Just spent 30 minutes playing around with the new beta of Google Voice and it is voicetastic! Think email client for phones. I can link every phone I have to a single number - My new Google Voice number.  Google Voice can route all incoming calls and messages to the correct phone, voicemail, or sms inbox.Here is a Google Voice widget that will forward your call to me on my currently available phone or send you off to a custom voice mail based on the current day of the week and time.

She said, “I have STOPPED picking up monkeys.”

What? Now she had my attention.

“Problems and issues are like monkeys,” she explained. “You know how monkeys swing. Well, at my office, monkeys climb and I was always picking them up; not anymore. When someone comes into my office with a monkey, I tell them that is your problem. I can help you with your monkey, but its not getting on my back.”

OMG! An entire book in which someone replaced the word “problem” with the word “monkey”.

Evolution Debate? AIDS conspiracy? Will the damn dirty apes ever stop?

This last second timeout tactic made its collegiate debut just a week after its use in the two preceding weeks by NFL teams. Consulting the 2007 NCAA Football Rule Book, I found Rule 3, Section 3, Article 1, Paragraphs A through C or as I like to call them, the timeout rules. Nothing currently prohibits this tactic. In fact, the only time an official can override a timeout request is when a team has none remaining and errantly attempts to call another.

So as of September 29, 2007, at the collegiate level, 6 field goals per game will need to be kicked twice. Or, we could just add the following new Paragraph D to Rule 3, Section 3, Article 1.

SECTION 3. Timeouts

How Charged

ARTICLE 1. a. The referee shall declare a timeout when he suspends play for any reason. Each timeout shall be charged to one of the teams or designated as a referee’s timeout.

b. When a team’s timeouts are exhausted and it requests a timeout, the official should not acknowledge the request.

c. During a timeout, players shall not practice with a ball on the field of play or the end zones (Exception: During the half-time intermission).

d. When a team’s timeout can not be signaled by the official prior to the snap, the official should not acknowledge the request.

I suggest sending an email to the NCAA at pmr@ncaa.org

Or write a letter to:
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
700 W. Washington Street
P.O. Box 6222
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6222

Kodak camera users BEWARE! The .MOV files created on many Kodak cameras are non-compliant and require the purchase of Quicktime PRO and special steps. This tutorial will not work for you.

Thanks to all the feedback from readers since this tutorial was first published, it is now apparent that this conversion process is more art than science. Due to variations in systems and cameras, consider this tutorial a basic guide and by all means EXPERIMENT.

Required Software: (All Free)

1. You will need to have Quicktime.
   Required to play, edit, etc. quicktime in Windows.
2. You will need Rad Video Tools
   Required to convert some .MOV to .AVI.
3. You will need AviDemux.
   Required to edit your clip and convert compliant .MOV to .AVI.
   
4. You will need Riva.
   Required to convert .AVI to flash .FLV.
5. You will need a sample MOV. File One File Two
   File One is a sample from my Kodak. File Two is a sample from an IPod.

I know that seems like a lot, but thats only because it is. Seriously! I have worked with video on Amiga, Mac, and PC systems and admit that it took me by suprise just how unfriendly the PC is to the Mac .MOV format. “From my cold, dead hands” is the phrase that comes to mind.

Quicktime

Play the .MOV clip just to make sure it looks and sounds correct. If not install Quicktime. Wow! That was easy.

AviDemux

Start AviDemux:

Click open and select the .MOV file to edit. If this doesn’t work then you will need to perform the Rad Video Tools step below first and then click open and select the .AVI from that step. When the preview opens it might have an odd color shift but that is ok. Use the slider at the bottom to move to the spot you want your finished clip to start. Press the A button to set the start position. Now move the slider to the spot you want your clip to end. Press the B button to set the end position. Under Video I changed Copy to MPEG4-ASP(Xvid4) also known as DviX. Under Audio I changed Copy to MP3. Click the save button at the top and select where to save the file. This is where you might have to experiment with different Video and Audio settings. Make certain you type the full name AND extension (.AVI) when you save the file as it does not set the extension for you. I normally add -e to my file names so I know which one is the edited version. So, myvideo.avi becomes myvideo-e.avi. Once again, play the video to check quality.

Many options for advanced video editing of .AVI files on the PC exist but are beyond the scope of this tutorial. I prefer Adobe Premiere, but have used Windows Movie Maker.

Rad Video Tools*

This step is not required for all MOV files. SKIP this step if an .AVI file was successfully created above with AviDemux.

Second, start Rad Video Tools and you should see something similar to this:

Use the top drop down to browse to your file and click the convert button at the bottom. That will bring up the file convert window:

Make sure your .MOV file is listed at the top. Feel free to try various settings, but remember at this stage we are not aiming for small file size, we want higher quality. Just make sure that the convert audio option is checked. In the convert output format section, I normally use 44100 or 22050 as the rate and 16 bit/stereo to keep the sound quality high. Click the convert button. Now comes the tricky part. A window will pop up allowing you to select the codex from those installed on your PC. Select Full Frames Uncompressed (or experiment). The file will be large, but is the most compatible. Watch the progress bar. Now play the new .AVI file to make sure it looks and sounds correct.

Riva

Start Riva:

Click the Browse button to select your edited video from the previous section as the input video. Now on the right you will notice a Preset dropdown. My video blog is done at 320 x 240, 29.97 framerate, deinterlaced, and a bitrate of approximately 160 which was not in the drop down. Just set these how you need them and click save. Give your settings a name, I used youTube, and now your custom settings will be just a click away next time. Now click the .FLV Encode button, progress bar, done and done. If you get an error on encode, you will need to try different Video and Audio settings in AviDemux. You now have an edited flash video to post on your video blog.

They won conclusively. By scoring on both big plays and sustained drives, both on the ground and through the air, the offense showed consistency missing so far this season. More importantly the offense displayed stability by only having one fumble and no interceptions compared to five turnovers in each of their two previous games.

But did they win early? More like early enough. Auburn led 21-20 at the half due to an NMS missed extra point. Something happened in the locker room, because Auburn showed up for the first time this season in the second half. By the time six minutes had ticked off the clock they were up by 14 and the 3rd quarter expired with Auburn at the New Mexico State 2. Four seconds later, they completed a 9 play drive going up 21 points to open the 4th quarter. 60 seconds later Auburn put another TD on the board to secure the victory.

Next week they travel to play the Gators. No Auburn fan feels good about that, but they all feel good about the way Auburn played in the second half this week. The question is which team will make the trip to Gainesville?

Victories may be scarce this season, but if they can settle down and improve each week Auburn might salvage 2007 as a building year.

Brandon Cox, the pied piper of bad luck, returned for the final drive of 67 yards only to stall at the Mississippi State 9. Auburn outgained Mississippi State 323-213 but could not over come 5 turn overs for the second week in a row to lose 19-14.

“We really came out and made a statement today,” Mississippi State’s Anthony Dixon said after the game.

Apparently that statement was, “We’re ready to play with any team willing to spot us five turn overs and 14 points, whose QB throws like a 12 year old girl.”

Teams win or lose as a unit and Auburn’s apocalyptic start to the 2007 season can not be blamed on a single person. All I am saying is that Auburn opened with their two easiest oppenents and were lucky to go 1-1. Unless something changes they will be lucky to win 4 games this season.

Faced with that reality, it only makes sense to press the younger players into action. Beginning at the QB position.

Auburn just played two of its four easiest opponents on the 2007 schedule and should be 0-2 rather than 1-1. Without change, they will be lucky to pick up two more wins this season.

South Florida has been getting praised as a giant slayer for several days now. Sorry, no giants in Auburn so far this year, just a few magic beans and a missing cow.