I’ve written infrequently on a personal blog for over three years. My posts were mostly brief opinions and commentary on everything from politics, music, family and business. It’s been said, blogging is dead. True or not, I enjoy collecting these random thoughts and observations in a consistent place. As I rework the brand I wanted to reflect on some of my favorite posts:

Patience

Patience is not a virtue, it’s an excuse. Good things come to those who take it… more

Competition

Speed counts towards proficiency as much as cost is a reflection of quality. more

Doubt

When in doubt, one has a responsibility to either over deliver or honorably step down. Failure comes only to those who recklessly risk falling on their face. more

Tests

Life isn’t a string of random events, it’s a string of random tests. Where more often than not failure is achieved by not trying. more

Overcommitting

Stop overcommitting. Getting it done isn’t enough when the client knows your killing yourself in the process. more

Creative Direction

One must question the value of creative direction when we creatives dole it out like grains of sand to strangers and friends alike… more

The Cool

Outside of raw talent, confidence will get you further in life than charm, charisma or anything else your personality holds dear. more

The Geeks Adventure Club of DC is 2 weeks away from conquering our 2nd Warrior Dash. A team of almost 20 creative and technology enthusiasts will descend on the muddy and obstacle riddled 5 kilometer race at the end of the month.

There will be beer, turkey legs, music, camping and probably an injury or two in the name of adventure! Follow us on Twitter and keep eye on our Flickr group for event photos. It should be epic.

We’ll have creatives from some of DC’s best organizations and agencies including HZDG, USA Today, AKQA, Living Social and Motley Fool including:

• Antoine Butler
• Andrew Cohen
• Corey Greeneltch
• Kelley Butler
• Greg Robleto
• Selena Robleto
• Stephanie Hay
• Jessica Eldridge
• Chris Eldredge
• Matt Klaman

The bulk of us are running at 1:30pm Saturday May 21st. If your running the race too let us know! There will be  a after party at our campsite… all geeks are welcome.

What to say

Im confident, capable and apparently a little cocky. That last one, is what I’ve been told at least. I’m also sarcastic and depending on who you ask, damn funny too. I couldn’t convey those aspects of my personality through design and code alone. I needed content and assets to drive home the idea.

Word nerd

I’ve learned over the past 7 years that you can’t trust me with copy. My wife, the Editor and Chief will vouch for that! My tone, language and grammar are far from great. I accept that, but tried anyway. Writing a few pages of copy for my site explaining who I am and what I do. Now to polish it.

I reached out to friend, colleague and copywriter extraordinaire Stephanie Hay. A few days after combing though my copy she presented me with her final recommendations. I, being a typical difficult client didn’t take all her advise or use all her copy but I sure as hell appreciated the input. Softening my aggressive tone and adding a bit more professionalism to my quips.

Finnish photog

No amount of words, testimonials or portfolio pieces can communicate who I am as honestly as a photo. But I needed a pro. Enter, Paivi Salonen a DC based web developer and photographer.

I have no input worth noting in regards to photography, because I have no knowledge in this space. So I was more than pleased to hand over all creative control and direction to Paivi. Having met her at a Bethesda studio I prepped my three outfits and began the awkward process of “The Photo Shoot”. She worked her magic and had me drop my guard long enough to get pictures of me smiling, which if you ask around is no easy task.

“… I came here for the cilantro crawfish gumbo” ^(source)

Then, on a warm day in Austin, TX taking a break from client work I mixed my minimal design, some professionally critiqued copy and some rare and raw photos of your truly into this well crafted beast I call home.

Basically what I’m saying is, thanks. Thank you for your help, your time and your friendship.

There’s varying opinion online about miss Rachel Sequoia’s presentation seeking start up funds for her brand “Share The Air“. Much of the chatter online is generally negative or cynical. Many think it’s simply a joke. Maybe it’s the contrarian in me, but I like the idea. Serious or not, her proposed start up isn’t much different from other high price, low value, niche gifts available today.

Today you can name a star for your child. A few years back you could buy a peice of hell. This is no different, albeit quite a bit more pricey. I wouldn’t spend $1,000 on a jar of air to let it dissipate in my home, but I can see the value and interest. I tend to take many intentional deep breathes at the beach. On travel, I breathe deeply as I take in the new scenery. When I visit places from my past that bring fond memories I take long slow breathes reminiscing over times past. Granted those actions are arguably more psychological than scientific, Rachel may just be on to something.

I for one would rather hear more about her concept, and yes, the science behind it before I past judgement. Props to you Miss Sequoia “like the tree”. If this turns out to be a joke, oh well. Seeing as I have no interest in climbing it, I would’ve liked to have a breath of air from Mount Everest.