[ODE] More Newbie Questions

[danielkramer at gmail.com]

Hello,

   I am writing a simulator where some objects are fully dynamic and
others I want locked in space but still allow dynamic objects to
collide with them.   I found if I attach a fixed joint to each object
I want static then it works as I expect.  Is this the correct way to
approach this? I tried also explicitly setting the velocities to 0 at
each iteration.. but when objects hit them they still get "nudged"  a
bit which is cool.. but not what I was looking for.

The next step is to have some objects that I control directly with
keyframes (I'll read in a raw channel file for position each frame). 
I would want dynamic objects to interact with this keyframed object.

For example, having a shovel that gets it's motion from a channel file
and a pile of dynamic blocks that it picks up.   What's the best way
to control the shovel? setting positions or setting velocities?  I'm
worried if I set velocities then collisions will push me off course

thanks for any advice

daniel