All Grows Up

Danbury Cabin - Fall 2010

2010-11-10T06:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw a demo of the new "Movie Preview" templates that came with the latest version of iMovie (on our new Mac - I am SO converted) So I just had to try it out. In about an hour - this is what I had. I wasn't even planning on getting something good enough to share - but this just makes me laugh each time I watch it.

It does look better in HD - click to watch it on vimeo

I will post the pictures tonight.

Happy Birthday

2010-10-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Over the years I often have heard parents go on on about how fast time flys and how quickly kids grow. In this first year I am certainly begining to realize how true this is - first hand. Grandparents, sorry this took a while to get posted, looking back at of the pictures it was so hard to choose favorites. When I began pulling together this video, I started by watching the first one I made a year ago. Wow. She actually took her first steps last night. She has been get increasingly brave standing up on her own, so with considerable prodding from Mol and I we got her to take a couple steps before falling into our arms. That moment was everything and more that I thought it would be.

Additionally, with thanksgiving just around the corner, Mol and I have talking about how overwhelmed we are with how much we have to be thankful for.

This first year as a Dad has been the most amazing year of my life. Thank you Mia for bringing so much joy in my life and in the lives of literally everyone you smile at.

Lastly, thanks Mol, I knew you were going to be an amazing mother, but wow. You set a new standard for amazing. I am so lucky to be on this journey with you - each and every day.

Happy Birthday Mia, Love Mom and Dad

State Fair 2010

2010-09-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

To be honest I really didn't think Mia would get much out the state fair this young, but the three of us together had a total blast.

State Fair 2010

July 2010

2010-09-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Way to long since a post. The summer really went quick, but it was a great one.

July 2010

A Perfect Fathers Day

2010-06-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my first fathers day, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. I got to sleep in a bit, and then was finally woken up by my daughters infectious giggling and screaming.

Then I went fishing with my Brother and Dad.

While they were fishing, I kept busy chasing this cool dragonfly.

I was in the middle of changing lens when my Dad caught this one, even though he got the fish, I call this "the picture that got away".

Back at the cabin we took a relaxing pontoon ride around the lake. My Dad finally got to show off his granddaughter to the neighbors down the way. She got to hangout in her favorite floaty.

The neighbors had a new dog toy that uses .22 shell to launch a dog toy out into the lake. I jumped at the chance to take a few pictures of Buddy leaping off the dock.

Finally, while we were docking the boat, my Dad started bragging to our other neighbors about my photography. (Thanks Dad!) So then I ended up going out in their speedboat to snap a few of them having a blast on tubes.

Here is the full Tubing Album, I caught a couple wipe out sequences that looked pretty amazing.

A huge thanks to my wife, and family for making this day one to remember.

Memorial Day: Backyard Landscaping

2010-06-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy memorial day weekend, making it to both Osceola, and Danbury, and then home buy Sunday evening. My goal was to spread the remaining mulch around our existing beds... but combined with how much mulch we still had left over, and how nice the day was, I got quite ambitious.

I realized that with the garage roof was done, and the Elm tree was down, we were ready to finally plant around our garage and along the neighbors garage. With a healthy mix of planning and impulsiveness I set off to digging. And then off to Gertens for a completely full pickup truck of plants and shrubs.

Black tube sox with shorts... killer combo. Ignore me - Mia wiggling nonstop is again the highlight.

Memorial Day Landscaping - Timelapse from Nathan on Vimeo.

All of this rain we have been getting recently has actually been great for everything we planted. Once its nicer out - I will post some better before and after pictures.

There is no way we could have done all of this in a day without Sandy's help. And thanks to Grandma Peg for sweeping off out porch, and Kathy for making us Dinner. My imagination works at this speed, always forgetting that everything takes longer to do than I think it will.

In other news, Mia is officially crawling. This morning as mol went down the stairs, Mia went crawling after, and I did a test to see, what Mia would do when she got to the stairs. : ) I was of course right there, and she didn't even slow down, in a way she kind of threw her arms out, like she was going to penguin slide down the stairs. (Mia would have made an excellent penguin, in the last month before finally crawling she perfected the belly swimming in place move.)

While installing the gate at the top of the stairs last night was good timing, it marks the transition into the next stage of parenthood. My good friend Andrew explained it really well... "there is absolutely no instinct for self preservation, that is all on us now."

No matter, just as with the added responsibilities and stress that came with each milestone we already passed - each day also brings the small moments that fill my heart and blow my mind. A new giggle, clapping her hands, or maybe even waving at me as I left for work.

Swimming Pool

2010-05-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Mia got to play in her first kiddie pool. She absolutely loves the water! It seems like She will be crawling any minute now, but I am not in any hurry if she isn't.

One of my favorite times of the day is plopping her in the middle of our bed in the morning while we get ready for work. Neither molly or I are morning people - but it seems like Mia's happiest. She is laughs, and screams, and shows off the latest noise she learned how to make.

Its like natural coffee.

Pretty soon she is going to be chasing us around the floor.

Her bottom two teeth are really coming through - she of course still loves chewing on anything she gets her hand on - teething biscuits are her favorite.

Here is a link to the full album

7 Months

2010-04-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

Just when I was finally starting to come to grasp with becoming a parent, I can sense that a lot is going to change soon. I have found myself sharing with a lot of new or soon to be parents, about how the feeling of "it hasn't hit me yet" just keeps evolving. It started with "it just hasn't hit me yet that my wife is pregnant." And keeps changing with each milestone, that I am a Dad, or that I have a 1 month old, and so on.

One of the many things that take getting used too is all of the attention babies get when we go out. People just can't help but smile and stare. Like having a puppy but even more so.

Mia has up to this point been amazing going out wherever we are going. We had a chance to catch up with some old friends who hadn't yet met her - which made it funny having to use the classic parent line... "sorry... she is never like this, this is so new for her..." This time it was actually true. For the first time she was not content just sitting there smiling, and her own toys had no chance at keeping her attention - having to compete with all the fun stuff on the dinner table. When Mol took a spoon away from her - she actually cried and pouted about it. Right then I thought to myself uh-oh the honeymoon is over. I have to actually be a parent now. I am going to savor these last few moments before she learns to move around on her own. I do however, love how the stress of each new milestone is tempered with pride for what she can now do. Her first two bottom teeth are popped through, and she is now sitting up by her self just fine.

On the side I have been launching my photography business, which has been interesting and a lot of fun so far. My main goal is to ensure that I don't let the business part take the fun out of it. One side effect I am noticing is a hesitancy to take more candid causal pictures of us just living. As if now that I am "going pro" - all my pictures have to look it.

We had a blast on our date night - All you can eat sushi at Seven in Mpls. is only $30 on Sundays. Then the Jonsi concert went above and beyond my already high expectations. Because it was his solo album I wasn't expecting a full band for some reason. But there was, and the drummer was nothing short of world class. I could barely contain myself in my chair. The visual effects were like nothing I had seen, there were many times I just sat in complete shock of the complexity of the audio and visual stimulation.

I love being inspired when I get a chance to see people so in their element doing exactly what they were meant to do. So yesterday on a whim I took Mia for a walk to the park to take some pictures of her sitting up on her own. It was a good reminder for me that its when I let go of what I know how to do, and experiment with a new technique - without expectation - is when I have the most fun.

From Sitting in the park

Range of Expression

2010-04-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Perspective is Everything

2010-03-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

From Como Zoo

Full Album Here

Life in Fast Forward

2010-03-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe Mia is 6 months already! (tomorrow) I think this first year of her life will seem like the fastest year of mine. She is doing really well, almost sitting up by herself, hasn't quite figured out how to roll from her stomach to back. But I think what I am most grateful for is her unique personality. She can entertain a whole room with her random outbursts, laughter, and screams - much like her mother. Then at other times she is perfectly content, just observing from the corner, quietly taking it all in - like her Dad. She has allowed us to maintain somewhat of a social life, by being so laid back - Thanks Mia.

She has also been very interested in big people food lately - so we decided to start her on rice cereal when Mol got back from Mexico. In classic new parent form - we had to video tape it. Its really not that interesting - so I sped it up - and put it to a song by Phoenix, that we are rocking out to on a daily basis. (on the rockin new kitchen speakers, which I love more everyday.) And the good news is Mol loves them too.

With spring in the air - we went to explore getting a new stroller. Even though mol and I do not run we wanted something with big wheels that can be used at the cabins. There was only the floor model left of the one we liked with 20% off plus being on clearance... Plus we squeezed them for another $10 off because the pedometer was broken... We couldn't pass up a deal that sweet. Mia seems to like it - she loves being able to look around.

If you are snob like me - you can watch it in HD at Vimeo.

In some ways this video is an analogy, for the last six months - a blur at times, with moments of pure bliss, that really stick with me.

Left to my own Devices

2010-03-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

So with Mol in Mexico - Mia is stuck wearing far more practical outfits than cute. And I am catching a small glimpse of how hard it would be to be a single parent. I qualify it as a very small glimpse because I am getting plenty of help - tonight will be the only dinner I will have cooked for myself. (Leftovers from last nights meal cooked by Erik and Mady)

Mol has the camera with her - so the low res iPhone pics will have to suffice.

I had to try and tackle a project that I could get done in one day. Luckily Mady helped to watch Mia while my brother and I went down to the shop to make this sweet speaker shelf above the kitchen sink. It was't complicated but I knew it had to be exact in order to be worth the effort at all (and not get the veto from Mol when she returns.)

I love it when stuff just works. I think most of you have seen me demo the iPhone app - Remote - in my basement. Its great - but I have found I don't listen to much music in the basement. I have wanted to put another "zone" in the kitchen for a while - I kept getting stuck on wanting to put the speakers on the cabinet opposite the sink - but there is no power in that wall. Saturday I even started down the path of installing an outlet up through that wall, but quickly realized that would have been more than a day project. So I can give the rest of the placement specific later if anyone cares - the important part is how simple the technology is. And cheap when compared to other marketed solutions like the Bose Sound Link ($550) or SONOS ($1000).

Because I already have the iPhone and a wireless router (which most normal people already have :) - adding a wireless music "zone" is only $200.

The key components: Apple Airport Express ($99) and the Bose Companion 2 Speakers ($89)

What makes the Airport Express so clutch is its built in headphone style audio output jack. And while every other Bose product is way over priced - the Companion series isn't - and still sounds amazing. Even better than the super popular iPod dock speakers.

Now - with my iPhone - I can choose which rooms I want music in - (computer, basement, and kitchen.)

On a cute note - Mol had me record a video of her reading a book - for me to play to Mia while she is gone. She absolutely loves it - she giggles in this cute half laugh half cry - like oh I am happy to see you, but I miss you too...

No Need to Water

2010-02-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

This next one required a little more patience. With so many small pieces we just had to go a little bit slower. This time instead of stopping to take pictures throughout, I just took video, and then sped it up a bit. In the end, I think everything else going on around me kind of upstaged the actual wall print. This really puts into perspective how constant a babies wiggling is.

Watch HD on Vimeo

From Blik Projects

Check out it out here: Blik - Olive

Giraffes!

2010-02-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

Many of you know I am huge threadless fan. I found Blik a while back when they started printing some threadless designs as vinyl wall art. Mol and I decided to get one for Mia's room. Most are reasonably priced - and simple to "install". Such Great Height

From Blik Projects

Sledding with a Friend

2010-02-15T18:35:00.001-08:00

It was a bit chilly but still a good time.

From Sledding with a friend

Valentines Day

2010-02-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Mol and I cashed in on our anniversary present from Mols parents - one free night at the Westin (including baby sitting. Mol was 9 months prego on our anniversary this year - so it was nice to celebrate it over valentines day.) The suite was awesome. The hot tub was just what we needed - including the interesting people we met drinking Bush Light cans.

Dinner at the Ocean Air was amazing. It was obviously super busy - but they didn't make you feel that way. Our table was too squished to everyone around us - and our server was awesome. Mol and I agreed that all too often servers mess up that moment where they ask if you want wine with dinner - and whether or not they should remove the glasses from the table. So many servers get make that awkward - Ours was SO smooth about it - and I could tell it was going to be a perfect experience. The smallest details are always what matter - how he cracked and shelled Mols King Crab Legs table side - to how the busser noticed I had dripped butter into my water glass - and got me a new one instead of just adding more water. A bit pricey - but we were combining two special occasions - and it was so delicious.

Then on Sunday after one whole night away from Mia - she demanded some of our attention - so we decided to do a photo shoot. (She was actually a doll for the Grandparents, sleeping her usual 9-10 hours)

From Valentines Day

Now we are going to go sledding with some friends - and maybe some more picture taking. : )

Balloons and Babies

2010-02-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

Finally getting around to finishing this post two Saturdays ago we made a quick field trip over to Hudson for their annual Hot Air Affair festival. Mol gets the credit for getting us out and about. We were there and back in a couple hours, and it was fun going to a "carnival" style event in the middle of winter. It was pretty cool how quickly everyone showed up - ballooners - and spectators all showed up right at 6:30 for the "Moon Glow". I was also surprised how close we got to get to all of the action.

From Hot Air Affair 2010

Also our neighbors had their new baby! Holy crap. Getting to hold a 4 day old baby next to Mia at 4 months was pretty cool. It was this great tangible reminder of how much Mia - and my life - has changed so quickly. I had an interesting deja vu moment - when Mia was looking at Annie - just how our other friends baby (who was 4 months old) looked at Mia just after she was born.

Mia's First Sled

2010-01-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

First holiday season with Mia - Check. Still sane - Check. Having a kid now, definitely takes it up a notch. We were able to take time and just relax, which is saying something. I am always trying to tackle just one more project - and constantly dreaming of more. (I want to knock out the wall between our living room and dinning room - for example. Not even a possibility in the short term - but something to dream about :)

Mia continues to grow and change everyday. On a long list of our favorite things she does, we both can't get over how cute she is - even at 4am. She doesn't really even cry... she just starts talking, and wiggling around, and then when one of us goes in to change/feed her she always gives us this huge ear to ear smile. Just one example of little rewards there are along the way that make the extra work completely worth it.

I am bracing myself for when she starts being mobile. From what I can tell we still have it relatively easy. ie; she stays where we put her :) Looking back already I am beginning to realize that with each milestone there are worries and concerns - but so far mol and I have risen to each challenge together, and what used to seem ridiculous, quickly becomes normal. Instead of worrying about what we are going to do when... I am working on enjoying the present. Falling in love/becoming obsessed with photography has helped remind me how fleeting each day and its memories can be.

My parents gave Mia her first sled for Christmas. The nice weather on Saturday finally gave us the opportunity to try it out. I had realistic expectations, and was planning on only getting a couple pictures and then walking home. But to our surprise - she LOVED it. She continuously giggled as each rail would tip down into our foot prints. I even convinced Mol to let her slide down a 15% slope for 10ft to me while I took video. Leave it to Dad to push the limit :) She eventually just fell asleep all wrapped up snug.

All in all - we have been reminded about the importance of the small things. And enjoyed simply spending time with friends and family. The pace slowed a bit this year - which was good. But it did mean we didn't fit as many people in as we would have liked. So for those of you we haven't had a chance to see in while, lets get something scheduled now that the holiday crazy has settled. Here's to the new year and savoring each moment big and small.

PS: Grandparents - you can click on the images to go to the full albums. :)

Yellow Hat

2009-12-31T15:09:00.000-08:00

More pictures of Mia in the bumbo. It is such a handy little chair to have around, we often put her right on the the dining room table so she can sit with us while we have dinner. Its good for at least eating the first half of the meal while its still hot.
Its so cool how quickly she is changing each day.

From All Smiles

The perfect gift for a hockey fan.

2009-11-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

I have to be honest, when my friend Andrew told me they were doing their next documentary on the Gold Medal Olympic hockey team, I assumed it was the about 1980 team. It turns out the story of the 1960 team is just as, if not more fascinating. I was actually invited to tag along with Andrew and Tommy for a day while they were shooting in the Twin Cites. Not only was it cool to see them do their thing, getting to meet two of the 1960 team members in person was pretty special - I had never met an a gold medalist before. They even let me look at the actual medal. It was really refreshing to see someone who has truly accomplished something great, demonstrate such humility.

If it wasn't for this film I think a lot of people would have never known this great bit of history. Similar to their first hockey doc Pond Hockey, these guys know how to make great films that everyone can enjoy hockey fan or not. Order both as great gifts this holiday on forgottenmiracle.com

Mia in Black and White

2009-11-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to post an album of all Black and Whites. And these few were perfect for it.

From Mia Nov 09 Black and White

Click link above to view the whole album

October in November

2009-11-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe its almost thanksgiving already. We have done our best to make the best of the nice weather we have been having. Going on lots of walks, the Como Zoo, and a quick photo shoot yesterday in the backyard. I have never been a big fan of flash photography, but recently got the 430exII. It is taking some practice, but I am really happy with a few of these shots with the sun at their backs.

From Mia Nov 09

She is also starting to talk to us this week. So blasted cute. We had a "practice" day care day with the 2/3 grandmas that went REALLY well. Nonetheless Mol isn't overly excited to start work this week. Luckily its a short one. Mia did sleep 8 1/2 hours STRAIGHT on Friday night.

From Mia Nov 09

Mia's first Ely Deer Camp (with the ladies)

2009-11-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

This weekend we realized how much stuff Mia has already. The car was packed full for just two nights - and Molly still had to get more diapers. Thankfully we got an early start and there was no traffic. Mia slept the whole way (just over 4 hours) both ways. She is smiling more now and making all kinds of different faces. She is trying really hard to make more noises but hasn't really figured it out yet. She does make a really funny snort noise a lot though.

Here is a link to the full album

And here is the Album from Halloween if you missed it.

little footprints

2009-10-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Its so amazing seeing how Mia is already growing and changing so fast in just 2 weeks. Last night we gave her 4th bath and finally got our system down so she didn't cry at all, and seemed to even enjoy it. So of course I ran and got the camera. I will always be glad I took those first two weeks off - even it was with out pay. This first week back at work has been interesting to say the least. She has just started having trouble some nights getting back to sleep after feedings and diaper change. Our friends Andrew and Liz recomended a great book The Happiest Baby on The Block The 5 S's actually work. Swaddle, Sideways, Shhh, Sway, and Suck. It doesn't work EVERY time but when it does - it feels like someone gave you a secret baby code. And its comforting to hear every single person congratulate me - and then sympathize for the lack of sleep they know we are getting.

Animoto is the best. This was so easy and fun to make its crazy. Now that I know how easy it is to incorporate video - I can't wait to take more.

Welcome Baby Mia

2009-09-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

A friend of my mom wrote: "Her little feet are already leaving footprints on our hearts." As cheesy as it may sound - its so true. Its nice to have had a couple of nights at home to adjust and get to know our little one. Each new sound and face she makes blows me away. This song by Ray LaMontagne has taken on a new meaning for me. Molly made a great mix for us while in the hospital. That combined with amazing midwives and nurses we held a really peaceful space for Mol and Mia. I was blown away with how well Mol handled labor - while every birth is unique - relative to the stories I have heard, this one was on the longer and harder end of the scale. Saying I am deeply proud of Molly would be quite the understatement.

The outpouring of well wishes, support, gifts, cards, visitors, food, and more - has been truly amazing. We are so grateful to be bringing Mia into a community that is as rich in love and spirit as our family and friends.Already in these first few days - in the first few moments even - we have realized what so many have been telling us. Nothing compares. This is even more amazing and wonderful than we could have expected. We are taking lots of pictures and doing our best to savor each moment. We posted some of our favorites below. Check out the full album here.

Impulse Control

2009-09-14T21:08:00.001-07:00

Ever since reading Daniel Golemans Emotional Intelligence
- in which he references the now infamous marshmallow test - I have always imagined how fun it would be to watch the kids cope with this challenge.

With the increase in the pace we live our lives - and how easy it is to achieve instant gratification - the lesson of impulse control - and delayed gratification is only more relevant today.

More Dog Jumping

2009-08-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Cin figured out why Leonard preferred jumping off the pontoon - traction. Now with some improvised astro-turf on the dock he can let it all hang out.

From More Dog Jumping

Burning Energy

2009-08-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Mol and I couldn't wait any longer, everyone we know has dogs so - even though we have a new baby due to arrive in the next few weeks - we thought it was a good time to get a NEW PUPPY !!!

Yeah right. No puppy for us for a while - but our neighbors were like "really... a new dog huh...?" We were just watching our friends Anne and Aaron's dog Karma for a couple of days. Thankfully everyone else invited us out to the dog park. We had never been, but it was the best place to go to burn Karma's infinite puppy energy.

Ruby lovin the Baby Bjorn:

Easy Canoe Trip

2009-07-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we were lucky enough to have the perfect weather for a lazy canoe trip down the Saint Croix. There are a couple outfitters that you can go through. This was our second trip with Wild Mountain Its $45 for the canoe with paddles and life vests. It's a bit steep but still worth it. We highly recommend parking your car at the end of the trip just on the Minnesota side of the HWY 243 bridge into Osceola, WI. This way when you are done - you are DONE - and and literally leave the canoe on the beach and just jump into your car and leave. We took our time - stopping a couple of times along the way - and still made it down in under 3 hours.

From St. Croix River

The water was really low in some spots. A little girl canoeing by when mol snapped this even said "look mom it looks like he is walking on water" :)

Even though there were a lot people on the river - it was very peaceful with plenty of "nature" all around. I was able to sneak up pretty close to this hawk before he flew away.

Mol was rockin the super cute baby bump. Passers by would all smile at us and then to each other about how cute they thought it was.

My Favorite Top Gear Segment.

2009-07-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Each time I watch this I still get goose bumps. It is rare to find someone so "expert" at something that can also explain their expertise in such a simple and easy to understand way. "Like Yoda"

Mother of all Belly Flops

2009-07-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

Classic Big Picture Blog. I can't believe the big news sites still get away with low resolution fuzzy images.

Video: Leonards Leap

2009-07-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

As promised here is some of the video shot with my Canon T1i and Sigma 10x20mm.

Leonards Leap from Nathan Grahek on Vimeo.

Man I love Vimeo.

Another Perfect Day in Osceola

2009-07-13T07:04:00.001-07:00

The weather was perfect on Saturday and Erik was excited to show me Leonards new favorite game.

From Fishin and Dog Jumping

For some reason Leonard really likes jumping off the boat way more than jumping off the dock. This made it tuff to get back far enough - hence so many of the shots his head is out of frame. It does however give you a good sense of how fast he is going. I will post a couple videos of it later this week. I was literally hanging off the front of the boat dangling the camera out as far as I could. Next time I am going to try and be in a second boat - and have my back to the sun. Black Labs are always just big black shadows when shooting into the sun.

He likes jumping off so much - he gave us all a mini heart attack when we started driving again - Erik had the stick in his hand - Lenard just exploded over the rail off the FRONT of the pontoon. Luckily we were going slow and my Dad was quick to kill the throttle.

So far this is still one of my favorite shots of the summer, from Memorial weekend.

From Memorial Day Weekend 09

Sunday Morning Bloody Mary's

2009-07-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

Over the years a number of people have asked for the bloody recipe I use, and I have been meaning to put something like this together for a while.

In a nut shell - while I almost always stick to the same foundation - experimenting with different ingredients is what I enjoy most. Take a look at what I have so far, please leave your comments - and let me know some of your favorite ingredients.

A short list of my favorite IDOL bookmarks

2009-03-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

To my fellow Capella - soon to be - graduates:

I will add more to this post in the following weeks as the dust settles and I bask in the great feeling of being done with my Masters. !!!

I completed the Training & Performance Improvement track, it was the perfect combination of depth with high-level macro scope. I was able to develop skills for identifying performance gaps, recommending the best solutions, and evaluating their impact ... (in a nut shell).

In doing some reflection on my integrative project, I am realizing that because I chose to develop an actual program, it allowed me to really focus in on my passion for IDOL, and explore the state of this specific industry. With the rapid advancement of technology combined with the current economy - there is (and will be) a huge rush to leveraging web based solutions. It will be important that we stand our ground and use what we have learned to make sure the RUSH to the online learning is done with responsibility and caution. As we all know e-learning is not a panacea.

I am especially interesting in this whole term and concept of "Rapid-elearning" Is this just an excuse to cut corners to increase volume and lower ID quality?

Enough already, here is my list of bookmarks to share:

Please reply back to this with your favorite bookmarks that you use.

I just found these today, they should offer plenty of good inspiration. Most of them are really well-done, but many are riddled with extraneous load distractions:
Rapid-elearning Examples made with Articulate

This is a great list of some of the best training and IDOL blogs all in one spot:
http://www.pageflakes.com/trainingblogs

http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

http://c4lpt.co.uk/index.html

http://elearningcurve.blogspot.com/

http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/

Gates on Malaria and Education

2009-02-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

You may have heard already, Bill Gates received a lot of press for a stunt he pulled at the TED conference last week - In an effort to get the attention of his audience and raise awareness about Malaria, he released a "swarm" of Mosquitoes. Despite being at what has quickly become THE conference to go to if you're rich, smart, or otherwise important - filled with the greatest minds in technology and other things - Gates spoke nothing of technology. Instead he methodically outlines two great problems his foundation is trying to help address. Malaria and Education.

I can clearly tell he has received some good coaching on his presentation delivery skills - as well as his PowerPoint slide design.

In many ways I consider his talk more pragmatic than inspiring or thought provoking -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think its fair to say that he is doing what he is doing because of the position he is in. I am pretty confident that if most of the people I know, ever had his kind of money - they would be doing similar work. (Gladwell argues this point of privilege thoroughly in his latest: Outliers. In which he ironically uses Gates as a case study)

That said, I think that Bill's calculating approach to problem solving will transfer well to problems of more gravity than whether vista works or not. Most important will be his ability to identify and delegate the right challenges to the right people. Maybe Bill is learning this from Warren Buffet - his largest donor.

Gates pulled and "Oprah" and gave everyone in the audience this book:Work Hard. Be Nice. Written by the founders of the KIPP schools. There is all of this talk about what do to, and how to do it. Well taking a closer look at the organizations who are already doing it, seems like a good place to start.

Check out the talk for yourself below - or on Ted.com here.

Addition: They posted the follow up QA with Chris Anderson in the TEDblog here.

I would be interested to see more data on the health and birth rate correlation.

Digital Overload

2009-02-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

Want a distraction?

Here is a good article on how multi-tasking hurts our creativity and ability to focus

Digital Overload is Frying our Brains

What makes Measurable Objectives so difficult to get right?

2009-02-03T09:04:00.001-08:00

Learning how to define measurable objectives has been more challenging than I thought it would be. I am now realizing first hand how vital a role measurable objectives play. In these trying times for everyone, the gap between how important objectives are - and how often they are overlooked - is getting wider. Now more than ever, there is a need to evaluate training effectiveness and Return on Investment. Evaluation is impossible without a clear, measurable target. Unfortunately, the ineffectiveness of poorly defined objectives is not realized until attempting to evaluate, and by then it's too late.

I found myself asking what makes this so difficult? Why is it so often overlooked?

In this first post I will outline my answers to these questions. In a following post I will share the tricks I have learned to writing measurable objectives.

Writing Measurable Objectives is difficult because:

1) Knowledge or understanding can not be measured. (but we like to think it can)

On some levels I think we get this, but its easy to forget because so much of our culture wants to hold onto the illusion that we can. Throughout the entire education system we are conditioned to believe that our own knowledge is being measured when it isn’t. How much does knowledge weigh? What does it look like? We can only measure what we can observe and knowledge at its very essence is unobservable. What we can observe and therefore measure is behavior. Where we make the mistake is when through measuring a persons behavior we THINK we are measuring their knowledge.

The measurement of behavior can provide valuable insight, but this insight is often used incorrectly by mistaking correlations as cause and effect. Just because its when its snowing outside its freezing, does not mean that when its freezing outside its snowing. Clearly there are additional l variables to consider. The same is true with the link between knowledge and behavior. There are an infinite number of variables that contribute to a persons behavior. Therefore, knowledge does not cause behavior.

Thomas Gilberts Behavioral Engineering Model (BEM) provides 6 main categories in which we can group the many variables that contribute to a persons behavior.
While the BEM can be used to select a strategy for influencing a persons behavior, it can not be used in reverse. The measurement of a persons behavior should not be mistaken as a measurement of anything other than behavior.

Prezi.com

2008-12-22T22:00:00.000-08:00

Going back to the basics and then beyond them.
As promised I wanted to post my initial reactions to the very promising new presentation tool Prezi.com. This quote from their intro presentation is a great place to start.

To be clear, despite any new technology the fact remains that it is much easier to ruin a good speech with a bad PowerPoint (or other visual aids) than it is to make a good presentation better with good visual aids.

Here in a great clip from the great show Mad Men on AMC Don Draper gives an inspiring presentation to the Kodak engineers who are shopping for a Marketing company, this is good presenting 101:

Key elements he used:

1) Emotion
2) Story
3) Images
4) Little to no text on the screen.

When we add all of the glitz and glamor to what we can do with PowerPoint today, it is easy to forget what makes this medium so powerful in the first place. Think back to the last presentation you gave, better yet the last presentation you had to sit through. What was the most memorable part? The long list of bullet points or was it an image, or diagram? The easiest change we can all make that makes the biggest improvement is to use more images and less text.

I will save other ways to improve presentations for later posts.

There are two fundamental concepts that prezi.com introduces.

1) It finally breaks the rigid linear paradigm of having one slide after another, from beginning to end.

2) It adds the ability to display meaningful visual structures of information, that remain in tact both on the screen and therefore in the viewers minds.

Once I have had a chance to build and deliver a few presentations using prezi, I will share more.

SeaDragon

2008-12-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

I first saw this concept almost two years ago in Blaise’s Ted.com presentation . I knew this whole paradigm was going to totally transform how information is presented and consumed.

The part of the demo when he shows the mock issue of the Guardian I think does the best job of showing how this will change the general way we think of organizing information. One of the most important elements of effective communication is quickly establishing context. Context is terms of the mental models and structures through which we understand and make sense of new information. The problem lies in that when the sender fails to establish the appropriate context, we the receivers do it ourselves. And we all think we are much better at doing this on our own than we really are. (Mostly because we aren't really aware that we are always doing it.)

The current model of using hyperlinked text can be really effective. However, any visual mental model of related information and concepts is usually very week. For example, tt is easy to forget how you ended up where you are, and still understand the related information as part of the greater structure from which you linked out of...

Well almost two years later, and wrapped of course in Microsofts silverlight.. Seadragon is finally available in Microsoft Live Labs

Microsoft gets credit for releasing things like this in their Labs section... I think it will help with thier branding issues. (everyone hates Vista) With the complexity of new software and the speed at which we demand it, bugs or inevitiable. So with a few bugs aside, and lacking any core marketing message, SeaDragon is here.

The iPhone app is pretty cool. Photosynth is equally impressive from a technical perspective, but less practical.

Be sure to check out the infinite zooming concept applied by Prezi.com for making really cool looking presentions. I will post more about it my next post.