Blackmans on the Web (log)

Another college conference. Fortunately, the hotel and conference center are not only close together but they are both right downtown. A very walker-friendly downtown. It was windy and drizzling this morning but since it was the only possible time for me to get out and about, I put my hood up and headed out. I liked the Liberty Bell exhibit better than I thought it would - a good exhibit that not only tells you about the origins of the Liberty Bell but how it has continued to figure into the fights for equal rights.

I like how historic homes and businesses are all mixed right in with very modern day architecture. It’s very obvious there has been no whole-sale razing of buildings and/or zoning for one particular use.

Another interesting TED session with Larry Lessig. I’ve mentioned him in a previous post on the topic of Net Neutrality. His address at TED was from last spring and was added to the TED site in November. It’s a 19 minute presentation on creativity and the law that I found interesting. Lessig himself is also a very interesting figure. From Wikipedia: He is a professor of law at Stanford Law School and founder of its Center for Internet and Society. He is founder and CEO of the Creative Commons and a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and of the Software Freedom Law Center.

Tags: LarryLessig, Net Neutrality, TED

The Mike Wallace Interview site is a great collection of interviews conducted by Mike Wallas (of 60 Minutes fame) between 1957 and 1960. It’s a fascinating collection of interviews with a wide variety of early 20th century figures: Frank Lloyd Write, Bob Feller, Margaret Sanger, Kirk Douglas, Pearl S Buck and more. Worth watching.

Holy Cow….how in the devil did I end up on GeekBrief.tv? As you can see from my previous post, I asked Cali Lewis to sign my Newton Messagepad. Her husband (Neal Campbell) had his camera rolling and they recorded it. Low and behold - it ends up in the “gag reel” portion of GeekBrief. Guess we can call that episode “The Antique and the Old Man!. You can see episode 338 of GeekBrief.tv by clicking here. Remember you have to watch PAST the credits to see the “Newton Signing”

I had a unique opportunity to attend WordCamp Dallas 2008 this weekend. The two day event took place in Frisco in our City Council Chambers (a first for that facility). Highlights included having Matt Mullenweg there to talk about WordPress 2.5 - which was launched about 5 minutes into his presentation. Matt is the founding developer of WordPress and it was great to have him in Frisco. John Pozadzides, Frisco resident and blogger extraordinaire, had a great presentation on 45 Ways to Power your Blog.

Cali Lewis and her husband Neal Campbell were also there to talk about how they made the move from “day jobs” to making a living as video podcasters. Cali and Neil are about to embark on a year long endeavor to videocast around the country as they visit all 50 states in their soon to be purchased RV (and no, they aren’t driving it to Hawaii. That will be a last stop “vacation” via jet.) Sounds like fun.

Charles Stricklin (primary organizer of WordCamp Dallas) was nice enough to introduce me to Cali. I talked her into signing my Newton Messagepad. Of course, Cali was probably still in High School when the Newton came out, so (rightly so) I’m not sure she totally knew what it was. But it was still nice to have her sign it. UPDATE: I stand corrected! Cali’s comment confirms that she did know what it was! I should have known better. Matt Mullenweg signed it too.

So, all in all, great event. WordPress is new to me, but I’m really impressed with the community that has formed around it’s development. The participants in this weeks WordCamp were very enthusiastic and active participants in all of the presentations.

UPDATE: Couple updates related to yesterday. Cali has put up Episode 337 of GeekBrief talking to John P about Woopra. Mark Hopkins has most of the WordCamp Dallas presentations available to view at Mashable.com

Spring Break this week. We convinced the kids to spend part of a day with us (harder than you might think!). We went to the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth to see a photo exhibit called The Art of the American Snapshot 1888-1978. After the museum we went to the Stockyards and had lunch. Alex was able to meet up with a girl who is going to Tarleton next year who happens to also be the niece of his guidance counselor. All in all a nice day.

Amon Carter Museum

Random pictures from the Amon Carter and Stockyards during Spring Break 2008

16 Photos

The Ted Conference is an annual conference that brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). I’ve seen some fascinating presentations on their web site. One that I highly recommend you watch is one delivered by brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor. In a nutshell, it’s about her - a brain researcher - describing her stroke in a way that only a brain researcher can. About half way through I wasn’t sure I’d finish. Wasn’t really grabbing me. But I stuck with it and by the end, well, it was tough not to get a little choked up. A very amazing lecture. Well worth your 18 minutes.

Each year the Frisco ISD School Board recognizes students and athletes who earned the right to participate in the state UIL (University Interscholastic League) competition for their sport. This is the second year Alex was recognized along with his fellow team members at the meeting. This meeting recognized student from the Academic Decathlon, Swimming & Diving and Wrestling.   

School Board Meeting

6 Photos