Easter with Jackson

Yay for having a real job and being able to take a day off! I came home to San Diego for Easter weekend and to see my 6 week old nephew, Jackson Thomas. He's an adorable, fragile little thing that makes the funniest faces and can be super precious on the rare occasion that he falls asleep for more than a few minutes. It's crazy seeing my little bro as the married man with a kid.

More pics tomorrow of our ante-Easter dinner and, of course, some gorgeous 60D video that I'm putting together.

NATHAN : 

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I'm worried… :-)

Yesterday was my university graduation. I didn't go.

Well, I went for a friend's graduation dinner, but I had absolutely no interest in participating in the convocation and ceremonies myself. I'd pay for a cheap gown and silly looking hat with a dumb tassel thing, waste hours listening to naïve overachievers who think this is their pivotal moment to make a mark in the world, and be bothered to take a picture by every insignificant landmark and in all conceivable combination of poses.

So I'm worried – did I miss something or am I actually becoming cynical?

And yet, while walking amidst those graduates, their hoods twisting around their necks in the wind, parents in tow wildly yielding the consumer-grade pocket camcorders, I couldn't help but smile. I spent an enjoyable day at work, ate a cup of noodles for lunch, and called my local audio store to ask some questions. It was a day in which I was comfortable and content with my successes and continue to look forward to exciting things in my future. Yet, it was no ordinary day.

Besides, rather than making my parents take the long drive from California and expend money and energy dealing with this out of the ordinary situation, I can fly home to them, my baby nephew, and other family members for Easter weekend, something I've missed for the last five years thanks to being consumed by university life.

Even today, when I think about missing my graduation, I still smile. :-)

The perfect cold opening

Stop wasting time at the beginning of a talk to introduce yourself, explain why you were asked to give a talk, list an agenda of what you want to talk about, make a poor attempt at a joke. Instead, jump in and get on with the content.

This video, of a very short TED Talk, is a perfect example of how a cold opening can grab the audience's attention right from the beginning. You'll always have time to do those other things later in your talk, but the first 30 seconds are so precious, why waste them?

Sebastian Thrun: Google's driverless car | Video on TED.com

http://www.ted.com/talks/sebastian_thrun_google_s_driverless_car.html#

Sebastian's talk has all the elements of a great opening, and follows Garr Reynolds' instructions to start your presentation with PUNCH. It was a personal story of his interests as a boy, an unexpected turn of events when he lost his good friend to a car accident, a novel way to look at the challenge of automobile travel, presented a challenging problem to overcome, and was humorous in its delivery.

NATHAN : 

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An even better view?

Parker and I are still in the process of moving my junk to my new apartment. We ran into some difficulty fitting my bed into the company van, so we removed the seats and decided to take advantage of them for the morning session.

NATHAN

Priesthood Session

Attending priesthood session with Parker Heiner at the Conference Center. We got pretty good seats.

Thanks to Elder Perry's grand daughter.

Nathan Cashion : 

April Fools Reflection

Two years ago today, I posted a 'podcast' about my plans to: 

1. Quit school

2. Begin podcasting

3. Spend more time doing photography

4. Dance professionally

Today I was reflecting on that April Fools joke and decided it was time to record another podcast, this time an honest reflection.

Yes, everything has come true!

My BrainSlides Podcast (iTunes Link) is now live and you can subscribe and listen to it regularly. You can also 

Like Us on Facebook.

Thanks to all of my family and friends who fully supported my crazy plans two years ago. Because today, without even really trying, they've all come to fruition. :-)

NATHAN CASHION : 

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e: nathan@cashion.com

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Epic Weekend

This weekend was great! I think I'm beginning to come to terms with the idea that I am no longer in school and therefore 1. have money and 2. have less responsibility (at least in the form of deadlines for 6 classes all at once). I've decided not to buy a condo and found a great apartment within 1 mile from my current condo and my office. That means less worrying, more money saved, and more playing! Which is what I did a lot of this weekend.

First, the REI garage sale, which was almost a complete waste. I paid $20 for the required membership to get in, then was nearly dead last thanks to their lottery format, which meant no cheap snowshoes, no sleeping mats, and no sleeping bags. Ah well, I'll use the membership anyway.

Which brings me to activity number 2: snowshoeing in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I decided to just rent snowshoes for $10 a day, drive up the canyon to a random trail and hike. Well, I accidentally went all the way up the canyon and found myself at the Brighton ski area. That was too far and too many people, so I started the drive back. Which was scary for 2 reasons – snow and no 4-wheel drive or snow tires! The signs at the bottom of the canyon that say "Chains or 4 wheel drive required when lights flashing" were NOT flashing! It was slow and scary, but I made it half way down the road to a trailhead I saw on the way up. By then the roads were clear so I parked, strapped on the snowshoes and this happened:

These are panoramas shot with my iPhone using two different apps. The first two are Autostitch, the last Panorama 360°.

This weekend was also the annual Festival of Colors at the Krishna temple in Spanish Fork. I took the opportunity to experience a bit of colorful culture with my friend Tiffany.

NATHAN CASHION : 