First snow of the season came with the fury. I’m flying out to Chicago tomorrow to attend a seminar on gun violence reporting as part of grant we received. It should be very interesting with ATF agents, other law enforcement and journalism folks. It’s put together by the John Jay College Center on Media, Crime and Justice (CUNY). Plus, I’ve never been to Chicago so that ought to be cool, if it too isn’t buried in snow.
I hope the flights aren’t too delayed.
I’ve decided to rework, revive and restructure this blog/site. My reasons are varied and many, but the important part is that it will keep me reading, writing and analyzing again (not that I’ve stopped, just haven’t posted about it). Twitter and Facebook have also been a contributor to not posting as much, since linking to an article with a snarky comment in Twitter is a much easier and cheaper form of commentary.
Most of what I put here will be journalism, politics and news-related items. But I may stray.
First up, a quick smattering of interesting bits around the (journo) Web.
We took an end-of-summer camping trip to Gooseberry Falls State Park in northern Minnesota. Great trip with perfect weather and no disasters. Next year we’ll do this a lot more.
For the family in Florida to see. Enjoy.
My new workspace. Han Solo continues his vigilance.
And with that, the time of snow and ice is officially here. I for one welcome our new snowy overlord and look forward to trying to make the best of it this year. However, I am getting a little bummed at the realization that it will be a long while before I can ride my bike comfortable again. I mean, I can ride right now but it’s more of a battle than simply enjoying the freedom of the bike. This week should be interesting re-acclimating myself to snow and getting my penguin walk back.
Been slacking again on the posting, meh…so sue me. I have been re-igniting a nerdy side project of mine and getting out and about to enjoy the last throes of warm weather. The snow will be here soon enough, however I vow to do more wintry activities this year. That means sliding down a hill on something, try ice skating, cross-country skiing and/or build a snowman.
Some other things:
That is all, carry on.
Really busy weekend of good stuff. Worked on Saturday when Obama came to town for a health care speech. Rode the bike to Minneapolis and worked out of the bureau there. Did some downtown riding during the event, running pictures back and forth which was fun. So yeah, I got paid to ride my bike for a bit. The event brought the usual suspects on both the support and opposition side. And thanks to my boss I found a new route between Minneapolis and St. Paul, sweet.
Next week, Stillwater along the Gateway Trail.
Sunday was good times. There was a free concert in Mears park so I rode down to check it out and was joined by some good company for a lunch (Bulldog veggie burger, nom!) and some park chillaxin’. The day couldn’t have been any more perfect for hanging out outside. My only regret is that I didn’t get to as many of these sorts of free, outdoor music shows this summer. There’s always next time.
Time for work, here’s to hoping the week goes by fast and smooth.
Been really slacking here, but man what a busy week it’s been.
Work
Friday at the Minnesota State Fair we did MPR’s first ever Photo Scavenger Hunt (the results of which are here). Considering that there were some technical issues, I would say it was pretty successful. The best part about it is that it was an idea my colleague Than and I conceived, executed and saw through to the end. I think it was probably a decent personal success for both of us.
I also had my review, I think I gets to keep my job. The upcoming year will be a year to learn more multimedia skills, possibly even doing some workshops and/or a community college class. We’ll see.
Cooking
Kind of been slacking on cooking new stuff, though this Saturday I tried my hand at my mom’s vegetable curry recipe.
Ingredients:
Cooked it all together, served over rice. Slap it in the “win” column, it was delicious and super easy. No food pictures, as it wasn’t very photogenic.
Biking
Did a long ride on Labor Day, in fact I think I overdid it. Went from St. Paul out past St. Louis Park, milled about some trails and then made my way back. I was so out of gas on the last leg home on thought I’d have to push the damn bike home. Next week I think I’ll head east and try and find my way to Stillwater, I hear it’s nice. I really want to upgrade the bike or trade up and get a road bike. It just makes sense for the type of riding I’m doing. If anything, I’m going to switch out the handlebars, the straight bar is simply not comfortable on long rides.
That is all.
Yeah, the above photo pretty much sums up our State Fair here in Minnesota. It’s actually a lot of fun, despite some of the more nausea-inducing food choices that exist. And, full disclosure, I ate some things there that I said I would never eat and aren’t a part of my normal diet. However, as one of our producers found out, it’s not all that bad.
Kind of been slacking on the writing, and the cooking, oh and the picture taking. Work has just been busy with vacations, etc. This Friday is our big MPR Day out at the fair and my colleague and I are the overseers of the Photo Scavenger Hunt. Hopefully it goes well and we get some kudos for it. I have confidence that it will be successful enough to do next year.
I know it is the “hot topic” these days, but I’m really sick of hearing/reading/discussing health care. That’s all I really have to say about that.
More later, breakfast now.
Slowly I am porting my book collection from Florida, and by slowly I mean I’m at about 20/300+. This might take a while.
First week back at work was very busy: organizing special projects, MN State Fair stuff, breaking news, Bret Favre, tornadoes, oh my. The good thing is I’ve been feeling much more confident in my work, especially this week. I’m still finding it hard to dedicate time to some side projects, but that will iron out soon enough.
The weather has not been cooperative with my desire to ride my bike. This makes me angry. A co-worker says the whole El Nino business should keep the snow off the ground until later than usual. I aim to ride, even if cold, until I can’t ride anymore. This weekend I’m going to shop for some cooler weather riding clothes.
Vacation tapped me out a little, so it’s back to being frugal for a bit. I still need to save for the new camera, pocket video camera and some other vanity items. Plus, I plan on trying to make it back down to Florida for a wedding in November. The timing will make the flight rather expensive.
Enough random, carry on.
I came, I saw, I wore myself out.
The trip to Florida was a lot of fun. I hung out with as many people as I could, partied with friends, spent quality time with the family and even got a little sun. Florida still seems to be located a half-mile from the sun, which was fun to be reminded of.
It will be nice to get back to work, however it is going to be very busy over the next couple of weeks.
Next vacation though, I’m using the passport and going adventuring.
This is how I’m rolling today. Too windy to go for a ride. Hopefully tomorrow is better.
Also, cooked up some potatoes, onions and mushrooms topped with some razor-sharp cheddar. Phenomenal, excellent lunch fare. I’m trying to minimize any grocery buying due to the impending weeklong+ vacation coming up.
Can’t wait for the trip. Friends, family, sun, golf (hopefully even though I will stink) and relaxing.
Like I said before, this week marks one year being in Minnesota and at my job. I’m really surprised it’s already been a year, it went by so fast.
It doesn’t seem that long ago I was driving my little car packed with all of my belongings toward my new home.
Hmm, now what?