I can see the finish line

With three finals remaining, I am begining to see the finish line. I cannot wait until I am able to relax at the end of the week. As stressful and unnerving as this week is, it is also challenging and helpful to my personal development. I understand why I take a final. I understand that it is to basically call me out. It is to challenge me and say, "you have a tight time situation over the next few days, go out and prove me that you can digest this knowledge."

Okay, maybe that is not what finals week is trying to drive out. Maybe it is just a way to see if I learned anything over the course of the semester. Consequently, I will be using this finals week as a challenge. I am viewing it as an opportunity to challenge myself, to push my limits. Can I ace a final with two hours of sleep leading into it? Can I juggle a social life along side of my academic life?

Bring it on.

B.K.

Cybersquatting

If you have the time, please take a listen to the youtube version of The Pensblog staff on the WDVE morning show. WDVE morning show is a syndicated morning radio show out of Pittsburgh, PA. Bascially the guys from The Pensblog describe thier Cyber Squatting situation.

A little more background that I can supply includes the rinkotology explanation. Rinkotology was created by the founders of The Pensblog as a way for fans to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs by submitting their picks for the current Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket. It is similar to a March Madness bracket pool manager that you might find at sportsline.com or espn.com. The participants (myself included) donate money to the Mario Lemieux Foundation in order to submit their entry to the bracket contest. The winner of the contest gets signed memorabilia, Penguins gear, etc.



And since it couldn't fit into one video:



This cyber squatting think has gotten a little out of hand. It makes me wonder if I should go out today and buy myname.com so that when I get famous, I won't have to worry about someone linking some smut to my name.

B.K.

Cyber Squatting

I was reading a post on one of my favorite sports blogs, The Pensblog, and I came across this post: Sad State of Affairs. This post brings the issue of "Cyber Squatting" to the forefront. For those readers out there who are unfamiliar with the issue, I will provide a brief synopsis. Basically, cyber squatters are people who try to cash in on a web site's popularity by buying domain names that are very similar to that very popular website. For example, when I type in penguins.com, I don't get linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins' homepage, I get a cyber squatter's page. The site has very little to do with penguins (aside from the picture of a few emperor penguins on the front page). It is littered with sponsored ads that are intended to make the web site operator money. This has force many popular web site operators to spend hundreds of dollars buying domain names that are close to theirs in an effort to automatically link to the intended site.

The most classic example of cybersquatting probably occurred with the whitehouse.com/.gov scandal. Whitehouse.com was actually a porn site that was not affiliated with the government. Many people, including young children, were directed to this site when they were looking to find out more about the president or the most famous residence in the country. The website they were looking for was whitehouse.gov. However, since a cybersquatter or opportunistic indivicual (choose your own characterizaton) purchased the .com, millions of people were directed to a site that they did not intend to see.

More to come on cybersquatting. . .

B.K.

Senior Design Showcase

The Senior Design Showcase today was pretty cool. There were many projects today and it was evident that most Penn State seniors are ready for the real world.

As entertaining and informative as today was, I also think it was just as exhausting. Having to set up my poster presentation, stand in front of my project, and answer questions for three hours has sucked the life right out of me. Giving the same speech thirty times today has shifted my extreme excitement about my project to extreme relief for finally being through with senior design.

I give all the respect in the world to the people that have to attend trade shows and showcases to peddle their goods everyday. As much as we are quick to make fun of Vince the Shamwow! guy for constantly acting like a tool and having a fo-hawk, he has a talent that I could never obtain. Having that level of excitement about a product for hours on end is amazing.

I guess the takeaway that I can gather from this experience is that I am not cut out for demonstrative sales. I am extremely happy I don't have to peddle my invention more than once a year. I'm not bad at it, I just think it's something I will leave to Vince and Billy Mays.

B.K.

Senior Design and Lack of Patents

After watching all of my fellow seniors give their final presentations during class this morning, I was appalled at the lack of groups that decided to pursue some form of intellectual property protection.

In an effort of fairness, not all groups are allowed to pursue intellectual property protection as they are under non-disclosure agreements with project sponsors. However, some of the projects were sponsored by entities that did not require them to sign non disclosure agreements. A simple review of the Penn State Student IP Rights can be seen below. Basically, it states that any undergraduate retains the rights to any project, thesis, homework work that presents a novel, patentable concept.

After seeing the work put into the senior design projects and the brilliance that some of my fellow classmates have shown, it dissapoints me that many of them will never be able to capitalize upon their ideas. Their ideas have been presented to an industry panel with judges. Therefore, they can never reap the benefits of having protection of their idea.

Penn State Student IP Rights

Credit Saturation

I just realized why Penn State sets their credit limit at 18. Anything more takes away your life.

This semester, I am taking 20.5 credits. Although it was in an attempt to graduate on time with a major and a minor, it may not have been worth it. In order to maintain my GPA, I have spent the most time on coursework this year than I have at any point in my undergraduate career. My social life and health have suffered. My grades are on the verge of suffering.

This brings to mind a question that has been bothering me lately: How much is too much for one's plate? It seems that every day I take on another task and more responsibilities. This either comes from my refusal to say "No" or the value I place upon getting that extra task accomplished.

Would this type of mindset have been possible 30 years ago? I'm sure it would, but my time lines would be much more drawn out. Virtually everyone raves at the advent of new technologies and how they will make our lives easier. I think this statement is complete bull shit. Sure, new technology is great at making certain aspect of our lives easier. E-mail gave us the ability to communicate with written communication at lightning speeds; however, it also gave us SPAM, quicker deadlines, and longer electronic task lists. The technology does not make our lives easier, it just allows us to get certain things done more quickly. This allows us to pile more things on our plate that we need to get done in a more immediate manner.

I think I have information gluttony.

B.K.

The Fantasy with Fantasy Sports

I just finished up my fantasy baseball draft. I am fairly happy because I got Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Howard, and Tim Lincecum.

Don't know what I'm talking about? It's ok, I will briefly explain. Fantasy sports are similar to real sports where normal Joes like my friends and I act like general managers. Professional atheletes are aquired by fantasy owners and they are placed onto rosters that covet them only for their statistical abilities. Fantasy owners are responsible for drafting players, negotiating trades, and picking up free agents. The goal is to acquire better overall statistics than your opponent. The team with the best statistics (usually) wins the fantasy league.

For a better description please consult the all knowing wikipedia : Fantasy Sports

More important than grasping the concept of fantasy sports is grasping the explosive popularity of fantasy sports. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, nearly 30 million people in the United States and Canada played fantasy sports. 30 million. In addition, 22 percent of males age 18 to 49 currently partake in fantasy sports.

What began as nerds trading professional athelets in their basements in the 80s has morphed into a worldwide phenomenon. Owners no longer have to check the newspaper to see what their fantasy shortstop did the night before. They can just have the stats texted to their iPhone instantly, or they can just watch his at bat live.

In addition to the sites that offer fantasy management (ESPN, sportsline.com, yahoo.com), fantasy advice sites are also multi-billion dollar markets. For just 19.95 a month, you can pay rotowire.com to tell you which of your fantasy players to play the next week. Doesn't that take the thinking (and the fun) out of it?

B.K.

The Viral Video - I will never solve thee

So, you say you want a viral video? My best advice is to try, but not too hard. It seems like a crap shoot to me.

For my group's ENGR 407 project, Forging Fame, we were given the assignment to take an invention and to try to get it to make it big on Youtube, Metacafe, etc. The winner of this assignment would be the group that got the most hits on their invention/idea/marketing.

Our idea was to take Guitar Hero or Rock Band and add a pyrotechnic element to the common household show. In order to accomplish this, we made a flamethrower, linked it to the motion of the guitar during "STARPOWER," and set the room ablaze when the guitar was tilted verticle. Pretty cool, huh? What responsible pyromaniac (giant paradox here, I know) wouldn't want that. With the huge success of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, I thought this was destined for viral status. At the very least, I thought it would give our team a legitimate shot at winning the Forging Fame contest.

Since Seeing is Believing, here is our video that best illustrates the concept:


Since Friday, this video has recieved 147 hits. We switched to Metacafe because Youtube froze our hit-count. However, that is another post for another day. We posted this video at the same time:


I Am Rambo! - For more funny videos, click here

The result? 5332 in the same amount of time. I have a few theories as to why, but this is a blog and maybe I will let this be an interactive post.

If you have time, please help out the team:
http://www.youtube.com/user/teamfire2009

http://www.metacafe.com/channels/Teamfire09/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamfire2009/

Click on Everything!

B.K.

Spring Break Takeaways - Spring Breakaways

So I went on a Carribean Cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines for Spring Break this year. This was the first time I had ever been on spring break. Seeing as this is my last Spring Break at PSU, I figured I would finally break down and pay for a trip. I consider it the best decision I could have made.

The cruise we took went from the port at Jacksonville, Fla. to Key West, Fla. and the Bahamas. It was a five day, five night cruise. That seemed to be the perfect amount of time as I was begining to get sick of the crowds and the tiny cabin. I didn't begin to get sick of the weather or the comradery.

I know this post seems kind of hodge-podge, but that is exactly how the cruise was. It wasn't exactly relaxed or orderly, it was a "fly by the seat of your pants" experience. We went from port to port and only relaxed to lay out on the deck or sing a little karaoke. I was pleasantly suprised in all areas and would definately consider a Carnival Cruise again.

Most importantly, this spring break gave me an opportunity to recharge my batteries. Rather than going home work at my old job or sit around the house all day, I spent this spring break traveling the warm Carribean. Although I didn't get much rest during the trip, I feel more recharged coming back from this break than I ever have. I just about ready to tackle the rest of the semester.

B.K.

Something Wal-Mart comes this way

Today, I shopped at WalMart. I have to say it again to convince myself. . . Today, I shopped at WalMart. As long as I tried to stay away, I couldn't. Their low low prices and convenience got the best of me.

The reason why I dread going to WalMart so much is not because their warehouses are located in China or because I can never seem to get through a checkout line in under 15 minutes; moreover, it is because WalMart treats their employees terribly and is driving a lot of small business out of the market. I recently watched a documentary that showed a WalMart manager teaching an employee how to file for Welfare. He was doing this because pressure from administrators forced him to encourage employees to apply for Welfare so that their wages could be held low. That is pretty screwed up. I love Adam Smith as much as the next guy and I believe that the minimum wage is a price floor that may be unfair to some employers. However, what I saw in this case is crossing the line. There are things that corporations just can't do and that, in my opinion, is one of them.

So, I did go to WalMart today. Over the past few hours I have come up with a few excueses why:

1) WalMart is operating under all established business laws and regulations. Sure, they are doing some pretty shady stuff, but it is all legal. I think if enough people had a problem with what WalMart is doing (they should) then they would pressure their representatives to make "anti Sam Walton" legislation

2) Small businesses and start-up retailers are not adapting. The greatest asset to a small company is its ability to change and adapt rapidly. Small businesses can fill a niche that WalMart cannot and still be profitable. There are many things that WalMart does badly - not offering premium products, excellent service, and personability to name a few- thus allowing a small business to take care of these societal needs.

3) A lot of people need WalMart, including me. Being a college student, I don't have a lot of money. I can go to walmart and get what I need while paying at least $20 less than I would have paid at Wegmans or McLanahan's and $10 less than I would have paid at Giant or Weiss. That is money that I can keep and spend on other necessities.

Yeah, I went to WalMart today. And I am finally ok with it.

Those Credit Companies

I just finished my reading assignment for BA-250 (Small Business Management) and a few of the facts regarding American credit card spending jumped out at me. According to the text, Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management by Thomas W. Zimmerer and Norman M. Scarborough (2008), "[customers] now make 30 percent of personal consumption expenditures with credit cards." Now this is a fact that I can identify with and I would guess that my percentage is much higher. Nearly all of my daily expenses are charged to my credit card account. Heck, even my monthly rent bill is put on my credit card. One reason I do this is because I receive a cash back reward for all purchases of at least 1% (3% on gas and groceries). I figure it is the only way I will ever get a discount on my rent (even if it is only 4.55).

While the 30% statistic really didn't suprise me, one that did was the fact that the average interchange fees for Visa and MasterCard transactions "will increase from 1.75 percent to 1.86 percent in 2010." Now I know why I can get 1% cash back fee for any purchase I make. It's because Visa and MasterCard are still getting .75% to .86% of that purchase I just made. And with annual credit card charges of more than $2.2 trillion a year in the U.S. alone, the credit card companies are getting at least 1.75% of that or $38.5 billion dollars!

We're Going Dancing

If you didn't hear/read/see already, my beloved Nittany Lions Men's Basketball team beat the No. 9 ranked Michigan State Spartans on the road last weekend. I had to emphasize on the road in that last sentence being as it was the first time that the second most popular team at Penn State won a game in sixteen tries when playing in East Lansing, MI. Sixteen tries! I guess that seventeenth try was a charm as Taylor Battle went off for 29 points. I'm excited about this team. That sentiment is also something that scares me. Every time I get excited about PSU basketball, I inevitably find myself disappointed. In my first three years at Penn State, I have made it a point to see at least 5 home games a season at the BJC. For my Freshman through Junior years, the basketball team is a combined 2-13 in the games I attended. Maybe I should just stay away while they are on a roll?

On a side note, I thought about making this post about the Steelers Super Bowl XLIII victory yesterday; however, I feel like Penn State becoming nationally relevant once again is a little more intriguing for the Penn State community in general.

Go Stillers. Six Pack.

B.K.

Spotty Internet

If you are considering an internet service provider (ISP) in State College for next year, you should think hard about removing getwireless.net from that consideration. My internet is out once again this morning. This is probably the fifth time since the begining of the semester that I have been unable to use the internet service that I pay for eah month. How am I writing this post? I am doing nothing other than siphoning a signal from the cafe across the street. If the threat or occurence of a 3" snow storm totally shuts down your grid, you should try and do something about your service. Yes, I am talking to you Getwireless. Fix it, I'm fed up.

Super Bowl XL

I haven't made a true "first post" for a week now, so I decided to do so. The first thing that came to my mind as a subject for my first post was the Super Bowl. Being the avid Steelers fan that I am, I will be counting the hours until the big game this Sunday. This is the second Super Bowl appearance for the Steelers since 2006, my freshman year at Penn State. Although I am extremely excited for the game this Sunday, it seems as if it will not come close to the enthusiasm that I had back in 2006.

I have though of several reason for this:

1. Been there, done that:
In 2006, the Steelers were returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995. At the time I was in 3rd grade and I remember crying when Niel O'Donnell threw two game changing interceptions to Larry Brown that gave the Dallas Cowboys their fifth Lombardi Trophy. When the Steelers beat the Seahawks three years ago, it was so gratifying and seemed to wash away the tears from my childhood (I don't think I would have cried if they would have lost three years ago).
2. Lag time between AFC Championship and SB
This year, and in many recent years, the NFL has scheduled an off week between the AFC/NFC championships and the Super Bowl. This is supposed to give the players a chance to rest; however, in a money driven society, it really gives the media and the NFL another week to "hype up" the Super Bowl. I feel like this extra week kills my mojo. I was so excited after the AFC championship win vs. the Ravens that I wanted the Super Bowl to be played the next day. This extra week seems to throw ashes on the fire.

3. The Arizona Cardinals
C'mon, they are playing the Arizona Cardinals. I just can't get pumped for this matchup. Sure, the Super Bowl is on the line but winning requires beating the Arizona Cardinals! This is the franchise that hadn't hosted a home playoff game in nearly forty years. I tend to forget about most things down there in the dry heat of Arizona. Maybe I will pay for my underestimation of the Red Birds. Are there even any Cardinals in Arizona? I can't seem to picture the same bird that used to frequent my bird feeder in the frigid temperatures of Western Pennsylvania winters at a Tuscon golf course. Maybe they are just super hardy?


B.K.

My First Post

Hello All,

This is my first formal post on my newly created blog. I would like to first comment on how easy it was to set up this blog. I have frequented many blogs for a few years now; however, I have always been apprehensive (or scared) to publish my own. I look forward to sharing my thoughts, experiences, and opinions on this page.

B. K.