The Usual Susspects » video

Darah Sings to Her Dandelion

Mike — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:37:32 +0000

This is some video I shot during the summer of Darah singing to her dandelion.

45 in 45

Mike — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:39:59 +0000

A few days ago I stuck my Flip HD digital camcorder in my office window, pressed the record button, and went on with my day. The batteries only last for about 45 minutes before the batteries die so that’s how long it recorded. After work I downloaded the video and time-remapped the 45 minutes down to 45 seconds. Why? Why not?

The location is looking southeast down Connecticut Avenue NW in Washington, DC, where Connecticut Avenue NW intersects with Rhode Island Avenue NW and M Street. In the distance you can see the Washington Monument, as well as a sliver of Farragut Park.

One Year Later

Mike — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 02:33:15 +0000

Yesterday was exactly one year since the untimely demise of CMS-TV and my last day working at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. And today is exactly one year since I became unemployed for the first time in my life. It took nine months but I eventually got a great new job in Washington, DC.

This had got me thinking about how drastically my life has changed in the past year. One year ago today, sitting in Charlotte without a job, who would have predicted that I would soon…

work in Washington, DC.
(I’ve worked in many states but never in a major metropolitan area before.)
not work in the field of broadcast television.
(16 years in broadcast television. No other industry, full-time.)
work in the field of government policy.
(A non-profit policy organization would never have crossed my mind before, even as a possibility.)
work in a place where I’m the only one with video production or graphics skills.
(It’s an added difficulty when nobody knows what I’m even talking about.)
have “Webmaster” as (part of) my job title.
(I’ve been a freelance webmaster for well over a decade but it’s never been an official part of my full-time job before.)
have a job that actually combined both my video production skills and my webmaster experience.
(This is a truly rare combination and I’m very lucky to be able to do both together.)
regularly produce and direct online video webinars.
(I’ve directed live productions before but never webinars and never on a regular basis.)
commute to work by subway.
(I’ve never previously commuted to work via any mass-transit.)
walk two miles per day just to get back and forth from the metro station.
(Way more daily walking than ever before. An hour per day.)
live^* in Washington DC (for a few months).
live^* in Maryland (for the second time).
live^* with my sister.
live^* in an apartment in the heart of a major city.
live^* in a basement.
have to travel 16 hours on a bus just to spend one full day with my wife and kids every other week.

^{*I’m still a legal resident of North Carolina but I’ve been staying with my sister in the DC area.}

A year of unexpected firsts. Who’d a thunk any of it?

The Secret Life Of A Rat Terrier

Mike — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:20:46 +0000

Multitasking

Mike — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:06:54 +0000

Hey, whatever works.

Video Posts

Mike — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:47:58 +0000

Before this post, 9 out of my 10 previous blog posts were mainly embedded video clips. Of that 90%, 7 of 9 were our home videos shot with our Flip camera. I just thought that was an interesting trend. Am I just using the Flip camera more during the holiday season, or do I just have less time to compose any lengthy original writings, or is this just a carry-over from a Facebook world or quick, brief posts?

Rock The Halls

Mike — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:41:18 +0000

Amy made the following holiday video of us at Jib Jab and then surprised us with it.

Snow Day

Mike — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:11:41 +0000

Whether it counted as a White Christmas or not, we had 2-3 inches of snow on the ground the day after Christmas and the kids loved it.

Fearless Chickadees

Mike — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:33:07 +0000

This morning we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground. Because birds couldn’t find food on the ground there were a crowd of birds surrounding our backyard bird feeder. But I saw that there was only about an inch of seed left in the feeder so it wouldn’t last very long under this increased demand. I threw on my coat and boots and trudged out into the snow to refill the bird feeder. All the birds flew away while I filled it, but as I was hanging the feeder back on its hook I noticed a few chickadees that didn’t want to wait for me to finish. With me standing within arms reach, the tiny chickadees boldly ventured right up to the feeder while other types of birds waited farther away at a safer distance. I just happen to have my Flip video camera in my pocket so I slowly took it out to shoot video of the brave little birds getting so close to me.

(I was not hidden at all. I’m just standing right in front of them.)

Christmas Morning

Mike — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 19:29:37 +0000