Archive for ‘video’

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December 20, 2011

Learn Bar Tending: Dark Rum & Eggnog

by Jamie Insalaco

eggnog-dark-rum-nutmeg

Sometimes, someone I know will read something on the site and let me know that I’m doing it wrong.  For example, Nurse Becky (a friend I’ve known since the mid 90s) immediately took me to task for Learn Bar Tending: Whiskey & Egg Nog, and rather than pointing out that eggnog is one word, she got right to the point and reminded me that it’s nutmeg (not cinnamon) that you want to add to eggnog.

This is a new feature we’re going to have here on the site where NB makes it clear I fucked up, and it’s called Nurse Becky Explains.

nurse-becky-explains

NB recommends you combine eggnog, dark rum and nutmeg rather than my own concoction of eggnog, whiskey and cinnamon, and given that I’m no kitchen or bar tending wiz, I say go with her recommendation.

More Learn Bar Tending at creativejamie.com/category/learn-bar-tending/

More Christmas at creativejamie.com/category/christmas/

More Nurse Becky Explains at creativejamie.com/category/nurse-becky-explains/

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December 17, 2011

How Stupid Are We?

by Jamie Insalaco

Just wanted to drop a quick rant about warning labels that caution us against obvious dangers – I think the “disconnect from power supply circuit before servicing” is the one I run into the most and the warning I think is the least necessary.  The warning about coffee being hot is silly, but people aren’t professional coffee drinkers the way someone would be a technician who’s sole job is to service electronic devices – meaning this professional is probably well aware of the risk of electric shock and they most likely flip the bird at the warning label every time they see it because they’ve already flipped the circuit breaker before they even get in the room with the device.

youtube-logo

More Vidoes at creativejamie.com/category/video/

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November 8, 2011

Learn Bar Tending: Whiskey & Egg Nog

by Jamie Insalaco

I am the worst bartender ever.  But, here’s the deal:

I like to mix whiskey and egg nog… and it’s that easy.  Drop some whiskey in a glass and cover it with egg nog.  I used to think that mixed drinks meant half alcohol, half other ingredients, but fortunately, I’ve learned that it’s usually just 1 shot of alcohol and fill the rest of the glass with the other ingredient(s), so now when people come by for a drink, they don’t immediately pass out.   Yeah, back in the day, I would take a 12 ounce glass and fill it with half rum, half coke and just hand it to some one like that’s what it was supposed to be, and if you couldn’t handle, I would say, “Psh, you’re a light weight.”  Little did I know I was killing people’s livers.

Anyway, I recommend the following materials for an egg nog and whiskey mixer:

  • 1 juice glass
  • silk nog (or egg nog, whatever)
  • the cheapest whiskey you can find
    • I recommend at least one shot of whiskey, but one and a half shots is probably the right amount – add to taste.
  • a sprinkle (don’t go crazy) of cinnamon is also a good idea, but you need to mix that in thoroughly

That’s it – it’s that easy.  Drink up, drink responsibly, and Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy Whatever.

More Learn Bar Tending at creativejamie.com/category/learn-bar-tending/

More Christmas at creativejamie.com/category/christmas/

More Vidoes at creativejamie.com/category/video/

Posted in christmas, Learn Bar Tending, vegan stuff, video | 7 Comments »

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September 1, 2011

Siberian Husky Goes Bonkers

by Jamie Insalaco

I shot this quick video with my Samsung Infuse 4G. This time, I uploaded the video directly to YouTube from my phone as opposed to the last video I shot with this my phone’s video camera, which I imported to my PC and then into Adobe Premier and finally uploaded to YouTube. I tend to not favor these sort of pointless videos, but it’s short in length and it’s fun to watch Conny run around like a crazy man – not to mention that this was a test I was interested to see the results of and will settle the question of whether or not I need editing software on my phone.

(Wow – video editing software on a cell phone. Things have changed since Zack Morris’ cell phone on Saved by the Bell!)

Posted in Dogs, video | 1 Comment »

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August 23, 2011

Dogs Playing in the Backyard – Samsung Infuse 4G Video Camera Test

by Jamie Insalaco
NOTE:  When I edited this, I screwed up the resolution.  This video is a much better example of the Infuse 4G’s video capabilities.

This video was taken with my Samsung Infuse 4G.  I thought I’d be able to do some simple edits in Windows Movie Maker, but no such luck – WMM can’t import .mp4 files.  There are conversion programs, but when you’re dealing with video editing software as primitive as WMM, why bother?

In any case, I have to say that I’m impressed with the video quality.  Sure, it’s not amazing, but for a cell phone, it’s pretty nice.  There are some manual controls and some automatic white balance controls that rivals some presets I’ve had available to me on some old camcorders.

Since I got this phone, people keep asking me if I like it, and I can’t really answer that question.  The Samsung Infuse 4G is my first smart phone, so I don’t really have any frame of reference to do a comparison with.  What I can say is it does everything I want it to do:  takes pictures (has a flash), takes video (max setting is 1280 x 720), works as a video/MP3 player and has external storage as well as internal storage.  I thought I would have trouble adjusting to typing on a touch screen, but it’s a lot easier to get used to then I thought it would be.

In any case, the video camera works well and has more manual controls then I would expect for a camera phone, but I don’t have any idea how well it stacks up against the competition.

Posted in Dogs, video | 3 Comments »

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August 18, 2011

Learn Bartending: Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster cocktail

by Jamie Insalaco

My buddy George dropped by to put on a cocktail making clinic and share his own modification to a Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters recipe he found somewhere on this thingy the kids call the inter-web.  The Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters cocktail is an amusing little drink that is worthy of any warm evening.  To further amuse your friends at parties (trust me, after a few of these bad boys, it’ll be easy), you can explain that this drink traces its origins back to the novel, A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which describes it as the best drink in the universe.  As far as drinks go, it’s a sweet one – I guess it’s a cocktail…  I understand that a cocktail is any alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients…  whatever.  Here is his recipe:

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

  • drinking-with-george-empty-beer-bottle1 small juice glass
  • 1 shot glass
  • ice cubes
  • flavored vodka (citrus or mango is recommended)
  • triple sec
  • orange soda
  • pineapple juice


DIRECTIONS:

Combine 1 to 2 shots of flavored vodka (to taste; 1 and a half shots is recommended) and 1 shot of triple sec in a small juice glass.  Fill the reminder of the glass (to desired level) with pineapple juice and add a dash of orange soda.  Drop in 1 or 2 ice cubes.  Enjoy responsibly.

DISCLAIMER:
Neither CreativeJamie.com nor George claims ownership of the recipe, the name ‘Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters’ or responsibility if you act a damn fool while mangled on Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
This video was filmed with my Canon VIXIA HF M300 and edited with Adobe Premier CS 4.  I used the on-board mic rather than my external and I also chose the wrong auto white balance setting, so things are a bit more on the sepia side than I would prefer.  The mic issue didn’t end up being a big deal since this is a digital camera and doesn’t have a tape turning, so the camera noise is minimal, if any at all.  Also, this is my camera work at its worst…  Next time, I’m going to set up a monitor rather than relying on the tiny display on the camera, but really, I chose a poor primary angle and setup that main shot poorly.  I also could have used some back light.  Oh well – I learned a lot and next time, I think you’ll see significant improvement.

More Learn Bar Tending at creativejamie.com/category/learn-bar-tending/

More Vidoes at creativejamie.com/category/video/

More Drinking with George at creativejamie.com/category/drinking-with-george/

Posted in Drinking with George, Learn Bar Tending, video | 3 Comments »

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February 7, 2011

Dogs in the Snow video

by Jamie Insalaco

Welcome to my first video offering, Dogs in the Snow.  Here, you’ll get a simple glimpse of my Golden Retriever and Siberian Husky playing in the snow.  Not much going on here – just a few tiny edits.

I shot this on my new Canon VIXIA HF M300.  It’s incredible how tiny this camera is and the results speak for themselves.  It has pretty much everything I could want in a camcorder – it’s light weight, mic input, video light, camera flash, headphone jack – it’s pretty sweet.  This was a generous gift from my sister and brother in law.  I edited this with the software it came with (if you can call that editing), and it’s clear that the PIXELA Image Mixer software is just not up to the challenge – if you’re used to Final Cut or Adobe Premier, the primitive controls and pathetic playback abilities will make you nuts in moments.  I don’t know what I expected for free software that came with the camera, but it sucks.

This is also my first upload to YouTube – it was pretty easy.  However, if you can edit the description after you post the video, I haven’t figured out how.  Anyway, there’s more to videos to come!

Posted in Dogs, video | 1 Comment »

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