16 March 2015 (Monday) - Dog-o-Vision

Regular readers of this drivel may recall that a year ago I got some walking shoes from Cotton Traders that lasted a few weeks before splitting. I was sent replacements and those too split. This morning's haul of emails brought one from Cotton Traders trying to sell me another pair of those very same shoes. Despite having been shown that the things are rubbish, they are still selling them.
I also received notification that last year's surgery had been unnecessary. Apparently nasal polyps can be cured by yoga provided one does not "do encroachment of power." Personally I'll stick with tried and tested medical science.

I then put two collars onto my dog and we went for a walk. One was his usual collar; the other had the webcam attached. Bearing in mind the fun we usually have on our walks, today's was incredibly dull. We didn't meet OrangeHead or any of the usual suspects. Buses, lorries and motorbikes passed by without provoking any reaction at all from "Furry Face TM". He pretty much blanked all other dogs. It was as if he knew we were recording and so had become incredibly shy.
There was however a minor (major) problem when we got to Singleton Lake. I lined up an action shot in which my dog would run to me coming down a slope. We were about to go for the first take when I realised a slight problem. The webcam wasn't on his collar any more. Despite having been securely attached it had fallen off somewhere. We went back along the route we'd taken; finally finding the thing laying on the pavement by the traffic lights about a quarter of a mile away. I was pleased to have found the camera. Whilst it was only twenty quid; I still hesitate to put the words "only" and "twenty quid" together.
I re-attached the camera firmly (as I had originally) but this time kept a closer eye on the thing. It managed to fall off again on our way home. If we are going to to this again I need to re-consider how camera will be attached to dog.

Once home I emptied the web cam and set Windows movie-maker to compile the videos into one blockbuster epic, I settled my dog in his bed and I popped into town whilst the computer worked wonders. Last week the CEX shop had six copies of Downton Abbey on DVD. Today they had one. Or that is they claimed to have one. When I tried to buy it they told me they could do season one or season five, but not the one I wanted. And to add insult to injury the milk shake shop was closed as well.
Mind you I managed to get a camera case from the pound shop (and a rawhide chew for "Furry Face TM") so my trip into town wasn't entirely wasted.

I came home and found Windows movie-maker had done its thing, so I uploaded the epic to You-Tube for the delectation and general benefit of humanity. The blockbuster took two and a half hours to upload, and then a further hour's post-production processing by You-Tube itself before it was ready for an expectant public.
You can see the video by clicking here. But I feel I should warn my loyal readers that you might be disappointed. I certainly was, and I feature in it (if you look hard enough). From an artistic point of view the video lacks a plot, and from a technical point of view, when the camera isn't focussed on the ground it dwells too much on the underside of my dog's chin.
I need to rig up a different way of mounting the camera.

I spent much of the afternoon in front of the telly. I've become quite keen in the ITV-Encore channel in the afternoon it kicks off with "Brideshead Revisted", then Anton Rogers stars as a TV vet in "Noah's Ark" and it ends up with "Upstairs Downstairs". It's a shame the whole lot is padded out with over an hour's worth of adverts, but such is television.

And with "er indoors TM" off bowling as she does every Monday I set about some geo-puzzles. There is a series of the things near Brighton. Supposedly made for children to solve easily, I've managed to figure out twenty five of the total number of thirty.
Five still elude me though....

No comments:

Post a Comment