nathan jara

A conversation at work today jostled my thoughts about something I came across this past summer called the All Things Digital Conference. The conference is an annual event that began in 2003 and is organized by the Wall Street Journal. The event invites influential individuals of the technical world to discuss what it is they are doing, why they are doing it and listen to their opinions on hot topics in the digital arena. One interview in particular that sparked my interest was the conversation with Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs. As an avid Macintosh user and one who really appreciates Apple products, I was intrigued to hear what Mr. Jobs had to share. However, one of Steve’s points got me thinking and honestly found me disagreeing with his opinion. He was discussing the iPad and the special programs that have been developed for it as interactive magazine or newspaper applications. He stated, at about the halfway point of this ATD article, that he does not “want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers.” I found this point to be critical of those who blog, such as myself. While I understand his point that we continue to need the talents of professional writers and news agencies to take in accurate information, I found this point to be somewhat belittling of individuals who choose to express themselves creatively through the many types of writing online. Granted, there certainly are many people who may not have the impressive expressive skills of a New York Times journalist and probably shouldn’t be writing anything at all, but the Internet, being the Internet, gives everyone equal opportunity to be creative. The fact that I’ve decided to blog has never, is not, and will never prevent The Wall Street Journal or Wired magazine from producing professionally written articles. What is the harm then in giving the everyday Joe a chance to express himself? What do you think?

Last night I was reminded in the best way possible that it’s time for hockey again. Thanks to a fellow co-worker, I was fortunate enough to attend the first game of the Pittsburgh Penguins pre-season. And there was an added bonus, as this game was the very first game to be played in the Pens’ new arena, the Consol Energy Center. Wow, what an awesome facility! The state-of-the-art feel to the building makes you forget quickly about the old igloo, even though it will be missed. The experience was also exciting for me because American Eagle is a major contributor and sponsor for the Pens and the new arena. It was a cool experience to look around and see our logo all over the place. And what a game! The Pens looked great! Lots of new young talent skating, passing, shooting, and hitting. The Pens left their first official game on the fresh arena ice with a 5 -1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. What a great way to start off the season! Let’s go Pens!

Amazing how some stories never make the headlines. Like this one about an egg recall where literally millions of eggs were infected with salmonella. This FDA article explains more details. Slow Food USA is taking action. What ever happened to fresh eggs from the farm?

This past Saturday, I found what I think will have to be an annual event from now on. My friends invited me to attend the 2010 Pittsburgh Irish Festival. What an awesome time! I had no idea the festival even existed until my friends told me about it and I’m really glad I went. The festival serves a ton of Irish food like Irish stew, shepherd’s pie, Irish sausage and they have many booths selling t-shirts, crafts, and other goodies. The main event for me was the music. I’ve always enjoyed some good ‘ol knee stompin’ fiddle playin’ jigs and reels and the festival delivered all. I was able to see a band called Scythian, who rocked the house and made the night a ton’ of fun. They really get the crowd involved and moving, which made for some awesome entertainment. We did get a little, well a lot, wet when the rains came, but they kept on playing and we kept on dancing. Check out the video below for a little taste! (And if you’re using Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or even the iPad ;) you should be able to view the video below without Flash. It’s my first real experiment with the wonders of HTML5′s video capabilities. If that’s you, let me know how it works out please! :)

If you have the Google Chrome browser, a friend at work shared a really cool website with me today. It’s called The Wilderness Downtown. The website allows you to type in any address, preferably one that has been cataloged by Google Street View, and create a movie in your hometown. The application uses the street view of the address you type in along with the satellite imagery of that area as the backdrop for an online film. The application was created using new HTML 5 techniques for the Chrome Experiments project, which is a web development project that continues to explore and push the capabilities of the growing HTML 5 language. Half way through, you can interact with the movie using an HTML 5 canvas and custom font. Try yours, it’s pretty spiffy!