DaveTraynor.com

I’ve been away. If you were wondering what I was up to, check out the video below. One thing I wasn’t doing was attending the Olympic Games.

Ever wonder what it takes to get to the Olympics? Well, here are some examples of performances that won’t win you a spot on the team.

The video is called Why I didn’t make the Olympics.

Enjoy.

(Note: I’m not sure why there appear to be two images of the video appearing here…but clicking on the top one seems to work.)

I’m back from our vacation to Haida Gwaii (what used to be the Queen Charlotte Islands) and it was everything we had hoped it would be. The weather was amazing — we had no rain at all, which is a rare event in that area. It’s a pristine wilderness that has to be seen to be appreciated.

I’ll write more about our trip and show you some pictures in another post. I still haven’t made the move from living the adventure to writing about it. I went back to work the day we arrived back and it’s taking awhile to get my head back into an organized life.

When I returned, I noticed that Professor Randy Paush, of The Last Lecture fame, (video here) had passed away on July 25.

Those of you who have heard of him will already be familiar with this video of “The Last Lecture,” but for those who haven’t heard of it (I guess it was a year or more ago that it became such a sensation) will be interested in watching this. There’s also a book version available.

I don’t know much more about Pausch than what I’ve seen from the video and Wikipedia, but it’s a powerful statement about what it means to live, especially when your future is a short one.

I find that vacations do a great job of reducing my thinking down to paying more attention to what I like and not worrying so much about things that are beyond my control. I’m not sure if that’s what the point of Pausch’s lecture was, but it resonates with me. As someone else put it, we should live each day like we’re on holiday.

Howa, Randy Pausch.

Here’s the link to the video.

I was working at a conference last week, putting together a daily newsletter of what was going on.

The concept was a good one. Each night, we’d put the issue together, featuring highlights of the day’s events and profiles on what was happening the next day, as well as helpful tips about conference stuff, where things were happening, etc.

Once we had things written and approved, we added pictures from the day, then shipped it off to the printer. It was delivered to the hotel around midnight, then a copy was slid under each delegate’s door so they’d have it when they woke up. It was a fun project and well received.

So when I came across this post from Seth Godin, I had some recent context to process it with. And, as usual, his advice about how to physically control the room for a presentation, whether at a meeting or a conference, is based on common sense and his own experience. But no matter how practical the idea, I’m always amazed how often people don’t think about stuff like this.

Here’s an excerpt:

“What does this remind me of?”

That’s the subliminal question that people ask themselves as soon as they walk into a room. If it reminds us of a high school cafeteria, we know how to act. If it’s a bunch of round tables set for a chicken dinner, we know how to act. And if there are row upon row of hotel-type chairs in straight lines, we know how to sit and act glazed.

If it’s a place where we’re used to saying ‘no’, we’re likely to say no. If it’s a place where we’re used to good news or important news or just paying attention, we’ll do that.
You can use this Pavlovian reaction to your advantage, or you can be a victim of it. A non-traditional arrangement can make people sit up and take notice. A rock concert feel is going to raise the energy level of even the skeptics. A circle with no tables makes people feel naked. These are tools, and you get to choose.

If you have to serve lunch, serve lunch. Big round tables, lots of talking. Then have people stand up and go hear the speaker. In a different room, with a different setting, one that works. No one ever heard a speech that changed their lives when sitting around a round table having just eaten a lousy lunch. Mixing the settings serves no purpose, wastes time in the long run and saves very little money.

Do you see that this is just more marketing? You tell a story with where you put the chairs.

Here’s the link to the story.

There’s a good article over on Slate that I’m recommending you read.

Here’s how it starts:

You’re probably going to read this.

It’s a short paragraph at the top of the page. It’s surrounded by white space. It’s in small type.

To really get your attention, I should write like this:

– Bulleted list

– Occasional use of bold to prevent skimming

– Short sentence fragments

– Explanatory subheads

– No puns

– Did I mention lists?

The article examines the theories of usability guru Jakob Nielsen, who I’ve referred to often in terms of designing good web pages and general net etiquette from a user point of view.

It’s well done and fun to read. And if you’re interested in getting your message across to your readers in the best way possible, you’ll want to read this.

Here’s the link.

I’ve been too busy to blog much lately, but I realized that I’d let things go a little too far. Sorry about that. I’ve got a new full-time gig and it’s taking a while to transition from working in a home office to moving back into the 9 to 5 world. Once I settle in, I should get back to the more regular review of all the things that are interesting around me again.

For now, I’m going to keep pointing you to stories I notice that are worth talking about – whether for serious reasons or not.

Today’s pointer is to a delightful story about US First Lady Laura Bush, who has taken to travelling abroad in her own Airstream trailer, conveniently loaded into the back of a military transport plane.

I’m sure that there is probably a rational explanation for this (security, convenience, etc.) but on the face of it, it’s just too silly for words.

Here’s the link.

Someone told me to read this story awhile ago, but as I so often do, I found something else that I considered more important and didn’t get around to it.

This morning, weeks later, I sat down and finally read “The Things That Carried Him,” Chris Jones’ incredible, true story in the May, 2008 issue of Esquire, about an American soldier’s journey home from Iraq – one of nearly 4,000 young soldiers who have been killed since that conflict began.

It’s a remarkable tale. And it’s one of the best pieces of writing I’ve ever read anywhere.

Take the time right now to read it.

Here’s the link.