Kitchen Remodel

The thoughts we carry in our minds can be a blessing or a curse. When we cage them, our lives are filled with disappointment and an overwhelming sense of what could be. The thoughts must be set free and this can only be done by making them real.

In October of 2002, I toured a condo with a realtor and knew that it would be the first home I would own. During that tour, I viewed an opening between the kitchen and the dining room and was immediately filled with a vision. I saw the possibility of letting even more light pass between the rooms with new cabinetry and glass doors. I saw an extended countertop that would invite guests to sidle up with a glass of wine while the chef prepared dinner. And I saw my first and most ambitious remodeling project.

Years passed, and although I built an impressive wood working shop in my garage, the kitchen remodel remained a dream locked within the confines of my mind. Then in the winter of 2006 while recovering from knee surgery, I set about the ambitious task of designing and building my first kitchen cabinets. The project took several months of dedicated effort, but I had finally completed the goal I set 4 years earlier. Well, almost. The new cabinetry was a significant personal accomplishment and improvement over the original wall cabinets, but it only represented a fraction of the complete kitchen remodeling project. I told myself that I needed some time to rest and then I would get back to building the rest of the cabinets. And in the meantime, I decided that I wanted to build a whole new bank of cabinets for one of the kitchen walls. Months passed and my saws sat idle in the garage. The day after Thanksgiving, I tore into the kitchen. Actually, I tore up the floor and set about installing a heated tile floor to replace the Pergo. It may not have been cabinetry, but it was at least some sort of progress.

More years passed. Whitewater kayaking took a prominent role in my life. I bought a motorcycle. I sold the motorcyle and bought a VW Thing. I sold the VW Thing and bought a VW campervan. I installed a Ford Focus engine in the VW van. I installed a turbo charger on the Ford Focus engine in the VW van. And I kayaked—a lot. So it’s not that I was sitting around doing nothing, but all the while, my kitchen remained as it had been in 2006. And worst of all, the thoughts—the dreams—pinballed through my mind every time I stepped foot within the kitchen. Finally, finally, in October of 2012, the notion of the kitchen remodel re-entered the forefront of my thoughts. I spent hours at Home Depot with the kitchen consultant and came away with a very large estimate. And that estimate was just for materials and they weren’t even high-end materials. The cost seemed prohibitive and I debated whether the money would be better invested in my current condo or in savings for a future house. But ultimately, it became about something much greater than a financial investment. It became about the thoughts—the goals—the dreams that I had set for myself a decade earlier. I knew that I had to do it. I had to be true to myself and set the thoughts free. I had to make the goal into reality.

So on October 10th, I set the wheels in motion by ordering the rest of the kitchen cabinets from Home Depot. I had learned just how difficult and time consuming it is to build quality cabinetry and also realized that the difference in cost for build-to-spec cabinets was not that much greater than doing it myself. I also sprung for new stainless steel appliances and the luxury ticket item—granite countertops. I attempted to schedule the project to minimize the disruption in my life, but alas, both the cabinet delivery and countertop installation were delayed beyond the initial estimates. So for 2 months, I’ve been living in a state of semi-chaos. I washed dishes in my bathtub for 6 weeks. I ate microwavable dinners and fast food on a daily basis with almost no fresh vegetables. I worked almost every weekend and weeknight on the project. And now I can honestly, proudly say that my kitchen remodeling project is complete! The thoughts have been freed from my mind and they now live in solid form within my condo as my new kitchen. And with that, the curse has been transformed into a blessing.

Below are a sampling of Before and After photos from the remodeling project. I hope you enjoy perusing them and that I can have you over for dinner!

Click here to open the Before and After photo album in its own window

Also, if you are curious, I’ve posted some photos of the project while it was under construction.

Click here to open the Construction photo album in its own window

Taking Stock and Ice Stock

Occasionally, habits are formed that are actually beneficial. One such habit of mine is to reflect upon each year in writing with the goal of improving myself and creating a sense of accountability. For each of the previous 3 years, I clearly stated goals and set about achieving them over the course of year, and on this first day of 2012, I find myself in need of this habitual reflection and goal setting.

In my pursuit of this past year’s goals, I learned two important lessons regarding goals. First, I learned that goals are all about spending most of your time doing things you don't want to do so that you can say you did something that you did want to do. Second, I learned that goals need to be continuously reevaluated and correspondingly adjusted to the twists and turns of life.

Video Editing Software Comparison

As part of my effort to explore the many ways that digital media can be used to share stories, I have invested considerable time and energy creating small videos that I have posted to my YouTube channel. These videos have ranged from my favorite clip of a humpback whale to Gumby flying my RC plane to time-lapses of space-borne scientific instruments to photo/video montages of my kayaking exploits. But no matter the subject, the fact remains that being able to quickly and repeatedly generate content is the best way to share the story behind the video. In order to accomplish this throughput, I have used Windows Live Movie Maker as my video editor for the past several years. It is an extremely simple, yet robust, free video editor for Microsoft Windows that is analogous and quite comparable to iMovie for Mac computers. But after a while, simply being able to generate content consistently was no longer enough. After spending all of that time creating videos, I realized that there were capabilities that simply did not exist in Movie Maker and so I set about to find a better solution.

100 Days of Whitewater

Challenges define who we are in life. Whether they are brought about from unforeseen external circumstances or are conjured in the imagination on a snowy night, challenges take us to places that test our character. And the way we respond to these tests ultimately shapes the people we become. In some circumstances, we succumb to the circumstances and come away feeling like we have lost part of ourselves. But when we make the deliberate choice to rise to the challenges, we grow mentally, emotionally, and physically. This growth is like the branches on a tree that year after year add to the shape and ultimately to the definition of who we are. The very fact that we have shaped our own growth and definition is deeply satisfying and ultimately provides meaning in life.

Be Deliberate

10,000 hours. 10 years. Either way, it’s a lot of time and it’s how much time they say one needs to commit towards an activity to become an expert. But even then, putting in time isn’t enough. According to Geoff Colvin in his book, Talent is Overrated, the key ingredient is Deliberate Practice. While the topic of deliberate practice is extremely compelling, I have discovered that the simple act of being deliberate is sufficient to lead a more productive, meaningful life.

Being deliberate means that you aren’t acting haphazardly, you aren’t swaying in the wind, and you aren’t blaming the world for your situation. It means that you have made a conscious choice to affect your own outcome from the smallest of situations to decade-long endeavors. It’s the difference between just getting by and having a smile on your face every day. And it’s what I believe is the linchpin to Victor Frankl’s logotherapy that was described in his seminal book, Man’s Search for Meaning. Because when a choice is deliberate, there is purpose, and when there is purpose, there is meaning.

It is always fine to believe in something based on what you have been taught, but I find it infinitely more convincing to grasp a concept based on personal experience. Last summer, I found myself kayaking 7 days a week during the peak run-off, and I couldn’t be happier as I pushed the limits of my body and engaged in the physical world. After a few weeks of this, I realized that the water levels would recede and with it my exciting participation. I was presented with a vision of gloom and I made a choice. It wasn’t a mind-blowing choice, but it was an important choice. As the kayaking season slowed down, I would ramp up running with a half-marathon goal for the autumn. And that is exactly what I did. My evenings slowly switched from Clear Creek outings on the water to south Boulder outings on the trail, and my enthusiasm never waned. The weeks and then the months passed, my days on the water became more rare, and my time on my feet increased dramatically. Even before the half-marathon came, I believe that I reached the apex of my running when was on the trail for 2 hours or more and was then hopping in my kayak for an afternoon of autumn boating. The feeling was truly glorious.

But still, I felt the winter months looming before me and a fear that I would descend into a lethargic slumber full of calories and television and lacking in warmth, exercise, and participation. Coming to this realization was half of the gift I received that autumn. Making a choice on how I would deal with the situation was the second half of the gift. Rather than letting the dwindling daylight and sinking temperatures pull me into a state of psychological, physical, and spiritual hibernation, I made the deliberate choice to continue to engage my mind and my body throughout the winter months so that as spring and summer approached, not only would I not be a portly, pastey Pat, but I would be leaner, stronger, and better educated than I had been 6 months prior.

My plan was simple. I would cross-train throughout the winter months in order to be in better shape for the 2011 kayaking season. Everyone says they are going to cross-train. No one, well almost no one follows through on it. This was before I read Talent is Overrated, yet I knew that I needed to do something different, something that would keep me motivated and going strong when it times were tough. There is a saying that, “What can be measured can be improved” and as a control systems engineer, I have wholeheartedly believed in this theory for more than a decade. I decided that I would formulate a series of different types of workouts and then I would track the frequency of these workouts throughout the winter.

First off, I decided that the best way to stay in shape for kayaking is to be in a kayak. Granted, I knew that whitewater kayaking on a regular basis throughout the winter wasn’t going to be practical, so I decided that my goal would be to get out in my kayak once a week, whether it was on whitewater, flatwater, or in a pool. Nice. Now I had a goal and was beginning to act deliberately. But being in a kayak once a week isn’t enough to escape the slob within me that was dying to escape during the winter months. Next, I found a half-marathon to run in mid-April which would require me to actively train starting in February and to maintain a base from November through January. Now I was getting somewhere. Then, I decided that if I were a pro athlete, I would train in the gym on regular basis in the off season with a focus on exercises that directly pertain to my sport. So what if I’m not a professional athlete, this is the good ole’ U-S-of-A and I can train like I’m one if I want to. I set about writing up a detailed workout plan with exercises that specifically targeted kayaking motions and then I expanded it to include a purposeful workout to do when I was in the pool in my kayak. Finally, I put together a spreadsheet to keep track of all my training activities as a function of time. Yup, it’s nerdy. But you know what, it worked. And it gets even nerdier. I had some Amazon.com credit burning a hole in my pocket, so I ordered a Withings WIFI digital scale that automatically posts body weight and body fat measurements to their website for logging and analysis. This tool provided yet another method of measuring my progress, so I could then manage it.

March is half way gone, I am near the 6 month mark in this experiment in which I have been the subject, and the question begs to be asked, “How successful was I?” Well, I ran the Highlands Ranch Backcountry Half-Marathon on November 13 which certainly set the stage for the first month or so. Then, I headed down to Costa Rica in early December for a week of fantastic paddling with my friends from Renaissance Adventure Guides. And then winter was fully upon me with no activities or strong motivational goals for months to come. But, things did not spiral out of control. Even amid the short, cold days, I felt the need to keep training and eating healthy. I think the numbers speak for themselves and so does the plot below that shows when I did workouts as a function of calendar date. I am writing this on March 17 and as of today, starting on October 1st, I have:

• Kayaked whitewater 25 times and in the pool 7 times. Very good, but I definitely didn’t hit my goal of once per week.
• Worked out in the gym 31 times
• Swam 29 times
• Ran 55 times
• Biked 7 times
• Skied 7 times

When you look at the plot, it becomes readily apparent that I have been working out a LOT. Still, if I had been eating like a fraternity brother, I could have gained 20lbs in that time. Fortunately, I was eating more like a bride-to-be with small salads and WeightWatchers dinners being the norm on my menu. As you can see, instead of gaining weight over the course of the 6 winter months, I actually shed almost 10 pounds! This was the first time that I have approached my high school weight in 2 decades. (It’s worth noting that the 2 spikes in my weight occurred when I “let go” during vacations. On the one hand, it clearly demonstrated what happened when I was not deliberately choosing my food carefully each day. And on the other hand, it was a deliberate choice of mine to relax my dietary restrictions during those times, so I don’t feel bad about it at all.)

Okay, I measured and I managed and I was deliberate, and yet you ask yourself, “Why does it matter?” Simple- I’m much, much happier than had I not been deliberate. So now, every time I am presented with a choice- whether it seems meaningless or not- I consider what it means to be deliberate. And I remember that being deliberate is a sure-fire way to self-satisfaction. Or as we usually like to call it- happiness.

New Year’s 2011!

Another year has come and gone and it only seems appropriate to take stock at this time.

I just spent the past hour or so at my piano re-learning how to play “Falling Slowly”, and it really put the past year into perspective for me. A year ago at Christmas, I struggled through the first notes of that song with my nephews back in New York, and now I find myself easily reading the sheet music after a six month hiatus from the song. What is funny is remembering how painful and challenging it was to learn it, how rewarding it was to perform it at the recital in May, and similarly, how challenging it is for me to learn Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” right now. I suppose that it points out how the learning process is a never ending continuum, and that it really does take significant effort and struggle in order to achieve meaningful progress.

These New Year’s post have become somewhat of a recent tradition for me, and I think there is real value in sitting down and putting down my thoughts and goals and ambitions into words for the whole world to see. I know that I have looked back on the posts from the past two years on many occasions in order to motivate myself or bask in the glory of a job well done.

This past year has taught me even more about setting goals and working diligently to achieve them. It hard to know where to begin, but I can honestly say that weighing 15-20 lbs less than I did last year at this time is a huge accomplishment for me. Of course, the end result is wonderful but the process has been the most interesting and rewarding part of this accomplishment. As expected, I went full-force kayaking this year with 82 days on the water which bested my 70 days from last year and I stepped up to my first Class V run. The entire kayaking experience and lifestyle has really grabbed hold of me and mid-summer I made the very conscious choice that I wanted to maintain the energy and excitement of kayaking through the rest of the year in all other aspects of my life. So in July, I began to run after taking a long break since my first half marathon in 2008. Basically, I maintained my excitement and energy level by redirecting it towards running as kayaking began to wane. Ultimately, I ran my second half-marathon in November at the Highlands Ranch Backcountry (trail-run) Half-Marathon. And as a side-effect of all of this exercise in the water and on the trail, I wound up losing 15-20 lbs of unneeded weight which has almost gotten me back to my high school weight! I’m not going to go into this anymore, but I can say without a doubt that this is the best I have felt physically in over 15 years and I don’t want it to stop. As a matter of fact, I was running through an L.A. neighborhood this fall when I saw some out of shape, lazy suburbanites. Since I was running high on adrenaline from an adventurous trail run, the contrast between my current life and theirs was particularly accentuated. At that very moment, I decided that I wanted to be a person who lived life energetically and that I would be in the best possible shape I could be from now on. So here I go on this new path…

It has been almost 3 months since I wrote the first section of this post, and I finally have some concrete resolutions for the coming year, so like 2009 and 2010, I am going to put them down in writing with the expectation that it will keep me honest. After considering various goals during long, peaceful runs the past few weeks, I have categorized them into 4 groups:

1. Be deliberate

I believe that acting deliberately is not only necessary for achieving the following resolutions, but is also a basic ingredient to sustained happiness. For that reason, I have written an entire blog post dedicated to acting deliberately.

2. Fitness/Athletic

As you can tell from the beginning of this post and my post on being deliberate, I’m really jazzed up on fitness and kayaking is still holding center stage. I always say that time on the water is key to successful kayaking, so I am going to best my previous year’s record by kayaking more than 100 days in 2011. And in order to keep my frequency up throughout the year, I am going to kayak every month of the year as well. Additionally, I am teaching kayaking for the Colorado Whitewater club and for Renaissance Adventure Guides, so I’m sure that I will get a whole lot of extra days in on lakes and in pools.

As I am writing these goals, I am actually 3 weeks away from the April 17th Horsetooth Half Marathon in Fort Collins, and my training has been going exceedingly well. After I complete the half, I will go into a recovery training mode and then kick into gear training for the October 9th Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Denver! I never expected that I would run a marathon in my entire life, but now I see an opportunity that I am going to grab. I don’t think it will be easy, so I plan to join a training group that will provide me a deliberate framework in which to not only finish, but do so with a smile on my face.

Generally speaking, I plan to continue this life of exercise that I’m on in order to not only stay in shape, but actually increase my fitness to a higher level than ever before. I expect that my days at the gym will wane during the summer, but with outdoor pools throughout Boulder, there is no excuse to not enjoy a lunchtime swim! Ultimately, I expect my swimming technique and fitness to increase dramatically throughout the year so that I can consider participating in triathlons in 2012.

3. Projects

Anyone who has spent time around me as an adult knows about me and my projects. I always seem to have something in the works, but as I find my time occupied by so many other worthy pursuits, I find the projects get set aside. So I think it is worthwhile to make a few realistic resolutions regarding my projects. First off, I’m mentally ready to move out of my condo into something bigger, but before I can take the plunge, I need to save for a heftier down payment and make a few final improvements on the condo in order to increase its resale value. After having installed all new windows the past two years, January 2011 was dedicated to installing new wood floors. My remaining condo projects for the year are to replace the wood fence and replace the decking on the front porch. These aren’t particularly challenging projects, but I hope that putting them down in writing will help me follow through on them as I’m drawn each weekend towards kayaking in the mountains. Apart from my condo, I actually want to limit the number of projects I work on this year. The van is an endless source of projects, so I know I will continue to sink time into it, and the only van project that needs a kick in the pants is the Arduino-based battery monitoring system that I have 50% completed. I am telling myself that only after I finish it can I install solar panels on the van!

4. Intellectual Pursuits

Lifelong learning is one of my highest overall priorities. After spending years in school, I can’t imagine a life that isn’t filled with books, computers, and most importantly, intellectual stimulation and engagement into new realms. So it is not surprising that several of my resolutions for 2011 are geared particularly towards intellectual pursuits.

Writing this very post is another reminder of how much I enjoy the simple act of writing. I initially started my blog as a simple way to capture a few notes to go with photo albums I was posting, but over the years, it has become a wonderful outlet for me in its own right. I have discovered that I don’t write so much for others to read, but just for its own sake. I have also realized that as I get busy, I stop writing. So this year I am making a resolution to write more consistently throughout the year. I have gone to great lengths to implement a system that allows my little netbook to remain synchronized with my desktop computer, so there really isn’t any excuse for me to not bring it along and capture my adventures in writing throughout the summer.

Considering that I expect to be writing more and more often, I believe that it is critical to read as much as possible in an effort to stimulate all the parts of the brain that enhance the understanding and usage of the written word. I have almost a dozen great books sitting on a shelf waiting to be read, and now I just need to make sure that I bring them along with me and spend a little time on them throughout the summer camping months.

Finally, the exhausting flooring project in January forced me to face a reality about time and effort and motivation. Rather than limping along doing a poor job, I chose to halt my piano lessons for the time being. It was a hard choice for me to make, because I understand that it is very tough to return to a pursuit like piano after stopping it. So for 2011, my piano resolution is simple- I just want to keep playing the songs that I already know. I want to continue to experience the enjoyment of playing the piano with the hope and the expectation that my enthusiasm will be renewed and then I can continue with lessons once again.

I have my work cut out for me in 2011, but I’m lucky to get another trip around the Sun and I’m fully prepared to make the most of it!

Tethered Balloon Flight

My interest in flying a tethered balloon with a camera system started back in July of 2006. Since then, I designed and built a sophisticated camera system, purchased a  7 foot diameter helium balloon, and have talked about flying it over Boulder to take aerial photographs. Almost 4 years have passed with enough yak shaving and procrastination for me to vow to finally do this on not one, but two New Year’s resolutions. I can finally and proudly say that I flew the balloon and the camera system over my South Boulder neighborhood and it was a tremendous success!

My initial interest in the subject goes way back to my Master’s Thesis that involved the design of a micro air vehicle control system for DARPA. The justification for the thesis work was that there is a strong need within the military (and other agencies) for visual knowledge of an environment that is best provided by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). However, UAVs can be difficult to operate, so much research has been invested in developing autonomous UAVs that can operate on their own, which is exactly how I was funded for my research project.

Flash forward to 2006. I no longer live in Boston, but I am still working in the aerospace industry. Instead of designing control systems to fly aerial vehicles, I am designing control systems to point scientific payloads on satellites in earth orbit. I pick up my first issue of Make magazine while visiting my parents and am immediately blown away by the advancements in low-cost, robotic-like electronics that are available to the average hobbyist that used to be top-shelf military grade components. I subscribe to the magazine and request all back issues, which included their premiere issue focused on kite aerial photography. I have an epiphany. Kites can fly above the earth in a relatively fixed location and orientation without any sophisticate control system, which allows people to focus on building camera payloads to take incredible photographs. I am convinced that I have short-circuited all of the work that has gone into UAV control system development. I realize that there isn’t always wind to fly a kite. Duh. I think back to my childhood and remember helium balloons. I am a kid again and having fun with a balloon. It is the answer. I am convinced that the answer is to fly a helium balloon with a camera instead of investing precious time and money on developing sophisticated autonomous UAVs. I research the market and learn that three companies visibly cater to this type of market: Southern Balloon Works, SkyDoc Balloons, and Allsopp Helikites. All of these companies do impressive work and had my epiphany long ago. But they don’t design precision pointing systems for NASA, I do. I convince myself that I can buy a balloon from one of these vendors, build a sophisticated camera payload, and point it better and for cheaper than anyone else using low-cost hobby electronics.

We are now in July 2006. I spend some of my free time furthering research on the topic, ordering a balloon from Southern Balloon Works, buying a Canons S3is camera, buying and learning to work a BasicStamp-based Parallax BoeBot, buying a camera cradle from ServoCity, and ultimately building a pretty nice semi-autonomous gimbaled camera system to fly on the balloon. Of course, there were issues or I wouldn’t be writing this in 2010. The real-time video downlink from the camera had numerous issues. I eventually worked out the kinks between the RC transmitter and the video downlink and wound up with a reliable RC/video system. I also got involved in mentoring a FIRST robotics team which was a valuable experience, but that also ate into my free time for such extracurricular nerdy activities. Ultimately, it came down to priorities and focus. There are a few things I can say with complete conviction and one is that when we make something in our life a priority or if it occupies our focus, it will be done well and it will be done quickly. So although you could say that requirements creep caused me to try to make the system too autonomous or I got caught shaving a yak, when it comes down to it, flying a helium balloon just wasn’t a priority and didn’t occupy my focus for the past two years despite the fact that I really wished it would.

Sometimes, things in life don’t go as planned and we have to accept them for what they are, decide to fight against them, or a little of both. When it came to this balloon project, I would like to think that I went with a little of both. First, I was fortuitous to become friends with Sam and Lars, who have helped me tremendously in literally getting this project off the ground. Second, I made the conscious choice to abandon the lost cause of a BasicStamp controlled “smart” camera system and to pursue a remote controlled camera system that was well within my means. What was amazing was that after making that choice, it only took three weeks to make the adjustments to the system, get my friends onboard with the project, and ultimately fly my gimbaled balloon camera system. You can probably begin to understand now why I am proud of this accomplishment.

Instead of explaining the as-built system in writing, I thought it would be easier to watch it in action. So check out the overview video below.

And now onto the premiere flight of my tethered balloon camera system.

As you can see from the video, I think the first flight of this system went very well. The as-built system functioned as I had hoped, but the balloon proved to be much less stable than I expected. In some ways, that actually makes things more fun, since it provides me with a justification to improve upon the system :-) It may not be the game changing invention that I dreamed of years ago, but I am glad that I dreamed and proud that I had the courage to try to make it come true.

Be sure to check out the photo album to get a sense of the quality of the photos. There are some fun ones in there! The photo below highlights the improved resolution that near earth aerial photography can provide compared to satellite imagery. Also, if you want to see this photo and two others in Google Earth, down the this KMZ file.

One Year Later…

It was one year ago that I committed myself to several New Year’s resolutions and held myself accountable by making them known to my friends and family. I’m happy to report that I accomplished all but one of these ambitious goals and had a great time doing so.

I dove right in learning to play piano, mentoring the high school robotics kids, and transplanting my engine. By early March, the robotics build was over, the engine transplant was complete, and I had rudimentary piano skills.

By late summer, I had solidified my kayak roll, kayaked The Numbers, survived a week with EJ on the Ottawa River, spent a week with the family in Cape May, and returned safely across the country in my van.

After a summer-long hiatus from the piano, I returned to lessons with the intent to play Coldplay’s Lovers In Japan, but based on my teacher’s recommendations, settled for Lost! instead. Having never been through music lessons as a child, I never knew the fear associated with a piano recital, and it didn’t take me long to freeze up in front of a bunch of parents and little kids while playing the Beatles’ Ob-La-Di at my first recital and vow to play much better at my next recital. Three weeks of learning and practicing Lost! paid off at the Christmas recital when I played smoothly through the song despite my paralyzing fear. As proof that I actually learned to play the piano, I recorded myself earlier today!

The only resolution that I didn’t make good on was taking a photograph from a tethered helium balloon, but recent events should make that possible in the next few weeks. Next week, some friends of mine and I are planning to launch one of my cameras to the edge of space in a helium-filled weather balloon where it will hopefully capture the curvature of the earth and the darkness of space. Afterwards, that camera will then provide me the main tool to take pictures using Kite Aerial Photography techniques which I hope will provide another tool in my toolbox on my adventures. And finally, I expect that my friends will be able to assist me in flying my gimbaled camera on my tethered helium balloon.

I suppose you are wondering if I will follow up with more resolutions after last year’s successes. I have thought about new things to accomplish, but the only unique idea I have had is to learn to wrestle alligators! So instead of doing silly things just for the sake of doing something new, I’m going to keep working on these existing goals. I have been having a great time learning piano, so I plan to continue lessons and learning new songs in the year to come. My van is working great and I expect that I will continue to restore it to better-than-new condition. Last September, I got certified as an American Canoe Association (governing board of kayaking) instructor, so next year I will be sharing my knowledge and passion for kayaking as I instruct others through the Colorado Whitewater association. And lastly, I will take a photo from my helium filled balloon!

Happy New Year!

-Pat

Why "digital. stories."?

If you have wondered why my blog is titled, "digital. stories. by Patrick Brown", this stream of consciousness may provide some answers.

Digital data may be used as a means of telling stories. Dumping a bunch of photos on the web tells a story about as well as dumping of bunch of random words on a written page. Using new digital media (photos, videos, virtual reality panoramas, time lapse photography, GPS, Google Earth, MotionBased Player, Blurb) to tell stories is an art form just as photography, painting, and music are art forms-- only the tools have changed. It is a chance to explore and create new methods that have never been done before that can immerse a reader/viewer in another world that would never have been possible even a few years ago with all the money in the world.

This blog is used to tell my stories and explains what I have learned about digital story telling. I guess my idea of digital story telling is a little different than most people's, but nonetheless, the idea is to use these technologies as means of conveying a sense of Place and Time and Adventure.

Digital media is just data until it is conveyed in a relevant manner. This is where the art of story telling meets the technology of the digital age. As individuals, today's digital technology is allowing us to generate massive amounts of data that is linked to the memories of our lives, but we are struggling to use this data in a truly useful way. We dump photos on our hard drives with incomprehensible names like img_031567.jpg, or if we are more advanced, we load them to sites like Flickr, Picassa, or worst of all, Snapfish. Photos get dumped into buckets and emails sent to friends and loved ones, but no stories are shared. While it is still wonderful to see these photos, the memories associated with them and the images themselves will soon be forgotten when presented in this manner. There are no stories associated with the images, just pixels. Maybe a few tags or keywords slung here or there, but no systematic labeling or organization of the photos. Photography can be expanded in both space and time to provide an extremely immersive experience in the form of panoramas, virtual reality panoramas, video, and time-lapse video.

And GPS is now providing us with the exact locations we have visited, but rarely ever used to convey the sense of place of our ventures. Combined with the various visual elements from a digital camera and presented in the right viewing environment, a user can now fully explore and see a story unfold before their eyes, on their time, and in the comfort of their favorite chair. This is what I call digital storytelling, and this is how I am striving to share my life adventures with my friends and family.

The Inexplicable Realities of Life

I'm not sure when these words formed in my head the first time, but I know that they certainly stuck and have been of great assistance to me when I ask the age old question, Why? to life's many mysteries. Now, when I am presented with a challenging situation that I cannot begin to comprehend, I simply chaulk it up to The Inexplicable Realities of Life, smile, and get on with things!

Desiderata

The Desiderata is most certainly my favorite poem and written work of wisdom, so I thought I would share it here. A great website about the poem, it's history, and related resources can be found here.



Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

--- Max Ehrmann, 1927

2009 New Year's Resolutions!

Well, it's almost the new year and I decided to set some goals and make some resolutions for myself this year for one of the first times in my life. It's not like I feel guilty about being fat and need a resolution to make me carry through. It's just that it's fun to think that I can accomplish a bunch of great things in 2009 if I set my mind to it. And I figure that posting my goals and resolutions makes me accountable for them, so that I can hopefully report on my successes throughout the year.
As a matter of definition, I consider resolutions to be things that I would be less likely to achieve if I didn't really set my mind to them, and goals to be things that I plan or expect to do during the year.

Resolutions

1. Take an aerial photo using the balloon and gimbal system that I have been working on and off again for the past few years. I'm not far from being ready to do it, but like one of my previous posts said, it's one thing to talk about something and it's another thing to do somthing.


2. Learn to play the piano! Why? Well, it seems cool, and I always love to see my nephews, sister, and mom playing it. As a possibly practical goal, I want to be able to play Lovers in Japan by Cold Play.


3. Bombproof my kayak roll and kayak The Numbers on the Arkansas River. I have let my roll deteriorate and not progress with the rest of my kayaking, and it's time for that to stop. Kayaking the Numbers will be an achievable goal that I should feel comfortable with once I can roll on demand under any conditions.

Goals

1. Mentor the Fairview Robotics club for the FIRST robotics competition. I'm already underway with this again this year, and I expect to be spending a lot of time working on the new robot and hopefully having a positive impact on these kids.


2. Install a Zetec engine in my Westfalia van. I already plunked down the money for the sweet Bostig conversion kit that will allow me as an amateur mechanic to perform a heart transplant for my seriously underpowered Vanagon.


3. Attend EJ's kayaking clinic in Ottawa, Canada in July including a road trip with stops in NY and Cape May to visit my family. With my bombproof roll and souped-up van, this will be a great way to take my accomplishments to the bank!

In Search of Treasure

It's one thing to say that you can or are going to do something, and it is a completely different thing to actually do it!

I was pondering this today and came to a realization that the story of lost treasure is as much about just accomplishing something as it is about gold, silver, and diamonds. You could imagine that this goal, however simple or complicated, is the fabled treasure. Many people know of this treasure and so you come across them in taverns speaking of it and how they hope to find it one day or how they would go in search of it, except for the fact that blah, blah, blah. Yes, many people know of the treasure, but to actually find the treasure takes time, hard work, a bit of luck, and the fortitude to know that it will all be worth it when the journey is over and the treasure is in the hand. But then again, some people like to talk about treasure, and others are obsessed with chasing after it.