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We reside in a country that lives and breathes on the media it produces across it’s numerous platforms. TV is probably the most ubiquitous medium from which we consume our media.

Folks all over the country give their time and money to watching an endless run of television shows ranging from news to reality game shows. But really, how much do we watch? Is it too much?

Why I ended my cable subscription

There was plenty to love about cable. I particularly loved on-demand (movies, tv shows, etc any time). If you could only have just on-demand and nothing else, it would be perfect. But that was not the case. The desire did not justify the means to afford it.

Over time my wife and I developed a sort of addiction to cable. We found ourselves watching shows we’d never watch otherwise just because we could. I mean, it’s 200+ channels, there’s gotta be something interesting to watch? Right?

The effects of cable television had adversely effected my personality causing me to feel like a drone than a real person. I use to be fun, outgoing and sometimes off-the-wall. But when you sit in front of a television watching completely mind-numbing shows for 3 or more hours a day, the effects add up while ultimately draining your interest in everything else.

Okay. So maybe that’s all a bit dramatic. But the difference in my attitude before and after cable are night and day. I find myself wanting to get outside more, talking to others seems easier and my wife and I’s relationship has grown even more so as a result of not watching cable.

Cold Turkey? No way dude!!! I love Dr. House!

Cable is not all bad. There are a lot of really great shows like The Office, House, Modern Family, Family Guy or Ghosthunters and plenty others. These are all shows I can watch on my own time on Hulu.com.

Internet TV FTW! Money saved.

What is great about Hulu is that I cut my TV watching down to only the very minimum. Instead of 3 hours a day, it’s now just a few hours a week. Additionally with iTunes Store at my disposal there really is no reason to have cable. I could even buy 3 shows with season passes on iTunes and still save loads of money over cable.

Conclusion

Other folks may have a better handle on the amounts of TV they watch. But I’m one those dudes that sort of grew up on television. Giving a large section of time to TV was common and so that carried into my adult life and the effects of it were negative for me.

But all in all I’d recommend anyone to try not watching TV for one month or simply watching only the shows that really draw your utmost interest. You’ll see a difference. I promise.

Taking pictures is easy until you actually want to communicate something specific. Chasing artistic value brings more variables into the equation more so than taking a snap of your friends at the beach. Interpreting a moment or a scene for the purpose of communicating is most of the battle. The settings of your camera are maybe 20% of that battle.

I’ve gone on several photo walks and when I see a scene, I’m rarely ever thinking about my camera settings. Of course I have some basic settings to gain good exposure and white balance, but for the most part I’m lost somewhere in the viewfinder. I think it’s important to care more about the composition and the story you’re trying to tell. If that comes as a second thought, you’re just exercising camera settings.

However, the camera will always afford you some benefits in regards to getting quality shots. But the camera is at the end of the quality equation. Your images may be sharp as a tack, properly exposed and perfectly white-balanced, but if you put no thought into your composition and what you’re communicating, none of the previous items matter at all.

As always, I’m learning as I go and sharing it. While it may sound officious, it’s only one perspective among many in this space we call photography so take it for a grain of salt.

Someone on twitter posted a comic strip that really got me thinking about belief and what it means. In the dictionary belief defined as:

an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists

Atheism is defined as follows:

the theory or belief that God does not exist

Atheism is a belief system hinging on the merits of a god that doesn’t exist. Often it’s not just the god of the holy bible, but just plainly any god (i.e, Islam, Buddhism, Wicken, etc, etc). My question is how is it (more) reasonable to believe in something where the foundations of those beliefs are based in nothing? It sounds equally absurd to believe in the god of the bible or the god(s) of islam or the power rangers. Atheism seems like a bigger, riskier step of faith than any other faith-based religion simply because they believe in the non-existence of something. They gamble on the idea that life will come to a dismal end resulting in the beginning of non-existence.

Okay so let’s use something else other than god. Let’s use racism. I’ve been affected by it as a teen. But in my adult years I pay no mind to it, taking an almost atheistic approach to racism, believing it doesn’t exist for me. That doesn’t equate to it’s non-existence for others. Frankly, racism is a very real, a very existent issue in many people’s lives. Just not mine.

This leads me to think that Atheism is relative only to the individual who subscribes to it. The logic and perspective of an atheist is no more valid, right or wrong than that of a christian, a buddhist or a muslim or even a kid who worships the power rangers.

Believing that something does not exist isn’t a license to believe that it doesn’t exist for others. No can really ever truly know that God does or not exist unless they ascend into the heavens themselves. But fortunately a lot of us aren’t that picky and would rather accept the little blessings in daily life as proof that their is a God who loves and cares for them. But love is built to be reciprocated. You can’t expect love unless you’re willing to give it and the same goes for belief.

Later.

For weeks I’ve been doing insurmountable amounts of research on entry-level DSLR cameras. Long story, short; Nikon D40 and Canon Rebel XS are premium choices for entry-level buyers. For me there is a larger problem at hand as I am not trying to be an enthusiast or hobbyist. I’m out for blood… err… money. In other words, I’m learning to be a professional photographer.

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Yesterday I checked out some good photography (hand)books from the libary and also decided to buy one from a bookstore. Since I have a larger aptitude for consuming knowledge via written word, I plowed through a single book in essentially one day. After consuming a ton of knowledge about exposure control, depth of field, lighting, composition, lenses, etc, etc, it has become high time to decide on the kind of equipment necessary to get started in professional photography.

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As I am still consuming lots of information about professional photography one thing rings true; you’re not a pro just because you say you are. Good photography shows in the quality of your shooting and not in post-production or your chemistry with clients. Those things matter, but none of them are important if you’re shots suck to begin with.

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It was only a few months ago that twitter apps for the blackberry platform seemed almost nonexistent. TwitterBerry was accessible and the only app that was both active and somewhat feature rich (but not quite the full package most are looking for). Fast forward and now there is a sort of blackberry twitter client war going on and I’m going to give a light review of only the best apps.

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Transitioning to a small town one has to think about career changes. While technology is ever growing in ubiquity for all locations, some are slower than others. Here in Kearney, Nebraska, web technology and it’s advancements aren’t exactly the most visible or well-tracked. In almost every case when I mention that I’m a part-time web developer the response is that of surprise or amazement. What has become common for me is a rarity for others here in town.

A Change of Scenery with Photography

Photography is one of those things that are just everywhere. Also, it is one of those things that most anyone can do. Low-barrier professions are essentially painless to execute but difficult to master which is what separates the chaff from the wheat.

After a lot of reading and researching, I’ve found that photography has a very fine line between professionals and enthusiasts. When you arrive in Kearney, you’re stepping into a mixed bag of both groups. You’ll find that a lot of photography shops around here are literally hobbyists who decided to make a living of photography. No school, no training but just an artistic desire matched up with monetary need.

There are a lot of established studios here in Kearney. On a good day, I could probably chuck a good sized rock into Central Ave. and shatter the window of a photography studio storefront. Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but there are truly of a lot of folks competing in this space.

What’s one more?

I guess you can imagine that’s where this career change of mine is going. Photography is something I’ve been wanting to pursue since the 8th grade. Whether we’re talking about the equipment, image production or just working with people, I loved it all and have for a long time. But like most, I executed a career path that paid my bills effectively given the location and atmosphere I was in. In other words, photography wasn’t going to pay my rent or college tuition, at least not then and by then I mean the first time I decided to take professionally role as a web developer.

So I guess you can say I’m slowly transitioning out of web development as a primary career. It’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to endure the challenge of learning a new trade and rehashing an old passion.

Over the past couple weeks I’ve been trying feverishly to cancel my AT&T account as a result of being outside of their governing coverage/service area. Because of my location I’m within the full scope of their policy and terms to terminate my account without fees. But this is only possible with the introduction of paperwork proving that I have in fact relocated and are truly outside of their service area. Their terms are as follows:

If a customer moves to a non-coverage area and is not eligible for relocation, the ETF can be reversed once the customer provides proof of residence for their new address.

After a phone call to customer support it was revealed that my account was not eligible for relocation. As requested, I went ahead and faxed emailed in a PDF copy of a utility bill proving my new location here in Kearney, Nebraska. A couple days and phone calls later the process for terminating my account was moving forward. Then it gets a little ugly.

For the most part, I understand that there is a due process for account termination. There should be a process anytime breaking a contractual agreement. However, when you have undeniable proof it shouldn’t take weeks on end to review and make a decision (sigh).

Victory for Today

Long story short, after days of waiting to hear back, I made a second call to customer support and was able to get at least one phone line canceled effective today without a termination fee. I’ve recorded the customer support call for your enjoyment. I edited out sensitive parts of the phone call for obvious reasons.

There was section of the conversation where I made it quite clear that their “process” didn’t make sense considering my situation. Click here to listen to the customer support call with AT&T

Let me know what you think? Am I asking too much to not get billed as they take their sweet time to review documents and terminate my account?

Today I took a good look at my feed reader (currently Google Reader) and realized I hate reading content from RSS feeds. It showed me that design is a very important aspect of reading and consuming content on the web. If that were not the case, we would never see multiple design revisions from such websites like CNN, Wall Street Journal and many other large content-oriented internet properties in bold attempts to improve the atmosphere that surrounds the user experience.

An unlikely example

Great restaurants are about 3 things; great food, great atmosphere and valid customer feedback. Remove either one and the others just never quite make sense. This same rule applies to the consumption of web-based content. Great content is not just about content.

So what is great content about? Firstly it is about great design because it sets the atmosphere for consuming and experiencing content. Atmospheres are simply frames for the experience. Remove the atmosphere and experience generally goes out with it and feed readers are great at doing that.

Secondly, great content is about value. Like food, if it sucks you either want to give it back or simply never eat it again. With content, having a great design just isn’t enough. In other words, putting lipstick on a pig isn’t going to win you any return visitors. Write great content, something that new and regular visitors can sink their teeth into and enjoy.

Thirdly, create a good feedback loop. In restaurants, if an unusual amount of customers hate a certain entree it is likely that entree will pulled from the menu and replaced with something else. With RSS feed readers it is difficult to maintain a good feedback loop as most of them do not provide commenting mechanisms.

Moral of the story

RSS feeds and the tools that aggregate and read them are not only needless but they’re robbers of great user experience. They also displace the responsibility of creating great atmospheres for your content and instead puts that responsibility into the hands of the users consuming your content.

I will admit that RSS feeds are very convenient and time-saving but they simply take for granted the things that make consuming the web great.