David Herrold

Edouard schmedward

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal, Science

It looks like Tropical Storm Edouard will hit Houston tomorrow around lunchtime.

All things considered, I think Edouard hitting Houston is much better than Edouard hitting New Orleans.  I think we can take the blow to the chin much easier than they can right now.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day.  If past performance is any indicator, the television media will do its best to whip the public into a frenzy of worry and panic.  Do we really need 3D spinning storm graphics pounding our TV screens in high definition?

We’ve stocked up on olives, vermouth and vodka - just like we did for Rita a couple years ago.

What are you doing to prepare for the storm?

Tags: edouard, hurricane, storm, weather

Photos of Rocky Mountain National Park

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal, Photography

I took some photos yesterday when Justine and I drove through Rocky Mountain National Park.

You can find the photos here.

Enjoy.

Tags: colorado, estes park, rmnp, rocky mountain national park

Some Colorado photos

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal, Photography

I posted some photos on my Flickr account of our trip to Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs, Colorado.  I also posted some photos of the wedding we attended at the Arrowhead Golf Course.

Enjoy.

Tags: arrowhead golf course, colorado, littleton co, pikes peak, red rocks

Consumption versus creation

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal, Productivity

I consume a lot.

On a regular basis I consume podcasts, RSS feeds, emails, phone calls, text messages, books, magazines, TV, movies, radio, social networking noise, music, advertisements and occasionally sky writing.

It’s comforting to know I am not alone in my maddening consumption of information.

The population of th United States consumes an staggering amount of information every day. Luckily our brains are the most sophisticated recorders of video, audio and text known to man. While we’re awake our surroundings are meticulously captured and stored for later recall (although, certainly not perfect recall in my case).

I was half-listening to a podcast the other day while I was doing a little work at home. After typing away, not really paying attention to the podcast, I heard the phrase “I want to create more than I consume.” I must have heard this between mouse clicks or browser refreshes, because I heard it clearly and it stuck in my head for a couple days.

I considered the ramifications of creating more than I consume on a daily basis. The idea was so completely foreign to me I didn’t know where to begin.

As I write this post, I am listening to a podcast, watching my Twitter & FriendFeed streams, answering some emails, and trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight. This is ridiculous, now that I think about it.

And probably means several things.

One. I am doing none of these things very well because you can only stretch your attention so far, right?

Two. I have a very short attention span.

Three. My rate of consumption far exceeds my rate of creation.

Is it honestly possible for us to create more than we consume? If you are a painter, is it possible for you to paint more pictures than you are able to see in a lifetime? Not comfortably - without locking yourself in a room with brushes, canvas and a steady supply of coffee.

Regardless of the possibility, the idea is an interesting one.

How much do you create?

(Photo by reflexer on Flickr)

Tags: consumption, creation, Productivity, time management

More SXSW2008 Fire Dancers

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal

Video link

Tags: fire dancers, fire dancing, frog design, south by southwest interactive, sxsw2008, sxswi

South by Southwest Photos Day 2

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal

Some photos I took at the South by Southwest day two. The fire dancers at the Frog Design party were amazing. See the short video I took of them below.

Photo link

Tags: fire dancers, fire dancing, frog design, south by southwest interactive, sxsw2008, sxswi

Fire Dancers at Frog Design party

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal

Video link

Music by the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Tags: fire dancers, fire dancing, frog design, south by southwest interactive, sxsw2008, sxswi

No Media Night ™

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal, Productivity

Justine and I have been doing our best to have at least one night a week that is totally media-free.

No TV. No internet. No movies. No radio. No phone. Just us.

We’ve been doing it on and off for a several months now and it’s been great so far. The first few times were a bit twitchy, but we made it through no worse for the wear.

We are both far too connected; living inside our email, web browsers, AIM, Blackberries, etc far too many hours every day. At some point our brains need to cool down and stare at something that emits zero pixels-per-square-inch.

Like a banana. Or a book. Perhaps meatloaf. Or matching socks.

Merlin Mann, of 43 Folders fame, posted a great article on this topic a few days ago. It reminded me of what Justine and I try to do each week with No Media Night ™.

You can read the article here.

If you haven’t already tried it, you should consider a no-media-night just to see what it feels like to unplug. After the initial twitching and digital withdrawls are over (this takes about an hour or so) it’s actually pretty relaxing.

You should try it sometime.

Declutter your mind

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal, Productivity

Leo Babauta has a great article about decluttering your mind:

You can declutter your mind with simple actions, things we’ve discussed here before, but things that are almost guaranteed to have a positive effect. Little things that can make a big difference, especially when used in combination. Choose a few to try out, and see if they work for you.

I use several of the techniques he talks about in his article, but find myself wishing I used more of them.

Link to the article.

Tags: focus, organization, Productivity, simplicity, zen

Winter wonderland

Posted by Dave | Filed under Personal, Photography

I realized this past thanksgiving how much I miss snow during the holidays.  I stumbled upon this great photo in Flickr that Rick Harris took of a Canadian winter.

He has a great eye for framing a shot.   You can see the rest of his photos here.

Enjoy.