(no subject)

On the Sci-Fi channel right now, they're showing one of those Twilight Zone episodes that was shot on video tape. For some reason, these episodes have a smooth quality to them. It looks like it's shot at a higher frame rate than anything I see on TV nowadays.

Whenever someone explains TV, they say the cathode ray scans over the screen 60 times per second (in the US). But it scans each frame twice to get a higher resolution, so you only get 30 frames per second. But it seems these Twilight Zone episodes were taped at the full 60. The motion is smoother than even modern color video.

I wonder why they stopped doing that; it looked so much better.

Rumor has it that, around the time digital film was first coming to theaters, someone had released a film format and projection system that could show a movie at 48 frames per second instead of 24, and only used 50% more film because it eliminated wasted space. I sure wish that had taken off.

Video gamers care about frame rates; they spend time and money to get Quake 3 to render at 80 frames per second. It's a shame moviegoers don't feel the same way.

can't sleep... clown'll eat me.

Having the eyesight I do, I'm often faced with humbling situations: bumming rides, asking for help reading things, asking to sit closer to televiison sets, and so forth.

Once in a while I would like to be a provider, someone who helps people instead of asking for help.

(no subject)

Remember Nintendo Power? My family subscribed to it for at least three years.

You would often see tips by expert players, and as I recall, they all said the same thing: "If you lose too many lives in the beginning, don't get frustrated and reset the game. Just keep playing through to the end."

Sadly, I never took that advice, unless I was in an arcade and wanted to get my quarter's worth. If I made some mistake in the first few seconds of a game, I'd always restart. Sometimes I'd miss a power-up early in the level, and I'd jump down a hole so I could restart the level. Never mind that I was constantly cheating myself out of the experience of making the occasional glorious comeback. That experience might have been useful.

(no subject)

You know LiveJournal Meetups?

well, mine was tonight. And only a few people RSVP'd. But I showed up. I waited inside the diner from about 7:50 to 8:30... enjoyed a nice meal.

Then I got home and checked and found out everyone was to gather in the outside seating area. duh.

The waitresses didn't know anything about Livejournal or Meetup; apparently nobody alerted the venue, or the venue didn't notify its staff... I couldn't see a sign or anything. I asked a few strangers, but got no leads.

The tuna melt was good, but now I am enduring a sugar crash from the butterscotch milkshake.