Todd's Blournal

Check out the new An Engineering Mind

2010-01-24T23:57:00.003-06:00

I've spent some time this week moving over to a new, self-hosted website, and I'd love to get your thoughts on the new design and what I can improve.

I'll also be updating my RSS feed to: http://feeds.feedburner.com/anengineeringmind/zAiQ

I've finally made a new video!

2010-01-20T09:32:00.003-06:00

Really enjoyed making this one! I got to get really fired up and yell at the camera...very cathartic.

I Completely Agree

2010-01-04T13:39:00.000-06:00

An Interview with Embedded.com

2009-12-18T15:04:00.002-06:00

My good looks and cunning wit have finally made it big in the world of nerdery. Embedded.com interviewed me (scroll down to the video player on the right side) and has even asked for more videos to run on their site in the future, meaning more free advertising for our company on their site. This makes me happy because it gives my videos a little bit more credibility around the office.

I couldn't have said it better myself

2009-11-29T10:57:00.001-06:00

Go Cougars.

New Video: Is Engineering Worth It?

2009-11-05T14:18:00.003-06:00

We made this video for a keynote our CEO gave to a 1000+ crowd of engineering students at Virginia Tech.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-28T23:46:00.002-05:00

This year I decided to take the plunge and dress up as the most hideous creature imaginable...

Let the Challenge Begin!!!

2009-09-21T08:06:00.002-05:00

Follow me on Twitter. Let me know what you're doing this week to cut back on carbon. I'll be posting pictures and video throughout the week.

I'll be posting updates on this blog, as well as linking to them from the An Engineering Mind Facebook page.

New AEM Video - Are We Falling Into a Trap?

2009-09-17T11:39:00.002-05:00

You can tell I was a little in this video, and the editing isn't as sharp as usual, but I thought this was a very well-written script.

What do you think?

Funniest. Commericial. Ever.

2009-09-02T09:08:00.000-05:00

I understand that this is a little old, and I have no idea how I missed it, but this is easily the funniest thing I've seen in a long time:

New video: Art vs. Science

2009-09-01T11:49:00.004-05:00

So I have some creative, artsy-fartsy friends (Vince, Dan, Kyle), but you better believe they bow to my superior mental capacity.

Did We Really Need a Survey?

2009-08-25T13:20:00.002-05:00

Okay, it's been a while, but we're back to making more AEM videos. Here's the first of three we filmed last week:

You can learn more about the survey here.

I'm Big in Alaska (Episode II)

2009-07-30T20:45:00.002-05:00

My good friend Vince asked my wife and I to appear in another commercial. Katie is the first person you see in the video (I know, she's way hotter than I am).

I'm Big in Alaska

2009-07-15T15:41:00.002-05:00

So my friend Vince, who's amazing, and who I've blogged about before, works as at an ad agency based in Alaska. He recently created a new commercial for Digitel and asked me to be the angry boss. It was very fun to do and it was neat to watch a master artist do his job.

I thought the coolest part of the shoot was checking out his homemade rigs and dollys as well as the fact that he shot the whole thing on a Canon 5D Mark II. It's a suped-up camera that can shoot great HD video.

It's All About the Kids

2009-07-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

Ever since Clark was born I've been thinking more and more about how to make children want to be hard workers and smart. Considering I'm neither of those two things, I hope this video will in some way inspire the children of tomorrow to be better than me. Yes, I know, that's a fairly low bar.

New Video: The GeekDad Interview

2009-06-24T16:45:00.003-05:00

GeekDad found my videos and asked if they could interview me for their blog and here's my answers to their questions:

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

This year is a special year for me, as it's my first "I actually have fathered a child" Father's Day. Being around Clark for the last five+ months has made me love him more and more, and it's also made me appreciate my father a lot more. I can't believe that he spent so much time cleaning my bum and wiping away my drool (or at least took the time to hand him over to mom to do those things).

Dad, I love you. Thanks for being such a great example and friend. So much of who I am is because of you (and that's mostly a good thing...).

And now a few someecards that made me laugh, but are in no way inspired by my father:

AEM Mother's Day Video

2009-05-10T19:08:00.002-05:00

My mom is nothing like the mother I talk about in the video. She's actually really cool and I've blogged about how great she is before. Nevertheless, here's my take on an engineer's Mother's Day wishes:

Engineers Can't Catch Swine Flu

2009-05-08T10:42:00.001-05:00

Nice try, Swine Flu.

Marketing Defined

2009-04-28T14:22:00.004-05:00

This felt very much like a Sesame Street sketch, and I like it.

Getting Ahead of the News

2009-04-28T14:13:00.003-05:00

So my boss' boss recently found out that I was in a commercial for a local karaoke bar a few months ago, and before he gets any crazy ideas about how to ruin me with the footage...

I swear I sing better than that.

Best Ad Ever?

2009-04-27T21:11:00.002-05:00

So I've already written about my love for Japanese humor and TV, but I found this video on Videogum today and I have to think that this is the most amazing ad in the history of the world:

Does anyone have contacts with a Japanese production company? Please? I would pay them to work there.

New Video: My Beef with Mythbusters

2009-04-21T13:12:00.003-05:00

Don't get me wrong, those guys are awesome. They have the coolest jobs in the world. Don't believe me? Watch this.

But why do they tell me "don't try this at home?" Aside from zero budget, I'm just as qualified to blow crap up. Right?

New Engineering Mind Video: Working with Legal

2009-04-14T15:47:00.001-05:00

It's been a while, and I'm actually pleased how this one turned out. If you haven't already, check out our brand new website:

www.anengineeringmind.com

Great Tribute to My Grandpa

2009-04-06T10:43:00.002-05:00

My Grandpa, Harry Simmons, died when I was 10. He was a wonderful grandpa and what few memories I do have of him are great. The following video is a tribute to a part of his life I never knew as a kid, but have been slowly learning about over time.