The Final Word for the 2008 Cougars

I know this "dub-over-Hitler-to-make-light-of-a-catastrophic-failure" clip has been done 1000 times already, but it sure describes how the Cougar Nation is feeling right now.



I hate the U.

An Engineer's Thanksgiving

We had to take out a pretty funny joke that turned out to be culturally insensitive. I still like how it turned out!




Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Today's Big Game

I won't be able to watch the game today, and I'm not sure I want to know how it will end up. But this picture makes me happy, regardless of the result.

Go Cougars!!!

This Can't Be Ignored

I found the coolest website in the history of the Internets and I have to share. It's a compilation of Scandinavian dance bands from the 70's and it's incredible. In the USA it used to be about bowing leagues and matching shirts, in Sweden it was all about having your own dance band.

(Credit to BoingBoing for the discovery)

You can find over 50 of these images here.

It reminds me of a Scandinavian disco instructional video:




Can you move like that?

I Am Officially Scared

Wow. This is creepy-accurate, and it really makes me nervous. This guy bet "doomsday" in all his on-air interviews about the economy and was right. At the same time, he could have been guessing. Maybe it won't continue to decline. What has me nervous is the amount of disgust he received from the other "experts" being interviewed.

I agree with Peter Schiff in the sense that we spend and spend and spend and we don't really save or produce. We are too extended on credit as individuals and as a nation, and we should be careful not to scoff at the idea that things may get a lot worse before they get better.

Should I be selling all my stocks and hiding my savings in the mattress?

Kids and Engineering

This one is the result of an email I got from a high school math teacher in Colorado that stumbled across An Engineering Mind videos on Youtube. What do you think?

AEM: Social Networking

I don't know how I feel about this week's AnEngineeringMind video. It felt a little scattered during the making, and I think it showed up in the finished product. We've got some good stuff coming, including a Carl sighting, but for now, let me know what you think:

Back in Action with a New Video

It's been a while since I've made An Engineering Mind video, and a few people have actually asked me this question. I can't tell if it's a compliment or insult, but either way, I like how the video ended up.




What do you think? Actor? Engineer? Low-life? Let me know!

Mea Culpa

So I've been a little less than active on the ol' Blournal lately, please forgive me. As you can tell from previous posts, I'm doing a lot of work with An Engineering Mind over the last few months, and it's been sucking away all my creative juices. I do have a few ideas for another installment of Bathroom Etiquette, so look for that coming soon.

For now, here's the latest video we made over at AEM and we'll be recording another video this Friday for display next week.

Dating Advice for Engineers

Anything I missed?

Will CERN Make a Black Hole?

There's been a lot of talk recently about CERN's Large Hadron Collider and whether or not it's going to end the world. My company provided a lot of hardware and software that they are using to control it, so from a PR standpoint, I'm really hoping the world doesn't end, 'cause we'll look really bad.


Here's what my engineering mind thinks about it:



Juice box anyone?

Two Great Olympic Videos

These two videos are the funniest things I've seen in quite a while. I hope you like them:


Michael Phelps celebration:





Usain Bolt's world record time:



Thanks to Fronda and John for finding these gems!

Another Week, Another Video

I don't know if I like this one as much. I had to summon my inner actor and try to look angry and sad and I don't think I pulled it off.




What do you think?

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

I haven't made mention of the fact that Katie is pregnant here on the Blournal because I'd like to keep my future child away from the crazy Internets. But now that we know the it's a he, I can't resist to post a few of the top pictures I found when searching "it's a boy" on the Google:






And my favorite....

I told you the Internets are crazy.

More Videos!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been inserting a lot of my creative juices in to my viral marketing project. We've made two new videos since I last posted, let me know what you think and if you have any new ideas.

Trying to explain what I do at work:



Playing video games:

An Engineering Mind Needs Your Help!

I'm developing a viral marketing campaign for my company and it involves making a ton of short videos on funny topics from the perspective of an engineer. The hope is that people will forward them to their friends, and their friends to their friends, and so on. That way we can generate awareness of our company without having to pay millions of dollars for Super Bowl commercials.

How can you help? Watch all three videos (several times if you like) and tell your friends about them. Hopefully they like them (you have to like them, even if you really don't, because we're friends) and they spread them around the Internets.

Enjoy!

An Embarrassing Meeting

During a meeting today I opened an email from a co-worker with the following images attached. I actually let out an audible "Ha!" and the meeting ground to a halt, all eyes on me. Embarrassed, I turned my laptop around to show the group, and no one really thought it was all that funny.

What do you think?

Granted, the goth guy looks pretty freaky and the baby/burrito confusion could have been tragic, but seriously, how is that stuff not funny?

But What If There's Bears?

I'm sorry for the infrequent posts lately, work is a little crazy this time of year. For now please enjoy my new favorite online video:

UPDATE: looks like embedded videos from funnyordie.com don't like the Blournal. Watch the video here.



(If you're reading this post from your Google Reader you may have to head over to the Blournal to see the video or just watch it at FunnyOrDie.com).

Our Fifth Anniversary

Anyone that knows Katie and I knows that I am one lucky guy. I can still remember the shock and disbelief on my friends' faces when they found out she actually agreed to marry me, and I can only imagine the stunned silence as they all drove back from the ceremony a few months later, on June 6, 2003.

If I haven't already bored you with the story of how we met; how I almost died trying to impress her with my lack of fitness; how she broke up with me multiple times; how I had to fight off would-be suitors and friends from stealing her away; how Chap Stick brought us back together; and how on the day I finally decided to throw in the towel, she decided that she was ready for a serious relationship...then you're in for a treat the next time we have dinner.

For now I'd like to share with you my eight favorite things about Katie.

#1 Katie Makes Me Be a Better Man

I've been trying to live up to the kind of man she deserves since the first day I met her. I remember exactly how I felt that day. I realized in that moment that in order to even have a chance with her I'd have to step up and live my life constantly trying to improve and grow. That's how Katie lives, and anyone close to her better do the same.

#2 Katie Is Beautiful

Let's be honest, she's easy on the eyes. There's nothing quite like the feeling of knowing that your date is the prettiest girl in the room. And I know it's cliché to say this, but she really is beautiful on the inside as well. People love being around her, she's compassionate and she puts everyone else's needs before her own.

Total. Package.

#3 Katie Is Adventurous

In what you'll soon see as a recurring theme, Katie is the Yin to my Yang. I'd much prefer to hold tightly to life's railings while Katie doesn't even think twice. I think this is a product of her growing up with two daredevil brothers that expected her to be just as tough. She's the first one to jump off the cliff and the last one to back down from a challenge.

#4 Katie Loves to Travel

She lived in South Africa for a summer before we got married, and since then we've gone to Mexico twice, Costa Rica, Brazil, Malta, England, 17 US states, and most recently Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York. She's no homebody and her adventurousness makes travel exciting.

#5 Katie Comes from an Amazing Family

I married into a family of supermodel superheros. It makes holidays a little intimidating. In all seriousness, Katie's parents and siblings made me feel like family from the start. I love when they visit and when we visit them.

#6 Katie Will Be an Incredible Mother

Katie is like the Pied Piper, sans flute. Kids love her and she completely understands them. You know how some people just "get" stuff? Well Katie gets kids. She knows what they need, how to constructively interact with them, etc. I can honestly say that our kids will probably take over the world or cure cancer or something equally awesome because of her.

#7 Katie Can't Sit Still

Seriously, it's like she's on drugs. She is always active, always doing. I'm amazed at what she can do in a day. On Saturdays when she works, it's all I can do to get to the couch and put three NetFlix movies in the DVD player, but on her days off? She'll run five miles, clean the house, go grocery shopping, write a Sunday School lesson, and then go have lunch with friends. Even when she sleeps her body doesn't stop, emitting enough heat to push me all the way to the other side of the bed.

#8 Katie Will Be Fun When She's Old

I don't see Katie as being the type that's going to slow down as we get older. Everything I like about Katie keeps getting better with time. I can only imagine what the next five years bring.

I love you Katie! Thanks for five great years and here's to five more!

Think of the Baby Seals!

My company is doing a lot to become more environmentally friendly, and I can honestly say that our approach is pretty cool. Instead of putting solar panels all over the roof or buying carbon credits (this is a great article if you have time), we're taking the motto "leave it better than you found it" and applying it to our business. Now that's green I can believe in!

As part of our semi-annual company meeting, they asked me to come up with two video commercials about being more green. I liked this one the best:



I hope that people will think of the baby seals next time they leave a conference room. Huge credit to our amazing A/V Studio for pulling this off, and putting up with me trying to force this concept down their throats.