Tonight I was inspired to download the video footage I took of my son’s birthday party and from Buenos Aires to our computer; however, it’s a much more involved process than I have time for right now. We have one of those fandangled Sony Handycam video camcorders that record directly to mini-DVDs, you know, the one everyone seemed to buy last year for Christmas. After finalizing the DVD-R in the camcorder, I popped it into our computer to play it. Easy enough, right? Hardly! Windows Media Center launched and told me that it doesn’t have the files needed to play the DVD. OK, well, what about Windows Media Player? Yes, they played, but the video quality was uneven, indicating that Media Player too is having issues with DVDs. I’ll have to visit Microsoft’s Web site to figure out why Windows Vista isn’t playing my videos properly.
I haven’t even tried editing the video footage–that’s an entirely different challenge. With time and inspiration, I plan to upload the video footage to my computer and edit the footage, eventually burning it to full-size DVDs for posterity. It will be easiest to upload and manipulate the newer, DVD-based video footage–the mini-DV and VHS formatted video footage from years past will be an even bigger challenge because I’ll need to upload it using my older mini-DV camcorder and VHS video recorder. I could save this project until I retire and have hours to devote to it, or I’ll do it little by little…before the older tapes disintegrate from age.
Blog note: Cordelia, thank you for the wonderful message you sent me today. Messages like yours are very encouraging. Life is better now for me. I wish you all the best as you pursue a career with the Foreign Service. There’s no other job like it on Earth, which is why it can be so rewarding and frustrating at the same time. I am by no means an expert on Buenos Aires, but I did have the feeling after visiting many other large cities around the world that its cuisine is somewhat less diverse. That said, its barbeque and Italian cuisine are superb, and the quality of life is primo.
