Using Multiple Webcams for Live Production

Note: I claim no originality for this idea. I'm simply using this to serve as a reminder of the capabilities of technology. Use it wisely.
I probably should have added a couple more graphics to the mix, but it gets the idea across as is.  I hope to do a little more work with these things and see what the possibilities are and inspire some thought.

Note: I think the battery in my microphone was dying. I apologize for the occaisional high pitched metallic sound heard in the audio track.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/3945937]

Technical Specs (for those who care):

• One Logitech webcam


• One Microsoft webcam


• WebcamMax Software (http://www.webcammax.com)


• Photoshop CS2 was used to create the graphics.


• Video was shot at 320 x 240 and was recorded to Windows Media file (.asf).

Almost…

I tried to see how far I could get reading through the New Testament in one day. I had the crazy hope of making it most of the way through. I spent about 6 hours total reading and made it up to John 11. It seems as though I can't just read… I have to study. More coming on this later.

I will say that this has been a very encouraging thing for me to do. As I said before, there will be more on this particular subject to come.

Kyle Butt and Dan Barker Debate

If you haven't already visited, you can view the debate between Kyle Butt (Apologetics Press, Christian Thiest) and Dan Barker (Christian turned Athiest) over the existence of God. To view it on the AP website go to:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/240071

I understand that the debate is also available in a much higher quality DVD from Apologetics Press as well.

All Things Work Together...

All Things Work Together

Isn't it "funny" sometimes how things work out? So many in the world today look at the things that take place around them and approach them as though there is some sort of chaos that reigns and that everything that happens amounts to an accident. Sometimes Christians approach life in the same way.

                Think back to the last time that you prayed. What did you pray for? If you are like most, you probably began by being thankful for the things you've been given, being thankful for even the avenue of prayer itself, and then started laying out a list of needs and wants. That same prayer probably ended by asking for the forgiveness of your sins (or maybe even began that way) and closing the prayer in Jesus' name.

                Now, think really hard about that prayer. Were you really thankful for all of the things you said you were thankful for? Sure you were. Were you really asking for forgiveness? Sure you were. It's probably not a stretch in your mind to realize that God appreciated your thanks and has forgiven you. Why, then, is it such a stretch for us sometimes to think that when we pray for God to take care of us that he actually will? Do we not often fall into the same idea that the world has: chaos rules?

                We live in very turbulent times. Our economy is questionable at best and everyone knows of someone who has lost their job. It also seems like every time someone turns on the news they are greeted by a report of some sort of tragic story of a lost life. Things don't just happen in "big cities" anymore. They happen in small towns, like Samson, AL. Isn't it sometimes hard to look at these things and think "God is going to take care of me"?

                I'm reminded by this of a group of people who may have even found themselves in a similar situation. Think back to Matthew 6, the middle of the "Sermon on the Mount". Jesus is standing before a multitude of his followers, and he authoritatively speaks these words which begin in verse 25, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" He continues by describing how God takes care of everything, even the fowls of the air, which we might even consider of little value (vs. 26). Who can do anything more for himself by worrying about tomorrow (vs. 27)? Does God not even "clothe the grass" which we cut (vs. 30)? God knows all of the things that we need (vs. 32)! He concludes this passage in verse 33 by saying this, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

                What is this? This is a promise, from the Son of God, which says that if you seek after Him first, putting all other pursuits behind Him, then "all these things shall be added unto you". What things? The things God knows that we need! Not every want or desire, but our needs. God takes care of His children!

                Now, our blessings are not a gauge by which we measure how righteous we are (cf. Matt 5:45), but it is assurance to those who are obedient to Him that if it be His will they will survive. Think on what Paul wrote in Romans 8:28. Notice who Paul says things work together for: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." What does this mean? It means that there will be sunshine and rain, bad and good, but God is in control and takes care of those who love and are obedient to Him. Things don't just work out... they "work together for good".

 

-Daniel Howell