“Aaron Talks” - Take Ten

So, today could have been a “light day” for me, that is to say: a day I could have goofed off a little without falling too far behind, except for the fact that I had a video to make for our second Kickstarter campaign. It took me around four hours of filming (after an hour or so of rehearsing my little speech) to get less than a minute's worth of video. It just went crazy from the very beginning and never got much better. We could even put together a blooper reel from all the zany stuff that happened. I saved most of it, so who knows, I may actually put it together for everyone to see sometime. Of course, I need to get some video editing software put on my more powerful computer.


Oh, and this is going be an odd post where I talk about work and then talk about pictures. These pictures are what Mom Y. is cooking for dinner. Well, the first shot is what's left of the old frozen biscuits she made for breakfast. They didn't look like much, but they tasted good just the same. The second photo is a crock-pot full of what was frozen chicken this morning. The third photo is hamburger meat and potatoes. All I can figure out is that we're having “something” for dinner, lol.

Anyways, after all my hours of filming I had nine takes of my main speech and a separate video full of me doing the ending again and again. The voice work didn't take me near as long yesterday and I had the constant satisfaction of having gotten a “good take”. If we're going to keep having to make videos (which we probably are) I am going to have to setup a recording studio with a green screen. Then I won't have to worry about roosters crowing, crows cawing, cicadas buzzing, wind blowing, etc, etc, etc. In addition we'll be able to do cool things like make me look like I'm walking around in a video game.


The first couple of photos are just of the barn and one of the fields. I just think they're pretty. The next couple are of trees knocked over by storms (possibly the tornado that ripped through the yard a few years ago.) The second of the trees is a Holly (which wasn't killed by being blown over) and it's leaves can stick you pretty good if you're not careful.

After I got my video work finally finished I felt beat down. Of course, last night's insomnia didn't help at all. I had too many thoughts flowing through my mind to sleep. I first fell asleep at around 10PM, then woke up at around 11PM and couldn't get back to sleep until around 2AM. I now realize that the walks I usually go on really help me think. I've got to get back to walking for an hour or so everyday. It's been difficult with me being so busy, but I have to get back to it. Otherwise I'm probably going to keep getting insomnia, which certainly doesn't help me work.


Those first three photos are a spider we call a “crab spider”. I have no idea what the real name is. They're all over the place around here. Fortunately they're not dangerous. The forth photo is a pine tree that wasn't quit blown over and is slowly growing up toward the sun. You see a lot of “bowed” pine tress in SC. The fifth photo is a squirrel’s nest, although I don't think there are any squirrels in the yard.

Having gotten my work done I played SWTOR for about an hour. Then it was time to stop to take a walk and get these pictures for the blog. Photos like these:


The first two are what we've always called “thorns”. They are vines covered, oddly enough, in rather vicious thorns. When they stab you the very tips of the black points can break off in you. It's not much fun. The next two photos are of a caterpillar nest. Some of the caterpillars around here hatch in these nests and then strip the leaves off the tree's they're in.


These last few photos are of a fire ant's nest. They're a VERY common sight in SC. To the untrained eye they may look like nothing more than a pile of dirt. However, if you ever stand in one for a moment too long you'll remember what look like from then on. When Mom and Dad Y. first moved from Kentucky to South Carolina the goats they kept had no idea what fire ants were. They saw nice soft patches on the ground and rolled around in them. Moments later they would jump up “screaming” and running around. It didn't take them long to figure out that the ant's nests were less inviting than they first appeared.

Anyways guys, it's late and I'm tired. I'm still hoping to squeeze in some more SWTOR before the night's over. Then I want to watch a little TV with Rachel and go to sleep. Lord willing, I'll sleep through the night this time, lol. Either way, for the moment, goodnight from South Carolina!