Quotes (Last Week)
Three quotes I've heard in the last week that have caught my fancy-

(On the occasion of my daughter contemplating life).
"I've heard that if you live only in the present you will live forever."

(On parenthood).
"Over protective parents raise the best liars."

(Talking about an old piece of taxidermy.)
"Smells like a Sumo wrestler took a dump on a burning tire."
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(3 replies, Latest reply: Last Week)

Scheduling and budgeting. (2 Weeks Ago)
Radio and TV have become background sounds while I actually DO things, returning to the media area when something sounds interesting. I am reliving the days when I would drive to a location for hours, switching from transmitter to transmitter listening to CBC One. Now it has become the information and music soundtrack to my internet, my cooking, cleaning and waiting for an offer to buy my apartment. I think I preferred scenery but it is still enjoyable.

I schedule my time loosely but I budget my finances very closely now, down to the now obsolete penny. I plan for my working retirement, using the Multiple Listing Service online map to slide a frame up and down the East coast of Vancouver Island, looking at prospective properties that are near the ocean, have a good sized workshop and walking distance to a village or community (hopefully with a cafe and/or pub). So far the exotic favourites include Union Bay, Parksville and Ladysmith (they all have interesting stories as to how they got their names).

It's actually quite a bit of fun, give it a try- (avoid the Dreaded Mobile Home!)

http://www.realtor.ca/map.aspx

(Zoom in with the mouse wheel or click on the icon and move the frame around with a 'grab')

Other than that I try to get in some exercise every single day and have some time with some healthy cooking (now and then I have a spoiler meal). I'm trying some new health drinks in the morning (and some different beers in the evening).

This seems to be working out!




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Lazy (Mar 25, 2013)
I find that increasingly I can waste an entire morning or evening just reading, surfing or watching the idiot box. My recent purchase of Apple TV and Netflix hasn't helped any. The problem is that unless I go for a long walk or exercise I rapidly feel tired and almost weak afterwards. I have to force myself to get up and out, whereas previously I would think "What a nice day for a walk". Now insomnia has added to my malaise (it is 4:20 AM right now).

I need motivation. Somebody give me a kick in the arse.
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(10 replies, Latest reply: 5 Weeks Ago)

I dreamt that I was crying. (Jan 22, 2013)
I dreamt that I was crying,
And woke with my eyes dry.
I knew someone I never met,
Who only wrote a sigh.

This place is real, this place is not,
But here we are and they are not.
How real they were it's hard to say,
Just sad to know they couldn't stay.






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(8 replies, Latest reply: Feb 9, 2013)

Nothing Days (Dec 4, 2012)
Now that I am semi-retired (which seems like when I was freelancing, with a small bit of income in addition to occasional work) I find myself having days when there is nothing to do. Now don't get me wrong, there is ALWAYS something to do, whether here at this site or on my never-ending repairs or improvements to my home. But there are days where I get up, go out for a bite of breakfast, check the news, go for a walk, make lunch, make coffee, surf the web, make dinner and watch a film. Nothing really accomplished but I feel a bit guilty. I only commit one of the deadly sins, I admit but why do I feel like the day was entirely wasted?
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(13 replies, Latest reply: Dec 15, 2012)

Ch-ch-ch-changes. (Apr 13, 2012)
I no longer 'fit the business model of the new department' (which is the old department with a new name).

Soooo. I get to go back to freelance or bump some poor schmoo in another division. Or I could teach. Or I could retire and do odd jobs. But those are not entirely my choices to make- I have a 6 month old angel of a grand daughter I would like to spend more time with but I would most certainly have to move to do most of the above. I have three beautiful and talented daughters I would have to move away from as well, but then I have close, older family where I would move to.

What do I WANT to do? Live a quiet life near the beach and my (future) sailboat, garden and fill cracks in the wall for people who apparently will pay for that service. And babysit my grand kids when their parents are on vacation.

I need a bigger parachute.


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(43 replies, Latest reply: Nov 11, 2012)

Negative Fill (Mar 7, 2012)
I recently had to explain the phrase to someone who experienced the use of it on set. Fill, or soft light being bounced or projected on the subject is the wrinkle-erasing, skin smoothing light that complements a 'key' light (which is the artificial 'sun' source). Unfortunately fill light is not very dramatic looking and is often the result of ambient light that can be any number of colour temperatures.

Negative fill is a black card or board that literally 'sucks up' ambient light, giving the subject a harder look. Until you see what it does, it is hard to imagine (or describe).

I've just come to the realisation that some people's personalities are Negative Fill.

I shouldn't be surprised, there are people (usually strawberry blondes with pale, smooth complexions and pale blue eyes) who are always out of focus.
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Pointed question (Feb 14, 2012)
Has this Brit centric, originally BBC based site become an even stronger parody of the xenophobic old school, British site of full on blinder academia that not only ignores experience but focuses exclusively on written reference to a seemingly distant reality?

Are we becoming irrelevant to anyone who doesn't know about walks and pubs in the Lake District or academic reference at arms length?

Are you all nothing more than words, somewhat less than personal experience outside of each little world? Does your experience with an individual person or a month long vacation to where they live make you an expert about their country or culture?

Of course not.

Shame.
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(15 replies, Latest reply: Feb 14, 2012)

Everything. (Jan 6, 2012)
Everything is.
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(9 replies, Latest reply: Jan 7, 2012)

Grandfather clause. (Oct 17, 2011)
My little baby is having a baby.
When she came into this world I was all of 26 years old and now here she is, all married and in a profession having her first child at the ripe old age of 34.

I have a picture of her on my right arm, her head cradled in the palm of my hand and her toes touching the crook of my elbow. I remember celebrating, even inventing a drink I named after her- one can of mandarin oranges, one can of ice and most of a can of tequila. I visited all the neighbours and had them sample it from a pitcher.

Now she's 5 foot 10 and thin as a rail, although the baby bump is fairly startling! Her water broke about a half hour ago.

I'm so nervous I can't sit still.
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(4 replies, Latest reply: Oct 18, 2011)

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. (Oct 17, 2011)
We have the technology.

Faster, sharper but still alabaster!

I are impressed.


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Bin Laden (May 2, 2011)
The three things I am still in wonderment about-

Fox managed to spell his name wrong online and on air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4j2R0ZdLnw

Twice.

The same Grip ( http://answergirlnet.blogspot.com/2.../05/what-does-grip-on-movie-do.html ) I was working with when 911 happened (6 AM here, then) was working with me when Bin Laden was killed (about 8 PM here). I guess either we work too much or I should stop working with the guy.....


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(2 replies, Latest reply: May 2, 2011)

Craig (Apr 28, 2011)
My name (well, one of my names) is Craig.

My father named me that (along with two other given names, giving me- like him- a four barreled moniker) as the result of a bet. He bet a fellow mariner in the RN at the end of World War Two that either one of them would name their first born either Ailsa or Craig- named after the famous granite island in the estuary of the river Clyde. The shipmate had a girl eight months after I was born (my father had had two daughters before this point).

I've never contacted the woman but I've followed her career with interest- Moira Shearer was her mother and Ludovic Kennedy was the shipmate.

She has had a much more public, productive and creative life than I, which makes me even less inclined to introduce myself so for now I'll just go out and buy one of these-

http://miniaturasdelperu.com/MINIS%20WHISKY/AILSA%20CRAIG.jpg

To toast everyone involved.

I'll also think about these-

http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/...&q=100&sig=WCLgSCl8KR0Yt67rPYqgtg--

Which by coincidence I watched being used for the 2010 Olympics just down the road. Yes, the granite came from Ailsa Craig.





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Rev. Paperboy (Mar 17, 2011)
For those that remember him, some his extended family is MIA in Japan. He would probably not mind a line being dropped at his blog site.

http://kevinswoodshed.blogspot.com/

And he asks for Red Cross donations, which is easy for me since their local office is next door to my work location.

In any case, think good thoughts if nothing else.


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(2 replies, Latest reply: Mar 20, 2011)

dot dot dot (Mar 2, 2011)
Insomnia. Serves me right for having 3 beers with dinner and falling asleep at 7.

Why is Hollywood making spelling mistakes like bastard and happiness?

Why is FB such a crock yet it may be liberating whole countries?

Why are manic, bi-polar celebrities either actors or dictators?

When did the net become a source? Was it when the #1 fave google search was no longer porn?

I'd rather save the BBC World Service than Hootoo but why not both?

Why can*t I get the tune *It's The End of the World as We Know It* out of my wee pea brain?

Will I go back to phoning my best friend at 3:00 AM when I can*t rant here anymore? Will they threaten to come over an throttle me if I do?

I suppose the net has something we all seek in a friend- patience.


I miss the days here when I considered myself part of the night shift.
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(4 replies, Latest reply: Apr 21, 2011)

Time Lapse (Jan 7, 2011)
I was just asked what the frame rate would be for a four minute final length if it was for 7 days at 12 hours a day (it's a time lapse of builders so it only includes working hours). My reply-

"Seven days @ 12 hours per day is 84 hours or 5040 minutes. To make a 4 minute (240 seconds) piece at 30 fps would require 7200 frames. 5040 minutes or 302,400 seconds divided by 7200 frames is as it happens 42 (which of course is also the secret to Life, the Universe and Everything) so your frame rate is every 42 seconds.
Cheers!"

Ain't life grand?


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(No replies)

Something just occured to me... (Dec 20, 2010)
I wish I could post my (digital video) pictures that are the equivalent of a thousand words here. Maybe then I could express myself.

I've done documentaries, behind the scenes press kits and pure visual entertainment but I can't put those into an entry.

I like what I do and others like it too. Pity.



I wish I could post to Youtube but it is all copyrighted. I don't own what I make, I just make it.
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(2 replies, Latest reply: Dec 20, 2010)

The death of subtlety? (Nov 23, 2010)
Or perhaps the general absence of wit in entertainment and culture. Too much democracy in culture and the absence of a kind of regency or reward for intelligent comedy or drama or entertainment. A dumbing down if you will, the lowest common denominator that must be obvious and provable. Almost a scientific or statistical approach to culture, something that runs with II, III and IV versions of something that worked once instead of original ideas that resonate with those who have to think about it. What makes me like Tom Lehrer? The fact that every line has meaning and is relevant years after it was written, or that he was a mathematician who revealed the ridiculousness of the culture of his time with wit and subtlety both?

Oscar Levant said that those with wit only need to make a handful of pithy remarks to be remembered. I agree, so where is this generation's crop of those who have wit and subtlety?
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(9 replies, Latest reply: Nov 25, 2010)

Hootoo sentences (Nov 5, 2010)
I've noticed this before, but the line up of conversation titles on my PS very often makes a sentence. Today (after the site announcement)-



Seriously? This decision has been made because it contains content that is potentially libelous or defamatory. When did "Ask the h2g2 Community" get renamed "Ask H2G2"? Should Chief Gordon Lightfoot reinstate the Saskatchewan Rhinoceros hunt? If you're having a bonfire.. Can you recommend me some music? Now be Honest. What can we blame 2legs for? The Freedom Of Speech Conundrum.

OK, mostly a series of questions but there is an interesting thread there (well, interesting to me).
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(No replies)

A dubious honour (Oct 31, 2010)
My picture is in the Vancouver Sun newspaper today. Twice. Yes, the Vancouver Sun to which Hunter S. Thompson wrote a relatively famous letter of application for a job.

All I had to do was be part of a company that is celebrating it's 40th anniversary (and third owner) today.

Rah, rah.
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(3 replies, Latest reply: Oct 31, 2010)

Transition (Sep 27, 2010)
The company I work for is making the final transition to High Definition. I made the transition two years ago and have been waiting for them to catch up!

All the things I have been warning them about (lack of background footage in HD, the fact that you look better not worse on HD cameras, digital media is not physical, there are lots of excellent options for upconverting, etc.) are now revealing themselves yet I still get blank looks when I talk about anything technical. Once again I wonder what *Management* is when some of them have an extremely narrow field of knowledge when it comes to the nuts and bolts of what we do.

I always enjoy working with engineering staff, if I don't actually learn something from them it's an off day but at least I know they know what I'm talking about. Sales people, managers, office employees, even some technicians- they all seem to think that everything changed over night- and it change beyond their comprehension!

When I started in this business I was still in school, at 16 I was helping produce a local cable company half hour program. It was in black and white, then I went to university, then technical school and it was colour. Cameras were big, bulky and needed very large recording medium. Then came the minicams, followed by smaller media. Digital came next and now HD. I'm sure that before I'm finished there will be another leap-

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/artic...igh-definition_tv_standard_for_2015

..and I'll be operating equipment I can only imagine now. I remember an article in Zerb-
http://www.gtc.org.uk/publications/zerb.aspx
in the late 70's (back when it was printed) that talked about such ultra high definition. It envisioned a camera that statically shot an entire football pitch, with an operator that used just the area around a moveable cursor to broadcast. I can see it happening, if just for labour savings!

Anyway, am I the only person around who sees all this as part of a process rather than a quantum leap?
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(4 replies, Latest reply: Sep 27, 2010)

Virtually virtual (Aug 31, 2010)
The company I work for is close to achieving 90% virtual sets- with remote operation, in HD.

http://www.fullmentaljacket.com/projects/global-local/

This doesn't really affect me much since I'm not part of news, news gathering or news broadcast but it has had an interesting side line for me. In order for the set to have *windows*, HD footage of local urban views have to be recorded. Sooo... I have to go out and lock off shots that are not too long or too short and that don't have a potentially repetitive action in them (the cycle of the shot is about 5 to 10 minutes and can't for instance a bus that goes through it since that will be repeated every 5 to 10 minutes).

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Try a dozen or so views framed roughly the same at dawn, mid day, evening and night. Now add weather variations.

I expect to be busy since I will be out standing in my field (or park).
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(11 replies, Latest reply: Oct 3, 2010)

Pidgeons (Aug 31, 2010)
Several weeks ago I noticed a pidgeon spending a lot of time on my patio. Shortly after that I noticed it had laid two eggs on the bare concrete. Only a day later a nest had been made (what an odd order, I know!) and two pidgeons took turns laying on them. Awww, domestic avian bliss....


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(13 replies, Latest reply: Sep 1, 2010)

Batter Bonanza (Jul 20, 2010)
Today I discovered this:

http://www.clubhouse.ca/en/products...d6781e2-bca0-48a4-974b-9d1aa21b97b3

From my fishing trip I still have several pounds of halibut in the freezer (several dozen, actually) so I thought I would try doing some pan frying.

It's odd (no, not the batter) but I remember the taste of this stuff like a memory of a long lost toy. I must have subconsciously chosen it, because I have no memory of the product itself. I've used Clubhouse products before (sorry to my UK friends if it's not available there, or if it is it's something different) but not this one. It's bringing back memories of my childhood so I suppose my older sisters or my mother used it. Mum passed away when I was young so I'll ask both sisters.

I wonder if it will make them feel the same way. Kind of nostalgic but happy.


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( 1 reply, Latest reply: Jul 20, 2010)

Wooden Ships on the Water (May 25, 2010)
Last Saturday I was winding up my visit / fishing trip with relatives when one of them mentioned a free Wooden Boat show in the bay I spent most of my youth in (but mostly on the beach!). Took some snaps:

http://public.fotki.com/clzoomer/maple-bay-wooden-bo/

And I once again began thinking about retiring in a *liveaboard* in that self same bay. I even asked about internet hookups!



Then of course I got home and started looking at prices.... maybe in four years? LOL
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(4 replies, Latest reply: May 27, 2010)