Michael Webber

Weekend Media Reads — Vol. 2

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

UK plans to phase out Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) got me thinking about the long-term future of over-the-air broadcasting worldwide.

While the UK moves to shift viewers entirely to IP-delivered television, the U.S. is taking a very different route by finding new ways to expand its use of existing broadcast infrastructure.

Here are the stories and topics on my radar this week. Grab a fresh cup of coffee, settle in, and join me for some weekend reads. I hope you enjoy.

Weekend Media Reads — Vol. 1

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This week my RSS reader was filled with news coming out of the FCC. Are they spurring a new wave of broadcast media consolidation? Is the Universal Service Fund (USF) no longer needed in the age of Starlink? Disney also announced all commercial spots for the 2027 Super Bowl have been sold.

So, grab a fresh cup of coffee, settle in, and join me for a quick weekend read.

August is fall's warning bell

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

September is coming fast, and if you have lingering summer goals, you better have a plan.

In our house, lingering isn’t really in the cards anyway. Our to-do list is always stacked. This summer has been no different. We have a list of large projects and commitments we want to accomplish. They’re not all getting done, and we know that.

There’s a corner of our backyard near the shed that’s currently just dirt. We have visions of turning it into a real gathering space with outdoor furniture and a mounted outdoor TV. Inside, we’re taking over a corner fireplace project abandoned by a contractor, choosing to finish the work ourselves rather than chase down someone else willing to take on a small job.

Media & Tech Insights Roundup

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Technology is advancing the production process, moving faster than ever. The media landscape is shifting as politics and business models challenge every aspect of our world. As professionals we must strive to stay current from content and engineering perspectives.

Every other week, I gather articles that catch my eye, intrigue, inspire, or just feel relevant to our world. The goal is simply to share what I’m reading and learn from our great colleagues throughout the industry.

Unchristian Hesitation

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes your runner’s high gets interrupted. Life telling you to check your ego. The day is not complete. Sitting in the parking lot after an evening run, the sun has already set, when a stranger gets my attention seeking help with a flat tire. A woman in need, I help.

Yet, there’s an unchristian hesitation.

The situation will evolve, weakness creeps in. What am I getting myself into?

Mission creep is the rusted spare tire that won’t lodge free from the underside of the vehicle. Trying to figure out the Rube Goldberg system the car manufacturer used to mount and store the tire and jacks. Then the lug nuts, which I convinced myself must be welded on.

The Rebuilding Phase

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

April 2025: 69.2 miles.

April 2026: 20.6 miles.

The rebuilding phase fights you every day.

Poor routines hold their grip. The memory of half marathon races taunts. 3-mile base runs hurt more than they should.

One mile at a time is the only way out.

It is time to dig.

The Gift of Pre-Programming

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We often think of “help” as someone standing next to us while the work is happening.

But the most generous help is often performed in an empty room, days before the curtain rises. It’s the work that ensures the person following behind doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel.

If you have to “figure it out” on the fly, you are spending your creative energy on survival. When a friend pre-programs the logic, they aren’t just doing technical work. They are giving you the gift of bandwidth.

Alton Bay Ice Runway

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are on family vacation this week. Temperatures hit the 40s today, so we skipped the slopes to avoid the “mashed potato” snow and headed to the Alton Bay Seaplane Base (B18). In the winter, this is better known simply as the Ice Runway.

Located on Lake Winnipesaukee, this is the only FAA-approved ice runway in the lower 48 states. It is having a banner year thanks to an early winter and consistent cold. The runway has already surpassed the previous season record of 764 landings.

Moving my Musings to Obsidian

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

After years on WordPress, I’m transitioning my digital journal to a more local, file-based system.

Why the Change?

Ownership: My notes stay in my vault.
Speed: Next.js and Docker on my Contabo VPS are lightning fast.
Focus: Writing in Obsidian allows for deep thinking without the clutter of a CMS dashboard.

Technology & Learning

This blog isn’t just a place for updates; it’s a project in itself. Learning to containerize this with Docker has been a great Sunday exercise.

7 Miles Along the Blackstone

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Garmin recommended long run today, 1hr 10min. Temps in the high 20s, felt comfortable. Enjoyed the frost cover and the thin coating of ice on the Blackstone Canal.

Refreshing Winter Run

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ran a snow covered Blackstone Bike Path this morning. I love the muffled sound after a snowfall. Just cold air, quiet surroundings, and the crunch of the snow.

Before Ctrl+Z Exploring Film Editing’s Golden Age with Walter Murch’s Her Name Was Moviola

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Currently in post-production, Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch is working on a passion project, ‘Her Name was Moviola‘, a documentary about cutting film the way it “used to be done”.

What is a Moviola? Well, simply put the Moviola was a tool used in the process of editing film from the 1920 all the way to the 1970s.

Not a flashy device, but a workhorse of the film industry! Editors like Walter used the Moviola to birth masterpieces like “Citizen Kane” and “Gone with the Wind”, shaping the language of film editing for generations.

Trim video without re-encoding using ffmpeg

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been taking the time to learn ffmpeg and some of the really useful stuff you can do with this command line tool (CLI).

Here’s one example of a situation I find myself in frequently and have not had a great solution until now.

The ability to trim a video file without re-encoding!

“Re-encoding” means loss of video quality in my mind. Not quite as bad as copying a VHS tape, known in the analog world as a “generation loss” Having the ability to trim a video file WITHOUT suffering any quality loss, that was a WOW ffmpeg moment for me.

COVID Sunsets

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

My wife and I have been going on long weekend bike rides for several months now. The COVID pandemic has given us extra time in our busy family schedule to discover a new date night-exercise opportunity.

We schedule our start time so that we’re arriving at Colt State Park just in time to see the sunset. Regardless of the weather conditions or cloud cover, that’s our goal.

The East Bay Bike Path offers great views along the Rhode Island coastline, passing through various areas including an industrial seaport, small cottage home neighborhoods, parks, and large estate homes.

Goodbye Ann & Hope

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

On June 29, 2020 Ann & Hope announced they would close all remaining outlet stores following a series of previously announced store closings. This includes their historic headquarters location in Cumberland at 1 Ann & Hope Way.

I stopped by to take some photos of the building yesterday, just to capture some images before the signs are removed and the building becomes mostly vacant.

Ann & Hope is known as the first discount department store in America, pioneering practices now common in modern big box stores.

Production Switcher to Zoom

Fri, 08 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Backmagic Web Presenter, the perfect tool for the job.

After several weeks on backorder, our Blackmagic Web Presenter arrived from BH Photo!

The “black box” is a simple device that works out of the box. No drives, no software. Simply take the output of your video production switcher, professional SDI camera or HDMI source into the BM Web Presenter. Then connect a USB cable to your PC/Mac and the audio/video signal appears as a 720p HD webcam to the computer.

Stream Deck for Zoom Meetings

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

UPDATE: My setup for Zoom has evolved and somewhat less dependent on StreamDeck now. You may want to check out my new Blog Post with our updated Zoom setup for TV interviews.

This week I purchased a Stream Deck XL ($235) to help streamline our video productions with Zoom remote guests.

Since the COVID-19 crisis hit mid-March our community television station scrambled to adapt and help disseminate important information. Zoom quickly became the go-to platform for setting up meetings and remote show guests.

60 Degree Day

Sat, 11 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What a day today, just an incredible temperature jump this weekend. Two days of 60-degree temps in January is rare, so I made an extra effort to get a run today. The Blackstone Bike Path was really busy today, again highly unusual in January. The parking lot had 20ish cars and the traffic along the bike path reminded me of early spring when everyone is excited to be outside.

Backing Up Large Video File Collections to AWS Glacier Deep Archive

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Part 1 – Why AWS Glacier Deep Archive?

Backing up large collections of raw video footage and edit masters remains a real challenge for anyone working in the video production world. As the Executive Director of a local community media station, I’m responsible for maintaining a Synology NAS which currently holds 55TB of final edit master videos. The idea of incorporating “Cloud Storage” into our backup procedures has always interested me, but the expense has held me back.

LastPass Unlocked Event

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Last Thursday, October 3, 2019 I had an opportunity to attend LastPass’s Unlocked – Cybersecurity & Identity Trends event in Boston, MA.

The panel of security experts included:

Bill Cheswick, Computer Security and Networking Researcher
Gerald Beuchelt, Chief Information Security Officer/Vice President for LogMeIn
Steve Gibson, Software Engineer, Security Researcher, and Host of the Security Now Podcast. grc.com

I’m a big fan of Twit.tv, Leo Laporte, Steve Gibson and I use LastPass every day. So I was really excited to attend the event knowing I’d be participating in an engaging and fun conversation around security, passwords, and learn more about Steve’s solution for passwords, the SQRL project.

Mount Washington TV Geeks

Sun, 28 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Picked up my copy of Marty On The Mountain at The Village Book Store in Littleton, NH.

Mount Washington and Television, two of my life passions in one book.

Marty on the Mountain is a wonderful book full of neat stories about life as a TV engineer on top of Mount Washington. Only 157 pages, the book is a fun read over a quiet weekend.

I’ve had the opportunity to hike and visit the mountain on a number of occasions. In fact, I proposed to my wife after a hike up Tuckerman’s Ravine.

Make Running a Habit

Wed, 17 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Some thoughts on running and a few training updates as the summer comes to an end.

I never thought running would become my “thing”. When I first started going to the gym I’d always avoid the treadmill, it just seemed boring and frankly I could not understand why anyone would want to run in-place for any length of time.

Running is now a passion, which I’ve come to embraced over the past few years. Something clicked for me a about three years ago and I’m so thankful that I was open to the idea. Thankful that I was willing to give it a serious try.

Murch Says 3D Will Never Work

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The future of 3D is blurry at best, as more and more industry leaders express their concerns with the technology and its long-term viability. Hollywood editor and sound designer, Walter Murch is the latest skeptic to come out, explaining his viewpoint in a letter to Roger Ebert:

“…dark, small, stroby, headache inducing, alienating. And expensive. The question is: how long will it take people to realize and get fed up?”

Enjoy the Snow!

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

10 PRINT “SNOW”

20 GOTO 10

Five Reasons To Stay at Fransted Family Campground

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

April 2012 UPDATE: Since I wrote this blog post Fransted Family Campground has been sold and is now managed by the new owners.

If you’re looking for a campground in the Franconia Notch area of New Hampshire, you need to check out Fransted Family Campground.

There are many camping choices in New Hampshire and the experience can vary greatly.

For example, the state campgrounds offer a low cost, no frills value in prime locations. Perfect for Deb and I when it was just the two of us. Â That said, the reservation system can sometimes be a pain to deal with andÂ alternativelyÂ the first come, first served sites often leave your vacation to chance.