Tuesday

Bloomington / IU / television / Tuesday / Twitter / video — Comments Off on Pro movement
26
Apr 22

Pro movement

This blocked traffic this morning. I’ve sped this up, because it is a three-minute effort and let’s be honest about our web habits but this beam and assorted other things started on that truck and it’s an interesting move.

The car in the foreground is close to the move. The small tree and the truck are very much involved. Those power lines aren’t exactly far away. This is a fair effort. And these guys handled it ease.

I do believe they’ve done this before.

We never think that much about the hard parts of putting up a building we are in. We don’t even know what the hard parts are. This might have been the easiest thing they did all day — and, if so, I hope everyone got a good night’s sleep. When the owner walks in the door when that build is complete, they’ll never know.

I did that thing today where you struggle with technology and you can’t find the solution to the problem and someone has to come by and show you the obvious thing you’ve overlooked. That happens to everyone. Except, when it happens to me it’s always the same guy who wanders by just in time to solve the problem. And I’ve never seen him do that brain-lock oversight thing. He must think I never get a good night’s sleep.

But, later in the day, things went pretty smoothly in the studio. It was the last news production of the semester. Everything is winding down this week, but it’s winding down with enthusiasm!

That’s the pop culture show. Also, Ashton just got a haircut and somehow that becomes a feature. And there was a taco hat and that was purely a serendipitous thing. I’ll need to get the full story on that.

We got a proper springtime forecast.

And a quick summary of the biggest stories going on abroad.

And, of course, all of the local headlines.

These shows will be online tomorrow, and I can share them then. But, until then, I can share the latest from the Behind the Curtain crew. They’re highlighting a student spec commercial. (The commercial is good, if long.)

And maybe this has gone on for too long, as well. So I will thank you, and step aside until tomorrow.

If you have some more time to kill right now, however, there’s always more on Twitter and check me out on Instagram, too.

Bloomington / IU / photo / television / Tuesday / video — Comments Off on Just the regular stuff
19
Apr 22

Just the regular stuff

It was a sunny day. I know that because I drove in the sunshine. Because I have a late night on campus, I enjoyed a late start. So I lazed around a bit and read and did some laundry and generally wasn’t productive enough for most of the morning. A shame, really, because productivity is the mark of your downtime! Otherwise you’re just staring at the clock, waiting for your chance to spring into action.

And after I’d sprung, I spent the day in a room with no windows, which always helps productivity. So the sun could have done any number of things over the next six or so hours, and I’d be none the wiser. But I did see this streaming from a colleague’s office as I went up to the studio.

This will bake your bean: what if the universe is telling you something, but you just don’t understand the symbols?

That’d be too much to think about in the control room, where there was a lot going on this evening.

And, next door, in the studio, they were talking table tennis.

Because we had the recently crowned national champions in for an interview. These guys are twins, born 40 minutes apart. They’ve been playing internationally for about a decade, already. And one of them was an Olympic alternate during the most recent Games.

They said they practice about three hours a day. Later, the studio gang had a talk about all the things we could all be good at if we practiced it three hours a day.

Aside from autonomous things, like blinking and breathing and so on, what do you do for three or more hours a day? I probably read that much, presumably making me an expert reader. It gets pretty thin after that, though.

Also, Mia told us it is going to warm up just in time for Little 500 weekend. Every year since we’ve been here, that weekend has marked the precise retirement of winter, and beginning of spring.

Why they can’t have these races, then, in February, or March, remains a mystery to me.

Just as mysterious, where they’re going next with this show. It’s a mix of scripted and improv comedy, and we’re all just going along for the ride. Anyway, this week’s premise is that we’re on the search for a new co-host, and all of the awkwardness that you can possibly imagine from that is probably under consideration here.

Here’s the new longform interview show. All of the guests are IU or Indiana type folks, and that’s not a bad hook. So far they’re three-for-three on big names, including Michael Uslan, who’s the guy responsible for all of the Batman movies you’ve seen since Michael Keaton put on the cowl. So the caped crusader is probably going to come up in this conversation.

And this is a rock ‘n’ roll show. Three bands came into the studio, including one brand new band. This was the first song the three-piece band ever played together. Fooled me.

It was after 8 p.m. when I left the building, and still vaguely daylight when I made it outside. I walked to the parking deck and drove up to the top floor to look to the west. The gloaming hadn’t even begun.

That’s a great feature here. The best one, if you ask me.

Cozumel / IU / photo / SCUBA / Tuesday — Comments Off on For a Tuesday, this is pretty good
12
Apr 22

For a Tuesday, this is pretty good

I met the new provost this evening. He came into the studio for an interview with one of our news shows. I got to chat with him for about 90 seconds, but he, and the publicity detachment that came with him, was far more interested in the students, as he should be. And given some of the ongoing campus events, what could have been an easy and straightforward getting-to-know-you interview took on some real local heft.

And they got to call it an exclusive. It was a nice interview, we only missed one question, and it speaks to the news division’s growth and ambitions.

We have about two weeks left in this production cycle, and three or so weeks left in the semester, so it is time to start peeking ahead for them. Next year we’ll be in a unique position. All of this year’s leadership will return next year. This year’s youth will be the next two years savvy, veteran leadership. We will now start looking at ways to take advantage of that opportunity.

Also, today, I interviewed a sociologist who does brain science research. What a world, huh? He told me how I can keep my noodle sharp. That’ll be a podcast that should be online Thursday or so. Not to worry, I’ll let you know about it.

Let’s look at a few more pictures from our last vacation, the Spring Break 2020 (And this time we mean it!) dive trip to Cozumel.

Yes, I’ve gotten more than two weeks of videos of this trip, and 10 days, so far, of big batches of photos. And I’ve got one more day to go after this. So let’s get into this! Starting with this small school of bright yellow grunts (Haemulon flavolineatum) and gray angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus).

More grunts! And maybe a porgy. (I’m not very good with the silver fish.)

Isn’t it nice how the sunlight just works its way down 60-or-so feet and highlights their fins?

A queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris) just showing off all of those pretty colors.

This is the regal blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus). Pretty big one, too. They can grow up to about 15 inches. It is kind of popular in aquariums, and as a bait fish.

Who likes random coral formations?

And, remember, always look in the vase coral … because you’ll sometimes find fused staghorn coral …

Oh, look who is up there, swimming with a sea turtle.

Here’s the rare shot where there wasn’t actually anything in view. But the colors are lovely, aren’t they?

And, now, the saddest photo a diver can take. Zero feet, still air in the tank.

Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up this amazing series of photos from this wonderful dive experience with some lovely people pictures. Make sure you’re ready for that.

adventures / Cozumel / IU / memories / photo / SCUBA / Tuesday — Comments Off on Fire! And the salty water off Cozumel …
5
Apr 22

Fire! And the salty water off Cozumel …

The fire alarm went off in our building at work today. This was not a planned event. Usually we receive a warning about a drill, which is helpful. This was not that. A terrible sound emerged from nowhere. Lights flashed.

A disembodied voice told us this was a fire alarm, told us to abandon hope, told us to open the elevator doors and stride through without gazing into the abyss below. The pleasant voice told us that we’d all be written off for insurance purposes, but some might make it out and those lucky few would get a chance to start anew. The voice asked us about other skills no one knew we had, told us finding a way to monetize those skills was the key to our newfound, lung scorched, skin scarred lives.

You want to weigh your options during messages like these. Is this a drill? Should you just stay in your warm, dry office? Should you honor the whuupping alarm?

You should honor the whuupping alarm.

So I gathered up my things and stuffed them in my backpack, and my half-sandwich, because it was almost lunch time, and this fire will not take my computers or my peanut butter half-sandwich!

As I write that, I am thinking of the few other things in my office that I didn’t carry, and I’m kicking myself a bit, but there’s only so much you can do.

I met The Yankee in the stairwell, because you can’t use the elevators. And, two weeks post-op, going downstairs is one of the more difficult parts of her recovery. What I’m saying here is she was slowing everybody down, and that recorded, disembodied voice needs a new line about who to avoid when making your escape from the fiery inferno that is coming for us all.

A police cruiser came. Two rigs from the fire department arrived soon after. The police officer went in to look at the fire panel, a computer system designed to help suss out the location of the supposed fire. Three members of the fire department went in, wearing their turnout gear. Sometime later they all came out. There was no fire.

There was no explanation. Just all of us standing out in the rain, waiting to go back inside, trying to imagine what it was that each person decided to bring outside. Happily, there were no problems or injuries.

Back to Cozumel! The fish take a back seat in today’s photos to the coral. Just look at this stuff.

I mentioned how these were becoming one of my favorite sites of this dive trip. I think you can see now why that was the case.

But just look at all of the other colorful sponges in that photo. It’s something to behold, is it not?

Sometimes you have to look up, because sometimes there’s something swimming above you.

Looks like an aquarium setting, doesn’t it? Note the two gray angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus) in the center, and the little blue damselfish (Chromis cyanea) in the distance.

The damselfish always seem to be in the distance.

These next two are the same little bit of coral and sponge, only because it is fascinating and beautiful and I couldn’t decide which one I liked best.

But you can see even more of the tiny, delicate details in those two pictures.

Always look in the vase coral. Because you never know.

These blue coral just seem to glow.

Wanna know about the best fish in the sea?

This is the best fish in the sea.

adventures / Cozumel / memories / photo / SCUBA / Tuesday — Comments Off on Let’s go diving
29
Mar 22

Let’s go diving

It was a full day at the office. I had to take The Yankee in for her class, while she continues her leg recovery. I did work things, and then took us to lunch. In the afternoon I drove her across campus to her second class, then picked her up later and took her to the house. Then I bought new dress shoes, something I could write about at great length, and returned to campus for television.

We could talk about the day-to-day, or we could look at some diving pictures. I’ve spoken with my editorial committee and consulted with my high-priced consultants and it has been decided. We will look at some diving pictures!

This was the first fish I saw on this trip, and the first photo I took with my new-to-me SeaLife camera. Please meet the tropical Spot-fin porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix). You’ll find this guy’s cousins in most any tropical waters in the world.

This lovely little tangle of coral and sponge was where I first noticed how well this camera picks out the yellows. It’ll come up again.

There’s my dive buddy! You always have to keep an eye on your dive buddy.

More great sponge growth.

You have to remember to look in all the directions, and down, and up!

But if you keep looking for sea turtles, you might miss some lovely sponges.

Dive buddy check!

Here’s the lovely, and common, yellow tube sponge (Aplysina fistularis). They can grow up to four feet in this part of the world.

Clearly I need to learn the names of more of the coral and sponges.

Think it’s easy? Do you know what this fish is?

Not so easy, is it? Don’t worry, you’ll have more chances to get some names in the coming days. (And if you know the common or scientific name of that fish, do drop it in the comments.)

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