Day 1876

I don't know what possessed me to start editing video again. I learned to edit many years ago using a Media 100 editing system. This software has been obsolete for so long that no computers I currently use will even run it. I loved Media 100 and used it faithfully during my most prolific years as a producer. The company was bought and sold several times and eventually just disappeared. I was forced to turn to Final Cut Pro and learn a whole new way of editing. Just when I was getting good with Final Cut Pro, Apple abandoned it in favor of a whole new platform called Final Cut Pro X. You wouldn't think that adding an X at the end of the name would change much, but it changed everything. I hate Final Cut Pro X.

I still try to edit using the old version of Final Cut Pro, which hasn't been updated in years. When I'm in a hurry, I often find myself trying to use techniques that only work in Media 100. It's a sad case of old dogs and new tricks. To make matters worse, many of the keyboard shortcuts in Final Cut Pro 7.0 only work with an old style keyboard with a numeric keypad. I haven't used one of those large, wired keyboards in years. Nevertheless, I stumbled through the day, relearning tricks and techniques on the fly. By the end of the day, I had a rough cut put together that seemed to flow reasonably smoothly from beginning to end. Sadly, I could have finished three videos in the same amount of time ten years ago using a slower computer and some rather rudimentary editing software.

This is why I mostly stick to writing these days. As long as you continue to write frequently, your writing skills don't tend to become obsolete. Working with technology is another story entirely. I've got entire shelves in the office filled with perfectly good software that is no longer supported. There's nothing wrong with this software. It just just won't run, mostly because today's modern operating systems won't recognize it. The early versions of Microsoft Word and Photoshop were just fine by me. Ten versions later, they both have become huge bloated monsters that take a long time to load and require huge hard drives. Most of my other business software is the same way. I'm tired of re-learning how to edit video or code websites every three years, but you've really got no choice. Software companies don't want you to continue using the same applications for decades. They want to sell you something new and bigger, with even more features. Now, they don't even sell you the software. You just subscribe to it, so they can keep changing things on a weekly basis.

I had plans to get out today, but they never materialized. There were so many false starts in my editing project that I only had time to walk the dogs and go to the bank. It wasn't a bad day. There were no looming deadlines and nobody was screaming at me. I just sat quietly at my desk wishing I had a time machine. Frustration was definitely the word of the day. Talk to me in a week and I'm sure I'll be up to speed on Final Cut Pro again. Maybe I'll have to buy a numeric keypad, or maybe I already have one in the storage warehouse somewhere. The video will get done though, and it will be nice.

Dash goes back to the cancer center for his regular three month re-check tomorrow. There's a little growth on his tail that I want them to check. I don't think it is anything to worry about, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. After a full year of treatment, I'm not ready for any more surprises.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day.

Day 1875

Dash took his last Palladia pill today. He is officially finished with his chemotherapy treatment. Dash is scheduled for another three-month re-check with his oncologist on Wednesday, but I think we are finally done. We've been doing this chemo routine for so long now that it will seem weird not to don the purple rubber hazardous material gloves every few days to put his medication in a little dogfood meatball for him to eat right after his dinner. Dash seems very healthy now, and I hope he stays that way.

With cancer treatment behind us and last week's satellite launch fading to a fond memory, life has definitely returned to normal. I have re-entered the world of slow drains, toilets that run, impossible deadlines, and birds that poop on my car. To add insult to injury, the weather has returned to normal as well. Instead of yesterday's almost balmy 65 degree temperatures, we woke up to a very chilly 23 degree hard freeze. I don't know how it got so cold in just a few hours, but I didn't dwell on it. We all bundled up and got the day started with a brisk morning walk.

There was lots to do today. I started logging the video footage I shot last week so I can begin editing  soon. There were several website edits I need to make for clients, along with the inevitable pile of bills to pay. I tried to see if I could teach Quickbooks to automate some of these recurring payments, but my version of the software is out of date and doesn't seem to support EFT. It was easier to just write a check and take it to the post office than to figure out something new.

When I went to pick up prescriptions this afternoon, I stopped by the T-Mobile store to see if they knew why my little 4G hotspot didn't work while I was in California. They didn't. This handy gizmo used to be a lifesaver on business trips, but increasingly I find that the mobile hotspot is being blocked by many hotel WiFi systems. I probably don't even need the hotspot anymore, since so many phones offer tethered Internet access these days. I could probably save a lot of money if I could just systematically eliminate things like this that I no longer need. But what do you give up when you think you need everything? I could have actually used that mobile hotspot in California if it had worked.

I'll probably spend half a day editing tomorrow and the other half of the day trying to figure out why Final Cut Pro isn't working properly. I guess I could use Avid Media Composer instead, but I find that it's easier to relearn things I've forgotten when using Final Cut Pro. I used to be so fast using these software tools. Use it or lose it, they say. I've almost lost it. I guess the only thing I do every single day now is write this blog. If I ever forget how to do this, I'm doomed.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1213

It was another day of small discoveries. One of my doctors has been telling me for months now that I need start lifting free weights to rebuild the muscle mass I had lost to statin drugs. I never really felt that I had the time, and definitely wasn't looking forward to joining a gym. Much to my surprise, I discovered that I have all the time I need. I now have a set of small hand weights on my desk that I use whenever Photoshop or Final Cut Pro gets bogged down rendering something. With the nature of what I do most days, this provides me with a more than adequate upper body workout. I don't know if lifting weights while editing qualifies as multi-tasking, but it sure beats staring at a progress bar on the screen as my complicated video transitions slowly render.

While we're on the subject of video editing, I discovered an amazing app that turns your iPad into a sophisticated touch sensitive control surface for professional audio and video software like Pro Tools, Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, and Logic. Every time I get a big editing job, I toy with the idea of buying a dedicated hardware control surface. You can save a huge amount of time during an edit session if you don't have to use your mouse for everything. Unfortunately, the time-saving control surfaces can be quite expensive. The iPad app solves all that. For a small fraction of what you might pay for a dedicated controller, the clever app gives you full control of your editing software via WiFi.  It's all pretty amazing to me. Of course I downloaded the app. Now I've got a phone that can control my DSLR and a tablet that can control my editing software. Who would have thought?

I've been toying with the idea of trying some sort of vegetarian breakfast. I'm not sure what this would consist of, but I'll bet it involves Tofu. When you try to eliminate meat, dairy products, and wheat, your options become rather limited. Maybe eggs aren't so bad. Maybe a little meat isn't so bad either. I think the real problem for me had turned out to be wheat products. My body seems to convert wheat products straight into sugar. My love for pancakes and french toast is probably what put me right on the verge of diabetes. Now that I avoid bread, biscuits, pancakes and other things made with processed flour, my blood sugar levels are back in the normal range. I carry little packets of Stevia around with me when I go to Starbucks now. My somewhat impossible goal is to eliminate sugar from my diet entirely.

The weather is looking quite nice again. I'm not going to be able to put off mowing the lawn much longer. Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to take the dead lawn mower batteries to the battery store and have them replaced. I should get the batteries for the cordless electric drill and the travel shaver replaced at the same time. Everything seems to depend on batteries these days.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 554

I went down to the Appraisal Review Board offices today for an informal hearing about the value of my rental property. I'd heard that opting for an informal hearing was much easier than waiting for your formal hearing. Year's ago, I went through a formal hearing and it seemed just like going to court. There were three judges, a lot of procedure, and a long wait in line for your turn. This informal process was much easier. I was in and out in ten minutes. I just told the appraiser that the person living next door to my property got a much better deal than I did and that all I wanted was the same tax rate as everyone else in the neighborhood. The appraiser looked up my neighbor's tax rates on a computer and gave me a 7.5% reduction in my property taxes on the spot. I was happy with this. My property value has gone down a lot more than 7.5% in the last five years, but I realize that the city has to get their money from somewhere. They're not going to turn loose of tax revenue easily. Hey, at least I saved a little money.

Lots of questions from customers today. Sometimes I spend so much of my time answering e-mails, that I don't have any time left to actually do anything. I remember when I was in college, I had a Summer job in an auto assembly plant. My job was to place the bottom part of a bucket seat in the body of a Camero as it came down the assembly line. I did the same thing over and over again. There were no questions and no ambiguity. I kind of miss those days. Today, my work is riddled with ambiguity. There isn't any true right or wrong in anything that I do. It's just my opinion versus someone else's opinion. Everyone has an opinion these days too. It can wear you out.

Now that I've finally got FInal Cut Studio up and running in the office, Apple comes out with a brand new version of the editing software that is supposed to replace it. Not only is the new Final Cut X much less expensive than the original Final Cut Pro, it is supposed to be better as well. Apple does this to me all the time. I go out and spend my hard earned money on one of their products and six months later, they declare that product to be obsolete. On a more positive note, the price of Apple stock has finally dipped below where I sold it a few months ago. My decision to sell doesn't look quite so stupid anymore.

I don't know why we even have training class in the Summer. The dogs in the class are all hot and the only command they like is the long down, where they just lay down in the grass for five minutes at a time. All the other commands, they show little interest in.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day