World Backup Day 2017

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It’s that time of the year again. Time to backup all of your data. Obviously you shouldn’t wait a whole year to do this but if it hasn’t been done, now is your reminder. I wrote about World Backup Day last year and provided a few tips and tricks for backing up your data.

Now that another year has passed so I figured I could offer up a few other ideas on how you could keep your data backed up and ready in case of a failure.

googlephotosWhen you’re dealing with personal backups typically, not always but most of the time the main thing users will want backed up is their photos and videos. They have thousands of them on their phones, tablets, and computers. Google has released Google Photo Backup a couple years ago and it is so easy to implement on your devices.

Just head on over to Google.com/Photos and download the PC/Mac app, or head over the app store for your mobile device and search for Google Photo Backup. Download and install and follow the prompts. If you choose the lower quality setting on your devices you basically end up with unlimited storage! Don’t think that the lower quality will diminish your photos, the quality is still there unless you are shooting in RAW or some other ridiculously high quality format. Your basic phone photos will still look fantastic.

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If you have data that isn’t photos or videos you can still easily back them up using Google’s Drive application. Just create a free account and then just drag and drop your files to the Drive. You are limited in space but you can purchase additional storage for a very reasonable price.

So if you haven’t started your backups, you better get going. World Backup Day is on a Friday this year, so if you are looking for something to do this weekend, now you got it.

If you are still unsure of how to protect your data visit the WorldBackupDay.com website and get some good tips on what you can do to make sure your data is backed up and safe.

THE WORLD BACKUP DAY PLEDGE

“I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st.”

I will also tell my friends and family about World Backup Day – friends don’t let friends go without a backup.

TAKE THE PLEDGE ON

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Superheroes, Chess and Comics at the World Chess Hall of Fame!

strange suspense stories-1The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) in Saint Louis proudly debuts an interactive new exhibition, Pow! Capturing Superheroes, Chess & Comics on Thursday, March 23, with a special public opening reception from 6-8 p.m. This exhibit will be on view through September 17, 2017.

With Pow! Capturing Superheroes, Chess & Comicsthe WCHOF is delighted to present a family-friendly exhibit geared toward visitors of all ages. This colorful and interactive exhibit is sure to wow even the most seasoned museumgoer.

Visitors will enjoy:

  • Over 200 chess-themed comic books
  • Dressing up like their favorite superheroes
  • Taking a selfie in the photo booth
  • Perusing favorite comics in the reading room
  • Illustrating in a drawing room
  • Playing chess on fun boards featuring Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman and more.

The historic comics collection includes rare editions, such as the earliest chess-related cover, DC Comics’ More Fun Comics 76, released in 1942; and a 1947 DC Action Comics Superman in The Cross Country Chess Crimes. Additionally, objects will be on view for comic and chess aficionados to appreciate, including limited edition, collector comic-inspired chess sets. This novel exhibit is designed to bring out the kid in everyone!

ComicsEventGraphic“We are thrilled to introduce this new exhibit. In Pow! Capturing Superheroes, Chess & Comics, the fantastical worlds of superheroes, chess and comics come to life in an interactive and educational way. We look forward to welcoming visitors of all ages,” said Shannon Bailey, chief curator.

All works in this exhibit are from the collection of WCHOF and on loan from Bernice and Floyd Sarisohn. Written contributions are by Michael Tisserand, author of Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White and Roy Thomas, former Editor in Chief at Marvel Comics.

This year commemorates the fifth anniversary of the WCHOF. The organization has welcomed more than 60,000 visitors since it’s opening. Its widespread acclaim has been complemented by the efforts of its sister organization, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, an educational institution that focuses on teaching and promoting the game of chess. The combined efforts of the Saint Louis chess campus led the United States Senate, in 2014, to declare Saint Louis the national capital of chess.

Admission to exhibit is complimentary with a suggested donation of $5.

WCHOF Hours: Monday–Tuesday and Saturdays (10 a.m.–5 p.m.), Wednesdays–Fridays 
(10 a.m.–9 p.m.) and Sundays (noon–5 p.m.)

Proceeds from Q Boutique, the gift store of the WCHOF, support the exhibitions and education programs of the WCHOF.

For more information, please visit the World Chess Hall of Fame online at www.worldchesshof.org or call (314) 367-9243(WCHF).

Visit the WCHF social channels: Facebook (@WorldChessHOF), Twitter (@WorldChessHOF), Instagram (@worldchesshof), and YouTube (www.youtube.com/worldchesshof).

Happy Birthday to My Wife!

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I thank my lucky stars each and every day that I have this beautiful lady in my life. She is my rock and my soul. She is my best friend and my biggest fan. A fantastic mother to our kids and a remarkable wife to me. There’s not a lot that I can say that hasn’t already been said. I wish my wife the most happiest of birthday’s today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The Script – Short Film

The Script - Movie PosterSometimes I obsess about things. Most of the time it is an obsession with a T.V. show or movie. I will start watching a series and if I have to stop watching in the middle of a season then there’s a good chance that I just start thinking about that show constantly. Wondering what’s going to happen next. Analyzing all of the details, etc. Same thing with a movie. I will watch it and then think about it so much that it becomes this weird obsession.

There are times where this obsession extends beyond T.V. and film. Recently, my cousin and I have been working with a group of students so they can create a short film for this festival a few teachers and I are trying to put together. So as me and my cousin are talking with these kids and telling them that making a short film can be challenging but can also be somewhat easy.

It’s easy right? At least that’s what we’re telling these kids. Come up with a story and then start putting together your shots and you’ll do great. So why not show them how easy it actually is. So I started obsessing. I got home one night and spent 30 minutes trying to come up with an idea. Most of the those ideas were way to crazy. I wouldn’t be able to pull off over half of them. So I went simpler. That’s when the idea hit me. I spent the next 20 minutes writing a script and I fired it off over to my cousin and he took a look at it and gave me the thumbs up we needed to get started.

After a bit of back and forth to figure out logistics we had our plan in place to get this short off the ground. We planned to shoot everything in one day so the schedule was going to be pretty tight. I figured the majority of the work was going to be editing. So once the day of the shoot arrived we knocked out all of our shots four hours ahead of schedule. We could’ve maybe done some more, but we had what we needed and we didn’t want to over complicate things. Remember, we’re doing this to show teenagers how to make a movie.

20 hours was put into editing the footage, creating the animation, and editing all of the audio we had our short film. I created a poster and a little behind the scenes slideshow to show the students. We went over how we did some of our effects, practical and digital as well as where lighting was set, the acting process, and a few other neat tidbits about our process. The students seemed to really enjoy our short film and now I hope you do as well.