I ran into an AVI that didn't want to render as a DVD file right as it came out looking corrupted when it wasn't, so after reprocessing in VirtualDub, I have an optimized file. The thing I'm trying is if I can process it like the rest of the original DVD (same bit rate and all), and after it's set up with its set of DVD files (IFO, BUP, etc), can I just rename it, insert it over the bad files and have a new fixed DVD without having to re-generate the entire disk. If this works, it may save me a lot of time in the future, provided I haven't created another project before playing the one I need to fix.
Additional: I found out that I should not copy the IFO or BUP files, just the VOBs. At least that's what I'll try next time.
Friday, September 07, 2012
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Shock Me lyrics translation and explanation of bits
I'm putting this here due to drama going on elsewhere. This is practically my final say on this translation.
SHOCK ME!
Translation and roumaji by Andrew Floyd
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
草木も 眠る 丑三つ に あいつが空を 飛んで来る
kusaki mo nemuru ushimitsu ni aitsu ga sora w(o) tonde kuru
Even as plants go to sleep at midnight, he comes flying in the sky
tonde kuru - present progressive form. the sky is the direct object. It would also be correct to say comes flying through the sky. The precise use of the sky for flying is not exact. We know things can both fly in and through the sky.
kusaki mo nemuru ushimitsu ni - mo is even, used for emphasis that even plants sleep at midnight. ushimitsu ni - at midnight, ni meaning to indicate a specific time the plants sleep. note that the verb nemuru comes before ushimitsu. It makes the first part a relative clause.
十字架なんか かまえる暇ない でしょう
juujika nanka kamaeru himanai deshou
I guess I have no time to set up any kind of cross
juujika - cross, nanka - something like (derogatory), kamaeru - to set up
hima - time, himanai - no time. deshou - I think, I guess, Probably
やさしい愛がすべてだと 誰かが言っていた けれど
yasashii ai ga subete da to dareka ga itte ita keredo
Though someone had said "a gentle love is everything,"
yasashii ai ga subete da to - this is a quote, set off by "to" and the use of the verb itte. it was said by dareka. itte ita - past tense. was said, had said. keredo - but, however, though, also indicates this line is a clause. 'to' in this context does not indicate condition.
このままいけば 純愛 なんか吹き飛ぶわ
kono mama ikeba jun'ai nanka fukitobu wa
If things go on as they are now, something like pure love will be blown off.
kono mama - things remain as it is now, ikeba - the if or when form of iku - to go.
fukitobu - to be blown off, to blow off. wa - female sentence ending.
This sentence appears to use an adverb of time, so it's not much of stretch to give this a future tense in English.
まして相手はすご腕のドラキュラよ Tokyo だって壊すのよ
mashite aite wa sugo'ude no Dracula yo Tokyo datte kowasu no yo
Not to mention my companion is the almighty Dracula! He'll even break Tokyo!
mashite - not to mention, aite - companion, sugo'ude - almighty. kowasu - to break. datte - even, also, too.
炎 のように 燃えるまなざしで 私 を ああ 誘う
hono'o no you ni moeru manazashi de watashi w(o) aa sasou
With a look that burns like a flame, Aaah, he invites me
The present tense verb moeru before the noun manazashi makes that part the dependent clause.
hono'o - a flame or a blaze. Fire is a different kanji even if it also means a flame or a blaze.
no you ni - so as to be like, moeru - to burn. manazashi - a look. sasou - to invite, seduce, or tempt as suitable definitions. Depends on the mood you want the translation to have.
Shock me Shock me
黒いマントに 秘められた その魔力 伊達じゃない
kuroi MANTO ni himerareta sono maryoku date ja nai
He was able to hide in a black cape so his magical charm isn't showy.
kuroi manto - a black cape, himerareta - past tense potential form of himeru - was able to hide - himerareru - can hide, date - showy or flaunted.
Shock me Shock me
できることなら これが夢だと 信じたい
dekiru koto nara kore ga yume da to shinjitai
If it's possible, I want to believe "This is a dream."
dekiru koko nara - if it can become possible. kore ga yume da to - this is a quote and a dependent clause, someone putting words to their feelings. shinjitai - I want to believe.
伝説の夜だから
densetsu no yoru dakara
Because it's a legendary night
見つめられると魔女になる あいつの罠が待っている
mitsumerareru to majo ni naru aitsu no wana ga matte iru
He can gaze at me and turn me into a witch. His trap is waiting.
mitsumeru - to gaze at, the -rareru suffix makes it 'can gaze.' 'to' - and, linking the next thing in this part, majo ni naru. To become a witch. It's acceptable that the singer turns into a witch because Dracula is able to gaze at her and make it happen. matte iru - the present progressive of To wait, is waiting. This is also sometimes matteru. aitsu no wana - his trap.
冗談 じゃない 虜になんかならないわ
joudan ja nai toriko ni nanka naranai wa
It's not a joke. I won't be something like a captive
だけど相手はミステリアスドラキュラよ マジックだって使うのよ
dakedo aite wa Mysterious Dracula yo Magic datte tsukau no yo
However, he is the Mysterious Dracula! He can even use magic!
妖しい ほど に なれた 手まねきで 私 を ああ 誘う
ayashii hodo ni nareta temaneki de watashi w(o) aa sasou
I became all the more suspicious as he beckons with his hand Aaah... (and) invites me.
ayashii - suspicious, dubious. hodo ni - to be as _ as, all the more. nareta - became
This explains why the singer isn't a captive. The ever dashing Dracula is supposed to be a ladykiller (pun intended) and looks for women to be his guest for the evening. In the end, he zucks zere bluud.
Shock me Shock me
サイコロジック オールバックに まとめた 黒い髪
psychologic All Back ni matometa kuroi kami
His black hair collected all together in the back makes me swoon.
His black hair collected in a 'psychologic' all-in-the-back style
"Psychologic" here is definitely a borrowed word from English, but it doesn't mean the same thing. It indicates that his hair style is intended to influence her emotionally. As we see by the next line, it definitely has an affect.
all back ni - this is used for a name of the "all back hair style." matometa - collected, gathered together, the paste tense of matomeru.
Shock me Shock me
口づけたなら その腕の中 溶けてゆく
kuchizuketa nara sono ude no naka tokete yuku
If he kissed me, I'd melt in his arms
満月の夜だから
mangetsu no yoru dakara
Because it's a full moon night
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
世紀末だわ 引きさかれた バイブル 地に落ちて
seikimatsu da wa hikisakareta Bible chi ni ochite
It's the end of the century. A torn-apart Bible falls to the ground.
Shock me Shock me
もう戻れない これが運命と 感じてる
mou modorenai kore ga sadame to kanjiteru
I can't go back again. I feel "This is fate."
伝説の夜だから
densetsu no yoru dakara
Because it's a legendary night
This is my work, and anyone saying otherwise is delusional and needs to get some psychologic help.
SHOCK ME!
Translation and roumaji by Andrew Floyd
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
草木も 眠る 丑三つ に あいつが空を 飛んで来る
kusaki mo nemuru ushimitsu ni aitsu ga sora w(o) tonde kuru
Even as plants go to sleep at midnight, he comes flying in the sky
tonde kuru - present progressive form. the sky is the direct object. It would also be correct to say comes flying through the sky. The precise use of the sky for flying is not exact. We know things can both fly in and through the sky.
kusaki mo nemuru ushimitsu ni - mo is even, used for emphasis that even plants sleep at midnight. ushimitsu ni - at midnight, ni meaning to indicate a specific time the plants sleep. note that the verb nemuru comes before ushimitsu. It makes the first part a relative clause.
十字架なんか かまえる暇ない でしょう
juujika nanka kamaeru himanai deshou
I guess I have no time to set up any kind of cross
juujika - cross, nanka - something like (derogatory), kamaeru - to set up
hima - time, himanai - no time. deshou - I think, I guess, Probably
やさしい愛がすべてだと 誰かが言っていた けれど
yasashii ai ga subete da to dareka ga itte ita keredo
Though someone had said "a gentle love is everything,"
yasashii ai ga subete da to - this is a quote, set off by "to" and the use of the verb itte. it was said by dareka. itte ita - past tense. was said, had said. keredo - but, however, though, also indicates this line is a clause. 'to' in this context does not indicate condition.
このままいけば 純愛 なんか吹き飛ぶわ
kono mama ikeba jun'ai nanka fukitobu wa
If things go on as they are now, something like pure love will be blown off.
kono mama - things remain as it is now, ikeba - the if or when form of iku - to go.
fukitobu - to be blown off, to blow off. wa - female sentence ending.
This sentence appears to use an adverb of time, so it's not much of stretch to give this a future tense in English.
まして相手はすご腕のドラキュラよ Tokyo だって壊すのよ
mashite aite wa sugo'ude no Dracula yo Tokyo datte kowasu no yo
Not to mention my companion is the almighty Dracula! He'll even break Tokyo!
mashite - not to mention, aite - companion, sugo'ude - almighty. kowasu - to break. datte - even, also, too.
炎 のように 燃えるまなざしで 私 を ああ 誘う
hono'o no you ni moeru manazashi de watashi w(o) aa sasou
With a look that burns like a flame, Aaah, he invites me
The present tense verb moeru before the noun manazashi makes that part the dependent clause.
hono'o - a flame or a blaze. Fire is a different kanji even if it also means a flame or a blaze.
no you ni - so as to be like, moeru - to burn. manazashi - a look. sasou - to invite, seduce, or tempt as suitable definitions. Depends on the mood you want the translation to have.
Shock me Shock me
黒いマントに 秘められた その魔力 伊達じゃない
kuroi MANTO ni himerareta sono maryoku date ja nai
He was able to hide in a black cape so his magical charm isn't showy.
kuroi manto - a black cape, himerareta - past tense potential form of himeru - was able to hide - himerareru - can hide, date - showy or flaunted.
Shock me Shock me
できることなら これが夢だと 信じたい
dekiru koto nara kore ga yume da to shinjitai
If it's possible, I want to believe "This is a dream."
dekiru koko nara - if it can become possible. kore ga yume da to - this is a quote and a dependent clause, someone putting words to their feelings. shinjitai - I want to believe.
伝説の夜だから
densetsu no yoru dakara
Because it's a legendary night
見つめられると魔女になる あいつの罠が待っている
mitsumerareru to majo ni naru aitsu no wana ga matte iru
He can gaze at me and turn me into a witch. His trap is waiting.
mitsumeru - to gaze at, the -rareru suffix makes it 'can gaze.' 'to' - and, linking the next thing in this part, majo ni naru. To become a witch. It's acceptable that the singer turns into a witch because Dracula is able to gaze at her and make it happen. matte iru - the present progressive of To wait, is waiting. This is also sometimes matteru. aitsu no wana - his trap.
冗談 じゃない 虜になんかならないわ
joudan ja nai toriko ni nanka naranai wa
It's not a joke. I won't be something like a captive
だけど相手はミステリアスドラキュラよ マジックだって使うのよ
dakedo aite wa Mysterious Dracula yo Magic datte tsukau no yo
However, he is the Mysterious Dracula! He can even use magic!
妖しい ほど に なれた 手まねきで 私 を ああ 誘う
ayashii hodo ni nareta temaneki de watashi w(o) aa sasou
I became all the more suspicious as he beckons with his hand Aaah... (and) invites me.
ayashii - suspicious, dubious. hodo ni - to be as _ as, all the more. nareta - became
This explains why the singer isn't a captive. The ever dashing Dracula is supposed to be a ladykiller (pun intended) and looks for women to be his guest for the evening. In the end, he zucks zere bluud.
Shock me Shock me
サイコロジック オールバックに まとめた 黒い髪
psychologic All Back ni matometa kuroi kami
His black hair collected all together in the back makes me swoon.
His black hair collected in a 'psychologic' all-in-the-back style
"Psychologic" here is definitely a borrowed word from English, but it doesn't mean the same thing. It indicates that his hair style is intended to influence her emotionally. As we see by the next line, it definitely has an affect.
all back ni - this is used for a name of the "all back hair style." matometa - collected, gathered together, the paste tense of matomeru.
Shock me Shock me
口づけたなら その腕の中 溶けてゆく
kuchizuketa nara sono ude no naka tokete yuku
If he kissed me, I'd melt in his arms
満月の夜だから
mangetsu no yoru dakara
Because it's a full moon night
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
Shock me Shock me
世紀末だわ 引きさかれた バイブル 地に落ちて
seikimatsu da wa hikisakareta Bible chi ni ochite
It's the end of the century. A torn-apart Bible falls to the ground.
Shock me Shock me
もう戻れない これが運命と 感じてる
mou modorenai kore ga sadame to kanjiteru
I can't go back again. I feel "This is fate."
伝説の夜だから
densetsu no yoru dakara
Because it's a legendary night
This is my work, and anyone saying otherwise is delusional and needs to get some psychologic help.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Handbrake seems to work!
For a while, people have been touting one piece of software or another for converting MKV video files to other formats more compatible over all. Up to now, I had been using MKVToolsnix to figure out the streams in the file, MediaCoder to tell me the stats of the audio and video streams, making an AVI, then go back extracting the subtitle data, and using AVIRecomp to make a hard subbed AVI.
However, I can use hard subbed MP4 video as well for my purposes. And until I tried Handbrake, I would have stuck to my AVI process.
Here's how to get compatible hard subbed MP4 video.
1. Install VLC 1.1.8 - at least this version for some reason. One guide recommended it.
2. Get Handbrake's install for Windows.
3. Install .NET Framework 4 for Windows (it works on XP). This takes a while but once you have it, you're done.
4. Minimum video resolution for your display for Handbrake to work is 1024x620, otherwise it will complain.
5. Get a damn MKV. It can even be the 10-bit crap floating around. It's best not to have OGG audio, because it doesn't always convert right. AAC and MP3 work just fine.
Now, you'll have to tell Handbrake to automatically rename the new file with the new extension and where to put them. This is under something like Tools - Options.
Once you have an MKV file opened in Handbrake, here's what I've found works very well for me:
Source Title 1. Length change to Seconds, 0 to (end). The end number will always be the maximum length of the file in seconds. You do not want Chapters.
No need to check Large File or Web Optimized (which is for the h264 profile anyway), but if you need it Web Optimized which allows for progressive download and play, go ahead and check it. I have not checked this, but I do have files like this.
OK, now into the bottom box for things.
Video - Size 720x400. Keep Aspect Ratio. Anamorphic: Custom. Modulus: 16 (It's 16 by default anyway).
Display Width 720. You can't change the rest of this column. Cropping - Custom, but set all to 0, which is the default value.
Filters - none. You may need these at some point, but in general I haven't needed them yet.
Next tab is on compression.
Video - MPEG4 (ffmpeg). You can choose other profiles though for other purposes.
You want Constant Frame Rate here - Same As Source.
Quality - set to Average Bitrate, 1500, 2-pass. This should be high enough for 720x400 video and have it without being crappy. I have no need at the moment for 1280x720 or anything like that.
Audio - Source - Japanese. You can try passing the AAC through from the source. There's some nice Dolby and Surround options for that, but in general I stick to output in MP3 (LaMe encoder), Stereo, 48K, 128 kbps. If the source is known to be Ogg audio, you may have to pull the stream out and convert it properly with Audacity. I have found this works very well.
Subtitles - yes, even though the stream is in the MKV, if the stream data is there you still have to add it in. Otherwise you can produce a raw for other purposes.
- Track - get it to show the English track, then Add it.
Click on the track in the list now so it's highlighted, and change Forced to Yes, Burn In to Yes, and Default to Yes. Ignore the rest of the settings here.
Chapters and Advanced - change nothing, add nothing at the moment. Maybe later on you'll find tips for what to put here, but I don't mess with them.
You'll need to add the file to the Queue. Now, you can add other files and process them all, but you need to set each one up to those same settings. If your video source is not larger than 720x400, you can encode only to the file's maximum size (like 640x368 which I had one file like that). Handbrake prematurely closed when I tried to edit items in the queue, so I recommend doing one file at a time, which presented no problem.
Click Start, and let Handbrake make a compatible 8-bit MP4 or 8-bit h264 MP4 video file which everyone can play. I realize that Handbrake encodes MP4 video for various crApple devices, but that's not why I use it - it's to convert MKV to MP4. I can take MP4 and turn it into AVI if I am not happy with how the sub stream appears in Handbrake (which can handle stylized subs). In which case I would not resize the source.
I had planned to bring down a multi-sync monitor to use on the computer I installed all this on after Handbrake complained about the monitor resolution (800x600 - it came off a Windows ME system), so I grabbed the one off my P4 tower and in the process jostled the video card on the P4 loose (which set off a lot of anxiety as I had thought I screwed it up - I turned it on and no video and it wasn't proceeding with booting up). I found out the problem by looking at the POST LEDs on the back and the code said there was a problem with the video controller. So I had to re-seat the card. It worked after I did that.
An extra bonus was finding the driver install CD for my USB video capture box!! I cleaned things up in needing to move the P4 tower and there it was. Now to get a replacement CD drive for Mom's Dell since the one I put in there got messed up with me trying to rip tracks off a CD I found on the ground last week or so. I did manage to get some data off it, but the drive didn't fare so well later.
However, I can use hard subbed MP4 video as well for my purposes. And until I tried Handbrake, I would have stuck to my AVI process.
Here's how to get compatible hard subbed MP4 video.
1. Install VLC 1.1.8 - at least this version for some reason. One guide recommended it.
2. Get Handbrake's install for Windows.
3. Install .NET Framework 4 for Windows (it works on XP). This takes a while but once you have it, you're done.
4. Minimum video resolution for your display for Handbrake to work is 1024x620, otherwise it will complain.
5. Get a damn MKV. It can even be the 10-bit crap floating around. It's best not to have OGG audio, because it doesn't always convert right. AAC and MP3 work just fine.
Now, you'll have to tell Handbrake to automatically rename the new file with the new extension and where to put them. This is under something like Tools - Options.
Once you have an MKV file opened in Handbrake, here's what I've found works very well for me:
Source Title 1. Length change to Seconds, 0 to (end). The end number will always be the maximum length of the file in seconds. You do not want Chapters.
No need to check Large File or Web Optimized (which is for the h264 profile anyway), but if you need it Web Optimized which allows for progressive download and play, go ahead and check it. I have not checked this, but I do have files like this.
OK, now into the bottom box for things.
Video - Size 720x400. Keep Aspect Ratio. Anamorphic: Custom. Modulus: 16 (It's 16 by default anyway).
Display Width 720. You can't change the rest of this column. Cropping - Custom, but set all to 0, which is the default value.
Filters - none. You may need these at some point, but in general I haven't needed them yet.
Next tab is on compression.
Video - MPEG4 (ffmpeg). You can choose other profiles though for other purposes.
You want Constant Frame Rate here - Same As Source.
Quality - set to Average Bitrate, 1500, 2-pass. This should be high enough for 720x400 video and have it without being crappy. I have no need at the moment for 1280x720 or anything like that.
Audio - Source - Japanese. You can try passing the AAC through from the source. There's some nice Dolby and Surround options for that, but in general I stick to output in MP3 (LaMe encoder), Stereo, 48K, 128 kbps. If the source is known to be Ogg audio, you may have to pull the stream out and convert it properly with Audacity. I have found this works very well.
Subtitles - yes, even though the stream is in the MKV, if the stream data is there you still have to add it in. Otherwise you can produce a raw for other purposes.
- Track - get it to show the English track, then Add it.
Click on the track in the list now so it's highlighted, and change Forced to Yes, Burn In to Yes, and Default to Yes. Ignore the rest of the settings here.
Chapters and Advanced - change nothing, add nothing at the moment. Maybe later on you'll find tips for what to put here, but I don't mess with them.
You'll need to add the file to the Queue. Now, you can add other files and process them all, but you need to set each one up to those same settings. If your video source is not larger than 720x400, you can encode only to the file's maximum size (like 640x368 which I had one file like that). Handbrake prematurely closed when I tried to edit items in the queue, so I recommend doing one file at a time, which presented no problem.
Click Start, and let Handbrake make a compatible 8-bit MP4 or 8-bit h264 MP4 video file which everyone can play. I realize that Handbrake encodes MP4 video for various crApple devices, but that's not why I use it - it's to convert MKV to MP4. I can take MP4 and turn it into AVI if I am not happy with how the sub stream appears in Handbrake (which can handle stylized subs). In which case I would not resize the source.
I had planned to bring down a multi-sync monitor to use on the computer I installed all this on after Handbrake complained about the monitor resolution (800x600 - it came off a Windows ME system), so I grabbed the one off my P4 tower and in the process jostled the video card on the P4 loose (which set off a lot of anxiety as I had thought I screwed it up - I turned it on and no video and it wasn't proceeding with booting up). I found out the problem by looking at the POST LEDs on the back and the code said there was a problem with the video controller. So I had to re-seat the card. It worked after I did that.
An extra bonus was finding the driver install CD for my USB video capture box!! I cleaned things up in needing to move the P4 tower and there it was. Now to get a replacement CD drive for Mom's Dell since the one I put in there got messed up with me trying to rip tracks off a CD I found on the ground last week or so. I did manage to get some data off it, but the drive didn't fare so well later.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Clubhouses
As a kid, I sometimes wondered about wanting to have a clubhouse. Something in the back yard that was a place I could go and just do clubhouse type things. Of course, that never worked out, but still.
I mean, isn't that what some kids back in the 1970s wanted? A place you could go when your mom wanted you out of the house (and out of her way), and you didn't really want to go do anything. Depending on the size and what was in there, you could go in there with a few best friends, play games or something. Study or talk about anything. Hide. A place you could go and keep people out just because you wanted to that day. Hopefully keep out of trouble.
I remember seeing that sort of thing on TV and thought wow. A Clubhouse. nothing like a Treehouse, though I'm sure I probably wanted to make one of those, too but never did. It seemed like the greatest thing a kid could ask for and get. A club house to clubhousey stuff.
Of course, what would happen with me is that I would get one and not know what to do with it. "I got one! Now what?" I imagine myself saying. I could end up being (eventually) sitting around with nothing, doing nothing. Never mind that IMAGINATION stuff. Maybe 1 friend who wanted to hang out in there. (Too cold in the winter, mind you.) Spiders to watch out for. It would be fun during summer vacation from school. Maybe. With my luck, I'd go there to read a book and mom would go crazy not being able to find me, call the police and they end up finding me in there.
And it would be fine and dandy until the one kid in the neighborhood who was spoiled beyond belief would somehow end up with his father's cigarette lighter and burn that sucker down because HE wasn't the first one in the area to get a clubhouse.
It's always something.
I mean, isn't that what some kids back in the 1970s wanted? A place you could go when your mom wanted you out of the house (and out of her way), and you didn't really want to go do anything. Depending on the size and what was in there, you could go in there with a few best friends, play games or something. Study or talk about anything. Hide. A place you could go and keep people out just because you wanted to that day. Hopefully keep out of trouble.
I remember seeing that sort of thing on TV and thought wow. A Clubhouse. nothing like a Treehouse, though I'm sure I probably wanted to make one of those, too but never did. It seemed like the greatest thing a kid could ask for and get. A club house to clubhousey stuff.
Of course, what would happen with me is that I would get one and not know what to do with it. "I got one! Now what?" I imagine myself saying. I could end up being (eventually) sitting around with nothing, doing nothing. Never mind that IMAGINATION stuff. Maybe 1 friend who wanted to hang out in there. (Too cold in the winter, mind you.) Spiders to watch out for. It would be fun during summer vacation from school. Maybe. With my luck, I'd go there to read a book and mom would go crazy not being able to find me, call the police and they end up finding me in there.
And it would be fine and dandy until the one kid in the neighborhood who was spoiled beyond belief would somehow end up with his father's cigarette lighter and burn that sucker down because HE wasn't the first one in the area to get a clubhouse.
It's always something.
Monday, August 06, 2012
Recent figure kits I've worked on
 Cardcaptor Sakura kit - I found the image that inspired this kit. |  kit I've worked on, but the first that I got to keep. |
Sakura got some pearlized white on the outside of the wings to give them a certain look when photographed. I hope to see if I can put a little LED light in the lamp post.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Hated "shop class" in Junior High
Every now and then, my thoughts drift back to Shop Class of junior high, grades 7 and 8. I didn't sign up for it, I didn't particularly care for it. I got a wallet and a lamp out of it, but little else.
First, how about I discuss the teacher? His name was Gene Hudson, aka Mr. Hudson. Most of the boys in the class (it was a boys only class for what it's worth) didn't really like him. However, if you were of one of the "well to do" families and you talked about things he liked, like Golf, with Mr. Hudson, you tended to do well. I later found out he helped out during school athletics like score keeper and things.
My first or earliest experience in the class that started the whole thing was we were to sit at these desks, much like a drafting table I guess, and he thought he was explaining what we would be doing in the class. And what I figured out years later was some sort of technical drawing. We had to buy special mechanical pencils and erasers for this activity which to me seemed to take up the entire year, the first year anyway. You get your sheet of paper. You were supposed to draw a frame on the paper so much in from the edges. At the bottom was another line and a series of boxes. This was for you to put your name, date, whatever the hell the assignment was about.
He'd hand out these sheets of things we were supposed to copy off the paper. He tried explaining the size of arrows, the weight of lines that are drawn. I thought that last part, weight of the lines, was either understood well enough or graded arbitrarily by Mr. Hudson.
I would do my best to copy something off the handout. When it was done, we brought it up to him. He would look at it, circle a few things (usually he would circle something, more often than not things got circled), and offer a grade on the assignment. There never was any helpful explanation what I did wrong or right. Never any explanations - nothing clear, just some scribbles of what he thought was an explanation but I never did learn anything from the scribbles. I think we were all scared of him, but hate was more like it. We put up with the class as best we could. All Mr. Hudson seemed to care was that we were quiet and he could pick earwax out of his ears with his car keys. I guess as long as he got to do that or talk about Golf, he was happy.
I got only 1 A on those drawings. I usually got Cs or Ds for no reason at all. If you don't explain what I needed to do better, how am I supposed to learn? How do I get the right weight on the lines? Why did this even matter? It could be the experience in the 2 years of Mr. Hudson's class as the reason I never pursued anything similar in later work. Of course, I could have had the associated stigma that my older sister did so well and I was doomed to not be allowed to have similar scholastic success, and Mr. Hudson played his part. If I could ask for those 2 years of grades from those classes struck from my school district transcript, I would have it done in no time.
The 2nd year of Mr. Hudson was a bit more productive. I ended up with a wallet I used for some time, and a lamp I still have and use. I doubt anyone else from that class still uses the lamp they made.
There were a fair share of bumps along that year. My mom had a friend who wrote a check to help pay for the kit for the wallet I wanted to make. A paltry $6.50. However, Mr. Hudson had a problem with bounced checks. I didn't know the person who wrote it would have a problem. I seem to recall Mr. Hudson giving me a hard time about a bounced check. Either way, the whole thing was resolved, he got his money, and I got to make the wallet.
The other bit was during the making of the lamp. I think this was the only technical drawing I did in the class that got an A. It was basically redwood and white pine, in alternating slices. A base, and an electric lamp socket. I guess it turned out a bit less than I was hoping. I couldn't do the entire thing as one unit, but instead 3 blocks of 4 alternating woods, since the drill press in shop class couldn't drill through the entire stack of wood. At least it got glued and sanded well enough. It's never come apart since it was glued. And me being a kid and never worked with wood, I didn't know you can't buy blocks of wood and the slice it (well maybe you could), but instead you had board feet to deal with and you just cut the boards. The choice of wood was to reflect the school colors.
Joe Eltringham at the time was a dick and the bump I had here with the lamp was that for some reason I was forced to share a storage locker in shop class with him and he stole the electrical cord for my lamp kit. He'd deny it even today, but I knew. The way he'd act today was as if I was a friend of his from way back, but as I recall, he was never a friend. Not even a good one.
I was not aware there were options for making lamps. As I recall, we were just asked to design a lamp, so much wide, so much tall, and that's it. Other kids got these lamps with a hollow box and optional sockets for blinking Christmas tree lights and a semi-clear plastic insert for it. I still liked my design anyway. And I'll bet nobody else in those classes that year still have their lamps.
I think also another point of the year was due to my glasses always having problems with other people breaking them for me in some way, and I eventually ended up using an electronic alligator clip to hold them together. While that worked in holding my glasses together at one hinge point, it ended up getting me the dubious nickname of Roach Clip for a while. It got to be disconcerting and eventually someone got around to asking Mr. Hudson if there wasn't something he could figure out for me. I think it ended up with him coming up with some sort of adhesive for that problem and pretty much held my glasses together until I got a new pair. Probably the only time I saw Mr. Hudson be somewhat nice as he worked on my problem.
Of course, that's why I have wire-frame glasses today. All those damn plastic frame glasses and the assholes throwing basketballs at my face sure didn't help things.
The grades I received on the lamp? Even though it was mostly as I intended, with varnish and all, he barely managed to give me these 4 grades, and I don't know why it was 4 but I still remembered what he wrote in the gradebook in order: D, D, C, D. *sigh* Screw you, Mr. Hudson.
First, how about I discuss the teacher? His name was Gene Hudson, aka Mr. Hudson. Most of the boys in the class (it was a boys only class for what it's worth) didn't really like him. However, if you were of one of the "well to do" families and you talked about things he liked, like Golf, with Mr. Hudson, you tended to do well. I later found out he helped out during school athletics like score keeper and things.
My first or earliest experience in the class that started the whole thing was we were to sit at these desks, much like a drafting table I guess, and he thought he was explaining what we would be doing in the class. And what I figured out years later was some sort of technical drawing. We had to buy special mechanical pencils and erasers for this activity which to me seemed to take up the entire year, the first year anyway. You get your sheet of paper. You were supposed to draw a frame on the paper so much in from the edges. At the bottom was another line and a series of boxes. This was for you to put your name, date, whatever the hell the assignment was about.
He'd hand out these sheets of things we were supposed to copy off the paper. He tried explaining the size of arrows, the weight of lines that are drawn. I thought that last part, weight of the lines, was either understood well enough or graded arbitrarily by Mr. Hudson.
I would do my best to copy something off the handout. When it was done, we brought it up to him. He would look at it, circle a few things (usually he would circle something, more often than not things got circled), and offer a grade on the assignment. There never was any helpful explanation what I did wrong or right. Never any explanations - nothing clear, just some scribbles of what he thought was an explanation but I never did learn anything from the scribbles. I think we were all scared of him, but hate was more like it. We put up with the class as best we could. All Mr. Hudson seemed to care was that we were quiet and he could pick earwax out of his ears with his car keys. I guess as long as he got to do that or talk about Golf, he was happy.
I got only 1 A on those drawings. I usually got Cs or Ds for no reason at all. If you don't explain what I needed to do better, how am I supposed to learn? How do I get the right weight on the lines? Why did this even matter? It could be the experience in the 2 years of Mr. Hudson's class as the reason I never pursued anything similar in later work. Of course, I could have had the associated stigma that my older sister did so well and I was doomed to not be allowed to have similar scholastic success, and Mr. Hudson played his part. If I could ask for those 2 years of grades from those classes struck from my school district transcript, I would have it done in no time.
The 2nd year of Mr. Hudson was a bit more productive. I ended up with a wallet I used for some time, and a lamp I still have and use. I doubt anyone else from that class still uses the lamp they made.
There were a fair share of bumps along that year. My mom had a friend who wrote a check to help pay for the kit for the wallet I wanted to make. A paltry $6.50. However, Mr. Hudson had a problem with bounced checks. I didn't know the person who wrote it would have a problem. I seem to recall Mr. Hudson giving me a hard time about a bounced check. Either way, the whole thing was resolved, he got his money, and I got to make the wallet.
The other bit was during the making of the lamp. I think this was the only technical drawing I did in the class that got an A. It was basically redwood and white pine, in alternating slices. A base, and an electric lamp socket. I guess it turned out a bit less than I was hoping. I couldn't do the entire thing as one unit, but instead 3 blocks of 4 alternating woods, since the drill press in shop class couldn't drill through the entire stack of wood. At least it got glued and sanded well enough. It's never come apart since it was glued. And me being a kid and never worked with wood, I didn't know you can't buy blocks of wood and the slice it (well maybe you could), but instead you had board feet to deal with and you just cut the boards. The choice of wood was to reflect the school colors.
Joe Eltringham at the time was a dick and the bump I had here with the lamp was that for some reason I was forced to share a storage locker in shop class with him and he stole the electrical cord for my lamp kit. He'd deny it even today, but I knew. The way he'd act today was as if I was a friend of his from way back, but as I recall, he was never a friend. Not even a good one.
I was not aware there were options for making lamps. As I recall, we were just asked to design a lamp, so much wide, so much tall, and that's it. Other kids got these lamps with a hollow box and optional sockets for blinking Christmas tree lights and a semi-clear plastic insert for it. I still liked my design anyway. And I'll bet nobody else in those classes that year still have their lamps.
I think also another point of the year was due to my glasses always having problems with other people breaking them for me in some way, and I eventually ended up using an electronic alligator clip to hold them together. While that worked in holding my glasses together at one hinge point, it ended up getting me the dubious nickname of Roach Clip for a while. It got to be disconcerting and eventually someone got around to asking Mr. Hudson if there wasn't something he could figure out for me. I think it ended up with him coming up with some sort of adhesive for that problem and pretty much held my glasses together until I got a new pair. Probably the only time I saw Mr. Hudson be somewhat nice as he worked on my problem.
Of course, that's why I have wire-frame glasses today. All those damn plastic frame glasses and the assholes throwing basketballs at my face sure didn't help things.
The grades I received on the lamp? Even though it was mostly as I intended, with varnish and all, he barely managed to give me these 4 grades, and I don't know why it was 4 but I still remembered what he wrote in the gradebook in order: D, D, C, D. *sigh* Screw you, Mr. Hudson.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Something got changed, but nobody told me
After digging down in Frontier's website for online bill pay, there appears to be a check for "I agree to stop paper bills" or somesuch. Mom did that, but I did NOT agree to that. After today, as soon as I find out my credit card payment cleared, I'm going to uncheck that and cancel online bill pay. What's REALLY AGGRAVATING about the whole thing is that old customer info was applied to the new account. Mom had online pay set up during Verizon, but I always had the paper bills coming. I have nothing but ANGER and CONTEMPT for Frontier for changing something without ANY INPUT from me!!
It's this sort of shit that makes me see Magic Jack as a viable alternative to Frontier, now that I no longer use a land line for WebTV, though inDirecTV's box uses it.
It's this sort of shit that makes me see Magic Jack as a viable alternative to Frontier, now that I no longer use a land line for WebTV, though inDirecTV's box uses it.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Absolutely LIVID
Absolutely LIVID right now. It's probably too early to say that someone at the local post office is messing with my mail, but that's how I operate. An envelope sent June 23rd never arrived (so far), and my payment for my phone bill from June appears to never have arrived, plus my phone bill to PAY for July never got to me! I had a $48 phone bill (2 months) to settle online with a credit card.
I never signed up for online pay with no paper bills sent to me. I had been getting paper bills in the mail since I got the number. I can even locate my bills and payments for April and May of this year - both of which they kindly showed to me online that they got them.
As it turned out, when the number was with Verizon, Mom had signed up for online payments from her checking account. Somehow that information got transferred to Frontier as still being signed up with online payment even though the name had changed.
I'm going to have to call them up and make it clear I do not intend to use online payment as the primary method to get their money to them. I don't want this sort of thing happening again!!!
Preliminary search seems to indicate that I never got Frontier's June 2012 bill. Still I have this memory of paying Frontier by money order - as I have done since I got the number, and since the start of this year. I am not that irresponsible that I would not open a bill nor leave it where I would lose it. I have my places to put Opened Bills That Need Paying, and a place to put Paper That Has Been Dealt With (and kept should I get pissed off like I am now).
The only envelope I got this month from Frontier was some sort of re-verification for LifeLine. I copied that piece of paper and mailed that envelope from another post office.
And then I saw some sort of URL on the PDF phone bill I grabbed that was marked as Free on my bill, but I'm also going to get that removed. I do not want ANYTHING on my bill that I don't want on it.
