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Riding the Long Island Expressway July 29, 2012

Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.
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I went to Hoboken last Saturday for my friends’ daughter’s first birthday party.  On the drive with my parents to and from the Madison Bar and Grill, I took plenty of pictures.  In fact,  I shot more on the drive than at the party: 115 out of 224.

In this post, we’ll focus on pics taken on Interstate 495, the L.I.E. (Long Island Expressway).

Westbound, starting with Exit 37:

Exit 36:

Exit 33:

Exit 32:

Exit 31:

Exit 28:

Exit 27:

A tow truck got in the way for the next few exits.  I resumed at Exit 20:

Exit 19:

Exit 18:

Exit 17W:

Exit 16:

Exit 15, the last westbound exit:

Eastbound starts immediately after the tolls with Exit 13:

Exit 14:

Exit 17:

Exit 19:

Exit 21:

Exit 22:

Exit 24:

Exit 25:

There was a bow below the rear view mirror in the way in the upper left.  So, I rubber stamped it out in Adobe Photoshop 7.

Exit 26:

Exit 27:

Exit 29:

Exit 30:

Exit 31S:

Traffic advisory sign:

Exit 32:

Exit 33:

Exit 34:

Exit 35:

Exit 36:

Exit 37:

Exit 38:

Exit 39:

Exit 40W:

Exit 40E:

Exit 41S:

Exit 41N:

Exit 42:

Exit 43:

A closer look:

Before HOV lanes were added, the Exit 43 ramp was here:

The original ramp can be seen in a video from WLIG-TV (now WLNY) after Hurricane Gloria hit Long Island on September 27, 1985.  This is a vidcap (h/t Mike Erickson):

Video:

The vidcap was taken at the 1:03 mark.

Exit 44S:

That was our exit.  From there, it wasn’t long before we got home.  I spent several hours the next day editing all 224 pictures.  The party pics were easy to edit because I used the flash and didn’t have to fix the color or smudge out license plates.

SJFS 2012 recap May 7, 2012

Posted by Mike C. in Film, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Video.
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Jay Rowe‘s tenth annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars began with:
1. Hit the Bricks
Featured musicians: Foran High School Jazz Band

Jay came out at the end of the song.  Hidden from view was Dave Anderson on bass, seen here one song later:

Rounding out Jay’s band was his Special EFX bandmate Lionel Cordew on drums:

And Steve Scales (left) on percussion:

It was an overcast evening outside the Parsons Complex Auditorium in Milford, Connecticut.  But inside, the sun was shining.  This year’s show featured guitarists Rohn (“Ron”) Lawrence, Nick Colionne, and Chieli Minucci; and saxophonists Paul “Shilts” Weimar, Paul Taylor, and Nelson Rangell.

After we “Hit the Bricks,” Kevin McCabe and keyboardist Jay Rowe introduced the rest of the show:

Then back to the music:
2. Rosemary’s Tune (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: “Live at Daniel Street,” 2011
Featured musician: Rohn Lawrence (guitar)

Video:

3. Lambeth Strut (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “Going Underground,” 2010
Featured musicians: Shilts (tenor saxophone), Nick Colionne (guitar)

4. Seeing Things Clearly (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “Going Underground,” 2010
Featured musician: Shilts

At the 2010 SJFS, someone in the audience requested “Rainy Night in Georgia” for Nick Colionne.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t on the set list that night, but on this night, the audience got their wish:
5. Rainy Night in Georgia (Nick Colionne; Brook Benton cover)
Originally heard on: “It’s My Turn,” 1994; “Keepin’ It Cool,” 2006
Featured musician: Nick Colionne (vocals/guitar)

6. Pleasure Seeker (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “Pleasure Seeker,” 1997
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor (soprano sax), Chieli Minucci (guitar)

7. Uptown East (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Slice of Life,” 1986
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci, Paul Taylor

8. Exotica (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “On the Horn,” 1995
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor, Chieli Minucci

9. Mystical (Chieli Minucci & Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Sweet Surrender,” 2007
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci, Shilts, Nelson Rangell (alto sax)

10. Good Evans (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “HeadBoppin,” 2006
Featured musician: Shilts

“Good Evans” began with solo piano from Jay:

With a little help from Steve Scales:

Then, Shilts and the rest of the band joined in:

11. Free as the Wind (Nelson Rangell; The Crusaders cover)
Originally heard on: “Soul to Souls,” 2006
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell

Nelson originally performed this song on tenor sax, but he went with soprano here:

Jay had a wild piano solo:

Nelson also had a very involved solo:

Video:

12. The Warmth of the Sun (Jay Rowe; The Beach Boys cover)
Originally heard on: “Jay Walking,” 1997
Featured musicians: Foran High School Select Ensemble Chorus (Director: Theresa Voss), Nelson Rangell, Rohn Lawrence

In a move many didn’t see coming, at least not me…

Marion Meadows made a surprise appearance!

13. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Player’s Club,” 2004
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows, Rohn Lawrence


14. Funky Broadway (Wilson Pickett cover)
Featured musicians: Rohn Lawrence (vocals/guitar), Paul Taylor (alto sax), Shilts, Nelson Rangell

Paul switched to alto sax for the rest of the show:


15. The Night is Ours (Chieli Minucci & Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010
Featured musician: Chieli Minucci

Another Jay solo:

And one from Chieli:

Nelson Rangell introduced the next song this way:

This next tune that we’re gonna do for you is something that I wrote.  And the title is not for the new movie that’s out, but it’ll do.  This is called “A New Avenger.”

16. A New Avenger (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: “Soul to Souls,” 2006
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell

“A New Avenger” featured solos by Lionel Cordew, Steve Scales, and Dave Anderson.

Lionel went first:

Steve was next:

And then, it was Dave’s turn:

Getting back to Nelson:

(NOTE: Pictures from the next two songs, and some from the finale, are screencaps, which I cropped, sharpened, and magnified in Adobe Photoshop 7.0.)

17. Sonora (Nelson Rangell; Hampton Hawes cover)
Originally heard on: “Destiny,” 1995 (alto sax); “My American Songbook, Vol. 1,” 2005 (whistling and piccolo)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell, Chieli Minucci

It wouldn’t be a Nelson Rangell show without whistling:

Dave Anderson switched acoustic bass for this song:

Nelson switched to piccolo (below) after Chieli’s solo (above):

After a quick applause, Nelson whistled solo for about a minute before the band rejoined him.

He took a bow as he got another round of applause:

Video:

18. Prime Time (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “Prime Time,” 2011
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor, Shilts, Nelson Rangell


19. Some Funky (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “Feel the Heat,” 2011
Featured musicians: Nick Colionne, Rohn Lawrence

Nick’s guitar solo:


20 (Finale). Godfather J (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “No Limits,” 2008
Featured musicians: Everyone (Nick – vocals)

“Godfather J” is a tribute to James Brown.  Nick channeled the Godfather of Soul throughout the song.

Nick took to the audience:

Back on stage, Chieli played lying down for a while:

Kevin McCabe came out to drape Nick’s jacket on him:

Jay briefly left his keyboards to “play” Chieli’s guitar:

That’s it!

This was the wildest Smooth Jazz for Scholars I’ve ever attended!  Who knows what next year’s show (or shows?) will bring?  Here’s to ten more years, and many more after that!

Read the manual! May 1, 2012

Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Video.
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As I noted in my previous post, I was at WCWP’s first annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony Thursday night at LIU Post.

What I didn’t tell you was I brought my recently purchased JVC Everio GZ-HM320 HD camcorder to record the ceremony, which lasted about an hour, in addition to candid chatter before and afterward.

Unfortunately, I didn’t read the camcorder’s manual when I bought it in October.  After a few successful, short test recordings in October and November, I didn’t use it until Thursday night.  I was able to get two minutes of chatter and the first nine minutes of the ceremony, but then, the memory card stopped working.  Everything recorded after LIU Post Provost Dr. Paul Forestell talked about when he first met WCWP station manager Dan Cox was corrupted and could not be viewed or recovered.  At least I had the pictures I shot on my digital camera.

My first reaction the following day when I learned of the file corruption was to look for a better camcorder with internal memory of at least 32 GB (gigabytes).  But tonight, it finally dawned on me that it wasn’t the camcorder that was the problem.  It was the memory card: a Kingston Class 4 SDHC 32 GB card.  Before I considered buying a SanDisk card of the same class and size, I looked at my camcorder’s manual.

In the middle of page 9, it said “operations are confirmed on … Panasonic, TOSHIBA, SanDisk [and] ATP” cards.  For video, “Class 4 or higher compatible SDHC card (4 GB to 32 GB).”  And then, the money quote: “Using cards other than those specified above may result in recording failure or data loss.”  Bingo!

So, I went ahead and bought that SanDisk card to replace the Kingston.  If I get uninterrupted video for more than ten minutes the next I record an event like the WCWP Hall of Fame ceremony, I’ll know I made the right decision.  And I’ll save a ton of money.

The moral is simple: Read the manual!

5/3 UPDATE: The SanDisk card arrived this afternoon.  Putting it in did the trick!  My camcorder successfully recorded about an hour and a half of video while I went to and from Sunrise Mall (Westfield Sunrise) in East Massapequa.  There was no corruption; all files (3.89 GB at a time) played and could be scrolled through in Windows Media Player.
I also tested my Tascam DR-03 audio recorder while I was out.  It recorded the same length of time as the camcorder successfully with a SanDisk 16 GB microSDHC card.

Will Donato & Elan Trotman at Houndstooth recap March 12, 2012

Posted by Mike C. in Basketball, Hockey, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Video.
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Saturday night, to coin a borrow a previously used term, was saxtacular!  Saxophonists Will Donato and Elan Trotman performed at Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station.  It was the first time I’d seen Will in concert, but the second for Elan, who I saw last April with Brian Simpson.

But before taking the LIRR to Penn Station and walking those few blocks to Houndstooth, something noteworthy occurred in my neighborhood and another thing in my family.  It was my mother Lisa’s birthday.  My presents to her were two scratch-off lottery tickets, she won $2 with each, and a Chicago CD.  As for the noteworthy neighborhood event, a curbside tree by my neighbor’s house was taken down by a crew from what I assume was the Town of Hempstead.  They also removed a tree a block north and west away on Thursday.

Here are two before vidcaps.  This one is from February 5, 1995:

And from November 11, 2011:

The next three are after pictures that I took before going to Wantagh’s LIRR station:

I suppose the next step is to redo the sidewalk.

With that business out of the way, on to the show at Houndstooth.

Backing Will and Elan up were Jay Rowe on keyboards:

Kenny Harris on bass:

And Chris Marshak, brother of guitarist Matt Marshak, on drums:

I was on hand for the first set.  Elan went first.  Here’s what he played:

Elan Trotman:
1. Lil’ Too Late
2. 100 Degrees
3. Heaven in Your Eyes
4. Last Dance

Jay’s second solo on “Heaven in Your Eyes”:

Elan made way for Will Donato:
Will Donato:
5. New Life
6. I’ll Be Around
7. Jaywalking
8. Always You
9. Funkability

Guitarist JJ Sansaverino joined the band for Will’s portion of the set, seen here during his “New Life” solo:

Will went into the audience multiple times:

“Jaywalking” began with a bass solo by Kenny Harris:

And he had a simple “it’s you” vocal on “Always You”:

That song also had a wild guitar solo by JJ:

Back into the audience during “Funkability”:

He even went behind the bar!:

After “Funkability,” the set was complete.

And what a wild set it was!  Elan was exciting and Will was lively!  I can only imagine how much wilder the second set must have been.  Before I left, I got to meet Elan and Will in person for the first time.  Elan told me he liked my Brian Simpson show recap and I thanked him for the compliment.

On the way back to Penn Station, I remembered that the championship game for the Big East Tournament was taking place that night at Madison Square Garden.  Before walking into Penn, I took a picture of the tournament’s banner:

In the championship game, the Louisville Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 50-44.  About twelve hours later on the same basketball court, the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers squared off.  Unfortunately, the Sixers won.  After the game, the court was taken apart and the hockey rink was set up as the Rangers faced the Islanders a few hours later.  The Rangers won 4-3 on a Marion Gaborik goal with six seconds left in overtime.

Back on Saturday night, the 10:45 Babylon-bound train was a few minutes late, but I made it back to Wantagh on time.

Thanks to Will, Elan, Jay, Kenny, Chris, JJ, Steve Butler, and Ed Tankus for another great night at Houndstooth.

11:47 PM UPDATE: After posting this recap and linking to it on Facebook, Elan had this to say:

Nice job – yet again. Really nice work.

Thank you again, Elan.  I’m very glad you liked it.

I also got this from Will:

Mike I really enjoyed your amazing blog. The photos really captured the night and I am honored to be reviewed with such passion and care!

Thank you, too, Will.

My thoughts on Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants February 19, 2012

Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Football, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Radio, Sports, TV, Video.
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(Starting with the Giants’ first win against the Cowboys, I link to highlights from Dial Global Sports‘ coverage of each win.)

Two weeks have passed since the New York Giants of the National Football League won Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  So, I thought I’d take this time to share my thoughts on their win and their season.

I became a Giants fan in the early ’90s, but didn’t make an effort to watch the games until the 1997 season.  I was too young to appreciate the Giants’ Super Bowl championship seasons of ’86 and ’90 and only saw it through retrospective clips and documentaries.  I thought 2000 would be the year I would see them win a Super Bowl, which was held in Tampa that year.  My dad and I were in the area the week of Super Bowl XXXV.  We saw some NFL and media personalities at the Innisbrook Resort, where my grandparents lived, and went to the NFL Experience outside of Raymond James Stadium two days before the game.  We watched the game back at Innisbrook, but it was very depressing.  It left such a bad taste in my mouth I couldn’t watch highlights until after the 2007 season.  Why?  The Giants did the improbable, beating the undefeated New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII.  I was finally old enough to see my Giants win a Super Bowl and appreciate it.

In the seasons after ’07, the Giants would get off to a hot start and then slack off in the second half.  They symbolized that in one game, a collapse in a December 2010 game against the Eagles.  It was devastating.  They still could have made the playoffs by winning their last game of that season two weeks later, but the Packers had to lose.  They didn’t, and Redskins fans made that known as they chanted for the Giants and visiting Giants’ fans: “Green Bay won!  Green Bay won!”  And the Pack went on to win Super Bowl XLV, but I was proud of them because they knocked out the Eagles in the Wild Card round.

The 2011 season started on a down note, a loss to the Redskins in the same venue where eight months earlier, the G-Men learned they had been eliminated from playoff contention.  But then, three wins a row.  After a loss to the Seahawks, they won three more.  The first of those games, against the Bills, was a result I had to keep under wraps as the game was in progress.  I was at the baptism (and post-baptism party) of a friend’s daughter and the brother-in-law was a Bills fan that DVR’d the game.  The third of those games was a very satisfying win in New England against the Patriots.  Unfortunately, past history repeated itself after that.  The Giants lost four in a row to fall to 6-6.  In the middle of that losing streak, I wrote the following status update on Facebook:

This second half collapse will cost [head coach] Tom Coughlin his job on January 2.

After the third loss in a row, a blowout loss to the Saints, I wrote:

If the Giants finish 8-8 or 9-7, I’ll be amazed. 6-10 seems likeliest.

Despite the losing streak, at 6-6, the Cowboys were not far behind at 7-5.  The two teams played each other the following week at Cowboys Stadium.  The Giants came from behind to win that game and led the NFC East on a tiebreaker.  (Dial Global highlights.)  But then they lost to the Redskins a second time, which led me to write this update:

Today was dream-killing day for the Giants and Jets [who lost to the Eagles while the Bengals won their game].

The Giants’ next game, the second-to-last of the regular season, was a “road” game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium.  The Giants usually beat the Jets in their regular season match-ups every four years, but I couldn’t see a Rex Ryan-coached Jets squad lose to the G-Men.  So, thirteen hours before the game…

My prediction: The Jets will beat the Giants and the Cowboys will beat the Eagles a few hours later.

The opposite happened: the Giants trailed early, but stormed ahead and won 29-14.  (Dial Global highlights.)  The Eagles nearly shut out the Cowboys and won 20-7.  The stage was set for a winner-take-all season finale between the Giants and the ‘Boys at MetLife Stadium.  The result:

The Giants beat the Cowboys 31-14, win the NFC East, and will face Atlanta next week.  [Dial Global highlights.]

The Falcons blew out the Buccaneers in their last game of the regular season, so I expected the same against the Giants.  Instead, it was a Giants win 24-2.  An intentional grounding safety was the only Falcons score.  (Dial Global highlights.)

There was no way the Giants could beat the 15-1 Packers at Lambeau Field, but they did 37-20.  (Dial Global highlights.)

Then, history repeated itself again in the NFC Championship in these ways:

  • 1991 (’90 season): Giants beat 49ers 15-13 at Candlestick Park on Matt Bahr field goal; Steve DeOssie was the snapper; Jack Buck called the game for CBS Radio (now Dial Global)
  • 2008 (’07 season): Giants beat Packers 23-20 at Lambeau Field on Lawrence Tynes field goal
  • 2008 (’07 season): Patriots are the Giants’ opponent in Super Bowl

Joe Buck called this year’s NFC Championship for FOX TV.  Before the game-winning kick by Tynes in overtime, Buck listed the snapper (Zak DeOssie), holder, and kicker.  The kick was good.  The Giants won 20-17 and were off to Super Bowl XLVI, a rematch with the Patriots.  (Dial Global highlights.)

The next two weeks were tough because I feared a revenge-fueled blowout by the Pats, which came to me in a dream, sort of:

[1/27, 11:23 PM]: I had a dream last night that I hope isn’t an omen. The Giants were playing somebody–I don’t remember who– and got blown out.

Four hours before Super Bowl XLVI:

My pessimistic Super Bowl XLVI prediction: Patriots 45, Giants 10. I would love to not only get the outcome wrong, but the team that wins wrong. In other words, I want the Giants to win.

I didn’t watch the game live until 9:30, when there were about four minutes left in regulation.  (Dial Global highlights.)  The Patriots led 17-15, but only for a few more minutes.  Ahmad Bradshaw’s accidental touchdown put the Giants ahead 21-17.  I breathed deeply and my extremities grew numb as I watched the Pats’ final drive.  Then, at 9:53, seconds after Tom Brady’s incomplete Hail Mary pass, I swiveled my desk chair to the left and typed:

Oh, baby! They did it! The New York Giants win Super Bowl XLVI! My hands are numb from anxiety.

I was both relieved and excited.  About $80 later, I was the proud owner (through online purchases) of the championship cap, locker room t-shirt, parade t-shirt, and DVD.  There was also the matter the following day of getting the Monday newspapers, which I posed with in the guest bedroom:

Tuesday was the day of the Tickertape Parade along the Canyon of Heroes and the Victory Rally at MetLife Stadium:

The Super Bowl XLVI DVD doesn’t come out until March 6.  I’ve watched the following to hold me over while I wait:

There you have it: the Giants’ 2011-12 championship season as I saw it.  Thank you for reading.  To paraphrase the team’s playoff catchphrase, I’m all out.

Video from around the house: 1994 and 2011 November 11, 2011

Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Video, Weather.
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July 25, 1994, was the beginning of my videography life.  When I used my camcorder regularly, between 1994 and 2004, I would occasionally shoot video around my house.  This was usually reserved for special occasions like a deep blue sky (especially in the middle of summer), fall foliage, and during or after a snowstorm.  The videos below represent the first and second examples.

November 11, 1994, was a day off for me.  I was in eighth grade at the time.  Like today–also November 11, Veterans Day–trash and recycling was not picked up.  We didn’t realize that in ’94, as you’ll see in the first video, but I checked the pickup schedule earlier this week and knew not to bring stuff to the curb.  I feel sorry for those that didn’t know.  I saw many houses with uncollected trash and recycling on my walk this afternoon.  But I digress.

Earlier this year, I captured my old home videos on VHS (dubs of VHS-C), VHS-C masters, and MiniDV masters.  I felt nostalgic enough today to retrace my steps (minus the primitive camera work).

Here then is what I shot on November 11, 1994:

And here’s what I shot today, November 11, 2011:

Today’s video was originally shot in 1080p, but I mixed two MTS files down to one MPEG4 file in 720p.

Irene, Five Days in Freeport September 8, 2011

Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, DVD, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.
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After 26 years of barely missing hurricanes, or at least direct hits, Long Island’s luck ran out last weekend.

On a Friday afternoon, September 27, 1985, Hurricane Gloria, a fast-moving Category 2, made landfall near Long Beach.  25 years and 11 months later, it was Irene’s turn.  Though Hurricane Irene was barely a Category 1 when it made landfall on Coney Island last Sunday morning (immediately weakening to a tropical storm), it wasn’t moving as fast as Gloria and it came during high tide rather than low tide.  The south shore of Long Island got pounded.  Over 500,000 Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) customers, including myself, were without power at the height of the storm.  Either giant limbs or uprooted trees fell on power lines or transformers caught fire.  I lost power at 1:30 AM Sunday because of the latter.  (Also, the sub-station in Plainedge that we were linked to was badly damaged.)

I prepared my bedroom for the worst by covering up some belongings, including CDs, and putting them on the floor:

I spent Saturday night and much of Sunday in the basement and on the main floor, only going to the top floor in the afternoon to take a [cold!] shower.  While preparing my room on Saturday, I found a lucky rabbit’s foot.  I kept it close by or in my shorts pocket.

I don’t know if the rabbit’s foot was the cause, but our house was spared.  The only damage for us was smaller branches and twigs, and leaves falling around the house.  I took these pictures Monday morning in the front and back yards under a partly-to-mostly sunny sky:

I put everything I had put on the floor back where they were before on Sunday night.  This picture was also taken Monday morning:

More pics from Monday near my house:

I stayed home without power until Monday afternoon when a family friend in Freeport was nice enough to let me stay with them until power was restored at my house.  Villages like Freeport that have their own utilities didn’t lose power for long.  If only that were the case for LIPA customers.  Some didn’t get it back until early this week.  I got it back 3:30 PM Friday.  The family friend was without FiOS (for reasons I won’t get into), so I was stuck with radio, wireless internet (on my laptop), and mobile web (on my cell phone).  I also passed the time by going for walks, listening to music on my iPod, and playing video games.  I hadn’t played Game Boy or Game Boy Advance games in ages until last week.  I brought my camera on one of those walks and stopped by my late grandparents’ old house and Cow Meadow Park (swatting mosquitoes along the way):

Before getting to the old house and Cow Meadow, I saw a sad sight walking up the block where the friend lives.  Curbs on both sides of the street had flood-damaged carpeting, couches, and appliances waiting to be picked up.  I used to live in southwest Freeport.  So, I know what it’s like to get flooding from the bay in the bottom floor of the house.  I got that during the aforementioned Gloria, and Nor’easters in December 1992 and March 1993.  Within months of those last two storms, I had moved to a part of Wantagh that’s a few miles inland.

Back at the friend’s house, she had the complete run of I Love Lucy on DVD.  I got into that show years ago when it was on Nick at Nite.  My love for it was rekindled.  I watched the latter seasons while the friend had them on.

The ride home late Friday afternoon was great.  I knew I’d be returning home to electricity and cable, albeit with an empty refrigerator.  Before leaving, I thanked the family friend for putting up with me for five days.  I returned the favor this Tuesday when I stayed at her house while she was at work to be present for a Cablevision technician to install their services–iO, Optimum Online, Optimum Voice–in place of Verizon’s–phone, FiOS internet, FiOS TV.

Three footnotes:
1. As I type this post, Hurricane Katia is about to turn northeast and move away from the U.S. East Coast.  Good.
2. There were plenty of columns and blog posts in Irene’s aftermath that downplayed the storm and/or reprimanding the media for overhyping it.  Many media did overhype it, but damage is damage.  Downed trees are nothing compared to massive flo0ding, whether from storm surge or rivers overflowing from nonstop rain.  Residents of New Jersey, Eastern New York State, and Vermont are among those that got the latter.  And the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee in the last few days have only added to the flooding.
3. I stumbled upon a blog post that offers the Washington, D.C. area perspective.  It’s written by freelance writer Kristine Meldrum Denholm: How I’ve dodged the demise of the east coast, part II: Goodnight, Irene.  There was minimal damage in her neighborhood and she never lost power.  Kristine is not alone.  My neighbors two houses to the west of me never lost power, neither did my piano teacher in Freeport.
4. Yet another link: Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean summed up Irene at her blog last Monday.

9/27 UPDATE: It’s hard to believe that tomorrow will mark one month since Irene made landfall here.  And as I noted at the top, Hurricane Gloria whizzed (compared to the slower Irene) through Long Island 26 years ago today.  Since I wrote this post a few weeks ago, a few more Atlantic tropical cyclones have formed and none have directly impacted the U.S.  (Knock on wood.)  In checking the August archives at the website Johnny Dollar’s Place, I found an interview John Gibson did with Janice Dean on his Fox News Radio show.  It took place on August 29, the day after landfall:

12/30 UPDATE: Irene was the #1 tri-state area news story in WCBS 880’s countdown of the top 11 stories of 2011:

… But Sunday morning, August 28, we knew the caution was called for.

Irene swept ashore in Brigantine, battered New Jersey, then crossed Coney Island at 9 a.m. on a path for New England.

Throughout its path, Irene caused widespread destruction, left millions without power and killed 56 people.

“We are now into day three of no electricity for hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders,” reported WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs. …

Even with all that Irene turned out not to have been a hurricane when it hit our area.

Okay, fine, it wasn’t a hurricane.  It was Tropical Storm Irene.  It might as well have been a category 1 hurricane because it moved slow enough to cause the same amount of damage.

You can read and listen to the rest here.

Home video projects July 1, 2011

Posted by Mike C. in DVD, Personal, Video.
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Last Fall, I captured old home videos of mine to my computer through Windows Movie Maker as AVI files.  The videos were shot between 1994 and 2007.  Unfortunately, WMM captures AVIs with 32 kHz audio rather than 48.  So, for the last week and a half, I’ve been re-rendering those AVI files in the 48 kHz format.  It’s a good thing I have Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 (yes, a long name).  I went through each of the 30 VHS tapes, 40 VHS-C masters, and 12 MiniDV masters one at a time.  I imported them into Vegas, Vegas built a 48 kHz audio proxy, I normalized the audio, and rendered.  That took me from last Tuesday through this Monday.  I didn’t stop there.  I captured many MiniDV tapes that I didn’t officially consider home videos.  This included:

  • Video of my late chocolate lab Cocoa
  • A final project I made for a video production class in my last semester at C.W. Post
  • Raw video (most not used) of my senior project, a documentary interview with Joe Falco, a now-retired FDNY firefighter who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center’s South Tower
  • The finished senior project
  • An updated version of the senior project that I made two years after graduating
  • Converted VHS tapes of car video brochures between 1994 and 1998 (I was obsessed with cars at the time and collected printed and video brochures.)

As I write this post, I’m preparing DVDs of my late grandparents’ home movies that I remastered last Fall.  The program I’m using is Sony DVD Architect Studio 5, which came with Vegas 10.