Pinnacle is a real estate investment management firm based in Seattle.  They're establishing a PMO to put more consistent and repeatable practices in place (press release here).  Pinnacle expects more than process from its PMO, however. It was nice to see this quote from Pinnacle's Chief Administrative Officer Ed Wolff:

Pinnacle has recognized the need to establish a PMO to facilitate excellence in the execution of strategic business initiatives. Our ultimate goal is creating greater value for the assets we manage and our customers.

Hat tip: Real Estate Central (here)

Bendiciones!

The fans:

Scythe 120mm Case Fan 310 - 1200 rpm, DFS122512L-PWM

The nice thing about this fan is that it got the PWM-connection. And the motherboard I ordered just happends to have two fan-headers both with PWM (4pin)
I'm going to replace the to fans that's delivered with the Fusion since the word out on the streets tells me they're no good.. ..well, they are not bad, they're just a bit on the noisy side when it comes to being "whisper-quiet"  They will be put to good use thou, I'm going to shift some components around in my other PC's when I'm done putting this together..

The TV-tuner:

Pinnacle PCTV Tuner Kit for Windows Vista

I bought this a few weeks ago, and I got it working in MediaPortal.. ..sort off. The picture lags and stutter, and I don't know exactly where the problem lies. Either it's hardware, or maybe reseption? We'll see on the new PC if it works better, or else I have to find an alternative, and that probably going to be a dual tuner PCI card or something the likes. On the bright side, a MCE-remote, IR-reciever and IR-blaster was included in the package and I got it for almost half the prize, so it's not a complete waste..

I think that should cover it..

I've started to recieve the parts, I'll try for an update tomorrow or friday.. ..cheers!

I'm happy to see this. I think Delta was getting rid of too many of it's Delta Connection carriers, i.e. ExpressJet and Pinnacle, and decided to keep Pinnacle. Also note that Northwest Airlines has exercised their right to remove 17 CRJs from Pinnacle's fleet and over to Mesaba. Note that this is only because Pinnacle could not reach a new pilot contract, which was a deadline promised by Pinnacle to Northwest. Northwest is allowed to remove up to 2 CRJs a month. So, it has been a rough year for the airline. 

It looks as though Delta is out of LAX for good, since the company pulled ExpressJet and has not announced any intentions of keeping the airline. Also note that Delta has strong competition in Los Angeles, like United, Southwest and American. 

Delta also held it's conference call in regards to the Second Quarter. There, Delta reported about it's status versus it's Atlanta hub competitor AirTran Airways. Dan Webb posted an article about the topic. You can also read about Delta's second quarter earnings and American's second quarter earnings here.

I'm curious to see what other airlines do with their regional carriers. It's no doubt that regional carriers are hurting too, due to the expense of crude oil. I also think that we'll see regional carriers die out soon, but only time and the price of oil will tell.

Image: flickr.com

This article will explore methods used to capture VGA and DVI signals from sources such as PCs, servers, medical devices and embedded machines.

Once the VGA signal is captured, one can broadcast it over the web, archive it for later viewing, or even edit the captured images/video. The main advantage of having a VGA capture solution over a "screencasting" or screen recording software is that no software must be installed on the source machine, and the captured signal is a 1:1 copy of the VGA or DVI output. Many solutions exist for the capture of VGA signals ranging from simple inexpensive solutions to high-quality diagnostic capture devices.

VGA is used in a variety of computerized equipment, including PCs, servers, projectors, radars, medical equipment, scientific equipment, ATMs, and more. This article will thoroughly examine and evaluate methods that can be used to capturing the video signal from all these devices.

Terminology

VGA - Video Graphics Array: Connector interface for transferring analog video signal. Also known as D-SUB and RGB.

DVI - Digital Video Interface: Connector interface for transferring digital video signal.

HDMI - High-Definition Multimedia Interface: Connector interface for transferring digital video signal, audio signal, and has support for copy protection.

Frame Grabber - Device used for capturing a video stream and transforming it into a format that is readable by a PC. Also referred to as framegrabber, VGA grabber, VGA capture card, VGA capture device, RGB capture card, and others.

Capture Card - Similar to frame grabber. Internal PCI device that allows for video capture.

Devices Used for VGA Capture

Depending on the price range, there are many ways that one can capture a VGA signal. We will review wide range of solutions from average quality home use consumer devices up to high quality external frame grabbers that are suitable for recording VGA signals for educational, legal, industrial, commercial and military use.

For a low-priced solution with marginal quality and frame rate, one can use a VGA-to-Video Converter. This device takes the VGA signal and converts it into a video signal (RCA, component, or S-Video) which you can view on your television. You may then use any video card, such as those from Nvidia or ATI with video-in to record the VGA signal (now converted into an analog video stream) onto your computer. Alternatively, you may use an external capture device such as those from Pinnacle. In fact, since you have a standard video signal, you may just use a standard VCR (video cassette recorder) or a DVD DVR (digital video recorder) to record the output. All of these solutions would yield marginal quality with fairly low resolution of 640x480, but at a price point close to $100.

While the low quality VGA-to-video capture solution is satisfactory for some, more expensive solutions exist for high quality, high frame rate, and high resolution capture. Prices range from $300 to $3000, depending on the manufacturer and desired quality. These devices are commonly referred to as frame grabbers, as they "grab" an analog VGA signal and convert it into a digital USB stream that can be interpreted by a computer.

There are two types of VGA and DVI frame grabbers in existence: external (over USB) and internal (over PCI). To date, Epiphan Systems is the only manufacturer of high quality compact external USB-based VGA frame grabbers.

EMS Imaging, Foresight Imaging, Unigraf, PixelSmart and Ncast all manufacture internal PCI-based solutions. These devices all grab the VGA signal and have the ability to save it as a series of pictures (JPEG, PNG, etc) or a video file (AVI, MPEG) on the target computer. Some devices even support third party applications such as Windows Media Encoder or QuickTime Broadcaster in order to let the user share and broadcast the acquired VGA stream over the web. Frame grabbers are generally capable of capturing really high resolutions (up to 2048x2048 ) with very sharp colors and at high capture rates (up to 60 frames per second), and are deisgned for high quality capture applications.

Which Frame Grabber to Use?

The choice of frame grabber depends highly on the capture requirements of the user. Internal PCI frame grabbers need to be fitted into a desktop and are therefore difficult to move across different computers. They all require specialized driver software to be installed using administrative accounts. While suitable for home and consumer needs they might not be the best choice for corporate, industrial and secure environments where access to internals of signal source is limited or not possible. External USB frame grabbers, on the other hand, are very portable, lightweight, easy to move across different devices. They consume little power and are easy to move around. Some external VGA capture devices, such as entry model of VGA2USB grabber from Epiphan Systems, does not even require power source at all.

Some applications in which external frame grabbers are the only solution include, but are not limited to, medical device capture, air radar and marine navigation equipment capture, scientific and military equipment capture, and the capture of annotated courtroom evidence.

Of course, if the quality of the capture does not matter and the user has tight price restrictions, the VGA-to-video solution described at the beginning of this article would be optimal. In all other cases, USB and PCI frame grabbers are preferred.

In general, external frame grabbers are usually preferred for high-quality capture to internal ones because they are easy to store and integrate into computer systems such as a rackmount servers easily due to their small size, ruggedness, and portability. What's more, installing a frame grabber does not require modification of the source device, which makes the VGA capturing proccess 100% secure. For example, during the Torino 2006 Olympics, Epiphan Systems' VGA2USB series of frame grabbers were used to capture output from GE LOGIQ Book XP ultrasound machines used to diagnose athletes and broadcast the captured signal to radiologists over the web.

Summary table of the different offerings:(Device, Maximum Resolution, Maximum Update Rate, Internal/External, OS Support)

EMS Imaging Xtreme RGB: 2048 x 1536, 40 fps, Internal, Windows

Epiphan Systems VGA2USB Pro: 2048 x 2048, 60 fps, External, Windows+Mac OS X+Linux

Foresight Imaging I-RGB 200: 1600 x 1200, Not specified, Internal, Windows

Unigraf UFG-03: 2048 x 1536, Not specified, Internal, Windows+Linux

PixelSmart Video Extreme: 768 x 512, 30 fps, Internal, Windows

Ncast DCC 3.1: 1920 x 1200, 60 fps, Internal, Windows+Linux

Overall, the Ncast DCC 3.1 has the best specifications compared out of the internal PCI frame grabbers on the market.

Epiphan Systems' VGA2USB Pro has the best OS support and is the only VGA capture device that supports Mac OS X. Epiphan Systems' solution also has the highest maximum supported resolution.

Conclusion

For those that rarely capture VGA signals and do not need a high quality lossless picture, the combination of a VGA-to-video adapter and a simple video capture device would be a sufficient and low priced solution for their needs.

However, those that would like to capture lossless and diagnostic-quality images and video from any VGA source, including secure computers, laptops, military radars, marine navigational equipment and medical devices, require an external VGA frame grabber. While Ncast's DCC 3.1 device seems to be the best available internal PCI card device, Epiphan Systems' external VGA2USB Pro surpasses all other VGA frame grabbers in terms of capabilities and is the best frame grabber on the market to date.

Jeff Walt,
Chief Technology Strategist for MTI Corporation / North America.

The software bundle, which also includes Microsoft's Live OneCare computer security software, will be sold at nearly 700 Circuit City stores for $ 70 per year.

Bryson Gordon, a group product manager for the Office group, said in an interview that the agreement with Circuit City Stores Inc. is not exclusive, and that the bundle will be available at other retailers and on PCs sold by the likes of Dell Inc. in the future.

Subscription pricing for software has become commonplace in businesses but is a relatively new concept for consumers. The Microsoft Equipt bundle - formerly code-named "Albany" - includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, plus OneCare and a handful of existing free Windows Live applications.

Buying those programs the traditional way would cost about $ 200; consumers who want to replace Office 2007 with "Office 14," rumoured to be set for a 2009 release, would have to pay full price.

Under the subscription model, upgrading to a new version is included in the annual cost.

Gordon said Equipt is aimed at people who wouldn't ordinarily buy Office at the same time they purchase a new computer. Instead, they'd repurpose their old Office disks or pirate a friend's copy, he said.

But those same folks are willing to spend extra on security software, Gordon said, and that's why Equipt's $ 70 price tag falls between the high and low end of popular security programs from vendors such as McAfee Inc. and Symantec Corp.

I received a note this morning. Funny. I wrote one to myself on Sunday morning (circa 2am post-surprise birthday shindig bestest of all time i have no idea how i got so lucky holy fuck there were 12 candles waha).

I don't know who the letter is from. I have a damn good idea who it's from, though.

I'm keeping it forever.

Thank you. I know you're reading this.

You've never been this you before
So unforgivingly open and feeling
Yet so closed to the world.

You are learning to use your exuberance for good
And not to gain the attention of the unworthy ones.

You are leaving your mark without stain
And you're finally moving up to taking blame for your own pain.

You've cuddled and kissed and learnt so much.
You are reaching more than you just touch.

You are still meek and mild
And, look at you,
You are raising a beautiful child.

You are, at last, at one with your mind.
To yourself, you begin to be kind.

Some of the coolest photos on cards are the ones that are posed, not action shots. A couple of cards I'll never forget are the overhead shot of Benito Santiago unmasking in 1991 Topps and Doug Jones holding the flaming baseball in 1991 Score. There's a bunch of others that are similar too.

In 1996 Pinnacle added a bit of celebrity to their set with the inclusion of the Christie Brinkley Collection. The way the inserts are presented, it looks as though the supermodel was brought in and did photo shoots with players on the Braves and Indians (the previous year's World Series participants) and getting them to do silly things.

Here's one of my original baseball heroes Fred McGriff getting goofy and pretending to take a bite out of a baseball. Although a little corny (okay, a lot corny), it's still a fun card.

Christie Brinkley Collection cards were inserted in 1996 Pinnacle Series Two at a rate of 1:23 hobby packs or 1:32 retail packs.

Anyway, 1991 was the first year that Score introduced a premium brand to supplement its regular issue, which had been going since 1989. Up until 1991, the standard football card front was a single action shot (or portrait). Pinnacle changed that by putting two photos on the front: an action shot on the right and a smaller portrait to the left. This resulted in a fair bit of empty black space on the card front, which was unconventional and a bit inefficient, but I think people accepted it because it was a completely new way of designing a card front. The UV coating was pretty unheard of (remembering that 1991 Topps and Bowman were still using brown card stock on their card backs).

Another innovation of this set was putting quotes for offensive linement on the back of the card (but sometimes from biased coaches on the same team). I thought was a nice touch. I think Score also introduced some anti-counterfeiting grid thing at the bottom of each card, but I'd have to research that a bit more.

And then this happened.  Jeremy's death shook me to my soles.  It was that pinnacle moment in my life when I made a conscious decision to stop living in my own misery.  Our years on this earth are precious - Jeremy lived out his years happily and joyously.  I didn't want to keep living mine in unhappiness.

While the choices I've made since Jeremy's death all haven't been rainbows and roses, I am content in knowing they were my choices.  Not someone else's.  Not anyone's but mine.  I own my choices these days.  And when necessary, I defend those choices.  Certainly, divorce was not a goal of mine (go ahead, check my list up top... it's not on there) but it happened and my life steered in a direction unknown and frightening to me.  I learned to breathe on my own.  I am finally on my way to working in a career that will create the professional fulfillment I have craved.  While I would have rather avoided a bad marriage than signed divorce papers, what I know now is not what I knew then and there's nothing I can do but carry on.

Almost two years have passed since the death of my friend Jeremy.  As I reread the words I wrote when the shock and sadness were so fresh, I felt the same sadness all over again.  His impression on me remains indelible.  It is a mark in my life's calendar, a mark I cannot ever forget, a mark to live completely.