Archive for May, 2007
i stream. u stream. we all stream.
Back in the 80s, one phone company tried to sell little video phone call devices with 2″ screens. People didn’t buy it. Now we have video calls via iChat or Skype video. But what if we could do video calls with more than 4 people at a time?
I’ve watched Chris Pirillo and and Robert Scoble on Ustream.tv. It’s a pretty nifty web app, and right now it’s being billed as “lifecasting”. Lifecasting can be a bit voyeuristic or exhibitionistic, depending on your perspective.
And dreaming big, I’d say Ustream.tv is on the verge of the next wave of communication — where multiple people can video chat with each other! As affordable bandwidth increases, and computer hardware keeps up with throughput for smooth audio and video, this has got to be just around the corner. Next best thing to being live face-to-face.
I’ve watched a few minutes of Justin Kan too (but not sure what tech setup he uses). He lets people embed his video on other websites, like below:
sponsor my cross country move
In January 1991, I put all my worldly possessions in my car and drove to Dallas for seminary. In June 2007, I’ll be putting all my worldly possessions in my car and driving cross country to California, somewhere in Orange County. This time with a wife and a son, but again with no moving truck.
We don’t have a date or a place set yet, but we’re moving in less than a month. Not motivated to plan it all out. Destination will be Huntington Beach, maybe borrow some space from in-laws, and then figure out school districts and housing options after we land. So while the exact details are sketchy, things are kinda randomly falling into place.
Since we’re going with fuzzy logic, let’s see if the viral power of blog buzz can help me out with a wish list of sponsors for this cross country drive. A guy can dream, right? I’ll commit to blogging this adventure so potential millions can virtually caravan with us — I’ll setup a new domain-named blog, make at least 3 posts a day, and leave the blog up for at least 2 years.
You never know who reads this blog, and knows someone who’d have the right connection to businesses that’d like webby viral exposure. So if you know someone, here’s the sponsorship opportunities for you to pass along, in order of priority:
- cell phone with internet plan to blog, to send photos and to post video – to share this ultimate road warrior experience, I’d like to make blog posts while going 65 mph, upload photos and videos right from the phone, even host chat hours via IM
- overnight stay at 3+ star hotels – candid reviews posted for free, but raving positive reviews + photos + links can be had for a comp stay
- meals at restaurants – candid reviews posted for free, but raving positive reviews + photos + links can be posted for meals on-the-house
- car-wrap advertising on a 2006 Nissan Xterra – yes, we’ll drive cross-country with your full-car ad
web hosting – host the blog and domain name for 2 years with unlimited bandwidth and one-click WordPress installation– website launched at www.coast2coastmove.com- bonus: GPS navigation equipment — for driving directions and more, we’ll talk it up as we use it all the way across the country
We’ll be taking the southern route through the following cities: Washington DC, Blacksburg, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Memphis, Dallas, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and end at Huntington Beach. We anticipate the leisurely drive to take at least 14 days. All sponsorship terms negotiable. Small detours from main route are negotiable. Sponsors get appropriate links and prominent exposure. I reserve the right to select the sponsors (or refuse). Contact me to begin the negotiations now!
And a final word from the dear wife about this moving adventure:
Headin’ West after 12 years!
1995: DJ & Rachelle get married in Dallas, TX
1995-1997: Raleigh, NC- Jeremiah was born
1997-1999: Vienna, VA
1999-2007: Bethesda, MDRachelle says besides being nearer her parents, it’s time to return to sunshine, In N’ Out Burger, Jamba’ Juice, Disneyland, and the Pacific Ocean. (DJ disputes the In N’ Out Burger vote and prefers Five Guys.)
We’d love for you to come and say goodbye on Saturday June 9th at our Picnic + Open House. From 11am to 4pm, we’ll be picnicking at Lynbrook Park in Bethesda, MD, and then Open House will be at our house from 4pm until whenever. Please contact me to get the evite and pitch in on the farewell picnic.
Winchester Virginia becoming micropolitan
I grew up in Winchester, Virginia, a small town of 20,000 (in 1980) about 75 miles west of metropolitan Washington DC. We disaffectionately called it “Funchester” because there was nothing to do except cruising. There’s one place I affectionately crave when I come home for a visit, Pack’s Frozen Custard, still there at the corner of Weems Lane and Loudoun Street. I got the medium purist vanilla cone last night, just minutes before the frozen custard stand closed at 9:00pm.
And this morning, I found a new Starbucks at 161 Suite 5 (not sure of the exact street address), where I am blogging this. It’s not listed in the official Starbucks directory, even though it’s been open since October 2006; it’s located just east of the interchange of I-81 and Route 7, on the edge of Winchester, amidst a giant strip mall with dozens of franchise stores. There’s another one opening in Winchester in a few months, followed by even smaller towns Stephens City and Front Royal in 2008.
It’s not really gentrification. It’s micropolitan. Winchester Virginia used to be a rural outpost where population was sparse and the economy sleepy, a stop for tourists travelling through the Shenandoah Valley corridor on the way to Florida for the winter migration or viewing the colorful Fall leaves. Now small towns like Winchester are filling the gaps on the map between major cities. The new term — Micropolitan Statistical Areas — recognizes that even small places far from metro areas are economic hubs that draw workers and shoppers from miles around. [cf. June 2004 USA Today article, Small-town USA goes 'micropolitan']
Unbelievable — all the big brands are here now, even newer brands: Borders, Olive Garden, Circuit City, Five Guys, Maggie Moo, Target, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Quizno’s, Red Hot & Blue, et al. Of course, Wal-Mart was already here years ago.
it’s all about relationships
One of my life slogans is “seeing life change up close.” I’ve heard that for people with a concrete tangible specific kind of thinking pattern don’t know what that means exactly. Sometimes when I get incessant questions from people that want me to be less vague and more specific, trying to make me nail down the details, it feels like I’m getting nailed down like someone I know being nailed to a cross.
So this quote showing up on my coffee cup might be a more helpful to unpack my slogan:
It’s relationships, not programs, that change children. [I'd add, adults too.] A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community.
– Bill Milliken, Founder and vice chairman of Communities in Schools, author of Tough Love and The Last Dropout.
I’d add this: I am disappointed with those who only seem to relate face-to-face, as if that is the only means for human touch. I’m more of the persuasion that people can relate and connect with each other using any and every means possible: email, phone, blogging, handwritten note, voice mail, as well as face-to-face meetups. Granted that words alone via the written (or typed) word is flat and 2-dimensional, and voice adds tonal inflection that makes its 2.5-dimensional, and the face-to-face meeting does make it 3-dimensional and fully incarnational.
Relating well doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Even God uses the 2-dimensional written Word to relate with us. Good enough for God, good enough for me.
Calvinistic luck of the draw
Didn’t get my name drawn on the standby lottery for the DFW-DCA 3:15pm flight. Now I have to wait for my original 4:20pm flight back home. That 7-point Calvinistic god musta wanted me to blog and check-in with my little audience readership and IM with 4 people simultaneously (Gid, Rudy, Peter, and Imei).
Still running on adrenaline, and probably hit the wall tomorrow or Friday. When I travel and get to meet with engaging people, I run high-octane on 4 or 5 hours of sleep, and have tons of energy all day. But on the normal days at the home office, it’s 9 to 10 hours of sleep a night. I’m not an extreme worker. Oops, boarding time. Gotta jet!