posts from kris nelson

Aloha Friday – July 3rd, 2009

Kris Nelson — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:11:00 -0700

Aloha Friday Photo
Vivid red rocks at the base of a cliff at Koki Beach.

This week’s Aloha Friday photo was also featured in on the Koki Beach post of my new website, Maui by Photo. As always, our Aloha Friday photo is taken from today’s photo in the Maui Daily Photo Calendar, so if you’re a fan of Maui, you might have seen this shot a few times already ;).

With the shameless self promotion out of the way, I remember being really surprised when we saw these rocks at Koki Beach on our visit to Hana earlier this year. We were there relatively early in the morning, so the beach was empty and the sun was hidden behind a ton of clouds. Made for a nice stroll and listening to the waves hit the beach was very memorable.

Follow Friday
Well, with the launch of my new site, and trying to get back into the full-time Aloha Spirit, I’m back into the Twitter groove again! After a few weeks of skipping the Follow Friday part of the Aloha Friday post, here’s a few new folks to check out.

@GrandWailea – The Twitter account for the gorgeous luxury resort in South Maui with the same name.
@mauithing – Bio: “Maui Thing is a lifestyle company inspired by all “things good”on Maui”…
@flickr – Okay, nothing to do with Maui, but I love Flickr and can’t wait until this Twitter account picks up
@MauiPetTherapy - Dr. Shannon Dominguez from Friendly Tails – visiting up to 800 animals a month on Maui, including rescue animals
@PeterLiu47 – fellow blogger, photographer, social media fan. Calls Maui home.
@PacificWhale – new account for the Pacific Whale Foundation, although it’s still starting out

As always, you can find me on Twitter as @webnelly, and if you haven’t yet, help support my newest endeavor by following @MauiByPhoto.

Maui Tweetup – July 5th!!!
Wishing we could be there ourselves, @Ucsmiles and many other Maui tweeps are having a tweetup this Sunday, July 5th at Kalama Park in Kihei. Details can be found at http://twtvite.com/lgxgwx and if you make it out there, pass on a big ALOHA from Cindy and I, and take lots of photos. :)

Everyone should at least get to attend one of these Maui tweetups, especially if you’ve been lucky enough to get to know them on Twitter. Read more about the tweetups we’ve been to and how this all got started.

Mahalo, and have a good holiday!
- Kris

Related Links

Follow Friday Archives
Sunday Photo: Maui Tweetup
More Maui Tweetups
Our visit to Koki Beach – Come on in, the water’s fine

New Website: Maui by Photo

Kris Nelson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:06:00 -0700

Earlier this week, I launched a new website featuring my favorite photos from Maui, called Maui by Photo.

The new site is targeted at fellow fans of Maui, and local residents alike, who have fallen head over heels for the Valley Isle and want to relive their favorite Maui memories without stepping outside the comfort of their own home. Although, most of us would jump at a chance to head back to the islands if we could. :)

In addition to featuring some of the best locations on Maui, each post has a place for comments where readers can talk story and share their favorite memories for the location their viewing. There are posts for some of the best beaches you’ll probably find anywhere, as well as a section for the twists, turns, sights and sounds of the road to Hana. There are other sections, too, but it’s probably easier for you to just check it out for yourself.

I’ve updated the Find Me page here at the site with more links to Maui by Photo, and if you haven’t seen that page yet, it’s getting pretty big now. There are now 7 different places online that you can go to find various parts of my photography, a number I hadn’t realized was getting so high until now.

You can also read more about the new site via the official launch announcement yesterday on my existing Maui site. I also created my very first page on Facebook for this site, which you can find here.

I hope you like it, and if you’re a fan of Maui, I look forward to hearing some of your favorite island stories.

Thanks,
- Kris

My Newest Maui Site: Maui by Photo

Kris Nelson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:59:00 -0700

As I started mentioning late last week, I have been working on a new Maui site and it officially launched yesterday. Yay!

About the Site
The new site is Maui by Photo, and its primary focus is to provide a place for those that have visited Maui to relive all their favorite memories without setting foot outside their front door. And while you have those special moments top of mind, you have a place where to share them with others, as well as read stories from other frequent Maui visitors and even local Maui residents.

Below are a few screenshots from the new site.

Site Home Page

Sample Post View

Talk Story with Comments

The new site, much like this one, is always a work in progress and there are still a ton of things I want to do with it. Plus, there are still many, many more places that will be added to the site, as I’ve only begun to scratch the surface with the dozen or so posts that were added for the initial launch.

So what are you waiting for, head on over to Maui by Photo and start talking about your favorite Maui memories from some of the best spots on the island. And if you like it, which I hope you will, help us spread the word by telling all those Maui lovers in your life. You can also show your support by following @MauiByPhoto on Twitter, and if Twitter’s not your thing, become a fan on our Facebook page.

I hope to see you there!

Mahalo,
- Kris

Sunday Photo: Cliff Dive Warrior

Kris Nelson — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:06:00 -0700

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 17, 2007
Location: Black Rock, Ka’anapali

I stumbled across this photo from my archives while selecting photos for my new website (which I’m hoping to launch on Monday). The Black Rock Cliff Dive is certainly one of our favorite things to see while when we stay at the Sheraton, and in fact, it was a tough call whether it was my one favorite at this Facebook thread. Anyway, I was amazed with the detail in the lit torch, and even though the rest of the photo is mostly underexposed (aka dark), I chose it anyway. :)

This last week has been pretty busy with work on my new site, but I do have a few things I’ve been meaning to post here as well (which should have been up yesterday). Be sure to stay tuned Monday for some of the news.

Mahalo.

If you like this photo, you can see more in our Sunday Photos series here at the blog. Our website also features daily photos on the Today's Photos page, and you can also get a new photo from Maui everyday on your Google home page. Check out our Maui Photo Day Calendar for more details.

Aloha Friday – June 26th, 2009

Kris Nelson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:21:00 -0700

Aloha Friday
An old version of the sign out front of Whalers Village.

Back today with another Aloha Friday photo after missing the last few weeks. I like this photo, even though this sign has since replaced with a new one. It’s a reminder that even though all of our past trips have essentially centered out of the same spot in Ka’anapali, there is something always new and different to discover at Whalers Village. The second year we were there, they updated the sign and a few shops. This past February, there were even bigger changes with the Rusty Harpoon moving out and the edition of Cindy’s favorite, Swarovski, near where Tiffany’s used to be.

Our Aloha Friday photo each week is from our Maui Photo Day Calendar. Visit http://daily.kdmaui.com for more details on how to add a new Maui photo on your iGoogle page or your blog everyday, as well as how to subscribe via RSS.

In the News – Sheraton Working Giving Back
In addition to the Aloha Friday photo, I ran across this article in the Lahaina News this morning that I wanted to pass along:

School receives fresh coat of paint from Sheraton workers

You probably know by now that we’re fans of the Sheraton, so that’s one reason why it popped up on my radar (thanks to a Google News Search). It’s just one of many touching examples of how people from all over the islands regularly show off their Aloha Spirit and give back to the communities around them. I posted a link to another story back in December about members of the Ka’anapali Beach Resort Association joined to participate in a holiday drive that raised 30,000 pounds of food for families in need. You may only hear about these stories every now and then, but you can rest assured that this type of community sharing and commitment can be found somewhere on the islands just about every week, however large or small.

Follow Friday
So, I’ve been sort of absent from the Twitter seen for the last two weeks now, only jumping back in earlier this week. I don’t have a full Follow Friday list like before, and I actually wanted to take a moment for a shameless plug of the new Maui site I’m working on. :)

So, I’m inviting you to follow @MauiByPhoto on Twitter and help me spread the word. I’m targeting Monday for the initial launch of the new site, so be sure to look for an announcement soon.

As for the new site? It’s going to be mainly a blog format, but with a few slight twists. Relatively small in the grand scheme of things, it’s primary goal is to highlight the beauty and magic of Maui through some of my best photos, and be a place where fellow Maui fans and residents can talk story about some of the best places, and their favorite memories, on the island. It’s not a replacement for the site here or any other of the great Hawaii blogs out there, just a little place to stop along the way. :)

I’m pretty excited (and slightly nervous) about the concept, and here’s to hoping it’s well received. Hoping to see you there.

Mahalo,
- Kris

News: County Department Proposing New Beach Rules

Kris Nelson — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:33:00 -0700

Came across this article from the Maui News this weekend and thought it would be something worth sharing.

Maui News Article: County ‘drawing a line’ in sand with park rules
Posted on: June 21st, 09

The short recap of the story and the issues at hand are new rules being proposed by the county’s Parks and Recreation department. The aim of the new rules is to limit the number of tour and activity operators that can function on certain beaches, as well as only during specified periods. The effort is being made to help reduce some of the crowding these tour operators are said to have on beaches around the island, both popular and small.

Please read the article for all the details, as well as good points on both side of the argument. Since our site here has a good mix of both Maui residents and frequent visitors to the Valley Isle, I thought there’d be a good range of opinions to talk story about. Cindy and I, personally, like to refrain from planning our beach trips on the weekends, mainly because we assume that’s when the island residents make their way to the beach to enjoy the paradise around them.

Talk Story
Tell us what you think. There are good arguments to be made on each side, particularly the point of “why now?” Also, if you’re a resident of Maui, have you seen some of these crowding scenarios first-hand? We’ve seen the usual surf schools and even a catamaran every now and then docking right on the sands of Ka’anapali Beach. For us, it’s not a major inconvenience, but that’s because we’re only visiting.

What do you think?

Photo: Lion Head

Kris Nelson — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:15:00 -0700

The next photo I wanted to share from our little trip downtown last weekend. This is one of the lion statues out in front of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Sunday Photo: Inside the Lava Tube

Kris Nelson — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:04:00 -0700

Taken by Kris Nelson on April 15th, 2008
Location: Waianapanapa State Park in East Maui

If I close my eyes and drown out all the noise around me, I can still hear the roaring sounds the waves at Waianapanapa State Park made as they violently crashed into the shore. Then, as the last wave recedes, the sizzle of the water filtering back through the below my feet fills the entire lava tube, as if I was surrounded by hundreds of rattlesnakes. Before long, the next wave crashes into the rocks just as hard as the last, and the cycle repeats again.

Rewind a few hundred years, and these very same lava tubes were used by women and children to provide shelter during times of war. And then, there are legends like that of Princess Popoalaea, who had been said to have used this cave to hide from her cruel husband, Chief Kakae. The story is captured in a nearby sign.

Further Back in Time
Rewind back millions of years, when the islands were still being formed. There was no one around to witness it, but rivers of lava were flowing freely around open cracks in the still hardening earth. Processes similar to those conditions constructed these tubes over time, leaving not just scars in the beautiful Hawaii landscapes, but direct connections to an ancient period. A time machine if you will.

Back to the near future, closer to the next time you get to walk through one of these geological gems. When you hear those waves crashing near the shore, and the rocks sizzling beneath your feet. Close your eyes, and drown out the sounds of the kids playing tag and climbing the rocks nearby. Picture what it would have been like to have seen your surroundings just a few hundred years ago. Wouldn’t look too much differently, would it?

Photo: Buckingham Fountain

Kris Nelson — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:20:00 -0700

A close-up shot of Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park in downtown Chicago.

It's been awhile since I've posted new photos, so here it goes.

Last night, the wife and I decided, on a whim, to drive downtown into the city (Chicago) and walk around. Of course, I always try to have one of my cameras with me, and last night was no exception.

This is one of my favorites from the few I took last night, and I will feature the others throughout the week.

Sunday Photo: West Maui Sunset

Kris Nelson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:30:00 -0700

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 17th, 2009
Location: Private lanai at the Sheraton Maui Resort, Ka’anapali

I was looking through the past editions of our Sunday Photo Series and noticed that I haven’t featured a beautiful Maui sunset in quite a long time. In fact, the last one was posted all the way back in September! I guess we’ve had a lot of other great things to share if we’ve gone that long here without featuring one of these beauties.

This photo was taken on our most recent trip to Maui and the day after we witnessed our first Haleakala sunrise. I guess maybe the Maui sunsets were getting a little jealous that their early early morning cousins were getting all our attention this trip, so it decided to puff up its chest and spread out its peacock feathers in all its glory. And I must say, while it’s not the most fiery and golden sunset we’ve seen on Maui, the blue skies added their own dramatic feel to the mix. The result was one of the best sunsets we’ve seen in our relatively short time on the islands.

I have already received a few compliments on this photo, but to be brutally honest, I’m not 100% happy with how it came out. When I see this photo, I still recall the anguish I was going through as I snapped away with photo after photo. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful image and certainly worthy enough of being shared with all of you. My angst at the time was that I couldn’t capture the actual beauty of the scene exactly the way I was experiencing it (which happens a lot on Maui, actually). To put it another way, I took about a dozen shots at this scene with various exposure settings, came away with this one as the best of the bunch, and in my opinion, it’s still probably only half as spectacular as it was in person. What does that tell you about these magical Maui sunsets, eh?

Talk Story
Since we’re back on the topic of Maui sunsets, a very popular one I might add, I thought I’d pose the question to everyone: Where is your favorite place to watch the sunset on Maui? I realize that’s a pretty tough question, but we’d love to hear your thoughts.

Not to introduce any bias of our own (cough, West Maui, cough), but I mentioned the above photo was taken from our private lanai of our room at the Sheraton Maui Resort. I only say that because as much as fun as it is to share a gorgeous sunset with a beach-full of strangers or with a handful of nearby tables at your favorite ocean view restaurant, there’s a lot that can be said when you and yours are able to bask in the beauty of one of these moments in private. It is definitely one of those moments where you feel like the only two people on the island, and that the sun is putting on this amazing show just for you.

Your turn, tell us your favorites, and don’t be afraid to link to some Maui sunset eye candy as well.

Mahalo,
- Kris

Related Posts and Links

Archives: Sunday Photo Series
Sunday Photo: Warm and Golden Maui Sunset
Time Lapse - Maui Sunset
My Flickr Photoset: Maui Sunsets

Aloha Friday - June 5th, 2009

Kris Nelson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:00:00 -0700

Aloha Friday
A car stopped near a one-lane bridge along the road to Hana.

So Much Aloha in a Time of Need
Earlier this week, I posted an update on Twitter that Cindy and I had to rush out to Des Moines (from Chicago) for a family emergency. Cindy’s younger sister, Jill, needed to have emergency heart surgery and actually had to be resuscitated twice on Tuesday during the entire ordeal (that morning and then again during pre-op).

It’s been a very difficult week to say the least. But the messages, prayers, and well wishes from my Twitter friends from Hawaii have been so supportive and heartfelt. There was so much Aloha from so many great people. I wanted to extended another huge Mahalo to @raatz, @AMauiBlog, @OahuAJ, @GoVisitHawaii, and @AngelaKeen for their thoughts and support, and to all the other friends and family members that have sent us messages, phone calls, and emails these passed few days.

Just a quick update, Jill remains in the Cardiac ICU unit at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, IA, in critical but stable condition. She continues to make small improvements each day, and Wednesday night she was able to open her eyes and acknowledge that we were all there by her side. Yesterday morning, Cindy and I got to meet the pastor at Jill’s church who drove down from Northern Iowa to see her. We said a pray with her and she knows she has God on her side, too.

Cindy and I had to return home late last night, but Jill is still on our minds and in our hearts. Her mom, husband, and his family will be back visiting her again tonight and staying over the weekend. Cindy and I are also trying to arrange another visit for the following weekend as well. It’s going to be a long road, but we’re all confident that with her strength and everyone’s support, she’s going to pull through.

Thank you again, everyone.

- Kris

Photo: Heads Up Johnny

Kris Nelson — Sun, 10 May 2009 03:46:00 -0700

I’m still in a hockey sort of mood after a big win by the Blackhawks in Vancouver last night. I could really get used to post-season hockey here in Chicago for years to come.

Photo: May Flowers

Kris Nelson — Sun, 03 May 2009 02:44:00 -0700

We took an impromptu trip out to the Old Orchard Shopping Center yesterday because it was such a nice day (finally). I had my everyday point-and-shoot camera with me knowing that some of the sights of spring would be everywhere, and they were.

Turns out, though, that the crappy 4 year old rechargeable batteries I had in my Canon SX110 were completely dead already, so my now trusty backup HTC Touch Pro camera phone filled in for this shot. I know I’ve been saying it a lot lately, but I’m still amazed that photos like this can come from your phone!

Photo: Crossing

Kris Nelson — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:58:00 -0700

The railroad crossing lights in Lockport near the Gaylord Building.

Photo: Ceiling Umbrellas

Kris Nelson — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:12:00 -0700

Going with another mobile photo from my HTC Touch Pro for today’s photo. This shot was from our last trip to Door County, at a nice little Mexican restaurant Mojos Rosas in Egg Harbor.

Photo: Hey, That’s My Lawn

Kris Nelson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:14:00 -0700

Earlier in the week I posted about how much better the camera on my new mobile phone is compared to the last one that drowned in Maui. Then, I come home yesterday and find this little fella digging a hole in the ground at our condo. I decided to share, and it’s worth noting that I took this with my HTC Touch Pro using the built in zoom (1.8x) and through the driver side window while I was parked (of course).

So the zoom and shooting through the window caused the level of quantity to drop quite a few notches, but by the time it would have taken me to grab my Canon PowerShot SX110 out of my bag, he would have been gone.

If you want to see more of my mobile photos on Flickr to see some examples of higher quality pics from my phone, check out my Mobile Photos photoset.

Round One Updates

Kris Nelson — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:23:00 -0700

Over the weekend, I posted the picks Cindy and I made for the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now that all 8 matchups have at least played 2 games in their respective series, I thought I’d recap how well we’re doing with our teams and highlight a few surprises.

Surprise in the West
The Western Conference has perhaps the biggest surprise of this year’s playoffs so far, with the Ducks winning the first 2 games on the road in San Jose. Remember that the Sharks are not only the top team in the West, but they won the Presidents Cup trophy for the best record in the league during the regular season. They also managed only 5 regulation losses at home during the season, so how could they be down the first two games at the Shark Tank, to the Ducks no less, with the lowest season point total of all 16 teams in the post season? Everyone seems to be giving kudos to the young Anaheim netminder Jonas Hiller, but whatever the reason, the Sharks are in the precarious position of becoming the next victim of the Presidents Cup curse that bit the Red Wings in recent memory.

While both Cindy and I chose SJ to come out on top of ANA in round one, we’re not at all against the latest Duck, and most recent ex-Hawk, James Wisniewski advancing to the second round. Our hearts go out to Jeremy Roenick, a childhood idle of mine, as his post season hopes grow dim in the process. From a Hawks perspective, should we advance to the next round, we’d wanna see the Ducks advance over the Sharks anyway.

Rest of the West
The rest of the Western Conference seems about par with what we expected. Our hometown Hawks pulled off two HUGE wins at the UC, although the series turned more interesting after a loss in Calgary. One more game (Game 5) at the UC couldn’t hurt. :)

Detroit makes the trip down south to Columbus for game 3 tonight leading the series 2-0. Not the start that the Blue Jackets wanted for their franchise post season debut, but it is what it is. Vancouver also looks to be the first team to advance in this first round, and can do so with a W over the Blues tonight in St. Louis.

The East
We’ve always been more focused on the Western Conference, but I’ll run down the East for completeness. Boston and Montreal have been slugging it out in the only Original Six matchup in Round One. Boston has not surprised anyone by jumping to a 3-0 series lead at the expense of the Canadiens’ young goaltender Carey Price. They shoot for the sweep tomorrow at the Forum.

We picked the Capitals in their race against the Rangers, who in turn had their own plans. Whether we like it or not, Sean Avery has been making an impact for NYR as well as playoff veteran Scott Gomez. The Caps lost both of their home games, but took one back from the Rangers last night to cut the series deficit in half. Pittsburgh has the advantage against Philly in the battle of Pennsylvania, which is probably the best first round rivalry (next to BOS and MON). We just wish we’d been able to see more of those games thus far.

Wrapping up the Eastern Conference is the one series that Cindy and I didn’t agree on, the Devils and the Hurricanes. So far, Cindy’s Devils are up 2 games to 1 over my Canes, but there’s plenty of hockey left in this one. Of all the matchups, I think this one has the best chance of going to a game 7. Although, if Carolina doesn’t even the series tonight, I think they’re in a heap of trouble.

5 Games Tonight
While our Hawks regroup in Calgary for Game 4 tomorrow, there are 5 other games tonight. Only the Canucks have a chance to sweep tonight, but both San Jose and Columbus are in virtual must-win situations if they want to keep their post season hopes alive. It should be a great night of hockey, and will be interesting to see where everyone stands this time tomorrow.

Enjoy the games tonight, and GO HAWKS!!!

March Blog Totals

Kris Nelson — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 04:47:00 -0700

Back to blogging after a Maui vacation in February.

March Blog Totals

Ka’anapali Dreamin’ Blog – 24 posts
Kris and Cindy’s Blog – 4 posts
webnelly.com Blog – 2 posts
photonelly.com Blog – 33 posts
Total – 63 posts

Notes
63 posts in the month of March actually ties the top number of posts/month from back in December. This time around, though, it’s directly related to the daily photos that I’ve been sharing on the photonelly.com blog. While the daily photo posts have been consistent, I’m really working on getting back into a grove for the other blogs as well. The fact that our (my wife and I) personal blog hasn’t really been touched is a taunting me a little, and I still have so many things to write up here at the webnelly.com blog about some of the latest site changes and code-behind looks that I’ve been meaning to share.

Back to the photonelly.com topic for a second, our recent vacation has rekindled more of my interest in photography yet again, which always happens when we visit Maui. As a result, the division of my free time is somewhat changing to include more shooting, reading, and editing photos than coding and blogging here. Something that I’ll just need to make adjustments for I guess.

February Blog Totals

Kris Nelson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:12:00 -0700

Another month, another round of totals.

February Blog Totals

Ka’anapali Dreamin’ Blog – 31 posts
Kris and Cindy’s Blog – 4 posts
webnelly.com Blog – 1 post
photonelly.com Blog – 14 posts
Total – 50 posts

Now, February was a short month to begin with, and on top of that, we spent two weeks of it in Maui. I tried my best to keep blogging away from home, mainly about the amazing experiences we were having this trip, but I just couldn’t keep up and decided to hang loose and relax.

I also started a daily photo post each day over at photonelly.com. With so many new photos from Maui as well as a good sampling of other photos away from paradise, I should be able to keep that going for awhile.

Testing Windows Live Writer 2009

Kris Nelson — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:48:00 -0800

A co-worker of mine, and brand new blogger, came across Windows Live Writer 2009 as a way to draft and publish new posts, so I decided to try it out. Even though it’s named “Windows Live”, it is intended to work with more than just Windows Live Spaces. I’m trying it out as a way to publishing to my Blogger account, and my friend has installed BlogEngine.NET for his blog.

This is my first test post with this software, and after I put it through it’s paces, I’ll share my findings (good or bad). I have been growing a little weary of the standard Blogger.com online editor for drafting posts and have even had thoughts of switching over to WordPress as well. We’ll have to see what and when I make any drastic changes like that.

Thanks.

January Blog Totals

Kris Nelson — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:39:00 -0800

Until I have time to post a better way to list and track these numbers online, I figure I'd just post them here as a post.

January Blog Totals

Ka'anapali Dreamin' Blog - 33 posts
Kris and Cindy's Blog - 12 posts
webnelly.com Blog - 4 posts
photonelly.com Blog - 5 posts
Total - 54 posts

Looks like I'm still having cache issues on the Blog Calendar, too, which I'm not too happy about. Unfortuantely, I don't have a lot of time to fix it again.

Not only am I slipping on posting over at photonelly.com, I haven't been doing much with my photography as of late, either. That's all going to change in two weeks when we're on Maui, but I need to find time to stay on top of that as well.

New Mini-Site: Maui Photo Day Calendar

Kris Nelson — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:23:00 -0800

On a whim, I decided to put up a mini-site to promote my Maui Photo Day Calendar Google Gadget. Nothing too special or elaborate, but I'm pretty happy with it for only about 6 hours worth of work. It's good to have an actual url (http://daily.kdmaui.com) to send people to when telling them about it, or have others link to on my behalf.

The mini-site features a live preview of the gadget, with an option to add it of course. There are also exceprts and links to the different blog posts I wrote regarding the gadget to provide a little background. There are also links to a few of my primary sites, and at some point, I'll be adding a way to revisit the photos from the previous days.

So if you have a moment, stop by the mini-site and let me know what you think of the design.

Oh, and add the gadget and tell your friends.

Mahalo (thanks).

Social, Networking, and Social Networking

Kris Nelson — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 04:07:00 -0800

I spent much of the latter part of 2008 committing my time to two popular social networks, Twitter and Facebook. While having somewhat different goals for each, I mainly ignored their differences out of what you might consider laziness and mostly treated them the same. I even installed the Twitter application on Facebook to have all my tweets sent over to Facebook, which I guess wasn't always relevant to my Facebook friends and vice versa.

After finally heading out for more ideas about using Twitter, I ended up at the blog TwiTip and ultimately at the post Twitter vs. Facebook. While most of the post was not new to me (although there was some interesting comparisons made), it was sort of the splash of cold water on my face that I needed to get me to realize, and treat, these two apps differently.

The Social

Signing up at Facebook was more about being social with current friends, connecting with maybe one or two of the few from the past, and not so much about finding new friends. I'm not doing too much on Facebook to network or promote any of my work online, and I'm okay with that. I realize there are some opprotunities out there to spread the word on my life online, and to some extent, it has brought some awareness to friends already in my inner circle about just how much I do online. Sure, there's a few jokes here and there, but I think it has brought about some sort of respect for my committment and knowledge of this little thing called the Web.

The Networking

By somewhat stark contrast, my use of Twitter has been mainly to meet new individuals out there with similar interests, goals, and habits online. Those interactions have been the more traditional sense of networking, in regards to exchanging information, samples of each other's works, goals, and strategies. While less personal than Facebook, I think this use of Twitter has offered examples of my work online to a further reach than just amongst my existing "real life" friends.

Different Sets of Friends

Interesting enough, but by no means surprising, I've ended up with different sets of friends at each of these online destinations. I already mentioned that my group of Facebook friends are essentially people in my life everyday, co-workers (past and present) and folks I've become friends with over the different parts of my life. My Twitter circle, on the other hand, largely consists of people in Hawaii, of all places.

The Hawaii part makes sense, though, because many of my waking hours for the last few years have been spent dreaming of Maui (at least when we're not actually there). My wife and I have talked about, and I have somewhat planned for, what life would be like in the next few years actually relocating to the Aloha State, and what types of changes that would need to bring about.

So in some sense of the meaning, the networking I do on Twitter with folks in Hawaii is all about learning what life is like there, making contacts, getting advice, and building a group of future "real life" (aka Facebook) friends should we bite the bullet and make the move 4,000 miles West. There is also a more immediate benefit to the networking I do on Twitter, and that is promoting my own Maui website. While there is no current (or likely ever) monetary focus put on traffic to my Maui site, I really enjoy the community and the interactions with our site's readers as well as participating in the communities found on their own Hawaii/Maui blogs.

No Crossovers

Since I work in a technology field, and many of my Facebook friends are co-workers, you think I'd have more tweeps spanning both of my networks. But the fact is, at the moment, I don't. You might also be of the opinion that Twitter is still techie-only (aside from the spammers) and that normal, everyday people haven't adopted it yet. But again, the fact is that quite a few of my tweeps have never written a line of HTML or JavaScript in their lives.

For now at least, it doesn't seem that any of my Facebook friends will be jumping on the Twitter bandwagon anytime soon. I'm kind of okay with that, although having a few IRL friends as tweeps might make it feel a little less lonely sometimes when I read about tweetups and local events in Hawaii that, for the time being, I can only bear witness to from afar. Someday...

What about "Social Networking"

I guess one subtle point in this post (somewhere) is that I haven't really found a happy medium between both the Social and the Networking aspects of my time spent online. I guess if I was more political at work and had the desire to keep in touch with the vast number of past co-workers I've had over the years (something along the lines of LinkedIn), maybe there would be more usefulness of combining both. At least at this point in my life (and career), I haven't had the need to play those social games just to get something back in return. Maybe others might think I do that already, but honestly it's not something I have doing consciously.

So I get back to it, is there really a place (in my life at least) to blend both aspects into a true concept of Social Networking? The closet thing I can think of right now would be in a few years if/when we take the plunge and move to Maui. By doing so, many of my current tweeps become my friends in real life, and a la Facebook. And then what? Who would I tweet with, then?

Hmmmmmm..........

Trying to Avoid Burnout

Kris Nelson — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:44:00 -0800

Well, maybe I'm already there.

Took my first day off from blogging yesterday, mainly because I had lost most of the momentum I had going for the past few months. Even though the holidays are behind us now, I still have a lot of non-web stuff to do and I'm finding myself spending less and less time at the keyboard for personal stuff.

That might sound like a good thing for most people, but it's kind of a mixed blessing for me right now. There are numerous activities and functions that I serve online these days, from my blogs, to site upgrades, discussions on Twitter, posts in Google Reader, self-learning Ubuntu and Rails, and even my photography that I've been spreading my free time across lately. There are days when I can prioritize the small things and feel like I'm making progress, and others when I don't have the energy.

I'm afraid I might be in that latter category right now, but hoping to recoupe a little bit and bounce back shortly. As I mentioned, there are so many neat things I'm pushing myself towards, so I can't really say I'm "bored." It's really about managing my time, priorities and rolling with the punches when I hit a few snags.

Hopefully I'll be back here shortly with some more cool updates to my sites and great blog posts soon. Stay tuned.

My Web Development Recap for 2008

Kris Nelson — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:52:00 -0800

This post is coming in a few days later than I had originally hoped, but that's okay. 2008 was a very busy and successful time for me in regards to my personal work online, and I wanted to take a moment or two and recap some of the highlights and numbers.

Four New Sites!!!

With the launch of my largest site, Ka'anapali Dreamin' back in 2007, I would have figured the majority of my time the following year would have been spent with upkeep and expansion of that site. Indeed, I put quite a bit of time into it, with close to 20 updates released last year, not to mention all the new content around our April '08 trip to Maui.

But who knew I'd also be serving up 4 new websites in that same year, bringing the total of sites in my portfolio to 9. Here's a quick recap of each of them.

Maui Wall Candy - This is my online photo store powered by smugmug. While the Pro account that I'm subscribing to handles most everything for me, there was still a bit of customization to get the site looking unique, and it was anything but the traditional coding and markup process, either.
View Site - View Announcement
photonelly.com - This site is my portfolio site for my photography work, much like webnelly.com is the portfolio site for my web development. It was one of those that I decided to throw together in a matter of a few weeks and have been very happy with it.
View Site - View Announcement
kris.nelson - Shortly before completing photonelly.com, I came up with the concept for kris.nelson and literally launched the site in 3 days. It's not a traditional website and bends a few of the standard site design rules, but I think it's a neat little place to visit
View Site - View Announcement
Igloo Surfing - This little blog should have been the first site in 2008, but was put on the back burner almost the entire year. It's a small blog featuring photos of our rabbits doing cute things and my attempted humor with captions.
View Site - View Announcement

While I have some site redesign and enhancement ideas for my existing sites, there are no plans for new sites (yet) in 2009.

Blogging

By the end of 2008, blogging finally became part of my daily routine, and I was very proud of myself. Setting small goes to start with, I finished the year with well over 200 posts on my four blogs, and in December I was averaging 2 a day. Here's the breakdown:

Photos

With the launch of my photonelly.com site last year, photography, much like blogging, became a regular part of my life as well. As a result of our April '08 trip to Maui and my renewed interests in everyday photography, I posted 1,900 new photos to Flickr in 2008. Checking the 2008 Archive calendar at Flickr, the biggest spike in April from our Maui trip, but the last 3 months really started to pick up in terms of frequency.

Twitter

It addition to making Twitter part of my Maui vacation in 2008, I've become a modest use of the micro-blogging service during the second half of '08. I recently posted my 1,000 update on Twitter before the end of the year, and while I only have a handful of followers, it makes a nice balance. My Twitter updates are already integrated into kris.nelson, and I have a few ideas on future uses as well. Fun stuff.

Pretty Much It

That about covers the major highlights. There were so many cool things that worked on this past year, it would just be too daunting to list most of the smaller ones. The new sites are always fun, but the blogging, photos, and Twitter conversations I engage in daily are really what is making it exciting to share my life online right now. The web is such a great place right now, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

Here's to bigger and better things in 2009!