I just realized something... Earlier this evening, the Olympic medals were awarded for the Women's Figure Skating competition. This is the first Winter Olympics since 1968 that a U.S. woman has not won a medal in figure skating.

Kim Yu-na of South Korea took Gold (the first woman from South Korea to ever win an Olympic medal in the sport), as well as setting a new world record (she held the previous one). Longtime rival Mao Asada of Japan won the Silver, and did so by becoming the first woman in Olympic figure skating history to land three triple axels in the same competition. And Joannie Rochette of Canada took Bronze, skating only four days after the sudden death of her mother.

It's been a stunning contest this Winter Olympics. And one with deeply compelling stories to boot. Congratulations to the medalists. And congrats to all the other athletes who competed!

"Kim Yu-na wins gold with record score"

-Jon
posted by Jon at 12:10 AM  I   I  0 comments

Woke up before my alarm clock. Didn't want to get out of bed. Eventually did. Put in a nine-hour work day. Shoveled snow from yesterday. Spent the rest of the time painting rooms in two apartments. Came home. Had some tasty spaghetti with meatballs for dinner. Talked to Kelli on the phone. Watched the women's Olympic figure skating long program. Wowed by the performances. Tired. Exhausted. Heading to bed within the hour.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:49 PM  I   I  0 comments

Not everyone who's found success got there the easy way. More often than not, those people -- the ones history remembers -- were faced with numerous obstacles and insurmountable odds that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others.

The next time you're feeling down about your own failures, keep these fifty famous people in mind, and remember that sometimes... failure is just the first step towards success. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:29 PM  I   I  0 comments

Well folks, I'm back to the daily grind again. Kelli was here for the weekend -- an extended weekend, actually. But now that she's home again to the north, I'm settling back into work, marketing, designing, that sort of thing.

Kelli came down last Thursday night. She had off of school on Friday (aka, no teaching), so, she wanted to come down on Thursday, since it was my 30th birthday. We enjoyed a steak and lobster dinner at Red Lobster on Thursday. We visited a few stores and put together wedding registries later in the weekend. We watched a few movies, played Guitar Hero with my roommate Scott, and enjoyed an overall lazy few days together. By Monday afternoon (another no-teaching day for her), she was on her way back north again to Brillion, and I was settling in for business as usual.

Our next visit together will be the weekend of March 13th. I'm heading north to Brillion (by Greyhound bus) for that one. And in four and a half months... she and I will be married. Very exciting stuff! Anticipation. Lots and lots of anticipation!

So... long story short, good weekend. Relaxed. Fun. Enjoyable.

Here's hoping YOUR weekend was a blessed one as well. Now that I'm back to work, it'll be blogging again as usual. Stick around. There'll be a lot of things happening in my end of the world over the next few months. I'll write about them here on my blog... or on my Facebook page. Come be a fan!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 9:44 PM  I   I  0 comments

Thirty years ago I was born. February 18, 1980. Today I'm a 30-something. I say we celebrate! Bring on the adventure. Cake and ice cream for everyone!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:09 AM  I   I  0 comments

I design t-shirts for a living (Jon Baas Designs). I also like to be creative. So, when I came across this fun little video today, I felt the need to share.

Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal are creative. They changed t-shirts over 100 times each, taking individual pictures of each unique shirt. Then, they pieced them all together into this clever animation video. It's called "T-Shirt War". Sit back, and enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:32 PM  I   I  0 comments

This is nifty: With YouTube Disco you can discover music and make a playlist. Just enter a song title or an artist name, and YouTube Disco will automatically generate a playlist (and video) of the music you like. Simple. Easy. Convenient. Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:07 PM  I   I  0 comments

Lately, my blogging has been a little quiet. But with good reason. This past weekend, I traveled north to visit Kelli (my fiancee) for Valentine's. I went up to Brillion by bus on Thursday morning, and was back here in Milwaukee Sunday night. There was romance, and a rose, and movies, and lots of down time. Relaxation. Plenty of relaxation. Oh, yes, and pizza. Tasty frozen pizza!

This weekend (starting tomorrow actually), Kelli will be coming down to Milwaukee. Thursday is my birthday. I'll be turning 30. So... she decided to come celebrate with me. We'll be eating out (enjoying some fine dining!), coordinating our wedding registries, and probably doing much the same thing as last weekend -- hanging out and watching movies.

Kelli has an extended weekend. Winter break. No school on Friday, and a day off on Monday. In the end, she'll be here for four days. Four days with my fiancee. That sounds like a wonderful way to ring in my 30th year!

That said, I probably won't be posting much over the weekend. I'd rather be spending my time away from the computer with Kelli while she's here. But, you can always find shorter updates from me on my Facebook page. And, if I have the time, I might share a few musings here too. We'll see. Kelli heads home on Monday, so, you can expect my blogging to resume after that.

It's been an interesting week. I'm not missing, just occupied. But I'll be back. Stick around!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:20 PM  I   I  0 comments

We've had a winter snow storm move through the Milwaukee area. It was snowing most of yesterday, and has started to let up this morning. Officially, my neighborhood received just under 12 inches of fresh snow, with blowing and drifting expected to be the biggest problems today.

The official winter snow total here in Milwaukee: 30.6 inches.

It's messy out there, but I don't think we'll be breaking an records this year.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 8:36 AM  I   I  0 comments

I woke up this morning to discover that there had been a mild earthquake in Illinois. About 4am. It struck near Virgil, IL -- about 50 miles west of Chicago, and was only 4.3 on the ricter scale. People up here in Milwaukee reported feeling it as well.

Illinois and Wisconsin are located in the middle of the North American plate. As a result, earthquakes are quite rare around here. There are, however, a series of ancient faults across Northern Illinois, so when an earthquake does strike, it's usually less than 5.0 on the ricter scale. And there are no aftershocks.

"Earthquake Hits Northern Illinois"

-Jon
posted by Jon at 8:02 AM  I   I  0 comments

Ran up and down stairs while testing fire alarms. All of them work. Climbed up into two apartment building attics. Carefully maneuvered over, under, and around beams and joists. Not as easy as it sounds. Rather exhausting too. Fixed a few ventilation ducts. Did not fall through any ceilings. Wedged myself behind a washer/dryer appliance in order to fix the air duct. Silenced my growling stomach with a tasty dinner at Old Country Buffet.

Came home. Tired. Went to bed. Slept for an hour before Kelli called. Talked to her on the phone for a bit. Sounded as tired as I felt. Finished the phone conversation and went back to bed. Couldn't fall back asleep. Got up. Attempting to wear myself out completely before heading back to bed.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:51 PM  I   I  0 comments

As most of you know, I love being creative. And I love sharing the same that I find in others. So, that said, this is something you've gotta see!

It's a clever music video of the song "Bad Apple", performed by Nomico. But what's unique about it, is that it consists entirely of stop-motion animation. Each frame is printed, and features numbers ticking away at the bottom to prove it.

Give it a watch, and let me know what think.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:54 AM  I   I  0 comments

What happens when you combine miniature model-making with creative photography? You get these: Fantastically realistic model photos by Michael Paul Smith! Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:31 PM  I   I  0 comments

Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 82nd annual Academy Awards, with the 2009 Star Trek movie picking up four nominations. The categories are: Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Makeup. Although there there was a bit of buzz, Star Trek did not pick up a Best Picture nomination.

The Academy Awards airs live on ABC on Sunday March 7th at 7 pm (CST).

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:14 PM  I   I  0 comments

"I am firmly convinced that all difficulties are just a kind of school bell ringing to tell you it's time to learn something." -- Jeff Baas

(And yes, I'm quoting by dad. Check out his blog.)

-Jon
posted by Jon at 3:07 AM  I   I  0 comments

Come join me on Facebook! Become a fan. Stay in the know.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:51 AM  I   I  0 comments

This is what happens when you give sci-fi geeks a video camera. It's a fun little short film put together by Lamb Productions. Enjoy! :: When Star Wars Attacks ... [video]

-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:35 AM  I   I  0 comments