Am having a bit of tech maladies these days, starting from my netbook not being able to start properly (And now that I’ve finally got it to start, I put it under suspension instead of shutting it down to prevent the risk of it doing the same thing again)
And just yesterday, my main compy where I do video and picture editing had the same error as I had in September. “No problem, I’ll just back up in my trusty HDD reformat it again and re-install from the HDD”, I thought confidently. While compy seems fine now that I’ve done a fresh OS re-install, the HDD on the other hand, has this odd clunking sound at each rotation, which means that death is impending and I should try to rescue as much data as I can.
I managed to install some of the software that I backed up on the HDD before it went ker-plunk like Lightroom (for mass editing of pictures) and Powerdirector (for video editing). But I didn’t manage to install photoshop and flash which means that I probably won’t be able to do my ‘This is married life‘ cartoon strips for a while.
What? No …
The irony is that, powerdirector still has this squashed video effect even after re-installation (Yeah, yeah. I’m using old versions for all of them, but that doesn’t mean that the software should go bonkers)
I’m amazed at how nonchalant I am, considering that, that HDD contains all my digital memories from 1997 onwards and if it’s gone, it’s totally gone. But I guess I’ve gone through so much of these throughout the years that I really cannot be bothered anymore 😛
One silver lining on my dark cloud however, after trying different video editors like lightworks (too difficult to use) and Adobe Premiere Elements (the watermark is very annoying, and I still get the squashed effect) is that I found a decent software where I could do some simple video editing … and it’s free!
Microsoft Movie Maker! So old school – I used this the first time when I first dabbled with youtube and didn’t see it bundled in since Vista so I thought that it was taken out, so imagine my surprise when an ex colleague recommended it, and even more so when this current update actually worked for me in making unsquashed videos! Lovely!
So I guess to end, I’ll share a short video I took not too long ago of some street performers. I was quite amazed at how they were able to balance themselves without shaking even the least bit :
I know the secret now though, and shucks, now my sense of wonder and enchantment is burst thanks to Cartcart 😛
I saw performance too in Siviglia, Spain! I guess there’s a sort of metal seat he’s sitting on and covered by all that orange cloth??
Yeah. That’s the secret … hahaha ….Obviously it’s not possible for anyone to carry a heavy weight without even the least bit of shake.
And now that you know it, doesn’t it feel like your sense of magic and wonderment is gone? :p
oh yes! no more surprise and awe ;(