Blueprint

About a month ago I posted a video of my older daughter's marching band performing at a football game. I guess it gave all of our distant family members (and anyone else who cared) a general idea of what the band's performance was like. However, it was early in the season, and many of the elements of the show had not been completed, AND the band members were NOT wearing their uniforms, AND the video quality on my still camera is pretty low. All in all, it was not too satisfactory.

I've been wanting to film them again, but the problem is that since then I've volunteered to be on the "prop crew," which is made up of parents and students not in marching band. We hustle the props and the instruments in the pit out onto the field, and we end up watching the performances crouched down at the base of the bleachers. Not the best place to film a show.

But then I found out that the video below existed. It's video of the band's performance last Saturday at the Boyle County Marching Band Competition. My daughter's school finished first in Class A and second overall, just behind state powerhouse Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

The theme of the show is "Blueprint," and it is visually about architecture. The show is in three movements, and in the first movement three of the flag girls are drawing designs at an architect's table (only one of the tables can be seen in the video, waaayy off to the left). During each movement the band assembles a different piece of architecture. In the first movement, they assemble the green frame of a house. In the second movement, three blue arches are created. And in the final movement, a yellow and orange bridge is constructed.

Here are my three favorite moments in the performance:

1) Right at the beginning of the performance (at about the 0:27 mark), the band members rise in a wave. Then, just before the wave reaches the back of the line, the entire band "snaps" into place. It's cool. 

2) In the third movement, right after the flag girls assemble the bridge, half of the flag girls come in front of the bridge and start dancing. The other half go behind the bridge and pick up two flags each. They then toss one of the two flags in sequence to the other girls, and then they all break into...uh, not dance...uh, flag waving, I guess. That happens at about the 6:28 mark. 

3) The very end of the performance. At about the 7:18 mark, the band begins playing its loudest, most emphatic part of the entire show. And then, just a few seconds later, the bottom drops out of their playing and they begin playing very softly, only to return to a louder playing soon after. It isn't really conveyed really well in the video below, but there's something very dramatic about the soft playing. It's almost like someone whispering. 

Anyway, I see myself working props for the rest of the season, so I WON'T be recording their performance with my video camera. Out of town family members will have to settle for this video:

(I can't see the video.)

More Bill Gates Stuff

A couple of posts ago I mentioned how excited I was about the upcoming movie The Social Network, and how much I'm looking forward to the dramatization of the founding of Facebook. On that post I also embedded a short clip from the 1999 movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, which was about the (now) early days of the Mac vs. PC wars. The specific clip dramatized the time in 1980/81 when Microsoft sold its operating system, DOS, to IBM.

Here's another clip from the film. This is near the very end of the film, and it dramatizes the Apple release of the Macintosh, which happened just a few months before Microsoft unveiled Windows, its graphical interface for DOS that looked VERY much like the Apple Macintosh operating system. VERY MUCH. So much so that Steve Jobs (played by Noah Wiley in the clip) is a little upset.

As with the first clip, here's another example of where being first or even being best isn't necessarily important in the computer industry--knowing how to leverage, promote, and sell a product IS. The actor playing Bill Gates says as much right at the end of the clip.

As far as I know, neither of the meetings in this clip actually happened, at least not the way they're portrayed here (Bill Gates, though, DID appear at the keynote address when the 1984 Macintosh Super Bowl ad aired). But that's okay--writers of docudramas often use a little bit of dramatic license, and I think that what's happened here, and I also think it doesn't necessarily hurt anything--the gist of everyone's feelings during the time is captured pretty well here.



(I can't see the video.)

Family Split, part two

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about how my older daughter and my wife were off on the 6th grade field trip to Washington D.C. I just re-read the post (which you can see for yourself by clicking this link), and I remember writing it--I feel like it was just the other day, maybe a month or two ago.

But it's been two years, and this morning my wife and my YOUNGER daughter left for the same trip. Lisa called me just a few moments ago. After an 11 hour bus ride to D.C. the tour group did NOT go and settle into their hotel rooms, which is what I would have done after a long trip like that. No, they've already been to the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Tomorrow they'll get up at 4:45 AM and begin another day of adventure.

Just like last time, both Lisa and our daughter have cameras with them, so I'm sure I'll have another album of photos to share when they return.

Nothing New Under the Sun

I'm looking forward very much to the upcoming film The Social Network. It's been a long time since there was a  non-action or non-Disney movie that I wanted to see in the theaters, but this is it, for several reasons:
1) It was written by Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and A Few Good Men. As with those works, I'm expecting a lot of fast paced, witty dialogue.
2) I like many of the actors in the film, including Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg.
3) It's about social networking! Going to see the movie is practically part of my job description.

I will say one thing, though. I'm surprised that many people are upset that the film is going to portray Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg in a negative light. According to a news article I was just reading, the director states that the film portrays Zuckerburg as "prickly and smarter than everybody else and makes no apologies for it." The film also portrays Zuckerburg not as the real creator of Facebook, but as someone who used his business savvy to profit from the work of others. Zuckerburg is portrayed more as a businessman than as a computer genius.

Huh. Kind of reminds me of another rich computer genius:



(I can't see the video.)

Probably Going to Get Beaten Up Over This One

I'm making this post mostly because my wife dared me to do so. We were talking politics and the economy and the deficit, and she said, "NOBODY is going to like what you're saying. I DARE you to write about it on your blog."

So here goes...

I am so SICK of everyone, both Democrats and Republicans, ignoring the deficit. And I don't mean ignoring it in their words--politicians, especially the Republicans of late--TALK about it all of the time. I'm sick of politicians not DOING anything about it.

Republicans say that the Obama administration is responsible for the deficit, and that we ought to do something about it by cutting spending, but then they talk about the necessity of coupling that with tax cuts. Tax cuts INCREASE the deficit--they don't reduce it. And in the end, the Republicans, in order to get elected, will offer tax cuts that are greater than the spending cuts they want to make. When all is said and done, the Republicans are going to INCREASE the deficit.

And Democrats are no better. They want to increase taxes, but not in order to cut the deficit. They want to increase taxes so that they can increase spending programs like the health insurance program. And in the end, the Democrats, in order to get elected, will offer spending programs that are greater than the tax increases they want to make. When all is said and done, the Democrats are going to INCREASE the deficit as well.

You want to know the kind of politician I would vote for? The guy who had the courage to come forward and say, "My party [whichever party that is] is only half right. I say we have to decrease spending AND increase taxes. That's the only responsible action to take if we want to lower the deficit. It will mean less in our pockets AND fewer services from the government, but hey! It's what we have to do. It's a shared sacrifice we'll have to make, the same shared sacrifices that President Bush mentioned in the days just after September 11, 2001. We've put off those sacrifices for more than nine years now, but now we have to make them."

That's the guy that I'd vote for!

But I think I'd be the only one...

A Comedian After My Own Heart

I have written post after post after post after post after post about either dumb directions or ridiculous wording on food boxes. I saw this comedic bit a few months ago and thought, "HERE'S a guy I can relate to!"



(I can't see the video.)

Fall for Anything

A couple of years ago I wrote a post on this blog about a well known phrase that people often quote that irritated me because it wasn't even true. Today I'd like to talk about another well known quotation that I think is even WORSE because--though it might be true--it gets abused by people.

The quotation I'm talking about is this:

"You gotta stand for something, or you'll end up falling for anything."

The first time I heard that quote I, too, liked it (I think the first time I heard it may have been in a John Mellencamp song, not that I'm suggesting he came up with the quote because I know he didn't). There is, after all, a germ of truth in the aphorism. It suggests that people who don't have some sort of moral bearing, some idea of right and wrong, will be unable to successfully make moral decisions. Our morals, after all, guide us like a compass in our most important choices.

That's nice. And I think it is also true. But the problem is that it's not the whole story, and some people WANT to make it the whole story. It IS possible to stand for something, to have total conviction and belief in something, and for that conviction to be wrong. And it's possible that--based on a strongly held, incorrect belief--a person can do terrible damage.

As an example, there's this Pastor Terry Jones who wants to burn the Koran. I've watched him in interviews on television, and I believe that--though he IS basking a little in the sudden fame--he isn't pulling this stunt about the Koran just to make a name for himself. He honestly believes that by burning the Koran he will be making a statement about the dangers of Islam, and that by burning the Koran he will somehow keep the Muslim world from taking over the United States.

The problem is that he's wrong. By burning the Koran, all he will do is incite anger in Muslims throughout the world, and some of the lesser educated will turn to violence. But there are plenty of people out there who are defending this burning of the Koran with the quotation above. I know. I've had conversations with a couple of people that have gone something like this.

ME: This Pastor Jones man is a fool.


OTHER PERSON: I disagree. He's a Christian with a deeply held belief, that's all. He believes that the Bible is the truth, and the Koran isn't.


ME: So do I.


OTHER PERSON: Yes, but what are you doing about it? If you believe that the Koran is wrong, that it's leading people away from God, shouldn't you want to destroy it, too? Shouldn't you want every Muslim to become a Christian?


ME: But burning the Koran isn't going to make ANY Muslim become a Christian. It's just going to tick them off. If anything, it's going to make them have a WORSE opinion about Christians, and it's going to make it harder for Christians like me--who DON'T go around burning the Koran--to have any influence on those Muslims later.


OTHER PERSON: Whatever. At least he stands for something. "You gotta stand for something or you'll end up falling for anything."

The quote's a cop out, a way to NOT have to try to evaluate whether a person's beliefs are wise.

So I think we need to have an addendum to the famous quote. It should read as follows:

"You gotta stand for something, or you'll end up falling for anything.
In addition, 
You gotta stand for something WISE, or you'll end up standing for something FOOLISH..."

Poorly Written Copy

I was eating a bowl of ice cream at home the other day, and--being as I have no life and as I am wont to do from time to time--I was reading what was printed on the side of the ice cream container. And what I found printed on the side of the container was this:

"Kroger Dairy Dessert is JAMMED full of inclusions for the perfect everyday indulgence."

Yum.

I don't know about you, but on a hot, sweltering summer day, nothing sounds better to me than "dairy dessert" that's busting at the seam with "inclusions"!

Seriously, who writes this copy? Or more importantly, who EDITS this copy? Somebody had to sign off on what was written on the side of that ice cream container. And what they signed off on was the most unappetizing sentence I've ever read. I mean, I LOVE ice cream, but after reading that, I'm suddenly not so hungry any more.

I guess what's happened here is that Kroger is too cheap to write different copy for EACH type of ice cream because I checked the next time I was at Kroger, and ALL of the Kroger "Loaded" ice creams have this text on the side of them. But the question is, how much trouble would it have truly been to make a slight edit for each of these flavors? For instance, if it's Rocky Road, the text could have been changed to read, "Kroger Rocky Road is JAMMED full of peanuts, marshmallows, and chocolate chips for the perfect every day indulgence." Chocolate chip cookie dough might read, "Kroger Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is JAMMED full of mini chocolate chips and chunks of real cookie dough for the perfect every day indulgence." You get the picture. But no. Apparently Kroger can't be bothered with such fine detail.

But that leads me to another thought: if you're going to make general statements like this, why not make even MORE general statements? Why not print this on the side of ALL Kroger foods: "Kroger food products are JAMMED full of edible ingredients for either the perfect every day indulgence if they're sweet and/or fatty, or for the perfect healthy food if they're not." Or why even stop there? After all, that leaves out all of the non-food Kroger items, like Kroger light bulbs, Kroger dog food, and Kroger loose leaf paper. Why not just print THIS on EVERY Kroger product:

Kroger Product of Some Kind may or may not be edible, but it's made by Kroger, and it's made with ingredients and/or materials that may or may not be the best, but we're pretty sure no matter what that they're safe for you and you probably won't sue us because of them.

Who wouldn't be able to say no to such a product?

Prayer for the Educational CIO

I found myself actually saying a variation of this prayer at a long traffic light one morning this week.

Dear God,

All my life I wish to serve You, and in my current job, I serve You by serving other people. Help me remember that.

Help me remember many things, Lord:

--That not everyone I talk to spends 40 hours a week buried in technology, and that many of them don't know a gigabyte from a kilobyte from a dogbite. Help me to not talk over their heads.

--That many people I work with are AFRAID of technology, and if I appear rushed or dismissive to these people, or if I seem to judge them for not being proficient in technology, they may give up and become even LESS inclined to use technology.

--That I shouldn't yell at this person for not knowing that you can turn off a computer by holding the power button in and counting to ten.

--That no piece of technology is worth more than a human being, especially the human being who is seeking my help right now.

--That though I may have fifty things more pressing to the school district than the issue that this person is telling me about,  their problem isn't unimportant to THEM, and that I shouldn't sound dismissive to them.

--That my job is NOT to tinker with technology all day. My job is to help others to help students to learn, and if I'm not doing that, if I can't trace what I'm doing somehow back to that simple idea, I'm not doing my job.

--That the guy who couldn't get an email attachment to open so he tried to reinstall Windows and in the process corrupted his computer, was NOT trying to sabotage my day. He was TRYING to help, and he probably wants to be thanked.

--That though I may already have been told 17 times that email isn't working, this is the first time THIS person has told me, and they're not just telling me again to tick me off.

--That no matter how many times they're instructed otherwise, people will open unknown attachments and get viruses, and people will purchase technology without checking with me to see if their computer can run it or our network is compatible with it, and people will try to send emails about their yard sale to every student and staff member in the district, and people will email me instead of creating a work order, and then they'll create a work order that they can't get their solitaire program to work. People are dumb, God, and give me the patience and the grace to say that to You and not to them.

Help me to remember these things, God, so that I can do my job well, and so that I can help everyone else do their job.

But it's not just they that need help, God. I need help, too, so I ask these things of you:

--If there's a virus out there, help my machines to be patched.

--If there's a thunderstorm coming, help it to not knock out the power and in the process, fry some server.

--If I have important drives whose back ups are corrupt, help the drives to not fail.

--If I have an important report or technology plan or grant proposal or whatever else due, help me finish it on time.

--If I have to recommend a particular piece of technology for purchase, help it to not break six days after it arrives.

And finally, God, help me to remember that in the grand scheme of things, my job really, honestly, truly is not all that important. When I'm dead and gone, people will not remember how well I kept the network running, or how quickly I came and fixed their computers. People will remember how I treated other people, and what kind of person I was.

Help me, God, to be the kind of person that I'll want to be remembered as...

Just a Video I Like

This is easily my favorite segment from Sesame Street.




(I can't see the video.)