This is my little piece of the world. I'm a relentless tech junkie and prepress guy ...these are my ramblings and useless swill.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Sparkatopia is Moving...

Moving day
Okay Cats...

Sparkatopia has a new home...

Movin up to Wordpress...

Loads of older stuff from years gone by.... since 2004

Please point your browsers here..

sparkatopia.tommytrc.com

pardon the dust...

See you there...

Tommy








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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Be a Social Media Rock Star

The Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce presented Be a Social Media Rock Star at the F.K. Bemis Center at St. Norbert College in De Pere Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 7:30 a.m. I was the opening and closing presenter and what an amazing time had by all. It was so great to meet all fine folks in Green Bay. What an honor to be a part of that group. Such a great time and I learned to much!!!

You can follow along with all the action on the What the tweet website...

Or you can see the youtube video that Sara Nisler Flimed here...SMROCKGB Youtube Channel

The seminar was the offspring of the chambers first social media seminar, What the Tweet Is Social Media Marketing? Breakout sessions focused on Twitter; Facebook; LinkedIn; blogging; YouTube, photo/video sharing and online buzz; and selling social media to CEOs — policies and procedures. The seminar also included ideas for creating and deploying social media strategy.

Presenters included Tommytrc, Dana VanDen Heuvel of MarketingSavant, Kiar Olson, and Dave Sauter of ENVANO, Todd Lohenry.

Here's a short video that was put together by the boys over at Freshpaintdigital for the video. This rocks!!










Here's my Speach, THANK YOU Andy Crash for taping this...

PART ONE


PART TWO


My Presentations



Monday, August 10, 2009

Solea Tweetup Picture

So a few weeks ago, @mmangen set up this awesome afternoon lunch tweetup at one of the best Mexican Restaurants in town, Solea. They have a new location in Neenah with this great outdoor patio. I was joined by my sweetie, Mrstommytrc, Baby Drew as well as the usual twitter suspects, @tvorse, @saranisler, @kalalea, and his sweetie @debsoul. I knows there are others, but I have lost their names, so please excuse my forgetfulness.

Well the whole reason for this posting, is the picture they took of us on the patio, was used in a full page as in the Scene magazine. How cool is that!!!!

Yeah for good friends yeah for tweetups and yeah for Baby Drew!!!!


Scene inside on Twitpic

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Family - It's What Holds Us Together

This week while in church, I was sitting in the "customary" Clifford back row pew, where we always sit and have sat for quite some time. I like the back row cause I can keep tabs on whats happening while still sitting in the chapel, without sitting on the harder chairs setup in the overflow area. Well after Sacrament meeting concluded, I kept my soft, warm spot, playing with Drew and readying myself for Sunday School which is taught in the same room. In between feeding Drew and a quick cat nap...at least I'm honest that I doze in church--I noticed the sweetest thing that I thought I would share.

Sitting a few rows in front of me was a college student who was here on internship. We shall call him B.A. to protect his identity. He was flanked by his new bride in the right as well as his sister, and his mom on the left. Now B.A. is a tall man. He's got to be 6'7"or better and have the wing span of a B-52... huge! Well what got me was when he put his arms around his wife and his mom at the same time. Just the sweetest form of family love. The sign of a true man is one who honors his mother and treats his wife like a queen. B.A. comes from one amazing family and I learn so much from them each and every day. We really need more strong family bonds in this world.


Here's a pick of the Clifford fam taken last week at Church, the week of Baby Drew's blessing. Pretty great, broken arm and all. I love you Clifford's!!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Andy Crash Kelly & Tommy Clifford - "Nothing Accomplished"

 @tommytrc and @andycrash on Twitter meet up a late lunch social media networking discussion at Red Robin. Food was great. Crash's son's nap was 2 hours past due. Nothing accomplished. Camera: Katelynn Connell. Edited by Crash

My Five Key Ingredients for Social Media Engagement

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Lisa Cruz, President of Red Shoes PR in Appleton, WI to do a guest blog posting on the Red Shoes PR blog. I was totally 100% overwhelmed and humbled by the invitation. The reactions and comments have been stunning. You can read all the comments here. My life has been forever changed by the relationships I have made. It keeps getting better and better...  - Tommy
----

Today's guest blogger is Thomas Clifford, or tommytrc as his followers know him as. Red Shoes PR first met tommytrc via Twitter during the fall of 2008. Tommytrc regularly ranks as one of the top three Twitterers in Wisconsin and top 100 in the world. Tommytrc's presence on Twitter skyrocketed after tweeting throughout the birth of his son. We asked him to share his passion and expertise on social media. Thank you tommytrc!

I come from a very heavy Italian background. My grandfather on my mother’s side was born in Sicily, so eating and food preparation took a major role in my social upbringing.

Social media is like the recipe for Mom’s favorite spaghetti sauce or chocolate chip cookies. Everyone has a recipe and each is a bit different than the next, though the purpose of the finished product remains bringing smiles to the eater’s face!

Like every good recipe, you start by throwing a few key ingredients together, season to taste and Voile! your masterpiece takes shape. The key ingredients to social media engagement are really simple. Your mileage may vary as everyone’s social media engagement “strategy” is different. Here are my five key ingredients to social media success:

Interaction
It’s next to impossible to be involved in social media without interacting with others. Interaction is one of the main ingredients to a successful social media experience. Regardless of if you are using Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, the base for each of these social media services is interacting with others. This may be the hardest work you do. You must get out there and meet people, strike up conversations and do some old fashioned “networking.” People can tell if you are genuine or not, and in social media, the one thing you cannot fake is interaction. While some people may find it hard to strike up a conversation on social media sites, I say just like the first dip into the pool, just do it! Once people start replying to your questions or comments, you will get the bug. And it’s infectious. Interaction feeds on other interaction, and before you know it, you will be a social media butterfly.

Share
As you build your social media recipe, it’s next to impossible to go through your day without seeing something that is worth repeating. Whether it’s a post on Twitter or a comment on Facebook, if you like it, spread the word. Like a telephone operator in the old days, if you see a comment that you feel your network of friends will like, “patch it on in” and pass the good 411 around. On Twitter you would retweet it, or on Facebook you comment on it. That way people in your networks can be exposed to valuable information and find people they normally would not cross paths with. In the Twitter world, the sincerest form of flattery is to be retweeted by someone else. Sharing is critical for true social media engagement.

Listen
Many times, the most important ingredient for your master recipe is also the one that you are most likely to leave out. Kind of like the salt in your mom's favorite chocolate chip recipe, “Why does something sweet need salt??” You may think that skipping this all-too important ingredient will not make any difference, but have you ever tried chocolate chip cookies sans salt? You get the picture. In social media, the top engagers are also the best listeners. Its one thing to want your message heard, it’s totally another to listen to other’s messages. Like a great parent, favorite teacher or counselor at school, what makes them great are their listening skills. Many times it’s not what you say that is important, it’s the fact you give someone a listening ear.

The same holds true to social media. Just like an IRL (In Real Life) conversation, listening is one of those ingredients that can make or break the interaction. A conversation without listening is just like mom’s chocolate chip cookies without salt. Do not forget to listen.

Moderation
A great cook knows when to hang up her apron and leave the kitchen. Likewise, in social media sometimes you just need to log off, shut down and spend some quality time doing something else. I’m not talking about just going to bed either. You cannot be a top engager in social media if you are not engaged in real life. You cannot neglect your local friends. Things like local tweetups, local Twitter meet-ups, are great opportunities to network and build new friends, while also feeding your hunger for social media interaction. Locally, we have a pancake tweetup every other Friday at 7 a.m. This is a great way to put real faces to the Twitter avatars and talk more openly about issues and situations. These local interactions actually strengthen our Twitter relations because now you are true friends with these people.

Family
Like moderation, family time is one thing that you may not expect to hear in a social media engagement “must have” list. But, family is one of those ingredients that will add so much pizzazz to your social media experience. Looking for content to share on Twitter or Facebook? Look no further than family oriented stories and experiences. Nothing builds more credit on the social media networks then someone who shares true blue family interaction. You can’t build good family interaction if you are on Twitter or Facebook all day, which is why the family ingredient goes hand-in-hand with our moderation ingredient. Showing family pictures and stories not only warms the heart of your friends and followers, but also shows you are a real person, which in turn builds your followers and friends. It’s a vicious circle that works.

Now, just because you talk about your family, does not mean you need to give up their identity. Privacy is one thing we all need to be careful of. I talk about my wife online all the time, but instead of giving up her name, she is referred to as “mrstommytrc.” This makes it fun, while also keeping your privacy level high. You can experiment to see what works for you.

Now remember kids, if your initial blend of herbs and spices isn’t exactly right, no need to worry or fret. Social media is your creation and you make it what you want. I know from personal experience that mom’s special sauce was always a work in progress. A little more of this, or a little less of that. Like all great cooks, experimenting to get the blend just right takes time and practice, but once you hit it, you will be a social media engagement gourmet!

Connect with tommytrc:
Twitter: @tommytrc

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

RELEASE - ONE OF WISCONSIN'S TOP TWITTERERS FEATURED AT "BE A SOCIAL MEDIA ROCK STAR"

Contact: Lori Kaye Lodes, 920.593.3423 or llodes@titletown.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



One of Wisconsin’s top Twitterers featured at “Be A Social Media Rock Star”



Green Bay, Wis.­- (July 29, 2009)- Tommy Clifford, one of the most avid Twitterers in Wisconsin, will kick off and close the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Be A Social Media Rock Star” event on Thursday, Aug. 13, at the F.K. Bemis Center on the St. Norbert College campus.

Clifford, known as Tommytrc to his Twitter followers, regularly rates as one of the top three Twitterers in Wisconsin and the top 100 in the world. He has more than 15,000 followers on Twitter and has created more than 50,000 tweets – and counting. Tommytrc’s presence on Twitter escalated to new heights when he tweeted about one of the pivotal events in his family’s life: the birth of his son, Andrew, on May 22, 2009. The resulting followers – from Hong Kong to Los Angeles – and ensuing news coverage even astounded Tommytrc, a self-professed technology nut.

“Being Twitter centric is what has gotten me where I am,” said Tommytrc. “But it’s not about me. It’s about my followers and the relationship we have.”

Case in point: After tweeting about his son’s birth, Tommytrc’s family got to know a California family who baked cupcakes in baby Drew’s honor and photographed themselves with them and a sign wishing him a happy birthday. The Tommytrc family responded with a cupcake “thank-you” video they posted themselves.

Tommytrc’s presentation at the Be A Social Media Rockstar event will address how personal experiences like these with his brand can translate to business brand- and relationship-building.

“I’m very passionate about this. People can see the passion I have about building my personal brand. If I can do this myself, others than do it themselves. They can translate it to Anna’s Autoparts, Jimmy’s Quilts or Susie’s Cookies and turn their brands into rock stars.”

Join Tommytrc and several others presenters for the day at Be A Social Media Rock Star, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the F.K. Bemis Center at St. Norbert College. The hands-on learning will include breakout sessions on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Blogging, YouTube and photo/video sharing, and Selling Social Media to Your CEO. Attendees can opt for four of the six breakout sessions and attend the TweetUp after the event. Event presenters include Tommytrc, Dana VanDen Heuvel of MarketingSavant, Kiar Olson of Element Creative and David Sauter of Envano. The cost is $69 for Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce members, $119 for non-members.

Special thanks to major contributors MarketingSavant and Element Creative and event sponsors Global Recognition, Cineviz and Nicolet National Bank.

To learn more about Tommyt

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

"Crazy Lady" Santa Cruz Speech

Listen to this rant from a Santa Cruz city counsel meeting... Money Quote "California doesn't have slaves like on the East Coast!"

Glorious!!!


Monday, July 27, 2009

Please help me!!! What is this????

What's this yellow book that was dropped off at Tommy's Doorstep. Who uses such a book?

Saturday, July 25, 2009

What a Wedding...

Clearly not the wedding entrance that Becky and I did for our special day, but this really is memorable...

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

How Large Is a Petabyte?

This just rocks!! Getting your hands around how large a Petabyte just got slightly easier. it's still amazing....


Hat tip Gizmodo

Friday, July 3, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009

Bottom Line: Social Media for Business in 8.5 minutes

My friend and fellow twitter'er Ross Larocco did a killer job taping and editing the Bottom Line: Social Media for Business. My head is still spinning. I met so many great people. THANK YOU Red Shoes PR, Rick Burnes at HubSpot and thank you Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce for allowing me to be uncomfortable and stretch a bit.

When can we do it again?


Bottom Line: Social Media for Business in 8.5 minutes from Jessica Dennis on Vimeo.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Optical Illusion

Which way is she spinning? If you watch long enough, she spins both directions....

Friday, May 29, 2009

TommyBaby09 - The Rest of the Story.

So ever wonder what was going on behind the scenes with the Tommybaby09 / WFRV 5 story? Well now you know the rest of the story. Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Bottom Line: Social Media for Business Seminar

WOW... my head is just spinning. Today I was invited by Lisa Cruz, the President of Red Shoes PR in Appleton, WI to speak at the "Bottom Line: Social Media for Business Seminar" on June 4th. I will be speaking along with Rick Burnes from HubSpot as well as Lisa and Jess Dennis from Red Shoes PR on the topic of social media in business. My presentation will be more from a personal level but the things I have learned personally from socail media can certainly be applied to your business.


I'm so excited I did a quick vlog to share the news...

Rock on and see you June 4th.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Welcome Andrew Brent Clifford

Welcome Andrew "Drew" Brent Clifford

Born: 3:26 PM cst, 7 lbs. 12.5 oz. 20 inches.

Mom and baby are perfect!!!

WFRV Channel 5 and the Hospital PR agency, RedShoes PR picked up on the fact I was twittering from the birthing suite and sent a film crew to do a story... The rest happened so fast, but the news story is here below follolwed by a few choice action shots.



UPDATE: Web gallery posted with all the pics. Click here.



~

Friday, May 15, 2009

Kids Singing Evanescence "Bring me to Life"

This just ROCKS!!!!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

I made the 100+ Incredible Twitter Backgrounds Listing

I have been twitter friends with a great graphic designer out of India by the name if Cheth. He consistently posts great contents and certainly is worthy of a re-tweet more then once in a while. Well he has a killer website and from time-to-time will post twitter backgrounds that he tends to like. Well I made the listing. Not sure if it was out of pitty or not...that's beside the point. The raw fact is I made the list. How cool is that?

To quote a great friend, Navin R. Johnson "Things are going to start happening to me now."

LOVE IT!!! Thanks Cheth!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Ignite: Bram Pitoyo on The Secret History of Fonts

Found this in my RSS feed, interesting watch if you enjoy fonts...

Is your job really that bad?

 
Is your job really that terrible? 9-5 grind got you down? Looks like this guy truly has the "crappy" job!!! YIKES!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Accident FAIL!!!!

I saw this and this just made me roar..

fail owned pwned pictures
see more pwn and owned pictures

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

This is just too much...

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Monday, April 6, 2009

The History of the Internet

Forget twitter... FLUTTER

I saw this and just roared!!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

An Unexpected eBay Experience - Part One

This week I decided to put my trusty 32 GB iPod Gen 1 for sale on craigslist. BIG MISTAKE!!! -- I'll go into more detail on that in part two of our discussion. After a few spam filled days of craigslist "H.E. double hockey-sticks"... I pulled the ad and moved to eBay...

For this blog posting I want to focus on my eBay sale. When I post an item on eBay I ALWAYS work so hard to explain the items in as best detail I can without overselling. No one wants to get negative feedback or have to return money due to oversell and under deliver. That is bad.

Here's an email I got from my new eBay seller friend Randy...

"Got it today! Man...you da' bomb!!! Good packing, Great product...and it doesn't appear to have ever been f'd with. Smooth, excellent transaction. Good feedback will be left. Thanks so much Tom. I really feel as though I got what I paid for, and so much more.

Thanks, man.
Randy G"
I was so tickled and relieved... Here is what I set back...
"GREAT news randy...

I always worry that I over sell things, when I try to be as honest as possible...

glad you are happy...

my new ipod is being delivered today...

rock on, -thomas"

Thinking that was the end of it, I went shopping, but received this reply while in the check out. I was not ready for what I received....
"Ever since I lost my right arm and damaged my left hand in an accident 19 months ago, ...anything that doesn't require too much digital dexterity, and touts ease of use, is greatly appreciated, in so many ways that I could never appreciate, before. This is as described, and I pray your new iPod brings you as much joy as this, has me. (Rockin to "Daughtry" now on the iPod) Lovin' it man!!! Thanks, again.

Randy"

WOW... this really sent my spirits souring. I even got a tear in my eye. Not sure why, but this just makes you think...you never know where or when you will have an impact. In the oddest places and in the most obscure of situations, you can still make a difference and clearly Randy has made his mark on me...Thank you Randy!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

If I had a nickel for every time

This made me smile....

bill gates
see more Political Pictures

How I Obtain Knowledge

song chart memes
see more Funny Graphs

Friday, March 27, 2009

Hey...Where'd the TommyLog Video Blogs Go?



Hey there...looking for my latest TommyLogs? Well after some serious contemplation and the fact that I'm never 100% satisfied with anything that I do..mixed with the fact I tinker constantly; I have created a second blog dedicated just to my video blogs, or vlog or what I like to call Tommylogs. You can access them from the handy dandy menu bar. On the Tommylog page, you can see a Sparkatopia link there. So no need to add more bookmarks..just know where to look.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

To a Child - Love is spelled T-I-M-E: A Short Inspirational Film

Being a parent means many different things to different people. Spending time with my kids is one thing that is very important to me. This video hits the nail on the head and really struck a chord with me...

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Hanging with Dad...

Today got this email from my 14 year old daughter Madeline. She entered a "coolest dad" contest in some online girls magazine.. and here is what she posted...


"My Dad is one of the coolest people I know. You see, my parents are divorced so i cherish all of the time I get to spend with my Dad. Most kids i know Dad's fish or watch TV or work in the basement in their free time. But, my Dad is a DJ. DJ'ing is my favorite thing to do with my Dad. We have so much fun together and get to hang out for three to four hours non stop enjoying our favorite music. Most parents listen to music from "their time" but, my Dad listens to the same things most 14 year olds do. When the dance is over I help him pack up our gear and head home knowing I have THE COOLEST Dad ever!"

TOP THAT!!!!

I love you Madeline!

tc

My Half Million Dollar Overdraft

Well the story starts like this...

I was getting ready to sit down for a birthday celebration for my 1 year old when I ran to the mailbox to see if she had received any new birthday cards. To my surprise I see a letter from my credit union with "URGENT" stamped on it in big red letters. "Oh No!" I think, not an overdraft notice, I was on top of my game and didn't think I was in the trouble. Well boy was I wrong.

I open this letter and it says that I have a $546,020.00 NSF. YIKES!!!!

How can this be? I have an overdraft for half a million and all I get is a letter? No phone call, no personal attention??? What the... it says that I made a transaction to Banks of America for that amount? The darn card has only a $5,000.00 limit on it...

So thinking though the whole thing trying to figure out what happened… Here’s the deal. I went online to pay for my work corporate credit card. I had a $546.02 balance. Apparently I added a few extra zeros to the amount and quickly hit enter. Bam I had just transferred a half a mill to my corporate credit card. WOW. Seems odd that there is no check and balance system and that a credit card with a $546.02 balance can post a payment of over 1000 timers that amount. That just seems crazy.

Well the next day I have quite a conversation with the CFO of my local credit union. She was very sheepish over the whole thing. Apologized up and down for what had happened. My one big question to her was this..."At what level of an overdraft does the system kick this out and I get a phone call and not just a letter??”

She had no answer for me other then she would speak to the person working the overdraft area and make sure they are on the look out for this in the future. Not very comforting, but it is what it is. The big question was what Bank of America would say.

A few days later I did hear from someone at BOA. I heard from a Senior VP over corporate affairs and she said in her 30 years of banking experience, she has never seen anything like this. “I bet not I said!!” I asked how this could happen. In this day and age -with bank transparency at an all time high, why didn’t this get flagged? Isn’t there a system to see that a $5,000.00 credit limit card with a $546.02 balance doesn’t need a $500,000.00 payment?

She told me that their processing systems are over 20 years old and there is nothing like this for checks and balances built into the system…alarming really.

Isn’t it comforting to know that none our financial systems can catch a “butter fingers” like this? Makes you think, what else they don’t catch.

WOW!! The Consumerist picked up on the story Whoops: Typo Causes You To Overdraft $546,020.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

New World Corporate Logos, Recession Style

Someone sent these to me in an email.. too good not to share.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Laundry Fail

Not funny in the slightest... well...

fail-owned-laundry-fail
see more pwn and owned pictures

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Mini vMac - Mac Plus emulator for iPhone and iPod Touch.

How about a blast from the past for all you iPhone jailbreakers out there?? If you are interested in playing some old early Macintosh (Classic) games on your iPod touch, you are in luck.  In the Cydia repository is a game called Mini vMac that is a old Mac Plus emulator.

Hat tip 9 to 5 Mac

Saturday, February 21, 2009

You grew up in the 80s if ...

Do you remember these from the 80's?

I found this listing on a cool website called Openzine... Worth sharing...


  1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word PSYCH
  2. You watched the Pound Puppies
  3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton Dance
  4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy
  5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
  6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls
  7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom
  8. Two words: Hammer Pants
  9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
  10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect
  11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales" (Woo ooh!)
  12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons
  13.  You wore a ponytail on the side of your head
  14.  You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen...and still know the turtles names
  15.  You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school
  16.  You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side
  17.  You played the game "MASH" (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
  18.  You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it
  19.  L.A. Gear....need I say more?
  20.  You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in Kindergarten. (She's Truly Outrageous.)
  21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramona books
  22.  You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF"
  23.  You wanted to be a Goonie
  24.  You ever wore fluorescent neon clothing (some of us...head-to-toe)
  25.  You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted
  26.  You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf
  27.  You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard
  28.  You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets
  29.  You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence
  30.  You remember Hypercolor t-shirts
  31.   Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band
  32.  You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
  33.  You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
  34.  You ever owned a pair of Jelly shoes.
  35.  After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
  36.  You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
  37.  You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
  38.  You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
  39.  You have ever played with a Skip-It.
  40.  You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
  41.  You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
  42.   You remember Popples
  43. Don't worry, be happy
  44.  You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
  45.  You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do..getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family)
  46.  You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
  47.  You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
  48.  You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
  49.  You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
  50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot
  51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac
  52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"
  53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class
  54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - > YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
  55. You just sang those words to yourself
  56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird
  57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
  58. You remember when mullets were cool!
  59. You had a mullet!
  60. You still sing "We are the World"
  61. You tight rolled (pegged) your jeans
  62. You owned a banana clip
  63. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
  64.  You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?
  65. You had big hair and you knew how to use it
  66. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Aaa those were the days.

I have always had a thing for Macs since I first played with my good friend Ken Halls Macintosh 512KE back in 1986. Once I laid eyes on the GUI and started messing with the software, I was hooked. In the early 90's after lusting after Steve Jobs masterpiece NeXT machines, I finally dropped a whole lot of cash on my first Mac, knowing that the NeXT was out of my league.

After months of stopping at the BYU Bookstore, scoping, preping and lusting after those Macs, Apple finally came out with one that I could afford...well loan myself into is more like it. It was a package deal, Mac IIsi, 14 inch monitor, Apple ADB keyboard and mouse. Oh this baby was loaded with all the best Apple could offer..and corners Apple could cut to keep the price down. 2 MB yes MB of juicy ram, 40 MB, yes MB of hard drive space, running a  Motorola 68030, at a whopping 20 MHz --oh and yes. Macintosh System OS 6.0.7.

All the for educations goodness price of for $3100. Back then education discount actually meant something and I think I saved over $750 bucks over retail. Apple was one of those companies that knew to be popular, you needed to get your tools into the hands of the future working folks--that meant saturate colleges with your tools and once day they will take thier love of the Mac to the working sect.. and it worked.

I used my entire pPell grant fo that semester on this new Mac..and laser printer too. I was so jazzed. Did all my research and according to MacUser Magazine, the Qume CrystalPrint Publisher II was the laser printer to get with genuine Adobe PostScript. None if this ink jet crap using QuickDraw, I needed true Adobe PS for real desktop publishing horsepower! This thing was fab..btw, it cost be a cool $2100. Oh but I'm not done yet. Who can do anything with only 2 MB fo ram? Not me either. So I maxed out my Citibank credit card with 4 - 4 MB SIMMS fo this bad bot, so now I was sporting 17 MB RAM! Oh $700 for the RAM upgrade.  Too bad the OS could not access that much RAM and I had to use the rest of the RAM as a RAM disk.

Who remembers Connectix Virtual?

Aaaaa the good old days.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Ask Twitter: If you are trapped in an elevator, pick 4 people you want to be stuck with?

So this morning I woke up and started my morning routing of checking email / RSS feeds and monitoring twitter when one of my good friends from London, sends me this...

kelliesimpson @tommytrc Not much! I'm just asking people who'd they'd like to be trapped in an elevator with!

and I said

@kelliesimpson asks, if you could be stranded in an elevator with, who would it be? Me: Steve Jobs, Tina Fay, Bear Grylles & Heidi Klum

kelliesimpson @tommytrc Good to time to get to know someone, stuck in an elevator.

As I'm going about the rest of my day and people start replying to my original tweet. I get one, 2, 5, 10 replys and they keep pouting in. people keep forwarding or Tweeting my original question and I'm getting the best answers. Many have asked to see what other have said, so I'm compiling the

Ok Kids, If you are stuck in an elevator, what 4 people would you want to be stuck with? Alive people only

Okay here's what I found out... I did not edit this at all or correct spelling errors in names or anything. Remember twitter is limited to 140 characters per reply, that's why some words are truncated.


tangokdesign @tommytrc my hubby, mybff mary, her hubby dave and Anthony Bourdain. Interesting people to have conversations with.

LesleaC @tommytrc Johnny Depp, Channing Tatum, Dexter, Robin Thicke

JasonAltenburg @tommytrc Maynard James Keenan, Juliya Chernetsky, Bill Gates, and Linus Torvalds

judyrey @tommytrc Good choices, but I'd rather be stuck in a elevator with an elevator mechanic or the building's superintendent.

coconacchi @tommytrc Lily Allen, Neko Case, my dirty ex, Amir Derakh


footenotes @tommytrc My 4: Pres Obama, Tom Colicchio, J. D. Salinger and Sandra Day O'Connor

laquesefue @tommytrc Obama, Sarah Palin, John McCain and Pelosi, I love drama.......


ShoeSmitten @tommytrc 1) You, we could chat for hours about shoes ;) 2) Giuseppe Zanotti, of course 3) My dad, he tells great stories 4) my best friend

WOW ShoeSmitten picked me interesting...


lollieshopping @tommytrc @dudieboy, @tara_bear, her BF @_twt and my BFF/Gay Husband Joey (who isn't on Twitter, but should be).

Ashleybird @tommytrc the 4 members of The Used. :) They would keep me entertained

DougOntrack @tommytrc Shir Shimron,Warren Buffet,Guy Kawasaki,Stevie Nicks.

smlacy @tommytrc My 2 best friends, my boyfriend and @TheCharmQuark I thin

Oshkosh_mommy @tommytrc just me, so quiet would be nice, maybe form a whole thought without hearing mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommmy

snowvandemore @tommytrc my husband, Bear Grills, Bobby Flay and George Cloone

klanum @tommytrc tina fey, conan o'brien, travis clark and al roker. what about you

Another Tine Fey Fan..nice

carnellm @tommytrc Jenny McCarthy and her three clone sisters. Yup, that would about do it for me!! ;)

KRAPPS @tommytrc tough/good question!!! Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jessica Alba, Eva Longoria :)

Yes, I knew Steve Jobs would be popular...

mattmutz @tommytrc Dave Attell, Jorge Garcia, Steve Wozniak, Kevin Rose

writingroads @tommytrc Eve Ensler, Ellen, George Clooney, Jon Stewart

LisaTorres @tommytrc barack obama, oprah, hellen keller and YOU so you can ask me more great questions!

Is Hellen Keller still alive?...next...

shawnz @tommytrc Quinn, John, Donna...and Jim Beam (much needed companion as I have a great fear of getting stuck on elevators). I take the stairs.

UneditedVersion @tommytrc Sigmund Freud, Eva Peron, Ernest Hemmingway, and Frida Kahlo still stands with me. I'm thinking of alive people.

They are dead..try again please...!

UneditedVersion @tommytrc Dr. Michael Stone, Barack Obama, Madonna, and Marilyn vos Savant. That was tough.

briancray @tommytrc Survivor man, Construction worker, Water delivery guy, and my girlfriend

nerdette @tommytrc 4 people: an elevator mechanic, MacGyver, Billy Crystal and Wanda Sykes because then at least it would be funny.

hack10 @tommytrc opra,obama,george bush sr, and richard branson

footndale @tommytrc That's easy. My wife and 3 kids.

linnetwoods @tommytrc Without pondering long? Keith 'Robbie' Robinson (he'd get us out) Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, and John Cleese (for examlple)

amitchowdhry @tommytrc bill gates, warren buffett, obama, and larry page

mayhemstudios @tommytrc: @Logomotives @andysowards @unmarketing and MacGyver

estmr @tommytrc putting family aside, Rush, Prager, Levin, & Ingraham, funny, informative and I'd get along with them all!

kodakCB @tommytrc Hmmm. My husband, Martha Stewart, David Letterman and an elevator repairman! (Comforted, educated, entertained and rescued! : )

AnneHyde @tommytrc Stuck in elevator: Barak Obama, Dalai Lama, Osama Bin Laden & world's best negotiator

LadyFate @tommytrc Hmmm, probably Eddie Izzard, Jen Lancaster, Lincoln Child, & Dmitri Martin.

ragebots @tommytrc - 4 people in my immobile elevator: Bear Grylls, Billy Idol, Ricky Gervais, and Don Rickles

Another vote for Bear! Rock on!

docmurdock @tommytrc Just kidding! Robin Williams, Sully, @mariasimone, [wifye poo] @aplusk

CreativeWisdom @tommytrc My 4 people: My oldest son (he's cool), My best friend (we'd laugh), @Mitzs (she'd have a utility belt), & anyone w/snacks.

AmyStark @tommytrc Bill Gates-Warren Buffet-Omar Sharif and a Bellhop with food and wine. Bill and Warren against me and Omar in bridge

Drwright1 @tommytrc My friend Angie, Vin Diesel, my friend Laura

greenbaygreg @tommytrc Tiger Woods, George Bush, Jessica Alba, Warren Buffett

AmberLyssaMarie @tommytrc That is a good question. Of course, my sweetie @AbigailRaymaker, my mother, my sister, and I guess my father & brother take turns

AmberCadabra @tommytrc Barack Obama, my kid, Brian Greene (physicist) and Conan O'Brien.

rosslarocco @tommytrc Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Amy Smart, Anne Hathaway


debworks @tommytrc Barack Obama, Karl Rove, Chris Brogan, Jon Stewart (Barack&Chris have blackberrys,Karl to argue with, Jon to laugh with) so there!

SashaKane @tommytrc If I were trapped in an elevator with (4) Celeb people would want -- Whoopie Goldberg @mariashiver Jon Steward & Celine Dion

JRGriggs @tommytrc well my wife, son and daughter. 4th is tough, I'll auction that spot on ebay

crisangwich Icon_lock @tommytrc my hubby, @queenoflotr1, my mom and my other sister. You?

AbigailRaymaker @tommytrc My Amber, my sister and my parents

pfont @tommytrc I only want two: shemar moore and blair underwood. Naked.

Only 2...okay only 2 then!

SusanMazza @tommytrc Deepak Chopra, Robin Williams, and My Husband & My Daughter I'd be happy to be stuck anywhere w/ them.

jessicahalem @tommytrc hmmm...obama, rachel maddow, chris rock, and my partner red.

CubanaLAF @tommytrc Aaron Rodgers, Anderson Cooper, Eric Bana, George Stephanapolus, (sp?) and Mike Modano.

ninjen @tommytrc Eric Dane, @rightgirl and Christian Bale. It would be a hot mess.

Only Three?


TheDailyBlonde @tommytrc ok 4 people I want to be stuck w in an elevator: George Clooney. Why 4? I think that's enough.

xianfox @tommytrc Four highly skilled elevator repair technicians.

ninjen @tommytrc Hmmm. I forgot a 4th person. Ok, I said @rightgirl, Erice Dane, and Christian Bale. 4th...@stephenkruiser

AnnEvanston @tommytrc Gordon ramsey, Leslie Blodgett, John Maxwell and Janet Evanovich

tygerbaby @tommytrc Christian Bale, Frank Langella, Michael Keaton, @ninjen (I'd just fight her for Christian Bale's attention LOL)

Anoher in the Christian Bale fan club, just please DO NOT set him off....!

Minervity @tommytrc Carmen Electra, Steve Jobs, President Obama and Peter Jackson. (There's an interesting mix. Would be interesting!! :)

msmonogram @tommytrc my mini, my bff, Prez Obama, Dr. Rey from Dr. 90210

Mittons @tommytrc My Mom. Only because she would be the only one willing to put up with my going insane stuck in an elevator!

Brandilyn @tommytrc Hubby, son and daughter, daughter-in-law. Although I wouldn't wish that on them!

jeanettejoy @tommytrc @YoungBob @PhilHenderson & wife Susan @MichaelMillman Because they are all calming inspirational influences in my life. Fun too!

rosyblue @tommytrc I'm think I would want to talk with Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Gov. Sarah Palin and Kobe Bryant. I have so many questions.

TheMogulMom @tommytrc If u were stuck in elevator, I bet you'd like 2 b stuck w/Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Snoop Dog & Jay-Z. Am I right? Am I right? :)

Nooooooo I told you before, Steve Jobs, Tina Fey, Bear Grylls & Heidi Klum!

Pdkay @tommytrc First of all I hope I dont have to pee. Lets see Obama, Chris Rock, Andrea Fonseka, and Keith Olbermann

Forian @tommytrc Robert Scoble, Loren Feldman, Stephen Colbert and a tie between Bill O'Reilly and Obama.

briancarter @tommytrc the 4 fattest people on the planet

KikiValdes @tommytrc If i was stuck in an elevator...hmm Kim Kardasian, Scarlett Johansson, Rose McGowan and Anne Hathaway

goDOTchris @tommytrc the 4 best friends of the guy who can fix the elevator.

jesshatchigan @tommytrc, Jennifer Aniston, Hugh Grant, James Franco & J.K. Rowling.

TheMogulMom @tommytrc Jerry Seinfeld, my husband Scott (he'd be so pissed he'd figure a way out), Oprah & Neil Peart from Rush. (Random & weird, huh?)

kateblogs @tommytrc Hmm, I'll go for Barack Obama, @stephenfry, Germaine Greer and Sean Bean

MariSmith @tommytrc 4 peeps stuck in my elevator: Oprah, @StephenFry, Madonna & Jude Law. Hm, wait I wouldn't be able to breathe!!

Paul_Holgorsen @tommytrc George Bush, Newt Gingrich, Mike Shanahan,Tony Dungee Ok I thought about it.

boonebgorges @tommytrc David Lee Roth, Jimmy Carter, Toots Thielemans, Jacques Pepin. Booya!

techpr @tommytrc Aside from family? I'm a go with Russell Crowe, Mike Rowe (the "Dirty Jobs" guy, rowr), Bradley Whitford and John Cusack. :-)

Sarah_Stuart @tommytrc ok got it I would like to be with @aroadretraveled @briancarter @eunice007 and a guy Who knows how to fix elevators

clifford1029 @tommytrc Andy Dick, Carrot Top, Rosie O"Donnell, and Rosanne Barr. Hands down.

detainee @tommytrc Rod Blagojevich, his wife, Mayor Daley and President Obama. I would be super scared of the first 3. Bad tempers

krclaypool @tommytrc My hubby and 3 kids. They are my fav peeps!


noraburns @tommytrc ......@DaveTaylor cause I'd have all that time to ask my techie questions! @ashleyandrus because she would bring humor & levity

noraburns @tommytrc ....and @stevespangler the science guy cause he would be able to figure a way OUTof the elevator!

KellyOlexa @tommytrc Easy. My best friend Wendy, @garyvee, my massage guy Mr. Rene and Will Ferrell. LOL And some wine. Lots of wine.

AnnEvanston @tommytrc my SO wants General Michael Hayden, Obama, Osama bin Ladin, and David Petraeus - hmmm.... interesting elevator!

AmberLyssaMarie @tommytrc Oh, if we are talking famous people, my 4 people would be Terry Goodkind, Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, Colleen McCullough

Didn't I already heard from those 2..I guess they want another crack at it!

twitwebtester @tommytrc Alive people? how abt split personalities? hahaha... @simonleung @coolsi @leecollins @robincollins does all tat count hahaha

stylestar @tommytrc I choose @meandsports, Brandy H, @Chrishelle, and my son (though 5 mins into it I'll be praying that he shut up)

Attitudegrrrl @tommytrc Robin Williams, Bill Clinton, Michael Symon, and Sponge Bob (or Patrick)

KrisColvin @tommytrc Omg, how fun. Stuck in elevator companion wishlist = @garyvee, @guykawasaki, Chelsea Handler & Justin Timberlake. Hahaha!!!

abarcelos @tommytrc Elevator: Dali Lama, Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, & Bill Gates. The last 2 only to see if I could get them to be friends again;-) U?

anjin19860 @tommytrc keiichi tsuchiya, liam neeson, uma thurman, and sonny chiba would be my four at this exact moment in time.

klsnyc805 @tommytrc My man, Jon Stewart, Tom Wolfe, and MacGruber

KateGaffin @tommytrc Richard Branson, Bono, Lance Armstrong and my best friend Simon

employerbrander @tommytrc awesome question! Right this minute? @stelzner @hrmaven @chris_bailey and @gabrielrossi :)

Lets try that one again....


employerbrander @tommytrc celebs...hmmm George Clooney, Brad Bitt, Matt Damon & Edward Norton ...LOL ;-)

kristacolvin @tommytrc my husband, my best friend diane, and 2 interesting people that i've yet to meet.

kristacolvin @tommytrc to clarify... 2 interesting people that showered + have snacks on them!

Holly_GPB @tommytrc My husband, my 2 boys and my brother

islandprincess2 @tommytrc Elvis (young Elvis on X) and that would be all LOL

TheUserPool @tommytrc Hot girl 1, hot girl 2, hot girl 3 and hot girl 4.

FollowingBetty @tommytrc oh, I found it...I like your picks! Mine would be: Jeff Hardy, Tom Brokaw, Betty White and Jerry Seinfeld

greenskeptic @tommytrc missed yr question re: 4 ppl in elevator; top of mind: Will Smith, Michael Ondaatje, Pierre Omidyar (@pierre), and Alison Krause

chatblanc @tommytrc I'd say. . . Daisy the Curly Cat, JD at I Do Things, BeesMusings (all bloggers) & Jen Lancaster (writer). AWESOME CHICKS (& 1 cat)

BarbDreger @tommytrc Hmm... good question. My husband, my min pin dog and Jesus. How's that?

MichaelJames_NY stuck in an elevator...3 Swedish bikini team members and a good locksmith...Lol

MichaelJames_NY Just kidding tommytrc, easy answer. Spielberg, Cronkite, Goldman, and DeCoster.

MissShellBelle @tommytrc 1. Maya Angelou 2. Hillary Clinton 3. Alice Walker 4. Michelle Obama

VAnetworking @tommytrc Sam Elliot (eyecandy/sexy voice), MacGyver (I know he'd find a way out), Obama (pick his mind), Bette Midler (entertainment)

CupCate @tommytrc Hmm...I'd like to be stuck in a lift with @barackobama , @diablocody @ibwan & Russell Brand. Brand & Obama will totally get on.

greenskeptic @tommytrc missed yr question re: 4 ppl in elevator; top of mind: Will Smith, Michael Ondaatje, Pierre Omidyar (@pierre), and Alison Krause.

What did I learn from all this? Well first I think that I learned that there are a lot of folks who would really like some quality time with our new POTUS, Barack Obama. I'm betting that choice would bring some amazing conversation, not just about the situation at hand but even world issues. Second thing I learned is how many people like Christian Bale. Do they like him more at this time because of the rant from earlier this month, or because he was just a good looking stud from the movie Newsies or was that Batman?

I think the last and most impressive thing I leaned is more about the twitter community then anything else. I learned that even though you do not talk or "tweet" people every single day, if you have an engaging question, one that makes people think, you will get people to spread the word and share. I mean it speaks for itself. a good questions, repeated anough, gets over a hundred responses...and I wasn't even really trying that hard to get people to reply. This was a great example of how twitter can really enrich the people who participate and I for one am a believer.

PS...they keep coming in..here's another...

nessienoo @tommytrc Stephen Fry, My Husband, Helen Mirren, George Clooney

jamield @tommytrc David Bowie, Simon doonan, Isaac mizrahi, salman Rushdie. Today anyway. Tomorrow might be different.

Thingsall2good tough question. Jim Carey- he'd make me laugh, Oprah - they'll work harder at getting us out if she's in there, the pope - for the obvious

Thingsall2good and finally .. with someone I love. That would be a great team to be stuck in an elevator with. What are your choices?

No Matter how hard you try...

fail owned pwned pictures
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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Friday, January 16, 2009

7 Things About Me

I have been really into Twitter for the last few weeks, learning and growing and making it a fun outlet to meet new people and build my "social network." I was asked by Jamie to blog about 7 things that will help people get to know be a bit better... here goes.

  1. I am the largest closet drummer in the world. I have always wanted a drum set. From my early formative days to this very day I am drawn to a drum set. Large or small, percussion always pulls me into the mood. I have always been a hard core RUSH fan. I'm pretty sure its the massive drum set Neil Peart uses that really makes me smile and gets by blood moving along. The way he maneuvers the drums..he is a master of his trade. Don't believe me, check this out. I always meant to take drum lessons when I was young. I took piano lessons as prerequisite to playing drums, but for whatever reason, I never did it. Whenever I would go over to my friend Eric's house, I would sit at his drum set and jam like I was a rock star. To this day there are still a set of drum sticks in my closet and whenever I'm feeling really in the mood, I'll air drum to something fun just to let out some energy. Someday I will have a large digital drum set just to sit and enjoy.
  2. 5 years ago I was sent to China for business. I had the opportunity of spending 17 days in Hong Kong and Shenzen, China to visit overseas printing operations. I visited so many places and saw so many things that I have never seen before its kinda hard to get your hands around all the new sights and sounds. I think of all the lasting impressions I will have from my trip to the far east the fondest would be the gracious Chinese people. Before my journey to Hong Kong and Shenzhen. China, my whole impression of the Far East was one that CNN, Fox News and USA Today had me believe. Soldiers marching in the streets, people working in factories like robots and systems that are backwards and technologically behind.... I was wrong...so wrong! My experience in China was nothing short of a life changing experience. I tell people that my trip to China was the best thing I have done since the birth of my children...bar none. What I saw paled anything I would have dreamed.

    My new found love, honor, respect for the people I met is unimaginable. My stereotypes were shattered from the very start. What I saw was a pure of love, love of life, respect for there country and for the people in which they worked and served. So many hard working people trying to get from Monday to Tuesday and from here to there...just doing there thing. My experience in China was one I will never forget. Both my personal and professional life has been changed...for the better I can only hope!

  3. I hate, scratch that I loath walnuts. Nasty, icky, yucky!

  4. I'm the president of the Graphic Users Association of Kodak Solutions or GUA for short. This users group started out in 1996 and now has over 4000 members world wide. Kodak is a leading prepress workflow in the printing industry. I have been on the board of directors for the past 6 year and president for the past 3 years. Along with the other board members, both from within Kodak and Kodak customers, I assist in putting together the yearly conference. Last years conference was held in Vegas and had an attendance of over 300 members. This years conference will be in Orlando, Fl - May 17 - 21.

  5. I served a full time mission for the LDS Church. I served for 2 years in the Nevada, Las Vegas Mission back in teh late 80's.

  6. I, along with 3 of my brothers, are HUGE eBay fans. I have purchased 3 of my last cars on eBay, Volvo 850 Turbo, GMC Envoy and Cadillac SRX. My brother Chris buys and sells used Honda's Mercedes and Porsche's on eBay and each one of my siblings is driving an eBay vehicle purchase.

  7. I build a pretty mean pinewood derby car. With the help of some tools and skills from my friends over at Derby Champ, Tommy III, my 8 yr old son, was able to win 59 of 60 races last year. This years pinewood derby is in 2 weeks so we are actively building and crafting the vehicle as we speak. The mantra you need to say over and over is "wheels and axles, wheels and axles--weight in the back" and you'll will win every time. See for yourself.
And just in case you didn't care for any of the 7 above, I'll throw in a few extras:
  • Growing up I had pet cats named Fred and Barney, bothers. One day as I pulled out of the driveway, I accidentally drive over barney :<. Note to self, never fall asleep on the tire when someone intends on driving the vehicle.

  • During my high school years I was in the AV club, hard to believe, but yes I was.

  • I'm an Eagle Scout, Both me and my younger brother Mark received our awards on the same evening.
That all folks...

Rock on!