technology

Meet the Princess Machine

This just might be my favorite promotional video…ever.

Last week, a company called Goldie Blox launched a video on Youtube which has hit a sensational 8.1 million hits thus far. It features the song “Girls” by the Beastie Boys, but with a female empowerment twist. The video takes you on a journey of the ingenious princess machine made of pink and other pastel colored pieces. It’s quite the contraption.

This video is fun, cute, and very effective. It’s a win all the way around.

Here are the lyrics:

Girls.
You think you know what we want, girls.
Pink and pretty it’s girls.
Just like the 50’s it’s girls.You like to buy us pink toys
and everything else is for boys
and you can always get us dolls
and we’ll grow up like them… false.It’s time to change.
We deserve to see a range.
‘Cause all our toys look just the same
and we would like to use our brains.

We are all more than princess maids.

Girls to build the spaceship,
Girls to code the new app,
Girls to grow up knowing
they can engineer that.Girls.
That’s all we really need is Girls.
To bring us up to speed it’s Girls.
Our opportunity is Girls.
Don’t underestimate Girls.

Update:
On November 26, 2013, Goldie Blox pulled the video off Youtube with the Beastie Boys song due to a copyright infringement legal dispute. They’ve replaced the video with a new version featuring a generic song and no song lyrics. It’s just not the same.

My Monday Chuckle

Normally, my Mondays are less than entertaining. It usually consists of weekly planning and prioritizing, catching up on emails, wearing glasses (not contacts) and an afternoon cup of joe. However, today was different. As I was perusing my usual nerd blogs that I follow, I saw a post about how Rackspace’s servers went down. I didn’t really react because things like that happen once in a while, but this caught my eye:

Yep. That is what you think it is. Justin Timberlake made a sarcastic comment about Rackspace’s servers going down on TWITTER. It’s quite possibly one of the nerdiest things he’s done. It’s almost as though he’s actually a nerd? No, no, can’t be (but a girl can wish). Maybe I don’t give mainstream celebrities enough credit, but I’m surprised and impressed that Mister JT knew what a hosting company was. It just doesn’t seem like his thing, you know? Nonetheless, this whole incidence trivial incidence has made JT several notches cooler in my book.

When Rackspace’s servers were back up and running, he followed up his last tweet with this:

I <3 JT!

Bubblevine At Rice Alliance

Exactly one week ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the 6th Annual I.T. and Web 2.0 Venture Forum at Rice University about Bubblevine. Although it was a long and busy day, I really enjoyed my time participating in the event. I met a number of great people and listened to some great company presentations and guest speakers.

my badge

2nd Place. AIR-tastic!

A lot happened in October, but the one great thing I wanted to recap is participating in Houston’s Acessibility Internet Rally (AIR) competition. My team, Digital Canvas, won second place! As a complete newbie to the accessibility side to building websites, it was a good experience and something I would encourage anyone that’s interested in web development to give a try. Was it intense? Sure was, but sooo worth it. You learn a lot and get the chance to help out some great non-profit organizations.

Team Digital Canvas @ the AIR Banquet

Special Kids, Incorporated's New Website

The non-profit we created the site for was Special Kids Incorporated. They’re truly a great organization that gives back to children in need. Congratulations to all those who participated!

Fantastic Time @BarCampHouston

The BarCampHouston Kick-Off Party/Startup Houston Happy Hour was an excellent way to jump start the weekend. I have to say that bumping into familiar faces, meeting new ones and enjoying great conversations can’t be beat. As I had never visited Caroline Collective prior to the Kick-Off Party, it was another reason for me to go. The place is great! I can see why so many people would want to hang out and work in an open environment like it. Collaborating in space with like-minded folks can be creatively stimulating, while making work just a little more interesting.

The following morningish-afternoon, I braced myself for a day of fun and learning. And did I? I certainly did. As expected, the sessions were insightful and thought-provoking. Listening into various topics from different angles and perspectives is one way I keep myself level and refreshed. It’s somewhat similar to a checks and balances thing for me.

Michael Cummings showed up with his photo shoot setup and it was a hit! No surprise there. The following picture is my favorite.

If you know of Geri at all (he’s the one in the center), even the smallest bit, then you can probably see why this picture is awesome.

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