Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Another view of Liberty Belle
I made up an excuse to go to the Hayward Airport and watch the Liberty Belle again on Sunday, October 28, 2007. I shot this video from Hesperian Boulevard in front of the Office Depot.
To see my other videos of the plane, click here.
To see my other videos of the plane, click here.
Journalists and the Web
I happened upon a couple of press releases announcing surveys of journalists' use of Web 2.0 technologies today. They both have a lot of numbers, but probably not a lot of surprises.
The first, released October 22, 2007 by Arketi Group, showed that 100% of journalists surveyed use the Internet for their work, and 60% spend more than 20 hours a week online. 84% of journalists would, or already have, used blogs as primary or secondary sources for articles. The survey also breaks down how journalists like to communicate with unknown sources. (Hint: email beats the telephone.)
The second, relased October 30, 2007 by Bulldog Reporter and TEKgroup International, says that 70% of journalists follow at least one blog. 37% get at least one RSS feed, and 28% "visit a social media or networking site, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, at least once a week." (More like once an hour, among the journalists I know.)
Conclusions? Journalists are like everyone else: they crave stimulation, they want to connect with other people, and they use tools that make their lives, and their jobs, easier.
The first, released October 22, 2007 by Arketi Group, showed that 100% of journalists surveyed use the Internet for their work, and 60% spend more than 20 hours a week online. 84% of journalists would, or already have, used blogs as primary or secondary sources for articles. The survey also breaks down how journalists like to communicate with unknown sources. (Hint: email beats the telephone.)
The second, relased October 30, 2007 by Bulldog Reporter and TEKgroup International, says that 70% of journalists follow at least one blog. 37% get at least one RSS feed, and 28% "visit a social media or networking site, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, at least once a week." (More like once an hour, among the journalists I know.)
Conclusions? Journalists are like everyone else: they crave stimulation, they want to connect with other people, and they use tools that make their lives, and their jobs, easier.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
My first YouTube Videos - B-17 flights
The Liberty Belle, a B-17 bomber like the one on which my dad was a radio operator in World War II, is visiting the Hayward Airport this weekend. I shot some video of the plane and have posted it on YouTube. (These are the first videos I've ever posted.)
Here's the takeoff, shot from the SkyWest Golf Course parking lot. I bent over backward until I couldn't keep the plane in the frame anymore:
I sat at the SkyWest parking lot for a few minutes, waiting for the plane to take off. While there, I chatted with an 85-year-old gentleman who was had been an aircraft mechanic in WWII and had worked on B-17s. He, too, was there to see the plane.
Here's the landing, shot from the corner of Hesperian Boulevard and West Winton Avenue. This time, I spun around and flipped the camera:
The noise you hear at the end of the landing video is a jet that's waiting to take off on the Hayward runway. It's unfortunate that the noise is there, because it obscures the tremendous rumble of the B-17, created by four 1200-horsepower engines. You get a feel for it on the takeoff video.
These videos were shot with a Canon PowerShot A95 -- a still camera with a video mode. I'm surprised by and pleased with the quality.
Regarding YouTube: Although I've only told my brother and sister about these videos, they've already each been viewed a dozen times in the few hours since they've been posted.
Here's the takeoff, shot from the SkyWest Golf Course parking lot. I bent over backward until I couldn't keep the plane in the frame anymore:
I sat at the SkyWest parking lot for a few minutes, waiting for the plane to take off. While there, I chatted with an 85-year-old gentleman who was had been an aircraft mechanic in WWII and had worked on B-17s. He, too, was there to see the plane.
Here's the landing, shot from the corner of Hesperian Boulevard and West Winton Avenue. This time, I spun around and flipped the camera:
The noise you hear at the end of the landing video is a jet that's waiting to take off on the Hayward runway. It's unfortunate that the noise is there, because it obscures the tremendous rumble of the B-17, created by four 1200-horsepower engines. You get a feel for it on the takeoff video.
These videos were shot with a Canon PowerShot A95 -- a still camera with a video mode. I'm surprised by and pleased with the quality.
Regarding YouTube: Although I've only told my brother and sister about these videos, they've already each been viewed a dozen times in the few hours since they've been posted.
Friday, October 19, 2007
On Sounds
I decided to play hooky from dirty dishes, paperwork, housecleaning, and other responsibilities last night and go to see San Francisco Opera's production of Appomattox, with music by Philip Glass. It was a good choice; the opera was terrific, and the responsibilities survived without my attention.
I managed to get a Rush Ticket for $30 (with the help of a kind fellow I met in the ticket line) in Row M, center. This was close enough to feel the orchestra (and you do feel, as well as hear, the orchestra in a Glass score) and to watch the fine acting. (The singing was very good, too.) I was particularly impressed by Andrew Shore, who played Ulysses S. Grant -- his appearance, body language, and overall performance were just wonderful.
The score was far from the trance-music most of us from the Koyaanisqatsi generation associate with Glass. There were elements of that, sure, but oftentimes it was softly buzzing (and setting the emotional tempo of the story) in the background while dialog was being sung over it. When it got loud, it was always for a reason and always effective. Glass also weaves a couple of Civil War-era hymns into the score, one of which ("Tenting on the Old Campground") was sung by the chorus off-stage and which I found very, very moving.
Only two performances remain, so I recommend you go soon.
Entirely unrelated, except that it also has to do with sound: I just learned about soundsnap. It's kind of like flikr for digital audio clips. I haven't figured out what yet, but I definitely want to do SOMETHING with it.
I managed to get a Rush Ticket for $30 (with the help of a kind fellow I met in the ticket line) in Row M, center. This was close enough to feel the orchestra (and you do feel, as well as hear, the orchestra in a Glass score) and to watch the fine acting. (The singing was very good, too.) I was particularly impressed by Andrew Shore, who played Ulysses S. Grant -- his appearance, body language, and overall performance were just wonderful.
The score was far from the trance-music most of us from the Koyaanisqatsi generation associate with Glass. There were elements of that, sure, but oftentimes it was softly buzzing (and setting the emotional tempo of the story) in the background while dialog was being sung over it. When it got loud, it was always for a reason and always effective. Glass also weaves a couple of Civil War-era hymns into the score, one of which ("Tenting on the Old Campground") was sung by the chorus off-stage and which I found very, very moving.
Only two performances remain, so I recommend you go soon.
Entirely unrelated, except that it also has to do with sound: I just learned about soundsnap. It's kind of like flikr for digital audio clips. I haven't figured out what yet, but I definitely want to do SOMETHING with it.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
More on the China trip
The Hayward Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a nine-day trip to China next spring. Since the Chamber doesn't seem to have information about the trip on its website, I'm posting some details here.
Dates: There are two departure dates. One flight leaves March 24 and returns April 1; the second departs and returns a day later.
Cost: $1599 per person, double occupancy. $2049 single occupancy. $2049 double occupancy if you include a trip to Xi'an to see the terra cotta warriors (more on that later).
Includes: Round-trip airfare on Air China; all hotels (4- and 5-star); all meals; bus transportation in China; bus to and from the airport.
Other costs: The Chinese visa is $100 if you do it yourself, or $115 if you have the Chamber and the tour operator get it for you. You also need $25 for gratuities, plus shopping money. Shopping seems to be a big part of this outing (he said with a sigh).
Itinerary: Day 1, travel SFO to Beijing. Day 2: Arrival in Beijing (you lose a day crossing the International Dateline). Day 3: Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace. Day 4: Bus trip to Great Wall, Ming Tombs. Day 5: Fly to Shanghai, then bus to Suzhou. Day 6: Sightseeing in Suzhou, then visit to Hangzhou Economic Development Zone. Day 7: Boat cruise on West Lake, then bus to Shanghai. Day 8: Sightseeing in Shanghai, visit to Pudong economic development zone. Day 9: travel Shanghai to SFO.
Alternate itinerary: Replace days 5-7 with this: Day 5: Fly from Beijing to Xi'an, afternoon sightseeing. Day 6: Bus trip to Terra Cotta Warriors, Huaquing Hot Springs, and Banpo prehistoric site. Day 7: Fly from Xi'an to Shanghai.
My plan is to go on the main trip (that is, not take the trip to Xi'an), departing on March 24. I'm looking for a roommate. I know this will be a very fast, highly controlled tour with little free time or flexibility, but since it will be my first travel in Asia it seems like an okay introduction. And the price is pretty amazing. (One story I heard from an unofficial source is that China is trying to build and exercise its tourism industry, particularly before the Summer Olympics, so group visits like this are subsidized.)
Sad related news: I just got a call from Chabot College that the Basic Mandarin class I had signed up for in Community Education was canceled due to low signups.
Dates: There are two departure dates. One flight leaves March 24 and returns April 1; the second departs and returns a day later.
Cost: $1599 per person, double occupancy. $2049 single occupancy. $2049 double occupancy if you include a trip to Xi'an to see the terra cotta warriors (more on that later).
Includes: Round-trip airfare on Air China; all hotels (4- and 5-star); all meals; bus transportation in China; bus to and from the airport.
Other costs: The Chinese visa is $100 if you do it yourself, or $115 if you have the Chamber and the tour operator get it for you. You also need $25 for gratuities, plus shopping money. Shopping seems to be a big part of this outing (he said with a sigh).
Itinerary: Day 1, travel SFO to Beijing. Day 2: Arrival in Beijing (you lose a day crossing the International Dateline). Day 3: Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace. Day 4: Bus trip to Great Wall, Ming Tombs. Day 5: Fly to Shanghai, then bus to Suzhou. Day 6: Sightseeing in Suzhou, then visit to Hangzhou Economic Development Zone. Day 7: Boat cruise on West Lake, then bus to Shanghai. Day 8: Sightseeing in Shanghai, visit to Pudong economic development zone. Day 9: travel Shanghai to SFO.
Alternate itinerary: Replace days 5-7 with this: Day 5: Fly from Beijing to Xi'an, afternoon sightseeing. Day 6: Bus trip to Terra Cotta Warriors, Huaquing Hot Springs, and Banpo prehistoric site. Day 7: Fly from Xi'an to Shanghai.
My plan is to go on the main trip (that is, not take the trip to Xi'an), departing on March 24. I'm looking for a roommate. I know this will be a very fast, highly controlled tour with little free time or flexibility, but since it will be my first travel in Asia it seems like an okay introduction. And the price is pretty amazing. (One story I heard from an unofficial source is that China is trying to build and exercise its tourism industry, particularly before the Summer Olympics, so group visits like this are subsidized.)
Sad related news: I just got a call from Chabot College that the Basic Mandarin class I had signed up for in Community Education was canceled due to low signups.
