Slideshow: PDF option

One way to make your slideshow available on the web is to make your Power Point slideshow into a PDF (select Print; PrimoPDF), make a link to it on your index page, and then FTP everything (including your new index page, with its link) over to the web.

The PDF slideshow will look like this.

xtimeline

Cool Computer for Journalists?

I've been reading and hearing about these tiny laptops, like the Acer Inspire. You can read about them in this short NYTimes Frugal Traveler article.

I'm thinking they'd be very useful for journalists, especially ones, like me, who are not particularly good at texting or sending messages from, say, cell phones. They give you the advantages of a larger screen, but they're not as heavy as a regular laptop.

Has anyone seen one of these? They're only $200-500! Not bad.

Using You Tube

You can post a link to a You Tube video like this.

Or like this


How do you do the second one? It's easy. You embed the html code, which is available on the You Tube page for each video. It's on the right-hand side, in a box below URL. Copy that code, and then go back to your blog post. Click on the Edit Html tab at the top, and copy the code in. Add any explanatory text (such as this), and publish your post.

Shiner

It's true: Jane has a shiner.

I wish I could say that this journalist got the black eye when reporting on crime in the Moundview neighborhood, but I can't.

It occurred during an unfortunate incident with a bungee cord. Let me just say that those things can snap back very quickly.

Being a writer, I used this, um, opportunity to do some research.

One website, "How to get rid of things" had this to say:

Black eyes are caused by bruising of the eyelid and the surrounding tissues. When trauma to the eye or the surrounding tissue occurs, small blood vessels near the surface of the skin called capillaries burst, releasing blood into the dermal layers (skin) where it doesn’t normally go. The blood then clots and remains where it is until your body can deploy certain functions of your immune system to clean up the mess. The blackness of a black eye (or any bruise for that matter) is the appearance of clotting or dead blood cells that have escaped your capillaries. A black eye is rarely considered a serious injury.

Ew.

According to WebMd, my black eye probably won't need medical intervention, and will heal in 1-2 weeks.

Iowa News might make a good news peg

By now, everyone's heard about the Iowa Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriages. I'm thinking that it might offer a great opportunity for writers to do news peg features.

For example:

• profile of same-sex couple(s) who will marry
• profile businesses that will be affected--places where receptions are held, tux rental shops, caterers, etc.
  
• profile leaders in the issue on both sides
• trend story--how various states with this law (Massachusetts is one I remember) have been affected--survey plus profiles.
• some news stories cited data that younger people are more tolerant of same-sex couples than older people--interview college students on their reaction to this ruling.
  

I would love to read any of these stories. Can you think of any more you'd like to read?

Looking for College students with journalism skills

Do you want to be a "backpack journalist?"

A Poynter Institute colleague sent me a link to a blog post that might interest you. Apparently, if you can write stories, post on blogs, make podcasts, take photos, and take video, you're in high demand. You guys can do a lot of this stuff already . . .

Cool April Fool

Don't you love those public April Fool's jokes? I missed the NPR Morning Edition one, but I'm sure it was there.

But I loved this one from Google, Google Autopilot. They say this:

As more and more everyday communication takes place over email, lots of people have complained about how hard it is to read and respond to every message. This is because they actually read and respond to all their messages.

The new Google Gadget? An automatic e-mail answerer. Check it out; it'll make you laugh. Here's a little chart from it.Tell me about your favorite April Fool's joke: post a comment!

Make a Map!

Before I head to class, I want to share with you a cool website, Quikmaps.com

If you go to this site, you can build a map--street map, topographical map, satellite map. I can see journalists using this to pinpoint crime, show walking trails, highlight which gas stations have free air (the Gazette did this a while ago.) It's super easy. You select your map (it automatically gave me Cedar Rapids), zoom in or out, and drag and drop items--or even "scribble."

I was building a map to show recent crimes in our neighborhood, and was going to share it with you, but my internet went out yesterday and is not back.

Play with it and tell me how it goes!

Crime and Policing in CR

We've been talking a lot about crime in the neighborhood. Sunday night there was an armed robbery that led to a CRPD officer getting wounded.

The CRPD responded to this and to the increase of crimes in the area by announcing they would open up an office right here in our neighborhood--on 1st Avenue. See the Gazette article here.

You might recognize the building--it used to hold a furniture store. I wonder if having a greater police presence in the area--the chief said "we'll go live there"--will help.

A Time to Blog

"I can't figure out a time to blog"
"It was such a busy week--no time to blog"
"Facebook I can remember, but I forget about my blog."

I have a colleague who figured out a way to keep her blog fresh. She writes every day at the same time. The time? 6 a.m.!

She gets into her office early and blogs before she starts work. Most of her posts are short, usually with a link or pictures and some commentary.

I'm thinking that might work for this blog of mine. I will open it up and post when I first get in to Coe--or before I leave the house.

How about you? When will you post on your blog? Leave a comment!

Ghost Twitterers

Perhaps there might be a future in freelance twittering!

According to this article in Friday's NY Times, many celebrities like to be on Twitter, but don't actually like to make posts. So they hire "ghost writers."

I have two thoughts on this:

1. What does 50-cent twitter about?
2. Could a person make a living being a ghost twitterer?

Weather!

Some people say the first sign of spring is robins returning to the north.

But at Coe, some robins stay all year round, hunting near the steam lines.

The true avian sign of spring?

Buzzards.

Those majestic and majestically ugly birds, more formally known as turkey vultures, return to Cedar Rapids at the same time every year--round about March 14, my younger son's birthday*. We are very aware of this in our family--first, because I'm a birder, and second, because the buzzards in Cedar Rapids roost at Brucemore, which is just a block from our house.

Every evening, before the sun goes down, they circle in the sky above their roosting place. Gorgeous from far away where you can't see their bald heads. Read more about them, and take a look at their winter and summer ranges at Cornell University's cool bird pages.

"Look, Eli," I say. "The buzzards want to tell you Happy Birthday."

*In Hinckley, Ohio, near where I grew up, there's an annual "Return of the Buzzard celebration" every year on March 15, complete with an "official buzzard spotter."

Obedience story: Aggregation

Sometimes bloggers aggregate, or collect together lots of websites/stories to share with their readers.

I'll aggregate a few sources on obedience training that I found helpful. Aggregate=brief summary plus link.

One that was nicely written and had an interesting history was Dog Owners Guide. The page that discussed how to find a good obedience school or trainer was very helpful to me as I prepared to interview my source. This source also approves of "positive only" training.

And this is cool: they used to be a print publication in Cincinnati OH. They now have a website and can help dog owners all over. But I wonder what they've lost by losing the local angle.

I also looked at the Humane Society's Website (I won't link it because of an annoying popup) and was easily able to find a succinct article on finding an obedience class/trainer for your dog. I liked the alternative story form of this--Q/A and a list. Nice for a website.

After I visited the school, I needed to find out about "prong collars." I don't have a dog, but I've seen these collars. I wanted to see what a manufacturer would say about them, so I went to a site that sells them.

Does anyone else have any good sources about dog obedience?

Story in Process: Obedience School

I'm working on a story for City Revealed this week that's been a lot of fun. The magazine apparently does stories about pets and gardens each spring. I said I would do a story on obedience school--why dog owners might consider enrolling in an obedience class with their dog.

After educating myself a bit with some online sources (which I'll share in another post) I quickly found some sources by using my trusty phone book. One obedience training place, Pawsitively Paws was on E Avenue, close to Coe, and very near where I used to live. I wrote up some questions, and called them late in the day. The person I talked to was enthusiastic and eager to talk with me and share her knowledge.

The "Pawsitively" in their title refers to the way they train, only through positive reinforcement. They don't use prong collars, choke collars, hitting, etc. They use voice, treats, and lots of repetition.

"We're not in this for the money." Two of the trainers I talked to told me this. All of the trainers are working without pay now. "We do this because we love dogs and we want to help people with their dogs," said Connie, the trainer in the photo above. That's not going to be in my story, but it's interesting.

BTW, my son took photos for me. He's doing a photog internship with me. I told him I'd pay him $5 for every photo he took that was used. That gets me off the photog hook!