11' 8"...
...is too low.
null - Watch more free videos
...is too low.
null - Watch more free videos
Nuff said...
Just thought I'd give a quick update to everyone who still reads this blog, because I love you peeps. :)
I ended my job in Barcelona last Friday...the experience was an amazing one, but my options came down to relocating to Barcelona full time or not having a job, and Kristi and I dig it here in Denver. Amazingly, a new opportunity has come along and I will be starting at a new start up company on the 17th. The company is focused on helping small businesses market themselves online, something that is of great interest to me. Not sure how I am so blessed when it comes to jobs, but I'll take it.
I'm going to be spending the next couple of weeks chilling out and gearing up for the next adventure. Kristi surprised me on Monday with a trip to the Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey distillery (the best whiskey ever made). We got a private tour with Jake the Master Distiller, and I'm actually going back on the 12th to help bottle a batch (they are so small they take volunteers to help bottle once a month). If you ever get a chance, grab yourself a bottle of this stuff and make time to go on a tour.
So that's the update. It's almost 70 degrees here in Colorado, and I am going to go enjoy that now. Much love to you all.
...that whenever you think you're cool, the universe will put you in check.
I got a book in the mail today called Weird U.S. I couldn't think of why the publisher would send it to me until I realized I gave permission to someone a while back to use one of my photos in a book...and here it is!!!
The cover:
My photo (the one in the middle):
And the photo credit in the back of the book:
Pretty cool eh?! From the parts I read, the book is actually quite fun, so if you see one around, check it out.
Very quick update before I get back to the fun of my honeymoon:
1. Kristi and I are married!
2. We are currently on day 3 of our honeymoon in Tenerife (if you have no idea where that is, check out the map here.)
3. The weather here is perfect, the people are nice and relaxing is fantastic
4. We rented a car for three days, starting tomorrow - it´s a convertable, which makes me really happy.
5. We plan on seeing the volcano, some wineries, and doing a bit of Karting...guess who chose that activity?
6. Honeymooning is awesome.
If we manage to find a decent Internet connection where I can hook up my laptop, I´ll try to post some pictures and stuff, but in the meantime, know we are safe, happy and having a ball.
A friend just sent me a video I've mentioned here before - Rejected. Now it's on YouTube, so I thought I better put it up. One of the greatest cartoons ever.
This was too good not to mention.
Hilarious video prepping the democrats coming to town for the Democratic National Convention this month.
Via The Denver Egotist.
I was catching up on my blog reading this evening and almost died laughing while reading the Fail Blog.
Check it out if you need a laugh.
Today I noticed something funny about the BBC Video player. I'm not sure who created the player, but it looks like whoever created it was a Spinal Tap fan. Here's a shot of the player (check the bottom right of the screenshot):

And for those of you who are unfamiliar with the significance of 11, I give you this clip from the movie Spinal Tap...
Dubai, and the rest of the Gulf State, are becoming more and more important on the world stage - but most of us know very little about these places. So I thought I would share some interesting facts with you about Dubai I ran across in Businessweek and Wikipedia that might help you from one of the more common misconceptions about Dubai - the source of its great wealth:
So before you write off the people of Dubai as a bunch of guys who are living fat off of oil money, think again. Dubai is an amazing example of capitalism building something out of nothing, and there is a lot we can learn from what's going on there.
Oh yeah, special bonus - here's a map that shows where Dubai is...just in case you were wondering (most people do).

9 wonderful seconds from TV in Haiti. Gets funnier every time you watch it, I promise.
[via]
Links from this video:
The Great Ant Massacre - Rory Blythe
Is Denver Prepared for The Shift? - from The Denver Egotist
My Seesmic buddy Dan Light tapped me to take part in the 8 random things meme that is going around (actually this is the first I have seen of it...maybe it’s mainly going in the UK right now). Anyway, here are my 8 random things...
So that’s my 8 random things. To pass on the love, it would be great if the following folks could put together a list of their 8 random things:
Kristi (the love of my life, mentioned above)
Megan
Scott Jangro
Mark Weiglus
Sam Harrelson
Barry Schwartz
Gary V
Jason Calacanis (c’mon Jason, you know you want to take part!)
Thanks for tapping me Dan, and I look forward to what everyone has to write.
Mark my words, this will go down as one of the best TV moments in 2008...oh yeah, and parental advisory and all jazz...
...the Italians show us they can come up with some of their own. Click through to the story on EternallyCool to see why MC Hammer was not just making hits, but making an Italian public service announcement at the same time.
What an awesome (and low budget) way to promote a band.
Today I ran across the top video on YouTube, which is the video you see below. It turns out that it is one of a series of videos made by the band Beirut, which from what I can tell were shot in France. You can see all of the videos here, but at least make sure you check out this one...
BONUS: Beirut's video for Postcards from Italy, another great song...
Bregar and I hit up Tom Wilson's stand-up show at the Improv in Northfield at Stapleton. You might remember Tom Wilson as Biff from Back to the Future. He was hilarious and had a ton of great jokes as well as songs - some about Back to the Future, some just about life. Here's a taste of what we saw. If Tom comes to your city, make sure you go...
Two hilarious lists from Cracked:
If Banner Ads Were Forced to Be Truthful
and
If Valentine's Day Cards Were Honest
[Bonus link - a busted wiener]
So many interesting videos from this weekend. Enjoy...
The Decapitator does work...
Playing the Ford Focus (and I dig the song)...
French soccer insanity...
French breakdancer (I love breakdancing)...
Long clip of a Red Bull breakdancing competition...AMAZING.
[Thanks to the Egotist and to Tim Ferris for the links.]
I'm trying to get my quick and dirty video making skills up to snuff so that I can shoot some video at an upcoming event. With that in mind I decided to shoot a video of the dinner I prepared tonight. Ladies and gents, prepare for Japa-Dog, Denver style.
If you are wondering where the idea came from, I learned about Japa-Dog from the Vancouver episode of No Reservations.
...especially after Christmas break. Check it.
Kristi and I went to the Avalanche/Red Wings game tonight...as you can see from the picture below, we had amazing seats (thanks to the good Doctor). The game was quite exciting, and even though the Avs didn't win, we had an awesome time.

then you are a robot...like Victoria Beckham.
Here's a great slideshow called "why I got fired." If you like funny pictures of crashed machines/planes/ships (and who doesn't?) - this one is for you.
After a month of waiting, my keffiyehs arrived from Saudi Arabia. I got them from DesertStore.com, which is pretty slow to process orders, but the prices are right and as far as I know my credit card hasn't purchased any weapons of mass destruction. I'm pretty sure I'm on the FBI's watch list now, but I dig 'em, so whatever.


How can you not enjoy this?
Heard this on the radio on the way home from work today. The video is creepy x 1000, and the sound is off, but a classic jam none the less. Happy Friday:
Dear Japan,
Thank you for sushi, awesome electronics, and this:
[SIDE NOTE: Has anyone else noticed this blog has had pretty much nothing to do with marketing for the last few months? Interesting...]
I'm going to stay away from any political commentary on this one, but I do think this story is interesting from an economic/taxation standpoint. There's interesting information coming out about the financial cost of the wars we are currently fighting Here's a quote from CNN.com:
A report published Tuesday into the economic impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan says hidden expenses almost double the official cost. Once the extra costs are added -- including health care for wounded veterans and higher oil prices -- the report said the average cost of both wars for a family of four would be $20,900 from 2002 to 2008.
For some reason that really drove home that we're all paying for the war financially with our tax dollars.
Here's the whole story.
I'm a big fan of the Diggnation Podcast and an occasional user of the Digg social news website. One name that comes up a lot on Diggnation is the "digger" who goes by the handle "Mr Baby Man."
I don't know about you but when I try to imagine someone named Mr Baby Man, my mind pictures a facial haired, severly heavy middle aged man who lives in a basement and likes to wear adult sized baby clothes. Yeah, pretty gross.
Well, it turns out I was right about the facial hair. Ladies and gents, meet the surprisingly normal and pretty darn funny Mr Baby Man...
I'm back!
I just spent the last couple days in Juarez, Mexico - only about 20 miles from the USA but two worlds away. The poverty in the area was terrible, but like my experience in Africa, the people were amazing. I'm kinda pooped, and Kristi and I celebrated out 4 year anniversary tonight (YAY US!), so I'll let the photos tell the story (see all the photos here). Maybe I'll write a bit more later...

This is the group standing on the slab before we started building...

Part of the family who will be living in the home we built...
If you recall, I propsed to Kristi at the Trevi Fountain in Rome...a romantic place indeed (maybe not all the time, but that night it was perfect).
Recently the world learned that the Trevi Fountain is not only a place for romance, but a place for political statements. Check out this picture of what the Trevi looked like after some futurist (whatever that is) made a political statement:

Luckily there was no harm to the fountain...hopefully they find the vandal and feed him to the lions (they still do that right?)
Thanks to EternallyCool for the story.
Seriously, I did not know it was possible to be so flippin' annoying after getting bitten by a snake. You have to stick with this clip for a bit (and they force you through a commercial), but by the end you will be glad the python nailed this guy.
Here is the video. Bonus points to anyone who can count the number of times this guy says "bad bite."
Journalist + Rally Car + Rally Driver =
http://view.break.com/381553 - Watch more free videos
[Link via Autoblog]

I'm writing this from the Hyatt on the Sunset Strip...having a fun time in Califronia. Went to a rainy wedding today, been visiting family and relaxing a bit too. Tonight, dinner ae Koi with Kristi and her family. Should be awesome :)
I was looking through our photos from Siena, Italy tonight. You have to go...it is an amazing place. See the photos here.

If anyone wants to give Kristi and I a home in Italy, I promise we will live in it :)
We're in Albuquerque right now, getting ready to go to bed. Just put this video together to try out iMovie. Needless to say, we are having a good time :)
As many of you know (since I see you every day) today is my birthday. Not to get all mushy, but it was really nice to get the love I did at work...it was much appreciated...and I'm pretty stoked about the night I'm having.
Gotta go...the Party Princess has some more fun to have.

I think we found the spot for our wedding reception. I'm not going to get into much detail, but here is the view from the place (38 floors up):

This is facing South East.

This is facing West.
Needless to say, we're pretty stoked.
It’s Kristi’s birthday, and one of my favorite things to do is to in the whole world is tease Kristi about what we are going to name our first male child.
My teasing name of choice? Kimi Raikkonen Omdahl of course…named after the Formula One driver.
Needless to say, she's not too hot on the idea.
After seeing these two videos of the real Kimi Raikonnen, I’m not sure how she could deny me of a Kimi of my own.
(That's Kimi in the orange shirt...he likes cocktails.)
BONUS: Wanna see a Yacht having a bad day? Check this out!
My good friend Peter D., father of Emory Pope, pointed out this site to me today. This is what happens when you mix college, drinking and that low bird on the totem pole, the spotted owl.
If you don’t like, strange, bizarre and well…sick animation, these videos are not for you. Seriously…pass on them. But as for me, a long time fan of Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation (where Beavis and Butthead and SouthPark earned some of their first fans), these videos made me long for the days when the festival came to Denver.
First off, Video Dating Tape.
Video Dating Tape was a response to Salad Fingers. Here is Episode #1:
…make sure you do it in the Philippines. But also make sure you don’t end up being the tranny (unless you are into that kind of thing).
And if you’re curious about this video, here is the story from YouTube:
1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines at practice! This is not the final routine, and definitely not a punishment! just a teaser.
I've gotta give props to Jason Calacanis for pointing this one out. Jason, thank you for this...I will not sleep for a week.
It’s hot, I’m stressed out, and I just had to erase 400 spam comments from this blog… you know what that means? IT’S TIME FOR A VIDEO OF A JET POWERED KAYAK!!! F YEAH!
Praise be to Engadget for pointing me to the ridiculous Top Gear clip.
And that's why I want one of these...
Thanks to Mz. Pocket for the link.
Not sure if you have seen the transcript from a conversation between a US Navy ship and Canadian authorities, but if you haven't, give it a read.
Another funny thanks to StumbleUpon.
So far Kristi and I have been doing a really good job enjoying the summer. Tonight we rode our bikes to Cheesman Park here in Denver and had a little picnic. Here are a couple of pictures from this great summer night…

Mz. Pocket found this video on YouTube today. Not sure how many of you remember the TV show 3-2-1 Contact, but it seems that the people on the show might have a little problem with the ganja. Watch now as they explore the amazing technological breakthrough they call a synthesizer…
Also, since there seems to be a marijuana theme here, take a look at the story about a cop and his brownies:
I took this picture in the Roman Forums on a rainy day…old German tourists are the best.


We’re back from Italy, getting read to go back to work tomorrow. The trip was an amazing experience. I spent a good portion of the day getting photos uploaded to Flickr…there are a ton of them, and I haven’t yet put them in any order, so be warned. Here are links to the sets from different cities:
Rome
Siena
The Cinque Terre
Florence
Venice
Last Day in Rome
Sorry about the lack of posting...been busy the last couple days and our useage of the internet in the Cinque Terre was stopped by a thunderstorm. We are on our last day in Florence, going to head out of town to escape the constant insanity that is Florence. Tomorrow morning we will be taking the train to our last city, Venice. Pretty excited about that. :)
I was hoping to upload a photo, but Flickr and Italy aren't playing nice today, so it looks like you will have to wait. When we get back a promise a four billion picture slide show to anyone who wants to see one. The counrty looks like a postcard in every direction you look.
Love to all.
This is us at near the Coloseum in Rome...

This is the Trevi fountain the night we got engaged...

This is the moment Kristi realized she gets to buy bride magazines...

Kristi likes her magazines.
Here is a funny picture...2 minutes before I proposed at the Trevi fountain...this is where I blacked out.

Today we are in Siena (we arrived yesterday at around noon)…tomorrow the Cinque Terre. We just finished climbing the 330 steps of the tower in Il Campo and the view was breathtaking. Here are a couple of photos from the top.


My plan to upload video as we traveled have been foiled by the lack of computing power at the Internet cafes here and the unusually slow internet connections. Ah well…trust me, we are having an amazing time.
This post is done Twitter style 'cause I've gotta go soon.
In Rome...heading to Siena tomorrow...
Kristi and I are engaged :)
If you don't rent a scooter in Rome, you're crazy. If you do, you're crazy.
The food here is amazing.
We've taken a lot of great pictures - hopefully we can get some up on Flickr.
This post is done Twitter style 'cause I've gotta go soon.
In Rome...heading to Siena tomorrow...
Kristi and I are engaged :)
If you don't rent a scooter in Rome, you're crazy. If you do, you're crazy.
The food here is amazing.
We've taken a lot of great pictures - hopefully we can get some up on Flickr.
As many of you know Kristi and I are on our way to Italy...but we had a slight setback and we got stuck in Washington D.C. for a day. It seems that United sent us on a flight in a plane that was unable to fly through clouds because it was not properly maintained...you know, since planes never have to fly through clouds. After having to land in Chicago to get one of those fncy planes that can actually fly through clouds, we ended up in D.C. about two hours after our flight took off.
We are making the best of it and I'm hoping that we will be in Rome soon...our flight leaves at 6 pm est. Wish us luck!
And this is what it looked like from my desk at work...

Saturday Night Live has seen better days, but Andy Samberg has become a bit of a stand out on the show. This weekend I saw his Blizzard Man skit, and I love it. Check it out here...
I hate to do it, but I am getting a couple hundred spam comments a day on this blog, so I've decided to shut off comments for now. Hopefully I'll be able to switch them on again sometime soon. Damn spammers.
Big thanks to the BBC and YouTube for working together to make a content distribution deal – now us Yanks get to watch all of the automotive madness that is Top Gear. Oh yeah, and thanks to all of the Brits out there who pay an annual fee to keep the BBC running :)
Here are some choice picks from Top Gear (sorry, looks like embedding of BBC videos is disabled):
Bugatti Veryon going 250mph
The Arial Atom
Lotus VS Apache
Caravan (Camper) Jump 1
Caravan (Camper) Jump 2
From the maker of the Washington song – a little bible story about Sodom and Gomorrah. This one is rated R – don’t say I didn’t warn you.
StumbleUpon presented me with this video today. Since I like The Office and I am hooked on Call of Duty, it cracked me up.
Geek Note – When I heard the first sound of machine gun fire in this video my heart rate doubled and my thumbs started trembling.
Here is a photo of me and my favorite little person in Las Vegas at the Affiliate Summit...oh yeah, there is stock car and Mini-Elvis in the shot too...

Walking home tonight down 16th Street, under the city lights, I realized what a fortunate person I am.
I should probably write more, but not tonight.
Here are two totally unrelated Ferrari stories that I found on Autoblog that I just got to share:
Not a lot of time to blog tonight – I have two episodes of Everest: Beyond the Limit to watch.
No idea what I am talking about? You should. Everest is the most interesting show on TV right now.
I watched the first episode last night and it totally blew my mind. Did you know it takes two months to climb Everest – and it has nothing to do with the distance to the top? Me either. It turns out there are all these crazy things you have to do to keep yourself from dying from the altitude on Everest alone. On the first show the altitude has already killed a sherpa, almost killed an Indian climber, and made one of the camera man’s guts explode.
Insane.
Do yourself a favor and check out the Everest website, and then start watching it on Tuesdays on the Discovery Channel. It will make you go crazy.

Over the last couple years I have noticed that people’s answer to the question “how are you doing” usually gives you a pretty good gauge of their overall attitude about life.
No, I am not talking about people who answer “bad” or “not so good.” People who answer like that usually have a reason and will change their answer to the question when the problem goes away.
I am talking about people who answer “how are you doing?” with “could be better, could be worse,” something like that. Whenever I get to know people who answer this way I almost always find that they are pessimists, or at best, have given up on having control of their lives.
I hate to say it, but when people consistently give me the “could be better, could be worse” answer I usually try to keep my distance from them. People with this kind of attitude tend to be low performers and are usually the first people to give up…not the people I (or you) need around me (or you).
So why am I blogging about this? Because no matter what you do in life, your attitude is everything (pretty much). In business, in relationships, in whatever…if your attitude sucks, you are going to fail.
So if you are a better/worse person, take some time and work on your attitude – as your attitude improves, you will see the world in a much better light.
And hopefully, next time someone asks you how you are doing you will be able to smile and honestly answer “good.”
[Check out this barely-related post over at GapingVoid]
The Borat movie has done over $67 million dollars in the first two weeks at the box office, and wouldn’t you know it, the lawsuits are rolling in. I figured I would post a few random Borat links that I found tonight, because that’s how I roll.
Learn about Sacha Baron Cohen, the Man Behind Borat (Video)
I saw this on Adrants and have to share. Check out the first line of this article.
I’m just going to throw this out there, since the lack of basic manners shown by a few people at the Business Blogging Conference is hurting my head.
Three basic rules for conferences by Mr. Punk:
1) People came to the conference to hear the speakers speak, not hear you talk about your latest project to your two best geek friends. If you came to the conference to hang with your peeps and play around on the Internet, that’s cool, but don’t do it in the room where the session is going on (people paid a thousand bucks to sit in that room).
2) Don’t take calls in the conference room – and turn of the ringer. It is unbelievable how many times this has happened…and we are only at the half way mark. Even if you think you are talking on the phone really quietly, people can still hear you, and you are annoying.
3) I dig that you are a working mother and all, but please don’t bring your infant to the conference. I am sorry, but burping your baby during a session that we have paid a good amount of money to attend is selfish and rude. Babies are great. Babies are beautiful. No baby hate here. But please, get a babysitter. I didn’t pay a grand to sit in a room with you and your baby.
Alright, I am feeling a little better. Not trying to be all whiny - the conference has been pretty good – and I am learning some good stuff. Calcanis totally threw it down in his Keynote. Buzz B. is the man. And yesterday’s session on video and podcasting was great. And I am in a community building session right now.
Just had to get that off my chest.
I saw this article and thought of this song.
Check them both out...in order.
These are a few of my favorite things for the last few days:
Mind Maps – you should try to use these when you are developing ideas at work or elsewhere. There was something about this is BusinessWeek last week. I tried mind mapping over the weekend on an idea I was working on and I was surprised at how well it worked.
Holiday Inn Unicycle Ad – I love this ad. So dry. So silly. It reminds me of a scene from Best in Show or Waiting for Guffman.
High Pitched Singing Guy – this is just silly, but enjoy the guy who looks like Sinead O’Connor and sings like a synthesizer.
Hope your Monday was good.
To live up to the link love given by the Link Building Wiki, I guess I should make a post about link building. So here it goes, a link to the 10 Link Commandments, posted by the O.G. link builder Eric Ward.
And just for fun, here is the preview for the movie I am dying to see this fall…ladies and gents, enjoy Borat.
Thanks to Mz. Pocket for pointing me to the site with the video.
Looks like the Croc Hunter died in a freak marine accident – stabbed in the chest by a stingray, or something like that. Digg is blowing up with the story – CNN reporting at the top of the screen that it is true.
Sad.
I cannot believe what Comcast is doing now.
I came home from work tonight and turned on my TV to find this on my on-screen guide-

That’s right – a banner ad! But not just any banner ad – a banner ad that takes up one of the five slots to look a TV information. So I lost 20% of my viewable space so I can be advertised to – and I pay $80+ dollars a month for the privilege.
If Comcast is hurting for money so bad, they need to do something to fix their business model…and raising rates for cable is not going to cut it. I mean $80+ a month for a bunch of channels that I may watch 10 of and an occasional movie on HBO – how can they not be making a huge profit on me?
Banner ads! I need a drink.
Bonus Links –
Air Toons (thanks Patrick)
Wiener Dog (thanks Megan)
When I heard a commercial for the new Oscar Mayer “Fast Franks” I thought I was hearing things. Who needs a hotdog in a bun, all in one, ready to eat in 35 seconds? I mean, do we really need a friggin’ hotdog in 35 seconds? I think that actually makes it possible for that crazy Japanese guy to cook and eat all the hotdogs he eats in those professional eating competitions.
But I will stop this rant right now and let my new best friend, the Assimilated Negro, drop a dime on Oscar’s ass…
[Bonus - this freaked me out...bad]
Mz. Pocket pointed this out to me today – a List of the Biggest URL Flops of All Time.
Funny stuff.
If you are tired of feeling like you aren’t keeping up at work, or feeling like the people around you know more than you, I have a secret. Read something.
If you are not making an effort to learn something new every day of your life you are going to fall behind. Hell, I feel like I put a lot of effort into learning things and I feel like I am always one step behind.
There is nothing worse that being “behind” when it comes to knowledge, especially when it comes to your work. If your job is to do pay-per-click marketing, for example, you sure as hell better know the latest pay-per-click marketing news. And this means reading stuff.
I know reading might not be fun, but consider it an important part of your job. I promise you that if you are not keeping up with your industry you are going to look like a dumbass in front of your coworkers. I double dog promise your ass.
And beyond work, reading stuff will make you more interesting. In the adult word, knowing about stuff is cool. That doesn’t mean being a know it all – or worse yet, someone who makes shit up to be a know it all. Just knowing things to start conversations will get you places you can’t go by telling the same boring stories.
So read. Please read. With cream and sugar.

[Thanks to Hugh and gapingvoid.com for saying something intelligent because I am not capable tonight]
If you are one of the lucky people who have worked with Comcast to get cable or internet service, chances are you have been on hold with Comcast and you have even had to take time off of work to meet the cable guy at least once.
That sucks. You would think that Comcast could do better with how much they charge people for cable and internet…but I digress.
Take a look at this video and be happy this did not happen to you the last time the Comcast crew rolled up in your casa.
I ran across this quote from the movie "Boiler Room" and remebered how much it spoke to me when I was a 20 year-old stockbroker. This one makes me smile every time.
I read this article a while back, that said that Microsoft employs more millionaire secretary's that any other company in the world. They took stock options over Christmas bonuses. It was a good move. I remember there was this picture, of one of the groundskeepers next to his Ferrari. Blew my mind. you see shit like that, and it just plants seeds, makes you think its possible, even easy. And then you turn on the TV, and there's just more of it. The $87 Million lottery winner, that kid actor that just made 20 million off his last movie, that internet stock that shot through the roof, you could have made millions if you had just gotten in early, and that's exactly what I wanted to do: get in. I didn't want to be an innovator any more, i just wanted to make the quick and easy buck, i just wanted in. The Notorious BIG said it best: "Either you're slingin' crack-rock, or you've got a wicked jump-shot." Nobody wants to work for it anymore. There's no honor in taking that after school job at Mickey Dee's, honor's in the dollar, kid. So I went the white boy way of slinging crack-rock: I became a stock broker.
Ah, how times have changed...
In the last week I have increased the number of people I manage by 100% - from one person to two. Even with this remarkably small number of people to manage, I still find it to be a challenge. A good challenge, but a challenge none the less.
I was lucky enough to have my boss return from a trip and lay some management knowledge on my ass today. I appreciate all of it Mike.
To quote a wise young lady I know “communication=good.”
Make sure you are taking the most advantage of that equation. I know I am going to have to.

I think a lot of people feel like this for a good percentage of their lives. Trying to figure out what to do with your life is not an easy thing to do.
Trust me, I know. I have been a ski school flunky, camp counselor, pizza boy, government intern, stockbroker, insurance salesman, model scout, unemployed boozer, sandwich artist, customer service person and now online marketing guy. And those are the jobs I did get! I didn’t get jobs as a playground attendant, mortgage insurance salesman, worker at Target, cable ad space salesman, and Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria(got the job but did not go), just to name a few.
The one thing I have learned is that because of all of these jobs and situations, I have ended up in a place where I feel like I know what I am doing with my life – and it feels great.
So if you feel like you have no idea what you are doing with your life at this point, remember that what is happening to you right now is getting you to where you are going in life. You just don’t realize it yet.
Make sure you read this post from Scoble as well, good stuff.
[Thanks to the great Hugh MacLeod for letting bloggers like me use his images]
Alright, it is so nice outside that I am going to have to go take a walk and keep the blog post to a minimum tonight.
Here are a couple things I saw today that I thought were cool:
BBC News’ Q&A on the recent fighting in Mogadishu (I dig the Q&A writing style)
The Top Ten Lies of Guy Kawasaki
The Wrightspeed X1
Have a great night!
I was driving home from work the other night and I heard the funniest radio report ever.
May I present to you “School Heads Hope to Cool a Hot Snack.”
And just a safety note, the kids are right about the side effects of eating too many. Trust me.
Yesterday afternoon it was in the upper 70’s and I was wearing shorts and riding my bike around town.
Yesterday evening we had a really big hail storm.
Today, we have this:

That's right folks, a snow storm.
You gotta love this state!
I enjoyed this article by Sue Zeidler on Yahoo! News. It talks about the world of radio after Howard Stern and where the Stern visitors have gone.
Unsurprisingly, many are staying with terrestrial radio and are moving to other morning shows. For many people, myself included, the process of getting a satellite radio and getting it installed is a bit too much.
Surprisingly, there has been a boost in people listening to NPR. It seems that the Stern audience wasn’t so interested in stripper contests and making fun of drunks – they just liked Howard for his liberal slant.
Huh.
It was a tough day for many of us, but a very hard day for a good friend of ours. I can’t really say much more, but I found this quote appropriate:
It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. – Alan Cohen
Keep your head up Big Fella.
I worked pretty late tonight to get a big project closer to done, so I don’t have anything wildly insightful to say. Actually, I am a bit brain dead.
And in the spirit of brain deadedness, I give you the Learmousine.
Sad thing is, people will actually ride in this ridiculous beast.
Goddamn.
I recently was telling someone about Berlin’s Loveparade and I ended up looking on the net for some pictures of the party. I went in 2001 and was blown away by the size and scope of the event.
1.5 million people, all of the world’s best DJs, 50 floats with massive sound systems, and a week of partying in one of Europe’s largest cities.
But maybe I should just let the pictures do the talking.


For all of you corporate warriors who go to meetings most of your day.
For all of you who complain about meetings, whine about meetings, and avoid meetings at all costs.
For those of you who feel that you might actually get something done at work if you weren’t in meetings.
May I present to you – Seth Godin’s Mighty Meeting post.
The key here is this sentence from the post – “lot of people get paid to go to meetings.”
I think a lot of people forget they are actually getting paid to go to meetings. And when you forget that, you stop working at meetings. And when you stop working at a meeting, the meeting won’t work.
Also, just got done listening to the “Death By Meeting” book on tape. Takeaway there – meetings should be exciting, strategic, focused, and full of conflict. Well worth a listen or a read.
No if you will excuse me – I am off to a meeting.
Once again I have to admit that I am wrong. I am wrong about my earlier statements that American car companies can pull themselves back from the brink of oblivion by copying successful design of foreign cars.
That was what I thought until I saw the Frankenstein of a car called the Buick Lucerne.
Why is it a Frankenstein? Because it looks like Buick grabbed design elements from BMW, Acura, Mercedes and attached them to the body of a Buick.
I went the Denver Auto Show today and snapped these pictures to prove my point:
First the side view of the Frankenstein –

Now a look at those gills, Lucerne on the left, BMW M3 on the right –


And a look at those tail lights, Lucerne on the left, Acura Integra on the right (photo not from the auto show) –


Next, the rear half of the car, Lucerne left, Mercedes CLS500 –


But don’t worry Buick fans, the Lucerne keeps its wildly ugly Buick nose-

So, do you see what I am talking about?
Very strange…very strange.
Seth posts about a great cause that my friend Caree took up a while ago – saving people in the African country of Darfur.
Take a couple of minutes to use those dusty fax machines and send an note to your Congressman with at least one word on it – Darfur. Include your name and address and hopefully congressmen will start getting the point that there is a) genocide going on in Africa and b) something they can do about it.
Here is a link to get your congressman's contact information.
As they say in Starsky & Hutch – Do it…do it.
To get more information go here.
People forward people stuff. Sometimes it is funny. Today it was funny.
WARNING: While these videos are work safe, the sites they are on may not be.
Oh yeah – R.I.P. Addwaitya
Thanks Hugh!
After a very long delay, I have an Internet connection again. No more stealing people’s WiFi – just me and my wireless router – the way God intended.
So, where have I been all this time? I have been moving and waiting for Comcast to show up and plug me in.
Where did I move to? Just a few miles down the road from my old place to the Uptown area of Denver.
Why? These shots might explain it – here is the view from my living room and from my bedroom:
You have to watch it twice - and it will take a while to come up - but totally worth it.
You can also find the video at Brian Baute's site (faster).
Enjoy!
Random posts from a stolen WiFi connection...
&
The Microsoft iPod Package Video
[Bonus: Banned Mastercard Ad]
Looks like there is one less million dollar Ferarri Enzo in the world today.
The LA Times reports that an Enzo travelling at 120 MPH on PCH in Malibu lost control, went airborne, and struck a power pole 5 to 10 feet off the ground.
The car was totaled. The passenger (if there really was one) had minor injuries. The drive fled the scene (if the passenger isn't really the driver). I wonder he is getting ready for the Gumball…
See the news video here.
I think Microsoft’s Steve Balmer used to be the pump up guy from the Wu-Tang Clan.
He brought that fury to Microsoft.
Hold on to your hats mother truckers, and watch this video.
Who ever came up with the concept of putting an animated character on a Web site to increase sales probably never realized they were in the process of creating one of the silliest Web apps ever.
Today I ran across an advertisement for Sitepal on some Web site and I got to experience the joy of screwing around with Sitepal for the third time.
If you want to have fun with Sitepal too, I suggest you follow these two links:
To make Sitepal talk – go here. Remember to type in something ridiculous.
To change how the Sitepals look - go here. You can see my transformation of their George W. Bush pal going from regular Bush to Bushy Big Pimpin’.
Have fun, and don't forget to watch your pal's creepy, creepy eyes...


Looks like our million dollar hero is being targeted by some lowlife hijackers (no I am not talking about SmashMyViper).
See the whole story from Yahoo News.
UPDATE - SmashMyViper is up to $5,200 – just enough to do some damage to the Viper and not quite enough to pay to fix the damage :( Bad times fellas, bad times.
A friend of mine at work forwarded me a link today that gave me one more reason to live. The video stars Mr.T and is called "Recouping." Learn how to get out of those absolutacris situations.
Watch, listen and learn suckas.
(By the way, I would link to the site that is hosting the video and not the video itself, but I don't like my visitors getting bombarded by pop-ups.)

Happy New Year Motherscratchers!
I am at the end of a 12-day vacation from work/blogging. I look forward to getting back to posting and solving all of the world’s problems with the power of online marketing. :)
Anyway, this is a picture of myself and my lovely girlfriend Kristi at the New Years party we went to. There was a big swing band, plenty of drinks, and good company. A great time indeed.
Thanks to Toddy the Body for the invite.
The designer of the Apple iPod was recently recognized on the Queen of England's Honor List for his achievement in the field of design. Jonathan Ive was given the distinguished title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Most Excellent!

No snowboarding today, it just didn't work out.
I did wake up to this view from my balcony.
Damn right it was a good day.
Post have been a bit scarce here for the last few days and my excuse is vacation. I am taking the last week of the year off to use up some days off, so my posting may be a bit irregular.
Anyway, I am enjoying the time off - I read "The Rum Diary" by Hunter S. Thompson yesterday. It is a great story and a book to be read. Also finished up "All Marketers are Liars" by Seth Godin. Another great read.
I am headed up to snowboard tomorrow - Hopefully I will bring back some great pictures.
Happy Holidays!
That's right folks, it looks like we might know where Lynndie England got her practice for Abu Ghraib...
British researchers have found that little girls see Barbie doll torture as an acceptable and "cool" activity.
See the whole story from Forbes here.
That's right folks, it looks like we might know where Lynndie England got her practice for Abu Ghraib...
British researchers have found that little girls see Barbie doll torture as an acceptable and "cool" activity.
See the whole story from Forbes here.
Adrants has compiled its list of the top ten visited stories of 2005.
My personal favorite it "LEGO Get's Pissy About Brand Name." It seems LEGOS are just LEGO, no "S."
If you call LEGO "LEGOS" again, you might end up getting your legs broken by a bunch of guys with yellow heads. Then again, you can pop off their heads with your thumb...


You know, some days the news is just outright funny. My two favorite stories from today are the Static Man and Cheech the Screech.
Enjoy!
Save the turkey. Eat Tofurky!

Well, I made it.
Webmaster World Pub Con 10 is over and I am sitting at McCarran Airport (with free WiFi!) waiting for my flight back to Denver.
While the conference was good, the real value in it for me was the opportunity to hang with three great guys who just happen to be some of the most driven people I have ever had the chance to be around. It was good to talk shop, share war stories and have an all around great time in an amazing place like Las Vegas.
Josh, Rob and Greg, thanks for the great couple of days.
I hope everyone gets home safe and gets some well deserved rest.

If you happened to find a MarketingPunk.com card at somewhere in Vegas, or if you met me and I gave you a card, please leave a comment and let me know you have stopped by the site.
I am curious to see if business cards left in random places is an effective way to get people to a blog.
Thanks for visiting!
Marketing Punk
I enjoy watching auto racing but not all auto racing. In the United States, NASCAR has become what the population thinks of when they think auto racing. I personally dislike that NASCAR is marketed as a "white trash" auto sport and I think that a bunch of cars driving in a circle, well, leaves something to be desired.
A few months back I happened upon the World Rally Championship Monaco Rally on the Speed Network and was immediately hooked.
Continue reading "World Rally Championship - Real Racing, Real Excitement" »

I love the American Cornhole Association. Not because I love the sport of Cornhole - I have never actually played - but because I love the thought of a group of people making the tough decision that their sport's name was non-negotiable, even if it makes the average person think of an anus.
I have received confirmation for a child of the corn (Iowa) that Cornhole is really a sport being played in front yards everywhere. I guess it is like horseshoes.
Anyway, join the American Cornhole Association, buy their stuff, and ALWAYS stick to the rules of Cornhole.
Oh yeah, happy Halloween!
Ok, picture this....So you are working your day job, sitting in your cube. Everything is calm and that pisses you off. You are getting bored and you need some excitement in your life.
Thank God you are sitting next to a 20 pound abomination of a Nerf toy, the NERF N-STRIKE UNITY POWER SYSTEM (TM)!!!!
This is THE weapon for total cube domination. Why? Let me tell you why!!!! (in bullet points suckas)
(if you need to take out some coworkers, get yours from eToys)
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Andre the Giant has a Posse.
That is how it all started in 1989. An artist named Shepard Fairey started an experiment in what he called "Phenomenology" which, in his own words, is aimed to "reawaken a sense of wonder about one's environment." For the full explanation check out the Manifesto.
Since it's inception, the "Obey" movement has grown and spread worldwide. If you keep an eye out you will notice the face of Andre the Giant in the backgrounds of movies and television shows and in the city you live in. I even remember seeing Obey graffiti in Berlin in 2001.
Check out the Obey Giant Web site. The poster gallery is a great place to see Shepard's work is on display.
Guess what. I hate iTunes.
Why? Because iTunes is the only way I can do anything with my iPods. That is right, iPods, plural. I have a Mini and a Shuffle. But for the love of God, Moses, and Allah, iTunes makes me want to shoot myself in the face every time I try to use it.
And that is why I was so happy to hear that Apple just posted record net income and the stock dropped like a rock. You have to figure that now that Apple is selling 6.5 million iPods a quarter everyone who owns shares has an iPod, and suddenly they realized that their pretty little mp3 player is being controlled by the Joseph Stalin of software.
Go Napster. Go Yahoo Music. Go, um, Broncos?
Alright, gotta go, I have to run to Best Buy and get the new iPod that plays video...or maybe a Nano.
Hell, how else am I going to meet the cool kids who went to art school?
Just a quick note on a recent experience I had with EXP Wines. I bought a bottle of their 2001 Syrah a couple of weeks ago. When I opened the bottle the wine tasted good but after about 30 minutes the wine just seemed to go bad. Very strange.
I looked on the bottle and saw a link to the EXP Web site. I found a contact list and sent in an email telling about my experience. Within a few minutes I had a response from a guy named Bob Barker at EXP. He offered to replace the bottle of wine free of charge.
I got my wine last week and recently got a chance to try it. The wine is great! Most importantly, the customer service that I received from EXP was very impressive.
Bravo Bob!
Ok, so I am trying to figure out what my first entry in the Marketing Punk blog should be and I figure I should say a word about the Marketing Punk man up in the top banner. The image is actually a picture I took in Amsterdam on the way back from my trip to Ghana earlier this year.
The man was graffiti on the back of one of the shops of the Amsterdam flower market. I thought it was cool so I took a pic. A few months ago I was bored so I screwed around with it on Photoshop and switched the colors up a bit, I am sure it took me about an hour to do it...pretty sad.
Anyway, that is the first riveting entry into this blog. Hold onto your hats, it can only be uphill from here…
Welcome to Marketing Punk. I’m James Omdahl and I am a Denver, Colorado based online marketer and blogger. This blog is a compilation of the things that interest me online and offline. Topics will vary from blogging to search marketing to finding passion in your life to art to pretty much anything else that interests me. Thanks for visiting, come back often, and please take the time to leave a comment and let me know what you think about my posts.