MovieCrypt.com Server Move
I understand why hosting companies buy other companies, and I also understand that from time to time you need to move things to a new server (kinda like copying all your pictures and video to a new hard drive for safe keeping.) Sadly, any time this is done with a dynamic website (aka database driven), there is always the possibility of a glitch or failure.
So here I sit, everything backed up as of last Friday, fingers crossed, waiting until Saturday morning to ensure everything still works. And if not, I may have some serious work ahead of me.
The Thrown Cell Phone Conspiracy
Ever watch any of these teen-angst fueled dramas like “Gossip Girl,” The Vampire Diaries,” or “90210?” If you have (even in passing on whatever commercial they’re running), there seems to be a similarly scripted scene that occurs over and over again: angry or jilted characters throwing their cell phones, often destroying them.
I don’t know about you, but these little suckers cost money! Plus, who wants to reprogram their “smarter” phones with all their old contacts, apps, settings, ring tones, and such? Sounds like the cell phone industry is behind it all. After all, how many cell phones will you sell encouraging teens to takes out their frustrations on the phones they have now?
21 F in Jacksonville, Florida
We hit 21 degrees Fahrenheit on January 5th, 2010, a temperature tying the record of 21 F set in Jacksonville, Florida back in 1884. I’m telling you, humanity just isn’t doing enough to keep this “global warming” thing up. Start burning some coal or something, would you? Brrrr…!
Aspect Ratio: Learn It, Love It
Why is it that half the US population doesn’t seem to be aware that all the people they see on their new televisions and computer monitors have squished, flat heads? I’m talking aspect ratio, the vertical versus horizontal measurement of your picture. Having the wrong ratio seems to be more common than not when people upgrade to wide screen monitors and televisions. Doesn’t it hurt peoples eyes like it does mine, or is it that people can’t really tell?
I have created a simple test. Below is a circle that I have drawn at exactly 600 pixels by 600 pixels, a PERFECT circle. Using a ruler or tape measure, measure from top to bottom through the + (plus sign) in the center and compare it to measure from left to right through the same + (plus sign) in the center. The measurement should be the same. If the measurement is off by more than half an inch either way, you should adjust that aspect ratio settings to correct “squished head” and “tall folk” (see your computer or television instructions for help if you don’t know how to do this.)
Now you can view image and video content the way their creators intended. You’re welcome!
Y2K + 10 and Counting…
I watched the sun rise on a beach in Florida ten years ago today. It was supposed to be the end of an all-night party, but I actually left, got some sleep, and when I came back the next morning, no one else had lasted the night or managed to make it back.
A lot can happen in ten years. Since that morning, I…
- Joined an international film review organization,
- Proposed, got married, then later divorced,
- Changed careers from tech support to ecommerce web design,
- Crossed into short film making and video editing, and
- Started writing short stories and novels from years of compiled ideas.
Of course, ten years ago we thought that computers were going to crash, missiles would launch on their own, and the planet would awake to chaos. None of that happened exactly, but cell phones got smaller and televisions got bigger (and thinner.)
What’s next? Here’s to the next ten years!
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