After 10 miles of rough trail riding on the old 1992 GT Karakoram Full Rigid my slightly out-of-true wheel became a significantly out-of-true wheel with a bent spoke; it was rubbing brake pad in four locations. I guess my fat ass bombing a downhill full of fist-sized loose rocks and small boulders was a bad idea.

Thanks to Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance I was able to do a ghetto wheel truing using zipties attached to the frame in lieu of a proper wheel truing stand.

It’s just a single photo, but Airborne Bicycles has posted a sneak peak photo of their new Guardian 29 on their Facebook page. Since the caption reads “A sneak-peak of one of the new models coming soon~!” there are probably more fresh designs in the pipeline! Speculation is running wild, but so far the consensus is a Full Suspension BMX 29er eDH Hybrid Rig with Integrated Smoothie Machine.

In my search for new Mountain Bikes I ran across Airborne Bicycles, a company that has an interesting offering of value-packed bikes (follow them on Facebook and Twitter). I’m intrigued by their product lineup, reviews, and press coverage so I applied to become a member of their Flight Crew. Hopefully the next time you see me on the trail it’ll be on a shiny new Airborne instead of my aging 1992 GT Karakoram Full Rigid.

Order at Amazon or Adorama.

The PowerShot D20 is the latest generation of Canon’s waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, and dustproof D-series point and shoot camera line. It keeps the same 12.1 megapixel spec as the previous PowerShot D10 but gains GPS, Intelligent IS, better zoom, larger screen, higher ISO sensitivity, and an increased shockproof rating.

So what does this have to do about Mountain Biking or Motorsports? Simple. This is beater camera designed specifically for harsh conditions where you might not want to carry a full-sized DSLR or risk taking out your camera phone. Toss into the mix built-in support for GeoTagging and a low energy consumption GPS Logger and you have an all-in-one unit that can be used to record trail information and ride statistics.

United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, 7th February 2012 – Canon today launches the rugged and powerful PowerShot D20 – engineered to be a part of the adventure and capture exceptional images and Full HD (1080p) video when living life to the extreme. Housing advanced Canon imaging technology in a robust and sporty body, the PowerShot D20 is waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof and dustproof – ideal for hurtling down the rapids or conquering a mountain and bringing back the photos to prove it.

The PowerShot D20 is packed full of versatile technology including the advanced HS System, designed to produce fantastic picture quality, even in challenging low-light conditions. Sliding easily into a rucksack or attached to a carabiner, the PowerShot D20 is compact, lightweight and built to withstand the rigours of any adventure – freeing users to push themselves to the limits without worrying about their camera coping with the ride.

Canon-quality with every shot

The heart of the PowerShot D20 is powered by Canon’s HS System, combining a 12.1 Megapixel, high-sensitivity CMOS sensor with the DIGIC 4 image processor for high-quality performance in every situation – particularly in low-light situations.

Whether exploring the underwater beauty of an exotic cove or standing on top of the world after a mountain trek, glorious scenic vistas can be captured in their entirety thanks to the high-quality 28mm wide-angle Canon lens, with 5x zoom to bring users closer to the action. For rock-steady videos and crisp stills even in challenging shooting conditions, Intelligent IS automatically analyses the scene and selects the optimum settings for the optical Image Stabilizer from seven different modes[1]. For example, when filming movies off the beaten trail, Dynamic IS mode compensates for both hand shake and movement. Panning IS mode is perfect when shooting a flock of birds crossing the scene, ensuring the IS system stabilises in only one direction, while Macro IS mode is perfect for shooting the stunning detail of a starfish on a coral reef.

Breathe new life into shooting beneath the waves and capture the rare sights and close-up detail with the special Underwater Macro mode, combined with Quick AF mode to ensure rapid and accurate focus. The accuracy of Underwater White Balance is enhanced and also offers quick adjustment so that users can shoot the depths with beautiful natural colours. Allowing intrepid travellers to push the limits even further and dive into a new world, the optional WP-DC45 waterproof case with external flash support enables the PowerShot D20 to capture rare sights at depths down to 40m.

Handheld Night Scene mode means users can shoot dark scenes with confidence. It captures a series of high-speed shots and combines them into one crisp, well-exposed image. Giving more freedom for users to be creative, Super Slow Motion Movie mode can add tension and draw out the suspense in fast-paced events.

Ready to go whenever and wherever you may be

Rugged enough to brave the elements, the PowerShot D20 is waterproof to depths down to 10m, and can withstand freezing temperatures down to -10*C. Active Display technology also allows users to control some camera functions by tapping the camera body, making it easier to use when wearing gloves. Built to last, the PowerShot D20 is also shockproof from drops up to 1.5m and environmentally sealed against sand and dust to protect the advanced imaging technology inside.

Those who wish to blaze a trail and map out the adventure for others to follow can use GPS[2] tagging and the low energy consumption[3] GPS Logger feature. These can be used to tag images with location data or track routes and share discoveries easily using the supplied Map Utility software and through Google Earth[4]. Retelling the story behind a stunning shot is now even easier with Movie Digest mode creating a ‘making-of’ film reel for a day’s images. When engaged, this mode films the last 4 seconds before each photo is taken in 720p HD resolution and combines all the clips from that day to create a movie that allows users to document their experiences in a new and exciting way.

When things happen fast, the PowerShot D20 is always ready to go. The dedicated Movie Record button means users can switch instantly to Full HD 1080p movie quality and zero in on the action with the 5x optical zoom without missing a moment. Users can then relive the experience on a big screen thanks to the HDMI connection with CEC, allowing them to pause, rewind and replay any clip using the remote control of a compatible HDTV.

Easy to use, easy to explore

Even when the action is fast and furious, frame the scene perfectly with just a glance at the bright, vibrant 7.5 cm (3.0″) 460,000 dot PureColor II LCD screen with 4:3 aspect ratio. It’s also easier than ever to capture great images without needing extensive photography experience thanks to Canon’s enhanced Smart Auto feature which detects 32 different scenes, applying the best combination of camera settings to ensure every shot is well-exposed.

The PowerShot D20 features seven[5] creative effects that can be applied to give every shot new impact, allowing photographers to explore the world and change how people view it. Landscapes offer the impression of a scale model with Miniature Effect or similar effects to those of a fish-eye lens can be applied to present a completely unique view of the world.

Accessories for adventure

The optional Accessory Kit includes Carabiner and Shoulder Straps to keep the camera handy when hiking or climbing, a special Neoprene Pouch and a Silicon Jacket for even more protection, as well as a Float to keep the camera at the surface when swimming, making the PowerShot D20 ready for many adventures.

Join the CANON iMAGE GATEWAY community

Owners of this new model can also join the newly updated CANON iMAGE GATEWAY, an online facility for sharing photos and video now providing up to 10 GB of personal storage capacity, perfect for storing many photos, even in full resolution. An easy interface allows users to search for images, create combined photo and movie Albums that can receive comments from friends, and to share Albums directly via email and Social Networking Sites.

PowerShot D20 – key features:

• Rugged camera; 12.1 MP HS System
• Water, shock, freeze and dustproof
• 28mm, 5x optical zoom; Intelligent IS
• GPS
• 7.5 cm (3.0″) PureColor II LCD
• Full HD movies
• Smart Auto (32 scenes)
• Special movie modes
• Underwater functions
• Optional 40m Waterproof Case

Pricing and Availability

The PowerShot D20 is available from May, priced at £349.00/€399.00 RRP incl. VAT.

[1]Intelligent IS modes include: Normal IS, Panning IS, Macro IS, Dynamic IS, Powered IS, Dynamic & Macro IS, and Tripod Mode.
[2]GPS use may be restricted in certain countries or regions. Use of GPS should comply with the laws and regulations of the country and area in which it is being operated, including any restriction on the use of electronics.
[3]The low energy consumption GPS Logger can log for more than 48 hours
[4]Google and Google Earth are trademarks of Google Inc.
[5]Creative filters include: Fish-eye effect, Miniature effect, Miniature effect in Movie, Super Vivid, Poster effect, Toy Camera effect, Monochrome

So what happens when you’re racing at a Rallycross and you hand your video camera to your friends to get some footage? You get back a tape filled with the Girls of Rallycross!

Filmed at the 2002 Essex Junction Rallycross in Essex Junction, VT.

Music: Panjabi MC / Mundian to Bach Ke

2002 Boston BMWCCA Ice Racing Season Recap “Chanting for Grip”
Video by: Sean Sosik-Hamor

Location: Stinson Lake, Plymouth, NH

Footage supplied by Emilio Arce, Andy Price, Andrew Hobgood, Chaos Motorsports, and Trunkmonkey Racing

Music first half: Messiah / Twenty First Century Jesus / Destroyer

Music second half: Infected Mushroom / B.P.Empire / Dancing With Kadafi

Who knows, you might just be able to hide your Trunkmonkey under a big enough shirt!

Trunkmonkey Racing Team Gear

No one will dare mess with you knowing that a chimp with a tire iron is hiding out in your trunk!

Warning - Beware of Trunk Monkey

We hear the roar of their engines and see the sun glinting off their wings as they traverse the skies over northwest Oklahoma.

But another large part of the base’s pilot training mission is carried out far from public sight, inside Vance’s Ops Group building.

In this building, in rooms chilled year-round no matter the temperatures outside, a dedicated group of men and women work to keep a vital part of Vance’s training mission up and running.

They are the simulator technicians.

Much of each student pilot’s training is conducted inside these multi-million dollar machines, which are used to teach pilots to cope with all kinds of different situations they will encounter in an airplane, all without leaving the ground. In a simulator there is no danger to the student or instructor, and the lessons can be conducted without burning any fuel.

The people charged with keeping these sophisticated machines up and flying have to be versatile, able to deal with computer, electronic, visual and even mechanical issues.

Ron Hall has been working on simulators at Vance since 1977, when instead of computers, terrain model boards and closed circuit TV cameras were used to simulate flight.

He is one of three T-1 simulator technicians at Vance employed by L-3 Communications, who maintain two full training simulators and 3 part-task trainers. Part-task trainers are used to teach students to program their onboard computers to guide the plane to 100 waypoints around the country, but can’t simulate takeoffs or landings.

Ron Hall said maintaining the T-1 sims keeps him and his colleagues busy.

“There’s quite a bit (of maintenance) because you have alignment in the visual systems,” he said. “Your hydraulic systems have to be tweaked or aligned, all your (control) surfaces. Your power supplies, there’s tons of power supplies, computers, fans.”

The T-1 sims were built in 1988 and installed at Vance in 1990. Trying to maintain them is like trying to keep a 20-year-old PC running.

“I have diversified 486 and 386 computers in my sound system,” Ron Hall said. “Try to find old hard drives to work in that kind of equipment. They sent us a lot of used F-16 visual systems that we use to keep the T-1s going. They don’t manufacture tubes anymore so we have to rely on older tubes or older remanufactured tubes to keep our visuals going.”

The T-1 simulators are being upgraded, however, a process expected to be completed by 2013. Vance normally has three full training simulators, but one has been removed for an upgrade.

The T-1 sims are operated 16 hours a day, meaning there are two shifts of technicians working to keep them flying.

“We have an hour and a half in the morning for maintenance to get them up and ready, and two hours at night to put them to bed,” Ron Hall said. “I really enjoy keeping the simulators working. It’s a lot of electronics in all kinds of fields.”

Vance’s T-6 and T-38 simulators are maintained by 13 technicians employed by FlightSafety International. Michael Oaks, the site manager, dubbed his men and women, “The Trunk Monkey Squad,” after the stars of a series of TV automobile dealer commercials depicting cars that carried magical chimps in their trunks, who came to the rescue in difficult situations when the drivers pushed the “trunk monkey” button on the dashboard.

“I have absolutely the best crew, anywhere, and I’ll stake my very reputation on that,” Oaks said. “They don’t get the recognition, they do the grunt work of the simulator world, but it doesn’t happen without them.”

There are 17 T-6 simulators. There are five operational flight trainers, which feature high-resolution graphics and a 270-degree field of view that give students the closest experience to actually flying. There are seven instrument flight trainers with a cockpit and forward visual display and five unit trainers, with no visual systems but fully functioning cockpits designed to teach cockpit familiarization.

“As parts fail, we spend a lot of time on them,” said T-6 technician Ben Tucker, “but we have preventative maintenance we follow on a daily, weekly, monthly and semi-annual basis. We have checklists galore on all our preventative maintenance.”

That is the routine maintenance, but there is plenty of the non-routine type as well.

“When one of those projectors just decides to not turn on one day, we get to figure out why,” Tucker said. “If we’re bringing them up in the middle of the night, we can have a couple of hours, but if it happens at 11 o’clock in the morning we have 15 minutes to get it going before we start losing missions and devoting our entire day shift to fixing it.”

“As a general rule we’ll have at least one or two system failures of some kind a week,” said Oaks, “be it something small like an instrument or something big like a computer or a projector.”

Day shift technicians, Oaks said, “sit around waiting for the fires,” while night shift techs “do all the dirt and grime.”

T-6 and T-38 simulators are used in a daily 12-hour window, from the time of the first flight to the last.

Technicians don’t only fix simulators, they have to be able to fly them, too.

“We do daily pre-flights to make sure that every device is fully functional and operational for the next day of training,” Tucker said.

The T-38 sims, said technician Phil Johnson, “are pretty well built, they don’t require really high maintenance.”

Vance has two T-38 weapons systems trainers, which allow pilots to dogfight against one another with full simulated weapons. These have 14 projectors and 18 computers to produce the full wraparound graphics.

There are two operational flight trainers, without the weapons and with a 216-degree by 135-degree vertical field of view. And there are three unit training devices, a cockpit with a 40-degree field of view.

There is one big advantage to being a simulator technician, Johnson said, particularly in the summer. The simulator rooms always are kept cool in deference to the delicate equipment.

“They worry more about the equipment than the people,” he said, laughing. “It’s fun to keep it all running.”

“I enjoy puttering around and fixing all the small problems,” said T-38 technician Mark Ewald.

“The best part of this job is the diversity of the things you have to do,” said T-38 tech Robert Hall.

Source: The Enid News and Eagle
Byline: Jeff Mullin, Senior Writer

Whatever his charm, Trunk Monkey, a chimpanzee featured in a comical series of car-dealership commercials, has been winning over audiences so successfully that he’s generated a profitable side business for the Portland ad agency that created him 3 ½ years ago.

Dealerships from as far away as New Zealand pay to license the series of commercials for their own use and now are the largest source of revenue for the R/West agency. Meanwhile Trunk Monkey is about to debut in his biggest market yet, as a New Jersey dealership is buying ads to run in the New York City area on Super Bowl Sunday.

Tim Ciasulli of the Planet Honda and Used Car Universe dealership in Union, N.J., is hoping that viewers will have the same response he did when a friend first e-mailed them to him.

“I’m watching them and I’m just laughing,” he said. “They’re very funny and extremely memorable.”

Like other dealerships that have licensed the commercials, he is supporting the campaign with his own marketing blitz — hiring an actor to wear a monkey suit and decking out the dealership in a jungle motif. “I think our phones are going to be ringing off the hook,” he predicted.

R/West, which first created the farcical commercials in 2003, has been banking on that kind of response. The agency, headed by President Sean Blixseth, found that the commercials — originally commissioned by Suburban Auto Group in Sandy, Ore. — have just as much sway with audiences outside Oregon.

The first commercial, showing a driver hitting a Trunk Monkey button on his dashboard to subdue an aggressive road rager, was produced for less than $50,000 with the filming assistance of a friend, Blixseth said.

The commercial, and others that followed, quickly gained popularity online. Trunk Monkey has since dispatched a would-be car thief in “Sopranos” style, fended off aliens and tried to bribe a police officer to let a speeding driver off.

R/West has continued to produce the ads for Suburban Auto Group, which supplements its Trunk Monkey campaign with T-shirts and bumper stickers. It also hosts the commercials, one of which will be broadcast locally during the Super Bowl, on its Web site. But since the 2003 debut, 45 other dealerships around the world have licensed the commercials, each for tens of thousands of dollars a year, making it the largest source of revenue for R/West, which employs 20.

The proceeds go for production of new commercials — now costing about $75,000 to $100,000 — and any profit above that is split between R/West and Suburban. The two declined to disclose the profit.

Syndicating commercials isn’t new, said Norm Grey, executive creative director with Creative Circus, a two-year advertising school in Atlanta.

But the challenge is, “no matter what happens, every bank, every car dealership has its own needs,” he said. “It’s not necessarily personal.”

Still, in the world of auto advertising, which focuses on price and “the deal, the deal, the deal,” Trunk Monkey breaks new ground, said Steve Miller, a senior reporter who covers the auto industry for marketing publication Brandweek.

It also is a way for a small agency like Blixseth’s to gain national attention, and perhaps open the door for national clients.

He said it’s unlikely that car dealerships, which have such defined geographic markets, would object to running the same commercials as another dealer somewhere else.

It didn’t bother Gary Grubbs, the advertising manager for the Lawrence Hall of Abilene dealership in Texas, which started running commercials last year. “Anything that’s a good idea never stays an exclusive for very long.”

The commercials don’t escape criticism. Some call to complain that he isn’t really a monkey at all, but rather a chimpanzee. (But Blixseth protested that “trunk chimpanzee” just didn’t have the same je ne sais quoi.)

And some animal-rights activists are upset about the use of a primate in advertising. The agency contracts with a California company that provides animals for filming.

But some dealerships say the commercials have only brought positive comments — as well as suggestions from customers about potential scripts.

“It has totally changed our life,” said Jane Delligatti, marketing director of Arnell Auto Group in Burns Harbor, Ind. “We have people calling, giving ideas for different spots. … This whole area of Northwest Indiana loves our Trunk Monkey.”

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

Byline: HELEN JUNG, The Oregonian
Source: Seattle Times Newspaper

I can’t stop giggling about those silly Tomkinson trunk monkey commercials.

Have you seen them?

There are two ads playing now. In the first, a woman is pulled over for speeding. When it’s clear the officer intends to write her a ticket, she presses a button and a monkey hops out of the trunk of her car. First, he offers the patrolman a fistful of cash. When the officer shakes his head, the monkey pulls a secret weapon from behind his back: a doughnut!

In the final scene, the monkey forlornly looks out from the squad car’s back window as he’s being driven away to lockup.

The second ad, which I’ve seen only once, shows a trunk monkey kicking out the back seat of a stolen car and forcing the thief to pull over. The monkey drags the culprit out of the car to the railing of a bridge and throws him over, reclaiming the car for his owner.

Rick Tomkinson, owner of Tomkinson Automotive Group, believes most car dealers’ ads have left the public “shell shocked” from the barrage of gimmicks and come-ons.

Tim Borne, chairman of Asher Agency, agrees.

“Car dealers do bad advertising, as a rule,” he said.

Tomkinson wants to distance himself from the pack. “We want to give people a chuckle and hope they’ll come in and give us a try,” he said.

The idea, he said, is to increase his 30-year-old Fort Wayne-based company’s name recognition. Tomkinson sells Dodges and BMWs at 929 Avenue of Autos and Chryslers and Jeeps at 4801 Coldwater Road.

Making TV commercials can be expensive – a real hurdle for small- and mid-sized local retailers. But placing your name on one that’s a canned spot – one that can be personalized by a number of companies in different markets – can allow a business to run ads with better production values.

“It could allow you to look bigger than you are,” said John Ferguson, president and principal of Ferguson Advertising.

That’s the case here. Car dealerships in two other markets are running the same series of ads, which were designed by R/West, a West Coast agency, Tomkinson said. It’s the same agency that does those Career Builder.com ads that show a frustrated guy working at a company surrounded by a bunch of monkeys. Now, I know you’ve seen those clever commercials.

“Local or national, it’s tough to stand out,” Ferguson said. But, he added, a good concept can be the launching pad for a memorable ad, even without a big budget.

The trunk monkey ads have made an impression on Ferguson. They’ve also caught the eye of Chad Stuckey, founder and president of Brand Innovation Group.

His team gathers Monday mornings to dissect the commercials they remember seeing over the previous weekend. The real test of a good spot is whether viewers can remember what it was selling.

“Good humor’s hard to pull off,” Stuckey said. “Those (trunk monkey) ads make me laugh every time I see them. But will it make me go out and buy a car? I don’t know.”

Borne, of Asher Agency, said that although Dodge customers might get a kick out of the monkey, “For a BMW buyer, is that the image you want?”

I can’t afford a BMW, so I don’t know. I just know what’s funny. And so does Tomkinson. He thinks the ads’ tone will at least distinguish his dealership. The advertising guys I consulted say it’s tough to gauge commercials’ effectiveness without conducting focus groups before and after. Most of the results are measured anecdotally.

Tompkinson’s showrooms are seeing more customer traffic in recent weeks, although the owner concedes that consumer interest tends to take an upturn as winter ends and spring arrives. Still, those ads are making an impression.

“There’s no question it’s going to raise our name as the one company that’s not screaming at (customers),” he said.

There’s no question that I’m thinking Tomkinson. But I bought a new car only a few months ago. Do you think he’d sell me just the monkey?

Source: The Journal Gazette
Byline: Sherry Slater