How Do You Relax?

[lazygood4nothinbum]

I had the surgery at age 18. That was in the days before CAT scans and MRI's... I have been involved in swimming all of my life... My son went on to swim in college and came close to making the US Olympic team in 1996 and he was ranked in the world top 25 for 200 M breaststroke.

surgery on spine at 18, wow, no wonder you are so grumpy. sounds like you've managed well even under such circumstances. fortunately we humans can be a rather resilient lot.

i'm also from athletic family on mom's side though most of that was lost on me (i must've gotten my dad's lazy gene). grandpa was a state handball champ and i still have many of grandma's swimming trophies. i recently found 8mm (converted to video & i'm now digitizing same) of mom swimming in tandem with her mom back in the 50s by the look of it. also pics of mom teaching me how to swim when i was a kid. my mom had a gorgeous australian crawl and i unconsciously patterned my stroke after hers.

thoughout many years of the progression of her alzheimer's disease i took mom to swimming hall of fame on weekends, her favorite pool here. all the life guards knew us so i could swim laps while they kept an eye on her. was so sad watching her skills deteriorate. she used to swim playfully alternating crawl with backstroke. later she'd think she was doing the crawl but only one arm would come out of the water, her other arm did a side stroke.

one of the saddest days of my life was when she told me she couldn't do it anymore. she became too afraid of the water. so it's really great for me to hear your story of how you've managed even with disability to continue to enjoy swimming. and that you did such a good job of passing on such a worthy tradition.

 

[riskadverse]

Grumpy, while I don't go in for swimming quite as seriously as you, I use a tether around my feet attached to a lane marker rope that goes across my pool.  The pool is way too short to get a workout in, so swimming in place is my best alternative.  You can concentrate your efforts on your arms and upper body while letting your legs loaf, and best of all no turns.   The whole setup cost about $20 from Leslie's, and I wear one out every couple of years (just swimming in the summer). 

 

[grumpy]

i recently found 8mm (converted to video & i'm now digitizing same) of mom swimming

Hey Lazy,

I just got an iBook laptop with a DVD burner. I have tons of 8mm movie film of the kids when they were little and also lots of analog video of son's swimming. I would like to get it all digitized so I can edit it and burn DVD's for the family members. How are you digitizing your old film? I figure I must need both some hardware and some software to do this but I am not sure where to start.

Also, that was a very moving story about your mother and her swimming, especially since my Mom had early onset alzheimers and I watched her decline with great sadness.

Grumpy

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

I would like to get it all digitized so I can edit it and burn DVD's for the family members.  How are you digitizing your old film?

i also have tons of the stuff. my dad was into 8mm and then my step-dad was into videography. so about 20 years ago step-dad converted all the 8mm into video. he had a ton of equipment that i'm not familiar with and no longer have so, sorry, i can't help you specifically on that part. anyway, now i have about 60 videos to digitize.

i'm using pinnacle studio www.pinnaclesys.com which isn't always very stable but when it works it does a great job. just looked at website and i see there is an upgraded version. maybe it is even better and more stable. i will have to check it out.

i would imagine there are companies that will turn your 8mm into either video or skip that step and digitize them for a lot less than purchasing all the equipment. but i would price each step and maybe getting from 8mm to video by others and then video to cd by pinnacle or other such program might be most cost effective.

the digitizing program is actually pretty fun and you can do some amazing stuff with it including transitions and special effects. you can even replicate & insert individual cells so that those crazy pans people did on 8mm can be slowed down so you can actually see what was filmed without getting dizzy. (my step-dad was a real character with just the video, he would have loved the computer stuff. i found on one video where he inserted himself into my parents' honeymoon lol).

you really need to act on this now to preserve your film. not only does the 8mm deteriorate, but also i learned video deteriorates in about 20 years. i don't know for how long cd's will last but certainly once the information is digitized it should be relatively easy to transfer to whatever technology comes along next.

it is amazing to think that within just the lifespan of my niece and nephews, they will eventually have motion pictures of six generations spanning from my grandparents to their grandchildren. and that their grandchildren will even hear and know my mother, their great great grandmother's voice. aint that somethin'.

ps. before you purchase any such program as pinnacle make sure your computer is up to speed as the program requires a lot of resource.

pps. just googled "digitizing 8mm" and first site to come up looks interesting & relevant to you apple guys:

www.macintouch.com/digitizingvideo03.html

also

www.macintouch.com/digitizingvideo.html

 

[heyyou]

About muscle cramps:  Recently read that most multi-vitamin/mineral pills have substantial iron for women.  A male that eats red meat, doesn't need the extra iron.  It may contribute to the leg cramps.  I had those cramps for 30 years before I stopped the daily vitamin/mineral pill.  I was also eating too much fortified cereal.  Vitamin/mineral pills for seniors don't have as much iron, but I haven't tried them since the cramps went away.
Joe

 

[azanon]

Jarhead/CFB - yeah, yeah, yeah well, i liked my workmate's patio furniture too, until i discovered it wouldnt support his wife and my weight at the same time.

 

[unclemick]

I read/post here.

But then I test INTJ, am lefthanded and have always felt sanity was overrated.

heh heh heh heh