New Opportunities
Shortly after my last post, I decided to finally take some action on an idea I've had for several weeks - to cast games from CSL (Collegiate Star League) replays. I also noticed that (at the time) the CSLTV webpage didn't have very many casts of recent games - if my videos were on there, I could suddenly get a significant increase in visibility - this made me a bit nervous!
I emailed the CSL about using logos and posting my casts on their website (since I'm not a current student, I'd need a workaround), and at the same time, they added a post asking for volunteer help (though not specifically asking for casters). Their social media guy replied to my email with how they handle live casting, which isn't quite what I'd be doing (casting from replays). But with all that's been going on, I haven't gotten back to him yet!
Production
I've been meaning to improve my summary screen production process so it takes less time. But all this CSL talk got me thinking about adding an intro screen (or video!) and even image overlays. So I started looking at more powerful video editing software, and I quickly discovered that it would take hours to render/encode a single game with these more fully featured apps on my Core 2 Duo.
I remembered a friend of mine doing some video processing work, so I emailed him for his thoughts. He did some testing which revealed that if I got a newer PC, I could reduce that encoding time to minutes. As luck would have it, he also builds PCs as a side job - and one of his recent customers didn't pay him for a PC - so he offered it sell it to me for essentially half-price...
Birthday
During the week after my last post, my son had his first birthday! So between getting nervous about the CSL and debating about video editing software and a possible PC upgrade, I did some gift shopping, some gift wrapping, and some tidying up of the house (my wife and mother-in-law did much more for the party!). I also got to rescue my wife from a flat tire - ok I got to call for a tow truck and learn from the tire place how the tires were getting ripped up due to bad wheel alignment - but that's another story for another blog ;-)
My son's birthday was great - everyone had a great time and Isaac has suddenly become a toddler - it seems like he's learning a new word every day now!
Upgrade
The day after Isaac's party, my wife, her mom and my daughter all took a "girls day out" and went to IKEA and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I decided to take Isaac out on a "boys day out" after his nap - to get a new computer. We packed his diaper bag with lots of provisions and drove about an hour up to my friend's house (who lives on a farm in Greeley, CO).
His wife was out doing a photo shoot (they also have a photography business), so it was truly a boys-only get-together. We spent the evening hanging out and talking about computers, fatherhood and of course, Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 - and Isaac got to play with some boys for once (my friend has 2 little boys, one of them is very close to Isaac's age) and eat mac and cheese :) We had a great time and came home late with a cool new toy!
Isaac with the new PC. My daughter Madeline found a great use for the CPU box: a ducky pedestal!
Name Change
And of course, I can't forget the name change! With the possibility of a more public role in grassroots e-Sports, I was reminded that having the trademark "StarCraft" in my casting name and blog title may be an issue at some point. For starters, I could never have a Battle.Net ID of "StarcraftDad" as it includes a trademark! And would other casters call me "Dad" for short? So after much internal debate, I decided to cast as "CuePhoenix", my old, classic gaming screen name - and change the blog title to "Gosu Dad". Think of it as "I'm CuePhoenix, and I aspire to be a gosu dad".
I hope to add an About page describing the history and thoughts behind both names as well as the stats of my new PC - but one thing at a time! That and I really want to get back to casting (and playing!) StarCraft 2!
So yeah, a lot has been going on - and apparently, this is only the beginning!
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