DancingSamurai.ca

I was having a little issue with Premiere Elements; namely, that when I tried to create a new project, it would not let me “Change Settings” – I clicked on the button, and the dialog that came up was empty, and all the buttons were blank.

This wasn’t an issue before, but I have some videos of my son taken by my brother-in-law’s camcorder, which records in HD. So, I need an HD profile…

The solution is posted here in the Adobe forums:

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On all my Windows XP machines, I’m used to pushing Win-L to lock the screen and go to the Welcome Screen, so for example, I can pass the computer on to my wife, and come back and resume everything I was working on without any lost time.

On Windows Vista (which I have on the laptop because it came with it – and I’m not spending any more money on a Windows XP license, as if you can still find them….), Win-L just goes to a new ‘locked’ screen. It’s an extra mouse click to go to the select user screen. Which doesn’t seem like much, but despite the fact that the resolution is the SAME FOR ALL USERS, Vista insists on refreshing the screen. And Vista being Vista, it is SLOW to do this. So, instead of 2 seconds to switch users, it takes 10-15, which is really annoying for a supposedly ‘upgraded’ operating system.

I know, I know, I should just install Linux on the laptop. My wife probably wouldn’t even notice. :) But, I do ocassionally play games (ok, ok, dual boot, I know).

I’ll do that with Windows 7 I guess…

Anyway, this website has a workaround that, while not ideal, allows me to get to switch users with a quick keypress in Vista (Win-2). So, somewhat improved user switching. Doesn’t help if the screen saver kicks in & goes to the ‘locked’ screen automatically… but when it comes to Microsoft, I’ll take what I can get. They even have a solution for Vista Home/Home Premium without a TSDISCON executable.

1. Create a shortcut on your desktop to TSDISCON (* see below) and call it something like “Switch User”
2. Go the shortcut Properties page and assign a shortcut key. Note that unfortunately you can’t use the Windows Key in your shortcut – so I went for CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + L
3. Right click Start button and choose “Open All Users” and move the shortcut into the Programs folder (confirming the UAC prompt as you go).
4. Log out, and back in again. This is necessary because Explorer hasn’t noticed there’s now a shortcut with a new shortcut key it should be taking notice of.

And that did it. CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + L isn’t quite a neat as WinKey+L but it’s a hell of a lot better than poking around in the Start Menu.

I got back to doing some video editing this weekend (old videos of when I was just a kid!) and ran into an Adobe Premiere Elements issue with the audio sync.

This is video from an old VHS tape I got a local video guy to burn to DVD for me (I know, could’ve done this myself, but the capture card not worth the investment since I will likely never need to grab anything off analog formats again…). I had big problems syncing the audio from the VOB files (except for the first one). Actually, the audio would be out of sync in any player except for VLC player…

I tried a bunch of things, and also tried to ’stream’ & save the file through VLC, but nothing worked. Finally I stumbled upon this guide which gave me the simplest solution of all: Use DVD Decrypter to rip the separate 1GB Vobs into one big VOB file. Presto, problem solved, no more sync issues! (I could’ve tried to join the files with VobMerge as the guide suggests but I figured it would be safer just to re-rip).

Anyway, new videos are in my gallery. Ask me for the password if you don’t have it.

So I’m trying to find a good hands-free solution for the phone while in the car. No, my new car didn’t come with it integrated into the audio system. And yes, I know, statistically talking on a hands-free phone while driven is just as bad as talking on a handheld phone. Our lawmakers clearly don’t care about that though, and only handheld phones are going to be illegal.

So, I need a bluetooth thingamajig that can sync with my phone and send/receive calls. This unit is on sale at Best Buy – anyone have any experience with it? Any other suggestions?

What a wonderful story (via Whitecoat)… and quite timely too, since I have a new rock in my life as of last week!! Ah, the sleepless nights are beginning… :) But it is really worth it!

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Ok, this is ridiculous. My wife has been trying to find latex-free household gloves (you know, for cleaning, doing dishes etc.) and nobody seems to sell them any more. I found something promising on Amazon (.com, not .ca) – but the shipping makes the cost prohibitive.

Anyone have any ideas?

I’m at the Mature Women’s Health Care CME course offered by Mount Sinai (in Toronto) today. The last time I was here, it was a great course (except for the injection of an evidence-free acupuncture-for-infertility talk).

I’ll let you know how the course goes as the day proceeds… first up, ? Screeening for Ovarian / Uterine Cancer!

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Well, apparently this phishing/scamming company “Warranty Services” has made its way up to Canada. My wife and I (and several of our friends) have been receiving non-stop phone calls saying something like “This is your second and final warning, the warranty on your vehicle is about to expire!”. They display a caller-ID like (416) 000-XXXX (seemingly random numbers).

I’m trying to get them to stop calling me!

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