How Stella Got Her Chicken Back

We recently taught our dog, Stella, a new trick. She can now beg for food, which we find very amusing. You don't normally see 70 pound German Shepherd begging for food. Actually she's a mixed breed, she's primarily German Shepherd and Chow Chow. But Stella is probably a mix of all different kinds of breeds, we really don't know. We adopted her from the Humane Society when she was about 1 year old and most people think she's some kind of expensive dog or a dingo when they see her. Some kids thought she was a wolf one day I was walking her.

She's quite a clever dog when she wants to be, so we treated her with her favorite food while we were training: CHICKEN. This dog will do your taxes for chicken. She also likes steak, pepperoni, fish and pretty much everything else that isn't a vegetable. But for some reason chicken makes her go crazy. She's even started learning the word "chicken". She knows the word "walk" and "cookie" too, it's really cute when her ears perk up at the sound of "walk".



I thought this was quite entertaining and that these pictures of our dog would entertain the world. And yes, she was fed chicken after taking these photos. She can hold that position for as long as it takes to get chicken shoved in her snout.

Westinghouse TV and Radio Events

Here's a short list of upcoming Pittsburgh television and radio interviews that I will be doing in February and March about the Westinghouse film. This list will be expanding as we approach the DVD release date in April, but this is what I have for now. The times are approximate. If it's one thing I can talk about it's George Westinghouse and why he rocks.

- KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live: 2/15/08 (8:30 am)

- KDKA Radio – Carol Lee Espy Show: 2/16/08 (9:30 pm)

- KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live: 2/18/08 (8:30 am)

- Blog Talk Radio: 3/19/08 (9:00 pm)

- KDKA Sunday Business page: 3/23/08 (am)

- KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live: 4/8/08 (8:30 am)


Thank you to KDKA and Carol Lee Espy and everyone else! By the way, Carol Lee Espy narrates the film Westinghouse, and if you like her voice you'll dig her performance on the film, she can be heard on the Westinghouse trailer below:



The DVD is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and other locations.

Sega Genesis on HDTV and Sega-16.com Interview

Mark Bussler Interview with Sega-16.com HERE.

I get a lot of traffic on my blog and some emails from people wanting to use their Sega Genesis on newer HDTVs and and projectors. Although you can probably get more technical information from the Sega-16.com website, the bottom line is that this IS possible and can look great, but it will NOT output a high-definition signal, only standard def.

I'm an avid "old-school" gamer and a complete Gen-X nerd, therefore I have a NES, an Atari 7800 and Sega Genesis all hooked up to an HDTV. I read up on some articles about how to get the Sega Genesis to output component video (which is supposedly possible but seemed expensive and tricky) so I passed on this. Since I knew it would output a better quality video signal than RF or Composite I opted to have my Sega Genesis modified with S-Video. You can read about that on an older blog post HERE.



Although the modded Sega does not look as good as HD games on the Xbox 360, the Sega Genesis with S-video does look much sharper and more vibrant than composite or RF. This will of course depend on how your tv handles standard def signals though. Not all HDTVs are the same. I have an LCD screen and it looks really good, so I'm pretty pleased. But you may not be. You may have to experiment.



That's my Atari 7800 Pro System above, note the gleaming stainless steel finish. Futuristic! Not sure what is Pro about it though.... can you make money playing Atari 7800 games? If so count me in for a Joust tournament.

The only way that I can think of actually "upconverting" the Genesis to an HD signal would be to run the s-video (or composite) output through an HD upconverter like i-Scan or something. I have not tried that and if you can afford one of those things you can probably pay Sega to manufacture you a new Genesis with HDMI (although I doubt they'd do that but you could ask...?)

I think my NES looks good on composite, it won't do s-video or component no matter what you do to it. You can modify an Atari to output s-video but I haven't gone that route. Maybe someday.... someday. One can dream. Berzerk and Yars' Revenge in glorious s-video clarity.



I borrowed a friend's PS3 while he was on a job and played through Resistance Fall of Man. It's a good game, is it up there with Bioshock and Yars' Revenge? We'll, that's a whole different blog post.

Incidentally you can read an interview with me on the Sega-16.com website HERE. Thank you to Tom Briggs and everyone at Sega-16 for supporting my film, Classic Game Room: The Rise and Fall of the Internet's Greatest Video Game Review Show. I hope that a few classic gamers out there enjoyed the film and our adventures back in the year 2000.

Westinghouse Release Update 2/5

The Westinghouse documentary film will be released on April 8th, 2008, on DVD. After a week and a half off I'm back at the "shop" working on some trailers for the film and upcoming PR events.

We're all very excited about the initial reaction to the documentary which has been very positive. I've heard from some engineers that it is "fun", and I'll take that as a compliment. I made the film to be fun, because George Westinghouse was a very technical guy and not much is documented about his personality, so I didn't want a slow technical film. The film is fun, fast paced and really digs into who this guy was and what he did for the world. I think the trailer shows this, click HERE to see it.

He wasn't an extravagant celebrity by today's standards, he was married young and stayed with his wife his whole life. He didn't lead the eccentric lifestyle of Howard Hughes. In fact, much of what George Westinghouse did is buried beneath the legend of Thomas Edison (which is a huge part of the film). Westinghouse, is in my opinion the most important American lost in history. If you are reading this blog it is only because of George Westinghouse and his drive to bring alternating current to existance! AC power is running your computer and was used in the construction and development of your computer. Alternating current was made possible by his invention of the air brake to generate capital to start Westinghouse Electric, and his ability to work with people like William Stanley and Nikola Tesla.



The Westinghouse documentary has a run time of 112 minutes and tells the complete story of George Westinghouse, his life, legacy, companies, battle with Thomas Edison and partnership with Nikola Tesla. It was made to be entertaining and informative and most of all enjoyable to watch, and I think we succeeded. I take the film up to the modern age and was very happy to work with some Westinghouse appliances like the Westinghouse roaster, Westinghouse radio, Westinghouse Baconer, Westinghouse Greenhouse, Westinghouse Dog-O-Matic and of course the Westinghouse Twins. The 1939 World's fair is also particularly interesting to me. Westinghouse stole the show with Elektro the robot, the fountains at the Lagoon of Nations and the Battle of the Centuries.



Coincidentally the film is being released at the same year Pittsburgh is celebrating its 250th anniversary. Many people think I planned this but I assure you it just worked out this way! Westinghouse was born in New York but remained a resident of Pittsburgh for most of his life. He companies like Westinghouse Air Brake and The Westinghouse Electric Company were started here (in Pittsburgh) so I think it is fitting that native Pittsburghers made the film.

The trailers for the film can be viewed HERE.

More information on upcoming Westinghouse release events and PR to come.

Two Turntables and a Nylabone

Spinnin' wax. That's how I keep it real. So real that I really have a turntable and LPs. This brings up the age old question:

"Which is better, digital or analog?"

People have been killed for asking lesser questions. If you ask an audiophile this question he may attack you with an anti-static gun.



No! Don't anti-static the dog, her barking will be louder and clearer! (no dogs were de-static'd with an anti-static record cleaner in the making of this photo)

But seriously, which is better? Hell if I know, it's a matter of personal taste. I don't claim to be an expert, but I am a jerk with a computer and Internet connection so I'll just give my thoughts on the matter.

I'm probably the very last generation that even remembers vinyl when the options were vinyl, 8-track and cassette. I'm 32 and even had some records when I was growing up. I remember playing with my dad's Dual turntable and listening to his Beach Boys albums back in 1980 or so. Our family once had a behemoth late 70's white Buick with a wood grained 8-track player and velour merlot seats. It was a hand-me-down from my grandpa and I'd kill to have that car today.

Anyway, back to the point. There are those who will tell you that vinyl sounds smoother and more realistic, that this is "what music is supposed to sound like". They will claim that CDs sounds like ice picks scratching on concrete. Others will say that CDs don't pop, click and hiss and therefore they sound better.



Some choice albums!

I personally believe that the sound quality varies by the source material. On a similar priced system the same album on LP will sound better than CD, or the CD will sound better than its vinyl counterpart. I've heard it both ways and will explain.

Take for instance Duran Duran's Rio. The CD was made in the 80's back when the technology was new and it sounds flat and thin. The LP version sounds rich and thick with sound, the synth and guitar sound fantastic and the drums and cymbals sound more real. Also I picked up the LP at Jerry's Used Records in Pittsburgh for about $3, cleaned it up and it's now one of my prized LPs.

The same goes for Faith No More's "Epic", which came out in the very early 90's. The CD sounds like piss. The LP sounds great. My belief on this is that these albums were recorded for vinyl and just sound better on that medium. Perhaps the engineers who actually created the physical media just did it better, they were trained to make awesome records, not CDs... just a thought.



Let's get to the negatives with vinyl. My biggest gripe is that the quality varies by pressing, which means that two identical records can sound completely different. This sucks when you want to buy a new LP, which is why I no longer buy new ones. It's not a big deal if you find a Van Halen LP for $2 in a shop and it sounds like crap... oh well, find another one. But if you spend $40 on a new record and find out that it was made with no quality standards at all... that's infuriating.



An example of a great pressing and a great album!

Vinyl is a complete pain in the ass too. They pop and click and are generally unpredictable, but through all this comes the music and analog does have a unique sound of it's own. Real instruments sound more real! It's just a friggin nightmare to get there. Record players are no easy matter to deal with. Sure you can get them cheap on ebay these days, but then you need a phono preamp and a cartridge to even play them. These things can all add up in cost. Records take up a lot of room. I have several milk crates full of them shoved into my closet. One other problem is that the tracks on the inside of the album can often sound pretty scratchy. This is due to a variety of factors like tonearm alignment and whether the record was abused before.

CDs are smaller and when bought new don't pop and click, that is certainly a positive. They are recorded digitally and smashed onto a 700mb CD, which is pathetically small by today's standards. I think that they've gotten much better at making CDs since the mid-90's, so the newer ones sound pretty good. But again, this all depends on what kind of speakers and audio setup you have and how picky you want to be. CD players are a dime a dozen. CDs can be played in the car and they're pretty cheap these days. brand new ones can be found for under $10!



I love iPods, in fact I have my entire analog collection digitized and loaded on my iPod. I can listen to my iPod anywhere and therefore can bring my closet full of LPs in the car with me. I also have my entire CD collection from high school and college loaded on my trusty iPod.

In my lifetime I'll say that DVD is the most amazing invention that I've ever seen, followed by the iPod. The ability to bring movies and music with me anywhere at any time is a dream come true. Kids today must take this for granted. Heck, us old-timers didn't even have cell phones in college.




In this 100 year-old house everything gets covered with dust no matter how hard we clean.

Purists will complain that iPods use more compression than CDs and therefore sound like crap. Well, that's somewhat true. You can digitize your own music at higher bitrates which, in my opinion, makes them sounds more or less the same. I think that convenience wins out though. The iPod and computers are the way to go for everyday listening. You can't set up a turntable at work (usually). If you listen to an iPod with the cheap iPod headphones then it will sound bad. But if you run it into a high end stereo, or run your computer with a great audio card into a good stereo you'll get good sound. In my opinion.

In conclusion, every now and then (like today) I want to sit on the couch, put on an LP and rock the house. Since I'm on vacation and the wife's out today it's Mark's loud time. I'm playing a few LPs that sound rich, warm and vibrant. I'm cleaning them off with my record brush and zapping them with my red gun that makes a neat static sound through the speakers. This has a feeling of nostalgia for me too, and it's kind of cool. I like records, I like seeing the spinning LP and knowing that it's not digital for a change. Also the cymbals sound better.



Even the iPod is dusty!

As I type this I'm listening to "Are You Normal" by the amazing Ned's Atomic Dustbin. I bought this record in England and it's worth every penny (or pence) and sounds way better than the CD. Am I normal? No. But I'm ok with that.



More on affordable turntable setups and home theater to come... making noise is my only hobby and it's good to sit home and not stare at a computer for once...

One year ago today....

It was one year ago today that we started production on Westinghouse. Quite a bit has changed since then. Pictured above is us filming at The George Westinghouse Museum in Wilmerding. Today the museum has merged with the Senator John Heinz History Center in downtown Pittsburgh. The artifacts will be on display this fall from what I understand.

Ed Reis, who is pointing at the Westinghouse Roaster, is now the Westinghouse Historian at the Heinz History Center, which is a fantastic place to visit. I recommend you check it out if you're visiting Pittsburgh.

It was a cold and snowy day back then on January 17th, 2007. It's a cold and snowy day today on January 17th, 2008 too. The big difference is that I'm DONE with the film (sort of). We're still authoring the DVD, but that's another story.



Pictured above are the "Westinghouse Twins" as they were called. The Laundromat and the clothes dryer. These are featured in the final cut of the film.

So how did this thing come together in a year...? Well, a lot of work. After I met Ed Reis in late 2006 we agreed to do the film together. I did some preliminary research and coordination, got the budget approved, etc... We filmed for a few days at the museum and also filmed the George Westinghouse Memorial in Oakland. I started writing the film in about February of 2007 after reading the Westinghouse biography by Henry Prout.

I photographed and scanned and acquired all kinds of pictures, articles and footage, literally thousands of images. Editing began in February, I write and edit at the same time so that the script follows what images and footage are available. And after a year of writing, editing, re-writing, re-editing, filming, interviewing and coffee drinking I'm finally done. I hope to post more about the process in the coming weeks as we get near the release date of April 8th!

I watched the DVD last night to make sure that the encoding looks as close to HD as it can, and it does. Every shot was inspected and it looks and sounds great. My eyes felt like they were on fire by the time I was done. I'm taking a few weeks off very soon to do all the housework I've neglected over the past year. I'll wake up in the morning, get a cup of coffee and play Xbox. I'll win Bionic Commando again on my NES. I'm going to walk the dog every day and get outside away from computers. Walking the dog doesn't involve pixels and compression ratios...



Sure, Stella loooks cute. But what she's really thinking is "Feed me or I'll rip your arm off and eat it"

Westinghouse can be pre-ordered now at major websites like Amazon.

You can view the trailer HERE.

WESTINGHOUSE DVD is done!

The documentary film on George Westinghouse, his legacy, companies, partnership with Nikola Tesla and battle with Thomas Edison is finally done. After more than a year of pre-production, writing, collecting, photographing, videotaping, editing and post-production the HD film is ready for the world.

My office looks like a bomb hit it. There are papers, hard drives, tapes and notebooks strewn about the barren landscape. I've lost a few pounds, my eyes hurt and I'm generally tired at looking at computer screens (which is why I haven't blogged in a month).



Done! (so tired...)

The film was nearly complete in November. I had recorded the narration with Carol Lee Espy and had a "more or less" complete edit done. We had received a tremendous amount of interest from the engineering community and from Westinghouse employees. I was fortunate to convince Inecom to extend my budget a bit and decided to record some additional interviews to round out the film. Especially later in the film when the focus shifts to what happened to all the Westinghouse companies. I thought this was best described in their own words and it came out great. Descriptive, positive and full of pride. I owe many thanks to Jim Sutherland and Ed Reis and the SURE group.

I recorded this final batch of interviews around December 1st that totalled 10 hours, and gave myself three weeks to complete the editing of the film. For anyone considering getting into filmmaking this is NOT the way to do this. Fortunately I'd been through this before, and fuelled by coffee and French onion soup I went to work. I digitized everything, ran out of drive space, bumped terabytes of data to external drives while keeping clips I wanted, took notes of the best takes and then worked them all back into the edit. The total drive space used is close to 12 terabytes.



Pictured about are just some of the 1TB hard drives used for file backups. The main drive is a 6 terabyte Raid striped for HD playback.

After that I trimmed any narration parts that seemed redundant and tweeked the interviews (removing "uhhhs" and "ummms") and reworked the pictures and footage around them. I filmed the WABTEC Corporation in Wilmerding, received some shots from Westinghouse Electric Company (they build nuclear power plants today) and filmed a bunch of last minute insert shots like the extreme close up of the light bulb turning on (which can be seen as the first shot on the trailer HERE)



Pictured above is Stella who missed me while I was busy editing... After watching the film again and again and again I took a break through Christmas and then came back and polished it up by color correcting and really finishing the edit. After new year's I've been working with Doug and Jay on the final audio mixing and DVD mastering. Now it looks like we're about done. It looks good, sounds good and I think tells a fun and exciting story that hasn't been told before.

The DVD is scheduled to be release on April 7th, 2008. You can pre-order it from sites like Amazon or pick it up in stores. I know there will be some release events and some stuff going on in Pittsburgh (which is of course where the Westinghouse companies were based, and some still are). I hope to keep everyone informed of the release news. I'm going to go continue cleaning my office now.

The official website is www.WestinghouseFilm.com

The joys of owning a dog for the holidays.

I've been living on the editing system the past few weeks, and now have only a few more days of finishing editing on "Westinghouse" to go. Which means I don't typically see daylight anymore. I work, eat, work and go to sleep. I don't even have much time to spend with Stella, our German Shepherd/Chow Chow mix these days, but this morning was different. This morning it snowed and we played outside for a while.



I read an article on MSNBC about dogs that need homes after a puppy mill was raided and thought of our dog and all the happiness (and destruction) that she brings. We adopted her a year ago from the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society and have had quite a year together. She was one year old when we adopted her, strong as an ox and rowdy beyond comprehension. The good news is she still is, but she's a bit more controllable now after a year of training and lots of walking.



Adopting a dog isn't for everyone. Especially a big dog like her. She needs constant exercise, lots of food and sheds enough hair to build two dogs. She takes a lot of time and money. It would be nice if she'd get a job and pay us back.

My point is if you want a dog this holiday season, and you have the time and money, go adopt one instead of buying one from a store. Lots of dogs need homes. They aren't perfect. They take a while to adjust to new owners and a new home. They may eat your pillows and pull down the new curtains. They may try to bring a dead bird inside the house. They may eat the pepperoni you set out for dinner. They may decide the couch by the window is theirs. They may want to run all over the house with your sock in their mouth. They may decide to eat the Christmas tree ornaments. They may bring fear into the hearts of squirrels all over the neighborhood and scare the #@$! out of people who set foot on the porch.

But an adopted pet, in my experience, is a joy to own. After they to get to know you and trust you they are your best friend forever. It's as if they know you took a chance on them.

Awww.... ok, enough emotion. I'm gonna get back to the computer and finish my film on George Westinghouse.

Pretzel Stix and Coffee

It's about 9pm and I'm in the last 2-3 weeks of finishing editing on "Westinghouse". Progress is progressing smoothly, albeit slowly. Finishing editing means I basically live here until the film is done right. I'm sleepy.

Yesterday we filmed an interview with William Terbo, grand nephew of Nikola Tesla. Today I worked with Mr. Ed Reis on the commentary track for the film and recorded another interview. Right now, as I type this, I'm enjoying coffee and Pretzel Stix for dinner while I digitize footage.

Westinghouse will be released on April 8th of next year and I think you'll enjoy it. In the meantime I'm enjoying my Pretzel Stix.

Westinghouse Radio Interview 11/10/07

On Saturday night, November 10th, I was privileged enough to do a radio interview on Carol Lee Espy's radio show, "The Life Lounge". We talked about the recent Inecom release, "Pennsylvania Train Stations: Restored and Revitalized". I also let the cat out of the bag on her show that Carol is the narrator of Westinghouse!

We talked a bit about Westinghouse and I received the following post on my blog:

Dave Kerr said...
Last night, I heard [Mark] Bussler mention on Carol Lee Espy's program that KDKA's first broadcast in 1920 was from the K Bldg in East Pittsburgh.

That is incorrect. The K Bldg was located in Turtle Creek not East Pittsburgh. The Westinghouse complex here in the Turtle Creek Valley was known as the East Pittsburgh Works. However, most of it, including the K Bldg, was physically located in Turtle Creek Borough.

By the way, the demolition of the historic K Bldg was completed in the past few weeks by the RIDC.

Dave Kerr
Turtle Creek Native

November 11, 2007 9:55 AM

Dave, you are correct. I made a mistake on air, fortunately this kind of information is correct in the film. I'll never get totally used to live radio because I can't turn around and re-edit myself. If I had a nickel for every dumb thing I've said on an interview I'd have an enormous pile of nickels. More info on Westinghouse is coming soon.

Visit the official Westinghouse film website HERE.

Westinghouse Production Update 11/8/07

I am still alive, sort of. If you count staring intensely at a computer monitor for 10-12 hours a day as being alive. I am in the final stretch of finishing "Westinghouse", the documentary film on George Westinghouse that I am producing, directing and editing. Every day now is a lengthy session of "finishing editing" where I tweak, perfect and fine tune every detail on the 2-hour film. It's basically like watching the same movie over and over again all day every day. Fortunately, this is a good film (at least I think so!)

Of course I could mix it up an watch The Empire Strikes Back on repeat for a day, that would be fun.

The documentary was narrated a few weeks ago by Carol Lee Espy, who many of you may know from KDKA radio. KDKA radio was the first commercial radio station in the country that was started by Westinghouse Electric in 1920. I thought this was very fitting. Most importantly she has a wonderful voice, superb enunciation and is great to work with.

The film is being produced in 1080i. The DVD mastering will be started soon and the film is already available for pre-order on a number of websites. Release date is April 8th and I'd expect some theatrical screenings around that time as well.

Ok, I'm back to editing. I still get time to walk the dog most every day and play a bit of xbox when I'm fighting sleep, but my time now is dedicated to finishing this beast of a project. The good news is that many people are very excited about it and it will be released in time for the 250th anniversary of Pittsburgh (which is a complete coincidence, there's no way I could have planned that had I tried).

You can read up about Westinghouse HERE and view the trailer below.

1000 Mile Road Test of 2007 Mazda 6

I've spent a month now with my new 2007 Mazda 6 and have driven it about 1000 miles. I feel I can comment pretty accurately on the car now, which is pretty exciting. This is my first car review.

Yes loyal readers, I bought a new car. Believe it or not, even as an indie documentary filmmaker and the "Classic Game Room" co-host, I do not get limousine service or have a Trans Am that drives itself. Nope, I gotta shuttle myself, my crap and my dog where I need to go.



So why did I buy a Mazda 6 of all cars? Don't they make those cheap, crappy cars that we used to make fun of? Apparently not! For starters I've been a loyal Nissan driver for about a decade. I've been through a '94 Nissan Maxima, a '98 Infiniti i30 (basically a Maxima) and a 2001 Pathfinder. My favorite was the 94 Maxima, which was awesome. That car ran to 80,000 miles without a single problem. To this day I'm not sure why I traded it in for a used I30 in '99, because the I30 was a complete piece of rubbish in comparison. It drove nice, but once the sunroof broke and electronics started going haywire, that was it for that car.

My 2001 Pathfinder, which was a year old when I bought it in 2002, when gas cost $1.50 a gallon, was a great vehicle with one major flaw. The gas mileage sucked beyond words. And the thing is, I never realized how bad it was until my first fill up when it went about 220 miles on a tank. I don't drive that much so in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a big deal, but still, it's the principle of the matter.



The shot above is the day my Pathfinder, with 86,500 miles, was traded in for my new Mazda 6 with 70 miles. You can almost see the unhappy face on it (the Pathfinder).

I loved that truck and we went through many adventures together. Plowing through snow with reckless abandon, crushing slush and rain on the PA Turnpike with ease, running the EZ Pass booth and climbing sidewalks in Philadelphia (my wife remembers that day). After 5 years the miles did add up and the maintenance was starting to become an issue. I paid off the truck a few months early and spent the savings on new suspension parts and shocks. The muffler had been replaced. The tires were near the end. And through it all I watched our inept GOP leadership subsidize the oil companies by invading Iraq with taxpayer money (and the American people voted for this!?). Anyway, it was time to go. I hate paying for f%$@ing gas, and the Pathfinder got about 14mpg around town. I'd watch the little mile counter hit 200 around the time the gas light went on and drop nearly $60 on gas.



I had been searching for cars for a while and wanted another Nissan, they drive really well and for the most part have been reliable cars. I need something pretty big with a lot of storage space, but didn't want another SUV. I drove a 2004 Maxima and hated it. The Infinitis were overpriced, although that G35 coupe looks nice. Regardless, none of their other vehicles fit my needs and most of them get lousy gas mileage.

I test drove Audi A3 and liked it but couldn't figure out why it cost so much (Oh, it's German!), same goes with BMW. Great cars, but the exchange rate adds insult to injury. And again, I didn't want to spend very much on a car. I blew my fortune on beer, dog food and Xbox you know?

I didn't care for the brakes on Acura or Honda, don't like Toyota's styling or handling and couldn't quite afford that Lamborghini. After reading everything out there I ended up considering the Subaru Legacy and the Mazda 6.... the Mazda what? You think they could have named it better. Like the Mazda DESTROYAH.

I actually never really noticed the "6" before, then I started seeing them everywhere. I really like the look of it, especially the newer ones with nice wheels and body styling. I love the hatchback which is kinda like a station wagon. The Mazda dealer brought me over a Mazda 6 to test drive and I was hooked. Firm brakes, great cornering and really nice styling. Nothing fancy, which was fine with me. No sunroof to break. And the price was well below anyting I had considered. Combined with a 0% APR rate, I bought the car.

I've been rambling on and on here with my life story, so I'll get to the review of my 2007 Mazda 6 now that it has 1012 miles on it.

I drive a very short commute, but still need to drive around town. Just 2 days ago I lugged myself, a cameraman and tons of gear to a shoot with ease. The best part about the car is the way it drives. Very tight, great road feel and really firm brakes. The styling is slick in my opinion, and that's all that matters. My wife thinks it is ugly, but even she admits it drives well.

On the negative side the seats are a bit cheap and uncomfortable at first, I'm getting used to them, but they could be much better. I went with cloth because that's all they had in the silver hatchback, and the price stayed nice and lean.



The stereo is a complete pile of junk. And to make matters worse they make it completely impossible to install a regular DIN style stereo into the car because of the convoluted size and design of the factory stereo. I had a great Alpine in my truck and can't use it. The Mazda iPod adapter is also complete garbage. Its taken me weeks to come up with an alternative stereo and iPod option which is on order.

Lets see, the AC isn't very cold on scorching days and the acceleration off the block was sluggish at first, but has since greatly improved. The acceleration on the highway and around town is outstanding for a 4 banger. I've averaged about 21 MPG around town and hope to see that improve. Haven't taken a road trip yet.

Each tank of gas now gets me 330 miles, and from a much smaller tank.

So that's my review. It's fun, looks great and sounds awful (the stereo, but I'm a stereo snob so take that with a grain of salt). The price was right and it's a great daily driver. Cheers to Mazda for making a great car. Although the black interior is now covered in white dog hair.

3 More Classic Game Rooms Online

Booyah! Or should I say, "Game Room Sucka!"

This week we were able to upload about 8 Classic "Classic Game Room" episodes from waaaay back in the day. Back from the year 2000, before the global warming crisis, before YouTube, before the GOP made up a bunch of lies and invaded a foreign country sinking our country into an abysmal mess and back before everyone had cell phones, iPods and Bluetooth headsets.

The episodes are on the InecomCompany YouTube account which can be viewed HERE.

Deep from within Inecom Entertainment Company's vault of cancelled internet TV shows from the FromUSAlive.com network we pulled out the Game Room reviews of Bionic Commando, Fear Effect, Robotron 64, Wild Metal, Chu Chu Rocket, The Empire Strikes Back , Virtual On AND Draconus Cult of the Wyrm.



It's been fun to watch a number of these old reviews that I haven't really sat down and watched in a few years. I poured into the reviews that we included on the Classic Game Room DVD, but some of these others I didn't spend much time with.

My personal favorite of this bunch is Draconus. i think we had a good commentary on that episode. I also like the Chu Chu Rocket review and Fear Effect.

These are good examples of the real show, the normal episodes without the expensive outside sequences like Sega GT or Alien (which are on the DVD). I like the bigger, more expensive episodes better, but these are pretty much standard for us. Dave dropped the best one liners and performances, I muddled through the interviews and occasionally said something interesting... but typically did the mixing and editing work.

I re-edited these down a bit and remixed the audio and video where I could. On some episodes like Bionic Commando and Fear Effect we are actually missing the master tapes of the game footage, so some of the video and audio for the game review (not studio) was pulled from the media files we made in 2000.

For Bionic Commando, since I still have that game, I replayed some of the scenes and re-recorded it. Maybe you notice the change at about 4.02 or so in the episode. When we originally made that episode Dave played the game until about 1am in the studio and won it. He was really good at the game, and there's no chance I could win it now.



The same is true for Fear Effect, sort of. I don't have this game, we probably sold it back after doing the review. So most of the game footage is from the streaming media file. But I did find a Betacam SP tape of some game footage and reworked that in where I could. I also used that to remix the intro on the episode and make the disco dancing burning alive scene. Note the outtakes at the end where I tried to put an Atari Jaguar on the table and Dave wouldn't let me.



Wild Metal and Virtual On aren't anything spectacular in the way of humor, but are solid technically and offer pretty candid reviews of two games which are nothing spectacular.

And who doesn't like Chu Chu Rocket? That game is fabulous and still a great party game.



Hopefully there will be some more old episodes posted soon, so keep on the lookout!

Classic Game Room Returns Online!!

It's the day we've all be waiting for... or at least all of us Classic Game Room fans. And that includes me and Dave! We haven't seen these in so long it's like watching different people almost, so we can laugh at all of our dumb jokes all over again for practically the first time.



You can see the original episodes HERE on YouTube!

Inecom Entertainment Company , which owns the rights to all the Classic Game Room episodes, decided to pull out the stops and publish some of the episodes from the 1999-2000 season. This is the first time these have been online since the "FromUSAlive.com" days!! You can still see our old website which has the text reviews, but does not play the videos, at www.ProjectGames.com.

The Game Room episodes will be appearing under the InecomCompany account on YouTube, along with our feature film trailers and some other cancelled shows that were on FromUSAlive.com back in the day.

Below is one of the all time favorite episodes, our review of The Empire Strikes Back for the Atari 2600. I remastered the episode this week (while awaiting new hard drives to finish my current film). The footage is all from the master tapes so you can see every detail. I'm not sure why my hair was so long back then but it was. I added the new blowing snow fx and the updated sounds of wind and the monsters. The snow was simply made by dragging a long PSD file of "snow" over the video image. I borrowed a licensed Steelers jacket from someone look more vinyl and "Star Wars"-like, and then went so far as to bleep out the Steelers logo with the ice cream graphic.



I also posted our review of Draconus for the Dreamcast. I particularly like this review because we were making fun of learning history and going to school. We were being obnoxious on purpose of course, but the irony is that I now produce historical documentaries and strongly support getting a good education. I'd say I look at the world in a much different way now than I did then, however I still think it's one of our funniest studio segments. I love the part when Dave says "I know Draconus is a word, because someone made it up"



Keep looking for new episodes online. They'll be coming sporadically. So quit playing Halo 3 and go watch some old Game Rooms. FYI, as I'm still waiting for new drives, I'm working on remastering the Virtual On episode and Bionic Commando.

You may ask "but if you need new drives how can you work at all?". Simple. Game Rooms are standard def. My current film, Westinghouse, is HD. HD requires terabytes of storage to do anything.

A Classic Game Room Odyssey

The next installment in the saga of our editing system, Edit-Station 1, is up on YouTube. We've changed user accounts, to keep up to date with new episodes of the Classic Game Room (which may be returning??), subscribe to our new user name, InecomCompany!



Here is the original video, Classic Game Room, Whiskey and Fried Circuits!

Westinghouse Film Production Update: 9/18

Been very, very busy proofreading the script and getting ready to record the narration for the Westinghouse documentary film. This doesn't provide for very exciting photos on my blog though. I'm usually hunched over the screen with two cups of coffee nearby and a splitting headache.

Just the other day I was fortunate enough to venture out of my cave (aka editing suite) and enjoy the sun and late summer air. I drove into Oakland, which houses The University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, the Carnegie Library and Museum, as well as many bars and food joints. One of my favorite is the Original Hot Dog Shop.

40'z and hot dogs in one shop! Score! To be honest I haven't been there for several months, but there have been rumors it is closing. I hope not. My wife will be devastated. She claims they have the best french fries on earth.



My trip to Oakland was not for cheap hot dogs or double fried french fries this time, but rather to look at the photo archives and maps in the Carnegie Library for potential use in the Westinghouse film. The good news is I found many excellent photos, many of which I'd never seen before, to help me complete the film. Lots of factory shots and trains, etc...



The library is right next to the museum, which is guarded by a massive dinosaur dubbed "Dippy". I call him Dippyzilla. He's actually quite large and would probably freak out anyone not expecting to see a massive, life like dinosaur standing around Forbes avenue... but not me. I'm used to him. Maybe someone needs to get Dippy a 40 from the "O".

After taking a few more photos it was time to pay for my parking and head back to work... I took the shots of the smokestacks from the parking lot of the museum. They looked pretty neat. I believe they are part of the furnace, or Batcave or powerplant or something for the museum.



Cheers, giant smokestacks! These photos are all taken with my Canon XTi, 17mm lens and polarizer filter, which is how I achieve that really nice, blue sky.

Sega in my free time....

As work on the new Westinghouse documentary has been moving along, we're nearing the narration of the film and final editing. I've been pretty darned busy. Coupled with a few editing system complications is the fact I had to re-write part of the script about the Burlington Brake Trials in 1886 after learning a few more facts from some train experts who are kind enough to help out.

Anyway, by the time I get home, walk the dog, cook dinner with my wife and actually sit down its already 10pm and I'm usually too damn tired to do anything except hide in my basement for an hour or two and succumb to my addiction to Xbox Live.



Another shot:



A few months ago I decided to hook my Sega Genesis up to an HDTV. After a great deal of research it seemed that modifying the Sega with s-video was the way to go. Obviously the Sega does NOT output true HD video, but the video it does output looks much better with s-video.

I'm not technically competent to do the mods myself so a few weeks ago I sent the system to Canada where Old School Gamer did the work. I just got it back and they did a great job! I don't have any side by side comparisons, but the difference between composite video and s-video on a high def LCD screen (in standard def) is remarkable. Sega-16.com has a few screen shots on their website, but seeing it in person is even better.



I run the s-video and stereo cables through my preamp and switch the video and audio with it. That's the Genesis s-video going into the DVD slot there. The DVD player uses HDMI and optical so it avoids the analog inputs altogether.

I have an Xbox 360, PS2, Atari 7800, Sega Genesis and NES all hooked up at once and switching through an Outlaw 950. The Xbox is using HDMI video independent of the preamp, PS2 is component, Genesis is s-video, NES is composite and the Atari runs through a VCR using the RF thingy, and then gets converted to composite. My Dreamcast and N64 will be going s-video, but they aren't hooked up just yet (which is fine because I have no time for them anyway).



Old School Gamer also repaired my NES which has not been working well since we used it to record the Classic Game Room episodes back in 2000. Yes Game Room fans, this is the actual NES and Sega Genesis used to capture footage for the illustrious Classic Game Room. You know the Genesis we hold up during the X-Men episode? I bought this in 8th grade with Altered Beast and it still works flawlessly today.



The s-video brings out sharper details in the graphics and text (it's really noticeable in the text on M.U.S.H.A. and Herzog Zwei, my two favorites). The shadows beneath the jet in Herzog are now clearly a group of dots instead of a blur. The colors are much better of course. It was like playing MUSHA again for the first time because of all the detail in there.

My NES looks really nice too, but to be fair I never used it on my current setup. Which although isn't fancy, is better than the 19" TV I had 7 years ago.



I use the HDMI with my Xbox 360 which outputs games in 720p. I got the Atari Classics game for Xbox and love playing Yars' Revenge in HD. The Quotile are that much sharper and scarier. I still suck at Pong, even in HD.

It's probably pretty excessive to mod a 20 year old game system, but as I tell people, "I don't golf. I watch movies and play video games. I have all those dozens of dollars left over to spend on classic game cartridges."



What's your favorite controller? Personally I like the PS2 and Genesis controllers the best, but the Xbox 360 controller is growing on me. I never did care for the original Atari 2600 controller, which is why I got the European version that feels more like the old-school NES gamepad.