BamaTrojan

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Yosemite Sam Tells It!

How do I feel after day 5 with no power?

Make it a great day!
Repeat.
You’ll make it a great life!

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Mary Jane Playing the Violin Today

MVI_0070.divx Watch on Posterous

Soldier’s Joy by Mark O’Connor

MVI_0071.divx Watch on Posterous

Silent Night

MVI_0072.divx Watch on Posterous

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

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MJ playing Soldier’s Joy by Mark O’Connor

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An Explanation and Some Reflections

What an IDIOT!!

————— Forwarded message —————
From: Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO of Netflix <info@netflix.com>
Date: Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 12:22 AM
Subject: An Explanation and Some Reflections

I messed up. I owe you an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing. For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn’t make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.

So here is what we are doing and why. Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.

I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service. So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming. Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.

There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready. For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.

I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly. Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.

Respectfully yours, -Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix

p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.

This message was mailed to [lambertghini@gmail.com] by Netflix.
SRC: 1578.0.US.en-US
Use of the Netflix service and website constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
(c) 2011 Netflix, Inc. 100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032, U.S.A.

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News Alert: U.S. Is Set to Sue More Than a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages

It’s about effing time!!

From: NYTimes.com News Alert <nytdirect@nytimes.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 7:15 PM
Subject: News Alert: U.S. Is Set to Sue More Than a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Thursday, September 1, 2011 — 10:04 PM EDT
U.S. Is Set to Sue Big Banks Over Mortgages

The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation. The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/business/us-is-set-to-sue-dozen-big-banks-over-mortgages.html?emc=na
NYTimes.com
620 Eighth Ave.
New York, NY 10018

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Google+ Etiquette: Comments Defined

In case you haven’t heard (if not, where the hell have you been?), Google introduced Google+ last week. Invitations have been wide open since the weekend with no end in sight. In fact, PC World says that G+ will top 20 million users this weekend. With the crush of use and rampant posting and commenting going on this week, I’ve noticed a Facebook habit that some are carrying over to G+ and I’d like to offer an etiquette suggestion.

There’s Commenting …

Webster’s definition:

a remark, observation, or criticism: a comment about the weather.

gossip; talk: His frequent absences gave rise to comment.

a criticism or interpretation, often by implication orsuggestion: The play is a comment on modern society.

I propose that the definition be expanded for social media purposes. By Webster’s definition, ‘wow’ is a comment - and so is ‘that’s cool’ or ‘that’s awesome’ or ‘thanks for posting’. But, in the Social Media world, these phrases add nothing to the conversation - there’s no dia (across) in the log (speak), so to speak. So, here’s my addendum to the definition:

a comment should provide new insight to the topic of discussion or broaden the debate or reinforce a concept by offering examples or data to back it up

If you’ve been on G+ this week, one of the main gripes has been the inability to collapse comments. If you follow a +Chris Pirillo or a +Steve Rubel (like I do), the comments on one post can be 4 or 5 pages long. Thankfully, there are many of those comments that fit my expanded definition! Yay for G+!! But, there are also many, many comments along the lines of ‘wow’, ‘hooray’, and the ever popular ‘thanks for posting.’

… And There’s +1

+1 is Google’s version of Facebook’s ‘Like’ button. Of course, on Facebook, almost everyone that clicked ‘Like’ also left a lame ‘I love this’ comment, so they never really used it like it should be used. Let’s break with that tradition/habit in our new G+ universe - there’s no need to throw out a lame old ‘atta boy Luther!’ (even if it is from one of the funniest scenes in motion picture history). Just use +1 to support posts that you like and agree with and reserve commenting for those times that you can add real meat to the conversation.

+1 FTW

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POD on break

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Basketball break - then cake & ice cream

Make it a great day!
Repeat.
You’ll make it a great life!

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#Trust30

This is the first of my #Trust30 writings. Today’s inspiration comes from Liz Danzico:

Your genuine action will explain itself, and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing. The force of character is cumulative. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

If ‘the voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tracks,’ then it is more genuine to be present today than to recount yesterdays. How would you describe today using only one sentence? Tell today’s sentence to one other person. Repeat each day.

My Assignment

Rather than describe today, I’d rather make sure that I experience a day worthy of description, so I’m changing today’s assignment a bit. My sentence:

Today is what I make it.

Of course, the sentence is a mantra to start your day, but it’s also an assessment tool for ending your day - simply change one letter: Today is what I made it. Is it what you were trying to achieve? If not, why? How could you have changed your tack?

Passenger of Circumstance or Captain of Your Ship?

Our culture tends toward victimization. ‘Have a great day.’; ‘How is your day going?’; ‘Did you have a good week?’ - these common sayings assume that our days are delivered upon us, as if we’re helpless victims. Add to that assumption the societal predilection to pray for someone whose circumstances are negative —- and not to pray for strength to persevere, but to change their circumstance.

Although we can’t control external forces and circumstances, we can control our responses to challenges/problems/successes - and it’s our responses that determine whether we succeed in achieving our goals. It may take longer - it may take more resources - it may even change the nature of the goal - but we make the choices that determine the direction and the speed.

So, ‘Today is what I make it!’

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Twitter Fail Whale …

over capacity fail - some MBA idiot is saying ‘that’s a great problem to have’ —- no, it is not

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$5 for Japan Relief, We’ll Double It

This is awesome! Double your gift by giving through LivingSocial!!

donate to the red cross

$5 for $10 Donation to Red Cross Relief Efforts

American Red Cross

donate now

Due to Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent after shocks, Japan is suffering from what its prime minister is calling the “worst crisis since WWII.” The country’s northern coast has been totally devastated, leaving the land and the people in ruins. Just like you, we here at LivingSocial want to lend a hand, so we are going to match your donations. For each $5 donation through this offer, we will also donate $5 to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund, for a total contribution of up to $2 million. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy, and hope that by merging our efforts with yours and working directly with the American Red Cross, we can help with immediate aid and long-term recovery plans in Japan.

Find out more »

$5 for $10 Donation to Japan Earthquake & Pacific Tsunami Fund

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Your gift to the American Red Cross will support disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. For each $5 donation made, LivingSocial will donate an additional $5 to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund up to a maximum of $1,000,000 in matching funds.

On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters.

The American Red Cross will not receive your contact information. Should you require a receipt from the American Red Cross, please donate at

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