danny dileo – Page 4

Buffering, Bitrates & Frame Rates, Oh My!

Bitrates, buffering, frame rates and resolution scales; thats what my day consisted of. My goal today was to finally fix some big lingering issues with the video side of things at my church. This didn’t happen. In fact the opposite occurred. I am no closer tonight to fixing anything then I was this morning. That’s a big bummer.

To get you up to speed, recently I completely revamped my church’s live streaming and video production operations. This was something I started at our church back in Connecticut. From the ground up, I was the guy. CT’s streaming setup and operations were pretty smooth for the most part. Of course your usual hiccups here and there, but for the majority of the time, it was an easy and rewarding situation.

When Lindsey and I first moved to GA, I starting helping with the streaming and video side of things. The people who were in charge understood what a big change the move was and allowed me to ease my way into it. Slowly but surely I grew more and more involved. Fast forward to today and the operation is basically mine.

When I took it over, the equipment we were using was simply outdated. And as is true with mostly every church situation, the money was tight. So I decided to take it all on myself. My opinion and vision was, we needed to rid of everything SD and make the plunge for HD. We also needed to change our broadcasting software and where people actually could watch our services. So to say this was a big turn around is an understatement. But to me, these were things that just needed to be done. Sure it would be expensive and sure it would be time consuming, but I really wanted to help move this thing forward.

This is were some headaches were introduced. You see, what a lot of people don’t understand is how many moving parts there are when it comes to this amount of technology all working together. Undo this and it effects that. Switch the setting on that and you’ll ruin a preset over there. Long story short, this was and is a massive undertaking and Comcast and their falsely advertised upload speeds hasn’t made things any easier, but I digress…..

I’m not complaining, far from it. I enjoy every second of it actually. There’s just something about helping people who are at home for whatever reason and experience church and receive something that may help them. Call me corny or whatever, but I genuinely feel that the streaming ministry is important and I feel privileged to be a part of it.

So ya, today was rough. I spent the majority of it away from my family talking with Comcast people and staring at screens, and we’re not any closer to figuring out the biggest issues that have plagued us for the past few months. But I will continue on. Do the research, change settings and bitrates. Rescale resolutions and frame rates. That’s what I do and I feel its important. It’s my place in the church and I enjoy it.

Links, One Day at a Time

S-Town

I am an avid podcast admirer. Something about the medium really speaks to me. Whether it be the intimacy of conversation or the simplicity of audio only interface, podcasts and I just click. I have written at large about Podcasts in the past, so i’ll direct you there if you’d like a little more podcast history.

Recently, I re-experienced ‘Serial Season 1,’ a stellar Podcast from the people at “This American Life.” ‘Serial’ revolves around the mysterious death of a young teenager, with her ex boyfriend, Adnon Syed, as the main suspect. Throughout ‘Serial’ we are privileged with speaking to Adnon from prison and hear his side of this amazing story.

Serial was a fascinating cultural phenomenon, though. Before its release, I dare to say podcasts weren’t on the mainstream radar. Maybe a few of us lonely 3rd shift workers (at the time I worked for Home Depot, 3rd shift) but for the most part, podcasts were an unknown medium. But then Serial, and boom! Podcasts started garnering mass market attention and here we go. Corporate America took notice.

Right around the time my re-listen to ‘Serial’ ended, This American Life announced a new Podcast entitled: “S-TOWN.” They would release ‘S-Town’ all at once, all 7 episodes from the start. I was intrigued, but to be quite honest I wasn’t holding my breath for a masterpiece.

I’ll be up front about it, ‘S-Town’ isn’t a masterpiece by any means. It does however have all the ingredients for something special. There were moments of shock, awe and complete disbelief. Not the murder mystery ‘Serial’ is, ‘S-Town’ is its own breed.

You will meet a man named John B. McLemore, a quite obvious genius. As the story went: John B calls ‘This American Life’ to come investigate what he thinks is an unpunished murder in a small town in Bibb County, Alabama. That gets you in the door. But, ‘S-Town’ is so much more than words could express.

It won’t be long before your completely entangled in John B’s rants on current world issues, the shortcomings of a youthful generation and his complete disdain for his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama. Brian Reed is reporting for ‘This American Life’ and I couldn’t help but connect with so much of his thoughts and opinions as he navigates through this small Alabama town and deepens himself into this unique and bizarre world.

I have so many thoughts and conflicted ideas about how I’m supposed to feel about S-Town, John B. McLemore, Bibb County residents and the story that unfolds. Thats a very foreign feeling for me. Usually I have a decent hold on a piece of art I experienced. S-Town is different though, mainly because so much of it rubbed me the wrong way, but I couldn’t stop listening. It was engrossing to hear John B’s total hatred for his home, but how he felt so connected to the people and surroundings, he just can’t bring himself to leave.

Check it out if you like podcasts. S-Town progresses like a novel. The character of interest, John B, will stamp a lifetime place in your mind. I constantly find myself thinking about him, his actions words and his tireless contempt for his local surroundings and the world itself. He uses vulgarity far more than I am comfortable listening to, but some of his words rang so true, It was hard to turn away.

As uncertain I am about John B. McLemore and S-Town, I know for a fact they will create a unique escapism for listeners. S-Town is no Serial, but its a worthy listen if you have the time to experience something new and the energy to withstand John B’s rants on pretty much every subject in the entire world.

If you do decide to give it a go, I would love to hear your impressions and thoughts.

Deep Thoughts, One Day at a Time

The Conversation Triangle

This is kind of a follow-up post from my previous. I was informed that Lindsey and 2 close friends embarked in an in-depth conversation last night. Not that anyone needs my permission or anything, but I strongly approve of moments like this. This isn’t the first time and probably won’t be the last I harp on a such a subject as important as conversation.

I have told Lindsey many times I feel like the art of conversation is slowly dwindling away. Especially, meaningful conversations where one can grow and learn. I mean think about it, when was the last time you had a significant exchange of words with someone who was 100% invested in what you were saying?

With the rise of social media and the style of “connecting” it spawns, all the little nuances of actually sitting down, looking someone in the eyes and listening to them are lost. Social media disables you to “feel.” You can’t read heartbreak on someone’s voice when you’re reading text on a computer screen. You can’t sympathize through pixels. What social media unfortunatley does enable is quick judgements, silent spectating and empty assurance. It really is a poor excuse of connecting and if thats all the next generation of humans have; they will be sharply cheated out of real, genuine companionship.

In-depth conversations are not only profitable, they are needed. As living, breathing people, we long for connection and bonding, at least I do. And it’s a rare feat when it happens. But when it does, you can bet you’ll know. You feel the presence of something special. Something foreign that only happens when you invite it. From my experience, it takes honesty, patience and listening. The conversation triangle.

Regardless of what subjects were talked about during Lindsey and their conversation, if one yearned for understanding and achieved some sort of answer, thats all that matters. To be able to sit down and reason is a God given right and a necessity. Sometimes we lose sight of the simple things. Like just listening and learning from other people. Even if you don’t agree; switch your brain to learn, its unpopularly profitable.

In conclusion, I’m super thankful we have good friends and family where this is possible; good conversation. Sure, it’s a rarity in todays life. But almost all the battle is having the other half to talk to. We do. When Lindsey told me about their conversation, it served as a great reminder that we have friends who are there to talk when there is a need. And to me, thats priceless.

I had this client in Connecticut named Fred Russel. Fred was a warm, insightful man. He is one of my favorite people i’ve ever met. He was one of those individuals that you just wanted around. When he walked in the room, the atmosphere lit up with positivity.

I’m left thinking of something Fred always said at the end of his haircut. He would never fail to say: “Dan, another long conversation that seemed too short.”

I’ve always thought to myself: “ya, thats the mark of a good connection.” A long conversation that seemed too short.

Sprinkle some honesty, patience and listening on top, and you have something extremely rare and uniquely special.

Life, One Day at a Time

Political Differences

We live in a time of division and strife. It’s not hard to see how divided as a nation we are. Some say it’s the most divided we have ever been. I don’t know, I can’t speak to that. I do know its pretty bad, though. The foundation of that thick division is political difference. The United States of America is by definition a country of differences, we all come from different walks of life, different backgrounds, dissimilar upbringings. But we work it out as a nation. Because unlike any other country in the world, we have a working democracy that our forefathers were wise enough to instill.

Tonight Lindsey and I had a “discussion” about some of our political differences. There no reason to beat around the bush; we have many. Like, many. But for the most part we talked about it like humans and at the very least, we could understand where the other was coming from, I think. How we feel and why we felt that way.

Admittedly and admiringly, Lindsey is much smarter than me. Anyone who knows us knows that. I tend to express my stance through gut feelings. She is much more a fact driven, standards-minding person. I could respect that. I’ve always admired her patriotism. In many ways, I wish this was instilled in me also. I bring this up because no matter our political differences, we still manage to attempt to understand and respect one another.

It brings me great pain to conclude our country doesn’t regard either of those traits. We have zero tolerance for others and we want them to understand us. We have zero respect for someone who believes differently than ourselves, but we don’t try to understand, we lash out.

Yes, indeed. It’s a sad state our country is in. But late at night when its quiet and I’m thinking about these kind of things, I like to believe our country is made up of people like Lindsey and I. People we respect each other regardless of opinions politically charged or otherwise. I think Lindsey and I work because, we love each other as humans first, not policy first. We love and admire each other because of our characteristics as humans.

If our country is to get any better with understanding each other, we first have to look at others as humans and admire their characteristics. Humans aren’t walking political policies, we shouldn’t treat them as such. In the wise words of Rand Paul: “I would never vote for a bill without reading it.” I charge you, should you really judge a person without getting to know them?

I’m glad Lindsey didn’t.

Life, One Day at a Time

Beach Getaway

Lindsey has had awful toothaches recently, resulting in a root canal performed today. The last few nights have been literally unbearable for her. Its been tough to watcher suffer, especially when I can’t help. Thankfully she is feeling much better now. Any ways, she was home from work for about half the day because of her procedure. So around 4 pm I told Liam to go get some shorts on and informed him we were off to a secret location.

Ever since we watched ‘Moana’ the other day, I’ve had the beach on my mind. Luca is still a little too small to bring with, but since Linds was home it was a perfect opportunity to spend some much needed time with Liam.

Beach Getaway! On the way down Liam suggested some Moana music. It was pretty fantastic driving windows down with Moana music at loud volumes. I mean he enjoyed it… I was just along for the ride.

We drove our car on the beach ( I don’t have a permit but was told by a former NY’er now Amelia Island resident, “they never check, don’t worry about it.”) Good enough for me. Liam got a kick out of it. He kept wanting me to drive in the water.

From having a catch with a tennis ball to tracing our names in the sand, playing baseball and going for a long walk, it was a great time. Six year olds need to just run around and act crazy, it was really nice to let Liam let loose and enjoy himself.

It hit me driving back that who knows what memories Liam will retain as he gets older. I mean really, there’s no way of knowing. For Myself, you would think the “big” moments would be stickier than others, and some are. But the little getaways, conversations and life lessons from my mom and dad have stuck with me more than anything.

I hope he had a great time today, but I pray even more; Lindsey and I could give him something money can’t buy. Maybe, like a special memory or 2. He’s a very special little guy, I hope we’re half as special as parents.

Liam and his tennis ball enjoying the beach today

Life, One Day at a Time

Fire in the Sky

There has been an ominous feeling in the air the past few days. If you haven’t been up on weather news in southeast America, the West Mims wildland fire is still roaring about. As of this minute, the blaze has scorched 49,000 acres. Mostly contained in the Okefonokee Swamp, we here in Kingsland, GA have had eerie like conditions the past 48 hours.

Hazy smoke in the air, the smell of a fresh structure fire and small ashes gracefully dropping down to the ground. I must say growing up and living 27 years of my life in Connecticut, I am more than used to bad weather and atmosphere. Of course, that would all fall in the category of snow. But down here, is a whole other ballgame. Hurricanes, Wildland fires, a couple tornado warnings since we’ve moved. South Georgia has proven thus far to be a super hazardous area for weather.

But I like feeling the calm before the storm. I look for opportunities to be out experiencing it. For whatever reason, I feel a closeness with the energy it gives off. So around 8 tonight, I took one look out the window and got that cozy, windy weather feeling. I grabbed Little Luca, strapped him in his stroller and there we were, out on a walk under the pinkish, smokey sky. It was quite memorable to say the least. Just quiet in the air, no talking. He was very calm and enjoying the subtle breeze, as was I.

I’m unsure what the status is w/ the West Mims fire, but I hope they are starting to get a leg up on things. Looking at the map, the head of the fire is not moving towards our home at all. So, I’m thankful for that. It is intact heading towards where I work. The guys have been saying “no way it reaches us.” So I take them at their word and experience. As for the residents affected, I hope they heed the fire officials directions. Most don’t believe it or not.

I am also keeping all those Wildland firefighters in my prayers. They don’t get enough attention for the risks they take. Just Youtube Fire Tornado, that’ll help you understand what these guys are dealing with.

Life, One Day at a Time

Moana = Medicine for Happy

Tonight was a low key family night. Liam and I worked on the backyard in the staggering heat and after Liam’s bubble bath and my shower, Lindsey and I decided to order some pizza and make it a movie night.

Moana has been a film on our watch list for a long time. For whatever reason, its been pushed back and pushed back. Tonight was the night. As you might imagine, I have some thoughts:

“Moana” reminded me of why I loved Disney the way I used to. When it wasn’t bringing back memories of some of my favorite works of theirs through tons of similar visual cues, gags, and designs, it was simply making me happy

I was happy I was there. I was happy I was watching this. I was happy that a movie like this can still exist in a time full of hate, disappointment, and genuine disgust. I was happy that a musical could be one without shame, or need to go along the lines of filling in the blanks with whatever people are listening too. But it can be something I can call a musical and not just a movie that features people singing from time to time.

“Moana” goes the route of having the regular amount of songs typically found in most Disney films (putting around 5 or 6 in total, though I could be wrong), but uses them as a means of expressing characters and story elements without it ever feeling like it cuts out before it reaches its peak.

Most of the songs themselves aren’t as memorable as others, but man, as much as I could complain about that, when they showed up, I could NOT stop myself from having a great time and feeling happy.

And in fact, I think that sums up the my experience with this perfectly. I know for a fact I could find plenty to complain about, like how there’s less of a focus of Moana’s family once she sets out to sea, even though it took up a good twenty or so minutes of the film, or how the third act tends to feel a bit run of the mill. But, I just don’t want to.

For as much as I could harp on those elements, I could spend an equal amount of time talking about the beautiful colors and animation “Moana” showcases from frame one. Something I noticed about the three main Disney Princess movies of the last 6 years (“Tangled”, “Frozen”, “Moana”), is that each tend to have a distinct use of specific colors.

*Speculation time*

With “Tangled,” it was Gold and Purple. With “Frozen”, it was White and Shades of Light Blue. And with “Moana”, it’s shimmering Greens and Blues. Every time there’s a shot of an island or of the ocean, your eyes are always brought back to the color and what shapes they’re taking forms of.

*Speculation time over*

I don’t know about you, but I grew up with these type of movies, these animation styles, these types of songs, characters, so on and so forth. So to see the people who made it come back to the big screen for the first time in over five years and make what could very well be a massive tribute to those, like myself, who want to experience that same amount of wonder and joy that they did as they were children.

If there seems to be a lack of technical talk about stuff like the voice acting (very good), how’s the writing (a tad cliche at points, but still engaging and rather humorous ((plenty of great gags throughout)), how’s the music (beautiful), animation (equally beautiful), the characters (incredibly likable), it’s because well…..do you really want to hear basically the same tune told through a different instrument, or would you rather read about how much something means to someone?

Moana is medicine for happy.

Highly Recommended

Life, One Day at a Time

Home

Home. What does that word mean to you? If you’ve never gave it much thought, you probably have never moved and never been away from geographical familiarity. Before I moved, home meant one thing. After I moved, the distinct definition of home has changed.

“People aren’t transformed by locations…Eventually, we find a place that feels like home and learn to love it, but there’s no place where someone just waves a magic wand to make us become the people we want to be.”

Thats an important quote to take heed to. The grass is greener notion is almost always wrong. Your life is what you make it. And your geographical location should have very little to do with your well being.

I think home means many different things for many different people.

After much thought, at this point in my life the word home to me is people. My family. Where ever they are is where I belong.

Thier geographical location is the only one that matters.

Life, One Day at a Time

Man on the Corner

Everyone has a bad day. Driving home today I saw a man sitting on the side of the road, bunch of bags around him with his hand resting on his head. He looked exhausted, broken down and on his last leg.

When I saw him my first inclination was to stop. See if I could help with anything. I mean, you never know. But the traffic was heavy, turning around would have been a “hassle.” So of course I didn’t. Then I began thinking about how that man got to that place.

In my experience, people see a man like that and think 1 of 2 paths brought him there. Mindset #1 says he must have done something that deserved such a destination. Mindset #2 would say that the man on the corner maybe just had a string of bad luck. Maybe genuine misfortune brought him to that corner.

I fall into the latter. Even if his actions pointed him to the side of the road, what does that matter? He was there, he needed help and I failed at any attempt for such aid.

Something I always am working on is ensuring enough time to do things I think are worthwhile. I failed this time around. Hopefully that man on the corner had a better stroke of luck with another passerbyer.

That man’s bad day was an opportunity for me to turn it around and show a little help. Maybe give a church invitation? But alas, nothing. I need to work on putting more effort into other people. Lord knows I pour enough into myself.

Life, One Day at a Time

Destination Change

Its funny how things come into our life and present themselves. Opportunity, fear, joy and sadness. All major players. All emotions and events we are guaranteed to experience. But when they come; when they “present” themselves we are either surprised, nervous or doubtful. You would think by now we would have a handle on such things. Apparently not. Of course I am just talking about me, not everyone. One thing I’ve learned (the hard way) through this blog is everyone is different. Everyone experiences events and presentations completely differently.

Maybe when life presents you with something, you’re ready, set and good to go, but for me its always been the exact opposite. I’ve never been good at change. Even good change. I’ve never been a change person. But change has also taught me that change is good. A presentation that now, is still difficult but a little easier.

Today I realized something. The last 4 years for me have been mammoth in scale of change. I’ve moved from CT to GA. Switched careers, Lindsey and I had another child and bought a home. Trickle in some tiny bits if change here and there and thats it. That’s our past 4 years in a nutshell. Change is part of life. I get that now.

Change is a presentation in itself and no one is good at unexpected opportunities, bad news, etc. We all are a working project. That comforted me. Comfort in numbers I guess. But, if the past has taught me anything it should blinking in bright lights somewhere. I should welcome change. It produces growth and wisdom. 2 characteristics I never really care much for, until change presents itself.