Collage of Future Me

I have created this collage using various Photoshop techniques such as blending, and using various brushes and erasers until the desired effect was achieved. I had to cut out individual objects using primarily the magic wand selector tool. To edit the images, and to really make them "pop", I used Bevel and Emboss, Contour, Drop Shadows, Stroke, and many lighting effects as well. Everything blended together very well to create this representation of my future self.

Letter from Future Declan

Dear old Declan Cross,

Well, Declan, I’ve almost made it. I’m currently finishing up my last year of University at Waterloo, with outstanding marks in my Engineering studies. The first few years were tough, and I need to warn you, Declan… if there’s one thing that you remember for when you enter your first year of University, it’s “Manage your time.” I have devised this chart for you, after much trial and error on my part, so that you can allocate your time commitments properly. Follow this to a “T”, and you will succeed.


168 hours in a week
- 56 hours for sleep / week
112 hours left
- 21 hours for eat / shower / grooming
91 hours left
- 30 hours for classes / week
61 hours left
- 30 hours for studying
31 hours left
- 21 hours for football
10 hours of free time / week


Yes, that’s right, old Declan. You only have 10 hours per week to do what you want. That’s substantially less time that what you’re used to now, so make sure you’re prepared for this.


Equally as important, my football career is booming! I came in to Waterloo, and was moved around between running back and slotback, before finally being named the starting running back as well as team captain first year. That was an honour in itself, but I ended up thriving. The family environment we have here really helped to make me feel comfortable with everyone, and I developed much faster because of that. I workout with my linemen every morning, and the great relationship we have encourages them to block even harder for me. Now, in my fourth and final year as a Waterloo Warrior, I already hold the school record for rushing yards, and I’m third in all-time receiving yards as well. I’ve already been talked to by almost every single CFL team, and I have also received camp invites to the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, and the Miami Dolphins. So, keep working out and keep training hard. It pays off.


Aside from University life and football, I’m also considering where I want to start my working career if I don’t end up actually playing professional football. During two of my co-op semesters, I worked at a hydro power plant, and I will most likely work there once my schooling ends.


In closing, Declan… remember one thing. Time management. That chart above will save your hide in University. A football coach actually went through that with me and helped me manage my time with that chart, so take this very seriously. But not too seriously. All work and no play makes you less black.


- Declan “Hollywood” Cross (that’s the nickname I’ve been given in football)

Do you have it?

Here it is. An inside look at the trials and tribulations of football. It's more than a game. And the memories created from football will last forever. That's what this video is really about. Winning and being successful above all else, and the only way to do it is to properly prepare... or face defeat.

Buble in Africa

Here is... the best flash animation project anyone will ever see... hours and hours went into creating, designing, animating, and editing this unusually creative and amazing flash animation video.

The story is set in Tokudabwa, Africa. Michael Buble is on his way to a concert, when he falls out of his airplane! That's when the fun starts for Michael Buble, and his journey through the village of Tokudabwa, led by his guide, Kojo!

Enjoy!

Black-Forrest Gump

This... is the video that people the world over have raved about.
Andres Gaitan says: "Pretty good."
Jenna DeAbreu says: "Meh..."
Declan Cross says: "IT'S F****** AMAZING!"
Jacqueline Viscardi says: "Hells yeah!"

Many hours of work went into planning, storyboarding, filming, and editing this video. The end result is something that resembles... a masterpiece. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Black-Forrest Gump.

Holy Trinity Week in Review

Holy Trinity Week In Review from Andres Gaitan on Vimeo.

Zeitgeist came me chills. 2010 gave me lasting memories.

The title "Zeitgesit 2010: Year in Review" from this video on youtube, came as a surprise to me, since, as anyone who has ever seen Zeitgeist: The Movie knows, it's a bit of a mind-blowing experience.

This video was very interesting though. It covered every single major event that took place in 2010, and that's just the thing; every single event showed was truly major! The earthquake in China and Haiti. The Gulf oil spill. The Pakistani floods. Every single event mentioned brought back memories of where I was and what I was doing when they happened. This was really an eye-opening video to see exactly just how much we've been through just in this past year. The ending phrase of the video, "and just like that, 2010 flew by in an instant" rings true, not just because of the actual year seemingly happening fast, but also because all the events were laid out in a quick 3 minute video. Over-all, it is a very intelligently designed video, and I have to say, Google certainly outdid themselves with this excellent overview of 2010.

Bring on 2011, and whatever it has in store!

Only 3068 more years until the end of the world!

Ignore the Mayans. They're outdated.

Instead, let's all take a closer look at Baba Vanga and her miraculously specific predictions for the rest of humanity. Baba Vanga was Bulgarian clairvoyant and herbalist. She was lived from 1911 - 1996. Baba was blinded in a childhood accident, and it was then that she also claimed to have received her "gift" or seeing the future. She claims to have predicted the total history of the world from the mid-90's all the way to 5079, her predicted date for the end of the world.

It's worth taking a look at. If not for pure interest, then for the chuckle you get from some of her more... quirky predictions, such as "2291 – The sun cools. Attempts were being made to light it again." or of course "4599 – People achieve immortality."

Some of her predictions, such as the ones about feuding countries, or war, seem very realistic, and in fact logical as well. However, her predictions are laced with absolutely ridiculously impossible ones, like "2164 – Animals turn half-human." That simply can not happen. Evolution takes millions of years, not 150. The thing is, that despite these cooky predictions, they can almost be discounted because of the harsh reality of the other ones she made. Here are a few of the ones that seem eerily real to me for numerous reasons. Remember, she made these in the late 1900's, shortly before her death. At this time, technology was not nearly where it is today, so these predictions are made all the more astonishing.


2010 – World War III. War will begin in November 2010 and end in October 2014. Will begin as usual, then nuclear will be used initially, and then chemical weapons.
2011 – As a result of the fallout of nuclear fallout in the northern hemisphere will not be any animals or vegetation. Then Muslims will wage war against chemical surviving Europeans.
2014 – Most people will suffer skin cancer and other skin diseases (a consequence of chemical warfare).
2016 – Europe almost lonely (empty).
2018 – New China becomes a world power. Developing countries in turn operated from exploiters.
2023 – A little bit of change in the Earth’s orbit.
2025 – Europe still little settled.
2028 – Creating a new energy source (probably a controlled thermonuclear reaction). Hunger is gradually being overcome. Launched a manned spacecraft to Venus.
2033 – The polar ice are melting. Greater levels of the oceans.
2043 – The world economy is thriving. In Europe, Muslims rule.

These predictions, especially the first one about how World War III begins in November 2010, isn't as far-fetched as many think. Sure, it's now December, and we're all safe and sound. However, the foundation for war was partially laid in November. Remember the North Korean artillery bombardment on South Korea, not to mention the countless nuclear weapons at their disposal? The transition from normal weapons to nuclear to chemical is also a very natural progression of things, and one that I'm shocked was made in the 1900's and to such accuracy. The following predictions are also all very realistic. Skin cancer is of course a viable result of chemical/nuclear warfare. China is already on the path to become a world power. Thermonuclear technology (creating an artificial sun) has been in the works for the recent years, but science has been unable to provide a way to sustain a stable source of it. The polar ice levels melting is also becoming a growing problem. As for the Muslims, they are growing faster and faster every single day and I do believe they could overtake all other religions in a short time.

Her predictions after that point of 2043 seem more far-fetched to me. But, then again, if you told me 10 years ago that all the information in the world would be available online, or that technology to watch television in high quality 3-Dimensional projection would be available to the masses, I would have said you were crazy. Maybe her future predictions seem strange now, but in the future, they will be just a normal part of life.

Teacher attempts "Pencil Ban"

In North Brookfield elementary school, Massachusetts, a lonely teacher began a crusade to stop the rash of recent pencil and pen killings in her classroom by banning them altogether. Okay, everything except for the "killings" part is true. Wendy Scott, a seemingly paranoid schoolteacher, sent home a letter that read:

"Students will no longer be allowed to bring writing implements to school. Pencils will be provided for students in class and any students caught with pencils or pens after Nov. 15 will face disciplinary action for having materials to build weapons."

Seems like Wendy's been having suspicions of an impending revolt by her 6th grade Math class. Any day now, they'll strike back by flinging semi-sharpened 5gram pencils at her, or maybe *gasp* viciously attacking her with a ballpoint pen.

Let's be honest here, any student that's sick enough to want to attack or kill another student or teacher in their class, will bring a knife to school. They wouldn't use a little pencil to do it. Banning pencils won't do anyone any good. How else are they supposed to learn? They're in elementary school, so half of them don't have laptops anyways. This teacher needs to smarten up and stop being so paranoid.

Any more of these stupid pencil banning letters home, and her students really will plan a revolt!

Hyper Parents: Doing everything but the wiping for their kids.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/Doc_Zone/1242299559/ID=1405930535

In a video done by CBC, they examined the effects that "Hyper Parenting" is having on our generation, or "Generation Y". They state that our parents are coddling us too much. They are doing too much for us. Seems rather contradictory, since the widespread belief was that the more your parents did for your well-being, the better off you would be. However, it's when parents end up going overboard on trying to help us in our lives, that they end up actually causing the most harm.

It's the gymnastic classes before the baby can even walk, let alone balance on thin boards. It's the $4000 party for the baby's first birthday, complete with a professionally designed and made cake, as well as over 40 guests at a rented out hall. It's the GPS-locators being placed in school bags. The Cell-spy and Internet-spy, to keep tabs on your child's activities at all times. This sounds like an overlord, not a parent.

One part of the video that really got my attention was when someone stated that parenting has become a "cross between competitive sports and product development." When raising a child becomes developing a product, that's where I draw the line. A child is someone to instill the good values that you learned and were taught throughout your life. If you treat your child like an product, constantly trying to improve it with everything you can think of, with no regards to what's actually best for the child, then you are an unfit parent. Too much stress will be on the child, and this stress is detrimental to natural development.

In my opinion, you should never solve your child's problems, or try to improve them through your own doing. Instead, simply help your child to discover how it is he can solve his own problem. In doing so, the child will learn problem solving skills, and in the process, he has improved himself! Hardly magic, as this has been the method of choice for our grandparents, and generations before them. In this day and age though, too many new parents think that if they solve their child's problems for them all the time, then their child will be happier and better for it. What they neglect to realize is that once their child matures and goes out on their own... noone will solve their problems for them.

It's gotten to the point where parents enroll their children in specialized early reading classes, in hopes that others will teach their students how to read earlier than their peers. While many see this as a positive thing, it has an underlying nastiness to it that isn't always apparent. From my own experience, I know that the best way to learn something is to experience it yourself. While these reading classes are drilling the words and pronunciations into young minds, these young minds might not be very receptive to wanting to learn the words. I am a very good reader, and always was, because I wanted to learn. How is this possible? I'm not even a book-lover, and in fact I picked up very few books when I was young. Instead, I learned to read by playing video games. Back when I was 3 or 4 years old, I played a game system where all the dialogue was written. I wanted to understand what I was playing and doing in the game, so whenever words came up, I called my mother into the room. She'd help me read and pronounce the words correctly, and when I asked what each word meant, she told me. By the end of the game I could read like a pro, because throughout the whole process, I really wanted to learn!

This all just goes to show, that while failure at a young age can be prevented through protective, hyper-parenting, self-motivation can eliminate circumstances where failure happens for the rest of their lives. Just let kids be kids, and help them when they ask for it. Other than that, I think we'll be just fine.

Beat that box! Beath that box! Beat that box!

Naturally 7 has truly outdone themselves this time. They decided to put on a show where they attempt to emulate an entire band, complete with bass guitar, snare drum, bass drum, high-hats, keyboard, synthesizers, vocalists, and a whole mess of instruments that I don't even know the names for!

If you're unfamiliar with Naturally 7, simply do what I did and search youtube for them. They're a group of african-american men with a god-given gift. The gift of music and rhythm and an incredibly natural soul/flow to their music. They work as one unit, and the amount of time they must have put into perfecting their outstanding creations is immense. They do large performances in theatres, as well as impromptu performances in the most unusual locations. The weirdest place I've seen them perform? In a subway! Yep, they actually rode the subway, and began performing "I can feel it" during the ride, with all the passengers in awe at the showmanship of all 7 members.

Check out the subway video here.

This all just goes to show, you don't need fancy instruments or years of lessons in each respective discipline. All you need is a love for music, and a voice-box.

Well, at least I'm not a digital dummy.

12 billion. That's how many texts are sent worldwide, every single day. Considering there's only 6 billion people on Earth, and many of those people are living below the poverty line in Africa, India, and many parts of Europe... double the world's population in text messages is really astonishing.

What's more astonishing is the fact that people are being drawn in to the notion that these things are a part of our being. Some people actually treat their phones like their babies. Need proof? There's a blackberry case that attaches to a baby stroller. Yes, you can now walk your precious month old baby down the street, whilst you're texting and not paying any attention to your surroundings at all! Sounds too good to be true, I know. But, here's the sad part. It is true, and to an even greater extent than aforementioned. There was an experiment done with students at a major university, where a clown on a unicycle pedalled  his way around campus. The test was to determine whether or not students would see. Not talk to, not make comments about, but merely see a brightly coloured, unicycling, wobbly clown going right past them. Needless to say, the students on cellphones did not see the clown. Back to the previous baby stroller issue: if using a cell phone prevents noticing a brightly coloured entertainer, then what's to stop this cell phone use preventing someone from noticing and incoming car or bicyclist... headed straight for their baby. It's a gruesome thought, but it's a necessary one, and it raises the question... are we digital dummies?

In this article from CBC, they asked that question, and so much more.

Using technology, or should I say, abusing technology, has become an epidemic. Work hours have stretched from working 47 hours a week, to over 70 hours a week. This has in turn, caused an increase in stress, which has a whole slough of negative side effects. Cell phone usage has also been linked to decrease in job and life satisfaction, as well as an increase in marital/relationship quarrels. But it's not just cell phones that are the major players in this digital addiction. It's also computers. One man stated that he spent "probably 8 hours a day. maybe 12 to be honest", hours using a computer. With 24 hours in one day, that's half the day spent on your butt doing... whatever you want on the computer. One kid became so addicted to his computer, that he spent literally days on end, without much movement at all. This prolonged inactivity caused a bloodclot in his leg, and he had to have his leg amputated. He was lucky he didn't lose more than his leg in the incident.

This could have been completely prevented by limiting the usage of his technology. I, for one, am taking the article's message to heart. I spend way too much time staring at a computer screen, and not enough outside, or doing things other than being on Facebook, or surfing the internet. Despite what many (including me) thought about information gathering online, it's not as good as it's made out to be. Getting information through prolonged computer usage requires quite a bit of shifting from one piece of information to the next. Our brains don't have time to concentrate fully on any one thing, and therefore we lose the ability to give any substantial amount of focus into our activity at hand.

The solution? Stop being digital dummies. Use your cell phone quickly to do what you need to do, but don't sacrifice safety. Use the computer for your school work, or information gathering, but then leave and go take a break. Read a book. Do anything other than staring into a screen of brain-altering information.

Don't be a digital dummy.

The Body Cures EVERYTHING!

Seriously though, it does! Well, almost everything, according to this article from Men's Health.

This article covers most minor ailments and even some things that are just helpful to know about your body and it's healing/restorative properties. It's a good read, and not just for men, but women too! Some of the points covered include how to hold your breathe for longer underwater, how to stop a brainfreeze immediately, how to not fall whilst drunk (not that anyone under 19 drinks), how to prevent peeing, how to clear your stuffed nose (very interesting), and... my favourite... how to shut down your friend's muscular resistance.

This one's really cool.

Simply ask your friend to raise his arm to his side, with his palm facing down. Now, take two of your fingers and push down on his wrist. His arm will not move. Now, ask him to place one foot on a platform a few inches off the ground, and raise his arm again. This time, when you push down, his arm will fall like a house of cards. How? Well, he's on a platform, and his brain knows it. The brain senses that his body is at an angle, and that his spine is vulnerable, which partially shuts down his body's resistance in order to prevent a spinal injury. But what it really does is make you look like you have superhuman strength... or makes your friend look like a little girly-man!

Let's squish our fruits together!

Check this out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnY59mDJ1gg&feature=channel

If you've never heard of Improv Everywhere, you have now! This is a group of everyday people, not necessarily actors or singers, they can be volunteers from the New York area, and they go around doing spontaneous acts of hilarity. Why? Just to mess with people's heads and get a few good laughs out of them while they're at it!

In this creation, the good folks at Improv Everywhere assembled a team of about 6 singers, and planted them at strategic spots in a grocery store. Once the song came on the intercom (a musical instrumental piece, since the singers provided the vocals) they sprung into action. It started with one man singing about his "lonely fruit", and eventually spiraled into a musical about "squishing fruits together", consisting of numerous singers dancing, singing, and waving fruit in the air, whilst all the customers in the fruit and vegetable aisle were left in awe. Sounds corny (pardon the pun), but it worked out beautifully! The camera work was superb, with numerous cameras placed around the event in order to capture the faces of not just the singers, but also the unsuspecting grocery store shoppers. The main camera was a front-on view of the whole cast singing, and it made for something truly magical. It definitely brought a smile to my face! :)

The Mental Everest

In this article by Harrison Solow, she describes, in detail, how the "dream and you will achieve" philosophy taught to the youth is actually a bunch of bull.

She states that even the youth in "our universities are filled with people who have dreams but no plans, desires but no talent, talent but no work ethic..." Her claim is that parents have drilled the idea that to succeed in life, you must have a dream, and simply follow it. This "you can do anything you dream of" approach to parenting perturbs her to no end. Harrison goes on to explain how the only true way to achieve your dreams in life is to do it through sacrifice, dedication, and actual work towards attaining your dream. Whether that dream is becoming a rock-star, professional athlete, movie star, or businessman, the same rules apply. You'd have to give up time spending hours practicing your instrument, or working out in the gym, or taking acting lessons, or studying your craft. Even then, only those who put in the most work will actually make it. Her point is that the younger generation is now starting to develop a "think and get" attitude, whereas the appropriate attitude to have is a "do and get" disposition.

In my opinion, she's very right, and still very wrong. She brings up some good points about having to work towards your dreams. I know, better than anyone, about that, because of the thousands of hours I've put into the gym, working towards my goals. And therein lies the major flaw in her argument. "Dreams" are something you literally dream of, or, in her sense, aspire to become. "Goals" are something entirely different. Goals are something that inherently includes some sense of work, or path, in order to achieve. Dreams do not. Dreams can be just that, dreams; something mental, and if it is mental, it will remain that way until you change your thinking and consider it your goal.

That's my opinion anyway. I have numerous goals in life. I want to be physically fit and dominant, and so I will continue to work out throughout my entire life. I want to surround myself with the best people I can, so I make sure that I have good friends, and I do. Most of all, I want to be successful. It's not a dream of mine, because my dreams consist of me flying around in my own imaginary dreamland. Instead, this is a goal. And I will work to achieve it.

Independent Project Proposal

Proposal Questions

What communications technology skills will you be using in this project?

I will be using communications technology skills that I have learned and developed from last year to the present. These include my camera-work, film editing, Rotoscoping, picture editing (using Photoshop), and all video-related skills at my disposal.

How will this project be significantly different from the current projects listed? Make direct comparisons.

This project will be different than the current projects listed because it is a combination of all three project rotation categories, with my own personal modifications made to each. This project will utilize the best parts of each category. The video aspect will be taken to a new extent by combining action with a documentary style creating. The animation aspect will be altered by incorporating drawn-in figures of actual people who aren’t originally included in the filming. This has not been done before in this class and is a major aspect of the project that I’m looking forward to. The last category, the HT-Week-end review will be altered by using the sports aspect to a great extent. The majority of the project will be sports-based, with a focus on HT Football. This is being combined with the documentary-style of what it means to lose two years in a row to the same team in the finals, and also what work must be done to succeed, and what football means to me specifically. All of this is interlaced with bits of highlights from previous games, as well as the championship game. Finally, the scenes pertaining to what football means to me, and what it feels like to lose, will be edited to create artificial, cartoon-style people who are interacting with a real person. This is completely unique in it’s own right because not only are fake-people being created, but they are actually moving and interacting with the real people in the video. The most ambitious part of this will be a scene where it is literally me against an entire team of rotoscoped, hand-drawn players. However, to go one step further, I am going to attempt to do this scene in one continuous shot, very similar to the Nike Football – Leave Nothing commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55BZ2gSsSmY

What technology is needed to complete this project?

The technology needed will include: a video camera, tripod, editing software, Photoshop, and a creative mind.

What kind of preparation work is needed for this project? Include research

I’ll need to obtain videos of all the football games from this year, as well as use my own collection of film to find the best view of the plays as possible. In addition, I will need to find 5^th year football players who are open to being interviewed about their football careers at Holy Trinity.

What is the scope of the project?

The scope of this project is extremely large, mainly due to the numerous scenes being shot, in addition to the rotoscoped football team being drawn in.

How many people are needed to meet the scope of the project?

About 5 or 6 people are needed to meet the scope of this project. One to film me for certain parts, about 3 or 4 people to interview about their football careers, and then myself.

Describe pre-production work needed to prepare for this project.

I’ll need to create a storyboard, a script, a treatment, and then make sure to complete all of my preparation work mentioned above, as well as get the costumes/wardrobe sorted out.

What will you do during production?

During production I will complete all of the interviews first, followed by the rest of the filming of off-season training for me. After the filming is complete, I’ll need to combine that with the footage of the football season from this year.

What kinds of things will you be doing in post-production?

In post production, I will be editing the entire video, as well as photo shopping a filmstrip and adding numerous special effects to the video.

What will the final product look and sound like when it is done? Describe with regard to scope, difficulty, output medium (print or screen, with or without sound)

The final product will look very cut and clean. The interviews will be well put-together, but short and to the point, so as not to bore the audience. The music in the background will consist of “Fly” by Ludovico Einaudi, as well as “Requiem for a dream” by Clint Mansell. Both of these are very inspirational songs, the first one being a bit slower, and the second one being faster/more upbeat and suited to action scenes. Therefore, the first song will make up the beginning of the video, which will be slower and include the interviews, while the second half of the video will consist of the action scenes and the more upbeat song.

The most difficult, time-consuming aspect of this project will inevitably be the rotoscoping of me against a whole team of football players who aren’t even really there in the first place. This portion will take weeks, so I need the filming to be done fairly shortly to accompany this portion of the project.

The last effect I’m going to incorporate is the contrast of the video. I want to introduce a few effects to give this video impressive lighting and contrast, to give it a “300”-esque look to it. Very rich, deep colours, almost exaggerated, which will give the video, especially the action scenes, an impressive, unique look.

Very Important: Describe criteria in which the project can be evaluated? For each criterion you have to answer the question,

“What make this a well done _____________?”

Visual Effects: How well have the visual effects been utilized in this video? Is the rotoscoping well executed?

Camera-Work: Are the scenes well filmed and crisp (no blurriness)? Does the video incorporate many angles and utilize them in an attractive, eye-catching way?

Audio Quality: Are the voices clear (no excessive background noise)? Does the music selection fit the theme and flow of the video?

The World Premiere: Black-Forrest Gump

The final video, "Black-Forrest Gump", is complete!

The sound's a little rough and peaks at some points, but that's because of the microphone we used to record it. The video's also a bit scratchy at some points, which is entirely due to the conversion software I used changing the frame rate and therefore having to blend some parts, leaving streaks of pixels throughout the video. It doesn't take away the overall message/feeling of the movie, and we're both still very pleased with the end result.

It ended up being significantly longer than planned, but you can't rush genius film-making, right?

The video is 8 minutes long, and 1.7GB in memory, so the whole video wouldn't upload onto my blog. I have it saved onto my USB so I can show the video from there.

Do one of Jesus riding a panther.

Thankyou, StumbleUpon, for directing me to this unbelievable artistic video.

There's this guy, who goes by the youtube name "spacepainter", and he has almost 200 videos of him doing fast spray-paint artwork. And by fast, I mean FAST! Watch it for youself, he paints a beautiful moon/pyramid landscape in less than one minute. This isn't just some finger painting chicken scratch either. This is a legitimate, "I'm a professional and this is my life" sort of painting, and it's done by using just spray paint, and a few stencils and paste-ons. Still, the speed, fluidity, and skill that this guy uses to paint these things is, like his paintings, out of this world.

I certainly wouldn't mind buying one of these.

Skip the morning coffee and pick up this phone instead!

Imagine the following scenario. Your friend asks you to borrow a dollar, but doesn't tell you what it's for. You, being such a nice friend, give your old pal a dollar. He runs into a store, and comes out 5 minutes later with a brand new cell phone, and get this... he's not on any plan. Impossible? No, he could very well have just stolen the phone!

But he didn't. In fact, there's a new phone, the OT-209 by Alcatel out of England, which is offered for only 99 pence. How is this possible? Well, even after reading these articles, I'm not entirely sure how it is that this company can make a profit from this. That is, unless hundreds of thousands of people buy these phones, and then tell their friends to buy it too, just in time for Christmas. And apparently, that's exactly what the company is aiming to do.

They teamed up with Virgin Mobile, to offer this phone for less than a pound, on no fixed-term contract, and you only have to pay 10 pounds to start making all your calls and texts from it, with no additional fees at all. The Alcatel Executive Chairman, Charles Dunstone, says "You have to remember at Christmas the one question we get asked the most in our stores is 'what's your cheapest phone?' and at 99p this is the lowest its ever been."

The phone is aimed at first-time users, cash-strapped citizens, and people looking for a good, cheap backup phone. It's only offered in England at the moment, but this idea seems intriguing to me, and it just might make it's way across the ocean soon enough.

1000 text messages: $100
60 minutes of talk-time: $15
Getting a new phone: Priceless


... well... technically it's 99 pence... and then you add in the 10 pounds of talk time soooo... yeah.

Give me bonus marks or give me... four hours of my life I'll never get back.

Yesterday, I'm sitting at home, icing my leg, and thinking to myself... "gee, I should probably start piecing together bits and pieces of the movie that we filmed so far." So, I turn on my computer, plug in my USB, and open up Premier, only to find... THAT THE FILES WON'T WORK.

Apparently, Premiere has it out for me. It won't open my .mpeg files from my Sony HandyCam DC-100 Camcorder. Or more specifically, it won't play the sound. Same deal though, right? You can't properly understand a video without sound, so I figured it was kind of important. So, now problem-solving-Declan shows himself. How do I get this sound to work? Codec error? Most likely. But I have a pirated version of Premiere (*sshhhhhh) so I can't get updates for the Codec files. What else could it be? OF COURSE! The file type. Maybe I should convert the file type to an .mp4.

So now it's been about 30 minutes of cursing at the computer for not loading the sound on my videos. But I had to move on. I download and open up a free trial version of AVS-Video Converter software (legally obtained of course) and converted the videos.

There was a watermark on the damn videos.

I can't hand in a project with a watermark, so I had to go download ANOTHER pirated program (again, *ssshhhh) of AVS-Video Converter. Now it's been well over an hour and a half of downloading, re-downloading, and installing programs to my computer. FINALLY, I get the program to work. I convert the videos to .mp4, import it into Premiere, and... they don't work.

If you can't see where this is going, I took the same approach as last time, and re-converted the videos to about 4 or 5 other formats, none of them working of course, since, as hinted at earlier, Premiere is the devil. Finally, I give in. Maybe I can convert it from an original .mpeg, to another type of .mpeg. It sounded stupid, but then again, I'd tried everything else, and I was pushing close to 4 hours at this point of looking up a solution for my problem on google.

I convert it to another .mpeg file. I put it into Premiere. It works.

Give me bonus marks or give me death.