My Word with Douglas E. Welch

Photo: Where we live....

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:13:49 PST

Captured on today's daily walk through the neighborhood

What I'm (e)Reading...Robin's Nesting Place

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:21:45 PST

Robin's Nesting Place is one of the many gardening blogs I follow. It is filled with some tremendous photography, like the post below. Like many blogs, Robin's Nesting Place is highlighting the changes that Winter brings to the garden.

I love hearing and seeing what is going on in other people's gardens, no matter where in the world they might be. The superior photography of this blog gives me a wonderful look -- almost like I am actually there.

Mosaic Monday- Frosted:

I woke up yesterday morning to a heavy frost on the ground. As much as I dreaded seeing it, it was actually quite beautiful. While still in my fleece pajamas and before coffee, I put on my coat and grabbed my camera and headed out to take a few pictures and enjoy the beauty of the delicate frost on my garden.

There is a late blooming sunflower that has just opened up and a few small roses on the Knock Out rose bushes. This frost pretty much finished up what was left of the cosmos.

I know a lot of people don't like the 'Purple Wave' petunias, but I love them and have them every year. They are so easy to grow from seed in my indoor growing system, I usually have a 100% success rate. There aren't too many flowers that I can say that about! When they start looking tacky in late summer, I cut them way back and they come to life again rewarding me with beautiful blooms well into autumn. They can withstand a significant frost and still look pretty. They can also withstand the heat and don't have to be pampered. Definitely a must have for me!

I'm linking today to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary, from the Little Red House. Hop on over and see her gorgeous fall collage!

Orange Line Busway Cleanup

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:13:11 PST

As I took my daily walk along the Orange Line Busway today, I saw that crews were doing a major cleanup near the intersection of the busway and Kester Street. The planting had gotten very dense here and many homeless people were camping in the thicket. I can understand the homeless camping there, but the heavy cover provides shelter for those with less benign intentions and makes this section of the heavily used bike and walking path feel less safe.

I am not sure the plants chosen were the best for this section of busway. Surely there is something that would beautify the area and keep graffiti down without providing so much density. It will take some time, I guess, before the best balance is found there.

Click for larger images

Making Limoncello

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:08:04 PST

I fell in love with limoncello on our 2 trips to Italy. The liqueur is a strong and sweet personification of the lemon, made by soaking lemon peel in a high-proof alcohol and then combining the resulting mixture with a simple sugar syrup.

Click for larger images

This first phase, soaking the peels, will take about 2-3 weeks. Then I will strain the liquid and combine with the syrup. It should set, undisturbed for about a month after that. The liqueur will continue to mellow and age nicely the longer you let it sit.

Limoncello is a digestivo, designed to be sipped in small quantities after a large, Italian meal. I love having it like this, as well as sharing it with friends, so this large batch is destined to be bottled in smaller bottles and given to friends as a Christmas gift.

When serving limoncello, you should freeze the bottle, as well as the small glasses for several hours before serving. This chill brings out the lemon smell and flavor while mellowing the alcohol.

Making Apple Butter

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:39:04 PST

Making Apple Butter - Completed
Originally uploaded by dewelch

As Fall approached and the apple harvest came in, I saw many recipes using apples and wanted to try out a few. One that caught my eye early on was making my own apple butter. I have never tried it before, and I found several recipes for putting it together, such as this blog post Apples Galore! How to Make Apple Butter from The Kitchn by Emma Christensen.

This small batch took quite a few hours to cook down and even then I didn't take it to the level of caramelization to what you would find in a commercial product. I was too afraid of burning the apple butter after so much work. In the future, I would probably make it using either the oven or a slow cooker. It would require less monitoring and stirring.

Additional pictures of the process are available on Flicker.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the results. The apples and some apple cider came from today's visit to the farmer's market in Encino and the taste is sweet, but not overly so. My morning toast will be dressed with this for the next few weeks, that is sure.

Happy Halloween

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:06:36 PDT

Making Banh Chuoi Nuong (Vietnamese Banana Cake)

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:17:10 PDT

100_7083
Originally uploaded by dewelch

I came across this recipe while reading my RSS feeds. The blog, Savory Spicy Sweet, had some great pictures and the recipe seemed easy enough. It is also made from a small number of items, many of which I already had around the house.

I used a rather stiff Italian bread to make this, and while it turned out great, I would probably use a software bread in the future.

The recipe calls for resting the pudding for 12 hours after baking and you will want to do that. As it rests it absorbs all the remaining liquid and settles into a very "pie-like" texture.

Recipe

Get My Word with Douglas E. Welch via Email

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:28:15 PDT

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Video: Ric Turner's Halloween Light Show 2009

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:22:11 PDT

My friend, Ric Turner. has done it again with this amazing Halloween Light show at his home in Santa Clarita, California.

Ric says in his description, "Our 2009 Halloween Light Show featuring a 12 foot tall singing pumpkin face, dancing skeletons, animated pumpkin patch and several giant spiders. Hope you like it!"

Cooper's Hawk in my garden this morning

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:53:29 PDT

This big guy was having his lunch in my back garden this morning and took his time, so I was able to get about 10 minutes of closeup footage.

iPod Ready Video

Previously on WelchWrite.com...

Video: Coopers (not Red-tailed) hawk in the garden this morning

Audio: Happy Halloween - Ghosts of the Internet 2009 LIVE Reading

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:14:49 PDT

Last night, hosted their annual Ghosts of the Internet Live Reading of Halloween and Spooky Stories. If you didn't get a chance to join us live, you can now listen to this encore presentation via podcast.

Listen

Photos

More photos

In the kitchen: Banana-Oatmeal Cookies

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:02:01 PDT

I made these tonight and liked them quite a bit.

Recipe from Bakespace.com

Great change-up from my typical Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

I used 3 extra ripe bananas we had in the freezer, so the banana flavor was pretty good.

These are very light and "cakey". When I made the bigger sized ones, my wife described them as muffin tops. I will make this for my annual Holiday Open House instead of my standard oatmeal chocolate chip.

More photos on my Flickr account

Parrots in Van Nuys

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:08:50 PDT

We ran into a flock of parrots on our morning walk today. I got some audio and I also found this video of some similar parrots on YouTube.

Play audio of Van Nuys Parrots

What I'm eReading...Grassroots Innovation

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:59:32 PDT

Another theme in the list of blogs and web sites I follow is innovation.

Grassroots Innovation is written by Greg Eisenbach and a variety of innovation topics on a regular basis. Recent posts include "Yuck, the great contraction", "Low cost beer packaging" and "The Dalai Lama's Business Book."

Direct link to blogs and posts in this "What I'm eReading..." bundle

Recently "Noted" Items from my reading

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:35:38 PDT

Cupcake!

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:56:26 PDT

Cupcake! - 1
Originally uploaded by dewelch

We were out running some errands today anyway, so we took a moment to stroll Ventura Blvd in Studio City. I was explaining to Joe the need to "refill the creative well" every so often and this stretch has a bunch of neat shops to help do that. We used to spend a lot of time here when Rosanne worked in the area, but don't get back very often now.

We did take the time to stop and have a special treat at Big Sugar Bakeshop and treat ourselves to this decadent pumpkin cupcake. This is not something we typically do, but it was wonderful and a great way to spend some time sitting and talking with each other.

There is a closeup of the cupcake on Flickr. Click the image to see my entire photostream there.

Rosanne Makes Parsnip Muffins

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:24:10 PDT

Rosanne Makes Parsnip Muffins
Originally uploaded by dewelch

After 23 years together, I see that my baking and my geekdom have had some influence on Rosanne. Here she is mixing up a bowl of parsnip muffins, of all things. She saw them on Alton Brown's Good Eats and decided to give them a try in a desperate attempt to get some vegetables into my and, in a less severe case, the boy's diet.

On the geek side, I was amazed to see her with her Macbook on the counter instead of a printed recipe. Now, if I could just convince her to turn on the live video stream, her geek apprenticeship would be complete. (SMILE)

Spirit of the Mountains Photo Contest 2009

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:11:11 PDT

Share the wonders of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area with others. enter the Spirit of the Mountains Photo Contest.

For an entry form and instructions, visit:

www.researchlearningcenter.org/samo/photo/

or visit the National Park Service Visitor Center

in Thousand Oaks at 401 West Hillcrest Drive.

Submit your entries between October 1 and

October 31, 2009.

All entries will be on exhibit at the National Park Service

Visitor Center November 14, 2009 through January 31, 2010.

For more information: 805-370-2301

What is New Media Mastermind?

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:52:43 PDT

New Media can seem so confusing�Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogging, Audio, Video.

Which technology should you use? When? Why?

How do you use New Media, the Internet and all that is yet to come to build your personal and professional brand, sell your goods and services and more? You need a New Media Mentor, a coach, a friend � someone who can show you the path through the technology forest.

New Media Mastermind is a group dedicated to giving you the skills to make the most of the amazing New Media tools available today and in the future.

Start or build your business. Improve your life. Grow an organization.

New Media Mastermind is direct and personal access to a New Media professional who can advise and consult on your New Media plans and help you create step-by-step progress towards your business goals.

http://welchwrite.com/mastermind/

iPod Ready Video

New Media Mastermind is �

Technology Coaching�in Plain English!
- Makes even the most complicated concepts clear
- Allows you to perform basic tasks on your own, on your schedule
Just in Time Learning
- Learn what you need, when you need it
- Develop �Action Plans� to insure your progress
- Ask your most pressing questions
- Learn from the Mastermind leader as well as your fellow group members
- Learn to do for yourself, as much as you wish
Focused
- Focused on your needs
- Focused on your questions
- Focused on your growth
- Focused on results
- Focused on action
Regularly reinforced
- Regularly scheduled meetings allow support and follow-up on your action items and projects
- Email updates provide further direction
- Mastermind community provides support and advice
Local and Remote
- Face-to-Face meetings
- Online Community
- Distance Learning through audio and video conferencing

Charmlee Moonlight Hike

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:27:11 PDT

Charmlee Moonlight Hike - 07
Originally uploaded by dewelch

The cooler temperatures finally provided and opening to get back into the outdoors yesterday. A few weeks ago I check out the Santa Monica Mountains Outdoors Guide and noted anything interesting in my calendar. The Full Moon is always a busy weekend for outdoor activities and I noticed that Charmlee Wilderness Park in Malibu was having their monthly moonlight hike. We have been to this park many times in the past and it is relatively easy to get to from the Valley.

I gathered up some friends, new and old, and we headed out. Right around sunset we headed out into the main part of the park, looking to arrive at the south bluff just as the sun went down. As you can see from these pictures, our timing ended up working out quite well. We watched the sunset for a while. taking lots of pictures and chatting. (Click the picture for more photos of our trip) Then, as darkness fell, we made our way back to the trailhead. It always amazes me how much light is shed by the full moon. We cast dark shadows on the trail and our eyes adjusted to the point where we could easily make our way.

After our hike I decided to show some new friends a little bit of Malibu proper on our drive home. As we approached the newly refurbished Malibu Pier I remembered I had wanted to stop and check it out on several earlier occasions. This seemed the perfect time for a spur-of-the-moment visit, so we walked the pier, took some more pictures and then had dinner a Ruby's Diner, situated at the very end of the pier.

It was a wonderful night and a perfect re-introduction to the hiking season. I plan on getting out more this Fall and taking my son, and my friends, to some of my favorite spots. In fact, once the Angeles National Forest fully re-opens, I will be one of the first to visit, bringing along my friends to show them how the forest recovers after a large fire.

Join us for a hike sometimes. I will put notices here whenever we have some advance notice of an upcoming hike that I think might interest you. You can also join the WelchWrite Mailing List to get these notices and more. See you on the trail!

Public Art Podcasts from CRA/LA's Art Program

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:56:07 PDT

The most recent issue of the ExperienceLA email newsletter highlights a series of podcasts that lead you on arts-related walking tours of Downtown LA. You can download these free shows, load them into your iPod and let them lead you on a tour of the amazing public artworks available there.

Public Art Podcasts

Ever wondered how that bizarre sculpture ended up downtown? Here's your chance to find out! Download all four FREE audio tours from CRA/LA's Art Program. Then, enter for a chance to win tickets to That Perfect Moment at the NoHo Arts Center or Kabuki: Backstage to Hanamichi at the Aratani/Japan Theatre.

Going "home" again with Ken Burn's National Parks series

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:51:53 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

I am enjoying Ken Burn's National Parks: America's Best Idea this week. On Twitter I find myself describing it as "visiting old friends again." This is so true. While I have visited only a fraction of the National Parks I hold great memories of each visit. My wife is "done" with Grand Canyon, but each time I sit on the porch of Hermit's Rest and look out over the canyon, I feel as if I am home, Not home in some sense of a roof over my head, but "home" in the sense of a primordial feeling of belonging. Something in the canyon speaks to a very deep part of our psyche, the "lizard brain" that remains at the deep center of our evolved human minds. We all come from the earth and to the earth we shall return and the Grand Canyon reminds of the tie with great force.

Over the years we have visited many parks, including the large one in are own backyard, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. We have also been to Yosemite multiple times, including an amazing trip with some Italian relatives who braved the 6 hour drive for one night and two days in the park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Timpanagos Cave in Utah, along with all too short trips to Zion and Bryce Canyon. We made a special trip to Dinosaur National Monument, braving sub-zero temperatures to get there. Our latest National Park was the newly formed Cuyahoga Valley National Park on our recent trip back to our hometowns in Ohio.

One of the most interesting aspects of visiting US National Parks is how many international citizens visit. On a visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California we spent several hours hiking along the trial to Bumpass Hell without hearing a word of English. If only we could appreciate our own National Parks as much as people from other countries.

As my son, Joseph, grows, I sense it is time to return to our National Parks and other state and local parks, National Forests, National Moments and more. He has been added to our more recent visits and I am mapping out a whole new series of trips with him in mind. I have always wanted to visit to Yellowstone National Park and as I grow older it become more imperative that I make that trip regardless of the cost of time involved.

This Saturday, as the summer heat begins to ebb, I will get back out into the mountains by visiting Charmlee Regional Park near Malibu for a Full Moon Hike. We have visited there often to hike, hunt the St. Patrick's Day butterflies, see how fire and man have effected the property and look out into the Pacific from its high bluffs. You can join this hike, too. You'll find complete information on the web site at http://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/events.htm.

As the Fall begins, take some time to get out into nature -- out into the woods, the mountains and streams and re-engage with the world that surrounds you. I can guarantee that you will find your life lightened, your mood elevated and your world just a little more beautiful.

PodCampAZ is rapidly approaching and I am speaking again this year!

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:48:58 PDT

For the 3rd year in a row, I will be speaking at PodCampAZ, (November 14 & 15, 2009) which I consider to be the premiere New Media event for the Southwest. Even better, it's FREE!

I will presenting on 2 topics this year:

My Podcasting Workflow � Audio and Video � A Real World Example

Need some help getting your podcast started. Join veteran podcaster Douglas E. Welch as he takes you through his audio and video podcast process, including discussion on recording, editing, hosting, RSS and more. This is a �Real World Example� showing you the process Douglas has developed over years of podcasting and offering you lessons learned in the trenches.

Stay in control of your RSS feed

In order to maintain complete control over your podcast you need to guard access to your RSS feeds religiously. While services such as Feedburner and others can greatly enhance your podcasting RSS feeds, you need to take some basic steps to maintain control in case your RSS service disappears or tries to control your RSS feed. Learn how web site re-directs, Wordpress press plugins and more can help you maintain control over your RSS feeds and keep your podcast in your hands.

As you can see, I am concentrating on some of the nuts and bolts aspects of getting your podcast going. After doing this for 5 years, I understand how fun, important, enlightening, podcasting can be and I want to share that power with everyone.

About PodCampAZ...

It�s that time of year again � PodCamp AZ is coming to the University of Advancing Technology November 14th and 15th! PodCampAZ is a FREE networking media unconference, dedicated to blogging, video blogging, podcasting, social networking, and all other relevant media. At the heart of the unconference is the opportunity to have a conversation at large with those innovators which have created a successful blend of relevant media and put it to work for them. Speakers will address emerging trends and best practices on everything from print and radio to mobile, interactive web, and in real life information exchange. During PodCamp sessions, attendees are free to drop in, listen and learn about what is relevant to their needs, and if they choose to, move on to other sessions. You can also become an interactive part of the experience by sharing your knowledge as a speaker or stimulating ideas and asking questions as an active attendee.

If you are an established or aspiring blogger, podcaster, video blogger, or social media advocote and want to meet hundreds of people with the same interests, head over to podcampaz.org to get more information about this exciting event. And above all else, register to attend PodCamp AZ!

What I am eReading...Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:37:56 PDT

Image by dewelch via Flickr

Eat, Drink and Be Merry is a Los Angeles-based blog with an eclectic mix of foody posts. Everything from "The World's Largest Bowl of Pho" to the food places of Figueroa in Highland Park. This isn't necessarily a high volume blog, but an excellent addition to the other food blogs in my Google Reader stream.

What I'm Reading...Tribes by Seth Godin

douglas@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:56:32 PDT

Seth Godin's newest book, Tribes, touches a concept near and dear to me...organizing groups, or Tribes, and helping them get things done. This is not to say I have been terribly successful at this activity, but I love helping people achieve things and doing it any way I can.

I was interested in Tribes for exactly this reason. I wanted to see what Godin had to say about organizing people and creating "movement" to see if there was anything I could be doing better. Of course, there is always something more you can be doing, so I took away a few good ideas from the book. He does admit, though, that there aren't any hard and fast rubrics for he can give you for working with Tribes. You need passion and a vision and an ability to understand and care about people, but you can't break it down into 5 easy steps that anyone can do.

Tribes by Seth Godin Hardback (Amazon.com)
Tribes by Seth Godin Audio CD (Amazon.com)