aharbi

Thought I've heard them all, (IRS, tech support, etc.) guess not. Did a web search and this one has been around since 2010. The phone call was an EMERGENCY call this time that my Windows License has expired. I played around with him like I was in a panic, didn't know Linux used a Windows license? How could that be? Please explain?, before I asked him what kind of fool did he think he was talking to. He said FU and hung up ;-) Which surprised me, I know their training has tought them to use American names but didn't know it was so extensive in using our superlatives as well

Where did this happen? You sir, are a good friend.

I kinda figured the same. But, hey, would you work for Sr? Not me.

They quit making mortgage payments back in 2010 trying to leverage the bank for a better deal on the $12m (now worth $7m) property. Bank didn't blink.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm not aware of any problems. But I will go back and review my statements. Mine renewed 2 months ago and I did get a notice from them about the renewal. Does't hurt to double check.

Sorry couldn't resist :-) Depending upon the camera depends on the data captured and stored in the pictures Exchangeable image file format (Exif). This may include GPS coordinates, camera make/model, f stops, film speed, shutter speed, and orientation. Most computer picture viewing software will read the exif data and rotate it right side up. However it will not change the orentation saved in the exif data. The picture needs tobe 1) either rotated and then rotated back and resaved or 2) just resaved again depending upon the software being used. The software used on the web just "cares" about size not orentation and will display what is in the exif file. Hope this helps. Photoscape is a free and great Windows picture editing program you might try to size, rotate, crop, enhance, add text, etc. ps. The exif data is embedded within the picture file, and can not be edited seperatly, for the most part. Some picture editing software will allow it.

My stand didn't come with that option. Great for cleaning the underside and those hard to reach exhaust bolts ;-)

@Larry1963 The free deal was around the holidays. Not sure when they will have another. The $49 price I have seen several times throughout the year and that is what I paid for mine. Just keep your eye open for sales at places like Rei, Cabelas, BassPro, Twisted Throttle, Best Buy, Fry's (where I got mine). I'll shoot you an email if I come across a sale.

Well, I also watch four grandkids for my three daughters when needed. Take care of the house, mow the yard, do laundry and ride. Didn't mean to make it sound like all I do is ride but I do manage 4-5 days a week. I am fortunate in that my wife does ride on the back. The Venture is really "her" bike. She picked it out for us to ride together, I just steer it :-) About the SPOT. More and more riders are using them, in fact they have a motorcycle section. From hard core Iron Butt to adventure riders headed to Tierra del Fuego. The Forest/Park services think they provide an unrealistic level of security. Whereby folks are going beyond their training/skill level/equipment knowing they can push a button to summons help, true, but it still may take days to get to them. Anyway, check out the ads at outdoor stores. They run specials from $49 (I wouldn't pay more than $49) to free with a paid subscription. Only get the SPOT Gen3, the original SPOT had problems. Over Christmas they offered me several SPOTS for free which I got for my brothers (they paid for the service). I have the basic plan at $150/year. It suits my needs just fine. If I were headed on an adventure say to Tierra del Fuego I would add GEOS service. They talk about "resetting" tracking with basic service every 24hrs. Don't worry about it. I turn it off at night, saves battery too, on in the morning. When out of cell coverage, I send her a SPOT "OK" message she knows I'm on the road again and at night I send "off road, in hotel for the night". From my ride yesterday, on the Triumph. Note the SPOT is mounted in a RAM Mount cradle. Have one for the Venture, just haven't installed it yet.

@Larry1963 That is a SPOT Gen3 GPS locator http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=120 It works worldwide on land, sea or air. Let me explain, I'm retired and all I do is ride. However most morning when I take off I have no idea where I'm headed. I check the weather, open the garage, pick a bike and take off. I may ride a hundred miles or several hundred miles. I may find myself so far out I have to spend the night (I don't ride at night) and return the next day. This of course is a concern for my wife who is still working not knowing where I may have wondered off too. We tried using cell phone tracking however I often ride out of cell phone coverage and it drains the battery very fast. So I came across the SPOT, does not use cell phone, uses direct sattelite coverage. Pending what options you have It can send your position every minute to hours. Mine is set every 10 minutes. So my wife has an app on her phone where she can track me and zoom in using Google maps to view my exact location (within 7 feet). The SPOT also has the capability to send 4 predefined messages (you define what they are). 1) OK status 2) Custom (Mine says "off road, in hotel for the night") 3) Non emergency help/assistance needed 4) SOS life/death emergency. On number 4, pending where you are pends upon the emergency service contacted, Coast Guard, Forest Service, Fire/Police. The little black circles are shoe prints used when tracks is turned on. She can also see a text list of my GPS coordinates. I've had some health issues in the past. This puts her mind at ease and I can still ride! http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Motorcycle/image.jpeg

Ya got me remembering now. Forgot about the gas cap hunt. Cadies also had the cap behind the tail lite in the "fin" most had them behind the rear license plate. And the give-away stuff like drinking glasses, kids juice glasses, coffee cups with either the gas co logo or the local football team. And the antenna logos, banners, balls, tails. And green stamps we use to give out greens stamps with a fill up. My mom loved those green stamps! And the uniform shirts with your name sewed on - in red :-)

Thanks Larry1963, Still learning. Noticed in some videos I had more of the helmet showing. Took me a minute to figure it out. When filming in 720 the field of view is a wide 170º and in 1080 it is 125º. You can see more of the helmet when the field of view is 170º. So far I'm very pleased although I find documentation is limited beyond the basic user guide of turning on/off and mention of software and apps. For a helmet cam I think it ideal. For an action cam I think there are other (however more expensive) options. GoPro, Drift, ZeBlaze to mention a few.

I have front (looks funny with the horizontal slits) and rear on my Triumph Trophy. So far so good, again not enough miles to say, haven't wore out a set yet. Not as "sticky" as the Pirelli's they replaced but only got 6k out of the reat and 8k on the front with the Pirelli's. Hoping for better hence the Michelin Pilot Road 4's.

Great pictures. As a kid I worked at both a Phillips 66 and an Esso. Farthest I can remember back was paying 34¢ gal same as a pack of cigarettes. With each fill-up we'd clean the wind shield, check the oil, washer fluid and ask if they needed the tire pressure checked. Had the bell hose across the pump islands, ding ding had a customer. Learned alot from the owner who would let me help him work on cars. He had a 3 bay garage and did state inspections.

@syscrusher Those are wonderful features for a car dash cam. On and record when power applied, 64GB card is great and the ability to re-record when card is full. With that size card and the ability to re-record I don't see a need to get to the card very often if ever. Now you have me seriously thinking about this one for a dash cam in the car :-) I've download the specs and the user guide. Thanks.

@Larry1963 OK Larry this video is for you. Took the Venture out today, enjoy (I wore the full face helmet). ps Next I'll try editing the videos with title screens, transitions, clips etc. 1280x720x60fps on Vimeo This rides for you Larry1963: Twists & turns: New gloves:

I wouldn't worry about 4K if we can't send 1080 with any regularity. And low light video calls for a big CCD which is big bucks. The thing I've found with technology is to buy it when you need it, not when on sale. It will always be less expensive someplace else next week. And the technology window is getting shorter and shorter. Technical obsolescence is now less than 18 months. Hey if it does what you need it to do - good buy.

Two of my favourite eatin fish. Perch & crappie & maybe a walleye for good measure.

@syscrusher, the Zeblaze camera looks good for an action cam. It does have some nice features. Charges underwater! 190 feet water proof. Uses GoPro mounting accessories. I like the watch makes it so much easier to start/stop recording on that type of action cam. Just don't know if I'd mount it on my helmet, not me.

When planning an extended trip. I print out the list for the states I'm travelin. Never had to use it, but feels good to have with me just in case. I like the app idea

@Larry1963 Larry, I'll try to answer your questions. Yes the camera is easy to turn on or off with one hand while riding whether mounted on the right, left, or on top of the helmet and start recording with a single slide switch on top of the camera. The camera has two preset recording modes. So whichever of the two modes (out of a dozen you can select with the PC software or smartphone app) you have selected. That is what will be recorded when the switch is pushed forward. Notice the big black switch on top of the camera, here it is OFF http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1157533.jpg Here it is ON. Moving the switch forward will turn camera on and start recording. The camera will beep when turned on and beep when turned off. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1157534.jpg I guess for really rough conditions you could "lock" the slide switch into position by using the little button left of center in the above picture. I never had a need to. This is what it would look like on a short helmet. I'm using the flat rotating mount in this picture. On my helmet I use the profile mount. They have a whole series of mounts available. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1157531.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1157530.jpg Also the camera lens can be rotated to make the video level, so the camera can be mounted on it's side, leaning to right or left. My first post shows the laser light used to assist with rotating the lens. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1157536.jpg I did not try mounting this on the Venture. I have used a 6" ram arm in the past but vibration was pretty bad the longer the ram are. Ram mounts make a variety of Ram mounts that fit on either the brake or clutch reservoir. I may give one a try. Oh the camera also has a tripod mount on the bottom of the camera. So, in the next day or two you want me to film while riding the Venture wearing the shorty helmet?

Thanks David, I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience with me. Yesterday I went out again and filmed in 720P as you suggested. Yes you are correct, the video is much better, easier to manage. I've also played around with up/down loading video on Photobucket. Disappointing to say the least. It doesn't matter what quality setting I choose. Photobucket converts EVERYTHING to 640x360 and clips 60fps to 30fps. I will be looking elsewhere to host my videos. Vimeo appears to keep the HD quality but won't play it as a default, HD has tobe selected by the viewer AND the Vimeo link is NOT available on some device (iPads for one). Thank you for the suggestion on software. At present I'm using 4 maybe 5 different programs pending what I want to do. MacX Video Converter Pro for mild editing and conversation, bought the $39 3 in 1 holiday gift pac. Not so much for the helmet cam but our two better video recorders use M2TS blu-ray format which needs converted so my wife (who is slowly loosing her eyesight) can view on her "highest‑resolution Retina display of any iOS device" iPad Pro. It converts video specific to this device, also works well for all file formats and many many other devices. Windoze Movie Maker. Corel VideoStudio Pro. Avidemux in addition to all the software that came with the cameras (Lumix, SONY, Contour, Olympus, Nikon, non of which play well with the others). Strange as it may sound Facebook does a pretty good job in retaining the video quality and also provides the viewer the option to view in HD. Bottom line was I wanted to upgrade video quality and share simple clips with my friends on the motorcycle forums. If using and iPad or Android tablet and the Vimeo video does NOT appear above, Click Here!

I spent some time working in Sweden. They do have some nice benefits like a new father can take up to a year off to be with his new family, the new mother also has the year off with pay as well. Healthcare is FREE but you do have to wait months for an appointment. Because their taxes provide so many services they call it the "Moms". You have to like winter :-) Their tax is progressive, the more you make the more you pay and is one of if not the highest in the world. But I loved the country, the people, the infrastructure. I'd go back - in the summer :-)

To continue on with my previous post. I had to find the correct helmet and then the correct spot to permently attach the camera mount. Not as easy as it sounds. The helmet mount will conform to a slight curve in the helmet. But once stuck on it can't be removed easily (sawing back and forth with dental floss will cut thru the 3M VHB adhesive). The mount has to be positioned up/down and right to left. Right to left is done by positioning along the frontal curve of the helmet. Too far forward you see too much of the helmet, too far toward the rear you see too much right or left of your field of view. I have a Sena blutooth module on the left so I can turn on/off raise lower volume with my non-throttle hand. The camera has a large single slide switch to turn on/off start/stop recording (very simple). This is what I did. The camera has blutooth, I turned it on, paired it with my iPad. Put the mount on the camera. Put on the helmet, held the camera to the helmet with my right hand, held the iPad with my left (to see the camera image) and walked around slowly tilting the camera up/down and moving it front to rear along the side of the helmet. When I got it exact I yelled for my wife who before hand was ready with a silver sharpie (the helmet is black) she very carefully marked the position of the mount. Not easy but kinda fun as you have to hold the camera still as she wiggles around you trying to reach between the helmet and camera to trace the mount :-) The helmet should be room temperature (not cold) for the glue to stick better, they also suggest to heat the back of the mount where the glue is with a hair dryer to make it stick better and to leave it for 12hrs for the glue to set. I used woodworking clamps to hold it overnight. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1097514.jpg I used my Shoei RF1000 as the sides were smooth without ridges/seams. It's a solid mount. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1127527.jpg The next part - mounting an external microphone in the helmet was not easy. Not that it was difficult to do but dang near impossible to find the right parts! Have no idea why Contour does not provide them but refers you to the competition to acquire them! Either Drift or GoPro. I went for the less expensive Drift. The problem here is the external mic jack on the camera is 2.5mm, every mic with a mono plug (not stereo) is 3.5mm. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1057506.jpg So you need a male 2.5mm to female 3.5mm adapter/cord, again a mono plug, stereo plug won't work. I did find a mono adapter plug at Radio Shack for $6 as part of an earphone kit. They can be had online for 60 cents. Also, the adapter plug was too large to fit in the hole! I had to cut it down to fit. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1057507.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1057510.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1057512.jpg Done, ready for a test ride. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1107518.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1107519.jpg Several things to note. I used a 32GB micro SD card. Battery lasted right around 2hrs. Last video saved just a few minutes before battery died mic quit recording sound/voice. Was impressed with video quality when filming into the sun. Audible beeps (recording on/off) from camera can be heard with helmet on. File size is limited to 4GB *(about 30 minutes of 1080) due to FAT32 files system. However, the camera will open another file and keep recording (till battery dies or micro SD card is full) I carry two 32GB cards and two batteries. Recording at 1080 HD is a waste of time if posting to the internet. NO ONE LINKS TO NOR PROCESSES FILES THIS LARGE, everyone clips your files and hence degrades video quality, best to stick with 720/30 :-( As luck would have it, while shopping today I ran across this. Has a mono 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter cord, can replace my whittled adapter plug. And a earphone/mic unit which actually works better than the Drift mic for $19. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1127524.jpg Inside of helmet. Green circle is backside of breath guard where mic was clipped to during my test ride. Red circle is where I have it velcro mounted now. Also wrapped another layer of foam around it to reduce further wind noise. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/P1127528r.jpg Photobucket won't allow 1080 (they say they do but it fails to upload) and limits video to 500mb or 10 minutes 854x480 30 frames - Changing gloves http://vid278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/Contour2testPC02.mp4 854x480 30 frames - Headed home into the setting sun http://vid278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Videos/Contour2testPC03.mp4 By the way, two hours of 1080 video is an awful lot of video! I won't even get into what software is required between iPads, PCs and the internet. You could drop big bucks into video editing software, but I won't cause I'll use Linux :-) I've opened a Vimeo account. They say they support 1080 and better. Not sure if I want to pay yet another online picture hosting service. I'll edit this post with the link if I go that route. Here is it https://Vimeo.com/151610015 If using and iPad or Android tablet and the Vimeo video does NOT appear above, Click Here!

RIP BillyStandly