DSE

I guess I dont' understand why these can't be cast from a high-tensile steel? Is it the same concern for quality control? Or an issue of cost?

it has a lot more support in the Media Encoder than it did in the past. I did find [url "http://www.divx.com/divx/windows/codec/guides/premiere.php"]this tutorial[.url] from DivX on using PP to encode to their codec. HTH

I just got a phone call from Max as well, so it would seem he's working his way down a list. Very nice to hear from him in person as opposed to an email. I'm confident after speaking with him, that he'll be making good on all orders.

Two. One as a producer/artist, and the other as a contributing musician to someone else' project.

Folks seem to think it's a "board" or "few people." We are a voting block of 50,000 members. It's true that the NARAS/Grammy awards are voted upon by people in the industry, the only way you get a vote is to be a world-wide published musician, or have years in the recording industry as a publisher, A&R rep, etc. I don't think one can win when a Grammy is received. If you don't use the platform for a political statement, you're an uncaring asshole. If you do use the platform for a statement, you're an outspoken asshole. Val Kilmer chose to be political with Robbie Robertson when I received my first Grammy. My partner and I took a lot of flak for that from both sides of the aisle. My partner thanked "Jesus Christ" and I couldn't be less Christian, but I caught a lot of flak for his comments. I spoke in Navajo and caught a lot of flak for that from other tribes. People are *always* looking for a reason to bitch, and you're screwed no matter what angle you take. My hat goes off to the Dixie Chicks for having the balls to stand up and say something. Maybe if more Americans stood up and said something publically we'd have an environment more like the 60's where protests and involvement actually could make a small (or not so small) difference.

If I recall correctly, only the older/earlier versions of DivX are supported. Why are you after the DivX codec specifically? For web delivery, mp4, WMV, or other Quicktime formats are more desirable, IMO. That said, you can use the DivX encoder for anything that you render out of Premiere as a DV or YUV stream.

The local coverage is overwhelming, they've now started showing the bodies, and even interviewing children who were there with the kids. The local mental health service is running ads for people that might be scared or knew someone shot. SLC is a big city but a tiny place. Several mall stores in other malls stayed closed for the first half of the day. No motive has yet been mentioned, but the major stations here are breaking in almost every hour with some new detail. It was pretty surprising to hear that the shooter had dropped out of high school a couple years ago, and that he had four skirmishes with the law prior to dropping out. It'll spark the concealed weapons debate across the nation, that's for certain. Had it not been for the off-duty cop from a neighboring city having dinner at the mall, more people would have likely died. He shot the gunman several times in a gun fight that ended when SLC police made it to the building. There is some speculation on the local news that the kid's Muslim background prompted him to be a jihaadist. His method of murder, haircut, etc would tend to bely that, I think. On the sensational side, one of the number one questions asked by reporters today was "How soon til the mall reopens?" (It's mostly a mall for wealthy folk) The answer? By as early as 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Some businesses were open at 3:00 p.m. today.

No one has mentioned yet that the kid that did the shooting isn't from the US or Utah. He's an 18 y/o Bosnian refugee that barely speaks English. His family lives in SLC, also refugees. The Bosnian community just held a press conference, decrying the violence.

For MP4, Browse to: File/Export Timeline/Movie. Choose a location to save your file to. Select the Settings button and choose ~File Type: QuickTime ~Range: Entire Project ~Export Video and Export Audio should be checked. Choose the Sorenson(or other compression codec), name it, save it. [edited to add] this same flow is used to render to any format, you'll be outputting MP4, WMV, and maybe Real, along with DivX.

What about singers that shut the fuck up and jump? Couldn't resist.

I've got a western accent even when I type. Seriously, I'm *sure* you can find an instructor on your DZ or in your area, that while it might not be an "organized" canopy control course for non-swoopers, he/she could organize one for you. If you have questions, chances are that several others do too. Back to the original point of the thread, I think you're right, learning more about canopy control techniques would help folks have more confidence in a less than perfect canopy that doesn't *need* to be cut away, and they'd try to land it. Trying to land an unfamiliar, and potentially smaller reserve (my reserve is larger than my main, but many aren't) in crosswinds, downwinds, etc concerns me more than landing a canopy that isn't perfect but that I can control. This is part of why you're required to demonstrate rear riser landings for USPA licensing. Bottom line no matter what though, is that just as you should fight to fix your main above the deck, you should be equally trained and prepared to cut it away by the decision altitude, and don't let anyone give you crap about it if you do, because it was *you* and only you in the situation that called for a cutaway.

It should never be a question of cost, but I'm guessing you didn't mean it in the way you've worded it. A 100.00 ripcord is cheap compared to a broken leg or worse. I'm not understanding the analogy of "less than perfect canopy in less than perfect landing conditions." They're not related. Either your canopy is functioning (three S's) or it's not. The landing area isn't going to change regardless of which canopy you choose to land. I'm sure you've got folks in Oslo that can teach you canopy control, even without an organized class. edited for spelling.

Wow, maybe threats are what it takes! Still no word from them, but I haven't written in 2 weeks. Anyone else received communication from Royal Lens?

If we're talking about "news reporting" I can accept that it's become more left than it has been. Being at 70 out of a 1-100 is still more right than being at 50. However, with cable broadcasts thrown into the mix, there is no comparison. Glenn Beck, Paula Zahn, Nancy Grace, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, etc are still considered "news" when they're right-wing aggressionists by way of their language and facial expressions. Those shows more than compensate for any greater leftist-leanings the news shows may have recently taken, IMO. All that said, the media NEEDS to become more liberal leaning, simply to offset the time-warp we currently have in the White House.

Not to change the subject, but did you see the new ROK from Cookie Composites? Made for swoopers, has ear vents to better hear, and greater facial clearance for a wider perspective.

I'm just a noob too...but trusting a reserve 100%? This is why we have a hard deck, and while you don't want to be still making decisions after you've reached your hard deck, you might not want to take the attitude of "Screw it, my reserve will open." I remember my first jumps and how even line twists scared me to the point of wanting to cut away. It seemed like *every* little thing was scary or dangerous. As I gained more experience, I gained more confidence in my ability to deal with less than optimal scenarios. In one instance, I allowed two broken lines to remain, and landed the canopy anyway (got my butt chewed, but landed just fine). I dunno, I see my reserve as my absolute last chance, and reserves do fail on occasion. I trust my rigger, he has hundreds of saves, but...I don't wanna go there unless I'm out of control at 2500.

As I see it, the national news media leans a little right, the signs aren't so subtle. I recently heard that Sean Hannity looked at a dark-haired woman, so he *must* be on the trail to liberalism. Tim Russert and Tony Snow went out to a regular bar together, and it is reported they drank *beer!* Imagine that. Pat Buchanan, John Stossel, Brit Hume, Alan Keyes, Robert Novak, and Chris Matthews have all agreed to undergo sensitivity training for their constant bashing of gays...nice to know these broadcast cats are on the prowl for a more balanced media. Fox television dared to have a black man report the news, and they even coupled up with CNN's Wolf Blitzer for a special Brit Hume report. Paula Zahn is married to a liberal, supposedly, maybe that tempers her from being more right wing than she otherwise would be. Tucker Carlson is a touchy-feely guy (as long as he gets to torture them). Ann Coulter surely is fair, right? After all, she used the term "Christian Conservative 79% less than she used the term "Athiest Left," "liberal left" and considers the word "Jew" to be an insult. Then there is the more methodical approach which of course must be fake because a "liberal" school (Berkely) undertook the study. We could go on and on, but my cheek is starting to hurt, and my tongue is getting tired. Yup...the media sure has a liberal bias. I'd argue that the television shows produced with a very liberal bias are done so as a counterpoint to the ridiculously rightist news media, which is inexorably embedded in the conservative movement. Hmm....news is conservative production shows are about evenly balanced between conservative and liberal bents... Dixie Chicks win Grammy's from the liberal music industry, but the conservative radio industry won't play their music. In the end, it sure seems to me that the control of information is not just slightly conservative, but grossly conservative. Even if one is a rational, reasonable person, I don't see how anyone could begin to believe the media control is even marginally liberal. Unless one worships Ann Coulter.

No helmet, of any kind, of any rating, will protect your head if you fall to earth. Most any helmet will keep your head protected against a knee, shoulder, hip, foot, or other body part hitting you in RW. In my case, I'm a helmet-hater, never wear one on my motorcycle, and only wore one at the DZ because sub 100 jumpers were required to wear em'. Well...on a jump where I was fortunately wearing my Mindwarp, I had a premature deployment while waiting for another jumper to get set up for a horny gorilla. I slammed into his chest with my chest (I was front float), then was turned around and slammed the side of the aircraft with my head. My helmet has the scrapes and blue paint embedded, and the aircraft has nasty scrapes where my head hit. I was unconscious for about 4-5k, and damned lucky to be alive. Had I not been wearing my Mindwarp, there is little doubt in my mind that my head would have been severely injured. I don't think helmets are there for anything super serious, but to guard against the "OH SHIT!" moments, kind of like insurance...there for when shit happens, but it won't protect you from much else. All that said, I tried wearing my motorcycle helmet one day just for giggles. It worked fine, but it's much heavier, and was much harder on my neck. I don't know how the old guys used to do it with those heavy helmets. then again, I jump a camera most of the time.

I don't think either of them are strong enough to beat a moderate conservative. Maybe Clinton and Obama as a team...but neither has the juice to win the general, IMO.

For those that are in the broadcast, replication, editing, etc side of the biz, NAB is coming up (NAB is the National Association of Broadcasters). Registration is expensive, but since my company manages the training at the Post Production World Conference, I've gotten a bunch of free passes. Register on the NAB website using a code of "EG08" (don't use the quotes) and you'll get a free registration. If you've never been and want to spend a week in Vegas during the second week of April...if it has *anything* to do with video, it'll be at this show.

That's what the "info" in "infolithium" is all about. The battery has a RAM in it that communicates with the camcorder, letting it know how much battery time is left, etc. It's also occasionally responsible for batteries melting down and rarely exploding. Saskia, I'm surprised you'd have an M or F series that didn't fit, but not surprised if you had one that didn't work.

That's my point. Slurp, there is a HUGE difference between distorting an image and softening it. Yes, under the right circumstances, such as your camera being on top of a pile of rigs with magnetic covers, and you were flipping the camera over and over, it's *possible* that a pile of rigs could generate enough strength to erase a few 1's and 0's, which would potentially leave you with some macroblocks or blocks of missing information. The picture wouldn't be softer, it would be unusable.

There is ZERO need to worry about these magnets having any effect on a DV tape. None whatsoever. At the PIA, with Bill standing there, after he rubbed the magnets over his chest and a DZO rubbed them over his pacemaker, I put a DV tape with material on the magnets, rubbed it around, and then captured the material. Not only is greater magnetic strength needed, but it also needs phasing/cycling to erase the tape. Someone made a comment about how the magnets "could make the image softer." DV tape contains data. 1's and 0's. The image can't become softer, it's either there, or it isn't. No in betweens. It's like saying a magnet could change the sum of 100 + 100 to 194. I'd be more worried about the flap adhering to the side of an aircraft than I'd be worried about DV or HDV tape.

I haven't been around long enough to know whether square pins vs a rounded pin is a problem or not, so I'll leave that to John Sherman to argue one way or the other. I do see that the rounded and offset pin pulls more smoothly, but I'm not educated enough to say that it's a big deal or not. If it does increase the speed and safety at pull time, I'm all for it. If it doesn't change the speed, it's merely an alternative. If it's slower, bends more easily, or hinders the opening process, obviously it won't fly. If nothing else, it's great to see that minds never stop seeking ways of making even the smallest aspect of our sport better, yeah?

John Sherman explains the pin very well in the video, but the upshot of it is that it has an off-center eye, which means that no matter what angle it's pulled, it will release and not bend. Additionally, because there are no squared edges as current pins offer, it will "roll" properly when being pulled. This allows for a more concise and consistent deployment, since any angle will work more efficiently. The new pins cost nearly 3 times to manufacture at this time, but Mr. Sherman believes the cost will eventually come down.