Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! You may know it as Columbus Day, but here in wacky, weird Austin it is officially, per the City Council, Indigenous Peoples Day. I get the day off, regardless. Oh, wait...
I will get the day off from the Studio, so I can work at home on my audio book. What? You don't know about my audio book? Maybe that's because it has happened rather suddenly.
I mentioned that Learning Ally is moving to a totally "virtual volunteer" environment; all readers and checkers will work from home studios, so in preparation, I have been setting up my recording studio here at the house. However, the Austin Studio will remain open until some time in March, so I'll continue going to the studio on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, I have this nifty studio set-up here, and I'm anxious to try it out, so I started looking around for someone who needs something recorded. Turns out Audible.com (the Amazon Company) needs a lot of recording and they have a pretty elaborate setup to bring together "Rights Holders" (people who write books) and "Producers" (people who record books).
There's a lot of hoops to jump through, but basically after you get your Producer profile set up, you upload some samples of your reading so Rights Holders can listen to them and beg you to read their book. Or more likely, you look through the catalog of books (almost all are already on Amazon as print books or Kindle books) and send an "audition" to the Holder, begging to read his/her book.
In my case, I uploaded my samples on Thursday. On Friday morning, I had a message that a "Bestselling Historical Fiction Author Seeking Narrator for my Historical Novel with Magical Realism was impressed with my reading samples, and would I send her an audition (read a few pages of the actual book)? I figured this was probably a mass message to everyone who matched the profile of parameters I checked off (great voice, wonderful intonation, works cheap), but hey?
So Friday afternoon, I recorded and edited about 15 minutes of audition material from the book. I uploaded it Friday night and Saturday afternoon I had a message that I had an offer to produce the book! I'm in the process of reading it now to find out what "Magical Realism" is.
Reality check. This is not a John Grissom or Sue Grafton book. And based on the estimated length of the finished product and how long it took me to produce the 15 minute audition, I'll earn about $2 an hour for my work, but at least I know what ya'll are getting for Christmas this year!
Monday, October 9, 2017
Monday, October 2, 2017
Monday Meanderings - 10.2.2017
The subject of this week's post is senility - or at least advanced forgetfulness. Last Monday Barb remarked, "No Monday Meanderings?" And truth be told, it had completely slipped my mind. I had gone the entire week without giving a single thought to putting anything down.
I have to say it was a hard, and busy week. A lot of activity, and you know how activity wears us Senior Citizens down. Monday and Wednesday are Learning Ally days; Thursday night was a Eucharist service with our next-door neighbors at Saint Matthews; then a sound rehearsal on Friday night with the Central Texas Medical Orchestra; a tough, tough standing-room only funeral Saturday afternoon; and the then the Orchestra performance Saturday night.
I have blogged about the Central Texas Medical Orchestra before. All the musicians are local and are directly or indirectly part of the medical profession, and their 4 concerts a year benefit various health-care organizations, such as the Epilepsy Society, or March of Dimes. Each concert, in addition to an interesting selection of classical and pop music by the orchestra, features a guest instrumentalist and a guest vocalist.
This performance featured Kiki Ebsen, daughter of Buddy Ebsen (of Beverly Hillbilly TV fame). Her program was a brief retrospective of her father's career, with photos, video clips and songs from the films, such as Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany's) and Over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz). Since I mostly remember Buddy only from the Hillbillys episodes, so it was interesting to hear about his earlier career, including his three roles in the Wizard of Oz that never came to fruition.
Ebsen was originally cast as the Scarecrow until Ray Bolger's rubber-legged dancing caught the attention of MGM's brass, so they switched Buddy to the Tin Man role. However, he was highly allergic to the aluminum powder they sprayed on his face daily - so much so, he was hospitalized, and while he was undergoing a lengthy recuperation, they replaced him with Jack Haley.
His voice remained on the soundtrack, however, when the quartet of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion sings We’re Off To See the Wizard - though he never received screen credit for that until the 50th Anniversary version of Wizard was released.
So this has been a quieter, calmer week, and my antique brain did muster up a notion that I needed to write down some Meanderings. That, and a couple of nudges from Barb.
I have to say it was a hard, and busy week. A lot of activity, and you know how activity wears us Senior Citizens down. Monday and Wednesday are Learning Ally days; Thursday night was a Eucharist service with our next-door neighbors at Saint Matthews; then a sound rehearsal on Friday night with the Central Texas Medical Orchestra; a tough, tough standing-room only funeral Saturday afternoon; and the then the Orchestra performance Saturday night.
I have blogged about the Central Texas Medical Orchestra before. All the musicians are local and are directly or indirectly part of the medical profession, and their 4 concerts a year benefit various health-care organizations, such as the Epilepsy Society, or March of Dimes. Each concert, in addition to an interesting selection of classical and pop music by the orchestra, features a guest instrumentalist and a guest vocalist.
This performance featured Kiki Ebsen, daughter of Buddy Ebsen (of Beverly Hillbilly TV fame). Her program was a brief retrospective of her father's career, with photos, video clips and songs from the films, such as Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany's) and Over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz). Since I mostly remember Buddy only from the Hillbillys episodes, so it was interesting to hear about his earlier career, including his three roles in the Wizard of Oz that never came to fruition.
Ebsen was originally cast as the Scarecrow until Ray Bolger's rubber-legged dancing caught the attention of MGM's brass, so they switched Buddy to the Tin Man role. However, he was highly allergic to the aluminum powder they sprayed on his face daily - so much so, he was hospitalized, and while he was undergoing a lengthy recuperation, they replaced him with Jack Haley.
His voice remained on the soundtrack, however, when the quartet of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion sings We’re Off To See the Wizard - though he never received screen credit for that until the 50th Anniversary version of Wizard was released.
So this has been a quieter, calmer week, and my antique brain did muster up a notion that I needed to write down some Meanderings. That, and a couple of nudges from Barb.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Monday Meanderings - 9.18.2017
Significant changes under way for our volunteer activities. After logging about 9,000 miles delivering for Meals on Wheels, Barb has turned in her insulated bags and retired from her route. She passed the 10-year mark earlier this year and decided that she had fulfilled her commitment. When asked what she was going to do now, she said, "Sign up to receive meals." Since she's still tutoring her Burmese families on English and Citizenship requirements, I'm not sure she's going to notice any slow-down in her schedule.
And on my side of the house, no more twice-weekly trips to the studio for recording sessions. Learning Ally is closing all of their studios. No, they are not going out of business - they are transforming into a completely virtual organization. Everybody is going to work from home.
Learning Ally has been preparing this transition for a couple of years. There are 7 physical studio locations around the country, in addition to the headquarters in New Jersey. These studios, in the past, have been fairly autonomous; each responsible for all aspects of the assigned recorded book production.
Recently, a lot of the common infrastructure, like the log-in and log-out and time keeping has been consolidated into the "cloud" and some specialties have moved into "virtual communities." For example, those highly-skilled folks known as "math readers" have already been transformed into a collaborative network of readers, checkers and support personnel that exists globally, rather than scattered among the physical locations.
Now, all of the volunteers and almost all of the staff is becoming part of this virtual community, and almost everything we do can be done from home; selecting and signing up for reading and checking assignments, recording the audio, quality control (checking) and finalization.
I have, for some time, been checking audio files for accuracy here at home. Now I'll record them, as well. All I need is a microphone. And a wind screen, or pop filter. And a boom stand to position it properly. And some quality over-the-ears headphones. And a powered USB port because my computer is old and under-powered.
Oh, and a quiet room. A very quite room. No, quieter than that - I can still hear the neighbors air conditioner. So foam squares. And blankets. And maybe more foam. Wait! This chair squeaks! Is there a hum? I hear a hum.
However, probably the biggest impact these changes will have is about 8 more hours weekly of "together" time for Barb and me. Just remember, Barb used to call my boss and say, "Isn't there some place you can send Bob? He's really getting on my nerves."
So, to keep the peace, if you need me, I'll probably be shut up in my "recording studio." Looking for the source of that hum.
And on my side of the house, no more twice-weekly trips to the studio for recording sessions. Learning Ally is closing all of their studios. No, they are not going out of business - they are transforming into a completely virtual organization. Everybody is going to work from home.
Learning Ally has been preparing this transition for a couple of years. There are 7 physical studio locations around the country, in addition to the headquarters in New Jersey. These studios, in the past, have been fairly autonomous; each responsible for all aspects of the assigned recorded book production.
Recently, a lot of the common infrastructure, like the log-in and log-out and time keeping has been consolidated into the "cloud" and some specialties have moved into "virtual communities." For example, those highly-skilled folks known as "math readers" have already been transformed into a collaborative network of readers, checkers and support personnel that exists globally, rather than scattered among the physical locations.
Now, all of the volunteers and almost all of the staff is becoming part of this virtual community, and almost everything we do can be done from home; selecting and signing up for reading and checking assignments, recording the audio, quality control (checking) and finalization.
I have, for some time, been checking audio files for accuracy here at home. Now I'll record them, as well. All I need is a microphone. And a wind screen, or pop filter. And a boom stand to position it properly. And some quality over-the-ears headphones. And a powered USB port because my computer is old and under-powered.
Oh, and a quiet room. A very quite room. No, quieter than that - I can still hear the neighbors air conditioner. So foam squares. And blankets. And maybe more foam. Wait! This chair squeaks! Is there a hum? I hear a hum.
However, probably the biggest impact these changes will have is about 8 more hours weekly of "together" time for Barb and me. Just remember, Barb used to call my boss and say, "Isn't there some place you can send Bob? He's really getting on my nerves."
So, to keep the peace, if you need me, I'll probably be shut up in my "recording studio." Looking for the source of that hum.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Monday Meanderings - 9.11.2017
When Barb and I fly, our preferred seating arrangement is aisle seats - across from each other. This sometimes confuses helpful attendants, who want to find us seats together, but we assure them that we like our arrangement, thank you.
But a few weeks ago, on a flight from Fresno to Denver, there were some open rows (unusual these days) and the visibility was good, so I slid over to a window seat for a change and watched the landscape pass below me.
On Google Earth you can see what I saw out the plane window, and that's a whole lot of nothing. About 875 miles of nothing, as the crow - or airliner - flies. Fresno is located in the Central Valley of California, on the eastern side of the state, only about 150 miles from the Nevada border. Only problem is, the Sierra Nevada mountain range and a string of Eco-sensitive national forests effectively limits travel in that direction. Not to mention Death Valley.
But that area fairly teems with civilization compared to the desolation that begins almost exactly with Nevada's western border and (following our route) continues on for another 200 miles to the Utah border. The 350 miles needed to cross Utah is not much better, at least not in the southern part of the state that we crossed. Not until you get to Colorado - and again, the change is almost exactly measured from the border - does the landscape show any real signs of civilization.
There are only two major highways in Nevada; IH75 from Los Angeles that crosses the Mojave Desert and passes through Las Vegas, exiting the state to the east at St George, Utah, and IH80, which makes a big northern arc from Sacramento through Reno to Salt Lake City.
Three quarters of the state's 3 million citizens live in Clark County, home to Las Vegas. Another half-million live on the northwestern border in the Reno area. That leaves a big swath in the middle of the state that is virtually empty. Of the 18 counties in Nevada, half have a population density percentage of less than 2 people per square mile.
About the only conclusion I can draw from all this is that I'll stick with my aisle seat. Nothing to see out there.
But a few weeks ago, on a flight from Fresno to Denver, there were some open rows (unusual these days) and the visibility was good, so I slid over to a window seat for a change and watched the landscape pass below me.
But that area fairly teems with civilization compared to the desolation that begins almost exactly with Nevada's western border and (following our route) continues on for another 200 miles to the Utah border. The 350 miles needed to cross Utah is not much better, at least not in the southern part of the state that we crossed. Not until you get to Colorado - and again, the change is almost exactly measured from the border - does the landscape show any real signs of civilization.
There are only two major highways in Nevada; IH75 from Los Angeles that crosses the Mojave Desert and passes through Las Vegas, exiting the state to the east at St George, Utah, and IH80, which makes a big northern arc from Sacramento through Reno to Salt Lake City.
Three quarters of the state's 3 million citizens live in Clark County, home to Las Vegas. Another half-million live on the northwestern border in the Reno area. That leaves a big swath in the middle of the state that is virtually empty. Of the 18 counties in Nevada, half have a population density percentage of less than 2 people per square mile.
Utah is more of the same. Although they have a whopping 110,000 more people than Nevada does, almost everybody lives in the Salt Lake area. Here's a map.
Outside of St George, way down in the bottom left corner, there's nobody home in the part of the state we crossed. Actually, there's no home for anybody to be in.
About the only conclusion I can draw from all this is that I'll stick with my aisle seat. Nothing to see out there.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Monday Meanderings - 9.4.2017
Summer is making an exit; temperatures have moderated (thanks in part to the massive weather event named Harvey) and Fall is peeking in the windows. Come on in. We are ready for you.
I have a few left-over items I've been holding on to. Like summer, it's time to push them out the door. Like this:
The 29th annual Hatch Chili Fest. This year's outstanding menu item was the Ricas sauce.
And here's a puzzle for you. Any idea what this gizmo is?
Of course, just as I did, you immediately recognized this as an electronic jump rope. Complete with a digital counter to keep up with the skips. But, you might say, the rope does not connect the two handles. That's the beauty. You can't trip over the jump rope. You just swing the little weights around and hop up and down. Or, like in my case, pretend to hop up and down.
Barb acquired this item for participating in a medical study at her endocrinologist's office, along with quite a bit of additional swag, such as a scale that measures in kilos and shows the body mass index, if you can get close enough to the tiny little read-out window to see the value. Oh, and a digital kitchen scale (with the same read-out window problem), and a Yoga mat with a DVD, and multiple gym bags, etc. There may be a theme here.
And this picture poses a question. In the fine print on the back of this gasoline filler nozzle, it says: "Licensed drivers only." Why?
And my final bit of trivia points out one more thing that the City of Austin will provide a rebate for.
I have a few left-over items I've been holding on to. Like summer, it's time to push them out the door. Like this:
And here's a puzzle for you. Any idea what this gizmo is?
Here's a clue:
Barb acquired this item for participating in a medical study at her endocrinologist's office, along with quite a bit of additional swag, such as a scale that measures in kilos and shows the body mass index, if you can get close enough to the tiny little read-out window to see the value. Oh, and a digital kitchen scale (with the same read-out window problem), and a Yoga mat with a DVD, and multiple gym bags, etc. There may be a theme here.
And this picture poses a question. In the fine print on the back of this gasoline filler nozzle, it says: "Licensed drivers only." Why?
And my final bit of trivia points out one more thing that the City of Austin will provide a rebate for.
Chicken coops! What will the neighbors think?
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