Leah Skating, More Music, and Demetri

First off, here is Leah grinding the practice rail and skating the halfpipe at the skatepark:




Second, Megan, my iPod spans many time periods between the years of 1996 and 1999.

Speaking of which, how could i forget these gems?

1. Weezer - Weezer
2. The Hippos - Heads are Gonna Roll
3. Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
4. Liberator - This is Liberator
5. The Know How - HappyFunRobotKillTime
6. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

If you do not have these on your iPod, or have not heard them, go buy them, download them, borrow your friend's iPod, whatever you have to. Another 6 all around great albums. If you want to know the top 10 Mariah Carey albums of all time, see Megan's blog or just talk to her on the phone. I'm sure she'll mention them at some point or another in conversation.

If you have not heard or seen the comedian Demetri Martin, do so immediately. He's hilarious. Hes kind of a one-liner, which i normally dont like, but his delivery and timing is really good. Demetri on wikipedia. Here is a sampling of some of his jokes (paraphrased):

- Swimming is an interesting sport. You can do it for fun, or to not die. They only way to tell the difference is by what you're wearing. Pants? Uh oh. Bathing suit? okay. naked? we'll see.

- I know someone who said I love kids. Thats like saying i like people for a little while. And you have to be general about something like that. You can say 'i like kids', but you cant say 'i like 12 year olds'

- A dream catcher really works. If your dream is to be gay.

- I think an eating contest is really just the beginning of a pooping contest.

There you have it. Skating, music, and jokes. what more could you ask for from 1 blog post?! I know right!

PeAcE

Worst Sandwich Ever

first read this:
http://keriland.blogspot.com/2008/05/worst-sandwich-ever.html

Now stop laughing. Now stop wondering how Keith is able to tie his shoes in the morning, drive a car, and code thousands of lines of Java to create software that thousands of people use, yet not able to evenly spread peanut butter and jelly on bread, all the while keeping the bread in its normal square shape.

Seriously, here is a challenge. Everyone see if you can get your children to make a PB&J, then take pictures of it, and we will have a contest and judge to see if any kids (or how many) can make one better than Keith!

Keith, you know i like you. You are mad fun to rock out with. You are fun to talk nerdy shop with. You are a great ski trip partner. I'm just glad we ate out. :)

Alright, enough Keith shenanigans.

If you work for a big company, and have a corporate directory on your company's corporate intranet, i highly recommend you take a few minutes and do some searches for names of people that work there. This might work best for a place like Harris, or a hospital. Search for names like 'Wang' or the slang for 'Richard'. I know its childish, but i guarantee you'll find yourself amazed that some of these peoples' parents actually named their children! I'm not going to post them here, but if you are curious about some of the good ones, email me. :)

Also, with blogging and social networking being so popular today, i'd be curious to hear if anyone has opinions on how to use things like blogs and wikis in a corporate environment to add value to peoples' jobs or to the company. We're currently implementing these tools at Wachovia, and I'd like to know what all you think about having a blog at work, or having a work wiki. I know i have tons of ideas about how we're hoping they get used, but what do y'all think? Also, how do we have successful adoption for the Baby Boomers and Traditionalists who aren't as close to technology as GenX/GenYers.

If you're not familiar with those terms, they're categories of generations. Check it out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation#External_links

They call the Traditionalists "Silent". but I went to a diversity event today at work talking about the differences in the Generations. pretty interesting. Some stuff you sort of think as obvious, but i dont think a lot of people consciously think about the differences when dealing with people at work (or anywhere really). People often treat others as they want to be treated. Older generations value hard work, loyalty to the company, conformity. Younger generations are more self focused, show loyalty to people rather than the company, and are likely to change jobs and careers many times. I recommend learning about the generations, its pretty interesting. Obviously not every person born in the years listed will have all the characteristics but they are documented trends.

This is not only true about age, but also gender. I think men and women often give what they need, instead of giving what the other person needs. Whether its at home or at work, and age or gender, try to just ask the other person what they need. If its your boss or your employee or your spouse or parent, instead of just giving them support or help in the way YOU want or need it, really think about that person. It is easy to give what you know, but thats not always the most effective thing for the other person.

Is that like the longest blog post ever? I try to keep them short cuz i know everyone's attention spans are like 3 sentences, but i was in a writey sorta mood. You get a gold star and an A+ if you are still reading.

1 more day till Indiana Jones! WOOHOO!

3 years old...

Wow. Leah is 3. So crazy! I wont write the whole recap here. You can read it on Angelle's Blog.

But it was a fun weekend and a great party. Thanks to everyone who came! Thanks to Stacy, Landon, Nana and Papa for travelling!

The Luau was a success. Good food, good games, good cake...good job Angelle!

Leah loved her bike and skates. I think angelle got a video of her grinding the rail on her skates. My little skater chick. We also went to the park yesterday and rode our bikes on the path around the whole thing. Shes great!

Love you Leah!

Top Albums in my iPod

Was listening to my iPod on the busride home today (havent listened to it in awhile) and thought I'd post the top albums in my iPod. Not many bands produce albums that are good front to back, so these i would rate at least 75% of the album is hot.

1. 311 - Music
2. Reel Big Fish - Turn the Radio Off
3. Blink182 - Dude Ranch
4. Tenacious D - Tenacious D
5. Goldfinger - Stomping Grounds
6. Sum41 - Does this Look Infected
7. 311 - 311
8. Stars of David - Shofar So Good
9. Pietasters - Strapped Live
10. Bad Religion - Stranger Than Fiction

There you have it. You many not agree, but i dont care! this is MY blog! so there. Make your own list. You can still comment on this one of course.

i cant believe its 2 days till Leah's 3 year birthday! SO insane that my baby is gonna be 3. Was just looking at pics of her i think from 2 years old, and i remember thinking how grown up she looked in that pic, but now she looks like a baby in those! so wild to watch your kids grow up. it used to be days and weeks flying by, now its months and years! I hope Erin grows up slower. Although i imagine it wont be that way. {sigh}

In other news, I recommend you checking out Google Docs. its hot hot hot.

What else...work is good. Tiring and busy, but good. Redesigning the entire corporate intranet is no easy task!

Alright. time for bed.