During these busy times.. It's important to remember "balance"

:)

I can only get my balance through time spent in prayer.

I certainly need more of that next year!

Merry Christmas! Here's a handy little Christmas resource!

iDailyDiary - free diary

iDailyDiary Free Version provides a simple interface that immediately gets you started taking daily notes, creating a journal, putting your thoughts into writing and much more.

The iDailyDiary editor is "richtext" with the ability to insert graphics, URL's, Hypertext links and links to other diary pages. iDailyDiary is fully searchable so you can always track down those important dates and reminders.

Key Features

- Data files encrypted and password protected
- Richtext Editor
- Fully Searchable
- Insert Pictures, URL's and Hypertext
- Multiple "pages" for each day
- Export to HTML format to create web pages

The Nativity Story

Downloadable trailers in WMV and Quicktime available here.

Online Media Communities

Online Media Communities and video on demand services are springing up constantly. Here's a list of sites that haven't been listed on this blog before. Caution on the corners though - some material listed on these sites may be offensive and dodgy!

revver

iFilm

Dailymotion

IFC Medialab

GabCity

MagRack

MovieBeam

MovieLink

Ourmedia

VMix

Youare.tv

Google Video

That Video Site

Metacafe

KeepVid to Download videos DIRECT from most video sites.

MP3 Rocket

I haven't written in this blog for a while. I got a new job in April and have been extremely busy ever since. I've stepped into the events industry full time now (I had limited involvement before) so now my weeks can be 50 hour weeks and can range up to 90 hour weeks at peak times when the team and I are "running" from event to event!!! Crazy!!!

Anyhoo!! Here's the link to one of the best filesharing programs I've used. MP3 Rocket! Check it out!!!

Second Birthday

This is a late post but I've just gotta make note of the second anniversary of this blog!

Here's a New Zealand BuzzyBee! :)

Jeh's Freeware Website

Here's another freeware site I found. It's very extensive with a lot of interesting links. Time to get another coffee! :)

Free Wallpapers @ deniscarl.com

Welcome to my Desktop Wallpapers' site. Photography is a hobby for me but a serious one. Maybe one day I'll make a living out of it, we'll see. In the meanwhile you can take advantage freely, I add 1 picture every day and I pre-format each of them to various screen formats.

Convert youtube, Google flash video to DVD

Here's a lovely little article by Baldrick at videohelp.com, on how to capture streaming video files for free and how to convert them to DVD! Nice!

Free online How-To manuals

wikiHow is a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest how-to manual. With your contributions, we can create a free resource that helps people by offering clear, concise solutions to the problems of everyday life.

Also on this website is eHow with Clear Instructions on How To Do (just about) Everything.

Here's the ultimate How-To! :)

TClockEx - desktop enhancement

TClockEx enhances the standard Windows taskbar clock, adding the ability to display the date, time and lots of other information in any format you like. TClockEx is highly customizable, from the format to the font and colour, and even the tooltip information. Many people have wondered why this wasn't built into the standard clock to begin with.

Izzy Video

Izzy Video - free digital video tutorials and podcasts. This is a great resource for anyone learning to shoot great digital video footage.

Links and Portals

When surfing the net sometimes you can find some VERY interesting links. Make yourself a coffee, check these ones out and have a good look around.

Link to it claims to be the easiest and most beautiful way to navigate all the web!




The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.

My Favourite photographic RSS Links

I haven't been blogging for a while because I've got so caught up in reading RSS feeds in BlogExpress Reader.

Here are some RSS feeds which I think are just excellent. These are various photographers who showcase their work through Flickr. Don't click directly on these links in your web browser - copy them to your RSS News Feed Reader.

A~c Jalali's Photos
Andy Rosen's Photos
Any Manetta's Photos
bitmapr's Photos
hb19's Photos
raspberry*'s Photos
Redgum's Photos
webinteger's Photos

Free Fonts

Knowing where free fonts are is good! Having been in the graphic design and print industry you need to know where they are. Why? - because when you get some artwork that was created by a customer who wanted to save themselves graphic design charges and used Microsoft Publisher or Word and did it themselves - they nearly always used some non-standard free font that they found on the net because they thought it looked good. They would then send us the file without including the font and we would have to hunt for it on the net ourselves. Here are the best links.

Note: If you want to supply your artwork to a printer or copy centre PLEASE supply the True Type Font (TTF) files as well! IT saves us SO much time!!!! :)

BTW There are tons of other free font websites. These are the ones that I have used and found useful, but if you want more then look at these links:

Words Screen Saver

The Words Screen Saver is a Windows screen saver for displaying short passages of text like jokes, poems or single words with various effects. Contents and appearance can be modified to your own liking.

I use it as a reminder of God's promises:

Copy and paste the following scriptures, including the percentage signs, into a text document; save it under "\Program Files\Words Screen Saver" as scripture.txt; and set the words screen saver to run with the scripture.txt file and viola, a highly configurable scripture screen saver!!!


%
Matthew 5:3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
%
Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn:
for they shall be comforted.
%
Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth.
%
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.
%
Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy.
%
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God.
%
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.
%
Matthew 5:10
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Record 2 minutes of streaming media for free!!!

I needed to download (rather than just view) a windows media streaming video file. While I couldn't find a freeware app that could do it, I found the Replay Video Suite that allows you to record up to 2 minutes worth of audio and video without having to register. Once registered of course there is no time limit. Fortunately the file I was after took less than two minutes on broadband.

What I also found out is that this software is so incredibly easy to use, it is well worth purchasing if you need to record streaming media on a regular basis.

The Replay Video Suite, features WM Recorder (to record Windows Media™ streaming Video or Audio content), RM Recorder (to record Real™ Video or Audio content) and WM VCR (which lets you schedule recordings like a programmable VCR).

Free music for your movies

So you've just finished editing your vacation video, and you're going to put it online to show your friends and family. Now you want to add some music; perhaps a bit of thrash metal over the snowboarding footage, or how about "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & The Papas to accompany your trip down the California coast? You stroll over to your CD collection, grab a couple of your favorite tunes, then drop them into the video and upload it to your Web site. It becomes the next viral video, and thousands of people are downloading it. And then the police kick down your door and throw you in prison for illegally distributing music.

Well, perhaps that's not quite how it would work out. What's more likely is that the video could get deleted from your Web site if the copyright holder complains to your hosting service.

Arguments about fair use aside, there's no disputing the fact that putting music you don't have permission to use into your videos is not a good idea. Especially in today's world, where people get sued for the illegal distribution of music:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,123946,tk,boxnws,00.asp

Fortunately, you don't have to risk it: There are thousands of pieces of music available online that you can use for free without risking any legal unpleasantness.

Art for Art's Sake

Many people create music simply because they want it to be heard; they either don't want to make any money from it, or they view it as a promotional tool to sell CDs. So they allow their work to be copied, streamed, and used pretty much anywhere, as long as they get credit for it.

The general term for this is "podsafe"--meaning that it's safe to use in a podcast. Web sites such as PodShow and Podsafe Audio contain thousands of tracks that can be used, though you should check the license on each track before you use it.

PodShow:
http://music.podshow.com

Podsafe Audio:
http://www.podsafeaudio.com

The music on these sites is often released under a Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial license, which means that you can copy and use it for any noncommercial purpose, as long as you include a credit for the musician:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0

However, some people release their music under different types of licenses, some of which may prevent their use in a video. In particular, the Creative Commons Music Sharing license doesn't allow you to use the music in a video. Always check the license, which should be available on the same Web page from which you can download the music.

Internet Marketing

While some major record labels won't even consider distributing their music online, other smaller labels realize that downloading music from the Internet can be a great promotional tool. Record companies like Magnatune and Opsound offer high-quality, Creative Commons licensed versions of their music that can be used for noncommercial videos, as long as you give the artists credit and add a plug for the Web site where you can buy the songs.

"If the video project is noncommercial and/or educational, there is no charge for use of the music for one album of choice," says Theresa Malango of Magnatune. "However, the project would be required to give attribution in the form of credit to the artist and Magnatune as well. Specifically, we suggest using the form of 'You heard the 'Song Name' by 'Artist Name,' which is available at magnatune.com' in the video credits."

Magnatune offers a wide selection of music, ranging from Trance to Russian Orthodox Church chants.

Magnatune:
http://magnatune.com

Opsound:
http://www.opsound.org

Archive.org's Netlabels section is another great source for music:
http://www.archive.org/details/netlabels

It contains thousands of songs in a huge range of genres from artists all over the world. I'm particularly fond of the folk music that it features from groups like the Chinkapin Hunters. This stuff makes great background music for videos--such as one of my recent projects, which shows my dogs looking after orphaned kittens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMIdUeI0rpk

There are also unusual audio files on Archive.org, like the Conet Project, which holds recordings of numbers stations, mysterious shortwave stations where robotic voices reel off long lists of numbers:
http://www.archive.org/details/ird059

These could be ideal if you're creating a spy film. However, not all of the recordings on archive.org can be used in videos, so check the terms of the license before you use any of them.

There are also lots of older pieces of music available that can be used because they are out of copyright. For example, the 78 RPMs section of Archive.org is worth browsing through if you're looking for something quirky:
http://www.archive.org/details/78rpm

It contains hundreds of songs and musical pieces that were released in the early 1900s on 78-rpm records that have been sampled. Because they are so old, they are out of copyright and you can use them however you want. It's a great source for classic songs: How cool would it be to have Enrico Caruso singing "O Sole Mio" in the background on that video of your Italian vacation?

PC World Contributor
Richard Baguley

Vimeo

Vimeo is another online community that allows members to upload and share videos.

I LOVE PODCASTS!!!!! - iTunes

There are a lot of media players available for windows but I gotta confess that the best one by miles is iTunes!!!!!

I just reckon that Apple have got a product that far surpasses anything that Microsoft or RealNetworks have to offer. I love the access to all of the free podcasts and the way that I can organise my music and video collections.

I can even get the podcast links and drop them into BlogExpress Reader as well!! VERY NICE!!! :)

RSS Feeds on the "Land for Peace" deal

I have been keeping a watch on news reports on the land for peace deal between Israel and Palestine. This has made for some fascinating reading!

With your RSS newsreader have a look at the Google News feed for "Israel Land Peace" and compare this to "Prophecy Update" generated by InJesus.

What I have discovered is that the land for peace deal is also being used to promote a religious tolerance between the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, to aid not only towards peace between Israel and Palestine, but also in the formation of a global religion.

For this supra-religion to exist, it would have to forbid anyone from claiming that their particular faith was any better than anyone else's. In fact there may even come a time were it is globally forbidden, according to this religion, for Christians to claim the absolute truth in John 14:6 where Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." as Jesus' statement completely goes against many other religions.

The truth of this though is that the religious tolerance would be an attempt to stop many from receiving true salvation through the only acceptable sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Christians must remember that this push for religious tolerance between different faiths goes against the very words of Jesus himself. While it may sound nice in its use of words like tolerance and peace, please don't be fooled!

RSS Reading and Feeding

In an earlier post I gave a description of RSS and Atom Newsreaders and how this family of XML file formats is being used to syndicate news, websites and blogs through online aggregators or programs.

At that time I was trying out Newzie to subscribe to RSS or Atom subscriptions. Since then Newzie has changed a lot and I have found that there are other, far more intuitive, RSS Newsreaders available.

The one that I would now definitely recommend is BlogExpress. As Chris Pirillo at Locker Gnome states in his RSS Quickstart Guide, "Newbies don't need to look any further than this. Providing a familiar, usable interface and high-usability; BlogExpress stands out as an invaluable tool for those getting started with RSS."

If you are looking to syndicate your blog through a free RSS feed then look no further than Feedburner.

Official website blurb: As a publisher of syndicated content, be it a newsfeed, podcast, blog or otherwise, you have a vested interest in making sure your RSS or Atom feed looks its best and is easy for people to find. You also want to understand how many subscribers you have, how they are finding you and what appeals to them most so you can extend your reach beyond your wildest dreams. Finally, you may decide you want to turn all that valuable traffic into revenue, but might not know where to begin.

Enter FeedBurner. We offer a full range of services to help you build awareness, track circulation, and implement revenue-generating programs in your feed(s). A slew of publishers (over 120,000 and counting) currently take advantage of FeedBurner’s services, many of which are free and have been called “awesome” by these same customers.

SWik - A Sourcelabs Project

SWiK is a community driven resource for open source software. Try starting a page about your favorite project, syndicating a blog for a topic, or browsing through tags people have added to projects or pages.

SWiK contains information and news about thousands of open source projects and people are constantly adding cool new stuff.

The Markr

I found this blog I wanted to bookmark. It's all about Technology & gadgets, celebrity news & gossip, music, food and more.

Nice links to design and technology ideas. I'm such a geek! :)

The GodFather - free audio file manager

Official website blurb:

"Do you own mp3 files? How about ogg, mpc, ape, flac, aac, apl, wv, mp4, ofr, or spx files? Do you have a lot of them?

If yes, then you probably already know that it is easier to create a chaotic budge of files with strange names and in wrong locations than to have a clean and nice collection where every file is where it is supposed to be, with a perfect name and Tag information.

Sounds like the truth... don't worry The GodFather is here to put order to chaos and put you in control. No more strange file names and endless search for "that song"! Rename,update Tags,restructure files on hard disk, create/merge play lists,encode-decode with LAME/Ogg Vorbis/MpcEnc, export/import to/from file, play, use freedb.org & allmusic.com, catalog them in a library... with ease of use and perfect results every time.

Finally it is about time to rest assure that you will find the files you want to listen to instantly. Stop struggling, sit back, and enjoy your favorite music."

Mashups and Bootlegs

Mashups have been around for a while now but are still popular with a lot of people. Here are a few websites I found for downloading some very interesting little choons plus lots of links to other websites!!!

Celtx - Free software for Film and TV!

Last week I started film school!!! Yep and it was awesome!! We were also introduced to some cool freeware called Celtx. It's software for Film and TV - write a screenplay, do a breakdown, collaborate with others. Nice!

Worship Software - eBibleTeacher

ebibleteacher.com has a free listing of virtually all of the worship software that's available on the net. There is a great mix of commercial and free software listed here to have a look at. My church has started to use Easy Worship which is very intuitive to use, but if your budget doesn't allow for it have a look here to see what other offerings there are.

Other excellent free resources are available at ebibleteacher.com, and include PowerPoint backgrounds & templates; photos; PowerPoint Bible atlas maps; sermons; children's sunday school lessons; tips, guides and how-to's on creating effective presentations and setting up a video/multimedia system for church worship and messages.

How a comic is made

Here's a link I found on Boing Boing.

Kazu Kibuishi is the comics creator who makes Copper (and other comics). In this three-page tutorial, Kibushi gives us a detailed look at the process of creating a comic from pencilling to inking to coloring, with great photos and descriptive material.