Dead Dog Stomper

Steph and I were returning from Rexburg today and on the way through Tetonia we passed this kid kicking and stomping on a dead dog along the side of the road. I just happened to have my new Cube recording video from the dash, and captured it. I’ll let the video take it from here:

Here’s some original raw footage, mostly for my testing benefit. My Polaroid Cube has issues at the moment and I’m testing it out with a class 10 micro-sd card I just bought from WalMart. I had signaled Steph earlier to refrain from talking just in case audio was being recorded but when she saw the kid kicking and stomping the dead dog her hand was covering her mouth to keep from screaming…

Ahhh, one of these online upload attempts seems to show what I see in the raw footage on my desktop where the kid walks up and kicks the dead dog before stomping on it. Try this in Vimeo HD (go fullscreen) or download the original footage from here.

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Categorized as Various

Polaroid Cube

My GoPro replacement, the Polaroid Cube, finally arrived today. It’s been an arduous process as I bought this thing when it was first announced on August 12th. They billed me right away and have enjoyed the interest since, I’m sure. When the ship date of September 20th rolled around, and no shipment, I contacted them.

It turned out that one of the mounting components I’d ordered along with it got hung up in customs, thus delaying the order. I said split the order and send me the camera! which they did, along with free shipping. One thing I noticed about this Photojojo outfit is they like to talk in a cutesy manner and their shipping document continued the style.

Here’s what I got, along with my initial take:

• The camera. It’s got a 720p/1080p switch in the back along with a card slot and a USB 2.0 port. There’s a function switch on the top and a magnet on the bottom. The front has the lens and a microphone.

• The shipping document was very cute and included a plastic dinosaur which I’m sure will become one of my valued treasures. Ok, maybe not…

• A ridiculously short USB cord. Really?

• A 16GB class four micro sd card. Again lame, my GoPro sitting in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean had a 32GB class 10 card, which is prefered for 1080p video. I had the card included in the order without diving into the specs, so it’s my error.

• I shot a short test video and it actually looked pretty good, except there was no audio.

Alright, the USB cord and the SD card can be upgraded, no problem, and maybe I’m missing a setting that would cause the audio to not record, but my gut is saying not…

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Categorized as Cameras

Big View

I’ve got a new customer this year named Jake. He’s a Junior High student, rides a couple times a week home, and his family have a big alfalfa spread out by the Big Holes. I took this shot today as I was leaving his place and thought about many things such as, winter views, treacherous roads, and deep drifting snow. It should be interesting, as always.

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Categorized as The Bus

Fire Funeral

Our former Fire Chief, Mike Hoyle, died last Thursday from pancreatic cancer. A big crowd turned out today at the Mormon church for his funeral along with every fire truck in the valley and a few from outlying towns.

I assume it’s going to be quite a funeral procession today. I wonder what would happen if a big fire happened here at the same time. I bet they would all break off and roll to the scene, in memory of Mike. Click photo for more…

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Categorized as The Valley

Coding As Art

I read an excerpt this morning by Jacob Silverstone of the New Republic where he lifted coding into an interesting light:

A recent entrant to the “But is it art?” Olympics is computer programming. Coding, some of its practitioners claim, is an art form. This argument often hinges on the notion, promulgated by prominent industry figures like the venture capitalist Paul Graham, that coders are “makers.” They produce remarkable things—essays crafted out of the programming languages C# or Javascript that, like a literary essay, depend on elegance, precision, and a knowledge of form. Their creations sometimes affect humanity on a massive scale. According to this calculus, the operating system designed by Steve Wozniak for the Apple II might be as important as Macbeth.

I agree. I’ve always considered the creation of a computer program from the ground up into something that humans can use on a daily basis to expand their knowledge, while being visually attractive in the process, to be art.

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