My Lack of Creativity

So of late, I have been complaining about my lack of creativity. I think it’s been going around too. I’ve talked with a couple other photographers who feel the same way. I don’t know if it’s a lack of time, or a loss of interest at this point in time or what, but I have not shot an “artsy” or “pretty” photo in quite some time. Sure, I’ve shot some nice looking photos, but they’ve all been for work, and without some of the art feel.

Last weekend I did get to shoot some shots of my nephews and nieces which was enjoyable, but to be honest, I didn’t get any really awesome shots. This morning while I was browsing Digg, I came across a website that listed 60 sources of inspiration for photography. Its from a blog titled “Photoprenuer.” I read through a lot of their posts and found a couple interesting articles, some things I didn’t particularly agree with, but that’s what’s called an opinion. Either way, I may try some of those things to get back motivated.

For now, here’s my latest: Falling leaves leave their mark

Interesting take on Marketing

I caught this on the New York Times this morning. I thought it was really funny. I’m not really political, but I do vote, and you should too. <– There’s my Voting campaign plug for the year.

This is a very entertaining comic that simplifies the thought process a graphic designer must go through when creating an ad. That’s why it’s always good to have second/third/more opinions.

Marketing for the Prez

Staying up-to-date

I was going through my RSS feeds this morning and one of them is for CNN news. They just released results of a poll that says that “Teens use IM’s to avoid OMG moments.” I’m sitting here thinking about this and I’m like WTF?!? Doesn’t everyone already know this? I mean, this is not something new to probably 70%+ of the population (I just made up that number, I don’t have any idea actually what percentage it would be).

It reminded me of how at the conference I just got back from, people asked some of us more “techie” people what websites we use to get our information from. It struck me odd at first because I was thinking, google, blogs, facebook, rss feeds, etc, all the sites that I’ve grown up with and are natural to me. After reading this, I’m thinking this is why people are so behind. They rely on “reputable” sites like CNN for their up-to-date information because they don’t really know any better. I don’t mean to sound mean or like I’m talking anyone down or anything, I just think it’s interesting that CNN is publishing something NOW that many people have known for a long time.

Recent Trends

So I’ll admit that at first I did not like the song…now, I love it. It’s ridiculous and hilarious at the same time. It seems like I see it everywhere I go. I was doing some research this morning for my paper and I saw this. All I could think of was “YOUUUUU!!!”

Stamats Conference Day 2

So our big conference day is done. Today held the most presenters on a variety of topics. Everything from YouTube in the morning to ROI (Return on Investment) in the afternoon. Obie did a good presentation on YouTube, and talked about his big goal of having a lot of open information on the internet. This is something that I have started doing on a much smaller scale, and now knowing that there are other schools who have done things like this, I definitely want to push it a lot more. UIS is THE leading school in online education, receiving a SLOAN-C award a couple weeks ago, and offering classes, or even mini-courses for free as a way to educate the general public would be a great way to add to an already impressive program. One school doing it is Univ. California, Berkeley. So that will be something I’m looking forward to working on some more once I get back.

I was really looking forward to hearing from Matt Herzberger, the guy I blogged about yesterday, and have been talking with all week. It’s kinda funny because it was pretty apparent that he hit a nerve with the people in the room because he only got through three slides in his presentation, the rest was fueled by questions and comments. Overall it was good. I have recently began using facebook more and more and so hearing what Matt has had to say (as well as other blogs and professionals), I really am not utilizing it to the fullest.

Needless to say, I’m definitely learning a lot of good stuff to bring back with me, and as much as it might be crazy to say, I cannot wait to get back to get to work on it all! I’m really excited about all the projects I have planned for our future!

Stamats Conference Day 1

So at the conclusion of the first day at the Stamats Interactive Marketing conference, and I can honestly say, I have learned quite a bit. However, I am one of those people who tend to enjoy talking to people more than being lectured to. Never been much for getting talked at…

This evening I got to chat with some really cool people at the social and afterwards. Matt Herzberger is extremely knowledgeable, and I’m really glad I got to listen to his ideas. I’m really looking forward to his presentation tomorrow too. I’m also looking forward to hearing the YouTube guy Odie talk in the morning. I met him tonight too and he seems like he’s got a lot of great ideas.

As much as I know and use this technology, there is still a lot I don’t know. That being said, I thought I could be overwhelmed with information. But I do feel like I, and UIS, are pretty well up to date (as useless as that phrase is in this field). I’m really glad that I’m hear, and really look forward to attending other conferences in the future! Stay tuned for tomorrow!

Final update

Alright…so after contemplating what I was going to do about my problem all weekend, I found out yesterday afternoon that it was merely a mistake. Someone wrote down the wrong mileage, and the dealership has the paperwork to prove it. They sent a request to the state to have this corrected so my car comes up with a clean record. Awesome! All fine and dandy…however…I drove some cars this weekend in anticipation for the worst, and I’m sorry to say that I did. I drove the Pontiac Solstice and the Solstice GXP, the supercharged version. I was sadly unimpressed with both. The GXP was pretty quick though, I’ll give it that. It had a much smoother ride than did the other model.

I also drove a Mazda Miata sport (not a Mazdaspeed) and though it was alright, although it was a little underpowered. That car cornered like no other though. Then I drove a new Mazda MX-5 and I must tell you, if you’re looking for a fun car, this is it! I absolutely fell in love with this car! I have never had as much fun driving a vehicle as I did with the MX-5. I drove a six-speed and it was smooth and quick. The pedal push was a bit long, but otherwise they did their homework. It was extremely comfortable for being the type of car that it is. I drove all over the place and took about 40 minutes. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it!

And that’s where the problems come in…I loved it soo much, I really want it! And with nothing wrong with my car, I still own it. I have a week to think about it, but it is not going to be an easy decision. Keep the car I love with cheaper payments and somewhat of a back seat, or trade it in for a car designed purely for driving and is otherwise highly impractical. On the other hand, my car gets under 20 mpg, and is fairly impractical itself verses a car that I LOVED driving and gets between 25 and 30 mpg.

Update on my car…

So this is one of those things that we usually think, “this can never happen to me.” Yesterday, I talked to the Illinois State Police and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Neither gave me any information about my car; ISP told me to call the Secretary of State’s office. I called the SoS office this morning and was not able to get any info helping me. So, I decided to invest in a Carfax report. The report showed that my car was not involved in any accidents, nor was it stolen like I had thought. However, the report did show that my car had an odometer rollback just prior to my purchase. I thought rolling back odometers was difficult with an electric odometer reader, but it turns out that it is actually easier.

I’m still looking into what my options are, but now knowing the problem, if I were to try to trade it in to a dealer, I would have to disclose the issue and get up to 40% less than what the car is worth. I plan on going to the dealership I bought it from this weekend and seeing what their solution is. Best case scenario: They buy the car back from me for what I owe. I hope this is not going to be a long process…

New Car?

Good Day Everyone!

I hope everyone’s Halloween went well! I am in need of some advice; two pieces actually. First of all, let me start off by saying that I LOVE my car. However, I’m having some problems with it.

It’s a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT with 58,000 miles.

Unfortunately, I have reason to believe that my car was stolen at one point in time and was not made aware of that when I bought it. I will be calling the police to look into this matter today, but was wondering if anyone had any advice or information about anything I can do. The best case scenario is that the dealership I bought it from will take the car back so I don’t have any debt and then I can get a new one. That’s what I am hoping for.

That brings me to the second part of advice: Which car do I buy? I am definitely looking for another convertible. I do not want brand new because that is stupid. When I drive the car off the lot, I lose a TON of money. So never buy new when you can buy one year old for a lot less. I have two cars in mind, but am definitely open to suggestions.

Here’s what I’m looking at:

Pontiac Solstice – first choice

Mazda MX-5 – second choice

Mazdaspeed Mazda Miata

Another Mistubishi Eclipse Spyder

Chrysler Crossfire

Mini Cooper S Convertible