Johannes Grenzfurthner from MonoChrom (or maybe Boing Boing would be a better reference for some of you..) will be talking/presenting on some of their recent projects at Red Light Red Light tonight out in Winter Park.
Johannes is based out of Vienna, Austria and here on vacation. It'll be a rare opportunity to see some pretty neat artsy/tech projects right in our own backyard. He joined us for Florida Creatives last night and is a really enjoyable guy.
Is there any particularly good reason why O-Rock and 740 both disappeared?
Surely, it's a money thing.. but man oh man.. Orlando local radio suuuuucks. Real radio during the day is okay, but then you have a poor mans love line mixed with stereotypical dj cliches at night. It's like listening to an ongoing family guy joke. My brother and I were reminiscing about how Monsters used to make fun of those idiots all the time.. now they're the night time show. Awwkward.
And yes, 101.1 is still around, but if I wanted to listen to Nickelback... wait.. What am I saying.. I'd never want to listen to those hacks, nor do I want to listen to any of the other corporate trash that WJRR plays.
Do the radio station corporations own a chunk of satellite radio? Are they trying to make FM radio die a painful death? Or has Orlando just rapidly changed its demographics to the point where only Spanish, manufactured pop and cheesy over-produced lameo-rock stations are able to survive?
I guess I just don't understand the business behind local radio. I'm sure margins are tight and everything is pre-planned and digital now. It just sucks, that's all.
Thank god for my iPod and my tape deck connector.... New school meets the old.
I also believe that a high concentration of the people who attend demonstrations like these are clinically nuts (certainly not all of them, to be fair).
I just got back from taking a bunch of photos from the war protest taking place over at Lake Eola. The idea of the protest itself is completely fine by me. The peaceful expression of what is an extremely emotional issue is why we're so lucky to live here. It provokes conversation and discussion. It encourages people to research their thoughts and educate themselves. It serves as a mechanism to drive voter participation. Without protest, without that sense of "cognitive dissonance", we'd endanger the conversation and discourse that's so desperately needed in this country.
The thing is, for every parent who has suffered the loss of a child, for every pacifist who doesn't believe in violence, for every student who disagrees with our foreign policy, there are a handful of people who haven't cut their hair since 1959 and look like they're stoned out of their minds. Then you get the absurd Vietnam-vets-were-baby-killers crowd, the increasingly ridiculous 9-11 truther crowd (side note: Bill Mayher is right, 4 mins in), and the straight up we-hate-america folks. Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly, but the presence of some of these stereotypes truly undermines any reasonable effort these protesters have at being taken seriously.
"Bush = Hitler," really? Don't you see how that makes you come across as not only ignorant of world history, but also as a little bit looney? On one hand, we have Hitler. The definition of all that is evil. A murderer of tens of millions of people. Someone hell bent on the complete domination of Europe by a largely inferior Germany and smart enough to have had a realistic chance of it until the rest of the world came together in their own defense. The man was systematically attempting to erase an entire race of people. On the other hand, we have Bush. He responded to an attack that took place on domestic soil in a controversial way after he was given a blank check by a dual-party congress elected (and re-elected) by the American people. We're not sure if he can read.
Yeah. I can see how the two are similar. Why don't we all listen to your thoughts on foreign policy?
I admire most of the folks who braved the rain this afternoon to come downtown. I admire the counter-protesters who did the same. I can't wait for the day in the future when so much of the confusion and the pain surrounding 9/11 and its aftermath has been resolved. I just wish the current state of the world wasn't such a breeding ground for conspiracy, conjecture, hyperbole and cynicism. People forget that in some countries, criticizing the government would be enough to have them thrown in jail. People forget that while they're complaining about the rain that came during their protest, volunteer soldiers are fighting overseas for a country that they love.
I hope those carrying these anti-Bush/anti-America signs are at least able to recognize the irony.
Wow. Jason Hawkins is super duper talented, and this video totally captures the complete awesomeness of the event. Well done again to everyone involved in organizing this thing (esp. gregg / larry ). Fired up already for the next one!
So.. At our lunch get together last week, we tried to come up with a name for the "event". Something we could refer to it as and repeat in the future.. Afterwards, Dan came up with "lunch_fu". Immediately, it made me think of an ass kicking sandwich.
A quick e-mail to Alex Hillman in philly, who has a friend with an art class, and a student named Alfonso Callejas. Next thing you know, we have a sketch of a sandwich that kicks some serious ass. Judson comes to the rescue and provides the colorization, and well..
We now have an official lunch_fu superhero. Created by members of the internet, for the internet, to save the internet from hunger pains. After all, low blood sugar is our biggest threat. Man.. This just brings a tear to my eye..
Now, the next step. This new crime fighting lunch superhero needs a name.
Wow. What a great event. Gregg, Jason, and everyone else (update:larry!) who put in the time and effort to pull this thing off -- massive props.
Taste was packed. Not just packed, but standing room only packed, but in a not all that uncomfortable way. The presentations were of great quality and entertaining. There is a massive amount of talent around here, and it's a true joy to see everyone come out of the woodwork for something like this. Can't wait for the next one.
I gave a brief presentation on coworking, or as Chris Scott suggested, "cow orking", which I used for the title (and it still makes me giggle -- thanks chris!) It was sort of a local-centric warm up for Friday's blogOrlando local session track. I tried to show the co-working video with Brad/Chris/Tara talking it up, but couldn't get sound working (thats what I get for trying to be fancy). For those interested, here's a link to a Florida Creatives post with the embed of the video. Also, here is the direct link to the Coworking-Orlando google group. Suggestions for future barcamps:
Probably going to need a bigger venue ;) More space for side chats would be nice. Side room worked well, but there were a lot of us.
More interactive presentations, less talk-at-you presentations. It's barcamp. Joke around, interact, ask questions of the speakers and from the audience. Heckle. If I had any complaint, it'd probably be that. I can only take so much powerpoint.
Might want to break up the lightning talks/full on presentations and intermix them. Change the pace around to keep people active.
Overall though, a very successful first barcamp.
But wait, there's more! The week is not done yet.
Registration ends Monday at 10pm for blogOrlando. A bunch of great speakers from all over the country are coming here this week for an unconference Friday at Rollins College. It'll be a great time. I'll be leading a session on the local scene. Things I plan on discussing -- likemind, Florida Creatives, coworking, user groups, barcamp, local tech startups, community building/expanding, general Orlando/Central Florida/Middle Florida discussion. My buddy Alex Hillman will by flying down, which gives us a great opportunity to ask coworking related questions. I'd love it if you could join us :)
Black is too hot. White is too lame. Gold is just right.
"Vegas gold" is the official gold for UCF, but I'd imagine anything yellow will work. On the cameras, it will all blend together anyhow. Spread the word.
In 2006, Orlando Business Journal listed UCF as a larger area employer than Lockheed Martin. The school is home to 46,000 residents, the majority of them under the age of 23 (largest undergraduate population in FL) Each year, the school pumps out thousands of educated professionals into the local economy.
In a town not known for much outside of tourism, UCF's growth is helping to diversify our economy. The addition of a medical research facility has the potential to radically affect the area. Investments into digital media by Orlando and UCF stand to further Orlando's technology sector. UCF's aggressive push to build state of the art facilities are already attracting major acts that would otherwise find themselves in Tampa. UCF has very quickly become a key ingredient to our booming economic and cultural development.
On Saturday, Orlando's newest venue opens up with a football game against the Texas Longhorns. While UCF has been playing ball in the Citrus Bowl, the move to an on campus stadium will bring a true sense of college football to Orlando for the first time. Affordable family entertainment against a nationally ranked team in a safe, clean environment. It's not just a win for UCF, it's a win for the city.
If you're an Orlando resident, there are numerous reasons to be excited about the developments going on over in East Orlando. Imagine if someone gave you the chance to design your very own university, what kind of campus would you build? Now drive out to UCF and take a look around, because that's exactly what's going down. A modern, clean, advanced college atmosphere.
With all that being said...
It surprises me how many folks look for reasons to talk down UCF, and it seems to almost always be UF alumni doing it. For years, Orlando has been a gator town. Gainesville is only about an hour out of Orlando, and UF is the big name public university. I'm just not sure if I see the threat, the comparison, or the need for college affiliations of a local region to be so exclusive. It comes across as nothing more than defensive.
My claim may seem anecdotal, but when you consider Facility Senate member Kathleen Price voted against (successfully) awarding Gov. Jeb Bush with an honorary degree because he approved funds for other state schools to have medical facilities (that is, UCF), or when Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler, who rumor has it is a UF graduate, needlessly bashes the home town team the week of the stadium opening, you have to wonder what their deal is (or, in the later case, if the Sentinel's traffic is truly that bad. Hope the link helps...;). Who, exactly, benefits from bashing and attacking the efforts of UCF to enter the "big time", when the city of Orlando gains so much from them doing so?
I often find myself preaching the Orlando gospel to folks outside of the area. It helps to find cities to compare us to, usually a more club-centric (ugh) version of Austin (in terms of size and tech. sector revenue), or a less sprawling version of Atlanta seem to fit (Charlotte and Atlanta are the only two southern-style cities that have a decent tech presence that come to mind for me).
Atlanta seems to be a fitting situation, and works perfectly in context to this post. UGA, Georgia's name brand university, is located in Athens about an hour out of town. Ga. Tech, an engineering school, is located inside the city. Add in George O'Leary and UCF's uniforms and I think we have a viable comparison. UCF is to Ga. Tech as UF is to UGA.
Maybe USF/UCF is not the budding state rivalry we all thought it was after all... ;) 20 years from now, FSU will be rebuilding after Bowden fires his grand children (even if he should pass, Bowden will still be coaching FSU from the other side), USF and Miami will be fighting over the definition of South Florida and UCF/UF will be engaged in a full out turf war. When it happens, remember that you heard it here first. God knows what the Sentinel's slant will be ;)
I went to the actual gun show at the Central Florida Fair Grounds. I know, I know... All my northern and left coast friends just got that uneasy feeling down in their belly again, but down here in the south, it's something we do from time to time. There's something about seeing a good looking middle class family walk by strapped to the teeth that screams America. "The grip on the Glock 17 9mm is really comfortable for Johnny Jr and it doesn't have nearly the recoil of Grand Pappy's Smith & Wesson! It'll be the best 13th birthday present ever! "
Ah yes. Freedom. I didn't have any cash on me or else I would have picked up some chinese stars and a fake switchblade. It also turns out, that I don't actually own any camo. I had to wear my Get Up Kids shirt instead. I was left with the strange feeling of not fitting in, but luckily our visiting neighbors from St. Cloud and Kissimmee sure do bring with them a sense of southern hospitality. Everyone we met was mighty kind. Mighty kind.
I've never really made up my mind about full on assault weapons. On one hand, they're made strictly for offensive purposes and that seems to be a bit much these days. On the other, we really do have a growing deer problem here in Orlando. Anyway, people were walking around with straight up AK's hanging around their back. I also saw a number of folks who didn't strike me as the responsible type buying all sorts of machinery. Thankfully, none of them seemed frazzled or in a hurry in any way. Then again, maybe they were relaxed because they knew theres no waiting period at gun shows....
I didn't buy anything, just walked around and enjoyed the humanity of the event. I talked Gavin into buying me a corn dog, but unfortunately they didn't have any. We were pretty sure it was a fair grounds requirement to have corn dogs, but felt it best not to argue. You have to pick your battles. We were a bit outmatched.
We're debating on going back tomorrow and taking the concealed weapons course. It starts at the same time as church. I don't own a weapon, but I do want to learn what the laws are, and even how to properly handle / clean / maintain / shoot a gun. I kind of figure it's one of those rights that we are afforded and should take advantage of at some point in our lives. I'm even planning on visiting a shooting range and trying some things out. You never know, I may end up purchasing some camo.
Johannes Grenzfurthner from MonoChrom (or maybe Boing Boing would be a better reference for some of you..) will be talking/presenting on some of their recent projects at Red Light Red Light tonight out in Winter Park.
Is there any particularly good reason why O-Rock and 740 both disappeared?
I believe that dissent is patriotic. 
"Bush = Hitler," really? Don't you see how that makes you come across as not only ignorant of world history, but also as a little bit looney? On one hand, we have Hitler. The definition of all that is evil. A murderer of tens of millions of people. Someone hell bent on the complete domination of Europe by a largely inferior Germany and smart enough to have had a realistic chance of it until the rest of the world came together in their own defense. The man was systematically attempting to erase an entire race of people. On the other hand, we have Bush. He responded to an attack that took place on domestic soil in a controversial way after he was given a blank check by a dual-party congress elected (and re-elected) by the American people. We're not sure if he can read.
Wow. What a great event. 
It surprises me how many folks look for reasons to talk down UCF, and it seems to almost always be UF alumni doing it. For years, Orlando has been a gator town. Gainesville is only about an hour out of Orlando, and UF is the big name public university. I'm just not sure if I see the threat, the comparison, or the need for college affiliations of a local region to be so exclusive. It comes across as nothing more than defensive.
I just got back from the gun show.
