suziebeezieland

technical difficulties

I'm sorry for the lack of quality programming lately in suziebeezieland. :) I have a CF card full of photos to show you, and no way to get them onto my laptop right now, because I'm having technical difficulties.

For some reason I can't figure out, I can no longer download photos from my Canon Digital Rebel to my Macbook. It has worked for years, and now suddenly, nope. (My last successful download was on April 18.) Here are all the things I've tried so far. Let me know if you have any ideas for me, tech girls. :)

1. Thought problem was cord between camera and laptop. Replaced cord. Nope.

2. Thought problem was CF card in camera. Replaced CF card. Nope. Also tried two other CF cards we had laying around the house. Nope. Also tried reformatting a CF card. Nope.

3. Thought problem was camera. Bought card reader to read CF card. Laptop will not recognize cardreader. 

4. Thought problem was USB port(s) on laptop. But USB ports still recognize my iPhone and my flash drive and anything else I plug into it besides my camera or the card reader. So if the ports are broken, they're selectively broken.

5. Reset the PRAM on my laptop.

6. Reset the SMC on my laptop.

What else should I try? Help. :( There are too many variables. Tonight I will try downloading my photos onto Bob's laptop, and see if that works. If not, maybe it is my camera, and I just bought a dud card reader, too. Although that seems unlikely.

the secret garden

Claire and I were playing with Kinotopic more this morning, because it's fun! I thought it would be fun to mess around with this pretty Puffin cover from The Secret Garden.  I think it looks a little smoother on the actual Kinotopic site, because there it's a little movie there rather than just an animated gif.

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This is my first cinemagraph. I made it using the Kinotopic app.

I (obviously) need to practice, but it's really fun!

It kind of looks like a tattoo on somebody's arm, but actually I used a Rae Dunn (off-white) vase with a birdy on it, and wiggled it for a little bit for my 3-second video. The app takes you through what to do once you have that little video. It seems to work best if the movement you're using is rhythmic and slight and not too jerky.

Some of the cinemagraphs people have made are so fantastic. I especially like this one with berries, and this one with tea steam, and this one with the plant's reflection in the window, and this one with the construction site. And this one with the skirt. And this one with the smoke. Magical! Click on the "top" link next to "featured" and "latest" to see the best ones.

(Kinotopic is my new favorite app. I'm horribly fickle when it comes to apps, but it seems like each is more glorious than the next with what they can all do.)

the "it's a small world" app

Disney has released an It's a Small World book app for iPhone and iPad that is completely enchanting.

Some little kids with really cute voices narrate it, and the interface is fun.

It's all very sweet and simple and I know it is designed for little kids, but I keep playing with it. :) 

It costs $3.99 in iTunes.