Month: July 2010

Laguna Pueblo Honors Night

Last night I attended the 15th Annual Honors Night at the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Auditorium.  The event was put together by the Laguna Education Foundation and Partners For Success to recognize the efforts and achievements of the students from Laguna Pueblo.  I was able to see and meet many of the pueblo youth who have made the significant effort to complete their GED, Bachelor, and Masters degrees (over 20 of them).  It was also great to see the many Laguna High School students receive the LEF scholarships to allow them to attend a college of their choice.  I myself benefited from this same higher education program when I attended SMU.

I also had the honor of talking to the students, tribal council, and community members to share some of my thoughts on education today.  I wanted to share my perspective on the changes in learning due to high speed internet connectivity and personal learning styles, people now have more options to gain knowledge.  I personally use time-shifted education (web videos, web meetings, podcasts, & screencasts) to keep my skills up-to-date and maintain competitiveness.

We also enjoyed a wonderful red chile stew, turkey, & beef dinner from Grandma Joe’s Catering.  In particular, I loved the pumpkin pie.

Here is the presentation titled “Adaptive Learning”  that I’ve uploaded to slideshare.  I will add the audio when I get some time to process the recorded content from the evening.  Enjoy!

– Dom

Tie-Fast Tutorial

I recently changed out my fly line & backing on one of my reels.  I usually use a nail knot to connect the backing to the fly line and another nail knot to connect the fly line to a monofilament leader loop.

It’s been quite a while since tying a nail knot, and I have a tool to help with it called the Tie-Fast, but I lost the instructions or directions.

So, I searched around to see if there were any PDF instructions on the manufacturer’s website.  In the searching I found something much more informative.

On youtube, I found WildOnTheFly’s video on how to use the Tie Fast tool.  It’s a great little instructional video on how to tie several knots using the tool like:  nail knot, nail knot splice (blood knot), nail knot on a fly, and a snell knot (or shank tie).

If you fish and happen to have the Tie-Fast tool (or something like it), this video is worth watching.  Enjoy & thanks to WildOnTheFly!

– Dom

Upper Boone Fork

I came across some pictures from when I trout fished in North Carolina back in the late 90’s, some great memories.  I really liked fishing the Upper Boone Fork, this little gin-clear stream offered boulder hopping and wild trout under a nice canopy of trees.  I casted flies into small pools often at eye level since the elevation change was so steep.  The Upper Boone Fork drains into Price Lake just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

There are wild trout in this little stream.  As you can see (from the fly size), the little fish smack just about anything if you don’t spook them first.  The fly is a size 18 Elk Hair Caddis.

Here is a link to the nearby parking area so you can find this nice little & challenging creek (if it’s still like this).  Enjoy!

– Dom

Jemez River Swimming

When it gets hot here in New Mexico there are a limited number of places to cool off due to the lack of water in the state.

Since I love flyfishing, I knew of a place that was a small enough river for my young boys to handle a gentle current.

We ventured up into the Santa Fe National Forest just north of Jemez Pueblo and took a dip in the Jemez River.

The La Junta day use parking area is just north of the intersection of New Mexico Highway 4 and Highway 485, about a 35 minute drive from Bernalillo, NM (don’t speed in Jemez Pueblo).

As you can see by the video my kids and niece had a blast cooling off.

My real goal is to see if my boys like the moving water in hopes they may one day take to flyfishing like their dad 😉

Oh, here are the GPS Coordinates if you like them:  35.670873, -106.743095 or  +35° 40′ 15.14″, -106° 44′ 35.14″

– Dom

This video was shot using a Flip Mino HD video camera on a tripod and rendered in 720p using Sony Movie Studio Platinum 9.0.

Dad’s Driving Tips

My dad taught me to drive, and there are several phrases he used to say while I was driving.  He said them so many times that I hear his voice often when I drive today.  I would like to share them with you:

  • For every 10 miles an hour in speed you are driving on the highway, you should be that many seconds behind the car in front of you. 10 miles per hour = 1 second.
  • Always stop so you can see the rear tires of the car in front of you.  It gives you a chance to move in the event of a stalled car and keeps you from hitting someone if rear ended.
  • A right turn is always safer than a left turn.
  • Always try and drive ahead of yourself, if you see traffic slowing down ahead, slow down too.
  • Always try and know what/who is around you, check the mirrors often, you never know when you have to swerve and it would be good to know the space beside you is not occupied.
  • 18 wheelers can’t see very well, be prepared for them to pull in front of you (cut you off) on the highway (this happened just when my dad was telling me).
  • Large vehicles & trucks are heavy, you don’t want to be in front of them if they have to slow down or stop quick.
  • Keep both hands on the wheel, it puts you in better control if a tire fails.
  • Try not to drive when you are tired, accidents happen when you are not mentally alert.  Rest if you need to.
  • They are not motorcycles, they’re called donorcycles (he meant organ donor).  In a wreck, a vehicle is physically around you to help protect you.
  • Make sure the people who ride with you wear their seat belts.

– Dom