Drift Reality

In general, Drift Reality is all my own content. I normally write about things that mean something to me, or ideas that have evolved in my head over time. I write a draft, do a quick copy edit and then push it live.

There are certain times however when I feel like I need to share something with the world that isn’t my own creation and this is one of those times.

A close friend of mine who runs a business involved with foreign trade recently forwarded me an e-mail thread that was so unintentionally funny that it had me laughing out loud and I wanted to share it with the world (with some sideline commentary).

So it started out with my friend getting contacted by a Chinese exporter who was interested in having them try a product sample:

Chinese Importer

Dear Manager,

We get your information by searching Google and I am glad to know that you deal in the business of sanitary ware. We are a professional trading company dealing in the inflatable boat,wooden crafts,LED light,crystal soil.

Here I would like to introduce you one unique product which you will be interested in——faucet LED light

The faucet experience is so boring,clear water,always the clear water,what if you could have a party in your faucet?Turn the water on,and the running water activates the LED,Making the water look bright blue or red..Not too bad for something that??ll add some pizzazz to the bathroom,Leting you wash in the same bule colored water that swirls aroud the toilet bowel,It can also change the colors according to the temperatures

I have also attached some photos in the attachment for your reference,Please check it

If you need more infomation about it,Please don’t hesitate to contact me

American Importer

Hi ____,

What is the FOB cost on this unit? Can you airmail us a sample to the address below? We are interested in selling products like this on our Web site.

Chinese Importer

Dear David

Thanks for your quick reply

Here I would like to send you the catalogue which cover the detailed infomation of our faucet LED light in the attachment,Please check it

Because our product is very unique,interesting,and attractive,so there are so many clients asking for the samples every day.We can’t give every customer free sample.So by the rule of our company,Our sample isn’t free.But I have checked your website and I think you are our good potential customer and we are looking forward to establish the long-term relationship with you.I have apply our manager and she let me to send you a free sample but the freight should be paid by yourself

If any other questions,Please don’t hesitate to contact me

Waiting for your opinion

American Importer

Hi Eric,

How much to airship one to Arizona ?

Editor: Now at this point in time, they get into a boring back-and-forth about logistics and my friend agrees to pay to have the free sample shipped to his offices in the United States. Now when the item arrives, my friend finds out they expect cash on delivery (decidedly not what they had agreed upon) and he rejects the product.

When the Chinese account rep. finds out about the product rejection, he send an e-mail diatribe that will go down in history as one of the greatest pieces of literature I have ever read:

Chinese Exporter

Hi,f%$k you.cheater.We have the branch company in USA and we know your address.We will arrange the killer to kill you soon.You will get your penalty.

Editor: I’m sorry, I know it isn’t funny to laugh about death threats, but the line “We will arrange the killer to kill you soon” is just so ludicrous I literally have to contain myself to avoid giggling like a schoolgirl.

So anyway, the moral of this story is if you are going to engage in foreign trade with China, be prepared for some crazy ass sh@# to happen.

F@#k you cheater!

It is now 2008 and I’m going to be cheesy and reflect back on the year that was 2007.

I can’t believe how fast the year has come and gone and even more startling to me, are all the things that have happened in the past year.

I began working for a great organization located here in DC, independently launched a new blog focused on social media and technology, launched a collaborative blog focused on life in DC and started taking my life a little bit more seriously (although I do miss being a student somewhat).

I even made a (short-lived) decision to put Drift Reality on hold while I attempted to focus my energies in a new direction. In hindsight, it seems like a naive decision because it was about two months until the old yearnings to write about nothing in particular started knocking once again.

It is funny to think that I originally launched Drift Reality in 2001 when returning home from Korea, still so confused about what I was going to do with my life. Reflecting back on the past six years I realize the one constant has been my eagerness to move to another place, meet new people and document everything in Drift Reality.

In many ways, my initial decision to name the site ‘Drift Reality’ seems apropos based on the content that has emerged throughout the years.

I think 2007 was a departure of sorts because for the first time in ages I don’t feel an inexorable urge to move on but rather, to start building something in addition to Drift Reality.

I attribute these changes to a growing realization of the importance of relationships - with friend and with families. Those growing relationships are what have helped center me throughout all of the transitions and they are proving even more potent now.

These relationships form the ground and the fuel for everything I do these days it seems. I think without them I would still be writing hangover-infused gibberish (instead of sober gibberish).

So, in the first few days of 2007 I’d simply like to acknowledge all the people in my life who help me stay grounded and focused.

You know who you are.

About seven years ago I was playing intramural football on a damp astroturf field at Georgetown. I was running with the ball when I planted my foot in the ground to make a cut and lost my balance. I thrust out my left arm to brace against the fall and upon impact my shoulder popped out of its socket. As the rest of my body landed on the ground I instantly knew that something was seriously wrong.

It took about 10-minutes for Georgetown medical services to strap me up and take me off the field and to the emergency room. That’s when the real fun started. I sat in one waiting room for about an hour with no pain medication before being taken for x-rays, where a technician asked me to drop my limp, dislocated arm on an x-ray while he snapped away. Then back to the waiting room where I sat for another 30-minutes or so (with no pain medication) until a doctor cam in and in one quick move, raised my arm so it was perpendicular to my body and in slipped my shoulder.

After seeing how easy it was to pop the shoulder back into place I decided to pass on the hospital experience the next two times my shoulder popped out of place while playing basketball. Finally, after the forth time it slipped out I decided to have surgery done to replace it.

Over the past seven years I’ve learned a few things about the whole process and so I’m going to sum up my top-line recommendations when separating your shoulder. Just as a disclaimer, I have no medical background and you should probably consult with a doctor before deciding what to do with your shoulder. Just make sure the doctor isn’t at Georgetown Medical Center because you will end up sitting on your ass waiting for 3 hours before anyone sees you.

1. Don’t bang your shoulder against anything to get it back in
It is sad that Lethal Weapon has probably informed the majority of Americans on how to reset a dislocated shoulder. Banging your dislocated shoulder against something to get it back in is probably the stupidest thing you can possibly do. You are probably going to do permanent damage to your shoulder that will only be reparable through surgery if you start banging it against things. Your shoulder actually wants to get back in its socket. Raising your arm so that it is perpendicular to your body is how I managed to get my shoulder back in after that first time.

This man is not an orthopedic surgeon

2. The first time it pops out you can probably rehab it back to near-full strength
You probably don’t need surgery after the first time you dislocate your shoulder. Most studies seem to indicate that through physical rehabilitation you will be able to rehab your shoulder to near-full strength. If you don’t participate in many high-impact sports it won’t be an issue. If you do want to continue participating in active sports then you will have to work shoulder exercises into your workout regimen. If you participate in high-impact sports and don’t have any sort of workout regimen then you probably aren’t that good and maybe you should stop participating in high-impact sports.

3. If it pops out again, talk to an orthopedic surgeon about surgery
After the second time, the probability of a repeat incident will increase substantially so you will face a decision: stop participating in high-impact sports or get surgery. I waited four dislocations before finally having the surgery and that was probably too long because I play basketball on a pretty consistent basis.

4. Surgery sucks
There are basically two options when it comes to surgery: arthroscopy or open surgery.  Arthroscopic surgery can be done on an outpatient basis.  As a matter-of-fact, a couple hours after my surgery I was happily sitting on my couch watching the Bourne Supremecy, doped up to high-hell on pain killers.  The pain is less intense with arthroscopic surgery as well.  I’m on day 3 and I’m basically off pain meds already with very little discomfort (besides the fact that I haven’t had a proper shower since my operation).

Whichever option you choose, you’ll probably be facing a long path to recovery that is going to involve some physical therapy but you will be pretty functional after just a few days.  The good news is that within a few months I’ll be back to full strength in my shoulder and will be back on the court awaiting my next major injury.

I met Matt Duchinsky at my friend Hooman’s bachelor party weekend several years back and we’ve been friends ever since. That weekend, we generally irritated Hooman by engaging in heated political and philosophical debates when I suppose we should have been philandering.

Matt recently had an opinion-piece published in Russia Profile, on US foreign policy and Russian-Chinese relations (requires free registration). In all honesty it is a bit over my head but I figured I’d post it to Drift Reality because I know some of this site’s visitors are interested in foreign policy.

From Left to Right: Hooman, Nick, Matt, and myself

As high-end video production equipment continues to become easier to use and more financially accessible to the average consumer, and the Internet continues to provide video producers with various platforms for the distribution and marketing of their work, individuals will have a continued ability to produce quality video content that can be viewed by a large audience.

But just because people can do something doesn’t mean they will do something. Furthermore, I would say that 95% of independently produced content is absolute crap (including a lot of my own work). A visit to YouTube or Google Video will quickly provide you with an array of examples for why most people should never be allowed to touch a video camera, let alone post their work on the Web.

That being said, you are required to take the following quiz before proceeding:

1. Would it be “bad ass” to get together with your friends, get on skateboards, and film yourselves crashing into walls?
2. Are you planning on making an “underground” rap-oriented video that doesn’t contain one sentence that I can understand?
3. Do you think anyone wants to watch you practice karate?
4. Do you think it would be “sweet” to videotape you and your girlfriend having sex, unbeknownst to her, and then put it on the Web for your frat brothers to see?
5. Is Jerry Bruckheimer a genius?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then do me a favor and please stop reading this immediately and never come back to my Web site again. Additionally, turn off your computer, go to your local library, borrow a load of books, and then spend the next several years reading because you need to work on developing your brain.

If you answered “no” to all of the questions, then you can continue.

In order to independently produce video and stream it on the Internet, you will need the following:

The Camera

Obviously, you are first going to need to get your hands on a digital camera. It doesn’t have to be digital. You can shoot on 8mm for instance, but if you do this you are probably a caveman. I shoot on a Canon GL2 for when I want to make something that looks good, and a Sony DCR-TRV Digital8 for when I think I may have a few drinks or there is a chance that someone is going to mug me and steal my camera. I have actually gotten very drunk and traded my camera to a roving band of Mexicans in San Diego, for a torta and a ride home, but thankfully it was an older DCR-TRV so I may have gotten the better end of the stick on that one. At any rate, in low lighting, most consumer-level cameras are going to be pretty crap; but in good lighting, 90% of people can’t tell the difference in quality between a low-range camera like the DCR-TRV and a higher-end camera like the GL2. If you are just starting out, I’d recommend going with a lower-end Panasonic or Sony digital camera, which will run you around $300 - $400.

Editing Software

I edit on Adobe Premiere but a lot of people like Final Cut. I worked with an editor who used Final Cut and to be perfectly blunt, I couldn’t really tell the difference in usability or functionality. I’m sure there are plenty of geeks out there who would be able to tell you the difference. Basically, if you feel comfortable on a PC, then go with Premiere; and if you feel comfortable on a Mac, then go with Final Cut. Both utilities are pretty intuitive and if you are fairly comfortable learning how to use software then you should pick it up pretty quickly.

When you first start editing, you are going to be tempted to use a lot of filters and effects. That is fine. I did it a lot as well. Actually, if you view some of my earlier work like Immersion (wmv), you will see that I use a lot of filters and the overall effect is pretty cheesy. To tell you the truth, this was an aesthetic decision because I wanted to create a sense of the cheesiness of the ubiquitous Korean pop culture (hence my use of the G.O.D. track) but you will still get the point.

The other component of the editing software that is necessary to the process is the compression functionality. Of course, it would be great if you could stream your work at video quality but we’re not there quite yet. I personally compress all my videos into windows media files because I think this format has the widest reach. These days, there is an array of options out there and you have to choose the one that works best for you. I would say if your audience is predominantly in North American and Europe, you can compress with the expectation that the user will be accessing the Internet at about 256 Kbps. I’m sure there are people who would disagree with this figure but I haven’t gotten many complaints.

Adobe Premiere is pretty expensive. Actually, it will probably be the most expensive individual cost in this process. On Amazon, Premiere 6.0 costs about $500. You may be able to find more affordable options on the Web.

Peripheral Equipment

In order to connect your camera to your computer, you will need a firewire card and cord. You can get an internal or external firewire card and most firewire cards will come with the cord. I wouldn’t expect an internal card to be much more than $60 or so.

Additionally, if you want to make DVDs out of your videos, you may want to consider investing in a DVD burner. I purchased an external DVD burner for about $250 two years ago so I’m sure the price has gone down since then. Also, the internal burners are less expensive.

Streaming your Work

Once you have gone out, video recorded something, edited and compressed it, you are now ready to stream your work on the Web. Basically, you have two options: either you can set up your own Web site and claim complete ownership over the distribution of your content; or you can go to a vendor like Google Video or YouTube, and stream your work through their platform knowing that at some point they are going to begin capitalizing on your work. It’s your choice. Actually, to make my videos more accessible, I have posted them on Google Video. I don’t really care if they put ads on the page where they are viewed because I want people who are looking for an experience to be able to see my work. Loads of people are going to start viewing video content on Google Video, so it was a pragmatic decision for me. Now – if they even think about placing interstitial ads in my content then you can forget about it, but for the time being I’m comfortable with the situation. You can rent server space for about $100/year – but the time and effort it takes to set up a Web site may or may not be worth it to you.

At any rate, I hope this has helped briefly explain the effort and costs involved with streaming independent video on the Web. The thanks I get from people who have gotten something out of viewing my work has been well worth the time and effort I put in. At no point have I ever financially capitalized on my work but that is not the point for me, it may be for you and that’s fine. This can be a very personally rewarding field if you are willing to sacrifice for it and take it seriously. So I wish you all the best of luck.