8 Bit Ghost

Judah Friedlander's Supafine Art Gallery

2009-11-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

If you're a fan of 30 Rock or standup comedy, then you'll recognize Judah Friedlander by his huge glasses and smirky custom hats. He and the other "writers" on 30 Rock are one of the bright spots on the show. I think this guy is really funny, but the thing I most like about him is his art collection. This is just down my alley:

Click here to visit Judah's excellent collection of bad (good?) art.

Among a fine collection of bad Elvis art, he also has a great mix of sculpture, toys, and fine art miscellany to appreciate. The art is good, but his comments seal the deal. Here's a couple of pieces that I enjoyed:

"Leif Garrett’s smart twin brother. Future cult leader. High school junior love interest in a Judy Blume novel."

"A print of Dorothy Hammill from when she won the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. This print has all the excitement and drama of her gold medal performance. It even has women dressed in traditional Montreal garb holding freshly baked bread. I also like the silhouette of her in the lower left corner. And then to top it off, there’s a bunch of words written about her in the lower right corner. This piece has the three E’s. Exquiste. Exciting. Educational."

"Another one of my favorites. Don’t know if these are landhoppers or if they can fly. But they do like to sit on wood and seem to prefer to travel in pairs – probably for safety. Probably from another planet originally. May have time traveled or space traveled. Not with their own time machine or spaceship – but probably sneaked onto someone else’s without them knowing and went along for the ride. My feeling is that these are the types of creatures that make friends easily."

I once had a collection of gigantic carved Polynesian spoons and forks that would have fit perfectly in this collection.

Captains I Have Known

2009-11-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

In one of my fever-induced dreams I was on a boat getting seasick and the ship's captain ordered me to stay in the ship's hospital under quarantine. I remember him wearing a ridiculous blue captain suit with gold braided epaulets. I know, hang in there with me, it's been a rough week... here's a post on captains I have known in my lifetime:

Captain Kangaroo - Believe it or not we used to watch an older guy with a toupee named Captain Kangaroo when we were little. His actual name was Bob Keeshan. I forgot about Mr. Green Jeans - one of my favorites from the show - a friendly handyman who used to stop by. This clip is from 1980 when they tried to resurrect his 30 year old show as the centerpiece of Saturday Morning cartoons.

Captain Kirk - 'nuff said. Shatner needs no introduction. Here's a good clip. Captain Kirk does a dramatic reading of the preamble of the Constitution to a bunch of guys dressed in fake fur with spears. Classic...

"The Captain" of Captain & Tennille - This band was a hit machine in the seventies. "The Captain" was the silent, talented musical partner in this pop duo. At the time, we thought nothing of his hilarious hat/sunglass combo. I guess captain hats were more standard attire back then. This clip from Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show is like packaging everything about the 70's into a little bottle.

Captain Crunch - Commander of the cereal universe, kooky leader, and all around deliverer of deliciousness, Captain Crunch has been in the background of culture for my entire lifespan.

Captain Caveman - A clear Scooby Doo template spinoff, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels was an odd cartoon that ran from 1977-1980. Apparently, because of the three channels available on my TV at the time, I would watch anything.

Captain Stubing - The Love Boat was one of the cheesiest, but most beloved TV shows ever created. Looking back, I can't believe that we watched this schlock. It was essentially a big PR campaign for the "B" movie star of the month. Essentially, a bunch of story lines written exclusively for guest stars - Bert Convy where are you now!?! You can catch a glimpse of Captain Stubing at the :55 mark in this opening intro.

Captain Jack Sparrow - Depp's famous pirate is so good because he based his character on original pirate/zombie/rockstar Keith Richards. If you're a fan of the Rolling Stones, you know how good this is...

Captain Knuckles - If you haven't seen it, "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" is worth a gander. Twisted kids cartoons from Mark "Thurop" Van Orman, who used to work on the Powerpuff Girls as an animator. Knuckles and flapjack live on a fetid fishing dock in the middle of nowhere, and are in a constant quest to find "Candied Island". Uncomfortable humor, but really creative.

Ahoy Mateys!

Swine Flu Day 3

2009-10-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going to live! No fevers today, but I'm still coughing up green goblins and the sore throat is still intense. Still bed-ridden, and achy, but overall a better day. I'm ready to join the survivors of pandemic 2009. Hopefully more recovery tomorrow.

The only bummer is that I missed Halloween. The kids had great costumes. This year they went as Gnomeo and Juliet... Get it!?! Juliet looks cute as usual, but Hank makes me bust up every time I look at him. There's something about tiny suspenders and a beard.

This next sentence makes me the biggest wussy on the planet... I miss hugging my wife and kids! I've been in quarantine in our house for the last three days. No one is coming within 3 feet of me and everything I touch is being wiped down with disinfectant. At least Oregon crushed USC this evening... Goodnight from your local leper.

Swine Flu Day 2

2009-10-30T16:58:00.001-07:00

Ever get so sick that your sense of reality starts to warp? I spent the day battling high temps again, in and out of sleep having weird dreams, and painful coughing spells. Thankfully I got some antibiotics from my parents to go along with tamiflu (Papa Pete you are my hero). Going to the pharmacy was a huge journey. Once they know you're infected it's like everyone starts to avert the eyes. Receipts are handed to you with a stick. Children are hidden. I have become the elephant man.

Swine Flu Day 1

2009-10-29T15:48:00.000-07:00

Karma... You know what they say. Initially I dismissed swine flu as yet another media-hyped creation of our hypochondriac-filled culture. After a couple of months of teaching kids about avoiding H1N1, washing my hands every five minutes, and seeing a lot of them succumb - I now have it. It's as bad as they say it is; a severe form of flu. What sucks about it is that it combines the worst features of several forms of sickness (fever, achy back, sore throat, headache, sinus pressure, ridiculous green snot, cough, watery eyes, fatigue).

So far the Tamiflu is not really doing anything miraculous. Viruses are such a strange robotic thing. I understand the science behind it, but it still seems like science fiction. I must make amends with my body. G'night.

I'm Becoming a Hunchback! Fall Music...

2009-10-20T21:53:00.001-07:00

I'm beat today... Work stank. Do you ever feel like you're working really hard to push the ball up the hill and it keeps rolling down over the top of you? Today is thus. Smoten, jinxed, awry. Best to just wallow in the beauty and peace of music. Here are some picks for the brooding fall season. Warning! Retroness is nigh!

The Helio Sequence - ultra cool band out of Portland (my home town). Great background music for hanging out around the house.

The Raconteurs - I've been revisiting their first album. It holds up really well three years later. Jack White is the man. If you're a fan, check out "It Might Get Loud", the documentary he made with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, and The Edge from U2.

The Pixies - My friend Chris is canceling his plans to attend the latest Pixies reunion tour in Seattle next month so that he can go to a remote cabin with his brosephs. You are a good friend, Chris. If Frank Black were coming to Ashland, I'm not sure I could be so loyal. As a tribute to you, I give you an ancient rendition on the BBC where they all still have hair!

Pinback - a band I learned about from John in the Morning at KEXP. I like the simple drawings in this video.

Massive Attack - What's not to like about the combination of Massive Attack and Elizabeth Fraser from the Cocteau Twins? I find this song very soothing, but I hated the original video for it - a singing fetus!?! I'm still surprised that Fraser is not a superstar in the music biz.

Here's to a new day tomorrow.

Money! It's a hit...

2009-10-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

This year I'm teaching a year long advanced digital media class. We're getting deep into Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver as well as a little Illustrator and Indesign. Right now my students are ready to burn me at the stake while I teach them the vagaries of Illustrator. One of our first projects was to create a piece of custom currency in Photoshop. Money is an interesting graphic system that seems simple at first, but is really very complex. My students did a fantastic job, so I thought I'd show some of the best efforts here...

I'm enjoying my time with these young'ns. They're a talented crew, I'm lucky to be their teacher!

You Are Correct, Sir!

2009-10-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hank just turned 6! He had an awesome birthday yesterday. Key highlights included a totally chocolate breakfast (hot chocolate and chocolate chip pancakes), a shopping spree at Toys R Us (excellent toy choices btw), and a small party with his buddies Sam, Jack, and Grace (and Juliet of course). Hank is wise beyond his years, as evidenced by this sly video clip...

...and, like his father, he knows how to correctly tuck his t-shirt into his underwear. I love you, Hank! You're a stylish and witty lad!

Fire!

2009-09-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

On Monday our whole neighborhood was turned upside down by a raging grass fire that threatened our hood and cut a 100 acre swath before it was quelled. Christy called me at noon, and told me to come home quickly because a brush fire was burning towards our house. I jumped in the car and took this picture from I-5 South. Our house is situated just to the right of this mushroom cloud.

By the time I got off the freeway they had closed off our road and blocked all access. I had to sneak into our neighborhood through some back roads (which is not easy in the dotcom mobile). It was utter madness - people were leaving cars in the road and standing on their roofs spraying water. Fire trucks and fire crews were zooming by, and helicopters and planes were dropping water and fire retardant on the blaze up the hill. There was a horse in my yard, and a very nice woman apologizing that her farm was burning and she had no where to go until her husband pulled up the horse trailer. I went in to the house and Christy was already packing valuables into bags. We laughed about how unimportant our possessions seemed to be at that moment. I packed a bunch of meaningless electronics, and my standup bass into the car. She grabbed the really important stuff - pictures and tax documents - and we drove away to get Juliet (Hank was already at Grammy's house). My daughter's school is at the base of the hill and as we arrived the kids were being loaded into buses with the full effect of the fire cloud straight above them. It was a bizarre scene. Here's some video shot at the source of the fire by our local newspaper.

We hung around town in a hotel nervously awaiting news. Luckily the fire crews were able to contain it by early evening. They applied an amazing amount of force to it in a very short time. One rental house at the top of hill burned to the ground, but mostly it damaged farm land. Support your local fire fighters! This was a great lesson for us - it's important to have an emergency plan for when a fire occurs. Our neighborhood is very lucky, a slight shift of the wind and it would have been a horrible disaster.

A Fine Weekend of Watching Football and Making Stuffed Animals

2009-09-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't just honor diversity this weekend, I celebrated it. I ran the gamut from watching 4 different football games*, to a prolific session with the sewing machine on Sunday where I kicked out 3 stuffed animals. I know. You're like, "Wakka Wakka What?" That's right people, I know how to sew. My momma taught me at young age. What about it!?! When the zombie apocalypse finally comes, I will be ready with a bolt of fabric and a few choice buttons. We'll see who is laughing then...

Juliet and I have been talking lately about how cool it would be to make our own versions of "Ugly Dolls". So today we picked up fleece at Wal-Mart and went to work. Hank received the first effort, a stripey dude that he named "Germy McNugget". Then Juliet designed and sewed a character named "Cloudor", which comes with a brilliant brown sock as an accessory. Finally, I made a one-eyed monster that Christy warned me looked like something that could spawn human life - at that point it was clear that quittin' time was upon us. Overall, I think they came out really well. Better than my Seahawks...

*Oregon v. Utah (Ducks Win!), Florida tells Tennessee and the Kiffin's to pipe down. My Seahawks get the beatdown from the surprising 49ers and are doomed with another year of loss and injury. Lastly, the Giants beat the Cowboys and no one hit Double J's low hanging TV set. Special bonus - YewDub downs SC this weekend! Highly satisfying.

Santa's Got a Brand New Sleigh

2009-09-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

Check out this polar concept vehicle from French designer Matthieu Tarrit. This is the coolest snow-caterpillar that I've ever seen. It's a mobile research lab that he designed with input from polar scientists. Forget science! Santa should start the R&D investment now, so that all the Q4 toys can be delivered in style. C'est magnifique!

Plants vs. Zombies

2009-09-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

If you enjoy a little casual gaming now and then, you must play Plants vs. Zombies! It's a new take on the old "tower defense" games where you have to protect your house from an onslaught of clever zombies using a variety of weapons. In this case, plants. The game play is incredibly addictive and the graphics are hilarious. There's a very nice interplay between the cuteness of the plants and the ghoulish zombies. Extra Bonus: I read recently that game director George Fan was influenced by Tapper, a classic arcade game from my high school years.

Plants vs. Zombies is published by PopCap games. You can download a trial version, but I recommend the full version which you can purchase for $9.99 via Steam. BRAINS!!!

Storage Units: A Uniquely American Malaise

2009-09-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting article recently in the NY Times about storage units. Those little garages say a lot about how Americans over value their possessions. It's also a great indicator that our consumerism has an interesting waste cycle (half life) of its own. Perhaps these cardboard boxes and plastic tubs of misc goods make us feel more permanent on this earth, or give us a sense of our own history.

I'm guilty too. We've owned a storage unit for the last 5 years. It's like a convenient ball and chain. You must believe me when I say, "We've got valuable stuff in there!" But I'm sure that beyond a few nice pieces, it's just psychological baggage. It's weird how we define ourselves based on our "stuff". Please take a gander at this article... It says a lot about our culture, and I found myself nodding my head throughout the text.

http://www.nytimes.com

Tiny Minds, Tiny Worlds

2009-09-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

One of the things I enjoy the most about being a Dad is watching my kids create things. Whether it's drawing, clay, cooking, or just storytelling - I always enjoy seeing the product of their minds. This is most true when my kids play with the greatest toy of all time - Legos! The tiny bricks just had their umpteenth toy revival at our house this weekend. I love the strange coupling of objects, the total disregard for order or utility, and the randomness of the characters.

The Book of Jobs

2009-08-18T08:14:00.001-07:00

After years of sitting on my hands and resisting the high cost of smart phones, I finally succumbed and bought an iPhone this summer. I have a bumpy history with Apple. I was obsessed with all things Apple during college, but I couldn't afford one and ended up getting deep into PC's because of all the video games available on the PC. In the early nineties, I started at Microsoft with a Macintosh on my desk (gasp!?! what!?!). Yes, it's true people... Microsoft had many Mac users in the early days. Among other products, I helped market MacOffice to the masses. It sold more than our Windows version in the early days. About a year in, all of our machines were replaced with PC's so that we could test Microsoft's newest version of Windows and email.

I digress... After years of making fun of the "Cult of Steve", I'm eating crow in a big way. Earlier this summer I met a designer at a conference who said, "If it's not on a phone, it's useless." I was really offended until I started using my iPhone more than my laptop. The touch screen and the app store make this device endlessly useful. Yea, the keyboard interface sucks and iTunes is still a horrible piece of software - but I'm hopelessly sold on it. After years of making fun of texters, I'm now texting like a teenage girl, "ZOMG, WTF, ROFL Copter!!!"

Let the derision begin!

Neal Stephenson's Anathem: Thinking Man's Sci-Fi

2009-08-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

This summer I read Stephenson's Anathem on my iPhone using Amazon's Kindle App (side note, the Kindle is going to die now that this exists on phones). It's around a thousand pages - so consider the crazy 4000 finger swipes required to get through it. My wife was so annoyed with my time on the iPhone that she started calling it my, "robot girlfriend". I would be offended if she was not dating her phone on such a regular basis. I'm sure her phone does a better job of cleaning the house and paying the bills.

I've been a huge fan of Neal Stephenson since I read Snow Crash in the early nineties. I'm not sure if that book stands the test of time, but it was an awesome read back in the day. The book stirred many of the fears and wonders of the early Internet, and the oncoming doom represented by VIRTUAL REALITY - remember that storyline!?! Stephenson's other big hits, The Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon are also classics. The former represents for me the birth of steam punk and the latter is an awesome adventure romp replete with WWII gold-hoarding fanaticism. Bobby Shaftoe is the bomb! Stephenson then went on to write a trilogy called the "Baroque Cycle", and I had a hard time following. They were brilliantly complex books, but I think they were difficult reads for even the most hardcore of readers - which I'm not.

Anathem is set in a oddly possible parallel universe. I lack the skills to summarize it, so here's a quote from Amazon - "Stephenson (Cryptonomicon) conjures a far-future Earth-like planet, Arbre, where scientists, philosophers and mathematicians—a religious order unto themselves—have been cloistered behind concent (convent) walls. Their role is to nurture all knowledge while safeguarding it from the vagaries of the irrational saecular outside world. Among the monastic scholars is 19-year-old Raz, collected into the concent at age eight and now a decenarian, or tenner (someone allowed contact with the world beyond the stronghold walls only once a decade). But millennia-old rules are cataclysmically shattered when extraterrestrial catastrophe looms, and Raz and his teenage companions—engaging in intense intellectual debate one moment, wrestling like rambunctious adolescents the next—are summoned to save the world."

It's a rigorous read, but well worth the time. I highly recommend it.

You may ask yourself... Where does my waste go?

2009-08-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Alreet. I attended a Sustainability Institute last July (btw, I found out my carbon footprint is a massive black hole - being a technophile and driving the dotcom mobile is definitely a problem). The focus of the conference was to raise awareness on lowering our impact on the earth, and how we can teach students in high schools to be better stewards. For my fellow teachers and I, it was an opportunity for us to act like 14 year-olds and gawk at gross things that come out of the sewer (Lucky, T-Bone, and Rhino - you know who you are). If you're on the fence about ecology... simply visit a waste water treatment plant and everything will be crystal clear!

I've always hated the word, "sewage". It's the perfect auditory representation of the physical product. Treating sewage is actually pretty amazing. It's incredible how efficient the process has become, and that relatively clean water can come from such unholy spew. But there is one dumpster in the plant that cannot be saved by our techno-wizardry. This pile represents things that cannot be reclaimed or decomposed. If ye dare to click on this tiny picture, then hide your children and grab a vomitous receptacle!!! You have been warned...

My God, what hell hath we wrought!?!

Catching Sun in a Jar

2009-07-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's damn hot here! 80 degrees at 9am this morning, and we're expecting highs from 110 to 115. These are the days when I long for Seattle's moderate weather (although I hear it's hot there too this week). People are staying indoors lately - let's pray that the power stays on...

I've been doing some Instructables projects lately. If you're a tinkerer then you're familiar with Make magazine, and the instructables site - a shrine to all things DIY. I made a couple of "Sun Jars" built with off the shelf solar LED yard lights, some old school canning jars, and frosted glass spray paint. Lifehacker had a more simple version of Make's sun jar, so I used their instructions. These are pretty easy to build, the only step that I changed was to glue the solar cell and the electronics into the lid of the jar using some silicone based caulking. Here are some pics:

They work great! If, like me, you believe the white light that LEDs provide is too harsh you can simply tape a clear bottle label over them (we used a Aquafina bottle label for the blue one pictured above). The kids have been using them as night lights in their rooms. We just set them out in the sun for the day and they last all night.

Google Moon Rocks My Inner Spaceman... Man...

2009-07-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

It's the 40th anniversary of our nations first steps on the moon! I was four years old when this occurred, but I can still remember it vividly. Thanks Mom, for plopping us kids down in front of our TV to watch this historic event.

Google Earth 5.0 now has the ability to explore our tiny orbiting friend... just select "Moon" from the top toolbar and you're set to explore. There's archival pictures and footage, 3D models of the landing craft, tours, and much much more. The Apollo 11 mission really spurred my interest in all things space. It's cool to go back to it in such an interactive way. Landing on the moon was a pivotal moments in American history, so I'm happy that NASA and Google paired up to capture these missions. The moon is incredibly relevant to modern society, culture, art and literature. Take a moment this week to stare at it from your yard - still fascinating.

Somewhere Major Matt Mason is slowly deteriorating in his rubberized flight suit, sipping a martini and toasting the Apollo 11 crew...

Happy Birthday, Tesla

2009-07-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Do you like remote controls, radio, wireless devices, and motors? Do you like having outlets throughout your house? Then you need to thank Nikola Tesla - America's most under appreciated inventor. Today is his birthday, and you wouldn't know it except for the custom logo on Google's search page. Tesla was equal parts Bill Gates, DaVinci, Nostradamus, and Dr. Frankenstein. The more you know about him the more unreal he gets - as if he was a visitor from the future who brought back enabling technology to the early part of the twentieth century. He was an early pioneer in the field of electricity and magnetism. Here are just a few of his inventions:

Alternating Current (AC power systems) - in the war of currents, Tesla's AC power which was backed by George Westinghouse beat out Thomas Edison's Direct Current or DC system as the backbone for power distribution in the U.S.
Polyphase Power Distribution (a.k.a. 3 phase power). Look up at most power poles and you'll see three lines.
AC Motors - which is also a polyphase system. Induction motors have an electromagnetic case which creates a rotating output shaft. These motors were one of the key ingredients of the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Radio Transmission - Marconi gets the credit for inventing radio, but Tesla was the true inventor.

Edison spent a lot of time and energy trying to discredit Tesla's ideas and inventions. Matter of fact, Tesla worked for Edison initially but their relationship soured when Tesla was not paid for his work as they originally agreed. Tesla was a genius, but unlike Edison, he was a poor business man. Later in his life, Tesla dedicated his work towards wireless power transmission. As part of these studies he discovered that the resonant frequency of the Earth was approximately 8 Hertz (Hz). In the 1950s, researchers confirmed that the resonant frequency of the Earth's ionospheric cavity was in this range (later named the Schumann resonance). People thought he lost his mind at the end, where he lived penniless in a hotel and had a fondness for birds. He even claimed that he had the ability to create a death ray - which raised the eyebrows of U.S. military personnel leading up to World War II.

Regardless of his far reaching ideas, Tesla was one of the greatest inventors to ever grace our planet. It's my hope that other people learn and appreciate this great man. If you ever get the chance check out PBS' excellent documentary titled, "Tesla - Master of Lightning" you'll be amazed at the breadth and depth of his genius. PBS also has a companion web site which covers his life. I was happy to hear recently that there is a movement afoot to save his Wardenclyffe lab site in Long Island. Spread the word about this talented American!

The Gods Were Angry

2009-07-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

This is the "Tiki Mon". Last night in the middle of our fireworks show he decided to be difficult, tipped over and shot his guts in the wrong direction - namely toward the spectators. Luckily no one was injured, but it made for a memorable fourth. I haven't seen Christy move that fast since she found a raccoon lurking in the backyard.

We got the last laugh, though... We ended up using his carcass as a launch pad for several other fireworks. I threw in some strobes and bloomers, and his eyes lit up with fire! I am a little nervous about retribution. This is kind of like that Brady Bunch episode from Hawaii where they found the tiki god necklace and were cursed. I'm sure Alice will step in if I'm in danger...

Fourth of July, Yo!

2009-07-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

I like this holiday. Any day that combines parades, old cars, fighter planes, a lot of noise and explosives is my kind of day. Although I'm definitely a cynic, my heart swells a little on the fourth and I'm really proud to be an American. Christy's still in recovery mode, so the kids and I attended the Ashland Fourth of July parade this morning. We're just spectators this year (literacy will not be celebrated with our local library). Ashland's a small town, so this parade is a big deal around here.

I like to do fireworks (for the kids, of course - wink, wink) and we're having the Inadacheks over tonight for a little BBQ and show. It's not likely to match last year's Tiki Punch Festival and Yard Fire, but I've got some tricks up my sleeve. Happy fourth everybody!

Live Hospital Blogging!

2009-07-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

11:23am - I'm hanging out with Christy at Ashland Community Hospital - she's having carpal tunnel surgery today. I'm blogging from my iPhone. Texting is hard for an old guy like me! Anyways, Christy is excited for the procedure. Typing is next to breathing for her, so today should bring some relief. I'm actually looking forward to spending some time with her around the house during recovery. More news as it happens!

8:42pm - A long day. Christy's surgery went well although she won't admit that the painkillers are affecting her at all (methinks otherwise). The sad truth is that she has to hold her hand above her heart for the next week. When she sleeps we tape two pillows around her forearm so that the hand stays up in the air. Its like she's constantly trying to get the attention of a waiter... and I am her Jeeve's.

SkillsUSA Nationals Day 5: Awards

2009-06-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Friday was our last day of the conference. Our students met with the competition advisors and judges in the morning to debrief the contest. It was interesting to see what the judges had to say. They were really good about identifying good and bad trends in people's work, and laying out next steps for their careers. In the evening we attended the closing ceremonies at Kemper Arena - it was nuts! Thousands of students all bouncing around in near 100 degree temperatures and humidity. Here's a movie clip of our view from the floor of the arena.

Every competition is announced and students go on stage to receive gold, silver, and bronze medals. Many of the top 3 finishers get full-ride scholarships to excellent colleges and trade schools. It's cool to see all of the emotion from the kids who win - it's a big deal. Unfortunately, our student were not medal winners but they still did really well. As they say, you're a champion for just being at nationals. We had a great time this week, and I think the students learned a lot about their respective fields of work. Already we're talking about which competitions we should enter next year. I'm so proud of these students - they are incredibly talented, mature, and ready for a successful life after high school. Good job guys! Here's a little montage I put together this morning in my hotel room using Picasa. Apologies for the cheesy soundtrack, but it was the only audio clip I could find on my laptop.

SkillsUSA Nationals Day 4: Competition

2009-06-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today was the big competition for our district students. We had a contestant in Advertising Design, Architectural Drafting, and Computer Maintenance Technology. All three students spent 8 hours competing in their different areas along with 50 other students. Everyone did a great job, although it was hard to watch these guys suffer through all the tasks - it's intense. My co-worker and I spent the day touring the competitions, meeting with colleagues and generally fretting over our student's success.

My student, who was competing in Advertising Design had to create an energy drink juice logo and package, along with a complicated mechanical reproduced from an original ad. All of our students did a great job and I'm really proud. Tomorrow we'll debrief with the judges on each contest and attend the closing awards ceremony in the evening. Here's a pic from today's Ad Design competition.