Maps and Legends

I spent the tail end of last week at the WI Land Information Association (WLIA) Conference in Steven's Point. It was a map geek conference that happens every year. There were 350 land information professionals in attendance and like most every conference, we talked about our work constantly. We talked over breakfast, in the hall after the sessions, at lunch, at the social events, in the elevators and  even on the ride home.

Yes, we're pretty pathetic.

At the same time, I would argue that we're passionate. We love our jobs, that's why we gather every year. We share ideas, talk through problems, argue, critique and laugh. I remember one time my boss's wife went along on a conference with him and by the end of it she said "You guys never stop talking about work, do you?" The answer is nope. Oh sure we catch up on each others' families and such, but after those three minutes are up, we're back to talking about terrestrial scanners, relational databases, Light Detection and Ranging, Digital Elevation Models, Point Clouds, spatial overlays and secured web services.

Throw on top of that a gazillion acronyms like GPS, DEM, DTM LiDAR, SOAP, REST, API, JSP, RAM, RAID, XML, MXD and many more and it kind of makes your head spin.

This past week was a reminder of how important it is to maintain the relationships with these friends and colleagues in the GIS profession. Much like my writing experience of late, you learn from these people, you get better at your craft, you find out you're not alone with your struggles and hopefully you pick up a bunch of tricks along the way as well.

Speaking of cool conferences, there is another couple of them coming up in Madison in a couple of weeks that I hope to make. The first is Canoecopia which is all about canoes and kayaks. There are tons of workshops, speakers and vendors. I fully intend to go and get some ideas on a kayak to purchase at some point.

The other conference is the Blackhawk Pulse which is all about art from a Christian perspective. Two of my favorite Christian artists are going to be there, namely Singer/Songwriter Sara Groves and Author Shauna  Niequist. This one is a bit more of a stretch, but as I said, I'll be in Mad-Town anyway, so may be able to make part of it. We'll see.

Making those connections to people who have the same interests is important, be it at conferences, trade shows, expos or other venues. If you're not growing, you're stagnating. (Profound, eh?)

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Truth and Fiction

I had another fantastic writing class on Wednesday. We've got a couple of new students in the class, so it's nice to not only have new faces, but to hear fresh, new writing as well. One of them is writing adult fantasy, a story about a witch from a coven. There are a couple of other students, past and present, that have written about witches, so I am learning more about witches and witching than I ever wanted to. It's nothing that I would ever write about, but I respect people who do their homework and research about the subject, enough to write creepy stories about them. Even more though, I respect their ability to use their minds and creativity to evoke emotions of fear, sadness, excitement and fun from their readers.

The other new student is working on a fiction piece that is based on truth, or true events. That is a style I'm enamored with at the moment. Being someone whose style (strength?) is memoir, I like the idea of taking a true event and fictionalizing it, which then takes out the need to be 100% accurate with regards to events. My questions are, how much do you need to fictionalize or fabricate in order to be safe? Because it's a new concept to me I'm curious what the boundaries are.

One of the things I struggle with most is what is my story lacking as far as relevant detail(s)? Does the actual year, time, date, location matter in every situation? Memoirists have a writer's obligation to get things as close to accurate as he/she can. If this involves fact checking, then so be it. If it is entirely personal and only involves the writer, then they are tasked with recalling the event as close to how it happened as possible.

Changing subjects wildly, I had breakfast with a couple of buddies this morning. We're trying to make it a monthly thing, and two months into it, I really enjoy it. Good "guy time." We talk about a number of things including politics, sports, our families and marriages. This week we got on the subject of Facebook for a while and the good and bad of it. We all kind of agreed that kids tend to use it for spewing much more than adults, but that adults were far from innocent on it as well. One guy was off of it entirely and the other said he stayed on it just to kind of keep his finger on the pulse of politics.

I can respect both of their arguments. I once "gave up" facebook, but my writing instructor was quick to point out that it is a decent medium for getting your name/work out there. I re-signed up and have been on it ever since. It's been a struggle to keep positive about everything I'm seeing. People get ugly. People trash other people and politicians. People lose friends. People lose "friends" who were never anything more than a facebook friend and shouldn't have been "friended" in the first place. Kids post inappropriate stuff, and their parents let them. (Don't they monitor?)

At the same time, there is much good on it too. Causes are brought forth. People send heartfelt notes and posts to others. People pray (or claim to) for others who are sick or going through tough times. There's lots of good humor ("Who ya finna' try, who ya finna try" or the talking dog video come to mind.) There's timely news posts, like the tragic Walpole Elementary shooting yesterday. Good musical posts and peoples' pictures and cool family moments.

My thought is, just like the internet itself, something that started for good, has turned into a place where you have to tread lightly. Statistics estimate that between 30-40% of the internet is pornography. I would wager that facebook approaches those numbers for spewing vs. valued content, at least from my chair. Like most people I know, I've had to "hide" some of my "friends" because they bring me down. If I consistently see someone bringing people down (including themselves), I hide them. It just makes life easier. That way I can still pick and choose the good from the bad and keep my fingers on the good of facebook just the same. I believe facebook is what you make it, and I'm going to keep it real.

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Groundhog Day

The strange winter of 2012 continues. It was 40+ degrees again today and almost all the snow is gone. It's been more like a hard Fall than a Winter around here. They attribute it to some sort of La Nina offshoot, but I have to wonder if it's not a continuing reminder of the way greenhouse gases are affecting our climate. We've seen some really weird weather these past ten years or so, and while I'd like to chalk it all up to the weather randomness, I fear the worst. Maybe it's for naught. I hope it is. Besides, I have to have something to worry about.

Evidently Puxatawney Phil saw his shadow so we're blessed with 6 more weeks of winter. I guess if that's the case, at least it will be mild 6 weeks.

I got news today that my poem "Angel with Dirty Faces" was accepted for publication in the 2013 Wisconsin Poets Calendar. My writing instructor and another of her students were also accepted for the calendar as well. I am excited, as it's been a while since I had something published. These little victories keep me going and whet my appetite for more. I've got to get more of my work edited and out there. It seems to me that I spend so much time creating new material for class (and my next memoir) that I don't get enough of it into a final form that can be published. My instructor said that I should devote one day a week to submissions, so I'm going to give that some thought and try and build it into my routine.

Speaking of writing class, we started a new session yesterday. There are a few new people that are in it as well as a woman from previous class. It's nice to have more chairs filled as you tend to get more feedback, and it makes for a livelier discussion. We had a great time again last night. There was murder mystery, memoir, young adult fiction, and adult fiction. So many diverse styles and voices. It makes for a crazy array of stories and keeps it interesting. It's good to be back at it.

In the interest of getting more submissions in, I'll devote the rest of this post to doing just that.

Blogging off...

The Ten Dollar Check Out

I saw Mission Impossible 4 tonight with my son. It was amazing. Great action, riveting plot and lots of technology and special effects. It's one of those movies that is best experienced on the big screen. (Most movies are, but action thrillers even more so.) Lots of explosions, perilous falling scenes and gunfire. Was most of it far-fetched? Of course. But that's why we go to the movies. Escape. Total, pure escapism.

I'm glad I took the time to see it, especially with my son, Ben. It seems I'd fallen into my winter routine funk and was reminded of it by my wife. One dark winter day seems to blend into the next. I know as well as my wife,  that all work and no play makes Jim a dull boy. When she mentioned doing something to shake it up, I thought about taking Ben somewhere. It's been a while since we did a boy's night, so I checked into a hockey game. The  Milwaukee Admirals game had no good tickets left, so I opted for a movie instead. MI4 it was.

When I saw the preview for this movie with Ben, I said "We gotta see that one, Ben." He said that would be cool, and so I wanted to follow through with it. We like seeing these together because they are more "guy movies."

We both came away saying the same thing. "That was cool." I know Tom Cruise is a bit of head case and I don't really follow him much on the "Hollywood circuit." At the same time, he makes a GOOD movie. Whether he was scaling the world's tallest building, swimming out of a submerged car or chasing a villain in a sandstorm, he was epic. It's kind of like sports stars. If you admire them on the field and then kind of tune out their wacky, sometimes dysfunctional personal lives, you appreciate them much more. Its when they get busted for having a trunk full of dope or beating their spouse that you lose respect. I prefer to put the blinders on in the case of Tom Cruise.

Tonight I got to jump out a window from the 130th floor of the world's tallest building in Dubai, I blew up the Kremlin, I was in a car chase in India, I had contact lenses that can scan documents to a printer, I fell down an elevator shaft only to be caught and suspended by magnets, I jumped from a speeding car and watched it head-on crash into another, I fought hand-to-hand on several occasions, and to top it all off, I managed to disarm a nuclear warhead headed for Seattle.

And I did it all for $10.

That is why I go to the movies.

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Draw Like an Egyptian

We got some great news today from my daughters school. She had entered a piece of her artwork in a competition set by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers.  Her piece (above) was a self-portrait done with pastels. There were a few thousand from the state and her piece was selected as one of the Gold Key winners. This is a pretty significant achievement given the number of entries. She was excited, but in typical Sarah form, she is humble about it. Like many of her achievements, I am more excited than her.

Part of what I admire about it is that I have never been good at art. I used to love to draw football players until someone pointed out that their head was pointed in one direction and their feet in another. They looked like Egyptian glyphs if you know what I mean. My players were "Walking like an Egyptian." When the friend pointed this out to me, it kind of ruined my love of drawing. To top it off, he was able to draw football players and make them look real. Really real, not Egyptian real. It was an epic moment for me in some ways realizing I kind of sucked at art. It was also an epiphany for me too though in recognizing that there are people who are just gifted at it. You can probably train people to be better at it, but they'll likely never be as good as those to whom it comes naturally.

This evening after I get home from work I see a post on Facebook by my wife saying she wished she enjoyed exercise as much as she enjoys cooking. I commented that I wish I enjoyed cooking even a smidgen as much as I enjoy working out.

What it boils down to is everyone has their gig. Everyone is gifted at something. A couple of my guy friends are good at woodworking. Me? I can't see angles, measure poorly and am dangerous with a saw. (Though I did lay some mean quarter-round this weekend in our office.) They are good at it because they like it. I don't like it. There's the difference. I do it when it needs doing, but often cursing the process and the experience the whole time. There's no love there.

As I said my wife loves cooking. Absolutely loves it. It's her way of relaxing. Something is always on the stove or in the works for tomorrow's menu. Again, I can do it, minimally, if I have to, I guess. It's grueling and painful to me. It's totally like work to me, no pleasure. Donna knows that and respects it, and I do the same with her in regards to working out. It's what you call an understanding.

My gig is writing, I guess. Most of my friends say that what I like to do would kill them. They hate it. Again, I think you can teach people to write better, but unless they want to do it (and are gifted at it) they will never be as good as someone who enjoys it.

The point is, find what you enjoy doing, then do it. It will make you better and if you're good at it, it WILL make the world better. It WILL make your family better. If you're not doing it, you have to figure out what it is. The world is waiting for you, but it won't wait forever. Dream, stretch, and grow. Leave the world a better place because you were in it. Right now I'm going to go do that, so I'm...

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The Breakfast Club

I had breakfast at Blues Egg with a couple of close friends this morning. The food was great as was the company. As a trio, we're going to try and make it a monthly thing, getting together and talking about life. All three of us have been in Bible Studies and/or some sort of men's group in the past and while they have all been relatively good experiences, when all was said and done, we didn't come away with any close true friends. We've got friends who we see at church or who we respect, but none that we would call buds. It's not to say that those groups don't build those kinds of relationships, I'm just saying that none of us had that kind of luck.

None of us are the types to call each other a couple times a week, as we're not big phone people. We will frequently text during a football game we're watching or attending, but that's about as personal as we get. (It's a guy thing). We're all busy and trying our best to be loyal spouses, good dads/uncles, and great employees. That takes effort enough, and while we don't keep in constant contact, these are the guys who I know have my back.

They're the ones who lend me tools when I need them.
They're the ones who help me build/fix what I need built or fixed.
They're the ones who love my kids like uncles and would risk their lives for them.

We all met through our wives, in kind of a roundabout fashion. They, like me are both Christians, and value the three F's as much as me. (Faith Family and Friends in that order). We share similar political views, but don't always agree about everything. There is enough respect though, that we're able to agree to disagree. This past year we have all celebrated at least 20 years with our spouses, which shows that we locked into the marital bonds with a sense of purpose and duty. I don't mention this to boast, but rather to point out that it is these kinds of things that hold us together. Mutual interests, values and morals.

These are the guys I've watched the Packers win championships with.
These are the guys I've celebrated New Years Eve with.
These are they guys I've camped and fished with.

This past year we've also all shared significant losses in our families, close siblings and parents. I cannot tell you how it has helped me having these guys (and their spouses) to lean on when things were tough. There were times where I just needed them to listen, and they did. But along with that, they sent cards, texted, watched our dog and cats, sent food, offered money, time and love. They were there when we needed them.

The wonderfully sad thing was I knew that they understood how I felt because they were going through the same thing. We were all in sort of a synchronized grief. It was horrible, but thanks to them, manageable. It's almost like the loss of a brother has led to these guys filling the hole left in his absence, or at least to slow the bleeding.

For that I am grateful.

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It's a Free For All!

Last Friday night was an event called the AllWriters' Friday Night Free-For-All. It is an event held quarterly at the writing studio that is free to the public. It features short readings from 4 different students, namely poetry, memoir, short story and novel. There were also readings from Kathie and Michael Giorgio at this particular event in recognition of the studio's 7th anniversary. Kathie has done a wonderful job at building a successful creative writing business that has even weathered the current recession we're experiencing.

I'm not one who particularly likes public speaking, but was asked by the Director to do a reading from my memoir I'm working on. I was honored to be asked, so picked a story about one of our foibles at a canoe launch in the BWCA. I was a bit nervous going in, but for some strange reason, not as nervous as I've been in the past. I got up and read my 12 minutes worth and it went off without a hitch. Judging from the crowd's reaction, it was well received. The good feedback actually helped calm my nerves quite a bit, something to remember the next time you hear someone speak.

The rest of the readers were amazing too. My friend Deb Tetzlaff read from her novel-in-work about a woman who prays from her apartment balcony for cars driving on the freeway. She's got a knack for story telling and it comes out great in her emotion-filled reading. Michael and Kathie's readings were outstanding too. Michael had a couple of short fiction pieces and Kathie did a re-make of the Gift of the Magi that was moving, to say the least.

After the readings, I hung around and socialized with some of the other students and spectators. Though the event is open to the public, it is heavily slanted toward existing students and their supporters and families. I got to meet a couple of cool writers from the Tuesday class and talk shop. Like any conference, it's good to network with people who have the same interests. We can talk about struggles and successes, rejections and acceptances. These folks have been there and can relate.

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