This weekend I volunteered for the Paragliding World Cup in Chelan WA. It was insanely cool. I think for this post, I’ll just leave the talking to the pictures and videos mostly (I’m a little short on time but want to get this stuff out there). This first video is a short clip I took with my point and shoot Kodak. I took it in-between helping pilots set up their wings, and as you can tell, it was nuts. There were probably at least 4 pilots launching at any given time, and I was nearly kicked in the face by pilots flying over me a couple of times. There were OVER 100 PILOTS IN THE AIR!!!
There were so many big names there, it was crazy. There were people from major paragliding classic films, company owners (Gin himself was flying a new design), past champions, video crews….list goes on. I also can’t even begin to list how many countries were represented there as well…many of them couldn’t speak a bit of English.
I think one of the really cool things about this sport is that unlike some of those crowd pleasing ones like baseball, football etc…paragliders seem to be a small, very approachable group. I met a few of the people listed above, and they had no attitude, they were down to earth, and just…well…normal like you and I.
One fellow I met was the video man for PWC TV (video below). I wanted to show this first video because at the beginning, they show the school (Aerial Paragliding) that I am learning to paraglide from.
World Cup Chelan arrival & first flight from broers philippe on Vimeo.
This next video is shows the first part of the competition (the first video was just a practice day). My main claim to fame is that at 5.26min you can see my back watching to see if the dust devil is going to whip anyone up….happens all the time.
I think it’s entertaining that this guy thinks there are still “Indians” in the “wild west”…I’m not even sure I’ve ever heard this region referred to as the “wild west” before…..heh!
World cup Chelan task 1 part1 from broers philippe on Vimeo.
Well, as promised…I could go on for hours (still on a high from the awesome weekend) but I’m going to break away for now, and leave you with a picture gallery of some of the photos I (and my Dad) took of the competition.
Enjoy!
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I just though I’d share a web page I check out every morning. It’s called the Astronomy Picture of the Day (click on that for the link). They have an astronomy related picture every day with an explanation from an expert in the field. There are some absolutely mind blowing pictures…my favorite so far is the one from April 3rd…although today’s is pretty insane too!!!
This little camera/camcorder is incredible. I have been planning to get one with my REI dividend+membership sale, and with videos like this, it’s easy to see why…
Sugar Cane GoPro HD PPG from Brett Paull on Vimeo.
A good review for the camera can be seen here ENGADGET REVIEW
I don’t really want to go into all of the pros and cons of this little gadget except to say, I am completely impressed. The design leaves a lot to be desired in my view. The boxy look, depth, and weight could be better…common GoPro…everyone else is doing streamlined bullet-cam-styled cams…why still the box? The top latch seems very flimsy to me too, but I hear the package holds up well, and they have a very loyal following both with the new HD version, and older standard definition one.
The thing can go up to something like 170ft deep in water, has a heater (that’s right I said heater) to keep the battery functioning in cold temperatures, can take 5mp photos both manually and at intervals, and can take HD video at up to 60fps!!! The attraction for me is the ability to mount it anywhere…for example, check this video out…this fellow turned it into a “chase cam” by putting it in a little wind-sock sort of device that follows behind his paraglider (attached to the trailing edge break lines)…
Or this one, where another person has attached it to the top of his wing…
Again, after seeing it in person, I was a little disappointed at the physical design of it, but it’s easy to forget when you weigh that with it’s good sides…this camera/camcorder has truly been impressive so far, with features, and applications that seem too good to be true for the price…
…almost forgot to mention…”early 2010″ GoPro plans to add accessories to the GoPro HD that hook into the back, which will allow it to have an; lcd screen, extended battery, and who knows what else…
Anyone have any personal opinions on it, or have used it themselves?…please feel free to leave comments!
Cheers,
Justin
A few days ago I took a trip to Rosauers (sp?) supermarket. I hadn’t been there for a long time, and wanted to see if they had added the Huckleberry’s natural foods market to it….THEY HAD! Next to the store though was a Hollywood Video that had a “store closing” sign. It’s always sad to see that a store is closing, but for some reason, this one was particularly sad to me. It seems like the end of an era or something… I remember it being so exciting as a kid to go to rent a movie…to be able to see them all physically layed out on shelves and pick one to take home. These days we have On Demand, instant Netflix, and Amazon on demand. It’s not the same though. Some of these options cost a rediculous amount, can only be used for one viewing, and the selection in some cases is limited.
I’m not sure if their entire chain is going out of business or not…two of theme here have left anyway…but it’s not looking good. I’m told Blockbuster is having troubles as well.
I suppose stores like Hastings that sell other things will still exist where you can rent videos, but it isn’t the same as the dedicated rental stores.
Does anyone know if they are all going out of business?
I was actually searching through a WordPress support forum for the theme I’m using when I ran across this WP site. I have always been a big fan of projectors over their big screen counterparts, but they cost a pretty penny to keep them running. When I went to the University of Washington, they allowed you to rent out these things free of charge. My buddies and I would rent them for parties at the house to watch movies and play games on…sometimes having a couple in different rooms. Free = awesome, but if you own one, you know that when you have to replace the bulb, it will cost you!
Enter the world of laser projectors. It goes without saying, they will be more energy efficient, and will certainly have a life span that will trump the old bulb projectors.
