As we remember our veterans in our own way tomorrow, I am reminded that Armistice Day (or Remembrance Day), celebrating the end of hostilities on the Western Front at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – November 11, 1918 – became a national holiday for many of our allies as well.  In many countries, including Canada, the citizens observe a two minute moment of silence in honor of of nearly 20 million people who died in The Great War. 

I would like to offer a brief video (5.08 minutes) for my Canadian friends. 

The name of the song is A Pittance of Time.  Terry Kelly who produced and performed this video was in a store in Nova Scotia November 11, 1999, when the store PA system requested that customers and employees were invited to recognize a two minute period of silence to honor veterans who had participated in the War to end all Wars. At 11:00 the store announced that the two minutes of silence would commence.  All in the store paused in respect with the exception of one man, accompanied by his young daughter, who tried to continue with his business and engage a clerk in conversation to check out of the store. 

The video notes say that Terry’s anger at the man was channeled into this song and performance.  I also note his credits to the Royal Canadian Legion Todmorden Branch #10 and Woodbine Height Branch #2 for their participation in the video. 

So to honor the veterans of our wars and to salute the veterans of Canada, our allies, who have shared so many of our wars, please take a pittance of time to remember that Freedom is not free.

My source: http://www.youtube.com/user/terrykelly2

Those of you who know me will recognize that I tend to pull out my copy of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address for appropriate holidays and state occasions.  I will continue to do so because I feel that it is perhaps the most remarkable statement by a political leader in my considerable library of history books. So bear with me as we are coming up to Veterans Day on November 11.

The Great War which, according to John Houseman in Three Days of the Condor, was how we referred to the War to end all wars before we knew enough to number them, officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in France on June 28, 1919.  But the fighting had actually stopped with a temporary truce or armistice agreed to the previous year with the cessation of hostilities at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – November 11, 1918. 

For those of you who are interested in the history of Veterans Day and how our government just cannot leave well enough alone, you may visit the Department of Veterans Affairs website for the details <link here>

Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, was remarkable in its simplicity (approximately two minutes) but was important for the complex political situation which existed at the time.  The battle had occurred in July of 1863.  While it was a Northern victory, it did not close the deal, so to speak.  Under cover of darkness and heavy rain, Lee moved his army out of reach back into Virginia and the war would continue.  Because of the casualties of the battle, Lincoln needed drafts to build up the strength of the army.  Political support for the war was declining and the outcome of the war and the 1864 election were not certain at the time Lincoln presented his comments at Gettysburg to dedicate a new national cemetery to handle the internment of the soldiers who died at Gettysburg.

The words delivered by the President on that day at Gettysburg as he fought to complete the war and to campaign for re-election are simple, direct, moving and beautiful – then as now:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in
a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so
conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great
battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of
that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their
lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and
proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot
dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.
The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated
it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will
little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be
dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here
have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here
dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these
honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this
nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that
government of the people, by the people, for the people shall
not perish from the earth.”

 

Adobe has released a new and improved version of both Photoshop Elements (ver 8) and their video editing package, Premiere Elements (ver 8).

Photoshop Elements continues to be one of the greatest buys on the planet for image editing.  It offers most of the powerful tools of big brother Photoshop but with emphasis on serioue home or pro-sumer markets.  Its feature set happens to fit very well for the needs of the real estate profession.  Tools to organize our images, improve and enhance our images and share or publish our photo images are provided with efficiency and cost-effectiveness.  Elements always emphasizes the ease of use and Version 8 has enhanced the automatic functions that improve and correct your images with a single click.

Continuing the comparison between Photoshop and Elements, for example, Photoshop Elements offers output files in RGB color formats used on our laser and inkjet printers.  Photoshop (the professional version) offers a wider range of choices including output in CYMK color formats that would be used by the commercial printing industry.  Unless you are a professional fully engaged in the process of magazine production and pre-press at a commercial level, in my view, Photoshop Elements is the choice for you.

With each new version, Photoshop Elements gets a bit better and a lot smarter.  The basic image editing tools are being improved, but remain similiar to the last several versions.  The features that allow us all to adjust lighting, shadows, highlights and color intensity and restore vertical lines distorted by camera lens or position and recompose by cropping are still there to easily and quickly fix or improve our daily residential interior images.

But the “gee whiz” features that are added to each new version are getting better and better.  And Version 8 is strong in the bells and whistles categories.

The intelligence of the computer is being applied to Elements tasks in new ways.  The face recognition feature in the organizer now goes way beyond finding faces to actually recognizing faces.  You can search for photos of cousin Jackson in your photo files.  (shades of Homeland Security).

You can merge images to provide proper exposure for a wider range of the image – much like the HDR products like Photomatix.  Take multiple shots at different exposure settings (tripod recommended) and find that the merged image can give proper view of the room and the bright window.

You can recompose images removing objects or closing the gap between your kids who won’t stand close to each other for the photo opp.

They have enhanced the integration of Photoshop Elements with its video brother Premiere Elements so it is easier to use still images from Photoshop Elements in the video editing process. 

Pricing from Amazon.com is competitive.  Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 is priced at $84.99 ( $89 for MAC users) with an after purchase send in rabate of $20.  My preferred option is the combo package with Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 for $123.99 and a send in rebate of $30. 

With each new version of Elements, a flurry of new books are available for training and hand holding .  The first available (again) is the excellent Barbara Brundage volume, Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows – The Missing Manual.  ($23.75 from Amazon.com).  I also recommend training books by Scott Kelby, President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals ($31.49 at Amazon.com for Photoshop Elements 8 Book for Digital Photographers – written with Matt Kloskowski)

I still use Elements 6 – I did not opt-in to Version 7 whose major enhancement was the integration of their on-line services.  But I expect I will order Version 8 shortly. 

Enjoy

This video was created in 2007 – but just came to my attention. 

The story is about David Hall, a Texas resident, who owns a replica of the Liberty Bell.  He brings his bell  on a trailer to military funerals and tolls the bell to honor the fallen soldiers in the historic tradition of centuries past.

As we approach Veterans Day, I think his is a message we need to hear.  (video less than 3 minutes)

Remember the sacrifices of nearly 2 million military servicemen and women and their families since the founding of this Nation.

my source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7j64VgM8-4

Well, that is not bad.  Strong conservative showings all around.  A Republican Governor in New Jersey (despite strong support from the White House) and a Republican Governor, Lt Governor and Attorney General in Virginia.

The economy - with the profligate spending of the Democrats and the irrational accumulation of debt which is strangling the economy - is the issue.  And conservative voters have served notice to the Congress: 

"We're mad as Hell - and we're not going to take it anymore."

When the Congress considers trillion dollar expenditures like health care reform and energy bills like tax and trade - they would do well to remember that they will be held accountable in November 2010.

Even the NY 23 is a victory of sorts. Where the party establishment selected a candidate with liberal credentials, the conservative base isn't having it. Lets get back to the conservative principles. If the voters want to elect a Democrat, then we need to work harder. But we cannot support liberals even if they have an "R" after their name.

The Republicans in Congress that have voted as liberals, as well as the Democrats, need to pay attention to what they want to do in their next career.

And to Governor Charlie Crist in Florida who wants to be the next US Senator from my state - the footsteps you hear behind you are not just conservative candidate Marco Rubio - they are the conservative voters of the state. And we believe that the position of US Senator from Florida needs to be filled by a strong conservative with a demonstrated conservative record.

Sorry, Charlie.

It is Election in only a few States and localities, but there is a possibility that the voters in Virginia, New York and New Jersey will take advantage of an opportunity to send a message to Washington and to the individual state capitols around the nation.

To borrow from the movie, Network, “We’re Mad as Hell and we’re not going to take it anymore !”

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was perhaps a bit more eloquent – but conveyed the same thought:

(Election day) …It’s my favorite day because the Republican Party’s message, when properly articulated, affirms faith in the individual.  Americans are intelligent people who, when empowered to keep their own money and make their own choices, are best able to build a good life for themselves and their families.  Election Day is an opportunity for Americans to elevate more representatives to public office that believe and represent this core principle. 

Read Michael Steele’s full statement <here>

CNet.com has a new list of the top five freeware downloads from their Download.com site.

Catch their three minute video presentation <here>

To take away from the suspense while you click on the link above and wait for the video to load, the top five free (and legal) programs include:

• Gimp - the serious advanced image editor with the power of the full version of Photoshop (but a quirky interface)
• Handbrake - one of the best video converters to bring DVD's and other video to your handheld device or other video application.
• FireFox - Well, I use Chrome as my regular browser but use 4 or 5 other browsers (including FireFox) for special tasks.  But FireFox is the reason we have choices in Browsers.  FirFox commands 24% of the browser market.  (Chrome is about 3.6%, by the way)
• Open Office - this is a free download that packages much of the power of Microsoft Office Suite into a very cost-efficient system.  Open Office can read and save Microsoft compatible file formats.  A definate choice for the budget conscious - and with many features of its own to love.
• VLC Media Player - This is a no-brainer.  Excellent performance as a video player with a broad set of Codec files.  This is the Swiss Army Knife of video player utilities (and it is free).

All are available at www.download.com

Enjoy

The site www.giveawayoftheday.com provides interesting utility programs for free.  One program is offered each day and the downloaded program must be installed within the day.  The software is licensed and free.  It is fully functional and is not a limited time trial.  The software vendors increase their installed base and get word of mouth publicity for their products long after the GOTD availability expires.  Programs would typically cost $15 to $60 if you were buying them from the publisher but for one day they are free.  Your license from the publisher does not include updates.

So the GOTD website is worth checking.  You will find some of the programs are not ready for prime time – but there are comments from users who have installed the program to help you evaluate before you download.  And there are, from time to time, some real gems on offer.  I include a GOTD summary on my Yahoo! portal newspage so I see the daily offering each day.

TODAY’S GIVEAWAYOFTHEDAY is Inpaint 2.0

Inpaint 2.0 does one thing – it removes an object from a still photo and fills in the space with “intelligent” pixels from the surrounding area.  Photoshop Elements users will recognize the Clone Tool application.  But this program claims to be quicker and more automated. 

I have not yet used the program, since I wanted to give readers the full 19 hour window to download and install.  But the comments from users were quite positive.  As you would expect, the larger the object, the less satisfactory the result – depending on the surrounding background.  It sounds like it may be necessary to work on parts of a larger object at a time – which begins to sound like the time consuming Clone Tool in Photoshop.  But the description sounds like the process can be more automated and the selection tool available can be a polygon ro accompdate an irregular shape.  You can UNDO and you can run the process several times to improve a result, according to the description.

If you find yourself spending a lot of time with the Clone Tool to remove an object from an image, you may want to look at Inpaint 2.0. If you look today, the price is right.

I have, in the past, characterized reading my Twitter feed as trying to drink from a fire hose.  The flow of information is overwhelming.  I have approximately 2,000 followers and the range of topics they discuss each and every day is unbelievable.  I enjoy grazing a few times a day - but I am only sampling and I am missing the best stuff, I am sure.

So Twitter has now integrated Twitter lists into the standard interface.  

What does that mean and why do I think it is important to you... 

My group of followers all have separate interests.  Some are interested in what I may have to say from time to time - most are just trying to build their follower lists as I did.  But there are some real gems in there and I want to hear every word they have to say.

So what I can do with Twitter lists is group some of my followers who are likely to be interested in the same thing into a list or subset of my group of followers.  So I can look at a filtered feed that will only contain those followers (or people I follow, by the way) that are likely to talk about a specific topic or set of topics.  I have a list of techies who provide me with technical data on a wide range of topics.  I have a filtered list of news and political folks.  I have a list of MLM folks in some of the programs that I am in.  I have a list of real estate leaders.

Are you beginning to get my drift ?  Twitter lists can simplify your use of Twitter and bring targeted order out of the chaos.  And it is still free. 

Twitter lists are in beta test at the moment, so give them a little slack if you encounter a growing pain.  But props to the Twitter folks for evolving and providing new tools that we are asking for in the standard interface.  

The announcement was made in Oslo, Norway, this morning.  President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. 

It is a particularly interesting result since the deadline for nominations was February 1 – less than two weeks into Mr Obama’s Presidency.

According to the AP, “The Norwegian Nobel Committee lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama’s calls for peace and cooperation but recognized initiatives that have yet to bear fruit: reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the US role in combating climate change.”  (full text of article <here>)

While I do not doubt Mr Obama’s sincerity or intentions in the peace department (which I did with Al Gore’s award from the Nobel committee several years ago), I can only say I would have thought the committee could have waited until further into his Presidency when he actually did something.

Apparently the Nobel Committee has read the same press clippings as the American voters and used the same criteria for selection: no experience, no accomplishments but great expectations.

Great expectations indeed.