The Voice

A number of speakers at the convention are reporters from the San Diego area. Including a few from Voice of San Diego. The keynote speech yesterday was given by Andrew Donohue, a reporter for the Voice of San Diego.

One thing he made a point of was cover letters. I liked this because I believe in the strength of a cover letter. Rob, my teacher, started to open my eyes to the importance of cover letters, and this convention has reinforced it.

Will Carless was the last speaker I saw yesterday. That was one of the best sessions I have attended by far, and that is saying a lot at this convention. This focused a lot on making good connections, and doing good journalism.

Well I have back to the convention. :)

Sunlight!

It's day three at San Diego Media +. This convention is amazing! Plus the weather down here is incredible.

The trip down to San Diego was interesting. The seats in the van are akin to rock slabs. Leg room? HA! In the back the heating system is messed up, if you turn the heat on at all in back it blows near burning hot air at you legs. No good. But the people are fun people to travel with.

The hotel charges $13 a day for internet, so I am at a coffee house right now. The one thing the hotel has that is absolutely amazing is the pool. Around it you will find all the normal sunbathing chairs plus a number of large round bed-like seat, and hammocks. I almost fell asleep in one the other night.

I am looking forward to another day at the convention. When I get home I may make a post about the best sessions I went to and give a rundown on them.

Final Countdown... err Story.

So I will either use my State of the Willamette River story, or write a new story on health and fitness.

The health and fitness is a story idea I have been interested in covering for awhile now. A lot of information about dieting and weight loss is not given clearly and I think that is a huge problem. I would like to present some facts about weight loss which some diets don't ignore.

For sources I could talk to a fitness instructor at school, and probably a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness or something like that.

Technology, Entertainment, Design

Giving an audience of intellectuals malaria was one great idea presented at TED this year.

Recently TED held its annual conference, and new speeches are being made available. Issues like education, disease and sustainability around the world have always been a large concern for society and concepts or ideas can be a big step in solving these issues.

TED.com is a site devoted to bringing the worlds greatest minds together to give “the talks of their lives, ” which usually focus on important issues that the world is facing. These speeches are then made available online for free to the whole world.

TED stands for technology, entertainment, design. Over the years they have expanded the content. While some speeches may not interest some I am sure almost anyone can find something of interest.

Talks cover issues such as education, global warming, the economy and more. All these issues and all the other ideas the talks cover are so important.

One speech given by Bill Gates this year discussed malaria and education. During the speech he released mosquitoes into the crowd saying “there's no reason only poor people should have the experience.” He also discussed how to better improve our education by improving our teachers.

"I wasn't prepared for this conference to be so profound. The combined IQ of the attendees is incredible." Gates said about TED.

Both these issues are extremely important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention malaria takes over one million lives each year. And why would we not want to improve our education system?

David Merrill demonstrated something called “Siftables.” These are interactive computers similar to the letter blocks we played with as kids. He shows one program for these that lets you make music.

What an amazing idea! TED is filled with amazing creations like this and speeches that will really get you thinking. I was first alerted to TED around a year ago by a friend. The insight and inspiration that TED fills me with is incredible.

I cannot even try to cover all topics discussed during TED. I suggest everyone take a few minutes out of their day and at least browse the TED talks list. You will find something that interests you.

Ideas Worth Spreading

So last week I was dead half of it. The sickness I came down with was pretty intense, but really just an strong cold. My midterm in History of Western Art went great though. I ended up getting a 94% on it!

So all weekend I have been watching TED. I love this site and the conference. I suggest you all check it out and watch a few videos.

Kent Buys: Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop

If you have ever had a desire to play a musical instrument, Kent Buys will do everything in his power to help you learn.

Buys owns the Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop in downtown Corvallis. Buys is passionate about his store and the community. With economic times as tough as they are it's hard to find deals like the ones Buys offers.

Buys works on instrument repair and reconstruction. This is not the same as rebuilding. In reconstruction you attempt to preserve the original parts of the instrument. Buys says this preserves the sound and feel of the instrument.

The work they do is very unique. Buys says even after all these years they keep getting new problems. Buys says that because every instrument is different you need different devices to repair them. For this reason the majority of their repair equipment is self made by the Troubadour staff.

It was one phrase that made Buys decide to get into instrument reconstruction and repair. His mentor said this to him when Buys was wondering if he wanted to play music professionally or go into reconstruction.

“Do you want to be a musician, or do you want to make it possible for thousands of people to be musicians?”

Buys cares about the community. He does not see the other music shops as competition but cherishes them. They help to promote the music community in Corvallis according to Buys.

“We have the most musicians per capita than any other town,” Buys says.

He says this is thanks to the number of great music shops in Corvallis.

You can see Buys' impact on the community in many places. Not only in magnitude of musicians Corvallis has, but in some of the local eateries. He was the one who built and designed the Old World Deli.

Buys encourages people young and old to play music. If you are a new customer you will receive a free kazoo. Buys says then at least you can get out and start making some music.

“Music heals and brings us happiness,” Buys says.

Buys is a teacher at Linn-Benton Community College, and he also has had nine apprentices at his repair shop. Buys feels apprenticeship is as important if not more important than traditional schooling. He apprenticed under Charles Chase in the late 1960s for three years in California.

Aarron Wootton is Buys current apprentice. Wootton feels his apprenticeship is a real blessing.

“Kent believes in me and what I can do,” Wootton said.

Wootton says Buys is generous and helps the community.

Buys is not in the business for the money. He likes to work with people and get them playing music. Elaine Difalco, an employee of Buys, says that he gives an exceptionally good deal on all of his services.

“He is there for the love of music and those who want to learn,” said Difalco.

Ryan Buys is Kent's son and one of his apprentices. He used to think Kent charged far too little and thought Kent was too concerned with community.

“I was in the wrong. What you get out of it is not just money,” Ryan says.

Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop is located at 125 S.W. Washington Ave. in Corvallis.

The Troubadour

I had a few more interviews to complete this weekend, and they went well. I watched as customers packed the tiny shop and I just took notes. I got to talk to a few random customers about their experience at The Troubadour Music Center and got to talk to more of Kent's apprentices. So now I am filtering all this information into an awesome profile story. This will be a good one.

As of right now I feel terrible because I finally got whatever sickness my brother has. This is great, really... I have a midterm tomorrow that is worth a third of my grade, and it is in Art History. So much information in that class, but it is all quite incredible. One place I am finding amazing is the Hagia Sophia. I suggest you check it out.

Well I hope to have the story up tonight, if not it will be up tomorrow. Back to drinking tea and studying with me.

The Beanery

The smell of fresh brewed coffee. The sounds of espresso machines steaming milk. The murmur of conversations overlapping each other. A friendly barista greeting you and asking "what can I get you today?" College students working with piles of books and binders laid out in front of them. Individuals reading novels or newspapers. A cool breeze as another patron enters the coffee house.

You are greeted with these things as you enter The Beanery, downtown Corvallis.

State of the Willamette River

Image taken by me.

Ever wonder if the Willamette River is healthy, and what you can do to help it?

A panel was held on Jan. 29 to cover the state of the Willamette River. Five panelists spoke about their various fields of work and the Willamette River, which they said was better off then it has been in the past. The event was held at 7 p.m. at the Benton County Public Library. Over 70 people turned out for the event.

Panelists included: Travis Williams, Willamette Riverkeepers; Mark Taratoot, City of Corvallis Public Works; Mindy Simmons, US Army Corps of Engineers; Jared Rubin, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; Karen Hans, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The panel was held in conjunction with the release of a new full color water quality map. It is the first update to the water quality map in 11 years, according to a press release by OSU.

Each panelist spoke for approximately 15 minutes, and each focused on slightly different subjects.

Jared Rubin discussed the quality of the water in the Willamette River. Rubin said that the river does have some water quality issues, but it is much better then it was in the past. Rubin felt that Corvallis has done a outstanding job when helping improve water quality, and was surprised by the large turnout for the event.

Mark Taratoot spoke about water treatment plants and which part of the river Corvallis is in charge of protecting. Taratoot also covered what you can do to help the river.

-Do not put pollutants down storm drains. They are only for water.

-Fix up your property, as run off or erosion are major pollutants to the river.

-Use less pharmaceuticals, things like Ibuprofen. A large portion of the drugs you take do not stay in your system and can be missed by water treatment plants.

-Use non-toxic cleaners around the house.

-Dispose of waste properly.

A number of the panelists agreed that a lot of pollution comes from “non-point sources,” or the general population.

Mindy Simmons focused on the dams built by the United States Army Corps. The dams were built to help with flood control in the Willamette Valley, but they have been the cause of much habitat destruction. Simmons outlined what the Army Corps is doing now to help reverse the damage that have been done. The army takes on at least two major habitat restoration acts per year.

Travis Williams had slides showing much of the Willamette River and focused on the recreational use of the river. He takes part in a annual event called “Paddle Oregon.” A group of people take a canoe or kayak adventure on the Willamette River, and learn more about the river.

Karen Hans spoke about lesser known fishes of the Willamette River. Hans spoke about what these fish do and how they are effect by the habitat destruction caused by dams or pollution.

The panelists felt that some of the river was over polluted, such as the Portland Harbor Superfund site. Overall though they agreed municipal water is healthy and you do not have to worry when drinking it. Also the quality of water outside of Portland harbor is much better.

For more information see the Institute For Water And Watersheds at http://water.oregonstate.edu/ or the Corvallis Environmental Center at http://corvallisenvironmentalcenter.org/

Interview touchdown!!!

Tuesday I go for my interview with my profile subject. I will be covering Kent Buys from Troubadour Music Center. This actually sounds like it is going to be very fascinating, because I am not doing a simple sit down interview. Instead I will be hanging around the store for a few hours and talking to him while he works on instruments and talks with customers. This should be a neat interview.

Now I am not into football too much... but I heard about the 100 yard interception touchdown and thought that was pretty funny.