Focusing And Refocusing: Views From An Evolving Life

A Last-Minute Goal Met

A few weeks ago, for reasons I no longer recall, I decided to get a small personal website  up in 2008. Hey, if nothing else it clears out room in 2009 for bigger and better goals!

This really isn't much of a challenge when you have iWeb to play with. It's SO easy and so cool.

I really cheated and just used the templates for the first three pages. Then I started to experiment a little, but then 2009 was closing in and Christmas got in the way, not helped by the fact that I forgot to take my laptop charger to Pennsylvania for FIVE DAYS, so I gave it up and went with the basics. Except for the PlayPage, which is where I get to conduct ongoing experiments.

Plans for 2009 include a more complex site, first with iWeb and then Fireworks/Dreamweaver. And I still have to overhaul the Bike Tour Brats site, once I grasp the concepts of fluid and liquid and whatever else and manage to tweak everything accordingly. That one I did with Dreamweaver, my first effort. Learn as you go.

Tomorrow: Goals for 2009.

Happy New Year!

My progress on Howard Owens' objectives for non-wired journalists

What a weird year 2008 has been.

SO tumultuous and often traumatic, in both the personal and professional realms. And in the world at large as well, obviously.

But in the midst of all of that, I have to say I’m quite pleased (and more than a bit amazed) at all I’ve managed to cram in during my learn-multimedia-on-my-own-time efforts. It’s been hugely time-consuming, not to mention expensive. But I sure have come a long way in a year.

The motivations and inspirations were many. But a key one was this list of "2008 objectives for today's non-wired journalist" as presented by media blogger and digital journalist Howard Owens.

The concrete list of goals, and suggestions on how to accomplish them, were perfect and just what I needed. So much so that I literally started the new year with my first steps toward one of them: a video to post on YouTube. The annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim.

The fact that this involved freezing my buns off in the water off Coney Island… well, that’s extra credit, right? (On the other hand, the video endeavor gave me the perfect excuse not to go ALL THE WAY IN …)

At any rate. With apologies to those who think that this is truly a blog about bike commuting in New York City … a look back on Howard Owens’ goals and how I did with them.

In the next few days, I’ll devise my new goals for 2009 …

In the meantime, here's Howard's list and my results:

 Become a blogger. Start with a favorite topic. For example, if you’re a baseball fan, start with baseball. Find all of the baseball-related blogs you can and become a regular reader of five or six of the best of these blogs. Participate — leave comments; follow links. After three months of blog reading, start your own blog on that topic. Try to post daily for at least six months. For blog topics, avoid anything related to your beat or politics. First, you need to blog about something you are passionate about; second, there are too many political bloggers already (accept maybe for local politics, if you see that need in your community and it won’t conflict with your day job).

Check, check, check. Started one blog at the end of January 2008 with a learn-with-me approach for the AP National Desk staff on how to tackle learning various multimedia skills, bit by bit. Transformed that a few months ago into this, which is supposed to be about taking photos and video while bike commuting (so I can learn how to take photos in the little time that I have) but obviously  often digresses into semi-related territory.

Buy a small digital camera that can take both stills and video. Open an account with a photo sharing site such as Flickr or Buzznet. Take photos and post them. If necessary, use some online tutorials for digital photography. (NOTE: If company will buy you this camera, great, but if not, remember you have a responsibility to invest in your own career.)

Check, check, check, and better. First started using my small digital camera. Then bought a Nikon D40 and am trying to learn more advanced photo techniques. Have transformed from being terrified of still photography (too much technical stuff for my small brain, f-stops, apertures, lots of what looks suspiciously like math) into being thoroughly enamored of it. (Though still terrified.)  Have been absorbing lots of books on exposure and lighting and lenses and whatnot, and checking online forums often. Have gone to a couple of B&H seminars on various photo topics. Now I make photo-taking a major part of the bike commute. Often cart a tripod around on a bike pannier in the winter to take night photos, but need/want to do more of that. Have done some with Flickr but one goal is to do more in 2009. Volunteered once with a program that teaches high school kids in Washington Heights about about photography and want to do more of that – if only it didn’t occur during regular working hours.

With the same camera, make at least three videos. Use the free video editing software that comes with your computer and edit those videos. Post them to YouTube and at least one other video sharing site. There are plenty of online tutorials for shooting and editing video. Your goal here isn’t to make great video, just to learn what is involved in making video so you have the capability in your online journalism tool bag.

LOTS and LOTS of videos. I didn't use the same camera, though – instead, used the Flip Video cam, the Canon HV20 and the GoPro helmet cam to make a ton of videos, posted to YouTube, Google Video and Vimeo.  Started with the Polar Bear Swim on New Year's Day (which now has 771 views on YouTube), and then the Ghost Bike Ride on Jan. 6 (done in memory of co-worker Lily’s brother Sam Hindy, and now with 4,569 YouTube views), and kept it up from there. Lots of cycling-related videos. Served as the “official videographer” for the New York Cycle Club’s signature ride. Did a series of video interviews of National Desk staffers leaving as part of regionalization. Most recently, did a video of a headline-writing seminar here at work. Hope to do more of that in the future, since it combines a lot of needs and goals. Edited with iMovie. In 2009: Final Cut Pro.

Related to video, spend at least two hours a week for six weeks on YouTube. Search for topics that interest you and then follow the trails where they lead. Pay attention to the daily most popular and see what other people are watching. Be sure to watch both amateur and professional video.

Yes, and also Vimeo in the past few months. Will spend a lot more time with Vimeo next year, and do some of their projects.

Join a social networking site. Every professional should have a profile on LinkedIn, so make sure you do, also. Facebook has been hot in 2007, but I think you’ll get more out of MySpace, which still remains popular with your future readers. You will get more DIY (the backbone of modern media) experience with MySpace, if you take full advantage of the site features (which, admittedly, I have not). Do Facebook, too, but don’t neglect MySpace.

On LinkedIn. Also Wired Journalists, which counts. And I do a lot on Facebook, including posting a lot of photos and some videos.  MySpace: Nah.

Use social bookmarking. Set up del.icio.us for yourself and use it every day. Learn about tags. Check out Digg and Mixx and similar sites. If you can, get into Scott Karp’s Publish2 beta.

I did this for awhile and then fell out of the habit. Will try again.

Start using RSS. Use RSS to keep up with the news of the day and the blogs you are now reading every day. Make sure your blog has an RSS feed. Here’s Marc Glaser’s guide to RSS.

Yes. Netvibes. I love Netvibes.

If your current mobile phone doesn’t handle SMS (text messaging), get one that does. SMS works best when you have friends who text, so figure out who those friends are (by now, you have them). For neophytes and gray hairs, a phone with a QWERTY keyboard (Treo, or iPhone) works best. Blackberrys aren’t great SMS handhelds because they mix SMS and e-mail together.

Yes.

Learn to twitter. I’m not a big Twitter user myself, but Ryan Sholin and Jack Lail swear by it. I think there is something to be said for learning how this technology may change information dissemination.

Yes. I twitter sometimes. Although not fanatically and probably for no real good purpose. I HAVE used it to follow others and get cool links and insights from them.

Create a Google Map mashup. If you don’t know what those are, google it. If you don’t know what to do or where to start, google it (hint: or you can search this site). There are plenty of tutorials available. It’s easy. All you need is a spreadsheet with appropriate data and enough smarts to follow step-by-step directions.

Yes, although pretty pathetically. Will try this one again next year.

AND things not on Howard’s list and instead were initiatives of my own making that I ended up spending a lot of time on:

Most notably, bought and started learning Dreamweaver and created a Web site to showcase the multimedia efforts from the AP Washington-New York bike rides this summer and fall: http://www.biketourbrats.com … this obviously needs a lot of redoing and tweaking and fixing all the many problem areas (actually I should just start it over from scratch) but I’m still impressed with myself for making it happen.

Related to that, have learned the basics of Photoshop Elements and am now endeavoring to explore more for its creative potential in doing graphical things with photos – so much for the realism of photojournalism! But hey, since I’m doing all of this for my own entertainment, I think it’s quite worthy to explore other visual paths.

And, by the end of the year I plan to post a basic, baby personal Web site made with iWeb … can’t get any easier than that; I just need the time to finish it. I want to get something up as a holder until I can tackle my bigger project, which will be to do a graceful, non-iWeb personal site with Fireworks (after I buy Fireworks) and Dreamweaver. Have two domain names registered, one for each.

One more thing: bought an iTouch pretty much solely for the purpose of getting a feel for what the AP’s Mobile News Network looks like (and of course to use it myself) … as well as other services’ news feeds, and all the other iPhone/Touch apps. Of course I enjoy all the other benefits of the iTouch; but the primary motivation was, indeed, our Mobile News Network and the thought that I couldn’t exist professionally without knowing what’s up with that.

In official work-sanctioned activities: in January I went to a Poynter seminar on audio slideshows, which was pretty weird because at the time I'd never even HELD a DSLR, let alone try to take a picture with one. The photographic efforts were pathetic but clearly the thought and the visual acuity was there; I just couldn't focus the damn camera. Mainly I got very inspired and all the more appreciative of the impact of multimedia in all its formats.

And later last year, I got to organize one of the AP's audio slideshow training seminars. It was fabulous seeing so many others learn to love this. And, I did my own audio slideshow of the participants.

After you’ve done these ten things, document what you’ve learned — write something, such as an essay to your editor or a blog post. Discuss how technology has changed media, and follow the string of where that change might lead. What will your job be like in 10 years? What will media be like in five? How will news reach young readers in a generation? Tomorrow?

I dunno. Too much heavy thinking for me at this point. I’m just scrambling to learn as much as I can both so that I can do it myself and so that I can direct others in the future.

 I certainly do foresee a scenario in which we’re all multi-format editors, equally capable of editing words, photos and video, and combinations thereof, and packing them together into just the right presentation.

 And the creative side of me has a yearning to be able to shoot and package some of my own “content” for work purposes.  I’d love to do my own video package. And I think I could. But I think others don’t exactly view that as one of my top 20 responsibilities as a manager …

Flip Video, Rockefeller Center Skaters and the Dentist

I continue not to bike commute for various reasons. Yesterday it was because I didn't commute at all. Instead, I went to the dentist. Before the drilling started, I had some fun ...


Christmas Joy at the Dentist from Paula Froke on Vimeo

Training video for work ...

Today was fun: Not only did I orchestrate a one-man seminar on headline writing, but I orchestrated the videotaping of it by me and Marty S.  The two of us with our little Canon babycams ... very exciting!

The good news is that I should indeed be able to edit together something usable. I used a remote lavalier mic on the speaker, and that seems to have worked just fine. Audio of the audience was problematic but I think I can work around that. And between my video and Marty's, I certainly should have plenty to work with. (The question, as always, is time. But hey, I think this means I get to do at least some of the editing on company time ...)

The whole idea behind this is to have a means to share this seminar with the multitudes who couldn't attend, either because they're not in NYC or because they were too busy or off or whatever. This will hardly be a pro-level piece -- but it should be decent enough to convey the key points in a relatively viewable and listenable way.

And, I think it should go pretty far in showing what we (I?) can do and in showing the value of learning video not just for news coverage, but for lots of internal uses as well. Of course I had to shell out $150 more (non-reimbursable) bucks for yet another external hard drive, on top of all the (non-reimbursable) pre-existing equipment ... but once again it's an investment in my future.

Too bad I won't be able to post the piece here when it's done.

Haven't been on the bike, or running, for way too long. A friend was in town and that pretty much put a halt to all good-for-me activity. I need some detoxification ...

Mystery shot

Way too much wine the last few days and zero exercise ... what happens over the holiday season.

Also a fair amount of playing tourist in the freezing cold. In the midst of that this evening, something caught my eye so I pulled out the point-and-shoot. Wish I'd had a little more time to play around with it ... but the memory card was full, and by the time I deleted enough, it had gotten too dark outside to do any more.

So, a quiz: What are the elements that caused this picture to happen?

And another quiz: Will I EVER get back on the bike?

Non-update update

We're in an unbuilding period right now and before long will need to resume rebuilding.

The leg is better but still not great, so still no running or cycling. Multimedia efforts are on hold for the time being as well while a friend visits from out of town. Video efforts are scheduled to resume Monday in what promises to be a horrifying experience ... stay tuned.

Spinning and Computering

A busy weekend in physical and computer-related fitness ...

Yesterday I did my first full spin class with James Park at The Studio on the Upper East Side ... I made it through, feeling rather shameful for being in such comparatively lousy shape, but glad to have experienced a full 45 minutes. Didn't push as hard as I might have but my need was to just feel things out. It WAS fun, in a sweaty and exhausting sort of way, and he certainly rocks as a motivator.

A few hours later I managed to twist my knee in a horribly painful sort of way. I've been having clicky issues (water on the knee, I think) that I've had before, probably related to ITB. I haven't gotten around to looking it up; I just know it's happened before. At any rate I assume the twisty thing is related to that. Come to think of it, it WAS sore in the front for the first several seconds when I jogged the reservoir earlier in the week.  Not sure if the spin stuff contributed. Possibly, since it was already weakened.

Yesterday evening I could barely walk, and same thing this morning. Now it's substantially better. Still don't think I can or should try to exercise in the next few days, and after that a friend is in town, so I'm probably out of commission for a week.  ARGH.

Spent most of the rest of the weekend on various multimedia efforts:

--Started building a baby website with iWeb, a program that of course I've had for a few years and never bothered investigating (instead spending boatloads of time and money on Dreamweaver). iWeb is just extraordinarily easy, and yet has a fair amount of flexibility. Unbelievable. So, I'm building an initial personal site with that, just to have something; and later will try to do something more complex with Dreamweaver and a different domain. Those in addition to Bike Tour Brats, my initial effort with Dreamweaver, which obviously needs to be substantially overhauled.

--Determined that all good copies of my Ghost Bikes video really did get wiped out in the hard drive debacle, and apparently I never transferred it back to tape. I did at least find one DVD with a lower-quality version of it. Googled and found the Aimersoft DVD ripper and was able to transfer that back to Quicktime. Proceeded to upload it and a few other oldies to Vimeo, which totally rocks.

--Installed Parallels on the laptop with no problem. Then tried to install my borrowed Windows XP and it crashed the computer as soon as it was inserted. Three times. I gave up. So now the question is: Do I order a new copy of Windows and hope THAT works ... or do I spend several hundred more and get a Windows laptop, for the sole purpose of being able to use Reporter's Workbench at home??  This stinks.

--Made a book of my photos for the parents for Christmas in iPhoto. Aren't Macs great.

I think there were a few other related activities but that's enough for now ...

Teaching photography to kids in Washington Heights

No, that is not me.

It's one of the lead volunteers at the New York Cares "teach photography to kids" program I helped with this afternoon at a school in Washington Heights.  First time I've done it, and I had a wonderful time.

Of course, consider the irony: *I'm* the one who needs to have photography taught to myself. On the other hand, I know more than these middle school kids, and I have enthusiasm, and pretty much that's all that's needed.

Today's lesson involved framing. Sort of related to that, one of the leaders showed off her large-format camera and explained how she framed with a cut-out piece of paper before taking the shot. Then we had the kids do the same, except they used compact digital cameras.

I'd love to do this more often. The problem is that it occurs in the middle of the workday on Fridays. But maybe I could take a bunch of half-day vacation days ...

I did use the treadmill at the gym for a whopping 3 miles today.  So, that's 3 X 3 miles for the week, which isn't exactly piling up the mileage, but still notably more than I've done since February.  And still no major issues, though the ITB continues to be suspect.

Tomorrow if my first real spin class, not counting the private lesson I had before Thanksgiving. I am quite intimidated.

Running Redux

I managed to "run" for the second day in a row, and yes, "run" does need to be in quotes. Witness the fact that I'm sitting here with frozen peas ace-bandaged to the ITB. Granted, it's LARGELY preventive ... but not wholly. There already seem to be some issues (obviously related to cycling, not running, since I've not been running, which is the whole point of this exercise.)

I no doubt was the only person running around the reservoir tonight with a compact digital camera and a compact Gorillapod.

Aside from the looming ITB problem, tonight I already started getting a blister in my left arch -- the same area where the then-new orthotics were causing problems when last I was trying to run, back in February. That despite the fact that I got them adjusted twice.  I suppose I'll go back again. Or just use the old ones ...

On the multimedia front: Today I registered, or applied, for a MediaBistro one-weekend course in Very Rudimentary Flash. In February. Costs a bundle, but there's a limit to how much time I have to keep trying to teach myself this stuff.

And I concluded that I wouldn't get a D90 ... yet ... because of the audio issue. I'd thought it would be worth it just to have it to play with and that I could just use music. But David rightly talked me down from that dumb idea.  So either they'll upgrade the D90 or at least lower the price and keep it the same, or something new and better will come along. But I don't want to wait too long.  On the other hand, there obviously contnue to be plenty of other things to learn ...

No bike, no photo ...

... but I DID run today, sort of, if you can call it running: two laps of the Central Park reservoir, VERY SLOWLY, with two breaks to stretch. I AM very wary of re-injury, to any of the various body parts that have caused the problems in the past. So far the hip flexor is fine; the calves weren't problematic today; but the ITB seems a little sketchy. I'll be good and foam-roll it tonight, and tomorrow morning in the gym.

Perhaps I"ll even do a bit of treadmill at the gym. AND I'll get my act together and sign up for a personal training session or two, to get reacquainted with the weights routine.

Saturday I do my first real spin class. That will be torture.

Trying to figure out a timeline for this get-in-shape initiative is a challenge. I think almost certainly it will involve cutting down on the bike-commute days - since I don't have anywhere to leave the bike when running in CP. It probably also will mean foregoing some of the longer winter rides I'd planned, in favor of spin classes or running races or both. Stinks. But as my new spin instructor James Park pointed out: One is fun; the other is a workout. Gotta choose.