How to Win At Facebook.

Once upon a time, in the land of commercial advertising, 30 seconds of persuasion, art, and/or deception was the recipe in trying to win over a prospective customer’s business.   In television and radio’s infancy stages, this proved to be an excellent return on investment.  At the time, when the concept of motion picture was still a novelty, consumers were not only willing to sit through Pepsi’s elevator pitch on why you should drink their cola, but they were actively engaged, even seeking entertainment.

Throughout the years, however, advertising went from a novel byproduct of entertainment to a virus that consumed it.  As the relative cost of advertising decreased, the percentage of businesses who bought into it increased.  As the number of channels and shows available increased, the percentage of time dedicated to non-sponsored programming decreased.  As the consumers attention span during a commercial decreased, the prevalence of unethical brainwashing tactics increased. Eventually the lines between advertising and entertainment completely evaporated with the use of product placement and brand sponsoring.

Those who weren’t entirely immune, had at least grown skeptical.  Those who were neither, were children.

Read the rest of the post at TECH Cocktail

Some choose not to let the laws of physics slow them down on their quest of ultimate worldly domination.  This brave young hero, a cat, a kitty cat at that, demonstrates a bravado that hasn’t been seen by a feline since the days of a matured Simba.

Ultimately in the end of this tragic quest to defy the constraining laws laid out by Sir Isaac Newton, our kitty hero and friend, proves that not even determination is enough to overcome pure stupidity.

Whiskers: 2010 – 2010.  RIP

To be fair, I took this photo with my iPhone after spending the afternoon on my Macbook.

Once every couple of years, I voluntarily subject myself to an act of controlled starvation, more commonly referred to as fasting.  Many fast to lose weight (even though science says it’s counterproductive).   Some do it to cleanse their systems – eliminating deep seeded toxins in hopes of establishing a fresh sense of vitality.  Others do it for religious purposes.

For me, it’s none of the above.

I fast when I sense myself slipping into a system of routines.  Most days, I have zero conscious thoughts or real observations by the time lunch rolls around.  I’ve programmed myself to work off a checklist, something we all do to different extents, but I can sense mine approaching robot.  As a result, the creative portions of my brain begin to fade.  Personally, I’ve found fasting to be the most effective method to shake off that layer of brain dust.

In prior fasts, I’ve felt as though my clarity of thought was as clear as ever.  However, I never set aside time to document anything.  Leaving retrospection out of the equation, it’s very possible that sense of clarity was purely a mistaken hallucination.  This time, I will block off some time to write.  If anything seems relevant enough to share, you can find it here.

Starting Friday (tomorrow) morning to Monday morning, food will not be happening to me.

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Post Fast Summary

I decided  not to dedicate a separate post to the aftermath of the fast because there’s nothing particularly interesting enough to share other than a few notes on my physical experience with it.  Proceed at your own risk (esp with the last bullet).

If I had to draw a theme out of what transpired over the last three days I’d call it, “What I’d Do Differently”

And the list would include:

• DO NOT fast when scheduled to work. Forcing your mind to remain active when attempting a restful process is a pretty miserable combination.  Not to mention, eating is in large part a byproduct of stress (at least for me).    Listening to your co-workers talk about food all afternoon is enough to make cardboard look like a filet mignon.
• DO NOT put yourself in social situations.  Both at work and away, people often thought I was in a bad mood.  They were right, but that perception was intensified because in the midst of a fast, not only does social interaction require energy that you probably don’t have, but it’s much more pleasant to observe than to participate.  My lack of communication gave the impression that I was a hatestorm with legs.  Not true guys, but I could see why it would seem that way.  Next time (if there is a next time) I will practice my fast where no one goes (i.e. the mountains or a Marlins game).
• DO expect copious amounts of pain.  I have no idea why, but the last 6 hours of the fast through all of today, my legs feel like they’re constantly being strangled.  Honestly the discomfort is so bad I can now say with a straight face that I know what it feels like to birth a child.    After a little research, the only plausible explanation is that the pain is a concentration of toxins trapped inside of my body.  To paint the picture a little more bluntly, my legs are basically giant go-gurt tubes of poison.  I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but it certainly is a disgusting thing.  Sorry to anyone who was planning on eating in the next hour or so.

In conclusion: fast only if you have time off, you’re capable to take a few days away from society, and don’t mind the feeling of an invisible leg boa constrictor.

LeBron James is a Chicago Bull butthole

They say perception is reality. If we get enough people to perceive LeBron James in a Chicago Bulls uniform, time is the only obstacle in between us and the King.

Find something very wooden to knock on because I’m calling it now – LeBron James is a member of the Chicago Bulls. If this turns out not to be the case, you can find me deep inside of a glass case of emotion.  Forever…

LeBron James to the Chicago Bulls from zach davis on Vimeo.

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Update 7/9/10

So, I’ve turned my copy of “The Secret” into a pineada. 

Yesterday evening, LeBron James announced that he will sign with the Miami Heat.  This is partially because he likes their beaches, but mostly because he’s a coward.  I’ve asked my good friend, and Cavs Owner, to sum up the sentiment with LeBron’s “Decision”.  Thanks Dan. 

And to everyone in Cleveland….sorry.  At least you’re not Detroit!

In my previous post, I laid out the “how to“ portion of my “moving to San Diego” series.  The following will serve as the “why”. The previous post also included a sense of humility and an understanding that San Diego is not a one-size-fit-all city.  This post will be having none of that.

If forced to describe the Good Badger in 3 words, the general consensus would undoubtedly arrive at: noble, nimble, and ninjitsu (click that).  I bring this up simply to point out that “embellishing” is not one of those terms.  I pride myself in being a fact-spewing truthbot. So, when I make a claim such as, “San Diego makes every other city in the Universe look like Detroit”, you know that it’s as good as encyclopedic.

Likely you’re already aware that San Diego has great weather, nice beaches, good looking people, etc.  I’m not here to restate the obvious.  Instead the below will serve as 3 (and a half)  “outside the box” reasons

Why You Need To Move To San Diego

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I’ll let the video do the talking…

Good Badger Facebook Page

This is a post inspired by pure frustration.

I write it because there are at least a dozen in my immediate circle who’ve wanted to make a transition out of their present situation but have fallen victim to the path of least resistance.  I’ve also learned that for every problem I know of first hand, there are thousands who share the same troubles.  If I can reroute the routine of at least one person hesitant to change, my time has been well spent.

But first, let me clarify a couple things:

1. I don’t write this post out of any sense of personal superiority.  This isn’t about me.  This is about situations.  One situation is living life as a victim, constantly fearing what could possibly going wrong, and drowning in regret.  The other situation is taking chances, allowing yourself the opportunity to fail, setting and striving for goals, and turning the less than ideal scenarios into learning situations.  I’ve lived on both sides.  I know first hand that the latter is superior.
2. Although I use San Diego as the subject of this post, I’m not trying to say that it’s objectively better either.  I know plenty of people who would truthfully not enjoy it here (see: Gingers) (yes, that’s coming from a semi-ginger).  I genuinely get bummed out if I go long periods without the sun, am exposed to temperatures below 20 F, or have to spend my weekends inside because a monsoon won’t let me play basketball.  But, that’s just me.

Enough beating around the bush…I now present to you the Good Badger guide of

How To Move to San Diego

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