DIS Dads The Dis Dad's Club II

[DisneyFed]

I did hear reports of poor battery life with the standard battery, so I got a higher capacity one right away.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that, I did the same thing, the aftermarket battery works very well though!

 

[Wherem I Now]

I second the JVC Hard Drive camera. Very small, very light. The DVD burn that Fed mentions is available as an accessory if you can't find one that comes with it. I pull all of my videos onto my computer and edit them before I burn copies.
I got mine online, I think it was butterflyphoto.com for around $300. Of course, a brick and mortar store will usually charge a bit more. I did hear reports of poor battery life with the standard battery, so I got a higher capacity one right away.

We also have the Everio camera but don't have the direct to DVD burner since I also like to edit before burning. Problem is that I can play the video direct from the camera and it looks good. But when I burn to DVD using the Cyberlink software, the quality just isn't the same. What software are you using to edit and burn?

 

[AirGoofy]

Today starts a very hectic month. DD4 has a birthday party for one of her friends today. Her own birthday party is next Saturday for all of her friends from up here. The Thursday after that we point the van south for the 20 hour drive to Florida. In between, we have to purchase and pack up all of our provisions for the trip. 2 weeks in Florida, and the drive home, arriving sometime around Sunday the 25th. Then on Haloween, it's another drive 3 hours north to my mom's place to see my brother who is home from China for a visit. I'm going to need those 2 weeks of relaxation!

Sounds hectic, but would you want in any other way (especially since you get a vacation trip in). The birthday parties just seems to get more elaborate each year. My two DDs 7,5 have had birthday party and 20+ friends at a local gymnastic place, pizza party place, and the public swimming pool before it opened to the public. Now, oldest wants a sleepover for birthday this year. 19 days to go !!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

NO!!! I need to do that, stand by..

Oh, and uh, I think Corn Fuzz had the keys last

he probley lost them on all those free rides on test track.

 

[dvczerfs]

There really are no keys. You just kind of stick a flat head screwdriver into the ignition and wiggle it around a little until it catches. Sometimes you have to give the starter a good whack with a hammer if it won't turn over.

 

[GoHerd1028]

Just wanted to let everyone know in case you were wondering....only 4 days left!!

 

[dvczerfs]

Just wanted to let everyone know in case you were wondering....only 4 days left!!

i was just sitting here waiting for ashley force to run
wondering, hum , i wonder how many days does steve have to wait? i was guessing 5. how bout them bengels!!!!!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

We also have the Everio camera but don't have the direct to DVD burner since I also like to edit before burning. Problem is that I can play the video direct from the camera and it looks good. But when I burn to DVD using the Cyberlink software, the quality just isn't the same. What software are you using to edit and burn?

I use iMovie and iDVD on my Mac. There's a problem with the widescreen on my version of iDVD, so I have to run it through another utility to fix that. Other than that, no quality problems on the DVDs.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Sounds hectic, but would you want in any other way (especially since you get a vacation trip in). The birthday parties just seems to get more elaborate each year. My two DDs 7,5 have had birthday party and 20+ friends at a local gymnastic place, pizza party place, and the public swimming pool before it opened to the public. Now, oldest wants a sleepover for birthday this year. 19 days to go !!!!

We're having the party at a local nature center. The kids (15, I think) get to make a plaster mold of an animal track, then they take them out into the woods to look for tracks and other signs of animals. Yup, we're squeezing some education between the cake and ice cream!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

So, 11 days before we're to leave for vacation, my water heater springs a leak and soaks my basement. A few hundred dollars on a new one, 3 trips to the hardware store to get the right fittings to get it hooked up, and one very heavy, wet and disgusting trip up the stairs with the old one and my water is hot again. How do you get ready for vacation?

 

[GoHerd1028]

So, 11 days before we're to leave for vacation, my water heater springs a leak and soaks my basement. A few hundred dollars on a new one, 3 trips to the hardware store to get the right fittings to get it hooked up, and one very heavy, wet and disgusting trip up the stairs with the old one and my water is hot again. How do you get ready for vacation?

look at it this way...at least it did not start to leak while you were gone and not know about it until it had done a lot of damage!! Now that you have it fixed try to put that behind you and focus on the goal at the end of the road!! DISNEY!!!

 

[disneynutsx4]

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki
So, 11 days before we're to leave for vacation, my water heater springs a leak and soaks my basement. A few hundred dollars on a new one, 3 trips to the hardware store to get the right fittings to get it hooked up, and one very heavy, wet and disgusting trip up the stairs with the old one and my water is hot again. How do you get ready for vacation?

Knowing that the water heater prob is DONE...GONE...FINITO. And one less thing to remember as you sip a Dole Pineapple Whip at the MK. Or chug free pop at Ice Station Cool at EPCOT. Or scarf an entire Garbage Pail ice cream bucket at Blizzard Beach. Is there a theme here?...Mmmm...Garbage Pail...

 

[MiJo]

Just wanted to let everyone know in case you were wondering....only 4 days left!!

We're at 6 days, 13 hours and 22 minutes 'til we land at MCO!

So, 11 days before we're to leave for vacation, my water heater springs a leak and soaks my basement. A few hundred dollars on a new one, 3 trips to the hardware store to get the right fittings to get it hooked up, and one very heavy, wet and disgusting trip up the stairs with the old one and my water is hot again. How do you get ready for vacation?[/B]

For us, we took our Border Collie to the Vet for a stomach bug: $271, including a service dog discount.
We replaced our water heater several months ago. Fortunately, we caught it when it had just started to leak this time.

 

[GoHerd1028]

Let's all count together....1....2....3....Yes only 3 days left until we leave!!!

 

[KTME]

So, 11 days before we're to leave for vacation, my water heater springs a leak and soaks my basement. A few hundred dollars on a new one, 3 trips to the hardware store to get the right fittings to get it hooked up, and one very heavy, wet and disgusting trip up the stairs with the old one and my water is hot again. How do you get ready for vacation?

Prior to our cruise in June:

1. Find out the wife is pregnant 4 days before we leave.
2. Part of the ceiling in my sons room collapsed onto his bed the night before we left. (yes he was in the bed, no he did not get hurt)



All Dads that are getting ready to go.. Have a Great trip and be safe. Have a Dole Whip for me. I tried it for the first time in May and loved it.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

All Dads that are getting ready to go.. Have a Great trip and be safe. Have a Dole Whip for me. I tried it for the first time in May and loved it.

Ditto! Wish I was joining you guys, but I've got 39 more days till we make a brief stop at the WL before our first cruise...

Unless, of course, the hot water heater falls through my son's ceiling or something...

 

[Emma's Dad]

We're back and the medical test went fine!! So, it looks like we'll be heading to WDW in 9 days!!!!!!

THAT'S AWESOME! Even more reason to enjoy the World in a couple of days!

Ya'll are beating me up with the trip countdowns. We've got 271 days left. Do you know how hard it is to keep the minivan from pulling towards the south while on the outerbelt?

I feel ya, brattosa! 211 more for me!

ok Dads...question here now...We have a 5 year old Sony Handycam that has suddenly stopped being able to upload anything to a computer or TV or anything for viewing. So, I think we might be buying another one this week before we go to Disney...What kind do I get and what is the best one out there> I don't want to spend a fortune. 300 or so is the max I want to put into it with technology like it is anymore...it is outdated when you buy it. Do I need one with a Hard Drive, Disc, Tape (which is what we have now) or what? Advice or suggestions appreciated...I will probably go to Sams or Best buy this week so let me know.

Steve

Here's my input (albeit a little late)... I gave up on the video camera toting. We now have a Sony Cybershot W55 still camera that also does video. It shoots 640x480 video just like the Sony Handycam we have. It just doesn't have stereo sound. Just have to buy more Pro Duo memory cards for storage (which is cheap anymore). I just download them to my computer, edit the videos, then burn to DVD. My current trip report's pictures and videos were done with this camera. The only reason I would go back to a video camera is if I were going to HD. And I'm not paying THOSE prices ... yet.

Sounds hectic, but would you want in any other way (especially since you get a vacation trip in). The birthday parties just seems to get more elaborate each year. My two DDs 7,5 have had birthday party and 20+ friends at a local gymnastic place, pizza party place, and the public swimming pool before it opened to the public. Now, oldest wants a sleepover for birthday this year. 19 days to go !!!!

HAHA! My DD's birthday party last year was a trip to a local hotel in Virginia Beach. They have an INDOOR lazy river! It was cool... about 15 kids running around in the middle of December playing in a lazy river. it was a blast!

We also have the Everio camera but don't have the direct to DVD burner since I also like to edit before burning. Problem is that I can play the video direct from the camera and it looks good. But when I burn to DVD using the Cyberlink software, the quality just isn't the same. What software are you using to edit and burn?

I use Nero 8 to edit/burn my dvds. There are numerous settings you can change to get the quality better... but I'm putting my bet on this: You may be trying to put too much on the DVD. If the video length is longer that the recording time on the DVD, the software will compress the video even more... causing lower quality.

So, 11 days before we're to leave for vacation, my water heater springs a leak and soaks my basement. A few hundred dollars on a new one, 3 trips to the hardware store to get the right fittings to get it hooked up, and one very heavy, wet and disgusting trip up the stairs with the old one and my water is hot again. How do you get ready for vacation?

Ouch! That's a bad day! But like other have said... good thing it happened when you were home!

So this weekend I was able to get a little Disney fix by visiting our local Disney store. We were there to pick up a few items for a birthday party on Sunday. I ended up having to be dragged out of the store! Here's a question... does Disney have a certain "perfume" or air freshener that makes their stores smell the same?? Seems every time I enter one it just smells like Disney! Anyway, I managed to leave without buying anything for myself

Also... my parents are visiting the area over in Sandbridge beach this week. And they brought 3 of my siblings and their respective spouses... so we are going to have fun this week!

 

[The Disney Fanatic]

Just a few more minor details and the coutndown ticker is on it's way for March!

 

[MiJo]

Let's all count together....1....2....3....Yes only 3 days left until we leave!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

Let's all count together....1....2....3....Yes only 3 days left until we leave!!!

1 2 3 im at 7days 8hours and 30min.!!! heres three dancers for 3days!