Leadership is actions; not sayings. . .

"Then I recalled the time I worked on the interactive version of Oracle's Annual Report. We did a video shoot of Larry Ellison saying openings for each chapter of the report. If only I'd kept the outtakes for the one that had my team on the floor--Larry was reading a script for the opening of the 'People' chapter and had just completed the phrase, 'Our employees are our greatest asset,' when something off-camera pissed him off. He threw the script down and began ranting and swearing, including the words, 'What is this crap? I want somebody fired for this s***!'"

Link

Almost sincere!

The world is getting small; do the right thing

"No longer do employers need to judge the caliber of a job applicant based on the keywords in his or her resume. We're moving to a better world in which links to online content, relationships, and communities give a fuller picture of every candidate. "

Link:

At the end of the day, you have to live with what you have said and done. Seek to do the right thing and correct and apologize for your mistakes. Character counts.

Math Will Rock Your World

"The world is moving into a new age of numbers. Partnerships between mathematicians and computer scientists are bulling into whole new domains of business and imposing the efficiencies of math. This has happened before. In past decades, the marriage of higher math and computer modeling transformed science and engineering. Quants turned finance upside down a generation ago. And data miners plucked useful nuggets from vast consumer and business databases. But just look at where the mathematicians are now. They're helping to map out advertising campaigns, they're changing the nature of research in newsrooms and in biology labs, and they're enabling marketers to forge new one-on-one relationships with customers. As this occurs, more of the economy falls into the realm of numbers. Says James R. Schatz, chief of the mathematics research group at the National Security Agency: 'There has never been a better time to be a mathematician.'"

Link

The old definition of "Renaissance Man" was someone who knew anything. In the informattion age, that is impossible, but the new Renaissance Man can function cross dispcipline. Does not know everything, but knows enough to be effective in muliple areas.

Asheville River Arts District

I was impressed with the rich artist's community and art scene in Asheville, NC. One place I really liked was the River Arts District. This vibrant community is only a few blocks, but contains dozens of painters, glass blowers, writers, quilters, sculptors, woodcarvers, dancers, printmakers, furniture makers, and others. They styles range from traditional to avant garde.

Time your visit for the "Studio Strolls" which are held on the second full weekend every June and November. (Saturday and Sunday; 10am to 4pm).

I am a bit jealous that I live 1500 miles away; I would love to have access to renting a studio like this in a community of artists. It would be fantastic.


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Asheville
Artist
Studio
Travel

How-to: Location book

I just finished pulling together a "location book" with my notes from the shoots in Western North Carolina. I include two pieces of information: information on locations that I shot and information on places that I want to shoot, but could not fit in on the first trip. It takes multiple trips to cover a large region and I also like to shoot some locations over and over in multiple seasons.

1) Start with an empty notebook that will last. I avoid anything with wire binding. My preferred book is a Moleskine Cahir -- Large Ruled.

2) Sort all of the material and notes you collected on your trip. Choose and organization method; I normally use city/county/area first and then subdivide each one into: Art groups, galleries, shooting locations, and resources (such as camera and art supply stores).

3) Create an index on the first page and number every page.

4) Fill the sections with your sorted information. Include address, hours, phone numbers, web URL's, email address, small maps, and other things that will help you plan future trips.

5) Leave plenty of blank space to add to the book.

6) Add contact sheets of your 4-Star and 5-Star takes from previous shoots.

7) Add notes from all failures -- details of what you were trying to accomplish, why it did not turn out, and suggestions including special techniques and equipment for next time.

8) Add notes for all shots you did not make, but want to try next time.

9) File in a plastic folder along with maps and other information books that do not fit in your "Location book."

Put away and make a calendar note for 30 days from today.

Go back and read through the book, and add notes and changes that have come to you in the last 30 days as you have worked with the pictures, shown the shots to others, and thought about the trip.

File book away until you are going to return to the area again. Use the book for trip planning, web research planning, and reference during your trip. Repeat above steps when you return again.

Pass along to someone you care about so they can enjoy the beauty of the area and shoot it also!

Most importantly, have fun!

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Photography
Landscape
Journal
Location
Travel
Research

Arby's is horrible!!!!!!

Went to the local Arby's last night (Fargo: 25th St South) and asked "what sauce is on the Bacon-swiss Chicken Sandwich?" Then asked for "no honey-mustard." I have to watch my orders because of my food allergies. Get home, and the sandwich has extra honey mustard; it is dripping off the sandwich. Fries are stale and cold. So, I threw it away, and said a few choice words about Arby's. Paige offered to call the store and complain; she's much more polite and better at this than I am. She tried calling multiple times and got a busy signal everytime. Makes you wonder if the phone is off the hook, or they are getting too many complaints. Of course, the likely answer is some 16yr old associate is calling her boyfriend to complain about working on a Sunday night. It certainly does not seem like customer service is priority, or even a consideration. . .

Paige's sandwich tasted like it had been under the heat lamp since the Washington-TB game on Saturday; over the 26 hour line in which anything turns to uneatable mush. She ate half of it.

I guess we won't be going to Arby's anymore!

Pinnacle Airlines is Horrible!!!!!!

I had a chance to fly Pinnacle Airlines twice over the holidays. What a horrible experience! I was harassed both times about my camera bag. I am a traveling professional photographer and I carry valuable equipment. I spent time and money research TSA and airline regulations and purchased a special bag that meets Northwest Airlines carry-on guidelines (which are a bit more restrictive than the general US regulations. My family had three paid seats on the flights, the bag in question would fit fully under the front of the seat in front of us; even on the smaller Canadair regional jets. I purchase a ticket with Northwest that includes three legs out and three back. On four of the legs, Northwest crews are very helpful, pleasant, and provided great customer service. Pinnacle Airlines, operating as Northwest Airlink, was exactly the opposite.

It is sad that Pinnacle Airlines defines customer service as lying and threatening their customers! I was told that I would have to gate check my camera bag. On flight #3724 on Tuesday, January 2, 2006, “Cindy” decided to make it worse. I explained that I knew from experience that it would fully fit under the seat and if she was not satisfied, I would gate check it. That was not acceptable. When I asked why, I was outright lied to. Cindy first told me it was “too heavy”. Of course, she had not touched or weighed the bag and did not realize that it was lighter than other carry-on's my wife and I had. Then she told me “nothing with wheels can come on board.” We had two carry-on's with wheels but only the camera bag was unacceptable. I counted at least 9 other passengers with wheeled bags that she did not object to. Then she told me “FAA regulations.” This is a classic intimidation lie; I asked for a section number and she had no idea what section of the regulations even covered carry-on of photographic equipment. I did because I reviewed it before travel. Finally, she told me “anything bigger than a briefcase” was not allowed. On this lie, I lost interest in counting around 22 the other pieces of other customers she let on that violated this. Finally, she had the co-pilot threaten to remove me from the flight. At this point, I had done nothing other than ask why? It is sad that Pinnacle Airlines defines customer service as lying and threatening their customers.

Pinnacle's mission statement ends with “make the airline a rewarding, profitable, and quality experience.” For me, they failed on all accounts. Perhaps they should consider changing to “we don't care and will tell any lie and make threats so you shut-up, sit down, and don't ask questions.”

I was friendly, polite, joking, and made every attempt to be a good passenger. I followed all true FAA regulations about cell phones, use of my mp3 player, storage of carry-ons, seatbelts, seatbacks, tray tables, etc. I had great conversations with the Northwest crews and I thought they did a fantastic job. I am very appreciative of their work and thanked them on multiple locations for making the experience great. It is too bad that I will start flying United to some locations to avoid Pinnacle Airlines.

Defining Excellence

"I'm on the hunt for excellence -- within my organization. I want to define what excellence means to me as well as others. Then, I want everybody to commit to that definition. For those that aren't committing, they shouldn't be part of the organization. After all, can your organization really become excellent if there are those that aren't practicing excellence? I really don't think so.

So, yesterday I decided to start my definition of excellence and have asked my other managers to start their individual lists."

Random Thoughts from a CTO: My Search for Excellence:

Photography in the digital age. . .

This is a bit harsh for me, but it does provoke thoughts:

"With their proliferation, the world is awash in digital snapshots, and the art of photography dies a little more each day. These cameras are technological marvels, to be sure. But because they do virtually everything for you and require no effort beyond pointing and shooting, pointing and shooting is all that most people do.

In a particularly bitchy moment, Truman Capote once described Jack Kerouac's stream-of-consciousness style: 'That's not writing. That's typing.' Digital cameras abet the photographic equivalent of stream of consciousness.

One thing, and one thing only, determines the photographic art, and that's the photographer behind the lens. Nothing else matters. Count on it: The digital age will produce no Alfred Stieglitz, no Margaret Bourke-White, no Ansel Adams unless the shooter possesses an artist's soul and has mastered the craft.

By all means, use your digital camera to take those family snaps. E-mail your images and amaze your easily amazed friends. Just don't call it 'photography.' Because it isn't."

Link

Waterfalls

Today is dark and rainy, but yesterday was a great day. It was sunny and clear. Bill and I drove up to the Pisgah Forest and visited three waterfalls: Looking Glass, Moore Cove, and Sliding Rock. Looking Glass is listed as "one of the most photographed falls in the US." It was beautiful and challenging. I spent my time trying to figure out how to get the shot that I wanted; something that did not look like the shots I had seen in the guide books. I was trying to make sure I was not just putting my tripod in the holes that were worn from thousands of other photographs and figure out a way to get something I liked.

Next stop was Moore Cove. The guidebook listed it as "an easy one mile roundtrip." It was neither. It was closer to two miles and the trail climbed quickly and then dropped down to the level of the creek and crossed it three times before climbing up to the falls. This was a ledge falls with a large cavern area underneath that allowed me to go inside and photograph the sun through the falling water. Despite the fact that I had to carry camera gear without a backpack, I did not have my hiking boots, and I slightly twisted my ankle, it was worth it.

Last stop was Sliding Rock Falls. There was no lifeguard on duty, and the water temp was around 32* so we did not "slide" down into the pool. Again, I was looking for shots that were out of the ordinary.

We then drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and got some shots of Cold Mountain. We briefly crossed into Tennesse, before turning around and heading south through a pass into South Carolina. It was a nice day.

Meat and 3

I have discovered a new category of dining. I am used to asking "what do you want?", and hearing choices like: "American", "Thai", "Chinese", "Italian", etc. Last night I learned a new one. It seems in SC, fine dining is defined as a "meat and three". You select one meat and three vegtables. I also discovered that "Black-eye peas" are not just a music group and that "Chocolate sin" is considered a vegtable in Beria, SC.