vhs tapes to digital video
2008.07.06 21.48
The GFF is out of town in Nebraska so I've spent the July 4th long weekend trying to get every imaginable errand and task completed prior to her return. Also included in there is cleaning the house, the clothes, and the dog and not necessarily in that order. Chief among my distractions has been the videotape conversion that I've always wanted to carry out. I currently have four 1-terabyte drives that are set up as RAID-1 (meaning they appear as 2 drives in total with the other 2 acting as automatic mirror backups). Very nice! 1-terabyte drives are now below $200 so I figure I'd like to replace all of the remaining drives with them. I know, I know. I'm a hard drive prude.I *just* got through importing "AE9: VidCam: 93-02/27+ San Antonio Trip;" which in truth means it is VHS tape #320 out of a collection of something like 425 tapes. I'm skipping all of the duplicated movies that are on the tapes, which makes deciding what to import super simple. The rule is: if it's not a movie or a TV show that I can buy on DVD then it's a candidate. The San Antonio tape was filmed in 1993 and features ex-GFF Betsy and I driving to San Antonio where we commit a litany of boring offenses. The haunted house section is the most interesting piece, IMHO. I managed to shower and shave while this gem was duplicating, so I can't really offer highlights. Oh, but wait. Yes I can. The import is done and I can view the clips. Here's what they tell me was worth my precious time:
Saturday, February 27, 1993:
- Leaving the hotel and Betsy telling me that her grandparents can never EVER see this video. Oops.
- Betsy discovers she's wearing brown shoes and a black belt and must return to the hotel to remediate
- Ugly ring shopping. Betsy: "Is this ring ugly?" Me: "Yes."
- Lunchbox shopping until the shopkeeper yells at me for videotaping. Betsy was just about to reveal someone's name etched inside a lunchbox.
- Clandestinely filming in an antique store while mean shopkeeper lady is looking the other way
- Mark rips off Betsy's hand (see this)
- Ordering grub at Wendy's and sending back the chili. Betsy: "I can't eat those onions."
- Buying Elvis Presley stamps at the post office
- Betsy's first time ever through a revolving door. Wow!
- Visiting The Alamo and the Alamo store (shortened because you can't film inside the Alamo).
- Riding a trolley with me making dumb observations.
- Mark buys a Lotto ticket (I didn't win).
- Mark buys a piece of jalapeņo flavored fudge. Mmmm!
- Mark listens to his three voice mail messages.
- Betsy notices birds nesting inside and outside of an electrical box
- Having our pictures drawn by a caricature artist (this was eventually cut in half after the breakup)
- Apparently sitting outside the local Parole Violators Facility (I have no idea)
- Betsy plays in a giant wooden playground
- Going into The Towers of America observation deck
- Getting lost walking back to the hotel
- Fictitiously pointing out that our rooms were 335 and 334 (grandparents please take note).
- Returning to the post office to mail Rona a letter
- Mark plays with a voice changer at the corner store
- Betsy applies sun tan lotion in public (apparently this is why we were at the aforementioned corner store)
- Donating money to Save Hunger coalition guy on the street. Betsy (to me): "Your shorts are too tight." Ewww.
- Looking at a Canadian penny covered car outside the wax museum
- Charlie, the wax museum ticket cutter guy, instructs me on video camera etiquette
- Wax museum and Ripley's tour. Betsy screams like a banshee at one point.
- Late dinner at Garcia's Mexican Restaurant (a second time!) by the Riverwalk
- I've locked myself out of my car and Betsy can't find her ring (the ugly one from yesterday?)
- Phone calls on the road home (in case we flip the car?)
- Riding home into the sunset and chatting while Betsy films me.
