Environmentalist & Car Fanatic...leaves you wondering, huh??

[climbnc]

My name is Will and I'm a senior in college (hopefully graduating 12/08...hopefully). I'm an Environmental Science & Outdoor Education double major...with minors in Chemistry and Math. I've changed my major 5 times, beginning with Mechanical Engineering. So, regarding the "Title" of my thread...To put it simply, I'm an avid supporter of the care and proper stewardship of the earth, but I LOVE CARS!!! If it sounds like a tough row to plow...it is!! My credibility and integrity has never really been called into question, but it does make people wonder. O yea, I think that TOP GEAR is, by far, the best motoring show in history!!

This is completely unrelated to my introduction, but I cannot seem to convert .mkv files to any other format so that I can burn them onto DVD's. I run Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) and I've spent HOURS reading through forums (such as macrumors.com) in search of a solution that I have yet to find. I'm not quite sure how everything works on this site yet, but I would love it if someone with a PC could convert some .mkv files and repost them. Specifically, the Discovery Channel's "Engineering The World Rally" Episodes 1-4. I found Episdoes 5 and 6 in AVI and I have created, what I think, is quite a cool custom theme for this short, amazing series. ( iDVD v.7) Let me know if you'd like to see the theme, and/or whether of not i could post the disk image I created for Episodes 5 and 6.

Thanks

Will

[nthfinity]

20 years old, and a senior in college/ whilst changing your major 5 times? unlikely.....

anyway, welcome to Motorworld. I drop gears for Prius's and love the environment too... but not likely in the same aspect you think of ;) But challenging ourselves with logical arguments :)

2012 unfortunately is the start of the death of the sportscar, ... not unlike 1972... but fewer ways to develop from there :(

[HeilSvenska]

There's nothing wrong with caring for earth and loving cars at the same time. I'm all for stopping deforestations and saving animals. Heck, I even grow plants. It's just that I don't believe banning cars will get rid of the pollution as easy as environmentalists think.

By the way, welcome.

[styla21]

Howdy.

Always great to have another hippie in a car forum :mrgreen:
(Welcome)

[MidEngine4Life]

2012 unfortunately is the start of the death of the sportscar, ... not unlike 1972... but fewer ways to develop from there :(

No future for cars like the tesla?
http://www.fuel-efficient-vehicles.org/energy-news/wp-content/uploads/tesla-roadster-at-pacific.jpg

[styla21]

What's happening in 2012? (I didn't get the memo! :blink:)

[nthfinity]

"No future for cars like the tesla?"
The Tesla is proof that 100 year old technology hasn't improved in the last 40 years.... not for distance, speed, or efficiency. Nicola Tesla wouldn't approve ;)


CAFE Request for Product Plan Info for Passenger Cars and Trucks through MY 2017 The purpose of this request for comments is to acquire new and updated information regarding vehicle manufacturers’ future product plans to aid in implementing the President’s plan for reforming and increasing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and further increasing the already reformed light truck standards. The agency is seeking information in anticipation of obtaining statutory authority to reform the passenger car CAFE program and to set standards under that structure for MY 2010 – 2017 passenger cars. The agency is also seeking this information in anticipation of setting standards for MY 2012-2017 light trucks. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/beans/infused/vcmchannelcontentdisplay/jsp/images/spacer.gif http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/beans/infused/vcmchannelcontentdisplay/jsp/images/feature_arrow.gif Corporate Average Fuel Economy - Request for Product Plan Information for Model Year 2007-2017 Passenger Cars and MY 2010-2017 Light Trucks (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/cafe/CAFE%20Reform%20data%20request%20notice%20MY%20201 0%20to%202017.pdf)

Already, every manufacturer major in the world has abandoned next generation engines... from Italy, Germany, England, USA, etc. .... and have even announced the cancellation of various cars due to the new government regulations interfering with the market.

The few sportscars that remain won't be as "mass produced" to maintain CAFE... the only way around it is to increase production of the cars that people don't want... and those cars will sit on dealer lots until those lots are full... then they will begin filling up the lots of the manufacturer.... the unsold cars at Chrysler of 2007 will seem small by comparison.

The only way the US manufaucterers... and perhaps even BMW/Mercedes/ Porsche will stay in business in a reasonable way is through government subsidies... not unlike the rail system here :( .... or the government forcing that the people buy cars that we just simply don't want to. The beginning of the end of the greatest symbol of personal freedom in the world....

[climbnc]

20 years old, and a senior in college/ whilst changing your major 5 times? unlikely.....

anyway, welcome to Motorworld. I drop gears for Prius's and love the environment too... but not likely in the same aspect you think of ;) But challenging ourselves with logical arguments :)

Well, it might be "unlikely" but it's a fact...trust me, I was there ;-)... Regardless, I didn't mean to be arrogant by telling my age and class. That would've been the dumbest thing ever! "Let me join a private tracker so I can run my mouth, flatter myself and alienate people!" thought Will...now that's unlikely

:-)

[climbnc]

I hope this isn't REALLY the case, but it really does seem like those guys in Washington just sit around dreaming up the best ways to take our freedoms. (What is the worst piece of legislation passed by the current administration? I'm thinking the Patriot Act or No Child Left Behind) Like I said in my Intro, as far as ethics go, I feel that I have an obligation to be a good steward of the earth. By the same token, I DEFINITELY don't think the U.S. government has the right to do whatever they want, whenever they want it, an to whoever they want! To me there's a line that the government has no business crossing...lately though, it seems like they've been ding a slalom test, back and forth, over that invisible line. We can't ever forget, WE GIVE THEM THEIR POWER.

[Vansquish]

Well, it might be "unlikely" but it's a fact...trust me, I was there ;-)... Regardless, I didn't mean to be arrogant by telling my age and class. That would've been the dumbest thing ever! "Let me join a private tracker so I can run my mouth, flatter myself and alienate people!" thought Will...now that's unlikely

:-)

Welcome Will!

I believe you, I changed my major 3 times before I settled on Physics at U of M and graduated at the ripe old age of 21, so I don't think that what you have said is impossible...it just depends on how early and how frequently you declare a different major and so forth. It's certainly doable. At any rate, if you install the Matroska video pack, you can convert various different file types (.mkv inclusive) to AVI or any number of other formats. Here's a little website with some info on it:

http://www.riverpast.com/en/support/tutorials/convert/mkv/avi.php

Feel free to ask if you've got any other questions, but the application itself is pretty straightforward to use.

[nthfinity]

For the time being, we aren't going to go into political debates much... in the past, it hurt the site where people took opposing views so far as to troll topics... I think it's OK to discuss how politics affect our cars... but that is about it for now.

I think eventually the "political debate" forum will be part of Motorworld again... but no idea when.

[RC45]

I hope this isn't REALLY the case, but it really does seem like those guys in Washington just sit around dreaming up the best ways to take our freedoms.

This the inherent truth about unchecked organized government, but it is not the product of the "party politics" you see every 4 years (as an example in the US), it is the product of career bureaucrats that sadly believe their "job" is to "run the peoples" lives and that they always know better.

You seldom see these types of governmental interference regulaiton (in any country) coming from the leaders, but rather proposed up through the ranks from self proclaimed experts - and this is true for everything from pollution to nutrition to finance to healthcare - every country is hampered and crippled by the career politicans ;)

Welcome to the MW and the real world at large ;)

[Plague]

Welcome, buddy. Hope you're the king of environmentalist I like, caring about the Earth, but not more than about people...

[climbnc]

For the time being, we aren't going to go into political debates much... in the past, it hurt the site where people took opposing views so far as to troll topics... I think it's OK to discuss how politics affect our cars... but that is about it for now.

I think eventually the "political debate" forum will be part of Motorworld again... but no idea when.

I understand nthfinity...I've seen political discussions turn into ridiculously serious arguments.

[nthfinity]

I understand nthfinity...I've seen political discussions turn into ridiculously serious arguments.

Did Vansquish' post help at all? TBH, I haven't tried to convert any MKV files (is that a cell phone codec?) Most of the converting I do is limited to AVI/VOB/avi divx/ and I haven't used a mac in 10 years in any serious capacity.

[climbnc]

Did Vansquish' post help at all? TBH, I haven't tried to convert any MKV files (is that a cell phone codec?) Most of the converting I do is limited to AVI/VOB/avi divx/ and I haven't used a mac in 10 years in any serious capacity.

What Vanquish suggested for Windows only. There are a ton of programs out there for Windows but no one's made one for Mac OS X. From what I've read, there ARE "methods" for doing it on a mac, but they're beyond what I know how to do. To answer your question, .mkv is short for "matroska," a codec, or package or some crap that is used to "package" lossless video...or something like that. From the little bit I can gather it's basically an "H.264" codec in an ".mkv" package. I honestly don't know what I'm talking about here....I'm just throwing together bits and pieces from wiki, macrumors, and a million other forum communities! amusing huh?