Insta-guess

   Picture taking is at an all time high. Professional photographers aren't the only ones recording life.  It's not 1930 anymore. You don't even need to specifically carry a camera anymore. Cellphones have a lens built right in for you to take a decent photo. 

   What will you do with the pictures? You probably are not going to share each one on the internet. Most of them aren't taken with the purpose of being instantly posted on social media. We keep them to look back on. Whether the day comes when we show a friend part of our photo library doesn't matter. They don't need to be featured anywhere. But when you take a picture of an impressive landscape, a delicious coffee drink or a group shot at a party you have to decide it it's worth clicking "share" on. I hit on that question in my last post concerning baked goods. 

   There's always that one friend who seems to have no filter and documents much of what they see. I don't mind that. But that's not the case for all of us. Some are too busy and don't see the need for posting very often. We have to weed through the new hundred images during the week and decide what makes the cut and what doesn't. 

   Do I have a good enough reason to post? It has to be something that I like and think others will like, even if it's just have a few people I have in mind. The biggest thing I'm talking about is Instagram. Do you post for friends only or quality photographs for a person who might not know you would appreciate? 

   I never gave much thought to the standards there are for a picture to be considered "good" in the eyes of a stranger. A book publisher won't put out a book that doesn't have an interesting story. A record producer won't release a song only the artist's mother could stand. Before a song or book can be out for public consumption it has to meet an established criteria.

   Some focus on the product and choose to follow the rules and share photos that could attract anyone out there. I'm trying now to see the skill involved with being able to do that versus being straightforward and posting what's plainly in front of you. It's like informative writing that gets the point across compared to descriptive writing that is attracting and enjoyable for a wider range of people. 

   I have an idea for another app as a predecessor to Instagram or anything else you use. Insta-Guess. Upload a photo and people can vote 'yes' or 'no' if they think the picture is worthy of being seen. Until that app is built, we'll have to decide for ourselves- Offer strictly good quality photos for anyone or appeal to a smaller audience of just your friends? There's a need for both. You can set the standard. It's just a personal choice that won't get you in trouble one way or another.

Easy

   Do you have a hobby you've picked up that can be considered a skill? It's enjoyable to do even simple things. Whether it be creating by drawing, painting, sewing or something athletic like running, playing a sport with friends. In all my free time last year, I got into baking from scratch. 

   Baking seems pretty straight forward to me. All you have to do is follow the directions. How can anyone mess it up? Yet lots of people will confess they don't do well in the kitchen. Having millions of recipes right at my fingertips made it very easy to bake whatever I was in the mood for. Lots of different cookies, muffins, and cakes were dished up. Along with this came the need to share a picture of what I made with others. When I started out I was pretty impressed with each thing and considered it worthy of  Instagram. Since I've made even more things this year, the less impressive things have went to Flickr. And some rank so low they go unseen by anyone on the Internet.  

Just look at this cinnamon-sugar muffin picture I didn't consider worthy of any website. Now it will have it's time in the sun! 

With every other picture I post, I get a "that looks so good" comment. I wish anyone who wanted a sample could just reach through the computer and have some. But in the mean time- why don't they just make something themselves?  I've picked up a reputation of being good at baking among a few people. Most of us enjoy sweets so baking can be seen as a valuable skill. But it feels like I'm cheating somehow because nothing I've done has required any test and fail or advanced knowledge. Maybe the only thing I know that not everyone is aware of is the correct way to measure flour. So can I really be considered good at baking? I feel very far from anything my grandmother, and maybe yours too, ever did. I would sooner pick writing as my talent because it's an ability I really care about and want to develop.

Is there anything you're praised for that is easy for you to do? Not a skill you've acquired by putting time in and gaining knowledge about, but whatever doesn't take much work in your eyes. 

Hero

   We all have people we look up to. Someone with good traits who's done admirable things. From the average guy whose work you follow to the renowned visionary who changed everything. Here is a list of my heroes, television personalities edition.


Mike Holmes- Anyone who cares enough to help people with home renovations not done properly is awesome. That's exactly what he does on his show Holmes on Homes on HGTV. Sure it's his business but it seems like he cares about making the homeowner happy and not solely for the money. He is very smart and a hard worker. I wouldn't be taking on those long and difficult jobs as he and his crew does. Also he's from Canada so that makes him even cooler in my eyes.

Jim Cantore- I've always enjoyed learning about weather. I also get very excited about storms! Jim Cantore is a pro and veteran meteorologist always out there reporting severe weather. He stands fighting in the 80MPH wind and horizontal rain of hurricanes.  I admire what he does and I'd love to be out there too.

LeVar Burton - I watched Reading Rainbow as a kid and even remember borrowing a VHS of my favorite episode from the library. He encouraged kids to gain knowledge through reading. The things talked about on the show are still valuable today. Just think of how loved you would feel if you were with he and Mr. Rogers at the same time.

Les Stroud - When my 8th grade English class had to write an essay about your hero, I wrote about Les Stroud.  The show Survivor Man gripped my attention. As his website describes the premise of the show "No food, no shelter, no fresh water, no tools...no camera crew. One man- alone in the wilderness for seven days." He survived in extreme situations when it seemed impossible to. It showed how resourceful you can be when you have practical knowledge.  Bear Grylls tried to do the same thing but Les did it in a serious way without being showy.

Mission Statement

   Someone you know starts a blog. Great! There's something new for you to read. They almost always start with a mission statement, a call to action of some sort. It explains why they have started the blog and possibly the reason behind the title of it. It's go time! What happens next? After one or two more posts, there is nothing. After the call to action, they abandon their blog!

   There's plenty of reasons people don't continue posting. But if you seriously want to have a blog maybe it's better not to start out with your mission statement. There is evidence that shows an intro is not necessary.

   Out of all the movies you've seen, how many of them start out with "This is the story of Harold and each tumultuous event he faces in his life. There will be love, rejection, human conflict and triumph of the struggling human spirit." OK that's a bit much. Some set up the story to explain the setting and characters, not necessarily touching on the plot. Many ignore any intro, even starting with an end scene or jumping right into the story. Books do the same thing. The artist that tells someone what they're going to paint won't paint it. None of them have to reveal what their mission is. I think if you start off doing what you want, you will be less likely to quit early. There are countless blogs across the Internet started and not continued. Let's do away with the clutter.

   I speak from my own experience. I didn't have an idea firmed up on what this blog would do. I just talked about ideas I had no other outlet for.  Only a few people read this blog. My advice obviously isn't a master list to follow for a successful blog. I want to show you can start and continue using a blog without any destination in mind. 

   For me, I enjoy writing. Posting on this blog makes a difference to me. I can define it as a personal blog. The pressure is off! Personal blogs don't have to reach any level of success. Some only have posts which center around pictures with their only purpose to be seen by far away family and friends. That and what I'm doing can at least be seen as a step up from blogs rambling on about what the person did today. Those only appeal to a small audience. As long as what you're doing can be understood when it's seen by someone who come across your blog one day, how can you go wrong?

   Do what you will be satisfied with. Any expression of original thoughts are not wasted space and something to be proud of. 

Found

   Over the years I mentally created a list of things I wanted. Not passing items I saw in a store window. No, they are things I just want deep down. While they are random, there's a thoughts behind each one. Here's what I've found so far. 

{Red Highlighter}

You see every color highlighter out there. Blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, even purple. But no red. Why is that? My only guess is because red is the color teachers often use grade papers. Red corrects the mistakes, it shows the bad, thus landing it with a bad connotation. I went into Staples for the purpose of getting one and was delighted to find they had them. I haven't used any other color since. I guess I'm making up on all the lost time with no red highlighter!

{Red Rain Boots}

Red again! I have one simple reason for wanting red rain boots. I had a pair when I was in the first grade. Ever since I've just wanted them again. You'd think this was a pretty basic color for rain boots but it actually took me awhile to find them in a store. They're very useful for quick outings in the snow too.

{Triangle}

It's a shape. It's an instrument. How can you go wrong? I finally got to use one in music class during the 6th grade. I just loved it. While drafting this post I realized I put no effort into getting a triangle. I looked on Amazon and easily got one. It's not symphony quality but it does the job. 

{Telescope} 

This has to be the number one thing of all time that I've wanted. Who doesn't want to look up into space from their own backyard?  I always go outside when there's a possibility of seeing a space launch or a meteor shower. I did some research and purchased this one a couple weeks ago. I can't say my dream has really come true yet because I haven't tried it out. Being a total amateur make me a bit hesitant about using it. I just have to put the time in and get some astronomy knowledge in my brain. I might do a post in the future on how it goes. 

I Was Wrong

"I was wrong."

How frequently do you hear that? I don't hear it very often. It seems like no one wants to say it. It's usually in the statement "I admit I was wrong." Few want to admit to a mistake. Why is that?

Pride? That shouldn't be the case. Will you ever be rewarded for upholding such pride? Pride can likely lead to something bad. Or the person may think they're genuinely right. Can you ever doubt your first ideas? Can't you be edited? Accept you may not have all the facts or know the true feelings and motivation behind each disagreement. The emotion arguments produce the most is anger. Anger makes you assert your point without taking anything else into account. That certainly won't get you anywhere. A person may stop speaking to you because they feel there's no reasoning to be done.

I invariably have the desire to fix things. I'm always hoping the other person feels the same way. It's difficult to know what to say when the other person just won't budge. Friendships I never thought I had to affirm end. I never stop thinking about what I could have done differently.

This is the little bit I've learned -
Do whatever you can to preserve the friendship. Don't deny any fault of your own. There's nothing wrong in taking a fall yourself.

The Flashlight Club

One day this past week I couldn't charge my iPhone or iPod because my two USB cables stopped working. So I was faced with a challenge since I usually fall asleep listening to music. I remembered this small radio which probably came from my grandma's house years ago. Nifty little thing. I've always been impressed that you can listen to the radio for free and 24/7. Good thing for me! 

I've jokingly said to my mom she needs an iPad Mini to use when she can't fall asleep. It was hard for me to imagine what it was like to fall asleep in silence and no little box of light to stare at. It finally hit me- that's what she's done her whole life. Not all that long ago there were no smart phones and computers. Besides T.V. and radio, what could one hear at night? Nothing!

That shows it's possible to live without it. Plenty of people do and don't feel devoid of anything. Sure it's nice to carry out business and stay connected with friends (an overused phrase) but how much time do we spend doing necessary things? You get this profound feeling once you turn off the screen. The whole world of the internet is gone. It's not a physical thing. 

You don't have to get rid of all technology because people in the past lived happily without it. Just see if you benefit from spending a little less time with it. Read this blog, take care of your work, see the new photos of your nephew on Facebook and go do something else.