Jordan's Blog

Return to Rose Bowl, Return to GLORY

jmaness — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:31:38 +0000

Many reputable sports sources have said it… 50,000+ believe it… and THE University of Texas is possibly 3 games away from proving it. THE Texas Longhorns ARE the most complete team in college football today. The team was in a good position last year until disaster struck in Lubbock, Texas. This year the team has met all the challenges thus far and has far surpassed them. There’s the offense that seems to be a well-refined machine, working as one to efficiently move the ball down the field, the impenetrable defense that has the explosive potential to score at any moment on a turnover and the special teams unit that will block punts and WILL have big punt and kickoff returns. This team just needs to blow past the season finally against Texas A&M and the Big 12 Championship against Nebraska. Don’t get me wrong… these games worry me. The Aggies will play their best game of the year with the hope of spoiling our season and Nebraska is always a worthy opponent especially for the Big 12 title. Our team must remain focused and continue to do what they are capable of in order to achieve what should unfold. We are more talented than these teams. We must simply stay focused and show up to play, not to the level of our opponents but to the level of our potential. Once we achieve this, we will be able to go back to Pasadena, California and reclaim our title of National Champions. The SEC won’t know what hit them. Either the Gators or Crimson Tide will be shocked. We will beat them deep. We will run on them. We will run back interceptions for touchdowns. And our special teams will dominate the battle for field position. BUT first we must get there. HOOK ‘EM HORNS

Icebergs off coast of New Zealand?!

jmaness — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:30:24 +0000

An iceberg believed to have been 11.6 square miles in size has split from the Antarctic as sea and air temperatures rise due to global warming. More than 100 icebergs are floating to New Zealand which has prompted numerous shipping warnings. Icebergs, such as these, have not been seen so far north of the Antarctic since 2006. They have floated to an area in which shippers are not used to being wary of such dangers which is why they pose such a threat. All ports must communicate to their shippers of tha icebergs’ presence in order to avoid possible collisions. Also, if the current global warming trends continue, more icebergs and large ice shelves will continue to break up. Just another reason for us to work to fight this damage to our planet and find effective ways to reduce and possibly reverse the damage that is done.

Crib Catastrophy

jmaness — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:09:38 +0000

The Consumer Product Safety Comission has issued a record recall of more than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing. This is the biggest crib recall in U.S. history, which follows reports of four infant suffocations. Sales of the recalled cribs date back to 1993. Additionally nearly 150,000 of the cribs carry the Fischer-Price logo. These products have a history of problems with the hardware as there have been many cases of the sliding mechanism detatching. Recalls of these products are not new to consumers in general. More than 5 million of them have been recalled over the past two years alone! Toys R Us has begun phasing out the sale of these cribs and will no longer offer them next month. A product this dangerous should not be on the market. Is this action too little too late? This recall is necessary and is a good move, but it had to be mandated by the government and comes almost 17 years after the cribs went on the market. The problems have been apparent for years now but are just now being dealt with. Seems like actions of this magnitude should have been taken earlier.

More Troops to Afghanistan?

jmaness — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:55:55 +0000

The debate over whether or not to send more troops (about 34,000) to Afghanistan is coming to an end. President Obama will announce within days his decision. Regardless of the outcome, it is good that the administration finally brought together the main decision makers to discuss this question. At first, there seemed not to be unified discussion on this topic. Gen. Stanley McChrystal would say one thing then the Obama administration would come out and say another. This was an extremely ineffective way to debate such a critical issue. We, the people, do not have all the information now, but if more troops are necessary to achieve our purpose in Afghanistan, we should provide our military with the power they need. That is given that the plan is built in such a way that there is an exit strategy sooner rather than later. The U.S. must achieve this mission completely and with the minimal loss of life. We cannot fail in Afghanistan or our previous efforts might be in vain.

Evolution of Mobile Technology Continues

jmaness — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:44:32 +0000

Ever made a new friend who told you to look them up on Facebook then never could find them online due to name spelling of just forgetfulness? Well, the days of that dilemma are numbered. A software company called Semacode is working to eradicate this problem using bar codes that resemble crossword puzzles. These bar codes are able to encode internet URLs. Using your mobile phone, you may take a picture of these bar codes which will then take you to the Web site of the encoded URL. This tool is great for tagging social networking pages, blogs or any other site of interest to others. My PR 352 group is using this new technology as one of our tactics to increase awareness of Bob Schneider among our target audience. We have created unique shirts which will carry these bar codes encoding Bob’s primary Web site bobschneidermusic.com. We believe this will be an effective strategy in raising interest and awareness for Bob.

Who is Bob?: Some Background

jmaness — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:57:43 +0000

Bob Background Info

Co-founded The Scabs which never gained much national recognition but built solid road reputation and was big in Austin live music scene
Bob has a background in funk, rock, folk and a little country style which play a part in his eclectic music style
Has been committed to playing smaller venues like Saxon Pub and Antone’s
Does tour nation wide but is still associated with Austin music
Albums Lonelyland and I’m Good Now gained him more national acclaim; not much out the on his new album Lovely Creatures

Comments on Loneyland: (iTunes Music Store)

“ … it’s one of those where every song is amazing! Bob is so unique in that he can pull off so many different genres; this album has mellow jazzy songs, lots of rock, alternative and everything in between.”

“Every song on this CD is great. And if you get the chance to see Bob Schneider play live, especially in Austin, do not miss the opportunity. It is one of the best live shows I have ever seen. His CD’s are great, but the music is magic in person.”

33 of 36 ratings gave 5 stars

Comments on Lovely Creatures: (iTunes Music Store)

“… the new tracks, especially “40 Dogs” and “Till Someone Catches a Feelin” are worth the price of the album alone.”

“Bob is one of the great under-rated musicians and songwriters of this generation. Being a TX native, I’ve seen him perform in Dallas and let me say this, the album isn’t half as good as the live show. If you have the chance, see this show! Meanwhile, buy this album.” – gave 4 of 5 stars

74 of 83 ratings gave 5 stars; only 3 ratings under 4 stars

Close to same number of ratings as close competitors but better ratings; major artist, Jack Johnson, had 1629 ratings for his newest album which was released over a year ago

Blogger for Bob

jmaness — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:54:30 +0000

Bob could hire person(s) to blog on official blog site (could be called Bob Schneider Live) about upcoming Bob events and shows. Could get these people to blog during a live show by giving them free tickets. Give them a device to take live video of performance and post it on the blog. This live streaming would get people interested in the blog and in Bob in general. Update it frequently and provide space for comments. People who attended the performance could visit the blog and comment on the announcements saying how awesome the show was. Post whole live songs on site which would play to Bob’s strength of having such an entertaining live show. Most people talk about how he has the best live shows. His CDs are great but his true fans LOVE him for his live performances.

Neighbor vs. Neighbor Conservation

jmaness — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:47:07 +0000

If your electricity bill informed you that your energy usage was much higher than your neighbors’ would you be more likely to try to conserve? Keep in mind they also see that their energy usage is much lower than yours. Virginia-based Opower believes that this sense of competition or comparison with one’s neighbors will be an effective tool to get people to start conserving. When tested with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, households considered to be heavy consumers reduced energy usage by more than 6 percent on average. This innovative idea will be successful because it takes advantage of human psychology. Nobody wants to “lose” to their neighbor. This company could look into bringing this service to the internet as well, allowing users to monitor their usage in comparison to their neighbors’ over time. There is great potential to kick-start conservation using this energy monitoring service.

Paranormal Success

jmaness — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:23:04 +0000

Paranormal Activity’s wild success may be contributed to the people who marketed it and implemented its incremental release. It has become the most profitable independent film ever. The film was first released in only a few theaters around the country and was heavily marketed on the internet. After the film received great reviews, the distributors began spreading the word that people could get the movie to come to their town by requesting it on the movie Web site. This opportunity became viral and people began requesting the movie all over the country. This engagement of the community that formed around the movie created a lot of hype. This sort of hype about a movie causes high ticket sales. Those involved in marketing and releasing this inexpensive, independent film did an excellent job of using digital media to create hype and engage followers.

Chris Farley Commercial Controversy

jmaness — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:24:30 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFfKUF2kFPQ&feature=player_embedded

The TV spot above is part of DirecTV’s advertising campaign that uses excerpts from famous movies to insert pitches for their product. This particular spot has received much negative feedback from viewers because they found it to be “distasteful and disrespectful” to the late Farley. The commotion gained enough attention to make it to the feature story section of the Yahoo! homepage.

What do you think should be done? Should DirecTV pull the spot?

I think the spot actually plays more of tribute to the success of the comedy from which the excerpt was taken. Obviously, the excerpt is thought to be popular and recognizable or DirecTV would not have selected it. I do not find the spot to be particularly disrespectful to the late Farley because that was just the type of comedy that he portrayed at the height of his career.