This video was made from footage I shot at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The video features sharks, prawns, rays, a flounder and some other fish. Music is by The Gorskys.

In this video blog, I talk about my new drug, Prozac. I actually recorded the video a couple weeks ago, but everything’s still pretty relevant. This is the second video I’ve edited using Final Cut Pro 5. I’m starting to get the hang of the software, and i think you’ll see the results here.

(Music in this video is by Darcy Fray.)

Last year, I posted a YouTube video response to the infamous “Drama Prairie Dog” clip:

I recently launched a new YouTube channel, and took down all of my old YouTube videos. (Those videos are still available here.) I didn’t want “Drama Cockatiel” to disappear, though. So I cut a new version of the video using Final Cut Pro (still have a lot to learn about that program). In the new clip, I tried to address the most frequent comment I received about the original video: “Where’s the zoom-in at the end?”
Read on …

Yesterday evening, Jen told me about a notice she saw posted to YouTube. The bulletin stated that a vlogger, commonly known as “theboringdispatcher” had recently passed away. I was surprised to hear that, and decided to investigate. Turns out, according to this video, this video and this video, the news is indeed true.

I didn’t know Roger (the man behind theboringdispatcher videos) personally. I had only a few brief exchanges with him through the YouTube site. But I was a fan of his videos. I found him to be a kind of kindred spirit, as he was working third shift as a tow-truck dispatcher, and when I first discovered his videos, I was working third shift at the answering service (and occasionally had to dispatch a few tow trucks of my own). To me, the pinnacle of Roger’s creations was a video with the simple title of “breakfast.” Unfortunately, the video is no longer available. But in the video, Roger shared his breakfast order with us, as he sat at a local diner, and then closed the video out with sped-up footage of himself, eating, with Nirvana’s “Pennyroyal Tea” in the background. I know that’s a lousy description of the video. But something about it really hit me. It made me realize just how lonely this guy was in his life, and well, that’s something I could relate to. I posted my first YouTube video as a reply to Roger’s “breakfast” video. He was even kind enough to leave a comment to my video: “breakfast burrito for the win.”

Even though he had a reputation for leading a less-than-healthy lifestyle, it was actually a combination of meningitis and pneumonia that took down The Dispatcher. In the months preceding his death, he had stopped participating in video sites like YouTube. Not because he was drawing inward, due to the aforementioned loneliness. But because he was dating and actually getting a life outside of the Internet. His friends and family report that, overall, he was happy in love and life at the time of his death. I can’t think of any better way to go.

As an aside, I’m a bit surprised at myself at how much this news has affected me. As I stated above, I had no “real life” connection to Roger. But his death truly saddens me, just the same as if anyone else I knew had passed away. I guess this whole Internet thing isn’t as cold and mechanical as we all thought. Anyway, thanks for being a cool and inspiring guy, ‘Spatch. You’ll definitely be missed.

This video is a sequel to my Mac Mini upgrade part 1 audio podcast. In the video, I document the process of upgrading the RAM in my Mac Mini. These sites were very helpful in demonstrating the upgrade process:

• Methodshop Mac Mini RAM Upgrade Tutorial
• OWC Mac Mini upgrade video
• Savygeek’s Mac Mini upgrade videos: part 1 and part 2

This is also my eighteenth podcast for NaPodPoMo.

(Video also available through Vimeo.)