Here are some of the videos I’ve been doing.

This first one is my favorite. It’s a spot for a local clothing store in Bend. Local Joe is a great place for Jeans, and it was fun putting this one together.

This next video is one in a series that we’re doing with the Blacksmith one of Bend’s great restaurants. The Bar Manager at Blacksmith is Columbine Quillen, and every month or so we get together to do a little cocktail how to.

The Portland Museum opened a great exhibit last month and Go-Go was there getting ready for Roll35. The exhibit “China Design Now” showcases the amazing things going on in China design wise. Footage was shot by Matthew Bowler one of Roll35′s partners with Susanne Orton of course Roll35′s founding partner. I edited the sequence and animated the Roll35 logo.

Last Week we went up to Mt Bachelor to get some comments from Alex Kaufmann the marketing director for Mt Bachelor. Note the Roll35 logo animation sound change. We’re trying to find a trademark sound to put with this. The logo will evolve.

Mt Bachelor’s opening is exciting news for Central Oregon. The way the snow’s been flying we’re looking forward to an excellent ski season. I’m particularly excited because it’s been 10 years since I’ve been skiing. Last time was in Japan in 2000. Yay for skiing.

As you can see I’ve been pretty busy shooting and editing videos for On the Go-Go and Roll 35. My Canon GL1 has been a workhorse, but I’m seeing some limitations. The biggest is that it doesn’t shoot HD video. My goal is to acquire a camera that can shoot good quality HD video by February 1st 2010. Here’s the camera I’ve decided upon.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 DSLR

This little camera shoots some AWESOME HD video with the added bonus of interchangeable lenses. Used to be when I was working at the Apple Store in Northridge, Ca when someone would ask me about the video capabilities of a still camera I would ask them if they really wanted a video camera. Back then you needed to buy the tool for the kind of work you were doing. Now, since Nikon introduced the D90, all that has changed. A new class of digital single lens reflex cameras has emerged. Cameras such as the Nikon D90, The Canon 5d Mk II, or the Canon 7D, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 have the capability of shooting very good HD video. Now I can buy one camera that will serve for shooting still images or shooting High Definition video.

The Charles
Schulz Philosophy

The
following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz,
the creator of the ‘Peanuts’ comic
strip.

You don’t
have to actually answer the questions. Just
ponder on them. Just read the post straight
through, and you’ll get the
point.

1. Name the
five wealthiest people in the
world.

2. Name the
last five Heisman trophy
winners.

3. Name the
last five winners of the Miss America
pageant.

4. Name ten
people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer
Prize.

5. Name the
last half dozen Academy Award winners for best
actor and actress…

6. Name the
last decade’s worth of World Series
winners.

How did you
do?

The point
is, none of us remember the headliners of
yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields. But the
applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are
forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried
with their owners.

Here’s
another quiz. See how you do on this
one:

1. List a
few teachers who aided your journey through
school.

2. Name
three friends who have helped you through a
difficult time.

3. Name
five people who have taught you something
worthwhile.

4. Think of
a few people who have made you feel appreciated
and special!

5. Think of
five people you enjoy spending time
with.

Easier?

The
lesson:

The people
who make a difference in your life are not the
ones with the most credentials.. the most
money… or the most awards. They simply are the
ones who care the most!

Pass this
on to those people who have made a difference in
your life, like I did.

“Don’t
worry about the world coming to an end today.
It’s already tomorrow in Australia
!”

“Be
Yourself, Everyone Else Is
Taken!”

Tuesday September 11th broke with a typhoon heading towards Tokyo Bay so our daily task was to secure the ship for the storm. Around noon someone made a decision to send everyone home except for the duty section. It was a quiet lazy afternoon at home waiting for the typhoon.

The naval station in Yokosuka is a tight harbor. It’s securely protected from Tokyo bay by two pennisulas, and Tokyo bay is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the Chiba pennisula.

Typhoons almost never hit Yokosuka, and this one wasn’t any different. We make all the preparations though for the excepting. It’s better to be ready for a typhoon that never hits than not be ready for the typhoon that does hit.

That evening at 6pm we got the all clear. The typhoon had passed, and everything was safe. No of new about the typhoon that was about to change our world forever. It was 5am in New York.

At 10pm I checked my email on yahoo before going to bed, and there was a news report that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. Scanning the report I had the impression that some silly idiot in a Cessna had accidentally flown into one of the towers. I shut my computer down and went to bed.

The Officer of the Deck called my home about 4:30am the next morning. It was the Chief Gunner’s Mate, and he told me that I should take the train into work because they weren’t letting cars on the base. I asked him if they were running a security exercise on the base. He said “yeah, you could say that.” I went back to sleep until 6am.

As I checked my email before going to the ship I was shocked by the headline on yahoo. “Twin Towers Destroyed. 10,000 Dead.” What had happened? I thought some hacker had made a bad joke. A quick check of the New York Time’s webpage confirmed that the World Trade Center’s twin towers had collapsed after two passenger jets had flown into them.

Work on the ship was almost at a standstill that day. We spent a lot of time watching the news reports and the endless clips of the towers collapse. The Chiefs all got together under the direction of Command Master Chief Joe Campa and began reworking duty sections, beefing up security on the ship and the pier, and making preparations for the unscheduled deployment that we all knew was coming. We were forward deployed just for this reason. Because of the USS Cole we had heard of Al Queda, and the Taliban. We knew that we were headed for the Indian Ocean and Afghanistan. The only question was when would we weigh anchor? When would the battle group deploy?

For me September 11th was about securing my ship for a typhoon one minute and preparing to go to war the next.

Summer time in Bend has been wonderful. This little spot nestled in the western slope of the Cascades is truly a small slice of Heaven on earth. There are so many fun events it’s difficult to choose between them. Kayaking has been the priority, although there was one weekend that I should have ditched work to go kayaking. Except that I had already committed to the work. As it turned out we didn’t need to get more video that day, and I could have gone kayaking instead? See ditching the video gig would’ve been ok, and I should have gone kayaking with my friends. No that’s not really true. It was only a couple of hours before the shoot that we decided we didn’t need any more footage so I wasn’t really off the hook for the day. Skipping the kayaking was the right thing to do.

The Deschutes River winds lazily through Bend, and during the summer it’s a popular tubing run. These days though it’s mostly queen size inflatable mattresses that people are using instead of inner tubes. Actually I don’t think I saw a single black rubber car inner tube on the river at all. They’re all fancy these days with cloth coverings, cup holders, and handles. Makes me think of the girl on the San Marcos River last summer “It’s got a gps” she said with a heavy Texas twang. The tube run on the Deschutes is much more serene than the San Marcos or Comal Rivers in Texas. The current moves quickly, but there aren’t any rapids or tube chutes for excitement. Hopefully we’ll get permits and funding to rebuild the Colorado Street dam into a little white water park. It can happen, all we need is 1.2 million dollars. Send donations to the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance BPTA.

The white water park won’t have as much power as the man made wave in Glennwood Springs, Colorado, but it’ll be lots of fun anyway. Besides our little white water park will replace the dangerous man eating dam at Colorado street.

Summer’s days are growing shorter and the throngs on the river dwindle down, and soon Alder Creek will have its end of the season sale. Autumn’s coming.

Dave spent 9 months wrestling with United Airlines over the damage to his $3500 Taylor Guitar with United stalling and blocking all his attempts. Finally Dave told the final United representative that he was going to write and distribute three songs worldwide about his experience.

Here’s the first video:

This is really a pretty sad commentary on the level of customer service at United Airlines. In Dave’s version of the story he tried to talk to three United employees on the ground in Chicago when the incident happened. Their response was to duck their responsibilities and avoid listening to the complaint.

Dave’s video is fun. It takes a great poke at United Airlines, and they’ve apparently apologized for the incident. Better yet Dave’s music has now come to the attention of a much larger audience with his youtube video going viral in a matter of only 3 days.

As I’ve recently come to appreciate Acoustic Guitars can be highly personal. Musicians take great care of their instruments. The more they play them, the more worn they become, the more they’re cared for. To have one damaged in this manner with complete disregard by a company such as United is a travesty.

Maybe Dave will buy a new (or used) Taylor guitar online. He probably won’t fly United again for a long time.

Kayaking the Deschutes River in Bend

Last weekend my niece Joanna Ridgeway came to town for a visit, and we went kayaking on the Deschutes River. No white water on this trip, just a pleasant paddle upstream from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop to the Bill Healy bridge. This section of the Deschutes is backed up by a low damn which was built to create a pond where logs were stored for the local saw mill. Well the saw mill is now called the Old Mill District and it has been renovated into a shopping and entertainment district in Bend.

Joanna enjoying a beautiful day.

The guys over at Alder Creek have a great location right on the water in Bend. It’s so easy to rent kayaks, canoes, and gear and get right on the river for a fun afternoon. I’m really looking forward to attending their whitewater classes so I can get a good combat roll down. Then it’s time to get into the gnarly stuff.

Joanna making Bend look even more beautiful.

The Bend Farmers Market in Drake Park

It’s June and the Farmers Market is here. Every Wednesday in Drake Park a ton of local growers assemble to sell their produce to the locals of Bend, Oregon. This takes place half a block away from my apartment, and I’ve been looking forward to it since arriving in Bend in January.

Sorry, No Dogs allowed in the Farmers Market.

You could probably say that I’m going to be a regular at this thing.

Summer Squash and Tomatoes

Carrots and Turnips

Lettuce

Greens and Strawberries

More fresh produce at the Bend Farmers Market in Drake Park

Sweet Onions, Beets, Turnips, and Radishes. Every kid's culinary nightmare.

Find more photos of the Bend Farmers Market at On the Go Go in the photogallery.

Bend Farmers Market presented by Philip Robert.

So I returned to Bend at the end of May, and it is such a gorgeous place. That evening I took a short walk through Drake park along the Deschutes river. In the month I was gone the grass (which was green before) seemed to have become almost neon. The colors were so lush. Everything in this town seems vibrant with the coming of summer, and the temperatures are perfect. Warm enough to enjoy the day, yet cool enough that you’re not passing out from the heat.

On monday I took my first Bikram class since finishing my 90 Day Challenge. It felt great to see everyone and get in a good workout.

Staff meeting at On the Go Go, where I met the new members of the team. Wow, go away for four weeks and the world changes.

Kris Allen, the Kid from Arkansas upsets the Rockstar Adam Lambert!

Last night a soft spoken lad from Conway, Arkansas beat out a tall flamboyant kid from San Diego, California to become America’s newest Idol. At least that’s what I heard on the radio this morning because I don’t watch the show. The way the commentators on New Orleans’ WWL radio station were talking the glamrock kid, Adam Lambert, got ripped off in the voting because they thought he was much better than the folksy Kris Allen. The WWL talking heads kept saying that the voting system was rigged and that they needed to come up with a better system.

Ummmm, guys… its a Talent show. The results are completely subjective. If Kris Allen beat Adam Lambert in a vote by the fans then Kris did a better job of it. The name of the show says it all. It’s AMERICAN IDOL not America’s Best Singer.

Congratulations go out to both young men for rising to the top in a highly competitive endeavor. They’ve both got a world of new opportunities out there. For the talking twits on WWL… fortunately I don’t have to listen to them all the time.

Dad was coming into the kitchen. I could hear his footsteps behind me, and I quietly said, “Dad look out in the driveway.” Just as I spoke the little vixen trotted towards the edge of the bushes, but stopped in the middle of the drive to look back. She stood there in the sunshine letting us get a good look at her.

Dad’s camera was on the dining room table, but neither one of us wanted to move. I was certain that as soon as I did the fox would dash off into the underbrush never to be seen again. Later Dad told me that he was thinking the same thing.

This is why you should have a window behind your kitchen sink.

Tomorrow morning I’ll keep the camera closer and see if this friendly little fox comes calling again.