Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Video Editing and the Little Things

Recently I hacked our DirecTV TiVo. What this means is that instead of my TiVo only recording and showing shows (a job it does wonderfully) I can now copy control my TiVo from the Internet and even copy shows off to TiVo onto my computer. This has the added benefit that I can put Sesame Street shows onto a DVD for Rachel to watch in the car… she’s addicted, addicted I tell you.

Of course, with every cool “new” thing comes a lot of new “opportunities”. I’ve taken a Dr. Who episode and need to simply cut it in half and remove the commercials. Sounds easy, right? Well, I’ve now run through 5 different programs for editing video and making DVD’s, with very little doing everything I’d like. Right now I’m in the process of downloading yet another program.

I’m actually convinced that what I want to do is so simple that either every product does it and I’m thinking it should be hard, or no product does it because they are too focused on editing videos you record form home on a video camera. I’m pretty sure that products have barely considered editing TV shows and such; it’s just something so basic it gets glossed over.

I think I was reading Seth Godwin’s blog where he mentioned that through the 90’s everything we needed to live well has already been invented and has since been integrated into our lives.

Look around, you can’t even buy a car without air bags, seat belts, antilock-breaks (well, most cars have ABS or traction control). Regulating temperature in your home is a no-brainer with central heat and A/C. Communicating across the world for the masses has been a reality for more years than I’ve been alive (it’s called a telephone). When’s the last time you knew someone with typhoid fever, or polio?

Over the past decade companies are now trying to find the things you “want”. Our needs are taken care of at this point. So, how do they get our money? By giving us things we want or think we “need”. Do you need an MP3 player? Probably not, but Apple and others have created an entire industry around solving the “problem” that we need to listen to digital music and watch TV while we walk. Using the Internet to make phone calls (I admit, I do this, Sunrocket is awesome, especially at $17 a month (including taxes – not plus them)) sure isn’t necessary but having unlimited calls sure is nice. Drugs are all over the place making our lives easier, Claritin and other allergy drugs are a great example.

How many times do we look at the world and ignore the little things? We spend all of our time trying to solve the complex problems without looking at some of the basic little things which need to be taken care of.

How often do you try to figure out what’s not quite right in your marriage instead of making a little time to share dinner with just your spouse? You’re not solving the big problem directly, but looking at those little things helps make it manageable. I definitely complain about how much money we spend each month while also picking up just a few “extra” things at the grocery store.

Heck, with our church Web site I worry about redesigning the entire thing, keeping it updated regularly, getting pretty graphics for sermon series’ and all-around trying to find ways to make it the best. At the same time I let the little pieces fall away, and I forget that we do have one of the best Episcopal Web sites out there.

It’s time to look at the little things in life. Rob has been walking every day and taking in such little things as a beaver slapping it’s tail and heading into the water (he’s also thinking of getting an MP3 player, I sure hope it doesn’t come along for the walks).

During our Lenten bible study we’re reading The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis and someone in our group picked up that a ghost was no longer referred to
“he” but as “it”. It’s such a small thing, but makes such a big difference. What if someone started referring to me as “it”? You can bet it’d make a big difference to me.

Peace,
+Tom/Bob

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