Author: Paurian

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QTVR of Rock Ledge Ranch

Rock Ledge Ranch 180 degree Panorama June 3, 2006

Last summer during a visit to one of my favorite living historical museums, Rock Ledge Ranch, I decided to make a QuickTime VR of the entrance.

This was done using all open-source tools that are far more advanced than the originating QTVR tools a decade ago. Back in 1995 when you wanted to try this you had to be very careful with the nodal point while panning the equipment. The QTVR software ran somewhere between $600 and $800. It was very technical and you had to tilt your head sideways to view the flow as it cut and restitched photos. I think you even had to do all this on a Macintosh, too – though shouldn’t everyone be using a Mac (grin)?

Since then, people have reverse engineered how QTVR works and have created some very slick open source tools that allow us to build these on a PC and at much less than the $600+ original software price. Even better, some of the software is extremely good at cleaning up our angular distortions from bad nodal points. That means even simple tripods (like the cheapo walmart brand used for this photo shoot) can be used without the expensive $100-$500 bracket solutions.

I meant to post this up ages ago. I also meant to post every weekday evening, feed the homeless and save the whales. While you’re waiting for that surge in whale population, enjoy the virtual panorama past the entrance across the bridge of Rock Ledge Ranch.

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Time

Maybe by getting older and having kids, time has become more valuable. I didn’t think much of it as a kid, hence the often yelled “We’re Waiting On You!” phrase that I heard growing up.

But as I was sifting through some well kept day planner pages from 2001 and 2002 I realized something. For two years I worked an average of 60 hours a week. Seeing that and realizing how little that got me in my career, and how much time I didn’t get with my family, I just shake my head in disgust.

How could I have been such an idiot? Not that I don’t mind working extra hours, but when you have an additional 900+ hours of work (above the regular work hours) in just one year alone … sheesh.

What could I have done with those 900 hours? Write more songs? Be a better dad? Be a better husband? What good did it do me to plug in 14 hour days on a regular basis? To add more injury to myself, I didn’t use up all my vacation time for that time … haven’t used my vacation time appropriately for years. As a result, I feel tired most of the time. My kids aren’t as close to me as I’d like and my marriage isn’t as strong as it should be. Neither is my walk with God.

I’m grateful that I took the time to record those hours. I quickly forget how long I’ve been pushing myself so hard and how worthless it all is. No rewards all around.

Looking at this, the question is – how do I change? What can I do to make the future better? Hours have already been cut back at work thanks to a change in position. I have to admit that I was upset at first, but it’s nice to be working a normal 40-45 hour week. I have to admit that I’ve contemplated a major uproot and taking my family to Italy or Spain where I hear of 30 hour work weeks, mid-day siestas and higher family values. Well – no Spain for us, at least not for now. But I need to make the time with my family precious. Not precious as in it’s so rare, but precious as in it’s so common they feel my absence when I’m not there.