Things I want to do and things I want to learn how to do

I'm going to challenge myself to write every day during the month of July, with the exception of a few days that I plan to be away from the computer.

(I hear some of you groaning... every day? Is she kidding?)

This is a big bite for me, journaling every day. I think if I journal every day, I won't be able to comment as frequently in other journals. I can do one or the other, but not both. I could try to keep entries brief. That's the second challenge. <grin>

Many topics come to mind for the summer: life without my dogs (too quiet and not enough laughing), summer activities (quite a variety including working out at the gym), daily discoveries in and around my home and yard (I don't get out as much as I did when Max and Misty were with me), commentary on world events (would I really do that?), art project ideas I find for the coming school year (uh, hmm, sounds too much like school... give me another week off before I start planning again), family events and reflections (yes, there's a topic I plan to write a lot about), Vacation Bible School reflections and narrative (we're doing Group's PowerLab), learning how to transfer VCR video to my computer so I can make family-type 'funniest home videos' for my journal (note for Patrick: How did you do that?)

There it is...!

My topic for this evening: how to make home videos on my computer from my non-digital VCR tapes. I should say, my question for this evening. How do I make digital home videos from my video cassette tapes?

Back in August 2007, Patrick/ aka Daddyleer,  Greg/ aka Radar446 , and Donovan (a very much younger friend of mine who is in college) each responded to my journal question of the day...  how to take a movie from my digital camera and upload it to the internet. Each provided me with valuable information and steps that lead to my first video ever, the RedVelvet Ant video. 

I continue to say "Thank you all!" every time I make a new video.

Until that day, I had no idea that on my computer was a program called Windows Movie Maker, and that program would be the key to making my movies. If you don't have Windows Movie Maker, you can download it from here.

Yes, I'm ready to tackle a new skill because I have over 50 family home Video cassettes that I know have a combination of comedic, personal, and possibly educational value. I'd love to start making little five minute movies for my family and friends to enjoy.

And if I possibly do get involved in making movies from my VCR equipment... I am sure I will not be able to make journal entries every day. I can do one or the other, but not both. Time is the key. Technology eats time like termites on a plank of wood, chewing steadily, crunch, crunch, crunch...and before you know it, the wood is gone.

Whatever happened to the idea that technology would save us time? How does it save time? It takes so much time to learn something new, and just when you've learned it, just when you get into time-saving mode, along comes a new program, or a new piece of technology, making the one you have obsolete and ridiculously slow by comparison to the new Thing.

So you get the new technology, and what do you do? Spend a great deal of timelearning how to use it. It's an endless circle.

I think I'm having second thoughts about transferring movies from my VCR to my computer.

 

 

 

 

Tags: Transferring video cassette movies to the computer, making movies, making videos