10.31.2007

Climate Change

I've finally found something in all the noise about climate change that finally poses the questions I've been wondering about in this important debate: are humans to blame for climate change? and, can we do anything to stop it? Watch this and tell me what you think in the comments.


*Thanks to Ben for finding this clip

It's comforting to hear an opposing view point on this popular bandwagon issue.

10.26.2007

In Case You Were Unsure...

...Microsoft Word's spelling checker has the correct spelling of "Keanu" if you ever feel the need to write a paper on how much you love one of the most expresionless actors in Hollywood's greatest actors.

Sleezy Salesman

Even if his product could revolutionize my life, I don't care what this guy is selling cause he comes off like a total sleezeball. You don't even have to be techno-savvy to feel creeped out by this alleged "system architect."


What was your worse experience with a creepy salesman?





10.25.2007

Great Moments in Giving


So we're in the middle of our "Fall Giving Campaign," and we have these big posters on every floor just outside the elevators where we can write the different causes we support. Most entries are pretty typical:

"Austin Humane Society"

"Community Partnership for the Homeless"

"Austin Children's Shelter"

"AID -- Association for India's Development"

But I saw one charity that caught my attention, and promises to become a mainstay of my charitable giving.

Yes, that's right: "Pancakes for the Obese." If there's one thing I'm adamant about, it's making sure that obese individuals have the pancakes they deserve. And I'm not talking flapjacks or johnny cakes, I'm talking the good kind. Maybe with blueberries.


*Pictures taken with my iPhone regularPhone


What's your favorite charity?

10.24.2007

Another Austin Accolade

Just read an article from Wired's Epicenter blog that lists Austin as the blogging capital of the US. I'm glad that me and the esposa contribute to Austin's connectedness. In fact, we Austonians are trying to keep on the cutting edge of bloggery, and are throwing around a new name to replace "blog."

Yup, I love my "online journal" or "blournal" as I like to call it (you'll notice I've changed my title to reflect this trendy change).

Great Spaghetti Recipe

You know that we're friends if I've shared the recipe for my mother's delicious spaghetti. It's my favorite meal by far, and if you try it, you'll never be able to eat another sauce again. I'm serious, it will set your expectations so high that any other sauce will disappoint.

That being said, I have found one spaghetti recipe that comes close. You can check it out here (trust me, it's worth the visit).

10.19.2007

Taking Care of the Quints



A good friend of mine at work's wife had quintuplets a few months ago, and Katie and I spent a few hours helping to take care of them last week. Now I know what you're thinking: "Todd's looking good in that picture." True? Yes. But seriously folks, let's stick to the important stuff right now!

Actually, what you're probably thinking is, "wow, I think I'd go crazy if I had quintuplets." But you know what? Jayson and Rochelle are doing an fantastic job at giving plenty of attention to their other two kids and taking care of all five newborns at the same time! Rochelle has received the "awesome person" rating from my wife, which means Rochelle is freakin' amazing (I don't think I even get that high a Katie-rating). And I am a huge Jayson fan, especially since he's a multimedia genius and very funny.

They go to my church, and the local congregation has set up a shift schedule where different people are at their house all the time helping out. Their new house is beautiful, with the front dining room and study dedicated to their five new babies and the friends, family and neighbors that help take care of them. You can read all about them in their blogs: wilkinsonquints and Quintuplet Dad.


I'm a Big Deal in Japan

Okay, not really, but I am a big deal in Puerto Rico, South Africa, England and Italy. That's right, using Google Analytics I've installed on this blog to track traffic, I've seen people visit the blog from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; Milan, Italy (thanks Jordo!); Leeds, England; and Cape Town, South Africa.

I have no idea why I'm getting traffic from these diverse places, but I'm going to have to start modifying my content for an international audience! I think my next post will be in England-English! G'day mates!

10.15.2007

New Layout

In case you're not using the Google Reader to follow my blog, you'll notice I changed my layout. What do you think? Better than the black one? Too busy?


Tell me in the comment section.


-

10.11.2007

Leroy Jenkins


Todd you ready to join the fray and enter world of warcraft? We could all go on adventures together.

-JM


Where do I begin?



There are few things more perplexing to me than people's fascination with MMORPG. I'm referring to computer games like World of Warcraft that create virtual worlds where people sit down and pretend to be wizards or trolls or nymphs or whatever for HOURS and HOURS and HOURS at time.

Don't believe me? Check out this TV news piece about an Australian kid with a WoW addiction. My brother-in-law Dan had a guy in his office quit his $300k/year job so that he and his wife could play the game full time. Ridiculous!

Now don't get me wrong, I love computer games. I've been know to play Call of Duty, Halo, or Command and Conquer for hours at a time. But that's all in the name of family emergency preparedness. I mean, won't Katie be glad that I know how to defend our house against Nazis or aliens when one of those two groups decides to invade suburban Austin?

What bothers me the most about these fantasy games is just that: they're fantasy. I never really got in to the whole magic/fantasy thing as a kid. I never played Zelda on Nintendo, I never watched Dungeons and Dragons cartoons, I never wore a cape around school or pretended I could fly. In fact, I spent most of my time making fun of the kids that did that stuff. Even now I can't stand the Harry Potter craze, and really only got into Lord of the Rings because it's epic and an unparalleled piece of fimmaking.

It also really concerns me that so many people spend so much time in the virtual world, that they're contribution to the real world disappears. I don't mean that in an ethical way, although that's true as well. I'm talking about economics. It's already scary enough that the Information Age relies so heavily on ones and zeros (think about it: YouTube sold for $1.65 Billion dollars. That much money just so we could watch funny video clips). Now you've got millions of people paying monthly subscription fees to effectively live in a world that outputs no goods or services (unless you consider sweatshops and child labor a good thing).


Now, if I were to play World of Warcraft, I'd infiltrate a group of players working together, and just as they finalize their plans to lauch a major mission, I'd pull a Leroy Jenkins (a few colorful words, but trust me, it's worth it):




This clip has been viewed millions of times and has spawned a few hillarious parodies:





Even Toyota recently released a WoW-related ad:

Star Wars Theme
+
Trumpet
=
AWESOMENESS!!!!

I normally would just put this on my Google Reader shared feed, but it's so amazing that I need everyone to watch this amazing video.

I found this video on the Best Week Ever blog, where they describe the clip as follows:

...the trumpeteer is a girl named Stacey Hedger, who appears on stage wearing the finest black unitard with silver sparkle-fringed sleeves the 1980’s had to offer. And just when you think you’re about to be blown away by her unbelievable horn skills… she proceeds to pump out the most cacophonous, ear-splitting rendition of the Star Wars theme imaginable. Thankfully, this doesn’t stop her from using her trumpet as a deadly blaster!


This is why I love the Internets:

The key takeaways from this video:

1. Never let any embarrassing videos leave your immediate possession, 'cause they are going to wind up on YouTube.

2. This girl obviously didn't have any friends, because no friend would have let her do that, even in the '80s.

3. If you set up your Google Reader account, you'll be able to catch sweet 'Net gems like this all the time. Shoot me an email or give me a call and I'll help you set it up.

10.09.2007

Katie's Old. Really Old.

Sunday was Katie's bday. And by "bday," I am not trying to abbreviate the name for the French undercarriage cleaner (perverts), I am referring to the fact that she celebrated the completion of 25 years of life.

While me sleeping most of Sunday afternoon cut into the weekend's festive mood, we were able to plant the herb garden (I refuse to leave the 'h' silent and hope you'll respect my pronunciation while on this blog) that Katie has wanted for a long time. You can read Katie's description of the event here, as well as see some pictures.

I do feel somewhat guilty for taking a jab at Katie by calling her "old," but it's only fair, since every time we talk about my age (27, thank you very much) she starts into the "wow-you're-almost-thirty" routine.

So what if I find more and more gray hairlings (they're small) every day? So what if I complain about being stiff the morning following a jog? So what if my lack of a daily abdominal workout is finally resulting in the gradual increase of my belly? I'm a man! (Great video link, it's worth the 30 seconds)

Allergies

Sorry for not posting the last few days, I'm having the worst allergy attack I've had in 10 years. I'm told that Austin is one of the most allergy ridden cities in the country, and that after a few years you start to develop really bad allergies no matter what. That really sucks, and I thought I'd be lucky since I went through YEARS of allergy shots as a kid.

The only "fun" part about these allergies is that I took two Benadryl on Sunday afternoon and subsequently slept for 17 hours; 13 of which were consecutive. I haven't done that since college, and despite missing work on Monday and getting nothing done around the house, I was pretty proud of myself for sleeping that long.

At this point, I think the only way I'm going to make it through tonight is by shoving wads of toilet paper in my nose, which guarantees that I'll snore, which guarantees that Katie is not going to sleep, which guarantees that neither of us is going to happy tomorrow.

Reggie, the guy who's taking my job now that I'm moving to LabVIEW Marketing, got so sick of me sniffling and sneezing all day that he threatened to drill a hole in my face to facilitate the drainage. Needless to say I'm calling in sick any time he and I are on the same Habitat for Humanity volunteer team.

10.03.2007

Split personalities

As I described in an earlier post, another Todd tends to exist right around the time my alarm goes off each morning. I prefer the Todd that exists when I'm going to bed, the Todd that tries to set unique, staggered alarm patterns to try to wake up the lazy Todd the following morning.

That Todd recognizes all the work that needs to be done the following day and sets goals on how to get it all done. Unfortunately, it takes a few hours for that one to emerge the following day.

I think the secret in life is switching the two Todds. That way the morning Todd sets goals and gets things done, and the evening Todd goofs off and has fun.


What are your split personalities?


.

If This Whole Engineering Thing Doesnt Work Out...

...I can always give my towing business some more time:


Katie and I decided to be a trucker and his pregnant bride for Halloween last year. Aren't we cute?


What are you going to be for Halloween this year?


10.01.2007

Home Sweet Home

This weekend marked the end of my whirlwind college recruiting tour that took three weeks of my life and left me with a few more frequent flyer miles and a couple of extra pounds from all the restaurant food. I can't tell you how good it feels to sleep in my bed with my wife and my teacup chihuahua by my side.


That's right, this is our Chihuahua, Bella. Think of me what you will, but I love this little dog. She doesn't bark, she sleeps most of the time and all she wants to do is be near you. I hope my kids are this easy...