The electric car: its about time.

Just like every American, I hate filling up my car. It's painful, especially yesterday when I spent over $60 to top off my 14 mpg Ford Explorer.

My car runs just fine, but my wallet doesn't.

I want to take you back to 1995. I'm sitting restlessly in my wooden desk chair in the third grade, and my teacher hands me a science newsletter for 8-year-olds.

The headline article outlined the introduction of the electric car, which would be unveiled in California in 1997. It sounded cool, but I didn't think much of it, and I probably stuffed the newsletter in my Ninja Turtles backpack before I went home to spend my daily two hours with my Legos.

My question is - What the heck happened? Its 2008!

This article on CNET gives me another empty promise for an electric car unveiling by Audi within 10 years.

Seriously?

I haven't watched "Who Killed the Electric Car?" but I would assume that there are some good points in its script.

The point here is that the U.S. is like the college student of the international society. We haven't done our homework until it needs to be done. We procrastinate important things until we actually have no choice. I feel that the need for the electric car will come sooner than we expect, and we shouldn't be listening to the oil companies when we should be innovating and overcoming our oil-thirsty habits.

I'm not a green person. I'm not saying I shouldn't be, but I think that we need to stop being so naive about global warming and stuff. Let's do our homework and fix this damn thing.

Thanks for reading.

One step towards organizing the online photo mess

Here's my view: the online organization of photos is a mess. I didn't say it was bad, I just think it is disorganized with no standards or structure, and it confuses me.

A long time ago, I stopped uploading photos to Facebook because I feel that it's cumbersome, and it reduces the quality of my photos.

Now, there are zillions of websites in which you can store your favorite photos, but finding the right one is a headache for me, because I like easy-to-use quality standards, and I like knowing that what I'm using is the best for me.

Somebody needs to write a short and easy-to-read book on photo sites, and how people should design and use them.

One thing that makes me feel better about this issue is new innovations in online photo organization, such as geotagging, which is helping Microsoft keep its head above the water.

Google Earth is really cool because its a big map, and it's easy to use. Many online photo services are not easy to use. Solution? Put photos on a map. This is geotagging.

Hopefully someday I can get my own photography in the right place on the web. I am confident that soon this will be easier to do.

Thanks for reading.

My second video project

Personalities of The Collegian
by Johnathon R. Nelson

A guilty pleasure.

In a typical day as a freshman in college, I would spend about 4 hours in class, 1 hour studying, 1 hour eating, and around 5 hours playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

It was (and still is) nothing to brag about to mom or the girlfriend.

What intrigues me about the "GTA" game series is the wide contrast of reviews that it gets. People hate it and people love it. Its controversial, yes, I'll admit that my pastor would probably disapprove of my playing it.

I both love and hate it.

I've been video-game-free for about 2 years now. I went cold-turkey when I moved out of the dorms. Nowadays, my PS2 gets to play the Deadwood series from HBO.

Farhaad Manjoo's article about the new "GTA IV" illustrates the point very well. The GTA games are very well designed and produced, and therefore people will play them without a guilty conscience. They don't play them because they are violent or controversial, they play them because they look cool, and because they are simply fun to play. If somebody made a really cool video game about anything that looked cool and was really fun to play, I would probably play it.

Rockstar pushes the limits with these games for attention, not to simply be obnoxious and offensive. It is up to the gamers to decide what is right and what is wrong in the real world, where it really matters.

Thanks for reading.

A beer finder for NYC, what about BRKGS?

I found this interesting article on CNET about a new web service that finds your favorite beer on tap. For beer lovers, this is heaven on the internet. The catch: it's only for New York City. Don't get me wrong - I think this is a very cool thing. It looks simple to use, and I can see it expanding very quickly beyond NYC's city limits.

I want this for Brookings, S.D., not only for myself but for my good friend, The College Connoisseur, who bases his weekly column on beer reviews. This service would facilitate the progressive enjoyment of all things brewy in Brookings, and it would also make The College Connoisseur's job much easier, as the list of specialty beers in Brookings is quite abbreviated in comparison with larger urban areas.

I'll admit, I am no expert on beer - I simply drink what tastes good. If you want to learn about beer, visit The College Connoisseur.

All in all, I think that websites like this are among the most useful for internet users. They are simple, easy to use, and provide a good purposeful service.

Drink responsibly. Don't drink and drive.

Thanks for reading.

The internet is too big.

Back in the post-Cold War days, the internet was created for national security. Now, as any newborn can tell you, it is something way beyond nukes from Russia.

I read this interesting article from TechCrunch about the way we should be searching the web in the future. The growth of the internet obviously has big implications, but instead of waiting for more idiots to take up space with terabytes of porn, why don't we do something? We, as a united world of web users (I know, scary, huh?) need to (prepare for preachyness) decide what we really need on the internet so that it doesn't get too expansive for our own purposes.

I'll be honest. I really don't know that much about the urgency of this subject, but I, like everybody else, do not want to see the lights go out on the internet someday. I like watching videos of a random dude's cat on a ping pong table.

Make Dilbert say what you've always wanted to hear (or . . . read)

Just like many SDSU Journalism students, I've spent several collective hours reading my free copies of the Argus Leader before class in Yeager Hall. Depending on how busy or un-entertained I am, I read the comics.

Some of them are moderately funny, some are not at all.

Now, Scott Adams, the mastermind of the Dilbert comic strip, has put the creativity in everybody's hands. You can go to www.dilbert.com and check out the customizable previously-published strips, and put your own lines in the bubbles.

This article by Farhaad Manjoo discusses some of the benefits to making your own customized Dilbert strip.

Dilbert.com has now made it to my favorites list on Firefox, and now I can make the comics in my free newspaper worth the price of admission. Now only if I could think of something witty to say.

The reason that I am blogging about this is because I think it is a step in an interesting direction. People like customizing things - I customized this blog page and enjoyed the crap out of it.

Perhaps Dilbert's new online feature will open some doors for people to explore their creativity and to have fun on the internet, which is good.

Thanks for reading.

Famous people: be careful what you say...

I say a lot of stupid things. So do politicians, actors, and famous people that shouldn't be famous. Now, what they say will stick around for everybody to Google.

The sensation of foot-in-mouth is familiar to several politicians and celebrities, and thanks to Google's new gadget, it will become even more intense and prolonged.

The "News" tab at the top of the Google search engine is very useful. I would recommend it to anybody doing research. Now, that tab features quotes at the top of the list of search results.

Public figures will now have to actually consider what they say before they say it, as to not look like an idiot on the internet as well.

I find this interesting because the example on the linked article shows none other than internet-dominating Barack Obama's famous quote about conservatives in Pennsylvania. With a web-presence now comes a web-consciousness and web-libraryofeverythingdumbthatyousaid.

If you've reached this point in this blog post, I salute you for your tolerance of boring subjects. Despite its rather mind-numbing description, the quote search thingy on Google will be really useful for writers, reference-seekers, and college students.

This is one small step in Google's journey to make the world as convenient as it can be, and thus make every student, including myself, lose the skills for good old-fashioned, pain-in-the-butt research.

Obama dominates on the web: Should we really be suprised?

This article affirms all of my assumptions.

Obama is beating the crap out of Hillary on the web, big time. But my question is: is this really news? I've been hearing and reading articles since January about how Obama has more face time and YouTube time than any of the candidates. The people that did this study are only shedding light on something that is already known. Obama dominates the web, now lets see how he does in Pennsylvania, where he made some foot-in-mouth remarks concerning small town voters.

Here's my view.
Since I am from a small town, and also addicted to the internet, I feel my political ego being torn apart by Obama. What the crap am I supposed to think about this guy?

Honestly, I like him. I know its weird, I'm a Republican right? Yep, a very frustrated one. The whole "Change We Can Believe In" is really cool to me, but I really need to brush up on Obama's plan for my country. So as soon as I do that, I'll let you know what I think.

Thanks for reading.

My first video project

Facebook Scrabble can wait. Seriously.

One of my fondest memories as a child was sitting at a dining room table across from my Grandmother waving her arms in celebration as she layed down a triple-word 20-letter article of her vocabulary on the Scrabble board.

This article on CNET informs us that Scrabble will now be on Facebook. First of all, if you have enough time to sit at your Facebook page and play an entire game of Scrabble, you might need to see a physician.

People in the U.S. and Canada are very upset because the Facebook app will not be provided in North America.

Why? Hasboro is throwing legal jargain at Facebook while another app called "Scrabulous" waits in fear of being eliminated.

Why are people upset? They apparently don't have anything better to do with their lives.

My thoughts: If you really truly want to enjoy Scrabble, play it with your grandmother.

Thanks for reading.

I almost downloaded Safari on my Dell. I'm glad I didn't.

Last week, as I was perusing some podcasts on iTunes, I got a pop-up. It actually scared the crap out of me at first, because I had just renewed my Norton Antivirus stuff with some pop-up blocker/anti-phisher/bad-thing-dominator, and I was surprised to see something come up.

At first, I was like "WTF, Safari for Windows?" but then I realized that Apple is slowly taking over the world, so it made sense.

I didn't download it.

Ever since I started using Firefox, first on my Dell at home and then on the computers on campus, I realized that it was superior to Safari. So, I don't even use the Saf on Mac, why would I want it on my Dell?

Anyway, I'm very grateful that I closed that pop-up because apparently there are all kinds of problems with Safari for Windows.

As with any kind of attempt at cross-compatibility, there is some drama going on between Apple and PC.

I'll keep my Firefox.

Thanks for reading.

TechCrunch is having a party that I probably won't go to

Holy moly.

Since I've started making posts on here, most of them have been based on or responses to articles on TechCrunch.com.

I hear today that they're having a second annual TechCrunch50 in September 2008.

What is it? To the layman, it's a geek fest.

The event is a celebration of the beginning of 50 new products or services (online or tech related) invented by anybody.

This sounds like an interesting event to me, maybe I'll buy some tickets and fly my butt out there. Oh wait, nevermind.

E-Mail is Slowing the World Down

E-mail is old news, and the world needs to move on. Every time I check my Hotmail accounts, I feel like I'm hyper-warping back to 1998.

This article has some interesting views on the matter.

The author explains why companies are being slowed down by e-mail. I've experience the problem. There you are, just arriving at your computer, ready to dig in, and then your inbox pops up with a billion e-mails. Perhaps you can't even get through them all in one day. Where is the limit, and is there a better way to communicate in a business environment?

I'm not sure. I think there are potential alternatives to e-mail, but I'm not sure exactly how they can be implemented. College students are addicted to instant-messaging, Facebook, and texting, and they are also the future, so maybe that is the tide of technology.

As my generation settles into the corporate world, I foresee changes. These new things include more constant connectivity, not only with the internet but subsequently with one's job. With these changes, we'll still have a billion e-mails every day, but at least you'll get to answer them before you get to work (but did you actually leave work?).

Fantasy baseball scares me.

About a week ago, something happened that I vowed would never happen again, I joined a fantasy baseball league.

I had a bad experience with it in high school. One guy cheated, and another almost un-friended me because I wouldn't take his proposed trade. I was a newbie to fantasy baseball, but my team was good - I was a competitor. But that was all before I had much of a social life, or a girlfriend for that matter.

This could be a bad decision - reincarnating my embarrassing love for computer-based sports. I'm not even sure when the draft is. My team is probably going to be terrible. Fantasy baseball takes a lot of time and attention.

Nowadays, when I think of fantasy baseball, I see the clip from "Fever Pitch" where a bunch of guys are cought sneeking away from their lives to go meet with their fantasy baseball league. I found this poll which illustrates how real-life fantasy baseballers disapproved of the movie.

The Fighting Swine are back, and its baseball season.

Thanks for reading.

Apple TV doesn't have every movie in the world on it, so what?

About 2 weeks ago, I watched Steve Jobs dominate the Macworld address on my Nano, and I was impressed.

Apple has some nice things happening this year. The only thing they probably wont do is sell me a computer. I really like all of the new Apple computers, but I simply don't have the dough to get one of my own.

One of the major projects that Apple put together for this year is a very new and innovative Apple TV. This, I am confident, is the future.

Critics of the Apple TV note that there are currently only about 300 movies on iTunes to play on it.

I will admit, 300 is a smaller number than I expected.

But I believe that if you can afford an Apple TV, and the HD TV to go with it, you can probably afford DVDs or even HDDVDs, so quit complaining!

Thanks for reading.

The most amazing video I have ever seen

This video, called "Battle at Kruger" is definitely worth watching. It won a YouTube award for best eyewitness video. I can see why.

This simple, one-shot clip not only illustrates the awesomeness of nature, but also carries a simple and clear message.

I don't want to spoil it for you, just take 6 or 7 minutes and watch it.

YouTube Awards

At first, I didn't like YouTube. Mainly because I was a country kid stuck on a 56k until I moved to college.

Now, I like it so much that it's almost gross.

I watch a lot of videos. But not enough to have seen the winners of this year's YouTube Awards. There were some good ones on that list. I watched them all.

Now that I've learned how to make videos in my Digital Production class, I'm considering going into the YouTube business myself by creating some super-short documentaries. I'd like to do my own podcast, but I'd probably run out of things to talk about after about 3 episodes.

Why do some people hate the internet?

The very first time I ever used a computer was for a math assignment in the second grade in 1994. Ever since, my relationship with technology has been in-and-out. It took me until 2007 to finally purchase an MP3 player, but I had been using Photoshop since 2002.

Anyway, the reason I am telling you this is because other people's relationships with technology have been very different than mine.

I have always seen my computer as a good thing, but for some reason, people don't feel the same way.

My grandparents, for example, grew up largely without computers. They still have never owned one. They don't hate the internet, or computers, they just don't understand them.

My anonymous friend, who is familiar with technology and the internet, hates them both. He grew up the same way I did, in the country, except he stuck closer to his roots. I'm not saying that is bad, but he definitely could benefit from the use of innovative technology. This is the same guy that terminated his Facebook account because he didn't like having "people in his business." My theory is that he just simply didn't understand.

The bottom line is:
The internet is not going away, nor is it worth hating. People should embrace the usefulness of it, and at least try to understand where it will take us.

Thanks for reading.

Staying Connected on the Road

I went to Arizona for Spring Break for 4 days, and I almost had a mental breakdown because it was the longest time I had gone without checking my Facebook.

The guy that wrote this article went 4 months on the road, and managed to stay connected wherever he was.

Is it possible for today's human traveler to go 4 months without the web? I would think so, but you would either have to have a mega-awesome travel agent, or at least a good game plan. I myself cannot survive a day without connecting myself electronically to somebody or something. Thats not a bad thing, but it is kind of crazy to think about.

My girlfriend always gives me crap for being so attached to technology and the internet. I'll admit that my relationship with the web is rather excessive, but thats just the way I am, and the internet is always going to be around in one form or another, so I might as well get used to using it and learn about it while I can. That is why I liked this dude's article so much, because it shows how us humans can incorporate innovative, convenient, and useful technology into something that humans have enjoyed for thousands of years.

Thanks for reading.

Google's got it.

I just realized today that few people truly understand the internet and how to use it, nor do I.

Google does.

This article on CNET shows us how the company can actually create success by passing its visitors off to other sites. This is quite a concept, and it is a concept that I think will catch on. Most big websites are so concerned with keeping visitors that they lose focus of the big picture. The internet isn't for providing services, but it is for helping people find what they are looking for.

The interesting thing, for me, is that I actually found this article on my GoogleReader, and now I am blogging about it on a service managed by Google. Hmmm.

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment!
-John.

Effects for Photos on Videos

For this assignment, we learned how to apply the "Ken Burns" effect to photos and how to apply certain filters and effects to the photos. Fun stuff.

A SocialThing for your Facebook? What?

I understand that Facebook is a social utility. It connects people - simple right? But how connected can people get?

This article, on techcrunch.com, introduces a new social friend site organizer thing that feeds off of your Facebook, Tweeter, or almost any other social website account. Its called "SocialThing."

This takes creeping to a whole new level.

It will be a while until I sign up for SocialThing. I can barely keep up between Facebook, Blogger and Google Reader. I like things the way they are.

To put it in a nutshell, SocialThing helps you organize your friends and "track" them.

Isn't that what Facebook is for?

Watching Facebook Grow

In my post-secondary educational experience, perhaps nothing has become as wide-spread and well-known as the phenomenon of Facebook.

In this article from CNET, I found out that Facebook has been hiring ex-Googlers to command its business adventures. This, to me, signifies the end of the beginning of Facebook.

Three years ago, I signed up for the service when it was in its infancy, and now it is fulfilling its goal to connect the world.

As much as we joke about it, I really do believe that it is doing good for our society, but there are also people out there that do not like it.

I have a friend, who shall remain unidentified (which may not be necessary, because he wont see this), who signed up for Facebook only to realize that, while he was creeping on his friends, they could also creep on him. He didn't like that. I understand and respect peoples' privacy, but if you're going to participate in a social environment, you'd better be prepared for and understanding of the service. That was a time when Facebook didn't have filters for who could see your entire profile, so I understand why my friend dropped out of the service. I, on the other hand, have embraced the quality and usefulness of Facebook, and kept its negative aspects in my back pocket. I don't worry if my friends can see what music I like or if I am still in a relationship - it doesn't hurt me, and I'm not afraid of who I am or what I do.

Anyway, social applications like Facebook will definitely be around for a while, and will continue to grow and advance and adapt to our needs, whether we realize that we like them or not.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check my Facebook.

Thanks for reading.

I learned me some audio tranzishins.

Who will you vote for? Ask the internet!

First of all, you should know that I'm a republican - a very confused one.

I read an article in Newsweek magazine and another in Time about how John McCain is too liberal for his traditionally conservative republican constituents. I would have to agree, but I'm still not sure what to think. NOT TO WORRY: I'm not going to waste this post by boring you with political banter...



This article on Howstuffworks.com discusses the increasing influence of web-based technology on campaigns. Every election year, my friends and family spend at least 5 or 10 minutes a day complaining about campaign TV ads. Now, they have an alternative (and a much more in-depth one, I might add.)

For example, if you just plain don't know what to look for in a candidate, you can go to websites like this one which list the issues with the candidates' stances on them.

You can also go to Youtube.com and simply search for candidates and watch their campaign speeches.

Or, if you've already made up your mind, or are close to it, you can find several campaign blogs which cover several viewpoints on several candidates that will fill your political hunger.

As any good student of journalism would do, I encourage all of you to find your political stance and find the best candidate for you, and then VOTE!

Thanks for reading,
-John.

UAV's are cool.

I haven't heard much about military technology since the war in Iraq was in its infancy. This article on CNET was an eye opener. My response: Holy crap! These things actually work!

When I first saw the news story about 4 or 5 years ago about conceptual unmanned military machines, I was like "yeah right, maybe in 20 years these will actually serve a purpose."

If it is one thing that puts an edge on the United States military, it is most definitely technology.

To me, these UAV's resemble those huge foam airplanes that you used to beg your mom to buy in Lewis Drug. They are simple - yet deadly. Why did it take us so long to get these things into the game? I'm not sure, but our human soldiers should be very thankful. I am thankful for their service.

Thanks for reading.
-John.

Web apps like Facebook could kill e-mail?

The new generation of internet users is growing up and making its effect on the functionality of the web.

According to this article on CNET, a bunch of Web App gurus met in Florida and decided that e-mail is now the inferior form of internet-based communication.

I agree.

My homepage has been Facebook for almost 3 years (and I would estimate 95% of college students would say the same), I check my Facebook increasingly more and more -- not because I am a nerd (well, partly) but because that is how I get information from my classmates. Many of my professors have recently proclaimed that they have created Facebook profiles (which is really suprizing since several still cannot find the "View Slide Show" option on Powerpoint 2003. I also find myself checking YouTube and Blogger more often than I even log into my Hotmail account. My university e-mail address is peppered daily with notification emails from - you guessed it - Facebook.

My generation has not only ditched e-mail as a primary form of web-communication, but is also creating digital content and blogs to express the need for what I like to call Web App Reform. Facebook is not perfect, but it is infinitely more interactive and potentially useful than e-mail.

The future is here, and it doesn't require the "@" button on the keyboard.

Thanks for reading.

Simply funny

We've all been there. Sitting in the living room with your best buds, watching the game. And then it happens. You will be enjoying your conversation, and then your comrade will venture into a book-long train wreck of an attempt at a joke.

It usually happens when your friend wants to contribute something funny and memorable to the conversation - and then tries much too hard - resulting in a catastrophe which ends in an awkward silence and pity laughter. Your friend ends the horrible attempt at humor with: "well, I guess you'd have to have been there."

HERE IS WHY THIS HAPPENS:
They are trying way too hard, and have nothing prepared except a terrible idea for a joke. The problem is that they are trying to make a joke out of something that isn't verbally funny. What do I mean by "verbally funny"? I'm talking about something that should be expressed physically rather than orally (I know, haha, get your mind out of the gutter).

For example, just the other day, my colleague, who shall remain anonymous, tried to explain to me a video on youtube.com which involved a small dog biting and popping balloons on a floor. The conversation was going smoothly until he tried to add a punchline to his explanation, thus transforming his story into a horrible joke. He said, and I quote "The dog was like, aarhh arrhhh arrhh, and the balloons were going pop, pop, pop! hahahaaa."

After hearing this, I sat in stunned silence, and deliberated whether or not I should leave the room. Was my friend's statement intended to be a joke? Then, I did as any good friend would do - I offered a pity laugh, and changed the subject.

In conclusion, I just want everybody reading this to know that bad jokes can happen to anybody. Even though they are awkward, we should strive to recognize humor in all situations. I don't claim to be an expert at being funny, but if you do decide to tell a joke, do your friends a favor and keep it simple.

To end this post, I have this video of humor that cannot be expressed verbally. Please watch it with the sound turned up, and enjoy. Thanks for reading.

Assignment 4: ID chyron

For this assignment, I learned how to put an ID chyron in the frame to identify the person. I found this to be quite interesting and useful for future projects. I added transitions and made the chyron a little transparent to soften the feel of the video. Thanks for viewing.

Assignment 3: text

Here is a nice little informational piece about the new Jackrabbit logo. Enjoy!

The scrapbookers are taking over the internet.

The reason people put photos online is so others can see them. We expect everyone to come and marvel at our latest pictures of our cats, kids, vacations and weddings, but who is actually looking at all of this crap?

I found this story on CNET about how Shutterfly.com has started a new social photo website. Seriously, how many more of these things can society take? I barely have enough time to look at the photos that my friends dump onto Facebook every day. How do people find time to look at all this stuff?

Also, as a photographer, here is my beef with photo-sharing websites: how conceited and self-centered have we become? I find myself marveling at my own photographs, but I barely spend a second on my friends' photos online. I have a feeling that other people my age are the same way.

Scrap-bookers are invading the internet, but only to do the same thing that they've always done - bore the heck out of their friends. Our computer-centered society does not like to be bored. On upside to this is that you don't have to sit in your friend's living room and suffer through the whole album of their cat or their trip to Newport, Oregon - you can simply close the window.

The only thing that I really find interesting about the photo-sharing on Facebook and album websites is that you can tag or be tagged in photos, which makes it really easy for people to sort out photos of you and literally see what you've been up to lately. On each of the photos, a person can then leave their comments, which I think is really cool because it encourages dissemination and community discussion.

Either way you look at it, photo-sharing is a phenomenon that will never go away. Our world must embrace this sort of technology. I'm probably going to start putting more photos on Facebook, but then my grandparents won't be able to see what I've been up to lately, which is probably a good thing.

Thanks for reading,
-John.

New Logo Causes Influx of Crazy People Into Tiny SDSU Bookstore

Well, history has been made. SDSU's President Chicoine yanked down the black sheet covering two giant SDSU logos. Little does anybody realize that from that very second, we are going to have to live without our 35-ish-year-old rabbit. What am I supposed to do with half of my wardrobe which bears the old rabbit? I'm going to be known as "that guy that doesn't wear SDSU clothes with the new logo." I felt ok about it at first, but then I saw swarms of people piling into the bookstore to buy yellow t-shirts with the new logo on them. Yellow? Maybe I'd wear it to a basketball game. I'm in no hurry to be one of the first people to buy a new logo that will be around for probably another 35 years.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, I really like the new logo, and I'm confident that it'll represent SDSU well into the future.

Welcome to the future of politics

I opened my Google Reader at 8:00pm today and found this interesting piece by Farhad Manjoo about how the internet is influencing politics.

First of all, as a conservatively-raised farm boy who has been fully acclimated to the college life, I find myself swaying further and further left on certain topics (whether I like it or not).

Recently, my good friend invited me to join this Facebook group about a week ago. The pro-concealed weapons on campus group was obviously the brainchild of a right-winged student. My first reaction was "who in their right minds would want to actually carry a gun to class? and what kind of legislator would support it?" The answer: every single one of my South Dakotan friends and a bunch of South Dakotan legislators. Holy carp folks, did you hear that? I actually don't like the concealed weapons bill! What is wrong with me?

Online support groups like the Facebook group supported by www.concealedcampus.com are influencing people. Not necessarily as propaganda or "sales" type purpose, but as a confrontational-force-you-to-decide kind of medium. That right-winged Facebook group made me learn about my own beliefs. I discovered that I don't want to bring a gun to class, and I don't want my classmates to bring one either.

I realize that our founding fathers put it in the constitution for me, and I am also an avid deer/goose/pheasant hunter, but I (and the SDSU Student Association) honestly don't think it is necessary to bring a deadly weapon to class. And as for the legislators in SD - they shouldn't fix something that isn't broke. If they really want to get something done, they should first figure out why most college students can't even afford a gun in the first place.

All in all, I just wanted to point out that the ever-consuming internet is helping us along, and it is (whether we like it or not) making each of us realize our own values.

Thanks for reading!
John

The Internet is taking over my life.

About a week after I learned about how I can grow my photography business on www.dotphoto.com, I learn that my other job will be putting content online as well.

On top of that, Microsoft and Yahoo and Google have taken over the headlines in my Google Reader (which is also, of course, online).

At this point in my life, I can't help but be overwhelmed by the force of internet-related assignments and articles and the ever-life-consuming Facebook.

I also will have to decide who I am going to vote for to be president this year by researching candidates online.

As much as my conservatively-raised mind wants to resist the wave of technology, I am obligated to embrace the internet and what it does for me. I just hope the dang thing doesn't crash.

Ex-Google employees launch a do-it-yourself video website

I finally made my first visit to techcrunch.com, and I have to admit that I was a little underwhelmed. The site has a lot of stuff on it, but none of it really made my day.

I did find this interesting peice about howcast.com, a new how-to video website. When I think about things that I need to learn how to do, my mind drifts to thoughts of me graduating, doing my own taxes, finding and paying my own insurance and starting my own family - do they have videos for that? I searched, and they don't yet.

Overall, howcast.com is pretty cool, and it has a unique look. I hope they can get a bigger library before I graduate, because I need to learn how to do taxes and how to get insurance. Fun stuff.

My Monkey

As a senior journalism major, it feels good to have finally made a video project. Look at me mom!

Unappreciated Super Bowl Tech

As I watched the Giants upset the Patriots 17-14 yesterday, I sat and sulked. Not because I wanted the Patriots to get a perfect season, but because I hadn't seen a descently funny Superbowl ad worth mentioning in my blog. (Besides the Will Ferrell Bud Light ad, but thats a given.)

Despite my disappointment with the advertising, in my postgame research I found this interesting article about some of the technology that goes into the Superbowl. I had no idea how they got that yellow line on the field.

This article was also interesting for me because I'm entertaining the idea of buying into HDTV as soon as I can afford it. Like any lazy college guy, I enjoy large TV's.

Thanks for reading,
-John.

My social life would end with an iPhone.

There is no doubt that the iPhone is popular, and I can see why.

Reuters recently reported that the iPhone is spurring some crazy wireless internet traffic, which is to be expected, I guess. If I paid $500 bucks for a phone that has internet connectivity, I would definitely be spending some mega web-surfing minutes on the series of tubes.

The only thing (besides $500 bucks and an account with AT&T) that keeps me from buying an iPhone is the fact that I would have to sacrifice hours of life and socialization. I am almost certain that my world would twist and then fall into pieces if I had my hands on a gadget that powerful.

Thanks for reading,
-John.

Legos are how old?!

When I think back to my childhood, two things immediately create vivid memories in my mind: Ninja Turtles and Legos.

On Monday, Legos turned 50 years old. My reaction: I want to dig my collection out and start building again.

In my first 16 years of life (yes, I played with Legos at 16), I estimate that I spent an average of 6 hours a day (4 years total) assembling an endless list of imaginative creations which spawned from the very limited capacity of my cerebrum.

Now, at 21 years old, I can admit that I actually still have an innate impulse to play with my Legos.

All in all, I feel that I owe a lot of my constructive skills and creative ability to those small plastic bricks.

Here is their impressive website.

I love Deadwood, period.

In 1876, the Black Hills became a hot spot in the history of South Dakota. I had the opportunity to visit the Hills with my parents, brother and girlfriend in the summer of 2007. The main purpose of our trip was to watch my brother compete in the National 4-H Shooting Sports competition where he represented South Dakota in the shooting clays category. During the week, my family and I had the chance to visit many interesting places. I had already been to most of our stops, but I did get to visit the beautiful and historic city of Deadwood for the first time. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures, but I can tell you that Deadwood is definitely worth the brain-numbing drive across South Dakota.

The main reason that I made this entry about the real Deadwood is that I also happen to be a huge fan of the HBO series. Although some people say that the HBO series stretches the truth in regards to what actually happened in Deadwood, I think the show creates a very educational and interesting window into the culture and history of Deadwood, even though the events in the show probably did not happen verbatim or as they are portrayed. I have a fascination with "wild west" culture and history, and I found the Deadwood show to be very interesting and entertaining. Not only because it was set in South Dakota (actually filmed in California) but because it fed my imagination with a unique plot and very realistic costumes and scenery.

If you are at all interested in this show, you should visit this site.

Also, I do plan on attending the "Wild Bill Days" in Deadwood this next June, it sounds like a good time.

On a completely unrelated note, I stumbled across this awesome Big & Rich video on YouTube. I didn't get to see this on TV - this is just another reason why YouTube is what it is.

I "need" a new camera bag.

This is my first ever blog entry, so I thought it would be appropriate to include a small summary of my current life status, and then talk about camera bags.

I live in a townhome close to campus with two guys that are both a year older than me. I drive a quickly-deteriorating 96 Ford Explorer with a V8 and an appetite for petrolium products. My girlfriend Stacy and I have been dating steadily since December 6, 2005. She's a Minnesotan with an attitude and a great family. She is also very beautiful.

I plan on graduating in May 2008 with a degree in News/Editorial Journalism. I like to take photos and to explore the functionality of technology (which is why I am excited to actually have my own blog).

Daktronics, Inc., has trapped my soul, and will probably provide me with my first "real" job after I graduate. My current responsibilities at "Dak" include editing internal publications, managing content for newsletters, writing and photographing. I really like it there, but Dak is a cliche job in Brookings, and I hope to move on before my soul is consumed by Dak's appetite for graduate labor.

My most recent free minutes have been spent in search of a new camera bag to house my Canon 40D and friends. I really like this one from National Geographic ($150), but I don't want to look like a tool when I wear it. I also like this one from Lowepro ($90) because I'm sure that it will be big enough, but it might be too big, and it is definitely more "normal" than the NG one. I'm not sure why I'm so worried about looking like a tool, but I just want a practical camera bag that I don't have to be embarrassed to wear.

Thanks for reading,
-John.