*-)- welcome aboard *-)-
just me. my current interests and stories for the interwebs.
After my son Benjamin saw his older sister recording a YouTube video presentation for her class assignment, he was eager to create his own. Down below is the first of what may be a series of readings. I present to you, Benji Reads “Mat” BOB Books S1B1.
My daughter chose to do her first grade landmark presentation, on the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. I hope you like it!
/// Links /// Sony A7Rii Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-angle Zoom Lens (SEL1635GM), Black Peak Design Carbon Fiber Tripod Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic
///Credits///
music: http://www.bensound.com
Embedded Photos by: By Wa17gs - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 By Calibas - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 By Wa17gs - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 By Roulex 45 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
Why not continue to use this shelter-in-place, safer-at-home, homeschooling, amazing family time to teach Norah on how to edit a movie using iMovie on macOS. I may have gone a bit overboard as it took an hour or so, but we had a lot of fun.
We taped using the Sony A7Rii, took pictures of the report then imported the data into iMovie. What we have below is Norah Nicolas' First Grade Report on Bottlenose Dolphins Norah Nicolas' First Grade Report on Bottlenose Dolphins for Mrs. Shemanski, Francis Parker Lower School.
During the past six weeks, Norah researched and learned how to not only create a report from scratch but how to write complete paragraphs using transitions, creating a table of contents and a glossary as well as voice-over work and editing on iMovie with her Dad, Elijah Nicolas. She marked, split videos and learned about transitions as well.
/// Links /// Sony A7Rii Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-angle Zoom Lens (SEL1635GM), Black Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone Peak Design Carbon Fiber Tripod Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic
///Credits/// music: http://www.bensound.com Bottlenose Dolphin and Killer Whale Orca sounds by: Watkins Marine Mammal Sound Database, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
A last minute request, the setup and simple chop editing took longer but we had a lot of fun! Hope you enjoy the story!
Reading for Mrs. Shemanski's First Grade Class at Francis Parker Lower School, Norah chose to share one of her favorite books by Mo Willems titled, "Waiting Is Not Easy!" This was setup and recorded last minute. Sorry for the quick chop.
Tools: Sony Alpha A7Rii + Manfrotto Stand for Universal Cell Phone Edited with iMovie on macOS and recorded via OBS Studio: https://obsproject.com
/// Links ///
Sony A7Rii Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-angle Zoom Lens (SEL1635GM), Black Manfrotto Stand for Universal Cell Phone Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone Peak Design Carbon Fiber Tripod Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic UGREEN Micro HDMI to HDMI Cable Male to Female: Waiting Is Not Easy by Mo Willems: https://amzn.to/2LlfFrO UGREEN Micro HDMI to HDMI Cable Male to Female: https://amzn.to/2Wse7CQ music: http://www.bensound.com
For everyone that is either receiving or giving a camera for the Christmas / Holiday season, check out Tek Syndicate's great video that covers the main three topics: ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.
You also can't go wrong with Olympus' new OM-D E-M10 Mark II paired with my favorite Panasonic Leica SUMMILUX 25mm f/1.4. Check them both out!
Crucially, its findings are based on situations where the child’s musical activities were informal and shared, typically with a parent – essentially a playful social experience.
Simple and fun musical activities can have enormous power in developing numeracy and literacy: try improvising a counting song, or making up new rhymes to familiar tunes.
But the true power of musical play lies in the unique blend of creativity, sound and face-to-face interaction; the learning is strengthened by its basis in a positive, empathic emotional relationship.
Let's jam. I'll host. Bring your best kitchen utensils and percussion instruments.
Sheriff Chris Nocco said Thursday that Green logged onto the school's network on March 31 using an administrative-level password without permission. He then changed the background image on a teacher's computer to one showing two men kissing.
I probably would have put something else more light hearted. But being arrested? A little overboard. What do you think? And shockingly enough, the administrative password that were used at the school were teacher's last names?! That's just being smart in my book on the kid and very unsecure on their part.
via Tampa Bay Times
What if instead of introducing your friend as Jennifer the nurse, you started introducing her as Jennifer, one of most thoughtful people you know, or Jennifer the friend who helped you move in when you didn’t know a soul in this city.
Introducing your friends for who they are rather than focusing on what they do will remind them they are loved before and beyond their titles. It’s an easy way to remind them that you see them for their hearts instead of their accomplishments.
If you boast about the awesome weather in San Diego like me, we're in over our heads starting tonight! Ever wonder where our local news meteorologists grab a lot of their data and forecasting models? Take a peak at the National Weather Service. I linked directly to San Diego's portal and have posted today's briefing (Wednesday's night) which you can watch below. I advise that everyone should watch it. These are the professionals that I always trust. Stay safe this week and drive defensively. I'm off Saturday night and Sunday and am hoping that when I fly home, the weather will be cooperating in normal awesomeness. I know we can use the rain, but this is posing to be an "epic" storm.
http://youtu.be/eMrDd9gVapc
There is a wealth of information on how to read and interpret the data that lies within the NWS website. Have fun and get lost in the site!
The list of top brewers in the World recently debuted for 2014 at ratebeer.com and there are 16 alone in California. Even better, five are right in my very own backyard including the #1 rated brewer which I have yet to try! Three specifically are listed in San Diego while the other two are listed as Alpine and Escondido which I also consider San Diego County. I've taken the liberty to list them along with their most popular brews, in alphabetical order, down below. Did you brewer or beer make the list?
If you haven't done so yourself, check out the Stone Brewing Company pictures that I posted a while back at their new flagship restaurant in Pt. Loma, San Diego. It's over 11,000 square feet and is definitely a gorgeous location for any event.
I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of overly hoppy but that's just me. If you haven't read it yet, there's a great article from a few months back that talks about the west coast polarization towards more and more hops. You can read that here. What are your favorites beers? I'm still a Chimay Blue Grand Reserve kind of guy.
I wish that our society was more pro breast feeding and more family oriented. I dread leaving my family for work. I dislike that we all are not given maternity and paternity leave or much less afford the luxury. Fortunately, for the first three months of our daughter's life, my wife and I were there for her. It was amazing! It was perfect. Now our little Norah is approaching 18 months and we are contemplating a full weaning (ultimately of course my wife's choice but I love that she talks to me about it). I've always been all about and can't imagine any reason of how or why people are offended by the act of feeding your kid wherever or whenever.
I'm writing this post because earlier this evening my wife sent me an article and it home. For the full awesome post, follow the link.
For example, the nursing mother’s immune system works in tandem with her child’s, detecting pathogens to which the child has been exposed and producing antibodies that are passed through breast milk (if you’ve ever wondered why mothers have a strange compulsion to kiss their newborns’ hands, one theory is that it’s related to this immune support).
We’re not alone in that opinion. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding alongside appropriate solid foods “up to two years of age or beyond” (WHO). Here in the States, there’s something of a movement afoot toward extended breastfeeding, going hand-in-hand with the movement toward what has been dubbed “attachment parenting.” In a nutshell, attachment parenting is built around the notion that humans are naturally an offspring-carrying species (à la higher primates), not a nesting species like dogs or cats or birds. As such, the argument goes, we are more within our natural element carrying our babies, or wearing them, or co-sleeping with them at night, than we are to plop them in a stroller or a bouncy seat or a playpen or a crib (as were most of us as children). Far from spoiling the child (as the old-schoolers would say we were doing), the theory is that keeping our children physically close to us—carrying them on our chests or backs when we’re out and about, engaging them with direct attention, allowing them to sleep close to us or even with us—helps the child grow into a secure, empathetic, and nurturing adult.
So how public is too public? If you ask me, there is no such thing. Riding a bus, sitting in a restaurant, in uniform, in Parliament, in front of the Pope—you name it. A nursing baby is so much more pleasant than a cranky, hungry baby. Don’t want to see it? That’s simple: Don’t look.
A couple of months back, SoulPancake released a Youtube video about the "Science of Happiness". If you haven't watched it yet, check it out below. http://youtu.be/oHv6vTKD6lg
At the end of the video, they asked viewers to send in their own video responses which they compiled and recently posted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3G5sdUUd1Y&feature=share&list=PLzvRx_johoA_Zhuo_pRsWSbARe2IZ2XZJ
What makes you happy? For further reading, check out the study that was conducted on Positive Psychology, here's the link!
If you didn't know this by now, I recommend that you take a look at the rankings for Colleges / National Universities specifically Washington Monthly's ranking system. It takes into consideration various attributes that include social mobility, research and service instead of the exclusivity, campus amenities and waiting lists. Coincidently, the Obama Administration is proposing a new ranking system on just that.
...he says schools should be scored on things like the cost of tuition, loan debt and how much graduates end up earning.
For more in-depth, you should read or listen to NPR's Michel Martin insightful interview with editor-in-chief Paul Glastris. As some of you who are reading this, take this list into consideration as you or your child begins the application process or looking this fall.
My wife and I are proud alums of the number one school. Chalk one up for yet another top ten San Diego! Maybe it time for that tatoo of Geisel Library? Stay classy!
Here's an excerpt:
MARTIN: But the University of California at San Diego ranks number one. Now why is that?
GLASTRIS: That's the fourth year in a row for that school. They do an outstanding job on all three of our metrics. A large portion of their student body is on Pell Grants. They graduate those students at higher-than-expected rates. They do great on service and they're a research powerhouse. In fact, there's a - about half the top 15 schools are University of California schools.