The Few, The Proud, The Blogging Community of the South Sound

Rising early from bed, I flicked on the lamp and threw off the covers. With no time to waste, I showered, dressed, and brushed my teeth. I quietly exited the house, fired up the engine of my car and began my morning journey.

Yes, I am one of them. I am a blogger. You don't think we're superheroes? Guess Again

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the South Sound Technology Conference this morning. I walked in about 20 minutes late (sorry!) and sat in the balcony. From this vantage point, I was able to see practically everyone who was in attendance (well, the back of their heads). I was able to recognize many people: Mark Briggs, the editor of thenewstribune.com, Andrew Fry, my professor at UWT and writer of http://www.livingandwokingvirtually.com/, TacomaChickadee, from "tickle me, tacoma," Derek Young, from Exit133, Kevin Freitas, from KevinFreitas.net and FeedTacoma, Erik Hanberg, from ErikEmery.com and Exit133, and my favorite guest, the Tacoma Gnome, from TacomaGnome.

I have come to respect these people. Keeping up a blog is not an easy task, and they are definately adept at it. I would recommend these blogs to anyone that is looking around. I was hoping that the secrets of a blog would be revealed through the presentations of these fine people. However, its not as easy as a formula that spits out an answer. Thus, I have decided that I must choose a topic to blog about and narrow my range down. I will think about it for a while, but for now I am leaning towards blogging about College Life. Hmmm. Ill think about it... Until then!

Floor Drooling, Recording, and Prizes!!

Today was an eventful day so far...

You know when you have an exam coming up and you know that all you have to do is refresh your memory on the material and youll be fine? So all that you do is wait until the night before and cram! Thus was the case last night. I spent all day yesterday writing music and recording and by the time I finally came home, around 8:45, I was exhausted. So, when I laid down on the carpet in front of the computer to stuff information into my brain concerning Akerlof's Lemons, Externalities, and Kenneth Arrow's theories concerning Asymmetrical Economic Information for my economics exam, as well as history of the internet, the Dot.Com Bubble, and RSS Feeds for my Living and Working in the Virtual World class, I didn't plan on falling asleep on my face. For the third night in a row, I found myself asleep on the floor. My alarm woke me at 6:00 AM, then at 6:05, and then at 6:10. I turned on the computer and studied as much as I could in an hour and ten minutes. Time will tell, but I feel good about the respective tests for the time being.

I mentioned an online scavenger hunt earlier. My team was second place, and I had thought that our teacher had forgotten about the prizes, but when I went into class I had the choice of a starbuck's gift card or a husky's pin. I naturally chose the pin, and I'll wear it as a tie tack to remind me of my loyalty.

Like I said, this day is so far so good...

Free Time

Ive had some free time lately, and I've done some soul-searching. This may be a very Tie-Dye blog.

NBA: Lets start with the Utah Jazz. What is their deal? They can blow out Golden State in both games, kill Sacramento, own Memphis, and squeak by Cleveland? How about their squeak by the Seattle Sonics? Unbelievable. While we're on the subject, why are the Sonics playing so poorly? with the number two draft pick (might as well have been the number one), the sonics find themselves 0-7. The ever-elusive victory might well remain elusive as their schedule doesn't look promising. We, as washingtonians, think its very disrespectful for NBA Commissioner David Stern to talk to us in this manner. How can you tell us that if the Supersonics leave our state that we will never get another team back? Isnt that exactly what happened in Charlotte? Oh, but wait. They DID get a team back afterwards. Hmmmmm...

MUSIC: I have recently began to write music for an upcoming CD. I play the piano, and the CD would consist of a few original pieces as well as some Jim Brickman pieces. The hardest part I have found is finding a CD title. I have several ideas: Left Unsaid, Moving Foreword (yes, spelled that way on purpose), Finding the light, Forgotten Anthems, or Peace of Music. Any others would be welcomed.

TECHNOLOGY: I have recently been offered a position by NorthwestWebCo to do website layout. If you go to their website, www.northwestwebco.com, I think you'll agree that it is a pretty cool layout. I think I am going to take the position, and am excited to invest in a developing company. Actually, one of my friends owns the company and it is growing slowly and steadily. He has a good head for business, and seems to know where he plans on taking the company.

LOCAL SPORTS: The Harbour Hurricanes Rugby Team had another awesome practice, with a total of 22, I believe, coming out to learn about rugby. I am excited to be a part of a wonderful rugby movement, and I think they have a very promising season ahead. I have begun training form local Triathlons in the spring and summer. I have never done a triathlon before, and believe it will be a wonderful experience.

TACOMA: I have had some wonderful experiences in Tacoma recently and have found that quant little city that so many people have known their whole lives! If anyone is visiting, or if you are bored, I would recommend walking around by the museum of glass, over the bridge there to see the glass sculptures, along the water, and around the University of Washington - Tacoma Campus. It is gorgeous! I have worked up Pacific Ave near 38th and further up near 72nd, and I love the feel near the water and Point Defiance Zoo so much more than that of downtown.

That is all that is on my mind right now, other than the fact that I just recently added the TacomaGnome as a friend on Myspace! His is one of the only blogs that I follow religiously. Check it out!! (See side menu) Until next time, Peace and Love!!

Scavenger Hunt

The scavenger hunt has begun, and we are already in the lead! I just know it! We are breezing through the questions and I think our team will easily finish it before the end of class!! Our team rules the world! If you have no idea what Im talking about, see here. Have fun!!!

Orwellian Society?

I have recently looked into the novel "World without secrets" as a part of learning about our digital age and the ramifications that we have to face because of our place in it. It discusses the idea of a collective "Big Brother" that knows what we do and when we do it and also punishes us for those actions. It seems to be a good read, although kind of expensive ($29.95 YIKES!). I searched google products for it, changed the criteria to sort from low to high priced and found some veeeery inexpensive used copies. I do recommend buying used copies of books online as I have made a few purchases and have been completely satisfied with the results. I bought a book for .99 and thought the copy was good enough for me. Back to the novel at hand, there is a question that arises within the book: Is Big Brother bad or good for the society? Shouldn't those that have nothing to hide be okay with the fact that they Can't hide anything? I will have to read further into the story to see what the answer here is, but in my own life I would have to say "no. That is not okay."

Adding to the Virtual World

As our world is integrating technology into every thought, action, and idea, we have turned many very physical services into online replicates. We have music online! I just today downloaded piano sheet music to perform in a few weeks. I can watch church online twice a year, order my groceries, and listen to the radio. Google is one of the main compilers of online services. As I said in my recent post about the Google OS for cellphones, Google has amazingly reduced the stress of living in the virtual world. They have put YouTube, GMail, Google News, Google Maps, Google Weather, Google Product Search, and so many other features together in one location, which makes it so much easier to live in our modern age. All in all, the internet has really made life simple with all of the online services it has to offer.

Purchasing Followup

As I wrote earlier, I ordered two rugby balls online on October 20, 2007. I also said how easily I could track their progress through an online service of UPS. The order initially said 1-2 weeks. You can imagine how amazed I was to recieve the first one on October 26th, and the next on October 29th. The process was easy, not time consuming, and I felt good (well, as good as you can) about giving out my credit card info online. Its always comforting to see the padlock at the bottom of the page to let you know that the site is secure. How secure is it though? I dont really know, but the padlock makes me happy enough to purchase online.

Light Rail--Heavy debate

A plan has surfaced to give another aquiduct to Tacoma from Seattle: A new light rail running from the Tacoma Dome to Down town Seattle. The debate ensues about the price and practicality of such a transportation. The project is projected to cost $3.36 Billion and is considered the largest tax-package ever put forth to Washington Voters. The Light Rail would decrease the likelyhood of traffic with public transportation, simplify a trip from Tacoma to Seattle by eliminating transfers, and would run for about 70 minutes. If began now, the project is estimated to take 20 years to complete, by which time the need may be obsolete.

The article just reaffirms what I was thinking to my self: what a wonderful city Tacoma is. We continue to link other places to our cosmopolitan city and continue to flow traffic of people into it. Im not saying that higher volumes of people into the area is good for the city, I'm simply saying that if more people had the opportunity to observe our way of life, many rumors could be dispelled. The shroud that seems to surround the city of Tacoma and give it a less-than-perfect quality might be lifted.