wmacphail’s Neighborhood

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

Gather around children.

One day in October 2007, I was driving home from getting dinner and when I entered our community, I noticed an "Available" sign on a nice home on a corner lot near the entrance. I quickly stopped, wrote down the phone number and went home. I told my wife about it and she had an idea of the house I was talking about. Little did we know, this was our future.

I called the number from the sign and made an appointment to view the house with the agent. The next day, I viewed the house and took many pictures and videos for my wife. After talking about it, we decided we should pursue it. I called Bank of America that moment and got pre-approved for a home loan. Things were looking really really good, until I checked my current lease. I had 6 months left on my current rental and I saw something that I did not want to see. I saw that if I broke the lease, I would have to pay rent until another tenant could be found.

Well that's not good.

I called the agent and told him the situation. I quoted "If it's meant to be, it'll happen". Foreshadowing? Yes. I told my wife "If that's the house that God has for us, then He'll make a way". 2 months pass and I get a knock on the door from the Sheriff's office. It just so happened the house we were in was in the process of being foreclosed. It just so happened no one told us about it. It just so happened we were pretty shocked. So now, we have to find a place to move to and quickly. Wait a minute, can't we get out of our lease now?? I immediately called the lease agency and sure enough, foreclosure kind of supersedes the earlier clause we dreaded. So now we were free and clear to find whatever we wanted. It just so happened the house we wanted was still available. So to make a long story short, we looked around in Tampa a bit but ended up deciding on the house we thought we lost. I put in an offer, it was accepted, and we closed on Dec 31st.

We are home owners. Thank you God.

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

Gather around children.

One day in October 2007, I was driving home from getting dinner and when I entered our community, I noticed an "Available" sign on a nice home on a corner lot near the entrance. I quickly stopped, wrote down the phone number and went home. I told my wife about it and she had an idea of the house I was talking about. Little did we know, this was our future.

I called the number from the sign and made an appointment to view the house with the agent. The next day, I viewed the house and took many pictures and videos for my wife. After talking about it, we decided we should pursue it. I called Bank of America that moment and got pre-approved for a home loan. Things were looking really really good, until I checked my current lease. I had 6 months left on my current rental and I saw something that I did not want to see. I saw that if I broke the lease, I would have to pay rent until another tenant could be found.

Well that's not good.

I called the agent and told him the situation. I quoted "If it's meant to be, it'll happen". Foreshadowing? Yes. I told my wife "If that's the house that God has for us, then He'll make a way". 2 months pass and I get a knock on the door from the Sheriff's office. It just so happened the house we were in was in the process of being foreclosed. It just so happened no one told us about it. It just so happened we were pretty shocked. So now, we have to find a place to move to and quickly. Wait a minute, can't we get out of our lease now?? I immediately called the lease agency and sure enough, foreclosure kind of supersedes the earlier clause we dreaded. So now we were free and clear to find whatever we wanted. It just so happened the house we wanted was still available. So to make a long story short, we looked around in Tampa a bit but ended up deciding on the house we thought we lost. I put in an offer, it was accepted, and we closed on Dec 31st.

We are home owners. Thank you God.

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

Gee, what's Hulu? Hulu is the online video venture concocted by News Corp and NBC / Universal to combat the likes the Youtube and iTunes for video content. I've used Hulu for a couple of weeks now and I must say, it is well done. I was very skeptical at first, but you get access to full length episodes (with limited commercial interruption) and you can embed them on your site. Nice! Here's a taste of "Tin Man" from Sci-Fi Channel:

Hulu is currently in private beta, but they unleashed 7500 10,000 12,500 a whole lot of invites today courtesy of TechCrunch, Mashable and GigaOM (probably more I haven't found). Here are the links

• TechCrunch 2500 invites - All gone!
• Mashable 2500 invites - All gone!
• GigaOM 2500 invites - All gone!
• Readwriteweb 2500 invites ^new! - All gone!
• Webware 2500 invites ^new! - All gone!
• Downloadsquad 2500 invites ^new! - All gone!

Hurry, these will go fast!!

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

We're closing Dec. 28th! Thanking and praising God for every breath we take. This is truly a blessing. You're looking (reading about) at one happy couple.

^{** Picture taken with the iPhone. Better ones to come.}

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

This is what happens when Bwana is happy and has a camera.

 
 
   

Yes, I am sane. No, I'm not on medication. Yes, this is normal for me. No, I won't go to the doctor. Yes, I am crazy by some standards. :)

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

It's that time of year again! This time, to preseve my crazy elfness (unlike last year) I made a video of the output so when they delete it, I won't lose it! Check it out:

Create your own elf at elfyourself.com.

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

To do lists are a big part of my work day. Everything from tasks I have to accomplish at work from personal tasks that need to be done at home, a checklist is involved in some sort of fashion. Today, I took some funds from my Paypal account and purchased a pro account at Remember the Milk. Why did I do this? For this:

 

Remember the milk has a fantastic iPhone/iPod Touch interface for managing to do lists on top of the great Twitter support and Google Calendar integration. Check out some of the other services it supports as well as its API. It is by far my favoritest to do list manager and I highly recommend it for getting things done.

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

Often, I get asked about the setup on my live stream on live.bwana.tv. People are curious about the IRC chatroom overlay as well as other effects including my sponsorship ads. Chris Pirillo put together a nice tutorial a while back as to how he set his up, so I decided to do the same here, but with a little bit more detail.

A pre-requisite for all of this is that you make sure you have a Ustream.TV account, and show created. It is very easy to do this, simply click this link to get started. Once you've done that, you're ready to dive in!

1. Download CamTwist for Mac OS X. This is the software to have for this task. If you're using a Windows based machine or Linux, then I recommend using WebcamMax, Manycam, or Superwebcam. These instructions will be written specifically for CamTwist on the Mac OS X platform.
2. Download Colloquy for Mac OS X. I use this IRC client specifically for its color scheme abilities and its "Smart Transcript" functionality. This allows you to strip out IRC channel joins, parts, quits, kicks, bans, and all those other things you don't want on your stream. Feel free to use your favorite IRC client if it does all of the above.
3. Configure Colloquy for your IRC Channel. Don't know your channel name? Click "Open Chat Room" on your Ustream.TV show page, to see what it's called. Most times, it is the same name as your Ustream.TV channel name.

• To get started, open Colloquy, then click the Window menu and select "Connections"
• Next, click the "New Icon" in the toolbar to bring up the New Connection window
• In the New connection window, input the desired nickname, leave the Server protocol to "IRC (Internet Relay Chat)" and input "chat1.ustream.tv" in the Chat Server Box. Click the "Details" button to configure other optional parameters. I recommend checking "Remember this connection" and putting your IRC Channel name noted above in the "Join Rooms" list. When it's all said and done, your New Connection window should look like this:
• Next, click "Connect" in the New Connection window to test your connection. If all goes well, Colloquy should be connected to Ustream.
• Now, select the appropriate theme to use for Colloquy. My favorite is "DecafBland - Inverted". I recommend increasing the font size for this theme within Colloquy. If you wish to further customize options later on, click the "Customize Style" button and type in a new name when Colloquy prompts you for a variation. "Ustream" should suffice. I recommend making this style your default unless you wish to use Colloquy as your main IRC client as well.



• Then, create a smart transcript for your channel. This will eliminate unwanted IRC noise in your chat window and give a much cleaner look once the chat is embedded on your stream. To do so, click the File menu, then Smart Transcripts, then "New Smart Transcript". In the new Smart Transcript window, give your transcript a name and change the ruleset to match the following: Source's name matches MyIRCChannelName where MyIRCChannelName is your IRC channel. It should look like below:



• Open the Smart Transcript and leave it open for the next step. File -> Smart Transcript -> [Name you chose]. Resize the Smart Transcript window for your channel to a smallish rectangle. We'll resize again later if needed.

1. Configure CamTwist for your stream. The main elements you need are the following:

• Webcam - This is your webcam source. CamTwist recognizes built in iSights as well as supported USB Webcams under Mac OS X. It also recognizes camcorder cameras connected via Firewire.
• Chat Overlay - This is the Colloquy IRC chat we just configured.
• Image Overlay - For any sponsor ads or generic logos you wish to place over your stream.
• Clock - To show your viewers what time it is.
• Text - To provide a URL or some other kind of branding for your stream.

The first thing we'll tackle is the Webcam:

• The first thing we should do is open the Preview window to get a glimpse of what's going on. To do so, click the "Preview" menu in CamTwist and select "Show Preview"
• Choose a source from the CamTwist dropdown. Ensure that it is the right camera that you want to use for your stream. If you don't have any cameras to select in this dropdown, ensure that a webcam is connected.

The next thing is the Chat Overlay. This is the hardest part.

• Create a new element in CamTwist for PIP Desktop. To do this, select "Desktop" in the Video Sources list, then click the "PIP" button on the bottom.
• Under the "Adjust Settings" section, select the new entry to configure the settings. We don't want to the entire desktop (which is the default) but we want to choose a selection. Scroll to the bottom of the Settings list and uncheck "Full screen". You'll notice the "Select Capture area" button becomes ungreyed. Click the Select Capture button to activate the capture outline.
• Move the capture outline over the Colloquy Smart Transcript and resize appropriately. See the following video to see the process.
• Now adjust the chat window within CamTwist settings. To do this, go to the Settings section of CamTwist and move the black dot around until you get the positioning correct. I recommend positioning the chat at the bottom of your ustream feed. Adjust the scale and position until it looks correct. This video demonstrates the process.

Now let's add some images to our feed.

• Add a new element to the feed called "Image Overlay". To do this, go to the "Step 2: Select some settings" section and double click the "Image Overlay" effect. Open Finder, and browse to the folder which contains your desired image. Drag and drop the image into the well in the "Settings" section.
• While in the Settings section, adjust the scale, position, rotation, transparency, or whatever else you feel is appropriate.

Now for the Clock and Text

• Add a new element to the feed called "Clock". To do this, go to the "Step 2: Select some settings" section and double click the "Clock" effect. By default, you'll see a digital clock in red text. In the "Settings" section, adjust the font, font size, color, and position of the clock.

The next element we're going to add is the branding text. This step is optional but adds some value if used appropriately.

• Add a new element to the feed called "Text". To do this, go tot he "Step 2: Select some settings" section and double click the "Text" effect. By default, you'll see a string of text that says "Hello World!" in a giant font. In the "Settings" section, adjust the font, font size, color, and position of the text. I recommend using your channel name, website name, or personal identifier as the text.

1. The most important step of all. SAVE!!! SAVE!!

• Click the "Save Setup" button in the "Step 3: Adjust Settings" section of CamTwist. Give it a name like "Ustream" or "Mystream". If you wish to use the configured camera source all the time, uncheck "Don't include video source".
• Once it appears in the "Saved Setups" section in the bottom, click the "Auto load" button to ensure the configuration launches once CamTwist launches.

You now have your own pimped out stream complete with embedded IRC chat, images, and a clock. CamTwist is a capable tool which can do much more than what I've described here. This should be enough to get you started. If you have any questions regarding this writeup, feel free to leave a comment or contact me at bwana@bwana.org.

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

Often, I get asked about the setup on my live stream on live.bwana.tv. People are curious about the IRC chatroom overlay as well as other effects including my sponsorship ads. Chris Pirillo put together a nice tutorial a while back as to how he set his up, so I decided to do the same here, but with a little bit more detail.

A pre-requisite for all of this is that you make sure you have a Ustream.TV account, and show created. It is very easy to do this, simply click this link to get started. Once you've done that, you're ready to dive in!

1. Download CamTwist for Mac OS X. This is the software to have for this task. If you're using a Windows based machine or Linux, then I recommend using WebcamMax, Manycam, or Superwebcam. These instructions will be written specifically for CamTwist on the Mac OS X platform.
2. Download Colloquy for Mac OS X. I use this IRC client specifically for its color scheme abilities and its "Smart Transcript" functionality. This allows you to strip out IRC channel joins, parts, quits, kicks, bans, and all those other things you don't want on your stream. Feel free to use your favorite IRC client if it does all of the above.
3. Configure Colloquy for your IRC Channel. Don't know your channel name? Click "Open Chat Room" on your Ustream.TV show page, to see what it's called. Most times, it is the same name as your Ustream.TV channel name.

• To get started, open Colloquy, then click the Window menu and select "Connections"
• Next, click the "New Icon" in the toolbar to bring up the New Connection window
• In the New connection window, input the desired nickname, leave the Server protocol to "IRC (Internet Relay Chat)" and input "chat1.ustream.tv" in the Chat Server Box. Click the "Details" button to configure other optional parameters. I recommend checking "Remember this connection" and putting your IRC Channel name noted above in the "Join Rooms" list. When it's all said and done, your New Connection window should look like this:
• Next, click "Connect" in the New Connection window to test your connection. If all goes well, Colloquy should be connected to Ustream.
• Now, select the appropriate theme to use for Colloquy. My favorite is "DecafBland - Inverted". I recommend increasing the font size for this theme within Colloquy. If you wish to further customize options later on, click the "Customize Style" button and type in a new name when Colloquy prompts you for a variation. "Ustream" should suffice. I recommend making this style your default unless you wish to use Colloquy as your main IRC client as well.



• Then, create a smart transcript for your channel. This will eliminate unwanted IRC noise in your chat window and give a much cleaner look once the chat is embedded on your stream. To do so, click the File menu, then Smart Transcripts, then "New Smart Transcript". In the new Smart Transcript window, give your transcript a name and change the ruleset to match the following: Source's name matches MyIRCChannelName where MyIRCChannelName is your IRC channel. It should look like below:



• Open the Smart Transcript and leave it open for the next step. File -> Smart Transcript -> [Name you chose]. Resize the Smart Transcript window for your channel to a smallish rectangle. We'll resize again later if needed.

1. Configure CamTwist for your stream. The main elements you need are the following:

• Webcam - This is your webcam source. CamTwist recognizes built in iSights as well as supported USB Webcams under Mac OS X. It also recognizes camcorder cameras connected via Firewire.
• Chat Overlay - This is the Colloquy IRC chat we just configured.
• Image Overlay - For any sponsor ads or generic logos you wish to place over your stream.
• Clock - To show your viewers what time it is.
• Text - To provide a URL or some other kind of branding for your stream.

The first thing we'll tackle is the Webcam:

• The first thing we should do is open the Preview window to get a glimpse of what's going on. To do so, click the "Preview" menu in CamTwist and select "Show Preview"
• Choose a source from the CamTwist dropdown. Ensure that it is the right camera that you want to use for your stream. If you don't have any cameras to select in this dropdown, ensure that a webcam is connected.

The next thing is the Chat Overlay. This is the hardest part.

• Create a new element in CamTwist for PIP Desktop. To do this, select "Desktop" in the Video Sources list, then click the "PIP" button on the bottom.
• Under the "Adjust Settings" section, select the new entry to configure the settings. We don't want to the entire desktop (which is the default) but we want to choose a selection. Scroll to the bottom of the Settings list and uncheck "Full screen". You'll notice the "Select Capture area" button becomes ungreyed. Click the Select Capture button to activate the capture outline.
• Move the capture outline over the Colloquy Smart Transcript and resize appropriately. See the following video to see the process.
• Now adjust the chat window within CamTwist settings. To do this, go to the Settings section of CamTwist and move the black dot around until you get the positioning correct. I recommend positioning the chat at the bottom of your ustream feed. Adjust the scale and position until it looks correct. This video demonstrates the process.

Now let's add some images to our feed.

• Add a new element to the feed called "Image Overlay". To do this, go to the "Step 2: Select some settings" section and double click the "Image Overlay" effect. Open Finder, and browse to the folder which contains your desired image. Drag and drop the image into the well in the "Settings" section.
• While in the Settings section, adjust the scale, position, rotation, transparency, or whatever else you feel is appropriate.

Now for the Clock and Text

• Add a new element to the feed called "Clock". To do this, go to the "Step 2: Select some settings" section and double click the "Clock" effect. By default, you'll see a digital clock in red text. In the "Settings" section, adjust the font, font size, color, and position of the clock.

The next element we're going to add is the branding text. This step is optional but adds some value if used appropriately.

• Add a new element to the feed called "Text". To do this, go tot he "Step 2: Select some settings" section and double click the "Text" effect. By default, you'll see a string of text that says "Hello World!" in a giant font. In the "Settings" section, adjust the font, font size, color, and position of the text. I recommend using your channel name, website name, or personal identifier as the text.

1. The most important step of all. SAVE!!! SAVE!!

• Click the "Save Setup" button in the "Step 3: Adjust Settings" section of CamTwist. Give it a name like "Ustream" or "Mystream". If you wish to use the configured camera source all the time, uncheck "Don't include video source".
• Once it appears in the "Saved Setups" section in the bottom, click the "Auto load" button to ensure the configuration launches once CamTwist launches.

You now have your own pimped out stream complete with embedded IRC chat, images, and a clock. CamTwist is a capable tool which can do much more than what I've described here. This should be enough to get you started. If you have any questions regarding this writeup, feel free to leave a comment or contact me at bwana@bwana.org.

Originally published at Bwana.org. You can comment here or there.

One of the improvements in Mac OS X Leopard is a new voice called "Alex". This voice has some realistic characteristics about it and definitely bests the old 1984 sounding voices in Mac OS X. The text to speech functions in OS X are great for those who have vision impairments or those with other disabilities, but that doesn't mean you can't fun with it, right?

Xfs in Chris Pirillo's chatroom at live.pirillo.com asked me to see "what would happen" if I told Alex to say "LoLoLoLoLoLoLoL". I can't disappoint, right?

After creating that video, wirelesspacket took it a step further and created a hilarious answering machine message which had me stitches. He asked me to do a video of it, and I definitely could not disappoint here.

Moral of the story? Sometimes it is ok to have fun with technology. Try it sometime, it'll make you smile.