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.