Month: July 2016

Back from RNC – biggest memory I guess is that they used a wire photo on the front page instead of my photos. I had a great one, too. I got seriously f*cked by my own org. Thanks!

I’m really down on a lot of the major tech offerings. I’m completely off goo now. And as far as facb, it’s so dominant now that I need it for research/journalism purposes (but not going to post there anymore, or read).

Observation: there’s a group of PJs on facb that is always posting about copyright infringement, rights grabs, and generally judging everyone. It’s natural, as the money in pj has completely evaporated…

…but my main point about the facb pj group is this – > why are they on facb? of all places to talk about protecting your IP, controlling your destiny?

And why are so many others there? I think back to the 80s punk rock philosophies that defined me so much. DIY, own it, control it, don’t go in for these multinational corporations (who are always corrupted in the end).

Why are there huge groups of punk rockers (old school punk rockers) on facb.?

I need to go completely open web.

.:.

I keep thinking about starting up a new WP blog at trent.photo. Somewhere I could throw all kinds of things that I collect along the way – photos, screenshots, stories.

I think WP is one of the tech companies who has not lost their way – still believes in the customer.

But I keep nearly pulling the trigger, because the people on this planet are all producing way too much content. For some reason people (including myself) think that they are being read, that their photos are being looked at, etc.

Junk content. I’ve done pretty well avoiding it lately. The worst app for it in my life is the web browser. I need to block some sites so that they are impossible to reach. I get nothing from them.

.:.

The amount of data input is still too high. I need to spend more time and thought cycles with less content. I need to filter out the noise and gain better focus. It’s coming.

Also, I just finished Vanderpump Rules Season One. Wow. Junk food too tasty, apparently.

Being a dad – you get laughed at because you still haven’t fixed the rear view mirror of your car. But

This trip is about over. The sun is rising and I’m about to drive home.

For all of the homesickness I felt on the trip, the photos were good. Even the parade that I didn’t expect much from produced at least a couple of interesting photographs.

And Short Creek was a good time. Was able to connect with some good people and hear their amazing stories. They are so generous in sharing and I owe them a lot of gratitude.

.:.

I’ve cut out a lot of junk food media, and spent the morning reading from The Digital Antiquarian, a blog collecting histories of the development of early computer games. Very fascinating, taking me back to my teenage years when I would spend hours glued to a screen absorbing these games.

In those days I had a focus so clear that I would nearly reverse engineer the games

Now my memory is more spongy – sucking in more data than ever imagined, yet a little sloppy recalling the details.

Maybe it’s age, but I think a big part of it is the amount of data consumed. It’s sunrise and I’ve already checked in with a variety of sources, reading dozens of headlines. It’s the kind of intake that would have been impossible without current technology and networks. And I don’t know that it’s terribly good practice. Something I’m working on -> consuming healthy, nutritious data.

.:.

TV: Black Mirror Seasons 1 and 2. Episode 2 of Season 2 was 5 star. Wow. Truly disturbing and brilliant and bleakest of comedy.

Though I should say this is a trap I constantly fall into. When I’m alone on the road experiencing no social interaction, at my lowest, I find myself reading a book about prison or watching a show like Black Mirror.

Or maybe my media tastes are just always bleak.

.:.

Driving back we listen to AM radio – fascinating. Did you know there’s a cure for cancer that’s just flaxseed oil and cottage cheese? Order now!

.:.

4th of July.

It’s my third morning waking up alone in a hotel room. The sunrises are beautiful and I’ve made timelapses of a couple.

But being alone so much can crack you. I’ve been ready to go home for a while now.

Looking back, I came down … I mean I came down here for good reasons – the photos were there. But I need to be home now.

Today we are covering the parade in Hurricane, and then we’ll hit Short Creek for some of I don’t know what. That part doesn’t seem planned out. That’s why I came earlier.

There was a huge gathering in Short Creek on Saturday, and a small fledgling parade through town. I got some great photos.

As always I check in with myself – never mind.

Daybook posts are supposed to be where

.:.

The big issue I’m dealing with

I’m taking in too much content. I’m too isolated. And when I’m around people my mind is busy computing all the data I’m taking in.

Inputs are -> web, podcasts, longform articles, ebooks, music, video.

I need to cut web drastically. I read so many articles and pages. But the same information comes to me in a better, nuanced way through podcasts and longform. Even books.

Podcasts? N asked me how many I listened to regularly. It was 38, and has grown since. I need to start weeding out the ones I don’t really care about. At least the episodes. No harm in subscribing…

So I can listen to more music. Because when I’m listening to music my mind is processing all the data it has taken in, and coming up with ideas.

As far as video, I’ve experimented with YouTube over the past week – it’s mostly garbage, at least the stuff in my feed. Nothing would be missed if app was deleted.

.:.

Mostly I need to be writing here.

.:.