Savannah’s Big Question

Amy and I decided to take the kids to Mount Trashmore for the 4th of July fireworks display on Saturday night. It was a great day, clear and cool for early July. We arrived early and parked far away for a quick exit from the area once the show was over, a la Clark Griswold.


We climbed to the top of the hill and the kids chased a finger rocket back and forth.

We had noticed earlier that Bob McDonnell was talking to people around the park. We just kept on walking. While we sat watching the kids play, Amy and I noticed that the “McDonnell Group” was moving around. We jokingly told Savannah that she needed to go ask Bob McDonnell how he was going to get teachers pay raises so we could go to Disney World again.

We snickered and remarked to each other how very humorous we are, but Bob and his entourage continued to move, and they headed in our direction. Before we knew it, he was right in front of us. I whipped out my cell phone and quickly captured the following video.



Surprisingly, Savannah did not freeze and forget her question. In case you missed what she said, it was, “How are you going to get teachers a raise?”

He had a good prepared answer for her, but what I thought was great is that he got down on one knee to speak to her. He made eye contact with her, not the adults, and tried to respectfully talk to her. I am sure that much of what he said went right over her head, but most adult questions have adult answers. In any case, it is rare to see adults act that way around children, usually they are polite but dismissive.

I understand that he is a politician and that his behavior was not completely exceptional in the way he spoke to Savannah, but as her father, I was impressed.

It was a great day at the park that ended with some fantastic fireworks. And now, thanks to Bob McDonnell, we have a nice family story to tell and retell for years.

The Hunt

My first NECC was a wonderful experience. I did not show up with an agenda to fill, but I did have the seemingly manageable goal of meeting some people I follow on Twitter. The social service Twitter has become the backbone of my personal learning network and I feel very close to many of the people I follow, both personally and professionally.

Just because I feel close to a person doesn’t mean this feeling is shared, and of course there is always that fine line that separates a loose association with another person from being labeled a stalker. As difficult as this balance is to strike, I was determined to meet these people that I have come to admire. Having provided me with valuable resources and a never ending supply of great ideas, I wanted to introduce myself and try to express my appreciation for their willingness to share their lives, in 140 characters or less, with little old me.

Early on Sunday, I spotted Liz B. Davis as she was hurrying down the hall to something important. This is not surprising as NECC is filled with many important meetings, sessions, and opportunities for food. I resisted the urge to chase after her, and felt ridiculous standing there with absolutely no plan in mind.

I have been accused of being a face poser, or someone who has a Twitter picture that doesn’t look like them in real life. The picture that I use (top left corner of this page) does look like me if I have facial hair, wear stupid 3D glasses, and take my own picture with camera while making a silly face. I chose this picture because it does best represent the silliness that is within me. The problem is that I look more like the picture below. So tracking down my Twitter friends is difficult because from their perspective, some strange guy is trying to get their attention…

Having this first “attempt” at meeting a Twitter friend go so poorly, I thought that maybe I should just be more bold and step up the plate and get it done. What did I have to lose?

My next attempt at meeting someone from my list happened on the vendor floor. I saw Angela Maiers not 15 feet away from me, walking away. I shouted her name out, and she stopped and turned to me. Only then did I realize my mistake. Ms. Maiers is a very attractive woman, and I locked up like a deer in headlights. I think I may have mumbled my name and that I followed her on Twitter, I don’t really remember, but I am sure that my conversation skills deteriorated rapidly from there. She was polite and skillfully broke off contact with me, and I knew I had ruined a chance to just be a respectable adult.

Up to this point, my lack of social skills had turned my, “Twitter Hunt” into,” Twitter Crash and Burn.” As a teenager I learned that having a wingman could always help me to bridge the social gaps that I alone could not fill. The problem at NECC was not that I didn’t have friends to pick up my slack and help me to reach my goal, it was more that with a variety of interests and opportunities we did not stick together during the day.

Fred Delventhal is actually someone who I knew from my experiences in Second Life (SL) as Riptide Furse. My first meeting at NECC with Fred was brief, but I was able to follow it up later at a Tweet Up. This seemed more appropriate to me as we both had a beer and was similar to a time we had in SL drinking virtual beer and falling over on the floor. Good times!

Having met Scott Merrick in SL as well, I was delighted that he said that he was giving out free hugs at NECC on his Oh! Virtual Learning blog. This was the friendly, warm opening I was looking for! No pressure for the socially inept such as me. Now all I had to do was track him down and I could cross him off my list. Luckily for me, he was not hard to find. All I had to do was visit the Second Life Playground for a few minutes and I got my hug!

The one person that I most wanted to meet was Kevin Jarrett. After first reading his blog a couple of years ago, I realized how little I had achieved in a similar position in my own school. My friends who have heard me speak of him have even accused me of having a bromance, or man crush, on Mr. Jarrett. While this term offends me, it is probably an accurate portrayal.

At an ISTE meeting in SL in my early days in-world, I was waiting for a speaker to begin and Kevin was handling the security- making sure everyone had their microphones off. My mic was stuck in the on position somehow (these things happen in SL), and I may have yelled at my kids or something, saying, “Stop it! Get out of the kitchen!” or something similar. I was very upset when Kevin instant messaged me asking me to turn my mic off or he would be forced to boot me off the island. The last thing I wanted was to have him kick me off ISTE Island!

I spotted Kevin early on Monday at the Blogger’s Café. He was talking to some people and I just didn’t want to interrupt. Plus, considering how my earlier attempts at Twitter friend contacts had failed, I was feeling even more self-conscious. I ended up walking away.

Monday night I was surprised to get a Direct Message (DM) from KJarrett saying he was looking for me! Yes, it was kind of thrilling. I couldn’t imagine that he would even know me. Now it was on!

Wednesday morning I was collecting my things to make a quick departure from the D.C. area when who should I see coming up the opposite escalator from me? Yes, I would be just feet away from Kevin Jarrett in the middle of the two escalators’ path. Feeling emboldened by his DM, I shouted down the escalator to him, exchanged a few words, and briefly shook hands with Mr. Jarrett. Awesome! I was able to leave the conference happy.

There were quite a number of people that I did not get a chance to see in person, or attempt to meet. Cathy Nelson was someone I really wanted to meet. She was very nice to me once, and I just wanted to thank her in person for her kindness. But, it was not to be…

If I were to rate my Twitter friend hunting skills, I would have to say C or C-. As badly as I mishandled some encounters, and couldn’t locate some of the people on my “who I want to meet list,” I did have a couple of successes. Perhaps in the future I will perfect my social skills, or just pay a silver tongued wingman to hang out with me the whole time I am at a big time educational technology conference.

The Football

NECC is happening, and I am going this year!

As the date for NECC approached, I kept having this empty feeling. I couldn't really put my finger on it. The closer it came, the stranger I felt.

Earlier this week, I was running with my dog and thinking about how lucky I have been this year to be able to go to NECC. I looked up in the sky and saw a meteorite cross the sky and burn up. It was an odd coincidence, but really underlined my good fortune.

Last year NECC was held in San Antonio. I led virtual tours of the Alamo and followed the happenings there very closely.

I decided then that I wanted to go to NECC this year because it is going to be in D.C. and that is pretty close to me in Virginia Beach. No plan, I just decided I was going.

Strangely, things started to fall into place. I applied for some money to pay for a conference of my choosing with my school system. Not really sure if my name would be pulled out of the hat, I really didn't put much hope in getting the money. Somehow my name was pulled! I am pretty sure that my selection had nothing to do with the fact that on the application I wrote that I was willing to buy beverages for my bosses who attend the conference. But it didn't hurt either, and now my hotel room is covered for my stay in D.C.

Early in this school year I became involved with VSTE in Second Life. I had no idea that this association could help me to go to NECC, but what do you know? My conference fee was taken care of by this wonderful organization.

Things have really come together, and in a great way for me, but I just couldn't shake the odd sensation that something was missing. Finally, it came into focus. I was going to miss my family. How could I have not seen that sooner? As excited as I have been about going to NECC, I was going to miss my little family unit.

I have tried not to make a big fuss over this trip, even though for me it is a pretty big deal. Calvin, my oldest child at 11, will be going to Australia for 15 days and I won't get to see him off because I will be in Washington. I have convinced myself that he will be fine and that worrying about him is silly. But he is always going to be my baby and he will be on the other side of the world.

Thinking about it now, I can't remember being away from my family for longer than 3 days- ever.

I sat down with the kids on Thursday before I left and went over the details of my plans. I explained how long I was going to be away and counted off the days on my fingers. Savannah surprised me by jumping up and said, ”Hold on.”

She ran to the garage and rummaged around in there for a few minutes. Soon she came out holding a football. She sat back down beside me and plopped the ball in my lap.

“Here. Take this with you, Daddy.”
“What is this for, baby?”
“In case you miss us, you can hug the football.”
How did she know I needed that?

Sam's Graduation

Sam is my youngest child. He is 5 years old. Yesterday he was in a Pre-Kindergarten Graduation ceremony. I have to admit that I was feeling a bit misty on the way over to his daycare. Next year he will be in Kindergarten and somehow I just can't get used to the idea that things change, and my baby is growing up.

The weather was not helping. It was raining and sunny, and it just made everything seem a little bizarre.

The rain let up and I had to make a left turn. Over my shoulder I caught a glimpse of a rainbow, so I pulled my beat up truck over to the side of the road and took the picture above. It reminded me that there is good in everything, even when times are confusing.

I continued on my way and once again fell into the familiar pattern of hurrying up to wait, and became caught up in all that was going on around me. You never know when you will be surprised by the unexpected. I thought I had reached my surprise limit for the day.

Then the ceremony began. Each child took turns and stood up in front of our little group and told what he or she would like to be when they grow up. Here is what Sam said...

And a priceless memory was made... He is going to be just like his father- a dreamer. I am so proud!

Ah Ha!

A few weeks ago I saw a email from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) about a digital storytelling contest they were having to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

When I first saw the description I immediately remembered my first technology Ah Ha! moment, and it stuck with me. For the next two weeks, I could not get the idea out of my head, so I had to make the video.

So here it is, my entry in the ISTE Digital Storytelling contest-


Special thanks to VSTE for linking to the video on the News section of the site!

No matter what, I had fun making the video...

:-)

VSTE Island

Over the past 9 months I have been involved in setting up an island in Second Life for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE). It has been a wonderful experience. I have met many new people, and expanded my technology and interpersonal skill sets.

But lately a couple of personal problems have popped up that have really been bothering me. You see, as a member of the group that has been involved in setting up this island, I am getting interviewed. By itself, that is not a concern.

I can talk in front of cameras and into audio recording devices, and sometimes I even almost sound like I know what is going on, which is nice. The issue is that I annoy myself. When I listen to myself, I think things like, "How many times can you say Um in a sentence? Idiot."

Perhaps I should have paid better attention in the public speaking class I had in college and not treated it like a joke. But really, how serious can you take a class that you can't fail? The only class that was easier was Weight Lifting. You record your progress and do an end of semester workout- A. In speech class, you stand at a podium and babble for the appropriate amount of time and you pass.

The interview that I gave for the VSTE Podcast Edge (Warning- if you try to download the video- it is very large! Patience...) really hammered home the fact that I am a "Nose Breather," or NB as I now refer to this affliction. This interview was done in Second Life and I was using a headset with a mic while the interviewer was recording a movie with his screen capture software.

I first figured out that I had this problem when I was doing some screen capture video clips for a Second Life video on Jamestown. Knowing I had this problem, I tried to breathe through my mouth in the interview, but I can still hear it.

I find my own NBing very annoying. The funny thing is that I have never really noticed anyone else doing it, so discovering that it was a problem, and thinking that I was the only one who had it, was very troublesome. I think I really started NBing after I stopped smoking. I found that I could actually breathe out of my nose and so I must have figured that it was something I wanted to get really good at. I breathe in before I speak- that is when the issue is most pronounced. So, it goes like this- deep breath in through the nose, with maybe a little whistle, then, "Yes, I like to go walking with my dog...."

I think my on camera skills are much better only because I can't hear the NBing. But just barely... I was interviewed on the local VBTV show- Access Virginia Beach (Under the embedded Windows Media File click- View Specific Segments for this video, and Click #12). In this segment I tried to suppress my natural head bobbing movements and facial expressions and ended up looking like I was about to fall asleep.

Over acting comes natural to me. Behaving normally does not, and when I try to be normal, people ask me if something is wrong. I can be the fool, but can I be Mr. Serious? Doesn't seem that way.

Recently, I was interviewed for a group of ITRT's in the western part of Virginia in Second Life. Since I am the member of a group, I tried to participate and answer one or two questions, but for the most part I tried to stay quiet. I just hid behind my avatar and and used the back channeling of the chat window. I felt like this one went better but I did not see it from the interviewer's perspective.

The most remarkable thing of all is that anyone would actually care about what I have to say. My children listen when I say, "Let's go get a Slurpee!" And my dog hears me when I say, "Wanna go for a run?" That it is pretty much it.

I am not used to saying things that are important to others... Maybe I should practice saying important things and then I won't annoy myself any longer. Probably not!

Fortunately, it seems like interview time is finished for me. While I would rather work on speaking like Captain Kirk, I think I just need to learn to breathe in through my mouth and try to act like a more normalized version of myself. Maybe I can channel the emotionless Data from Star Trek who fakes emotions to fit in with people. Or, I could just stay away from recording devices when someone wants the serious me and say things like, "I have no comment at this time."

The New Star Trek Movie

I was terribly surpised on Friday to be offered two tickets to see the new Star Trek movie. I had been off the grid for a couple of days trying to complete some work and had missed many Twitter posts. Amazingly, no one else snapped them up! I had to change plans, and beg cooperation from my wife to make it happen.

I have to give a serious Woot! shout out to @SteveBFW who gave me the tickets to the Virginia Beach Premeire. And I also have to thank @LAlconcel for putting in a good word for me when I was temporarily out of contact. I love my Twitter peeps!

Yesterday morning at 10:30am I found myself at early screening of a Star trek movie with my daughter Savannah. She was excited to spend a little time with Dad, probably because she knows she gets whatever she wants when we are together. Funny, she didn't want much before the movie. I gave her a twenty to go to the candy counter and she only came back with bottled water and Twizzlers.

I was so geeked out to be at this sneak peak, I nearly emitted a constant squeal from the time I jumped in line. I am surprised that I didn't embarass Savannah in public by trying out my Klingon language skills, or my Captain Kirk persona.

I have stayed away from all of the spoiler sites and waited with much excitement to see this movie, and there I was seeing it before anyone else in the city. Wow!

They gave out stickers and posters as we entered the theater. Savannah and I rushed to the lower level of the theater and grabbed the center seats in the top row- which are the best seats ever!

Savannah and I at the Movie. Notice my shirt?

During the movie there was a Paramount guy wandering around making sure no one was taking pictures or movies of the showing. Security was tight. I have never been to a movie like that.

CW27, a local TV station, was sponsoring the event and took a picture of Savanah and I. I had to sign a waver, and they said that they were going to post our picture on their website on Monday. I will add a link when I find the slide show...
Update! 5/4/09 Here is the Link- Savannah and I are on the CW 27!

Movie Review
While I refuse to ruin a good movie by telling the story, I do think I need to say something about it. The movie was AWESOME! It is by far, the Best Star trek Movie yet!

I have grown up on Star Trek, and some people might say that this fact makes me an impartial judge of the movie, but I would have to disagree. Good is easy to pick out and so is bad, but my love for the Star Trek is like my love for my dog. She can make a mistake and I will still love her, but I don't have to like her poop.

In my opinion The Wrath of Kahn used to be the best Star Trek movie because it was true to the original series. It had action and passion and was just plain fun.

Generations was was a close second because it tied the past from The Orignial Series (TOS) to The Next Generation (which I also loved). I also thought it was the best story of all the movies.

The worst movie was the first one, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was stuffy and difficult to sit through. I must say that I have seen it many times since that day in December of 1979, because there is still much to love about the movie. The bald navigator Ilia is mesmerizing.

There were some other Star Trek that were also pretty bad, but luckily the new Star Trek movie is not one of them. There is lots of action and excitement that will thrill people who aren't into Strek Trek. From the first minutes of the movie to to the last few minutes I was glued to my seat.

The special effects were out of control good. Explosions and space scenes were perfect. The special effects did not take the viewer away from the story, which was very important to me. Otherwise, it would have been a very painful time in the seat for me, because the story makes the movie.

The best part was the storyline. It stayed true to the characters from TOS, but added a surpising twist. This is the beginning of more fun things to come from the Star Trek franchise. If you have never liked Star Trek, now is the time to give it a chance.

At one point in the movie Savannah turns to me and says, "I have to go to the bathroom." Normally I would never send her out by herself, but she is seven and growing more indepenant every day, and I couldn't go into the bathroom with her anyway, so I asked her, "Do you know where the bathroom is? Do you need me to come with you?"

I felt terribly guilty because I didn't want to leave, and the burden of parenthood told me I should have gone with her, but she was ready and was back in only a min or two. Does that make me a bad parent, a Trekkie, or both?

As Savannah and I were walking out of the theater we were asked to give a quick review. I said,"10 out of 10 stars. The best Star Trek Movie yet." Having had a whole almost a whole day to think about it, I still think that is accurate.

I want more! I never go to the movies anymore, but have already told the kids I would take them all to see Star trek when it opens later this week for the world to see.

I have already ordered my Cheezit Star trek shirt and have plans to order them for the whole family, I just need a few more boxes! While I wait patiently for my new shirt, I will probably Trek Myself a few more times...