Misery Business and Active Grandmothers

Poking around in YouTube reminded me of walking down a long corridor, with closed doors on both sides, and opening them randomly to see what was on the other side. I would never be so foolish to do this on the Web, so I'm not sure why what I found on YouTube surprised me. Probably because I previously only experienced YouTube through friends sending me pre-vetted videos that I thought would interest/amuse me.

To begin today's L2W2 discovery exercise, I searched on Vertino. Always a good idea to check here first and see if any incriminating videos appear under your own name. Whew -- no video highjinks featuring the immediate family, but I did find a demo reel of infomercial videos made by somebody named Joe Vertino. Imagine -- 20 minutes of unrelated informercial clips all in one place. Mind numbing, whoever you are, Joe Vertino. I would have plugged it in here for you to see, but alas, the clip read, Embedding disabled by request. His, I assume.

Strangely none of the videos featured on YouTube today moved me enough to even click to watch them. This is probably due to a halo effect from last night's MTV Video Awards. I couldn't pick many of the singers out of a lineup, as the saying goes (prophetically, for many in this group). Here is a clip of Paramore, singing their latest song, Misery Business. Or is it Misery Business, singing Paramore?



That experience made me feel old. So I decided to search YouTube on "grandma." Big mistake. It seems that many grandmas in videos are more active, shall we say, than I am.

Any suggestions on where to search next?

The Message in the Clouds

I am fascinated by the tag clouds of the speeches at the Democratic Convention. They let you peel back the rhetoric, and be more aware of the message points that are being pounded into your head. Can't wait to put this the tag clouds of this week's speeches next to the tag clouds of next week's Republican speeches.

I also think tag clouds have a certain beauty. TagCrowd calls them "visual poetry," and that sounds about right to me.

Tag crowds can help our association to analyze how we are framing our mission and our issues. To see how our message is structured, I did a tag cloud of the About Us/What We Do page from the Web site. Here's what it says, and the tag cloud is below. What do you think?

NAIOP provides communication, networking and business opportunities for all real estate related professionals; provides a forum for continuing education; and promotes effective public policy, through its grassroots network, to create, protect and enhance property values.
NAIOP chapters members have great opportunities at the local level to enhance their business through educational programs, networking and government affairs. Members can also get involved at the national level — by attending conferences for continuing education, participating in National Forums for professional development and working to advance legislative initiatives like real estate taxation issues on Capitol Hill.

The forum for commercial real estate both locally and nationally, NAIOP promotes effective public policy through its grassroots network to create, protect and enhance property values. It offers education programs, research on trends and innovations, networking opportunities and strong legislative representation. NAIOP members are the principal players who shape the industry.

advance attending business capitol chapters commercial conferences continuing create development education effective enhance estate forum government grassroots hill initiatives innovations involved issues legislative level local members naiop national networking opportunities participating players policy principal professional programs promotes property protect provides public real related representation research shape strong taxation trends values

created at TagCrowd.com

Birthday Temptations at Restaurant Eve

It seems that I am eating my way across the DC area this summer (as my strained jeans will confirm). This weekend found us in the Chef's Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve, in Old Town Alexandria. To celebrate my "small" birthday, Al made reservations in June, after having struck out getting reservations there for our "big" anniversary dinner.

Restaurant Eve is every bit the temptress that her namesake is. I began the meal with a "hand crafted cocktail" -- lavendar, lemon juice and cucumber water -- virgin, alas, but very refreshing. Warned ahead of time to expect a 2 1/2 to 3-hour dining experience, we opted for the five-course menu rather than the nine (!) I brought my camera, but decided that snaps (even with my cell phone) would be beyond gauche. Here is a list of the temptations I chose -- made easy to remember from the take-home gift of my scrolled-up, personalized menu, tied with peach-colored ribbon! (They also gave me a gift bag with scone mix, specialty coffee and Kerry Gold butter pats.)

My Birthday Dinner:

Four teeny appetizer morsels to start things off: They weren't on the menu, just something the chef cooked up to begin the temptation in earnest.

Followed by Barbie-sized bowls of the creamiest, freshest mushroom soup I have ever eaten.

Pause -- Meyer Lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate

First Course -- Creation: Eve's Garden Basil Custard with Sweet Corn-Avocado Relish and Opal Basil Vinaigrette

Second Course -- Ocean: Pan-roasted Thai Snapper with Maryland Blue Crab, Roasted Sweet Corn and Crisp Pancella

Third Course -- Earth and Sky: Broken Arrow Ranch Loin of Axis Venison "en Feuille De Brick" with Morels and Huckleberry, Ginger Snap Jus

Pause -- Watermelon sorbet to cleanse the palate

Fourth Course -- Age: Terrine of Cashel Blue" with Walnut Cracker and Santa Rosa Plus Jam (I think this was my favorite course!)

Fifth Course -- Eden: Warm Hazelnut Cake with Poached Peaches and Chantilly

By now, we were completely sated and ready to take a nap at the elegant table. That's when they brought out a tiered silver serving dish with tiny sweet nothings --a jelly treat, a merengue, a truffle to die for and a dab of white chocolate, almonds and cornflakes, of all things. We waddled to our car, drove home and flopped into bed, with happy, calorie-free dreams.

Before going to Restaurant Eve, I thought The Inn at Little Washington was unparalleled. Nothing else even came close to the food and the pampering. But Eve is every bit as good, a lot closer and even a lot cheaper (although NOT AT ALL inexpensive -- all things are relative). I'm going to ask Al to make reservations now for my next birthday!

Wow What a Web Site!

Thanks, Bennett, for sending me the link to the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas! This is the most amazing Web site I think I have ever seen. As you wait for an image to load, a Rorschach inkblot of Southwestern flora and fauna unfolds, telling you how long you have left. Sounds of the desert chatter, click and flutter in the background. Click on Origen Experience or any of the topics, and you will find yourself hurtling through the desert wildly, actually trying to catch your breath as you arrive at your virtual destination. I will never again think of a "nature preserve" in quite the same way. Can't wait to visit when we go to Las Vegas!

Word Cloud of Post Below

The Oysters Are Better In Galway

Armed with a gift certificate to Hook for our 40th anniversary, Al and I ventured into Georgetown last night. Back in late 1960's we often gravitated here, on weekend road trips from college. Then, the stores and restaurants were all upscale and out of our reach. Now much of Georgetown has morphed into familiar mall standards, which do not make the grade as urban cool. Five Guys in the spot where Au Pied du Couchon used to be? Sacre Bleu!

After the requisite pilgrimage up and down M and Wisconsin Streets, with a side stroll along the C&O canal, we headed to Hook for dinner. This restaurant scores the foodie trifecta -- sleek decor, sustainable fish cred for its hook (I couldn't resist) and celebrity chef, Barton Seaver, actually featured in O magazine. But like many divos, he left in a huff a month or so ago. No matter, Hook has lured (sorry, again) the chef du cuisine from Oya, another amazing restaurant where we celebrated our daughter's birthday in May, and all is well.

Something about the decor in Hook reminded us of the restaurants in Barcelona, where we ate fabulously last summer, completely ignoring the pounding our dollar was taking. Our waitress at Hook had just returned from Spain, and eagerly shared her love of Barcelona, naming all the places we had been but couldn't pronounce. My first course at Hook was a trio of oysters. Good, but not the best I had ever tasted. That honor goes to a restaurant in Salthill near Galway. Sablefish for my entree last night -- a Harry and Sally moment of obscene oohs and aaahs. I'll have what she's having!

Just reading the dessert menu at Hook was pure pleasure, but there really was no choice when I saw the Nutella tart with Nutella ice cream. If you haven't tasted Nutella, there's no way you could understand. If you have, you are moaning now just thinking about a dessert like this. Scrolled on the plate in liquid chocolate was "Happy Anniversary." I took a picture with my cell phone and sent it to my sister-in-law Lois, who had arranged for the gift certificate to Hook.

On the walk back to the car, Al and I talked about how lucky we are to have experienced all these things -- oysters in Galway, chilled cucumber soup with basil ice cream in Barcelona and Nutella tart in Georgetown. Oh, and beer can chicken at our cabin in West Virginia, where the chef is also a diva.

Trying out Smilebox

Make a Smilebox postcard

LinkedIn -- Pick Me!

Because I am committed to try EVERYTHING L2W2 during this summer of discovery, I signed up for LinkedIn, and filled in what amounts to an online resume on steroids. And then I got to the part about "Ask for Recommendations." Isn't that something people would ask for if they are looking for a job, or are selling some service or product? That's not me, but still wanting to go along with the exercise, I sent out the message asking my buds for recommendations anyway. And here's what it felt like...


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Chien Danseur

A friend sent me this video a while ago. As I came across it tonight, I noticed that it was in French. One of the choices was: "Ajouter a mon blog," which I figured means "Post to my blog." When I clicked on the blog bug, I got two choices: "lien avec video" and "lien permanent." The first code copied the actual video; the second was a link to the URL. Hope you enjoy it/Espérer que vous l'appréciez! (With an assist from freetranslation.com)

http://www.koreus.com/video/chien-danseur.html

Chien Danseur - Vidéo

Ahhhh, the Cabin in the Woods

Our new deck at the cabin is finished! http://picasaweb.google.com/SheilaL2W2/NewDeckAtTheWoods?authkey=ltQn9Fjl2Wg

Picasa Pix

 

Ironic

<"http://www.glittertools.com/widgets/00011-glitter-text-maker/output.swf?gstyle=glitter27.swf&ta=Post Feminism&bgcolor=0x9933CC&fs=60&sr=2&sa=0.9&sc=3407616&tst=1&rpx1=1&rpy1=40&dom=www.glittertools.com&swfw=468&swfh=193&pa=http://www.glittertools.com/widgets/00011-glitter-text-maker/">


Fooling around some more, this time with glitter type. The graffitti widget was easy because it saved as a photo. This one saves code to a clipboard. I'm not sure how to post it without the code showing!

Tagger Envy

I was fooling around with www.glittertools.com and decided to try my hand at a little graffitti tagging. Lots of other widgets there too. Enjoy!

DOY's Totally Next Level Video Wall

On Monday, Dennis Brack and I slogged up 95 to Philadelphia to shoot the cover for the Fall issue of Development magazine. I was expecting a fun ride filled with Dennis's war stories (he is president this year of the White House News Photographer's Association), and at our destination, the Comcast Center, a spectacular skyscraper developed by Liberty Property Trust in Center City Philly. I knew we would find a gorgeous building -- what I wasn't expecting was the HDTV video wall that filled the lobby, and cast a spell on scores of passersby, drawing them into the three-story atrium, where they stood transfixed by the images, music, movement, surprises, that delighted and amazed them -- and me. Everyone's reaction was exactly the same -- the show stopped you in your tracks and your mouth fell open in silent wonder. Then you smiled. And kept smiling for as long as you watched.

This video from Channel 3 in Philly will give you some idea of what we saw. It's worth a trip to Philadelphia just to see it! For some reason, this is the link posted by Channel 3, but it doesn't go to the correct broadcast. Click on it anyway, then just put Comcast Center into the Search box and it will pull up a link to the right video!
http://cbs3.com/video/?id=60450@kyw.dayport.com

High Tech 4th of July

Last week, I received a pair of goofy looking 3-D glasses from architecture firm Hickok Cole. It's part of a continuing campaign -- an anniversary of some sort, but I can't remember exactly what. Anyway, I almost threw them away, assuming they were just 3-D glasses and I didn't have use for them. Aha! At the last minute, I saw that they were for watching fireworks. I had never seen such a thing, but I predict that next year we will ALL be wearing them on the 4th of July.

Somehow the plastic lenses splinter light into all colors like a prism. This makes watching fireworks a Timothy-Leary-like 3-D experience. Typically, fireworks bore me after around five minutes. First, seeming merely repetitive and then somehow progress into being disappointing, until the Big Finale. But this 4th of July, I lay on my back, my 3-D specs on, saying Wow, Wow, Wow, over and over, for the whole show. The only thing that interrupted my revery was having to share the specs with Al, so he could begin his own litany of Wow-ing.

Can't wait to check out Hickok Cole's Web site this week, to see what others say about their fireworks glass experiences. Now THAT'S a successful marketing campaign.

P.S. We also had a uniquely West Virginia high tech cooking experience on Independence Day -- beer can chicken. Basically, you put a beer can inside a whole chicken, stand the thing upright and grill on medium for one hour and 20 minutes. No watching, no basting. Totally delicious. Here's the high tech part -- we actually have a contraption that looks like interlocking bell curves on a stand. You can do without this, but it makes the chicken just a little more stable. Ah, technology!

Why the Video Didn't Work Yesterday (Probably)

As I stared in frozen incredulity at the equally frozen YouTube video at yesterday's staff meeting, I was stumped at what the problem could be. I, and others on the Learn2Web2 team had watched that darned video several times at our desks, without any hiccups. Why did it choose "show time" to fail???

After the meeting, Jorge and I went over the possibilities for what went wrong: Maybe we shouldn't have viewed it in full screen? Maybe we should have run the video once before the presentation, just to make sure? Maybe Verizon was having a problem, or YouTube?

The funny thing was that the answer was right there on the screen, the whole time. Did you see that little pop-up message on the bottom right? Microsoft had some updates that it wanted to install. At home (and maybe in the office too -- Jorge, correct me if I'm wrong), my computer is set to let Microsoft do automatic updates during the middle of the night. But now I remember that each time I wake up my laptop at home, that also wakes up the Update Gremlin and I can't do anything on the computer until those updates are done. I think the Update Gremlin paid us a visit yesterday, and sabotaged our YouTube video.

Does anybody have any other theories about what shut us down?

eBay-ing at the Moon

Open almost any drawer or closet in our house and you will find sports flotsam -- long-forgotten ticket stubs from big games of every type, Olympics staff uniform items, media books from various NBA teams, and too many polo shirts and baseball caps to begin to count. This morning I completed a six-week online course called Buying and Selling on eBay. With the virtual ink barely dry on my certificate, I am ISO of stuff to sell. And my target is the sports stuff that is stashed all over our house.

Clipboard in hand, I began to take an inventory of the various items, and then research eBay to see what's hot and what's not. The first thing I looked up was a Wizards media guide, of which, courtesy of our TV sports-producer-son, we have many, and for which I had high hope$. Turns out they only fetch a couple of dollars on eBay and probably aren't worth the time to set up the auction and fiddle with the shipping, if I did manage to sell one.

So I've decided to set more realistic goals. List one item per week on eBay, and just see what happens. At least I will get some clean closets and drawers out of this exercise, even if I don't make a ton of money.

Plus, in my course, I learned some really cool tips about how to BUY stuff on eBay. Hopefully, I will be able to balance both of my new skills!

OK, I’m game for this life-long learning thing. But at the same time, I admit that it’s giving me stomach flutters. It’s not that I’m afraid I won’t be able to get it. Heck, my philosophy is that if it’s not rocket science, it’s not rocket science. That oversimplified but gutsy view of the world has served me pretty well for over a half century. Once you learn the lingo, crack the code, most times the “unknowable” is not really all that hard.

What is hard is figuring out what’s got legs, and what’s just hype, soon to evaporate and disappear into cyberhistory. RIP Pets.com and their sock puppet.

Today Web 2.0 stuff is all the buzz, so I’m curious about what’s in it for me. Setting up a blog is super-easy. Deciding what to say, not so easy. And picking a name for my blog was downright painful.

I settled on “Almost Makes Sense” so I could write about how I feel about my strangely advanced stage in life. It’s like being a preteen all over again, but instead of looking forward to the freedom and excitement of being a teenager, I am “looking forward” (not) to the un-freedom and non-excitement of being a senior citizen. Obviously, I am at an awkward stage and have some work to do, to repair my bad attitude. Time to take some risks, try some new things, streeeeeetch out of my comfort zone. Learn2Web2, here I come!