Pixelshot

You might call it a Netflix moment: when you first glance at the little red envelope in your mailbox.

It’s a nice feeling after a long day of work.

For those of you who use Netflix, you’ll know the feeling. For those of you who don’t, you’re missing out. It’s all the advantages of being at the rental store, without the sticky carpet, long lines, and the inevitable “rental-itus” (if you don’t decide in the first 30 seconds, you’ll be there for a month).

If you don’t know how Netflix works, it’s like this:

- You sign up for an account and pay a monthly flat rate. (We pay about 10 bucks.)

- Depending on the rate you pay, you can have one, or more than one movie “checked out” at a time. (We have the one-at-a-time plan, which means that we keep one movie as long as we want.)

- You pick out your movies online (or from the iPhone).

- When you mail back one movie, you get the next one (on the top of your list) in the mail in about 2 days.

It’s amazing and well worth the ten bucks.

Today’s movie: “After the Wedding” - I’ll let you know how it is.

Ok, this is a funny one. An article in the NYTimes reminds us of the different styles of the two candidates. Of course, I’m happy to report that, according to the article, Obama is a Mac.

It makes sense, though, doesn’t it?

Obama = open; friendly; hopeful; innovative; looking to the future; spry…

Hillary = old school; the big machine; hard edges; useful, but has been around too long; up to stuff you’re not sure you can trust…

The article mostly compares the web sites, which, by the way are drastically different in concept and execution. As a professional web producer I have been quite impressed with Obama’s site, especially its grass-roots feel.

Simple touches make a big difference. Note, as one simple example, the bottom right of Barack’s site. You’ll see a simple graphic:

“POWERED by HOPE…and supporters like you”. Ahhh. It’s like a warm bath.

But on the bottom of Hillary’s site, like a splash of ice water, you’ll see this:

OK. First of all, that’s a mighty nerdy hat. Secondly, I’m not on your site to buy anything.

Alright, the whole Mac/PC comparison is a bit of a stretch, but not too far fetched if you ask me. Just some food for thought.

But seriously, what you’re really after is to see more of those HI-larious I’m a Mac commercials. Click this link to get one at random:

Oh how I love to vote!

It’s such a simple thing–drawing a line on a piece of paper–yet such a precious opportunity. Think of the millions, no BILLIONS of people who have never had the pleasure of feeling that they had a part in their own governing.

Our experience was interesting. Robin and I left early this morning and walked the two blocks to our inner-city local polling station, an elementary school. After wading through dozens of knee-high little people we found our polling spot below a kid-drawn timeline of Dr. Martin Luther King.

We mingled with a handful of early-voters who were fumbling with ballots, and as we filled out our registration cards we were treated with a radio program by the school kids talking in unison over the crackling intercom. They announced what was on the lunch menu for the day (chicken parmesan and green beans), then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Of course, they also pointed out that the election was being held today and that their school, the Marie H. Reed Learning Center, was one of the polling locations. We were treated with a strange dose of reality when the adult on the intercom announced that today was an “important race for president between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton,” with no mention of the Republican candidates. I suppose that for an inner city DC neighborhood, the statement is pretty accurate.

(Do you ever have those days where you feel the world unfolding in front of you like Forrest Gump? I do.)

I noticed that a blog in the New York Times even had a photo of OUR polling place:

and a couple of extra photos:

L to Z for me

A clean haircut, a warm jacket, and an American ballot…
not printed on recycled paper

Just a couple of pieces of good green news that I recently learned about and thought I’d pass along:

1) The Super Bowl, in all of its extravagance, ran on renewable energy. The Salt River Project donated SRP Earth Wise Renewable Energy Credits for the lights and other electronic equipment running during the Super Bowl. Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) basically offset the additional marginal cost of getting electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, low impact hydropower and landfill gas as opposed to dirty power like coal or natural gas. The RECs guarantee that a certain amount of renewable energy (however much was required to power the Super Bowl with all of its lights, cameras and action) was fed into the grid. Not only was it a good game, it was a positive step for the environment.

2) You can banish junk mail and plant trees for the small price of $20. Green Dimes will help you reduce up to 90% of your junk mail and plant 10 trees for you when you sign up. My sister Reini had told me about the service and then when we were at Sundance, we met two of the founders, Sebastian and Sanjiv. Today, when our mailbox was once again packed with junk, I finally signed up. It makes me feel warm inside looking forward to the days of not having to throw away credit card offers every time I get the mail.

A Pixelshot reader commented on the previous post: Why I Support Barack Obama. Alexandra questioned how I thought Barack would actually help to heal the nation (inferring that the divisions in our country are insurmountable). I wrote a reply to her comment, but thought it would make a good post, so here it is:

Yes we are a nation of people divided over basic principles. However, we have always had differences, but recently those differences have been deepened by those who fling hatred and anger at each other for selfish gains. If we instead start on the path of identifying and respecting our commonalities (and, after all, we have many more commonalities than differences), we can begin the process of healing. That’s the way Barack’s mind is oriented.

Consider, for example, that my wife and I have come from very different upbringings, politically speaking, which we consider as an ADVANTAGE in our political (and personal) lives, rather than a disadvantage–an advantage because we can discuss openly why we believe a certain way, in a non-threatening scenario (usually!). We can do this because we respect that each of us is a rational, intelligent person and therefore must have a reasonable explanation for that belief (as opposed to fearing the harm that a different opinion might bring to us). Once we’ve discussed, we understand each other’s reason behind the belief and nearly always we each come to the middle a little, or a lot. Occasionally, we find that one of us (or both) is holding on to a belief simply because we have never had a reason to believe otherwise. When this happens, it is very revealing.

I think it is in these very exchanges–finding the true reasons behind a belief–that our society makes progress. One reason that issues like abortion are so heated is that there is reason and Truth on both sides of the issue. It is good to protect the life of an unborn child. It is also good to protect the sanctity of a woman’s choice. Yet each “side” locks on to the good of their side and sometimes uses it to whack over the heads of the other side. But, there’s a better way, it’s simple: start by assuming that people are good and have a rational reason for their beliefs.

For my work, I often find myself trying to repair strained relationships between my group and a partner group which has a very different set of needs and interests. One approach would be to complain, backstab, or escalate and twist the situation to my benefit (which is tempting, but ends up in a bad place). OR, I can repair the relationship and begin a new era. The most effective way for me to begin to repair the relationship is by first identifying our commonalities. Then I accept that we have different interests and base my interactions with others on resolving conflict from the perspective of the interests rather than making it personal and call a person “wrong” or “evil”.

Of course, that’s easier said than done, but it does work. We have seen Barack in situations where his opponent lashes out trying to rattle him from a personal level. A normal person would lash back, but he doesn’t. It’s even a bit frustrating at times. THAT is what this country needs: someone who can take the punches and not lash back personally. Further, someone who can give an example of what is GOOD between us, what we have in common, and show how people can unite behind a common goal even if they have significant differences as individuals. He embodies that. We need that.

Consider the alternative: more of the same us-versus-them mentality. How about just “us”? If we can redefine what “us” means by turning outward rather than inward, then we will see that we have much more in common than we have as differences.

Another point is that aside from the strengths of his individual character, Barack, by his very position, represents change and therefore brings with him the opportunity for those of us to look forward rather than hanging our heads. In other words, just because he represents a movement, he is in a unique position to represent a larger majority (consider, for example that more than 300,000 people have DONATED to his campaign in 2008 alone. According to Obama’s web site, “no one has ever built a campaign involving so many Americans as true stakeholders.”)

I don’t know where he gets it, but he’s got MOJO. Probably most of it is his own character, and the rest of it is people like you and me who are ready to believe again.

Hi all, As many of you may have noticed, I’ve been a wreck lately. That’s what you get when you mix a dozen projects and not enough time. Well, all of the craziness will come to a head this week as Robin and I head off to Sundance in Park City.

“Why,” you ask? Well, It’s thanks to one of our favorite bands, U2. As it turns out, U2 is releasing a concert movie this week at the Sundance Film Festival called U2 3D, a serious concert experience in fantastic 3D. But not your grandma’s kind of 3D, the new flavor which actually looks fantastic (I’ve seen it, and I’m not kidding). If you’re not able to make the Sundance premiere, you can catch it in theaters starting Jan 23rd (first in IMAX theatres - which is my preferred method of viewing).

“Why am I involved,” you ask? I’m producing the web site (U23Dmovie.com) that promotes the film:

The web site has been really fun to build. As the producer, I make decisions about content and design. (Other folks do the fantastic design and programming.) So, no joke, this is a big week. Stay tuned for lots of Sundance info and movie reviews.

Maybe, just maybe, we’ll even get to meet the Band!

The bucks are in! I’ve finally received my first early adopter paycheck: a $100 Apple store credit.

After the announcement of the iPhone price drop (now a sizzling $399, was $599), Steve Jobs announced that any current iPhone owner would get 100 bucks back.

So, to get my hundey, I went to this link, filled out the form and, bang, back came a text from Apple with the credit serial number. So, not only did I get the cool hundred, but I got it in a cool way!

Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘no, you paid 200 more, so you’re actually 100 down’.

Wrong.

First, I bought the iPhone with full knowledge of the price, and with a pretty good guess that the price would drop. So, I can’t rightly complain about what the price would be eventually. By that logic, I should wait to buy a car until it’s two years old simply because the price will drop. Never mind whether or not I need a car.

Second, there’s the cool factor, the “is that an iPhone?” factor. There’s some value in having the device when it comes out to see if it actually IS what it claims to be (and it is!).

So, I like to think of it as my first early adopter paycheck. I bought it when it came out. Now Apple is kicking back some of that money!

Now, the only question is what to buy at the Apple store!

Well, more like “replaced”. It seems that my original passport decided to stay in Paris. But, after a long wait at the US Embassy (which explains the scowl on my face), I’m whole again.

Hello world

well. Here it is, my first post from the iPhone in Europe. Perhaps this is the first ever post originating from an iPhone while in Europe. I’m “listening” to a presentation about public service broadcasting in Europe. Too bad I can’t post pictures yet!

I’ve been roaming the beautiful city of Paris for the let couple of days. So beautiful and interesting. It’s also fun to be in the UNESCO building(s). Great catered food too. Oh the cheese!

I’ll have to post pictures separately.

-posted from my iPhone

Yep, I’m here. That’s me in Montmartre, the neighborhood where a few notable names lived and painted: Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, van Gogh… you know.

My flight in was fine. Short (6 hours from DC) and smooth.
The adventurous train ride in went off fairly well, although somewhere between the airport and the apartment I lost my passport!!! Ugh. So, needless to say, I’m learning French quickly. After three stops to the baguette shop (the G in baguette is pronounced like in “bag”, or so the lady told me) and a stop to the Police station, I have a paper that will get me out of trouble. I just hope the person who now has my passport is nice to it! And, all of THE STAMPS from all our trips!! Well, at least I have pictures.
Stay tuned for “Man vs Paris: Part 1″, the movie, coming soon. But for now I have to get some sleep!

s