Category: Life

Learning, Life

Toastmasters Level 3 Achieved

Posted on by Josh Welch

Toastmaster’s training program called Pathways has one complete a series of speeches. I’ve completed my 6th, 7th and 8th speech in the series named, “Dynamic Leadership”.

In chronological order:

  • Creating Effective Visual Aids – “Cooking Omelets Three Ways”, the speech was done in my kitchen as I cooked! I had fun, though Jacques Pepin has nothing to worry about.
  • Connect with Your Audience – “Sharing Our Toastmaster Experience”, as people collectively made a word cloud
  • Negotiation Styles – a research paper on various negotiation styles used in business to achieving common shared goals.

Data Analysis, Life

As Time Goes By: Coronavirus

Posted on by Josh Welch

Here is my third presentation in the coronavirus series, where I focus on and summarize six aspects of the situation:

  • Coronavirus case load in Italy, US, New York state and Oregon
  • Perspective of Public Health
  • Viewpoint of the general public
  • Collapse of Business
  • Review of President Trump’s strengths
  • Leadership in the US

Leading to my conclusion:

  • The next 6-12 months is unpredictable. The virus remains constantly contagious. While people’s behavior stopped the initial peak. Currently the variables of peoples’ behavior of mask wearing and social distancing, with conflicting messages from American leadership is simply unpredictable.
Data Analysis, Life

My “Coronavirus Overview”

Posted on by Josh Welch

We see many great articles about specific topics about the coronavirus situation. I was having trouble fitting all the details together to form an overview of the situation I could understand. So I researched, and then put together this video.

  • Combining the initial “keep the peak down” chart
  • John Hopkins University’s great work on tracking case information
    • US/Other countries & Oregon/Other states
  • Timelines over the next year
  • Some components of the situation

Hopefully, you will find the video helpful. I had a lot of fun making it!

Life

Open-source Art! Japanese Wood Blocks

Posted on by Josh Welch

I’m amazed by what I stumble upon. A neat example: wonderful Japanese wood blocks. In a recent blog, “500 Japanese Woodblock Prints from Van Gogh’s Collection Are Now Available to Download” by Jessica Steward on MyModernMet.com.  Both Jessica and the Van Gogh Museum provide a wonderful introduction and explanation of this printing method.

If you want even more: ukiyo-e.org has over 200,000 Japanese wood blocks. Their focus is on the huge collection, rather than the presentation. To quote Ms. Steward in a blog post from Sept., 2017, “Ukiyo-e.org is a digital archive that collates collections from 24 museums, libraries, auction houses, and art dealers around the world. By uniting the individual collections, there are several interesting features that make Ukiyo-e.org a top destination for anyone interested in Japanese printmaking. Aside from the ability to search by institution, artist, and time period, you can also upload an image to see if there are any similar prints in the database. And, once you click on an entry, similar prints in the archive also appear, allowing you to click through and see the differences in color and quality.”  Check out this wood block by my fav Yoshida Hiroshi.

Want to try your hand at making a woodblock? Woodblock Printing How To.

Enjoy!