Samford « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Samford

I do not know what is happening. / journalism / links / memories / photo / Samford / swimming / Twitter / video / Wednesday — Comments Off
10
Sep 14

I have an idea about noodles

One of my favorite memories of journalism classes as an undergrad was watching the story ideas form. I wasn’t a natural. I think some people are, and others can be taught. Some people have the ideas spring forth, but others have to work on it. Until I learned to come up with a reliable story idea process, I was enthralled by listening to others just riff off ideas.

That’s not right. I’m still impressed listening to really talented, curious, passionate people spit out story ideas.

So this is, perhaps, my favorite part of the semester. We’ve been discussing this in class. Today I broke them all up into groups and requested, nay, demanded story ideas. And once we got just around the corner from the traditional campus issues of parking and tuition, they had some good ones.

Next I’m going to make them put them into practice.

One of the ideas was the new cafeteria vendors. Things have changed. Some people find the food tastier. Others have pointed out there is an awful lot more pasta. To me, the food varies from decent to bland, with fewer options — once you remove the bushels of pasta. And there seems to be more chaos in the food serving area.

Also, this:

Surely we can do better than that.

I swam again today, about three-quarters of a mile, or 1,300 yards. My flip turns, new yesterday, looked basically the same today. Off-kilter, untargeted and more power than grace. But, hey, it seems to get me back down the lane a bit faster.

Also they are slow. And I forget to look for my knees, which probably explains a lot of the above. But, on those flip turns when I go down more than out I must also come up, which, I think, has the look a whale breach. That amuses me.

I hope no one else is looking.

This evening there were Crimson meetings, where we discussed the story they had on the changes in the cafeteria. It is a popular topic. Today’s was the first issue of the year, and in their critiques I got to brag on them a great deal. The paper looks pretty great for a first effort. There are some things they’ll work on, but there are always things to work on. I’m very pleased, I told them, about where they are starting. They have great potential for the year ahead — and so now I will challenge them.

Anyway, we did not discuss the sign above, but the pasta did come up.

The vendor, Sodexo, says they surveyed students on the campus where they have contracts and found that students wanted more of the stuff, so we have tons of carbs. There’s a lot of pasta in the cafeteria.

Things to read … which is as easy to boil up as spaghetti.

Man, I need a good drone. This was shot by my friend and a Samford grad, soaring high above campus. (He appears several times as the drone does flybys.) It is pretty awesome:

This was a terrific story last winter. Now it is heartbreaking, and touching … Patient saved by doctor who walked six miles in snow to perform brain surgery on him has died:

The couple have seen the doctor several times since the incident, and he always told the doctor how much he appreciated what he did, Andrea said.

“God and Dr. Hyrnkiw gave us an extra six months,” said Andrea Robinson. “And I can see why God gave me those extra six months.”

Did you watch anything from the Apple event? Interested in the mobile payments that were discussed. It is a game changer, as Alan Mutter explained years ago … Get ready for mobile payments

It was fun while it lasted … Twitter CFO says a Facebook-style filtered feed is coming, whether you like it or not:

At a financial conference on Wednesday in New York, the CFO provided some hints about the feature roadmap that new head of product Daniel Graf — who came to Twitter from Google in April — has in mind for the service, a list that includes better search and a move into group chat. But he also suggested that the traditional reverse-chronological user stream could become a thing of the past, as the company tries to improve its relevance.

[…]

The most recent example of how stark the differences can be between a filtered feed and an unfiltered one was the unrest in Ferguson, Mo. and how that showed up so dramatically on Twitter but was barely present for most users of Facebook. As sociologist Zeynep Tufekci noted, that kind of filtering has social consequences — and journalism professor Emily Bell pointed out that doing this makes Facebook and Twitter into information gatekeepers in much the same way newspapers used to be.

The impetus for Twitter to filter is obvious: the service needs to show growth in both number of users and engagement in order to satisfy investors, and finding relevant content as a new user can be a challenge, which is why the company recently updated its so-called “on-boarding” process.

I’d hope there would be a classic version. I count myself in the group of users who have spent a fair amount of time developing a well-curated Twitter stream, and now they’ll turn it into Facebook. And, you’ll see in other stories, let you buy stuff directly from your feed. The ultimate impulse purchase!

The only thing I’d want would be to purchase the original Twitter format, chronological and curated by humans, me.

But that’s a complaint for a different day. Today I can only complain about my flip turns. And the pasta.

I do not know what is happening. / links / running / Samford / things to read / Thursday / Twitter / video — Comments Off
4
Sep 14

There are two videos, and people move fast

Let us go ahead and get this out of the way right at the beginning. This is the best video of the day. It is almost two years old and, until you watch it you won’t have any idea why a father refusing to walk his daughter down the aisle is the theme behind the best video of the day:

“What else after that?” Indeed. I could watch that over and over. I’ve watched it about four times. Isn’t she a beautiful little thing? Now all we need is a followup video in about 20 years or so.

I ran today, but it was an abbreviated run. Just a couple of miles and then I had the general feeling of nausea and sickness. So I called it a morning. I was right; it was a morning.

Things to read … because that’s useful, no matter what time of day it is.

There is both a static and an interactive version to this map. I wonder why. Map: The counties that have received the most undocumented immigrant children

Naturally. H&R Block CEO says Obamacare to add ‘significant complexity’ to tax season

I remain unsurprised. Inspector general: Homeland Security spent millions on underused vehicles

Sure, this is about the largest animal ever discovered, but they buried the lead: we can play with the bones! Newly discovered dinosaur, Dreadnoughtus, takes title of largest terrestrial animal

I wonder if it is an algorithm that Twitter uses to send me the dated emails I get every so often. Algorithms Are Invading Your Twitter Stream, And Resistance Is Futile … Don’t get me wrong, algorithms are good things on the whole, but I’ve carefully curated my Twitter stream to serve my needs and interests. It is very human and practical and effective. I don’t want your continual move toward Twitter in Facebook. Just allow me to keep the regular version, and thank you. I am afraid, however, that if this gets out of hand this becomes a goodbye for a lot of users.

This, this is awesome. Researchers send brain-to-brain message from India to France:

“We wanted to find out if one could communicate directly between two people by reading out the brain activity from one person and injecting brain activity into the second person, and do so across great physical distances by leveraging existing communication pathways.”

The information sent were the words “hola” and “ciao” in binary. Four people participated in the study: one person in India sent the information, and the other three people in France received it.

Age is just one more number for U.Va. stat trackers:

At 104, Risher does not take a backseat to many in matters of seniority. He saw his first Virginia game in 1920 and played for the Cavaliers during the 1931 season, making him the school’s oldest football alumnus.

With “only” 51 seasons under his belt, however, he’s not the senior man on the crew.

“Paul’s the workhorse,” Risher said. “He puts all the data together.”

Wisman began keeping stats at VMI games in 1950 while teaching economics at the school. He came to Virginia for graduate school and hooked on with the stats crew in ’56.

He’s missed one home game since: the 2011 season opener.

And, finally, I produced this Hyperlapse video today of the organization fair Samford had. No one has seen it — thanks to absolutely no retweets or other social media shares, thanks all! — so you can be the first:

Should be a fun tool.

links / Samford / things to read / video / Wednesday — Comments Off
3
Sep 14

That’s a question, sure thing

There is such a thing as a stupid question. Quora has found it:

Is it safe to do the ALS ice bucket challenge with liquid nitrogen instead of ice water?

But, hey, at least someone thought to ask. One wonders if they simultaneously have access to liquid nitrogen and were unsure about the specific properties of the stuff. Happily, most of the answers have to do with experience in laboratories and an explanation of the Leidenfrost effect. Only one answer goes superlative, along the lines of “sure, if you want to die.”

Mr. Freeze aside, the question was asked, and answered. The question even referenced Leidenfrost. So, yes, stupid question.

Glad it wasn’t asked over at Yahoo Answers, the land of enchantedly silly questions.

Class today. Meetings today. Meetings into the night. It was a full, full day. Quora helped. Yahoo Answers never helps.

Things to read … because even when you read only this much, it helps.

Cyber attacks on hospitals rising 600 percent:

The computer networks of hospitals and health systems that hold millions of patient records and valuable personal information are quickly becoming a favorite target for hackers.

A recent report from security research firm Websense finds that while attempted cyber attacks are on the rise in many industries, the amount of digital invasions on hospitals is unparalleled and has risen 600 percent in the last 10 months.

Just in time for all those medical records in the cloud. Should be fun.

Why Interactives are the Next Big Thing in Content Marketing:

Interactive graphics, or ‘interactives’ for short, are like the Transformers of visual content: They can take on a variety of forms. You can find an interactive that’s a microsite, dashboard, or a map, to name a few. But at the core, they’re all visualizations that allow viewers to explore the information presented for themselves.

By definition, interactives engage viewers in a very active way – and that engagement can be incredibly powerful to marketers. People viewing interactives spend more time on the page, seeing a brand associated with content that interests them, all at their own pace.

[…]There are three situations where making an interactive is the way to go: (1) complex data visualization, (2) personalized branded content, and (3) customized product explainers.

Fortunately, there is already a brilliant visualized explainer to answer the question above. Enjoy:

More tomorrow.

cycling / Friday / photo / Samford — Comments Off
29
Aug 14

And, now, a pet peeve

This, surely, happens to everyone. It can’t be that the only people in the western world that do this are wherever I happen to be. It must happen to you, too.

When one approaches the common dual door, one should always steer toward the one on the right. Not to the one that is open. That just impedes traffic, and is kind of lazy.

Also, it makes me wonder why I’m holding the door for you. I’m trying to get through it, after all, and this is my side.

Class today, where we discussed story types. We discussed this amazing story. More meetings, too, just wrapping up the first week. One or two more weeks of administrative and meeting minutiae and things can get down to normal.

And then phone calls, and then the drive home and the traffic therein.

I made it in just in time to push my bicycle around part of the town. I got in 15 fast miles before daytime turned to the latter part of twilight. My cycling app says I set three personal records on various segments. I also took the first place spot on an uphill course. (This defies all logic and previous performance. The reality is that not many people ride on that road.) Despite all of that, I need to be stronger and faster. I need to ride more.

I blame all of my door-holding.

links / photo / Samford / things to read / Thursday / video — Comments Off
28
Aug 14

It isn’t even mean tea

The beginning of every new school year brings about changes and good news. There have been a lot of positive ones at Samford. For instance, we saw this news just today: Samford creates $335M annual economic impact.

President Westmoreland got a little face time with the media, too:

There’s a new business building going up. There have been renovations in my building. And, of course, there are all those new faces buzzing about, too. The food service in the cafeteria is provided by a new company this year, as well. Food is important. I eat it every day. But feeding hundreds and hundreds of people each day can’t be easy, so I won’t say anything so far. Everyone is figuring out all of the new things, which might explain the weird, chaotic energy during lunch. And they might still be working through their menu as well.

But this … this …

There’s a cultural standard to be met here and it isn’t met with “plain tea.”

Who says “plain tea” anyway?

There’s a little sign that says Red Diamond is coming soon. Not soon enough.

Things to read … because this section always comes up soon enough.

Did you see the Star Trek selfie? Who is the guy in the background? There’s a story in that photobombing.

Here’s a great interactive infographic, Losing Ground:

In 50 years, most of southeastern Louisiana not protected by levees will be part of the Gulf of Mexico. The state is losing a football field of land every 48 minutes — 16 square miles a year …

What a great story, and adventures, brave young reporters. High school journalists cover Michael Brown’s funeral after addressing legal, safety concerns

“We did not, and do not, advocate our students attending the heavily protested areas,” Goble said. “However, we felt there was an immense journalistic opportunity for them, and they could capture these stories without being in the midst of a protest.”

[…]

But even with the concern for the students’ safety, Goble and his students still felt that this was an important story for them to cover given the proximity and importance of the events.

Student-Built Apps Teach Colleges a Thing or Two:

(S)tudents are showing up the universities that trained them by producing faster, easier-to-navigate, more informative and generally just better versions of the information systems at the heart of undergraduate life.

Students now arriving for fall semester may find course catalogs that they can instantly sort and re-sort according to every imaginable search criteria. Scheduling programs that allow someone to find the 47 different classes that meet Thursdays at 8:30 p.m., then narrow them down to those that have no prerequisites, then narrow again to those that count toward requirements in two majors. Or apps that allow you to see what courses your friends are considering, or figure out who has the same free periods that you do, or plot the quickest route between two far-flung classrooms.

But this culture of innovation has accelerated debates about the flow of information on campus, and forced colleges to reckon with some unexpected results of the programming skills they are imparting.

Seeing the initiative is great, terrific and wonderful. Watching them struggle with information access is rather understandable. The really sharp ones will work around it all. And some of them will probably get very, very rich.

Here’s a little PR piece that points out that paying attention to social media pays off. Just ask the airlines! Southwest Airlines’ new listening center making an immediate mark makes perfect sense. You’ll wonder why more shops aren’t doing the same thing.