Beating people at chess is one of my favorite things to do. I have played thousands of games online, and winning never gets old. Losing rarely comes with pleasure. Although I haven’t been playing as much as I used to, it isn’t for lack of desire. The other day an old friend invited me to a game by email, and for some reason I hesitated to accept. My hesitation has puzzled me, and I have had to analyze my response to figure out what my problem was.

There have only been a few rare occassions when I have felt bad about winning a game of chess. The example that stands out in my mind is playing my dad. My dad taught me how to play and I have fond memories of the games we played as I have grown up. When I was at the top of my game a couple years ago, I don’t think my dad could have beat me. I was playing several games a night, and he probably hadn’t played in years. When I saw that he left me an opening, I felt disappointed. I didn’t want to win that easily. It is strange because all my life I wanted to beat him, and when I finally could do it, I realized it wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. Beating someone you respect and love can be agonizing.

Back to the invitation from my friend. I think I hesitated for reasons similar to why I didn’t enjoy defeating my father. I am not saying I have a father/son relationship with him by any means, and I am not even confident that I would win. The thing is he is someone I really respect and admire. I would hate to think less of him if I win, and the thought of losing is equally unappealing.

So did I accept his invitation? Of course I did. Everything I have written so far is really irrational when you think about it. Basing my opinion of someone on how they play chess is ridiculous. Fearing that someone will think less of me if I lose is silly. If I let my irrational feelings get in the way of enjoying a game that I love, then I have lost sight of the fact that chess is just a game and a very small part of who I am. I expect that learning to not take the game so seriously will help me enjoy the game even more. Who knows, I might even enjoy beating my dad again.

Eric Karjaluoto of ideasonideas.com wrote an interesting essay about how in the American media there is no longer a distinction between entertainment and news. Eric says,

“…to the American media, news and entertainment, or even larger yet, fact and fiction, were no longer separate entities. The two had collided and left a free-for-all, in which both credible journalism and tabloid fodder were mixing to create something much more muddy and unclear. In this new mix, celebrity happenings were just as likely to headline American news programs, as national disasters were to consume entertainment programs.”

I think the first time I realized this was during the Tonya Harding scandal. The media milked that story until the public’s patience and appetite for the story was completely drained. The same thing happened with O.J. Simpson. And Columbine. 9-11. Hurricane Katrina. Time after time it seems that legitimate news stories morph into something else. It really doesn’t matter if it is a celebrity wedding or a murder suicide. It is all exploited with the same amount of shock and awe tactics that continues to plague TV news. It sickens me, and I really hate watching the news when it takes on this form.

Fortunately this isn’t the only form the news takes, however. I do agree that the media exploits stories, but I think this is a separate problem from simply confusing entertainment with news. What Eric fails to recognize is that the media (in terms of news) is dramatically changing (or has changed). There are so many different places that you can get the news that the “shock” method is no longer what is working. The most successful news outlets all have one thing in common and it isn’t voyeurism. The successful news outlets all present the stories through a personality that is allowed to speak in a human voice. The Daily Show, Bill O’Reilly, talk radio, and blogs are all attracting huge audiences while the traditional “empty suit” formats are dying (Dan Rather, newspapers, etc.). With so many different voices giving you the same news, the audience is given a choice about what flavor they want to take their news in. The people are all choosing the same thing: they prefer to get their news told to them in a human voice. They want to be entertained while they get their news. I actually think this is a good thing because it gives me an alternative to exploitation. That voice could be from a partisan blogger, a political comedian, a patriot, pretty much any personality you want. It is news, yes, but it is also entertainment. That is why I don’t see the danger of Eric’s concluding thought where he says,

“I refuse to allow news to become entertainment.”

Is it really wrong to be entertained while you receive the news? I don’t think so. The real enemy is exploitation of a story, not the entertainment value of news. I also find it hard to believe that this is a pattern found only in the American media. My guess is that the trend is global, but having never seen or heard news outside the U.S. I really don’t know.

When you carry your complete music collection in your pocket, there is an unintended consequence: you disconnect from the music. Without the physical object of the cd/record, the album art, and the physical act of putting the disk in the player, digital music can’t help but be less of an experience. I love my iPod, don’t get me wrong, but listening to music on an iPod is much different than playing vinyl.

So it didn’t really surprise me that a recent study showed that teens prefer vinyl to cd. Is it any wonder that there is a backlash forming against the digital revolution? Is it surprising that the youth, the trend setters, are the ones leading the vinyl comeback? I don’t think so. While the story itself is interesting, what is really enlightening is that the story got Dugg and a conversation with of over 250 comments was started. It is fascinating to hear the diverse opinions on the subject - from ambivelant to enraged. You should go over to Digg and read them yourselves, but here are a few comments that show the vinyl vs. cd denate is still live and well:

vordhosbn said:
personally, i am a big fan of vinyl records. i am also a big fan of my 60gb ipod and my large collection of mp3s. however, in a day and age when we can have 60gb worth of music in a tiny little electric box, you often lose sight of just how special music can be when you are listening to 6 albums in a row.

for this reason, i enjoy collecting records because when i listen to a record, i am taking time out to listen to it. i have to take it out of its sleeve, blow off the dust, place it on the turntable, and put on the needle. you have to pay attention to the music when its on vinyl because once side A is done, you have to flip it to side B. the whole experience makes the music much more enjoyable.

TimorousMe said:
If you’re really into music or you pride yourself on your music collection, then vinyl is very attractive, and can be preferable to cds. If you’re just a casual music listener then there would be little to no appeal to vinyl. Nevertheless, there is still definitely a market for vinyl out there.

dr-steve said:
…Older music is, basically, more musical and less formulaic. Quoting the last sentence of the article,

This is a direct slam against the manufactured and marketed sounds, bands being constructed and tuned to meet Marketing Needs.

With the warm temperatures, I no longer have any excuse not to exercise. There is a nice loop in my neighborhood that I try to run once every two or three days. After my run last night I dediced to use [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/) to see a bird’s eye view of my route. I took screen captures of the satellite images, and put all the pieces together using Photoshop. For a full size image of my run, you can click here. I run counter clockwise along the red line. The small red circle is my house.

I time myself every time I run, but until now, I didn’t really know how far I go. Once I had the map on screen, it occurred to me that I could use Google’s scale to figure out the distance I travel. At the distance I am zoomed to, 111 pixels represents 100 meters. Measuring the red line, it looks like the loop I run is about 4,460 pixels. That translates into 4,018 meters. As luck would have it, 4,018 meters works out to be exactly 2.5 miles. That seems to be the perfect distance for me now, and as I get in better shape, it is easy to add extra loops to increase the distance. Wish me luck as my running season begins!

My flight was delayed Friday night and I spent my time in the terminal sitting next to a large family who were also flying to Denver. The mom and dad had two boys and a girl. The girl was about the same age as Rian, and the boys were probably around first and third grade. After we had been sitting there for a while, one of the boys asked me what was in my case. I told him that I had several cameras and asked if he wanted to see them? He said “yeah” with an enthusiasm that caught me a little off guard. I opened the case and before I knew it I was surrounded by kids all curious to see what was inside. The mom came over too, no doubt checking to make sure I wasn’t selling drugs or something. The kids immediately saw the Legos and said “what’s that?” I took out my Lego camera and the kids were filled with awe as I explained what it was and how it worked. They were so impressed that they wanted to know where I was sitting on the plane in hopes that they could sit next to me. Their compliments were so sincere that I couldn’t help but feel good about myself.

I am continually amazed by the positive response my Lego camera gets from people. Earlier in the week I had dinner with a photographer friend who was equally intrigued by it. The real compliment was that he also enjoyed the images I made with it. Almost all of the praise I get centers around the camera and not the pictures, so it is really nice to be complimented for my photography for a change. After all, that’s the reason I made it.

This has all got me thinking about compliments and what it takes for a compliment to really make me feel good. I learned a long time ago that when someone gives you a compliment, simply say “Thank you.” This simple piece of advice sounds straight forward, but compliments are actually a pretty complex social interaction. In my observations of people, this seems to be one of the simplest ways to judge someone’s self esteem. People with a low self concept try to dismiss the compliment by saying “are you kidding?” Arrogant people like to expand on the complement to show how awesome they are. I imagine you are somewhere in the middle and just say “thanks,” when you are complimented. But what are you thinking? If you are like me, you probably hesitate to accept the compliment completely. Most likely you scan for sarcasm. You question the person’s motives. You try to judge the person’s sincerity. Once a compliment passes through all our filters, we know how good to feel. You rank the complement based on how much you perceive the person knows about the subject. In other words, if a professional photographer compliments your photography, it means more than if the compliment came from someone who doesn’t own a camera. When a child is impressed, the sincerity is obvious because they can’t suppress their excitement. Some compliments bounce off, and some genuinely lift our spirits. Thanks again to everyone who has complemented me and my Lego camera!

Bits and pieces from my trip to Indiana:

Toll Booths
I took the toll road to the airport. I managed to scrape together $0.75 for the first toll and hoped that the other toll booths had attendants who could give me change. Luckly they did, but I always wonder what you do if you are stuck there without change. Why don’t they have a change machine? Or make the toll be $1? Or take credit cards. Otherwise, you either have to flag down another car to ask for change, or speed on by and hope you don’t get caught.

Dinner
Dinner was a box of Junior Mints and sour gummy worms. I didn’t feel like overpaying for a McDonald’s burger at the airport.

Reading
Creativity’s top 50. Hoping most of the names will sink in so that next time I hear the names, I won’t feel like an idiot for not knowing who they are talking about. Hoping to finish Free Culture finally.

Rental Car
They gave me a brand new PT Cruiser with less than 200 miles on it. The interior was stylish and pretty cool, but I don’t think I would ever buy one. I can’t really explain why, though. It seems decent enough…

Hotel
I am staying at the Essenhaus here in Middlebury. It is my first time here, and it is nicer than the nickname it has in our office: “The F’en House.” They said they were hit by lightning a little while before I arrived. A fire alarm was going off downstairs from my room. It took them until past midnight before they could turn it off. Internet was down until this evening which is why I haven’t posted sooner.

Extended Forecast
It has been raining hear since I arrived. Supposed to rain most of the week. It hasn’t dampened my spirits though. I had a successful first day of photography capped off by a nice dinner with Craig Lamson. Ready to do it again tomorrow…

Do you remember the first time you commented on a blog? What made you do it? Most likely, your first comment was accompanied by a strong emotion. Maybe you were furious. Maybe you were touched. Maybe you were thankful. Maybe you were relieved. Maybe you were ecstatic. The reason most people’s first comments are accompanied by emotion is because it takes strong feelings to move you from being a passive reader to an active participant. It wasn’t the first time you had these feelings, but it might be the first time it was so simple to respond and be heard.

Most people believe their opinions are worth hearing, but unfortunately there aren’t many places where they are listened to. Yelling at your TV set, talking to your radio, and calling your newspapers names is obviously pointless because nobody is listening. Participation in the blogosphere is monumentally different from previous models for transmitting information. When you read a book or watch television, the information is only going in one direction. It’s the difference between a dialogue and a monologue. When information starts passing back and forth, the average person gains power and so does the community. When a reader finds the courage to make their voice heard, whether in a blog of their own or by leaving a comment, this event is extremely empowering. A community forms and people realize that they aren’t alone. That may seem trivial, but don’t take it for granted. Eventually, what was once the voiceless masses transforms into a mobilized population.

While blogs are wonderful for the individual, they can be a threat to people and institutions that have profited from a model where the public is relatively silent. The people who want to ignore the cultural impact of blogs are the people who have the most to lose from its rise in power. Whether you recognize it or not, opposition to blogging is growing. One of the first places blog opponents try to strike is to claim that blogs lack the credibility of an established institution. Of course a blog will never have credibility in the same way that network television does, but that doesn’t mean that blogs aren’t credible. Actually, the whole framework of credibility has really changed because of blogs. Look at CBS. Until they were exposed by bloggers, CBS would be considered one of the most credible institutions that existed. The credibility of a blog comes from the combined weight of a networked community. When something is explored by blogs, the result is credible because the result is achieved by the collaboration of minds with varying motives.

The credibility of blogs is attacked for one reason: Credibility equals power. The power of blogs is increasing, and it is starting to make a big impact in modern society. The impact is felt by corporations that can no longer mislead their customers for fear of being exposed. The impact is seen when bloggers expose corrupt news organizations trying to influence elections. It is felt by consumers who actually expect customer service people to listen to them. Blogs are a threat to corporations that don’t want to have a relationship with their customers. It is a threat to a celebrity that doesn’t want to be seen as a human. It is a threat to churches whose congregation expects something in return for their time and money. It is a threat to a writer whose income is tied to the monologue of traditional publishing. As the internet continues to shape modern culture we will see fundamental changes in some of the most influential areas of modern life: publishing, news, advertising, politics, religion, and entertainment.

Don’t fall for the line of thinking that says making your voice heard is arrogant, self-serving, or trivial. Just because you aren’t a celebrity doesn’t mean that you don’t have the right to voice your thoughts. Additionally, don’t participate expecting to be rewarded with fame, friends, or fortune. That’s not the way a community works.

Betsy got back from the bank today with bad news. “Don’t be mad. You know how the drive-thru at the bank is very narrow? Well, I kind of scraped up the side of the car.” As I hang my head in my hands and got ready to surpress the rage, I hear those two words: “April Fools!” She got me. Very well played indeed. How could I forget my favorite holiday? Next year, mark my words…

April is shaping up to be an exciting month. Next week I will be in Indiana on business (an RV photo shoot). Family will be in town for Easter. Betsy’s birthday. Possibly another photo shoot. May will be here in no time.