Alright, whoever is the 80's thememaster who created the Punky Chips Ahoy commercial along with the cute dancing cookie and his punk rocker friends... you are a genius. That commercial makes me laugh out loud every single time!

 

If you made this commercial, call me! You have my sense of humor. And music. We can be friends.

 

Mad respect,

 

VS

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that rising energy prices jeopardize a currently strong economy and left the door open to the possibility of another interest rate increase to keep inflation in check.

“To support continued healthy growth of the economy, vigilance in regard to inflation is essential,” said Bernanke, who delivered his most extensive thoughts on the economy in several months.

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Let me get this straight. Our Fed Reserve Chairman thinks our economy is currently strong? Hmmmm... Have we got some kind of memory dysfunction that we seem to have amnesia - have we forgotten what a strong economy looks like? Come on, people... hit my comments button and tell this wonderful leader what you think. Supply-side economics is voodoo. You can't drive demand, just like you can't force desire. When its natural and softly convincing, our leadership can steer and coax success along with tender motivation. This whole thing gives me the heebie jeebies and I don't know about you, but i want us all to be wealthy again. I wave my Rescue Detroit badge yet again.

 

In other news, ok.... I am in Seattle/Bellevue/Redmond now and hello? It rocks! Love the people, love the drivers... love the intelligent conversations that strangers commit to here. It oddly reminds me of Cambridge, MA and the overal culture there, but perhaps that's just how I see it. And Microsoft? I am growing to realize it is far cooler than I could have ever imagined.

 

OK... more later... gotta run.

Yeah, if you remember that line above in the title, then you also have watched the movie Clueless until you realized layers and layers of truth hidden within the young teenage drama. Yes, that was a quote from Travis, who did give the great Tardiness Award Acceptance Speech, driving us back through McDonald's for those cute little Egg McMuffins.

 

Ok, back to the point. The two enthusiastic thumbs up belong to (drum roll)

 

First, my company, Microsoft... for giving me an amazing team of thinkers to surround myself with, as well as leadership that wants your ideas. Who knew? A company that really wants you to succeed? And they want your ideas and opinions? Yeah, it freaked me out a little too, but I am making progress that is really satisfying the ache in me that was yearning for some seriously challenging work.

 

So tomorrow I go to Redmond to HQ for my first time!!! I am really curious and eager to see what its like. Yes... I took batteries for my camera (I can hear you in my head now!) and I will upload the new company photos. I am totally thrilled about the deployment I am working on too, and the fact that I work for Hotmail! (Woo Hoo to me).

 

Ok, the second thumb belongs to Food Network. Congratulations to Guy Fieri, the winner of the Next Food Network Star challenge, both for winning my vote and America's vote ... and for being a new dad to little Ryder. His other son, Hunter is 9, and I hope he will cut onions as he said he would when his dad finally hosted his own show, which I hope they will keep as he suggested the title - Off the Hook.  I loved the involvement in this show and two more clicks for that amazing Gingerbread Mansion contest chaser they aired right after Guy won. Food Network is really cooking.

 

But then the heat is on at Bravo. Top Chef is a delicious reality TV drama with all 9 emotions laced all through. Let's see if my girl Leeann makes it. Watch Top Chef on Bravo, Wednesday nights in California. Check your local listings if you don't live here. Then come visit me. :)

 

Night, guys. Miss you all.

 

Vidya

I was watching American Inventor (like Idol, but for product ideas,) and I caught myself crying and praying for a finalist. His name is Eric Johnson, from Detroit. He lost a finger in a machine when he used to have an industrial job. Then, he got to own a gym and married his beautiful wife and had a whole bunch of cute, sweet kids with her. Then, he bought a house. But things have been really difficult financially for him.

 

He also has been helping kids with talent in Detroit, to get really good in football with this vest he created called the Catch Vest. Its designed with a trunk shaped arm in front to guide wearers to reach out and train themselves to catch the football. Some of the kids he helped actually have gone on to college with scholarships because of him. Its his dream to take care of his family and send his kids to college too.

 

So while he was doing the $50,000 semi-final challenge, his house was up for foreclosure, his gym rent couldn't be paid, so he was on the phone, advising his wife to notify clients and members they would be closing, and on top of all this, their car died in a not-so-good neighborhood. With nothing but bad news surrounding him, he stayed focused on the Catch Vest, and when the judges saw the improvements and the final prototype, they were impressed.

 

I was at this point, praying for him, and for all Detroiters facing tough economic challenges. One of the judges said, "I heard while you were working on your prototype here for American Inventor, you had to file bankruptcy?" He calmly replied, "I am only going through what so many millions of Americans go through. We all struggle in a bad economy. But I have a chance to make my dream happen, and to help so many kids go to college. I am the American Dream, so I am staying focused." Then one of the judges asked him, "Why should you be the winner of American Inventor?" He smiled and said, because my name is in the title of this show E-R-I-C!" I cried with joy, when they finally chose him as the winner of the challenge. I love Detroiters.. Michiganders always step up to the plate and work hard for what little scraps we get from life. Something has to turn. Hope has to return to our city, our state. Hopefully Eric, with one more round, can be the winner of $1 million for his product to be realized, and he can revive some hope in the people of Motown..

So... ok, during the 9 days at home, I think i mentioned a few times that the soundtrack in my mind was consistently playing the Old Navy new commercial song on heavy rotation. So I finally took a few seconds to look it up. On Old Navy's website, they actually give you playable music from their commercials so that was the first cool thing that happened. Then I found the album by AM Sixty, the group that kind of sounds like Butterfly Boucher, slight throwback, but not heavy take on the loungy fun rhythms and guitar from the late '60's. Love it. The whole album rocks. The song on Old Navy's New Naturals commercial is called Summertime Girlfriend. So download and support this band if you feel them like i do.

Gotta run.

 

VS

So here's the update. I am working for Microsoft! And it is way cooler than imagination could ever have speculated. There's a sense of ease, in trying to get the best performance from each member, so they slowly dip you in bit by bit. There's also a good amount of standards pre-existing, since this is a company that really has been there and done a lot. I find it exciting to be in a forward-focused, highly communicative environment where people are encouraged to tool up and go-get 'em. I am surrounded by wizards who sleepwalk sci-fi novellas as I do. There's a *bux right in the cafeteria in the center of all the buildings in the Mtn. View campus, so I am pretty happy, and kind of stylin' too with the all my new Windows gear.

 

I am going to be taking on a lot of responsibility here, so I have to mentally gear up as well. I have begun to kind of dive in initially and I hope whatever I do contributes to our lives overall, as a result. Its really amazing knowing that I work in a place where my efforts really will speak back into the daily lives and productivity tools of millions of people, including those I know and love.

 

Miss all of you. Pictures are forthcoming. Really enjoyed being home with you all.

 

VS