I really wanted to explore my favorite hike in the world during the winter, however the opportunity to visit in the last 6 months didn't come up, and all the snow melted away.
Thanks to a freak Easter Chill I got to experience the forest with a dusting of snow across the oranges, browns, and greys! It was a great day.
It's a videoblog on ice! The Rideau Canal in winter is the longest skating rink in the world. Lawrence and I experience a sparkling sensation on ice, risking life and limb in this daring-doo potentially lying-in-wait catastrophy!
Update! It's no longer the longest trail in the world! That title belongs to Winnipeg in 2008.
I spent Saturday evening with my friend Michael Sumner, and we visited The Book Shelf in Guelph to watch the movie "The White Countess". I've never been to Guelph before, but from what I could see it's a nice little city. The old downtown is artsy and has classy bars and clubs and bookstores and junk shops. A nice place to spend the afternoon on a sunny spring day.
The Book Shelf is a treat in itself. It's a coffee lounge, bookstore, and movie theatre all in one. And the movies it plays are more classy and intelectual than, say, Ultraviolet which I watched today and give 4 thumbs down.
I like spending time with friends. Some of you might remember that I met Michael while I was working at Wendy's. He's like a supervalue combo.
I left my car/keys/lights on while I was at school and ran my battery dead. A nice guy gave me a boost, but not before I froze solid.
So this is the concluding video of Gay Week on Life's A Journey. It's been an interesting ride, no doubt. I've made some new friends, rediscovered my own opinion and gained insight into the regular lives of regular gays.
I'd be lying if I told you that this was the end. Rather, it's the beginning of a new me, and if you've been paying attention, a new you as well. Whether you agree with me or not isn't the issue. You've been face to face with a reality I experienced and have made a better informed decision. We do it every day.
Watch the video to discover which way I went.
My Uncle Steve has moved to Ontario from Nova Scotia to help keep my dad's business alive while he's recovering from open heart surgery.
He's a natural when it comes to understanding my communicative approach to vlogging.
Just when you thought Christmas was over, you're thrown to the floor and slobbered all over by a big hairy vlog.
There's a tradition among the siblings in my family, that at Christmas time we open up the stockings in what is now my bedroom. When we were younger, we used to sleep in that room all together and play '20 questions' while we were too excited to sleep, but now I demand my privacy. And my sleep.
For all you vloggers out there wondering what conclusion I've come to thus far in my hunt for the best compression, observe the stats below. If you have any suggestions for a better compression with minimal quality loss, let me know!
Quicktime Movie
H.264
Frame Rate = 15 fps
Keyframes = Automatic
Datarate = Automatic
Frame Reordering = On
Compressor = Medium (50)
320x240
Audio
ACC
44.100 kHz
Variable Bit Rate/Better
There's been a winter wonderland effect and I capture it on video. This happens when the weather warms up around the freezing point and snow begins to fall. The wet, sticky snow sticks to every surface, and eventually covers it in a coating.
I got the hat I'm wearing for Christmas 2005. It's made of real rabit fur and leather, and is so warm!
This is also the first post I've made in ipod format, or .m4v. It takes a little longer to render out the video from Windows Movie Maker, first from AVI and then to M4V. I also have to be present inbetween the renders, so it cuts my bathroom break short. However, if more people can watch it at the end of the day, I think it's worth it!
The video is watchable on itunes, quicktime, and ipod. These are cross compatible programs that should work on any operating system.
Any huge problems? Leave me a comment.
Update:
This format doesn't appear to work with FireANT PC, and is not easily recognizable by quicktime. It is not cross compatible. It has, however, made me quite cross. More experimenting in days to come. In the end, my videos will need to be viewed on quicktime. You can download it for free here.
My friend Renee and I were in the Christmas Parade this year for Orangeville, Ontario. The theme was 'Winter in Canada', and we were part of a 'Nunuvut Nativity'. None of you have ever heard of a Nunuvut Nativity. Nunuvut is only few years old anyways. Well, there were two Nunuvut Nativities in this parade. Our was lameHOMELY compared to theirs.
Renee forgot to bring anything warm so we had to stop off at the dollar store.
