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Get Out Your Cameras - It's Time For a Contest.

I'm getting antsy. I feel like I want to change something on my blog. I don't want to get too crazy, and I don't have the time or money to invest in a full redesign. So...I figured an easy change would be to switch out my custom image header. Enter the contest: I'm opening it up to all y'all that stop by and read me. Here's the skinny:

  1. Email me a picture of an ugly couch. The uglier the better. Two requirements:
    1. Please no camera phone pictures. The quality sucks.
    2. Use a digital camera and send me the full-resolution version of the picture.
  2. Be sure to give me your name and a way to contact you.
  3. I will pick the ugliest and use it for my new blog header image.
The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2007 at midnight. C'mon kids - get out your digital cameras and start shooting.

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Posted September 5, 2007
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YouTube, Meet the Bradfords -- Bradfords, This is YouTube

Ever since our parents purchased a home video camera, my brothers and I have enjoyed making little movies, commercials, and general whatnot. I'm quite surprised it's taken this long for us to put anything up on YouTube, but I'm happy to announce that it's been done. Using iMovie, my brothers put together a little music video over the Labor Day weekend for all the world to enjoy. The music is from some random "musician" that my brother was introduced to in Mexico. He's got a Casio keyboard and a really dreamy singing voice. Enough said. Enjoy. [youtube=

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Posted September 4, 2007
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2 Years of Blogging is About to Pay Off

Have you ever had "one of those days"? The kind where you find yourself smiling from ear to ear, and when it comes time to go to bed you just can't sleep because your mind is racing? For me, yesterday was one of those days. As I mentioned on Monday, yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with ASU's Technology Officer, Dr. Adrian Sannier. It was one of the most enjoyable meetings I have participated in in a long time. (Believe me, I have sat through my fair share of lame meetings.) I wasn't sure what to expect, so I decided to wear a suit. I'm glad I got there a little early so I could mop my sweaty brow before entering the room. (It was over 100-degrees outside, and I had to walk a little bit between the parking lot and Dr. Sannier's office.) I was informed that at our next meeting, I could wear a t-shirt. The atmosphere was very informal. We met in his corner office on three bigCOMFY,LEATHERcouches. (as opposed to bigUGLY ones.) It wasn't just the two of us either. He had invited three of his employees to join us as well: Anish Adalja, Kari Barlow, and Kathy Marks. Under Dr. Sannier's direction, these three fine folks have been the driving force behind the majority of ASU's technology improvements, like the redesign of asu.edu and the partnership with Google. Dr. Sannier shared with me that he was impressed by my blog and my posts about ASU in particular. (The vice president of ASU had sent him a link to my most recent post about ASU.) He wanted to know everything about me, so I tried my best. I told him about my work history with K. Hovnanian Homes. (His eyes lit up when he found out I came from a marketing background.) I told him that I'd been using Photoshop since I was in 8th grade. We talked about blogging and campus technology and the Internet and everything in between. They even shared with me a few tricks up their sleeve that I promised not to blog about. yet. In the end, Dr. Sannier told me he would like to work with me. He's not sure yet in what capacity, but that's okay by me. I'll be setting up another meeting with him and we'll figure something out. I'm excited. I could hardly sleep last night. The smile is still on my face. I'm such a nerd.

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Posted August 30, 2007
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Two Years and Going Strong(er)

Tomorrow will mark the two-year anniversary of the bigUGLYcouch. Hard to believe it's been that long since I first wrote about the hair in my wife's meal at Jack in the Box. Since then, I've managed to throw together a whopping 87 posts (majority of them written in the last 4 months). These posts have generated 156 reader comments, and, according to Feedburner, 4 subscribed readers. I wanted to take a few minutes out of my day and say thank you to a few people who I feel have been instrumental.
  • Back when I was brand new to blogging, my brother introduced me to Blake Snow's blog - SmoothHarold.com. I've been a regular reader for two years now, and have grabbed quite a few tips from the way he writes and formats his site. Thanks Blake!
  • If you've been blogging for a while, you probably know who Darren Rowse is. He keeps up a little site called Problogger.net. It's filled with countless tips on how to build a better mousetrap blog. It's always a valuable read. Thanks Darren - love the redesign!
  • Another of my favorites to read has been Scott Adams of Dilbert fame. In addition to inducing a daily belly-laugh with his comic strip, Adams also writes (at least) a daily post on his blog. I've learned a couple of things from reading his blog: 1) It's okay for a "funny guy" to be serious sometimes. 2) It's not absolutely necessary to have a custom domain name in order to have a popular/successful blog. Adams still carries the ".typepad.com" in his domain, and nobody seems to care. Thanks Scott!
  • A while back I was browsing the Internet for stories about ADD, when I stumbled upon Sharon Sarmiento's eSoupBlog.com. She had written a post about Leonardo di Vinci and ADD that I found very interesting. I even posted a couple of comments. It was then that I found the magic in commenting. When you comment on others' blogs, it generates traffic to your own. Strange to think that I've had conversations around the world with all sorts of people I'll probably never meet. Thanks Sharon!
I'm excited to see what the next two years will bring. This week I will be sitting down with ASU's Technology Officer, Dr. Adrian Sannier. He read my post last week about ASU's technology situation and was "very impressed." I can't wait to find out why he wants to meet with me. Maybe he wants to pay for my tuition. Or at least a few of my text books.

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Posted August 27, 2007
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My Bags Are Packed - I'm Entering a New Land

Earlier this month, I wrote about another blog that focuses on all things related to Zoho Creator. It's appropriately called Land of ZC, and is managed by enthusiast Pete Thomas. This morning I received an email from Pete wondering if I would like to be a contributing author for his blog. Naturally I accepted the invitation. So I wanted to let y'all know that you may see some of my writing over in the Land of ZC. When I do write over there, I'll announce it here and provide linkage. I've never been a "contributing author," so I'm excited to try it out. If I stumble on an interesting use for Creator related to school or life or whatever, Pete has encouraged me to write about it. Here goes nothing...

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Posted August 23, 2007
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Rockin' the ASU Campus

So I'm a few hours from completing my first official week as a full-time student. I have to say, it's a pretty weird situation to find myself in. Since I was 14 years old, I have always had a job. (My first job was with my brother working for a painting contractor. I'll probably expand on that experience in a later post.) It's definitely going to take some time for my mind to adjust to the fact that school is my full-time job now. I've said it before and I'll probably say it again. I'm so glad to be on a campus that seems to be at the forefront of technology. Being the Google geek that I am, I have jumped in with both feet to ASU's Google Apps tools. I will be taking my notes with Google Docs & Spreadsheets. I will be managing my email from my Google-hosted ASU email account, and I spent a couple hours yesterday adding all my assignments/test dates into my Google-hosted calendar. Complete with email and text message reminders for exams and whatnot. In addition to partnering with Google for their Apps service, ASU has also made some wonderful improvements to their website. Read the article here, or just go straight here and check it out. One of my favorite improvements is their mashup with Google Maps for campus maps. It's super neat-o. So, boys and girls, wish me luck as I try to blend into a campus of kids 8 years younger than me. (Okay, maybe it's not that extreme, but I do feel pretty old around here.)

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Posted August 23, 2007
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Outta the Office and Into the Classroom

Today starts my new journey back to school. I quit my job of five years and will be heading to class in about an hour. I'm getting kind of nervous, but I think it's an excited nervous.The tone of this blog may change a bit as I get more involved with school. I looked back on posts I wrote during last semester, and there was definitely an education theme throughout. So, we'll see. Like Kip Dynamite, I still do love technology so I'm sure I'll still be writing about that.Look out world - here I come.

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Posted August 20, 2007
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UPDATE: I'm Not Trusting the Midas Touch

I've tried to keep this blog positive over the past several months. Nobody wants to listen to someone complain all the time, right? But my fingers just can't sit still with this one. They're itching and shaking to get out the story of my past few days. I've got two words for y'all, followed by a comma and two more words: Car Trouble, Dishonest Companies. We've recently had some major work done on our car. It's got almost 90,000 miles on it, so the break-down is starting. We took it to the dealership a couple of months ago and came home with a laundry list of things that needed repair. It was a lot. Like any red-blooded American consumer, we decided to shop around and get things fixed for the best price. I'm starting to regret this decision and wish I would have left our baby in the hands of the experts. Oh well...whaddya gonna do? So we took it to Midas to get a catalytic converter replaced. The check-engine light went off, and we were happy. The next day, the check-engine light came back on. We took it back to Midas and they told us that the computer code was now for the O2 sensor. They wanted an outrageous amount of money to replace the sensor, so I took it to the place by my office where we usually get the oil changed. (They're called Purcell, and I would recommend them to anyone.)Purcell replaced the O2 sensor. The check-engine light went off, and we were happy. The next day, the check-engine light came back on. We took the car back to Purcell, and they told us that the computer code was for the catalytic converter. After some additional testing, they said that it wasn't working properly and suggested that we go back to Midas to have it replaced. So we did. They replaced it for free, because Midas guarantees their work for 90 days. Good boys.With new converter and sensor in place, we were as giddy as flies on fresh turd. The check-engine light was off and we were loving life. The next morning we were driving into town and [insert depressing violins and demonic laughter] the damn light came back on again. We took it back and Midas told us that "everything looks fine. The reason the light is on is because the error code is still in the car's computer, and that it should go away after you run it through the drive cycle." In other words, the car was fine, and if I put it through at least 50 engine starts, the light should go off.This didn't sit right with me. So this morning I took it back to my trusty team at Purcell. They lifted the car up and called me 20 minutes later to deliver the bad news. When Midas replaced the converter, they put the O2 sensor in the wrong place. Not only that, because of the crappy welding job they did, there is now a leak in my exhaust pipe. I took some pictures, and called the Volkswagen to verify that the installation was wrong. Their lead technician looked at the pictures and confirmed what Purcell was telling me. Me not so happy now.I KNEW that Midas was filling me up with a load of crap. I could have started my car 200 times, and that light would have never gone off because the whole system is installed wrong! So I called the store owner (not the store manager), Dennis Robbins, to explain our situation. I have an appointment with him tomorrow morning at another one of his stores. He has promised to fix my car. We'll see how it goes - I'll post an update tomorrow. As of right now, I say unto you: Do not go to Midas on Power & Southern in Mesa, Arizona. Nothing they have touched of mine has turned to gold. UPDATE: It's been five days, and the check engine light is officially off. I took the car to a different Midas location, and they fixed the crappy job the other location did. According to the store manager at the new location, the catalytic converter had been installed backwards and upside down. Impressive huh? So it's been fixed. I will still never return to Midas again. My wife and I were watching TV yesterday and saw a commercial for Midas. We both looked at each other and just laughed. Ridiculous.

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Posted August 15, 2007
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Work is a Four Letter Word

Earlier in the week, I shared a new site I stumbled upon called DailyLit.com. I have signed up for this free service and am currently into chapter three of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. For anyone who's familiar with the book, you know that Chapter Two is too good to pass up. Tom Sawyer has been punished by his Aunt Polly for getting into a fight with a new kid. His punishment is to white wash (paint) the fence in the front yard of his Aunt's house. Tom is not happy about this, and his mind begins to devise a plan of how he can get out of working. He tricks the boys that come by into thinking that he is having so much fun white washing the fence. He does such a good job at convincing them of his enjoyment, that every boy who walks by gets jealous of Tom, and begs Tom to let them take over the job. After feigning an argument, Tom lets them give him something in exchange for the privilege of whitewashing. Tom spends the afternoon laughing to himself as he observes his gullible friends do his work for him. I think this could be applied to life/work/business.
  1. Make things fun
  2. Delegate duties to co-workers, children, etc. so your time is better spent on more important things
  3. Attitude is everything
If you want to read the chapter in three segments, I've shared them at my Google Reader Shared Feed. Tom Sawyer is turning into my hero.

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Posted August 10, 2007
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I Don't Have Time For Books - I'm Reading My Feeds!

Have you ever had this thought? You're so bogged down with all the important stuff online that you don't have time to cozy up to a hardback and enrich your mind with some classic literature? I feel the same way sometimes, and it's not because I don't like reading. It's just so much more convenient to read online these days. Sure, we're going blind from staring at the monitor all day, but we don't care because it's 20" of high-definition bliss. More power to you, you little geek. But now, you don't have any excuses. Introducing DailyLit.com (drumroll please...) DailyLit.com will deliver snippets of classic books (over 400 titles currently available) to your feed reader or your inbox until you have managed to read an entire book. For example - let's say you want to read The Wizard of Oz. When you sign up at DailyLit.com, they will deliver the book in 51 segments. You pick how often the segments come. Each segment can easily be read in 5 minutes, so you're not "wasting" too much time. Feeling frisky and want to keep reading? You can tell DailyLit to send the next section right away without having to wait until your next scheduled segment. I'm currently signed up for one book: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I was supposed to read it in sixth grade for a book report. Instead I watched the movie. I think my teacher probably knew what was going on, but she never said anything about it. The guilt was still burning in my heart until I stumbled upon DailyLit.com. Now I can finally redeem myself. I don't know how to get in touch with my old teacher. If you're out there, Ms. Fredricks - I'm sorry. From the bottom of my heart. It's a neat concept. Hopefully it's one that will catch on. Feel free to check their blog for company news and updates. I know I'm excited to try it out. As soon as I'm done reading my other feeds...

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Posted August 7, 2007
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