Guaranteed Original
To be honest, I rarely post something unless I believe it’s possibly the first time anyone’s ever written about it, or from that particular perspective. So it’s possible that almost every original article and comedy post on my Rainy Day site is unique in all the webosphere. You’re welcome to make your own comparisons.
There are some, however, that really stand out. If you’re looking for something fresh and new, spend a while on this page.
These should turn your head around:
Who Killed JFK, Jr.?
Beautiful Camp Elmwood
Life On Other Worlds: By The Numbers
Want to play the paranoia game? While you’re complacently sitting there thinking the biggest governmental or regulatory threat to your life is the increase in prices from the cap-and-trade energy bill, a far greater threat to our actual civil liberties is emerging from the shadows:
"Do These Genes Make Me Look Fat?"
How about a little political slant? I think I can honestly say there’s never been anything quite like my first ‘NCIS’ post:
NCIS: A Moment Beyond Measure
If you read the blogger TigerHawk, you’ll appreciate this:
A Tiger’s Tale
If you’re a fan of Michael Crichton, check this out:
The Michael Crichton Challenge
For two fun you-are-there stories, try out:
Colorado Travelogue
Treasure Hunting With A Metal Detector
Are you a cat or dog lover? Then don’t read this:
The Challenge
While the Art Gallery, itself, is pretty cool, some of the original pictorials have a fresh slant:
Geography Quiz
Public Service Announcement
Considerate Husbands
The Greatest Gifts
And while I wouldn’t claim my collection of web videos is any better than the next, I can guarantee you’ve never seen anything quite like Doc’s Bag O’ Clips.
On the subject of video, I’ve just finished the most interesting how-to site. Half of it deals with the fabulous video production studio, VideoStudio, my personal fave. It’s a very easy 1-2-3 program to use and can turn out video in a variety of flavors; online, computer or disc.
The thing is, most of the highest quality TV shows being posted on the Internet these days are in either ‘raw’ or ‘renegade’ formats that regular video programs like VideoStudio can’t import.
The problem is that getting these hi-def VOB or TS or H264 or MKV files into a format VideoStudio can handle — and retain the hi-def quality — is no simple task. It usually involves ‘demuxing’ and ‘frameserving’ and ‘transcoding’ and ‘codecs’ and other fun video-type things that would normally take forever and a day to learn.
The good news is, with someone who knows how to write guides clearly (that would be me) and someone who installs the correct programs (that would be you), there shouldn’t be any problem wrangling some wayward format into shape no matter what it is.
And what makes the site unique is that your video education progresses at a slow, natural pace. Suddenly, an MKV shows up out of nowhere. VideoStudio won’t load it. So you run it through the demuxing/rendering process and learn a few new terms, like "demuxing" and "rendering". The next time, it’s a TS file that needs attention, and this time you learn what "frameserving" and "bitrates" mean.
And all of the small, specialized programs are included, so you’ll have an arsenal that can handle whatever the ‘Net can throw at you.
