Category Archives: Design

Yosemite

I’m nothing, if not a sucker for a good video and these are certainly amazing examples of some great photography/videography. The work was done over the course of 45 days by Colin Delehanty and Sheldon Neill:

A 200+ mile backpacking experience through Yosemite National Park captured by Colin Delehanty and Sheldon Neill. This project was filmed over the course of 10 months. We spent a combined 45 days in the park capturing the images in this video.

Yosemite HD

Yosemite HD II

The videos were filmed with a Canon 5D Mark III and a motion controlled dolly. (A complete list of the equipment.)

Learn more about the project and the team behind it at ProjectYose.com.

Customer Service and the Post Office

Went to the Post Office this afternoon to mail a letter that I needed some kind of confirmation on. I asked the only clerk there and was then even more confused by her answers.

Finally after deciding on a product, she started working on my letter. Another clerk had arrived and the first clerk set my letter down on the counter and said “She will help you finish. It’s time for my break.”

My mouth almost dropped to the floor. The other clerk (clearly her superior ) saw my reaction and then told the first clerk to finish what she started. The first clerk questioned her saying she needed her break before a certain time.

And some wonder why the Post Office is failing? That, my friend, is basic customer service!

Personal Sabbaticals

From time to time I will stumble upon a TED talk that will really spark my interest and occasionally it will drive me into the TED site to explore and watch more talks! A while back I saw a link to this talk by Stefan Sagmeister, a designer from New York City. His talk, titled “The Power of Time off” was something that has really given me lots to think about.

A few years back, Sagmeister stumbled on the concept of a sabbatical, a set period of time to put aside your regular work and do something totally different. In this case, Sagmeister closes his entire studio every seven years for an entire year and moves somewhere that interest him. He feels that the value gained from these personal sabbaticals are worth more then any income he would have gained actually working. 

While I have never, nor will I ever, been able to take a year off, I have had short vacations that have rejuvenated me. The best came during a very hectic time and was one week totally off the grid: no internet or phone! I wish I could do something like that every year!

Making Changes

Change… It has certainly been in the news with people talking about change from Washington State to Washington DC. And since I’m in Washington State, it probably makes sense that I’m having to deal with change. In October, I was informed that my job would be no more after December 31st. It was both startling and expected. Actions speak much, much louder then words. While the stated reason for the downsizing was financial, my gut tells me that it’s costing them much more then they paid for our department to replace the functions that we provided.

In looking back, I am acutely aware of the fact that God has been working and moving to provide even before I knew that I would be looking for work. In the ensuing months, a job opened up that didn’t require me to move, get new co-workers, or even change offices. It was a huge relief for me to know that I would have work, and a pay check. Providing for a family and paying the mortgage is hard without work.

Then at 5am on December 28, a fire broke out on the roof of the office that I work at. During the course of the fire, two-thirds of the building was lost. Thankfully, my office was at the far end away from the fire but it has made for a huge disruption my new job, with days of work time spent dealing with recovering lost items and setting up an office in my basement. I spent several hours on the day of the fire at the office, helping remove computers and other equipment as well as taking pictures of the burning building. You can view those pictures on my Flickr account.

Here it is February already and I’m wondering where the time has gone! I spent 3 days in Washington DC area in mid January, have had weekly staff meetings that consume more than half a day each time.

So in the midst of all that has been happening, I haven’t had much time to actually spend writing for my website. I hope to rework this site, possibly into two different sites, as well as widen the content area. After using it now for 6 months, I have realized that I don’t write like it was designed for.

Change… it’s always happening.