[subego]

When we fired up this 60-year-old TV for the first time 5 years ago, there was an image, but it had a terminal v-hold problem. The knob to adjust it is broken, and I didn’t have the time to monkey with it.

Sean mentioned in passing it would be useful if we could get it working. Had time to play with it tonight, turned it on, low and behold…



It’s distorted, but that’s actually kinda cool. This is a composite-out of a DVD player into an RF box. To make it easier to feed it source material, as well as because it’s hilarious, I’m going to see if I can rig up something to bust down the HDMI output from an iPad.


Edit: the image is from a video project we worked on 30+ years ago. Been at this awhile now.

[subego]

First heard about these in the 90s. Didn’t have a potential application until now.



It’s a vibrator hollow steel “candle” with a real candle inside. A spring keeps the real candle flush as it burns down.

Assuming it doesn’t look weird once it’s lit, it’ll take care of continuity problems.

[reader50]

Never heard of a flush-candle holder. I took it for a gopher repellant stick. Drives them mad with regular chirp noises.

[subego]

Originally Posted by subego 

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY



Almost the exact design of a Gonnella bag circa 1986. I added G-Chef, who is from earlier in their history.

Took forever because I turned all the individual elements into objects for easier editing.

Next step is to find the right paper. Vellum and butcher paper are the two I’ve thought of so far.

From the archives.

After making a meticulous reproduction of the bag, I discover it’s supposed to be for a different kind of bread with wildly different dimensions. Ran out of time to fuck with it and it got put away.

Still on hiatus, so I’ve finally had the time to drag it back out. Kinda half-assed, but it’s probably good enough for a prop.



Those hacks at the Gonella print shop smeared the black on the chef.

[reader50]

A thought about historical accuracy. When did they start including grams in product weight? I don't recall personally.

Looks like they smeared the black on the weights line also.

[subego]

I was just aping the original. All the text is vectorized from the photo they gave us, which was some time in the 80s.

Good catch though. If I reprint it, I’ll lose the grams.

[subego]

Not thrilled with a lot of the results from the iPhone camera, so I’m taking a swing at using a dedicated camera.



No question I can coax a better image out of it. What’s up in the air is if I can make the rig light enough, small enough, and easy enough to operate compared to a phone.

[subego]

Minus of living in the future: maunual is html only.

Plus of living in the future: control over every camera function with my phone.

Sold.

[subego]

Brought our video assist into the current era. Wireless and 1080 (old one was only 720). NATO rail all over for quick release attachments. Going to attach a neck strap.

[ghporter]

My bank account did not need to know about SmallHD…

[subego]

Yeah… that part’s really obnoxious. This is the “cheap” one, too.

[reader50]

It looks very professional. But about the setup ... please tell us you're not filming in portrait mode. We get enough of that on YouTube.

[subego]

TikTok is our current favored medium, so unfortunately everything new we're shooting is portrait.

It’s made the camera rig… strange. Here’s a work in progress photo from the back:



The monitor is in the way of the physical controls (which are of course all sideways) and the wireless antennas are pointing in the wrong direction.

I’d like to mount both of them up top, but that seriously messes with the rig’s center of gravity. Plus, I really need the handle.

[subego]

Just had a seizure. Production is now on hold for at least 6 months.

[andi*pandi]

screw production, are you ok?

[reader50]

If the choice is seizures or cigs, perhaps nicotine gum?

6mo means the cats may experience growth spurts, leading to all-new cats again.

[subego]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

screw production, are you ok?

Relatively speaking, thank you! Injured myself pretty severely. Bit my tongue. Scraped my face up really hard. No idea on what. Back and legs hurt.

[reader50]

Ouch, that's way worse than I'd pictured.

[reader50]

Upon further thought, does this mean you've earned a six month vacation?

Lucky guy ... er, I mean, bummer man. Awful luck. Get better in 6 months.

[ghporter]

Best wishes for first getting over the bruises and scrapes, and second for hopefully figuring out the triggers and doing something about them.

And I think reader is right: you just earned a vacation.

[subego]

Right now, I feel like I did when I was a kid who was genuinely too sick to go to school, envying the far more fun times when I had successfully faked it.

6 days later and I’m in slightly less but still massive pain.

Wish I knew how this could have happened:

[Thorzdad]

[Waragainstsleep]

Ouch.
I hope you get better quickly.

[andi*pandi]

damn, did you fall down some stairs as it happened?

[subego]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Ouch.
I hope you get better quickly.

Thank you! I don’t feel much better yet, but objectively there’s improvement. At the least I’ve cut down on the fistfuls of Aleve and Tylenol.

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

damn, did you fall down some stairs as it happened?

Though I have no memory, all the forensic evidence (thankfully) points to it happening in bed. I haven’t found anything hard with a mark on it yet.

[OreoCookie]

@subego
Ouch, that looks nasty. Sorry to hear that. Do you know what triggered the seizure?
In any case, I wish you a speedy recovery.

[subego]

No clue. Wasn’t sleep deprived. Stay away from cocaine. Have one of those constant blood glucose monitors and I wasn’t hypoglycemic. EEG from a few weeks back was clean. Last seizure was in 2009.

Thank you for the well wishes! It took what seemed like forever but I’m sorta recovered, except for my tongue.

[subego]

Doorbell doubles as a bird perch.

[ghporter]

It took me a while to actually see it…

[subego]

This was a prop that was in the script for the web series. The prop house we use doesn’t have one, and we never ended up shooting the scene, but after five years of lusting after it I decided to get one anyway as a birthday present to myself.

It’s ironically related to yesterday being my first shoot in months. It’s illegal to ship this to Chicago. Had it sent to the director’s girlfriend, who was an actress on that shoot and brought it by.

She’s been informed she’s going to start getting weird catalogs now.