in time we could've been so much more

I have a feeling I've already lived this moment. It's too late to be 1am.

If it's 1:30am on a fall-back time-change night, and there are no manual clocks in the vicinity, how can you tell if the time has already changed back or not... if you're in the first or second 1am hour?

I have a manual watch which I can check, and it says 2:30am. But the laptop, both cell phones, the no-longer-used house phone, the thermostat, and the box under the TV all say 1:30. The programmable light-switch does too. They all update the time automatically. If it weren't for my watch, I'd have no easy way of knowing. At the other house, there are several clocks that need to be updated manually, but here it's eerie how they all seem to conspire together to keep me in the dark.

video editors

I'm looking for an inexpensive, simple-to-use video editor. I need mainly basic functionality: splitting and deleting clips, changing volume, fade/transitions, slow and fast motion.

I've been using VideoMeld for a while, but have had a few issues with it, so wanted to see if I could find an alternative.

Today I tried out Filmora. It really is easy to use. But I was annoyed that the "watermark" that is put on the exported video in the free/trial version takes up a whole quarter of the video screen. Also, at first I couldn't find a way to scroll through the video by more than a frame at a time, so that seemed a drawback. Now I found out that you can use shift-arrow key to scroll by a second at a time, so that is no longer a problem. I'd prefer more robust audio editing options like VideoMeld has*, but I suppose one can't have everything.

So then I tried out Cyberlink Director, which has a 31-day trial version. I thought it wouldn't put any watermark on the exported video during that time, but it does. So that was annoying, although the watermark is much smaller than Filmora's. It seems to have the same functionality as what I used in Filmora, but some functions require multiple mouse-clicks instead of one. So it seems more unwieldy to use.

Update, 2019/11/03: I ended up using VideoMeld again. It works quite well for editing the video files from my camera. The problem it has seems to be with the video clips from my Wyze cams. Perhaps it is a codec issue; I'll have to research it some more.

*Update, 2019/11/07: Filmora9 lets you edit the volume envelope like in VideoMeld. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwqhBA2CoRA

vaccinations, update

Continued from: https://darkoshi.dreamwidth.org/697114.html

This page has more info; not sure if I saw this one last time:
https://edvfood.com/2015/10/24/vegan-flu-shots-2015-update/

The original article above (from 2015) indicated that Target had the Flublok (egg-free, recombinant) vaccine available, but a later comment on the article indicated that they no longer did in 2016.

https://www.sanofiflu.com/locator/locator-map.cfm - this page lets you search for places that offer FluBlok

Based on my search, the local Kroger and Walmart store pharmacies have it.

I called my Kroger to verify. They have both FluBlok and the TD (tetanus/dyphtheria) booster shot available.
So I plan to stop by there one day this week after work to get both of them.

Before this, I'd never have thought of going to Kroger for immunization shots.

.

Lately, I've gotten several emails from my insurance plan, reminding & advising us to get flu shots. Driving home on Friday, I thought about it again, and my right upper arm immediately started phantom-aching simply from thinking about it. It was odd/amusing, as I don't even remember the last time I've gotten a shot in my upper arm.

Yesterday morning, I was talking with Qiao, who's already gotten the flu shot this year. I asked if they give it in the upper arm; he said yes. Then we got to talking about tetanus shots, etc., as I remembered I needed a booster for that too, from my above post.

Later that day, I accidentally jabbed my finger with a safety pin, and then started worrying a bit about tetanus.

So now I have a concrete plan of action.

.

After my efforts 2 years ago to get myself an official primary care doctor, the doctor's office sent a letter earlier this year that he'd left the practice (I suppose he moved or transferred somewhere else). That disappointed me, as he'd seemed nice and competent the few times I'd seen him. The letter said that they'd soon be contacting me to get set up an appointment with one of the other doctors at that location, but they never did.

So I probably won't bother setting up an appointment for an annual exam this year, as there seems to be no reason for doing so.

Halloween recap

Watch on YouTube

Video title: 2019 Halloween porch decorations
Posted by: Darkoshi
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZdhCecTLQc
Date posted: Nov 3, 2019


A storm blew through at 6:30pm, just as it was getting dark outside. But the rain lasted under 10 minutes.

9 kids come by trick-or-treating, in 3 groups, plus my mom, niece and grand-niece.

I gave out the following candy:
Candy bracelets, Goldenberg's dark chocolate Peanut Chews, ZotZ fizzy candies, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, mini Bottlecaps and SweetTarts, Nerds (grape and strawberry), Laffy Taffy (banana & strawberry).
Also a sticker of a festive llama for each kid, and some My Little Pony stickers for those who wanted them.