In an effort to combat the hugely popular “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ad campaign by Apple, Microsoft reached into its deep pockets to hire funny man Jerry Seinfeld. Pairing him with founder Bill Gates, the advertising gurus up in Redmond have created a pair of commercials that barely even mention technology.
The majority of the blogosphere seems to dislike these new Microsoft ads, which is why I chose to write about them. I think they’re pretty good. Most video advertising these days is so predictable the only real difference is the logo at the end. These ads, while not pitching a particular product, do make the viewer stop and watch, either due to wonder or bewilderment.
Today is the first ever RSS Awareness Day! The organizers (Daily Blog Tips) have asked participants to blog about RSS on May 1, so here’s my contribution.
Now, I know that typically an awareness day is used to highlight a major social problem in the world. So if you’re unfamiliar with RSS you might think that it sounds like an abbreviation for a disease, as in:
Person 1: “Yeah, my dad’s living in a home now. He’s got ESRD.” Person 2: “My mom just found out she has RSS.” Person 1: “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Person 2: “Yeah, she doesn’t have much time.”
But that isn’t the case. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. An RSS document, commonly called a feed, contains either a summary or the full content from a website. You as the user can subscribe to a site’s syndication feed using a feed reader.
This past Thursday was the final Nav Night of the spring 2008 semester. We spent the first half of the evening honoring the graduating seniors. This year we had twelve students graduating. We had one person get up to speak on behalf of each of them. I had the honor of speaking for Aaron Gavila, my old roommate and good friend. We concluded our senior send-off by praying over them.
Each spring since I’ve been at Florida State the Navigators have gone on a prayer retreat to spend time seeking God. Each one of these has been different. I don’t mean that the activity has been different. In fact, of all the things we do year after year, this is the one event that follows the same structure each and every time we go. We arrive on Friday night and start praying. We spend all day Saturday praying. Then we spend Sunday morning in prayer. When I say each one is different what I mean is that God says and does something unique each time. This time was no exception.
Last week I was in Chicago for the FSU Navigators’ spring break trip. This trip has been a major part of my life since this past November when we first started cooking up the idea. I was put in charge of the trip, mostly because I had made a couple of key connections with Chicago Nav staff this past summer. Today I’d like to talk about the trip and a little about the planning process that led up to it.
This past November at the Navigators National Staff Conference we were treated to the first three parts of a four-part animated series called “The D-Team.” The series is about fund raising and the Nav Development Team. Part three ended saying that the conclusion would be posted online. After waiting patiently all these months they have finally posted all four chapters here. They even made a Facebook profile for Zach and Kate (pictured).
There are a lot of jokes in these videos that, if you’re not on Nav Staff, you might not get. The first three episodes were met with uproarious laughter at each of the plenary sessions. I’d like to hear what you think of these videos, so leave a comment.
So I was shooting the breeze this morning on MySpace (remember, Monday is my day off) and I found myself on Zach Braff’s profile page. As many of you know I have become a huge fan of his show Scrubs in recent months. On his profile he has this YouTube video clip from a Scrubs rehearsal of a scene I had never seen before (and I’ve seen every episode). But it soon became clear to me why I hadn’t seen it before. Each time I watch this video I smile from ear to ear. Even if you aren’t a fan of the show you’ll like this.
Leading Off - It’s been a very busy two and a half weeks, filled with travel, family, a wedding, getting sick, a broken air conditioning unit, Rez Week and one wicked party. Where to begin?
Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy Howard - The Thursday before St Patrick’s Day I traveled from Florida to Nashville for my cousin Beka’s wedding. I had been eagerly looking forward to this trip for weeks. My wanderlust peaked when all the students left to go on spring break. I really needed a vacation.
Incidentally I was traveling on my sister’s birthday. It was the first time I got to see Alison on her birthday since she turned fourteen back in 2002. It’s weird to think about things like that, measuring time based on milestones missed. Since I arrived at around 9 PM central time I didn’t spend too much time with her on her actual birthday, but I did get to give her a gift in person. Strangely, she also gave me a gift. You’d think after nineteen birthdays she would have figured out how the process works.
Leading Off - It’s been a long, strange week. As I sit here and type in the union computer lab, where my old student I.D. still gets me in, I find it hard to believe that only a week ago I was down at the Nav fall conference. And I suppose before I go any further I should visit those events.
Nav Fall Conference - This idea didn’t make it into my head until two days ago while at the alumni team meeting, but now that it’s there I can’t shake it. Why did I sign up for the fall conference? I did it out of habit, I think. I didn’t go expecting anything or with any type of intention or plan. I went because I always go to Nav events. I don’t know if I like that. Something to consider in the future.
Once again there’s been a long hiatus. Once again I have no excuse. Inspiration comes at a premium these days I suppose. Here’s what’s been going on in my world.
Job Situation - If no news is good news, inversely that would mean that news is bad news, right? Well, that seems to be the case when it comes to my job search. I am still very unemployed. I was turned down for the position at AHCA that I interviewed for before I left Tallahassee. I have to admit, I was pretty surprised. I thought that job would have been a gimme. But I wasn’t what they were looking for. On all other fronts I’ve heard no news, despite all my efforts. I hope patience really is a virtue, because when this is all said and done I’m going to be mighty virtuous. Or broke in a gutter somewhere.
This past November at the 
