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 413

The world was a sheet of ice when we woke up this morning. Dot raced out the back door as usual when we let her out before breakfast and she slid halfway across the yard. When I gave the dogs their regular walk a little later, I felt like I was mounting an expedition to the South Pole. They said on the news that this is the coldest that it's been in Dallas in fifteen years and I can certainly believe it. I put on a down ski jacket over two sweaters and I was still cold. One coat wasn't enough for the dogs today. I put two winter coats on each of them. Not surprisingly, we were almost the only ones in the park this morning. I saw one determined jogger, but that was about it. Luckily, I've been able to keep my balky furnace running, because my repair guy wasn't able to get out on the roads today.

The only time I ventured out on the icy roads was for a quick trip to take Dash to the vet. I could have rescheduled for another day, but my vet is only five minutes away and I do have the Defender 90. I thought I'd take the back roads to avoid the other cars sliding around like billiard balls. This was probably a mistake. Absolutely nobody was driving on the back roads and they were all still covered with a thick sheet of ice. It was like driving on an ice rink. I was surprised that anyone was even at the vet when we got there, but some hardy souls told me that they'd been at work since 7 AM.

To ward off cabin fever, I decided to fire up my old Media-100 video editing system and back up some video files before I retired the thing for good. I guess I waited too long. I couldn't even launch the application today. I did a hardware test and discovered that my Media-100 PCI card had gone bad. When did this happen? I have no idea. I haven't used the system to edit anything for almost three years. It's not even worth repairing at this point. The system paid for itself years ago, but it's still hard for me to throw it away. It's the only video editing system I know well enough that I never have to look at the manual. I guess Final Cut Pro and I are going to have to get to know each other a little better in the months ahead.

The temperature has dropped five degrees since I started writing this post. Either I'm a very slow writer or the temperature is dropping pretty fast. It's going to be in the single digits before morning. Every couple of hours I hear a loud thunk as something falls on the roof. I think that some smaller limbs are falling off our trees as they grow heavy from the ice that has accumulated. Sure hope the power doesn't go out tonight. When tree limbs start to fall, power usually goes out somewhere. Here's hoping that everyone stays nice and warm. I'm going to get out the blankets and make sure I have a warm dog right next to me tonight.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day