Tonight was The Office season 4 premiere and it was phenomenal. Last year, a bunch of us gathered each week at Drew’s house for the weekly “Office Party”. Now, Drew lives in Gainesville. So, Kristin and I extended invitations to a select few to join us at our home for a new and improved “Office Party 2.0.” At the “Office Party 2.0″ we watch the episode from the previous week and then watch the new episode. Some of you may be thinking, “The Office Party 2.0 sounds an aweful lot like the old Office Party.” What you don’t know is that we actually use an ancient, nearly forgotten form of recording called “VHS” to record each episode. Thanks to Ashley and Bobby, we have a new TV, complete with a built in VCR/DVD. So we used the VCR to record “The Office” onto a VHS tape. Favorite quote from tonight’s show:

“I’m not superstitious, I’m just a little stitious.”

In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the small, seemingly unimportant details that caused major movements such as Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues to “Tip”. It’s a great read that highlights the importance of the small details in any major cultural, economic, or behavioral shift. This is a great book for anyone. It sheds light on some aspects of communication and marketing that cause an idea or product to “stick”. Some take-aways from my reading:

• “[John] Wesley realized that if you wanted to bring about fundamental change in people’s belief and behavior, a change that would persist and serve as an exampl to others, you needed to create a community around them, where those new beliefs could be practiced and expressed and nurtured.”

• “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.”

• “Persuasion often works in ways we do not appreciate.”

• “The lesson of stickiness is that there is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible. All you have to do is find it.”

• “The power of context says that what really matters is little things.”

• “If you add up the meaning of the Stanford prison experiment and the New York subway experiment, they suggest that it is possible to be a better person on a clean street or in a clean subway than in one littered with trash and graffiti.”

• “The figure of 150 seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us.”

• “When each person has group-acknowledged responsibility for particular tasks and facts, greater efficiency is inevitable.”

• “If anyone wants to start an epidemic…he or she has to find some person or some means to translate the message of the innovators into something the rest of us can understand.”

That was the estimate a local mechanic shop gave me when I took my car in to have them check out a problem I was having with the shifter. The automatic shifter in my ’95 Nissan Maxima was sticking in park. It was literally impossible to get the car out of park, so for days Kristin and I had to put the car in Neutral, pull the parking break, and leave the key in the car (The ignition won’t release the key if the car isn’t in park).

I was shocked at this estimate until I realized that the mechanic shop had taken the liberty of doing a “courtesy” check of the entire car. They had included all kinds of things, including a $200 estimate for a transmission flush. I found that a bit odd, since I just had a transmission flush two weeks ago. When I called them on it they were nice enough to explain that they included several items based on mileage, and that they had not actually checked several fluid levels that they had included in their estimate. Unbelievable.

Through a series of events I was connected with a Nissan specialist by the name of William Harvey. “Harvey” has been a Nissan specialist for over twenty years and is the kind of mechanic you want. He’s honest, fair, and incredibly knowledgeable. He also has a sweet mustache that resembles that of a shitzu. Anyway, Harvey checks out my car and repairs all the essentials for $365.00. That’s quite different from $1895.00.

I paid the guy in cash (Dave Ramsey would be proud) and he was $4 short of having the correct change. I told him to forget about it, and thanked him for saving me a ton of money and for doing such great work, and thought I was on my way – but he wouldn’t have it. He was so insistent on giving me the $4 that he made a note on my invoice and his calendar to deduct $4 from the balance when he finishes the work on Friday. This guys is honest and really good. If you have a Nissan PLEASE take it to William Harvey. Contact me if you need his info.

My wife likes fat free milk. I’m convinced that fat free milk is simply water that’s been died white. I’m on the other end of the spectrum. I’m a whole milk fan all the way. For a while we were compromising by buying 2%…Now we each buy a half gallon of our preferred milk. I’m not really sure we’re compromising at all. We’re both getting what we want.

The point is, compromise is one of those words that can go either way. In context compromise can be both negative and positive. Compromising milk – good. Compromising integrity or beliefs – bad. You understand, ’cause you’re really smart.

The following are sites that I check everyday, multiple times. (In no particular order):

1. Google – I’m a googler.
2. Drudge Report – Great news site.
3. MySpace – More concerned with other people’s than my own.
4. Facebook – I don’t really keep up with my profile, but I keep up with friends.
5. Tony Morgan Live – Tony’s a pastor at NewSpring Church.
6. Evotional – A great blog by Mark Batterson.
7. Drew [plays drums] – He does other things too.
8. Seth Godin – A great marketing blog from a great marketer.
9. Shea’s Blog – He’s not as “Jordan” as me, but he’s a friend.
10. Zack’s Blog – He’s my brother. Zack.
11. YouTube – Chocolate Rain anyone?

I know that’s 11, but its my blog…Favorite sites change all the time anyway.