BlogDogIt

In order to embed video in a Simple Machines Forum (SMF) installation I added the Embed BBCode v.2.0 plugin to my site and was happy enough until the time came where I wanted to embed a PDF hosted by Archive.org.

These PDFs are delivered via "<iframe>" and are not compatible with the plugin. I was able to hack my install to allow safe and effective inclusion of Archive.org hosted PDFs to my site.

Here is how I did it...

First, save a back-up of /Sources/Subs.php

Then Modify ==>  /Sources/Subs.php  

after line 1226,  before:

1227                     else
1228                              $tag['content'] = '$1';

insert the following code (watch the word-wrap - this is two lines between the comments):

// begin masodos MOD to embed Archive.org iFrames
elseif (preg_match('~iframe.+src=(?:&quot;|[\'"])(?:https?:)?//archive.org/stream/(.*?)(?:&quot;|[\'"])~i'.($context['utf8'] ? 'u' : ''), $data[0], $matches))
$tag['content'] = '<iframe src=https://archive.org/stream/' . $matches[1] . ' width=$2 height=$3 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>';
// end masodos MOD to embed Archive.org iFrames

Of course you will make this modification at your own peril and will not hold me responsible for any ills that may befall you as a result of utilizing this hack but I wish this was available sooner, I would have tried it.

I'm using it with much success - See it in action here:
http://www.mtzionindy.org/vestibule/index.php?topic=93.0
Read the popular "Earth's Earliest Ages" by George H. Pember  free online

Persistence pays (but sometimes only the minimum.) Be that as it may... today I captured on film - (well, actually that's not right) we need to come up with another term to replace "Caught On Film" because it will soon be a phrase that will make no sense to folks... - anyway, I finally took some pictures of this car I have been seeing occasionally on my daily commute for the last year or so.

Click the picture for a larger version.

As a side note (or foot note) to this: I made an interesting discovery in my dissemination of this little presentation... Since the pictures I took were basically crap I did what any red-blooded photographer would do; Use Them Anyway. The creation of an animated GIF pretty much precluded me from sharing this on facebook so I resigned myself to sharing on Twitter and BlogDogIt. But, lo and behold, I found when I went to save the image from twitter (to use to illustrate this article) it offered for me to save as an MP4 video file. (Free GIF to MP4 converter, people!) Facebook readily accepted this video file and so this goofy little project has infiltrated that corner of cyberspace.

Don't you just hate it when bloggers feel the need to apologize for not posting in a while - as if the absence of a single blog would have any noticeable impact on anyone's day-to-day life? It is usually a waste of words and if anyone really cared what they had to say then that sort of "Welcome me back everyone!" language only gets in the way of what it is they really have to say. So I will spare you all the apology and go right for the excuse: I have been busy building a Streaming Internet Radio Station.

Through the years I have toyed with streaming internet radio so I was somewhat familiar with the technologies when the Church asked if I thought it possible to broadcast the Sunday Morning Services live via the internet. I've heard it said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing but through the last few weeks the knowledge has increased and the danger is subsiding. I wanted to share a little bit about what it took to get this station on the air in case anyone else gets the "calling" to go to work on "The Master's Radio."

Mt. Zion General Baptist Church on the South Side of Indianapolis is a quaint chapel and education center with a diverse congregation and very much in touch with the world outside of their doors. From their active Facebook presence to a preacher who has forsaken the classic pulpit for a freestanding, lightweight iPad on a floor stand, it might be safe to say you are likely to find the Luddites squirming in their seats even more-so than the sinners when 10:30 Sunday morning rolls around.

Microphones have long been a staple of those whose labor has them taking the stage and as a result a sound control booth has been installed in the rear of the sanctuary. The hymnals have all but been replaced by the projector that shines the sing-along song lyrics on the large screen in the front of the hall. And while the booth was equipped with a computer what it lacked was a connection to the internet. So the plan was simple: 1.) Connect the computer to the internet. 2.) Connect the mixer board to the computer. 3.) Stream the output of the sound system to the world.

In addition to broadcasting the Sunday show live each week we decided it would be a good idea to record the show for rebroadcasts throughout the week. Rather than having a Radio station that featured dead-air a large percentage of the time it was also decided that we should be streaming something 24 hours a day / 7 days a week.

I will spare you all the step-by-steps it took to get this thing going but I would like to discuss some of the bigger hurdles that had to be crossed in the realization of our goal to get this broadcast "on the air." First of all, to everyone who ever snickered at me for still working in the world of the Windows XP Operating System I say "he who laughs last, laughs best" -HaHa!

"Back in the day" it was no problem to record or broadcast the very sound coming from the speakers of your computer, but were you aware that computer manufacturers along with Windows 7 have removed that ability from the modern system? Neither was I. This meant that although I could record the broadcast as it was coming in through the input on the computer I was unable to play the file back out for later rebroadcasts. There were several workarounds for this however, from using a cable to take the output from the headphone jack and feed it back into the "Line-In" jack,  to a $500 DJ Software package. Neither of these approaches appealed to me especially in light of my knowledge that this was a built in feature of a Windows XP - Pentium 4 machine.

The Church's technology director donated a newer Dell machine which was running XP to the project but as its integrated audio was already a victim of the "Thou Shalt Not Stream" edict I was forced to dust off an old SoundBlaster PCI expansion card and install it into the server to add "Wave Out" to the software mixers. We were therefor ready to rock-it old school!

The most popular server software for Streaming Internet Audio is - without a doubt - "Shoutcast" which I installed and configured but after a brief trial run soon learned that the features provided by the second most popular streaming server "Icecast" would be better suited for our situation. While Shoutcast worked just fine for general broadcasting I encountered a problem where listeners were getting dropped when making the transition from prerecorded to live audio. Icecast is designed to seamlessly transition listeners from one source to another and as such has become our choice. Both of these software packages are open-source and freely available.

In my previous forays into Streaming Internet Radio I had only ever used a rather questionable bit of software known as Winamp since it had a plug-in that would turn it into a streaming audio source, connectable to the server software. I had come to know Winamp as being a bit intrusive into the host system so decided I would scour the internet for another option from the world of open-source and came across a gem of a program known as "butt" (ha ha, I know, right?) B.U.T.T. actually stands for Broadcast Using This Tool. Not only is this software aptly named, it is probably the only sourcing software you would ever need (provided you could get your sound card to deliver it the noise it needs.)

Although butt has the built-in ability to record the stream as it goes out, I was only interested in recording the Sunday Morning Service for later broadcast so I turned to MPlayer to piggyback and dump the stream to a file at the required time. Once the pieces were in place it was time to automate things. If you ever use a computer for repeated tasks and are not automating these tasks (at least to some degree) then you are missing out on one of the best things about personal computing. This custom project "cried-out" to be automated and before too long I found myself in the middle of a fun little logic puzzle / programming challenge.

Since I am no stranger to the DOS command line I knew I could get this thing running with batch files. What I was not quite aware of was how troublesome it is to get the Scheduled Tasks feature of Windows to play along and run batch files without fail. When it was all said and done however, I learned many valuable lessons and ultimately delivered on my promise to bring Streaming Internet Radio to MtZionIndy.org.

Tune-in, won't you?

If this sounds like something you are into and need help working through some of the "finer points" feel free to leave any questions you might have in comments or email me for more information.

I can't decide if Big Biting Pig Productions is truly getting better with every project or if I am just becoming that much more of a fan. Whatever the case may be, I came away from my viewing of PJ Woodside's Frances Stein with a fresh appreciation for that crafty band of horror-bent denizens of Madisonville, Kentucky.

This year was PJ's turn to head-up the project and not only did she decide to bring us a completely original take on the beloved "mad scientist" genre, she made the very bold move of casting herself into the shoes of lead/title character (in addition to wearing hats of writer, co-producer, director and likely any other role one can ascribe to a master of independent film production.)

I must confess that in the days, weeks and months leading up to the release of this picture I was a little nervous regarding PJ Woodside assuming such a monumental role in the success or failure of the project. I have seen every film released by Big Biting Pig Productions (make that 9 now) and am very familiar with spotting PJ on screen in one supporting role or another but would never have expected her to be our leading lady. Simply put... What was I thinking? PJ was the perfect choice to play the brilliant (but whacked-out) suffering scientist driven to madness, ultimately by the effectiveness of her discoveries.

Frances Stein plays as much to the heart as to the horror. Fans of PJ's work will be quick to tell you that she is not content with knocking your socks off (which this film certainly does) she must grab you by the "gray-matter" and pull you to the edge of your seat. You will want to experience this story first hand so my advice to you is to avoid any synopsis or (other) reviews and get thee to a screening of what is sure to become the talk of the indie horror circuit. This one will become already is a classic.

Followers of Big Biting Pig Productions will recognize many familiar faces on screen and/or names when the credits roll. If you do not do as I did and applaud as those credits roll I would be very much surprised.

Thanks and congratulations to entire cast and crew on yet another successful release.

Be sure to see: GIFed Mad Scientist

I really have to admire the skill with which Kendall F. Person (publicblogger.com) adds excitement to an already exciting event. By directing each of the artist competing in the perennial best of the web show (known this year by the cosmic/magical title "A Star Is Born") to submit performances for round three in genre that fall outside of the artist's admitted comfort zone, Kendall has leveled the playing field and delivered to fans of the show a deeply entertaining gimps into the minds of the contestants. Add to that, the fact that for this show a "Panel of Judges" was assembled as a further means to thwart anyone's assumptions regarding the outcome for week three of the competition.

I was approached by Kendall via a pre-existing social media connection we share and asked if I would consider joining the panel; a task I readily accepted and one I would almost immediately regret having accepted.

Now don't get me wrong, I am a long time fan of The Neighborhood at ThePublicBlogger.com and am always happy to contribute to the content in terms of comments and discussion but little did I realize that in addition to steering the artists outside of their comfort zone he had every intention of putting this judge right alongside the competitors - a front row seat you might say - too close for comfort...

In addition to finding myself in the "Lead" position of the four member panel of judges, I was also informed - as-a-matter-of-factly - that I would be required to record a brief audio or video statement to the competitors and submit that along with the results of our voting process. I accepted this caveat outwardly with humility and resignation while internally I was coming to terms with the fact that in so doing I too would be required to step outside of my creativity comfort zone. Positively brilliant!

It should be of no surprise that I am more in my element with words that are considered and then written and would always prefer to remain behind the camera than to venture onto its shinier side. The video I dutifully submitted required my spoken word and myself on camera as "me" and to share that self with the world. Adding to the pressures of stepping-out from behind that curtain of mystery which webmaster wizardry provides, loomed a deadline that gave only 14 hours to judge the performances and create the video and - oh yes - sleep.

You probably will not be able to tell from this presentation but trust me when I say, this is some of the greatest fun I have had blogging in quite some time. I would never have thought that that blogging efforts would impart to me feelings akin to those felt on that fateful day when I stepped backward off a 60 foot cliff to experience the thrill of rappelling for the first time. But it has, and I have Kendall F. Person to thank for the assignment. I can honestly say I have a new appreciation for what those performers that now find themselves competing in the spotlight of "A Star Is Born" must be feeling.

Not that I am destined to enter the Vlogosphere or anything, but I do hope you Enjoy!
 

 The Video: https://youtu.be/0Aag2AIcUhs

Awesome Music Featured With The Very Kind Permission of:
Rob From Amersfoort
From the album:
Failed Entertainment
This Is Not A Good Day
  If You Don't Like It - Give It Back

Thanks Rob!

Updated Post: Now Featuring Music By Jens Lekman & Annika Norlin

Blood Moon

This postcard is from me [Jens Lekman] and the always amazing Annika Norlin. We wrote this together in a few hours and recorded our vocals in the voice memo apps on our phones...

While the original unedited video I shot at the Church Cookout / Water Balloon Fight was a lot of fun to watch its sound quality was pretty awful mostly because the location for the event was the windy courtyard situated between the Church and the highway. Even the portions of audio that were not offensive had very little to offer in the grand scheme of this "documentary" and so I decided to edit all clips with the sound removed. I figured once I had the video where I wanted it I would seek out music to accompany the footage. This was somewhat the opposite of what I had done for the Rockin'4God video where I had first completed the soundtrack and then built the visuals around that.

Rockin'4God was a major project that did not surface until nearly three weeks after the event; for this production I assigned myself the arbitrary deadline of having it finished before one week had passed. As it turned out I met that deadline with a few hours to spare.

I almost turned to Cinelarra on Centos to work on this project but I have never really taken the time to become comfortable there since I installed it awhile back. Instead I called upon those open-source utilities I have grown to know so well over the years: I am referring to VirtualDub, Audacity, MPlayer/Mencoder, ffmpeg and good-old-fashioned DOS batch files.

The Samsung HMX-F90 camera I use produces MP4 files in-camera and I was recording in HD 1280 X 720. This was probably a waste since I end up converting everything down to 720 X 402 anyway (to better match the poor performance of my Pentium 4 editing station) but staying true to the maxim "Garbage in. Garbage out." I wanted to give this project every chance for success. 

The first step after uploading the original files to the computer was to batch-remove the audio and down-sample each clip to get those files I would be taking into the video editor. I turned to Mencoder for this task and created the following batch file to process all MP4 files in its same container directory:

desound-720.bat

This command resulted in the creation of files named the same as the original video clips but with the appendage of ".NS.avi" - these files being ready to go for editing in Virtual Dub.

I knew going into the editing process that there would be five major segments in the telling of this story:

1.   Opening Titles
2.   Pre-War Preparations
   
3.   Cookout
   
4.   Balloon Battle
   
5.   Post-War Cleanup
   
6.   Closing Title

I created six folders in the projects working folder to correspond with these segments. As each clip was edited down to their essential bits they were saved in their appropriate folder and given a new name corresponding to their segment membership and the order in which they were shot (e.i. OT_001.avi, PW_001.avi, CO_001.avi, etc...)

The title cards were created in PhotoShop and saved-out as JPG files of the proper dimensions to match the video. These images needed to be converted into AVI video files so they could be incorporated into the film. I have found ffmpeg to be the perfect utility for this operation and have created the following reusable batch file to handle the task:

pic2vid.bat

This allowed me to create a video clip from a still image that is compatible with Virtual Dub. It must however be converted from within Virtual Dub (saved-out as AVI) to give it the same characteristics as all other video clips.

When a video clip has been edited in "V-Dub" it must be saved as AVI using "full processing mode" configured to use the desired compression codec/scheme - I saved all edits for this video using ffdshow codec as I find it results in a very compact file size while still retaining a high degree of quality.

Once everything had been edited down and converted I used the following batch file to gang process the collection of clips into four distinct segments:

joinclips.bat

This resulted in four video files: WBM1.avi (Opening & Pre-War), WBM2.avi (Cookout), WBM3.avi (Battle), WBM4.avi (Post-War & Closing)

With these chapter videos "in the can" I was now ready to scour the internet in search of musical accompaniment for each unique segment. I now knew the length of each portion and took my search to Archive.org knowing that they would likely offer a grand selection of public domain music from which to choose. When I would come across something that seemed it might work I would play the video in one Mplayer instance while simultaneously playing the audio selection in another Mplayer instance. Using this technique I had located several pieces of music that would serve the purpose.

While previewing the video in this way - with an ear bent toward the audio accompaniment - I spotted a scene wherein Pastor Mike slipped and fell (albeit gracefully) in the wet grass. It was at this point I thought how fun it would be to synchronize the sound from a slide-whistle - ala cartoon comedy. I figured I could lay this sound down in Audacity (where I planed to build the audio track anyhow) so again I ventured out to the internet to find that familiar slide-whistle "fall-down" sound and before I knew it I was hunting down water balloon breaking sounds, various splats and splashes, and any other sound effect I thought might take this production to a new level.

Once all the necessary sound effect files were assembled they were converted to WAV format and normalized to common levels converted from stereo to monophonic where necessary and then re-converted to MP3 format to be used in the sound track. The obvious next step involved listing each sound to apply and its precise timing information. I started jotting these times on a legal pad but soon began to feel that a timeline style form would offer a more instinctive way to make these notations. After searching the internet for a pre-made form and finding none I decided to whip something up in CorelDRAW to do the job. Now the internet contains at least one option for the downloading of a timeline work sheet [download: AV-CueSheet.pdf]

In all there are nineteen separate sound tracks utilized in the making of this video. The screenshot below shows the finished audio layout as a clickable image map. Hovering over each track will display its function while clicking a track will play its associated sound file. In order to create the finished tracks as efficiently as possible a count was made of how many of each sound effect was required and that number of copies was placed within its assigned track with approximately 2 seconds between each instance. The job then became one of working down each sound track row and adjusting the timespan (as measured from 0 starting point) by inserting precisely measured silence between each until all sounds were positioned at their exactly prescribed position along the track. Each of the various sound tracks were completed one at a time until the job was complete. Several adjustments in volume were performed throughout in a effort to balance many competing sounds.

 Click on the pictured tracks below to hear their mp3 audio file.

The finished audio job was exported as MP3 to a single file that was mated as audio source for the silent video file in Virtual Dub. Since there was no video processing to be done the export was accomplished using direct copy of source audio and video. The entire blending of audio to video took less than two minutes to process.

The published video ["The Water Balloon Fight Movie"] represents the first and only version of this project. I am sure I could spend many more hours tweaking this and adjusting that but I am very pleased with this video and have learned a trick or two that may factor in to my next video project. I can hardly wait to find out what that is going to be.

When I learned that the church was planning to hold a water balloon fight my first thought was "this cannot happen without my video camera and me in attendance." My first words had me volunteering to document the event. And so that "snowball" was put into motion...

It did not take too much thought to realize that in the midst of a water balloon war is not the optimum location for the delicate, precision electro-opticals of a digital video camera (unless yours happens to be of the Go-Pro® variety.) My Samsung HMX-F90 - as it just so happens - is not designed for making movies in moisture so I had to figure out a way to take the camera out from under the umbrella and into the field of battle.

Slipping the video-cam into a Ziploc bag was the first idea that had merit but polyethylene bags are not manufactured for optical clarity and I did not much relish the thought of filming a water balloon battle as though it were a Doris Day close-up. Since I do have several bits of scrap Plexiglas in the workshop I considered cutting a disk to serve as a port-hole to allow sharply focused rays of light into the bag-o-cam.

When I was a kid I had the plans for building an underwater camera housing using Plexiglas, epoxy, o-rings and wing-nuts-out-the-wazoo and wondered if the time had come to put those plans into action but was curious about what other "DIY" types are doing to waterproof their cameras. This is one of those questions that helps the internet earn its keep and as expected there was a fair amount of advice on building home-made submersible camera enclosures.

Many of the more popular methods involved using PVC drain pipe and fittings with Plexiglas for a window - some really good ideas but these involved turning on the camera before loading into the housing and allowing it to run non-stop until its retrieval; this left a lot to be desired in the way of composing, changing focal length, reviewing shots and cinematography in general. I had to dial back the enthusiasm a bit and - by way of the drawing board - invent what I think of as a "rain coat" for my camera, as opposed to those "Helmet Diver Suits" that certainly serve a purpose but are not really what this assignment called for.

In the laboratory, er workshop I was reminded of how well suited the scroll saw was for cutting out Plexiglas [see Bridge Head Template] and returned to that workstation to get this manufacturing process under way. The dimensions for the largest part - the "wrap around" piece - was worked-out using cardboard. The locations for the bends were transferred in pencil to the protective paper coating on the stock Plexiglas. Using a pen knife I lightly scored the brown paper in the hopes this would lead to a more accurate bend.

The bending was accomplished with the use of a heat blower gun; the material being situated between an iron straight edge and along the edge of the iron table saw top. There is a certain art to bending Plexiglas this way but it is a skill that once mastered will serve you well for many ingenious solutions. You should however, exercise great care when heating Plexiglas because the temperature at which the material bends is uncomfortably close to the temperature at which it will ignite. That being said, you are also well advised to have a fire extinguisher handy anytime you plug in the heat blower gun - just sayin'...

Once the large piece was formed the camera is tested for fit and  I discovered the camera controls could be manipulated easier if there was just a bit more clearance space above the camera. This adjustment was made by re-heating and some creative jig rigging but ultimately resulted in a satisfactory shape which was then traced onto more Plexiglas stock to form the front and back panels. These pieces were cut out handily on the scroll saw and the next step involved the rather tedious task of removing the paper from the parts.

The only reason I came to posses a supply of this 1/8th in. Plexiglas is that its previous owner was storing it in a poorly climate controlled warehouse and after several years of heating and cooling extremes the protective paper - which under ideal conditions is adhered with low tack adhesive - is mindbogglingly difficult to remove to expose any usable clarity. Not one to let such a valuable cache of resources find their way to the nearby land-fill I offered to let them continue in their tradition of improper storage in an out of the way nook in my unheated garage/workshop.

I will let it be known here that I have arrived at a method for removing even the most stubbornly adhered protective paper coating from even the most mistreated of Plexiglas rewarding you with crystal-clarity with a minimum of fuss. For this most valuable of trade secrets I ask only the paltry sum of $15 and a self addressed stamped envelope sent to "Tell Me How To Do It" P.O. Box 555..... but seriously here's how it's done:

Soak the Plexiglas parts in a container appropriate for complete submersion in a mild water/ammonia solution for anywhere between overnight and a few days. This will enable you to remove the paper without much trouble. The use of a hard plastic squeegee as a scraper will speed the process and save your fingernails. The only problem now will be the glue residue that is left clinging to the precious Plexiglas. There is only one thing I have found that will cause the glue to release its death-grip and that is none other than Denatured Alcohol. In fact if you ever need to remove sticky residue (as from bumper stickers etc.) go straight for the denatured alcohol and take care of it lickety-split (of course the usual disclaimer about "check for color-fastness in an inconspicuous location to determine if safe for your application" applies here.)

Once the protective paper with its glue mess was gone, window cleaner and paper towels finished the chore. Using a bit of emery cloth I sanded 1/4 in. bands where the Plexiglas pieces needed to be bonded to add some "tooth." At this time I also drilled the hole for access to the camera's tripod socket and scuffed that area to give a bit of grip to those surfaces. Using clear plumbers silicone caulking I applied a bead to the perimeter of the flat end pieces and assembled the project on end and weighted it down to dry overnight. The caulking goes on white but drys clear and make for a clean looking bond despite my rather sloppy caulk beads. The shape of the housing did not allow for the usual technique of smoothing the caulk with a moistened finger so it is what it is.

This video camera rain coat turns out to be a perfect companion piece to the "steady(ish)-cam" that was constructed for the "Rockin'4God" event [see: About this Rockin' 4 God Video] and the combination performed admirably in the heat of battle providing close-to-the-action footage that helps to make "The Balloon Fight Movie" the instant classic it is (among all those who took part in that most epic day of fellowship and fun.) The proof is in the pictures. Check out the video made with this rig and you will agree that without this clam-shell layer of protection it would have been the end of this video camera as we know it. All in all this was the proper amount of engineering to make good on my promise to "deliver the goods."

In my next post I will talk about editing "The Water Balloon Fight Movie" using open-source software and the complexities of building the soundtrack that added so much to the enjoyment of this video project.

[See BlogDogIt Article: Sound Trek]

#BreakfastClub

This is a Class Project for VP172 at Southern Oregon University. Directed by Travis Wheat.

I happened upon the Travster1000 YouTube Channel several years ago and even featured his video titled "Nahalem Bay Adventure" here on BlogDogIt (it has since been set to private.[smiley::(]) Although it was basically a "home movie," it exhibited all indications of having been created by a budding cinematographer and was edited to a tee. "This kid," I thought, "is on the right track."

Thanks to ability to subscribe to channels on YouTube I received the notification today that  I Am Travis was back at it...

The video featured here is a fun bit of "hamming" that ultimately proves to provide the viewer a reasonable comedic "lift" and no shortage of entertainment value. Just remember this is a class project and enjoy it for all it's worth...

The Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGDh8vk4iwo

The Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Travster1000/

Pretty much anything you want to know, you need only jump on your favorite search engine enter some keywords and before you know it you just modified your IQ by some fraction of a point. If the internet was kind then that should be a net intelligence gain; you know however, that you always run the risk of shaving off a point (or maybe two) in the exercise.

Sometimes the subject you are seeking to explore is so obscure you don't turn up anything remotely helpful. That is what I was facing this morning when I finally got around to doing something I have been meaning to do for quite awhile...

Build an airplane from 1/8 inch thick Fome-Cor board.

I have a hard time imagining that I am the only one who has pondered making a glider out of Foam-Core; not intricately carving a model plane out of Styrofoam but creating a bigger version of those little balsa gliders that all the really cool kids fling around the neighbourhood. I have worked around Foam-Core for a great many years (in photography and graphic arts) and I finally waited as long as I could; I just had to know. Since the internet was pretty useless for this project, I decided I would just wing it.

The results are pictured here. Channelling my inner Wilbur/Orville I carefully 'engineered' the following lines. I was kind-of going after a Spitfire feel and think it's not too far off the mark. After first drawing the fuselage (which came in at 27 inches overall) I came up with the wings which offered a 30 inch span - swept back 1 inch in the leading edge; swept forward 2 inches in the trailing edge; measuring 8 inches at the center-line.   The tail-wing/elevator spans 12 inches and is reverse swept compared to the wing at 1" leading edge, 1/2" trailing edge sweep through a 4-1/2" center-line.The yardstick is included in the picture so we might rightly call this a scale template

Wing mounting slots were positioned somewhat more carefully than random by intersecting the fuselage in the horizontal at the center of the nose and perpendicular to the vertical of the tail. Fuselage center-line is 6 inches behind the wing's leading edge. All cutting was done freehand with an X-acto Knife. I intentionally designed this to be cut using all straight lines to ease the job of reproduction should I ever duplicate this prototype. A jumbo paper clamp was just about right for a nose weight leaving the finished glider just a tad tail-heavy. "Close enough for government work."

The time had come to launch the maiden voyage. Recruiting my back deck and yard into service as an impromptu Kitty Hawk I was fortunate to be facing only a slight head-on breeze and deemed conditions perfect to gently push this bird from the nest. A 20 foot, gentle, sloping fall from a 10 foot height resulted in a safe landing in the grass (as shown in the picture.)

Not a bad first attempt at realizing a long held daydream. Tinkering with bending the wings into a dihedral, adjustments to elevator, inserting wings in reverse orientation all resulted in no improvement to the original design and ultimately led to a catastrophic stall that resulted in a nose-dive and subsequent crushing impact. Foam-Core is nowhere near as resilient as balsa wood and that is probably why you don't often hear of these sorts of experiments.

So, bottom line? As an art form flat Foam-Core airplanes might have potential but as a toy... not so much. I think any further attempts to build a model aeroplane out of Foam-Core will have to utilize a more complex foray into three dimensions in a quest for durability. Before you invest much time in this pursuit, might I recommend the boundless entertainment and joy available in the building and flying of kites.

Update:

Using the original fuselage as a template I tried cutting a new wide-body version from 1/2" thick foam-core. Attaching the same wings, elevator and nose weight give a far better flying, more durable craft. So if you are looking for something to wow the kids (or the kid in you) this just might be a step in the right direction!

While the rest of geekdom was shedding a happy tear over the announcement of a new installment in the the Star Wars franchise - Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens - this nerd was beside himself over the fact that the world premiere of the long awaited, much ballyhooed, indie sci-fi, horror, action, thriller Ezekiel's Landing was about to occur and in my own back yard (so to speak.) Now don't get me wrong I am a big fan of Star Wars and take pride that I was among the first in line for the premiere screening of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in Indianapolis at the luxurious Eastwood Theater in 1977.

Irving Theater - not as plush as the infamous Eastwood but with a far more colorful history - was the "happening" place-to-be in Indianapolis for die hard fans of independent films of the sci-fi persuasion. On April 24 the world premier of Eziekiel's Landing was featured "At The Irving."

On first inspection one might find the Irving better suited to a random Rave than a world premier, motion picture unveiling but what it lacked in bolted-to-the-floor seating, carpeting and ceiling tiles it more than made up for in warm, friendly fans of creativity rubbing elbows with the craftspeople who came together to make the night even possible and ultimately enjoyable.

Executive Producer Kate Chaplin took to the microphone as a pleasantly enthusiastic Master of Ceremony sharing the spotlight with Writer/Director James Treakle who set the stage for a respectable crowd of eager theater goers. The 85 minute film, included the briefest of intermissions 3/4 of the way through by some very needy anti-virus software on the projectors source MacBook - that's free anti-virus for you.[smiley:;)]

Following the featured presentation was a very informative Q&A session that had all cast and crew in attendance standing in the front of the hall. After taking several questions a suggestion was made that perhaps the wireless microphone should be passed down the line so that each member in attendance might declare their favorite scene and share one of their fondest memories of the production. This was priceless entertainment that can never be equaled. I am thankful to social media for keeping me in the loop so that I could attend this once in a lifetime event.

I encourage you, dear reader, to support the independent filmmaker in whatever genre suits your taste and discover right there, in your own "back yard," what it is that makes the movie industry so magical: the blood, sweat and tears of those individuals with the vision and drive to love, create and share in pursuit of what can only be called a really good movie.

In an effort to show my support for these folks I offer the following review of the film Ezekiel's Landing - originally posted to IMDB:

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A Wedding Like That

(I originally wrote this review for submission to IMDB -
of course I am happiest to share it here...)

There is little secret regarding the subject of this film. I mean, when the title screen displays dual female symbols beneath the words "A Wedding Like That" you know going in that you are about to be a guest at a same-sex wedding.

I am learning my lesson about overly investigating a film before watching it; I am convinced that many reviewers and synopsis writers seek only to spoil a film in an effort to prove they actually saw it. I truly came to this viewing with no preconceived notions. So let me just tell you I did indeed watch it and I can honestly say my outlook on life is the better for it.

What I fully expected to be a glorification of the homosexual lifestyle turned out to be a heartwarming tale of family love and fatherly obliviousness. As a father myself I was easily drawn to the situational drama and found myself relating on many levels to the fathers of both brides in ways that felt a bit too awkward for comfort. I could however, take comfort in the underlying themes of love and support among caring family and close friends.

What I did not expect was the comedy... I confess that I found myself laughing quite a bit. And not a nervous sort of laughter but a genuine laughter born of witty writing and crafty timing. The entire script was well written in fact. These folks did in forty-two minutes what Hollywood would feel compelled to keep us for ninety minutes only to deliver half the entertainment.

Mark Dessauer and Cindy Maples are a match made in heaven in their portrayal of Sam and Tami Kessler; loving parents ready to face anything or anybody who stands in the way of their family ideal. Tod Reynolds and Gracie Strange are a force to be reckoned with in the roles of "proper" parents Oliver and Debra Dixon who - as it happens - find themselves as the Father and Mother of the Bride too. Laura Kessler and Joan Dixon (enchantingly portrayed by Megan Hunt and Roni Jonah) are the soon to be wed couple. Could it be happening too soon? or perhaps not soon enough?

What could have very easily gone politically active or morally preachy instead stays out of our faces and ultimately plants a tear in the eye of those with a soft spot for love and hope in the triumph of family togetherness. A brilliant work of art in all aspects of production. With Neil Kellen at the camera you would expect a feast for the eyes and that it is. Directors, Neil Kellen and Lewis D. Chaney should start clearing out a spot on the trophy shelf because this has "award-winning" written all over it.

Would I recommend this film? I would go one step farther and say don't you dare miss it. A great achievement by everyone involved.

A Wedding Like That (2015) Trailer

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As anyone who follows BlogDogIt on a regular basis will tell you, I really enjoy exploring the internet looking for the rare, obscure or otherwise under-appreciated. Many of my posts therefore tend to be highlighting interesting finds. Lately however, my expendable online efforts have been focused more around finding time - or more specifically

TheFindingTime.com.

The Finding Time is a new adventure that my wife and I are embarking upon in the form of an online shop that is seeking to offer many rare obscure or otherwise under-appreciated items for sale - primarily to the continental United States but eventually worldwide (once we sort out the whole shipping labyrinth.)

TheFindingTime.com is still under construction but is actually a functional store. You are invited to stop by and have a look around but be sure to check back frequently because many items are yet to be added and many descriptions are yet to be written. In fact the writing of those descriptions will likely be satisfying my creative writing needs for awhile so if my activity here on BlogDogIt diminishes you can be assured that is only because the effort is being directed toward The Finding Time. You can think of the new website as my new Blog where you can actually purchase the subject matter.

Also - Be sure to keep an eye out for TheFindingTime on Etsy and Ebay too!

Plus - you can "LIKE" us on Facebook: 
www.facebook.com/thefindingtime