Brendan,
The point of this thread and RB and Mikes input is to make it a LEARNING experience, not a competition. You say is that a competition is the only way to get support for it, well I have to disagree with that. There are plenty of competitions out there, what is being suggested here is quite different.
The spirit in which this whole thread is to compare what others are doing and hopefully learning what gear, processing works well, in a not threatening atmosphere.
Thanks for the your input though
Brett