Awesome Webcam Program Called WebCam Max

I have been using Webcam Max for quite a bit now to do videos, live streams and the like. I will say it has the best options of any client out there for Windows. With later versions, you can of course quick switch between sources, have as many Picture-in-Picture sources (PIP SOURCES) as you want, or can run. And it has some good, and some silly, effects. With Webcam Max, you can closely emulate the look at a feel of Chris Pirillo’s stream at live.pirillo.com Take a screen grab of a chat widow, and a black bar at the to, and manually input a topic header inside the program.. It is impossible right now to automatically get the topic, as there is no way to get an RSS feed. That is, until the developers incorporate it into the code.

Now, while it is great, it’s also nice that the support people at least look and respond to emails. I posted an idea of using RSS feeds for it, and the support contact was receptive to the idea. It showed that someone was actually looking at the emails and sending out a written statement, not a canned reply from an automated bot. Another good point is that from inside the main source options, for the Webcam, you can chose any video source that is on your machine. It’s awesome for TV Capture cards, and is what I use when streaming my games from my xbox 360.

Now, with the PIP sources, you can grab part of the screen, useful if you want to incorporate chat into videos or live streams. Besides screen, you can have pictures or a movie playing. It also gives you the option to clear the PIP selection. A drawback to the way it Webcam Max has it now, the PIP settings are not saved, nor can you define one that I have found that will keep the position, size, and location of the source. This is the worst for screen. You must re size the box in the window to get it where you want, and you must move where the screen capture is. Still though, minor annoyance, but nothing that is a major problem to overcome.

Webcam Max does have a a big drawback, and that only being if you are on a weak, single core system. The more PIP soruces and effect you have, the more CPU
it takes up. Howver, with most dual core systems, that is not a factor anymore. However, if you are on a decent system that isn’t a few years old, you can download this great peice of software here.

It's my 100th Post....and Boy is it a Big One...

Yo, Yo, Yo, what's happening People? I just wanna say that this post is going to be a great one. Thanks to my friends Steve and Danny for inviting me along with them to Orlando to the annual King of Wake Competition in Orlando on April 27th. We got there around 1030am and stayed til the end of the event at 430pm. By watching the slideshow above you will see that I got a lot great shots of the scenery (God's greatest gifts when it comes to men) and some great shots of the action on the water. Considering that the pics were taken with my cell phone, they came out much better than expected. Those guys on their wakeboards just make it look so simple to be pulled behind the boat and do all the tricks that they can without bombing out and flying face first into the water. After the event, we went to the Ale House for a couple of pitchers of beer and caught the last 20 laps of the NASCAR race from Talladega. Then we headed over to IKEA before they closed at 7pm. IKEA rocks let me tell ya. I definitely like the way they have the store set up. Granted a lot of their stuff is rather cheaply made, but, hey you all know how cheap I am, LOL. I would love to go and spend about $200 on a few things there and completely redesign my whole condo. After leaving IKEA, we rode on over to the Parliament House to prowl for some hot gay men and enjoy the buffet that they usually have on Sundays. We stayed at the P-House until about 1130pm before heading over to Hanks. While we had a blast at both bars, we didn't leave until almost 2am to head back home. Then we somehow got stuck in a traffic jam on I-4 and it took us 45 friggin' minutes to travel 2 miles. I tell ya, from the beer, and sitting in damn traffic my eyeballs were floating down the interstate. Luckily, there was a bottle that I could use since I sure couldn't hop out and use a tree. So, I got back home right after 4am. I uploaded all the pics to the computer and finally headed to bed by 6am.

Not Much to Report...But.....

Yo People, how's it going? Not much to report here on the news front. Been working and enjoying the wonderful weather. I am actually working on my tan for once. It's ashame I live in the Sunshine State and never get to enjoy it. So, on my past days off Missy, Tommy, and I hung out. On Sunday, Tex, Missy, John Jr, and I went to the Beach Bucket. Kris, if you are reading this, then you of course remember it. It's a nice little restaurant in a Time Share (Imagine that), that has a nice patio oceanfront. Of course, I took pics of the guys and gals frolicking on the sands of Daytona Beach. I will come back tomorrow evening and edit this post and add some good pics that were taken. We had 3 buckets of beer between the 4 of us. Which ended up being 3 beer for me. It was Budweiser and I prefer not to drink it because it can be known for headaches. But, somehow, I was fortunate not to get one. Tommy picked us up and dropped Missy and the boys off at their house and then he was heading to the Streamline. I wasn't having that. I wasn't in the mood for that. So, I walked home but not before stopping by Wendy's for an evening snack. Well, I apparently came home and dozed right off in the recliner and woke up right in time for Desperate Housewives at 9pm. And, of course, you know I was glued to ABC at 10pm when Brothers and Sisters came back on. There's just something about that show. I just can't explain it. Oh yeah, May I have your attention please.......Drum Roll Please..........I had 3 resolutions at the beginning of the year, and I have entirely accomplished one of them and the second one is in progress. I resolved to stop biting my fingernails (30+ years habit I have never stopped), quit smoking cigarettes, and to drop my weight down to 170lbs. Well, I am very proud to say that I haven't bitten a single nail since mid January. I did however, break my first nail last week opening a beer of all things. But my nails are now actually hanging over the tips of my fingers. I am so proud to have accomplished that one. On April the 20th, I declared that I would stop smoking cigarettes cold turkey. Here it is Wednesday morning 3:10am, and I haven't had a cigarette since Sunday. What made me to decide to quit smoking you might ask? Well, those of you who know me well enough, know I am one cheap bitch. LOL. I finally realized that my smoking habit was running me anywhere from $85 - 105 per month. I was smoking over a pack a day. How ridiculous to waste all that money on cigarettes? I think it is. I will be the first to admit, that I do enjoy smoking cigarettes, though. I enjoy having a beer and cigarette together. There's just something about the two that almost always go hand in hand. Tonight, was my first night back at work, and that was the true test. Being bored on a Tuesday night and not smoke. I actually did very good. I instantly chewed some gum every time I had a craving for one. It worked to my advantage of course. Well, to reward myself for not smoking, I have decided that I want to fly to Vegas for a few days in mid-July or early August. Bette Midler and Cher are performing at Caesar's Palace Colosseum. The tickets are relatively cheap in comparison to other concerts. I figure I can fly, get a nice employee discounted hotel room, and rent a car and take in the sights. I would love to make arrangements while I am there to see the Grand Canyon. I am thinking about taking the helicopter ride for that. I have always wanted to go to Vegas. Who knows, I may like it enough to move out there? LOL. I have been known to fly the coop several times on occasion. But, I will be sure to do it with complete planning as I did with the Tampa move as well. I figure with the Tax rebate we are supposed to be getting, I will pay an extra month's rent with it, while paying for the rent as I would usually. I would pay an extra month in June, so that I wouldn't have to pay rent until Sept 1. Meaning that by early July, I can organize my Vegas trip and not be in debt. Time will tell. As this is the early stages of the planning. On a different note, I want to say, last week I decided I would back up my important files and do a complete restore on my computer. I know I have mentioned I hate WINDOWS VISTA with a passion. I don't surf the web all that much except for the usual sites I always visit. But, for whatever reason, last week my computer was running extremely slow. I mean, so slow, I could have been impregnated and delivered the child quick than what my computer was running. So, after backing up my computer's file to DVD I took my computer to work and started the restore process there. I was prepared and made a list of the programs that I wanted to install back on after I was done restoring it. It took forever to get the restore complete because Vista is so damn slow. I brought the computer home and finished getting everything set back up and reorganized to my liking. There, is something I highly recommend y'all do. I have used it for a while now, but I was still always using internet explorer. I highly recommend using Mozilla's Firefox browser rather than Internet Explorer. Once you get everything tinkered to your liking, you can literally breeze through doing your normal day to day routine/sites in a matter of a couple of minutes rather than a long drawn out process. There are a few add-ons that make it the best yet. I am extremely happy using it instead of IE. All my friends, kept telling me to switch, but I will admit I was hard-headed and stuck on the IE. Okay, I just realize that the title said Not Much to Report, But.... I guess I have reported on more than I thought I was. I am going to finish sweeping up the the third time, since the floors are now drying. Yes, I sweep them twice before I mop it and then once more after it's been mopped. With two hairy pussy's in the house, I have to make sure I get all hair out of here. Peace out!

Daytona Gay Pride Festivities....

Hello People. How's it going? All is well here. Since my last post, not much has happened. Other than on Thursday, which was another night in hell at work. To sum it all up, I will make it quick. We had some guests who checked in a couple of weeks ago, that have done nothing but caused the staff grief. They have had to leave a couple of times, because we were sold out and didn't have availability for them to stayover. The wife is a raging bitch. She does nothing but complain about irrelevant things that are beyond our control. Such as, parents not watching their children while they are at the hotel. We aren't babysitters, you know. I bent over backwards to try and accommodate them, but that didn't appease them at all. While playing room roulette in the system, we had another problem room that caused us headaches from the time they checked in on Thursday. Well, around 930pm, I hear a call come across the radio about a light bulb catching on fire. I happened to be on the phone with the GM (one of about 10 calls in 2 hrs to him) and he wanted me to go take pictures. When, I walked in the room, it smelled like an electrical fire. Somehow, the light bulb and the socket, shorted out and literally caught the socket on fire. Luckily, it didn't cause any damage other than ruining the lamp. I had to move those guests into another room. Which meant I had to play more room roulette in the system. Which generally isn't hard to do, unless you are sold out in advance. Which we were sold out of course. So, I had to go to the Streamline after work and have a drink. I was so stressed out from the nights events. But, over the course of the weekend, it wasn't stressful at all even though we had cheerleaders, a wedding party, and a family reunion all at the hotel. Okay, enough about work. On to the picnic. Missy couldn't make it because they sprung a last minute wedding banquet at him. He asked his co-worker if her son could work, so he could join us for the once a year event celebrating our gay pride. And she told him no. Considering, whenever asks for time off and always works around their schedules, he was highly pissed at her. So in other words, it wasn't as much fun as could have been. The picnic itself was a dud in my opinion. Tommy swung by and picked my friend John (not Missy) and me up. We were supposed to meet Grace along with Jeff and Rob there. There were probably 100 people when we got there around 2pm. Of those 100 people, there were probably 75 lesbians and the rest were guys. There were a good number of kids and dogs running around. The weather was cloudy and it was actually chilly as well. We didn't stay but probably about 30 mins because it was just so boring. So, to spicen things up, we headed over to the Streamline. Our friend, Curly, was bar tending. It's always a blast with Curly. Would you believe that it was actually warmer at the Streamline, even though we were 4 stories up and closer to the ocean. It was so strange. I ordered the first round for Tommy, John, and myself. I ordered the beer, vodka & 7, and the screwdriver and then a round of Washington Apples. Well, some hag across the bar asked what the shots were and I told her. Then, it seemed like she was our best friend for the rest of the afternoon. She continued to buy us shots for a good 2 hours. So, needless to say, we were all well lit by 5pm. The sun miraculously came out around 4pm and it warmed up nicely. Our friend Leo swung by and then we decided we were going to go to the new bar that opened up, Solar Nights. When we got there, Grace was about to head over to the Streamline and meet us. I ordered another round for us and we headed outside so we could sit and smoke. I tell ya, I had a great time there. It reminded me of the times, that we had a few years ago at a bar that used to be down the street called Madonna's. We probably stayed at Solar Nights for a good 2 hrs just sitting outside. Then we headed back over to the Streamline. I think we had one round and we all called it a night. As you can see from the pictures, we had a great time. But, that's what we usually have when we all get together. I am thankful to have a great circle of friends that are like my family here locally. Well, I am going to bed now. I plan on getting about 12 hours of sleep, so I can get back in the work groove til Sunday. Have yourself a good week and as always, Peace out!

Just a Quickie...

Hello People. Hope all is well with you. I am sitting here watching Purrfect Predator on Animal Planet HD. It's talking about bobcats, lynx, and cougars. From all the pictures you have seen of Meeko, you know his perch in the house is on top of the cable box. But, he is so cute right now. He is sitting tall and proud up there. But, his eyes have been glued to the wall with the projector on it. He has literally been meowing out to the wall hoping that one of the cats on TV will talk back to him. He's is howling more than meowing. LOL. On, other news, work has been friggin' crazy. Since they fired the one looser that was working on the desk, they haven't replaced her yet. So that means we are understaffed. I have been going in early and working my shift alone. And, I tell ya, it's driving me insane. I am so busy for about 4-6 hours non-stop that finally when it slows down, my head is spinning and I just wanna knock myself out. Dealing with the switchboard that never stops ringing, the reservation line that is ringing at the same time as the switchboard, and a line of guests 6-8 deep is really stressful. I am all about giving great customer service, but when you are alone it seems customer service is the last thing on the mind. I just want to get them up to their rooms and make sure they are pleased with everything. And I just want to UNPLUG the damn phones. But, of course, that isn't the way I operate. I literally just grin and bear it and hope for he best. Well, I am tired of ranting. I going to bed. Peace out!

Another Day at the Helltel...

Psst, People. It's 446am and do you know where I am? LOL. I am here blogging again. But, I had to blog about my crazy day at work. I guess I should have known it was gonna be a strange one because I overslept. I never oversleep. I usually get up no later than 1230pm. I usually hear the mailman delivering the mail between 1030am and 1230pm. Well, I when I did hear the mailman, I woke up out of my sleep. Then, I heard the knock at the door. So, of course I rolled out of bed and answered the door. Didn't put my glasses on. She told me I had a certified letter from the Hilton. I signed for it and came in and opened it. They, for some odd reason, sent my last pay stub by certified mail. LOL. I looked at the clock and shit my pants practically. It was 203pm. I called work and told them I would be there about 15 mins late. Well, when I walked in the door at work, I saw Kerri walking an elderly lady into the lobby and telling her everything would be okay. I went and punched in. The first call of the day for me was from our porter's mother that said her son had an emergency and wouldn't be in tonight. Then I heard the story behind the escorting. The lady must have gotten confused and was found in another room 2 doors down from her actual room. The guests in the wrong room walked in on her. She was sitting there eating some fruit loops, a banana, and drinking Rum right from the half gallon bottle. She was even popping their vitamins. She even plugged in the iron and left it on. We couldn't find the actual people she was supposed to be with. To be safe, we locked the guests out of the room, so they would come to the desk so we could explain what had happened while they were away. We had a late checkout at 3pm. Well, I asked around 330 if they had checked out. I had the maintenance man go up and check the room to see if they had left. He radioed back and told me that they were gone. So we thought all was well. Then the family of the lost lady came in and Kerri explained to them the story. That's when they told us that she had brain cancer. They said she shouldn't have been left alone, but they thought it was okay to leave her for 90 mins while they went and did their TIMESHARE tour. I was thinking to myself, 90 mins is a long time to leave a lady that was in her condition, but I didn't speak that aloud. So all was fine. Well, after they walked away from the desk, it wasn't 5 mins later when a lady come up to the desk to make a complaint. I was checking in another couple when the lady told Patrick that she wanted to know why the maintenance man was drunk and was trying to escort them up to the room. Granted we have smelled alcohol on him before, he did a decent job around the hotel. The guest said he wreaked of alcohol. By this time, Kerri and my GM were on a conference call. So, we couldn't interrupt that. We apologized the best we could and she went on her way. The maintenance man stopped by the desk, and I could smell the alcohol on him from 5ft away. Patrick even got a whiff of it too. I filled out an incident report of what happened with her and what was said. Well, around 430 I went downstairs to smoke a cigarette. I sure didn't expect to walk back into hell again. But, low and behold, I did. Patrick told me he just saw the window of a car in the parking lot just explode. Their was no one around it and just busted and crashed to the ground. I just shook my head and laughed. So, we made the calls up to the room and their number on file only to get voicemail for both. I left a VM in the room for them to call the front desk ASAP. Well, about 515pm, they called down and I explained what had happened and ask them to come down to the desk. They were a nice African American couple that just couldn't believe what had happened. It was a rental car. I went ahead and called the police so they could have a report filled out for the rental agency. While waiting on the police to show, I answered a call for someone asking to speak to the GM. I realized that it was the guest that was complaining about the drunk maintenance man. I transferred the call to him. Then the police showed up about 15mins later to start working with the couple's incident report. Well, as my GM was leaving, he told me didn't want the maintenance man going into any occupied guest rooms for the rest of the evening. I knew I would be the Do It All Bitch for the rest of the night. Which I actually don't mind doing, since it breaks the monotonous on the front desk. I had a few housekeeping and maintenance calls when my GM called and told me he wanted me to send the drunk home and to call and speak with him tomorrow. Well, I tried radioing him for 10 mins while looking all over the hotel for him to let him know. I just couldn't find him nor would he answer back on the radio. Then all of the sudden he appeared in the back office and before I could inform him of the outcome, he said he was fed up and going home for the night. Then, I informed him of what my GM had requested. So he went on his way. Then, I kindly helped the couple with the busted window by grabbing a wetvac and vacuumed their car out and got all the broken glass out of the door frame and such. There was glass all over the inside and outside of the car. The police determined it was just an act of nature. I have heard of windows popping when the weather changes from hot to cool in a matter of minutes. We had a nice quick cold rain shower come through around 4pm and of course the window popped around 430. I gave them directions to the rental agency so they could get a replacement car. And wouldn't you know it, all of the above happened from 245pm - 7pm. What a crazy evening it was. LOL. Okay had to share it with y'all. Hope you got a laugh out of it all, cause I know I sure did. Now, its 523am and I am taking my happy ass to bed. Peace out!

April Has Sprung....

Hola, People. Hope you are all doing fine and dandy. I know for sure I am. I just can't believe it's already friggin' April. It's 249am, right now. Let's see how long this entry will take. As I, have a good bit of blogging to catch up on. LOL. I know I have promised you a few out of you out there that I would catch up on here and add some more pics and such. Well, I frankly, have not in the mood to sit here and type all the happenings. But, now I am, and here we go. LOL. As I mentioned in the last entry, the owner of the Streamline passed away on March 12. What I failed to mention at the time was that they were having a Celebration of Life on his behalf on Easter Sunday. I must say when Missy, Tommy, and I stopped by the Streamline, it was a touching experience. You will see that in the pictures. There were at least 150 people upstairs. They had rainbow balloons tied to the railings on the balcony all the way around the place. It was so windy, but they managed not to pop or fly away. There were tables for 8 with nice white linens all the way around the top of the balcony. Whistle Junction catered the food. As the sun was setting we released all the balloons and said a few words in remembrance of Eric. He will be missed. All on the inside of the Penthouse and the Nascar bars were displayed items and pictures of Eric's journey around the world with his family and friends. It was rather nice. Overall, it was a nice experience. The painted the exterior of the balcony upstairs and put a new coat throughout the Penthouse as well. A lot of people don't like the Streamline, but I am one of the few that actually do. Granted, it's full of hustlers and trolls, but if you look past that, there's no other bar in this town like it with it's panoramic views of the city and the beach. The hustlers, nor the trolls, for that matter really bother me. Most know, that's not my scenery or choice in life. But, every time I go, I always have a good time with friends and the bartenders. Okay, let me move on. I have been working the evenings at work. When I worked in NC in the hotel business, it was a little different. We didn't have to deal with perturbed time share tourists. I now remember why when I went to Tampa I wanted to leave the hotel business. They drive me insane sometimes. I just have a low tolerance to ignorance these days. But, I do take into consideration, that they may just be oblivious to the facts and not really not what common sense really is. I had one this evening that just about made me lose my temper. I was literally shaking. She continued bitching about how the time share people told her this and that. I asked her to relax and let me get them checked in so they could at least enjoy the hotel and not have to worry about their stay with us. I have been saying this alot lately, but it's women like her that absolutely make me happy that I am gay. If I was to be her husband, I don't think I could take her mouth that would never shut up and all it spewed out was whining and complaining about little things that didn't need to be discussed in a place of business. She was totally out of line so much, that after 15 mins of listening to her moaning, I had to threaten her with "I will refuse you service, if you don't relax and not complain anymore". But, she wouldn't and I tried to stick with my threat. I called the Welcome Center back and advised them that we were refusing service to the client and I would be sending them back so they can direct them to another hotel to stay at. However, my boss came back, and I advised him of everything and he wouldn't let me do it. He said give them the best customer service possible and write down the complaints. Of course, I replied with, how can I give good customer service when she is being a raging bitch and won't keep her mouth shut. He said just do it. So, it took every last nerve I had to go back with that fake smile and get them checked in. But, the ladies friend, told her to go outside and keep her f'ing mouth shut as well. I got my curtains finally for the living room. Of course, thanks to Missy, he advised me that I should use the ones that I got with my comforter set back at Christmas. Well, the two panels that came with it weren't wide enough. So, I hopped on http://www.brylanehome.com/ and ordered another set up curtains. I also ordered a nice black sheer curtain as well to go behind them to help keep out the sunlight. Of course, my idea worked because it filtered out the sunshine but still let in the actual light. I can now comfortably still watch and see the projector during broad daylight now. This past Saturday at work, if anything could go wrong, it did. We had a washer break down, meaning that all of the rooms weren't clean and inspected until almost 5pm. We also had an elevator break down. And to top it off, we were SOLD OUT. Everything in the hotel is brand new, not half assed repaired. But, it sucked having those issues arise. I got my first full power bill this month. Amazingly, it was even lower than last months, which was for 3 weeks. Only $26 is all it was. I am impressed with the way my condo stays at a constant 72-28 inside even when its almost 90 or 40 outside. I haven't had to crank up the A/C just yet. And at this rate, I don't want to turn the damn power hog on. LOL. My children are doing quite well with each other. Meeko has pretty much gotten acquainted in his new surroundings and he's a good cat. Jerry is still king of this condo and will always be. He still thinks he can get on my counters in the kitchen, and knows I won't tolerate it. He probably wallers all over them when I am not home just to be spiteful to me. LOL. Well, it's now 3:55am and I am going to go to bed. Hope you all enjoyed this post and I will be blogging again soon. I really want to get this down to a pattern of blogging at least once a week if not twice. Have a great night and as always, PEACE OUT!