So far American is doing a good job of voting for the top four. I rooted for Scotty from the very beginning for his bass vocals, but I have been voting for Haley for the past three weeks. She has that burning fire in her raspy voice and she took more chances than the rest even though Jennifer and Randy kept shooting her down. James hasn’t been my favorite all along and Lauren is just too sweet for my taste. My hope is that Haley will come in first and Scott second, but my prediction is that Lauren is going to be the winner. I am hoping that my prediction will be wrong.

I finally got to know the awesome janitor who has done a great job of keeping the restrooms clean. About a month a so ago, the School of Business held a staff appreciation party. While we gathered to show our appreciation for those who has been with the school for 5, 10, 15 and 30 years, I wanted to show my appreciation to the fellow who has one of the most toughest jobs in the building.

It was just the perfect occasion and the perfect opportunity came when he went out to the balcony for a smoke. It turned out that he’s a very young kid who finished high school a few years ago. I encouraged him to take the advantage of the tuition benefit at GW, but he is not working for GW. He works for a contractor. He’s into music and played locally with a punk rock band. It was cool getting to know him a bit since we see each other every day.

The other day we met in the bathroom (I know what you’re thinking) and he told me that he just cleaned up a whole puke from the stall to the wall on the lower floor. I felt bad for the guy and just hope that people are a bit more considerate when they use public restrooms where someone will have to clean after them.

My dear friend, colleague and guardian will walk three days for the Breast Cancer Cure. Read her message and please give what you can for the good cause:

Dear Family and Friends,

Next September 23-25, I’ll be participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Breast Cancer Cure.

You all know that I am not a natural born athlete – I abhor all all unnecessary movement. So why am I planning to trek 60 miles over the course of three days with thousands of other women and men?

First, the 3-Day Walk helps to fund critical, innovative breast cancer research in leading institutions around the world. Second, the 3-Day also supports local community programs that provide educational outreach and medical services. These programs are very important to many who struggle in this tough economy as they make screening and treatment available to thousands of women who otherwise could not afford tests and treatment.

In the long run, we hope to go beyond mammograms and early intervention to a true cure. Many important advances in the fight against breast cancer have been made possible through Komen-for-the-Cure grants. Each of us knows someone who has benefited from this research – or who will benefit in the future.

I’ve agreed to raise at least $2,300 in donations. So I need your help – and who knows – we may all be surprised by the amount we are able to raise. Would you please consider making a donation? Every gift will mean a great deal when we combine them, and every donation will be deeply appreciated.

Now, I’m supposed to impress upon you the great distance I’m walking – 60 miles! – and how hard I’ll have to train – boo hoo. I’m doubting the wisdom of playing the training hardship violin since I’m pretty sure we’ll all get ice cream in the end. I’m not the one facing a hardship, we’ve all had friends and family who have. So let’s think of those who’ve fought breast cancer and give in their honor. The Komen folks urge us to suggest a specific donation amount, but I know that you have varied needs and responsibilities, and that your means range – so I will not name a universal number. Please give what you can, what you feel comfortable with, and know that every gift will make a difference.

I do want to tell you about one of my personal motivators for taking this journey – next year I will turn 60. That’s right – the big SIX OH! Those of you who feel inspired just might like to mark that milestone with a gift of $60 – gifts at that level will be rewarded with unlimited and merciless mocking rights – as I limp along for six months after the walk. If that sounds like fun, then you really should make a donation!

You can give online at The3Day.org. Just follow the link below to visit my personal fund raising web page to donate:

3-DAY MOLLY

You can also call 800-996-3DAY to donate over the phone, or print a form to give a gift through the mail.

Somewhere in the world, a woman dies from breast cancer every 69 seconds. That’s why I’m walking so far – to do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you’ll share this incredible adventure with me.

Thank you in advance for your generosity, and please pass this letter along to any friends who you think would also like to support this cause.

With love and gratitude,

Molly

P.S. Please consider asking your employer, or anyone else you have embarrassing photos of, if they will double your donation through a matching gift program. All my friends, and every last one of my relatives are good looking!

Two weeks ago, the dean asked me for a recommendation on a digital camcorder to film his talks. Before I began my research, I knew that I needed a camcorder that would work on the Mac since both him and I are on MacBook. I don’t know much about camcorder, but based on my previous experience Panasonic and Sony were out of the picture.

About a year and a half ago, my colleague asked a professional videographer for a recommendation and he suggested Panasonic. I couldn’t remember the exact model, but it turned out to be a nightmare. Panasonic worked only on PC and the format was proprietary. Getting the clip off the camcorder alone was a pain. All the editing had to be done on a PC and then exported out into a format that could be posted on YouTube. The dean has a Sony and we faced the same issues.

My next step was to get on Apple web site and search for Apple’s recommendation. After searching and reading some reviews, the Canon VIXIA HF S200 seemed like a good choice. The regular price is $899, but Amazon listed for $679. I made my suggestion and the dean told me to get it within 3 business days for his next talk. I ordered a one-day shipment through Amazon, but the expected delivery date was not fast enough.

The alternative step was to find a local store. I looked up Penn Camera and they carried a Canon VIXIA HF M32 for $599 after $400 instant rebate. I hopped on the Metro and brought the camcorder. The salesman was very nice and helpful. On the Metro ride back, I opened up the manual to read up on the new camera because I knew I’ll be supporting it. To my surprise, the manual has pen marks all over the pages and food stain as well. The camcorder worked fine, but if I shook it lightly, I could hear the weird noise as if something was loose inside. I was disappointed that they sold me a used camcorder.

I came back to the store the next day to report the issues and would like to exchange for another one. The nice salesman from yesterday changed his tone a bit and told me that he didn’t remember hearing the clicking noise before the camcorder left the store. Since that was the last one they had, I exchanged for a Canon VIXIA HF M300, which also had $200 instant rebate. The only different the M32 and M300 is that the M32 has a 64-gig hard drive built in and the M300 has none. To compensate for the differences, I bought a 32-gig external disk and an extra battery that has a double lifespan of the one that comes with the camcorder.

The M300, as Apple describes it, “a superb blend of capability, quality and convenience for shooting Full HD video,” turn out to be a great choice. The camcorder is easy to use and the quality is superb. The only painful feature is the touch screen navigation. Luckily the M300 comes with a very convenient remote control.

Yesterday I filmed his talk in L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, which had very low light room, but the video turned out decent. Editing the clips with iMovie is straightforward. All I needed to do was firing up iMovie before plugging in the USB and importing the video. I use iMovie for the very first time last week and already loving it. As with many of Apple’s applications, iMovie is so easy to use. The app has enough features to help me make a decent video and upload directly to YouTube. I am thinking of purchasing one for my own personal use.

As previously mentioned, our 2011 Toyota Sienna stalled when I stopped at the ATM to get cash last Thursday. The van stalled again several times when I was stuck in traffic. I drove the van straight to the dealer where we bought it. The dealer couldn’t figure out the problem so it contacted Toyota. Toyota suggested to replace the fuel pump. Today the technician called and notified that the fuel pump was replaced, but the problem remains unsolved. So now the dealer has to work with Toyota again to see how to get it fix. Any Sienna owner ran into this problem?

I was up to one in the morning checking out 320 and Up and HTML5 Reset WordPress Theme. Building from tiny screen first then moving up seems like a smart approach. Andy Clarke incorporated a bunch of neat functions like respond.js and imgsizer.js in addition to HTML5 Boilerplate.

Version 2 of HTML5 Reset also comes with a Blank WordPress Theme, “a style-free theme designed to help get your custom WordPress project off the ground.” The theme contains a very minimal set of files so it would be great for a small, simple site. I am not sure how it will scale up for more complex projects.

I was thinking of combining 320 and Up and Blank WordPress Theme, but there are things that seem to overlapping. So I probably will combine 320 with Toolbox. I just started a new project so it’ll be a perfect opportunity to put these two to work. Will see how it’ll turn out.

While working on Writerhead, I was thinking of designing a WordPress theme and just sell it. The idea was inspired by Khoi Vinh’s Basic Math and iA³ Template for WordPress and it would be a great way to learn the nuances of WordPress. Then again, I more of crafting a unique experience than creating something general. In addition, WordPress has over 1,300 themes to choose from.

As I was debating whether if it’s worthwhile to invest a tremendous amount of time in creating a general theme and make $30-$50 or only take on projects that let me concentrate on a specific theme that meets the client’s requirement, I had a potential client who asked me take on a project that I have not done before. The client wanted me to take a theme on Theme Forest and turn it into a site. Basically, the client wanted to cut out the design cost. After looking into Theme Forest, I refused to offer the service. As of this writing, Theme Forest has 930 themes for WordPress. Setting up WordPress and activating a theme is an easy part, getting the theme to meet the client’s requirements probably need tremendous editing and forking into the codes. I don’t mind doing the work, but I don’t feel that’s a good investment on the client part. Why paying for something that potentially look the same with other sites?

As stated in the info page: “We work directly with our clients to craft each web experience according to the needs of their users.” I will stick to that and only offer a unique experience. This also leads to my decision not to make a general WordPress theme for sale.

I love the way kids communicate. They get straight to point. Let me give a few examples. We visited my mom this weekend. Early Saturday morning, Eric, my little six-year-old nephew, came into the room I was sleeping in and lay down next to me. I turned toward him and he started to cough. So here’s our little conversation:

Me: “You have a cold?”
Eric: “No, it’s your breath.”
Me: “My breath makes you cough?”
Eric: “Yes, your breath smells bad.”
Me: “Thanks, Eric!” (laughed)
Eric: “You’re welcome.”

A few minutes later he looked at me. Our conversation went on.

Eric: “Your nose-holes are big.”
Me: “How big?”
Eric: “As big as a cow.”

I guess I need to start saving up money to get a nose job. Anybody needs a web site?

My little boy who is almost two years old is even a tougher critic than his dad. Whenever I started to sing, he would wave his hand and protest, “No nhac” (no music). There goes my dream of becoming a singer.

In “Gaddafi’s Endgame: How Will the U.S. Get Out of Libya?,” Fareed Zakaria points out that Obama is not willing to let the U.S. lead the War in Libya. He writes:

The Obama Administration made clear that other countries had to be invested in the Libyan operation, which meant they had to offer public support and military or economic assistance, before the U.S. would get involved.

Good strategy, Mr. President!

This photo takes me down to memory lane. I can still recall the architecture of the school.

Truong Trung Hoc Nguyen Dinh Chieu is located between my house and my elementary school. To get back home, the fastest route was to cut through Nguyen Dinh Chieu. In order to do so, I had to either go through the dog hole (lo cho) or climb the fence. In first and second grade, I did the former. In third to fifth, I did the latter. Sometimes I was chased my security guards, but I don’t recall getting caught. If I did, all I had to say was, “sorry, I won’t do it again.”

In the summertime, a bunch of us from the neighborhood would walk together to the school to play soccer at these courts. That photo really reminds me of the good old days. I can still remember vividly the yellow plastic all I used to carry around.

Just like that and 20 years of my life have already gone by. Damn, time sure has flown by. Life sure is way too short.