Pecha Kucha Vol. 5 - Fresno

This week was a big week for me as I FINALLY presented at a Pecha Kucha event here in Fresno.

I have had some ideas in the past as to what I would present if I ever decided to do so, so I finally decided to share some of my passion with the people of Fresno.

Watch my presentation here, thanks to James for putting this video together!

I think my presentation went well. I got a lot of compliments, and a fairly boisterous applause at the end (although I think I am attributing that to the 10-20 friends in the audience). My height was a disadvantage during the presentation, as I was probably the tallest presenter, and the mic was a little short (and I didn't bother raising it up). But overall I am very glad I presented, and I am looking forward to the the next time I can present.

My New Home

I have been interested in downtown Fresno for a while now, and I have been very interested in the possibility of moving to one of the many new lofts that have been and are currently being built in the downtown core. My roommate and I finally decided to take the leap last week and we applied for and were approved to move into a 2-bedroom flat at the Iron Bird Lofts.

Just this past Tuesday the first residents started moving into the lofts, check out this ABC 30 news story about the lofts.

There is a lot happening right now with the revitalization efforts of downtown Fresno. I truly believe that the direction the process is going is very positive, and I can't wait for my new home downtown to flourish with people, culture, activities, and art.

Henry Madden Library

While checking out Vintage Days at my alma mater today, my brother and I walked over to the new Henry Madden Library. While I had seen it throughout its stages of building, I hadn't seen it since its completion, so I wanted to check it out.

I was quite impressed. When I started at Fresno State they still had the old building in operation and use, and it was definitely outdated and obviously crowded. This new building is a much needed addition and upgrade. Here are a few of my observations:

• The library utilizes space saving shelving. Shelves are about 40 feet long, and are on rails which can be moved back and forth by the push of a button, which cuts down a lot on wasted space. The shelves utilize sensors to tell if someone is in the aisle, and won't shut if there is someone there. My brother and I tried this out a few times as we walked the shelves, it was a lot of fun.
• The main collection is on the lower level which was a cost saver for the University because that great weight of books doesn't need extra support from steel beams, etc.
• The stairs. The main stairs in the library are some kind of woven metal fabric type thing. They look really cool and have a lot of grip, but they seem to make more noise than you feel comfortable with when in a library. I felt like I should be getting dirty looks from the librarians as I walked the stairs.
• The high-tech LED huge screen showing an artist weaving a basket was pretty cool. The sun was pretty bright though, and I think it would have more of an impact in the dark.
• The amount of reading rooms, study rooms, seating, tables, etc. was pretty fantastic. That is something that was definitely missed those couple of years that we didn't have a proper library.
• It is a very impressive structure. Even walking by it when the frame was up during construction, it seems a lot bigger now.
• The Peace Garden is much better than it had been. With some rolling hills, a few more artistic structures, and the new library as a backdrop, it definitely is more awe-inspiring.
• They have a Starbucks, and yep, it's basically a Starbucks.

See pictures of the library (new and old) here.

Appropriate Advertising

While driving around on my scooter today I passed by a teenage boy holding up a sign that said "Car Wash Today". I was the only vehicle around on that road at the time, and when he saw me he jumped wildly with his sign to get my attention.

I don't think it crossed his mind that I was in fact driving a scooter and that the chances of me stopping for a car wash with my scooter was very low. He could have been just practicing for when a real car came by, and I guess it really didn't hurt to advertise to me but I guess it just seemed strange.

Would it have been worth their time, for raising money, to have more specific advertising for motorcycles/scooters? Maybe a greatly discounted price for washing a motorcycle, you'd need a few more signs, but even if you got a couple more customers, I'm sure the cost/benefit ratio would have been worth it.

I think it's probably just short-sighted and a lack of creativity that stops people from thinking about different scenarios that they can actually use to increase their business.

Pecha Kucha

I was fortunate enough to attend Pecha Kucha Vol. 2 last night here in Fresno at the Starline.

What is Pecha Kucha you ask? Read this.

From all accounts it was a great success, especially since its only the second Pecha Kucha event held in Fresno, and the first one they actually started charging for. It was standing room only by the time the show started, with estimates of 150+ attendees. I got there early, and had great seats (can you pick me out of the first picture from the BeeHive post on the event?)

I really enjoyed Walmer Medina and James Collier's presentations, but all that I got to see where interesting in their own right.

While talking with my friend Andrew Ellenberger who attended with me, I thought that my Dad could make a great presentation at one of these things with his collection of Cereal Boxes. Of course, narrowing down his collection to 20 slides might in fact be the most difficult task.

I am really looking forward to attending Vol. 3 on June 8, 2009.

Clever Company Slogan

On my way home from work the other day, I saw this truck. I took a double take just to make sure I read the slogan correctly, but I apparently did.

Twitpic Picture

This truck belongs to a Framing and Construction company called Felix Haro Construction.

While I don't necessarily agree with the content of the slogan, I think it does qualify as being very clever, creative, and buzz-worthy.

Rogue Festival

Today is the first official day of the Rogue Festival 2009.

I've been to a couple events in the past, but not nearly enough. I'm hoping to check out at least a couple of shows this year.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Fresno Rogue Festival, from their website:

The Rogue Performance Festival enters exciting year number EIGHT celebrating Independent Performance and Art … and has grown into one of the biggest festivals of its kind in the West! Started in 2002, this annual non-curated, non-juried festival showcases a variety of disciplines including theatre, dance, music, puppetry, storytelling, spoken word, visual art and film. Plus, 100 percent of the box-office go to the performers!

See their website for more details, venues, shows, and artist information.

"Oldish" Fresno Retail

Here is a video showing retail stores in Fresno, CA from probably 15+ years ago, although I don't have a good idea as to when it is from. I enjoyed this video. I have only lived in Fresno (and area) for around 7 years, so a lot of the stores on this video are different than what they are now. I also like to see the evolution of retail, and shops like that.

This video is a little more than 10 minutes, and is a little painfully slow. It also has a very strange soundtrack, but I hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_qIcyRg1Rc&e

Via The Fresnan

Double Take Hair

Not to make a comment about the hair on these kids, but when I first looked at this poster, I really thought all three of these bands were the same musicians.

MooLaLa Fondue

I recently went to MooLaLa Authentic Swiss Fondue & More in Fresno. (3050 W. Shaw Ave, Ste. 111)

I enjoy good fondue, as it had become somewhat of an American Thanksgiving tradition in my family.

The Cheese Fondue I had at MooLaLa was very good, and it was served with bread and some preserved peaches. At $19 a person for two people (for the cheese fondue), it is not a cheap meal for the food you get, but I did find the service very good. There were only two parties at the restaurant while I was there, which may have added to the great service, but it is a small enough place where service should be always be good. The atmosphere was also quaint, and with the pictures from Switzerland gave it a fairly authentic Swiss feel.

As a not-so-common type of food, I think they also did a good job of "teaching" the basics of the fondue.

I would recommend this restaurant to those considering something different and unique.

High Speed Rail and Fresno

I haven't talked about High Speed Rail for a while, so it is time again. The California High Speed Rail Blog has had a few interesting articles recently about one of the first steps for the CAHSR, the Central Valley Test Track Part 1. This is basically a test track that will eventually be a part of the train route through the valley helping the HSR authority test trains, develop rules and regulations, and develop strategies for technical issues such as seismic activity and any route sharing that might exist. Part 2 proposes some ideas more specifically to the route of the test track (and then eventually the actual route with stations, etc.).

A couple of thoughts on this:

• Transit planning is very interesting to me, especially since I am learning a lot as I read some of these articles
• Long term planning is both extraordinarily important and difficult.
• Some of these people making these plans (especially related to personal vehicle travel) seem to be on the wrong path
• I think (and hope) train travel will become as commonplace here (especially in California) as it is in Europe
• These transit projects will require a lot of planning and work to get completed, and it will be very exciting to see all the changes it will bring.

Here are some other articles (8.2mb pdf, and 20.15mb pdf)  about the future of transportatin in the valley and Fresno region.

My Car

So it is good and bad to have a car that VERY few other people have in your city.

It is good because people can spot you pretty easily.
It is bad because people can spot you pretty easily.

It is funny because when your friends see one of the 2 or 3 other cars that are the same as yours, they think its you.

My friends ask me all the time whether I was here or there at a certain time a few days ago. I get text messages asking me how the food at Taco Bell is, when I'm sitting at home eating ice cream.

Bike Ride

I just got back from my longest bike ride that I've been on, probably ever.

View Map

The total distance was about 19 miles, and I went with a friend, Andrew E. We took the middle section pretty easy, and the total trip was about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Since I haven't really been bike riding a lot lately, I am already feeling it quite a bit in my legs, and I'm sure tomorrow won't be pretty.

Sammy Hagar Update

Well, it now appears that Sammy Hagar will only be playing one show here at Cabo Wabo in Fresno.

I also realized after my blog post on the subject that Tuesday night won't work for me to check out Sammy and the Wabos. Tuesday nights are now occupied by my Catalyst Tuesday evening events with church. While I might be inclined to skip this coming Tuesday, I would feel really bad because I am in fact leading the group that day. Oh well, maybe next time around.

Sammy Hagar Coming to Fresno

As you may know, Fresno recently got a Cabo Wabo, which is pretty special as there are only 3 in the world.

I actually checked out the cantina on opening weekend back in August, and it is fairly impressive.

There have been rumors for a long time that Sammy Hagar himself (founder and creator of Cabo Wabo and member of Van Halen) would be coming to Fresno to visit the new cantina and play a show on the stage. It turns out that he is coming next week for two nights and two free shows!

One of those days happen to fall on my day off, and I am considering heading over there to catch one of the shows. The only problem is that I am doubtful that I could find anyone else to endure waiting in line with me. So if you are reading this, and want to waste a few hours on Tuesday next week waiting in line to see a free Sammy Hagar concert, let me know.

Downtown Association of Fresno

The Downtown Association of Fresno has their new website up and running.

Check it out at http://www.downtownfresno.org/



It appears to be running a little slowly, and some of the links have been timing out on me, but I do like the look of it.

I guess only time will tell how useful this site will be, and how much people can and will utilize it. The first thing I looked for was an RSS feed, but alas I couldn't find one. I'll keep checking.

Via Fresno Famous

Digital TV

I don't have cable here at the apartment, which made getting an HDTV all the more special because of all the "extra" digital channels you can get over the air. And High-Definition programming is amazing, and it really is a huge step up from analog TV.

Here is a listing of the digital channels I get here in Fresno. (This is not a comprehensive list of the digital stations in Fresno, I'm sure there are some channels that I don't get).

• 7.1 - KAIL - My Network TV
• 7.2 - RTN - Retro Television Network
  
• 18.1 - KVPT - Valley Public Television
  
• 18.2 - KVPT - PBS-HD
  
• 18.3 - KVPT - V me - Spanish Language Public Television
  
• 21.1 - Univision
  
• 24.1 - KSEE - NBC HD
  
• 24.2 - KSEE - Weather Plus
  
• 24.3 - KSEE - LATV
  
• 26.1 - KMPH - FOX HD
  
• 26.2 - KMPH - FOX DT
  
• 30.1 - KFSN - ABC HD
  
• 30.2 - KFSN - DT2
  
• 30.3 - KFSN - ABC 30 Weather Now
  
• 47.1 - KGPE - CBS HD
  
• 47.2 - KGPE - VTV - DT2
  
• 59.1 - KFRE - The CW HD

I have noticed though that two stations (40.8 and 40.9) have shown up with a channel search. Nothing is being broadcast on these channels, and nothing came up in a quick google search. It almost seems like these are actually some other type of signal that has made its way into the DTV spectrum.

Most Walkable Cities/Neighborhoods

This may be surprising to any of you Fresnans, but Fresno is one of the most walkable cities in the country. Well, actually it is ranked 19th in the top 40 largest cities in the USA according to Walk Score, but that is in the top half. This is kind of depressing, cause Fresno is literally one of the worst cities I've ever been to (spent time in) for walking. I guess that is just part of our American culture, which could easily start changing with rising gas prices.

We are in great California company at this ranking, with Sacramento, San Jose, and San Diego all within a few ratings points of each other. Fresno's most walkable neighborhoods include Central, Fresno-High, and Hoover.

Via World Changing

Open Mic Mondays

For those in Fresno, you may be disappointed to learn that Vince Warner hosts Unplugged Open Mic Mondays at the Starline has been temporarily canceled due to low turnout.

I was down in the tower district last night with a friend, and we were hoping to check out the show, as neither of us had ever been, and we were both quite disappointed to learn that it wasn't happening, and hasn't happened for the last few weeks.

Watering Schedule

If you've lived in Fresno in recent summers you have probably also heard the catchy tune the water resources department for the city has used to market and inform the citizens of this city as to when they are allowed to water their lawns.

I enjoy listening to and singing along to the song both on the tv and radio. I realized tonight that I haven't heard this advertisement yet this summer. Fortunately my apartment complex does the watering for me because while I know the tune and basic lyrics of the song I don't remember specifically which days even numbers water on.

I wonder if they've cancelled this marketing campaign. I will have to do some research.