NASCAR-lition Derby

I'm usually all for an action packed crash fest. Hell, that's why I love Daytona and Talledega. There's nothing better than close racing. Not knowing when the slightest mistake, driver error, or an unexpected mechanical malfunction is going to cause the next melee is part of the thrill.



But when it get's predictable, well that's just silly.



It wasn't anyone's fault really. Track President Humpy Wheeler levigated for the May Race and it caused a crash fest when the drivers couldn't negotiate the newfound speed via the new found grip.



So Humpy re-levigated the track hoping to smooth it out a bit for the drivers and take the racing back to pre-levigated levels.



Somewhere in all of of Humpy's hard work, Goodyear decided to bring in a harder, less sticky tire to hopefully slow the cars down a little bit by giving them less grip. One problem. The track was so smooth from the levigating that even these tires stuck to the track and harder tires don't dissipate heat as well when they do get really hot and that causes blisters, which blows tires. Combine that with extreme camber setups(leaning the tire to gain grip in cornering) and low tire pressures (to adust the car's handling characteristics) and you will see tires start to pop.



So Saturday night, every 20 laps or so it became predictable someone was going to blow a tire and the caution would come out.



Every driver that I have any notion of pulling for either blew tires or had other problems. At one point when Kasey Kahne was leading my wife said to me that I could pull for him now. I said, "Why he's gonna wreck anyway." 20 laps later....well you know.(he blew a right front tire for you non NASCAR types)



I certainly didn't want Jimmy Johnson to win at Lowe's for the 4th time in a row(5 of 6)(No Offense Jimmy). I just don't really like him a lot.



I was pulling for (in no particular order), Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Scott Wimmer, Dave Blaney.



With all the mayhem now two days past, Humpy Wheeler is setting out on another project to get the racing at Jimmy Johnson Motor Speedway back to racing condition. He's starting from scratch and RE-PAVING it.

NASCAR in Charlotte

The NASCAR boys are revving up to put on a record breaking show tonight at Lowes Motor Speedway....and I am here.

Pre-Race in the Garage is a sea of people taking pictures and all decked out hoping to get a picture with their favorite driver.



They always have an awesome pre-race show before all the NASCAR races here. Today was no exception. Montgomery Gentry put on an awesome concert before the race.



I will get more pictures up as time allows. I have to shoot my story for TV.

Check back for updates.

The Dangers of TV Photogin'

To be brief, being a TV Photog can be rough at times. Click HERE to see how a nice sunny day turned ugly for Drew Stewart at WIS in Columbia, South Carolina while covering a football game at USC (Gamecocks).

Discussion at B-Roll.net HERE

Converge South - In Pictures

Converge South may have come and gone, but you can well bet that I have the photo documentation to prove it was here. I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but what I did shoot I think tell the story.

And I didn't take any on Friday, (My TV job, as documented in my last post, kept me from spending alot of time at CS on Friday)

But starting first thing Saturday morning I popped off as many pics as the 4 double-A's as my Canon would allow.



First stop Duncan Black on "Policing the Media." This one was important for me. I was interested in seeing who was sitting in on this and what how the disccussion would turn.



After Duncan spent some time giving his take on today's media he opened it up to the floor. The talkers in the room were a mix of print and online journalists and others with an interest in using the blog to report their interests. (More Detail on this session later)



The second session I attended on Saturday was the one I was looking forward to the most.



Like Sue Polinsky, I catch this lovely everyday on Rocketboom.



Amanda Congdon was in the house to spread the word about Vlogging.



Using video to blog is still in it's infancy, and certainly still growing, but done extremely well by Rocketboom with Amanda doing the talking and Andrew Barron the brains behind the Vlog.



Admittedly not a techy, Amanda took on a wide variety of topics from her background as a non-journalist doing a spoof news vlog, to the future of Rocketboom as a money making entity, which it apparantly isn't now.



She clammed up after hinting about something in the works for the economic future of Rocketboom.



After some technical difficulty with the laptop connection to the big screen and audio system, she showed off a couple of other examples of GREAT Vlogs, which, like Rocketboom, are well polished video productions.



But she admitted that just as dynamicly different written blogs can be, about a wide range of different topics and varying in style and substance, that Vlogs should also run the gammet, from a shaky home video showing off the family pets, to a highly polished video newscast, like Rocketboom.



This guy from OurMedia dot org gave some insight into free server space for video hosting. I have even used it once a while back to help Lenslinger get his Hurricane Stew Video online.



The above picture is a good reference back to some of the Vlog she mentioned.

Minnesota Stories

The 05 Project

Crash Test Kitchen

Tiki Bar TV

After her session she spent time chatting one on one with a bunch of us.



And I even had my picture taken with her. (Thanks Amanda!!)



Ed Cone(below) and Sue Polinsky were the brainchilds behind Converge South.



When I first saw Michael Bowen on Friday I was interested because he was on the front row of the Military Blogging session and he was tip-typing away on his portable keyboard.



For a TV guy working on a TV story, fingers + typing = great natural sound. The kind of sound that spices up any TV story.

But little did I know that I was meeting Cobb and I certainly didn't know he was a session leader. At the time he was just a source of nat sound during my video gathering phase of shooting my converge south coverage.



But when I went to pick up my wireless mic from next to his keyboard I asked him where he was from and his answer immediatly led me to do a quick TV interview with the 'large mammal' from LA. (not Lower Archdale but the real LA...Los Angeles)



He session was a study in 'Creative Branding on Blogs'. Very interesting stuff. Some of the practices he preaches I find myself already doing. But I walked out of his session knowing that I could improve this blog thing with some of his techniques. I think Lenslinger has it right...he's the Blog-Uncle.



The only downside of Converge South was not being able to get MY wireless to work.



I waited too late in the day and didn't have much time to spend messing with it. After about 35 minutes in the L.A.W.N room I had to give it up to get to Dave Winer's Session on 'Tools and the Future.'

I'll call that my fault and call Converge South a huge success!

Rev Al Sharpton

Let's see.....Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Jack Hanna....and now...drum roll please....Reverend Al Sharpton.

(and tomorrow Amanda Congdon and Dave Winer and Amanda Congdon.)



Rev Sharpton was the keynote speaker for the State NAACP annual conference in Greensboro today and yours truly was pulled off of Converge South Coverage to catch up with him and 'get some sound.'



It took a while but it finally happened. According to a press release he was to address the media at 1115. I passed him in the corridor at 1110, and was denied an attempt to follow him, me thinking he was headed to the press conference staging area.



Instead I was directed to another area and the two other stations and myself became quickly informed that no one locally new anything about a supposed press conference. The communities was a bit lacking.



When we finally did get to talk to Rev Sharpton it was a very brief three on one...but I waited after that. After my buddies from 2 and 12 left. I wasn't satisfied with the one sound byte.




It was worth the wait. Sharpton went off. He referenced a question another reporter had asked him, saying that the government and the media have folks under the influence of social novacane.



He blasted President Bush, criticizing him for blaming a lacking briefing on Katrina in the days following the storm when Sharpton himself was getting first hand information from CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN (but not Fox apparently).
"Does the TV not work in Crawford, Texas", Sharpton snapped.



He also threw some blame onto the African American population. He chastised them for not standing up and taking action. He called them out for not recognizing that if it weren't for their granparents they wouldn't be having a meeting in this grand ballroom.



He said he's tired of hearing about fancy titles people have....he wants to know what they are doing.



He wants to see action. We certainly have seen some action here in Greensboro this week.

Did I mention Amanda Congdon is going to be at Converge South tommorrow?!

Animal Adventures

A little monkey business from one of my stops today....



And I mean the media, not the furry little animal in the pictures...



Jack Hanna from the TV show Animal Adventures was in Greensboro today at the Natural Science Center helping them raise money to keep expanding.



Jack put on several shows with many of his animals and then stuck around to sign a bunch of autographs.



He also took pictures with anybody(dorks like me)who wanted something to remember him by.



Jack has a passion for animals that he gained as a child and says will never fade.



He's a great interview. He answered each question with a 5 minute response. He's full of interesting information about animals and zoos.



He even let some people hold the little monkey.(which has a more scientific name that I can't remember)



What a cool guy!

Bad Post Office

If my dog had done it I would say something like, 'Bad, Bad, Bad Doggy'...but since it was our fine US Postal Service, I will put it like this, 'Bad, Bad, Bad Mail Carrier. Meet my Bad Dog!'

THIS, is my NPPA magazine that I got in the mail yesterday.



Take a closer look. It was ripped clear to page 7.



THIS is my June issue.



It was also shredded, but I let it go, blowing it off as a one time thing.

When it came yesterday that marked about the 5th time it has come in less than perfect condition and the 3rd time with major damage.



I think I'll go see the postmaster tommorrow.



I wonder if she'll remember me from the last story we covered there. I remember her being really nice. Hmmm.

Finch Field

If you want a good seat at Finch Field, well, you'll have to wait till next baseball season.



This baseball stadium that was built in 1935 by Thomasville Furniture Industries is undergoing a major facelift.

The demolition has begun on the old concrete bleachers to make way for new seating.



The new digs will be ready by spring and will certainly bring the park into the 21st century.