Jerod Crump's

PDC'08 | Send the GWB Team Your Video, Get an Official GWB Prize!

2008-09-25T09:57:01-05:00:00

I've just sent a newsletter to the Geekswithblogs Community about our effort to get the GWB Community represented at Microsoft PDC '08. The GWB Sponsor Booth will have an HDTV as a centerpiece and we want our community featured front and center! Read the copy of the newsletter below for more information on what it is and what to do...

GWB Needs Your Help! Send Us a Video, Get a Prize!

It's already obvious; you're a geek with a blog. Here's your chance to tell the world and the Microsoft community more about yourself and your blog. Send us a video of yourself (see details below) and we'll put it on our screen at the Geekswithblogs Sponsor Booth at PDC'08!

Simply send us a video of yourself saying "I'm a geek with a blog, and I.". You fill in the blank!

We ask that you send at least five different segments, each starting with the phrase above and finishing with what you want the world to know about yourself.

Some examples include:

· I'm a geek with a blog, and I rock at ASP.NET.

· I'm a geek with a blog, and I support my development community by presenting at user groups.

· I'm a geek with a blog, and I love playing guitar.

· I'm a geek with a blog, and I volunteer to help the homeless.

· I'm a geek with a blog, and I chug energy drinks.

Be creative - let the world know what makes you "you"! Record your image in front of a famous landmark in your area, at your favorite place to hang out, in front of your company's sign, etc. We want GWB members from all parts the world to participate!

The first 30 to submit at least 5 statements will receive an official customized GWB t-shirt with their blog URL on the back!

More details to come, including FTP information for uploading your videos.

If you submit a video, please email me and let us know the city, state, and country where you live so we can put the caption on your video during editing.

Thanks!
The Geekswithblogs Team

All t-shirts will need to be printed and customized and will therefore be mailed to you post the PDC '08 event.

*Right of Use: By submitting your video, you agree that you grant Geekswithblogs ("GWB") full rights and permissions to use your image, video, and information for the purpose of promoting the GWB community at Microsoft PDC '08 and for other subsequent events without payment or compensation for your video; that you have permission to videotape and reuse all products, companies, images, brands, or trademarks contained within your video; and that GWB has full permission to display all said items contained within your video as part of the GWB community promotion.

So now that you have the details, grab a video recorder and get to it! We'd love to have your videos ASAP as the event is approaching fast. Keep an ear out as we'll be sending out the FTP information soon so you can upload your videos!

Technorati Tags: professional developers conference,pdc,pdc08,geekswithblogs,prize,community videos

PDC 08 | Our Piece of Flair!

2008-09-08T11:40:43-05:00:00

As most community members are aware, Geekswithblogs is a Silver Media Sponsor for the upcoming Microsoft PDC 2008. You will soon notice a button on the GWB homepage allowing us to express ourselves with a piece of flair. We just wanted to reach out and let everybody know how excited we are to be a part of this wonderful event - we look forward to seeing some of you in LA!

Some time ago, I sent an email to the community and wrote a post asking for a list of the GWB'ers that will be attending PDC 2008. If you have not responded to me by now, please do so very quickly as the customized shirt order has already been placed and I will need to act quick to get you on the list.

See you in LA!

Technorati Tags: PDC '08,geekswithblogs

PDC '08 | Get the Coolest T-Shirt in LA!

2008-08-18T13:31:11-05:00:00

As you may have seen from Jeff Julian's post or Chris Williams and D'Arcy Lussier, Geekswithblogs is a sponsor at PDC 2008!

I'm sure you don't need to be told how awesome PDC is going to be - if you're going to be there, let me know! We've got a cool GWB t-shirt for you with your personalized GWB URL on the back! If you're not going to be there...what's wrong with you? Get signed up before September 8th and get $200 off! Then you can let me know and we'll get you a shirt!

I just got done sending a GWB newsletter to our subscribers, so if you did not receive it make sure to check your Junk Mail Folder. There will be additional information coming out in the next few weeks.

Let me know by September 12 that you're going to PDC and what shirt size you wear. Then simply swing by the GWB booth at the PDC Expo Hall and pick up your shirt.

Technorati Tags: professional developers conference,pdc,pdc '08,geekswithblogs

I HATE Spammers, but Sometimes They Make Me Laugh

2008-08-15T07:03:49-05:00:00

I truly hate getting spam in my Inbox. Sure, I have the junk mail options turned on and rules that try to weed out any of the lowlife spammer messages coming to me. As we all know, there are still some that sneak through from time to time.

For some reason, lately I've been getting a TON of them coming through our sales address labeled "MSNBC Breaking News". One subject line in particular caught my eye - "BREAKING NEWS: John Edwards Admits Fathering Clay Aiken's Baby"! WTF?!?

Seriously, if I were a spammer, I think I'd at least try to make up a headline that not only sounded like a real headline, but perhaps I could also say something that was within the realm of physical possibility! True, I am what you might consider "less than a fan" of Clay Aiken's, but come on. I guess the unfortunate part of it all is that I'm sure there were plenty of numb-headed people that opened the message and followed the link.

Ironically, the link provided is actually convincing upon first inspection. It displays http://breakingnews.msnbc.com, but if you hover over it you'll see it really links to a COMPLETELY different and totally obvious crap address probably set up to phish you (I'm not willing to find out).

To see another post I wrote about how obvious and pathetic the messages these pieces of scum send, click here.

Technorati Tags: spammers,phishing,humorous

The "Mojave Experiment"

2008-08-06T13:40:24-05:00:00

Not sure how many people have seen this, but Microsoft gathered a bunch of Vista nay-sayers together and showed them Windows "Mojave"; the codenamed latest release of Windows. What the people didn't know was that they were actually experiencing Windows Vista! Amazingly, when asked prior to the "Mojave" demonstration what rating they would give Vista, almost all gave poor ratings. After seeing "Mojave", 94% gave it a higher rating than Vista and nobody rated it worse that Vista - they were simply blown away.

If nothing else, watching peoples' comments and reactions both before and after are worth a chuckle. Click here to see the experiment.

Here are some interesting facts from the site about the experiment:

Technorati Tags: windows,vista,mojave

Chris Williams with Hair?!?!

2008-07-18T09:19:09-05:00:00

I stumbled across this video and if I didn't know better, I'd swear it was Chris...with hair! Maybe it's just me, but I think it looks a lot like a moonlighting Mr. Williams.

Chris, if you're thinking about quitting your day job and singing - I'd say go for it. Not because I think you'll make it with pipes like this, but you're obviously passionate about the "Rainbow Road". Your passion will carry you far!

Technorati Tags: chris williams,rainbow road,terrible singing

I got a Nikon camera, I love to take the photographs, momma don't take my Kodachrome away | Nikon D60 DSLR

2008-07-17T16:05:06-05:00:00

Ok, so when Paul Simon wrote that song, he probably could not have fathomed that one day he wouldn't have film in his Nikon (much less Kodak's Kodachrome variety), but what a cool world it is without it! I'm sure he'd now gladly give momma that roll of film!

With the purchase of his new camera, Jeff Julian got me interested in photography again. After he got his Nikon D60, I had to go out and get one. Given the fact that we've got our new little one in the house, now seemed as good a time as any to get a nice camera so we could enjoy those precious moments years from now.

According to some of the "hardcore" photo community, the Nikon D60 is just some little entry-level camera targeted at newbies to the DSLR world. They are partially right, the Nikon is not your $3,000+ variety of camera and does indeed incorporate many features which are geared toward people getting in to DSLR's. At the same time, IMHO, the picture quality is superb and at this point in my photographic evolution, I don't honestly think I want to have to deal with a camera that requires me to manually set every item every time I want to take a shot. Sometimes it's nice to let the camera do part of the work for you, but still having the option to get "fancy" with it if you want.

In fact, the D60 has many cool features like a help menu to give you suggestions on shutter speed, aperture, ISO speed, etc. all based on the amount of light and settings you currently have for each shot. To me, it seems a great way to get into DSLR's and still have the freedom to do many cool things.

Below are a few of the pics I snapped over the 4th of July weekend using my D60 and a 18-55mm kit lens as well as a 55-200mm kit lens I got with the camera.

Technorati Tags: nikon,d60,dslr,photography,personal

TechEd | Seven in a Sonata, Only at TechEd '08

2008-06-04T13:34:20-05:00:00

After the TechEd Jam Session last night, we all decided to head over to Howl at the Moon to catch up with some other TechEd'ers. The amazing thing was that somehow nobody had a car - everyone had gotten there without issue and I'm pretty sure they hadn't hitch-hiked, taken a taxi, or been transported by alien abduction but the car was mysteriously missing. So, piling into the AJI Software Hyundai Sonata (it's a sweet ride) we headed to Howl at the Moon. You haven't lived until you've squeezed seven geeks into a compact car. I'm still of the opinion we could have fit one more to break the 8 milestone, but nobody was willing to pick up a random person off the street to make my dream come true. Unfortunately, there are no incriminating pictures of the event - not because it wasn't a sight to behold, but because it was too tight for anybody to reach into their pocket to get their camera. If somebody wants to challenge this feat, let me know and I can offer suggestions on how to get 13 people in (or rather "on") a Jeep Wrangler - but I digress.

Technorati Tags: TechEd,2008,Hyundai,Sonata,Orlando

TechEd '08 - We Are Here!

2008-06-02T14:58:45-05:00:00

Ok, so we've actually been here since early Sunday morning. I'm sitting at the TechEd Blogger Lounge with Jeff Julian; the only available seats in the conference hall at the moment. In order to justify occupying my seat, here's my blog post.

Enjoy a couple of good looking guys sitting in sunny Orlando!

Technorati Tags: TechEd,2008,Jeff Julian,Jerod Crump,Orlando

Twister!

2008-05-05T12:09:59-05:00:00

Just wanted to take a quick second to post a video of the F-3 tornado damage that went through my neighborhood and the neighborhood across the street from me.

The tornado came through at about 2 a.m. and woke everyone in my house out of a deep sleep. We jumped up and literally couldn't hardly hear each other over the roar. We were just saying we should probably go to the basement when the power went out, the house started shaking, the pressure in the house changed, and the chimney sounded like a whistle from the air rushing out of it.

Thank God, we got down to the basement all right and the tornado must have been overhead at that point because we lost a good portion of shingles from the roof and everything outside got blown away, but only 3 houses down from mine is where the real damage started. The third house down had all the windows, doors, and a portion of the roof blown out and ripped off, fences flattened, trees snapped, etc. It only got worse as you continued northeast as there were homes with huge gaping holes in them from flying debris, whole walls and sections blown away, roofs nowhere to be found, and literally complete houses flattened to the ground and one that's completely missing! The only thing left of it is the concrete foundation.

Thankfully, nobody was killed or even critically injured. Hard to believe considering it hit at 2 a.m. with everybody asleep in their beds, the tornado sirens never went off, and it came upon us so quickly.

Here's a pic of where my house is in relation to the major destruction - just a few houses away. The news' little twister icon is actually too far west, the tornado followed the path at the tips of the arrows I've placed on the picture below.

Here's a link to some local coverage of the damage http://www.kmbc.com/video/16142148/ - the first 3:30, and where the main reporter is, is in the neighborhood across the street from me (around 109th - I live on 106th Terrace).

Technorati Tags: kansas city,tornado,twister

RAP! | Reinforcing My View of Fast Food

2008-04-18T19:53:23-05:00:00

So if payback's a bitch, karma must be her whorish less-forgiving sister. After blogging about my idea for RAP! yesterday, a anarchical event to strike terror into the hearts of fast food industry workers everywhere, I ventured to the local Taco Bell tonight for 4 crunchy tacos and a water. Little did I know when I got in their concrete barriered drive-thru of eternity that I would wait in line for 35 minutes to get some freakin' tacos. Again, there were no natural disasters going down, no terrorist attacks occuring, no second coming of the Lord, nothing. WTF?

I watched as the line of 13 cars dwindled to 5 (lucky me, I was already stuck in their little lane that didn't allow you to exit once you've got past the drive-thru event horizon) and re-grow to 15. Something needs to be done! Everybody, get together a mob of people and go shut down your favorite local fast food joint by patronizing them with your business. Make them aware of how unable they are to handle more than 5 people at a time. Videotape the joy you get out of watching them frantically scurry around!

Technorati Tags: random,anarchy,prank

Random Acts of Patronage (RAP!) | Teaching the Fast Food Industry a Lesson

2008-04-17T14:38:16-05:00:00

I've got a new Fight Club style of limited anarchy in mind, bear with me...

Ok, so today I was standing in line waiting for six people in front of me to get their food at Arby's. It took a ridiculous 25 minutes to get my food and a quick peek outside showed approximately 10-15 cars waiting in the drive-thru at any given time. There were no special orders, there were plenty of people working, and there appeared to be a large portion of the food already prepared and waiting in the warming trays that we all know and love. This got me to thinking, with the "processes" in place at most major fast-food places to ensure that people get their food quickly, how do these things still happen? Is it poor management, a lack of skilled workers, lack of worker motivation, or simply a lack of multi-tasking skills needed to calmly and systematically handle a large number or orders coming?

Regardless of the cause, we all know the effect - you drop by a fast food joint to get something familiar and quick so you can get on with your daily business, then WHAM...life comes to a grinding halt while you wait for your order. God help you if a tour bus shows up at the same time! Chances are one of the following will occur:

If you haven't already ordered, you're the lucky one. RUN NOW! Leave and go find someplace less-crowded and able to deal with multitudes of people
You've already placed your order and handed over your hard-earned money...be prepared to wait forever to get your now cold food - leaving is futile because you've already paid and by leaving you've admitted defeat and they've gotten your money for no goods or services in return
You wait out the absurd amount of time to get your cold food, run out the door because there's now no place to sit and guess what...yep, you know what's coming...YOUR ORDER IS WRONG! Back inside to wait for another 10 minutes for one of the frantic crew to even acknowledge you're standing there and hopefully make your order right. Chances are you can get your order fixed if you just got the wrong food, but you're screwed if you got overcharged for something because trying to walk through 2nd grade math with these people is like explaining to them why as you get closer to a black hole time slows down...not going to happen.

So, as I stood there watching person after person leave and "donate" their money to restaurant without receiving any food, I got to thinking. Wouldn't it be great to stage some sort of random appearance of multitudes of people in order to teach these restaurants a lesson - something like the pranks where a ton of people stop mid-stride and remain frozen? Only this prank would have numerous benefits:

Customer/Participant Benefits
- Pure entertainment - have you seen how frazzled the employees get when a tour bus arrives? Bring your video cameras and film away! Throw it on YouTube and see what group causes the largest level of panic for the restaurant crew scuttling around trying to make sure all the fries are done.
- Empowerment by knowing that you're not only sticking it to the man, but in the long run hopefully ensuring a better dining experience for yourself and others.
- Sweet revenge for all those times you had to wait simply because they were either goofing off or incompetent - you're now waiting with a purpose and watching them sweat!
- What other entertaining things do you really have to do on your lunch break? C'mon.....c'mon.....c'mon c'mon c'mon...seriously, c'mon!

Restaurant Benefits
- By flooding a particular restaurant, the process of taking the order, preparing it, and delivering it is tested far beyond the stress loads it normally endures. This would help to identify bottlenecks in the process very quickly and hopefully some witty manager will recognize areas that could use improvement and act on them.
- You're still giving the restaurant your money for lunch - there is no negative financial impact for the establishment.
- If the place is wise and thinks outside of the box, they could use the event as publicity by writing an article for the local paper telling what happened, how it helped them find some improvements, and now show how much better they're capable of handling orders and large crowds.

So there's the idea, cause confusion and minor havoc by simply getting a bunch of people to patronize a particular fast food restaurant at the same time. I'm sure there are other benefits that would come of this, but these are just off the top of my head. Of course, just as in Fight Club, there need to be some ground rules:

First rule of RAP! is you don't talk about RAP! Don't let anybody that works at the restaurant know about it. Organize off-site and show up as a hungry mob.
Pay & stay for your food - part of the experiment is to make sure the staff has to go through the whole process and to see if you get your order right.
Be cordial - you don't need to be angry or rude because things are taking a while...just the number of people will be stressful enough. That being said, don't be afraid to challenge if your order is wrong or cold and don't be afraid to ask how much longer they think it'll be.
Have fun & remember that this isn't meant to be harmful, just a lesson in service.

If anybody else tries this, make sure to leave a comment here with links to your pics/videos of the event. Let the anarchy begin!

Technorati Tags: random,RAP!,food,anarchy,prank

I've Got to Get One of These

2008-04-01T13:02:28-05:00:00

I'm so tired of rewinding these things - can't ever find the button on the remote or player! This would really save me some time.

Technorati Tags: random,dvd,gadgets

I've Been Tagged

2008-03-11T10:58:53-05:00:00

Becky Isserman tagged me on her blog to list 10 interesting things about myself that others may not know. This seemed to be an ongoing thing in the Geekswithblogs community a couple of months ago, but since I was never tagged previously I'll go ahead and throw my list into the hat.

I once had to leave Wichita, KS, as quickly as possible due to an on-field fight that broke out during one of our rugby matches. I was playing for the CMSU Warriors against the Wichita State University club when one of their players started choking one of the Samoan players on my team. Needless to say, with 15 people on each team, a 30 person brawl ensued and the game had to be called with only 1:30 left - I still say we won since we were ahead at the time.
I've played a mean rhythm guitar for several years and am just now trying to get more into the lead guitar area.
I am a crack shot with a gun; I got my first rifle (not counting b.b. or pellet guns) when I was 8 years old and spent the majority of my childhood honing my skills as a marksman.
I am a country boy - I ultimately want to move back to my family farm. There's something about the country that my soul finds satisfying and when I'm sitting on one of the hills watching the sunset, it's as close to God and family as I've ever felt. The old cliche about "taking the boy out of the country but not the country out of the boy" rings very true to me.
I've recently been laying out plans to write my first novel. I honestly have no idea how well the whole process will go, but it seems like something I need to do and I think now's as good a time as any.
My maternal grandfather landed on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion and fought his way through France until he was wounded by a Nazi machine gun ambush; he dove into a bombed-out Jeep and had his hip socket blown out. They told him that he would never walk again, but he came home and with the scar tissue that formed continued to walk, farm, hunt, fish, and raise a family for the rest of his life. My dad was a US Army Special Forces (Green Beret) soldier during the Vietnam era.
I am a huge fan of ancient history and have traveled to Italy, Greece, Turkey, France, England, Mexico, and Canada.
I have the pleasure and privilege of working with Jeff Julian and John Alexander - two of the most talented developers and genuinely good people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. (No I'm not trying to suck up!) :)
Until the summer of 1999, I drove a 1976 Camaro that my mother bought new and saved until I turned 16. My parents completely restored it for me. It's the '70s "hugger orange" color (think Dukes of Hazard). I still have it.
I am a member of the Clinton, MO, and Liberty, MO, Masonic Lodges - the Liberty Lodge has been on the downtown square since 1840 and is right next to the bank robbed by Jesse James in the first armed bank robbery in the US during peacetime.

So, there's my list. I think I'll decline tagging anybody since the majority of people I would tag are Geekswithblogs members and I've seen them do the tagging game previously.

Technorati Tags: Jerod Crump,tagging game,random

Huh? | Very Cool

2008-03-06T12:08:37-06:00:00

A friend just sent me a link to http://cubo.cc/. I'm not really sure what practical implementations this could be used for, but is was visually stunning enough for me to want to share it. I'd like to see something like this done in Silverlight to see if it could be done as smooth and "natural" feeling. I'm sure this was just some guy's school project or portfolio-builder, but it's really worth checking out for about 1 minute.

Technorati Tags: flash,animation,realistic,silverlight