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August 16, 2005

Nathan Dickson Missed the Universe

I consider myself a late bloomer, a late adopter, somewhat out-of-the-loop when it comes to television shows. It took me a few years to find Seinfeld, didn’t really get into Cheers until its last year, held off on Frasier until about year four or five and didn’t become a huge Roseanne fan until year four. I chalk up that lack of commitment to wanting a life apart from television. I’d rather watch a “proven” show than waste my time on crap.

Unfortunately, because of this philosophy, I sometimes overlook the occasional gem that only lasts a season or two. Seinfeld, the most successful sitcom ever, barely made it past season two. I was doing some experimental television signal recording on my PowerMac G5 last night when Andy Richter Controls the Universe came on the regular HD.net station.

After a few minutes of not really paying attention to what was recording, the show caught my eye and I started paying attention. Within about three minutes I had my first full-on thirty second gut-busting laugh. I was hooked and watch the rest of the show, which did not disappoint. How the hell did I miss this absolutely hiliarous show? How the hell did it only last eighteen episodes?

Rather than attempt to persuade you with rhetoric, I submit for your approval the entire episode that I watched. This is the eighth episode, titled “Twins,” which originally aired on December 8, 2002 on the Fox Network.

If you watch this, please email me to let me know what you think of it. As always, you will need Quicktime to watch this video.

Posted by Nathan Dickson at 06:58 AM | Comments (1)

August 11, 2005

Final Cut Studio

Well, I went out and did the dirty deed -- I purchased Apple’s Final Cut Studio for my PowerMac G5. And, like the giddy geek that I am, I photographed the unveiling so that I could relive the moment over and over again.

First of all, the package itself is impressive. For all of its weight, you’d think that it might contain the entire Windows 2003 Server Resource Kit.

However, when you lift the cover and slip the main box open to its side, you can see that there are embedded Apple goodies.

When I poked the big box in the throat, it puked out two upright containers full of manuals and software.

Which, of course, when turned around and “posed” for the picture, shows no less than eight main manuals and maybe a couple of small starter books. The real beauty is when you throw it all over the floor.

Well, maybe not “throw” per se, but possibly “neatly arrange” as if it is the spoils of a victory over a neighboring enemy (someone swing the incense before the parading prisoners).

This is, without a doubt, the largest package of software I’ve yet encountered. About half of those disks are DVD-ROMs with loads of content for LiveType, Soundtrack Pro and DVD Studio Pro. Just think of the possibilities.

Thank you for indulging me. It’s not every day I get to spend that kind of wad on some “light” reading and several pieces of polycarbonate plastic. Oh yeah, pardon my toes.

Posted by Nathan Dickson at 05:02 PM | Comments (1)