[Bob Cole]

Wow. Very illuminating and poignant comments. Thanks for sharing.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Whether you approve of it or not, we’re headed for single payer or “Medicare for all.” The lobbyists are probably already pivoting toward that world, trying to politicize the Medicare system.

The reason: no part of the economy can grow at these rates for long.

There are some great things about the ACA, but the real issue is not “who pays,” but rather, “how much.” And at the rate of increase in health care costs, it will be over 100% of our economy. Not going to happen. It will be fun to see the lobbyists start to fight each other over their share of a limited “pie,” once they realize they can’t keep gouging the rest of us.

So – “Medicare for all” – unless Google (or Amazon or Apple) drops all that driver-less car nonsense, and gets to work on something that really matters.

It’s bad. But it can only get so bad, before it starts to get a whole lot better.

I hope.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Hanna, thank you for sharing the YouTube video.

Good luck with your project.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Dave LaRonde] “That’s not an effect — that’s hours of painstaking face-painting.”

Except maybe for the red eyeball?

[Bob Cole]

Brilliant! Thanks so much! That is exactly what happened, as I had to switch from 8-bit to 16-bit output.

How do you deal with the translation, when you are given 0-255 values for RGB and you have to work in 16-bit space?

Thanks again.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Todd, thanks for the info.

With the variety of options for the Astra (bi-color, tungsten and daylight balanced, “EP,” “Soft,” 1x, 2x, and 4x original brightness, and a variety of life expectancies for the LEDs), how did you process all of those choices and why did you choose the bi-color? I’m leaning toward the brightest daylight, especially if you need to use it at half-power for extended battery life.

I’ve been following your posts about not plugging into AC. What was the watt-hour rating of that battery that lasted barely an hour? Although I like the idea of freedom from AC, I am not so sure about having to monitor yet another thing during a shoot.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Ned, I copy the entire link and paste it into an email directly to the client, where I can change the final character. Or, you can paste the link (and modify it) into tinyurl.com, to create a shorter link which can be emailed to the client without fear of truncating.

Great find on the Dropbox forum. Thanks!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Ned, you have experienced the biggest problem with Dropbox: The client will click on the file, see the incredibly low-res playback, and assume that she is watching the actual quality. I’ve seen a project create a very bad “first impression” because of this, resulting in a totally unnecessary series of additional reviews.

There is a fix.

Send the link yourself, but before you do, change the last character from zero to “1”. This will force an immediate download of your actual video.

As David Pogue says, “You’re welcome.”

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Walter, I’m a little confused about Screenlight’s definition of a “user.” This is a critical matter, because their paid plans are “per user.”

Would my clients have to become “users” if they did anything more than receive videos?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

All true, and I totally enjoy your curmudgeonly observations. But there are two wrinkles to this question of new technology, one from the client POV, one from the producer’s.

1. Most clients are oblivious to the technology you use, and are focused on results. There was a time when I had to explain that my relatively small camera was an improvement on my big old “professional-looking” camera. That is no longer the case. Now, you can even bring out a GoPro for that extra POV shot, and clients don’t react in horror at how small it is.

2. From my own POV, if something works, has been battle-tested, and I know it like the back of my hand, I’ll use it — even if its creators have replaced it with some new whiz-bang software or device. Hey, it’s their job to sell us new things; it’s our job to decide: “Naaaah.” Every time I postpone a buying decision, something better comes out a few months later anyway.

See, Bob, there are curmudgeons on both sides of this issue.

Bob C