I got an up-close view of Notre Dame’s win over Syracuse, the No. 1 team in college men’s basketball at the time.
It was pretty cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a No. 1 team get beat before, although I did attend the Maryland-Indiana national championship game in Atlanta a while back.
I’ve been working on a number of grad school projects. I’ve been blogging about them here.
One of those projects involves a video highlighting my father’s expertise as a transit-industry consultant. Here, he talks about building strong client relationships.
At work last week, we moved into our new office area. It evolved from this:
To this:
It’s in the basement of the Harre Union. We like it so far. Our former space was bursting at the seams. What we have now is much more friendly to creativity and collaboration. You can see more photos here.
Posted in Design, Valparaiso, Valparaiso University, Web/Tech, Work
I was there, and yes, it happened.
It was a crazy day, a crazy night, a crazy game and a truly insane finish. Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31. Since I started helping out with Notre Dame sports coverage for notredame.scout.com/IrishEyes two years ago, I’ve seen some remarkable things. But nothing like this come-from-ahead loss.
A true stunner, in every sense.
Posted in Journalism, Notre Dame football, Sports
If you missed Communiversity 2011 at Valparaiso University, then you missed out.
The weather got a little crazy for a second, but it ended up being not too bad. A good time was had by everyone, although the Crusaders came up just a little short on the gridiron.
Posted in Outdoors, Photos, Service, Valparaiso, Valparaiso University
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I lived and worked in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Pictured below: Market Square.)
Last weekend, amid journeys to several other destinations, I paid a brief visit to the newsroom of the Knoxville News Sentinel, where I worked as a copy editor for a few years.
It was great to be back. Our stops included McKay, the world’s greatest secondhand bookstore; Tomato Head; Sunspot for lunch with a high school friend; some quality time in South and North Knoxville; and a Sunsphere drive-by.
It’s been a great time. Sometimes you reconnect where and when you least expect it. It’s been that kind of summer.
Posted in Knoxville
I had an excellent time playing tennis on Monday night with my good pal Ron Garcia. We played together in high school, and he went on to play at the collegiate level. I hit the ball well, especially since I haven’t played much in several years (although I have a blister on my thumb to show for it).
It was more or less dumb luck that we got together. Ron and his wife Denise happened to be in the area (they live in New England), which I learned after I spotted him on Twitter. We had a conversation through the microblogging platform and planned a get-together. Score one for social media.
Ron, Denise, and the Garcia family are the force behind Team Tobati, a nonprofit that is dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people in Tobati, Paraguay, in central South America.
Posted in Digital Media, Social media, Sports, Web/Tech
It’s a bold move in a media landscape that has grown more cookie-cutter even as outlets and options have multiplied.
Steve Dahl, a legend of Chicago radio, will be charging $9.95 per month for his previously free podcast, starting on Aug. 1. Dahl currently attracts more than 17,000 daily downloads of his podcast — I’m among those fans. 
Dahl is most famous nationally for his role in the Disco Demolition fiasco of awesomeness in 1979.
He was essentially fired from CBS radio (while remaining under contract) a couple of years ago, and has been producing a daily podcast from his basement ever since, while paying for staff and technology out of his own pocket. Now that his contract is over, he’s moving to a paywall: $9.95 a month or just under $100 for a year’s worth of podcasts. Dahl has said that he is hoping for 10,000 subscribers in order to make the effort financially viable.
First, I am utterly fascinated to see if this will work. Dahl’s style is unique. The DahlCast is a daily 90-minute affair. It’s a show-within-a-show type of endeavor, with topical humor and a bit of media criticism thrown in (there’s plenty to criticize, especially in Chicago). At first, Dahl seemed to be framing the paywall argument in terms of affordability: almost everyone can afford 10 bucks a month, so, fans, why not sign up? But I think he’s realized that this is not the real issue. Fans aren’t asking themselves if they can afford $9.95 a month. They’re asking if Steve Dahl and his podcast are worth $9.95 a month.
That must be a humbling notion to a guy who has always been a popular and successful broadcaster on traditional radio. But the era of personality-driven over-the-air radio is on its way out. (Have you listened to the radio lately in Chicago, or elsewhere? For the most part, awful.)
In any event, the reaction from fans and media has been mixed. Some of the dumber arguments have taken place on Dahl’s Facebook fan page, although the supporters appear to have rallied and are often drowning out the naysayers at this point.
I’ve put up my $9.95, not only to offer support to The Stever after years of listening to him and his crew, but also to offer my support and encouragement for a bold new idea. It’s one thing to subscribe to the digital Wall Street Journal or something. Dahl connects with fans in a very personal way, and charging for his podcasts is a fundamental shift in how that connection is paid for. I hope it works, but even if it doesn’t, I salute this big leap.
Posted in Chicago, Digital Media, Humor, Podcasts, Radio
I always get a good vibe at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Spending a perfect Independence Day afternoon there with family (Dad) and friends certainly doesn’t hurt the mood.
The home team suffered a come-from-ahead 8-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks after squandering an early 6-1 lead. The last couple of baseball games I’ve attended with Dad were at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. A few weeks ago, the ChiSox lost 2-1 to the Washington Nationals in a game we saw, and when we went last year, they were pummeled 13-0 by the Florida Marlins.
Back in Milwaukee, the sausage race is a big highlight, and we had a perfect view as they headed down the home stretch.
Looking back, I realize that I’ve overused the word “awesome” to describe the recent U2 concert that I attended at Michigan State. But it was quite awesome.
I also caught a Chicago White Sox game earlier Sunday. Great fun.
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