The past few weeks I’ve really enjoyed the advantages of being “plugged in” online — specifically with regards to how it’s influencing my opinion on the political race for president. Throughout Facebook, MySpace and Twitter my social network of friends are loudly voicing their opinions. Did I mention LOUDLY? It’s exciting to watch to the speeches on TV while being plugged into Twitter and Facebook on my cell phone. I’m getting real-time feedback as it happens. It makes me laugh, think twice about specific topics and sometimes — it even makes me angry.

Since my friends are constantly posting to Facebook and Twitter I’ve been able to “paint a picture” if you will, of each of the different opinions my individual friends have. Because of that anonymity of the Internet, friends who usually don’t talk politics have a domain in which they can are freely expressing their thought. Furthermore, not all of my friends have I met personally face-to-face. It’s exciting to learn “that much more” about the thoughts of those friends whom my interaction has only been conducted online.

On a more philosophical note, I truly believe this election in general is extremely refreshing! You can’t deny that the Millennial generation has more choices in life than any other generation than ever before. Think about it — there are more options than ever; music, books, food, technology and schools — and I truly believe this paradigm has influenced politics. What I mean by that is, since there are more choices available in life, several of my friends are also finding themselves in a bipartisan position about politics. It’s interesting to see this shift happen, and now people are comfortable with freely voting for who they truly believe can this great country the best. Furthermore, its arguably socially acceptable to jump party lines.

Regardless of where you stand, it’s going to be an exciting race — one of which I’m truly enjoying learning, educating and watching it all unfold.
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This past weekend I went to Lawrence, Kansas to attend the first football game of the season for my alma matter, the University of Kansas. I’ve been getting TONS of email from college buddies counting down the days till the first game.  After our win last year at the Orange Bowl — Jayhawk fans have been anxious to see how good our team is this year!

When we were driving in the car to the game, I was discussing how there are three undeniable adrenaline pumping moments of excitement everyone experiences when attending a Kansas football game.

1.)  There’s a feeling of excitement which forces you to smile when you pull into the town of Lawrence. The glimpse of the historic landmarks and buildings bring a sense of “home” and “comfort” of a place that holds some of the dearest memories from years past. It’s enough to make you wiggle in your car seat anxious to walk around the city. It’s also not uncommon to immediately roll your windows down to “soak it all in” and enjoy it.

2.)  The second greatest adrenaline pumping moment begins after you’ve parked and begin your journey of walking to “the hill”.  Upon walking into the tailgating areas and crowds of people around the stadium, you’re hit with a combination of emotions that is made up of both pride and pure excitement. This is something easily seen in the faces of all the students, fans, alumni — not to mention the abundance of glorious paraphernalia endorsing “KU” and “Rock Chalk Jayhawk”!

3.)  Finally, the last great moment is when you walk in to Memorial Stadium and you see the inside of the stadium.  While KU is not traditionally viewed as a football school, our stadium is gorgeous!  Looking around at the “sea of blue” in the stands is one great feeling!

When I was at the game, I snapped some photos (below) and video blogged some footage (below). I wish I had taken more — but frankly I was having too much fun!

Ingrams Magazine, a local Kansas City business publication recently listed twenty individuals in the KC Metro that “are showing promise, vision and commitment to their entrepreneurial ideas”. I’m truly honored to be recognized in the inaugural class. Here’s the excerpt from the magazine:

Of course I’m humbled by the honor (and my parents are lovin’ it) but I can’t reiterate enough it’s the people around me who have helped teach, guide, inspire, enable and provide the opportunities to make me who I am.

The company I work for, Digital Evolution Group continues to make work life enjoyable. Instead of getting a traditional boring “thank you card” or bad tasting “grocery store cake”, they made a “facebook-like wall post” website as a congratulatory gesture. HOW FREAKIN’ COOL IS THAT!?!

Screenshot: http://congratsramsey.digitalev.com

I’ve blogged before about how “…people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. We are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them and we help them in return.”

I’m living it. I am who I am because of it… and I truly believe in it. While this recognition is nice, the best has yet to come.
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Check out these pics I snapped this weekend of my sister’s new puppy — his name is “Charlie” and he’s a cockapoo. He’s chill, loyal and quiet. A great addition to the family.

Rapper Big Boi is pushing Obama in his new music video. Do celebrities influence your vote? Why should we even listen to them regarding politics?

Think about it, celebrities are famous for acting, singing, dancing, whatever, etc — not for their intellect regarding politics. Do you ask your doctor for his political view points? Do you care who your church pastor is voting for?

You can’t deny their power to sway the vote exists. But should it? I’ve always had mixed feelings regarding celebrities using their fame and power to push their own personal views regarding politics. My beef with celebrities is simple — people who are not informed and do not take the time to educate themselves to have an informed opinion and willingly adopt their celebrities view point. In retrospect, you can also argue that it also may inspire someone to research more information regarding the issue(s).

So how about you… does the “Oprah effect” or other celebrity endorsements change your opinion?
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For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you probably noticed I was in New York this past weekend. It was just a quick weekend trip to visit some friends. BUT, my main reason for flying up was to see a friend, Janine DiVita, who I used to do community theater with here in Kansas City. At the time we were younger and she had hopes and dreams of “making it on Broadway”. I promised her then and reiterated over the years, the moment she made it big on Broadway — I’d be there ASAP.

She is on Broadway now.

…playing lead for the part of “Rizzo” in Grease the Musical! I’ve been to more than a handful of shows in New York — but this time around, seeing a close friend performing on Broadway — it was enough to get me all choked up. For real.

We talked about her super-duper-awesome success in great length after the show and she reiterated a life principal she personally believes in, “Embrace what you’re passionate about in life.” Janine certainly didn’t have Broadway handed to her on a plate. Heck no. She had to work hard for it. Crappy jobs, hard months of living — all waiting for her big break. It’s hard for me to say in words how proud I am, but she’s one awesome person, a heck of a performer and dear friend that has a great outlook on life.

After the show we went back stage and I was fortunate enough to video blog it! Not only did I get footage of Grease backstage, but I met Taylor Hicks (you know from ‘06 American Idol, he’s “Teen Angel” in Grease) and had a chance to interviewed him! He’s a sincere guy and really easy to talk to.

**UPDATE** Read all about Janine in the Kansas City Star, they ran an article about her journey to Broadway.

A co-work of mine asked today if I was camping for the Batman “Dark Knight” movie. He figured if I camped for the biggest phone release of the year, why not the biggest movie release of the year too?

The answer is no, I’m not. But I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. I will also mention, if you’re a fan of orchestral scores, you’ve got to buy the soundtrack to this movie… it might just win best score, it’s that awesome (Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard).

This past weekend on Saturday I DJ’ed a wedding downtown Kansas City. It’s only a weekend side job that I’ve kept because it’s good money, I still have the equipment — most of all it’s easy. However, I was going through an internal debate in my head: At what point does my personal time become more valuable than the money I get paid for DJ’ing? When I DJ’ed in college, it was fun and easy.  The “fun” part is starting to slip (with the exception of DJ’ing for friends). Well, the answer for now is “not yet”. I wonder when that will change?  Will it ever?

So unless you live in a cave, you know the iPhone 3G is coming out this Friday at 8:00 AM.  I’ve been waiting for this moment for over a year <– super geek out moment! Who knows how many wasted hours of my life I’ve spent reading details regarding articles regarding this 3G version of the iPhone (disclaimer: I am NOT a Apple fanboy). All I know, is it’s finally here. I’ve patiently waited to purchase the iPhone (I currently have a Motorola Q) since my life revolves around Outlook and it’s sync to my calendar and email. I must have it. I literally schedule everything on my calendar.  Really super important things like:

• Do your laundry

• Play golf

• Client meetings

• Buy groceries cause nothing is in the fridge

• Call your mom

That being said, if you’re here in Kansas City, you’ll likely see me camping out at one of the local stores late on Thursday night. While I really don’t think there will be a shortage of supply, I’ll be the first to admit, the experience of “camping out” for a launch is half the fun. I’ve camped out for other geeky things like the Wii, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Hannah Montana tickets (OK, maybe not the last one).

The other thing that’s interesting about “camp outs” is the type of people you meet. It’s literally it’s own sub-culture of people who do this. Think about it. To be dedicated and passionate enough to camp out overnight? It’s completely idiotic and wonderful in every respect. I can’t wait!

I made the trip down to Lake of the Ozarks this 4th of July weekend with a group of friends (checkout the video below). We had a full weekend of events and activities planned (golf, skiing, boating, eating, drinking — you know, typical holiday weekend stuff). One of the most exciting parts of the trip was just bringing my new camera down (Canon 40D) to take photos. While I definitely do not claim to be a photographer, I’m what I would call “in training”. It was a blast and I took over 1,000 photos! As always, you can view them on my flickr page.

Anyways, it’s good to be back home — and hard to accept that I won’t be waking up tomorrow to a boat ride or grabbing brunch at a restaurant on the lake. Instead, it’ll likely be in my florescent lighted A/C cooled cubical. What a total bummer.

Have a Happy 4th of July Weekend everyone!
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If you follow me on Twitter, you saw this weekend I bought the new video game, Guitar Hero Aerosmith. Yet, here it is, one day after having the video game — and I would rather be sitting in front of my computer writing, reading, creating something, shooting photos, video, chatting (etc). It’s so hard to believe my own love for video games isn’t as passionate as it used to be. Now don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoy shredding a song on Guitar Hero or driving recklessly in Grand Theft Auto IV (among other things). But what surprises even myself, is that I’m not as entertained with my traditional hobbies as I used to be. Beating a “level” or mastering a video game technique just isn’t enough anymore. Watching TV for the sake of watching is painful (DVR is my friend). Sitting through a bad movie isn’t acceptable (I walk out or turn it off).

Call it impatience. Call it high expectations. Call me a product of technology. Call it selfishness. But I find myself wanting more out of life.

I think when comes down to it, I want to spend my time where it makes the most impact. I’d much rather further my knowledge reading online, commenting on blogs, or volunteering my time in the community to help someone, something or just myself. I might just be declaring the obvious — but it really has been a big shift for me. For example, I’ve already started planning a party my friends and I throw ever year and have turned it into a full-blown charity benefit (Ugly Sweater Christmas Party benefiting Toys for Tots). I’m reading more than ever and taking advantages of learning from as much as I can from friends, family, and co-workers.

I’m not sure how long this “attitude” is going to last — but for now, its sure feels like I’m in the right “state of mind“.
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I’m extremely sore.  This weekend I played 27 holes of golf, had an indoor soccer game, and I went running.  It hurts to even move.  Don’t get me wrong — it was all by choice and I had a blast (see photos below).  As many of you know, photography is something I really enjoy in my free time, so check out my most recent pics posted to www.flickr.com/ramseymohsen.

Hi. This is the start of my own personal blog. For years (yes years), I’ve been posting, blogging, vblogging, responding, and commenting all over the intranetz. I’ve decided it’s finally time to have my own domain in which I “house” my own ramblings.

What you’ll find here will be a wide ranging amount of topics; tech insight, personal experiences, photos, my advice on life, music recommendations, start up company interviews and likely more I haven’t even thought about yet.

Stay dialed in and get ready for what’s in store here at www.ramseymohsen.com. Sweeeeeet.
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