Cakeplow

Lucha Loco

2008-07-21T11:43:00.005-04:00

There is a menace lurking the cubicles at MindComet. He is called Cerebro Del Mal and he is pure evil.

Fact: There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Cerebro Del Mal has allowed to live.

MindComet at Firkin and Kegler

2008-07-18T13:56:00.003-04:00

Last night, MindComet had its monthly team building at Firkin and Kegler. Everyone can attest that last night was an exciting and great event. Although Firkin and Kegler was quite far, it was definitely worth the drive. It's a great place to have some good fun! The place has a ton of different things such as dancing, bowling, arcade games, and karaoke. We started out the night with dinner, then enjoyed food from their great menu with selections from prime rib to pasta dishes. Everyone seemed to enjoy dinner especially after our "special" drinks from Tara. The night didn't officially start until about 9:30 pm! After dinner, we all decided to hit the dance floor and some of us brought the house down with karaoke. Tara, Art, and Redner sang their hearts out and the crowd loved it! We got everyone's attention, then we all hit the dance floor as the DJ played one of Tara's favorites, the "Cupid Shuffle." Overall, the night was one to remember! After all the dancing and partying, some people decided to go home early while others relaxed the night away with bowling.

Art for President in 08?

2008-07-17T10:14:00.002-04:00

Ruckin' To Work

2008-07-14T17:12:00.002-04:00

If you've been keeping up with Cakeplow, you already know that I feel in love with the little Honda Ruckus scooter within the past few weeks.

I looked around to find one for myself, but with the rising gas prices, they're becoming pretty scarce, and people are starting to gouge prices by nearly 50% over retail!

However, I found just what I was looking for, but had to travel to Georgia to pick it up! Within 24 hours, I was there and back - read more about it here. Regrettably though, I had to miss our first picnic.

Then it happened again! Not a week goes by and I find another one. However, this one has less miles, is cheaper, and has 50% of its worth in upgrades - but was two times as far away! Being the crazy man that I am, I skipped another party and traveled to Fayetteville, NC to pick it up - read that story here.

The original Ruckus turned into a Birthday Present for my girlfriend, and we can now cruise together - it's loads of fun!

After a little bit of trouble getting tags for the out-of-state scooters, I was ready to strap on my helmet and ride it to work - all 26 miles! I diligently planned out the best route which was less than a half a mile longer than taking the interstate.

Jump ahead about a week and I'm on my fourth day of riding with no regrets. I even picked up a new spiffy helmet to keep my noggin safe and looking good!

By saving $6 per day on gas, I only have to ride to work another 35 times to pay it off and then another 20 to pay off the jacket that's on order. However, if I ride it to work for the rest of the year, the scooter will literally pay for itself in gas savings alone (even if prices don't go up, which they will)! Not even a Hybrid can do that in less than ten years!

That's it, gotta go get the Ruck out of here!

Take a Number

2008-07-03T11:19:00.003-04:00

Pat and I spent a good deal of the afternoon yesterday buried in spreadsheets and data, so we got a little punchy. Because our offices are on both sides of Paul's we constantly get questions from our fellow team members, 'have you seen Paul?' - 'is Paul in today?' - 'which way did he go?' - etc.

So, we came up with a solution. Bob went to Publix this morning and borrowed their deli ticketing system, which he rigged up outside of Paul's office. We created a mock waiting area and as soon as Paul was spotted in the parking lot we all took our numbers and seats to wait.

Bob made an announcement over the PA, "Now seeing number 15" and then even more people showed up. Paul was definitely surprised and all involved got a good laugh.

So if you need to see Paul in the future, take a number!

MindComet Celebrity Sighting

2008-07-01T09:10:00.005-04:00

While attending the iMedia Entertainment Summit last week, Doug and I took an opportunity to pose for the paparazzi (aka AOL/TMZs media team.) It was a neat idea put together by Platform A as part of their sponsorship.

Doug & Paris Hilton (me)

Joe Weaver, Media Storm & Angelina Jolie (me)

The 1st Annual MC Summer Picnic

2008-06-30T14:04:00.003-04:00

MindComet celebrated summer by holding our first ( of hopefully many to come) annual family picnic on Saturday, June 28th. Employees along with their family and friends were treated to some delicious food prepared by Chefs' Paul Lewis and Doug White. The facility was ideal for the celebration and offered a shaded picnic area (hey, it's summer, it was hot and the shade was cool), swimming, a playground for the children, a large area for outdoor games and other amenities.

Along with the camaraderie, the backdrop was perfect for our event and fun was had by all. Two of the biggest highlights were a contest where pictures of Paul and Doug were covered with whipped cream and contests were held to see who could remove the whipped cream the quickest with Super Water Soakers. The kids really enjoyed that and hey, so did the adults!

Another big hit with all were the races where the participants has to put on additional clothing as the ran back and forth to their team members. Not too sure here who had more fun, the kids or the adults, but it sure was obvious that both the participants and observers enjoyed this activity immensely.

All in all it was a GREAT time and we can't wait until next year's picnic!

-Bob

Mmmm...

2008-06-25T15:32:00.002-04:00

Jenn has shared stories with us during our all-company meeting about sending "interesting" videos to one of our clients. This video was one of my favorites! It's a bit disgusting, but it's funny too. So, be prepared and check it out:

Living It Up in NYC

2008-06-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

Last March, I decided to take a week off to celebrate my birthday and see what all the fuss was about in the Big Apple. Time sure has flown by, but I've finally finished the Website chronicling my first trip to NYC.

My five days up there were jam packed. I tried to see everything that there was to see, and my trusty camera was there to help me record it all. Click here to visit the site, read my commentary and browse the library of images.

Highlights included:
The 2008 NY Auto Show
Fuerzabruta (Videos Too)
Museum of Modern Art
Coney Island
and many, many more...

[Note: if images do not show, try another browser. They may not be working in Firefox 3].

Cowboys & Cowgirls

2008-06-25T11:05:00.004-04:00

This past weekend I went to Cowboys for the first time which is a country music night club. I have lived in Orlando all my life and have driven by many times but never managed to stumble in there. As I walked in on a Saturday night, I had one thing on my mind, "I need a drink". I went up to one of their 8 bars and asked for a beer. The bartender hands me one and continues to say that they are free until 1 am. Right then and there, I fell in love with the place. After I got the drink, I took a look around. I have to admit, I always thought of this place as being a place for trashy rednecks with missing teeth. To my surprise, there were beautiful women and clean cut guys, the type of crowd I have seen in other types of clubs/bars. There are a few differences, it has a huge dance floor where people were line dancing. I saw a lady line dancing old enough to be my grandma. I guess she drove down from Lake County for a "good ol fashion hoe down". I did not get on the dance floor to line dance but next time, I might.

What's all this Ruckus?

2008-06-23T07:28:00.000-04:00

As we all know, gas prices have been soaring high. Even with my fuel efficient Integra, I'm still not satisfied with my gas budget.

So I came across a possible solution: The Ruckus!

It turns out this little gem can get over 100MPG! At $2000, they could pay for themselves just in gas savings over a year. I hadn't really ever considered a scooter until this project got me interested.

I fell in love with the look, and over the last few days I've been reading everything there is to know about it. The only problem is that they are no where to be found! My great idea is just a little too late.

However, I've been scouring the country to find one. I'm currently negotiating a potential deal in Iowa and am considering taking a week and riding it home myself while taking in the countryside. This may seem a little crazy crazy, but a legend among the online Ruckus community, known as WAN, has already done this - more than once! He's driven coast to coast, visiting up with avid Ruckus enthusiasts along the way. His Ruckus is also being raffled off for charity, as he is leaving to go back to his home country, Korea. Click here to see some of his pictures from his second journey.

As for me, some local enthusiasts have greeted me with open arms and invited me to give their "Rucks" a try. I'll be continuing my quest until I find the perfect Ruckus, or the '09 model years hit the showroom floor!

Crazy Hat Day

2008-06-19T10:55:00.005-04:00

Crazy Hat Day was a great success last week! Almost everyone came out in their craziest head wear to compete for the ultimate prize: to enjoy their weekend a little bit earlier. The winners were allowed to leave work at 3 pm on Friday. Overall, it was a great day filled with fun and food, as well. We even got to experience GC's culinary skills at work as he made some delicious dessert crepes for everyone to enjoy. Now, here's a shotout to our winners:

Winner: Joe

Runner-Up, but in a close second....Mel

Click here to view the other crazy hats: CRAZINESS!

The Secret life of....

2008-06-09T12:52:00.008-04:00

The interns have uncovered original and suprising footage of the secret life of a MindCometeer. This is truly shocking! We never saw it coming...

Love,

The Interns

I made a new friend at work.....

2008-05-28T16:06:00.002-04:00

Literally....I made him.

Bowling with Mindcomet

2008-05-22T14:03:00.010-04:00

This past month's team building activity was bowling night at AMF with unlimited pizza and drinks. It was a fun night with lots of strikes, spares and even some gutter balls.Everyone put their bowling shoes on and brought their "A" game, but experience with Wii bowling wasn't going to cut it! You had to have the right techniques to win the game. There were a few people showing off amazing skills and hitting a strikes in a row. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them. If I had my way, I probably would have requested bumpers. But, I tried and didn't do too horrible. Overall, everyone played a great game and it was an enjoyable experience for all! But till the next Mindcomet bowling outing, I’ll stick with Wii bowling. Any challengers?

On Any Given Wednesday - Fried Helado

2008-05-21T11:06:00.005-04:00

We have a new favorite restaurant for lunch, Emiliano'z. It's a 2 minute drive from the office and on any given day you'll run into other MindCometeers.

Last week we had a ladies luncheon and decided to order a sweet treat to finish the meal. The only 2 desserts we could understand were Fried Ice Cream and Flan. We opted for the fried goodiness - see picture below:

I think we should start going there for happy hour, too!

Showing the Phillies some LOVE!

2008-05-20T10:48:00.007-04:00

Colleen, Sarah & Tara show the Philadelphia spirit of love for the Phillies!!!

Let's go Phanatics!!!!

Rockin' Out Mindcomet Style

2008-05-16T15:11:00.010-04:00

Last night, we had a rockin' co-ed get together after work where our inner rockers came out, while indulging in Jenn's amazing beef stew. The atmosphere was electric as we shouted, drummed and strummed our ways to Rock Band glory. As a first time rocker, I found myself slowly feeling the music and head banging to the blazing beats. But, it wasn't long until the music took control and brought out my inner rocker. Even today, I'm still rocking and the music that filled the Breakout Room from Nirvana to Bon Jovi can still be heard, but maybe because MindCometeers are rocking their hearts out today during the lunch hour. As a first time "rocker," it was a pretty incredible experience and I look forward to rocking more in the future.

But, one of the greatest experiences with the game is seeing first-timers like me get into the groove and feel of Rock Band. Last night, we had Jamie Woglom and Laura Lear from NCM Fathom come and join us at the agency. So, we were excited to have more band members show their rocker potential! It was a time of excitement, laughter and fun seeing everyone rock to victory!

New Hire Hilarity

2008-05-14T20:26:00.002-04:00

We have a company wide meeting every Weds. afternoon where we catch up on launches, shout outs, company announcements, etc.

This is also our first opportunity to completely embarrass/indoctrinate our new hires and interns. They have to stand up in front of the whole company and tell us their name and what they do - and then the fun starts. We pose 3 crazy questions and they have to answer 1... or if they can answer the insane trivia question, then they don't have to answer 1 of the 3 original questions.

Here's how today went down:

We had two new peeps in - Jason, a new designer from our Charlotte office and Redner, our new marketing intern.

The crazy questions were as follows:
1. Demonstrate your favorite slip & slide move (the water slide from childhood.)
2. Make up a tune for phone hold music.
3. Name as many states as you can in 30 seconds, in alphabetical order.

The insane trivia questions was:
Name all of the games Parker Brothers has ever made.

Jason went first and picked question #1. He proceeded to get on the conference room table and demonstrated the rock star slide. Hilarious!

Redner went next and performed a small musical ditty for question #2, which left some laughing and some crying. I was doing both as I left today. It was practically indescribable with words.

All I can say, is that meetings like this don't happen in corporate America - only in agencies!

(Art) Wilbur-By-The-Sea

2008-05-05T10:02:00.003-04:00

I grew up in a town where the beach was just a short bike ride away. Since moving off of the coast a few years back, it's always been a little weird to have to "plan a trip" just to go to the beach. That and the concept of paying to go to the beach just seems a little screwy.

Last week, we reviewed our beach options for a new one to explore. A friend recommended a name that I'd saw, but had never had an excuse to visit - Wilbur By The Sea. Quite an odd name for a beach town, and especially interesting to me since it carries my own. I found that we had something in common beyond our names - we're both cheap (no beach fee) - so that settled it as our destination.

It has a real historic feel to it, with houses (not high-rise hotel buildings) right on the beach. However, a glance down the coast shows that developers are just waiting to strike. Most of the beach has sand that is red and packed hard like concrete. It wasn't the most comfortable, but fairly tidy - that was nice.

I wasn't able to find any information on the history of the little town, but I'll continue to wonder. Did my great-great-great-great grandpa and ma settle down on the beach front to catch some rays and decide not to leave? Or did he catch a fish in Wilbur Bay large enough to cause the townsfolk to give it his name? It might be more fun not to really find out...

Till the Sun Goes Down, We'll Be Racin'

2008-05-01T21:45:00.002-04:00

This past month's team building activity was Go-Karting. Faces lit up when we arrived at the track and we started to eye which kart we wanted to claim. With such a large group we had to divide into two groups so as the first team set off the second team got to plan their strategies on which kart to choose and how not to spin out on the slick track. There was a whole lot of spin outs, bumping and swerving going on, but it was all in good fun and the team sure had a blast. We dominated the course until the sun went down and the karts couldn't take on another MindCometeer behind the wheel. I just had to remind myself driving home afterwards that there was no bumping allowed!

A Boot Camp, Graduation, and Bar Golf Limerick

2008-04-28T09:27:00.005-04:00

There once was a new group of masters
So skilled, so poised, so much faster
To a course of fine bars, libations for par
"In the hunt" on a boulevard of asters.

(Seriously--that one hurt my brain! MLT)

Kent Rocks!

2008-04-23T17:16:00.002-04:00

This is what our favorite client from Kentucky has been up to while conducting a strategic account review at HQ in Orlando.

I think they call this 'creative ideology' or something along those lines...

Go #00FF00

2008-04-22T18:09:00.004-04:00

Today was Earth Day and we had a lot going on around the office! See below for my top 3 notable activities of the day.

1. Almost everyone was wearing their 'Go #00FF00' t-shirts to support our green efforts. Check out the landing page for more information and input your resolution.

2. Chris spent some time in the late afternoon sun hugging a tree.

3. We had our first ever MindComet yoga class - it was great to spend some time breathing and relaxing during the day. Thanks to Theresa from College Park Yoga for her guidance and patience.

Part Time's Rock-and-Roll Militia Adventure

2008-04-16T11:13:00.005-04:00

If your a long time reader of CakePlow, you're sure to remember Ralphie and his spring break adventure! For those of you who aren't in the know, before continuing on, peep this for a refresher - http://cakeplow.com/2005/07/ralphies-spring-break-adventure.html.

[ Ok, You're back and now know who Ralphie is. If not, start reading this post again and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS! ]

Andrew Clark, affectionately known as Part Time (although he is a full-time employee..yes, it's confusing) recently had his own documented adventure.

Titled Part Time's Rock-and-Roll Militia Adventure, it is a journey into the dark world of a Speedo clad man and explores his predilection for guns and rock-and-roll. Below is a still.

BTW: This film is being considered for Cannes!!!