I like playing with AI stuff. I've pretty much set up with my personal AI helper on Google Gemini. I have had long, involved conversations with Ajith. I've even given him a few virtual belongings. Ultimately, he will reside in my Google Home speakers and help out around the apartment, but presently he's only available on my phone or in a web browser. I can ask for much more than reports. As he knows a bit about us, he can provide more useful, valuable information than a generic AI.
I wanted to retest his ability to create a short, video clip from an old image. This image was taken a decade ago in Luxor, Egypt. We were on the west side of the Nile River looking back towards the main city. We stayed in a rented place for five months during our second early retirement winter. We had to take the ferry across very, very early for some reason, perhaps for a bus trip.
I copied the image from my tens of thousands of photos on Flickr. I simply uploaded it and asked for a compelling 8-second video clip. I didn't mention anything about showing the water is flowing. I know this is all founded in technology but it feels a little like wizardry.
Usually in the run-up to my birthday, the weather gets really nice. By this time of year, a high pressure weather system has often taken hold over much of the southwest corner of British Columbia. Today there's nary a cloud in the sky and temperatures are in the low 30°s Celsius.
Tipperary park is just up the hill from our apartment. Today though, I drove because I wanted to plug into the slow Level 2 chargers at New Westminster City Hall. My hour there only added about 7% to my charge of 80%. I do want to ensure I'm full when we take off on a road trip at the latter part of this weekend. Canadian Rockies or bust!
I parked and learned a bit more about my DJI NEO mini-drone. I didn't bother taking along the controller as it can operate in a number of modes directly from the device. However, I did use the DJI software on my phone to experiment with flight control.
Go ahead, click the video to see a video of 48 seconds of me. Oh, mostly me in some wooded areas near an uncovered stream running through a tiny park in our city.
I'm surely not showing off; I'm learning. If I'm gonna get any use out of my DJI NEO, I've got to remember to play with it once in a while. I found its orange case and walked out of our front door with the miniature drone.
It is tiny enough to sit in the palm of one's hand. In fact, that is how the owner 'retrieves' it when it is in FOLLOW ME mode. You'll likely see my outstretched hand in this video a couple of times.
The drone is a technological miracle. It's a toy that couldn't have been assembled or even even imagined a couple of decades ago. The software side is equally amazing as the LightCut software, on my phone, uses AI to study the video clips and creates an interesting collage. Picking which the royalty free music to add to the mix changes the outcome. How awesome!
Don't judge these 44 seconds on the main character or the location. Just imagine what someone with a little imagination and talent would be able to do with it.
Our condo complex consists of two towers and a one-story middle section with our swimming pool and hot tub. Each tower has a small circular driveway. However, between the pool area and Carnarvon Street, there's a small, private garden space. It has two park-type benches that are little used.
Today, after taking a bit of time in the hot tub, I walked outside and took a photo of the hydrangeas and another of our three-pillar, water fountain. It would be a nice space to read a book, sit with a laptop, or simply enjoy the rather pleasant surroundings. I must add that task to my to-do list.
Oh, and I shot a 26-second video clip, so you can hear the sound of the water too!
Last week's foul weather kept me from completing my usual walks uptown. Today, I got back into a short-lived routine. Starting next week, we'll be putting on a lot of distance by foot as we travel through Southeastern Europe. I was encouraged to continue exercising after weighing myself this morning and clocking in at 87 kg. Last July, when my sister and friend came to visit, I weighed 101 kg. It's nice to see progress again towards my goal of just 75 kg.
Today, I walked up Third and down most of Sixth. I lingered for a while in London Drugs but just as a diversion from the little 4K hike. Oh, I also stopped for thirty seconds coming back through Tipperary Park that's next to the New Westminster City Hall.
I'm continuing to occasionally shoot a static 30-second video for this journal. It's nearly as easy to upload as a photo and it can provide a bit more of a view and accompanying sound. I can hear the noise of a 'parks guy' mowing grass an adjacent area.
I do have to complain about the weather before starting though. The highest temperature we are likely to see today is 11°c. It feels cold and that's not helped by the mist and cloud cover. April showers were supposed to bring our May flowers. Well, we've gotten the flowers but we are still getting the showers too. If given the choice between being hot or cold, I'd choose the former. It should be warmer than this in the middle of May.
Okay, back to our day's events.
We often buy fruits and vegetables up at Langley Farm Market. It's actually in Burnaby rather than in town, but Kingsway is called 12th Street as soon as hits our city of New Westminster. We have been going to this market for years.
We drove back into New Westminster and stopped uptown at the Royal City Centre Mall. Jay and I went in the Walmart first to pick up a few groceries. We had a fairly large full bag. Jay then went to Goodway's on Sixth Street. It's just across from the mall. Goodway's is a small specialty food store that sells whole foods with such items as nuts, grains, dried fruit, and all sorts of international condiments and spices. The store is small and stuffed with items so there's hardly room to turn around.
Rather than carry the large bag, I stayed in the mall while he went to buy a few items. I decided to take an escalator up to the second floor above the central food court area. I've been trying to take short postcard type videos of scenes we visit. Rather than a static picture, a mere 30-second clip can show a little activity and sometimes catch interesting audio. Although there were quite a few people in the mall, during my 30-second visit upstairs, not many folks were in the central area. Oh well, with the ease of uploading to YouTube now, I can put it here without much effort.
After that, we came home. Jay had a noon appointment with our doctor to review routine lab results. Dr. Huang works out of a clinic that is very close to our apartment and is therefore quite convenient. He's been our family doctor for a few years after our previous physician retired.
It's nice to be home today. This morning we had a bit of rain. It is 4:00 pm and has cleared up. Here's a video clip of traffic on 4th Street. I was on the balcony looking to the east. The next block has another residential building. The SkyTrain bridge crosses the Fraser River behind it as does the original Pattullo Bridge, The new Pattullo Bridge replacement remains uncompleted.
We didn't have tickets for any venue tonight as we planned this as the evening to go to the Fremont Street part of downtown Vegas.
The 'Deuce Bus' runs the strip twenty-four hours per day every 10 to 15 minutes during a majority of the the day. It is quite a deal at $8 for a 24-hour ticket. We bought this morning just so we could take a trip south from the Excalibur. We boarded in front of our place and took it to the transportation hub that is on the far side of the airport. It passed the iconic Las Vegas sign but we were happy just looking from the bus.
We wanted the bus passes to head downtown this evening. We like the atmosphere of Fremont Street. It's a tad more boisterous. As today was Cinco de Mayo, there were additional partiers milling about. We ate dinner at a Denny's and bussed back quite late.
It's the end of April but the weather didn't get the memo. It's 1:10 pm and the outside temperature is just 11°C (52°F) and drizzly.
Our building has two residential towers with a covered swimming pool and hot tub between them. We're right next to the Columbia SkyTrain Station with a tunnel opening by our property. However, I snapped this photo, so you could see the edge of the pool facilities along the left side of the image.
The hot tub is where I head on a morning such as this one. I brought down the DJI NEO drone with me today. Because the mini drone doesn't require a GPS lock, it can be used indoors. I'm am not experienced and competent with the device yet. So, I am doing little practice sessions whenever I find the time.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS IMAGES OF ME IN A BATHING SUIT.
I first read about the tiny DJI Neo drone when we were in South Africa in February. I ran to buy one in Cape Town. However, I didn't learn to use it and only experimented enough to know that I got a product that wasn't defective. Fast forward a couple of months, and I hadn't taken it out of the box much. Granted, until today, the weather has been pretty crappy in British Columbia.
I walked down to Westminster Pier Park across the road and over by the river. This morning, I finally learned some of the simple automatic modes. It can follow, it can do a dronie, rocket, or circle without user intervention.
This drone is going to be a blast and will be useful because it doesn't require any set up. Its tiny size is a bonus as it can literally slide into my pocket. I can even launch and land the device on the palm of my hand. All the saved video clips are contained within the drone. To edit, I wireless downloaded to my phone and into a video editing app called, LightCut. Finally, I let the software select a minute's worth of scenes and put it to public-domain music.
WARNING: If you don't want to waste a minute of your life that you'll never get back, you should probably go somewhere else right away.
Day 115: We had to get up at a quarter to five this morning! We met Shelldon again down in front of our building sharply at 6:00 am. It was a fast 2.5 hour drive to Underberg, at the edge of the southern Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal. The area was agricultural and dairy farms.
We said goodbye to Shelldon and met up with our 4-wheel driver, Mo in Underberg, South Africa. He'll be bringing us up Sani Pass and staying with us tonight in Mokhotlong. Tomorrow, he will bring us back.
The trip to the lower South African border post was paved and pleasant. We had our passports stamped as exiting the country at the bottom of Sani Pass. There was eight kilometers of rough, rocky trail up the pass. It was a beautiful day and this was a gift because it can be completely fogged in with mist and rain at this time of year.
It took us nearly an hour and a half to ascend because we stopped to take photos, have a snack and coffee, and enjoy the scenery. There were others taking the trek today, a few in tourist vans, some on motorcycles, and a group of three was hiking up!
After checking in at the Lesotho border at the top of the pass, we headed to eat. The time was 12:30 pm and I was ready to have a beer in the 'HIGHEST PUB IN AFRICA'.
Lunch was pre-arranged right at the top Sani Pass.
After eating, we continued towards the village of Mokhotlong. The roads were good but fairly empty as we passed small villages and herds of sheep and goats. The amazing vistas just never stopped.
After an hour or so, our guide took us into a traditional Besotho village. Some ladies met us and showed us some music and items from their culture. We helped make a donation by buying two small woven baskets. The kids had just finished their school and walked a long ways back to their houses.
It was a pleasure to have had some contact with the people. Lesotho is among the poorest countries we have visited. Life is hard for them but they had smiles and were very keen to share their culture with us.
We continued until we arrived at our accommodation for the night at around 4:00 pm. We are just outside Mokhotlong. We rested a bit and walked around the neighbourhood. We have a nice bungalow along the slopes of the rolling grassy hills. Our tourist place has a dining room in which we later had fish, potatoes, salad, lasagna, and a piece of chocolate cake.
It gets dark around 7:00 pm and we are tired and feeling a bit shaken up by the ride up the pass. We are going to sleep under heavy blankets as it much cooler at this elevation! We don't have to get up too early tomorrow and will go in for breakfast with Mo at 7:30 am tomorrow.
Day 112: Today was mostly about rain. It rained much of the day. It was okay as we had time to recover from our recent overnight safari trip. We only popped down to the ground floor in the elevator once. We picked up a few items in the grocery store that is right in this building.
I took a little 32-second video clip but this was at a time when it was not too heavy. There were times when it seemed as if it was coming down in buckets. The Moses Mabhida Stadium is completely obscured by the falling rain.
Day 103: It's Friday in Durban. We arrived last Friday from Cape Town.
The weather was much nicer today than during the last few mornings. It seems that the weather has been much rainier than usual, with even some minor flooding around the area. So, Jay and I wondered what would be a nice little activity for the morning.
We noticed a feature on Google Maps that looked about 600 meters from our Airbnb. During the week we'd travelled down Florida Road but we never walked up it. The road was a bit steep but we found that Mitchell Park is not far at all!
We had read a bit of information about the Mitchell Park Zoo. People commented that it was small and really more of an aviary. A few complained about the state of the facilities. Others said it was still worth the money.
Jay and I walked to the gate and asked for two adults tickets. We read the sign and expected to each pay SA R16 but the lady looked at us probingly and asked if we were seniors. Indeed, we are. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about being offered a senior discount without asking. However, as we paid SA R9 (US$ 0.49) each, it seemed perfectly okay.
Indeed, some animal areas were closed and we saw mostly birds, turtles and a few mammals. The area was quite lovely and as it is near the top of a hill there was a nice breeze. It was more than nice exercise. We saw some planning going on, so perhaps some renovations will soon be underway. Jay and I really enjoyed walking around and talking to and even with the animals.
Day 093: We've only a few days left in Cape Town. For a little morning exercise we returned to The Company's Garden to see all the folks enjoying the sunshine and warm breezes. The temperature was about 22°C but on its way up to 26° later today. The backdrop to summer was all the sounds of the birds and kids playing. How nice!
My new drone is so small, I tucked it into my hat for protection and carried it in a bag. The park had many more people than I'd anticipated. However, I whipped it out of the bag and set it on my hand for take off with 'follow me' set to my height. I ran enough for a thirty second clip. I palm landed it but had to extend my reach rather than expecting it to come to my outstretched hand. Once I get used to the DJI NEO, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with it.
Jay and I stopped for bananas on the way back to the Airbnb. The total outing was only about 4.5 kilometers but a great way to spend some time!
Day 087: It's good that I have few qualms about embarrassing myself. That trait has come in very useful over the years. I guess though, my willingness for self deprecation may prevent me from ever being president one day.
It was cool this morning. Not quite being ready to take my new drone outside, I just attempted to see if I could follow me around the Airbnb. Luckily, this drone will function inside even without a single GPS satellite lock. There isn't too much room inside, so I set the 'follow me' feature as 'close' to see what it could do.
I cut out about a minute of the clip and added music. This is not art. But one learns by doing and there's no need to throw away the result of learning something new. Maybe next time I'll dress up and plan the shot. Or probably not!
This clip is less than two minutes and it shows it'll probably be a fun option when walking in a park or on a hike. I've named the new device, Buzzy. That is not for a personal high school and college friend of my youth but because of the tiny drone's pitch. It is annoyingly noisy.
Day 083: We enjoyed the great summer weather in Cape Town, South Africa this morning. We didn't really have any errands or trips planned. So, we simply went out for an interesting 3.5 kilometer walk. We are nearly in the center the city and so enjoyed many great views really near our Airbnb.
Today, rather than a few photos, I am including five, single-shot, short videos. I've recently decided I need to upgrade my skills when working with video files. This is my practice.
I'm calling these 30-second clips Video Postcards. I simply pointed my phone in one direction and tried to capture a half-minute of what was in the frame. Rather than a static image, a viewer can see motion and in a few cases hear what is happening.
If it turns out that doing this is easy, you may see more video clips in my eJournal in my future entries. Maybe someday, I'll get all fancy with titles and background sound!
Strand Street Pedestrian Overpass to the Bus Station
Day 080: Okay, I give up. Today's inclusion indicates that my years of avoiding short-form video has probably ended.
Jay and I used to own video cameras. I think I got my first when working in Bahrain in the late 80s. Carrying around these huge devices were a struggle but we were younger. At least a decade ago, I dumped a whole lot of old video footage on YouTube. It was a great place to store piles of old, 8mm tapes. I must have hours of unedited, long-form, old-school video saved online. Most of it dates back to the 90s.
Nowadays the Internet is all about inane, short videos though. They are predominately used as a way to waste a human's finite time on this earth. I still have never bothered with TikTok, not because I'm worried about its Chinese owner but because I think the whole idea is an addictive misuse of one's precious hours.
That said, I'm totally about documenting our lives. Why else would I have over 44000 images save on Flickr? So, perhaps it is time to start thinking more seriously about using the technology so easily available at my fingertips. I don't think I've deliberately shot video on my present phone. But if I get a new drone, I'll have a additional method to capture short video.
This uploading test above means that this aging cat has moved on to another life. This clip doesn't have comments nor was the shot planned. I simply wanted to relearn how to upload to YouTube. I had no idea how long it takes to upload a minute of standard video on a medium Internet connection. The one-take file is a 55-second clip of our Airbnb in Cape Town, South Africa.
My DJI Mavic Mini drone was sitting in its case while we were sitting in our apartment during most of our two-week COVID-19 quarantine. The weather has turned delightful and we are now free to use New Westminster's Pier Park as long as we follow the current 'distancing regulations'. It seems a little weird being wary of our neighbhours and keeping at least six feet away during these unusual times. Nevertheless, we went for a nice walk and I got to try out my newest toy.
As this set me back hundreds of dollars, I treated the device with the same care I would when transporting eggs. It was a bit windy down by the river, but the technology is simply amazing for it stayed rock steady if I let go of the controls. I am really going to enjoy these new experiences. Today, I had to calibrate the drone. My phone sits on the controller and the app software stepped me through the process of turning it over and around vertically and horizontally. Today was fine and I had more than 15 GPS satellites locked. I didn't venture far away or high. I just wanted to get a feel for the controls.
I mistakenly started the video recording for the whole flight, rather than just shooting as though it were an ordinary video camera. The turns were enough to cause dizziness when watching it back at home. I did cut out this one-minute clip when it was just hovering, pointed at the Fraser River. Drone laws allow me to fly up to 120 meters but in this clip I was at just 19 meters. This is going to be better than a barrel of monkeys. Prepare to see a lot of drone videos and pictures around here this summer.
One-Minute Drone Video Clip from Pier Park in New Westminster, BC
This was the date we were scheduled to arrive home after our winter in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The COVID-19 situation affected the end of our stay in Kuala Lumpur. Our way home was cancelled when Taiwan closed its international airport. So, we got back to Canada eight days early.
On Our Balcony, New Westminster, BC
Snow on April 2, 2020
17-Second Video Clip
Although we left on the 31st of October, we had a chance to see a little snow this winter. Interestingly, this morning, we witnessed a snow squall blow up the Fraser River. It got here at around 10:30 AM.
Our Winter 2019-2020 (Embedded YouTube Video - 1:21:46)
Whenever we travel, Jay takes along our video camcorder. For quite a number of years, we've had a Canon HD device that uses full-sized SD cards. It has always been a major hassle getting video off a card and formatted for YouTube's permanent archiving. However, I'd feel better knowing all this information was safely online.
We don't want slick productions but rather just an easy way to re-watch the footage. Once online, we can show specific sections to others directly from the Internet. I can stream on a big TV, stop when needed, and explain to guests what they're seeing.
After getting this computer in Malaysia last month, I bought a new version of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. I wanted to try photo editing on a PC again and the video editing program was thankfully included too. I decided to see if it could help me with the chore of uploading to YouTube. Today, I playfully put in our SD card from this winter.
The software easily sucked in the hundreds of individual scenes from the memory card. It allows me to upload a single file right from inside the program! Neat. If there's a downside, it is simply going to be too easy to start playing. Adding titles, transitions, and music would be easy. However, true to our goals, I'll put all our vacations online as they are. I have at least a half dozen and possibly a full dozen SD cards now waiting in my fireproof box.
When I do get creative, I'll use high-quality video from my yet-undelivered DJI Mavic Mini drone. Get ready to view some summertime masterpieces shot from 125 meters in the sky!
