AmazingAaron.com

Wow just uploaded a new video to YouTube. I had a lot of fun making it, and learned a lot about my new video editing software, Sony Vegas.
This will be the first HD video I've uploaded to YouTube, so I hope it turns out okay! I shot the video with my new HD Canon camera. Its a Vixia HV30 and I love it!
The video is a parody of those travel commercials you see on TV. I thought it would be funny if I made one about my home town Crab Orchard Ky. I know it would never get a real travel video, it is such a small town. I think there are less than 1,000 people living there.
The video features my cousin James Hendrickson, my nephew Devin Richmond, my dad Ansel Petrey, my sister Marie Richmond, and one of my dads friends named "Bud". I don't know his real name. He is kinda quite.

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I uploaded two videos last night. One was about a story over at Mashable, called “The Hulufication of YouTube?” If you have not read it yet, you should. It talks about how YouTube plans to make YouTube more like Hulu. In case your that one person that does not know what Hulu is. Its a website that lets you watch streaming TV shows, and movies, legit. They place small commercials in the videos, to make the service free (and profitable). Evidently YouTube is not making any money off us users, so they want to add three new sections to the site, called Movies, Shows, and Music Videos, and put all the user created content, like me, in a forth section called videos. I guess it would be easier for them to sell ads in main stream shows, and movies, thus making them more money, but I think that they should be investing more in the users that made them what they are! They should make the Partner program, more open. Let anyone (within reason) in, so that the users, and YouTube can share in the profit it creates!

While I like Hulu, and I think that adding more main stream content, could be a good thing for YouTube. I hope that it does not put the user created content, in second place! httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdCo6R2kKOw The other video I made is a slideshow of a few of the pictures I’ve taken with my DSi. I think it shows off some of the fun things you can do with the two cameras. The slide show was made with a free service, One True Media. It lets you make nice looking Slideshows easy. With great looking effects, and music. You should give it a try.

What have I been up to lately… Well the weather is starting to look, and feel good. So I planted some seeds in there starter greenhouses. I planted things for the garden mostly, but also some flowers. They should be ready to plant outside in a few weeks, and I’m sure the weather will be good for them then too! I also have gone on a vegetarian diet. I have not ate any meat in over a week. I decided to go on this diet because it is supposed to be more healthy, and make you feel better, and I do feel a lot better so far. You would think that I would be missing meat, but its the complete opposite. I actually am starting to detest even thinking about eating meat. I never thought that would happen! I still eat dairy products like milk, and cheese. I eat eggs too. I just don't eat the animal they came from :) LOL. I'm also trying to get away from processed, and non-organic foods. Which is one reason I've got my seeds planted. I Should have a big enough garden to supply me, and my dad with the fresh fruits, and vegetables we need till fall.

I’ve also been reading “Designing Arcade Computer Game Graphics”. Its a book by Ari Feldman about… well..  Designing Arcade Computer Game Graphics! Its a good book about game art design, color theory, and other game graphics principles. Its a little dated (published in 2000), but still contains a lot of interesting, and helpful information. Its actually kinda funny to read things like:

“Despite rapid advances in communication technologies, most people do not have very fast Internet access, especially outside the United States. In fact, the vast majority of users are still connecting to the Internet with 33.6 Kbps and 56 Kbps modems. Therefore, online game developers face a nasty dilemma: they have to create games that are compelling enough to attract players, yet small enough to access and play through relatively slow Internet connections.”

Nice to remember where all this started :)! The books available free online as a PDF if your interested. The reason I'm reading it is, because I'm hoping to start working on designing games again. Maybe I could actually finish one this time! anyway I’ll keep you posted. I also went up to see my little sister the other day as well. The main reason was to give here the lizard, I wrote about a few post back. She wanted it, I don’t know why, but she has it now. She has already made a video with it on her YouTube channel! While I was up there, we also made a video called “BagMan”. We had Greg (Minta’s husband) dress up in black garbage bags. It was fun, and its up on YouTube. The only problem we had making the video, was my camera. I think it wants to die. In fact it did die last week, and I had to go get a Mini DV Head cleaner to fix it! It might just be needing a new Mini DV cassette to record on. Who knows how many times I’ve rerecorded over that one! I would like to have a new camera, but I can’t afford one right now. I really want one that uses Mini SD cards. That would make live so much easier! There is an online video contest right now, and the prize is a new Waterproof Sanyo Mini SD camera. I'm going to enter it. Maybe I’ll win, and if I don’t, it still gives me an excuse to make a video LOL! :P. Well I'm going to get back to my book (PDF). I hope to have it read soon!

Hey everyone, just wanted to write a quick entry to let you know, I was in an article on CNN.com! It was a piece written by Lisa Respers France, on the @VoteWoz movement on Twiiter. She had seen that I won the contest, and sent me a message on twitter, asking to talk to me about it. I got in touch with her on the phone, and we talked for a few minutes about @VoteWoz, and the contest video I had made. She was really cool, and seemed to think what we where doing was great. Anyway the story is not just about me. I'm just mentioned in it. The story's about all us fans getting behind Steve Wozniak online to support him on Dancing with the Stars. Speaking of DWTS, tonight was the results show, and this time Woz got through without having to dance! I don't know how far he well get on the show, but he has already gotten pretty far, and if they keep counting all his fans votes, I'm sure he will keep on going. That is if he does not suffer anymore injures :( My Contest winning video on YouTube has been getting alot of views after the story, and the results show! I hope it keeps climbing! Maybe it will get honors? I'm also thinking about making another "Dancing like Woz" video. I'll keep you posted !

I've been wanting to make a video update, but haven't gotten around to it. I've been busy doing other things. I haven't even had time to update my twitter profile much! Also my camera, is not working. I think it needs to be cleaned. I've had it about three years now. Its a mini DV camera, and I have never cleaned it, so I'm in the process of finding a cleaning cartridge for it. I should have it fixed and a video up soon! Its starting to really warm up outside, and look like and FEEL like spring, which has been really nice! The only downside is that the grass is starting to grow, which means I'm going to have to cut it soon! Which is no fun, because we only have a push mower. I got some video earlier this week of a tiny wood pecker, eating out of one of my bird feeders, and a video of my goldfish pigging out after I feed them. I'll put it up on YouTube later for you guys. I wrote a few posts months ago about a project I started, making my own video game. I really haven't made much progress lately, what with all the moving, and everything. Plus the winter weather (which was extra wintered this year) really gets me down, and tired :(. The thing is that I wasn't working on just one game project, I had two going on. One was for GameMaker, an easy to use program, that lets you make fairly sophisticated games to play on your computer, and online in a web browser at YoYoGames.com, and the other was for a game for the Xbox 360 Community Channel. If you haven't heard of, or played any games on the Xbox Live Community Channel. Its a place were indie developers can upload there games, and let other members check them out, and even buy them with Microsoft points, if they like them. I don't know what I'm doing with either project. Both take a lot of time and effort. The Game Maker game is about half done, and the other game, for the Xbox Live Community Channel doesn't even have the first line of code. Its still in the planing stage. Making games for the Community Channel is a lot harder than GameMaker, but still pretty easy. I hope to get both done sometime. I just need to get in the mood to start coding, and editing image files :). I'm sure the spring weather will bring me out of it. If you want you can check out my half finished GamerMaker game at YoYoGames. Tell me if you like the concept or not, and what you think I should be doing different. Just remember that it really is only half done!