Wednesday

journalism / photo / podcast / Wednesday — Comments Off on Can I get $1.86?
26
Aug 15

Can I get $1.86?

There’s not really a lot to say about the events of the day that hasn’t already been said. Terrible as this was, the people in Virginia have covered their own tragedy with great aplomb. Media criticism will probably continue on with the New York tabloids tomorrow. But outside of that, it has been one of those days where the media somehow manages to rally around itself. Mostly because they think it could have been any of them.

To a degree, that is true. At least, I suppose, this horrible thing wasn’t entirely random, but that is surely coming. And it is a terrible thing to contemplate.

Watching media reaction is informative. How many times have we all stood somewhere doing a story, harmless or dangerous, and thought nothing of what might be lurking around the corner? How does a story like today’s change how we view remotes, covering violent crime or the privacy of others?

Something happier, then. The 10-year anniversary of Katrina’s landfall was the subject of today’s podcast. Specifically, this cool story from the New York Times.

Andre is such a fun storyteller, particularly about the role that “place” has in telling the story of “us.” I was pleased he took the time to join us for what became a pretty far-ranging topic. And that Times piece he chose is pretty impressive, too.

Having just celebrated the big Netscape browser anniversary and then the 10th anniversary of YouTube it is fitting that we lunge headlong into the next phase of the internet. First there was text, then the images, now video is yielding to streaming video … Why live streaming is important for Facebook. Don’t forget, meanwhile, the booms from Meerkat and Periscope. The market is clearly ready for live streaming.

And sometime soon thereafter, virtual reality for everyone. All of this that has come before is the foundation upon which that will be built. Exciting times.

Exciting for different reasons, even though it is just a picture of a sign:

Wallets everywhere, rejoice.

photo / Samford / Twitter / video / Wednesday — Comments Off on “We could give ’em Christmas pants”
19
Aug 15

“We could give ’em Christmas pants”

Talked about this video in my social media practices class today:

This is the first time I’ve taught this class, but I’m pretty excited about it. We’ll talk about the personal usage aspects for the first week or so and then get into more professional applications. I know a handful of the students from other classes or projects and as a group they are a sharp bunch. I hope they get something out of it.

I tend to spend a lot of my time on campus in just two or three buildings which are all nearby. But today I had to go across the quad to pick some equipment that had been, let us say, misplaced. And I saw a food truck:

That was a new one to me.

I remember, last week, watching the GOP debate thinking This should be pretty fun on Saturday Night Live. But that was a 20th century response. I should have been thinking about a modern response, because this is brilliant:

Kasich inspired this post’s title.

adventures / photo / Wednesday — Comments Off on This nickel doesn’t bend
12
Aug 15

This nickel doesn’t bend

Easily the best picture I’ll take this week:

Of course it is only Wednesday, but what am I going to do to top that?

You should see the version The Black Cat photobombed. It is a near-perfect head merger.

Tonight I did the thing where you accidentally turn Siri on. Since the device was patiently waiting I gave it a few queries. (Still doesn’t know who John Shaft is.) And then I asked this question. A machine has never made me feel bad for it before:

But, man, I want to go buy my phone some cookies. And introduce it to my old iPod.

I had to pull out a few things from the office closet tonight — an old mixing board, some cables and such. While searching for a particular microphone — What? You don’t have more than one microphone in your home? — I ran across some old coins. I don’t collect coins, but I have a wheat penny and a 1940s mercury dime and a silver dollar from my birth year. Together, I learned tonight, those are worth about $6.51. So there goes that retirement plan. This guy doesn’t add anything to that fund:

Numismatists would turn their nose up at my buffalo nickel. Too much wear. That’s why this coin was on the way out after its 25-year run. The production problems meant almost all of the coins that went into circulation got heavy wear. And, of course, But I say that’s what makes this coin works. We’ll never know how old that coin is. Ever. And, after a certain age (It is from somewhere between 1913 and 1938) isn’t that what we all want?

Also, the buffalo nickel doesn’t do yoga. I read the Wikipedia pages of all three men — a Cheyenne, a Kiowa and an Oglala Lakota — believed to be part of the composite character. Not a single one of them could pull of an arm-balancing split.

adventures / friends / photo / Wednesday — Comments Off on I encourage you to sign up
21
Jul 15

I encourage you to sign up

I’m putting this link at the top and the bottom of the post for a reason.

A few weeks ago we were on our way to dinner when we heard the news. The darling little boy of some of our friends had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. News like that takes it out of you. But, as we were being sat at the restaurant I walked to the restroom to wash my hands.

On my way I googled the disease and found out it is rare, but highly treatable and with great success rates. That made it better, but it didn’t make the road ahead of the kid any easier. (He’s doing pretty great as of this writing, by the way.)

So people started doing what people do in those circumstances, because people can be awesome about what they do. The day after we heard the news Facebook groups sprung up, fundraisers were organized and we — and plenty of other people — sent away for bone marrow registries.

The free package arrived this weekend and weekend and we’ve sent them back. I wanted to tell you how easy this was.

There are three stickers you have to fix to various envelopes and paperwork. This is the most challenging part, because the directions weren’t especially clear. Then you take two long Q-tips and swab one on the inside of your cheeks for 30 seconds each. Put that and the paper form in the provided return envelope and drop it in the mail, postage free. In a few days we’ll be on the Delete Blood Cancer DKMS registry.

In finding that link I learned that every three minutes there’s another blood cancer diagnosis and that six out of 10 patients will not receive a bone marrow transplant they need.

Friends, think about that. A cheek swab, the possibility that one day you take a little trip and have a minor procedure to help someone as precious to their family and friends as the little boy we know, is an easy thing to do.

I hope you’ll consider registering today.

Twitter / Wednesday — Comments Off on Pluto, from my living room
15
Jul 15

Pluto, from my living room

From Kennedy’s moon challenge to the outer edges of the solar system in a lifetime. Even with robotic exploration no one here today will likely ever see such a scale of success again.

At least we have Photoshop:

It was quite cool to see the experts geeking out in their press conference over that first image coming in from the flyby. Who knows how much of their lives they’ve put into that and then, suddenly, there it was, Pluto, the heart, no craters and plenty of conjecture of what it all means.

“Part of the reason you’re not hearing us say ‘Pluto looks like this world or that world’ is because Pluto has SO MUCH diversity. There’s nothing like it,” they said.
What a cool day to think about what’s out there.

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