John Bollwitt – Page 14 – JohnBollwitt.com

2009 Jul 31

Working from a true remote location

Hello from gorgeous, sunny, humid, and beautiful Punta Cana.

The opportunity came up to come down here for the day job and do some preparation for an upcoming, potential broadcast related matter. It’s a short jaunt, but the hard work is over for the most part. Rebecca made the trip with me, so we have about a day and a half to enjoy the Dominican Republic a little bit, starting with a small photowalk we did this morning.

It’ll be tough to leave this place, but we want to come back at some point. A few days can’t do this place justice, so it’s safe to say that we’re not sleeping a lot so we can enjoy as much time here as we can. The beaches are gorgeous, the water is warm, and I basically collapsed and feel asleep in a chair while listening to the waves come in. That’s the way everyday should be after a morning of being on the clock.

2009 Jul 26

A new design to johnbollwitt.com

johnbollwitt.com v2.0

I’ve reworked the design to my website to challenge my limits in terms of web design. It’s taken me about a month or so to get the overall concept down, but it was time to do something different in order to push my boundaries with what I know and am comfortable with. The various sixty4media projects that we’ve been working on has made me think about this a lot, and a recent project for my day job saw me take the website for one of the radio stations I work for, The Beat 94.5, to a temporary overhaul into a complete WordPress site.

Photo credit: stu_dio on Flickr

The basic inspiration for this design was a hot afternoon while drinking a Vitamin Water, something that I’ve become a fan of over the past year. Looking at their label, I found myself admiring the simplicity of the design to market their product. When it comes down to it, it’s just text and colors. No fancy graphic logo or mascots. Text was the only thing selling their product, so I found some inspiration in that.

For the most part, this effort was one of design over function. I’ve asked for opinions of some folks that I really respect and taken their feedback, which should never be overlooked. I tried to incorporate how other people felt when they saw it but then tried to one up the recommendation in order to push the personal challenge ever more.

If you find problems with the site, be sure to let me know. Any good web designer will tell you that any project, especially something to do with your own site, is constantly in development. You’re truly never satisfied.

2009 Jul 26

Midwest Summer Storms

This was published originally on Miss604.com as apart of Blogathon 2009.

Hanging out at WorkSpace today for Blogathon, Rebecca snapped this great picture. It’s one of many, many streaks of lightning that filled the sky in the late afternoon, and these things aren’t that common. I don’t think I’ve seen a storm like that in about four years, which is when I moved here from eastern Iowa.

In the Midwest, you expect these things, and that’s because you have to.

As I watched the wall cloud come in over Mt. Seymour, that was a site that would strike a little fear into your gut as it came out of the horizon back home. What followed that was anyone’s guess. Intense wind to bust up trees, torrents of rain that could sweep your car off the road, baseball sized hail that would lead to cheap new car prices on damaged stock, or the ever friendly tornado that might knock on your door as an uninvited guest.

Watching the lightning zap the holy hell out of the mountains, it reminded me of those times when it was, “Get to the basement!” And it always seem like at that very moment, you’ve got to pee. The adrenaline kicks in and you do what you’ve been told over and over to do in school, but you still have this worst timing hit you at the same time.

That’s because tornadoes are pretty damn scary. They are additively fascinating to try and catch a glimpse of, but you just don’t want it to get too close because I’ve driven through towns that were ripped apart on a direct hit. I’ve grasped onto my mother under a blanket while the wind thumped against our house, sort of saying good-byes to each other through mutual I Iove yous.

That was one of my first times being on the radio when WMT called our house to speak to a witness. I barely had my nerves together enough to say my name correctly yet alone recount all the trees and power lines down in our neighborhood.

Everyone seems to have a personal story or knows a story of someone else with experiences like this. You can never be too careful when it comes to any storm, but the one that reached downtown today was fairly impressive in its own right. Like I said, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like that.

Photo credit: penmachine on Flickr

2009 Jul 25

Fire Sky Over Vancouver

While hanging out at WorkSpace for this year’s Blogathon, the sunset outside looked like this as it set. There was an amazing storm to the north and east, so it really made the orange burn through the horizon. Just amazing.

2009 Jul 202009 Jul 19

Death Cab For Cutie at Pacific Coliseum

Last Thursday, Rebecca and I saw Death Cab For Cutie at Pacific Coliseum with opening acts Ra Ra Riot and New Poronographers. Thanks to some appreciation from Live Nation and our social media endeavors, we got a photo pass to send me into the pit at the front of the stage for each band.

Unfortunately, traffic made us too late to catch Ra Ra Riot, but the New Pornographers put on a really great performance, in their hometown no less. My time inside ended as they kicked into “Use It”, but their set was pretty fantastic from what I got to hear.

The highlight of the night was certainly Death Cab For Cutie, a band that I’ve been following for a number of years, from their indie label days to their hefty deal with one of the big boys. This was certainly a treat, but shooting from the front of a stage that’s about five feet high and in low light wasn’t easy.

This was my first time seeing these guys in all the years I’ve been following their music. A funny story is when I was at SXSW in 2003, I was doing the typical bounce around the city one of the nights to see as much live music as I possibly could. If you’ve been to Austin, TX during the madness that is SXSW, you know how this goes.

Death Cab was a band that I had played a number of times and really liked during my days at KRUI, but I wasn’t completely familiar with their library of tunes nor really knew what they looked like. After seeing another one of my other favorite acts, Shiner, I was supposed to link up with our whole crew from the station at the Death Cab For Cutie performance a few blocks away. Of course, this is SXSW, so getting from one part of the city to another, in a town that you’ve never been to before, with all sorts of loudness and craziness coming from what seems like everywhere, I ended up in the wrong venue.

The odd thing is, the act on stage, who I thought for a brief moment was actually Death Cab For Cutie, was actually The Promise Ring. Those guys were amazing, and I’m really thankful I made this mistake because they ended up calling it quits not too long after (splitting up to another act worth checking out, Maritime, comprised of members from another favorite band but now also defunct, The Dismemberment Plan).

Death Cab For Cutie put on an amazing show that I got to finish watching from my seat. They played a lot of good stuff from their first few albums, which are probably my favorites in terms of their catalog. The sound was also excellent, something that is often not so great in large venues like this. Still, there is a large part of me that wishes I could see them perform in a small venue during those earlier days in Austin.

You can see all my photos from the show on Flickr.

2009 Jul 19

Photos from Surrey Canada Day 2009

I know we’re almost through the month of July, but the City of Surrey held their annual Canada Day celebrations at Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheatre on July 1st. Miss604.com was an official sponsor of the day’s events (posts: Opening Ceremonies, Performances, Bif Naked), so Rebecca and I ventured out to wander the grounds, see the sights, and, of course, shoot some photos.

Just to highlight the very well organized event, here’s a few of my favorite shots from the day.

It’s a bit of a tradition to bring out a table full of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with red and white frosting, all arranged as the flag of Canada. Once the day is officially opened by the mayor of Surrey, people can come up and get one from various members of the city council, including the mayor herself, Diane Watts.

Local hip-hop act, Sweatshop Union.

An amazing performance by You Say Party! We Say Die!

Bif Naked was loud and in charge, as expected.

54-40 headlined the main stage and put on a stellar performance.

I have plenty more shots in my set on Flickr. Many thanks to the organizers of Surrey Canada Day 2009 for their hosting and making sure the day was a success. I keep being impressed with the events that Surrey puts on. Their events planning crew really know what it means to have something to do with your family and friends.

2009 Jul 09

Spending a weekend in Victoria, B.C. with Coast Hotels

A few weeks ago, Coast Hotels graciously took Rebecca and I on a weekend trip to Victoria, B.C. to explore how conveinent a getaway to the island can be.

It helps that they picked us up in the west end and drove us to and from the ferry terminals on each side of the ferry trip, but after a weekend like this, I think we’re more inclined to go the transit route (which we’ve done before on another trip) to make another getaway like this sometime in the future. Hopefully you’ll see why by the end of this post.

I do have to say that one of the extreme highlights of this journey was the ferry ride to Schwartz Bay. I noticed a variety of people suddenly looking out the window to one side of the ship. Looking out to the deck, I saw people crowding next to the rail as well. That’s when I did a mad search to the distance, instantly spotting a pod of killer whales making their way across the Georgia Straight. I just blurted out, “Orcas!”, and everyone in our immediate vacinity craned their necks to catch a glimpse.

I know that this isn’t a big deal to many locals, but nature is something that is always awesome to me. Just the fact that I can go running around Vancouver and spot harbour seals, otters, and bald eagles dive bombing fish out of the water, this was another moment of awe to add to the stack.
Continue reading “Spending a weekend in Victoria, B.C. with Coast Hotels”

2009 Jun 15

Going for a boat ride with Wantsa

Last week, I had the extreme pleasure of being invited on a boat cruise for the launch of a new start-up in Vancouver, Wantsa.

I have yet to actually use their service, but all that I have heard so far seems to be very interesting and promising as to what Wantsa is looking to accomplish.

The Wantsa Engine is an application found within social networks that lets you and your friends exchange recommendations on trusted businesses, services and organizations. In return, you enjoy exclusive discounts and incentives from a valuable network of recommended companies. Even better, every time you engage with a business or organization, we’ll make a donation to the cause of your choice. [wantsa.com]

What I think is the most important element to their overall mission is the goal of giving back to the world as much as they are looking to be successful. By using their engine, you get what you want while giving back to charities that you would like to support.

This event was quite the gathering of people in the new media community of Vancouver, and the event was an amazing success. While the food and drink was abundant, so was the opportunity to hear all about Wantsa from the entire crew that was spread around the boat.

This also means that it was a great opportunity to shoot some photos while out at sea.

Many thanks to the Wantsa crew for a smashing event and the best of luck with their endeavor. And of course, you can see all the photos from this event on Flickr.

2009 Jun 022009 Jun 03

San Francisco and WordCampSF 2009 Slideshow

We’re home from San Francisco, and it felt great to get back to the PNW. When you’re traveling like that and staying in a hotel room for a few days, it’s your own bed that you start to miss.

That’s not to say that we were all ready to leave San Francisco. That was my first time being there, and we saw quite a bit for only being there for not that long. This happens when you take an impromptu walk for about five hours. Combine that with getting around for all the WordCampSF events, the trip kinda wiped us out in the very end.

Here’s a slideshow of all the photos that I have posted on Flickr from the weekend.

2009 May 312009 Jun 01

Hitting the San Francisco ground

The original plan for today was to take part in the WordCampSF Developer Day down at the Automattic offices, but after a late night at the party and Dale having his return flight home later in the day, we thought it would be a shame to not get out to experience the city some more. Neither Dale or I have been to San Francisco, so it was a easy decision to make, even though I’m sure there was some really great things talked about at today’s developer sessions.

Needless to say, I took my camera along and gathered about 50 shots during our journey. We spent most of that time on foot, and when they say that this city is a tad on the hilly side, we experienced it wholeheartedly.

Tomorrow afternoon we leave this city, and it’s been a really great experience to visit and see as much as we have. San Francisco is an amazing place that could really grow on me if given the chance. I can’t say that I’m a fan of the way the temperature fluctuates almost minute to minute, but no place is perfect (especially if you visit Vancouver for a week during the nearly month long streak of rainy days).

If you would like to see more photos from today, view them here.

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