You love them and hate them.  Just when you are having a great time at a party, boom!  A bright flash of light catches your eye and you see or at least after blinking several times you see those clever photographers.  They are out on the prowl snagging pictures from parties and events, posting and printing these images.  So watch out, you might be in the next one!

I’ve gotta say, one of the most social things that I do at JLB in addition to going to events, working with clients, and promoting the community… is going up to strangers and asking for their picture.  99.9% of the community gladly smiles and says sure take my pic. 


FranklinIs.com is one of JLB's "children" and going to events in the community and having a photographer come out and take party pics is one of the special online media sponsorship opportunities that clients can have for their event.  You would be surprised how many events we have going on in Williamson County.  Over the past few months, I went to quite a few events, and there are some hot party pics to show for it.

Check it out! 

They're action figures, really (and yes... there is a difference). 

Sprummer* has greeted Team JLB with a whiz-bang, and few new surprises (pleasant ones). To celebrate the season, we have replaced our team headshots with the faces of some of our favorite action figures. Each team member selected his/her own favorite (see images in staff section and below). I guess it's something in the water, over here.

In addition to the energy and pizzazz we all feel at this time of year, Team JLB also has experienced a few key additions. The most important, by far, is the miraculous birth of our Vice President's baby, Madelyn. For those out of the loop, Madelyn came into the world with a lot of commotion, and mother Brooke is finally recovering. "Complication" is putting it mildly. But our fearless VP is on the mend and at home with her hubby and sweet baby daughter.

Back at the ranch, we have had the honor and pleasure of welcoming Mirella Neely to the team. Mirella joins us, eight years after starting her career at Weberize (in 2000), one of Nashville's former Web development Titans (originally in the eConception cadre). A stalwart in web page updates, Mirella also has a strong programming background (read: mad database skills).

Speaking of programming, JLB has also enlisted the services of another experienced programmer (and general IT guru), named David Syler. He joins JLB from afar, telecommuting in and helping with special projects. David can do just about anything, from fixing a broken hard drive (Mac or PC, as you please), to setting up a MySQL database and programming the PHP out of it. If it has a keyboard, central processor and wattage, David can figure it out.

And as for the action figures... let me introduce you:

Julian Bibb / Green Lantern                   Brooke Schroeder / Princess Leia

Micah Jones / Red Son Superman          John Crain / Indiana Jones

Polly Bibb / Catwoman                          Mirella Neely / Wonder Woman

David Syler / Thing

* FOOTNOTE: the time between Spring and Summer 

Alright, so we can only guess it would equal funtime.  We haven't really been able to test this equation as we're still trying to find the Vespa part of it.  So if anyone out there in the wide web world happens to have an extra one lying around that you would like to donate (or sell) to your favorite franklin firm, JLB, then let me know.

We promise we'll wear these if we get one:

I almost forgot... to make the offer even better, we'll send over one of our certified technicians (aka Julian) to give you a body massage if the Vespa has a sidecar. 

                 Winter, then spring, then summer, then fall.
              The seasons continue to rotate amongst us all.
               Every day, the world spins bringing us towards
                               the sun and away, again.

Do you ever feel like your job is a steady constant motion, where you pass by the same faces and complete the same tasks day in and day out?  I have been in those types of jobs, where your assignments are consistent and constant with little variation.  For me, I enjoy the thrill of the unknown and the life of a Development Attaché is one of consistent surprises.

No matter what I sit down and plan out for FranklinIs and JLB tasks, I always get at least five or six curve balls thrown at me.  With FranklinIs, it might be a new advertising client that wants a fun look, or a new non profit that needs to get the word out about their event, or something new that the office needs.  No matter what I may think I am getting myself into, the JLB office is full of fun surprises. 

I don’t know if you have had a chance to drive past our office lately, but you should.  There is new vegetation in the front that accents our stone building.  Yesterday, I got doused in water, as I tried to set the oscillating sprinkler on the front lawn.  It was kind of funny, and I just had to chuckle to myself. 

Then it hit me, watering the lawn and making sure that the ground is nourished is the exact same thing that we do inside the office at JLB. 

Whether we are working on a client’s website, creating email marketing campaigns, promoting events in the community on FranklinIs, or brainstorming ideas with clients, we are in the constant business of “watering” by taking care of our client’s print, graphic design, writing, editing and web needs.  There are many times that I find myself doused with surprises, but that is what makes it fun and unknown.    

Until my next blog, I’ll leave you with this…

Morning, then noon, then dusk, then night.
We can change it up and make it as exciting as we like.
Every night, the stars will appear, it just depends on how you look at them from down here.     

For the first four years, our office ran strictly on PCs.

That's all changed.

Over the course of the past year, we have become a hybrid office, running PCs and Macs. Our PCs of choice are Sony and Hewlett Packard. (We really like our Sonys.) The Macs we're using are iMacs and MacBook Pros.

So what does an office like ours think about which systems are better? Windows or Leopard? Where do we fall in the Mac vs. PC debate?

Hands down, we agree -- Apple is where it's at. And the most interesting part? It's not even close.

Macs are faster than PCs. Macs are more dynamic. They are smoother, more versatile, easier to navigate, and more reliable. Even more, Macs are just fun to use.

Consider... 

- Out of the box, a Mac takes less time to set up and get running than a PC. (we've got experience with both setups)

- Every Mac comes with a built-in camera and the ability to have instant video chatting. (our upstairs can confer with our downstairs)

- Macs are not known to acquire viruses, while PCs are prone to infections and must have antivirus and firewall software offering active, constant protection. (no junk in the trunk)

- A Mac can run Windows and OS X (Leopard). A Mac can run Windows and Leopard at the same time! A Mac can load Windows FASTER than a PC can load Windows. (I tested this theory last week, when I watched my friend start her laptop, while I started up my VMWare Fusion... my MacBook Pro was already running Leopard, and it loaded Windows XP faster than hers could boot up).

What is most surprising is that more comp users don't realize how powerful Macs are. Even if it just boils down to the fact that Macs can run both operating systems from the same box. Versatile. Powerful. Pretty.

Think about it. A Mac can run Windows better than a PC. What does that really mean?