nathan jara

clap your hands stomp your feet

Last night I rode into dahntahn (”downtown,” if you’re not from Pittsburgh) for a concert at the Byham Theater. I went to the Rodrigo y Gabriela concert. It was awesome show! I thought the performance was great. They were very interactive with the audience and got everyone involved with clapping and a lot of energy. I was certainly movin’ and groovin’ as much as I could in my seat ;) If you’re not familiar with the group, they are a husband and wife who perform with only acoustic guitars. But they do SO much more than just play the guitar. Check them out, I bet you won’t be disappointed :)

back to school and a dog

It’s been a busy past week or so. Between being on-call at work last week, preparing for a presentation this past Monday, Olympic-sized distractions, and a new member of the household, I haven’t had a chance to get back to the blogging world. I’m glad to get back to it tonight.

This past Monday was awesome. Two of my past professors from my college invited me to give a presentation to some of their current students concerning my job as a web developer. What a privilege and honor it was! I spoke to a web development class and a web design class. I concentrated most specifically on the amount of teamwork and collaboration with other groups and departments and the types of interactions that are involved in web work. I felt that I was really able to connect with the students. I didn’t catch anyone sleeping, so I must have been at least a little bit interesting :) Throughout my presentation I was able to spark some conversation and dialogue, which made it a lot of fun. The students asked some great questions, and it was very interesting to be on the “answering” side of these questions. Just a few years ago, I was on the “asking” side of the questions. The presentation was such a great experience in this way because I learned a bit more about how much I have matured and grown since graduating college. Thinking of the whole experience now as I write makes me realize how much I have been blessed to have the opportunities I have had to get me to this point. I hope that I was able to encourage the students I spoke with and provide them with some of the knowledge necessary for them to succeed in their pursuits.

I can’t believe the Olympics will be over after this weekend! The two weeks have gone by so fast. I’ve really enjoyed watching all the events and will miss being able to flip to an event just about any time of the day. Of course, with the Olympics over, a lot of my distractions will go by the wayside, which will probably be a good thing. Still, these games have been great. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the result of the men’s hockey tournament, along with curling, and the final speed skating and skiing events. Sometime I wish we didn’t have to wait so long in between Olympics, but I know that’s what makes them that much more, well, Olympic.

The latest and most likely biggest distraction over the past few days is the newest member of the house, Jack. He’s a young mutt my roommate picked up from the pound. He seems to be a beagle, husky, lab mix. So far he’s an awesome dude! Jack is very well behaved and is a ton of fun. He’s starting to settle into his new home and is proving to be quite the companion. He is quite the nosy fellow though. Jack insists on putting his nose into just about everything you do, literally. :) He’s still learning in a few of the discipline areas, but I’m not complaining and I don’t think he is either.

Nice. Pants.

As I said before, I enjoy every winter olympic event. Yesterday the curling competitions began. And I must say, the Norwegian team has got style :)

The pants are made by a European clothing company called Loudmouth Golf. They are most famously worn by PGA professional John Daly.

These tremendous trousers are a definitely on the pricey side at $90 a pair, but, I don’t know, after seeing the Norwegians curling in style, I just may have a pair in my future.

21st Olympic Winter Games

Last night was the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Olypmic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. While I thoroughly enjoy watching both the summer and winter olympics, the winter games are my favorite. I enjoy watching every event. Hockey, downhill skiing, moguls, ski jump, speed skating, short-track skating, luge, bob-sled, cross-country, free-styling skiing, snowboarding, and yes, I even enjoy curling. The olympics are such an awesome time of competition. The gathering of the most talented athletes from all around the world, the spectacle  of sport, and the community these events produce are all part of what makes the olympics so great. And to think that the olympics are set in a tradition that was begun by the ancient Greek people over 2,000 years ago? Wow. And that same tradition is kept alive to this day, in the year 2010. It’s just awesome.

The opening ceremonies last night were very cool. Commentators were of course comparing these ceremonies, before they even begun, to the opening ceremonies in Beijing two years ago. While it’s inevitable that this comparison would be made, I don’t think it’s fair to compare the two. These games have a character and personality all their own that were brought forth last night. It was very interesting to see the history and culture of the Vancouver area of Canada. The landscape and country of this area are also very beautiful.

My favorite parts of the ceremony involved the use of the center stage floor. This entire floor area was a giant projection screen. The producers of the ceremony used this screen to projects incredible scenes of canadian wildlife and nature. It was awesome.

I believe my only complaint about the games over the next two weeks will be that I won’t be able to see enough. If it wasn’t for that gosh darn thing called work.

winter wonderland

Like much of the east coast, we have a bit of snow today here in Pittsburgh. The storm began coming through around mid-afternoon yesterday and just stopped putting down the white stuff about an hour or so ago. I haven’t seen this much snow in over ten years. The measuring stick tells us we have around 20 inches. I could describe more, but I think the pictures below speak for themselves.

And I don’t think I’ll be going out anytime real soon, my car looks pretty snuggled in..

beef, chicken, pork, corn, peanut butter and jelly

This past weekend I watched a documentary entitled “FOOD, Inc.” This film is an excellent documentary which objectively presents the truth behind the origins of many foods that we consume here in the United States. The movie presents how our beef, chicken, pork, and vegetables are raised, grown, prepared and distributed to supermarkets across the country.

To say the least, this documentary was incredibly eye-opening and enlightening for me. After seeing this film and having a much better understanding of the food that I’m putting into my body, I can definitely say that I will be making some changes.

If you haven’t seen this film, I would strongly recommend that you do. I would be surprised to hear that after seeing the movie, you weren’t surprised and happy you took the time. For those fellow NETFLIXers out there, you can watch the documentary online for free. For those of you who don’t have Netflix, the movie is available for rent and purchase.

If you’d like to get some more info first, check out the film’s website, FOOD, Inc. You can watch a trailer of the documentary and gather more information about the project.

After learning what I have from the documentary, I will most definitely be buying my groceries differently. There are several links on the website above to help you find more information about eating healthier. The one I’ve tried so far is Eat Well Guide, which provides an easy to use search to find local markets in your area.

As I’m sure you’re aware, health care in Washington is one of the latest hot topics. The thoughts this film provokes also provides the truly common sense realization that if Americans were eating healthier food, they’d be healthier, and if you’re healthier, hey, you don’t need to go to the doctor :)

Again, I encourage you to take the time to watch this documentary. I hope that you find it as enlightening as I did. I bet you will. And once you’ve watched it, spread the word to friends and family. One thing you’ll take away from the movie is that we, as consumers, have the power to put healthier food in the stores. We vote with every purchase.

So next time you take a nice big bite out of that juicy burger, know where it came from, you’ll enjoy it that much more.

myPad yourPad

Apple announced the release of its newest product this afternoon, the iPad. They (who’s “they,” you say? you know, the people who say things.) have been talking, chatting, blogging, writing and talking, chatting, blogging and writing some more about the mysterious iPad for months now. I’ve read bits and pieces about it along the way, but was never really ‘chomping at the bit’ to finally see the thing. Now that it’s been announced, I have to say that I’m still not ‘chomping at the bit.’ Before I go any further however, I must say, that the iPad, just like any other Apple product, is very sexy. And, it’s REALLY COOL.

I’d been a PC user for many years until about a year ago when I purchased my first MacBook Pro. Once I used it, I was hooked. I’m not sure if I’m a total MacHead, but I’ve definitely “made the switch” without any thought of going back. Since then I’ve also gotten an iPhone, which I love.

With a first look at the iPad, I don’t think it’s that great. It seems like it’s just a big iPhone, without the phone. I don’t think it would be very practical, especially for me. Since I already have a laptop and a mobile internet device, why would I need an iPad that does the same thing. I know that I don’t plan on forking out $500 or more on something that does the same things I can do now.

Regardless what I think, Apple knows what they’re doing. I think there definitely is a market out there for this device. Possibly for those that don’t have a newer laptop, aren’t connected with a mobile device and are looking for something to do email, surf the web, and watch movies on; the iPad would be perfect. Two features that I was really impressed with were the iCal and Contacts apps. They just look sweet. And the way you can interact with your photos? Totally cool. And because it’s a ‘touch’ device, the application interaction is very cutting edge.

About a month ago, I saw James Cameron’s new movie, AVATAR. The iPad reminds me of some of the computer interfaces that were used in the movie. (By the way, if you haven’t seen AVATAR, go, now. And don’t forget your 3D glasses.) The devices the characters used in the movie were all interacted with by touch and gestures, very similar to the iPad. I think it’s pretty amazing that, in 2010, we are seeing technology that is very close to what we see in the movies. I mean how many times have you gone to the movies and thought, whoa, how sweet would it be if we could do that! I think some of those things are getting closer to reality. The iPad is proof.

I still know I won’t be getting one, but…..

….it is really cool. :)

ooh, i need to add that to my queue

So I don’t know about you, but I don’t really watch a lot of TV. When I do, it’s either the morning news, a Pittsburgh Penguins game, or an Everybody Loves Raymond rerun. The rest of the time I relentlessly click the page down button on the control and search for a couple movies I can flip back and forth between. A light bulb went off about a month and a half ago, enlightening me to the fact that, hey, it’d be great if I got Netflix, then I could see all the dozens of movies I’ve missed over the years and not have to deal with stupid commercials and endless flipping. And so, today, almost a month into my Netflix membership, I am happy to report that my enlightenment period has proven to be, well, enlightening.

You realize your last name is an adverb.

By the way, I just watched a totally awesome movie last night. If you’re into 80’s cheesiness, or just cheesiness in general, you should definitely checkout Johnny Dangerously. It’s a fantastic film.