Dear All,

Sometimes in this life, we do not give appropriate "thank you's" to those people who have helped us along the ways. You may not know how difficult this blog was to write, in that I wanted to have a customized letter for everyone. I just want to go out an give a general thank you to everyone who has made me the man I am today.

I am a person who enjoys making a fun time for all, and sometimes I can use humor as a vehicle to exhibit my care, compassion or love for individuals. If I have upset you by anything I have said or exhibited a long the way, please accept my apology. I do care for most people I meet...especially those which I butt heads with. Most of the time it is due to a case of me being jealous...of you knowledge, success or other trait.

As I prepare and get ready to continue toward the next chapter of my life, for those people who I was blessed to be in classes with, for those who had aided in my educational experience, for those who have cared for me to allow me to visit their homes at a wonderful 2am just to chat to all my friends...even if we do not agree eye-to-eye on beliefs, convictions or (cough) politics...know that I love each and everyone of you individually. You all have you specific purpose in this life, and I would love to celebrate your accomplishments and screw ups with you. Do not worry, we will all screw up. It is simply a part of this life. I have learned to laugh at my mistakes and always learn from them.

Love, Ken

Labels: accomplishments, friendships, Full Sail, love, mistakes, thank you

When I redesigned my website and started blogging in the spring of this year, I set a goal of 100 posts by the end of the year. I picked 100 because I thought that would be a do-able goal...would require a specific amount of commitment, but not an over-commitment in order to reach the goal I had set forth. With that being said, this blog marks my half way point. The goal is still 100, but I am hoping to exceed that.

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster of an day. It was marking the first official live lab that we had in the main hall at Full Sail University. That was a memorable experience. I was elected to to the simulcast mix on the DigiDesign VENUE (D-Show) digital console. That was a great experience. In addition to that, I made a big mistake in "jumping the gun" in a specific situation at school. That could have drastically effected a relationship with a friend on both a personal a professional level, but luckily it did not. It was a learning experience for both of us. Live and learn. Each day has new adventures for us. Nothing is wrong with doing wrong . . . as long as you learn from your mistake(s).

All in all, it has been fun blogging and connecting with you all through the first 50 posts. Hoping that the next 50 will be just a good if not better!

Labels: Blog anniversary, digidesign, friendships, goal, life lessons, Live lab, microblogging, mistakes, relationships, venue

**This blog is written after Letterman's apology to Sarah Palin and her daughters. Read the original blog here.**

David,

I heard on Greta van Susteren's show this evening that you apologized for your comments to the Palin family for your jokes that were made last week. I must applaud you for fessing up to your mistake, and I hope that it is a learning experience for you, if not more.

Any man can make a mistake, but when that same man fesses up to his mistake it shows that he sincerely cares. I hope that you have learned that in your comedy to watch what you say. A joke may look sufficient on paper, when in reality is can hurt the reputation of those people in which the joke is based around. It is one thing to joke about a political leader, but taking that joke to an extreme level and bring in a family member is completely uncalled for.

I thought that it was necessary to submit another letter to you because you apologized for your joke. I sincerely hope that you have learned something valuable from this encounter. I know for a fact that I have. I have learned to watch what I say. The littlest joke can impact the lives of many.

Good luck with everything.

-Ken Miller, Jr.
Orlando, FL

Labels: America, comedian, conservative, David Letterman, double standard, future, haters, inappripriate, late night shows, liberal, mistakes, Obama, politics, right wing extremist, Sarah Palin, sexist

David,

Occasionally I happen to catch your show, but I would not be classified as your number one viewer each night. You tend to have some funny things to say that crack me up. One of your shows this last week, in one of your jokes ridiculed one of Sarah Palin's daughters. In the joke, you referenced Palin's daughters getting "knocked up" by one of the Yankees. This comment was completely obscene and inappropriate.

I realize that you are a comedian, and you and your writers choose somewhat popular people to vocalize about in your comedy, but your choice of jokes for this skit was completely inappropriate. The comedian card only goes so far. Answer this for me, since when is it okay to ridicule the family member of someone who ran for office? Would you do the same to Chelsea Clinton? What about using the same type of comment for the daughters of Barack Obama, Malia Ann or Natasha? How about using a joke of the same league and caliber about Michelle Obama? I tend to believe no. Why? You would be completely ridiculed by the liberal media, probably loose your job from CBS and have to answer to Barack.

You would also choose not to ridicule them because they are of your same liberal party. How dare you say stuff like that about fellow Democrats. I am writing this letter to you to bring this to your attention. Palin has herself said that she does not want a formal apology from you to her, but to the women to America. I urge you to do both. Apologize to both of them as well as to make the same type of crack toward Michelle Obama.

Let me ask you another set questions. Who gives you the right to sit there and ridicule a Republican? What if you had said that about a fellow Democrat? What is your deal with Palin anyway? Is it because she is a respectable Republican leader and you are scared that one day you will have to show her some sort of respect if she gets into office? What if a Republican said some immature comment as you did to lets say...Michelle Obama? They would be ridiculed for that remark. Why is there a double standard for liberals? Liberals can get away with murder, but if a Conservative does the same . . . hell will freeze over. That is very unfair.

David, I said before that I sometimes catch your show, but after your choice remarks and inappropriate comments, I choose to NEVER watch your show again and I will encourage others to do the same. I ask you to make this right. I hope that you will loose all support from any Conservative who watches your show.

Ken Miller, Jr.
Orlando, FL

Labels: America, comedian, conservative, David Letterman, double standard, future, haters, inappripriate, late night shows, liberal, mistakes, Obama, politics, right wing extremist, Sarah Palin, sexist

Today, the internet search giant, Google encountered some "turbulence" when attempting to adjust some key routing numbers, in an on-going effort to transition from an older networking standard to a newer one called IPv6. This was a major issue for the search giant, leaving about 14% of their user-base in the internet dark.

Larger ISP networks that "peer" off of Google, such as AT&T, Verizon and others that are interconnected with the Google networks were effected greatly by this glitch. Google did have a backup system which became activated. This server is based in Asia, and was not designed to handle the amount of traffic the internet threw at it. This caused a major traffic issue, just as a simple car accident can bog down an interstate for miles. Google had the glitch repaired, stories report, by 9:14am PST.

Was this a forgivable mistake? Or should we start tallying up the points for Google? The way I see it, although it may be annoying or an inconvience at the time it occured, things happen. Google does, have backups for when a specific cluster of servers goes down, which is good. I have no beef with Google. I do rely very heavily upon Google. From e-mail, calendar, blogging, chat, news gathering, maps, research...blah blah. I would say about 80% of my internet activity would not exist without Google. What is amazing though is that a major glitch was repaired within an hour and everything was back up and working properly. If this had been a larger period of time, things may be different.

Point number two. I think patience has lost its value in society today. People seem to be in "I need it NOW" type of mindset. They then proceed to throw a hissy fit when time is not in their favor. One of many things that my parents drilled into my head is patience. When I see people demainding something "now" then observing the temper tantrum afterward, I just sit back and realize...do they know what kind of fools they are making of themselves? Really? What would they be thinking if they were watching themselves through my eyes?

Do some thinking. Take today and be patient. Even if it takes a few more seconds than longer to do something simple on the computer, calm down. Does that five seconds really matter that much in the long run??

-Ken

Read the complete story here.

Labels: application, att, glitch, gmail, google, hissy fit, internet, ipv6, mistakes, patience, verizon

I have always struggled with them. The go great...then for no reason, always seem to come to a screeching halt. Why? Is it that I give up to soon? Have "tunnel vision" and only want thing to go my way...then they don't and I give up?

I believe the correct answer lies as a combination of the two above. I have a set way that I want things to be...and if someone does not agree with that, I take it personal. I have come to the realization that not everyone is going to be marching at the beat of my own drum and that differences is what makes us all unique.

In the fall of 2008, I had a friend that I was getting close to. A young lad that is an amazing guy. One night, we were chatting on the phone and although it was not the best of conversation topics, (meaning something dear to me) he mistakenly said something that did not settle right with me. Did I at that point ask for clarification? Oh no. I got defensive and offended. Was that the right reaction? No.

Days after that had happened, I felt terrible. But I figured that he had given up on the friendship that we had. He too struggles with Friendships just as I struggle. People come and go...no one is one hundred percent committed, besides him. For that I felt terrible for my reaction to the situation. I battled with this for months.

But I worked through some things, forgiveness was given. Tonight, I had the pleasure of having dinner with him at a very nice restaurant, Copeland's in Buckhead. We had a joyful time of fellowship and then the bitter-sweet moment of confrontation of the events last fall.

During that time, we talked through things, and we are on the road to recovery. God works in mysterious ways, but they always turn out for the best. There are still hurt feelings, but I think that time, trust and love will bring healing.

-Ken

Labels: committment, Copeland's Atlanta, forgiveness, friendships, love, mistakes, relationships, struggle

One of the most attractive thing about a person is their scars. The "bad" things. The situations that caused pain. People remember when, where and why they got hurt much more than anything else. Why? Those were learning experiences. Without scars, a person would be...just like everyone else, with a perfect appearance. I love having talks with people about why they got scars.

The same thing goes for mistakes. We all make 'em. Trust me, I have made some huge mistakes along the way! If the person learns from their mistakes and is an overall better person for the mistake he has made, that is beautiful! In a project that I worked on, I made mistakes, but I will guarantee you, I will never make those mistakes again! Thinking back on them, they were STUPID! Forgiveness is the key here. I thank those people who have experienced me making a mistake...personally and professionally.

Oftentimes, in the heat of the moment...I beat myself up for mistakes. I love perfection. I love being able to do a task and not face mistakes, but sometimes...mistakes have to be made...in order for a person to grow. With each mistake, a person learns lessons that are priceless. To me that is beautiful.

Do one thing for yourself. The next time you make a mistake...afterward take a moment and reflect on what happened. Find out why you did what you did. Decide what you will do differently next time when you are facing the same situation. If you let the fact that you made a mistake walk away from a situation, is that the right decision? I do not believe so.

Ken

Labels: change, experiences, learn, mistakes, scars