Wednesday, March 31, 2010

NIce Ride

It was great driving the Tahoe to work and home. After getting home The Date and I went and stocked up on groceries then came home and ate while watching The African Queen.

Neither She nor Thing 2 had seen it yet. Obviously they thought it was amazing as it is a great movie.

Today and tomorrow I'm at work alone. It'll be fine, we haven't been too busy lately. Tonight I'm going to shoot some footage for the main commercial I'm working on. This is the commercial that makes me nervous.

I want them to really love it but it isn't like they are used to so far. It'll be far different than what they have been getting, and it's going on TV so everyone will see it and decide for themselves if it's good or bad.

Tonight Beersnob should be arriving back at home from his one month deployment and will be helping from now until Summer when he leaves again for a while. But by Summer I should have everything down and will easily be able to produce a commercial in a few days easily.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Stepping Out Of The Diesel

Yesterday was a good day. I got to work to find that pretty much everything was caught up and I really didn't have anything to do. They were going to start cutting out a large square piece of concrete in the shop next to us, a very long and noisy process, and I wanted to go talk to a bank.

These three things conspired in my head to lead me to take off work. So I asked my supervisor to have off six hours. He gladly said yes and off I was to start the day.

My sister in law had offered their 2001 Chevy Tahoe to us for an unbelievably low price of two thousand dollars. You have to understand this this a top of the line Tahoe, leather seats, third row seating, the whole nine yards.

I quickly did a mental calculation of how much it would take to get my Suburban running at full capacity again, one thousand for the transmission, maybe two hundred for the brakes and master cylinder, another three hundred for the glow plug controller to be replaced, and all of a sudden I wasn't too far from upgrading to this much newer vehicle.

So I went to the bank, no hassles, no long negotiations, nothing. Twenty minutes after walking in I could have signed the papers. They had a real estate deal going on so they weren't able to get the paper work done until four that afternoon. So I went and changed my insurance from the Suburban over to the Tahoe after the loan was secured.

I called my brother to see if he wanted to go on a road trip that evening, he said he would, he called his friend, Fat Plumber and all three of us drove to Norman. We left town here a little after six thirty.

We met my sister in law, signed the title, got the keys, and hugged good bye. The three of us went to fuel up the Tahoe and that gave Fat Plumber (who is also a darn good mechanic) a chance to raise the hood and look it over.

He was very impressed with the amazing condition of the vehicle. Very well maintained, and has been kept on a scheduled maintenance plan since it was bought.

This new vehicle will serve us for a long time!

After topping off with gas we headed back home, arriving back to the house around eleven o'clock. I promptly kissed The Date and headed to bed exhausted from the turn around drive.

Morning came way too soon but I feel good!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Spring Cleaning Has Begun

Anyone who knows me knows that cleaning isn't one of my strong attributes. The Date however has done a marvelous job in getting the yard up to par as well as tackling the garage.

Yesterday was spent cleaning and moving things to the curb. I've got to admit she and Thing 2 did an amazing job.

I'll have a busy day today. Lots on my mind and future plans. I can deal though as long as The Date is there:)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Wonderful Night!

The Date and I went to Jamal's for his big, rocking, blow out, birthday bash! What a splendid time as well! We had only planned on staying less than an hour and we wound up leaving at midnight!

Everyone was laughing, and having a great time as the music dictated and elevated the revelry. I confess to talking a small amount of business at the party when a client I'm doing a project for, the marketing company he runs, asked me about the status of his project. He gave me a time line of a month. That's cool, I've got most of it laid out already but have to learn the camera effects they want.

He said that he was glad I was doing this business now and a lot of business would come my way. He is happy to have another company to turn to to get commercials made instead of the one that is in town.

That gives me confidence I can do this job:)

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Smoking Away

Last night around eight thirty I put a brisket on and a pork shoulder or Boston butt to smoke over night. I set the draft vents on the big green egg when the fire reached the temperature of two twenty five which is where I wanted it to cook over night.

I got up a little bit ago to find I had closed the bottom draft vent a bit too much and while there were still coals burning the temperature had dropped to around one twenty. I just opened the vents and the fire is building to where it should be again.

The meat looked done but not quite tender yet, it requires some more cooking. I won't be able to pull the pork apart until maybe another two hours of cooking. It was my first overnight cook on the egg and I was trying really hard to lock the right temperature down.

The egg is remarkable in that it will hold whatever temperature you put it at for long hours. I misjudged and played it a little to close this time. I learned and now I know next time where the vent should be.

Friday, March 26, 2010

It's Friday!

I'm so happy! This weekend, actually starting tonight before bed, I'll be smoking a brisket and a pork shoulder for pulled pork!

I can't wait, I love this stuff! I bought the rub and sauce yesterday as well as the meat. I probably screwed up on the brisket because I purchased one that was already trimmed. That's ok it just doesn't have the fat content I'd rather have.

Their full brisket selection left a lot to be desired so I had little choice in the matter. Regardless it'll produce some amazing results come tomorrow and I take them off of the big green egg!

I can't wait to get started tonight! First a full day of work though, have to keep those bills paid:)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Didn't Edit

At all last night. Instead I went to a link supplied to me by The Date's friend in Houston. Online tutorials from start to finish on the basics of After Effects!

This will help me get up to speed quickly and I'll be doing that this weekend. It is a subscription based service which is fine. It'll take maybe a week to learn the basic skills I'll need to make the commercial I want to make.

Things are in the right order according to the page of instructions, I just need to make it flashy now.

It's all good news and it won't be long before I'm cranking out a job a week or more!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Editing Away

I've got two projects I'm currently editing on now. After Effects is a very complex program and the tutorial I'm watching for a motion typography piece is very complex. It's the second video down if you care to take a look at what I'm attempting.

The guy is German and this is clearly for an advanced user but I'm rewinding and following along as best as I can.

I could really use an AE mentor here who knows this program in and out. However that's not likely to happen. I had someone come over and we went through some basics and that was about the limit of her ability as she hadn't used AE in quite some time. She was also from the same marketing company that I'm doing this for as a calling card for them.

There likely isn't anyone in town that can do what I'm trying to do here sadly.
It's alright, it might take me some time but I'll get through it and make a very good product by the time I'm done!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Confession Of A Racist, Homophobic, Closed Minded, And Mean Spirited Conservative

Perhaps this could be my manifesto however I'd say that my manifesto has been written out over the past few years and comprises just over one thousand eight hundred and fifty some posts.

In my lifetime I can't recall as much political drama that is going on now. The Clinton years were child's play compared to the past year and couple of months. All eight years of Clinton.

Obviously I'm a conservative. Perhaps some don't know what that means or only believe the caricature I used in my title. Yes I'm a cold blooded, mean, nasty, racist, homophobe who only wants everyone to starve to death if they can't support themselves.

Yes I want no government, no taxes, no public schools, and kids to starve at school because I don't want any school lunches. The elderly should work until the day they die and never enjoy any kind of retirement and how dare they think about asking for social security, a program they spent a lifetime contributing to.

Now with all of that established about how evil I and my beliefs are let's talk about what a conservative should be. In an idealistic, perfect world that is.

Now I'm sure you are chuckling about conservatives being dead and all of that but lets try not to be so dark at the moment.

Let's start with liberty. Our founding documents are riddled with references to liberty, justice, and equality. So let's go right to America's darkest dark spot on history, slavery. There is simply no defense. It was wrong but it took a country as great as America to get it right and set the right example for the rest of the world. We fought a war over it and Americans died to correct it.

Yes the President was from one party but I won't mention which as I know he was a horrible, racist, homophobic, blah blah blah. Let's fast forward to nineteen sixty four for a minute. The civil rights act of 1964 voting record:
House of Representatives:

Democrats for: 152
Democrats against: 96
Republicans for: 138
Republicans against: 34

Senate:
Democrats for: 46
Democrats against: 21
Republicans for: 27
Republicans against: 6

For those of you keeping score at home that's:
69% of Democrats and 82% of Republicans supported the bill in the Senate.
61% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans supported the bill in the House.

Among those voting against the legislation was still serving former Klansman and Senator Robert Byrd.

Let's talk about life now. A conservative, contrary to popular belief, values life very highly. In fact we value it so high that if you decide to take a life you might very well forfeit your own life. We like to protect those who can't protect themselves such as the unborn. Unless the life of the mother is threatened, or in cases of rape or incest then we despise the procedure.

As some of you will recall I did a documentary about a play and an adoption a while back. I really don't think those proud parents would have considered either of their children as a nuisance, unwanted, or a poor choice. Those two children have a very loving home and are far better off now than they ever would have been through the miracle of adoption.

How about one of the most divisive issues of our age, gay rights. This one is a bit tougher as some of my gay friends tolerate my loathsome homoophobic presence but I'll give it a shot. I believe this is a state's rights issue not a federal issue. If the citizens of your state vote to allow it as some have then live, be free, and have a good time with it. If the state votes not to allow it then the people have voted.

Many people view this as a moral issue and feel very strongly about it, their voice counts as much as those who those who are proponents of gay rights. The fairest way is for everyone to be heard and have your vote counted, if you are passionate about it then sway people to your side, both sides. Not by hate or divisiveness but by heartfelt walking and talking to people no matter what side you are on.

Taxes? Let's give it a shot! I don't mind paying a reasonable percentage of my earnings for the public good, especially the military. I believe that if you serve in the military you should always be exempt from paying income taxes and have your health care paid for. Half of that is law today. I'm even more for a fair tax style of system where all income taxes are done away with in lieu of either a flat tax for everyone or a national sales tax on everything except on food and clothing.

No capital gains tax, no tax deductions, no IRS, everyone pays the same amount. No sin tax on cigarettes or beer. No fat tax on big macs. No hidden taxes anywhere, everything right up front and for everyone to see and understand.

If that doesn't bring in enough money then obviously spending must be cut. The federal government must learn to live the same way the citizens live, within their means. Including Congress members who need to be placed into social security with everyone else and not exempt themselves. Personally I'd like to opt out, I've paid in over twenty years of contributions to SS. I'd sign a paper today saying you can have all of that money if I never pay in one more penny. I'll get much more by contributing it to an IRA or 401k fund of my choosing for my remaining years in the work force.

How about another tough subject? Immigration. Now the real racist in me comes out! I'm very pro-immigration. I want everyone to come here to better their lives, legally. I want the immigration system to be streamlined so that it is easier to come here but I don't want open borders. We do have to protect our sovereignty. If you legally come here by the book, welcome! It's the Great American Melting Pot! Learn the language, it'll help you succeed, learn our customs, they'll help you assimilate into your new life! Take pride in the gift of being an American, you are welcome to come and raise your family here.

I oppose any amnesty, that is outright unfair to all of those people who worked to get here legally and by the book. It won't be very long after health care reform has been passed that you will see a major push for an Immigration (amnesty) bill. They have alienated a large voting bloc and now need new voters for either the mid-term elections or the Presidential election in 2012. Just watch it happen.

I'd also like to clear up one thing about name calling. Lots of people associate the right wing with Nazis. Probably because of the Klan, Neo-Nazis, etc. I'd like to point out that those groups are actually LEFT WING groups as the only right wing thing they believe in is the first and second amendment.

They love free speech and the right to bear arms. Other than that they are socialists, the Nazi party was the National Socialist Party, an extreme left wing group. They did not believe in the power of the individual regardless of race, color, or creed. They suppressed those whom they disagreed with, much like any left wing group does. They believed that the individual should serve the state, a very close analogy to today's modern Democrat who believes in more social programs, higher taxes, less relative freedom, and more state control over the individual.

These groups are largely marginalized now and have few members. They'd be hard pressed to fill up a small town compared to their heyday when Democrat Robert Byrd was openly a member.

Our country, America is a great country. We have progressed further faster than any country in the history of the world. We are the shining city on the hill, the beacon of freedom the world should look to, we are the only country that will go to war to liberate your citizens from oppression. Love us or hate us it matters not but you will respect us. One one hundredth of our military can destroy most countries out existing today so don't talk about us being imperialists. If we wanted your land for colonies, we'd have it. If we wanted your oil Saudi Arabia, we'd take it. Instead we value open markets and trade. We want everyone to have a piece of the every increasing size of the pie.

That leads me to my final confession. I want everyone to have the best life they can have. I don't want to bring the rich down to the level of everyone else. I want the barriers removed so that anyone can be rich through their own hard work. I don't want to penalize anyone for being successful, I want to encourage everyone to be successful. Class warfare is the main tool for the left, remember this. Sharing the wealth is code for taking from you to give to another. You are successful, that is unfair, we are going to cut you down to size.

Everyone should be as successful as they can be, keep what they earn, and live the life they choose to live.

Unless you fall upon hard times. Then there should be a responsible safety net for you. Charity is the greatest of many virtues, you are responsible for helping your fellow citizens if you can afford it and sometimes when you can't. The greatest country in the world should never let any citizen suffer hunger. Any hand up should be temporary and not be designed to make the citizen a dependent upon the government.

That robs them of their abilities to succeed and of their full potential. That should be a real crime. Yes there are those who will refuse to work and only want to abuse the system, there should be means testing as well as drug testing in place. All of the fraud can't be stopped but it shouldn't be encouraged to continue either.

Be generous in your giving and do it in secret, forced charity is not charity, especially when the IRS takes it with threats of prison and penalties.

Read our founding documents and take a look at the political landscape as it exists today, you might be shocked at what you learn.

This brings my confession of a racist, homophobic, closed minded, mean spirited conservative to a close. I hope you find it enlightening:)

Monday, March 22, 2010

Snow Is Melting

Yeah, after snowing all of Saturday most of the snow has melted off on Sunday. It's still chilly outside but overall not too bad at all.

It was a lazy Sunday for sure. I made spaghetti, watched a ton of C-Span online, and didn't do much at all. The mini-series Life started last night and we watched that. It was filled with lots of fabulous slow motion footage of animals, insects, and plants doing amazing things.

It was some incredible stuff!

I'm not going to mention the health care bill because I already said how it would damage people without insurance and people who have good insurance already. There was still a lot of celebration from the left and I am positive that many states will enact legislation to block their citizens from being forced to buy insurance or pay a fine.

The taxes start immediately while the benefits don't start until 2014, wonder how many will call up insurance companies today and ask for free insurance?

Sunday, March 21, 2010

We Survived, America Might Not!

Yep, it snowed all day, winds howled like a banshee, and yet we lived through it despite all of the hype that Jerry Bruckheimer could have made an end of the world movie about yesterday's storm.

I watched with unbroken attention as the liberals on The Hill shot down the Slaughter Solution and went with an up or down vote on the Senate bill today. Essentially what they were going to do is vote on a reconciliation bill (all of the changes they wanted to make in the Senate bill) and then deem that the Senate bill had passed without voting on it. Speaker Pelosi would then break out the Senate bill apart from the voted on reconciliation bill and send it to President Obama to be signed into law. A clear violation of The Constitution Article I section 7. (free app on the iPhone, carry it with me all the time now)

This decision avoided tons of lawsuits and challenges which would void the bill in court. Unless it wound up in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals it would be struck down instantly.

Ok just to be fair here I'm going to post this summation of the HCB from a liberal site. They break down the myths and facts from a liberal viewpoint. I'd like to point out that neither side is happy with this bill which is why it should be started over.

I particularly like this tidbit from the bill.

"The bill will impose a financial hardship on middle class Americans who will be forced to buy a product that they can’t afford to use.

A family of four making $66,370 will be forced to pay $5,243 per year for insurance. After basic necessities, this leaves them with $8,307 in discretionary income — out of which they would have to cover clothing, credit card and other debt, child care and education costs, in addition to $5,882 in annual out-of-pocket medical expenses for which families will be responsible."

When I say I like this tidbit I mean to say that if you support this bill and don't know what you like about it then you deserve to be stuck with it. So instead of finding ways to reduce the cost of private insurance for families they instead mandate you must carry it OR pay a fine of 2% of your annual income. Congratulations on your victory today as it will seemingly pass The House today.

Health care is something that needs desperate reform, no one disagrees but to tax families who are struggling as it is in this economy with gas prices that are nearing three dollars per gallon, high unemployment, and a meandering focus on the economy.

Reforms like interstate competition and choice are no where in this bill.

Now if you are like me and already have good if not great insurance then we are faced with this, "The excise tax will result in employers switching to plans with higher co-pays and fewer covered services.
Older, less healthy employees with employer-based health care will be forced to pay much more in out-of-pocket expenses than they do now."

Hardly compassionate, wouldn't you agree?

I'm just saying, if you celebrate today because this monstrosity passes then you are misinformed about what is being voted on.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Snowpocalypse

Well here we are on the first day of Spring and there is about three inches of snow on the ground and a heavy snow coming down. The storm appears to be moving slowly across our region now and might very well drop another three inches on us today.

Yesterday I heard estimates from two inches to fourteen inches. With all of the hype that was going on with the local news I tend not to believe it until it happens though. So I usually nod and agree or say we'll see.

I stocked up on some food yesterday though just in case:) I got bratwurst and spare ribs to cook today. Yeah, it's twenty eight degrees outside and a twenty mile per hour gusting wind, my Big Green Egg can handle that with no problem at all!

It could be zero outside and a forty mile per hour wind and I could cook a steak at seven hundred degrees without a hitch! The BGE loves adverse conditions to cook in which was one of my deciding factors over a steel grill. Even a thicker Weber steel grill will use more fuel and not be able to reach the high temperatures that a BGE can reach in bad conditions.

So who would want to cook in bad conditions? Dude, I'm going to have bratwurst and spare ribs today! It's freaking twenty eight degrees out today, don't tell me that doesn't sound good on a snowy, blustery day!

Friday, March 19, 2010

March Madness

This is my second favorite sporting event of the year and this year I've only filled out one bracket. I'm eleven wins and five losses which probably puts me at the middle of the pack.

Usually I go with four or five brackets but this year for a variety of reasons I only did one in the office pool. There are probably fifty or sixty entries though, maybe more. I won the entire thing the last time Duke won a national championship! That was pretty cool!

I picked up the free ESPN app so it'll alert me at work when games start and the scores. That's really handy since the shop doesn't have a radio since I turned Sirius off during the strike and haven't turned it back on yet. Otherwise we'd be listening to all of the games at work.

It's fine though, sometimes we have to work at work.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Odd Dreams

The past few evenings I've been haunted by a bizarre reoccurring dream. First let me preface this by saying I've never been to Mexico and I've never had many reoccurring dreams in my life.

I'm traveling South. From where I don't know, just South. I get to the Southern border and it is very sandy. There are no border guards, nothing but a highway and an invisible barrier. I get out of the car and then I'm hit by an oppressive feeling of dread. There really isn't a barrier, it is just a feeling that if I go further, well I really shouldn't.

The streets are dusty, sandy, and hot. If they were made of asphalt they would be melting. I get back into the car and drive into the blast furnace of a barren landscape.

I push further and further. There is really nothing around for as far as the eye can see. I feel I'm coming up on an ending to the journey soon though. As far South as I can go there are the ruins of a town. A town that could have been actually.

I get out and investigate a little. There aren't any residents there, the remnants of a big steak house, thousands of houses, newly built and never lived in now falling into ruin. A brick main street, broken street lights. A central building that had a faded banner about buying a house in this new perfect community.

Most of the streets were nothing but sand and deep sand at that, it had blown for years and years building up in every corner and doorway. Everything was eroded and wind worn.

There really isn't an ending to this dream, I just look around at the ghost town and envisioning what the founders envisioned and why and what happened. I get odd feelings, violent feelings, sad feelings, unfulfilled dream feelings.

It's a place I'd really like to visit again though.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Not Quite Breakfast

But last night before bed I put the fixings for Italian Beef sandwiches into the crock pot for a slow overnight roast. So I had to indulge myself this morning with a spicy sandwich!

It has a small kick to it but not bad at all. These will serve as lunch and supper for us as well! A very simple recipe:
1 roast
1 jar of sweet Italian peppers
1 jar of hot and spicy giardinier
a couple of envelopes of Italian dressing seasoning
some water and a crock pot

Serve on Italian bread rolls.

Simple meal, filling, and very tasty. Give it a shot sometime!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Monday DVR Night

Last night The Date had to work so I caught up on some quality DVR time. I watched Dinoshark and had Thing 2 watch it with me. She didn't think it was very good, neither did I but I still rewound all of the Dinoshark jumping footage for her benefit. A few times:)

Then it was onto Food Wars! I saw the Italian Beef episode and the Buffalo Wings episode. In both episodes the underdog, the new kid and not the originator won. Well the Model T was first, doesn't mean it was the best car ever made. I want to make some Italian Beef sandwiches! Man I love the Food Network!

Then it was onto Madhouse. The story of a small North Carolina town that faithfully goes to Bowman-Gray racetrack every weekend to watch the drivers settle their grudges, on and off the track.

I am really digging Madhouse! It is filled with real life human drama, race cars, and crashes. Everyone has an agenda and that is simply to win races. That's really about it too. I don't see many of the drivers working a regular job or anything. They work on their cars during the week in preparation for the race. Their wives generally go neglected as is the case with points leader Tim Brown. It is a bit sad but it is also what they signed up for when they married their drivers.

I'd recommend any of the above shows for anyone to watch, except maybe Dinoshark...

Monday, March 15, 2010

It Begins Again

When I was in high school The KATT would have every day marked with some kind of special music day.
I forget Monday. Tuesday was Two for Tuesday, which they still do I believe. I forget Wednesday. No Repeat Thursday. I forget Friday and Saturday. And then it was The KATT's Seventh Day in which they played seven complete albums in a row, which they still do.

Now I kind of mark the days of the week by TV shows. Monday is blah. Tuesday is Dirty Jobs. Wednesday is Ghost Hunters. Nothing really on Thursday. Friday is channel surfing night. Saturday is Operation Repo. Sunday is a plethora of fine TV like Ax Men, Madhouse, and a few others.

Well now Tuesday is going to be Justified on FX, it'll take the place of Sons of Anarchy until they return. Have only seen the previews but it looks very good.

Growing up in a small town South of here in pre-Internet times, the only thing you had was the radio and it was huge. You felt like you knew all of the DJs and waited endlessly as they hyped up new releases. You knew their shifts by heart.

Now you can have streaming music on your phone without commercials for free. You can listen to any radio station that streams their music...world wide! The world has gotten smaller in a very real sense.

Sometimes I wonder if its a good thing or not to have unlimited amounts of information at your fingertips. I wonder the effects it'll have on imagination, creativity, and social skills. It could be very good or it may not be. It'll be interesting to find out though.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Operation Repo

One of the shows that The Date and I enjoy the most is on Tru TV. Operation Repo chronicles the day to day struggles of Luis, Sonia, Froy, and Matt as they repossess cars in Southern California.

Luis is the owner. Sonia is his sister. Froy is the main repo agent and used to be married to Sonia. Matt is the hothead muscle that keeps the people at bay while others work.

There was a mini marathon on last night that was about six hours. Last week we watched Matt get taken down, tasered, have a gun pulled on them, and sprayed with chemicals from an exterminator. Last night they were shot at, threatened with a baseball bat, a pipe wrench, found a car up for repossession wired with a car bomb, and encountered a few drunks.

This show is thoroughly entertaining! They have repossessed a helicopter, private jet, motor home that a band bought and took to Canada for thirty years, so many cars it is insane, a tractor, and a hot air balloon.

If you ever need something to watch and it should happen to be on, by all means give it a look:)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Making Coffee

Braum's has pretty good coffee beans! I'm kind of surprised at the quality actually! I think Dunkin' Donuts probably has the best whole bean coffee but Braum's is darn close!

Last night was really nice, The Date was off of work but she goes in today. So at eight thirty we headed to the Blue Note. Skate, The Inavader, Court, Red, LA Actor, Teehee, and T showed up to hang out with us. Always a great time! We chatted for about three hours before heading home and for bed.

The new AC unit looks really nice sitting outside where the old and broken one used to sit. I can't wait for a ninety degree day so we can turn it on! The heat is amazingly fast, and efficient. I hope the AC is just as fast and efficient!

Today I'm going to start organizing pictures for the Expo commercial project. Cigar Dave comes on around eleven o'clock on the radio so I'll listen to that and learn about new brands out or coming out:)

It'll be a chill day.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Quiet Heat!!!!

Yes I came home yesterday after visiting a client and picking up a CD full of pictures and logos for a commercial late this month. The brand new Trane heater was on and it was so quiet and the door is still off of the closet where it is setting! It'll be quieter still once they button everything up!

It is amazing how fast it warmed up the house! You can hear it running but compared to my last heater it is about a thousand times better! It sounds like a wooshing sound instead of a turning electric motor sound!

Now they are going to start on the AC unit outside and get that all fixed up and we'll be ready for Summer!!!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

No Heat

Yep the house is without heat this morning but a brand new Trane unit is now standing where the thirty year old one used to. It'll be hooked up today and ready to heat this house in record time!

I also got another film job yesterday and I just sent an estimate on what it'll take for me to shoot it. If he accepts I'll be going to an arena in Guthrie and filming the vendors for their home show. The footage will likely be used next year as this is its inaugural year for this expo. These jobs are falling into my lap, it's insane and quickly proving more than one person can handle.

I'll be happy when Beersnob gets back from San Antonio as I'll need another pair of hands working these projects with me, very soon. This is an exciting time but it stresses me as this is all new to me as well. I'm not used to my own business, its foreign to me.

I'm sure I'll be able to handle it later after I learn the ropes a bit better:)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Ballad Of Alex Jones

If Fox Mulder's paranoia were ever to turn into its own human that human would be Alex Jones. Alex Jones is the owner and operator of Infowars and Prisonplanet. He operates from Austin and has quite a following.

Alex Jones sees conspiracy in everything, he freely uses words such as "shadow government", "global banker elites", "new world order", "police state", and my favorite "staged event".

Here is the thing though, his show is some compelling radio! I can't stop myself from listening to it at work on my favorite app, Wunder Radio. There is also a free Alex Jones app on iTunes if you don't want to spend the rather cheap fee to hear thousands of radio stations from all around the world.

If you are the least bit paranoid about the government not being square with you, this is your show.
If you are the least bit paranoid about the direction the world is taking, this is your show.
If you are worried about politicians becoming too powerful and not working in your best interest, this is your show.

Alex is not a conservative, not a liberal, in fact politically I don't know where paranoid is on the left/right spectrum but he has it in spades. Despite that I like Alex. He is an alarmist, a radical, some believe he is the Paul Revere of his time, and completely sincere. His gruff voice rings the alarms to wake up the sheeple and make them aware of their surroundings and what he feels is happening to you and your freedoms.

I don't really share that belief as conspiracies on the scale he talks about would just be impossible to keep a secret. I fall along the line of thought that the simplest explanation is probably the correct explanation. Bad events happen because of bad guys with bad intentions.

You have to be careful when you listen to his show as it is deceptively enticing...well not exactly. While I don't doubt Alex in his sincerity of his beliefs it does appear that everything has a conspiracy behind it. I'm not talking about knee deep in conspiracy, I'm talking Challenger Deep type of conspiracy.

From air dispersal of Valium to make the population complacent to a police state all the way to the legendary Illuminati and Bilderberg group and how they are going to rule the world...someday. That day hasn't happened but by golly it's coming, right?

I do love the idea that Alex Jones promotes of being self sufficient. Living off of the grid, LOVE that idea! I'd love to have a year of food stored, be able to make my own water from the humidity in the air (Not kidding) have a big wind generator coupled with solar panels. Yeah I think all of that is a good idea on many levels and for most citizens too. Total independence from the utility cartel elitists (sorry just made that up on the fly) is what I'd love to live like someday!

Natural disasters, power outages, the occasional zombie apocalypse of doom, there are many reasons for being self sufficient and it is about securing your safety and that of your family and friends. Surviving a police state takeover of the USA? Not so much.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to Alex Jones over the years. Ok check it, if everything he says is correct then the government/elite world bankers/Illuminati can't afford to let anything happen to him as his untimely demise would cause his believers to go berserk over his martyrdom. If he is a raving lunatic then he will eventually give himself enough rope to hang his career.

He is sort of in a no win situation from my point of view as he is loved, hated, and everything in between but I'll continue to listen because he is just so darn entertaining!

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

One Re-Edit

My clients wanted to move two clips to the end of the four minute piece. Not too shabby for such a big project on a very short amount of time! They loved the piece and in four minutes fourteen seconds of video to only have one small re-edit is pretty darn good!

I found an invoice template and typed one out as I believe that they should be happy and that is a final product. If they come back though with another request I'll take care of it as well though. I want to be good to my clients.

Today will also be my first day of daily fantasy sports. It is a new concept in fantasy sports playing. You pay a small fee for one day like three dollars for a team. In my case a basketball team for tonight. Then you are put into a league with two other owners. You are allowed so many points to pick each member of your team. The best players are worth more points so it eats into your salary cap faster but you have to fill out an entire roster. Two players at each position except center.

Tonight when the games end you'll either win the league or not. It pays one place, first! As if any other place matters! Win or go home! This should be interesting to see how it goes! I'm excited!

Monday, March 08, 2010

One More Week!

Today my proof is viewed by the company that ordered it from me! I'm excited about it, The Date loved it. The producer of the video loved it. Now lets hope the bosses love it as well!

I had until tomorrow to get it finished but as I blogged earlier I like to be ahead of schedule if possible in case I have to make changes to it. I do expect one or two but I don't know where at in the video as everything we talked about is in there. It meets all of the criteria that I read on the submission website.

I'm taking a small hunk of bacon to work this morning with me to grill up and share. It'd be nice to get an objective opinion on how it tastes.

Another week to go, another week full of possibilities, maybe another week with another job to get started on! Maybe there will be a couple of jobs come my way this week!

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Operation: Making Bacon Is Over

For now.

Last night I smoked the two slabs of bacon and delivered one quarter slab to Jamal and the other quarter to Filmmaker friend Chris. That leaves one half of a full slab for my family and believe me it's a ton of meat.

The taste is rich, sweet, and very good. After tasting it I believe it would make better sandwich bacon than breakfast bacon. The lighter tasting lettuce would be an excellent contrast to the richer, meaty bacon. It is really meaty and surprisingly not a lot of fat after frying. I could eat a lot of IHOP bacon for instance but I couldn't eat as much of this bacon because it is filling and meaty.

I started the smoker before seven last night and let each slab smoke for just over an hour and a half. I'll have to make a different smoking apparatus for next time though as my electric charcoal starter caught the wood on fire after I opened the lid of the Big Green Egg. It was just too much oxygen and it was too hot.

No big deal though, I pulled the meat from the newly formed fire and wrapped it in foil before removing the starter and closing the lid which extinguished the fire.

Yes I'll be making more bacon as The Date said it tasted amazing and said we will do all of our bacon this way from now on. It tasted better than I had hoped it would and it definitely has that bacon flavor that everyone loves.

I spent the rest of the day editing the business video I had shot on Friday. I had until Tuesday to get them a proof but I don't like to wait until the deadline to get things finished. Chianti gave an OK to the first proof, offering a few suggestions for changes. I made a DVD copy and headed over to her house to approval. I forgot to put a lower third placard on the tour guide and she made a suggestion for music over the opening title.

I got up at six this morning to make those two changes and now the final cut is rendering away as I type this. She liked the cut I made before the last two changes, one of which I just overlooked. It's good to have an extra set of eyes looking at something you have spent hours working on. You just overlook things sometimes.

It is a successful first project! Now this cut will go to their corporate people for approval and I might have to make a few more adjustments before it is ready to send off to the company. I expect at least one or two more, I just don't know what they would be yet.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Operation: Making Bacon Day Eight And A Half

Yeah it is now coming close to seven o'clock and I just put a slab of bacon on to smoke. I rigged up a foil pack with wet hickory chips in it. I put that inside my Weber charcoal starter and put the electric charcoal starter inside as well.

So the foil pack is up against the charcoal starter and it should get plenty hot enough to burn the wet chips and cause lots of smoke.

The slab of bacon is on the grate above the smoking apparatus.

The bacon should be done and smoked by nine!

Operation: Making Bacon Day Eight

Today the bacon has been curing for seven full days. I'll likely not have time to smoke it today though. Smoking won't take long to do. I'll make a foil pouch, fill it with wet hickory wood chips. Put that and the electric starter in my Big Green Egg and let it smoke away! After two hours the bacon should be smoked bacon as we all know and love except home made!

The shoot went very well yesterday. I spent around five hours prowling around the business's facility getting the best shots I could. Filmed an event, interviewed two community pillars, and got some general and specific shots to edit together. I can make this look good.

I'm confident that I'll have a happy client by the time the editing is done.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Operation: Making Bacon Day Seven

Despite this being day seven in the bacon making adventure it is really only day six of the cure. When I purchased the meat it was frozen solid and had to thaw before curing.

The good news is that I purchased what I needed yesterday to complete the cold smoke. I bought an electric charcoal starter, a wood chip pan, and some hickory wood chips. I really wanted maple wood chips but could not find any. Hickory will do very well though.

The heat/air guy called me yesterday. He will be starting things on Monday! Turns out the code inspector is out of town and won't return until Monday. So next week the new system will be installed!

This morning I will film my first video piece for profit. I've done this for years for free and as you loyal readers know recently decided to turn it into a side business. Independent filmmaking is expensive and for the most part few people see your work. Yeah, that's what you call a labor of love, it might be the very definition in fact.

Over the years I've developed my skills to the point that now I believe I can run a successful commercial enterprise. I had spent literally thousands of dollars on equipment, software, and this computer. I've paid my dues to learn my skills and they have been years in the making. Just around twelve years now as it was around ninety eight or so when I started the process of learning about framing a shot, lights, software programs that did magical things, directing actors on film, writing, editing, and cheap special effects.

All of that and I've never made a dime off of these developed skills. I guess maybe I didn't have the confidence in myself to attempt such an endeavor until recently.

Today is officially day one. The first day of shooting the first frames for a profit. March 5, 2010 and I'm open for business!

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Operation: Making Bacon Day Six

Going to flip the bacon this morning. Haven't done it yet so I threw a curve ball in there at you loyal readers! While it is day six in the bacon making odyssey it is actually day five in the curing process.

I'm off work today in order to start producing a video for a local company. They require a three to five minute piece on their company but they have a strict timeline and I'll be very busy tomorrow evening. I'm waiting on a phone call today so that I can get things underway.

If I can get the majority of the footage done today then I can probably start rough cutting the piece and maybe get them a proof before they requested one at the very least I can digitize the footage. This company, my company will be about serving the client. I want to get to know what their needs are and match that up with my skills as best as I can.

I've been going over the tutorials and trying to prepare for all of the things I need to get done in the final edited works. It's a bit overwhelming at this stage but I know it'll get easier.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Operation: Making Bacon Day Five

Flipped the meat again this morning! That's all you have to do for a full day! Bacon is so easy to make.

Remember the post the other day and I asked you to do some research on the term "reconciliation"? Well it's getting there now as President Obama wants his bill. He has too much at stake for this to fail now.

From what I've read, heard, and watched on MSNBC the left says the election losses in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Virginia are because they haven't passed this monstrosity yet. I put a question on Facebook a week ago and got a ton of responses and articles from a liberal friend of mine.

The real fact is that the American public doesn't want this by double digit margins in some polls.

Everyone can agree on this, there are some problems with health care insurance. There are also solutions to these problems including limiting the lawsuit lottery that many ambulance chasing lawyers make their bones with.

What is being offered is the worst case solution, a government take over of health care that is a giant step forward towards a single payer system. A system that works so well in Canada that an official came here for his heart surgery instead of going through their system.

I don't blame him really. Their system is a mess. That is the system that the left wants us to force upon the majority of the public. So I ask you my liberal friends, where will you go after this system is destroyed by these kinds of politics?

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Operation: Making Bacon Day Four

I flipped the bacon once more this morning. It's coming along nicely! I can't wait until it's finished!

Yesterday I had a meeting for the commercial business right after work. Initially I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make their deadline but they explained that I had a month to do their commercial. I took the job! This spot will actually run on TV so I'm a little nervous about that part but I'll do the best I can to make this a quality commercial and to please the customer.

I've had another meeting last Friday on a website spot and I've found the format that they want it to look like. I can do it too without much of a problem. It'll be more time consuming but I can accomplish it as the steps are easy just time consuming as I said.

I'm honestly shocked at the speed at which these jobs are coming at the business so far. I've not done any advertising, it's just word of mouth and very little of that. It's good though, it really is good because I know that it'll most likely support itself and I won't have any cash outlay to keep it going. The one purchase I've made so far for the business will be paid for by these two jobs and after that it'll be time to put the money towards the Adobe upgrade! After the software upgrade it's time to save for the new camera!

Monday, March 01, 2010

Operation: Making Bacon Day Three

I flipped the meat this morning, the brine has formed. All it has to do now is keep getting flipped over in the two gallon ziploc bags every morning until Sunday! Then I'll take it out and smoke the newly made bacon!

I can't wait!

Team USA had a very good game yesterday against Team Canada in hockey. We played for gold and had previously beaten Canada earlier. It looked like we were going down two to one when with under a minute left we scored and tied the game! It was then overtime hockey. First team that scores wins.

It was fitting that Sidney Crosby, the NHL wunderkind, scored the final goal against us. We won silver which is pretty good in this very tough tournament.

Over the next few weeks you'll hear the term, "reconciliation" bandied about in the political landscape. Pay attention to when it is being used. You'll see liberals talk about how the GOP has used reconciliation more times than anyone else to pass legislation. Just pay attention, I'll get more into this in another post.

Do a little homework and research the term and how the procedure was used then and how it is being talked about being used now.