It is important to understand the differences between an ordinary closed circuit TV (CCTV) system and IP cameras for this to make sense. With CCTV, you have analog cameras that must be either monitored by a human or recorded on tape, and both of these are expensive options. The cameras and recorders are also expensive enough to be targets themselves. The value in IP cameras is to have other options without the cost going through the roof. That is where “WebCam Monitor” comes in.If you use a webcam on the Internet, you have all the hardware needed to set up a security surveillance system using “WebCam Monitor”. I spent two hour putting it through the paces and it seems to have all the features, except the ability to automatically follow a subject. There is motion and sound detection, pan and tilt, email and cell phone alerts, and it records all events to ordinary WMV files on your hard drive. It has multiple cam inputs (up to four cameras, but in sequence, not simultaneous) and can transmit live video or stills to any Internet computer. All this at around 10% of the cost of a pro setup. The computer and webcam I used cost around $160 three years ago. I have not yet tested multiple computer or camera configurations.
Also, although the video scenes are time-stamped, I have not verified if the timing signal is on a separate channel. No doubt I will put this system through the paces. The cameras I’m using were on sale at the Ft. Lauderdale Armory for ten bucks apiece. The motion detection feature means all good footage and there are even areas of the viewfield you can mask out, say a tree moving in the wind. I set the sensitivity to ignore the second had on the wall clock. So far, I am very impressed. The poor man’s security system.
Who besides me hates the DMA, the Direct Marketing Association? These are the dismal twits who work night and day to get around the fact your phone number is on the Do Not Call List. They are the telemarket scumbags, the ones who make a big deal that anti-telemarket laws put people out of work. Like anybody cares. The point is, they are not pressing for laws that protect jobs, they are pressing for laws that give telemarketers the right to intrude on your life. For example, the DMA makes big news that 32% of Americans bought something via telemarketing.
Yeah, but they failed to record what the other 68% had to say about the unwanted telephone calls. DMA are the jerkfaces with the robotic calls, “But first, you must be between 21 and 65 to qualify.” Just stick it where it feels good, DMA. They plainly have no clue how useless they are. I don’t understand how they can get away with those robotic calls when the law (as far as I know) says they must offer you the option to get off the call list right away. With DMA, you have to pretend you are interested, give them a name, and sure enough, some bimbo from “Las Vegas, Nevada”, will call you back.
What a suck-hole way to do business. Now you have to deal with two phone calls to get off the list, and no matter how you tell them off, they will say, “Have a nice day.” Right after they ruin it for you. Besides, you never really totally get off their calling lists, as I’ve been getting the same call for years. The Nevada sleeze tries to shine you up by saying she is not with the DMA, but is working in a separate “gift store department”. Like I’d buy a magazine from a woman lying through her teeth. She’s probably fat, too.
In the good news area, there is a slim chance I may have another set of new students interested in playing bass. This would be pure gravy for me, just think, the beginning of a new generation of real bass players who don’t take no crap from guitarists. You wanna play the “Zydeco” version? You wanna play slow Blues? Well, you just pack up your little guitar case and get back on the bus, Sunshine. And take your in-line tuner with you.
With the regular guitar classes, I have created another group of enthusiasts. Near the end of each lesson, I pick a random song, and have the class play along using only principles learned from me. It goes like this, “Okay class, we are going to play a 120 in D, pop music. I’ll do the intros and breaks, the name of this song is ‘Margaritaville’, ready, and. . . .”
The results can startle the students. Those who have never had a lesson, or got nowhere with lessons, are suddenly playing a favorite song start to finish, sometimes singing along. The focus is on applying my organizational principles (the first of which is to have fun), so the song is often over before the students realize what just happened. They played. Now remember, these people have had a few hours at most with me, and nowhere during that time were there any chords, or scales or anything associated with formal guitar lessons. The best proof of that is the fact that I cannot play guitar.
Later, I called the Bingo games and talked to Eddie. He has sprained his right wrist. We are still on for next Friday. And this is taking too long. I’m considering his offer to front me the money for a new drum box, but that is not normally how I do business. Also, the Bingo crowd was tiny, as to be expected on the weekend after rent day. Jimbos is becoming the best venue for Bingo around here; even at the Casino Wallace and I went, you sat on a bench and couldn’t hear the caller. Walk-ins at Jimbos regularly state how well-run things [meaning bingo] are compared to such-and-such. It may only be a matter time before we start seeing some real crowds. And tips.
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