Chris's blog

I think that I came to the cell phone party a bit late. My brother held out much longer than I did and when I got my first mobile phone about 5 years ago he said, "you're one of those people now." At first I just used it for making phone calls, but then I wanted to use text messaging and I signed up for it. I was one of the first people to use it, because when I started using it, they were testing and they turned it on and I wasn't charged for it because it wasn't completely reliable yet. The first phone I had still works and it was simple, but the screen was black and white and it didn't really do Web browsing that well. It was a "bar" style phone, so it doesn't flip open or slide or do any other things like that. It just is. When I was able to upgrade I chose another Nokia phone and this one had a camera and a colour screen and an ok browser for the web. It was another "brick" style phone, but it was smaller than the previous one and all of the charging cables for the old phone still worked with it. I could send photos (or send links to photos, since my provider has things set up to keep you locked in) and check my mail and send text messages. That phone still works too and I found that I shifted to more text messages and even some blogging from it. Finally I upgraded just over a year ago to another Nokia phone (a 6275i) and it had a bigger and brighter screen, but was smaller yet again. The coolest things about it are that it can also record and play video and has a good Web browser.

The text messaging works great and with my increasing use of Twitter and Gmail on the phone, it was very nice. But after about 4 months the phone stopped working and it was sent out for repair. It was fixed and came back and it worked great for 4 months and then stopped working again. Off to Nokia again via the store and it came back again and I was very happy. Finally after 4 months the same thing happened again, which is the phone started up, but then would shut down. I called the store and I found out that the 1 year warranty had expired 2 days earlier. That's right, 2 days! They said that they couldn't do anything and I came to the horrible realization that I may have to buy a new phone, since I couldn't get out of my contract. They suggested that I may be able to talk with Nokia, so I called them. I didn't have to wait long and in talking with the guy at Nokia, I felt better already. I explained the situation and he said that it was likely that they would replace it. They would send a fax to the store and it would be returned. The only frustrating thing was that it took 3 days for the store to find the fax! It was easier to confirm with Nokia that the fax had been sent than to talk with the store. Today I checked on Nokia's site to see what the status was and I found out that it had been replaced and shipped back to the store and had arrived yesterday morning. When I called the store, it hadn't been entered into their inventory system, or shipped to the branch where I could pick it up. It may be until Wednesday before it actually shows up for me to pick up. The store did give me an older Samsung flip phone to use and it confirmed how well-designed the Nokia phones are. While I stopped thinking about how to send messages and surf the web on my 6275i, I was constantly frustrated with the flip phone. I couldn't turn off the annoying start-up and shut down sounds. I couldn't easily or quickly send a text message and I couldn't enter a URL to use the browser. Argh! No Gmail or checking out the nifty mobile Twitter site. It confirmed my admiration of Nokia's design and of their service as well. I think that I'll keep getting Nokia phones. Now if only the cell service providers would be better...

For my son John's birthday I ordered a Minimum Theremin kit from Harrison Instruments. I was inspired by seeing Bre Pettis make one in the Make Weekend Project Podcast. I came and over a  few days we soldered and assembled it.
It is pretty neat to get a printed circuit board and a bunch of parts and solder them together to create a unique musical instrument. In order to complete the project I bought a soldering iron and I was able to get a piece of sheet metal from my dad, who also made a wooden stand for it.
The kit has all of the parts nicely sorted into plastic baggies and is clearly labelled which made it quite easy to assemble. It's not a beginners kit, but I was patient and John and it only took a few hours to assemble since we took our time.
The Theremin is an odd instrument. You've probably heard one on the soundtrack of vintage sci-fi films or in the Beach Boys song, "Good Vibrations". The Minimum Theremin doesn't have the pitch and volume controls of a full, traditional Theremin, but only has the antenna for controlling the pitch. You stand in front of it and move your hand close to the antenna. The closer you get, the higher the pitch. I need to practise with it to get better and John is a bit better than me. At the end of this post is a 47 second recording of me playing (I just plugged the Theremin into my MacBook Pro and recorded it). I want to build some more stuff now!

It's hard to believe that this Vox thing started a year ago. While I haven't posted frequently over the last while, I'm still glad that I joined and I like how easy it is to post and share things with the world, my neighborhood and friends. Congratulations Vox on a great first year!

Audio: Share your favorite song from this summer.

Tracing the series of events that lead to things can be interesting.
A few years ago someone studied Screen Arts and I found out that they had kids and that her partner was a musician. I was able to listen to his music and Catherine made a cool music video for one of the songs as well.

She stayed in touch with me and let me know about the launch of the new CD with the new combo which is Fresia and the Offsprings with Eric Fresia and two of their kids, Charlotte and Samuel.
The timing was perfect as it was happening just as my summer vacation was starting, so my son John and I would have our first summer adventure at the CD launch. There were camping facilities available, so I packed up the tent and our sleeping bags so we could set them up if we decided to stay. The weather was calling for rain, so I wasn't sure if we'd camp or not.
We started out after lunch and got a coffee and ginger beer for the trip up. We stopped for gas in Truro and I thought that I'd refill the windshield washer fluid. The gas wasn't a problem, but the hood wouldn't open. I became quite focussed on opening the hood, and it eventually opened. After the fluid was filled, I dropped the hood down and it didn't latch. Hmm. I hadn't thought through the whole process, so now the hood wouldn't stay down. It looked like the wire that releases the latch was broken, so I cleaned around the latch (it was covered with some dirt) and eventually managed to get it to stay and we were back on the road again.
It rained on and off for the rest of the journey, so I figured that we wouldn't set up the tent. The Bussiere - Fresia homestead is in the community of Beckwith, which is just outside of the blueberry capital of Canada, Oxford, Nova Scotia. We sailed through Oxford and drove down the very muddy driveway to find a beautiful house, studio, greenhouse, outdoor stage, sauna, pond and outhouses. While it was too rainy and damp for the outdoor stage to be used, the instruments and speakers were set up in the studio, which was very cozy.
The band started to play as everyone gathered in the studio and they went through the songs on the CD mostly in order. It was great and most people were smiling the whole time. It rained very hard outside, but as the first set ended, the rain did as well. Then after a break where people chatted, kids played, swam, and warmed up in the sauna, the fire was started to make sure that there would be a bed of coals after the second set for cooking hot dogs and marshmallows.
The second set was shorter and had some covers and then the kids got bored and Charlotte slipped out to play. Sam then left to kick the soccer ball around and Eric did a few more songs with some assistance from the audience. Then John got up and performed a few magic tricks. It was his first time in front of a microphone and he took to it like a duck to water. His patter had the audience laughing and paying attention to his skillful prestidigitation. I was very proud and I think that he got a kick out of it too.
Now it was time to roast marshmallows and have great conversations into the night. Eventually it was time to hit the road for the trip home and with a bit of light rain falling we popped the CD in and made the journey home. John was very tired and was asleep before the CD hit the halfway point.
The trip home was uneventful except for a raccoon that crossed the road, but I saw it soon enough to slow down and avoid it. We pulled in with everyone else in the house asleep and I tucked John into bed and then slid into bed myself and fell asleep right away. All in all it was the perfect way to start the summer.

This is the time of year that I always get retrospective and a bit mushy as another group of the people that I help to learn about filmmaking are about to graduate. No more classes and just filing and wrapping things up from the past year and getting ready for the upcoming term. The other big thing is the end of year Applied Arts show that happens on the evening of the convocation ceremony (we wear gowns and fill a big theatre as everyone graduates).

Each program gets to show off the work of graduating learners, so it's filled with all sorts of neat visual stuff and sound and moving images. The last few years the graduating Screen Arts classes have built and dressed sets that highlight some of the skills that they've gained. It's a lot of fun and it's a great party.
A few days ago we had an awards night where graduates are given awards. We usually are at the beginning (Applied Arts shows up at the top alphabetically), so we slip out with our winners and go for a drink which is a lot of fun. This year someone said that they remembered something I told them in class two years ago when they started and as I drove home I thought again about the privilege it is to teach and spend time with interesting people every day.
I quickly did the math and figured out that over the two years of the program each person spends 65 weeks going to school. There is no choice in the program and each person spends all that time with the people that they started with (20 people each year). So I'll see them a few times each of those 65 weeks, so you end up knowing them fairly well, so seeing them go out into the world is always a bit emotional.
What I've realized over the past few years is that it's just the beginning as many people stay in touch and come back to visit. Time flies by so fast and I can't remember when people have graduated as it seems like only yesterday. I love filmmaking and it's great to be able to share that feeling and help other people share their stories. Filmmaking is one of the most powerful of the media arts, so I think that I'm helping people to change the world. I get paid to help people change the world and how cool is that?

Show us what wakes you up in the morning. 
Submitted by Rob.

1. If you're out shopping and hear a baby cry, what's your first thought?
Babies. A bit of a nice sigh as I remember when my kids were babies and then it's just there.

2. Are the passengers in your car required to buckle their seat belts regardless of age?
Everyone has to buckle their seat belts. It's safer that way.

3. Do you ever feel the need to clean/straighten your loved ones? With your own spit?
I will clean them a bit, but usually I will point it out. Very rarely will I use spit to clean them.

4. Some people are described as having "a face only a mother could love." What people or things in your life do you love unconditionally?
My lovely wife, my lovely kids, my amazing mom and dad, my brother, my sister, and my dog.

5. In what ways are you like your mother? What habits, catch phrases, and tricks have you picked up from her?
I love helping people and I have lots of empathy for others.

Questions from Five on Fridays