#PAR News Flash!
60 messages in this thread
Hey Alan,
Thanks for the enthusiastic reports on the PAR. You mentioned some GusG
drivers, how do they work into the picture here?
Michael B.
You're very welcome, Michael.
Gus's driver is a nice little(?) program that "fools" the system into thinking
that the PAR's HD is the next DOS logical drive, without running a traditional
redir statement or device in the config.sys file. It is a command-line routine
and can be run anytime, even after running my Lantastic/CD-ROM redir
statements! Not only that, but when you copy a TGA (or group of them) onto the
drive it promptly converts it/them to the PAR format and is ready for playback!
Extremely cool.
I hope Gus will jump in with anything I have forgotten or am mistaken about,
but at this time, this is my best understanding of the program.
Gus?
-Alan
Just one note. I convert the RGB image (Targa file) to YUV, process chroma
filtering, noise filtering, and send it down the pike. The actual "PAR"
conversion is done in hardware within the PAR. In reality, my conversion
process generates a lot more data than the TGA fed to me. I could hardly call
that "compression" <g>. This whole process takes about 1/3 of a second. Get the
image through the PC bus to the PAR takes a couple of seconds and the PAR
conversion is almost instantaneous once the data is over there.
The driver itself is a standard "DOS Device Driver". I opted to have it command
line loadable as I hate to have to reboot my machine if I want to take things
out. That way, all you have to do is to "unload" it.
Thanks for the clarifications, Gus. (shaking my head) This whole thing is
pretty amazing to me, that all that stuff happens so quickly. My frames are
completely copied/converted in about 4.5 seconds apiece!
ALL devices like this should be command-line loadable and un-loadable (if
possible), IMHO. Computers are *supposed* to be convenient. <g>
-Alan
Wow that's great. Gus, what can you say about this guy…<g> Anyway, so this
driver can be run from the command or from within Video Post? I am still a
little fuzzy about the way this drive looks on a system.
Your such a good pick to eval this thing, but I've got to confess, I think I am
already sold. This really sounds cool. Hah! A mini Abekas in a 33. great.
So what do you do about time code. Do you have to black the tape first or is
that unnecessary?
Michael B.
Yep, I think we're all pretty lucky we've got Gus around. Hot
programmers/hardware experts with a finger (or whole hand, in Gus' case<g>) on
the pulse of 3D animation and related issues are not exactly coming out of the
woodwork, from what I've seen…
You even get a PXP you can run in 3DS to get your stuff to the PAR drive,
courtesy of Gus and GregP.
No time code needed to simply get field-rendered animations properly to tape.
Although I'm no expert, I'd suspect strict adherence to NTSC standards for
frame/field timing. Just roll the tape and record away!
-Alan
Well, the fact that Pryos is shipping this stuff with the PAR certainly makes a
compeling case for purchasing the unit from him.
>>You even get a PXP you can run in 3DS
Does this mean that we are talking two different pieces of software?
I'm not a video person, but it seems like if you didn't put timecode
on a tape and you wanted to use it in an editing environment you
might have problems. I see that direct recording is great but how do
you add sound to the tape or edit an animation recorded this way into
another video. It probably isn't even a problem, just my ignorance
of video operations. Maybe some of our video literate colleagues
could clarify this issue.
Do you think being able to playback your animations in a video format
will affect your style? I wonder about this because most of the
animations I do are "crafted" as computer animations as opposed to
video animations. I imagine there are subtle differences in one's
approach to an animation that is going to video in the same kind of
sense that a painter will generally settle into a certain "pallete"
of colors which becomes markers of that artist's style.
Michael B.
Mike,
I think basically Alan was saying you don't need time-code because with frame
by frame you have to pre-stripe the tape, which is time consuming. All VTR use
control track so you can record straight to it. Depending on the VTR your
using, even without laying down time-code you can do an Audio insert. All most
all industrial decks have this ability. However if you want to be able to do
precise audio inserts then like in the past you're going to have to stripe you
tape.
But there is another possibility depending on the deck you have. You
can also record from the PAR in assemble mode (as opposed to insert)
which if you have a time-code generator like in the AG-7750 will add
time code to your recording. If you leave enough of a head and tail
as you lay down your animation in real-time you then will have
control-track and time code. Then you can also go back and do audio
inserts without having to pre-stripe the tape and also be able to
edit with the tape using time code.
Those are the options.
-JE
So what you are saying is that if the PAR is in "assemble" mode and your are
recording to a VTR that has a timecode generator the timecode is going to be
added to the tape at the time of recording the animation. Is this sort of
correct?
Actually another scenario was inkling in my mind. I was thinking about sound
software that allows you to link it SMPTE timecode. I am more than vague on
this but somewhere in the old bean I suspect this might be a potentional. A
little knowledge can be dangerous.
Thanks for clearing that up….I think. It isn't totally clear to me and I
doubt that it ever will be until I start using the equipment.
Michael B.
Sorry Michael, I assumed too much. No you won't be putting the PAR in
"assemble" mode, rather your VTR. This is a feature of professional
decks as opposed to consumer grade, although some pro-sumer decks
allow you to do this.
A good example of a VTR which can do this is the EVO-9650 with which
you can do "insert" and "assemble" edits. Here is a quick primer on
the difference between the two.
Most home brand VTR's do "assemble" edits, which is why you get a
glitch when you start and stop recording. Newer decks have a feature
called "flying erase" heads which allow you to roll back into
previously recorded video and start recording with no picture
break-up. But this is still an "assemble" edit. Some even hold a
still image in memory from the last frame and allow you to continue
the action from there.
The difference basically between "assemble" and "insert" is that with
"insert" you have a continuous control track and or time-code and
that when you edit you're just inserting images in the video or audio
portion of the tape. This does not break control track or time-code
which are recorded on seperate channels. "Assemble" on the other hand
is recording video, audio, control track and time-code if you've got
it, all at the same time.
With frame by frame you need to do "insert" edits which means that
you have to have pre-stripped the tape with time-code. But because
the PAR plays back in real-time, you can put your VTR in assemble
mode, and even with a home deck that allows you to do audio only
recording, you can lay down the animation in real time and go back
and insert audio only, as the control track and or time code has
already been laid. However it gets more complicated the more precise
your start and stop time for audio needs to be.
John, One additional clarification regarding the practice of assemble editing.
First a definition of the control track: The control track is a
series of pulses at the edge of the tape that controls the speed of
the servo on the video head. The control track is like the sprocket
holes on film but as electrical signals rather than holes. The
practice of assemble editing from a non stable source such as a non
TBCed tape playback is that its sync will be unstable because it is
generated by a motor and therefore will lay down unstable control
track to the recorder. What the recorder will do is like a film
where the sprocket holes are not evenly spaced. The tape will change
speeds at wierd times. Generally speaking, if one needs to use
assemble editing then the playback source must be TBCed or from a
crystal controled sync source such as the PAR or a camera. Otherwise
use the insert mode where the control track has been previously laid
down by a stable source. In addition, when using two different
playback sources that are stable in the assemble mode they must also
have a common sync or there will be an abrupt change in tape recorder
speed at the edit points.
I'm sure you know all this but others could probably benefit.
Thanks Don. I for one appreciate the expansion. Can I come down there and
apprentice with you for a while? Just don't make me go swimming in any caves.
Michael B.
If you haven't read the earlier thread, it was basically with regard
to adding audio after recording an animation to tape from the PAR.
The concern was how to add audio without time-code. Alan made the
point that you didn't have to do insert editing to put your animation
to tape with the PAR so you didn't need time-code. I believe Alan's
point was that this saved time because you didn't need to pre-stripe
the tape. Mike was confused by this figuring that if he wanted to add
audio he would need time-code. So I explained that if he left enough
of a head and a tail on the tape, ie: started the recording early (in
assemble mode) before he ran the PAR, he could lay down control track
and time-code (if the deck was so equipped) and that this would allow
him enough pre-roll to either do audio inserts on the fly or do audio
inserts with an A/B edit. And that even if the VTR isn't time-code
capable many consumer decks allow for insert only audio. Which should
be sufficient for many people contemplating buying the PAR and
archiving their animations to tape. But suffice it to say I didn't
get into that much detail, just enough to let him know that it was
possible and how it was possible.
-JE
It's interesting that this particular case Time code isn't really an
issue and the PAR's sync self generated would be stable enough for
assemble editing but the point I was trying to make is that one has
to be careful with assemble editing because without a good
understanding of what happens in this process one could get into
trouble by using a playback VTR w/o TBC for assemble editing. Dealing
in the lower end of the editing services business I run into many who
have made this mistake and come to me to fix their tapes. Many of
these amateurs were sold way too heavily of the "magic of flying erase
heads" not realizing that these erase heads are only a part of what
is necessary to make a good stable master. You and I take much of
this stuff for granted but you'd be amazed at what walks in here
daily and the misinformation these amateur videographers doing
weddings and such carry. Did you know that July and August and
January are the peak months for fixing up amateur screwed up video?
Do you know why?
At any rate Mike should be in safe stable sync with the PAR for assemble edits
and TC has many options beyond that. BTW: I did get the beginning of the
thread. However, I just had a thought, If he feeds genlock to the PAR it may
destabilize the control track depending on the genlock source, in the assemble
mode. For me, I always try to work with pre-blacked tapes here and I only lay
TC to those that need to work with my Diaquest. I primarily use control track
editing here being a Type 5 editing facility.
Take Care,
Don
Yes. I get it now. Very good explanation, I do understand now. Thanks so
much for taking the time to detail those difference and how they relate to the
PAR.
I definitely am going to have to get one of these systems. Thanks for that
lesson on video editing. My territory has been a painting studio until I took
up this computer.
Mike,
Glad you got it. It can get pretty technical but really for most animators its
pretty straightforward. And you know where to come if you get in trouble. <g>
-JE
Thanks again, when I get that puppy I will no doubt be back.
Michael B.
Like John said, you certainly *can* use time-code when dealing with
the PAR, especially if you're gonna need it down the line. It just
doesn't seem to be absolutely needed *just* to get field-rendered
animation properly to tape.
There is, and I suspect is going to be, all kinds of software you can
use for PAR-related functions. GregP is selling a wonderful .IXP,
N-DUMP, that'll take network-rendered frames out of a drive and copy
them on to the PAR's drive *in order* and *during rendering*!! A
definite PAR owner's must-have. Absolutely neccessary for network
rendering directly to the PAR!
Many professional-level VTR's allow you to add Hi-Fi sound after video is
recordered to tape. This is where some sort of code; SMPTE, MIDI, or whatever
can be helpful if syncing is important.
Regarding the style issue: As the many threads in this forum relating to the
meaning of "what is art" can attest, it certainly seems that many different
people have many different feelings about what art they are going to create,
and how they are going to go about creating it. For most of the work I do, I'll
almost always try to strive for the "lots of colors" look, even if I'm limited
to 256 at a time. Thus, having the PAR's capability is frosting on the cake for
me, finally having the ability to see everything I have modeled and animated in
all it's color and movement. I guess that I'm really not versatile enough to
have developed a marked style that is optimized for a certain palette.
-Alan
John's explanation set me straight and I learned a thing or two about video
editing.
I was wondering how it would work on a network. N-DUMP.ixp The Greg and the
Gus are way ahead of my questions.
You must be having a ball with this thing. It must be like have Super Flics.
Let us not confuse style with art and get off on one of those tedious threads
again. Actually, my comment about a painter settling into a palette was only
metaphorical. But to beable to play back 24bit animations in realtime without
tape is like some sort of holy grail. What I was asking about was more about
things like the sense of timing you get from making computer flics. Like, you
get to know what pretty well how many frames a motion will take to look pretty
good at 15FPS. Now you have to get used to how long motions will take at
30FPS. Now you have more frames and more colors…as you say, frosting on the
cake. Time will tell.
Thanks for answering all of my dumb questions.
Michael B.
Your questions are anything but dumb, Michael. And we all learn by them.
Yep, the thing is a blast. RalphF got his last night and probably didn't sleep
a wink!
-Alan
>> Yep, the thing is a blast. RalphF got his last night and probably didn't
>> sleep a wink!
WHAT WHAT …slightly waking up 🙂
THE PAR HAS ARRIVED!! …and this thing is incredible!
In anticipation of recieving the PAR I have been rendering frames for
the latest video project (over 2 minutes worth of animation!) and
began the process of transfering them to the PAR last night. Lets
see 1.4 gig full, 210 meg and 235 meg full, 10-150 MB Bernouillis
full…now where did I put that last 600 frames 🙂
…and all those frames are not even putting a dent in the PAR'S 1
gig Micropolis 2210A.
WHAT A REVOLUTION….what's next in this business?
These frames will be put to Betacam SP over the weekend so if anyone has any
questions I'll do my best to answer them.
-Ralph
Ok Alan, so just rub it in. You So Cal boys have sufficiently stirred my toy
envy to the max. Make me jealous you dog. <G>
Naw really, keep us informed of your enthusiasim and problems. There are a
couple of old sayings whose truths seem to really operate well here on the
forum. Sharing your pain with others strengthens us all. And pleasure shared
is pleasure doubled.
Maybe RalphF will send up some signals from his cave.
Michael B.
He-He. Well, toys *are* fun, especially "tool toys".
Today I used the software (in a round-about way), to make a
heads/tails before going to tape. There are enough tools here for
light-weight editing, and I think this may be the first order of
business for upgrades to the PAR software.
<BG> Don't we love it when work is fun. That's what gets me about 3D
Animation, it is sooo much fun. "tool toys"
>>There are enough tools here for light-weight editing
Tell us a little bit more about the PAR software and what it can do.
Michael B.
Non-linear editing was alluded to at the show by DPS. If someone wanted to it
would be real lucrative to come out with a third party Non-linear editing
software. Did you read this Gus? How about it?
Mike, I'm about a day away from running the PAR here after 2 years of clunkity
clunk frame by frame. The time code is absolutely no concern. The best way I
can describe the PAR to newcomers is that it turns your computer into a camera.
Cameras don't have timecode either. Just use a timecode generator or post the
timecode to the tape or do an insert edit of the PAR stuff to a tape with LTC.
I've been posting my TC on my underwater footage for years as my camcorder
doesn't have TC either. There are many ways to do this. It's not an issue,
really.
Alan,
<< …copy TGA to the PAR's drive..>>
can you access the images that reside on the PAR's
hard drive for video post compositing?
jonas[adesk]
You cannot access them directly off the PAR drive, Jonas, as they are still in
PAR .ani or .stl format, but copying them back to TGA format is a snap, and of
course this sets you up for VP operations.
-Alan
Alan,
apparently, there is an IPAS routine (an .ixp) which the Gus wrote which allows
you to use par files directly off the PAR without converting them all to the
.tga's first. Gus please correct me if I'm misinformed. Sounds very excellent
to me, though. Chris Regaldo at the Pyros Partnership told me about it. I'm not
sure if it's included or is a 3rd party deal.
Somewhat… check an [extensive] message I left Jonas in this same thread.
Yup, just noticed that this morning, and I knew someone was gonna catch me!
Figures it would be you, mate. I knew it was in there, but didn't realize it's
full functionality until I got to know the unit a bit better.
Gus's DPSPAR.pxp apparently allows you to control a few key parameters of the
PAR within 3DS itself, one of them being the ability to read PAR files right
off the PAR disk. Pretty cool.
-Alan
Alan,
>> I knew someone was gonna catch me! Figures it would be you, mate. <<
well the PAR's one of my favourite subjects, you know 🙂
I know!
-Alan
Alan;
Does the PAR with the hard disk (attached?) fit inside the computer, or does it
sit beside the computer, and how does it connect. In a slot inside, through a
parallel port, ????
If it is outside, what are it's dimensions?
Just wondering.
Thanks,
Dennis
I would imagine most folks will install the HD like any other HD, Dennis. You
can certainly get creative and set up any configuration you'd like. The PAR and
TBCIV are full-sized ISA adapter cards and should be installed next to each
other for easy connection. A ribbon cable connects the PAR card with it's
HD(s). My Micropolis 2205A is a little half-height unit that is residing on the
bottom of the computer right now, 'cause all the drive bays are full! Maybe
GregP can fill you in in the dimensions of the larger HDs.
-Alan
I recieved my PAR today! This was the eaisest installation I think I have ever
had for a computer related product! (Except my replacement keyboard <g>) This
thing is fantastic!
–Nat'n
Alan:
Actually, you can use them! The driver allows you to read a single file off
the PAR as a Targa, so you don't need to first copy it to your hard disk.
Unless you need to copy it to your network for access by multiple machines!
Greg Pyros
Greg,
<<Actually, you can use them! The driver allows you to read a single file off
the PAR as a Targa, so you don't need to first copy it to your hard disk. >>
So for one image in a video post queue or one reference to
a bitmap per project but not multiple references?
jonas[adesk]
>> So for one image in a video post queue or one reference to a
bitmap per >> project but not multiple references?
I don't quite understand the question, could you repeat it in full
sentences and send my your config.sys and autoexec.bat files? <g>
Greg,
<< .. my incomplete sentences…>>
I think Gus answered me already. If I had limited non-PAR hard disk
space and I had all of my images on the PAR, could I create materials
with references to the images on the PAR, and could I have a Video
Post Queue filled with references to images on the PAR? Gus said
yes.(!)…(?)
Jonas:
Yes!
Greg
I will prefer to have 2GB for images, edit them and then dump the targas to the
PAR or whatever board I have to do that. I don't think that revert TGA JPEGed
images back to TGA and then again to JPEG is not a very good idea.
Or Am I wroooooong? :0
ana /krazy images
Hmmm…I guess I don't exactly follow what you are saying, Ana. Your
discription of reduntant conversions does sound pretty kludgy, though<g>.
-Alan
Well, I think that making multiple conversions between JPEG and any other
format is not a good idea. I think it could like when you convert a 24RGB image
to 32bit color space for CMYK printing and then you decide to go back to 24bit
to the RGB format. That's not a good idea. I thought that JPEG, could be a
similar process. First you cut down the information from your original RGB
image. Then you decide to convert the resulting information to non-compressed
RGB format again, then back to JPEG for playback. This not sounds good to me,
but probably I'm wrong.
ana /krazy images
Yeah, mutliple conversions like you describe probably would result in
generational loss of quality to the image. I must ask you to excuse my
absent-mindedness (I can always blame last night's PAR party — I lost a few
brain cells, but had a great time!<g>), but I fear I don't know specifically
what you are referring to. Please refresh my memory, if you could…
-Alan
In the print world, conversion between different color spaces equals loss of
quality (unless you are downsizing pixel depth, like from 48-bit RGB to 32-bit
CMYK, for final output). You said that you can't use images from the PAR disk
to edit in other programs or to access them from Videopost. You said that you
can convert them to RGB Targas from YUV JPEG (that's the compression scheme
that the PAR uses, right?), use the result in another program or in videopost
and then download them again to the PAR.
The intelligent move then is to avoid the PAR for the first render and render
to Targas in a large HD, process them and when all was ready, send them to the
PAR (and make a copy in that nice Exabyte tape that you probably have -or are
going to have soon <g>). I have a question, sirs. Could I use the Exabyte to
grab my TGA files, then take them from the Exabyte to edit them in secondary
programs or use them in the videopost, and then take them back to the Exabyte?
ana /krazy images
Ana,
You can take images to and from both an Exabyte and an Abekas, edit them and
put them back without the problems associated with doing such a task on the
PAR.
Paul
Sounds good.
ana /krazy images
OK, Ana, now I've got you!
No, I don't think I'd use the JPEG'd frames for Exabyte transfer to Abekas. I
think that most folks are planning to save the original TGAs for their final
work and use the PAR for preview, when they intend to use the PAR in
conjunction with higher-level final transfer formats. Using a program like
Pyros/Grubba's Ndump.IXP, you can easily render TGAs, save them (or dump them).
while simultaneously rendering to the PAR disk!
-Alan
From your reply, you didn't got me <G> Paul got me, but you didn't.
What I said you is that the best way to go is the way you have
described in your message. So, for a summary, this is, for me, the
nicest way:
If you are going to use direct renders with not postprocessing:
1. Render to the Exabyte and the PAR at the same time or render to the
PAR only if you only want to do a preview.
If you are going to process the images.
1. Render to Exabyte or a BIIIG HD for faster access. 2. Process or
use in the way you want the TGAs. 3. Get the resulted TGAs from the
Exabyte or the HD to the PAR. Simple! 🙂
Ana,
>>I have a question, sirs. Could I use the Exabyte to grab my TGA
files, then take them from the Exabyte to edit them in secondary
programs or use them in the videopost, and then take them back to the
Exabyte? <<
Absolutely.
Thank you, korsario.
ana /krazy images
Alan:
>> I lost a few brain cells, but had a great time!
That's what parties are all about! It was a great time, especially seeing the
look on your face when you saw us with Alec Jason at your front door! <g>
Greg Pyros
Yeah, We had some fun. The thing with Alec was choice! (see earlier message)
-Alan
Jonas,
The PAR Driver operates in two output modes. In its default mode, you "see"
the files in their native PAR format (*.STL for stills and *.ANI for
animation). By that I mean that if you do a DIR of the PAR drive you would
see a bunch of files with either STL or ANI extensions. This mode is used
primarily for backup. When you copy a file out of the PAR into another media,
you will be copying a PAR native format file, or, in other words, you would
get the file exactly as it is saved in the PAR drive.
The second mode of operation is what I called TARGA mode. In this mode, when
you do a DIR all you get is TGA files. The physical data itself never changes.
It's just when you copy the files out of the PAR into your hard disk that the
files get converted from PAR native format back to Targa format.
Besides the "Export Mode" option, there is a "Frame Number" option. This is
necessary in order to address a specific frame in an animation. There are
three possible modes of operation.
"Do Nothing" mode, the default, will give you only the first frame of the
animation.
"Automatic Increment" will give you the current frame and each subsequent read
the following frames. This means if you, for instance, were to type:
COPY P:\MYANIM.TGA C:\IMAGES\FRAME000.TGA
COPY P:\MYANIM.TGA C:\IMAGES\FRAME001.TGA
COPY P:\MYANIM.TGA C:\IMAGES\FRAME002.TGA
Each FRAME??? would have the appropriate frame sequence.
Working this way, all you need to do is to tell 3D Studio to use that "Targa"
file as a map or whatever. Each time 3D Studio will read that file it would
receive a new frame. This is also interesting when using Aldus Gallery effects
with a script. As you can't give a new file name each time, you just run the
exact same script over and over. Each time Gallery effects reads an image out
of the PAR it gets a new frame.
It is possible to tell the driver which frame is going to be the next frame at
any point in time. So, for instance, if you want to do the above but you want
to start at frame 50, you would tell the driver the next frame is 50.
When the "automatic" increment reaches the end of the animation it wraps
around back to Zero.
The third mode of operation is "Get the Frame Number from the Filename". In
this mode, I will take a look at the last (up to) 4 digits of the given
filename and extract a number from it. I will use that as the frame number.
For instance, if the animation is named ANIM0000.TGA and you type:
COPY P:\ANIM0049.TGA C:\IMAGES
You would be copying the 50th frame of the animation (0000 is the first frame
unlike 3D Studio's Keyframer numbering system! <g>).
This is the mode to use when an IFL file is used. It allows you to read the
frames in any order you want.
All of these modes and flags and parameters are accessible either through
command line options or from within 3D Studio. Along with the package you get
a PXP which functions as a little control panel for the PAR driver.
Coffee anyone?
Gus,
<<The second mode of operation is what I called TARGA mode. In this mode, when
you do a DIR all you get is TGA files. The physical data itself never changes.
It's just when you copy the files out of the PAR into your hard disk that the
files get converted from PAR native format back to Targa format. >>
So… after my sip of coffee.. If I wish to use images that I have
placed on the PAR as entries in my Video Post Queue, I would use the
above command to make a TGA copy of the image on my non-PAR hard
drive.(?) This also holds true for materials in that the bitmaps must
be on the non-PAR drive.(?) If my intent was to use the PAR for
rotoscoping mega-footage off live video, I'm required to copy that
compressed footage on to my non-PAR drive.(?).
Where's that coffee….
jonas[adesk]
No, no, no… I used the "COPY G:\STUFF" just as an example. First of
all, let me make it clear that you see the PAR drive as another drive
in your system. When the PAR driver is in "Targa Export Mode",
whatever you take out of the PAR drive will be Targa files. That way,
all you got to do is to tell 3D Studio that your maps are in the PAR
drive and give the animation name. 3D Studio would then read targa
files straight out of the PAR drive. It is, after all, a local drive
just like your C: drive.
Gus,
<< When the PAR driver is in "Targa Export Mode", whatever you take out of the
PAR drive will be Targa files. That way, all you got to do is to tell 3D Studio
that your maps are in the PAR drive and give the animation name. 3D Studio
would then read targa files straight out of the PAR drive.>>
That's what I wanted everyone to hear.
jonas[adesk]
Great stuff, Gus. Thanks.
-Alan
Gus,
very cool, Gus. You've been busy <g>.