Friday April 27, 2007

Hi again! It's a nice warm weekend here in So Cal and the topic for tonight is graphics. The program of the week is Virtual Dub, an open source video editing studio for Windows (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP). Virtual Dub can be used to record video from a camera, piece together separate scenes into a single long video, or to add an audio soundtrack to your video creation. It's loaded with features, reasonably easy to use, and free (under the GPL), so have a look and see if you can't create the next video clip to go viral and worldwide. For more info check out the Wikipedia article on Virtual Dub.

I've an update regarding the bunnies in the park that had been the subject of a previous blog entry. They've been adopted and have a new home in what will almost certainly be a safer place. It was a happy (hoppy) ending for the rabbits and for me.

The picture of the week was created using Project Dogwaffle
Click on the picture to get a full-sized view.

The loops of the week were created using Orion Pro

----- Bass 1 ----- Bass 2 ----- Bass 3 -----
----- Brass 1 ----- Brass 2 ----- Brass 3 -----
----- Drums 1 ----- Drums 2 ----- Drums 3 -----

Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!

Sunday April 22, 2007

Hello again! This week's entry is late because I was away visiting some friends in Sacramento. Due to my current state of employment (or lack thereof) I chose to rent a car and drive there. My luck was running true to form, and I managed to pick the first rainy weekend in months for my getaway. It wasn't all rain and driving the roughly 780 mile round trip gave me a bit of time to think about the various mysteries of life while listening to about a half dozen different classic rock FM stations. Monotony and sameness broken by the sounds of Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, the Eagles and Cream. There was a bit of snow to be seen near the Tejon Pass on the way north, and cows, horses, citrus groves, strawberry fields, all under puffy white clouds, or foreboding gray ones. I saw barns and irrigation trenches, small towns, power lines, billboards, and acres of nothing. It was memorable and in some ways quite beautiful. So once more I've taken a step outside of the box, and have been rewarded with some fresh experience. My recommendation to anyone faced with a similar opportunity? Go for it!

The pictures of the week were taken this past Friday, when I took the sole wrong turn of the trip, and wound up in the midst of some of that scenic farmland.
Click on a picture to get a full-sized view.

Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.

Bye for now!