Over the weekend I shot about 5 hours of video using a borrowed Sony Handycam. This was my first entry into taking video and I have been anxious to see what the results were. Attempts to import the video stream from the camera to various computers using the included USB cord were unsuccessful and frustrating. After downloading a copy of the DCR-TRV17 manual from Sony I discovered that the USB cord is only intended to work with the Sony Memory Stick flash memory on the camera. If you want to stream video you either need to patch the camera to a VCR or television using the A/V patch cords, or get a “i.Link” or Firewire cable.
Last evening using a Firewire cable we were able to import video to iMovie. I had seen demonstrations that made this process look simple but I wasn’t quite prepared for how simple it was. With iMovie running I plugged the camera in and turned it to VCR (playback) mode. iMovie immediately told me that a camera was attached. I soon discovered that the software controls in iMovie operated the camera: I could play, pause, and stop the tape. I could fast forward and rewind; even cue the tape, all with the click of the mouse. Clicking the import button immediately started creating a clip of the material playing on the camera.
Amazing.
With a couple hundred minutes of footage to import we’ll be using an external drive to hold all the imported clips. This will allow us to edit and splice where we want, and also transport the imported clips from one machine to the next without having to re-import the video.
I am very impressed with the ease-of-use Apple has achieved with iMovie, I’ve yet to read the help file on iMovie and already I feel like I can be highly creative. It just works.
I soooooo want one of these….
When I was growing up my father occasionally served as photographer for weddings. I remember him saying that it was the worst possible situation for a photographer. As he put it, “It is the only day that those people are all there, dressed like that. One mistake and everything is ruined.”
This past weekend I served as photographer and video grip for a piano concerto competition. I am fairly handy with an automatic digital camera and wasn’t too worried about my ability to take good pictures of the performers and the awards ceremony afterwards. I’ve never (well only once about 12 years ago) used a video camera. The one I borrowed for this event was totally new to me. With ten minutes to go before the performance was too start I still hadn’t figured out how to put the tape in it for recording. (Turns out the access is through the bottom of the camera, you know, the bit screwed to the tripod.)
As the first performers were playing their concertos and I was dutifully starting and stopping the camera I couldn’t help by wonder if I was actually recording anything, or if the sound was working. Like a wedding and its attendant reception, there would be no second chance to take this footage. Eventually I convinced myself that that camera was designed to just work, and that I’d have to actively try to screw up the basic function of “put tape in and press record.” A preliminary glance at the recording through the camera today revealed that my hunch was correct. It seems that the video portion of my efforts worked perfectly.
Disaster averted. Hopefully, lesson learned.
Last night I was poking around in the Applications folder on the iMac and discovered, much to my astonishment, that I own a copy of Quicken. It’s the 2002 version, which neatly coincides with the age of the machine, making me think that it was an extra included when the machine was originally purchased four years ago. Somehow it has remained, lurking, in the Applications folder all this time without my noticing it.
Wanting to keep better track of my spending and funds I decided to give it a try. Within a few minutes I had accounts setup for my checking and savings accounts, and had imported the QIF file downloads from the credit union. I’ve been in the bad habit of not tracking receipts and expenses for some time now, using this will require that I start poking “yes” at the gas pump instead of “no” when it offers to print a receipt.
This morning I sat down and wrote out checks for a couple of monthly bills so I could mail them on my way to work. I entered them in to the register immediately. I understand that it takes three weeks to develop a new habit and make it part of your routine. One day down, twenty to go.
After working for two and a half years in a building that provided certain amenities, I am discovering that I have been conditioned, like Pavlov’s dogs, to expect some things to work a particular way. Flushing the toilet, for example, or washing my hands afterwards.
The building my previous engagement inhabits is equipped with automatic flush toilets and urinals. As soon as you move away from one it flushes automatically. My new employer’s building doesn’t have auto-flush technology, so every time I step away I have to return in order to flush. I’ve been conditioned to expect the toilet to react without my participation.
The faucets in the sinks were the same way. Each was equipped with a sensor that turned the water on or off based on whether your hands were under the spout or not. I find that even after nearly four weeks here I am still putting my hands under the faucet expecting the stream of water to appear as if by magic. I wonder how long it will take for me to stop expecting these automatic, proximity based events.
Our goal to walk more this year has not been overly successful. Still we are trying, and yesterday, with some much warmer weather to enjoy, we managed to walk about two and half miles. Just south of the Overland Park apartment there is a golf course, and wrapped around two sides of it a paved nature trail that the city maintains. The accumulated snow from the past few week was melting so parts of the path were covered in slush, other parts water. Despite having wet feet by the time we returned home, our walk was very enjoyable.
After just a few minutes of usage from my work location, I can say that EV-DO rocks. The mobile broadband card I received yesterday is outstanding. The speed test over at InternetFrog consistently gives me numbers in the 650 kbps range. No, it isn’t as fast as my cable modem at home, but it is unrestricted, unfettered, and unlimited access.
Hot diggity dog.
The best waste of time on the Internet these days is Line Rider. The video below is the best Line Rider video I’ve seen. Wow.
Wanting to have the freedom of wireless Internet connectivity regardless of location, access points, or corporate policy I decided to reward my self with a mobile broadband card. It should come as no surprise that I am already on my second card, just a week after taking the initial plunge.
Cingular Data Option GT Max 3.6 My meager understanding of the alphabet soup surrounding the mobile broadband card tells me that there are at least two, if not three, competing connectivity protocols: Edge, 3G, and EV-DO. The GT Max card supports 3G and Edge. To say that it was slow would be a kind understatement. From my desk at work, the primary location where the card will be put to use, I barely managed to get speeds of 29.9 kbps. For those of you who don’t remember your kilobytes per second this is no faster than dial-up speed. Bandwidth through a straw (and a flat one at that) rather than a hose.
Sprint Pantech PX-500 After just one day of 29.9 crawl I went back to the Internet and ordered this EV-DO card from Sprint. EV-DO (Extra vigorous data option?) promises to be 4 to 5 times faster than 3G or Edge. And since the monthly price is the same (something new, last time I looked several months ago they were $20 a month more expensive) I might as well have as fast as I can get.
The new card arrived today, just a day after I ordered it. Removing the Cingular software only took a few minutes and a reboot. The Sprint connection software installed smoothly, and after its reboot I was ready to try the card. Only it wouldn’t connect. Apparently it needed to be activated first. The ensuing phone call to Sprint service lasted an hour.
It seems that the ESN (equipment serial number?) assigned to my card belonged to another account. The first customer service representative patiently worked through the process of trying to contact the other account holder and, when he hung up on her, she determined that his account would be suspended and that I’d get a new phone number tonight so I could use my card tonight.
Once the card was up and running she transfered me to a second CSR to cancel the original phone number assigned to the card. This actually was the longest part of the evening, taking a good 25 minutes. I have to see the first month’s bill to know for sure that the cancelation worked.
EV-DO Speed My initial test tonight resulted in a speed of 400 kbps. The CSR indicated that I could see speeds as high as 750 or 800 kbps. Tomorrow at work I’ll get to test the card from where I’ll use it the most. My hopes are high. Stay tuned for an update.
Yesterday, on my way into the grocery store, I discovered a cell phone laying on the ground just inside the outer doors. There was no one nearby, so I picked it up. After failing to find any identifying information in the phone about who the owner might be I tried calling several numbers from the contact list, hoping that their caller id would identify the owner. If that ploy had worked I was going to have them contact the owner and tell them where they could get their phone back. Only none of the contacts I tried answered the phone. I got one voice mailbox after another.
Eventually it occurred to me to call 611, the universal cellular phone service number. Once I got the T-Mobile customer service representative on the line I explained that I needed him to contact the phone’s owner and tell them that their phone could be picked up at the grocery store service desk. The woman at the desk said, “Well, aren’t you swell” when I explained about the phone and asked her to hold it until the owner came to claim it.
It felt good to play the good Samaritan and even better to figure how to notify the phone’s owner. My phone has my contact information in it, including my home phone, but even then I’m not sure some one finding it on the ground would know to call me and not one of the entries in the list. I suppose that once you realized you’d lost your phone you could start calling it hoping the finder would answer.