whispering a prayer in the fury of a storm

Thursday, April 17, 2003

shadow in the driveway

Wednesday, April 16, 2003

shoot - aim - ready

I want to be able to shoot photos while I'm mountain biking. Not stop the bike and get out the camera. Snap what I'm seeing while I'm riding. I guess a helmet cam with an electronic viewfinder goggle and remote shutter release on the handle bars would be nice, but not exactly affordable. What I'm trying instead is adapting a GameBoy Advance holster ($5.00) to hold the camera on my chest. Above is a test shot while walking on campus today. Perhaps I'll incorporate a bubble level -- or adjust my posture -- or claim the camera angle is intentional. The next step? Actually get on the bike and try this.

Found while looking for something else: Registration Deadline for the Spring 2003 UEN Technical Summit where none other than Phil Windley will moderte a panel on blogging.

Comment?

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

Ahhh...

Just returning from a three day weekend. Also took a break from blogging, but not digital photography. So I do have some new photos. Stay tuned.

"Light is my inspiration, my paint and brush. It is as vital as the model herself. Profoundly significant, it caresses the essential superlative curves and lines. Light I acknowledge as the energy upon which all life on this planet depends." -Ruth Bernhard

Found while looking for something else: Avoiding Armageddon - Related Resources

Friday, April 11, 2003

Thursday, April 10, 2003

Sun-caused color distortion in a red flag, 03/06/2003.

Key Communicators

Who speaks for the organizations you care about?

Sure there are the leaders, the designated spokespersons, the authorities who are usually quoted in newspapers, those who are often heard in a sound bites and seen in TV clips. But what about your voice? And the voices of the people you interact with? Here's a list from the National School Public Relations Association ranking the single best known employee at most public schools:

1. school secretary
2. custodian
3. food service employee
4. bus driver
5. school nurse
6. teacher
7. principal
8. superintendent
9. school board member

What's the point? Every member of the staff impacts community perception. If associates are unhappy or uninformed, their comments can do more harm than negative news coverage. The solution? Foster recognition that all associates contribute to the process of public communication. Empower all staff with information, instruction and involvement.

Inform. Whether news is good or bad, they should hear it first. They need to know facts behind decisions. Their friends and neighbors look to them for the "real scoop." Be sure they have it.

Instruct. Provide training, workshops, tools, publications, articles, and opportunities for expression, dialogue and creativity. Show interest in the personal and professional development of staff members.

Involve. Encourage the sharing of concerns, ideas and goals. Reward teamwork and individual contributions in staff meetings, on bulletin boards, in your school newsletter, in the faculty room, in e-mail, and on school web pages.

A slightly different version of this article is posted at: UEN News. Here's a another take on the concept of key communicators from a New Jersey school district.

"Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave."
-- Henry Peter Brougham (1778-1868), Scottish-born jurist

Found while looking for something else: Race to Save the Planet

Wednesday, April 09, 2003

War Correspondence

"Hello there,

This will probably be the last e-mail that I will send for a while. We leave for ... tomorrow, and will be there until the first of May. We still have not been given our mission orders, and that might be due to the speed of which the Collation has reached Baghdad.

I am doing well. The Army life of up early and really long days, are nothing new. Over the past month ... we have been through several briefings, and classes here. We had a five-day Field Exercise where I am sure ...(some residents)...must have heard us. But I don't think that the guns were firing all night. They did shut down the range at midnight.

Later today, I should get the third of 6 Anthrax shots. And then I will go back to my bunk and finish packing my bag. I only have one left to pack. The other two are on the truck.

I am very grateful for the support that I have received from you all ... This is not an easy thing to do. But, this mission of the US- Lead collation is an important one, and I am very proud to be a part of it.

I am part of a really great unit. We are all brothers and we watch out for each other. I will be back about a year from now. Until then, have fun and be good.

Love..."

A few related quotations:

"I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom."
--Bob Dylan

"True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher."
-- John Petit-Senn

"Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away."
--Tom Brokaw

A few of the many related resources at UEN include:

Found while looking for something else: Daily Celebrations

Comment?