" format DVD as it does to make a VHS tape edit. The best solution is to have a multi-format recorder, or a "+" format recorder and a computer that can convert the "+" recordings to a "-" replacement (if needed). - Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

OMG!!! That is terrible. We are still reeling from the fire we had in Elsinore a few weeks ago. The fund-raiser this weekend was awesome! The skydiving community has really gathered behind us. edit: I just browsed the website and discovered this is the reborn Skydive Goshen! I don't think we can di much, but Paula, Bo and Ward are definitely good people! I am hoping you guys had better insurance than we had in Elsinore! Lew and I tried to call, but got an answering machine... will try again tomorrow. Deepest Symathies, Cajones The laws of physics are strictly enforced.