This is my video transfer setup. Note the two Sharp analog cameras, 8mm. You can also spot the mini-monitor and VHS tape decks in the background. This is not to edit the tapes, editing is all done with software (or such is the manufacturer’s wild claim). The equipment you see is just to get the material onto the computer. The computer shown takes 4 hours to render a 2-hour MPEG. (Motion Pictures Expert Group is what they call a compression scheme, where each frame is compared to the previous and only the changes are actually recorded. The resulting files are still gargantuan.)
With a struggle, I did stay indoors all day. My mind kept finding reasons I had to go out. Pudding-Tat loves the company. I can’t seem to stand television more that a few minutes so I’ve read over half of “In the Garden of Good and Evil” again. I was hoping that would take a leisurely week. Quiet times here usually get me planning, and I see that I will have to travel out west this fall. It may take a month to do that if I can help it. Time to re-examine the box for the utility trailer. That project went on hold as soon as I found a place nearby.Another reason I’m looking forward to the new place is the huge amount of extra room. Here, whenever I do one thing, I have to move something else out of the way. It will be so nice to have a huge office, even if it is in the corner of my bedroom. Wallace is away on his Alaska cruise until May 14th, I expect him to be on his way here shortly thereafter.
Taking inventory of my “band”, I realize that a whole new generation of equipment is needed for me to continue. I need to rack mount a few things so I’m not making seven trips to the car. I need a buss so I’m not hooking up cords and cables for twenty minutes before and after each show. And I may be able to afford both some wireless connections and a small LED light show. Either way, expect much more digital equipment to diminish the overall size and weight. I still cannot move my old equipment for medical reasons.
There is a truly irritating commercial on TV, the one for GasX. It typifies what the fear that too many Americans harbor about offending anyone. So the commercial employs all the worst of stereotypes. The older woman is interviewing the younger man. He is on the spot because she is the housewife in a business suit. Then a definitely effeminate and obsequious “secretary” informs her that her son Rip is on line Toot. The message is that she is not powerful or talented, but gets away with things because she could turn any criticism of her behavior into a sexist issue. That is one weird commercial that true feminists must find revolting.
There is some guy driving a motorcycle with a wagon behind it up and down Cedar [the actual name of this road]. He seems to be transporting large house plants. It is a wagon, not a trailer, and the metal wheels set up a terrific noise. He’s a stranger, so I wonder what is up. You know, I still don’t have an official answer from the management of whether I can stay here until late May. It does not matter, I can’t move until then anyway.
[Author's note 2020: Here is a gif made from a recently discovered video bearing this date. If accurate, it would be one of the earliest known digital clips for this blog. Around this time, I was just learning how to take short videos with a still camera, probably the original Argus. These cameras product a "burst" of pictures that could be converted to avi "movies", but no sound.]
Now, later in the day, I see that staying at home is only possible if I have something to do at home. The new place has no workbench. I need that kind of activity a few times a week, where I physically repair or assemble something by hand. The fact is, I don’t practice music enough hours a week to call that a real hobby. My hobby is reading, but I still need a lot of hands-on type work. I’ve often wondered if that is why I cook when I don’t really have to. I’ve always associated sitting and doing nothing with punishment, not enjoyment. JP reports there is new evidence that links Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s with long bouts of mental inactivity. Duh, really? How can they tell?
You don’t have to read this, but I no longer spray chemical insecticides in the house, particularly in the kitchen area. Instead, I use prebaited glue traps. This has an astonishing effect. You get a kid of cross-section of what goes on when you aren’t looking. They must be having parties when you can’t see them. The one that most impressed me was the fly ribbons. While I rarely ever see any, the ribbon is proof that even the most airtight places like this one are incredibly full of flying bugs. So I put a few of these in several locations a long way from bait or food. Same thing, an amazing variety of species. Has anybody studied this?
Later, I’m more than 75% finished with “Garden of Good and Evil”, which centers around a homosexual murder case, a plot that was already over-worked at the time of publication (early 80’s). It is one of my few books that had only been read once. The message is weak, but the book describes a lot of “customs” that fascinate me. Whereas I believe in a certain amount of regimentation to keep things organized, I loathe any hint of tribalism and always have. The rituals described smack of tribalism, where independent thought is stifled in the name of social graces. If it really matters what fork to use, why are you watching other people eat? Go home.
Last, for the first time I know of, these records were used for factual research. That is true, I very rarely read my own material. Today it was used to fix some very important dates that were otherwise barely guesses. So there, this blog has a practical use!
