February 10, 2021

Android/Win10 graphics editing app recommendations requested please.

I feel a little silly asking for this because I'm a former professional video producer who managed a corporate video production department. We had things like After Effects, Smoke, Flame, Combustion, World Builder & a ton of other professional graphics/video editing/production tools. I expanded our machine room to more than 100 rack-mount CPUs to render HD graphics, which required a major HVAC upgrade, & negotiated an upgrade to the size of the diesel fuel tank (supplying the generator) on the roof of the building so that even if the power was out all weekend the machine room (rendering) would still keep running.

So, that's the world I'm used to.

Now, I just want to do some basic things on my own.

Here's what I want to do: I want to take my cell phone pics & add lower thirds. The idea it to make it look like the subjects of the pics (our cats) are appearing on TV, with a typical CNN/MSNBC/etc lower third. I want to be able to save templates, choose my pallet, & do basic animation (like fly-ins or an animated opening logo).

Ideally, I'd like to be able to create templates on my Win 10 PC, & copy them to my Android phone where the animation is preserved, & I can add details to the template like the cat's name & a description like "Nap Enthusiast."

ANY help is appreciated! Thanks!

February 8, 2021

THANK YOU to the folks who gave me hearts!!!

Like many of us, I've gone through some hard times over the past year or so, & every day I've felt like my "DU family" has been here for me... the whole time I haven't been able to travel across the country, or to another continent, to see my family relations (by blood or by marriage) & all the friends who live there.

THANK YOU!!! Thank every one of you. You have made the whole T* era... well... survivable... which is probably the most I can ask.

February 5, 2021

"Sleepy Joe" and the "Do Nothing Democrats"

Can we all just take a minute, think about everything Joe Biden & Democrats have done since he's taken office, reflect on how Republicans called him/us "Sleepy Joe" & the "Do Nothing Democrats," & say...

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!

January 19, 2021

Joe Biden's flight info

Joe has arrived at Andrews, here are his flight details, for the AV geeks.

Joe Biden has just departed Wilmington, Delaware for Washington DC for his presidential inauguration tomorrow. https://t.co/ECWIfOtNYT https://t.co/HZddiy9EUf

[link:https://twitter.com/flightradar24/status/1351628618187862026?s=19|]

Shortly before the Boeing 737-700(BBJ) of Joe Biden (#EDG34/🇺🇸N834BZ/#AB6767) took off from Wilmington, another Boeing 737-700 (#KAI46/🇺🇸N737KA/#A9E5EE) flew the same route to Joint Base Andrews.

This 2nd 737-700 is operated by a company called "Kaiser Air". https://t.co/VenV5PqnC6

[link:https://twitter.com/Gerjon_/status/1351635620892995588?s=19|]

January 13, 2021

Home Depot: Ken Langone blasts Trump and Capitol rioters, vows to support Biden

Billionaire Ken Langone called the Capitol Hill riot a "disgrace" and urged Americans to rally behind President-elect Joe Biden.

"I think the biggest mistake anybody is going to make is try and rationalize what happened last week, what the president did and what that crowd did," Langone told CNBC on Wednesday.

"I feel betrayed," said Langone, the co-founder of Home Depot who has donated over the years to Republicans.

[link:https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/01/13/i-feel-betrayed-ken-langone-blasts-trump-capitol-rioters-vows-biden-support.html|]

November 27, 2020

I want to wish all my DU friends a Happy Thanksgiving!

One thing I've realized, & it's been a profound realization, is how much I consider all of you friends. Real friends.

Due to various significant events in my life (which I won't detail here) I've had to leave my family & friends & my entire life behind twice over my many years on this Earth. All of that has left me in a position where I have only 1 friend within a 20 minute driving distance. Everyone else is 1000-3000 miles away.

But then there are all of my friends here on DU. You all give me hope, you give me energy, you give me the desire to press on & do more & do better, every... single... day.

THANK YOU! And I am thankful for every one of you.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

October 29, 2020

The Biden signs in my red FL county are really giving me hope.

I live in Brevard county FL. In 2016 Trump won this county by 20 points, 58% to 38%.

I have several customers in a certain area that I've been doing work for, for years. On the particular stretch of road I drive to their houses (about 1.5 miles long, & 1 of 2 main thoroughfares on the island) in 2016 I saw a bunch of Trump signs (maybe 20?) & only 1 Clinton sign.

This year, now ... I'm seeing 11 Biden signs (ELEVEN) on that same stretch of road, & if my count yesterday was correct, an equal number of Trump signs. So from 2016 to now the ratio of signs has shifted from 20:1, to 1:1. If I add in the 3 signs I see before I get to that particular road, I'm seeing 14 Biden signs total, every day I drive to/from my current jobsite. And let me emphasize once again, in 2016 I saw ONE Clinton sign along that same route.

In addition, there's a second road that runs parallel to the one I normally take (the 2nd major thoroughfare on the island) & yesterday I decided to take it on the way home just to see how many signs I would see. I counted every political sign I saw, & I truly cannot believe the results:

3 Trump signs & 7 (SEVEN) Biden signs. Along a 1.5 mile stretch of suburban road in an area Trump won by 20% in 2016.

I see a lot of folks who are writing off Florida, but seeing what's happening on the ground in my area, I'm not writing off my state.

October 25, 2020

My incredible wife & I just finished writing 300 "Postcards to Swing States""

The batch we got was all for Georgia, & they go out in the mail tomorrow.

I've never done it before, & she deserves the credit for volunteering.

Did any other DUers do it?

[link:https://postcardstoswingstates.com/|]

Edited to add: My hand is sore & I just know that tonight I'm going to be dreaming about writing "Firstname, Thank you for being a [previous/1st time] voter! Who you vote for is secret ..." etc etc over & over.

Edit #2: Yes, it was "Postcards to Swing States!" Corrected thread title & link. THANKS!!!

August 16, 2020

Florida's Nikki Fried lands a speaking spot at Democratic National Convention

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried will have a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, the party announced Sunday.

Fried will join 16 other Democratic rising stars to deliver a joint keynote address on Tuesday under the theme “Leadership Matters.” Together, they’ll speak about the Democratic Party’s vision for America and display the faces who are shaping the future of the party.

As the only Florida Democrat to win a statewide race in 2018, Fried will represent the country’s largest swing state in the convention; no other Floridian currently has a speaking role in the festivities. The distinction further solidifies Fried as the de facto leader of the Florida Democratic Party.

...........................

I must say I'm excited about this! Down here in FL I've been watching Nikki spar with DeathSantis. She's been taking him on over his failed COVID response & not being shy about it. Some months ago I started responding to her tweets urging her to run for governor. As noted, she's currently the only statewide-elected Democrat in FL, & (given how things look right now) she could be a real contender for governor in 2022.

August 15, 2020

Great news! My Republican neighbors are voting for Biden!!!

I live in a red area of Florida. The neighbors in question are a nice couple, & I've done work for them over the years, most recently installing one of those big natural-gas powered Generac generators with a transfer switch that switches their whole house over to the generator when the power goes out, a very handy thing when you live in hurricane country.

I've never detected a hint of racism from them, they've said they've been lifelong Republicans because they lean toward small government & lower taxes, & some time ago when the topic of Trump came up the husband said, with clear dismay, that he felt like "the guy has taken over my party."

Well, this afternoon he came over & rang the doorbell. My wife answered & I overheard most of the conversation. It sounded like he came over specifically to talk about politics, which we've never done before. My wife is Italian (still an Italian citizen) so he started by asking her what her family & friends in Europe think about Trump. My wife, being Italian, didn't hold back. (I love that about her!) Long story short, he's PISSED at Trump & wanted to tell us that after being lifelong Republicans (they're both in their mid/late 50s) he & his wife were voting for Biden. He was surprisingly well-informed & rattled off a whole list of things Trump has done that pissed him off.

He said that he knows where every Trump flag in the neighborhood is (there are 4-5) & every time he drives by those houses he flips them off ... which is exactly what I do! LOL!

What surprised me the most is that he said we would see some signs in his front yard soon. I mean ... a life-long Republican in a red part of FL flipping off Trump flags & putting Biden signs in his yard???

It gives me hope!