Patrick

Thanks Gareth, Heidi, AdamKralic, Alex and Bob for the replies and wishes. Patrick

I had a nice, low-key Thanksgiving with my family. How was yours? Patrick

In my monitoring of Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals, this just popped on my radar: http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/detail.jsp?skuId=9999216200050063&pid=pcmprd215100050063&pcatId=abcat0403000&ref=199&loc=NKa3hZyYoHA&siteID=NKa3hZyYoHA-.rH1VyoKLBmRFRLS86de7Q Looks like a great deal, as explained here: http://dealnews.com/Canon-VIXIA-HF-R400-1080-p-Digital-Camcorder-for-170-free-shipping/920406.html#comments Through the first link I mentioned (thanks to the comments of the second link), you can get a 32 GB memory card with it. I would look for something similar to that one or what Gareth has been mentioning. One thing I'd make sure it has is an external mic jack. I think that is fairly normal, but maybe not all of them have it. You'll find that the camera's built-in mic is limited, so it can be very helpful to have the ability to buy a separate mic and connect it to improve your audio - usually in a major way. Hope this helps. Patrick

Thank you for sharing this. Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. With Hanukkah beginning this evening, we are now entering the winter holidays. Soon enough, we'll be at the end of the year. I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a happy holiday season and a happy, healthy and successful 2014. This has been a great year for KarateForums.com, highlighted by our 500,000 posts milestone. I am thankful for our longevity and for the members who truly add value to our community and, in turn, appreciate the value that it creates for them. Great members are why I continue to run this community, more than 12 and a half years after launching it. Thank you. Happy Holidays! Patrick

Voting is now closed. The winners will be announced soon. Thank you to everyone who voted. Patrick

Happy Thanksgiving. Patrick

Tonight's the night! Voting closes in roughly 6 hours. Please get those last minute votes in. Thanks, Patrick

With things like this, you just have to make the decision that you can live with. I can understand why athletes come back as long as they can, I can understand why some leave early. Neither is right or wrong, it's just their path. You don't want to wonder "what if?" Patrick

Thank you. Patrick

Thanks for the replies, CredoTe, Nidan Melbourne, Gareth, Alex, Noah, Bob and Brian. Agreed, Alex. Patrick

That's cool, badclams.

I appreciate the kind words and sentiment. That said, I don't need to be honored. Thanks, Patrick

Heh. Between the two of us was meant to refer to me and my programmer friend Chrispian, who was mentioned in the first post. Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. For whatever reason, when we turned six months old, I posted an announcement celebrating that. And we have continued to mark the six month anniversary ever since! KarateForums.com is now 12 and a half years old. With the 500,000 posts celebration still going on (though winding down), we have just been celebrating our community in a major way. So there isn't much that I can add to that. That said, thank you to everyone who has positively contributed to KarateForums.com over the years. Your contributions do stand out. Sincerely, Patrick

Thanks Nidan Melbourne. Between the two of us, it was probably in the neighborhood of 7-9 hours.

I don't follow the UFC, but this even crossed my radar. http://mmajunkie.com/2013/11/17/video-replay-ufc-167-post-fight-press-conference/ http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/ufc/dana-white-rips-gsp-after-ufc-167-win-retiring-speech/ http://www.tmz.com/2013/11/18/georges-st-pierre-pregnancy-illness-derail-ufc-fighter/ Thoughts?

Thank you for sharing this, AdamKralic. I'm not sure if you meant for people to critique the technique, heh. I like the personality. Patrick

Welcome back, Bill. Glad that you have that behind you! Patrick

Rest in peace.

Thank you to everyone who has voted thus far. If you haven't, you should! It doesn't take that long and is a great way to recognize some of the great members within our community. Patrick

Haha. Nice. Here are some details on the safety: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/11/15/how-volvo-created-the-jean-claude-van-damme-video/ It says they did it on the first take. Pretty impressive. Patrick

Yeah, it's amazing how big the story became. But, still, with or without them, it's a mediocre team. Probably going to have to suffer through this season, get these issues flushed out of our system and improve next season, hopefully. Patrick

I would just treat him as you would like to be treated. I like mal103's idea. Managing online communities like this one, I've come to a simple understanding: when it comes to what I can expect from a person, attitude wise, I can pretty much throw age in the dumpster as far as it being a useful indicator. I believe that a majority of all of the worst people I've ever had to deal with here, the people I have had to ban, the people who wouldn't follow a set of guidelines if you held it in front of their face every day for a year, were people in their late 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. What can I say about the 38 year old woman who flipped out, started spamming people, sending emails to members telling them how awful I was, hounding all of the moderators and talking about how they were all terrible at life? Was that her "teenage attitude"? Though it can be easy for one to become jaded, I don't go around saying "well, that's just adults for you" and that's that "adult attitude" coming through. Meanwhile, some of the greatest members we've ever had, joined when they were teenagers. What does this tell me? Nothing. Nothing except for the fact that, when it comes to drive, motivation, a good attitude, etc., age pretty much means nothing. There is an endless stream of adults who just skate by in life, putting in a half-hearted effort (or worse) in pretty much everything that they do. You know plenty of them, don't you? Of course, there is also a stream of teenagers who this applies to. In all, there is a stream of people, of all ages, who do this. I'd encourage you to just treat a teenager like any other decent human being and also understand that it's not easy being a kid, especially a teenager because while you are growing to become an adult, you are still pretty much in charge of nothing. People expect you to act like an adult, yet you literally get almost none of the perks of actually being an adult. Heh. As a reminder, you are all a member of an online community that was started by a 15 year old. It was incredibly frustrating when people approached me in this manner as I was trying to find my way. I remember one person told me, "I'm older than you, why should I respect you?" That always stuck with me and I've always endeavored to treat all members here the same, regardless of their age or experience in the arts. Just something to think about. Thanks, Patrick

Glad that you enjoyed it, Nidan Melbourne. Patrick