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Disney and Shuttle Launch Trip Data!

2011-07-12T16:38:00.001-04:00

Some fun trip data! On this trip we:

Drove the car 1865 miles total

Had we biked the trip would have taken 7 days and 11 hours and would have been 2,082 miles
Had we walked it would have taken 25 days 11 hours but would have only been 1,902 miles

Spent roughly 37 hours in the car out of the 93 hours total (roughly 40% of the trip).

Stopped in five cities:

Savannah, GA (Huey's)
Titusville, FL
Christmas, FL (Swampy!)
Orlando, FL
Buena Vista, FL (part of Disney);
Lumberton, NC (Shoney's)

Took over 1000 pictures (assumption, as Kenny and mine alone are 600+ and those on facebook from CM and Allison are another few hundred)
Saw one 2030 Ton shuttle launch four astronauts into space

It took 8.5 minutes to get to space

Each solid rocket booster contains 1.1 million pounds of fuel and burn for 125 seconds = 8800 lbs/sec

Super Cool Fact: the fuel in the SRBs (the white boosters o neither side of the tank) is rubbery. They mold it in such a way as to produce an 11-point starred figure exposing the maximum possible surface area of fuel during ignition to maximize efficiency.

The external fuel tank contains fuel for the shuttles three rear engines. The liquid oxygen and hydrogen are kept separate in the tank and pumped to the engines at 1,035 gallons fuel per second where they burn (at 99% efficiency - most efficient engines ever built) for 522 seconds.

Spent 54 hours on the Disney Property (according to foursquare checkins/checkouts)
Visited four Disney parks, two resorts, one swimming pool, two boats and enjoyed over 30 rides, shows and fun places.
Lost one jumper.

Here's a link to our map:

View Florida Shuttle & Disney Adventure in a larger map

A Look Back at 2010

2010-12-29T22:56:00.000-05:00

Being productive while traveling sans iPad can be a bit of a challenge, but thanks to Google's partnership with GoGoInFlight Internet we're all able to share a little bit of bandwidth while airborne. How did I use mine? Looking at the news of the day, exploring the iTunes store and creating this very post.

Gazing out into the night at the orange highway lights snaking across the dark landscape I realized 2010 is about to end and I haven't created my 2010's Favorite Music list. I hear you faithful readers (I think I might have one) and I've responded in force. This year – as every year – it's an eclectic mix of tunes. While not every track on the list dropped in 2010, they will forever be entrenched as the Soundtrack of 2010.

What does the last year mean to me? It was the end of graduate school, and the splitting of friendships with some of my favorite classmates. Some of those were maintained, while others are still sadly absent, however life continues. A plethora of internships from the J-Lab to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the end of an intense two-month search for employment that balanced my new education and my old excitement for media culminating in my employment at Discovery. As my professional life blossomed , my social life did as well, with new and old friends growing and creating families of their own, marriages started and babies popped out. I even became a bit of a dancer at the clubs of DC. We can't forget the long distance relationship which became a close-quarters relationship as I stepped into the new frontier in living with a significant other. While the year was hard, everything I worked for made everything I won that much better. Now with out further ado, the 2010 Soundtrack!

Ke$ha – Tik Tok iTunes link
Weezer – I Want You To iTunes link
Zac Brown Band – Chicken Fried iTunes link
Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody iTunes link
Bear McCreary – Battlestar Sonatica iTunes link
Lade Gaga – Telephone (feat. Beyonce) iTunes link
The Strange Boys – Be Brave iTunes link
Jay-Z – Run This Town (feat. Kanye West & Rihanna) iTunes link
Girls – Lust for Life iTunes link
OK Go – This Too Shall Pass iTunes link
LMFAO – I'm In Miami Bitch iTunes link
The Magnetic Fields – The Book of Love iTunes link
The Fratellis – For the Girl iTunes link
Brandtson – Earthquakes and Sharks iTunes link
Sex Bob-omb – We Are Sex Bob-omb iTunes link
Katy Perry – California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg) iTunes link
Cee Lo Green – Fuck You iTunes link
The Black Keys – Girl Is On My Mind
Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma iTunes link
Naughty by Nature – Feel Me Flow iTunes link
Daft Punk – Robot Rock iTunes link

Thanks for reading my blog, for some of you it's been since 2005 and for others there's lots of archives! See you in 2011!!

Auld Lang Syne,

Trace

Airline Humor: In-Flight to Michigan Edition

2010-12-22T11:42:00.001-05:00

No items or high heels permitted in the twisty slide! This guy knows that with those kickin corduroys on he's gonna fly down this thing, thus the parachute he's obtrusively hidden under his sweater. Notice the boxiness at the shoulders.

Attn: Hipsters please grab your iPads before using the side door to "peace." ... Assholes... Stupid skinny jeans and white boat shoes...

And finally, don't jump out of the airplane when there is 1988 video game debris a.k.a. "Watch For Asteroids."

This has been a little airline in flight humor. Thank you.

I'm on my mobile, apologies for brevity.

Don't Ask Don't Tell, Don't Stop!

2010-12-22T10:11:00.001-05:00

It'll be hard to fight against gay rights now.

America's open and free armed forces fight for our freedoms, are we not going to fight for theirs?

These men an women will die abroad for you. Try telling these brave souls they cant marry their love when they get home!

Huzzah for the Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I tweeted it! I didn't tell anyone!

2010-08-26T08:50:00.000-04:00

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Via: ISTOCKPHOTO"][/caption]

Not long ago, a friend of my finally graduated from college and got her bachelors degree (congrats!), but the thing is, while we are close friends she neglected to mention it to me. Instead, I found out via Twitter. Now, finding information via Twitter is nothing new for someone as Tweeted out as myself, however this was one of those funny times when she'd been so excited she had actually forgot to tell me!

Later in the day, I sent her an IM and she spilled the news. I congratulated her and jokingly asked why I'd read it on Twitter hours before and she said, "I just tweeted it! I didn't tell anyone!"

That comment gave me pause right away. Is that really what she meant? Later she realized her mistake and said, not that I didn't tell anyone, but I didn't tell anyone.

Has our sharing become so autonomous that this girl didn't think twice in telling her Tweeps about her recent successes, yet didn't actually think of it as exclaiming to a public feed? Are wires crossed in our heads? Isn't Twitter a digital equivalent of shouting in a crowded square?

According to a Scientific American from 2008, we might have something crossed. "Public sharing of private lives has led to a rethinking of our current conceptions of privacy." We don't really think about privacy in the way that we used to. I sat with my Grandma recently, she was asking me what I was going to do now that I've got my MA in Public Communication and what that meant. I went on to talk about social media, new media, and how the world of information is growing and becoming more personalized. She shuddered and said, "It all sounds so narcissistic and petty to me. I'm glad I'm not involved in any of that... What happened to people's sense of privacy?"

Grandma's got it right. What did happen to our sense of privacy? YouTube is America's Funniest Home Video's run amok, Facebook and Twitter and Foursquare (of FB Places if you prefer) all want us to share all of our information with each other constantly... It's a barrage of personal data that we used to keep to our chests and now we're throwing into cyberspace (yep, remember that word?) on a daily, hourly, or minutely(?) basis! It's a little crazy if you think about it too much.

How can we not think of sharing as... well sharing? I'm not sure, maybe I'll tweet about it and see if I can get any responses...

Break Out Adventure

2010-08-12T09:27:00.000-04:00

The Problem

I, like many of my fellows, love my iPhone, but sometimes I just wish it was a bit more convenient to use. For example, when in New York City or DC there are 10 million* WiFi networks. When walking around, my iPhone pops up with a little notification every time I use an app that accesses the Internet:

Stop! I don't want to join your network!

To turn off these pop-ups I can either disable WiFi or Disable the Notifications in the WiFi menu... However, either option requires me to go to Page 2 of my Home screen, tap Settings, scroll to and tap WiFi, then tap to toggle Notifications to Off or toggle WiFi to Off.

The whole process is simply arduous. Especially when an Android phone can put a toggle right on the home screen. This is just one example of the hoop-jumping iPhone users subjected to proprietary software. There are other examples, but I think we all get the point.

A Solution

JAILBREAK! Get that iPhone out of Apple's exclusive grip: now without legal ramifications (instead only violates Apple's terms and conditions).

Jailbreaking your iPhone is a simple process. It does not damage your iPhone in any way, and is (usually) completely reversible. Think of it as a new case for your iPhone, you can try it out, and if you don't like it, take it off and you're back to normal. I've done it many times with my iPhone 3G. In fact, not long ago I jailbroke my iPhone.
Specifically, I wanted to install a piece of software that would tackle a few problems I felt were too maddening to ignore. For example, toggling Bluetooth or WiFi to save battery, the ability to show a battery percentage on a 3G, and a few other minor tweaks. It seemed to me, jailbreaking was the only viable solution.

The Breakout

As it turns out, Jailbreaking is even simpler than the last time I tried it (over a year ago). I downloaded a simple piece of software, ran it on my computer with my iPhone plugged in, and 15 minutes later the phone rebooted with my custom boot screen:

Simple. Colorful. Apple-ish. Jailbroken.

I smiled to myself and began my new life with a Jailbroken iPhone. I was happy, for the moment... To explain the process would be silly, as there are literally dozens of websites that explain how to Jailbreak your iPhone, but in simplest terms the reason to do so is:

Jailbreaking allows the iPhone to install Non-Apple-approved apps.

It installs Cydia, a gigantic hacker version of the app store.

and it allows users to customize the user interfaces (i.e. sounds, wallpapers, ringtones) without too much trouble.

Because of this, many users spend hours trolling the Cydia apps and checking all the things you can customize, but not me, I was on a mission.The first thing I did, was remove the bulky "AT&T" carrier name, replacing it with "Crap," I also tweaked the battery percentage. This was a big one for me, as I could now see exactly how much battery I had left, rather than squinting with one eye at the little battery icon attempting to discern its approximate life. I also installed SBSettings.SBSettings comes in the form of a drop-down menu. It is always there, hidden at the top of your iPhone screen and accessible without leaving a call or closing an app. It allows for the Toggling of WiFi (no more menus), Bluetooth (no more draining battery for no reason), 3G (sometimes 3G service is buggy in DC), and numerous others (SSH, Brightness, etc).

SBSettings. Swipe the status bar at the top and it drops down over whatever you are doing.

Touch the status bar again, and it disappears. It's always there... waiting...

Again, I was happy... for a while. I thought I had everything I wanted. I could see my battery percentage, knew the date and time at a glance, and when I wasn't using it, my Bluetooth was only a swipe away from giving my battery a rest.

The Madness

As it the week floated by, I came to realize the few trivial things I changed were great, but what about my SMS Tone? The iPhone comes with only six. There is no way to add a new tone (without Jailbreaking) and I had been using the only good one for 18 months! Unfortunately, so was everyone else... *ping**ping*!

I began to search for a way to alter the SMS Tone. I spent at least three hours on this attempt and finally made my own, custom SMS tone. FYI, I decided on the power up sound from Super Mario Bros. NES: the sound of little Mario becoming BIG Mario. Awesome, right?

Then, I said to myself, why not have a custom lock screen (the screen the iPhone shows when the phone is locked) I could have anything I want! what power… The lock screen buttons, bars, text... everything! Everything is customizable!

Two hours later (at 4AM) I had a customized lock screen with colorful sliders, custom text and a new wallpaper. I woke up the next morning and decided I didn't like any of the previous night's decisions. And began the process anew.

Next, I thought, why not some fancy ringtones?! I can get any ringtone I want! This Cydia App Store has hundreds! After that, I could get a custom icon for the service level, replacing the boring lowercase "at&t" THEN, a custom background when the phone is NOT locked and then perhaps new icons, and THEN...
You get the idea…

The Conclusion

Today, exactly a week after Jailbreaking my iPhone, I am restoring it to factory settings.

I spent this week with Jailbreak Madness only to realize, Jailbreaking is a waste of my time.

The first sign was when I hit the home button, and nothing happened for 3 or 4 seconds. The iPhone was starting to become bogged down with all these little tweaks. Next, was when I would spend an hour playing with settings, only to return the phone to how it was before I began my playings.

My iPhone had become more than just a phone; more than a useful device; it had become an omnipresent distraction; a never-ending project of exploration into the various customizable interfaces, wallpapers, icons and sounds that a computer can replicate.

Today, I restored my iPhone to factory settings and closed Pandora's box. Some things are better left under the regulation and control of Steve Jobs' minimalist regime.

The Wayback Machine

2010-07-25T17:42:00.000-04:00

As a kid, I watched Peabody and Sherman go back in time and check out twisted history, it was always entertaining, and while silly, the idea of twisted history similar to how we look at the Internet.

In the Internet sea there are few rocks. Have you ever been exploring the Internet in search of a page that you absolutely know exists and you just can't seem to find it?

The internet is constantly changing. It's in the Internet's DNA. Everything is updating and re-evaluating, deleting and adding. Google or Bing are really amazing resources to show you what the internet has now, but what about what the internet had back then? Do you even know how to look back in to Interwebs' past?

This week, I was auditing Bloom Grocery's social media and website, however, near the end of the week-long project, Bloom updated their outreach. This update, aside from adding exactly what I was recommending, changed their website. What does one do? How do we go back? This is where Archive.org's Wayback Machine is useful.

Archive.org is the Internet Archive project offers permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the public to historical collections that exist in digital format. To put it more simply, they archive the whole internet (or a lot of it) and save it for access later.

To use the system is simple, access Archive.org and use the Wayback Machine right in the middle of the page, type your favorite website, like Facebook.com or Apple.com and look back into the past.

[caption id="attachment_210" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Left: 2010 Apple.com || Right: 1997 Apple.com"][/caption]

Researchers can use the Wayback Machine to see how the internet has evolved, and even how some websites and user experiences have changed. While this is not specifically social media, it does show us how things have gone. Imaging trying to study the United States only looking at how it is right NOW, with now not identifying a specific time, but simply the present. It would be terrible! The Archive.org project is helpful (fun) and interesting. I highly suggest you check it out.

Is Twitter A Step Back?

2010-07-14T15:38:00.000-04:00

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As social media becomes more and more accepted as "just plain media," there are more and more tools and platforms to use this new social mediascape. In July 2006, Twitter launched to lukewarm fanfare, and gradually increased in popularity. As Twitter becomes the half-brother of Facebook – often mentioned as an aside – we start to study it for societal influence and opinion formulation. I love Twitter, I use it every day, every hour even, but isn't Twitter a step backward?

What is Twitter about? It's kind of like conversing on a train. It's about sending information out into the public timeline and sharing that information with whomever wants to listen. You can talk to me, but random people chose to listen in, or shut you out, listening and creating their own conversation.

In comparison...

What is Facebook about? Facebook is like being invited to a private party. It's about connecting a real person who has added interests, information, photos, purchasing decisions and using this as a digital representation of their personality. It's like a suburban backyard BBQ, next to a shopping mall. I don't even see the next party over unless I'm out looking for it, networking style.

Explained:
Why Trace, why do you say such horrible things about our little happy tweeting friend?! Bottom line, Twitter is a point to multi-point communication tool, not like Facebook. Ashton Kutcher can tweet at his 1.5 million followers who can re-tweet him and talk about him, but can they talk to him? Sort of. It's possible, theoretically, but it assumes a lot on Ashton's part.

Twitter isn't about building a community necessarily, but it's about talking and hoping you can get people to listen and share with you and share you stuff. It's similar to a modern version of newspapers and books. You write it, send it to a bunch of subscribers and then they might share it with a friend (like a retweet) and then if they like it they'll subscribe (follow) you too! It's new school meets old school.

In closing I have some questions comparing Twitter and Facebook...

Can you share personal information with each other easily on Twitter?
Sort of... if you're following each other than you can direct message otherwise... you have to post it in public

Can you lean about the profile of the person who is tweeting?
If they put it in their little bio then sure!

Does it make you feel like you're connected with a person?
Hell yes! Lots of people!

Does it create a personal conversation?
Sometimes... see above... we can always @ each other...

Does it foster an engaged community?
This is the question I'm want answered.

I'm not making a Twitter v. Facebook value judgement. They are both valuable, as Ashton wouldn't want 1.5 million Facebook friends, but I am curious, does anyone else feel this way, or are they more engaged than I am? Do people mind conversing in a public space? Does Ashton actually respond (or care) about his followers?

I guess I'll have to do some research next time I get some academic support... next time.

Augmented Reality is Simply, Simple.

2010-07-05T16:14:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite programs of the rarely used pieces of Android or iPhone software is called Augmented Reality (AR). The idea is to use the devices' internal cameras to overlay digital information on real life video.

A popular example is the Yelp app. Yelp has been able to perform AR since the iPhone 3GS, but with the new iOS4 it's even quicker and more precise.

To use it, open Yelp and switch to the Map view of the nearby Yelp reviewed establishments, touch the Monocle button and simply hold up your phone as if to look through it. The map becomes a video display of what is "behind" the phone, with the Yelp reviewed establishments overlain complete with names and star ratings. Plus, if you turn, the phone knows the direction you're facing adjusting your "Monocle" accordingly.

Image courtesy Technologizer.com

A mobile phone of today, is not at all what you thought it was in 1998 or even in 2005. Since the new Android and iOS operating systems, phones have become miniature computer-replacements, with processing power that rivals computers of only a few years ago.

In fact, back in 2002, Apple's portable iBook G3 was the premiere Mac mobile technology. According to the Apple website the iBook was designed to accompany you everywhere, just like a mobile phone is now. The iBook had a 700 MHz G3 processor, up to 30GB hard drive space, and with either 128 or 256MB of RAM.

The processing power of the iBook, while impressive in 2002, is comparable to the recently released iPhone 4 (which has 1GHz processor, 32GB hard drive, and 512MB RAM)! Through this powerful, yet superbly mobile, software platform, developers now perform tasks unimaginable even eight years ago on the iBook.

Yelp's is just one of many uses of augmented reality. Another, explained by Amy Webb of the Webb Media Group, is a dating app, where your "matches" are displayed on the screen. You can read their reviews and see how far away they are from your current GPS location before deciding if you want to have a meet up.

The ultimately AR is designed to use information from reality and send it to a database in order to retrieve more specific information. A popular use for AR, is with photo instead of live video. Google Goggles (available only on the Android system) allows you to search the web using photos taken on your phone. SnapTell and SaveBenjamins on the iPhone are similar. There are also “scanners” that allow photos of barcodes and "Tags" to be searched as well.

Some other ways it might be implemented in PR, Consumer products or even simple navigation!

Politics/Advocacy: Perhaps to find voting registration or Tabling for certain candidates.
Shopping: Never ask where the Sale table or clearance section is again.
Navigation: No more stupid cartoon interface, you could see "through" the phone at the road behind it.

The bottom line is, augmented reality is still in its infancy, but it is a promising technology with dozens of interesting possible applications. For now I'm going to use it to find a Mexican restaurant!

Having the "Employ Me" talk

2010-07-05T11:34:00.000-04:00

Interns of the world hold many positions and have a variety of skills to learn, but inevitably there comes the day when you want to have "the talk" with your employer. I've been at Discovery for a couple of months now and I feel that it is about time to start considering ways to bring up the employment question. Is there a chance I could be working for them after August?

According there are a few tips for turning internships into jobs.

Networking

Never ever dismiss an opportunity to meet a new face at your internship, whether they are important or not. Just because a person isn't in charge of hiring, or isn't your direct boss, does not mean you can't benefit from knowing them!

These people all know others who can point you toward a friend who can help you get a job. As the President of International Distribution for Discovery said to some interns just last week, "This may not be your first job, and it won't be your last." The important thing is to keep a positive attitude and shake lots of hands. The more people you know, the more likely you'll have a friend to connect to when you need one.

Don't Lounge

Facebook and Twitter are excellent distractions, but if they're not part of your job, then avoid them during your internship. This may seem like a "duh" moment, but when interns get bored or think no one is watching, I've seen many an intern go off the rails and fall into social networking.

Be Professional

This is a common tip you see when applying for internships. Being professional is very important, but being OVERLY professional can be a negative. When starting at Discovery, one of the first questions I asked was concerning the dress code. Dressing properly is, of course, only one of the points of professionalism, but it's the more visible of them. I don't say dressing professionally, is always suiting up, it's different in every office. Some employers require shirts and ties, slacks and blouses, where others require jeans with a polo or a nice top. Over-dressing can obstruct you fitting into the culture of your employer, which is one of the measures of evaluation your boss will be looking for when hiring.

Be Confident

When looking to breach the potential of employment opportunity, don't blurt, plan. Be strategic and look for a good segue into the conversation. Ultimately, they wouldn't have taken you into the internship in the first place had you not been an interesting candidate, but dropping all pretense and acting without tact is not the best course of action.

Don't Count The Eggs Your Basket

Again, a "duh" moment, but don't put all your hopes and dreams into your internship. Some internships are not meant to create a hiring pools. Some are simply for exposure to company culture, and a way to explore your future while expanding your skill-set. Long story short, apply for jobs outside of your internship. If nothing else, it would add to you confidence if you are offered employ somewhere else.

****

For me, Discovery feels like a really good fit. I'm still applying for jobs elsewhere, but awaiting a chance to act upon this potential employer!

BP Might Care, But Probably Not

2010-06-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard of it by now you're probably living under a rock. BP Global PR on Twitter is an extremely popular parody account. Started by an anonymous person on May 19th, the account is definitely a parody, though it gives no indication of being so. Currently it has over 179,000 Followers and tweets rather humorous PR-like statements regarding the BP Oil Spill.

This brings into question, as a PR professional, how can you control a message in this situation? Is it even possible?! The account has been up for a month now, is still active, and seems to be prospering. On the other hand, BP_America the official BP account on twitter (for… America… wanted to point that out just in case) has only 16,000 followers and is mostly an object of ridicule in the Twitterverse.

What can be done? In this extreme situation, probably nothing, but it is an example of the worst Social Media job in the world right now, working for BP’s twitter.

UPDATE: @BPGlobalPR speaking at TEDxOilSpill on June 28th.

This guy speaking at TED today is famous for starting a Twitter account. He now donates money to charity and has become a famous tweeter - simply because he wanted to poke fun at BP. He says started the twitter account because he felt it was frustrating BP hadn't done anything yet and wanted to get information out there.

"People thought we were real! What does that say about America?," he says from under his ski mask,"We're to bad news, we're used to corporations responding poorly to bad news! We just expect it."

He continues, "Having a brand means you stand for something. If you lie, than lying is your brand."

Leroy: "I'm just a guy that had an idea and I ran with it."

He ends with a strong call to action, saying, "If you want to change things then face them dead on. If you think the status quo is unacceptable, then don't accept it. If we face the present that's the only way we're going to learn, progress."

At the end of his few minutes on stage Leroy concluded with a message to BP. "Your brand is dead," he says,"Get over it. Quit working on that and instead, work on fixing the Gulf! What if you said you were sorry and you meant it? What if you admitted your mistakes? What if you were genuine? [paraphrased]"

These are all great points, and I wonder why BP's actual PR weren't asking them of themselves. For me, it says a lot when a guy who started a Twitter account speaks at TED, rather than a supposedly innovative multinational energy company, like BP. Leroy of BPGlobalPR is right about one thing. BP's brand isn't dead, but it's crippled.

Facebook Fans, What Are They Worth?

2010-06-15T18:35:00.000-04:00

So as Facebook updates again and again, constantly revitalizing its systems to try to keep up with the landscape of the internet, we all sit there and get pissed off.

Few things have remained constant, but the idea of Liking or "Being a Fan" of something has been around long enough that people have been able to academically study it.

Recently, a social media measurement firm called Syncapse has come up with an actual dollar value and published it in a report for all to read. You probably never thought Fanning something would be of interest to a brand, you just Like them. But Syncapse studied the Fans of the top brands on Facebook and came up with some interesting conclusions.

To break the suspense, a fan is worth about $136. How do they know you ask? Well, they broke it down and thought strategically. They considered Product Spending, Loyalty, Propensity to Recommend (word-of-mouth, very important), Brand Affinity, Media Value and Acquisition Cost.

They took these metrics and studied people who were Fans of products like Skittles, Oreos, Coca-cola, Adidas, Blackberry, Victoria's Secret or Starbucks (to name only a few) and compared them to those that were not Fans.

What did they discover when they studied these groups?

On average, fans spend an additional $71.84 on products for which they are fans compared to those who are not fans.

Fans are 28% more likely than non-fans to continue using the brand.

Fans are 41% more likely than non-fans to recommend a fanned product to their friends.

So what?

Well, this means Fans are more loyal, more likely to tell their friends about the brand (and more importantly recommend a purchase) and are more likely to buy something themselves!

Curious about more details? The must have Fan were those of McDonalds, who are frequent visitors to their establishments, are highly loyal, frequently refer others, and actively participate in the McDonald's Facebook community. Because of all these metrics and the Fan effort the average McDonald’s fan netted the organization a value of $259.82.

Conclusion...

This is crazy! Why don't these brands pay people, Google style, for recommending their brands? Maybe someday they will, but for now, I am going to login into my girlfriend's Facebook account and Fan Victoria's Secret...

Generational Differences

2010-06-12T17:46:00.000-04:00

Recently, I read Millennial Makeover by Winograd and Hais. The book describes how politics differs with today's younger generation, the Millennials. Millennials are positive and are likely to think they are unique and special (just like everyone else). They are likely to think they will not do as well as their parents, but are confident things will be okay. Millennials were born from 1982-2003. This generation is more liberal than conservative, supportive of gay rights (but not necessarily marriage) and are more sexually liberated than their parents – tho cognizant of the dangers. Reading the above you are probably thinking one of a few things.

"Wow, that sounds just like me!"

"Hey, that's not like me at all..."

"Sheesh, those generalizations sure are serious."

I'm going to focus on the third, as that is the most relevant to my thoughts here. Reading this book, my thoughts are immediately conflicted. Firstly, I think of many of these as descriptions of my own character. After all, my mother told me I was special often, and I am confident everything will be okay, even if I know I will never get social security... However, the idea that we can be grouped into 20 year groups of similarity was distressing.

There are many differences to our upbringing over the others, and I've never been more conscious of this since starting internships and job hunting. Many months back, when I started my Masters program, classmates, professors and colleagues would ask me the seminal question, "What do you want to DO?"

This was my least favorite question. Ever. I was always confused. The job market isn't a prix fixe, it's a buffet. As far as I am concerned, the better question has always been, "What don't you want to do?"

For example, if people ask you your favorite food when you've only had one meal how could you give a proper answer? If one thing is holding us together as a generation, aside from the girl power and gay pride, its the guarantee that we will all have multiple careers. Gone are the days when an employee starts at the bottom and works up to CEO. Instead, we millennials will find careers that fit as we grow. When we've filled the box we're in, we'll move to a new box and begin to fill again.

My point? Lets define our generation with positivity and acceptance, but also recognize that we NEED our positivity. We need to believe that our careers do not define us, but through our career we can create definitions that keep us happy, learning, and excited.

OFA progress goes, “Oof!”

2010-06-11T15:09:00.000-04:00

Since electing the most wired President in history – and I'm not talking about the coffee & nicotine –Obama for America Campaign has become Organizing for America (OFA) and subsequently lost its mojo. After Obama's victory lap and OFA's absorbtion into the DNC fundraising machine; it became just another mindless direct-mail system. Asking us to spend small amounts of money and sending us email after email after email after email after email. Which is why we all left MoveOn.org in the first place.

The DNC took the OFA and transformed them into the Borg. For those of you that missed the cultural staple that is Star Trek the Next Generation (STNG): the Borg were not a Swedish rock band, but a race of beings that valued the collective over the individual. The Borg assimilated humans & aliens alike, implanting strange lasers, giant metal chest pieces and leg augmentations that looked painful and generally impeded their forward motion. The Borg were the symbol of synergy and collectivism to the point of degradation of any excitement and emotion. Your MBA professor would be thrilled. These part-man part-machine beings were emotionless, grey and did what was best for the collective, often sacrificing their own humanity (alienity?) to serve the hive-mind.

Sometimes, I feel the Borg are around us today in the form of media empires, political parties, cable providers, air transportation companies, cheerleading squads and energy conglomerates. No matter what you do, you can't cheer for what is important to you or so-help-her Britney will come down off that pyramid and give you a piece of her mind!

Looking back on the Obama for America Campaign (OfAC), I remember how proud I was OfAC were using these new tools to frame and target their messages. They were being different! My excitement was more about the use of the technology and the genial, sincere, messages coming from the email-writers.

Politics was personal again. OfAC took politics from the 18th century and shot it just over the line into the 21st. While the 2008 campaigns were new and exciting, there were those dragged kicking into this new world. As of now there are still hundreds of Congress members not on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or whatever. There are still dozens of Congress members who are on these services who don't have any real connection to them at all. Preferring to staff them out to interns who they believe more familiar with the technology.

This was the difference between OfAC and OFA. OfAC was like the Federation (the good guys); going boldly where no one had gone before, whereas with OFA resistance is futile.

Facebook Sells Your Profile

2010-06-06T20:41:00.000-04:00

Recently, a friend of mine graduated from college interviewed with a large DC tank. This girl is Facebook savvy and keeps out both "The Man" and "Strangers" using the strictest privacy settings possible. As she says, "If I'm not friends with you, then all you know is I exist."

For an aspiring job hunter in the nation's capitol, she's made the right online privacy decisions, right? Wrong.

My friend made three major mistakes. She friended her professional references on Facebook. She assumed her privacy settings actually protected her. And she didn't anticipate her Facebook security guards were looking for a little extra cash.

Lately, Facebook is probably one of the top trending net topics. Readers have read concerns about privacy protection, information sharing, and unauthorized or impersonal privacy settings, but no one is asking the obvious question...

When you protect your data, who are you keeping out? I would postulate, you think you're protecting your data from The Man or Strangers and yet, you'd be wrong. You're more likely protecting them from your Ex or the weird guy in the next cubicle.

Previously, ReclaimPrivacy.org – prior to the recent FB update – would scan your privacy settings and report back what you were broadcasting to whom. With tools like ReclaimPrivacy you could safely assume a tagged birthday photo was safe from the prying eyes of future square employers and the government's conformity spies. You had control over what you posted, and who could see what you or others shared. However, thinking this way was my friend's first mistake.

As a young college graduate, she had never held a "real" job, and her network of transient positions generated a number of references. To keep in contact with these important professional critics she networked with them via Facebook. She assumed Facebook protected her, and even consulted her academic advisor to ensure friended references would be appropriate. Her advisors gave her the thumbs up, and Facebook assured her these connections would be kept private. Trusting Facebook was mistake number two.

My friend nailed her interview, provided references and spent her weekend excitedly awaiting a presumed positive response. Mistake number three was assuming Facebook gave a crap about her. Facebook's guards knew a back way in, for the right price. For a fee, this potential employer circumvented all of my friend's privacy settings perusing her profile as if they were her best friend. The employer read wall posts, saw conversations with references and even learned she was dating a co-worker who she had provided as a reference. While concern is legitimate, the issue is this ethical backdoor.

Facebook is selling our friendships anyone who wants our information. For the right price, Facebook arranges for your privacy settings to take break, allowing these privacy thieves a run on your data. No amount of privacy controls can stop the intruders. As I understand it, they are allowed to roam your profile security free, completely circumventing any privacy settings.

Luckily, a mutual connection to the employer called my friend and tipped her off to the employers' strategy. She re-sent the potential employer new, NON-Facebook-Friend references and is now nervously awaiting their response.

Could my friend have avoided this situation? Maybe. With better academic advice, better job references and better reference preparation she might have been okay. But the more important problem is, the ransacking of her information while her privacy settings sat helpless.

With this revealed, how do you feel about your privacy settings? Ask yourself again, who are you protecting your information from? The Man or Strangers? How much is it your information worth to a potential employer? To the government? To advertisers?

In reality, you might only be protecting your data from average Facebookers, and probably your Ex. For your sake I hope they don't have the finances to pay-to-play on your profile.

The Hint Caravan

2010-06-06T20:15:00.000-04:00

Understanding the Internet is more than reading a book or playing Farmville. This, the five guys that wrote the Cluetrain Manifesto understand. While they admit they don't understand the true purpose of the web – "telephones are for talking to people... what's the web for."

This ten-year anniversary addition almost doubles the original book published in 2000. IT contains new information discovered since the before our Web 2.0 generation. Back in 2000, before the popularity of the social web, before Facebook, MySpace or Twitter had taken over the bandwidth this book said something outrageous. "Markets are conversations."

This simple idea was a revolution in 2000, and the Internet was the best driving force behind these conversations. Today, we take this idea for granted. The idea that outside of a barbershop or store aisle we the consumers can have a true conversation regarding the products or policies of our favorite providers.

Unlike some of my other posts, today I felt this book is too important to pick apart. It's an Eastern philosophy of the internet. The authors looked at the Internet how an Amish person might design an Internet scheme. I read earlier this month how the Web increases our hand-eye coordination but decreases our critical thinking. This book is fantastic for those who have never thought critically about webspace. For those of us that who have, it becomes more of a How-to-explain book. It's more of a crash course of more of an eastern school web.

Just Another Obama Campaign Commentary

2010-06-02T12:57:00.000-04:00

In the 2008 election, Obama and the media had no love lost between them (practically speaking) in comparison to his opposition (both during the primary and the general elections). This was in part supported by Obama’s media-buy being twice as much as others. (Source: Edelman Digital, January 2009)

During the 2008 Obama’s internet communications strategy aimed at concrete, focused and measurable goals, this is something all communications campaigns must do. Measurement to ensures reproduction.

“Even with the relatively vast resources at hand, Obama’s internet communications staff built carefully, innovated only as needed, and invested in projects that seemed to have a real chance of paying off in time to win.” says Delany in Learning from Obama on ePolitics101.

Obama’s campaign (in part by crowdsourcing volunteers) took a leaf from Apple’s book. Utilizing social networking, iPhone apps and this new-fangled Internet thingy. No longer were the gatekeepers the political parties, the status quo, or the network/cable media. Dr. Stephen Covey says, "Seek first to understand, then be understood.” These strategies did exactly that; the Obama campaign listened more than any political candidate since citizens could ring the White House doorbell.

According to Edelman the keys to a good campaign are also the keys to good business

Start early

Build to scale

Innovate where necessary; do everything else incrementally better

Make it easy to find, forward and act

Pick where you want to play

Channel online enthusiasm into specific, targeted activities that further the campaign’s goals

Integrate online advocacy into every element of the campaign

The question is, with the prevalence of social websites, will the strategies used by Obama and categorized here by Edelman Digital work again? As social networking becomes the status quo, how will Obama reach constituencies who have begun to reject Facebook’s hydra-like connectiveness? American people are averse to astroturfing (the process of cultivated and forced grassroots campaigning) and are into the new. In 2007 Obama was new, and his approach felt genuine and unique to the political constituency.

What is the next step? The Obama campaign’s fundraising workhorse was a combination of email and a website donations — some three-quarters of the money they raised online was directly attributable to an email solicitation. Ultimately, however, Obama took those donations to the traditional ad-buy and blanket media strategy. His difference? He listened and reminded Americans it was about ALL of us, not just him. He wanted to be our representative and he seemed to give a crap. That was rare.

During my research, it became apparent people enjoy contribution; they receive strong feelings of efficacy and reinforcement from simple participation. Additionally, grassroots groups get much of their support from canvassing and tabling. Obama’s campaign took these strategies further, canvassing virtually – through email – and cybertabling – through Facebook, MySpace and their 13 other social connection sites. Even his social network (MyBarackObama.com) had 2 million profiles.

My point is, the era of baby-boomer politics is ending. It seems to this writer that as Generation X, Gen. Y and the Millennial’s age, we are asking different questions. We want job security, social connections, transparency, honesty and trust. Old fashioned wants with new words and virtual facilitation. In today’s era of environmentalism, conservatism, progressivism, independentism, tea party-ism and globalism, these generations want something radical: politicians who listen to their concerns.

Social networking offers a channel directly to the President or your representative akin to living on the same block in the 1950s. This year, YouTube presented Obama a group of user-submitted questions, broadcasting his responses to the Internet like a virtual town hall.

The future, as Yussi Pick implied in a presentation last week, is mobile. Mobile platforms can elicit instant donations, calls, or outreach. Plus, with the GPS features individuals find locations for instant rallies and meetings and with mobile cameras that connect to blogging, RSS and social networks everyone can be an activist, journalist or propagandist.

Obama won in 2008 by taking traditional political strategy online, moving the tables, stickers, pins and badges of yesteryear to a virtual system. What comes next? Who mobile phones that connect to each other wirelessly to videoconference activists around the country? Tablet computers that allow live broadcasting and transcripts of exit-polling and election results? Pointing your mobile phone’s video camera up to the world and being shown through augmented reality the nearest protests, voting stations, rallies or press offices?

Either way it is going to be exciting. And as a side note, I posted this using my iPhone.

We’ve Got Your Number: Mobile Campaign Strategy

2010-05-26T10:49:00.000-04:00

These days, everyone has a shortcode and some type of bandwagon-style promotion, (Text PORK to 234O2 and get a free HAM!) But the question isn't availability, it's viability. Why should your company or your campaign go through the trouble of a mobile campaign? The short answer, because there are 4.6 billion mobile phones worldwide which means a potential for 4.6 billion impressions, donations or contacts.

Reading MobileActive.org's Guide to Using Mobile Phones for Civic Engagement you can learn, through relatively simplistic terms, the basics of mobile advocacy. The first major success when using mobile phones for advocacy in the United States (according to MobileActive) was during the 2004 Republican National Convention (RNC). The protests during the RNC were highly publicized and the police in New York City were well prepared. To counteract this, the local organizers set up a hub to focus their efforts. The hub was the command center and from here the protests could be controlled, news is sent to groups on where police actions were weakest and information could be provided to relevant persons; all done via mobile phones and text messaging.

This is a huge accomplishment. As a young teenager I worked at an annual festival on the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. There was a carnival midway, games, a craft/art show, and blocks of activities. My best friend's father was on the board of directors, so we both volunteered. My best friend got a walkie-talkie. I was jealous. I relished an opportunity to use the walkie-talkie to distribute information to other volunteers, listen for feedback and communicate through this special back-channel just for the organizers. Essentially, the protests at the 2004 RNC did the same, but simpler and quicker.

People were sorted into groups, lawyers to protect civil rights, medical staff for injuries, photographers/videographers for visuals, et cetera. These specializations' mobile numbers were then (probably) added to a database. Voila! No longer did they need to have radios (like Riverfest) for each group. With a few clicks and a keyboard the protest organizers could disseminate information and direct protesters quickly and easily.

Technology like this is still in use today, Haiti, the Tsunami, Katrina; all coordinated and managed using massive amounts of donations, volunteers, and information using mobile phones. Mobile phones and the Internet are similar to the printing presses of the 1500s. Instead of creating flyers, handouts, newspapers and books; we're creating little digital messages and networks of information.

Humans now disseminate information easier, cheaper, and quicker. We can now create advocacy groups across the globe to attack or defend other groups and coordinate our information through text messaging and mobile social networking. Even a drunks can participate! On the popular website Texts from Last Night, one user posted, "(219): Rather than putting your name in guys phones, you just texted 90999 to donate $10 to Haiti and then gave it back to them."

Before getting too excited, only send out text messages when you have a specific, actionable item that can engage, inform and motivate all at the same time. Otherwise you can destroy your network. A stray typo, a wrong hit of the send button and you could end up like another Text From Last Night: "(440): I did my dad and i had to keep going back there to pick up coffee" Punctuation would have made this sentence much clearer.

Another tip? NEVER send multiple text messages in series. If you can't get your copy a 140 character text, don't serialize it. Firstly, you can't forward on multiple texts as easily as a single text. Secondly, people will ignore it. They will simply get bored!

Now, get out there and use your mobile phone to spread some good!

Mind Is Blown, Then Content-Aware Filled

2010-05-25T10:32:00.000-04:00

Adobe Photoshop CS5 was recently made available to the public. After watching this video...

I downloaded the CS5 free trial and played with the new content-aware deletion and spot-brush features. Needless to say, I was absolutely excited and amazed.

I spent about 10 minutes playing with various photos and then downloaded a random Facebook photo from a friends feed and began to see what I could delete. 20 minutes later I had deleted 10 or 11 things from the photo below. Can you spot them all?!

Click on the image to zoom

The mind-blowing thing here is, I am not a Photoshop Expert. I've never taken a PS class. I've played with it for many years, but always considered myself at an Intermediate level. If a mid-level untrained photo editor can remove items from a low-quality Facebook photo, what kind of creations could a professional make?

Now thinking about the future... *KABLOOIE!* Mind. Is. Blown.

Bai Bai Birdie

2010-05-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

Reading The Argument by Matt Bai this week reminded me of reading another verbose publication. Then I realized Bai worked for the other, the New York Times. I enjoyed Bai's book, it was an interesting topic and is a relevant book for those interested in working with politics. It's important (and fun) to learn the behind-the-scenes of a political sphere, but when looking at the old democrats we can always find lots of interesting characters. Speaking of characters, I enjoyed how Bai often used literary designs usually relegated to the fictional writer to describe non-fiction characters; some of whom are still quite prominent in media and politics.

Bai's book was far from an eye opener, and closer to a narrative, but the book itself described many considerations sometimes readily apparent to the casual political observer. For example, people are more important that constituency. When asked who influences politicians, its not just the people of the district, state or country who elected the officials, but often other officials, lobbyists, friends and colleagues.

This comes as no surprise to many of us, but the reasoning behind it (while not surprising) is not often put forth. Insecurity. Doubt. Confusion. Not to say politicians are stupid, but they are people. In our society of strong media personalities, public relations, media relations and highly sensationalized and celebritized figures, it's strange to think that famous Americans are just another odd kid in a suit.

My favorite part of the book was the exposure of these celebrity leaders as not just politicians with talking points, but people who can be influenced by direct and purposeful information. People who can be spoken to like any other, befriended like any other, and argued with like any other.

As I like to tell my friends, "Even Obama has sit on the toilet to take a poop."

I’ll Be Creative In A Minute

2010-05-24T11:05:00.000-04:00

"I jumped, the sound hit ting me like a ton of bricks, drop ping my hot cof fee on the cat’s tail who ceased curl ing on the floor by my desk. I stood up from my office chair think ing I was lucky to be work ing from home, and went to investigate…"

OneWord.com is a recent discovery. My co-worker was using the StumbleUpon tool and literally stumbled upon this website. The site presents the user with a simple creative task. When you click the "Go" button, you’ll see one word at the top of the follow ing screen. A timer starts and you have only sixty seconds to write about it. The idea is not to think about what you're writing, but to just flow onto the page (er... screen?).

This is a bit more introspective then some of the other entries, but creativity, like strategic communication or strategy, needs cultivation to flourish. Strategy without creativity is easy to spot. Remember old strategic computer games? In one game I used to play, I knew how the computer would react to almost all of my moves, it always responded in the same ways. We are not programmed, we are taught. Unfortunately, some professionals can get caught up in the daily grind they forget to let their brains be creative. Pull messaging from no where, forget your publics, opinion leaders and followers for a minute and just write for the sake of writing. It's easy to forget how to do, and I myself panicked for the first few seconds thinking of the literal meaning of the word. I restarted, relaxed, and clicked "Go" again...

Creativity is important to all writing professionals, and this website is a simple way to remind us how easy creativity is forgotten.

My word was Clash. Whats yours?

Facebook & Twitter Activism

2010-05-19T11:08:00.000-04:00

Activism is an interesting monster. I once dated a girl who joined protest lines because she thought herself an activist. She believed in the protester's message, but was also looking to join in! Does joining up as you're walking make you an activist or something else?

Today we read about the activism using Facebook, Twitter and messaging for a specific group on USENET. From the readings (Facebook here and Twitter here) we discovered that activism using social networks is complex, but can e successful if done properly. The lessons focus on activism using social networking, specifically those launched via a social network.

Regarding Facebook, activists may become frustrated due to the limitations of the individual platforms, but many of the strategies concerning the worlds largest social network are also standard communication strategies. Being organized and strategizing a clear, concise message will go far even without a half million followers.

Twitter,is extremely useful for quick responses and notifications. Often news hits Twitter before the major news organizations and therefore is an excellent tool for organizing, rallying and sharing information quickly. Hashtags (#) are key when using Twitter for activism purposes. Make sure if you don't have one, you make one. When making a hashtag, don't be too common nor too crazy, and think strategically about the future. If there may be multiple years of the Save the Mayonnaise rally, then perhaps its best to use #SaveMayo2010?

Either way, Twitter is an easy way to interact with lots of people simply and easily, so make sure not to follow random people who you never want to see again, but also don't be too stingy. When I update Twitter (and Facebook) on my phone I use HootSuite's iPhone app and on my desktop I do the same with HootSuite's desktop app. I highly recommend them both as it is web-based so changes you make at home, or at work are reflected on your phone and everywhere else.

The general limitations of Facebook's look and feel can become a concern for many activists; as can the inability to send email to more than a few thousand followers at a time. Part of Facebook's success is its control over information, and hard-limitations on contacting and changing the layout of pages helps keep information streamlined and consistent. Due to these limitations, if you are an activist and want to create a Facebook activism group, recognize there will be limitations, and also create a static web presence. Spread your message to Facebook and use the real world to spread the organization to other activist organizations. In the case of the low barriers to participation, you don't want your Facebook group to become a mass of supporters without a focus, or you may end up with thousands of walk-up protesters.

As an aside to this weeks main learning points, I read Kliem's paper concerning USENET's Aryan/White Supremacist forums. The essay was disturbing and as strategic communication goes, academically consistent. Read it here and be surprised, any organization can use the power of communication to achieve their goals, even ones others may find unsavory.

The Photo, Made Creepy

2010-05-17T15:36:00.000-04:00

By now many of us have heard of DailyBooth, but for those that haven't... DailyBooth is a social networking/media site that allows users to upload a photo (similar to a visual status message).

With this in mind, were a Clark Kent impersonator to step into DailyBooth he would emerge not as superman, but as Robo.to a strange/creepy version of DailyBooth. Robo.to's website self-describes it as gathering "the latest about you into a tiny, easy to update, video-enabled calling card." These calling cards can then be embedded and used in place of some photos you see around the blogosphere.

Verdict? Creepy? Cool? Or a bit of both? To view my Robo.to go to: http://robo.to/td501

Here Comes Shirky & Friends

2010-05-17T14:06:00.000-04:00

My friend Becca recently moved to Australia to study. Before she left I asked a question that may have been ludicrous ten years ago, but no longer, "What is your blog?" What young-person moves to a new place without keeping a blog of their adventures? Becca updates her blog occasionally with short stories and insight about her experiences down under, but there was a catch. Becca asked me never to share her blog address, even with other co-workers. Becca was limiting her audience to only those she was interested in reaching - i.e. she filtered. Using one of Shirky's points, Becca is doing exactly what he said, writing for her friends, but posting in public view.

The fascinating thing is, Becca doesn't think of her blog as a public space. The question is, why? She grew up during not just the Internet age, but the Google age, where everything is searchable, and even posted her blog on Google's Blogger platform, instantly searchable via Google. Perhaps there is a deeper meaning here. Becca is using the same principle a spy in the movies would use... Speak freely in crowds. Perhaps Becca feels private, because there is so much else going around the Internet, who cares about one girl studying in Australia? She's lost in the murmur of the collective. Then again, perhaps she just doesn't care.

Reading the book, Shirky makes mention of various social networks, however the question for me is not whether the organizing can be achieved (we are reasonably confident it can) but what channels are best to use and how is best to use them?

Twitter, for example, is an excellent tool, however, much of it is syndicated information. Most tweeps who discuss personal experiences find it difficult to escape tweets about their current meal. On top of that while Twitter has over 70 million accounts there are only 15 million active tweeters (although those 15 million do send one billion tweets monthly).

Shirky goes on to discuss the speed of communication and the need to listen to the customer base. These points are both very important. For example, digital media is often an extra charge on PR billing invoices, however digital media is a necessity, not an option. Even small corporations, mom & pop's and individual entrepreneurs need to have some knowledge of digital media to truely succeed. Phone calls, letters and, in come cases, even email are too slow. Instant messaging, tweeting and facebook posts are the new succinct modes of person-to-business communication. Shirky supports this.

Coming from a tech/geeky background, and a firm believer that social networking and digital media is the future, Shirky's book spoke directly to my opinions and connected with my beliefs, providing support which I had internalized without evidence.

As things move forward, it is going to become increasingly important to hire a digital media expert (or many) to help manage your mobs of supporters, campaigners, friends and enemies otherwise they may organize without you.

No One Likes a Qwitter

2010-05-15T11:35:00.000-04:00

While using the 'ol Twitter this week, I realized I've lost a follower. Now, I know it's no big deal to lose a follower... but when you only have 190, a single follower is 0.5% of my overall user base!

During my Internet Advocacy class this semester, Rosenblatt has promised we will learn how to gain in followers, but in order to understand how you gain (easy looking at the Stats of # of clicks – I use Hootsuite) it's not as obvious when people leave. For that, my social discovery of the week is Qwitter, an unfollow tracker for those who tie their self worth to their number of followers.

Qwitter is a free tool which sends you an email digest regarding your weekly unfollows you. It even gives you the exact tweet which might have possibly caused your fan-loss.

Simple and easy, my favorite kind of geekyness. I'll check it out, maybe you should too, but don't worry, it's not what you know its who you follow... or maybe it's who follows you? We need to update these old sayings.

So, You Want to be a Successful Campaign?

2010-05-12T13:15:00.000-04:00

Engaging the public in an Internet age is not necessarily more difficult than engaging the public previously. If anything according to Rosenblatt, Delany and Rigby, it would seem to be easier to reach, offer influence and recruit individuals. The problem is not access, but organization and strategy.

The days of driving the megaphone through the center of town are not gone, but the megaphone has evolved into a series of electronic pages. Instead of driving it through town you create the data on a server and shout your message into people's email inboxes and social networks. Additionally, the campaign cannot use the hypodermic needle theory, they need to engage and respect their audience (who are often NOT the general public, but subsets of that public known as publics). In the age of engaged publics who can communicate and search for your campaign, you need to respect and value their input from the ground level. If you don't care, then why are you even soliciting it?

First, we must recognize how the public communicate. Rosenblatt says there are different ways of reaxching out and different ways the public communicate. One dimensional is one way communication, the campaign (you) to the public. Two dimensional adds the preference of the campaign to listen to what the public is saying, and the third dimension adds the ability for the public to communicate two-way with you, and each other.

For me, I feel the third dimension is almost more broad than it needs to be, coming from a science background I split the third dimension into a fourth (mentally speaking), a time dimension. Your public not only can communicate with you back and forth, and each other back and forth, but they have access to nearly unlimited background resources, and their communique are saved in the cloud forever; a searchable, history of the conversations your campaign and your publics have had since you launched your first website and sent your first emails.

With communication technology expanding into the Internet realm, the term Web 2.0 has become more and more popular. Rigby's book on mobilizing using Web 2.0 offers instructional bases for utilizing the various platforms of Web 2.0. Interestingly, he adds oft overlooked sections. The poster child for Internet campaigning, social networking, is only one part of the puzzle. Virtual worlds like World of Warcraft and Second Life can be used. So can mobile phones, wikis and even the act of embedding a map within a website.

Where Rosenblatt talks of the process of communicating with the public in a more general way, Delany discusses the campaign strategy in a step-by-step way. Breaking down the online formats into specific strategies. The word strategy is key here, as Delany makes implicit again and again, the key to a campaign's success is not the righteousness of the message but the organization, focus and deliberation that the goes into the marketing of that message.

DC's American Indian Museum is Not What You Expect

2010-05-10T00:05:00.003-04:00

Today, I visited the Museum of the American Indian here in DC. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the physical museum itself, as well as the thought put into the exhibits.

While the museum is not perfect, it was not at all what I'd expected. It has an interesting slant, but so do all museums. There was an exhibit on the top floor (where you are supposed to start) discussing how visitors are supposed to question the museum, discuss it, disagree with it, etc. They want you to engage in the museum, very cool stuff.

There was another bit about the lives of native peoples today and parts they play in modern society versus the continued connection with their ancient roots, a bit about the US Government regulating who "is" native and who "isn't," bits about native cultures, crafts, lifestyles, and many sorts of interesting things.

Regardless, the museum asking me to question it was something we never really are asked.

Most museums press their expertise upon their publics, asking them to listen and learn. We are supposed to accept them as the "Sage on the Stage" as one of my professors used to say. The MotAI was more of a "Guide on the Side" showing native culture from one view point or another and asking you to think critically.

We know history is based on primary sources, multiple secondary sources, oral traditions and whatnot, but really history is also based on the conjecture regarding that which is left behind. Conjecture, educated guesswork and theory conducts many things in the realm of history (as with other studies).

A Recent Personal Example: 150 years from now, if a historian were studying universities and halls of learning in Washington DC before the world changing insert event here and they dug up a primary source regarding my graduation ceremony yesterday: the Official American University 125th Commencement Program they would discover lists of names, majors, awards, honors, speakers and scholars. In it, were they looking for the famous Trace Dominguez, who supposedly attended American University around this year, they would never find me. My name is misspelled. History may forever be altered!

My point is, I think the museum is purposefully countering some points of American Indian history and emphasizing others, just like any museum, but it does so with transparency, unlike other museums.

Check it out!

The Museum of the American Indian's website is located here and is run by the Smithsonian Institute.

Open 10 AM–5:30 PM daily; closed December 25.

Apple's New iPhone? iPhone 4.0 Found at a Bar

2010-04-20T01:07:00.006-04:00

Beer is amazing, without it this never would have happened.

Someone dropped a prototype iPhone in a bar, it was picked up and found it's way into the hands of the kids over at Gizmodo (who may have even paid to get their mitts on it).

While it was active for a little while and able to be used, eventually it was remotely locked (possible via MobileMe). Gizmodo still took it apart and checked it out.

It has a removable battery and it's ugly, but then again it's just a prototype. Were it me, I would produce a product and improve the battery life simultaneously. This would mean, internally, the battery would be removable as the developers could be told, "Make the best battery for X-amount of space," and it could be tested in the prototype devices.

Form is important to customers, function is important to engineers, if the guy who lost it was an engineer, then this new iPhone 4 might be the new components in a 'temporary' casing.

Regardless the hardware is interesting, and my assumption is the WWDC (which has yet to be scheduled) will either come right away, or be postponed to let Apple pack a bit more into the soon-to-be continual best phone in the biz.

http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone

UPDATE: Gizmodo has since released an official letter from Apple requesting they return the device; basically admitting it was real all along. This is an amazing little tech story that you might just tell your little four-eyed grandchildren about, if you can meet a girl who agrees to hang out with you...

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/20/apple-demands-prototype-iphone-back/

Liveblog of PRSA Event

2010-04-13T09:58:00.003-04:00

Tom McMahon
Director Corporate and Government Relations
Twitter.com/Dctom
Twitter.com/Qwestnews

KEY TOOLS for PR:
Press release
Contacts
Talking pts - msging
Op-Eds
Fact Sheets, Collateral - backgrounders, Message facts, bullet points
Coalitions - other groups together with us
3rd Party Endorsements
Radio/Satellite Media Tours - everyones looking for content
News Clips - holy grail. Take that clip, use it
Influential blogs, post,

MATCHING NEW TOOLS:
Social media is not new.
BusinessWire, RSS, Blogs (press releases)
friends and followers are the same as subscribers and readers
Tweets, Statys Updates when a Release is filed (talking pts)
WebSites, Blogs are good for (op-eds)
Groups, fanpages, linkedin (coalitions)
Refs links retweets (endorsements)
Camcorder video, YouTube (media tours)
Retweets, comments, links, (news clips)

TweetBook - make a book of your Twitter history from a conference/event. Try it to get some analytics.

--------

Leslie Aun
World Wildlife Fund

Accounting is for accountants, communication is for everyone.

Produced VNR at MCI and then the Internet came, the world changed

WWF is not about endangered species, but mostly about climate issues. People hijack their brand. An ad agency in Brazil used WWF and created ads with 9/11 compares it to Climate change, submitted it and got an award. Never asked WWF. They didn't know until it was already out there.

Sodexo (French company) provided meals to the troops. Coailiton of the willing? French = cheese eating surrender monkeys.

They PRed with Hill and talked how they are indeed supporting troops, they provide thousands of jobs to Americans. This is measurable, sort of.

Find ways to tell story w/o spending too much or committing too many resources.

Earth Hour = good example. Can't compete with climate legislation as nonprofit but promoted in a way to get people in the right head space. (100 million Americans participated)

NUGGETS OF WISDOM:
Manage expectations, but dream big
PR is just one tool - think the old toolbox and new toolbox
Help people understand being quiet is just as important and being noisy
Taking small bites of a big enchilada (sic)
Chart out a path to the goal, milestones, etc
1st step: get Obama to go to copenhagen
2nd: get him there at the right TIME
3rd: get people on target
Stay FOCUSED, if you have money for 2 states but need 6. Just do the 2.

--------

John DiBiase
National Association of Realtors

Integration is impt.
1.2 million members - difficult to make members understand
Has not made us a direct democracy
Social media = old wine in new bottles
Twitter, linkedin, vehicle??
W/o good, concise clear message you aren't going anywhere
It's more dangerous now.
My perogative? "Don't piss off the Hill." harder with these tools.
Let go a little bit. We can't control retweets, but we can control strength of our own msg before it was tweeted.
Manage expectations, just bc the op-Ed is amazing doesn't mean the world is on that topic.
For the House Financial Services Committee? Fannie/Freddie reconstruct is a big deal, for Stephanopolos (refrence mine) but is a huge deal for their publics.

Elected officials are busy, people on the ground need the right message, and the best message.

"Don't send me any more videos I'm on dialup" - that always happens.

Flip side: There are people with iPads and iPhones.

It's a new world, but it's not as scary or different... Get in the water. You don't have to dive in, but get your toes, the ankles and wade.

If is doesn't make sense at 140 words, it won't at 140 characters, or 140,000 characters.

Throw the ball, hit the ball, catch the ball. Fundamentals. Message is king. Keep your message in mind and even writing for 140chars you need to actually WRITE a message.

Sorry you had to leave Erica a.k.a. "Funsize"

At least you got your... moneys... worth...?

Trace Dominguez
Masters Candidate
American University

Sent from my iPhone

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Who is House M.D.?

2010-04-07T00:29:00.004-04:00

With all my Capstone work, homework, internship hunt, summer-y weather, library days (and nights), and then pesky ACTUAL work, I haven't been using my free time to blog. Instead, I've been using my free time to write down IDEAS blogs while watching a smattering of television shows.

*Aside: I've also been reading a lot, I have a new subscription to WIRED and another to GQ, on top of all the class readings, podcasts of various news stories, reading of actual news stories and the two or three books I'm juggling (I forget how many) I've been reading a lot. :End Aside

Recently, I decided to take up the popular House M.D. for my viewing pleasure.

While watching the show I experienced a nagging feeling I'd seen it before. It took me 7 episodes before realizing who this Gregory House actually is.

I was disappointed, because as is consistent in our American culture, we hadn't invented our own compelling character, but instead we borrowed from another culture.

I'm sure sociologists or cultural anthropologists would put our character kleptomania down to a lack of unique or distinct cultural history; that being a country of immigrants, our original culture were richer, blah, blah, blah, but I digress.

We are borrowers... We don't usually make up our own crap. We all know so, and just off the top of my head (I swear I didn't even have to wiki it!) here are some relevant examples:

So You Think You Can Dance was based on an older BBC show Strictly Come Dancing - similar concept, but the BBC show had a very funny - and somewhat perverted old man host. Made the show infinitely more entertaining. He was never without a P.Y.T. on his arm.

American Idol, also copied from Britannia though they called it the X-Factor. I think Simon was even part of this one too. Correct me if I'm wrong Hyperwebs (and while your at it list some more show copies - if you can put in the effort to be a jerk, you may as well put in a little more and be helpful too).

Deal or No Deal? Yep, Britain - same name, but no stupid banker as a character in a darkened room upstairs. Instead the goateed host just spoke into a phone - probably just enabling his schizophrenia. Also, the people with boxes weren't models, but your friends and relatives. Try telling Grandma you don't want her box versus telling some beautiful woman in a dress... on second thought...

House uses his powers of observation, powerful sense of confidence, specialized training and deductive reasoning to solves the problems of rich and poor alike. All the while he bounces his ideas and theories after his group of colleagues who he talks down to but thoroughly respects. He has a drug problem and enjoys interesting tweed hats. Had I not mentioned House, you might be (as Brain often said to Pinky) pondering what I'm pondering...

In my view, House is in fact the detective Sherlock Holmes! He may have gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for that darn Hulu...

They share more than just a common peakyness , they have many similar characteristics, right down to a drug addiction; though Cocaine (similar to pain killers) wasn't considered a problem for the many users, but simply a tool to help the citizens of late 19th century London get through the day.

I just felt I should share this little cookie of realization, not for a particular purpose per se, but for my own amusement.

Deliciously, Hugh Laurie plays the sleuth in this picture and Watson was in fact a Medical Doctor, the allegory's abound...

Regardless of his honed American lispyness, he's still a Brit, playing an American, based on a Brit. Brilliant, Cheerio.

iPhone Jailbait

2010-03-27T13:25:00.008-04:00

The Problem

I, like many of my fellows, love my iPhone, but sometimes I just wish it was a bit more

convenient to use. For example, when in New York City or DC there are 10 million* wifi networks. When walking around, my iPhone pops up with a little notification every time I use an app that accesses the Internet:

Stop! I don't want to join your damn network!

* there are not really 10 million wifi networks, but there are a lot of them

To turn off these pop-ups I can either disable WiFi or Disable the Notifications. Either options requires me to go to Page 2 of my home screen, tap Settings, scroll to and WiFi, then tap to toggle Notifications to Off or toggle WiFi to Off.

The whole process is long and arduous. Especially when my brother's Android based phone has a toggle right on his home screen. This is just one example of the hoop-jumping iPhone users are subjected to by Apple. There are other examples, but I think we all get the point.

The Solution

JAILBREAK! Get that iPhone out of Apple's exclusive grip!

Jailbreaking your iPhone is a simple process. It does not damage your iPhone in any way, and is completely reversible. Think of it as a new case for your iPhone, you can try it out, and if you don't like it, take it off and you're back to normal.

Earlier this week I Jailbroke(?) my iPhone. I wanted to install a piece of software that would tackle a few specific problems. Turning Bluetooth or WiFi on and off to save battery, the ability to show a battery bar percentage (only available on the 3Gs) and a few other minor tweaks. Jailbreaking one's iPhone is the only viable solution.

The Breakout

Simple. Colorful. Apple-maddening, because it's not the "official" boot screen

I smiled to myself and began my new life with a Jailbroken iPhone. I was happy, for the moment...

Jailbreaking allows the iPhone to install Non-Apple-approved appls (that's a mouthful).

It installs Cydia, a gigantic hacker version of the app store. Users spend hours trolling the apps and checking all the things you can customize, but I was on a mission.

The first thing I did, was remove the bulky "AT&T" carrier name replacing it with "Crap," this was a bit of a debbie-downer but I fixed that later... I also made a few other tweaks. The battery percentage was a big one. I also installed SBSettings.

SBSettings comes in the form of a drop-down menu. It is always there, hidden at the top of your screen accessible without leaving a call or closing another app. It allows for the Toggling of WiFi (no more menu hoops), Bluetooth (no more draining battery), 3G (sometimes 3G service is buggy), and numerous others (SSH, Brightness adjust, etc).

SBSettings. Swipe the statue bar at the top and it drops down over whatever you are doing.

Touch the status bar again, and it disappears. It's always there... waiting...

Again, I was happy... for a while. I thought I had everything I wanted. I could see my battery percentage, knew knew the date and time at a glance, and when I wasn't using it, my Bluetooth was only a swipe away from Off.

The Madness

I began to search for a way to alter the SMS Tone. I spent at least three hours on this endeavor finally having my own, custom SMS tone. FYI, I decided on the power up sound from Super Mario Bros. NES: the sound of little Mario becoming BIG Mario. Awesome, right?

Then, I said to myself, why not have a custom lock screen (the screen the iPhone shows when the phone is locked) I could have anything I want! THE POWER! The lock screen buttons, bars, text... everything can be customized!

Two hours later (@ 4AM) I had a customized lock screen with colorful sliders, custom text and a new wallpaper. I woke up the next morning and decided I didn't like any of the previous night's decisions.

Next, I thought, why not some fancy ringtones?! I can get any ringtone I want! This Cydia App Store has hundreds! Then, I could get a custom icon for the service level, replacing the boring lowercase "at&t." THEN, a custom background when the phone is NOT locked and then perhaps new icons, and THEN...

You get the idea.

The Conclusion

Today, exactly a week after Jailbreaking my iPhone, I am restoring it to factory settings. I spent this week with Jailbreak Madness only to realize, Jailbreaking is a waste of my time.

The first sign was when I hit the home button, and nothing happened for 3 or 4 seconds. The iPhone was starting to get bogged down running all these little tweaks. Next, was when I would spend an hour playing with settings, only to return the phone to how it had been at the beginning of the hour. My iPhone had become more than just a phone; more than a useful device; it had become an omnipresent distraction. A never-ending project of exploration into the various customizable interfaces, wallpapers, icons and sounds that a computer can replicate, but in the palm of my twitchy hand.

Today, I restored my iPhone and closed Pandora's box. Some things are better left under the regulation and control of Steve Jobs' minimalist regime.

USA is Not Going to Win the Men's Biathlon

2010-02-14T15:14:00.006-05:00

I just wanted to comment on how much I love the Olympics. Winter or Summer, they are both great. Today, while watching the Men's Biathlon (Sprint) which is a 10 kilometer race where you ski and then stop to shoot – once standing and once prone. There are five targets to shoot and depending on if you are standing or prone the athlete has to hit a grapefruit or golf ball sized target, respectively.

I know what you're thinking, what if they miss the target? I'm glad you asked. Depending on what round is being played (Sprint, Pursuit, Individual - et cetera) you either get a time penalty or you have to ski an extra 150 meter penalty lap. Harsh!

Men's Biathlon seems pretty interesting, this is one of my favorite parts about the Olympics, it's not about commercial time, it's not about bitchy millionaire professionals, it's about sports, and the people who are the best in the world.

Americans, by the way, are not so great at the Men's Biathlon. During the race, NBC commentator stated,"The biathlon has been part of the Winter Olympics since 1924." Thank's commentator man! Good historical lesson. He wasn't finished, he continued, "An American has never won a medal of any kind, and that is not gonna change today." Harsh, and funny.

Moral: I love the Olympics. You never get to see some of these competitions. People dedicate their lives to these pursuits and because they're not Football or Basketball they don't get the recognition. It's wonderful that the world can come together and fully appreciate these athletes for what they do, and not how much they get paid to do it.

50 States Movie Marathon! Success!

2010-01-27T23:43:00.005-05:00

We did it!! Here it is. Any corrections? Debates? Someone should hold this marathon. Maybe we could get TBS to do it...

Alabama - Forrest Gump

Alaska - Mystery, Alaska

Arizona - Raising Arizona

Arkansas - Walk the Line

California - The Wizard

Colorado - Dumb and Dumber

Connecticut - Mystic Pizza

Delaware - Wayne's World

District of Columbia - Mr Smith Visits Something something...

Florida - The Birdcage

Georgia - Gone With The Wind

Hawaii - Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Idaho - Napoleon Dynamite

Illinois - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Indiana - Christmas Story

Iowa - Field of Dreams

Kansas - Wizard of Oz

Kentucky - Elizabethtown

Louisiana - Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Maine - Shawshank Redemption

Maryland - Blair Witch Project

Massachusetts - Boondock Saints

Michigan - Grosse Point Blank

Minnesota - Miracle

Mississippi - O' Brother Where Art Thou

Missouri - Meet Me in St. Louis

Montana - Legends of the Fall

Nebraska - Children of the Corn

Nevada - The Hangover

New Hampshire - What About Bob

New Jersey - Clerks

New Mexico - High School Musical

New York - Ghostbusters

North Carolina - Cape Fear

North Dakota - Fargo

Ohio - Major League

Oklahoma - Twister

Oregon - The Goonies

Pennsylvania - Groundhog Day

Rhode Island - Me, Myself and Irene

South Carolina - Glory

South Dakota - North by Northwest

Tennessee - The Blindside

Texas - Fandango

Utah - SLC Punk

Vermont - Super Troopers

Virginia - Bourne Identity

Washington - 10 Things I Hate About You

West Virginia - October Sky

Wisconsin - American Movie

Wyoming - Close Encounters of the Third Kind

50 States Movie Marathon - Can We Do It?

2010-01-27T02:46:00.006-05:00

I am supposed to have an Endoscopy in a few hours (don't worry it's a relatively procedure), but I can't sleep. I was laying there, thinking about how to fall asleep when the idea popped in my head...

A 50 States Movie Marathon.

I couldn't help it, it just popped in there... Ghostbusters - New York, just thought of that now as I was typing!

I mean sure lets be honest with ourselves, Ghostbusters may not embody the entire state, but that's not the idea is it? The idea is every state has a movie who's main theme, their mantra, their setting or their goal is to get to, be in, talk about or refer to a state!

I mean, when I think of Illinois, I think of Chicago, and when I think of Chicago, I, like you, should be thinking of Ferris Beuller's Day Off.

When I think of an amazing, and I mean frickin' fantastic movie marathon. I usually think James Bond, but this is just... beyond amazing. Obviously, it would be spread out over weeks... maybe even a whole year... One movie a week for a year with two weeks off would be insane! But think of the pay off. Think of the geekery! You'd be a Nerdsation!

When I think of Alaska, I think of a town called Mystery.

But it's not always about cliché, for example, what prompted this whole thing was thinking about Grosse Point Blank - Michigan, not Escanaba in da Moonlight or 8 Mile. And then I started to think of other movies and even more outside the box...

California... CALIFORNIA! - The Wizard... The kid says California how many frickin' times!? Probably 38. That movie should be the movie for the marathon.

I don't know who follows this blog anymore, but I am sure that I have friends from most of the states of this union. Anyone have any other ideas? These are the ones that popped into my head, sometimes on accident... like Minnesota, weren't a lot of those boys from Lake Placid's Olympic Games in 1981's Miracle - (from) Minnesota?

Oregon, I couldn't think of anything but Oregon trail, then I remembered Orlando Bloom talking about being from Oregon, but that movie is about Elizabethtown - Tennessee.

Washington, when I thought of washington I thought of Seattle, and when I thought of Seattle I thought of grunge rock, which brought me to being Sleepless there... Sleepless in Seattle - Washington.

The point of my story is, think of some other states and post them in the comments! I will try and think of some too, but I have to say I might be out for a bit of the day tomorrow thanks to my procedure.

Note: Clichés are sometimes acceptable if the whole damn state is defined by it... Kansas for example, if you're not there anymore then you must be watching the Wizard of Oz - Kansas, and since we're in Twister country why not Twister? How do we connect em? Well the drama does center around Jo's auntie who lives in Wakita, Oklahoma! Twister - Oklahoma.

There are so few movies from Indiana that we'd have to watch Hoosiers or Rudy, that's pretty much all they have, the problem is Rudy sucks and so does Hoosiers, but what can you do. Hoosiers - Indiana.

Although sometimes, like in the case of Grosse Point Blank, it's important to completely defy the cliché, no one is denying the greatness of Leaving Las Vegas or Fear and Loathing, but perhaps these would be too obvious... how about a movie about Reno instead?

Then you get those weird states like Arizona, except that someone was obviously raised there, weren't they? Raising Arizona - Arizona

What about Virgina, where dozens of movies are set. Maybe there could be some kind of documentary or historical piece? I am not even sure... I open it up to you friends. Don't let me down. Lets get all the states!

Here's the states I listed so far in this post - Try not to duplicate, sorry if you don't like what I, or someone else posted, but this is just for fun so lets keep the intra-state rivalry to a minimum. I deftly avoided The-State-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named didn't I?

Alaska - Mystery, Alaska

Arizona - Raising Arizona

California - The Wizard

Indiana - Hoosiers

Illinois - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

New York - Ghostbusters

Michigan - Grosse Point Blank

Minnesota - Miracle

Oklahoma - Twister

Tennessee - Elizabethtown

Washington - Sleepless in Seattle

The object of the game is to name a movie that can be ascribed to the state you've paired it with. Be sure you give reason and try to avoid the obvious clichés! Good Luck!!

Price Writes New Song That Only Vikings Can (Want to?) Hear

2010-01-22T13:25:00.003-05:00

So, via Anna's Tumblr blog her roommate Kelly's genius is released.

"jkbasante:
in response to e-mailing my Prince-obsessed roommate the A.V. Club article on Mr. Purple Rain writing a song for the Minnesota Vikings:
?uestlove tweeted it a few hours ago and I retweeted, natch. I like that you sent this, it means I can add you to the list of people who will overwhelm me with text/facebook message IF he dies.

The song didn’t do much for me personally, but the fact that Prince decided to write a song about football definitely made me feel better.

In my fantasy, he is just straight-up chilling in his skybox with Larry Graham, drinking some Sanka and staring at the game with his hands steepled together.

Suddenly, he closes his eyes, and whispers:

“Children of earth. Don’t move. Jesus just sent me a blessing of the musical variety and I must investigate.”

He dashes out of the skybox, has his bodyguard carry him to his limo and races off to Paisley Park in record time.

A few hours later, a reporter at the local Fox affiliate hears a curious noise. A dove carrying a package is tapping its beak at a window. Surprised, he opens the window and the bird seemingly floats in, drops a CD on his desk and flits back out into the night sky.

Written on the CD in purple sharpie is the following phrase:

“A PrPl and GOLD Gift 4 U”

I think we all know what happens next. I have too much time on my hands.
Kelly Conniff, you are something else.
I wonder how many reblogs of this we can get. Kelly, you are my favorite."

And that my friends. Is amazing.

Here's the link to the video the screenshot is from. Yea. I love the circle... Looky here!

A Conversation on Autism

2010-01-14T00:20:00.002-05:00

T: autism

KKP: ...yes?

T: is it a disease? or just a different way to look at the human experience

KKP: well. the first thing to say is that people with autism don't want a cure, they want acceptance. That being said, living with autism in normal society is very difficult, so should it be possible to find a pre-natal cure (as likely the only potential cure would be pre-natal) then all resources should be exhausted to do so.

T: but, a cure implys a disease

KKP: no, you can cure "conditions" "abnormalities"

T: why cure it?

why not just accept it as a difference

like being black or asian

KKP: because the difficulties in being severely autistic are very different than the difficulties in being black.

where did this question originate?

T: i had honestly never once thought about it

but today someone on facebook posted a status update about how Autism wasn't a disease. IT wasn't a disorder that could or SHOULD be cured

Honestly, coming from a Behavioral Psychology background it never had occured to me that someone who was autistic wanted to be accepted as they were

KKP: well, take your own life as an example.

Was staying on ADD medications for the rest of your life an option, in your opinion?

T: if i had to, but i just didnt want to.

i wanted to be normal. I didn't want people to have to change for me. I wanted to be a better person. call it peer pressure, but really I just wanted to fit in.

KKP: well depending on the severity, people with autism don't necessarily have to, either.

T: i mean

thats like my ex-girlfriend

she has epilepsy and takes a medication that she says keeps her from remembering things

and she said to me once, "Someday i'll get a job where people accept the fact that i cant remember things, and they'll repeat things and be okay with it"

KKP: that's not likely.

T: thats what i told her

she got mad

KKP: i mean, unless she applies for a job openly stating she has a disability. then the employer would be aware and prepared to help

T: i advised her to "learn to write everything down. keep a planner! write things down as people tell you then you won't have to be told multiple times and you'll be self-sufficient."

she said i was mean and didnt understand.

she said she put stuff in her phone

i said your boss would have to accept you put it in your phone

but what if something happened?

you'll need to take care of yourself

she didnt like that

KKP: understandably.

T: a long story, but it comes back to this

how can a group of people claim to want acceptance, when they really want to fundamentally change how society looks at acceptance

acceptance is, "you're different, but we dont have to accomodate you"

acknowledging that someone is going to start self-stimulating in the middle of a meeting...

thats not acceptance thats accommodation.

Isn't it?

Another 'social issue'... gay marriage, for example

Isn't that acceptance? i don't have to change my life

if i had to watch people making out in Starbucks whereas I would have had before... that might be accommodation

KKP: haha

T: but who's to say there wont be an autistic person self-stimulating or a gay couple making out

This was a short conversation, and I really do not know my own opinion, but I would relish another crowd-sourcing experiment. My background is in the behavioral cure of autism. There was never a question, NEVER a question, about it being an accepted as an equal.

It is fascinating to me. I'm posting a link to Autism Speaks who I remember being an advocacy organization and the Autism Rights Movement page on Wikipedia. Let the discussion begin!

2009 Playlist

2010-01-05T13:41:00.004-05:00

For the last few years I've created a set of songs that remind me of that year for one reason or another... Here is 2009s!

*yes i was listening to GaGa when I made the screenshot... what of it. Deal with it.

Courtesy

2010-01-05T10:20:00.003-05:00

The recent days of public transportation activity have made me wonder. Why don't we give a damn?

Let me break it down for you. Our country has a low voter turnout, we don't volunteer our time to help people (unless we can donate on the internet), we text a friend in Seattle before talking to a stranger at the bar we're patronizing, we don't want to talk to others (so we put in our headphones), and we don't consider others when doing pretty much anything...

Why?

I can say these are just some of many things we could identify as "societal problems" or "social issues" but who are we really talking about? Aren't we just projecting these faults from individuals onto a faceless larger group? INDIVIDUALS who can make small adjustments and change the society or social or community or whatever-you-want-to-call-it-to-avoid-blame group?

New York City crime rates fell from record highs to record lows in the end of the last century. There have been many books written about why and many explanations offered; here is one more... Maybe people (individually) finally got fed up with crime? Maybe the culture of the city was no longer a petri dish for breeding crime. There's no proof, but then again many conjectures have been made so why not one more.

Long story short, when you're on an airplane next time, don't push people to get from the back to the front because you want to get off first. When you're on the train wait for people to exit before pushing past people to get the "best seat." When someone sneezes there's nothing wrong with saying, "bless you" or "gazunteit" or "salud" or "Damn! That was a good one!" When you're on the bus, don't block the aisle talking to your friend when people are standing in the cold waiting to get on.

Courtesy. Kindness. Friendly. Not Being An Asshole.

take your pick.

People may be assholes but like Red Green used to say, "I'm pullin' for ya'. We're all in this together."

Olde Friends

2010-01-01T20:04:00.004-05:00

There's something to be said about new friends. I sat in a classroom and performed group work with dozens of new people over the last few months, but how does that compare with these people I worked with at the Fort?

I'm not really sure.

Here I am on Mackinac Island in the middle of a limestone rock draped in snow harboring barely two digit temperatures... But in this building I am surrounded by warmth and friendship. While mushy, it sure does feel good.

"I've missed you guys... Some of you..." Joe just said. I agree with that sentiment. I miss these people; not that I want to live with them at the Mission House again, but I am happy to not have lost them to the throws of history.

2009

2009-12-31T22:40:00.001-05:00

2009. The year things started to happen. Again...

Talking with The Girlf(?) made me think. What's happened in 2009 that is so good? I moved to DC and started Graduate School, that's what.

I will look back on this year as the beginning of my coming out party (and I don't mean that I moved to DC and became a homo).

2009 is the year everything changed. I started the rest of my life. The saying goes, "The first day of the rest of your life." This may just be the first year of the rest of mine.

happy too those end and tan!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

An Open Letter to Kelley's Blog

2009-12-30T23:51:00.003-05:00

Dear Kelley's Blog,

This is Kelley's Boyf, in case you weren't aware. I wanted to inform you of the reasoning behind her recent behaviors. First and foremost I feel it is important to point out that she is not ignoring you, instead she is going in a new direction. With all of the end of semester exaustion and the excitement of Christmas she forgot that she had only blogged 45 of the 50 times! I recognize there is a possibility you may not have realized this, but it's true.

With this in mind I propose an alliance. Me, the Boyf, and you will have to find a way to actually get Pete (My brother's name for Kelley) to blog.

Some would say working on a project - like a blog - is all about inspiration, but Edison would say it has more to do with perspiration.

This makes one wonder if he wore extra deodorant when working in the lab.

Seriously though, Blog, Kelley still loves you. She wants you to be happy and full of wonderful content, but I feel like the timing was just off. Maybe you should just be friends and try again sometime in the future...

It's not you Blog, it's her.

I'm here if you need me.

Regards and Well Wishes,

Trace a.k.a. "The Boyf"

Shoppe

2009-12-30T00:02:00.001-05:00

Today was a shopping day. I went to best buy, two malls, macys, DSW, Comcast, and many other stores and establishments.
I've learned quite a few different rules ans observations.

1. You can go to Best Buy four times before you get really bored of the items at Best Buy. 2. You can go to target to loo for a digital camera and end up paying 30% of the original price.
3. Luggage sales are amazing after Christmas when the people working at Kohls forget to take their 50% off signs down when they put up their 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free' signs.
4. DSW only employs high schoolers with tight pants.
5. Macys has dressing rooms that only exist because BCGC? CBGB? ICUP?... Because the fashion company pays to have them there.
6. Don't let your guard down or you'll end up buying lots of great stuff... And Grama will give you a corona box full of Korbel Champagne.

A good day? Mmmmmmmmm hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Same jeans

2009-12-26T23:57:00.002-05:00

It's been days.

On Christmas Eve the girlfriend and I exchanged presents (or prezzies as the Brits say).

I received jeans and a new sweater and gave her the amazing Freedom Tray (www.freedomtray.com) and White Christmas on VHS. (HA, just kidding! I got it on DVD)

The next morning, I wanted to look good, so I woke up and looked good. However, I also wanted to dress nice so I put on my new clothes and went to gmas for the much contested and dramatized Family Xmas. It was a lot of fun, the food was great and I ended up seeing Kelley long after it was all over.

Another morning passes. I spend the entire boxing day in the "walk of shame" outfit. I even (attempt to) go to a Red Wings game.

I've decided I am now thoroughly breaking in my new jeans. It's been two days, I might sleep in metro Detroit tonight. Let's keep the party going.

>> end (46/50)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Blog-pology

2009-12-25T12:38:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas Friends & Readers! The Family Drama is what it is. It will not define Christmas, but will affect it.

I accidentally took Xmas Eve off from blogging. Looks like I'm getting a spanking!!

I wanted to say:

I feel like prize jerk.

MB was angry because of my last blog post. I wanted to say here and now that I apologize for any offense I made to His Girl and MB.

Apparently, I was a jerk for posting and His Girl was offended. That was not what I meant to accomplish, and in no way did I want to give the impression that His Girl was disliked in any way.

This blogger saw His Girl and MB at NogFest 10 days ago and had a great time. I don't know if the two of them enjoyed themselves, but hanging out with them was good fun. Egyptian Rat-Screw, Nog, Music, Friends and Family... Aside from the Nog, it's similar to what we can look forward to at Grandmas.

For those who participated in my Crowd-Sourcing... Thank you for commenting, the comments were insightful and heartfelt. I really appreciate it.

MB Commented as well, but I didn't want to air any more family drama to Teh Internets, so that comment was hidden.

Prior to this post (as I understand), MB was not planning on coming to Xmas Morning due to a combination of work and transportation issues. I wanted to specify that Grandma didn't say No Girls At All for Anything, it was just during the Present Exchange. Any number of reasons have been postulated, but regardless of the reason, friends (female or otherwise) are always welcome at the rest of our always secular Christmas festivities.

I hope anyone who knows the family wasn't shaken, and anyone that doesn't know: Our family will offer nothing but hospitality to those who come to Christmas - Family or not. I think our record speaks for itself there. Xmas Morning and Gift Exchanges can be awkward if gifts are not obtained for unexpected guests. Even more awkward, however, is waking up and having a stack of presents for MB and His Girl that we know will go unopened for some time.

Long story short. His Girl, I apologize if I hurt your feelings, you are welcome at Grandmas holiday and if you show up I will apologize again in person.

Family Angst

2009-12-23T18:42:00.002-05:00

It's too bad the ångström is already a unit of measure because family angst needs some kind of unit of measure.

I need some crowdsourcing on this. My Aunt and Uncle are coming from Texas on Thursday with my cousins (who are in their 20s). They stay at my Grandma's house and we all have Christmas together. This is the tradition. We've been doing this every Christmas for my entire life.

This year, Grandma (who hosts the event) said to my brother and I that she did not want any girls there. Basically implying Grandma wanted a 'family only' event.

I told the girlfriend and she was upset. Girlfriend didn't see the purpose. She felt that if I were to show up at any of her family events I would be welcome. It made me feel like she thought we were an unfriendly bunch jerks.

The girlfriend put up quite the fuss, but I told her that Grandma gets what she wants.

Passing the news on to those who it affected... Younger brother is single so that was no problem. Middle brother however... had a bit of an issue. Middle brother is dating a baby. She is the baby of a family, and you can tell. This girl is very nice, but she's got my brother by the balls.

If you are familiar with the narrative format then you might have picked up on the foreshadowing here. Middle Brother's baby girl wanted to come. MB called Grandma to ask if Baby could come.

An argument ensued. Pops felt that MB should have respected the wishes of Grandma. There was a shouting match, various phone calls and admissions of who cared the least about the other's opinions.

Now it seems MB isn't going to come to Christmas. On the ångström scale, this would be a pretty big family angst problem. Like 957 Å.

My question is:

Was Grandma out of line? Was Middle Brother out of line? Was Pops out of line for yelling at MB? Was Baby out of line?

I know someone fucked up, but who was it?

Post 2001 a Blog Odyssey?

2009-12-22T19:00:00.007-05:00

Without realizing it, I hit 200 posts on this blog.

I thought to commemorate this milestone I would post some analytics. Unfortunately, I don't really have any. So, I signed up for GoogleAnalytics. Maybe by post 300 I'll be able to give some actual stats... Instead I'll see what I can do...

I started this in Oct 2006. I did it because I was moving to Europe and wanted a way to keep people informed of what I was doing. If you're interested I highly recommend going back and checking out 2005/2006 archives.

I've done podcasting, pictures, quotes and all sorts of great stuff. Lived on two continents, dated various girls, lived with various great roommates and started grad school. It's a pretty great chronicle of my post-undergraduate mid-20s life.

Anyway, I am going to the Michigan Brewing Company so I don't have much time to discuss post 200 here on post 201, but heres my quarterly breakdown since the beginning!

It seems that 2008 was a bad year, but late 2009 is pretty awesome! Keep it up! I've had over 9,000 visitors in the last 3 years... and a lot more since the 50 posts in 50 days... I wonder if I can keep this up?

>> End (42?/50)

The 90s are the new 80s

2009-12-21T21:28:00.004-05:00

Why are the 80s in still. We need to get over them. You know what is better than the 80s? THE 90s!

Lets have a 90s revival. Beginning with the white tube socks pushed down and saggy, our 90s model will wear stonewashed light blue jeans complete with pre-sandblasted wear. On top our model is wearing a grey long sleeve waffle/thermal shirt. Over the waffle shirt our 90s model will sport a button-up plaid flannel playfully tied around his waist.

Once correctly dressed we need to grab the proper hairstyle, long, flat hair was really popular. Any facial hair is of course optional, but not altogether common.

Hats (if worn) should be either severely cupped and pre-worn/faded to imply cred'.

Shoes? All Airwalks all the time.

Of course this is just ONE of the many options available as the 90s was an era of versitility and diversity in fashion and character.

I think this look never really went out, maybe thats why it's not popular yet. However, the day kids start wearing Starter jackets will be a big push toward the next vintage revival.

While looking for a picture of a Michigan State University Starter Jacket I found this blog. It is funny:

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies
I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we s till be friends after this?'
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass20everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Yea, it was pretty good. Here's the link to the original: http://bit.ly/zl1lu

Be Somebody

2009-12-20T22:22:00.003-05:00

I used to be somebody.

In my circle of friends here in Michigan there used to be a running gag. "Trace knows everyone!" Ray used to say. It wasn't true, but I did have a number of excellent coincidences. I would go to the store and see people I knew, go to the bar and see people I knew, go to Disney World and see someone I knew... People started to think I knew everyone.

Tonight, I went to a restaurant and knew two of the servers. I think in this case it is more likely that I frequented this establishment.

I think my best coincidental meetings were both on trains.

The first was in London. The London Underground moves millions of people a day. One day, at random I boarded a car on the Central line in Europe's most populous city. Stepping into the car and sitting down I looked to my left and there were two people I knew.

The second was in DC. The Metro moves millions of people a day. Standing on the Red line platform in the Nation's Capitol was a friend of mine. We started talking and waiting for the train. When it stopped the two of us picked a door and walking into the car I saw another acquaintance! The three of us began to converse. As the train moved into another station and the doors opened I heard someone shout my name. It was yet another friend disembarking from the same car!

These were not isolated incidents, I have met random people in train stations, amusement parks, gas stations while on road trips, foreign countries and in various other strange places. Perhaps I have some kind of gift for running into random people... I wonder if I can use this skill of random serendipity and turn it into some kind of employment skill.

Does anyone else have these coincidences? Leave your favorite random meeting in the comments!

Smartest in the Family

2009-12-19T23:00:00.001-05:00

Today was the "Sibling Dinner" for my mom and her central family. In attendance were me, my mom, my dad, uncle Tom (aunt barb is sick), uncle Jim, aunt Nancy, aunt Carmen, uncle(?) Danny, uncle Eugene and his girlfriend (who's name I have forgotten).

The dinner was prime rib. Very tasty. And we had quite the spread of both food and alcohol. I don't get to see this side of my family often so I learned a lot about my cousins and the Emery side of things. One of my cousins' had a grease fire start while she was in the bathroom and it burned down her rented trailer home. I feel bad hearing on many levels when I hear things like that.

The family are all so friendly and so salt of the earth kind of people. They hunt and fish and build things and farm and are strong of will and mind... My uncle said to me, "Smartest one in the family!"

They are so proud of me. Tom almost cried when I hugged him goodbye. He kept saying he was so proud. I feel a little strange being an M.A. candidate from Washington D.C. with all of my farming/carnie family, but they make me want to work hard for them and for me.

Thanks uncle.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Margaritas

2009-12-18T23:36:00.001-05:00

Today I saw AVATAR. It was fantastic. 4 out of 5 stars. It was really good. I want to see it again now.

After the movie I ran some errands for my mother. I forget what it's like to be home sometimes. Mom and Dad bantering to no end. Our fat purebred Siamese wandering the house looking for love. My drunk of a brother telling mom to avoid getting his non-girlfriend a christmas present because it would send the wrong message.

My mom sent me on a number of random tasks: Austin Powers style. My mom watched me play Mario Bros. Wii for a while, and by watch I mean she sewed washcloths together with soap in them to give as gifts. While sewing she was watching LoveActually. "I might start singing in a minute." she warned.

Shortly afterward, I left.

Long story short 60oz of margarita makes everything better.

>> End Post (35/50)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Google Chrome for Mac

2009-12-17T18:39:00.004-05:00

For those of you that are Mac users, I hope you've downloaded Google's Chrome browser.

I am typing my post on it as we speak, and I've been using it for maybe 10 days now and it is fantastic.

The reviews talk a lot about the browser and it's speed in comparison to other browsers. I think that is important, but really a browser is not just about speed when loading a page, it's also about starting the program itself, ease of use and a number of other features.

Firstly, this is GoogleChrome BETA for Mac, so it is missing many of the features available on the Windows counterpart that as been out for some time now (I used Chrome for Vista before I switched). But even with the BETA "handicap" Chrome still offers a good browser for Mac.

My favorite thing about Chrome (because you can read a full review by someone who gets paid to do it rather than by me) is how fast it starts up. It seems almost instantaneous! I click on it in the dock and it's open, ready for me to type into it's glorious address/search bar.

I love the autocomplete for both searches and web addresses. I love the simplicity of the whole web experience, no stupid bars and tabs and pop-up areas to get in my way of seeing the web. Even the status bar (the little loading thing at the bottom left of the browser) slides out of the way of your mouse pointer, sometimes I just chase it around for fun... A game of Mouse and Bar...

Anyway, I highly recommend trying it out. It's not perfect yet, Facebook's chat bar doesn't like it, indicating some limits in the Java code yet, but overall it's fast, clean and simple. I like it.

Michigan Winters

2009-12-16T18:29:00.005-05:00

Michigan winters are cold. What with the biting wind, the snow and the wet feet. It's great. One of the best things about Michigan winters is how pretty they are. The big falling snowflakes and the rolling farmland covered in snow. All in all it is a really nice place.

Sadly, I can tell I am not as accustomed to the cold as I used to be.

D.C. has ruined me for real weather.

It rains there for days on end, but it has yet to get really cold.

I will have to resume laughing at my classmates from Maryland and Virginia who say it gets cold. Today's high in Michigan was 22º.

My friend Jill posted some great photos of Mackinac in the snow, I can't wait for New Years!!

Is a Twitter User a Twit?

2009-12-15T11:55:00.006-05:00

Today did a Tweet Experiement. I Tweeted (via Twitter) the following line:

"Is #Twitter interesting? intelligent? inspiring? insipid? what are your thoughts? Post them here: http://bit.ly/6RllpI"

With a link to the comment's section of this post. I wanted to see if anyone in the Twitter-verse (and the Facebook verse) I sent this into actually go two-ways with their communication.

I guess we'll see! I'll post the final results before midnight.

Well I guess no one cares. But those who do say:

It can be interesting and informative re: sharing news and ideas, but it can get old very fast! - E. Lawton, Mass.
loose #tweets sink fleets twitmate! - S. Henry
twitter is as retarded as this question - M. Vander"slut"

Long story short. No one reads my blog. Thanks guys!

>> End (33?/50)

My house.

2009-12-14T23:42:00.000-05:00

Today, I hung out with my family for a long while. My Dad and I installed Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro and my Mom and I bought gifts, wrapped them and made fun of my Dad.

Overall I'd say that hanging out with my parents is the same as it was in August before I left. They don't seem much older but my Mom does seem to be turning into and older lady.

She walked into the sun room with a glass of clear liquid in her hand...
"What's that?" I asked.
"Gin and tonic," she replied.
"Are you going out anytime soon?" Mom inquired.
"Nope," I said.
"Okay, because we are out of gin."

Now I stopped and thought, does she mean 'Go get me some lime flavored gin?' or did she mean, 'if you're not driving you could have one, but we are out of gin anyway.'

I'll never know, because I assumed the first and said,

"Sheesh Mom, if you take up smoking you could turn into a regular stereotype! - *drag* Go get me *wheeze* some gin! *cough*"

Dad collapses into fits of laughter.

This is what it's like at my house.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Playlist of Awesome!!1!

2009-12-13T23:17:00.004-05:00

I have to say, I've been out of school for only a weekend, and I already miss it. Not just the people involved but also the work. I know it's crazy, but this is why I went to graduate school. I didn't go because it was a bad job market or because I had just graduated and thought, "eh why not?" I went to learn new skills that can earn me a 'real job' and because this is something I've always been passionate about.

Long story short, I have a massive literature review due tomorrow. 20-25 pages on Internet video and it's power to shape messages. I put it off till the weekend in favor of more pertinent projects, now I am sitting in the Human Ecology building on Michigan State University campus typing my handwritten corrections and I honestly will miss doing work. It's crazy and I can't believe I am going to say it, but after three weeks of mind-numbing Michigan, I can only hope my brains are calm and ready for some more knowledge.

On another note, I used the iTunes genius to make a playlist based on a 90s Rap song, and the playlist is perhaps the best thing ever. Here's some highlights:

Boom Boom Boom - Outhere Brothers
Whoomp! (There It Is) - Tag Team
Come Baby Come - K7
Push It - Salt-N-Pepa
Shake Ya Tailfeather - Murphy Lee, Nelly & P. Diddy
Let Me Clear My Throat - DJ Kool
Me So Horny - 2 Live Crew
Miami - Will Smith
Right Thurr - Chingy
The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
Da Dip - Freak Nasty
Wild Thing - Tone-Loc
Shoop - Salt-N-Pepa
Country Grammar - Nelly
Apache - The Sugarhill Gang
1 2 3 4 (Sumpin' New) - Coolio
Whatta Man - Salt-N-Pepa
Wanna Be A Baller - Lil' Troy
Insane In The Brain - Cypress Hill
Hard Knock Life - Jay-Z
Bust a Move - Young MC
Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys
Ms Jackson - Outkast
Ugly - Bubba Sparxxx
My Name Is - Eminem
Can I Get A... - Jay-Z
The Message - Grandmaster Flash
Ghetto Supastar That Is What You Are - Pras, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Mya
Fresh Prince Of Bel Air - Will Smith
Parents Just Don't Understand - DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
Can I Kick It - A Tribe Called Quest
Sabatoge - Beastie Boys
We Be Clubbin - Ice Cube
Welcome to Atlanta - Ludacris
She Wont Let Me Fuck - Afroman
You Can Do It - Ice Cube feat Mack 10 & Ms Toi
Bring It All To Me - Blaque

Yes. It's good.

Delay of the Conchords

2009-12-12T12:19:00.004-05:00

I'm at the airport. My flight is delayed. Awesome. Thanks Delta/Northwest. Sorry, but once my Uncle Roy stopped working for you you went way downhill. Or maybe, to use flight terminology, you went into a steep dive.
In honor of my delay (and my good fortune at getting FREE WI-FI from Google. Love that company. Thanks Googs!) I am going to recall Eugene Mirman's story of Delta Airlines.

Eugene Mirman is a comedian that works with Flight of the Conchords, when I saw them live earlier this year he was their opener and told the audience a terrible story of loss and confusion. He flew Delta, the flight was crappy and then his baggage didn't make it. After many months it turned out his luggage had been delivered to someone else. It was sitting on this guy's porch and Delta had been called to move it. Never happened. Long story short he finally got a check from Delta for his lost items and used this money to print 1000s of postcards that he hands out at all of the Flight of the Conchords concerts and all of his shows.

The postcard (with a few edits because my mom might read this) is as follows

Dear Delta Airlines,

My name is ________. I am a fan of comedian and actor Eugene "horsedi*k" Mirman (who you may recognize from his small, recurring role on HBO's Flight of the Conchords). Mr. Mirman flew on your airline from Seattle to New York, where you lost his luggage.

Quick exposition: you delivered his luggage twice to the wrong address in Atlanta, GA, refused to pick it up, then said you would pick it up, then never came, and then told him to file a claim and wait to hear back within 10 weeks.

Eugene described his traumatic incident with your terrible airline on stage. As a result, I will never ever ever ever fly with you again. your airline is worse than someone dressing up like Hitler as a joke and not understanding why that's offensive. If your airline were drowning, I would save you, but give you a look like, "I can't believe I'm saving such an assh*le"

To make things right, if I were you, I'd formally apologize to Eugene on television, give him controlling stock in Delta Airlines or $10,000 (whichever is greater), and lastly make a video of yourself hitting yourself in the balls while going, "Why am I hitting myself?" and put it on youtube.

yours truly, _______

The front of the postcard is:

Genius. Thanks Eugene. If I find my copy of this I might actually send it.

The dumb and the short of it...

2009-12-11T19:03:00.004-05:00

As a hold-over from my time as a historic interpreter at the magnificent Fort Mackinac it often makes me upset when people use the words, "The Olden Days." The olden days is such vague terminology and usually presupposes something being better in the past, or often that people were dumber/shorter/leaner/stronger/funnier in the past.

I find most of these things silly. Especially the people were dumber/shorter.

First, the Dumber:

"I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?"

Fredrick Douglass, July 1852

How is it, that 157 years later, there are High School graduates, who probably wouldn't understand all of the words in the speech of a pre-abolitionist ex-slave. Who is dumber?

Now, the Shorter:

Many people look at buildings erected before 1900 and think to themselves (or out loud informing anyone who is nearby of their stupid incorrect assertions) that people, "sure were a lot shorter back in the olden days!"

Well, that my friend is what it is like to be incorrect. While people were shorter than modern Americans, the average was actually not SO short. According to a Plimoth plantation website specifically focused on height myths, todays average height is 5'9" for American Males and 5' 3.75"for American Females. Lets look at some numbers...

They then break them down throughout history:

Medieval (averages based on remains): M: 5’ 6 ¾" F: 5’ 1 ½"
Early 17th-century English: M: 5’ 6" F: 5’ ½"
American Colonists: M: 5’ 7 ½" F: 5’ 2 ¼"
1980s Britian: M: 5’ 7 ¾" F: 5’ 2 ¾"

So Mr. 6'0" I guess the grow 'em big and dumb in your county because as you can see, dating back to the Medieval times (no not that place where you don't get silverware - focus gigantor) you've gotten a whole 3" taller on average. Nice job. Good work. Go away.

Of course after all that... I went looking for the Tallest Man in the world and I found this:

He seems nice. I feel bad for him though. Poor fella.

Spicy drinks

2009-12-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

I have to say, alcohol should not be spicy. Yesterday, I ordered a beverage at Enology wine bar in Cleveland Park. It was called Sex on Fire and contained among other things Chipoltle Vodka.

At first, this sounded intreguing, but jn practice was not.

The drink arrived in a neckless martini glass and was a cloudy orange with a distinct smell of jalepeños.

Drinking it was a slow and laborious process, prompting discussion of Bloody Mary's as a template for spicy drinks. The agreement was that Bloody Mary's are acceptable but the Sex on Fire was not.

It was back-of-the-throat spicy with a bitter finish. Thoroughy different but also off-putting. Trace votes no.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

happy birthday?

2009-12-09T23:54:00.002-05:00

Today was going to be about how I downloaded the new Google Chrome Browser for Mac, but instead I went to a birthday party.

It strikes me that while I am now in Graduate School getting a Masters Degree, there is still inter-cohort drama. We are all working on advanced degrees here, and yet there's still the drama about one of the boys in class - who in this case may be the only single one...

Also, it was interesting to think how different people celebrate their birthday. I met a girl here at school who is really funny and interesting, she's very different from a lot of girls I know and she had her 25th birthday today. We went to a restaurant, had a beer and relaxed with some meatloaf and some friends. My mother had her 60th birthday today and she stayed in and was on the phone constantly. Family kept calling and calling wishing her a Happy Day.

I wonder how I will celebrate my next birthday... it will be the first birthday spent outside of Michigan. It's nice to be 27 and still have firsts...

Oh the weather outside is weather...

2009-12-08T23:12:00.003-05:00

Here I am at 75%. I have 75% of my work done for Grad Semester #1. I completely finished two classes, have only one paper to really "finish" as the other is a group paper and is more or less completed. The last days are upon me.

Tomorrow, I have to select what sites I want to visit during my New York Trip after the New Year. This will be the second time in a row that I spend the first week of the year in Manhattan. This time, however, instead of just fun, I will be there to explore the potential employers. I am excited but I've been thinking...

Did I cash in my idealism for security? I would like to say no. I still want to change the world for the better, but like Marshall Ericksson I don't think my goals are as easy to obtain as I had originally hoped. I might have to be The Man to help change The Man. This is a bit sad, and scary.

Hey at least NogFest is next weekend! Woo hoo! Who wants to come? Visit the Facebook Invite for more info.

>> End (30/50)

Capitalize on Something

2009-12-07T22:23:00.004-05:00

Being out of school for a long time I really can appreciate the educational environment. You wake up, you go to class you get out of class and if you don't work today (or don't have a job at all like some students) then you're done! That is what it meants to be IN SCHOOL. It might be only 12:30pm and you've got nothing else on your plate for the day - officially.

Now unofficially, your day may have just begun. While enrolled IN SCHOOL you are somewhat free to do as you like, however unlike work you are paying them. So when you are not actually in class you are not actually free to do nothing. Not at all! This is where the majority of your responsibilities will find you. If you are not actually IN SCHOOL then you probably have projects and papers, readings and assignments, books to skim and summaries to write.

Lets contrast this to being AT WORK. When you are AT WORK you have to wake up, go to work, and spend your entire day there, AT WORK. When you do get out (at the same time everyday – or thereabouts that’s it, you're done! You are not expected (most of the time) to do anything else because you are not actually AT WORK.

See when I worked 30-40 hours a week over the past two years, I had so much free time. For the first time in my life I began to understand how crappy television can become popular, because there is really just nothing else to do with one’s time when you are not AT WORK or IN SCHOOL. It’s fascinating to think of all the free time we really have and all that we could be doing and instead we sit in front of a computer or video screen and do nothing.

Really the difference between IN SCHOOL and AT WORK is that IN SCHOOL never ends. AT WORK (for many people) is just 40 hours a week. How many hours are there in a week? One Hundred and Sixty Eight in a WEEK. That’s a lot of frickin’ hours. Lets see then so if AT WORK = 40 plus the ideal (not even average) SLEEP of Eight hours per night then we get:

(WEEK – (AT WORK +(SLEEP x 7))) = FREE WORK

(168 – (40 + (8 x 7))) = 72!!

You know what this means? When you are working full time, if you only work from 9 to 5 every day and you get the recommended amount of sleep every night that leaves 3 days of your week open for free time.

I regardless, I find it fascinating that we spend so much time doing things and complaining about it only to spend so much time then NOT doing things. There are people out there that take advantage of their FREE TIME. I am often envious. We try and fill our precious FREE TIME with activities like GYM or RECREATION or SPORT, but when do we fill it with HELPING OTHERS, or MEETING NEW PEOPLE, or VOLUNTEERING, or MENTORING.

72 hours a week to do anything we like and all we do is WATCH TV, and TRY TO GET TO THE MEDIA-IDEAL BODY TYPE?

My favorite excuse for not going for a walk in the District of Columbia is: “But ____ is on tv tonight!” This is the internet age, if you don’t have a DVR you can always find it somewhere online. There used to be this advanced piece of equipment called the V – C – R that recorded the stuff that came out of the TV box… I find it funny that we moved forward from VCR to DVD and lost that capability.

Regardless, this meandering post illustrates one thing. I am IN SCHOOL, and I should be doing something productive, but instead here I am in front of my computer doing this instead. I guess after all this my Dad was right, “Talk is cheap.” I guess blogs might be even cheaper.

>> End (29/50)

Law-yer stupid.

2009-12-06T23:50:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting here with $30 worth of printing trying to figure out whether I did it right.

This is one of the best and worst feelings ever. The night before you unveil what you are absolutely sure is a great bit of work. Shefali, Julie, Jessica and I have spent hours and hours working on this Strategic Plan. We started way back when we were all new to grad school, and now here we are - it's the end of our first semester and we've got a client coming to the school to see what we can help them with.

This is so nerve wracking! I took the plan to Kinkos and got it printed and pretty. It's in a binder and then I found a text mistake, something is one font bit smaller than it is supposed to. I am not going to say anything because they'll never notice... but it's still amazing that after all of this work and five different people pouring over this document for the last few months, something small like that would make it into the final thing.

It kind of makes you wonder about government documents. Bills and laws. They used to be written simply and easily. Don't kill people. Your property is your own and you have a right to defend it. Now it's all in legal speak. When did we stop writing laws that we didn't need a lawyer to decipher? Let's get back to that.

Maybe one of the reasons people break so many laws is because they are so complicated that no one is positive that they are broken! Why do we have to spell it out so perfectly? Because lawyers would exploit other lawyers otherwise. Isn't that the judge's problem? No, because they were probably a lawyer too and appreciate a good bungling of the lawbooks. If you can find the loophole you're set free! Why is it like that? It seems stupid. When Hammurabi laid out the laws in stone there wasn't a lawyer present, and that was fine. They didnt have any affidavits that was fine too, but they did have respect. Respect for the law, because they knew what they were, they could read them, touch them and they knew the punishments for breaking them!

I think this one is one of the better laws that 'ol Hambi put out there:

If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death.

that would cut down on frivolous lawsuits would it not?

Searching for a Public Home

2009-12-05T22:52:00.000-05:00

Since leaving Britain in 2006 I've been searching for an ideal. The ideal of the true British pub.

People say that the number one export of Ireland is their culture, and the Irish Pub. I wish there was a real English export: the English Pub.

English Pubs are characterised by:
- Squashy bench seats around the edge
- cask drawn ales, bitters and tasty non-American beers
- it should be dim, just bright enough to find your beer and your way to the barman
- they shouldn't have good service: they should instead require you to actually go to the bar an talk to people
- the glasses should match the beverage: beer, like wine, needs to be put in the optimal glass to ensure optimal flavours
- the food should mostly be meat based or fried: nothing beats a good fried food late in the night

I've been searching for years and so far have only found elements of the English Pub. Bars with squashy bench seats are far too bright. Bars with great fish and chips have too much open space. Bars with beer in the right glass are bohemian and not Anglo enough. Bars that are dim often only can afford the Bud spread on their taps.

Long story short. I'm at a bar now, the Lucky Bar. One of those in The District that was supposed to be like an English Pub. They fail on almost all counts. They have bench seats, it's dim yet their beer sucks and when I ordered a Guinness it came in am American pint glass and was poured all at once (if that doesn't make you cringe visit the Guinness website and please educate yourself).

My search will continue until I can find that place that makes me feel at home like I did in those dark dungeony pubs in Britian.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

P.s. - the music at the Lucky Bar tonight is actually pretty amazing. It's been a 90s/jock jams night. Love it. Shout out to Erica, Robbie and Yussi who braved the new winter snow to pub. And double thanks to Erica for the "Going Out" suggestion - we all need a break from this finals frenzy.

The Pub Runners

2009-12-04T22:15:00.001-05:00

If you didn't already know. Next satruday I'll be back in Michigan for the remainder of 2009. Thigh over the turnover of the first double-digit of this millennium I will be on Mackinac Island.

The Island is still one of my favourite places on Earth. I am so excited to go back there. Although, I have to say without Jerry and Doug (The Pub Runners) or Myk Rys, Mackinac would be pretty lame.

Venues that would be lucky to hold 50 people including the band and their family (who should be in attendance at least once a season). I love live music.

DC has quite a few small live music venues available, but I have only been to a few so far. Any suggestions? Let me know!

Do you think it's a coincidence that love music is only one letter from live music? I don't.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

People of the District

2009-12-03T22:57:00.003-05:00

After living in DC for a while, I've come to a few conclusions.

People like shopping, but they do a lot of the pricier shopping in Maryland or Virginia due to lower Taxes.
The Metro is the most fun late at night and probably on the Blue or Yellow line, because there is an amazing conductor that makes fun of people, calls people names, and has excellent diction.
People dress nice, act nice and behave well – except during Happy Hour and afterward.
We all have iPods. No Zunes. iPods. And if you don't have an iPod you buy white headphones and use them with your Sansa. Still no Zunes.
NPR are totally in.
No one is from here originally, nor will we be here for very long, but while we're here we may as well party.
Georgetown is for Frat Boys and Cupcakes.
Dupont is for Clubs, Pubs and Gay People.
Adams Morgan is for Bars and Food (massive Pizza, great Falafel).
U Street is for Music and Minority Groups (and is lots of fun).
Bill Cosby is the only one who eats free at Ben's Chili Bowl (because Obama pays).
We love CNN and the Weather Channel, as they play at almost every bar.
We have a lot of ethnic people but not a lot of quality ethnic food.

Anything to add?

Corporate Sodomy

2009-12-02T23:26:00.006-05:00

What is it with large American companies? Why do we hate them all?

I have AT&T and it is terrible. I hate it. I am currently broke. I am okay saying it, I literally have no money. I deposited my living stipend check today into the PNC Bank ATM. PNC purchased National City almost a year ago, but they are still not merged, don't even get me started on that.

Once deposited, Comcast (another company I hate) instantly took the money out from a paper check I sent them. Why is it that when I send a check to a corporation, the Bank instantly takes care of it, but when I deposit money they decide to wait a while to accept it. Again, this is the wrong problem...

I was paying my AT&T bill. I was on their website and clicked OKAY to make my payment. Unfortunately, PNC had still not accepted my payment and rushed (literally instantly debited if from my bank account) creating an overdraft.

Calling AT&T, I talked to a nice man named Ken who said he can "reverse the payment" which I would hope means that AT&T would tell the bank that they didn't want to debit me. While all of these items are pending, I am sure National City/PNC would rather charge me for overdraft. This is just all crap.

Now I know ultimately, this is my own fault for having no money, but I am in grad school. I literally work 10 hours a week at work, and like 40 on class. Either way, it's as if corporations are in a big club. They all want to screw us and take the profits.

Ken says he reversed my payment and emailed me the confirmation. Lets hope I don't have to call National City tomorrow...

UPDATE: It seems as if the payment was truly reversed. While iPhone plans are still overpriced, AT&T you won the day.

Airline Safety

2009-12-01T22:32:00.006-05:00

Over break, I recalled a game that I played with Ray the few times the two of us flew together.

We would take out the Flight Safety Manual, look through the pictures, and give them improved and more accurate captions. With this in mind, I thought I'd write down a couple of them that I've saved. I apologize for the blurry cards, often I didn't have a lot of time to snap pictures are the effeminate male flight attendant stood over me requesting that I shut off my phone.

1. If you need to breast feed your large baby please assure the flight attendant that s/he is under 4 years old.

2. In case of emergency breast feeding, please pretend you're upset and crying. It helps if you can curse his missing father's name. Assuming you know the father. This will keep people from looking at you funny while you breast feed on an enclosed flying tube.

2. If a midget attempts to cop a feel lean forward and suffocate him, don't worry the seats are small and he can't escape.

1. Please don't, "cross your heart and hope to die," it makes the other passengers nervous and they will likely lock you in the toilet.

2. While listening to Heart's on Fire by Bryan Adams please don't actually set your heart on fire. We know, he's Canadian and was dreamy like 20 years ago, but please, control yourself.

3. If your ex-boyfriend sends you that last minute text before the plane takes off please don't burn him and the girl he said he was cheating with in effigy. Also, there is no voodoo in the lavatories.

1. While your baby is dancing, make sure you put on the baby dancing bumpers.

2. If you want to learn to samba, please follow the visual instructions located in the Ally McBeal section of your manual. (The dancing baby needed some work once Flockhart finally succeeded in becoming two dimensional)

3. If your baby is going to explode, pull the yellow "Baby Decompression Bag" from the pocket of the seat in front of you.

1. If you have never before used an imaginary table, please concentrate before you place your orange juice on it.

2. Please put down your own tray table before helping the cro-magnon man.

3. If you find yourself on the "Short Plane" just remember anything is possible in your imagination.

1. For the white men on the plane, please wait for the minority guy to open the door during an emergency. Once open get the fu*k out of there and let that guy take care of getting the women and children out.

2. In case of a landing on a pretty green pasture, run like hell because obviously if we could deploy the landing gear and land in a field you must either be dead already or in the Twilight Zone.

1. In case of crotch explosion, pull down on the white tab and avert your eyes.

2. I got nothing. That first one was pretty good.

I highly recommend you come up with some of your own. Ray and I always laughed our way through the safety card and it makes the whole flying experience much more enjoyable!

AwesomeCard

2009-11-30T22:47:00.003-05:00

Groceries from Target
$15

Mattress Pad from Bed, Bath and Beyond (a place that Yussi thought was made up until he got to the US)
$52

Beer with friend Yussi at the Wonderland Bar in Columbia Heights
$8

Walking on the Metro and seeing Joseph and Jane (who don't know each other at all)
Awesome

Talking to both Joseph and Jane on the Metro and getting called to by Lauren from down the car

Doubly Awesome

There are some things that people who are not awesome can't do. For everyone else, there's being awesome (like me).

Now accepted wherever being awesome is allowed.

Limited Awesome is available. Some restrictions apply, like the ability to be awesome. Brothers are obviously part of this promotion, but not often are sisters all awesome at the same time. Void in Utah, because they are not awesome. No, don't even try to argue with me about the awesomeness of Utah, because you will fail. Even their lake sucks so much it turned salty.

"The Iceberg"

2009-11-26T23:15:00.006-05:00

Just to reiterate, Thanksgiving is the best American holiday.

Today, I had two thanksgivings.

1. Thanksgiving with the Peters'
Arriving at 8:15am, Kelley was confident she'd set an alarm. As it turned out it was already after 8, which is the time she'd sworn she'd set her alarm for. While Kelley got ready, I went to Beaners (a.k.a - Biggby) and got coffee and cider. Mrs. P and Lauren P. were running in the Turkey Trot that morning. The race began at 9am and we were told by Mr. P to make, "three points of contact," during the race. We arrived at 9:30 and made one point of contact. Kelley was blamed, the family laughed at her, and then made fun of Lauren so all was forgiven. After, we all returned to the Peters' so the runners could primp and the others could play video games.
This is when the story gets interesting, 14 years ago this week, the Peters' moved to Michigan. During the move they didn't yet have a dinner table, but across the street was a lovely restaurant called Old Country Buffet. This was their saving grace, and for 13 of the 14 years (they had a hiatus one year where Kelley prepared a meal that included a chestnut stuffing - discussed during "dinner" as a failure) and so, per tradition, we attended the Old Country Buffet today.
Before eating, Kelley talked about creating a dish with lettuce and soft serve that I dubbed "The Iceberg." A challenge was issued, and Kelley - with much protesting - finally took a single bite. She was not pleased. Other than that dinner wasn't as bad as I remembered OCB being from my teenage-hood. Plus, the people watching was pretty interesting.

2. Thanksgiving with the Dominguez's
This year, we opted for a more traditional Turkey Day. Mom was actually available - not volunteering with the garden club or somewhere else - to cook this year. For the few days leading up to the holiday, Mom cooked a variety of side dishes culminating in a 14-lb turkey during the holiday festivities. Sadly, Grandma came down with a migraine and dropped out, but with Kelley, Nick, Rebecca, Carmen and Danny PLUS the full Dominguez family, we had a full list. The food was great, as always, and Mom even got Nick to utilize his family's oven (across the street) to complete the squash casserole.

I just want to reiterate again, Thanksgiving is the best American holiday.

>> End (21/50)

Want for to watch a movie?

2009-11-25T20:28:00.003-05:00

With all of that work to do you'd think I would spent all of my time working, working, working.

But does that sound like my style? Of course not.

Instead I spent most of the day before I left taking all my DVDs out of their HUGE wallet, putting them in piles by their genre and typing them into a spreadsheet for easy cataloguing. Yes, it is a little neurotic, thank you!

Regardless, I now know that I have 276 movies on DVD or Blu-Ray including: (randomly selected titles) Underworld, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Fall, Shawshank Redemption, Scream, the Santa Clause, Unforgiven, and a bunch of other films.

Now here's where this becomes interesting for you, the reader. I have a number of duplicates which I am looking to sell.

Here's the list, if you're interested maybe you should contact me and offer me some money!

Duplicates:

Batman Begins

Casino Royale

Jurassic Park

Matrix Series

Night at the Museum

Stargate

V for Vendetta

Look it over, let me know if you're interested!

Old Socks

2009-11-24T23:02:00.001-05:00

What is it about old friends? I worked at olive garden for a year and a half and met some of the greatest people I've met in a long time.

Good friends are like old socks. Let me explain. New friends are like new socks. They feel great; they're soft and make you feel comfortable. But the real test of a friend is how they do after they've been through the ringer a few times. Old socks. Old friends. If you still want to wear them years later. They must have something that can keep them competing with the new socks.

Michigan is great. While the accent is really noticable, the people are really amazing people. Seriously, the guy at wendys talked the girl through the contents of the sandwhich she ordered. That is a rarity. Not something you'd see in DC that's for sure.

>> End (20/50)

Three Haikus and Making Fun of At Least 2 Countries

2009-11-23T23:13:00.006-05:00

I am back in Michigan for the best American holiday there is. People say we have no true American cultural holidays, but no one celebrates this like we do.* In honor of my flight home and my lack of time, I wrote three haiku's today.

The Journey

flying in a plane

not a vegetarian

home for thanksgiving

The After

turkey is real good

the tryptophan makes me sleep

though football is lame

The Table

gravy, cranberry

stuffing and some pumpkin pie

eating till I pop

snap snap snap snap snap...

Thank you thank you, our next reading will be from a regular, Yussi Pick and is entitled, "Austria and Germany Are Different I Don't Care What You Say You Jerk. Autobiographical"

* Yes, I know Canada celebrates Thanksgiving too. But it's fake. It was created by an act of Parliament in 1957 to give thanks for the closing of the harvest season. Plus, it's a month early. It's like that kid that shows up for a party set for 9pm at 8:45 because his Mom told him to be early. Lame-o!

A Day in PJs

2009-11-22T21:32:00.003-05:00

There's something awfully satisfying about spending the whole day in your pajamas. You can get a whole bunch of stuff done because you can't leave the house – unless you subscribe to going out in pajamas, which is really trashy.

Today, I didn't leave the house. I slept in and spent the day working on homework, eating a baguette with some goat cheese that would have been bad before I got back from Michigan, and making deliverables in photoshop.

I'm getting a lot better at photoshop, I'm learning the shortcuts and what things mean, using layers and more than just a few of the tools. For the first time I can remember, I started with a blank canvas exactly the size I wanted and created something from nothing. That felt really good. I'd post it, but it's for a client so I can't just in case it is used, plus that would spoil the surprise for my classmates!

Last night we had a great friendly get together. It was one of those that later you'd refer to as intimate. We had music on, and some people played video games, but for the most part we just stood around and conversed. Literally talked to each other for hours and hours. Sometimes mostly listening, sometimes mostly talking. It was really a great feeling. I am definitely and extrovert because a night like that is far more relaxing then a day inside by myself.

Regardless, after a full day of an average amount of work I am sitting, still in my pajamas, and wishing that it was tomorrow night. Then I would already be back in Michigan with my family, beer in hand.

I can't wait for this week.

>> End (16/50)

5 Random Lines at a Party

2009-11-21T23:46:00.001-05:00

Trace: "the next five lines will be written by people at julies party on Utah ave."
Andrew: "it's a murder suicide! Bshh! Bkkkh!"
Corinne: "foxes?really? I see you two foxes and raise you alot of beer."
Nick: "to eliminate the confusion between bid light and regular budweiser, let's call regular bud diesel. Also, my favorite christmas song is the one that goes "merry christmas, merry Christmas, but I think i'll miss this one this year."
Candace: "the time has come the walrus said/to talk of many things/of shoes and ships and sealing wax/of cabbages and kings."
Dick Diggler: "my ass is hot... Yep this thing is on!"
Manda: "brownies in pans and thanksgiving hams. Celebrate oh celebrate, before morning comes..."
Julie: "reach in there and get my wallet, it's the one that says bad ass motherfucker on it. True story."
Joe: "watch out for the media"

This has been. Random phrases from Julie party guests. Thank you.

End (15/50)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mr. Peoria Prepared Bullshit

2009-11-20T22:59:00.005-05:00

Sitting in my basement place of residence, there is a rack. On this rack is my food. Written on the shelves of this rack, it says, Mr. Boston Prepared Cocktails.

I was curious as to what that meant. So I looked it up, while drinking Yuengling prepared traditional Lager. ('merica's oldest brew'ree they say)

I did some research and found out that Mr. Boston Prepared Cocktails are the convenient and efficient way to serve delicious cocktails that are perfect every time. Only the finest ingredients are used and every cocktail must meet the highest standards of excellence.

This got me thinking. When I make a cocktail would they be Mr. Trace's (*snap) prepared cocktails? Like that time we had that James Bond Party that one time?

The research concluded that Mr. Boston Prepared Cocktails offer a clear and profitable opportunity. The "recipe revolution" has led to increased interest in mixed drinks as women and young adults look for milder-tasting, more palatable cocktails.

The text here got to me. Women and Young Adults are the only ones in the world who want tasty cocktails? I mean, like my friend Marshall always says, "Oh, poor me. I get to order yummy pink drinks with chunks of real fruit that guys secretly like but can't order because they'll be made fun of... They're delicious!!"

Maybe someday when I open my bar (you know what it's called) then I can have my own Mr. Trace's (snap) prepared cocktails.

Here is the recipe for one of my favorite cocktails:

The Vesper
Three Measures of gin
One Measure of vodka
1/2 Measure of Kina Lillet (a.k.a Lillet Blanc) - which cannot be substituted with vermouth

Shake or stir this over ice till cold and pour into a martini glass with a twist of lemon.

Yum.

Maybe they can get a prepared cocktail of this? Of course, then it would just be a vat of liquor. Who wouldnt like that?

>> End (14/50)

The First Half is Funny.

2009-11-19T21:50:00.007-05:00

This might be a bit of a cop-out, but...

While watching Grey's Anatomy - is it just me or does the writing for that show mirror a steamy version of a 14-year old novel? WTF happened to people using their brains? Now the most popular movie in the country and some of the most popular television shows were written for pre-teens and they are capturing all the females' pocketbooks. Really people. Get over it.

But I digress, while watching a crappy late night Soap, waiting for another one to start (the better one, she said) my roommate Coline tore a page out of the Cosmopolitan she was complaining about and handed it to me.

The page was entitled, "+ your body" and contained titles like, "Feeling Dizzy When You Stand, and "Can a guy increase his penis size?" (all capitalization has been maintained - gotta love inconsistency!)

These articles were usual Cosmo fare filled with shady sourcing like The CBS Morning Show or Your Friends Say, blah blah blah... However, in the middle of the page in a bright blue box, was a story entitled, "Swine Flu: What's Risky?"

The "story" which was actually one paragraph accompanying a grid of pictures reads, "The virus everyone is talking about moves fast and can be lethal if a secondary infection sets in even if you're young." I liked that, it was simple and to the point. The lead also speaks truth about how the H1N1 (or the Hiney as my Dad called it the other day) doesn't kill you, it is a secondary infection. The second paragraph reads,"Make these tweaks to keep yourself safer, and see an MD at the fist sign of symptoms." Which is bollux because an MD can't do shiet for you if you actually have the swine flu. They'll just tell you to go home and sleep for a week. Ask Kelley she got it!

To the right of this is a grid that lists High Risk behaviors like "bear hugging" and "missionary position sex" and how to decrease spreading the Swine (or Hiney) by altering these habits slightly. Here's the exact grid reposted without the courtesy of the magazine, but I get nothing out of it except humor.

It is just as ridiculous as it sounds. Again, a publication that is written for a 14 year old. What happened to the days when the News was about what was happening in the world?

I shudder to think what we would do if another Joseph McCarthy hit the stage, gripping the country with fear. Imagine a nation of 14 year olds freaking out like that; the screech could be heard in Nicaragua.

Our society is entranced by sparkly vampires and adults that bitch at each other like catty teen girls. Our shows are populated by characters that supposedly went to years of college or med school and can't express feelings or thoughts with anything more than one syllable.

It makes me sad. Give me an Edward R. Murrow or a Walter Cronkite someone with substance over sensationalism.

>> End (13/50)

Cupcakes vs Pie

2009-11-18T23:21:00.004-05:00

DC is obsessed with cupcake shops. They are everywhere! If you do a search in DC for cupcake shops you will find dozens. I have only been to one so far. It's called Something Sweet and it's up here in the northwest DC area. I liked it, I had a couple of cupcakes and a piece of cake that I took to go.

What I like about cake is how light and sweet it is without being too much. Often people compare cake to pie, that's just silly. They are fundamentally different desserts!

Can someone tell me what the real difference is between a muffin and a cupcake? These days you can get a chocolate muffin with chocolate chips. Throw some frosting on there and it's pretty much a cupcake.

I'm hungry. This post is pretty lame, but I am not feeling particularly inspired. oh well.

I did bar trivia this evening, we tied for 4th! I used to be good at triva! I was on the QuizBowl team, which means when combined with Band and my generally nerdy demeanor I was pretty cool in high school. I offset that by lettering in Track and Cross Country and joining the swim team. Also by being awesome.

>> End (12/50)

Hell Hast a New Name, Homework

2009-11-17T23:10:00.006-05:00

I look terrible! I need a shave and a haircut (two bits!)

I just wanted to list exactly what I have still to do for the rest of my semester. Just for my own benefit, and as I didn't know what else to blog about today, now it can be for your benefit too.

Theory

A 15-25 page literature review concerning the saliency of YouTube videos and how internet video is changing and shaping messages.

Research

A class project based on the survey I wrote totaling at least 230 respondents
A group presentation on our class survey results
A 12+ page paper containing the information that we obtained in the survey

Principles/Strategic

Complete the Strategic Communications Plan for Fresh Start Catering [FSC] (our client for our group project)
Design the deliverables for FSC to be used for our Pitch to said client
Group Presentation to the Client and Class
Presentation on the Tipping Point's seventh chapter which deals with suicide and smoking (fun!)

Writing

Research for my Final Paper which is...
10 - 15 page feature story on the Michigan Green Jobs Initiative and how one laid off auto worker (who is a composite character) got a Green Collar job
Re-writing everything I've ever written for this damn class. Everything.

So that might be the complete list. It's a lot, and it's due over the next 26 days. That doesn't seem so bad when you get it all out there... right? Maybe? Guys?

I need a drink.

>> End Post (11/50)

Why don't you get the app for tha... AWW you only have a crackberry. Sorry.

2009-11-16T23:31:00.006-05:00

For those that do not yet have the pleasure of owning an iPhone, I thought I would lay out some of my favorite apps. Just to brag. For those that do have an iphone, try these out. Maybe you'll like them! Btw, I only get free apps, and all of these here are (or were) free when I got them.

In no particular order:

SimplifyMedia, probably one of the coolest apps for the iPhone. It comes in two parts, one is the app, and the other half is on your computer at home.

The app pretty much destroys the idea that an 8Gb phone can only hold 8Gb of music. It does so by streaming the content from your home computer over (Wi-fi, 3G and even Edge) right to your phone! I tested it by streaming a short songs of my own and a Harry Potter book, and it is actually streaming the songs, not downloading them to a cache and then playing them, or using a central library. It is actually YOUR MUSIC. Very cool.

As if that weren't enough, you can also share with friends. Up to 30 people can use SimplifyMedia so play from your library and you can use multiple devices and computers on one account. Who needs a media server when you have this!

Download at: www.simplifymedia.com

Next is food related, I used it today giving me the idea for this post. It's the Chipotle Ordering app. Simple, you open the app, it finds the closest Chipotle and you order your food. You can either pay in-app with a saved credit card, or choose to pay when you get there, if you're wary about security issues. What a tasty idea!

www.chipotle.com

I like simple games. I'm not simple minded, but unlike Steve Jobs and some of the other reviews I feel like the iPhone isn't a great gaming platform. The screen is just too small and it really kills the battery life of the phone. Now the iPod Touch, that's a different story. However, this game is really a lot of fun. It's also got a fantastic name. Trace. That's the name of the game. Trace.

Named because of the way it's played. You draw lines on the screen with your finger, erasing as needed. You can walk on the lines, but don't touch the obstacles or it puts you back at the beginning of the "level." Each "level" is one screen, and they do time you, but there isn't a running clock. I like the design, and the music is very whimsical.

iTunes link to Trace

On Twitter yet? Don't worry, you'll probably miss the boat. But thanks to an MA at the School of Communication, I am on it. TweetDeck is used by Cali Lewis (an AMAZING geek blogger - check out her site and get her GeekBrief podcast!) and I was exploring my options so I tried it out. It is still early in development, but it's really promising. It also links with Facebook and is slim and clean. The popups (every computer users bane) are minimal and it uses Adobe Air technology so it's universal. I first got to TweetDeck from their desktop app and then they launched an iPhone one. Another nice feature is they sync with each other automatically. If I search for Nobel Peace Prize on my phone, when I get home and start up TweetDeck it will ask me if I want to add the new search. Perfect!

www.TweetDeck.com

=====> added after 12am <======

Note to reader: the 50 blogs in 50 days required me to post before midnight so I did, but I thought I would add a couple of other apps after-the-fact, because... I dunno maybe someone who gives a shit actually reads this and could benefit from it... Everything b/w these lines was added later.

One of my most used apps has to be Yelp's app. If you've never used Yelp, then you are missing out. It is one part social network and one part service/nightlife critic. The difference is, the critics are you! Crazy right? The website Yelp.com runs the app and provides the content. You can search for bars or restaurants in their list, sort the lists by average rating and all sorts of other fun things, or you can just type the name of the place you want to go. I have been scouring DC for some full on screamin' Mexican food, and Yelp has been my foodie friend. Well, Yelp finds 'em and Katie and I eat.

The reviews are posted and don't get removed easily, so even if the restaurant complains (as I understand it) Yelp doesn't take down the review. This can go both ways as sometimes people are stupid and post things that have nothing to do with the quality of the place and instead are just because they are... well, stupid. I love the app and use it whenever I don't know where to go or what to do in a new (or familiar) city. You can always find new stuff!

www.yelp.com

The newest app in my collection is Stanza. It's the most recommended e-reader online for the iPhone. Having only played with it for a day or so I'm not familiar with all it's features, but you can look around online and find out more. So far I'm impressed. It is easy to read and the interface, while a little slow on my iPhone 3G(sans the new S) is really very easy to navigate. The page turn animation is really beautiful and not only aesthetically pleasing, but it allows the reading of the last line as you turn the page AND makes it feel more like a book rather than scrolling on a screen, which can get tiring. (Note: I am proud to post this page-turning screenshot, it was a pain in the ass to get and took true multitouch span as I had to hit both the power & home buttons to snap the screen, and flip the page at the right time. Plus I wanted the pretty first page).

Now, before you get all judgy, the app comes with Alice in Wonderland and apparently books are free to download. As I said I haven't played with it too much so don't take that to heart. Either way the app is free.

Stanza is made by Lexcycle

=====> end of added bit <=====

There are lots of apps I'm not mentioning that I really like, NASA has an app where you can get photos and see mission logs, Discovery Channel has one for trivia, showtimes and fun facts, Facebook is pretty much the MUST HAVE app of my life, eBuddy logs you into AIM, ICQ, Facebook, GChat, Yahoo chat and a few others when you just HAVE to be connected. I even have an app called Legendary that is just quotes of Barney Stintson. Yea. I know. Awesome.

>> End (11/50)

The creativity train has lost its steam

2009-11-15T23:41:00.006-05:00

I really don't know what to blog about today.

The more I talk to my classmates here at American, the more I get the impression that we are all burned out and ready for the semester to be over. Most of the students say the same thing, "I started out so motivated, so ready." We all agree that we read every page, took great notes, highlighted our texts and looked up sources. But not anymore.

Now we spend class trying to cram it all in the brains so we can use it for the next discussion. Compare what we've learned in Research and how it feeds into Theory and how we can take what we've learned in Writing and turn it around into a better grade through re-writes.

It's a lot of pressure and a lot of work that seems to be just free falling down onto us. "I'm brain dead." said Eve to me just this evening. "I want to go home."

I walked into the J-Lab last week, and Anna commented that "I looked tired. More than usual, actually." Which is when it really hit me, I don't sleep like I did in my big bed in Michigan, when the worst thing I had to worry about was whether I could remember if the Chicken Milanese was pan seared and what veggie options we could get when we substituted grilled veggies on the Mixed Grill. I slept like a rock. Asleep in one minute. Now I lay awake, my brain whirring like a grandfather clocks' innards. you can't see them, but they just go, and go.

I think the work is great, the topics are fascinating and often class discussions are amazingly in depth and nuanced. But as soon as we are alone together we have a beer and discuss how drained we all are; not necessarily physically but like our brains somehow leaked out our noses, Egyptian style.

I feel like my grandfather clock needs a good winding, and no that is not a sexual innuendo. Although I guess it could be, but that's a little viagra-weird.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, not just for the break (since I am sure I'll still be homeworking in Michigan, but hopefully I'll sleep better. Even if just for a week. I'll get to play with Bear, and hang out with my homies who complain about customers constantly but don't all have a 25 page paper to write about the future of messages and how internet video is changing communication.

On a lighter note, Shefali turned 22, 2Amy's Pizza as great (and a floppy-haired dick made it dinner with a show) and I bought a new sweater at J-Crew.

>> End (10/50!) w00t!

Ode to the 1990s Gen-X Film

2009-11-14T19:09:00.003-05:00

Ripped button-up shirts with no sleeves

Big breasted babes with bleached blonde hair

Cut-off shorts that used to be jeans

Backwards hats that are faded and lame

Shallow messages

Pleather jackets

Boxey technology

Terrible fashion

Lots of layers

Shirts 'round the waist

Silly slang n' slurs

People gettin' wasted

You have to admit that when Bill and Ted meet

and Airheads rock out

the Hackers work the Usual Suspects

living on the Cutting Edge of Nirvana

in a Platoon of Motorheads

which makes even a Kingpin say Bull Durham.

I bet it stars John Cusack and Winona Ryder.

Packages of Crap

2009-11-13T17:39:00.008-05:00

For those of you that have been following my blog, you'll notice the massive header is gone. I'm not sure how I like it... I made it last night at 2am.

Today, a saga has come to an end.

A month ago, I purchased this crap: The College Essentials DVD Pack from Woot.com.

Well, it arrived today. For those that haven't read the original post, the summary was. I purchased it after a night out that involved quantities of rum. When typing in the address, I used the incorrect zip code.

It was purchased on October 18th and arrived yesterday November 12th. Moral of the story? Sometimes when you drunkenly buy crap, you can inadvertently create a pretty good story out of it.

The DVD packs are pretty interesting, I've already watched Hackers and discovered Angelina Jolie's left boob, and now I am watching one of many Baldwin connections. This time it's Billy in The Usual Suspects.

Here's Katie looking through my latest crappy purchase. Anyway, I just figured I'd finish the story... don't want to leave you all on the edge of your computer chairs for more than I have to.

>> End (9/50)

Chicken, Bacon, Barbecue. Can You Go Wrong?

2009-11-12T20:31:00.006-05:00

Tonight, I will make a post that follows the format of the girlfriend's...

I was hungry, but had very little in the fridge with which to cook.

I knew I had this barbecue sauce from when I was last at Williams-Sonoma. I really wanted to use it with some chicken breasts. As it turned out, there were a few in the freezer!

Consulting The Girl, I began the exciting process of de-thawing the chicken. The sauce in question was...

It reads, "Balanced by garlic, tangy cider vinegar, spicy jalapeño and paprika, Smoky Bacon’s tender hand-cut chunks of wood-smoked bacon imbue chicken, pork and beef with hearty flavor." Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

What I used:

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Large Chicken Breast

1 Le Creuset

1/2 Jar Smoky Bacon Barbecue Sauce

1 Empty Stomach

Take the Olive Oil and put it in the Le Creuset, heating it to medium high.

Press the chicken breasts flat on a paper plate and then throw it into the Le Creuset once it's all hot.

Sear the breasts on either side gettin' em nice and brown, but not too brown.

Dump the Sauce into the Le Creuset with the now seared chicken, reduce the heat to Lo, cover, and let simmer for at least an hour.

At this point I recommend finding something exciting to do, like watching the Discovery Channel, or streaming the latest episode of How I Met Your Mother or something. That's what I did.

Every so often, you know, when it's convenient, flip the breast over in the sauce... It's going to start looking yummy...

The sauce is going to get all bubbly and turn nice and thin and orange, just make sure you keep getting sauce on all the chicken. Use your spatula and get it on the top of the breast too. You want to make it all yummy.

An hour (or more) later, you can open that baby up and check the middle (if you need to) to make sure the chicken is done. If so, then you take the breast, put it on a plate and serve.

I have to say, it was very good. The little chunks are bits of bacon that are in the sauce. It was spicy, bold, and really made the chicken flavorful. Now my stomach is doing the I'm full dance, and my plate had that nice orangey color that plates get when they were covered in a good man food.

Yum.

>> End (8/50)

Wave at the Monolithic Service Kids!

2009-11-11T17:46:00.005-05:00

Recently, I received an Invite to Google\/\/ave (that is seriously how they type it) and after getting over all my old Gmail Invite nostalgia I started to watch the How To videos.

GoogleWave (I refuse to play the slash game anymore) is a very interesting and powerful piece of software. It is currently in the Preview stage... I am not sure if that is before the endless Beta stage or maybe after Endless Beta and before Ubiquitous Adoption? Perhaps it's like the health care debate and it has a Public Option? Whatever.

What preview means, is that they can change anything at any time. It's still experimental. It also seems to mean that it's slow. Not all the time, but sometimes it's really slow.

Another thing about it being experimental is is feels unfinished. It has context menus that don't go anywhere and some of the tabs and buttons don't seem to fulfill their functions like we expect from Google's other software - that is smoothly, simply, and with a little HJ to an advertiser.

One thing funny about Wave is when it crashes. Not like an inconvenient Windows98 crash that causes embarrassment and hilarity, but instead we see what I hope is as a Firefly throwback:

Dr. Wave is "The Man" of GoogleWave, he introduces you to your first wave and is kind of like the creepy Dad down the street who gave you your first Playboy. You're confused why he would want to, but you're so grateful you wanna keeping hanging to what else you can get.

The interface is pretty straight forward:

On the left is a Navigation Window, with an Inbox. Below that are your Wave contacts (automatically added from Gmail based on who already has Wave. Awesome!). The middle houses your currently selected Navigation thingy... you can search for Waves, Archive them, Delete them, et cetera. This makes it seem almost like GMail, but newer... future integration? On the right is the Wave itself. Now stay in your seats, don't rush the stage. Does it seem small? Don't worry you can minimize or maximize all of those windowpanes in your browser like this:

This makes your wave real big. As you can see. The Wave in this picture is also a Public Wave. Which is like the old AOL Chatrooms, only with fewer "a/s/l's" and more "W00t I'm using Wave!'s" This demonstrates that the Wave's can be populated with quite a few users (though again that slows it way down - preview remember? PREVIEW!) There are a lot of cool features, you can add images, video, GoogleGadegts and even voting panels (for collaboration sake). It has rich text support and can do a variety of fonts and colors.

However, just because it shows all that prettiness doesn't mean it will actually work. I copied text from a Word document into the Wave and was like a web page walked over a street vent... All the HTML tags for the document were showing and everything was a mess all down the page. I deleted it, made it plain text in TextEdit, and then re-copied it in; that seemed to work.

My classmate Eve and I played with Wave all during Theory (Oh, graduate school), making comments and sending each other funny pictures related to what we were talking about, all in "real-time." You can even see what you're typing - so don't accidentally type you have nice boobs unless you really mean it. Because everyone probably saw that.

Ultimately, I've only had Wave for a day or so, I've done some intense waving in that short amount of time and decided that it has a lot of potential. It could completly replace chat services and become a great extension for GoogleDocs, and any kind of collaborative work. It still needs a lot of polish, but it's got a lot going for it considering it's still a "Preview." Whatever the hell that means.

>> End (7/50)

When I grow UP!

2009-11-10T18:54:00.002-05:00

People keep asking me what I want to do with my life. Am I supposed to know? I'm doing research for a feature story I am writing and we are told from when we are young that we will have 7 to 15 occupations (yikes!) throughout our lives!

Sure, I am getting a master's degree in Public Communication, but the degree is still broad. I could work in advocacy, marketing or advertising. I could work for a television channel, a newspaper, a gigantic Public Relations firm, the government or even a little boutique PR firm.

I just fail to see how/why I am supposed to have only one idea of what I want to do. I look at that as setting yourself up for failure. For example, someone who grew up their whole lives saying, "I am going to ___________" and they were very specific, might find out that the job market for that occupation is extremely small. Whereas, someone who thought, I could do any number of things and be happy, wouldn't that be better?

I think of myself as being happy in pretty much any occupation that I could care about. As long as I can be creative and use my skills I will be happy. So stop asking me what I want to do when I graduate, unless you're prepared to hear, "Be happy."

Lunch on the Quad

2009-11-09T18:51:00.002-05:00

Anticipating problems with posting every day for fifty days, I thought it would be pertinent to find an iPhone App that made it easier to post on the go! Luckily for me, they have an app for that... About 30 actually! The apps range in price and silly features.

I went with BlogPressLite. Mainly because it was made in partnership with Google's Blogger, and because the price was right... That means free for those of you who have never hung out with my Dad.

But title of the post was "Lunch on the Quad," not "Hey, I Got This New App"

I used to be a questioning cheese liker. I mean, it was fine.

I wasn't an enthusiast. I had the ones I was in to: stilton, munster, sharp cheddar, irish cheddar, mozzarella, many others. I never associated this cheese enjoyment with me actually liking cheese. I'm not sure why. Probably some ancient mental block; yes, we'll say that's why.

I had cheese I avoided: stinky, semi-soft, cottage, american.

But that was before. I will be the first to admit the err of my ways. Recently, under the tutalage of Whole Foods in partnership with KKP, I've been learning. It all started with liking Goat cheese in my pasta at Carrabbas a number of years ago. I have never been one to turn down a new flavor or food. I had a grasshopper taco after all.

Today, I was hungry. From the girl's last visit I still had a large chunk of something Larencho or something and some little cut up bits of other cheeses. I wanted to get rid of them into my tummy. Visiting Whole Foods for a baguette I picked up a new goat cheese (capricho de cabra w/ fine herbs) and two locally grown roma tomatos! Combined with a blanket and a pocketknife it turned into a really nice lunch on the quad.

After sitting there for a while Yussi came to join me. He had mentioned online that it sounded like a date... I agreed, so as he walked away I yelled, "Call Me!" in the most desparate yell I could making the obligatory phone hand gesture.

I also used the iPhone to make this entire post. I utilized screenshots and the iPhone camera for the photos, Adobe Photoshop App for the photo editing and as I mentioned the BlogPressLite App for the posting.

I will leave the signature at the bottom just to show that the iPhone still kicks the blackberrys ugly butt all over the web. Download the apps from the iTunes App Store!

>> End (5/50 - 10% already!)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pig Pickin' in Middletown, VA

2009-11-08T16:15:00.008-05:00

So last night I was incommunicado, mostly.

A group of us from PC+ (the plus is significant others and friends) drove our butts out to rural Virginia for a Pig Pickin'!

It consisted of a 350lb pig - smoked for 24 hours, a live bluegrass band - who, needless to say, could play some sweet covers of Journey songs, and about 160 of Eric's roommates closest friend all in tents across a large campground.

I had never been to anything like this, a bunch of 20-somethings by ourselves drinking the 8 kegs of beer and eating pork while listening to some young guys playing bluegrass.

There was hootin'. There was hollerin'. We whooped. We hopped. We boogied.

After we'd scoped the place out, we had to set our tent up in semidarkness, only to discover the 6-8 person tent had no rainfly.

As you can see, we improvised.

The night went well, we enjoyed the multitude of beer, Lidia's +1 (who is very French) stole the camera, took pictures of everyone in the campsite, and tried (in miserably hilarious fashion) to say "Howdy!" It came out as more of a "Wwhooo-Dee!"

City Folk camping is one of my favorite things. It's so entertaining, the girls with leggings, puffy jackets and headbands. The bottles of wine which Lidia managed, miraculously, to open. Always entertaining.

Just really quickly lemme get this out of the way.

[rant]

LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS. THEY ARE LONG UNDERWEAR. STOP PUTTING THEM ON WITH FUZZY BOOTS AND PRETENDING THEY ARE PANTS.

[/rant]

Thanks to this trip, I was able to play my harmonica while IN the Shenandoah Valley which suited me just fine. And I got to make s'mores, done while reciting Ham's lines from Sandlot.

Ham Porter: Hey, Smalls, you wanna s'more?

Smalls: Some more of what?

Ham Porter: No, do you wanna s'more?

Smalls: I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?

Ham Porter: You're killing me Smalls! These are s'more's stuff! Alrite now pay attention. First you take the graham, you stick the chocolate on the graham. Then you roast the 'mallow. When the 'mallows flaming... you stick it on the chocolate. Then cover with the other end. Then you scarf. Kind of messy, but good!

The bluegrass band was really great. I talked with the bassist for a while at 1am when it was 38 degrees. He was a good guy. The band was good enough to keep people warm and dancing in the cold - here's a girl dancing around her huge bottle of Seagram's 7: which was doing it's part to keep their group warm too.

The morning was pretty slow for some, as we were sleeping outside - something that not all are accustomed to.

I think the funniest part of the morning was the City Folk Breakfast we had. Eric had mentioned to bring breakfast food for ourselves in camp. My experience with morning after drinking, combined with my outdoor experience led me to PBJ. No fire needed, no cleanup.

My friends were thinking much more openly. We breakfasted on paper plates, sitting on a rain fly. Food was brought in two trader joe's bags: hummus, bananas, two types of breads, goat cheese, two avocados, applesauce, and beans (which remained virginal as no one had brought a CAN opener).

I did an inner laugh eating my pbj while the City Folk opened up their individually wrapped and packaged component breakfast, but I couldn't not join in! We laughed about it together and then packed a good size bag of trash after we were all pleasantly filled.

>> End (4/50)

Mac vs Windows (they are both PCs)

2009-11-07T13:19:00.003-05:00

Recently, I switched from a Windows based computer to a Mac. PC means personal computer, so unless Apple is trying to imply that they are not a personal computer... I am going to use Windows as the comparison because Microsoft doesn't create hardware.

Right, where was it... I’ve been using the Mac exclusively since August. Having used a Windows based PC since I was 11 (and a Commodore64 prior to then) I was pretty interested in the new territory of OS X.

OS X is marketed as the “Most Advanced Operating System in the World.” I am not qualified to decide one way or another, but now that Windows 7 is out I decided I would weigh in with my own little opinion.

Thesis: Mac is an extremely easy to use operating system, but it cannot topple Windows because of Apple’s control of the hardware and OS - its not loose or open. Because of it's openness Windows can run on almost any hardware, and that makes it ideal for way too many people.

After using both systems, I have to say that Apple is on the right track. Build an operating system (OS X) that simple, attractive and powerful. Make it easy for a user to feel like they can’t break it and they will love it. Microsoft’s big downfall here is not that Windows is unattractive, Windows 7 is downright glowy! It’s not that it’s not simple. You only need one menu to access anything in the whole system. Nor is it not powerful. Windows can run on any PC, Netbook, Phone, anything. If it’s a standard architecture (or maybe not!) Windows will run - though maybe not well.

No, Window’s flaw, is that when it does crash (which happens less now than in the old days) it TELLS you WHY it crashed. OS X DOES crash. Shit happens. When it does occasionally it will pop up a little Window about telling Apple what happened. When Windows crashes you get a complicated informational Window about uploading information because shit in the fan and Windows didn't know what to do, blah, blah.

This gives a very negative impression!

So lets get to this comparison. How do I feel about OS X? I like it, I like it a lot. It works great, I don’t have to worry about it having problems or leaking memory or having system failures. Shit just works.

Admittedly, I haven’t used Windows 7’s “official” release yet, but I had a release candidate for a few months, and it works great. No crashes and no problems.

Now that I have a Mac I expected to change my opinions, but ultimately, it still doesn’t matter which you have. If you want to spend $1000 on a premium laptop, and don’t mind buying all new software if you are normally a Windows user, then get a Mac. If you have never chosen sides and you want a cheap computer for surfing the net and writing on your friends’ Facebook walls - get a frickin’ Netbook. If you need a computer for BUSINESS, word processing, gaming, ALL PURPOSE. Get a Windows machine, it will serve you better.

“ But what about viruses?” you blurt out.

“Sigh,” are you really paying that little attention?

I just have to vent for a second PC vs Mac Ads are funny, they are creative, but they are also misleading. The comparable Windows Ads where you can get a computer for less than $1000 are not at all, because you can. Apple’s Ads never tell you how the computer works, they just tell you what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t get viruses, of course not! No one writes a virus for a proprietary system that is only used by 9% of the computing populace. Hackers are just like anyone, they don’t want to waste their time on 9& when they can get the other 90% (I’m assuming Linux is 1%).

The Apple Ads are funny, but they don’t tell you that when their computers crash, you need to go to the Apple store (unless you paid in advance) make an appointment, and wait in line, only to be treated like an idiot and told blah blah blah...

Where do you take your Windows machine if it breaks? Depends! How would you hold Windows accountable for Compaq, Dell, Gateway, eMachine, BestBuy, CircutCity, Tom’s Discount Computer, ATI, Nvidia, PNY, and all the hundreds of other stores/components/software that your computer has in it?

You don’t blame All Clad when your food sucks do you? All Clad just helps your stove help you. Thats what an operating system does. In this analogy, OS X is All Clad, and Windows is ... I dunno Calphalon. It’s not as pretty, but it does the job really well. Just differently.

Anyway, the nut graph for this post is:

Mac: you made a great product, it’s beautiful and functional. I enjoy computing most of the time, but I miss the versatility of Windows. I feel somewhat limited by the prettiness of your interface and the lack of universal software availability.

Windows: you make a pretty good product, lets joke it’s a Windows 7 our of 10. It’s a shit-ton better than Vista, but it still needs that je nies se qua. Windows, you work hard. Even in a shitty Dell, you still can kick ass. On a netbook you don’t need a turtleneck to be cool, and while Vista wasn’t the best, it wasn’t as bad as Apple’s ugly OS 9. Windows, you’ve gotta face facts, you’ll never really be “Cool” because you’re “The Man” Until you say screw business, I want to make movies, edit pictures and make pretty things like Mac does. We both know that’s not going to happen, you’d lose serious coin! Mac is kind of flaming, but he’s popular. Just stick it out and know that you, Windows, will always be comfortably ahead because you work with anyone, not just the cliquy kids.

>> Post 3/50

A Prince(ss) for a Day (2/50)

2009-11-06T16:30:00.007-05:00

I officially have a great current female partner. She complained to me that I called her that. She said it makes her seem temporary. I am here to say, "Internets, this girl has been around since January so I guess we can just call her the girlfriend."

The greatness of her was manifest last weekend during her visit. The Girlfriend was pre-pnumonia (as we found out later) and flu-esque, but still managed to create a set of costumes based on our theme: Princess Peach (Toadstool) and Mario.

I know what you're thinking, "Trace, that has been done before!" I know that. So, like a not-to-clever marketing scheme from an expensive cooking store, we put a new twist on an old classic.

That's correct, I was the Princess, and she was the hero. What do you think of that internets?

I'm not here to talk about the benefits of a good sewing machine, combined with a romantic partner - as she did construct the costumes at home, in her spare time, Sally Struthers style - but instead I thought I would point out what it was like to be a Princess for the night.

Halloween began normally. We watched some scary movies (abnormally we enjoyed some wine and ate bread and cheese with rosemary infused olive oil that the girl had taught me how to make the night before) and cuddled. As it turned out we didn't have a sewing needle to fix the costumes with... this is when my life flipped. I had a typical "Chick Night" rather than spill everything to Teh Internets, I will just give the relevant details...

My night as a Chick:

Being a chick is difficult. First of all you have to think about what to wear, and how everything looks and fits on you. I tried my costume out twice before I wore it for Halloween night, made sure my hair was perfect. I even started "getting ready" a week before by making sure my hair washing and shaving cycles were right on for the big night.
I knew exactly what time the party started, and was fully prepared to leave on time, but I was doing last minute things and ended up an hour late.
The first party was a Pre-Halloween Party. We were going to go there, drink, and get ready. We had four bags of stuff to wear and primp with, and some alterations for the costume. I make a really strong vanilla vodka and pepsi for me and Mario before going to Anna's bedroom to change.
The dress was really tight, but I got in by jumping up and down. Once it was on, I had Anna sew me in.
Once into the dress, I put in my earrings (which I had borrowed from my roommate - they were really cute), had Anna do my makeup and did my hair.
Mario came upstairs and got ready in about 10 minutes.
We drank our drinks and had a great time until the party was about to be done.
It was really hot in the house so I had to keep holding my hair off my neck to cool off. Finally, I went outside to walk to the metro.
In the metro guys kept looking at me and making comments. Mario laughed a lot.
I got cat-called at like 6 times going from Cleveland Park to Adams Morgan.
Getting out of the Metro I was feeling pretty good. Mario and I held hands and walked to the strip. Mario told me I looked pretty.
The next party was crowded and hot again, but it was okay. I'd been in the dress long enough that I was used to it now. I had to keep putting my straps back on my shoulders because they kept falling off!
At the next party there was a lot of booty shaking which I am not really into. I don't have too much of a booty so I took care of making the drinks again. They had some beer in the fridge, but it was only corona so Mario and I looked into the bottle table. Everything was gone except the Tequila and Tropicana. We made them a little strong, but it was 2am so we weren't worried.
I had no idea it was Daylight Savings Time tonight, so I wasn't sure what time it was. I went to look in my clutch but the strap broke and the zipper was closed. There was no way to close it if I opened it, so I didn't worry about what time it was.
Mario drank all my drink after he drank his because I wasn't feeling it.
I was mingling and then I couldn't find Mario, so I went to look.
The Girlfriend was sick in the bathroom. I held her hair and rubbed her back.
We left the party to get to the metro before it closed at 3am
Arriving back at Tenleytown I still didn't have a coat, Mario was drunk, the clutch was broken, the shuttle was gone and it was raining and cold.
Mario and I walked home in the rain, my shoes were hurting me, I was sure I would get blisters, my hair was falling in my face because it was wet, and I was sure my makeup was running. I looked like a drowned rat and was holding my arms over myself to keep warm in the little dress.
Getting home Mario was too drunk to do anything else. So we went to sleep.

That was my night as a Chick!! It was pretty fun, but I have to say it is WAY better to be a man.

I would summarize what makes it a chick night, but I think those of you that know the salient details have already picked them out.

Me as Princess Peach walking away into the night... Goodbye Halloween, we will miss you.

>> Post 2 of 50!

50 Posts in 50 Days (1/50)

2009-11-05T11:34:00.005-05:00

Since I opened this blog in 2005, a lot has changed in my life and in the world at large.

I moved away and back again. China has become "capitalist" and forewent their isolationist Communism. I started a book about my time abroad, which I haven't finished (yet). The United States elected a new progressive, mixed racial, first generation American, Midwestern President. We've seen a major recession come and (according to the news) go. After being rejected from UW-Madison and LSE, I was accepted to NYU and American University, where I currently attend Graduate School. American University's location in Washington, DC required me to move to the East Coast where I now live and have half of a Master's Degree under my belt.

On the other hand, Canada is still real big (and relatively cold). The World Trade Center is still a hole in the ground. Outback Steakhouse still makes an amazing Bloomin' Onion, though a mediocre steak. Lord of the Rings still hasn't been released on Blu-Ray - which beat out HDDvd as the premier DVD format. The Pub Runners are still great, and both Daddies. Fort Mackinac hasn't closed - and the Michigan budgetary problems haven't gotten any better, nor significantly worse.

I’ve dated quite a bit since 2005, broken some hearts, and had mine broken (cheese alert!). There have been natural disasters, personal disasters, and supernatural disasters… probably. Reality TV is still horrendous and popular. Oh, and many of my friends are now married, Eric & Katy just popped out a Lucas, and people seem to be creating nice lives for themselves.

Last night, I was on the phone with my current female partner. She has been debating starting a new blog, but was worried that she would “fail” at blogging. I tried to explain to blog for you and not for the world, but she was still worried. “Okay then, 50 posts in 50 days,” I challenged, “or 50 posts before Christmas!” “It’s 49 days until Christmas,” she contended. We decided on 50 before the end of the year; she accepted, on one condition that I too, must participate.

The rules are:

1. One post every day for 50 days (1200 hours, 7.14 weeks, 1.667 months, 13% of one year)

2. A “post” is defined as at least 5 sentences/lines whichever is longer.

Simple. Elegant. Painful?

This is it. Post number 1 in the 50 blogs, in 50 days Challenge.

I’m not sure what the topics will be, or when I will find the time to post, but I will not lose this challenge. 50 blogs, in 50 days. I hope at some point to find a rhythm. I can’t promise every post will be earth shattering or insightful, but I can promise there will be 50 of them. Quantity is the impetus of the challenge. With any luck somewhere in the insipid mass of posts over the next 7 weeks there might be something good. You will find out when I do – assuming anyone actually reads this other than me.

>> End Post 1 of 50

College Essentials DVDebacle: UPDATE Oct27

2009-10-27T01:46:00.013-04:00

For those of you following along, I recently purchased this piece of crap from Woot.com.

Here is some more information on it.

Basically, it's a collection of the 24 College-type movies that you can see here. They call them the college essentials pack. It contains:

This is a pretty good selection, or so I thought at the time, so I purchased it. The problem comes later my friends.

Almost 10 days later, I am using my little mac dashboard thingy to track my postage...

Day 1-5... no news from w00t. They are probably too busy because of the MASSIVE amount of orders for this amazing deal. no joke... .... .......
Day 6... shipment info arrives in Dallas... okay that sounds right.
Day 7... shipment leaves Dallas, TX. YES! It's on it's way! If only I were truly excited.

This is where the fun starts boys and girls.

Day 8... arrives in New Berlin? Where's that? I expand the widget, which was too small to display the whole thing...

Wisconsin? That's not on the way to Washington DC. Huh... how strange?

I decided to do some research. I went to my account and glanced at the address, just fine. Yep everything looks guuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... wtf.

I typed my address wrong. (I will reprint it here with some things changed to avoid junk mail):

4**0 Sedgwiz St E
Washington DC 48820

Sing it with me now! One of these things is not like the other, one of these things, doesn't belong!
I had typed everything correctly except the zip code. This means that FedEx was doing it's job just fine, except the whole reading the city/state thing.

While I do recognize that I failed pretty amazingly, you must know that I don't want to blame myself here. It is much easier to blame the stupid FedEx truck with the cute little dog on it... stupid dog... ruining my packages... that is blocking the only good parking spot on the whole damn street EVERY DAY.

Anyway, so I decided to write an email to w00t.com, although I realize 2am might be 2 late... em. Knowing it might be too late, I decided to be as honest as possible, describing the situation surrounding my mistake accurately. Which may explain the lack of enthusiasm with which I await my package.

Below is my email verbatim (again with information obstructed):
_______________________________________________________________
From: Trace Dominguez -trace's_fake_email@gmailé.com-
Date: October 27, 2009 1:42:29 AM EDT
To: service@woot.com
Subject: Wrong Zip in the Ship!
_______________________________________________________________
Hello! I ordered the College Essentials DVD Movie - 24 Pack on 10/18/2009 and realized while tracking the package that I typed in my old zip in combination with my new address.

For this, I apologize. I was drunk at the time and couldn't pass up a deal to buy 24 mediocre movies for a good price.

My actual address is:

Trace Dominguez
4**0 Sedgwiz St E
Washington DC, 20016

Below is the copy of the friendly WootBot email. (which I copied to them but is thoroughly uninteresting for the casual reader)

Thank you and I apologize, it wasn't me it was a combination of Hot Apple Cider and Rum, Pumpkin Spiced Beer, and Capt Morgan Spiced Rum mixed with Canada Dry. And the one armed man.

Whatever you think of me, know that I was all kinds of spicy.

Thank you,

Trace Dominguez
____________________________________________________________

I thought it was a good story, though looking at it ad nauseum here just makes it seem sad. Regardless it is now 2:04am. And i have to read my Research Methods textbook. I am glad to have taken this break with you.

TD Out.

UPDATE:
I recieved an email back from w00t!!
______________________________________________________

from: Woot Member Services service@woot.com
to: tracesfakeemail@gmailé.com
date: Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 12:46 PM
subject: Wrong Zip in the Ship!, case # W-436647-9GDQ CRM:00259918
______________________________________________________

That actually sounds like a delicious combonation of alcohol. Unfortunately, address corrections are not possible for packages shipped SmartPost. The package will likely be returned to us. Please watch the scans and email us the correct address once the package in transit back to us. Otherwise, a refund will be issued upon receiving the item back here. Please, do not drink and Woot.

Tye

________________________________________________________

Tye, while the result is saddening, you are correct. The alcohols were very yummy. Thanks for your quick reponse w00t. Someday, when I finally recieve my drunken purchase, I will sit down with some Capt. Morgan and Canada Dry and relive the night I bought this crap. While watching this crap.

I can't wait.

Facebook Commentary

2009-10-11T20:14:00.005-04:00

Today, I attended the National Equal Rights March on the National Mall. I posted this picture to Facebook:

The photo received a number of Likes and a comment:

J*** *******: I'm pretty sure the 14th Amendment already provides equal rights to all Americans regardless of sexual orientation. Or was this march about something else?

I felt the need to respond to J, but I didn't want to post the whole thing on FB. So I posted a blurb with a link to this post. Here is the full comment I wanted to post. Please feel free to comment and correct me if I have a skewed interpretation, maybe it's wrong, maybe it's not specific enough, maybe it's too specific. Let's discuss it

Trace posted:

The March was about Equality across the board.

The 14th attempts to apply to everyone, but there is still bigotry. The 18th amendment was created even with the 14th as the language of the 14th isn't always looked at properly.

Obviously, the 14th wasn't enough to stop the deprivation of rights from specific groups. I wish the 14th was enough.

Federally recognized marriage/spousal benefits was a key topic. The denial of full benefits for couples is a concern for ANY monogamous relationship, and it's still not accepted for the groups that participated today.

The 14th amendment states, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

This language does not specifically imply that laws made restricting the right of marriage are unconstitutional.

The Equal Rights march wants equal liberties for all, and even with the 14th there are States that have denied rights to it's citizens and the laws have not been struck down as unconstitutional.

Unfortunately, some people still don't want to allow other people to have the same rights they enjoy.