Friday 5

BASEBALL: Name that pitch

FRIDAY 5: Fan's Guide to Spotting Baseball Pitches from Dan Conover on Vimeo.

This week's Top 5 grew out of my frustration at listening to Bob Brenly casually announce whatever pitch had just been thrown. Most looked pretty much alike to me. What was Bob seeing that I wasn't?

When I started asking around, it turned out I wasn't the only person befuddled by the pitching game. Lots of people love baseball, but an awful lot of average fans simply don't know how to identify basic pitches.

So I turned to Andy Solomon and asked him to set something up for me with the Riverdogs. He got me down on the field with pitching coach Jeff Ware for a typical warm-up sequence with right-hander Adam Olbrychowski as the team prepared for a 7:05 start. This is the result.

Can I spot every pitch now? Of course not. But thanks to Jeff and Adam I know that a curve has a hump in it, and when I see a fastball that drops into the catcher's mitt with a sly little last-millisecond wiggle, I've got a pretty good idea what just happened. See for yourself.

5 rock stars of the new web culture

Lots of things that once seemed immutable are changing fast in 2008, but many of the people who are reshaping America’s economy, technology, laws and culture remain unknown to all but a few million participants in the emerging networked culture.

The July 11 print edition gives you short capsules on the five we picked. Read on for more... and to find out some of the names that almost made the cut...

5 tips to RULE THE FESTIVALS

This week's Top 5 is my guide to making the most of the Piccolo/Spoleto USA festivals. But there are other tips as well, many of which I gleaned during my successful attempt to set a world record for Most Spoleto/Piccolo Events Attended in a Single Day (13) in 2005.

Piccolo visual arts exhibits are an under-appreciated part of the festival. Visual arts have basically disappeared from Spoleto, leaving the field to the "small" festival, and much of what gets mounted is really a treat. The juried shows at the Visitor's Center and the art village on Marion Square are often a mixed bag, but I've had good luck at The City Gallery at Waterfront Park and in other, out-of-the-way venues like the Footlights lobby on Queen Street.

Piccolo's theater offerings are relatively affordable and -- if you pick the right ones -- can be the arts bargain of the festival. They're not typically first-run premieres, but many of them are New to Us.

Get a base of operations. Yes, you'll want to have some special meals and evenings out, but if you're downtown for the 1 p.m. Chamber Music and planning to catch something later in the afternoon, you'll need a place where you can relax, get some nosh, and rehydrate.

Juanita Greenberg's Nacho Royale  on Upper King Street (get the quesadillas) has a shady deck out back that's one of the city's best-kept secrets, and everything is affordable; Kudu Coffee on Vanderhorst has an outdoor courtyard, superior coffee and interesting stuff in the pastry case (try the house-blend brewed or iced, or a Cuban-style African espresso); Joseph's next to the Gibbes on Meeting Street is a jumpin' joint for lunch and breakfast (fried green tomatoes are a must); and Saffron's on East Bay makes a good place if you're attending something at the Gaillard; East Bay Deli is a favorite, and occasionally has nearby parking, but crossing East Bay on foot is something of an adventure.

G&M Fast and French on Broad Street is a bit out of the way now that the Dock Street is out of commission, but it wouldn't be the festival without a trip to G&M; and Jack's Cafe across from the Sottile on George Street is a locally owned institution that deserves everyone's patronage and support (it's not open on the weekends and closes at 3:30) when you're attending an early event near C of C.

Don't ignore the talks. They're often free, and they're informative and interesting. If a show has any controversy associated with it, the talks can be more fun than some of the performances.

Seriously, ride a bike if you can. I know I talked about this in the Top 5, but the difference between riding to performances and trying to get around via the awkward combination of car, parking garage, and long  walks  is significant.

Bring your own shade to the opening ceremonies: If it's hot -- and it usually is -- even a good seat up front can be unpleasant. There's nothing wrong with a shady umbrella... just so long as you take it down once the ceremonies begin. And remember: Just because you're sitting in the shade at the beginning doesn't mean you'll have shade by the end.

Do the jazz. Just do it. And don't count on being able to set-up on George Street and let the music spill over on you anymore: Apparently the officials are starting to harass the free music seekers...

Buy the obvious stuff early. I'll be shocked if Monkey: Journey to the West; Laurie Anderson's Homeland and the big symphony concerts don't sell out early. So don't wait. Buy.

Latch on to SpoletoToday. We're making a big effort this year to connect festival-goers to social opportunities and meet-ups. Want to meet new people and talk festival stuff? Bookmark SpoletoToday and sign up for live festival reports and comments on your cell phone via Twitter. It's buzz central.

Figure out the finales. The Piccolo Finale is like a big neighborhood block party with food vendors and hours of live music and lots of people coming and going. The Spoleto Finale is a bring-your-own fancy picnic before an evening symphony orchestra concert. Plan accordingly.

F5's download & D.I.Y. Mother's Day card kit

Need a Mother's Day card in a hurry? We're here to help.

These cards were written by F5 guy Dan Conover and designed by F5 page designer Rodolfo Larios. Simply pick the card you like, double-click on it to open it full-size, and then select "Save Image As" to download it to your computer. Print them out, fold them and personalize them for your Mom.

The F5 Signature Squirrel: Rodolfo's squirrel pages get lots of attention, so he just had to add this one to the list.

F5 TV: Changing Charleston... & North Charleston

Friday 5: Changing Charleston from Dan Conover on Vimeo.

In this week's second episode on the Friday 5 Channel on Vimeo, here's a piece about how rising property values along Upper King Street may be contributing to a migration of artists, entrepreneurs and creative types to the southern edge of North Charleston.

F5 HOW-TO: Preseason lawnmower tune-up

LAWNMOWER HOW-TO: F5 tune-up guide from Dan Conover on Vimeo.

I've been mowing grass on the cheap since the Ford administration, which means I've brought home some epically cruddy lawnmowers. Some I got for free and nursed back to "health." Others I bought and then couldn't give away. I've had mowers that went BANG and then fell forever silent, power-assisted mowers with bad attitudes, mowers with strange wheel-base set-ups and mowers with what could best be described as perpetual head-colds.

And what have I learned from all this? Two things:

1. Change your oil once a year;
2. The hand file you use to sharpen your mower blade is properly referred to as a "bastard" file. This has something to do with the pattern on the file itself. Seriously.

This week's Friday 5 is meant to help you get your lawnmower ready for the grass-growing season ahead, but I'm a guy who learns better by watching than reading. Which is why my wife Janet and I went out and produced these videos to help you through your pre-season lawnmower tune-up -- we figured that if regular people could witness a dork like me doing a tune-up, they'd feel more confident about doing it themselves.

And that will save you money.

Also, because we figured some of you would only want to see instructionals on specific tasks, I've broken the video up into five shorter chapters, too (ed note: video links will follow as these are posted):

1. Clean and lubricate
2. Change the oil
3. Replace the air filter
4. Replace the spark plug
5. Sharpen the blade

You can now watch all my Friday 5 videos on their own Vimeo channel. Free subscription via RSS!

Revolutionary War battlefield map

View Larger Map

With the thought that most of us like to get out and take the occasional road trip, we prepared our list of five great South Carolina battles from the Revolutionary War outside of the Lowcountry.

This doesn't necessarily mean these were the most significant battles -- the slaughter of the patriots at the Battle of the Waxhaws, for instance, had a profound psychological affect on the course of the war -- but not every battlefield has been preserved and opened to the public.

Be sure to click the "View Larger Map," above, and if you don't see all the sites at once, zoom out to get the full picture.

SEWE field guide

The bulk of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition flock descends on the peninsula today, beginning a three-day habitation that will fill hotels, block traffic and make our historic city just a bit more colorful. To help you make the most of this great event, we’ve prepared this weekend field guide to help you identify the various species of SEWE participants. Can you spot all five?

Serious Collectors
Altus ars optimus
Habitat: Upscale neighborhoods in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greenville, Columbia and Atlanta. Can also be spied around country clubs, yachting facilities, expensive restaurants and galas.
Migratory plumage: Males sport blue blazers and khaki slacks for their annual SEWE migration; females are typically more brightly colored, but may molt as many as three times a day, depending on changes in environment and temperature.
Comments: Like many apex predators, Serious Collectors observe their targets with an unhurried air, then descend decisively. Though fearsome, they are surprisingly sensitive to small changes in their environment and may become quickly annoyed.

Big Game Hunters
Bellua interimo
Habitat: Most split time between seasonal urban dens and remote wildernesses in both North America and Africa.
Migratory plumage: Both males and females of this species are khaki-colored, further distinguished by broad-brimmed hats, epaulets, firm jaws and determined, steely gazes.
Comments: Do not show fear in their presence, stay downwind of them whenever possible and never, under any circumstances, offer one a clean shot at you.

Dog People
Canis populus
Habitat: Urban centers, suburbs, rural areas, big cities, small towns, open savannahs, deep woods, coastal plains, foothills, high mountains. Everywhere, basically.
Migratory plumage: Though migratory Dog People resemble native Dog People, experienced SEWE watchers look for these signs: 1. “My Border Collie is Smarter Than Your Honors Student” bumper stickers; 2. “I (heart) My Boykin Spaniel” T-shirts; 3. Typically accompanied by one or more Labrador Retrievers.
Comments: Dog People are the friendliest SEWE species and most seem to interact well with children, but don’t approach them suddenly, as they can become highly protective.

True Sportsmen
Panton interimo piscis
Habitat: Suburbs, small towns and rural areas, typically located within minutes of a shooting range, hunting preserve or fishing area.
Migratory plumage: Camouflage shirts; camouflage pants; camouflage hats; camouflage footwear; camouflage jackets; camouflage vehicles; camouflage lingerie. And black sunglasses. Note: A common subspecies wears only RealTree.
Comments: Organizers have never gotten an accurate count of how many True Sportsmen attend the event because so many are mistaken for foliage.

Interior Decorators
Perficio pingo sollicitus
Habitat: Suburbs and small towns.
Migratory plumage: Though they resemble some common local fauna, Interior Decorators migrate, graze and hunt in packs, occasionally accompanied by Bored Spouses, a symbiont species.
Comments: Interior Decorators are easy to attract. Wander alertly through expo crowds calling out “Oh how fabulous! Oh how fabulous!” or, alternately: “Those colors will go perfectly with your couch!” Alternate your calls to avoid sounding tacky.

DIY Action Hero shots

Today's photos of our "DIY Geek Action Hero" were clearly the most popular part of this Friday's edition. Here's the original, before Photoshopping for the illustration...

... and here's an out-take that shows our model, the wonderfully and naturally geeky Laura, with her Leatherman tool heroically thrust skyward...

 

For those of you who were wondering, the gear -- including the hat with the LED brim -- belongs to yours truly. But you see that purple duct tape? THAT belongs to Laura, who is a regular fix-it machine, apparently.

She's also a great sport. Thanks to Laura, Rodolfo and Melissa for making this shoot work.

 

Five Big Ideas for Business

Links to Charleston.net's Friday 5 content to be posted later in the morning...

Bright Ideas
News flash: Things are changing. Rapidly. Some of our most rock-ribbed institutions are now sputtering, and yesterday’s time-tested business plan is today’s dinosaur. Need help making sense of it all? Consider these five “Big Ideas” from the intersection of business and technology.

Markets are conversations
Back in 1999, four wise guys from Silicon Valley wrote down their ideas about the future of business. That document eventually became The Cluetrain Manifesto, a book exploring the opportunities and demands of networked communications. These include:

1. Markets are conversations.
9. These networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge.
18. Companies that don’t realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply joined in conversation are missing their opportunity.
94. To traditional corporations, networked conversations may appear confused, may sound confusing. But we are organizing faster than they are. We have better tools, more new ideas, no rules to slow us down.

www.cluetrain.com

The Long Tail
First proposed by WIRED magazine editor Chris Anderson in October 2004, The Long Tail concept explains why “small is the new big.”

Consider traditional booksellers: Most of them make most of their money off a small list of hit titles. Yet when you consider the total volume of books sold (the yellow portion of the curve), obscure titles actually represent a far bigger market. Access and inventory costs made a Long Tail strategy impractical for real-world booksellers, but Amazon.com has been winning with the concept online since 1995.

Today, Long Tail applications extend beyond the entertainment industry (the subject of Anderson’s first article on the principle) to all sorts of niche markets (www.longtail.typepad.com).

Collaboration works
Wikipedia, “the global encyclopedia anyone can edit,” gets bad press in mainstream media, but it’s just another successful application of a simple modern idea: Given the right tools, people will collaborate to build things mutually valuable. A wiki (Hawaiian for “fast”) is any online document written and edited by multiple users. Wikis in businesses worldwide are doing the yeoman work of keeping teams informed, publishing and updating company policies and procedures, even providing real-time technical manuals for obscure programs and devices. For some problems, it’s the right tool for the job. Start an easy-to-use, no-cost “mini-wiki” at www.scratchpad.wikia.com.

Meetings make us dumber
Two or more heads are not necessarily better than one, at least when it comes to meetings. So says Cass R. Sunstein’s 2006 book Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge. Recent studies of “deliberative groups” have ID’d four major flaws with the most common decisionmaking processes:

1. They amplify the errors of their members.
2. They don’t elicit the information members have.
3. They fall prey to the “cascade effect,” whereby bad ideas can gather support as if by accident.
4. They polarize members, even if the intent is consensus.

So what’s a manager to do? Well, there’s no shortage of information on running better meetings, but the better answer might be this: Don’t use a hammer as a screwdriver. Statistical surveys, wikis and predictive markets each have strengths and weaknesses. The key: Match the approach to the problem.

Change is the new constant
Think things are changing outrageously fast? According to a concept called “The Singularity,” today’s frenetic pace of change is the warm-up before a never-ending sprint.

In mathematics, a singularity is the point on a growth curve when the trend line “approaches infinity.” In layman’s terms, it’s when the line points almost straight up.

Consider the sequence produced by doubling the number 1 and then doubling each result: It takes 10 doublings to break 1,000, but just seven more to break 100,000, then only three more to break 1 million. So it goes with information and the pace of technology, says author and futurist Ray Kurzweil in his 2005 book, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Message for business leaders? Change is no longer a break between continuities, it is the continuity.