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Monday, September 30, 2013
Tech Art Far-Flung: Redefining street art
Posted By Desiree Kane on Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 1:37 PM
The story of how I came to appreciate the art of Over Under, Labrona, Gaia, Tom GreyEyes, and Jetsonorama began 10 months ago. I was out at the Elizalde Concrete Company Ruins, traipsing around and taking photos. Something in me, boredom perhaps, drew me many miles off the road. I got out to stretch my legs and found perhaps one of the better far-flung art hotspots I've ever seen. It doesn't look like much at first:
I first noticed this, which immediately made me wonder if I was safe. Upon closer inspection, I discovered these were paintball splatters, not bullet holes.
And then, it just kept getting better and better:
I first noticed this, which immediately made me wonder if I was safe. Upon closer inspection, I discovered these were paintball splatters, not bullet holes.
And then, it just kept getting better and better:
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tech This month in GIFness: porn, boredom and bread
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 5:00 PM
CL Charlotte's top posts of September, GIFified.
The CLog: Commenters got mad at CL music editor Jeff Hahne after he saw Muse following Cage the Elephant and was all...
Eat My Charlotte: Fourth Ward Bread Co. opened and all of Charlotte rejoiced
Bangtown: North Carolina's top porn search terms post from last month is still popular. Pervs.
QC After Dark: 2013 Halloween events in Charlotte is on the rise because, well, Halloween is coming and you know what that means:
Wayfaring Tech Nomad: This month's most popular Tech Nomad post is pretty obvious if you read my column regularly. Last week I was trapped in a freak Colorado flood. Everything's fine now but for a minute things were like...
The CLog: Commenters got mad at CL music editor Jeff Hahne after he saw Muse following Cage the Elephant and was all...
Image:Tumblr
Eat My Charlotte: Fourth Ward Bread Co. opened and all of Charlotte rejoiced
Source:Tumblr
Bangtown: North Carolina's top porn search terms post from last month is still popular. Pervs.
Source:Tumblr
QC After Dark: 2013 Halloween events in Charlotte is on the rise because, well, Halloween is coming and you know what that means:
Source: forum.NIN.com
Wayfaring Tech Nomad: This month's most popular Tech Nomad post is pretty obvious if you read my column regularly. Last week I was trapped in a freak Colorado flood. Everything's fine now but for a minute things were like...
Source:Memeorama
Friday, September 20, 2013
Q&A with CLT Tech Power Couples: The Bjers Family Edition
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 3:09 PM
Jill and Torgny Bjers, and Nanda Scott are one lean, mean, tech power family machine. Jill organizes Charlotte tech community events and co-owns startup Xorcode alongside her hubby. Nanda, a senior in High School, has his own graphic design company and volunteers in running these tech events alongside his mom.
I caught up with Jill for a quick Q&A about what makes her so awesome, what she's learned after organizing dozens of tech events and from being such an influential tech community organizer because of it, and the tech the Bjers family cannot live without. Here's what she had to say:
I caught up with Jill for a quick Q&A about what makes her so awesome, what she's learned after organizing dozens of tech events and from being such an influential tech community organizer because of it, and the tech the Bjers family cannot live without. Here's what she had to say:
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Mother Nature Speaks: A lesson on possessions
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 4:42 PM
There are very few things more sobering than being evacuated out of a natural disaster. While once-in-a-lifetime adventures are something to certainly seek, this is one I do not recommend.
There's a lot to learn about possessions when only so much can be shoved into a vehicle with less than an hour's notice. Beyond humans, animals and photographs that come first in any situation like this, the things that make their way into bags at the last minute are curious.
Of all of the non-vital items mentioned above, I still to this day have no real idea why I chose to grab my squished Penny Passport, postcards (but not stamps), an entire box of doughnuts, and copy of The Lorax. I could have never seen any of my stuff again and I chose to grab my squished Penny Passport? There are so many questions! What do the things we grab as Mother Nature comes crashing in say about us as individuals?
There's a lot to learn about possessions when only so much can be shoved into a vehicle with less than an hour's notice. Beyond humans, animals and photographs that come first in any situation like this, the things that make their way into bags at the last minute are curious.
Of all of the non-vital items mentioned above, I still to this day have no real idea why I chose to grab my squished Penny Passport, postcards (but not stamps), an entire box of doughnuts, and copy of The Lorax. I could have never seen any of my stuff again and I chose to grab my squished Penny Passport? There are so many questions! What do the things we grab as Mother Nature comes crashing in say about us as individuals?
Friday, September 13, 2013
BRB: I'm stuck in a freak Colorado flood
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Sep 13, 2013 at 12:24 PM
So, I'm in Estes Park, Colo., and all of the sudden there's this major flood going on around me that's making national news.
I've been hearing about the Big Thompson River flood in 1976 since I saw Cowboy Brad sing a song about it a few months back at a freebie YMCA outdoor concert. Yesterday, the reverse 911 system awoke the valley Estes Park was sleeping in. Since then, all cell service for all carriers has been out. With no 3G/4G or even Edge coverage, it really is like 1976 in some ways.
FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 7.9 FEET ON AUG 1 1976.
Source: The National Weather Service
I've been hearing about the Big Thompson River flood in 1976 since I saw Cowboy Brad sing a song about it a few months back at a freebie YMCA outdoor concert. Yesterday, the reverse 911 system awoke the valley Estes Park was sleeping in. Since then, all cell service for all carriers has been out. With no 3G/4G or even Edge coverage, it really is like 1976 in some ways.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Untappd: Social Networking + Beer + Cider + Mead
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 10:20 AM
Speaking of cider, this app has helped me discover some amazing ones, as well as help me hone in my tastebuds. I discovered that I don't like fruit beer but do like cider. Only through beer and cider recommendations through Untappd from my friends was I able to determine this! It's also nice not to waste money on things I'm not going to drink because instead of guessing, the app is pretty solid with it's own recommendations.
No matter where in the world one finds themselves, this is a great way to find not only friends but good drinks as well. I give it 4 out of 5 stars for being an all around well designed and helpful app.
BONUS!
4 stellar ciders I've discovered via Untappd, in order of favorite:
1. Woodchuck Raspberry Hard Cider - This has a true raspberry flavor that isn't overpowering, too sweet, or too dry. It's refreshing!
2. JK's Scrumpy Orchard Gate Gold Organic Hard Cider - Think of unfiltered apple juice made into cider with this one. In the summer this is great chilled but in the winter this stuff is delicious warm.
3. Woodchuck 802 Hard Cider - This molasses based cider isn't too sweet and is kind of dry though it stays true to the tart sweetness cider lovers love.
4. Redd's Apple Ale - I like to think of this one as the PBR of ciders because it's a great stand-in when you just want something to go with dinner or after work.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Long-term Travel Truth: Relationships suffer
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 1:23 PM
It is so difficult to strike a balance between keeping relationships and losing them when traveling indefinitely.
As a solo nomad, one of the worst things you deal with is loneliness. Eventually you want to go "home." But dealing with the loneliness is even more difficult than the feeling itself because, if you travel long enough, home becomes nowhere. Or worse, everywhere. What should one do when everything, everywhere has tiny remnants of home but it's... just... not?
It's easy to slip into feeling spread thin and to be desperate for that comfortable feeling and warm smell of "home."
So, what should be done? Seeking short-term company only does so much for the soul, and connecting via computer screens just isn't the same. Here are some "avoid being lonely principals" I have learned from 14 months on the road:
I don't have any answers, but I wish that I did. All I have to give is the truth: that your relationships with other people will suffer as you learn to suffer less at the hands of loneliness.
It's sobering to be alone, no one physically with you, while you're in the middle of a homesickness crisis. The advice I give my nomad friends (and take myself): just wait it out.
"It'll pass, just stick with it. You are loved," I tell them.
But is that true? Does one ever really, truly adjust to constant aloneness and avoid loneliness altogether? Doubtful. We all need our kindred spirits, and when you find them on the road, you will most certainly leave them.
It gets worse when people start to complain back "home" that they miss you and want you to return, but you know deep down that what they're asking of you is impossible. Once you put your stuff in storage, say your goodbyes, and jump into long-term travel, there's never really any "going back." Still, the fear of missing out runs rampant in your mind. It's enough to drive you crazy.
Slowly but surely, however, you change on a very deep, even spiritual level and that's the hardest thing for friends, family and lovers to understand. Because while you're out in the world, "home" continues just as it was when you left, and the people you leave behind are no exception. They won't understand you and, in time, you won't understand them.
If you find yourself stationary after all that travel, you'll find yourself wanting to be back out there, adventuring. The world is out there just waiting to be experienced after all. There's so much to see.
The answer, perhaps, is to strike a better balance: to travel slower, to not resent extended time spent standing still in beautiful locations, to have and appreciate travel partners who join you and remind you of who you are, to get back to what travel means: changing from within through the act of traversing our big, blue planet.
It's true that the journey is the destination when you're traveling indefinitely, finding home everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time.
And there's value in learning to want less; not just possessions, but wanting to change less, too. There's plenty of change on the road. There's no reason to frantically seek it, to be running around the world going 100 miles per hour with your hair on fire.
Be patient. Be present. Change and adventure inevitably come, and never in ways you expect. You'll eventually forget you're alone.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
BlendConf: A CLT homegrown national tech conference FTW
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Sep 4, 2013 at 4:39 PM
The Blend Conference (aka @BlendConf/#blendconf) starts today! It's the first large-scale Web event Charlotte has ever seen, and it is something we should all be quite proud to host. In addition to being a rising tech star, the BlendConf founder, and the sporter of an awesome mustache Bermon Painter, is a local all Charlotte tech folks ought to be familiar with.
From their press release:
"We're tapping into the incredible local talent we have in Charlotte and augmenting their knowledge by flying in other experts in user experience, design and development to our city," said conference organizer Bermon Painter. "Not only do local students, tech professionals and managers get a chance to learn from the best and brightest, but the speakers and experts get a chance to learn about Charlotte's growing startup, UX, and tech scene."Charlotte has been clawing its way up in very recent times and struggling to make a name for itself as an East Coast tech hub. We heard rumblings of its potential pre-DNC, but now, with things like RailsGirlsCLT, Launchpad Code Academy which launches on the 9th, and now BlendConf, it's safe to say that our fair queen is no longer trying, but is the tech hub we've all envisioned for years.
The meeting, a three-day, three-track generalist conference with 50 speakers focusing on user experience, design and web development, bans devices during sessions but provides old-school, high-quality custom journals from the North Carolina company Bound, for each attendee. Painter also focused on diversity in organizing the speaker lineup.
"The issue of diversity in tech keeps coming up, so we created an intentional speaker lineup, topics and conference environment to demonstrate that fostering a diverse culture is possible and only requires a small amount of effort," Painter said.
