I hate Facebook. Really.

Facebook, to me, is high school all over again. I was not popular and didn't get to hang with the incrowds. In fact, I was worse than a nerd. I was smart, I moved around a lot, I was always the new kid, and teachers LOVED me. You can't put a bigger "loser" target on someone in high school. So I was basically a loner, always on the outside, and not really interested in looking in.

Thank god I got to graduate and move on.

I'm applying for a job this week. It's one I would be good at. Heck, let's be real: it's one I'd kill for. It's about cultivating communities using social networks here at Penn State, and the position is shared across three entities: the College of Liberal Arts, the Rock Ethics Institute, and Education Technology Services, where I currently work part time. I'm up against stiff competition: two very smart, very capable candidates who are also two very close friends. Not an enviable position, let me assure you. They both have strengths that are specific to their backgrounds, have a lot of experience presenting at conferences, and can probably spell pedagogy and use it correctly in a sentence. At first glance, you might well ask, why even try? 

Why indeed.

As Spock would say, fascinating.

Interesting approach. It's definitely fresher than your usual staid admissions piece. I feel like I'm in an episode of Glee. Or Pippin. Since its debut Friday, they've received 47,600 hits. This video is almost 17 minutes in length, and was written and produced by undergrads and recent alumni in the admissions office. Will we start seeing more efforts like this? And how effective is it in enticing students to take a closer look at Yale? 

One final note: I'm slightly disappointed that ratings and comments have been disabled. I think that part of the process--the impromptu support of other students, parents, or alumni--would make this an authentic conversation.

Scrolling through last night's tweets, I discover my dear friend Rick Madore had an apparent heart attack at the YMCA yesterday morning. I'm sure he was there for a swim meet. He was probably a timer or helping out in some other manner. It wasn't in Rick to just passively watch. When he saw a situation that could use an extra hand, Rick was there to give it. Whether it was a swim meet, or a graduation, or a school board, or a community who needed a calming voice, Rick was there to step in and help find a solution. A beautifully kind man, with beautifully silly jokes, and a beautiful chuckle and accepting attitude. A man with a beautiful, loving wife, and beautiful, loving kids. The kind that will impress you with their morals, their respect, and their willingness to help others and be part of the change. Because he couldn't help but pass that on. 

I've known Rick and his family for years and years. It's what happens when you have kids the same age: your circles will always overlap. Our families have celebrated birthdays and graduations together. I am sure we will celebrate Rick's life together too. That is, when we can stop crying long enough, when we can assimilate this shock, when the pain isn't some steel beam that has slammed into our chest, piercing our hearts and filling our souls with loss. I will miss many things about this lovely, beautiful man whose heart was bigger than most. The man was 51. This is not fair, this surreal turn of events.

He was but a leaf on the wind.

Today is my birthday.

This in and of itself is not usually a point of interest. My years on this earth have been spread over many countries, many states, many cities, many schools, many jobs. But today, the reason this strikes a chord is because this is a different kind of birthday, and deserves a nod.

Then came the iPhone.