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Jawbone is set to release a new "revolutionary device" called "Up" in the coming weeks. It's a wristband + app that tracks your activity, your inactivity (by alerting you that you've been sitting too long and need to get up and DO SOMETHING, DAMMIT!), your sleep and your meals. The wristband costs $100. The app, as I understand it, is free.

I've downloaded a few different activity/workout apps myself thru the years, although I rarely use them. Mostly I find that I'm 3/4 of the way through a nice bike ride and suddenly remember that I meant to track and log this one as a "workout". Oh well, next time...

At any rate, this Jawbone thing got me thinking - and not because I have anything against Jawbone mind you (I love their headsets), but this whole 'tracking and logging' thing is way out of hand.

I mean, it's like our entire lives are now plotted, planned and executed online. I need to logon to tell the twitterverse that I'm about to enjoy a cup of coffee, and now I have a wristband to confirm that I'm drinking it (and tell me I'm a lazy-ass while I'm doing it)?

My point is... what ever happened to spontaneity - when you could go for a bike ride BECAUSE YOU LIKE RIDING A BIKE? Now you have to gps the route, log the start and end times, measure your pedal cadence and elevation gains and losses, and count your calories burned.

It's like people don't do anything for the enjoyment of doing a thing anymore. It all has to be recorded, like we're a bunch of pro athletes, training for a freaking Extreme Sports Olympiad. Or maybe it's feeding a need to see our lives as meaningful and important. ("I'm not just wasting time. I'm doing a workout!")

I'm not about to uninstall my workout apps because it really is helpful to be able to track your fitness efforts, but I balk at the idea of having every second of my free time micro-managed by a piece of software. It's funny too, because when I first read about this wristband idea, I thought about the wristband that I've been wearing for years now. It reminds me to stay active, and eat right, and to appreciate good health while I have it, and it only cost a buck.

Humber River. October 2011

I don't really "get" dance, but this is pretty cool. Gaga is part creative expression, part physio-therapy, and no, it has nothing to do with the pop singer.

Old Spice introduces the New Old Spice Guy, Fabio who wastes no time challenging old Old Spice Guy to an internet duel

I made this whacky little video tutorial and posted it over on youtube. Seriously, it's whacky. I was fiddling around with Flash and illustrator and thought it would be fun (HAHA) to do a cartoon style animation. I've never done any type of animation before, in fact, I've never put together more than a few seconds worth of flash "footage" at one time, ever, so I couldn't resist the challenge.

I can now safely vouch for the truth of the phrase "ignorance is bliss". Animation is a LOT of work!!

At any rate it's done and uploaded (see link below), but this post isn't about the actual video so much, as about what I learned, in the process of getting the damn thing uploaded to youtube.

During the testing phase last week I discovered that when I exported the Flash file to QuickTime (video format - .mov), for some reason the audio wasn't exporting with it. The only other available file format for Flash on a Mac is .swf and youtube doesn't accept .swf files. WTF Flash? Seriously?

A little quality time with google confirmed that I wasn't the only one with this problem but I still couldn't find a solution, although one enterprising dude had suggested making a QuickTime screencast of the animation and uploading THAT file. When I tried it, I ended up with a .mov file over 300 mb, which took over 2 hours to upload, and when it finally did upload, it was so badly corrupted that it was unusable.

That's when I checked the Share options in QuickTIme (10.0) and here's what I did... I exported the screencast .mov file to "Share with iTunes", then dragged the resulting mpg from iTunes to my desktop and uploaded THAT file to youtube. The mpeg was 13 mgs or so and took less than 5 minutes to upload.

I still haven't found a workaround for that initial file format issue, so I ended up creating the screencast of my original Flash file. I expanded the Flash stage to 300% and closed all the pallettes and timeline, so that the animation filled the screen as much as possible.

If you try it, remember that the screencast will record the audio in your file with your built-in mic, so turn off the tv and try to keep the kids and pets out of the room, during recording! This method worked fine for my purposes. Your mileage may vary, of course

I'll admit it's a bit of a convoluted fix, but it did work... and frankly I couldn't stand the thought of all that work going to waste just because Flash is a stupid, stupid application.

Screen Captures & An Intro To Mac Terminal

Yesterday the fire alarm went off in my building. Turns out it was a false alarm but it alerted me to how woefully ill-prepared I am for an actual emergency.

The cat was well behaved. She didn't even put up a fight when I shoved her into her carrier (a first) but everything else was a shambles.

At one point I stood, holding the cat and nothing else, ready to evacuate, but slowly came to the realization that I might need something besides a cat, in my new, post-fire life.

Maybe the laptop? It's got actual work on it, which I might want to continue doing, when I begin this new life, but what I really wanted to take, was the big screen tv. It didn't even occur to me till after the alarm stopped ringing, that I hadn't even begun looking for my wallet, car keys, passport... Anyway, I wasted a lot of time standing around with no plan of action. Bad form.

Have resolved to make up an 'emergency kit' with all the important things in one fire-proof place, and to also equip the car with a "survival kit" of some type, too, just in case.

I'm also planning to hold at least one fire drill, to see how long it takes me to get out of this place in one piece before it burns to the ground. I think I can safely excuse the cat though. She's got her part down to a T.

okay, MOSTLY Flash-free...

As part of my punishment continuing education, I've undertaken to re-aquaint myself with web development tools this spring/summer.

Hello to HTML 5, CSS3 and jQuery! Also, say hello to the mackin' new redesign of BC+D's website! I like to call it blackweb 2.011 (geddit?).

Anyway, go visit. I promise there's no background music, and no cutsie "preloader" animations. Buh-bye, Flash! Sorry Queen (and Blackberry).

Fresh off their Bieber hate-athon, grown-ups are now gunning for 13 yr old Rebecca (Fry-day) Black because she sings a crappy little song on youtube, that her mom paid $2000 for her to record. (I WISH my mom had been the type to shell out 2k for me to record a song when I was 13!).

Crappiness notwithstanding, when did adults become such schoolyard bullies? I mean really - picking on little kids for having fun?

You may say that Justin Bieber is a fair target because he's put himself out there intentionally, and is competing in an adult world, and blah deblah blah, but I don't remember adults sitting around, moaning about Donny Osmond, or Michael Jackson when I was a kid. Some smiled indulgently and a few said "kid has a nice voice", and a few others said "kid's singing about love, like he even knows what it is" but that's all I ever remember hearing from grown-ups, about my generation's pop-stars. So when did MY generation turn into such whiny, immature little bitches?