(D) vs (R) on minimum wage:

Fox, getting it right.

Climate Expert

Please do me a favor. Next time you hear Al Gore speak about the climate, the earth, or anything that doesn't have to government or maybe law (where his degree and experience might have relevancy) ignore him. He is not an expert and you should not talk him as one (in my humble opinion).

There's plenty of examples you can pull from if you want to - but one of the more recent ones is his interview on the Tonight Show. He refers to the earth's center being millions of degrees (it's MAYBE 13,000, at most). Pretty much anyone that passes an entry level undergrad science course would catch this error - but he goes along touting his ideas as if he's a scientist.

He's not.

Also, is it just me, or does some of his "if people think about it at all" and little chuckles seem just a touch elitist? You tell me.

Show stopper

Periodically it happens; a song comes along that when you hear it on the radio for the first couple times you'll stay in your car until it's finished, even if you've arrived at your destination.

For me, Pearl Jam has a song like that right now. I'll admit, I think part of it is the harsh reality of the Lakewood officers' shooting, and a number of close family and friends being in the line of public service.

Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh,..
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh,..
I’m a lucky man to count on both hands
The ones I love,..

Some folks just have one,
Others they got none, aw huh,..

Stay with me,..
Let’s just breathe.

Practiced are my sins,
Never gonna let me win, aw huh,..
Under everything, just another human being, aw huh,..
Yeh, I don’t wanna hurt, there’s so much in this world
To make me bleed.

Stay with me,..
You’re all I see.

Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t now I’m a fool you see,..
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean.

I wonder everyday
as I look upon your face, aw huh,..
Everything you gave
And nothing you would take, aw huh,..
Nothing you would take,..
Everything you gave.

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t now I’m a fool you see,..
No one know this more than me.
As I come clean.

Nothing you would take,..
everything you gave.
Hold me till I die,..
Meet you on the other side.

The beauty of racing

Just a wonderful montage of racing in slow motion. I recommend watching this full screen and in HD. If I could have picked any career, it would be behind the wheel of a number of these:

Oh Fox...

As I've progressed through the MBA program, I've tried to extend my information inflows and listen to as many sides of a news story as possible. It's always been hard for me to sum up why Fox News rubs me the wrong way, but this little clip nails two of them.

First, they don't notice - or at least reference (even when going over the numbers) that their numbers are obviously flawed.

Second, Fox News has this nasty little habit of forcing their women anchors into a pigeon hole of looks and intelligence. I find this far more offensive than the creative direction Fox takes with their news dialog. Watch, and see what I mean:



Yes, I know - The Daily Show - a comedy show, but I still think they got it right.

Also, something The Daily Show didn't mention as Fox getting horribly wrong in this exchange. The leaked emails referenced were in the end of November (NY Times) and the screwed up Rasmussen Poll was conducted December 1st and 2nd. So the numbers were POST anti.

Why friends are dangerous

You know this started by one guy saying "Hey, hop on the bike, I wanna try something"...


More Motocross >>

On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs - By Dave Grossman

Thank you Anne for the article.

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman
By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself...

"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.

Playing with the new camera

So I splurged and got a new camera (Canon 7D) before the holidays this year. I'm not completely comfortable with the split personality of it yet. It has one side that I'm very used to (photos) and one that I'm a complete amateur (HD Video).

That being said, the video is very fun to play with:

http://www.vimeo.com/7764740

Ever want to see Paris - Quickly?

On an August morning in 1976, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.

No dialogue, just the squeal of tires and the roar of the engine. Breathtakingly insane

Directed by Claude Lelouch, France, 1976
Cinematography by Jacques Lefrançois

My type of navigator

I really wish I could buy a GPS with this amount of enthusiasm:

June, 2010 - Not that far?

I remember a year ago, when I was just starting to wade into the depths of the MBA program and thinking that August 2010 sounded like a distance in time that should be used to describe celestial travel, not my final (hopefully?) journey in schooling.

Well, one year later and due to persistence (and possibly some crazy hard work over the next 6 months), June (not August) 2010 is sounding very reasonable. Okay, I'm lying; it still sounds burdensome, but manageable. June is now the month I get my weekends back; when Anne and I finally get to see what unadulterated free time feels like again.

It hasn't all been arduous, we have managed to sneak in some fun here and there - and I finally have a computer back where I can unload my photos. So, here's a couple of the highlights from May until September. I couldn't believe it when I saw I hadn't unloaded my camera since May. Ridiculous.

Ava - showing off her tree climbing skills:



Jack, absolutely loving some baseball. This little man is by far tops on my list for "where is all that free time going to go?":



From Amanda's wedding in Lodi:



Okay, I'm lazy - slide show for the rest:

More Ken Block

Don't miss the guest blog by Anne below this post

Ken just has too much fun. First - him play around with Chris Atkinson (Subaru 2007 driver) in a 1970's Ford... that's a touch modified:



Ken helping launch a new Xbox360 game in the UK - by giving people rides in his car. Priceless reactions follow. My favorite, "When I crash, my co-driver - she doesn't scream."

The Unlikely Blogger – A Guest Blog

Let me begin by offering my thanks to Bryce for the opportunity to write this week’s entry on his blog. From the time we started dating, I have asked him occasional questions about why people blog, where they find material, and who reads it. During this time, I have also become quite addicted to reading his blog. After asking him multiple times lately when he is going to update it, he threw back, “Why don’t you write a guest blog?” So here we are.

For those of you that I haven’t met, I am not what you would call the most technological person. I’m not a technophobe by any means, but compared to Bryce I certainly look like one. A classic example of this was a conversation from the first time I met his friend Tow. It went as follows:

Tow: So do you play games?
Anne: You mean like Scrabble? Yeah, I love board games!
Tow: No, like video games.
Anne: Oh, I do the Wii Fit.
Tow: The Wii Fit doesn’t count.
Anne: Sometimes I play Wii Bowling…
Tow: Nothing on the Wii counts.

Clearly I am not the best choice to be writing a guest blog! Luckily Bryce sees past my inability to know which server is running as well as my affinity for radios. In case you’re wondering, the only one in his house was a clock radio until his friend Jeremiah told me how to use the mixer to find channels.

We have been busy the past month or so. We finally had a break from school and filled it travel (some work and some fun) plus several house-type projects. Most recently, we spent a long weekend in Northern California visiting my sister and attending a wedding. I’m sure Bryce will be posting pictures soon – he took some really good ones.

In other exciting news, we are officially halfway through the MBA program! While it has been a great experience and I think we’re both very glad we’re doing it, we will also be glad to have our nights and weekends back to ourselves in a year.

Speaking of weekends, I can only assume that everyone is as excited about the return of the NFL as we are. Bryce may edit this out, but I have to at least try to sneak it in. “GO BEARS!!!”

I believe that’s all the news that’s fit to print. Bryce always has really interesting or informative video clips, but I’m just going to end with one of my favorite videos, the kind you can watch over and over and still find hysterical.



Thanks for reading!
The Guest Blogger (aka Anne)

Amusing Ourselves to Death

I've been a huge fan of Prof Wesch's (University of Kansas) work on what can only be described as Digital Ethnography. In one of his latest videos, he tries to answer some very interesting questions about blogging, social media sites, and what it all means to the generation growing up with and through it.

Ever wonder why people blog, or post "personal confessions" to youtube? Watch and listen:

Rally Racing Basics

The Basics of Rally Racing, from Colin McRae - all done, interview style, while driving impressively fast.

Left Foot Braking:



Pace notes:



Powersliding:



Scandinavian Flick & Hand Brake Turns:

Couple quick videos

Nothing real substantive - just a couple videos:


Who knew snowboarders could fly:


More snowboarding Snowboarding >>


Pikes Peak happened about a month ago, and a couple really nice quality videos have made it out. First, Marcus Gronholm in a Ford (one of my more favorite, now retired, WRC drivers):



I can't embed this second on in HD - so just click play, then click HD and head off to their website. World record run this year in the two wheel drive class. Oh, by that crappy little car company, Hyundai (yes, that is a barb meant for a specific individual).

CLIMB ATTACK from Will Roegge on Vimeo.

More? Sure, why not:

A tribute to the best motorsport in the world. It is for many reason, but to name a couple: The talent require for the races, it's ability to bring racing to the common person (in both the race and cars), and how it truly has spanned the globe.



Music:
Rising Empire Choir #1 - Immediate Music
Gears of War 2 - Heroic Assault
Hans Zimmer Megamix Vol 1 - Honour Him from Gladiator

*******

Food for thought:

Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test.

So here is my Question.......

Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them?

Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their rump --doing drugs, while I work. . . . Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check?

I guess we could title that program, 'Urine or You're Out'.

*******

Air New Zealand has an interesting way of talking to you about the bare essentials of flying:



And some bloopers:



Lastly, Robbie Maddison is still doing crazy stuff:

And hello again...

So, I've had people say, "Hey Bryce, its summer, how come you are not blogging now? I mean you can't have school as an excuse right now, can you?"

Of course I can. The program I am going through does not slow down for summer (this one, or the next one). As with any program, I've had some good and bad classes, but over the course of the last couple month, they have been very good (but extremely demanding).

I will admit, pre-January, if I wasn't spending time doing work or school stuff, I would sit down and try to pull together my thoughts of the week. Since January (25th to be specific), at lot of those thoughts, discussions and debates (hey, its me) have been directed towards Ms. Anne:



Meet Anne. I know I mentioned her in passing in the last blog, but I felt she deserves a much bigger mention this time around. Feel free to assume from this point forward, when I say "we", it means Anne and me. =)

I wanted to thank everyone that wished me well on my birthday. Unfortunately I spent most of the day in class, but the end of the day was filled with Anne tricking me to walk into the Safeway bakery (so she could pickup a cake she had made for me), as we walked over to a classmates house to watch UFC 100. I little beer run turned into a birthday cake (and beer) run. It put a smile on my face for sure.



So, it wouldn't be a typical blog if it didn't include at least one link, would it?

Here a choir simulates a rain storm with their hands (and more), and then sings a song. You'll see:



Ken Block has been out having fun again; this time with two video. The first is a follow up to his first "practice", and the second he takes Captain Slow (from Top Gear) on a nice, gentile ride.







Anyways, I do hope to be back with some better posts here shortly.

Saturday 2009 - Edition Whatever

So I've fallen off the blogging wagon for now. School this quarter is taking up every spare moment I have. Well, not 100% true, I have managed to fit in a round of golf, and a couple trips to the symphony. It's mighty nice to have someone around that is ready to join me (Anne, if anyone is wondering). :-)

Here is a very interesting (and very large) picture of the national budget. Kind of hard to believe they can't find pieces of it to cut to bring us into a balanced budget:

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/5927/wallstatsdatlarge.jpg

The Olympus Rally was this weekend (I did not manage to go). Here's a little clip from the Rally-America website of some of the top drivers:

Saturday 2009 - Edition 13

Sunriver pictures are up (lots of dog shots, its been a while since I've had them out and about where I can focus on them):

View Album

Get your own

Oh our silly government:

Saturday 2009 - Edition 11 & 12

Updates are in the Twitter app to the right - I'm on vacation having a wonderful time and will try to upload a picture a day. =)

Saturday 2009 - Edition 10

Going to be a couple great weeks. This quarter of school is almost over and my spring break is already planned out: Anne and I are going to be heading over to Spokane for a wedding, then down to Sunriver for a week. I just ordered a new camera that I have been drooling over for months, so I'm sure you're going to be seeing (hopefully) some very nice pictures (and videos!) here shortly.

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2326

I'm no Vincent Laforet, but hopefully I can make something remotely interesting.

****Links****

Best bathroom in the world:



I've decided to start watching all the episodes of the west wing (probably over the next year+ as I don't have a lot of free time). Always heard great reviews; this was one clip Doug sent me just the other day.




"My position concerning God is that of an agnostic. I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment"
-Albert Einstein in a letter to M. Berkowitz, October 25, 1950


And on a less serious note, I hope to someday have as much fun as these guys are:

Saturday 2009 - Edition 9

I apologize for the brevity of the blogs the last couple weeks. I am in the middle of a fairly wordy marketing project, and I'm afraid it is consuming just about all my big words.

"Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy". If you're not able to watch hulu videos (my Canadian friends), just hop over to youtube and search up this clip from the Conan show. I have to thank Uncle Steven for mentioning it to me as we plotted the destruction of his brother on Facebook. I know that sounds cruel (and nerdy), but when someone starts throwing around Marxist quotes when talking about income tax, he's just asking to be made fun of.

Anyways, the clip. Its great. Watch it



An interesting NPR Story (seriously). I really liked the part when the girl talks about how its refreshing to write on a typewriter when trying to be creative. No spell check, no internet messages. It does sound refreshing sometimes. The story also features a woman that has been using a typewriter for nearly 90 years now.
A great 7 minute story about typewriters If you have a second (well, 438 of them), take a listen.

Saturday 2009 - Edition 8

Been a very good week. Second quarter of school is winding down, and I can already tell that passing these classes is already a forgone conclusion; which really takes a lot of stress off the rest of the quarter. This last weekend Anne and I went to the Tacoma Symphony to see them perform Egmont Overture (Beethoven), A Lincoln Portrait (Copland), and Symphon No. 1, "Titan" (Mahler). It was absolutely fantastic. For the Lincoln Portrait they had a monologue spoken over the last 1/3rd of the performance. Half surprisingly, it wasn't campy at all and in-fact was very moving. I'm a little ashamed I had no clue the caliper of symphony we had in Tacoma. Leave it to a board member to seduce me and take me to a show. ;-)

This Saturday we're heading (Anne & my parents) to see Doc Severinsen perform at Benaroya Hall in Seattle (performing an all new show called El Ritmo de la Vida - Rhythm of Life). Doc was the first trumpet CD I ever bought, and I'm absolutely thrilled to catch him live. I'm sure next week I'll have a couple things to say about the show.

Onto this week's random links:

12 Reasons I'll never go to Australia

Oh you silly Republicans



FORD - STOP BEING STUPID. Bring the Focus RS to the USA:

Saturday 2009 - Edition 7

Unsurprisingly its been a bit crazy. Second quarter of school is in full swing (just finished mid-terms), and we're all getting a bit loopy. Every Sunday a couple of us get together and attempted to make sense of all the incoming information. It is a very serious group, and we get a TON done:



Okay, so sometimes our best intentions are overridden by caffeine, sugar, and a necessity to laugh.

Luckily we have a couple mascots to put us back on our educational ways..

Saturday 2009 - Edition 6

Really wish they gave sick days in the MBA program. My teacher thought I looked so bad on Tuesday (tired / sick) she stopped class to give me a piece of gum to wake me up.

Seriously.

Its been that type of week.

-Bk

Saturday 2009 - Edition 5

Pictures from Jack's 1st Birthday

View Album

Get your own

I really thought this photo was intriguing. Obviously its a mainly photoshopped, but the old feel to it is a bit creepy. Its titled: "Memories from Tomorrow"




Bill Gates @ Technology Entertainment & Design (TED). Its a very interesting 20 minute presentation (You might have seen the news article about his releasing a bunch of mosquitoes):

Saturday 2009 - Edition 4

3 Case studies, 1 marketing project primary & secondary research, 4 chapters of reading, 2 tests to study for, 2 birthday parties, 1 UFC Fight, 1 Super Bowl, 1 Case Summary & Presentation. That's my weekend... yours?

Finally getting just a couple Christmas photos up. Nothing major, just a couple cute ones of Jack.



One of these days I'm going to have enough time and effort to create my own gigapan image, but for now, enjoy the splendor of a 1,400+ GIGAPIXEL (1,400,000 megapixel) image.

For fun: Find Yo-Yo Ma taking a picture of the event with his iPhone

Return of the vote! I had fun last week putting someone up to a vote, I'm doing it again. Don't think this is a trend, because I'm bound to not get one up next week. Something a bit more obscure this week though. Two guitar virtuosos, playing Malaguena. Who do you think is better? I implore you to listen to them both all the way through, as both are EXTREMELY impressive.

Roy Clark


Jose Feliciano

 Master of Malaguena

• 
  
  Roy Clark (in color)


• 
  
  Jose Feliciano


• 
  
  Malawhatna?

view results
Free vote poll

Saturday 2009 - Edition 3

Special Edition with a very important question:

Who is the better dancer. Mr. Carlton Banks or Mr. Christopher Turk (vote below)

Up first, Mr. Banks



In rebuttal, Mr. Turk

 Turk or Carlton

• 
  
  Turk


• 
  
  Carlton

view results
Free vote poll

That is it for this week. Edition #4 promises to be much longer

Saturday 2009 - Edition 2

Been a bit crazy this week as my MBA classes are getting into full swing and we are in the process of training a new secretary at work. Not as bad as it normally would be as I have plenty of work experience with Ashlee (~8 years at the Energy Program together).

It is also looking much more definite that I will have roommates in about a month (Doug and Avery). Should be a very interesting and vitalizing transition. I know Forrest is looking forward to having more laps to sit on and a cat to bother. I am realizing that using my two spare bedrooms as dumping grounds for random boxes and other items for the last two years is now a decision that is going to bit me in the ass. Clean Up! Isle 2... and 3. >.<




I was hoping to have round 2 of the December photos (Christmas) up this weekend, but its going to have to wait until Edition 3 at least...maybe longer. Do I smell a Christmas in July edition? Who knows.

Onto this weeks fun (and frightening) links. I actually don't have any of Master Pilot and owner of huge balls of steal Chesley Sullenberger (The US Air / Hudson River). Could he have been any more qualified? You know Airlines should charge premium for flights by guys like him. I'd pay.


On the note of flying crashes, I bring you - Shit happens fast:



Two notes: 1) There was sufficient evidence that the helicopter was sabotaged (dirt in the gas tank). 2) No, dumbass - don't get out of the crashed and probably burning wreckage.


Laugh time - a bunch of elevator pranks. I've seen a couple of these, but not all. What a riot of a good time:




I do not think this qualifies as a "slow controlled burn". Dad? Scott? Mind weighing in.




The coolest guy in science right now (in my opinion) talking about a very large asteroid that has at least a decent chance of hitting the earth. Interesting to hear about, and he's kind of funny for a genius:



Lastly and least seriously. Nice to see that brilliant people in the world still know exactly what people need on the iPhone.

Saturday 2009 - Edition 1

A new year, and back to the grind I go; mainly school. I have Marketing & Finance classes to tackle this quarter. Going to have some interesting deliverable to work through I fear. For the blog, I am going to yet again attempt to have some random updates, chat, links and other things every Saturday. We'll see how long I can keep it up. I'm still working through all my pictures from the break I took in December. The first round is from my week in Vancouver.









****** Some links from over the last week:******

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Bank of England rate to its lowest in history (1.5%). Think about that again. IN
ITS HISTORY. That's over 315 years; founded in 1694. That is the power of the derivatives' market. Doesn't seem like such a surprise anymore that Warren Buffet called these thing Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction. .. IN 2003. Yes. 2003. And you wonder why those of us in business think Buffet is an absolute genius.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7817453.stm
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How to become your own web sherpa; Learn google's tricks(7minutes):


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A 20 minute speech from Mike Rowe - both entertaining and insightful. He somehow manages to talk about having a pair of testicles on his chin, in a very insightful way.

http://fora.tv/2008/12/12/Mike_Rowe_on_Discovery_Realization_and_Lamb_Castration
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If there is another website I'd say to checkout everyday, its the photos over at the Boston globe.

Everything is more badass (deadly) in Australia ... even Christmas:

A man dressed as a Krampus, traditionally the companion of St. Nicholas who might dole out punishment to bad children. One of Austria's unique Advent traditions, this man is seen as a part of a Krampus procession in the city of Unken, Austria on Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)

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A month break?!?

So, I took December off. From just about everything and everyone.

School starts on Monday - so, I'll be back in the swing of things here very shortly. Not really sure how much I'm going to keep the blog up or not. Also "Resolution Challenge 2009" seems to be in danger of being pushed to 2010 or 2011; not really sure how much interest (personally and externally) there is.