My Wish List

I found that you can easily make your own wish list on Amazon.com, and I went ahead and made a quick one for myself.



Our project bulb seems to have gone bad, so it's probably just time for a new projector, since the bulbs themselves are very expensive. However, at this point, I'm not planning buying another one. And, I didn't do any research on which one I would want if I were to buy one. The one I added to my wish list is just one I added for the sake of showing my interest in projector.

I am planning on getting a new digital camera at some point, probably a little later on, but I'll want to research my choice at that time.

I'm NOT asking anyone to buy me anything, and I'm not really interested in that. But, I thought the Amazonwish list was pretty cool and easy, and I wanted to share it. Maybe you should make your own wish list to share with others.

Fall Photos - kids and leaves

Before we get too far into Winter, and since it's been quite a while since I've posted anything here, I thought I would share some fun pictures of the kids that I took one (rather warm) sunny Fall day.

These next couple are of the kids jumping off of the swing into a small pile of leaves. I love the mid-air shots.

"What does constipation mean?"

Sitting around the table eating dinner, talking about our experiences earlier in the day of taking a new friend from Switzerland around town, Amy told another friend about a squirrel we saw on the campus of Notre Dame. We had stopped to watch it and take pictures. Amy noted how it walked kind of funny, "like it had constipation". "What does constipation mean?", Haley asked. Conversation continued, the adults ignoring the question. "What does constipation mean?", Haley repeated. Our friend from Switzerland spoke up, saying that "it's when you can't do something you want to do". The rest of the adults found this clever answer to be quite funny, causing us to laugh, and continue laughing for some time. (Yeah, maybe you had to be there.) After laughter subsided, Amy felt compelled to explain to Haley more fully what she had meant by that word. Upon hearing her explaination, our Swiss friend began laughing with embarrasment as he realized that he had not fully comprehended the meaning of the word, himself, until that moment, and realized why his comment had been so funny to the rest of us. We all had another good laugh.

Rock the Space

Send a real Mother's Day card without leaving home!

I recently came across Cardstore.com,
where you can select and personalize a card and have it sent for you through the U.S. Mail.




Of course, they have more than just Mother's Day cards. There's birthday cards and other holiday cards, too.

I checked it out and found that:
- the cards are attractive, and there are many to choose from
- it is simple and quick
- the cards can be personalized with your own photos
- it is very reasonably priced

I think this is a great idea. Being able to select and send a card quickly and easily like this sure beats the old way (going to the store to get a card, preparing the envelope, and affixing the stamp - at least we don't have to lick them anymore) in my mind...

...not that I really send cards, anyways. But, now I have that much less of an excuse. What could be simpler?!

I wonder how many people currently use this service or would be interested in it. Or, which of you usually send Mother's Day cards, birthday cards, etc? And, what motivates card giving? I just added a couple related polls on the right side of my blog, so check them out. I'd be interested in the feedback. Or, leave a comment telling me what you think.

And, if you're thinking of sending a Mother's Day card, you'd better do it now before it's too late...

Cardstore.com - We print and mail for you!

Making the IslandReefJob video - Part 2 (of 2)

OK, I'll try to make this brief... because I'm really quite over this video, but I did want to document (for my own or for others future reference) some of the things I did to make the video.

I used VirtualDub for much of the video editing. To join multiple video clips, I ended up using MediaJoin (that I found somewhere out there). It took me some time and trial and error to find decent and free software for my purposes.

My main concern was to be able to reverse video. After some searching and testing, I found I could do this using VirtualDub and AviSynth. The AviSynth script (that you just drag and drop onto VirtualDub) to reverse a video is like this:
Reverse(DirectShowSource("C:\Video\video1.AVI", 29.97))

I also wanted to have some slow motion clips, which I found that I could do with a script like this, which would make it half speed:
Reverse(DirectShowSource("C:\video\video2.avi", 29.97))
AssumeSampleRate(22050)
AssumeFPS(12.5)

I also really wanted to make it widescreen/letterbox, which I was able to accomplish in VirtualDub. Here's a link explaining that:
http://www.kyleprohaska.com/brickfilms/widelet_virt/widelet_virt.html

I found myself somewhat frustrated and saddened that my walking clips were pretty shaky/bouncy, due to Amy simply filming me while she was walking backwards with the camera. I found one very cool piece of software that can be used with VirtualDub to de-shake video. I was skeptical at first, and it took some learning and tinkering (and it does have it's own pros and cons), but it ended up helping improve some of the shakiness quite significantly. Here's some info on it:
http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/articles/deshaker_guide.htm

Here's a couple other related links I reviewed and found somewhat helpful at the time:
http://www.divxland.org/video_edition.php
http://home.comcast.net/~plutarch/VirtualDub.html

One thing that I thought would be pretty simple ended up not being as easy as I thought. I had wanted the words on the screen to show up in the black letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the video, so that it didn't show up over the actual video. But, I had such a hard time trying to find free software that would let me easily place the text in that specific of a place. I eventually ended up using Windows Movie Maker to add the text and just had to deal with it covering up the video since I couldn't place it on the screen where I wanted it.

So, that's really it. It was fun, and I enjoyed the process. And, I'm glad it's done.

Here's a couple takes from the filming process, just for fun.





FYI, at this point the voting over at http://www.islandreefjob.com/ is done. The top vote getter, along with 10 others of Queensland Tourism's choosing (who will be announced April 2), will be flown to Australia for an interview process.

This guy didn't win. I think he came in second in the voting, but I personally liked his video/application better than the one who came in first. I like it in part because it's a music video like mine, just more interesting and well done.


So much for keeping things brief...

Big Guys Gotta Look Good Too

Make sure you check out the picture at the end of this post!

This falls under the category of "friends of WesSpeaks". It's all about a store in Elkhart, Indiana called Big & Tall Outlet (formerly Value Center Big & Tall Outlet). It is owned and operated by none other than my own parents.

Now, I'm not big or tall, myself, so I don't go shopping there for myself. But, I'm rather fond of the place and the people who work there, some of whom I've gotten to know a little bit. The place did help put me through college, after all.

But, I don't want to give you a commercial for the place, just the basics. You can check out their site at www.bigandtalloutlet.com (where you can currently watch one of their TV commercials featuring local celebrity Charlie Adams). The site has a pretty decent assortment and variety of merchandise available (and is growing all the time), but a visit to the store, and it's 9,000-square foot showroom, will provide the full range of options for anyone looking for sizes starting at Large Tall (LT) or 1X up to 8X or occasionally even 10X, I think. (Pant waist sizes they carry go from 36 to 72, at least, I believe.) They also have a blog at bigandtalloutlet.blogspot.com.

Contact info:
info@bigandtalloutlet.com
1-866-BIG-MENS or 574-293-0111

This is pretty interesting. I just found some other guy who blogged about Big & Tall Outlet, who just seems to be a regular customer that's pretty excited about the nice clothes and good prices. You can check out what he has to say at:
www.nosweatpants.com/2008/12/05/big-guys-gotta-look-good-too/

Now, one last thing. Here's a picture of a guy who came in recently and found some clothes to fit him. He's Igor Vovkovinskiy, and is supposedly one of the ten tallest people alive. You can find out more about him (how tall he is, his shoe size, etc.) at bigandtalloutlet.blogspot.com/2009/03/igor-vovkovinskiy.html or do a search on his name. (That's his mother on the left and my dad on the right.)

Making the IslandReefJob video - Part 1

If you didn't catch me singing my heart out in a cleverly reworded parody of Coldplay's "The Scientist", here you go...


If you haven't seen the Coldplay video for "The Scientist", it's worth checking out...


I wanted to provide a little info on the process of making the video...

First, came the idea. I think it came to me one night while lying in bed. I had seen the Coldplay video some time back, and I wondered if I would be able to reproduce a similar concept. It kept me awake for way too long just thinking about it. Subsequent nights I had trouble falling asleep, as well, while the idea was still ruminating, thinking of the possibilities and trying to come up with lyrics.

I was able to find a MIDI version of "The Scientist" (which is basically a text file telling a computer what instruments to simulate, along with the notes and durations). In the file I found, there was a guitar playing the vocal melody part which I didn't want, since I was adding the vocal part myself, as well as a drum track I didn't like. I was able to find MIDI editing software with which I was able remove the tracks I didn't want. If I recall correctly, I believe I also used some other software to speed up the tempo of the song, in order to be able to fit in all the lyrics that I wanted within the one minute maximum for the video.

--- Download the instrumental MIDI file for my version of the song. ---

Once I got the background music worked out to my liking, I then worked on recording the vocal track. For this step, I played the music to myself through earphones while recording myself singing to it through the microphone hooked up to my laptop. I used Windows Sound Recorder for recording. It took me many takes, along with some eventual lyric enhancements, to get a version I was relatively happy with. Listening to the results, I'm very aware that I'm not a singer. Even the final take had some pitch problems, but I was happy with it (and worked in a related comment into the official version of the video via the onscreen text).

I used Audacity, a pretty decent multi-track audio editor I found (after some searching), to remove background scratches and pops, as well as audible breath-taking, from non-singing parts of the audio track. I also used it to combine the background and vocal tracks into a single music file that I later imported into the video editing software I used.

--- Download the vocals without background/instruments. ---

--- Download the final version with music and vocals. ---

Since I had to sing the words of the song backwards for the video, in order for the words to appear to be sung normally when the video was reversed, I reversed the music using Windows Sound Recorder and saved a copy of the song in reverse for me to practice with. I also recorded short portions of the song, first forwards and then three times each in reverse, onto a portable tape recorder, so that I could both practice using it and sing along to it while recording the video.

--- Download the full song, vocals only, in reverse. ---

--- Download the practice version, vocals only, with song clips played both forwards and reverse. ---

If you really like Coldplay's "The Scientist", you can download it (or a couple other versions of it) via Amazon or iTunes, below.





By the way, the top 50 applications for the job have been shortlisted. No, I was not selected. I haven't viewed all of the top 50 videos, but there looks to be some pretty impressive applicants/videos. Voting for the wild card applicant continues at IslandReefJob.com for the next 14 days.

Out with the old, in with the new

Due to transmission problems, it was time for our 1995 Mazda Protege to go. I bought it in December 1998, right before we got married. It was a pretty good car for us, and I'm sorry to see it go.

But, I'm excited to now have a 2004 Honda Civic that's pretty sharp, and that I hope will last us quite some time.

I got the Best Job In the World

"I got the Best Job In The World", I proclaim in my music video application on IslandReefJob.com.

If you haven't heard by now, Tourism Queensleend launched a promotion for a 6 month island caretaker position, paying approximately $100,000 (in US currency), and is accepting applications via video submissions to their site. The job essentially consists of living on one of the islands in the Great Barrier Reef (in a sweet home with a beautiful view), having a blast exploring the area, and writing a weekly video & photo blog to share with the world the wonders of the islands.

They've received over 19,000 applications to date. They'll eventually narrow them down to their top 50, at which point they will open up internet voting for a favorite. That favorite, along with 10 others of their choosing, will be flown to Australia for an interview. Video applications are supposed to explain why that applicant is the best person for the job.

My application was just posted to their site this evening. I spent a lot of time thinking about it and working on it, and despite some parts being tedious, I really had a great time making it.

The video is a music video, and is basically a parody of Coldplay's "The Scientist" (which can currently be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNwQeedQfZE). In the video for "The Scientist", all the video is played in reverse. This means that Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, had to sing the words of the song backwards so that when the video was reversed, it appears as if he is singing the lyrics of the song normally. The effect is enhanced by footage where it is obvious that the video is being played in reverse. This was the idea behind my application video. I used the same tune, using my own words, and all clips in my video have been reversed. It was an interesting and fun project (and technically challenging at times).

So, please check out my video. I hope you like it.
(Edited 6/9/09, providing permanent links. The old one on islandreefjob.com is no longer valid.)
Original application video.
Preferred version without on-screen text.

I don't expect to get the job or to be shortlisted in their top 50, but I really enjoyed making this video, which I hope you enjoy and even smile or laugh at. Among the thousands of other applicant videos, there are some very good ones, both in professionalism and entertainment value of the videos and quality and experience of the applicants.

I plan on sharing in future posts to this blog some additional information about my video, including how I made it and sharing some of the original video clips (with me singing backwards), so check back soon.

Applications are being accepted until sometime on February 22, so if you're reading this before then and you're really quick, you still have a chance, yourself.

Please share your comments. I'd love to hear them - good, bad, or whatever. Also, if you or anyone else has applied, please let me know and share the link to the video for all to see.