My roommate is getting his MBA at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. For a while he's been asking me to do a presentation on Sports Marketing for the MBA Marketing Association students. I finally obliged and gave an hour long presentation at the new PACCAR Hall.

First I have to mention how nice PACCAR Hall is. It's a state of the art building with pretty cool architecture, a soaring atrium and is equipped with the latest presentation technology. A huge step up from what I experienced at Montana State University. Granted I was in college some time ago.

It was fun to get up and give a presentation. It had been a few years, probably since my days at K2 Sports and some sales meeting. This may sound weird, but I actually enjoy laying out presentations, making custom slide backgrounds, inserting images and linking up videos. I used to do everything with Powerpoint, but since the switch to Mac, I'm all about Keynote these days.

I found the biggest challenge was what aspects of Sports Marketing to talk about in just an hour. I could talk for weeks on end about Sports Marketing. Actually it wasn't on mainstream sports like football, basketball, golf or soccer; but action sports like snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, surfing and mountain biking.

So I decided to focus on: sport vs. business, communication tools, creative briefs, athletes, photo shoots, movie sponsorships and product development. Even that was a lot to go over in just an hour, but I ended right on time with about five minutes for questions. It was fun. I'd like to do the presentation more, switch it up a little and touch on other subjects. Who knows, maybe I'll be called on again sometime in the future?

I was looking at Molly Hawkins Facebook Wall when I came across this video she posted. Like any good person who partakes in social media, if you see something you like, you repost it.

The video explores the multi-faced definition of "alone"; the relationship between solitude and loneliness; and the multitude of ways we can embrace being alone while negating the associated stigmas.

The video is by Andrea Dorfman, a filmmaker/poet/singer/songwriter. Tanya Davis wrote the beautiful poem and performs in the video which Dorfman directed, shot, animated by hand and edited. The film was shot in Halifax, Nove Scotia.

I think if you watch it, you'll see similarities in your own life.

Sitting on the deck at sunset, enjoying the crab we just caught.

I used to live with Trevor Harp in college. We were roommates in our fraternity and at a couple other places, he was the President and I was the VP. Trevor Ault was also in the same fraternity and I lived with him for a few great years in Seattle. Great history with both of them. Kim was a sorority girl that we partied with in college as well and I got to know Paige while living with Ault. Good people.

Unfortunately the Harps live in San Francisco and the Aults in Portland, so I don't see them as much as I should. Honestly, I'm not real good at keeping in touch with friends that live outside of Seattle, but when we are together, it's like we just saw each other yesterday.

Trevor, Paige and Parker Ault.

I'm going to try to make this an annual event.

So we drove from Seattle to Everett to go grocery shopping at QFC before catching the boat, as there are no stores on the island. The traffic was brutal so we were pressed for time. Harp took down a grocery list, texted it to Ault in the other car, he combined it with their list, and emailed each person in the group a shopping list based on store layout. One person had fruits and vegetables, another meats, liquids/sauces, etc. We bought about $250 worth of food in about 10 minutes and were at the ferry in plenty of time.

While riding the ferry over, we were informed that the water was tested and E-Coli was found. Therefore we were going to have to boil our water for everything: drinking water, brushing our teeth, washing the dishes, etc. A small inconvenience, but better that than cramps, nausea, headaches and diarrhea. Only side effect was burning our hands washing the dishes. Luckily this only lasted one evening, as the water ban was lifted the next day.

Trevor and Kim Harp stroll the beach.

We spent the weekend eating like kings and queens, reading, sitting on the deck, walking the beach, crabbing, eating crab, barbecuing, drinking beer and wine, playing golf, and watching the bald eagles that live behind the cabin. Oh, we were also entertained by Parker. She is a delightful baby girl with beautiful blue eyes. She already has a strong sense of family, helping her Mom by making sputtering noises during my back swing. But I'd have to say the most fun was just being together.

We took the ferry back to Everett and enjoyed another dinner at Anthony's Homeport. Harp impressed us one more time, by ordering "all you can eat" crab.

When I compile all the images from the weekend, I'll embed a little slide show. Here's a quick little video that Ault made of the weekend. You can also check out more images of Hat Island in my gallery.

Here's my neighbors putting out their crab pots using paddle boards.

When I was in college, I never could see myself as a SOTA. That grey haired, old person sitting in the front row asking lots of questions and sharing too much personal information. Wishing, that they would just be quiet so the professor could get on with the lecture. But here I am, and I can tell from the vibe I get from younger students, that I'm a SOTA. Did you have SOTA's at your college or university? Did you wish they'd shut-up?

Do you even know what a SOTA is? Well, it's a Student Over the Traditional Age. Yep, it's a person who's gone out into the world, worked for at least ten years, then gone back to school. Crazy thing is, this time I signed up for classes being seriously interested in the subject matter. I mean I don't have to go back to school, I WANT to.

I wanted to go to college and study marketing, don't get me wrong. But the classes I wasn't interested in were like torture. I didn't care to know statistics. I wanted to only know about subjects I was passionate about ,that I would actively be doing upon graduation. The goal was to get a education or degree that would lead to a career. It was a gateway. Once you've got experience, you go back to school to learn what you KNOW will help you further your career.

When you're in college, you sort of know what you want to do, but not the exact job when you graduate. You kind of wonder where each job will lead. There is doubt that comes with the first few jobs. Is this what's going to make me happy? Is this the career I should be doing to maximize my potential? I was very lucky where every job I've had, every promotion I've gotten, has lead me in the right direction. Each step was a confirmation that I was doing the best job for who I was as a person.

So this time, going to school feels different. I'm more interested, engaged. I want to ask questions, be sure that I understand the concepts being communicated. I want to share my experience and hear if what I did was done well. I'm paying for it myself and I know that if I learn what's being taught I will enjoy myself and my job that much more. I have no doubt about it. Where in college I think I lacked some drive because I wasn't 110% certain that what I was being taught was something I'd use.

So here I am after a decade of working in action sports, doing business planning, marketing, putting on events and running my own consulting business, that I find myself back in school. Part of it has to do with following a passion. I love the creative process and would like to be a "creative." That's the person that comes up with the "big idea" or is a "problem solver." In the past, I've been the planner, manager, and executor of programs, but at the same time come up with the ideas and creative. I think it will be a hard path to attain an official creative position at an agency. That's what has brought me to enroll in the Summer Boot Camp at the School of Visual Concepts.

In another life, I'd love to have been an art director with graphic design skills. I love Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Final Cut, Keynote and any creative layout type of software. It might not be too late, but that's what the classes are for. The Summer Boot Camp consists of a bunch of different classes crammed in a five week period. I'm taking Creative Thinking & Concepting, Photoshop, Copywriting, and HTML/CSS. Since my graphic design skills are ammeter, I'm going the route of Copywriter. Help come up with the idea and then work with a partner to bring it to life visually.

It's funny. Part of what makes the classes worth while is the experience of other students. Unfortunately there is an overflow of WSU graduates, fairly fresh out of college. They don't have personal experiences that they can share to add to class discussions. Well, time to get back to my homework.

Summer seems to be coming late to the Pacific Northwest, which means there is still a lot of snow in the mountains. All the rain also makes it less attractive to go hiking. My parents and I planned to go on one hike, but pulled the plug in the morning due to rain. But this last Friday, my Mom and I decided to go regardless of the weather.

The forecast was for party cloudy skies, chance of rain with clearing in the afternoon. My Mom needs to break in her new hiking boots for when she and my father go hiking through Switzerland and Austria in July. So we headed out early and drove North.

I was a little worried about my injury. I have a torn calf muscle, but my physical therapist did an impressive tape job the day before. I didn't know you could tape a calf like you do an ankle. Check it out.

We went to hike Lake Twenty Two. To say the surroundings were lush and green would be an understatement. The ferns are budding and everything seems to be growing forth. We did not however escape the rain. The majority of the hike up was in a drizzle, which turned to a pounding rain as we reached the lake. We didn't linger long, grabbed a quick bite under a tree and turned right back around. As we descended, the rain let up and the clouds began to burn off.

Truthfully, I didn't mind the rain. Hiking in the old growth forest provided some cover and the rivers were over flowing. Some of the meadows were even flooded. At times the trail was a small stream. It's just another experience and it makes you appreciate the sunny days more.

Upon returning to the car, it was still early so we decided to do a second, short hike. We drove up the road another 12 or so miles to Four Mountain Peaks(I think) where we hiked to some snow caves. The mountains here jut straight up and have multiple waterfalls coming from a big snow shelf up above. Another beautiful hike with slightly better weather. I was also very impressed with the trail maintenance.

Looking forward to going on more hikes this summer as the weather improves.

Recently I found a talk by Sir Ken Robinson about a revolution in learning. He feels that "we are educating people out of their creativity." Ken discusses how we as people and a society should nurture passion and our kids interests that make them happy, instead of manufacturing them in a standardized system. To stay true to what you wanted to be when you were a kid. So that when people grow up, more of them follow and realize their dreams.

Too often today people ask each other, "What do you do for work?" Since many people do not have jobs in which they are passionate about, that they chose, their work does not reflect who they are. What many people do for work is a way to pass time that generates money, so that they might enjoy themselves on the weekend spending their "hard earned" money.

The speaker uses a great analogy, that standardized education is to our mind as fast food is to our health. Watch this video and be enlightened, educated and well entertained. Thanks be to TED, for helping educate the world.

I hate it when I struggle to resize an embedded video like this one. I look forward to when all embedded video functionality has proper resizing. So if you enjoyed this video and would like to see another one by Sir Ken on the same subject, click here.

Everybody is talking about it, but what are they saying really? It's the worst natural disaster in the history on the US. It's President Obama's Katrina. BP is corrupt and cut corners. All the different safe guards failed. The fishing/seafood industry in the South is in a state of crisis. BP blames Transocean for the accident. The people blame the government for lack of oversight. We are waging a "war" on a new natural disaster.

I think this accident or "natural" disaster is a symptom of a bigger problem. The fact that profits have become more important than general well-being and doing what's right. The responsibility or accountability for a problem like this seems to have been structured so that nobody can be held accountable. BP can blame Transocean, Transocean can blame the workers and citizens can blame the Minerals Management Service for lack of regulation. Sounds similar to the financial crisis or Enron. The problem lies with none of those organizations, but with our way of life.

Oil has allowed for many societal advances and made the industrial revolution possible over the last 100 years. We would not be where we are today without sucking oil from the earth. But oil is not a renewable resource and will continue to prove harder to acquire and process. Easy to acquire oil is running out. So what does that mean? Getting oil will become more expensive, difficult and possibilities for natural disasters will increase. We are drilling down through 5,000 feet of water and another 13,000 feet of seabed. That's a long way down. Deep drilling is expensive and can cost as much as $800,000 a day, or up to $100,000 million dollars to establish a single well.

People and industry don't want to pay more for gas/oil, so corporations like BP will continue to try and cut costs to keep margins high. It's just business. Although many people are complaining right now, I'm sure folks in Louisiana will still be pro-oil after it's all said and done. Oil and fishing are their two biggest industries. They need both. This spill is one of the costs we incur for our dependance on oil. Accidents happen, we can only try our best to prevent them. Where the anger comes from is that we did not try our best in prevention, we tried our best to be profitable instead.

Watching this media spectacle is rather entertaining. I feel for BP, as a company's brand is expensive to create, establish and maintain. In 2000, they rebranded themselves as "Beyond Petroleum" that sees a future past dependence on fossil fuels. They came out with a nice green logo that looks more environmentally friendly. Even then, Greenpeace came out with a print ad that mocked the rebranding.

With the oil spill, Greenpeace is at it again with a competition to recreate the BP logo in a negative light called "Behind the Logo." It's a brilliant negative PR campaign that should have all the oil companies motivated to start looking seriously at alternative energy. There are over 300 designs submitted so far and available to view on flickr. Here's one of my favorite redesigns.

Another entertaining negative PR campaign is the Twitter feed parody called "BP Global PR." Although it appears somewhat official, it's really not from BP Corporate. More than anything, it has become like open mic night at a comedy club with tons of funny one-liners about BP and the oil spill. Here's a couple of my favorites:

The last thing I'm going to touch on is the media trying to say this might be Obama's Katrina. Man this irritates me. Yes there are similarities, but two big differences in my mind. Katrina was a natural disaster that nobody could control. The BP Oil Spill was not a natural disaster that we couldn't control, it is a manmade disaster that negatively effects nature. It could have been prevented.

Bush was judged on how he responded to the disaster, which was slow and unorganized. In Katrina there was loss of life. It was a disaster we had faced before, just on a larger scale. It was a problem that the US Government had the tools and expertise to assist with. The BP Oil Spill did have some loss of life, but that was immediate. A slow reaction will not result in more loss of life, as it did with Katrina. The US Government does not have the expertise to stop the oil spill, nor does it have the resources to clean up or prevent the environmental disaster. It shows that both the oil industry and US Government has not advanced their clean up techniques since the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Just like Obama's overall presidency, it's too soon to judge. Time will tell.

I don't recall President George Bush Senior being blamed for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, nor held accountable for it's clean up. But this is my frustration with mass media. They are in a similar position as the oil companies, in an ever increasing difficult market, they need to generate revenue and profits. Controversy, crisis, disasters, corruption, and turmoil generates more web views, hits, comments, discussion and interaction with its audience, driving their sales. If they reported that Obama was doing a good job, that BP was doing everything in their power to stop and clean up the oil spill, then they would not make as much money either. Greed is the real story here.