Dean Lisenby

Need to convert video…

2009-07-10T10:08:00.001-07:00

Recently, I took on a side project for one of my web site hosting customers. It involved converting videos that he had taken to a web viewable format. Admittedly, I am a novice in this area but I took on the challenge so I’d learn something new.

Here was the challenge:

Convert these files to a format that we could stream without downloading the entire file first.
Find a place on the web to hold many many hours of video.
Perform the research necessary to give him an idea of cost associated with streaming these videos.
Keep the files as small as possible due to items 2 and 3 above.
Maintain sanity on this project which I knew nothing about.

So I started with a DVD that looked like this.

It played fine in my PowerDVD player loaded on my machine. But I needed to rip it to a more standard format. I chose to use a product called Handbrake to allow me to convert it to MP4 format. This is quite standard and streamable, but they are huge! The example above settled out at about 1.6 gigabytes.

So at least it’s ripped now but too large, I then use a product called Super © to convert to FLV format. Flash Video is even MORE standard that MP4, is much smaller and won’t take up so much space on the host servers (which mean cheaper!).

After conversion, the files are now only 280 megabytes or so. The space savings is about 80% over MP4.

I found a SWF player to play the FLV videos. Check out FlowPlayer 3.1.

So, we have items 1 and 4 above covered.

To keep this blog reasonably short, I’ll cut to the chase.

There should be an easier way to convert straight to FLV from a DVD. Someone out there knows that way! Please share it.
I settled on using Rackspace’s partnership with Limelight to provide the cloud storage and streaming. They have a great system but I have had quite a bit of problems getting the files uploaded. They eventually work but with lots of errors.
Cost is relative to the amount of folks watching. We’re still discovering all the hidden costs.
I am not aware of a format smaller than this. Anyone?
Not sure I ever had sanity. This one whipped me and I’m sure I’m not efficient enough on it.

Maybe one day I’ll be able to grow and be like Ian Beyer! He’s the king of Live Streaming on a Budget!

If anyone wants more details, I’ll be glad to answer them as best as I can.

USMC Training

2009-07-08T20:32:00.001-07:00

WARNING: This post is not about bragging or being proud. This post is for people just like me who struggle with exercise and don’t ever stick to it. I’ve got a long way to go but I’ve come a long way to date!

Back in April, Terri and I went to the beach with the kids during their spring break. It was the week before that when Mark Williams and I were talking about the need to get back into shape. We made a small wager (1 bottle of water) to see who could lose the most weight before the ACS 2009 National Convention. I don’t “diet” well so I decided to cut down on what I eat but to continue to eat what I want.

I knew I needed to exercise. When the wager happened, I decided that I had put off “running” as an exercise way too long. I had two knee surgeries back in the early 90s and I’ve been using that as an excuse since then. So I started running…. jogging I guess you’d call it. I made it about 200 yards and had to stop for AIR! I’d walk a little…run a little. I did this 4 out of 7 days as far as I could. Within a week, (remember we’re at the beach) I was jogging almost 3/4 of a mile without stopping. I’ve kept this up since then.

Then I decided that I wanted to do something I’ve never done before. So I started looking around at 5K events, 10K events, Cooper River Bridge Run, etc. I came across the United States Marine Corp Mud Run event. I started talking it up at work and others became interested. Sweet! I now have some accountability partners to train with. By the way, over 20 people at ACS are planning on participating. Our motto: We’re not here to compete, we’re here to complete!

So the real training has begun. Tonight, I went to the gym.

Here’s two photos of the equipment that I trained on. First, the treadmill.

That was a 50 minute walk/jog/run. I made it almost 4 miles and burned 627 calories.

Then I went off and did 25 Sit Ups, 30 Push Ups, some free weights and then jumped on the bike for a 10 minute ride that made it an additional 3 miles.

Bottom Line: I have lost 14 pounds to date without “dieting”. I’m able to run 4 miles pretty easily and can do it with only a few one minute walks in that 50 minute period. My knees don’t hurt (yet) and I’m well on my way to actually running in a 5K event as well as the Mud Run. Come on America, Exercise and cut back your eating. It’ll be good for all of us!

Dean

You really should go there!

2009-07-01T18:51:00.001-07:00

On April 2, 2009, I celebrated an anniversary with my wife of 14 years. We took the time to go out and eat dinner together at a place we had never heard of. This place was in Boykin, SC and was called The Mill Pond Steakhouse. Here’s my review.

Their slogan is: “Where the only thing better than our view is our food!”, Here was our view:

and here’s the food:

Bottom line: I dropped over a $100 for this food but without a doubt, the best steak I’ve ever put in my mouth and Terri agreed.

The view was awesome. But best of all was the company!

Good luck finding it but if you do, it’s worth it!

A big shout out to our friends Billy and Cathy Rolfe for the recommendation!

Don’t blame me…

2009-06-08T07:06:00.001-07:00

I’m just sharing a video.

I hope I can do this at age 89!

2009-05-31T10:26:00.001-07:00

Fran and Marlo Cowan have been married for 62 years. Marlo is 89-years-old in this video. And both found themselves at the Mayo Clinic.

There happens to be a piano in the clinic’s atrium, and the Cowans decided to play.

There is more cheer and energy in this couple than many 20-year-olds. And they fill a hospital with laughter and smiles.\

via

The Law of the Garbage Truck

2009-05-21T21:16:00.001-07:00

A friend, Jeff, shared this with me the other day….

“One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And, I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of

disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!“

Apparently David Pollay has written a book about his story.

How’s your vision?

2009-05-18T18:29:00.001-07:00

Do you have a plan? know where you’re heading? Let me introduce Jonathan.

Jonathan works with us at ACS and he’s a player on the local arena football team, the Florence Phantoms. He told Pattie White, one of our executives this story the other day. These are the words of Pattie:

“He told me how his coach talked with them about setting their eyes on winning the championship. And his coach coaches on life – not just where you’re headed in the next 20 minutes but the next 20 years. Jonathan said it’s pretty powerful stuff. The Phantoms were the 2008 AIFA Champions. BTW, Jonathan’s set his sights on ACS and a job in marketing as his next stop.”

I’m betting he gets that job in marketing soon.

So I ask you again, do you know where you’re going? do you have a plan? If not, seek out Jonathan, I bet he can help you!

I wanna do something different….

2009-05-15T19:41:00.001-07:00

Today, I was cleaning up my inbox at the office and came across an email from one of my employees, Will. Will was suggesting that ACS put a team in the annual USMC Ultimate Challenge Mud Run.

My first thought was WHAT? Has he lost his mind? Then I remembered seeing some photos on Facebook that an ACS Customer had just finished a mud run also. Anne was having FUN. Sure… it was grueling but she had fun!

So I started thinking… maybe? should I? nah… wait. Maybe we should get a team together and challenge the other departments at ACS to see which department can finish the fastest (all in fun!)

Maybe we can get these folks out from behind their desks and get some exercise. The run isn’t until September so we can get some exercise in before then.

So, here’s my questions:

Have you ever run one of these?
Did you do anything to train for it?
Would you do it again?
Do you think I can do it?
Will you enter with me?

Remove the nagging Instant Search Bar in Outlook

2009-05-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

For my technical friends and those that get aggravated like me when it comes to nagging screens.

If you're like me and you hate desktop search applications (other than Google Desktop), you've installed Office 2007 and you keep getting nagged in Outlook to install Windows Desktop Search with an annoying 'Click here to enable Instant Search' tooltip, turning it off is easy.

In Outlook 2007, go to Tools -> Options -> Other -> Advanced Options and remove the check for 'Show prompts to enable Instant Search'."

There… gone.

A Challenge from a guy named Peter

2009-05-04T18:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday in worship, there was some scripture read that brings out a pretty bold challenge.

1 Peter 3 says this:

Live in harmony with one another
be sympathetic
love as brothers
be compassionate and humble.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.

David went on to read 1 Peter 4. Here’s what it had to say:

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.
If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides

So how’s that for a challenge in less than 5 verses in the Bible?

Vacation Wrap up….

2009-04-18T19:25:00.001-07:00

So, I recently told you about the vacation that my family took this week. I am amazed at what a budget did for us.

We budgeted to spend $750, outside of lodging, for the 5 day stay at the beach. Here’s the breakdown:

Misc Groceries for the room: 25
Breakfast Money: $70
Lunch Money: $90
Dinner Money: $190
Entertainment: $175
Random Shopping: $200 (I had to let Terri be herself for a little while)

So get this… we arrive at the hotel to find that our Breakfast was INCLUDED with the room. This wasn’t a “continental” breakfast. This was a hot breakfast meal. Grits, Eggs, Waffles, Pancakes, Fresh Fruit, Cereal, Bacon, Sausage.. and to top it off. A BUFFET! Sweet.

We checked in and headed to dinner at TGI Fridays. we have a rule when we are out of town; We don’t eat at restaurants that are available in Florence. We pulled into the parking lot at Fridays, to be greeted with a sign that said, Kids eat FREE Sunday through Thursday…. SUH-WEET! So, instead of spending $40 to get a nice meal, it costs us $24. cha-ching. Another savings.

Then we headed to the grocery story to get what we needed for misc snacks and lunches. We were expecting to spend around $100 to be able to eat in the room for 4 of the 5 days at lunch and to give us some snacks to munch on. Somehow, it came out to $31. Sweet! again…

Anyway, I’ll keep it short. (there are other savings…) Here was the final breakdown.

Misc Groceries for the room: $31

Breakfast Money: $0

Lunch Money: $77

Dinner Money: $111

Entertainment: $92

Random Shopping: $138 (I know what you’re thinking. She actually left money on the table.)

Misc drinks, medicines, slushies, etc: $81

We had $220 leftover from a budget that we felt like was pretty good from the start.

Here’s what I believe to be the morals of the story.

Set a budget and then work to stay within the budget.
We took CASH… no Credit card allowed. Credit Cards are too easy.
Look for opportunities and take advantage of them (i.e. kids eat free). We almost ate at TGI Fridays AGAIN just for the savings.

What else did I miss? what other morals do you see?

All in all, this allowed for us to spend more family time together also! and we had fun too!

we’re on vacation!

2009-04-15T19:55:00.001-07:00

So, the family and I are on vacation this week. We’re down here at Myrtle Beach. Let me tell you a quick story.

Terri and I have been planning a nice trip somewhere for the last year and this is where we ended up.

We got our passports last year so we could go anywhere we wanted to go. By the way, for the cost of these passports, we could have went on a mini-vacation.
We saved up Frequent Flier Miles so we could fly anywhere.
We got us a Capital One Credit Card and started building points, paying it off every month (or most every month) so we could redeem the points for Gift Cards for Gas or to Restaurants that we liked.
We joined Hilton Honors and Marriott Rewards so we could save up points to get some free hotel somewhere.

All that worked for us. We saved some spending money also. We could have went anywhere we wanted to go. Then something happened. We started thinking about lots of different things. Here’s my thoughts:

I need to get out of debt, including my house. That’s Dave Ramsey’s fault.
I need to be saving money in this crazy economy. That’s Terri’s Grandfather’s fault. He beat that into my head.
I committed to give quite a bit of cash to the Ebenezer Baptist Church Capital Campaign. (It is not too late for you to give either!)
I can have just as much fun right here in SC as in another state. (maybe)
I’ll wait and take my wife to Hawaii next year for our 15th anniversary.

So, here we are in Myrtle Beach, SC and we went from spending several thousand dollars to trying to make this vacation cost less than $1500, including 5 nights in a really nice hotel. Check back later to see how that’s working out for us.

You are a failure.

2009-04-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

You are a failure and you should be proud!

Sometimes, as a society; a company; a department; and even individuals, we’re afraid to step out and try new things because we’re afraid to fail. Save this email and when you’re struggling a little bit, I want to use 7 minutes of your life to show you what happens when you fail.

http://dreams.honda.com/#/video_fa

It’s ok to try new things that you think will make a process, product, procedure better. It’s ok to fail.

Just think where Honda is now. If you don't know, you didn't watch the video!

Special hat tip to Curtis Harris for sharing this video via Twitter.

14 years of "happily ever after"

2009-04-01T19:50:00.001-07:00

Today, April 2, marks the day.... it was 14 years ago that Terri Ann Parker said yes and became Terri P. Lisenby or as I like to say.... Mrs. Larry Dean Lisenby, Jr. Please join me in celebrating this special day!

I won't even try to tell you how much I love this girl. She's perfect for me. We complement each other so much (except in a couple of areas.. ;-) ).

So... Here's a snapshot of us from the past. These photos were taken in 1989 when we first started dating.

Those photos led to this:

We've lost both our dads but we've spawned these two:

Today, we're a family living the American Dream.

Thank you Jesus for bringing us together (even through all my stupidity)....

Catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Ebenezer, TKA - You are making a difference

2009-03-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night after church, my daughter, Breanna, heard the word "democrat" on the radio. Apparently it was used in a way that sounded like it was bad word. So Breanna started asking questions. The dialogue went something like this:

Breanna: What is a democrat?
Daddy: Well, it's one of our political belief systems in America.

B: What's that mean?
D: (Note:I tried to explain Republican and Democrat parties and what the "party" system meant).

B: How are they different?
D: Well, generally Democrats believe in larger Government involvement than Republicans. Generally, Democrats believe in abortion (which I had to explain as "killing living babies while they are in their mommies tummies" - you got a better way?) Generally, Republicans want tax cuts and Democrats want to tax more to help the poor. (I went on.)

B: What are we?
D: Daddy doesn't like either belief system but we generally believe like Republicans.

B: What is Obama?
D: He's a democrat.

B: He kills babies?
D: No, he doesn't but he does make decisions that allows people to kill them.

B: He's like Pharaoh in the Bible. He killed all baby boys under 3 years old.
D: I guess that's a good comparison. (What am I supposed to say?? It's the truth, right?)

B: The Bible says not to kill people.
D: That's right.

B: Does Obama believe in God?
D: He says he does, but only he and God know for sure. That's the way it is with everyone.

B: I wish Obama was a republican.
D: Me too baby.

ok... so this carried on for a while. I came home from work last night and Terri handed me this paper.

Ebenezer Baptist Church and The Kings Academy makes a difference in the lives of children. If you are working with my children in any way, please go to bed tonight knowing that you are having an impact on my kids and the many others involved in your programs! Thank you.

PS: This post is not intended to poke fun at anyone. It is intended to show you all how the minds of our kids are so impressionable. Unfortunately, the nation will never all believe the same way, nor would I want that. It is sad to me that a child can come to this conclusion pretty much on her own. I try not to lead my children to conclusions but instead answer their questions and see where it leads.

Your comments are appreciated.

yea..it is boring...

2009-03-19T21:01:00.001-07:00

Last week, my daughter, Breanna, found a book that my wife, Terri, had put together showing the styles, colors, patterns, etc that we wanted in our house that we had intended to build. This book was put together in 1999 so the builder would know what we expected when we built our house in 2000. It worked beautifully for it's purpose. Since then, the book has been laying around collecting dust.

So, as I mentioned, Breanna found it. She asked what it was, so we told her. Her eyes lit up like it was Christmas. We were sort of shocked about that since we couldn't imagine her getting anything out of that book. Terri said, "Breanna that books gonna be boring to look through but if you want to, go ahead". Imagine to our surprise the next morning when we went into the office, there lay the book with this note laying on top of it.

Yep.. that's our girl.

A few thoughts tonight.

2009-03-15T19:29:00.001-07:00

Got this in the mail this week:

You really think that interests me? I put $5000 in the bank with you and I get a $10 bonus???? really? $10? please.

Then.... I was cleaning up all my "paperwork" from all my bills over the last month. We're on draft for probably 80% of all our bills. I still get this much junk mail and paper statements:

Then finally cleaning out an old notebook to throw away,I came across some source code from the late 80's for ACS:

423 Miles per gallon??

2009-03-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

I'm disturbed by the CSX ads that promote 423 miles per gallon of fuel. Really? then as they put it, "it's a shame we can all drive a train". Here's the two ads that I know about. Only the second one states the claim. So, I set out to find out more. Here's a few blogs that help explain it.

Here's the CSX Website

Blog from the Macon Telegraph

Yahoo Questions and Answers - there is a mispelling in here. It's not by "rain" but by "train". Just thought you'd like to save a minute re-reading that sentence.

Anyway, my conclusion is that is sounds like a little

Random Thoughts throughout the day

2009-03-11T20:01:00.001-07:00

Had a conversation this morning surrounding spouses and the fact that we're each other's lead volunteers. My wife volunteers my time to do things and I volunteer hers. It's just the way it works. I love helping my wife complete projects. Do you?

How much of God's money gets wasted by churches switching vendors constantly?

Sat in on a presentation today by Anthony Coppedge regarding Twitter and Facebook. If you aren't at least looking into Twitter and Facebook, you're missing out.

If you don't take 15 minutes and watch this video, you're going to miss an absolutely wonderful video about return on Ministry. Thanks David for posting it.

Seriously.. watch the video!

Happy Birthday Tripp!

2009-03-10T13:04:00.001-07:00

Today's the day that God himself reached into our lives and placed our second child in our care. Technically it happened a few months earlier, but this day was the first day we'd get to hold him and touch him, hear him breath, and of course, change that first stinky diaper.

Today, it's getting hard to hold him (although Tripp and Mom and Dad still enjoy it very much), he doesn't need to have a diaper changed, he feeds himself, and quite frankly doesn't want your help (he got that from Terri).

His personality is priceless and the things he says are awesome. He's smart and already knows how to read (of course he got that from both sides of the family, just ask us. :-) ).

Regardless, please join me in saying Happy Birthday to Larry Dean "Tripp" Lisenby, III.

Way to go Marcia!

2009-03-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to the hard work of Marcia Watkins... Marcia is a great friend of our family. The other day I was cleaning up some old photos that I picked up from my moms and came across this one below that was extremely old. Best I can guess it was taken around 1912 or so. It's been through the ringer. I asked Marcia to take a stab at cleaning it up for me and she graciously obliged. See below for the original and the finished product. Isn't that awesome? Thanks Marcia!

Economy and Stock Market Thoughts

2009-03-07T06:59:00.001-08:00

Expecting this dollar to be the next design printed on the dollar any time now:

Then, since apparently, I'm one of the ones paying my mortgage on time, I think I'll add this bumper sticker to my car so I can at least know who I am helping in this world.

Just saying...

oh.. want to see what a trillion dollars looks like?

Do you feel recognition is important?

2009-03-03T20:14:00.001-08:00

Soccer was over in November.

This picture was taken today.

When Tripp played T-Ball at the YMCA, his team presented him with a small trophy. He BEAMED in delight when he received that trophy.

When the end of Soccer season rolled around, we were on our way to the final night of awards. Terri and I assured Tripp he'd be getting another trophy. Well.. we were wrong. He got a duffle bag. We didn't think twice about it until we were almost to the car and I noticed a little tear in his eye. I dropped to my knee to see what was bothering him when he tearfully stated, "I didn't get a trophy". Aw...my heart melted. What do you do? Well, we promised him we'd get him a trophy. It soothed things over for the moment. About every two weeks since then, he's reminded us about his trophy.

Last week, Terri ordered the trophy. It came in today. Today, we picked it up. He carried around all afternoon. Tripp and Breanna played "trophies" today. He cheerfully put on his uniform from the fall for this photo.

Here's what I learned:

That trophy signifies "a good thing" to him.
He wants to win. It's born inside of all of us.
He was persistent in his pursuit of his trophy.

Bottom Line: He wanted to be recognized.

Today, commit to do one of these things:

Show appreciation of someone
Make a point today to make someone feel good (look at that smile on his face!)
Keep your ego in check. You're no better than anyone else.
Appeal to people's values and passions. They want to use their skills!
Don't be a Nay-sayer! (is that spelled correctly?)

Great Job Tripp!

Lincoln to his Brother...

2009-02-26T04:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a letter that Abraham Lincoln wrote to his brother when he was asked for some money. Dave Ramsey often tells people on his Radio show to read it.

Dear Johnston:--
Your request for eighty dollars, I do not think it best to comply with now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you have said to me, "We can get along very well now," but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now this can only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an idler. I doubt whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day's work, in any one day. You do not very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it. This habit of uselessly wasting time, is the whole difficulty; and it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break this habit. It is more important to them, because they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it easier than they can get out after they are in.
You are now in need of some ready money; and what I propose is, that you shall go to work, "tooth and nail," for somebody who will give you money for it. Let father and your boys take charge of things at home--prepare for a crop, and make the crop; and you go to work for the best money wages, or in discharge of any debt you owe, that you can get. And to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of next May, get for your own labor either in money or in your own indebtedness, I will then give you one other dollar. By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work. In this, I do not mean you shall go off to St. Louis, or the lead mines, or the gold mines, in California, but I mean for you to go at it for the best wages you can get close to home, in Coles County. Now if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt, and what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out, next year you will be just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place in Heaven for $70 or $80. Then you value your place in Heaven very cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make you get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five months' work. You say if I furnish you the money you will deed me the land, and if you don't pay the money back, you will deliver possession-- Nonsense! If you can't now live withthe land, how will you then live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight times eighty dollars to you.
Affectionately your brother,
A. LINCOLN.

Random Thoughts from Texas

2009-02-24T20:41:00.001-08:00

These last three days I've been in Dallas, Texas. Here's some random thoughts:

This place is flat. There's lots of asphalt and concrete out here.
I'm driving a Hyundai Santa Fe. This thing has a USB port in it. Nice move.
Spending time with people of like minds is ALWAYS productive. My brain is stretched as it relates to technology in the church.
Visiting Clients and Prospects is eye opening. Sitting in an office won't cut it. We need to talk to people to understand what they need. a novel concept.
Twitter and Facebook allows me to keep up with family and friends many miles away.
Spend about 6 hours tonight with friends that most people would consider competitors. It was a great discussion.
You never want to hear a customer use these words "I've pretty much given up".
Frye's Electronics is a geek's heaven. If you've never been, check it out.
I miss my family.
I think I'll check my bag on the way home. If it's late getting home, I don't care.