Last week I took a break from technology. I’ve been almost overwhelmed at work on phase two of a project for converting our New World Center (an educational music facility for the arts) on Miami Beach from HD to 4K video. Besides the myriad of different 4K video varieties, I’m also tasked with building a new tech core within the facility. Cooling this new room and keeping it “quiet” is pretty difficult in an environment where technology must remain “invisible” in every way. On top of learning 4K video, I’m also starting to educate myself on 8K video. And, oh, yes, you actually can see a difference. And add in HDR (Higher Dynamic Range), and it’s a pretty sweet picture. So last week’s OTBP was intentionally “non-tech.”
This week … back to norm with a mix of technology and odd stuff.
Some Great Minds
There’s a new movie out called “Hidden Figures.” It’s based on a true story about a team of African-American women mathematicians who made a significant contribution to NASA’s first successful space missions. It’s a great movie. Here’s the real story from Scientific American.
Virtual Reality
Recently, the Discovery Channel paid a visit to New World Symphony to record a rehearsal for their virtual reality program available through the internet (free). You can manipulate what you see, and with the right VR headgear, you can “be a part of it.” If you’re interested in how they do it, basically they have five or six GoPro cameras in a rig at different angles. The rig has wide-angle lenses attached to it which cover the GoPro lenses. That maximizes the view.
Titanic Again?
Now, you’d think that after the lack of luck the original Titanic had, no one would consider trying it again, but you’d be wrong. A replica of the Titanic is under construction and set to launch in 2018. If you decide to take that cruise, let me know how it turns out for you.
M*A*S*H
On the less technical side, many of us spent a lot of hours watching M*A*S*H* on TV. If you’ve never heard of M*A*S*H skip the link (and maybe find a rerun on TV and check it out). This link is to some interesting lesser known facts about the show and people. For instance, Alan Alda and Jamie Farr actually had real military experience prior to the series. Both actually served in post-war Korea (and Farr’s dog tags in the TV show were his actual dog tags from the Army).
All Things Movies (and TV)
One of my all-time favorite sites is truly the online encyclopedia of all things related to movies and TV shows. The web site is IMDb, or the Internet Movie Database. I can’t imagine everyone doesn’t know about this site, but if you don’t … you do now. Practically every movie and TV show, along with every actor and the production crew, writers, directors, etc. are all listed here. It’s incredibly complete (and addictive).
And finally …
A link for the very, VERY challenged engineer. Sadly, if you need to use this converter, you might want to consider a different field.
If you stumble across a good or unusual web site that might be of interest, please don’t hesitate to send me the link and any info you might have about it. My email address is [email protected].
