What Happens If They Stay?

Great saying that I feel embodies how businesses think vs. how they should think when allocating resources to improving their employees.

 

Design by: Jake M. Block

Quote By: Anonymous

2013 Government Shutdown

The year is 2013 and the United States Government has shut down. The last time there was a government shutdown was in 1996 when (then) president Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress couldn't come to an agreement over Medicare. Fast forward 17 years and deliberations have ensued once again.

This time it's another medically related issue leading the forefront that has made the government come to a screeching halt:

Obamacare

What does a government shutdown mean for us and what will be affected? A few things to name are: Recreation (national parks and museums will be shutting down), Medicare/veterans aid, Health Services, Federal employees loss of jobs (non-essential employees), and loan applications... to name a few.

So what does this mean for the average American? For the most part: not much will change. Unless you are a government employee you will still go to work, you will still pay your bills, you will still wake up in the morning and go to bed at night. 

With social media being on the front lines of this spreading news and having #govtshutdown trending on Twitter for an unprecedented amount of time, what effect do you think Social Media has, or will have, during the duration of this shutdown? Has Social Media proved to help the situation or hurt it? How do you think this shutdown would have worked and what would the difference in how the information would have been spread if social media were not "invented"?

Please sound off in the comments. Be sure to keep it civilized and professional, but don't be afraid to voice your opinion. Thanks!

Facebook Home

Facebook is gearing up for the launch of Facebook Home Friday, April 12th, with a slew of buzz already on the internet and a series of Television ads already running/set to run, it will be pretty hard to escape Facebook's newly imagined way to use your cell phone.

You can read up a bit about it here (or many other places on the web):

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/08/tech/social-media/facebook-home-leak/?hpt=us_t2

What are your thoughts about Home? Do you plan on giving it a go on your own phone?

The Harlem Shake

To add a little "fun" to our monthly Sales Meeting, I came up with the idea of having our marketing department put together a "Harlem Shake" video. If you don't know what this phenomenon is, then you're not alone because neither do I, hah. In essence, it's a song by Bauuman in the new genre of "Trap Music". I'm not sure how it started, but there are now over 90,000 unique versions of "The Harlem Shake" videos on Youtube. 

You can see ours below... and yes, I am the guy in the motorcycle helmet... and yes, we are in a Starbucks.

(Blogger has not indexed the video to embed currently so I am posting a link to Youtube until it is indexed and I can embed it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m92ZvIa2lrA

So anyhow, if you were wondering, it was a huge hit and had everyone on the floor laughing at the meeting we premiered it at... considering no one was expecting it and most of the people watching could not see a lot of us in the marketing department doing that. Good times!

New Portfolio / Website Teaser

Below is a small teaser of the redesign of the new JakeBlock.com. This is still in prototype staging as I haven't even begun to code it yet, nor build out the inside pages... but I wanted to put this up here for any initial feedback!

Meet my new baby!

2006 Chrysler 300

Meet my new baby!

Touring Model 3.5L v6 engine

"Magnesium" color

All Leather two-tone trim

Dual Power & heated seats

Power Sunroof

Navigation system with 6cd mp3 player

Traction Control Assist for rain and snow

Low profile tires with 20" Gino Chrome Rims

 

Home Made Chicken Nuggets

Home Made Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Breast Breaded in Panko Bread Crumbs 

Served With Asparagus and Portobello Mushrooms

Side Dishes: Ranch & Barbeque Sauce

Preparation: Cut chicken breast into small cubes. Bread chicken nuggets with panko bread crumbs. Wrap Asparagus and sliced Portobello Mushrooms in tin foil. Place Breaded Chicken nuggets on baking tray along side wrapped veggies and let bake in oven set to 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

Serve.

Meal Prepared and Photographed by Jake Mitchell Block of JMBlock Photography & Design

A Few Ways That Men Can Use Pinterest

Infographic I designed with several different ways men can use the website Pinterest (www.Pinterest.com)

Of course, there are many more things that men can use Pinterest for, but this just details a few of them.

For more designs and photography, visit www.JMBlock.com

Mike & Archana's Wedding

Quick Picture from Mike & Archana's wedding that I shot. More to come soon...

Wall Mural

Graphic Design Wall Mural Created for Living Room Display