moreburritos.com

Rare Video of Me Dancing

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:14:00 +0000

The music is by the robotic french duo Daft Punk.

SEM Scholarship Update: and or, a video on how to blow up a water bottle

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:18:00 +0000

Hello my dear friends,

I'm happy to report that you preformed marvelously in helping me try to win the SEM competition. However, we just fell short of the goal of making it into the final round of 5.

I got 7th place out of 31 entries receiving over 1,000 visits which is pretty darn remarkable considering that I literally have no internet audience save the loyal friends (who I love) which follow me here and on facebook. Apparently, I only have a fraction of subscribers to my rss feed as compared to the overall winner of the competition who has over 3,000 subscribers (I have 1% of that number), so it is truly remarkable that an audience of my size (YOU) could propel me to such great heights of a competition where I am competing with others who already have that built in advantage. I am seriously so deeply thankful for your support.

While I am not really one to believe in "moral" victories because I can be super competitive, I really still feel like I have won in a way because of the exposure I have gotten and connections I have/will receive within my industry (SEO industry). Thank you so much for that.

Also, as I'm sure many of you have noticed my posting frequency has been down recently and that is mainly because I was hoping that you would come to my site and visit my blog post on Marketing Pilgrim for the competition.

And so I'm happy to report that moreburritos.com is now back to its regularly scheduled program of random stuff, inspiring stories and things that will make you laugh.

Below is an oldie but goodie a video of Team America trying to blow up an impostor Nalgene. (AJ and I are on camera, Eleanor and Courtney are behind the blast protection shield). Enjoy!

What is a Google Advertising Professional?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:57:00 +0000

I am! (Click the image below to see my Google certification page).

Yes, I am now a certified Google Advertising Professional.

To get this certification you need to:

Pass the 111 question Google exam in 90 minutes or less. (It was pretty hard!).
Manage an advertising spend of over $1,000 a month for more than 90 days. (I do this at LehmanMillet for our clients.)
And have the above two things be true at the same time.

What the certification means:

Google now points to me as someone who can advertise on their platform on a professional level.
I get to prominently display the Google certification logo on my site signifying to the world that I can confidently execute online advertising at the highest level.

Getting this certification is an accomplishment that I will be proud of for a long time. I am really thankful for everyone who was pulling for me on this.

Cheers!
-Mike

ps. I find out how I did in the SEM competition tomorrow(7/11). I will let you know how that goes as well, so check back here tomorrow.

Bill Gates Last Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:15:00 +0000

Bill Gates last day of work at Microsoft is today. If you are reading this right now then the thoughts and work of Bill Gates have effected your life. Whether you love or hate Microsoft (or Bill Gates personally) the idea of every person having their own personal computer is one of the most revolutionary ideas to venture across the plain of human experience.

Some people have said that the personal computer in combination with the internet is a greater invention than even the wheel or the internal combustion engine and I am left to wonder. Consider how both the wheel and the engine allowed us to travel further than we ever were able to before they existed. And then consider how far you can travel on your computer over the internet (figuratively, of course) for business transactions as compared with the previous two. Maybe whoever said that has a good point.

Anyway it is pretty amazing when you stop to think about it.

As people continue to build upon the ideas of Bill Gates more and more of the personal computer will be hosted on the internet which will open up the doors of democracy, commerce and connectivity like we have never seen before (for better or worse or, maybe for better and for worse).

All that to say, while the tech community will miss Bill Gates his next move away from the tech industry is a much nobler one, he is going to dedicate the balance of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation where he will spend his time as well as his vast wealth on helping communities all over the world with various causes such as eradicating AIDS and other diseases in the third world. The foundation is the largest openly transparent charity organization in the world.

-Mike

SEM Scholarship Competition Update: A few people have been asking me for an update on the SEM Competition for my article about Kobe Bryant Jumping Over a Car and the viral video that went with it. Well, here is what I know so far. The contest ends on June 30th where the top 5 articles (according to site traffic) will be given to the All Star SEO Judges Pannel where they will try to come to a concensous about which one they like best. I have no idea how much traffic the post has received compared to the others in the competition but I feel like it may be close judging upon the amount of comments I've received. Maybe if I get one final push from YOU (my friends, family and associates) it may push me over the top in terms of the amount of traffic I get. So if you wouldn't mind swinging back around to the post to perhaps leave another comment I would greatly appreaciate it. Go, like now...so you don't forget. Thanks, love you guys. I feel like I have already won, with all the support I've recieved! Once I find out the results which I believe will be sometime on or around July 7th, I will post my results here.

HELP ME: SEM (Search Engine Marketing) Scholarship Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Hey Guys,

I recently wrote an article and entered it in to the SEM Scholarship Competition which is hosted by the highly trafficked site of Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim (for those that don't know this site is a pretty big deal in the SEO/Marketing world).

The good news is that I have already won (in a sense) by having my article accepted into the competition as it increases awareness about me to have a link on their site, but I really need your help if I am going to be able to win the big prize which is $10,000 worth of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) training which includes a free conference pass to a big SEO event which I would love to go to but can't afford on my own. And if you've heard me talk about SEO, you know how much I would love to win something like this. If I win I of course would be willing to pass on any SEO tips to you that I would learn, free of charge. So Please Help Me Out!

The article talks about and includes a video of Kobe Bryant jumping over a car, so if not for any other reason you should check out the article to watch Kobe Bryant jump over a car and maybe learn about a few SEO tips in the process.

Read the article here: Kobe Bryant jumps over a car (an Aston Martin)!

So here is how you can help:
1. Read the Article (today, like right now, go!).
2. Leave a comment related to the article on the site. Tell me what you think or ask me a question there.
3. Post it to your Facebook.com/MySpace.com/Twitter.com/Digg.com page.
4. Email it to someone/everyone you know.

I really appreciate the help and want to say Thank You in advance.

-Mike

ps. I feel like I have been asking for a lot of help lately. Apartment moving this weekend (which we still need help for) and now this, the SEM Competition. If you feel like I am asking you for too much you can post your grievances in the comments section of moreburritos and we will have someone from the Customer Care department contact you in the morning(yeah I guess that means, me). :)
No but seriously, I am always grateful for any help you have given and hope that you wouldn't hesitate in asking for my help if situations were reversed.

Killer Quotes that could've been Creativity Killers

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Hey,

Check out this awesome blog post on copyblogger.com that has quotes that could've been creativity killers. Thank God, that determined people didn't take these quotes fully to heart.

My favorite:
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
-Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

Check it out here:
Don't listen to creativity killers.

-Mike

How to Become a Viral Video Star * Interview of 'The 305' Star Tim Larson

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a YouTube video star? Tim Larson of The 305 Movie lets us know as he answers my questions in an email interview below about him, about being a 'Viral Video Star' and about projects that he is currently working on.

Tim became a YouTube legend overnight when a video he made with his friends from college became a viral video. This video (a short mockumentary of the popular movie 300) centers around a group of men dressed as Spartans who act as though they are part of 'the office' cast spread like a virus to computer screens all over the world. Eventually the video got featured on the front page of YouTube.com and has been watched today almost 4 million times. In addition the film created such a large audience online that the project was expanded into a full length feature film that is being showcased at film festivals all over the country.

Tim Larson was very gracious to grant me the interview at this time as I know he is super busy working on different projects including an ABC.com project he is working on and Well Written a one act comedy piece which is written and directed by him. It is being performed at RockHarbor this weekend (you should come on either Friday or Saturday. **cough***plug***cough**). In addition,this is my first interview so leave a comment and let me know how I could've asked questions in a better way. Thanks!

Also with the interview I wanted to give you the Tim Larson links:
-Tim Larson (Tim Larson's website)
-The 305 (The official 305 website where you will be able to buy the DVD)
-The 305 (The original YouTube video that started it all).
-The 305 Movie Trailer

Here is the interview:

About Tim Larson

Which actor inspires you the most?

From a comedy standpoint, I have always been a huge fan of Steve Martin since I was little. He definitely had the biggest influence on me comedically. He takes a bit of an absurdist approach to things. Turns comedy on its head. One of the few comedians that still writes a lot of his own jokes. The man is a great writer as well. If you ever get a chance to read any of his essay's do it.

What is the best movie of all time? Why?

Thats a tough question.

The Clique Answer: Citizen Cane - Cause thats what they tell you to say in film class.

The Right Answer: About Schmidt - A great blend of drama and comedy and a story that actually makes a point. Theres an idea!

The Guilty Pleasure: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989) - This movie was a huge part of my childhood. It holds a special place in my heart.

If you could be in a movie with any actor who would it be? Why?

Steve Martin of course. But I also think it would be great to be in a film with Anthony Hopkins. He just seems like a great guy that you could learn a ton from. He comes across very wise. probably because he is.

Which type of acting do you prefer? On Stage, in a Movie?

Acting on stage and film are two different things completely. Obviously with film it is easier to take a person on a journey using different locations and scenery. usually the acting is a lot more subtle too because the camera catches everything. However nothing can replace the feeling of live theater. Having characters right in front of your face. Anything can go wrong. There is an energy to it that you can deny.

About the 305

Did you ever think that it would be so successful?

I don't think that any of us had any idea that the film would be so well received. We really just made it as a fun way to work together and try some new things. When we got all the views and the hits we were shocked. It makes you feel good to work on something and to know people enjoy it.

What is up next for the 305 team? A sequel?

I don't think a sequel will probably happen, but we would never rule it out. It would take a lot of people wanting it. we do have some other projects we are working on. Right now we are currently developing some original content for ABC.com. A feature film will probably follow that. We have some pretty good ideas that we are working on.

Was the original youtube video meant to be a Viral Video? Or was it just kind of a fun project with College friends?

The short spread like wild fire. In just a matter of days we had over 3 million views. It was in Youtube's top 100 comedy shorts. We never intended it to happen like that, but I guess thats what makes it viral.

How long did it take to make?

The original short we did in a weekend. the film probably took about 6 months of filming

How many times do you think that you watched the 305? Do you still laugh?

I have watched the feature film several times since it was completed. We just finished the audio commentary for the dvd and it was a blast. There are always new quotes and lines that i didn't notice the time before. It seems to get better with age.

Do you have any tips for making a Viral Video?

There is a lot of junk on youtube. If you want the views you have to get people to want to watch it. the time you invest and the quality of the video can make all the difference. if it looks good and makes them laugh people will want to see it and pass it on. al you can do is hope that it appeals to people and that they will want to pass it on.

About the Future

What's up next for you?

Just working on the next project. If you want to keep doing this stuff you have to keep writing and creating it. Thats what we are trying to do now. Keep the momentum and get some more projects out soon.

I know that you wrote a comedy piece for the stage entitled "Well Written". What's the details on that?

"Well Written" is a One Act comedy I wrote while I was in college at Vanguard university in California. It was performed as a project and got such great reviews that I was told to do more with it. I sent it off and it actually got published by a dramatic publisher (heuer publishing). Now it gets preformed in schools all around the country. Most recently it was staged at Rock Harbor Church.

April Mix: < element />

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:46:00 +0000

Hello my friends, below you will find the latest edition of the mix of the month for April.

When making this mix I wanted to make a collection of some sad songs that helped me deal with a tough time in my life, however as the mix started coming together it also took on a surprisingly hopeful feel to it overall which seems fitting in a sense. I wanted to relate that when I experienced the worst pain of my life I also gained an even firmer grasp of my faith which wouldn't have been possible without that experience. The experience of my sorrows made me stronger and gave an even greater hope for tomorrow to be better than today. Recently I have gone through a number of big changes (all good changes) but sometimes when we go through changes it shakes things up a little bit and these changes caused me to remember where my true hope lies. I hoped to communicate some of that in this mix, enjoy.

Sigur Ros - ( ) - ( )
Bjork - Hyperballad - Post
Johnny Cash - Hurt - The Legend of Johnny Cash
Les Gammas - Outra Vida - Compost One Hundred
Herbert - You Saw It All - Bodily Functions
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen The Rain? - Chronicle, Vol. 1
The Rebirth - This Journey In (Vocal) - GP04 Eclectic
Zero 7 - Morning Song - When It Falls
JJ Heller - Love Me - Only Love Remains
Lamb Vs Cosmos - Whats Sound (Tom Middleton Deep Step Mix) - The Big Chill Loves You
Omni A.M. - Beat Dis - No Shoes No Cake (Disc 1)
Snow Patrol - You're All I Have - Eyes Open
Coldplay - Kingdom Come - X&Y

Peace,

-Mike

Is Advertising Dead?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:20:00 +0000

The old advertising is dieing which includes junk mail, and spam because they just don't produce the results that are desired. In these formats the more the advertiser sends out the less it becomes relevant for their intended audience. (For example, when was the last time you spent a Saturday reading your junk mail or curled up on your couch with your laptop to read through your spam mail folder?)

Copywriting blog, copyblogger has a great article about how advertising is more about referring friends and having conversation about a particular product than merely about getting a customers attention so that they might make a purchase.

Here is a quote from the article:

The old advertising model included two major pieces-attraction and conversion. Effective ads attracted attention, then converted that attention into action.

Those two still matter, but they're overshadowed by two new pieces-referral and conversation.

In the new model, you don't push advertising onto your customers whether they want it or not. Instead, you create a message worth passing along from person to person. Your message isn't broadcast from one to many, but referred from many to many.

Entire Article Here: The New Media Model for Creating Lifelong Customers [copyblogger]

Check it out!

-Mike

I went to ad:tech in San Francisco last Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:10:00 +0000

Hey Guys,

LehmanMillet sent me to ad:tech on Thursday which was held at the Moscone Center up in San Francisco. It was great, and what follows below is a shortened version of what I learned there which you might find interesting.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
-Blogs: every company should have one to have a voice in the conversation about their products and services. The conversation about a company's products and services is already happening on the internet and a blog is a great opportunity for a company to have a voice in that conversation. Bruce Clay said for companies that a blog is an essential part of protecting the brand.
-Ranking in Search Engines: Sometimes it is better to host all of the content for a particular keyword on same page to achieve a higher rank in the search results, which might lead to more traffic.
-Website Logins: A company shouldn't put product content behind a form or a login that they want a search engine to search because it blocks the search engines from reading it.

Google
-Algorithms: Google has these huge secret formulas, called Algorithms, which weigh hundreds of factors that cause a search in Google to return a certain result and these formula's are constantly changing. For example, Google made over 450 changes to the formula last year (that's more changes then days there are in a year!) this would explain why certain keywords can easily change positions among many other factors.
-Universal Search: Google and the other search engines are headed to what is called a Universal Search, what this basically means is that when a person searches something on Google the they will also search their other search sites such as images, maps, videos, and news stories and then present that information on what is called a Blended search page. (You can see an example of a blended search here). As a result people and companies that are trying to rank well in the search results for a certain keyword should be thinking about how to submit content for each of these search sites so that they have a higher chance of appearing on the front page of a Google search result.

YouTube
-Videos with Ad Overlays: YouTube is now offering Google AdSense ad overlays on certain videos which allows a lot of user interactivity. These ads may link to a advertisers product or service landing page or to a YouTube Branding Channel
-Branding Channels: YouTube demonstrated their new Branding Channels which are based around a certain brand to create a larger amount of brand awareness for that product or service. The example they gave was for an ingenious Post It Note campaign which allows users to submit videos on YouTube about how they use their post it notes. The winning Post It Note submission will get a $10,000 prize.

Widgets
-Reaching Audience: Widgets are little things that people can put on their site to provide their users with interactivity and or to link to another site. They allow authors to reach their audience where they are hanging out on the web.
-Widget Ads: It seems that the direction that online ads will be going is that the users may want to have options within their ads, such as differing links to click on within banner ads rather than a single banner ad that links to the same landing page. In addition to this widget ads are going to become more interactive allowing users to interact with an ad on the existing site without having to go to an advertisers landing page. Be on the look out for these types of widgets at a website near you.

Email Marketing
-Effectiveness: Email Marketing can be effective if it isn't done too frequently and if it directly targets something that an individual user would find relevant to their needs. For example if a company knows a customer's favorite flavor of ice cream than it makes more sense to send them coupons for that flavor of ice cream, email marketing will become even more personalized. In addition email campaigns that are "opt-in" are much more effective than any other type of email campaign where companies buy email lists, etc because when a user commits to an email list it probably means that they want to read those emails.
-Localized Email Content: The more localized an email blast is the better. An email may be sent out to a million people but if it doesn't have relevant information for different users in different locations it is useless. Therefore there is now amazing email technology out that can send out lots of emails at the same time to millions of different users with information that populates uniquely for each individual recipient of that email depending on what a company knows about a customer. For example, HP will remember what type of printer you buy from them and will send out reminders to a million people to buy ink cartridges with each person receiving exactly the right ink cartridge for their particular printer, it is no coincidence that they make most of their revenue from selling ink cartridges.

In conclusion, the conference was really inspiring with what is possible with interactive advertising, it provides many opportunities for advertisers to be much more conversational with the community of customers that they are reaching out to and the customer has more say with how they are reached than ever before. These are exiting times that are upon us, watch out for new and innovative ways to reach your audience!

Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions.

Best,
-Mike Morabito

Mike Morabito to Join LehmanMillet as Interactive Coordinator

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:50:00 +0000

Today, I will be leaving my current position at Paragon to join a company called LehmanMillet in a position as an Interactive Coordinator in their Creative department.

I have throughly enjoyed working with the people at Paragon Global Resources for the last 6 years, they are unique individuals who are friendly but also focused on the mutual goals of making our organization more successful. Because of the people there, Paragon Global Resources is the leader at providing the highest quality of service for their customers in a number of industries including: Relocation, Financial, Real Estate, Career Resources and Relocation Franchise Operations.

I am very proud of the company's growth and prosperity during my time there, and I am satisfied leaving knowing that it will continue to grow long after I am gone.

In addition I am especially proud of the accomplishments that I directly contributed to including working with Mary Jane Rumbley to automate the customer survey process, working with Chris Furlotte to help real estate brokers throughout the US sell homes while the housing market was in a slump, working with our various vendors to coordinate "learning lunches" with all the consultants in our Rancho Santa Margarita office and finally, pioneering a dynamic report of our company's most important numbers from our entire client base for the Senior Vice President of Paragon Joe Benevides and the rest of the Senior leadership team.

While at Paragon I was also blessed to work for my father, Joe Morabito, who is the organization's chief visionary as well as probably the most focused business man I will ever meet in my life. My Dad's mind is always working and it has been my pleasure to get a glimpse of what he is thinking in our many late night conversations about leadership, life, business and many other topics. These lessons that he has shared with me will inform my decisions for the rest of my life. In addition, I have also been blessed to work along side my brother, Brian Morabito while at Paragon. I have always enjoyed our time working together, and it has always been my pleasure to show him, on more than a few occasions, how a "real man" gets something done. These have been some fun times, and l will cherish those memories of working with him forever. While I will no longer work with them at the office, they will still be part of my family so I'm sure I will see them probably just as much as I did at work. I am really thankful for my brother, my Dad, and my Mom's encouragement to pursue my dreams and do what I love.

About LehmanMillet

LehmanMillet is the leading Marketing Agency for Device and Diagnostic medical companies such as Abbott, Bauch & Lomb, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Provalis, among many others. They are headquartered in Boston, MA, (near the historic site of the Battle of Bunker Hill). I however, will be working at their beautiful west coast location (where it never snows), LehmanMillet West, which is centrally located in Irvine, CA right on the border of Newport Beach, CA.

About the Position

At LehmanMillet I will assume the role of Interactive Coordinator in their Creative department. My responsibilities will include search optimizing websites for clients, providing analysis on web campaigns and making suggestions, developing web content, managing client's online ad campaigns and many other tasks which could include doing Video and Radio spots as well as setting up Blogs for clients to maximize the amount of exposure that their brand receives in interactive environments. In addition I will work collaboratively with the entire creative team to provide solutions to give our clients the advantage over their competition.

I am really excited about this opportunity because both the job is something that I will enjoy doing and because I will be marketing for clients that have products that ultimately help people out. The people that I have met at LehmanMillet seem light-hearted and fun but also have a passion for each of their area's of expertise.

Thank you to everyone along the way who encouraged me during the job search process, especially my beautiful girlfriend Courtney and my former roommate AJ. In addition, I want to say thank you to Stephen for offering me so many different jobs at your company, it would have been fun to work together had it been the right position for me.

I start at LehmanMillet in Irvine, this Friday the 11th of April. I'm excited, stay tuned for more information about how I will be serving them.

-Mike Morabito

Website Update: Added a Music tab

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:56:00 +0000

Hello friends,

I have made some minor changes to moreburritos.com in light of my recent artistic expressions through music.

Changes:

Removed the trip tab in the upper right corner of moreburritos.com because the trip has been successfully completed and we have stopped updating that blog. Although you can still find a link to that blog under the blogs section on the right hand side of moreburritos.com.
Added a music tab which links to http://moreburritos.com/mix.html which will house all of my music compilations in one simple location.

Hope you like the changes! Have a good weekend.

-Mike

Mix-of-the-Month: TheSPRINGTeam

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:15:00 +0000

Compliation Title: TheSPRINGTeam

Artist - Song - Link to Amazon.com Album Page

Senor Coconut - Smooth Operator - The Trip (Tom Middleton)

Beck - Think I'm in Love - The Information

Fatboy Slim - First Down - Better Living Through Chemistry

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago - Illinoise

DB & Stakka - 2B - Breakbeat Science Exercise 004 (DJ DB)

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire - The Legend of Johnny Cash

The dZihan & Kamien Orchestra - Drophere (live) - Live in Vienna

Jack Johnson - Upside Down - Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies For The Film Curious George

Wei-Chi - Never Let Me Down - Compost One Hundred (Disc 2)

The Postal Service - Brand New Colony - Give Up

Bushy - Soz - The Big Chill Loves You (Disc 2)

U2 - The First Time - The Best Of 1990-2000

Hey Guys, above is my mix of the month and album art for March. It is a compliation that I made for mix group that I joined that was started by my music loving friend Mike Flora who now resides in San Franicso.

There are two main reasons that I will post the tracklistings each month for the Mix-of-the-Month on moreburritos.com. First, I just want to give the artists on the albums maximum exposure of their art to the widest audience possible and second because I hope encourage you to start listing what music you are currently listening to your website as well so that I might get even more exposure to other music that I wouldn't normally come into contact with.

This mix just kind of came together for me. I just felt that every song builds well for the next song and that the mix had a great cohesiveness as a whole as well. The first song is a fun bossanova rendition by Senor Coconut of that classic song Smooth Operator which I thought flows nicely into the next track which is Beck's Think I'm in Love. From there the songs pick up the vibe and take the song list through many uplifting themes such as love, friendship, adventure and belonging. These themes form the outline of this current chapter in the story of my life right now and therefore I was hoping to represent that in my mix. In addition there several songs that pay homage to my Road Trip Across America (such as the 1st track and 4th track). Then after many enlightening and deep songs the compilation concludes with U2's The First Time which is about finding ourselves in feeling love. After the album was completed I decided that the album art would be a picture of puzzle pieces because I think the missing piece to all of our lives is Love and that only Love can fill that spot.

I can't wait to make the next Mix-of-the-Month as it provides me an artistic outlet that I wouldn't have otherwise. I will post the tracklisting here hopefully around the 20th of April.

Stay tuned,
-Mike

Courtney and Mike One-Year Anniversary Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:38:00 +0000

Hey Guys, my beautiful girlfriend, Courtney, has written up an awesome recap of our One Year anniversary together on her site WordArt, check it out when you get a chance.

I love being with her. She is my favorite adventure partner and the most beautiful person I know. This last year with Courtney has truly been a gift from God.

-Mike
ps. Courtney and I now have Disneyland Annual passes if you want to go to Disneyland with us we would love to go with you.

Victim of Mugger Chases Down Mugger and Gives Him His Coat To Stay Warm

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Hey Guys, I found this amazing story today on reddit.com about this social worker that was robbed in New York when he got off the subway and then proceeded to ask the robber if he wanted his coat as well because he said "if you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm". Pretty amazing story.

Check it out:

A Victim Treats His Mugger Right

This story reminds me of another story, I just can't put my finger on what it is.

-Mike

The Top 5 Weekender Magazine Covers

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:30:00 +0000

Hey guys, I'm not sure if you have come across the magazine called the Weekender but they pick up on a lot of stories that aren't normally covered by the "mainstream media". I've listed their top 5 cover stories below.

Check it out:

5. Why its cool to suck at Math - I always brought up to think that it sucked to suck at math but maybe this quick read will change your mind about all that.

4. Woman Attacked by Mountain Lions - This is an amazing story about a courageous woman being attacked by Mountain lions and living to tell about it.

3. Ways to get the opposite sex's attention - This story will really provide a lot of people some help at getting that special someone to notice you.

2. Will Ferrel Discusses why he is such a Heart Breaker - In this exclusive interview Will Ferrel really gets the heart of the matter in this weekend's edition of Weekender.

1. How Parent's are beginning to outlive their kids - This Weekender's cover story discusses new breakthroughs in science that will allow parents to start outliving their kids.

Sincerely,
-Mike

Happy one year together to Mike and Courtney!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:39:00 +0000

Happy one year to Mike and Courtney, otherwise known as Mourtney.

Huckabee endorses Mike and Courtney.

Niagra Falls, NY.

Manhattan, NY.

Mt. Rushmore, SD.

Disneyworld, Orlando, FL

Fouad and Meredith's Rehearsal Dinner, Dove Canyon, CA

Fouad and Merediths's Wedding, Dove Canyon, CA

How fast does the earth move?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:05:00 +0000

Hey,
Recently I have been curious about how fast our planet is flying through space and so I wikipedied it and I think the results will amaze you. The earth rotates on its axis at 1,040 miles per hour (incredible!) and completes a full rotation every 24 hours. And the earth revolves (orbits) around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour (absolutely unbelievable!) and completes a full orbit of the sun every 365.2564 days.

Source: Earth Wikipedia Article

So I believe that there are two things we can take away from this.

If your life ever seems slow and uninteresting you can always remember that no matter what you are doing you are always going somewhere fast. Really fast, (67,000 mph fast to be exact).
That every time you celebrate your birthday what you are really celebrating is another trip around sun.

You make me spacey,
-Mike

Word of the Day: Gregarious

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Hey Guys, someone while taking the branding survey about me checked the box next to the word gregarious when describing my attributes. It seemed like a curiously funny word to me that I only vaguely knew the definition of so I looked it up.

Here is what I found.

Gre-gar-i-ous

Pronunciation: \gri-'ger-e-as\

1 a: tending to associate with others of one's kind : social b: marked by or indicating a liking for companionship : sociable c: of or relating to a social group

2 a: of a plant : growing in a cluster or a colony b: living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony —used especially of wasps and bees

Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin gregarius of a flock or herd, from greg-, grex flock, herd

Gregariously,
-Mike

Rotating Boat Carousel Lock - Falkirk, Scotland

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:30:00 +0000

Hey!
My beautiful girlfriend forwarded onto me an awesome powerpoint show from her Dad via email about this amazing water carousel lock system in Scotland which is apparently called the Falkirk Wheel which allows boats to drive into a huge "bath tub" of sorts and then the bath tub rotates with the boat still in it to the next canal which is 8 stories below (or above) depending on the direction the boat is heading.

Check out these links: (the powerpoint show) WaterCarouselLockSystem.pps, the Wikipedia entry: Falkirk Wheel and finally here is the official Falkirk Wheel website.

Also, apparently the wheel is a pretty popular tourist attraction for the locals as well. It appears that some people even get married there. Guys/Girls, now there is an idea for a good place to tie the knot, think about it you could very literally take a spin on a love boat.

-Mike

How to execute the perfect man hug.

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:08:00 +0000

Guys, we all know the man hug can be awkward.

Here are some tips so that you never get caught hugging too much or too little of your man friends.

-Mike

The Mike Morabito Brand

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:18:00 +0000

As many of you know over the past couple of weeks I have been a very fortunate recipient of Personal Branding training as a result of which I am able to discern the core messages that I am communicating to people about myself in the world around me. Diana Jennings who does Personal Branding professionally for her company Brand You Image is also the serving President of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) as well as a certified ~~trainer~~ Personal Brand Strategist with Reach Communications Consulting, Inc. in the 360 Reach Personal Brand Assessment facilitated the training. As part of the process she analyzed feedback from an anonymous survey I sent out about how people in my life perceive my image, I sent it out to friends, family, and coworkers and had about 30 responses total. Of the survey responses the results were overwhelmingly positive with only a few areas that need more attention on my part.

The survey was comprised of several different sections including my brand attributes, my brand skills, my strengths and weaknesses, and then there was the "Projective" exercises which asked the questions of "What type of car would I be if I were a car? And why?" and "If I were a household appliance which one would I be? And why?". (Many of the responses to these questions made me laugh-out-loud so I will include some of the funnier responses below so that you can enjoy them as well.) In addition to the areas above there was also a section that allowed respondents to include a comment about me, with which many used that space to write something nice about me which I appreciate very much (thank you). Also, if you were able to find the email with the survey link in it and were able fill out the survey I thank you very much for your participation, it will be a great help to me in my career and life in general.

By way of grouping similar traits into one category we were able to discern the most important and lasting impressions that I give to people I interact with. With the results below I know which traits I should communicate to people more often and other traits that I should be working on in my personal development.

Attributes Consolidation:

Leader-like
Spiritual
Enthusiastic
Friendly
Intelligent
Credible
Supportive
Fun
Confident
Adventurous
Communicative
Competitive
Philanthropic
Easygoing

Top Skills:

Communicating (listening, speaking)
Motivating/Inspiring Others
Leading/Empowering Others
Visioning
Building Relationships/Teams
Making Decisions

Strengths:

Communication Skills
Leadership
People Skills (connecting, empowering, genuine interest, inspiring, easy to get along with, personality)

Weaknesses:

Details
Not allowing others to feel that they are part of the process (building consensus)
Time-Management (being on time, etc)

Projective Exercise "What type of Car is Mike?":

Convertible, Ferrari, muscle car, Humvee - Fast, attention getting
Toyota, Honda - Reliable

Projective Exercise "What type of Household appliance is Mike?"

Blender - Brings things together

Best Team Role:

Leader - takes charge, assigning tasks and deadlines.
Motivator - inspires others to participate and be successful members of the team

Below are some of the funny responses to the projective questions (about the type of car and or appliance I am most like). Enjoy!

Funny responses to Projection Question (Car):

a muscle car--sometimes showy, but powerful and good at moving people to accomplish things
delorean-he takes me on adventures to the past.
ferrari 4 seater - he's high speed and fun but brings others along with him
ford gt: quick, good looking, everyone wants to be around him and know where he's going
mike would be a cadillac/pt cruiser b/c he's old fashioned and has a good sense of humor.
mike would be a volkswagon bug, only because those cars look funny, and mike is a funny guy.
mustang - classically american, usually leads the pack - likes the show room
toyota tacoma because he has big muscles and he gets things moving

Funny responses to the Projection Question (Appliance):

a chair- willing and able to lend support to others.
a corkscrew, because he gets the party started. ha, i don't know.
a stove because he's hot!! (heck, i don't know....)
computer - full of info and accurate
ice cream scooper because ice cream is important to any party.
lamp, casting light to other parts of the room
mike would be a a juicer because he "squeezes" people (or rather, challenges them) to do things that they wouldn't think they can do, and they end up succeeding at their task
mike would be a crockpot. even though there may be a lot in his life, he stills stays focus on what is important- the end product.
mike would be the tv, b/c he's usually in the corner or against the wall, but still the center of attention.

Please let me know what you think of the overall results, I'd be curious to see if they matched what you thought of me.

If you are interested in going through a similar process I highly recommend that you contact Diana as it is her goal of matching people's passions with the image that they project about themselves to people in their lives. You can find her website here.

All the best,
-Mike

Starbucks is shutting down all stores today and or the breakfast sandwiches just smell bad!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:11:00 +0000

In a bold move of leadership Howard Schultz is shutting down all of the Starbucks Stores in the nation for 3 hours of training today (Tuesday) in response to a recent slowing in growth of the Starbucks brand. In spite of the short term loses that this will cause he thinks that the long term benefits will continue to make Starbucks the leader in coffee sales. Each store will close at 5:30PM local time to begin their training session.

Also, there are confirmed reports that many baristas have deemed the breakfast sandwiches which were recently added to the menu as "smelly". As a result the smelly sandwiches will be removed from the menu for the sake of coffee scents everywhere.

See the full article here.

-Mike
P.S. For the sake of full disclosure, I have procured the breakfast sandwiches for personal and private use on a number of occasions at the institution stated above and have found them to be a sufficient source of protein for those that need protein subsistence in the morning to achieve relative homeostasis. As such, I can not and will not support the termination of any such product therein but not limited to a protein breakfast sandwich procured at the institution stated above.

"When is everyone going to realize that we have STYLE?!"

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:38:00 +0000

Can you come up with a funny caption of your own for this photo?

(Post it in the comments below)

-Mike

Wisdom or Information? - John Ortberg Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Morabito) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:13:00 +0000

When John Ortberg is talking about the difference between gaining wisdom or gaining information in his book The Life You've Always Wanted he says

...today we have traded wisdom for information, we have exchanged depth for breadth.We want to microwave maturity.

He goes onto cite Abraham Lincoln's biographer to the affect that even though Lincoln was a slow reader he gained much wisdom because he did read slow and was able to think about what he was reading. Today we have access to virtually unlimited amounts of information at the click of a Google search, but the question is, "what good is information if it doesn't become life changing (or at the very least thought-provoking)?".

Just a thought,
-Mike

P.S. I will try to start posting more often, as time allows, hopefully at least once-a-week.