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September 23 The evil of VCR to DVD recordersI just had to tell this story. It makes me feel dumb but I bet I'm not alone.
So many years ago, maybe 2002 timeframe, I bought one of those VHS to DVD conversion boxes. Why? Sure I could probably play my VCR into my PC and make copies but why bother with all the hassle? These things let you stick in a DVD and a VHS tape, hit one button and walk away - I love it!
Yah, well...
I bought a Samsung (I don't recall the model) but it was the cheapest one I could find at the time, about $250.
When I got it I tried the obvious - well it just sat there.
I managed to hook up my PC to view the menu and played around with it. Just couldn't get it to work.
I remember (this was years ago) I called their customer support after a few days of no luck and I was told I had too new/fast a DVD in there to work. Well gee, why can't you tell me that you dumb machine!
I ended up useing some DVD-RW disks and I finally got it to work.
But when I viewed the resulting DVD, I was not impressed. Just a very lame looking menu leading to titles.
I found out later that I have to use the remote to set things up to give proper titles etc. so that the resulting DVD is at least descriptive enough for a user to recognize what's on it.
But using the remote was a real hassle - because there was a 1 second delay after every button I touched! This was amazingliny slow!
This is a bigger deal than you might think because you have to specify the start and end times of each block on the VHS tape that is to be a separate title. This can involve dozens of clicks and with a second delay between each click it can literally take a half hour to just set up one VHS tape to copy!
After repeated attempts to use it on rare occasions it just began to gather dust. I used it so infrequently that I quickly past any chance of getting my money back.
Just a few weeks ago I gave it one more big try. This time I simply couldn't get any output out of the thing. I don't know if it was my new TV card in my PC or the wrong cables. I went to various stores several times to try go get cables that would work including HDMI cables and adaptors - man are these expensive! I eventually returned them all (except for a cable which the seller told me could not be returned because it wasn't certified! How LAME. They charged me like $26 for that cable and I brought it back only two days after purchase! (That was from Vetco)
So I had this thing for maybe 5 years and successfully copied maybe two VHS tapes. Also the great feature I didn't think about is copy protection! If you bought a VHS movie, don't expect these things to make a digital version for you - they just will refuse to work. That really ticked me off because I threw out my old VHS player thinking this thing would have me into the digital domain in no time. So don't throw out your old VHS player! It may be the only way to copy your VHS movies without having to buy a new DVD version.
So the dumb thing was in line to be trashed.
I was told that Stupid Prices had some VHS-DVD boxes for sale cheap. I went over and they were going out of business so their Sony VHS-DVD boxes were only $65!!! This was awesom!
But I wasn't about to have the same thing happen to me again so I asked them to demo it for me (no refunds were allowed.)
They managed to hook it up to a TV but didn't have any VHS tapes to test so I went home and picked up a copy protected VHS tape, a non-protected one, and two different types of DVDs (DVD-R and a DVD_RW)
When I got back I gave it a shot and no luck. So I grabbed this kid (who reminds me of Drew) and asked him to show me how to get it to work. Well he tried the obvious, just like I did, and it just sat there.
I asked if he had a manual. He didn't the thing didn't even come with a manual! Then we realized that we probably needed a remote to get it to work. He couldn't find a remote for it but found one for a related model. So what they were selling was a device that absolutely needs a remote.... without the remote!
I finally had to tell him I couldn't buy it.
How do companies keep getting away with selling this CRAP? Unbelievable!
I think I will try borrowing a friend's VHS-DVD device and see if I can get that to work.
So much for easy. July 25 Why I hate PDFsPeople seem to love PDF files. That's because it preserves the paper mentality for them.
PDFs are printer friendly but information averse.
I am at this second printing a small book to read in the car. To save paper I am printing 4 pages per paper page. Due to the large margins for the original, the print is microscopic. It need not be but PDFs do not lend themselves to easily re-presenting the information like .doc files do.
It always drives me nuts when I go online to submit an application for a new account of some kind and get pointed to a PDF file to print out, fill in by hand, and then scan in to fax to the firm in question. A total waste of time and paper to me. A simple HTTP form will do with a checkbox stating that I am attaching my signature to a contract and agree to uphold it - just like when you install software.
And that's it for today's LAME REPORT.
I'm Sanford Staab signing off for now. September 07 Missler on GenesisIt's interesting that the spaces people didn't put religion as one of the categories for a blog entry. Seems like a big omission.
So last night I visited a friend who was holding a little meeting showing part of Chuck Missler's series on Genesis.
Now Chuck is an interesting kind of guy.
He's a techie and a believer. He loves physics - so thusly, I love listening to him.
Anyway, I just have to give a plug for this series which you can find here.
Lots of cool things to learn besides the obvious that you find in Genesis. September 02 Going WirelessWell, I have been planning for some time to get a nice entertainment system at the ranch for guests.
I decided that it would be best to make it computer centric so I searched for a nice flat screen that works well with a PC.
I purchased a SONY Model KDL-52W4100 LCD Screen.
Pretty nice as a PC monitor - I'm using it to blog this at 1920x1080 pixels - QUEL!
Anyway, the idea was to have the PC be connected wireless to the internet since I am now getting satelite (WildBlue) installed at the ranch.
I picked up a dual-channel N type wireless router and PCI card to test it out with the screen at my main home.
Well installing the wireless was easy but I can't seem to connect to it. I am using somebody's default wireless hotspot in my neighborhood for now.
Also I plugged all my PCs into the wireless router instead of into my gigaswitch I was using - but now none of them can see the others.
Gonna take some time to figure this out. September 07 HHO Wow Cool!A couple of weeks ago I met a guy at a BBQ that told me about this water-car. I have heard of several cars running on water but he said this was on FOX News and CNN - this I had to see.
So I checked out the YouTube link here: HHO Video
The initial application was welding but then he applied it to the automobile and got instant fame.
I certainly hope he succeeds - what an invention!
HHO apparently has the following characterists:
My guess is that his special method of electrolsys isn't really electrolsys at all. I suspect he adds vibrational energy to the water molicule to the point that it assumes a gaseus form. I theorize that the H and O atoms are so loosely coupled that when it combusts the O combeins with the fuel and the Hs then immediately recombine with the O to form good old water. The energy released is the sum of the vibrational energy added and the combustion of the fuel that the O combined with. The PVT violation has to be caused by the loose but existant coupling between the Hs and the O. But of course that is just a goofy guess. I contacted the company that makes this but they are apparently quite swamped. If something as revolutionary as this doesn't make it to market - well, you know something fishy is going on for sure. I picked up on this naturally because it ties in closely with my vibe machine. |
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