Problem: Article: If you have a compatible graphics card installed, you can use it to help speed up your rendering time and offload some of the process from your CPU. Click Options and select Preferences from the bottom of the menu. Click the video tab. Click the drop-down menu next to "GPU acceleration of video processing" and select your graphics card. If your video card is not supported, it will not appear in the menu. Click Apply and then OK to close the window. You can open this window by clicking the Project Properties button above the preview pane, or by clicking File Properties. This will open a new window which will allow you to adjust all of the details of your project. You can set the project properties before you start editing your video. At the top of the Video tab, you will see a Template drop-down menu. There will be a large list of templates to choose from, but if you are rendering in HD there are only a couple you need to pay attention to. If you are filming in NTSC (North America), select "HDV 720-30p" for 720p or "HD 1080-60i" for 1080p. If you are filming in PAL (Europe), select "HDV 720-25p" for 720p or "HD 1080-50i" for 1080p. The main difference between NTSC and PAL is the framerate (29.970 vs. 25). If you are shooting at a higher framerate than NTSC or PAL standards, such as 60 fps, choose the appropriate template for the resolution you want. If you are rendering 1080p video, you will want to change the field order for your frames. Click the "Field order" drop-down menu and select "None (Progressive scan)". This will result in smoother video. After selecting your template, look for the "Full-resolution rendering quality" drop-down menu. Ensure that it is set to "Best". Most modern digital footage is shot in progressive mode, so there is no need for deinterlacing. Click the drop-down menu and select "None". Any other method could result in unwanted scanlines in the final video. If you are rendering in 1080p, select "Blend Fields" as most 1080p footage still uses interlaced frames. This will help reduce the chance of small black bars appearing around the edge of your finished product. Once you are finished configuring your custom template, you can save it for easy access later. Enter in a name to help you remember it into the Template field, and then click the Save button. Your custom template will be added to the list, allowing you to quickly select it again. Here you can adjust your audio settings for your project. There are a few things you'll want to check in order to ensure the best-sounding video possible. Sample rate (Hz) - This should be set to 48,000, which is DVD quality. Resample and stretch quality - This should be set to "Best".
Summary: Turn on GPU acceleration. Open the Project Properties window. Select a template. Change the field order. Check the rendering quality. Select the deinterlace method. Check the "Adjust source media..." box. Save your template. Click the Audio tab.

Problem: Article: These devices are easier to use than a multimeter, though they don't do as much as a multimeter. These testers have a slide that moves back and forth to adjust to different battery sizes. Open the slide and insert a AA, AAA, C, or D battery into the slot with the positive side touching the slide. Then check the display for the volt reading. To test a 9v, some meters have a separate port to touch the battery against for a reading. Check your meter to see if it has this feature. Some meters can also test lithium ion batteries if they're shaped like standard alkaline batteries, but not if they're irregularly shaped.
Summary: Place the battery in a battery tester for a simple reading.

Problem: Article: The gar thrives in the Mississippi river basin, from Southern Ohio and Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly found in the freshwater bodies of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas, the alligator gar is a distinctively Southern fish. As with many things, the biggest are generally found in Texas. The Henderson Swamp west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans, are populated with Alligator Gars. So are the Pearl and Pascagoula River in Mississippi, the Mobile, Tensaw, Tennessee, and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama, and the Escambia, Choctawhatchee, and Apalachicola Rivers in the Florida panhandle. Texas rivers such as the Colorado, Trinity, Guadalupe, Sabine, and other main channels are most frequented and have the largest record gars to date, as well as the largest known populations of alligator gar. A "dead lake" is a lake that is inundated by an adjacent river when the water is high, but is landlocked when the river is at a normal level. This is the perfect kind of place to fish for gar. Secure permission to fish this water, and whatever licenses are required in the jurisdiction you are fishing in. You will need to have access to fish your choice of locations, so if there is no bank access, you may have to secure a boat. The alligator gar is just one species of gar, a long-nosed, sharp-toothed, distinctively prehistoric fish. They can weigh over 250 lbs and can survive up to two hours above water. The gator is the largest species of gar, and is the largest exclusively freshwater fish in North America. It can be as long as eight to ten feet, and the current world record for the largest alligator gar caught on rod and reel is 279lb 0oz. The largest taken by Bowfishing is 365lb. If the gar's snout is more than twice the length of its head, and is no more than a few inches wide, it's probably a longnose gar. Florida gars and spotted gars have shorter snouts and are covered with distinctive, brownish spots. The alligator gar--your target--is the largest of these fish. It has a broader nose than the long nose, with two rows of teeth where the other gar have one. It can be quite large. The gar spawns in brackish waters in spring, around April, but the best time for hunting them is in late summer, when it is hot and dry. In July and August, alligator gar can be found in deep river bends adjacent to relatively shallow pools. The deep water is where the gar congregate, and the shallow water will allow you to spot them more easily when they come up to feed.
Summary:
Head to the American South. Find a slough or backwater. Learn to spot the 'gator gar. Know when and where to look.