My Perfect Day

I had planned to do this exercise on paper first, but I think I will start here instead. I don't want to put this off until tomorrow, and the plan was to post this on the blog anyway (for accountability and easy reference). I am going to outline what my perfect day looks like, one that has the freedom and flexibility to do whatever I want. Thinking about it though, I do think that I have two perfect days, depending on my mood and where I am in the world.

Perfect Day #1

My first perfect day would be me, sitting at a poker table at the Bellagio (or maybe the Aria or the Venetian, depending on the action and what's up), and playing lots and lots of poker. I'm thinking eight to 12 hours of poker because it's awesome. Of course, the day would be much more perfect if I saw a famous poker player and/or tripled my money. But, poker all day is simply perfect.

Ideally, it would be good to start in the early evening and to go as late as possible. This is when there are the most fishies. At least that's what I think.

Perfect Day #2

My other option for a perfect day (because I would need to take a break from the poker) would be me getting up at 9 or 10 a.m. and going to bed after midnight. I'm kind of a night owl, and do get some creative juices flowing after 8 or 9 p.m. The day would start with coffee, a delicious warm dark roast with vanilla soy milk and a little bit of powdered sugar. It turns out that powdered sugar dissolves really well. Normal sugar just sinks to the bottom, so nothing it sweetened until the end of the drink. While drinking my wonderful brew, I will write about the new dark roast I've just tasted in my coffee shop/roast review blog.

I would be spending most of my day writing and blogging, covering the topics that needed to be covered and bringing the news and information people desired. I would be writing about my passions i.e coffee, human rights, international news, poker, identity theft, credit repair etc. (that list could really go on forever). I would write for the sake of creating great content and for the sake of creating something the others would find helpful, valuable and beneficial. Worrying about SEO and advertising and traffic is stupid, and is a problem for those who a writing, blogging, and creating content for the wrong reasons.

I would eat a hefty lunch and dinner, away from my desk. It would be a vegan lunch and dinner with at least one awesome person so that I'm not eating all by myself or spending my meal watching something. I would like to have at least one meal outdoors in the sunshine, but if it's winter then perhaps I don't need to eat outside. A vegan dessert would follow dinner, while after lunch there would be more coffee. Coffee will always follow lunch. It counts as a dessert.

Naturally, I can't spend my entire perfect day writing. I would get tired and then I won't be writing as well. So, when the creative juices aren't flowing, I'll be playing fun video games like Skyrim, anything on the Wii, Don't Starve, and Sim City. Not all of them at once or all of them in one day, but just one for the perfect day so that I can relax a little bit and be able to get back to writing.

I think that's about it for my perfect day. How detailed does it need to be? I don't know. I'm not all that high-maintenance anyway. It really doesn't take a lot for me to be comfortable or happy.

My Bucket List, or Life Goals, or Whatever You Want to Call It

My business coach has challenged me to make a list of my one-year goals and my five-years goals. It's actually harder than it sounds. However, after coming across Location 180 yesterday and reading all of that great content, a bucket list seemed like a great idea that would accomplish those goal lists while really thinking about what I want to do in life. Okay, maybe these things don't quite have the one-year, five-year timeline that might be needed for these things (and probably what my business coach really wanted me to do), but bucket lists are better and more fun and I wanted to make that instead. I also really like the name, "Bucket List," because I really like the word 'bucket.' Anyway, here's my list:

1. Win a WSOP bracelet
2. Win a WPT title
3. Play in Bobby's Room at the Bellagio
4. Be debt free
5. Own a car
6. Own a house
7. Earn my income primarily through an online business
8. Visit every state in the union
9. Visit every country in the world
10. Testify before Congress
11. Write a New York Times bestseller
12. Appear on national television (and not through a one-second shot in the stands either)
13. Own a painting
14. Make $100,000 in one year
15. Become a millionaire
16. Don't eat out for an entire month
17. Be vegan for a whole year (and hopefully stay that way)
18. Put 100 slideshows on Slideshare
19. Get 1500 subscribers to this blog
20. Build three niche sites as part of my online business/media empire
21. See the Grand Canyon
22. Attend a World Cup
23. Attend a summer or winter Olympics
24. Give a TED talk
25. Be able to have a conversation in a second language
26. Meet the President of the United States
27. Have a net worth of over $500,000
28. Collect over 100 decks of cards (I like to collect decks of cards)
29. Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans
30. Visit Stonehenge
31. See Macchu Picchu
32. Ride a gondola in Italy
33. Spend New Year's Eve in Sydney
34. Stand in the crown at the Statue of Liberty
35. Visit the Pyramids of Giza
36. Visit the Taj Mahal
37. Visit the Colosseum
38. Tour the Neuschwanstein Castle
39. Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco
40. Rent a bungalow in Bora Bora
41. Get a masters degree
42. Play poker in Macao
43. Tour Petra
44. See Christ the Redeemer in Brazil
45. Visit Easter Island
46. Go to the airport and take the next random flight
47. Visit Niagara Falls
48. See Old Faithful
49. Get Married
50. Be on Survivor or Jeopardy
51. Visit a death row inmate
52. Shoot a gun
53. Learn to sew
54. Meet Oprah Winfrey
55. Be elected into political office
56. Ride in a hot air balloon
57. See the Parthenon in Greece
58. Collect over 100 Matrushka dolls
59. Read the Bible in full
60. Give a commencement speech at a major university
61. Join Toastmasters International
62. Stand atop the Eiffel Tower
63. Stay at the Icehotel in Sweden
64. Tour Hagia Sofia
65. Explore the Paleolithic Cave Art in Altamira
66. Hang from Toronto’s CN Tower
67. Float around the Dead Sea
68. Ride an elephant
69. Be interviewed by Barbara Walters or by Jon Stewart
70. Start my own non-profit organization

I'll leave it there. I think that's an amazing list. These things can go on forever because there's so much to see, to do, to own, and to learn in this world. There's also a lot of things that would be cool to do, but if I died and I didn't do it, I'd be okay. Like, attend the major golf tournaments, or bungee jump, or climb mountains. It would be cool to climb Mount Everest or something, but quite frankly, I really don't think I'm ever going to do that. I have no interest in rock climbing right now, and I don't have very much athletic prowess, so I really have no real desire to climb any mountains. Kind of like with the golf thing. To see Tiger Woods golf in person would be neat, but I don't really care for golf.

Dealing With, and Embracing, Uncertainty

I was spending time today researching how to niche this blog down, how to niche down content marketing and my current business, and how to niche down my business idea (which is best called a niche site, I think. I also think that it would a very terrific niche site.). I don't think I was getting very far, reading these articles only to have to think about what I'm about and what my passions are and the 882 things that I love and know about and ought to be shared with the world. I was also weighed down by the work that I have to do; how I need to write this for this client, and write that for that client, and do my house chores. I wasn't sure how I was going to get anywhere and to get anything done.

The Tipping Point

After all this, I finally came across an article that actually offered the value that I was looking for really showed how to find a niche and to turn that niche into something lucrative. Entitled, "How to Build a Niche Site that Brings in $500/Month", I knew from the title alone that this was something that I wanted read and that this article will actually provide the value that I'm needing.

Content Marketing/Business Blogging Tip: This article was actually at the bottom of the first page (ranked 10th) for my search term. Proof that you don't need to rank first for your keyword, and that a specific headline makes a huge difference.

It's not a quick read. I'm willing to bet that it's over 2000 words, which makes me still wonder why so many business blogs want 300-500 word posts. You can't get anything done in 300 words. Imagine if this niche-building-site post was only 300 words! It couldn't possibly provide any value! But, I was hooked.

This is the explanation for what I've been wanting to do to build a business and to generate income. I've always thought that niche sites were websites with crappy content created solely to rank for search engines. They don't really care about serving an audience or a customer. They just want to have an exact match domain (or several) and make money from the advertising revenue. It was all about getting traffic and not about having anything once all that traffic got to that site. I didn't realize that you could have a niche site that was also a legitimate business, one that was a trustable brand that had the best interests of its audience in mind. I didn't think that niche sites were a great way to build a business or earn a lot of money because it was all about affiliate marketing, advertising, and reviewing products all the time.

The Uncertainty Moment

Long story short: that post made sense. Other posts made sense. This guy, and what he was all about, made sense. So, I watched this guy's TED talk from last year on the future of the American dream. I found it so impressive that I almost cried, and there weren't any sob stories in it! It just seemed that this 15-minute speech was what I needed to hear at this point in time. I've also found that this speech had a lot of tweetables, some of which include:

• There are only seven days in a week, and 'someday' is not one of them.
• Uncertainty is the world's only fear.
• Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty. - Tim Ferriss (This is the only tweetable that the guy didn't actually say, but attributed to someone else).
• Make a conscious decision about what's going to make you happy.
• The future of the American dream lies at the crossroads of fearing uncertainty, and embracing it.

I feel like I've been living in a whole lot of uncertainty for the past few weeks. I feel like I've just realized that, so now I can face it and do something about it. I can trust in the fact that what I want to do and that what will make me happy will be enough.

What Will I Do Now?

I'm going to incorporate and to implement the things he suggested, such as creating a bucket list (I did this when I was like 14, but I couldn't possibly find the list now. I don't think it would be true reflection of what I want to do now) and write out a list of every product, hobby, or interest I have that I might be able to build a site around. Once I do those two things, then I think I really have the start of something good.

I'm Doing It!

Guess what? I'm actually being productive, making plans, and getting things done, all like I said I would the other day. Yay me! My VIP day with my business coach yesterday was a huge success. We spent the day figuring out how to remedy my current situation as well as figure out a new business venture that does a better job of marrying my passions (marketing, writing, news, and activism). More on that in a later post, as I'll take the time to flesh it out and to do the necessary research.

Money, Money, Money

I've finally set up my account with Mint.com (I tried to do it two years ago, but didn't realize that I needed to set up my online banking to do this. I have finally have that now, like almost two years since I set up the account). It's such an amazing tool! I now have one place to track expenses, to set up a budget, and to set financial goals for myself. My big goal is to get rid of all my debt, most of which is credit card debt. I still have about half of my business loan to pay off and I do owe Sean money as well. To do all that, I do need to increase my income, which is obvious. I'm gonna be hustling for a few months, perhaps a year or two, to get this done. I think that's okay. Hustling is respectable if you do it right.

One Year and Five Year Goals

This is what I need to do next, as part of my business breakthrough coaching and developing my new business venture (and even part of being a better hustler too). I'm going to work on these tonight right after I write this. I already know some of my goals, like get rid of my debt, buy a car, win a WSOP bracelet, get to $500,000 in net worth. But, I need to think about all of them and develop my five-year plan toward getting there. It's not going to be easy. However, breaking it all down into steps, doing the right research, and setting milestones will make it easier.

What Will I Do Next?

After I go through the personal stuff, then I can work on the new business venture. I do think I might have to transition slowly toward the new business and I do think that I might have to prototype it first, like develop some free aspects to generate buzz and a community before starting to monetize and to generate any revenue. It might make it easier to sell the bread and butter, while proving that we do provide value to the community. This way, it's not as if all we're doing is selling something and trying to make money (I get that's the point of a business, but no one's going to buy what you are selling if no one thinks it offers any benefit or value to their lives). We would actually have something that's worth paying for while having the base to sell it to.

It all seems like a lot, and maybe a waste of a Memorial Day weekend, but it's okay. It's supposed to rain and to thunderstorm the whole weekend in St. Louis, so I'll be spending a lot of time indoors. This will give me plenty of time to do what I need to do. Although, I do want to see the new baby elephant at the zoo. It's not going to stay a baby for long. However, if the weather's horrible, I might not do that.

I'll Do It!

I'm not Allison Mack, or Bill O'Reilly, but I am just as fabulous.

How's that for a tagline/niche? I need a new one, since I don't even know what "All is On with Allison" is even all about. I'm thinking that I just have a pretty darn good life that I should be a bit more appreciative of, so I should just blog about and blog about what goes on here in St. Louis and in business and that other fun stuff. Although, I must say, 'Mack' is a pretty cool last name. It reminds me of a Mack truck, and that's pretty cool.

I mean, it's a start for a tagline right? I just read this long article about the dysfunctional guide to blogging and business success, and I think that 'dysfunctional' is a good word for me. I prefer different and original, but dysfunctional would work too. People probably do think I am dysfunctional. After all, I did go vegan and then I ran out of money for food so I had to eat all the meat that I had stored up and now I'm a horrible, horrible vegan.

A Week of Moping

Yeah, that's seriously what my last week and a half it's been. Probably the worst week and a half to mope too, since Memorial Day weekend is this weekend and I should have started the moping three days later. Time it with the vacation so that I wouldn't have been moping when everyone else was at work being productive and doing things with their lives. I haven't been working enough and being productive, even though work is slow and that's part of the reason why I'm moping.

I don't want to be moping. The moping is turning me into a loser. I want to be better and to be awesome! I am doing that by going to my VIP day tomorrow to work on my business and my personal branding. It starts at 8:30 a.m. and I will be getting free breakfast and lunch. How could I not go? I'm also going to be spending the day with my business coach and she will guide me in the right direction and help me tap into my purpose power and all that good stuff. I can do it! I will have a successful business and make money and save the world!

You Can Do It!

I can totally do it, and I must do it because the great Daniel Negreanu said I could do it. He totally said this when he participated in a Q&A on the FlopTurnRiver poker forum. I asked him a question about veganism, and how to go vegan, because he's also vegan, and this is what I got:

First, watch Forks Over Knives | Official Website it has a lot of great information. Then pick up the cookbook it's incredible. Also checkout Vegetarian & Vegan Starter Kit | Guide on How to Become Vegan / Vegetarian | PETA.org for help getting started. Good luck and congrats on your decision! Stick with it and you won't regret it.

Okay, so there's nothing in there that's all that encouraging except the 'stick with it' part. However, I've been telling myself that he was encouraging for like, six months, so I'm just going to 'stick with it' and tell people that Daniel Negreanu encouraged me through the interwebs and so that's why I can do it and that I won't fail.

That also really has nothing else to do with the rest of my life, except poker, but that's okay too.

I've also just concluded that my tagline sucks. I'm working on it. I also need to work on this whole page too.

Determining a Conflict of Interest: An Introduction

If you're just blogging or writing an online publication on your own, then you don't have to deal with a conflict of interest all that often. It's easy to recognize within yourself, and you could perhaps use your conflict of interest as part of your branding, as part of building the business, and as part of the message you want to communicate. However, if you have a team helping you with your blog or online magazine, then you need to be able to determine conflict of interest so that you're team doesn't sacrifice the best interest of the publication for their own goals or gain. A conflict of interest is defined as, "a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest." In publishing, determining a conflict of interest involves figuring out if a story, or a source, that you're going to use or to publish is influenced by these secondary interests, such as money, connections etc. Essentially, you don't want to publish or use a source that isn't there based on its merit or its value, but because the writer was paid on the side to cover that topic or is covering something out of personal bias or gain. Here's a quick start to determining a conflict of interest and how to handle one that could jeopardize your blog or magazine.

Figure Out the Two Interests

A conflict of interest cannot exist if there isn't two competing interests. Of course, there are some conflicts i.e. the need to make money versus the desire to tell great stories that aren't all that bad and don't need to be investigated or vetted. Both of those interests are generic, and can work together. The point in figuring out the two interests is if the two conflicting interests cannot be compatible at all.

For example, if one of your writers wants to write about a particular company, and it comes to your attention that the writer currently works for that company, then there's a conflict of interest there that needs to be evaluated. The fact that the writer works at the company could skew the story that's written i.e. it could be overly positive because the writer wants to keep his/her job at the company. In this case, you would need to decide if the company should be covered at all (by another writer, of course) or if the story should be dropped. It's possible that the writer only wants to do the coverage because he/she supports the company, or knows that something will come from that relationship if the story gets published and produces good results for the company.

In this case, these two interests cannot work together. The writer cannot fulfill the interest with the company while fulfilling the interests of the online publication. One needs to be somewhat sacrificed for the other, and it looks like the interests of the online publication would take the hit. Therefore, this is a conflict of interest that needs evaluating and needs to be handled appropriately.

Finding the Conflict

Sometimes, finding the conflict of interest takes a little investigative work. In the previous example, it's unlikely the writer would disclose that s/he works for the company. If s/he does, then that makes things easier and you can decide to have someone else cover the story to ensure that there isn't an overly positive overtone or bias. If the conflict isn't disclosed, but you suspect one to be there, then you might need to ask a few questions or do some additional research. In a future post, we'll go over a few techniques to find hidden conflicts of interests as well as good questions to ask to find these conflicts before the story is written.

What to Do? What to Do?

I'm working at the coffee shop today for a little while. Today is such a nice day, and I don't think I've left my apartment in a week, so I much needed to get some fresh air, take a walk, and have a little change in pace. My schedule is out of sync since work has been slow, so I'm dealing with that as well. I think I'm getting back on track, and spending a few hours outside definitely makes a difference.

I Need to Take a Hard Look at the This Blog and the Website

It all needs a much more, more highly defined, purpose. Right now, this blog is kind of willy-nilly, which is no good. It's not really about anything and there really isn't anything I want to achieve with it. I need to fix that if I want all this to be turn into something. I do plan to use it as a supplement to the video content I want to create, but I haven't created any video content yet. So, right now I'm just trying to find something to write about each and every day. Is any of it beneficial and worthwhile to others?

If I do decide to change direction with my business, then my website content and brand positioning needs work as well. Stirring Media might not just be a content marketing agency, or it could be something other than a content marketing agency. Or, it might still technically be that, but just called something else for branding purposes. All this will be sorted out on Friday, when I do my VIP day with my wonderful business coach. Right now the business is chugging along. Even though work is slow, I do still have some work to do and I still have some revenue. Not sure if I'll have enough by the end of the month though.

Although, It Might Be Awesome to Have No Business for a Week

I originally went into business to create my own content. My first idea was a magazine for freelancers and solopreneurs called Two's Company, covering business topics that were relevant to them and from their perspective. I launched it, but I didn't see it get very far. I had grand visions of getting a print version out and to every coworking space in the country. I wanted to publish five articles a day online. None of that happened. We did about 30 articles before we let it all go. Perhaps I gave up too soon on it. Perhaps I launched it the wrong way. Perhaps such a magazine was a horrible idea in the first place. The point, however, is that ever since the end of Two's Company, there hasn't been any effort or initiative to create my own content. It's always been about doing something for clients, meeting client needs and meeting client goals. Even the goals and content for Stirring Media is more for the sake of getting clients, and getting to do all that for clients. I'm still not creating my own content and sharing the message that I want to share.

It might be worthwhile to have no work for a week, or maybe more, and just create content to see where that goes and to see if there's a market for what I do, versus fitting what I do into an existing marketing or into something that people may want to spend money on. I feel like for the past few months it's all been driven by needing to make money and needing to pay the bills and it's lost that bigger purpose. I'm doing a whole lot of things I have to do, not a whole lot of things that I need to do.

It's My 50th Post!

We made it to the big 50 (although we should it made it to the big 50 months ago)! Nonetheless, this is the 50th post, and although I should do something really special and amazing because it's a huge milestone, it looks like that I am not going to do much of that. Don't fret! I will make sure to do something extraordinary for my 100th post, which will come in about 50 days. July 10 is a day to mark on your calendars, indeed.

The News Show Has a Name!

Yes, it does, and it's not "Fresh Interpretations." A friend said that "Fresh Interpretations" was too much of a mouthful, and offered "Fresh Perspectives" as a better alternative. I then considered both options and hated them both because I thought both of them were mouthfuls. I also thought that the word "fresh" wasn't punchy enough, although I did like the word and what it meant. I went back to the drawing board, looked at the thesaurus for another word, and stumbled upon 'mint.' I like words that can have more than one meaning, like 'mint' is very similar to 'fresh' but also has a different meaning when used in the phrase, "mint condition" or a "minted coin." Yes, I want this show to be associated with perfect coins and distinctive smell and taste. It's so my thing.

First Video Will Be Up By Tomorrow

By tomorrow, I will finally have that first video up: the first edition of The Mint Opinion covering the similarities between the Benghazi incident and Watergate (hint: there aren't as many similarities as some would hope). I am preparing what I'm going to say this evening and will shoot once I finish my preparations. I'm still doing research on the issue, and I do want to run through what I'm going to say a few times before I post it online. All this preparation and research is hard work, much harder than if I were preparing for this same question in a speech and debate tournament. I would only have 30 minutes to prepare, and most of the time what I have would be inadequate for preparation.

The trick with these new experiments and ventures is that's there's always more to do than you first realize. There's been so much testing and research and practice that had to go into all this. I feel like I've done a ton already even though I don't have a video up yet. Nothing's going to get done unless I have a video up first. This will definitely be the case, as I've been practicing what I'm going to say and I can finally get that done.

I Just Need to Keep Going!

It all seems so hard and unobtainable, like none of it is going to work, or that content marketing work will start pouring in and then all these great ideas for the YouTube broadcasting empire will never come to fruition because I'll be too busy and I'll have to prioritize paying my bills and making some money over trying to put together the next big thing. On the one hand, having the content marketing work would be great because it would mean that Stirring Media, as it is, would be able to keep going. On the other hand, I think this YouTube broadcasting company direction is an awesome idea and it ought to be done before someone else does it. If someone else does it before me, I would be absolutely sad and I would probably kick myself for not getting to it first. I mean, this content marketing agency idea has already been done and I don't really think I can differentiate myself and my brand with a content marketing agency the way that I can through YouTube.

I Need a Good Name for a News Show

One of my ideas for my budding YouTube broadcasting empire is a news show. I've finally crystallized this idea with topics and a format, and I might shoot my first show as early as tomorrow. But, one that's hindering me here is a name for this news show. I know I could just put up a video of me talking, but since I want to build a brand and develop some real content and programming here, I do think a name and something reminiscent of structure is good. I think a video of me talking is going to make it look like I am a political vlogger, which is not what I am and not what I want to be.

Topics and Format

So, my idea for the news show is to utilize my previous experience in international extemporaneous speaking and provide analysis of current events while answering questions that could come up in actual coming rounds during speech and debate tournaments. I will pull my questions from Extemp Central, which does a good job of regularly posting relevant questions on a weekly basis. In each episode, I will answer one question to the best of my ability, doing research and practicing what I'm going to say before I shoot the video. It's newsy without becoming 'entertainment', it's something I can do by myself, and it's something that I think can be of value beyond the speech community. Below are some of the most recent questions that I want to tackle:

• Is Benghazi the next Watergate?*
• Will the U.S. launch a manned mission to Mars by 2030?
• Will Mark Sanford’s victory assist the Democrats in enhancing their appeal to female voters in 2014?
• Can Jeb Bush escape his brother’s shadow and win the presidency in 2016?
• How should the Department of Defense handle new allegations of sexual assault in the military?
• Will the U.S. Senate approve the UN arms trade treaty?
• In regards to the Middle East peace process, can China succeed where the United States has failed?
• What steps does Pope Francis need to take to enhance Catholicism’s reputation in Europe?
• Is natural gas the global energy source of the future?
• What can the international community do to encourage more corporate responsibility in areas of the developing world?

*Definitely tackling this one for my first episode, even though it probably is the most controversial of the selected topics.

What About "All is On with Allison?"

This name, which is the name of the blog if you haven't noticed, was what my fiancee suggested I name the news show. Although it's good, and the name was originally for a political radio show, I really don't think it's a good fit. I don't like that it positions me as the star as the show, which is not what I want because I do want to have the flexibility to expand it to include a panel of experts in the future to discuss these issues. I also don't think "all is on" fits either. I don't think all is on, at least with this show.

Actually, after all this. I think I just thought of a great name for my news show: "Fresh Interpretations." That's what I hope to provide with these videos, and I believe that I am doing something that at least the mainstream media isn't doing. With some of the proposed topics, I don't think the main news sources are asking those questions and providing that specific insight. It also reflects on what I do best: offering a new perspective and doing something better than the rest.

Okay, so after all that, I might not have needed any of your help at all. I just needed to listen to the first few bars of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" and I just came up with it all on my own. Who knew jazz was so inspiration and so good at getting the juice flowing?

So... About That Video

I know yesterday I said that I was going to make my first video and get it up on YouTube. That didn't happen, or else you would have heard about that. It's not that I didn't try. I ran into a few obstacles along the way.

The Oblivion Video

With Oblivion, I made the character. I tested the software I had downloaded to see how it worked and to see how good it caught my voice and the audio. However, when I recorded a minute of game play, I stopped it because I wasn't sure if it was still catching the audio since I was still wearing a headset. This is when I discovered that it didn't catch any of the game visuals. It was only catching the desktop. So, I couldn't make an Oblivion video and that made me very sad.

The Poker Video

However, that did not stop me! I decided that what I can do is make a video of myself playing poker. I would accomplish the same things, except that it would either be a short or long video depending on how long I lasted in the tournament. So, I actually started recording myself! I got 12 minutes of recording done, and actually learned a few things (there's no evidence of this 12 minutes because I deleted it, but it's not wasted time I promised). Here's what I learned throughout this whole little recording, making my first video ordeal:

• Talking while I'm Playing Poker is Really Tough - I found that trying to play and to say what I'm thinking is very difficult, and probably hinders my ability to play my very best. Communicating my ideas and thought processes only slows down those processes, and trying to explain what I'm doing and what others are doing is tough to keep straight to do before the hand ends. Perhaps poker videos just aren't my thing, at least not yet.
• I Do Need to Plan What I'm Going to Say - Even though I do have experience in impromptu and extemporaneous speaking, I do think I do need to plan some of what I'm going to say. At the very least, I could outline my introduction and a few big points that I want to mention in the video. Obviously, more planning is going to happen for the talk show, the nightly news show, and any other shows that I do.
• I Need More Practice at This - After the 12 minutes, I continued to play and to speak as if the camera was still rolling. If I'm going to do these types of videos, I do need to practice constantly talking and having something to say. The big reason why I deleted the 12 minutes is because there were too many instances where I didn't say anything for several seconds. I would have had to throw out most of it in editing anyway.

Still Testing Software

Today, I spent time looking for a solution to the Oblivion problem, of which I am still researching and testing. First, I looked for an option to play Oblivion in a window, versus the full-screen takeover, and there is no such option (unless its been disabled with one of the mods, but I don't think so). Then, I looked at recording software that's designed for video games, and I found one that's highly rated. It took some trial and error to get the hot keys right, so starting and stopping recordings is easy and doesn't interfere with the game play. I think I have something, but the first one I tried froze the game and I had to reboot. I'll have to try again to see if it was just a one time thing.

That's where I am in this whole video thing. I needed to take a break and write this post before getting back to the problem. Hopefully, it's just about solved and I can actually make a video today. If not, then I might just do a powerpoint or me talking or something. By now, I need to start making some videos and getting some things up on YouTube.