How Fast They Grow

Download: The True Story of the Internet. The screen came to life with the character pictured to the right, John Heilemann. Having been sick for several days now (weeks, more likely at this point) I was not feeling up to the flashy and jerky camera work and in-your-face reporting of this bald man about whom I'd never heard. Averting my eyes at key times allowed me to take in the information presented in this documentary and learn even more about people who have made ridiculous amounts of money for products we can't even touch yet have changed our lives infinitesimally over the past ten years.

I give credit to the producers of this video, the quick pace and action grabs the viewer's attention and certainly represents how quickly these internet ventures grow- with lightning speed.

The second video in this series of four, entitled Search, starts where the creation of the World Wide Web left off in the last video we viewed in class. Right now, we are so accustomed to search engines that we couldn't imagine the internet without them, but there was actually a time before Yahoo! and Google existed! There was a point well-made by Heilemann, which was that it used to be dangerous to search the internet before Google, because the wrong term could get you to some pretty sketchy places. In 1999, my favorite band was called Orgy. I didn't dare search for these guys, I made SURE I had the right web address! It was fascinating to see that these search engines were created, again, by young slackers (as slackery as they get after getting in to Stanford, I suppose...) who just enjoyed fooling around with computers. Seeing a trend there. I like how ideas grew from each site as it was developed, which would inevitably turn into another, even more progressive, idea. And so quickly!

The fourth video of the series, People and Power was so great to watch. I was a pre-teen obsessed with music when the Napster craze started -and ended. I remember being in a web design style class in middle school, making a fan page about Blink 182 and The Ataris, bands no one had ever heard of at the time. While working in the computer lab, I was downloading music by bands whose albums I couldn't get my hands on on the east coast. Shawn Fanning, pictured left, was my hero, as creator of Napster.

When Napster was taken away from us by Metallica (Lars Ulrich, how obnoxious) I kept downloading on Limewire, which was so tedious I just gave up. When I got to college in 2004, the music trade was in huge effect on campus. At this time, iTunes was the thing and we could listen to each others accounts, but not download. It was also at this time that Facebook came around.

As a freshman in college, Facebook was brand new and I had no idea how to use it, but I signed up anyway. Then within a few months, I figured it out and everyone at my school was on it, and new colleges were popping up on it at a crazy rate. I guess I was lucky to go to school at UConn, which I didn't know was so close to the origin of Facebook at Harvard. At the time that this documentary was made, Myspace was still bigger than Facebook. I don't think that's the case now; is there a Myspace movie out there starring the delicious Jesse Eisenberg? Guest starring Justin Timberlake? No.  My own Myspace page is like a ghost town, never to be visited again after it truly became unnecessary in 2008 after Facebook gave me no reason to go back there.

These videos offered some great insight. It's insane how quickly the internet changes and how it changes us.

All images acquired through Google Images, as usual.

Search and People Power

I just want to start off with "WOAH"! That documentary was super insightful. I'm not sure if I feel this way solely because I am a mass communication major, but I firmly believe that anyone who wants to be able to use the web to their best advantage (which is everyone these days) should really learn about the history of it and understand where it came from exactly.  These videos did just that.

One of the things I found to be most interesting was the competition between Yahoo and Excite to be the number one search engine which ended with Google being the victor. This is a perfect illustration on how the internet really is a world of it's own to which outside precedents hold no sort of standing. Outside of the web, the more flashy something is, the more attractive it is to us, naturally.  But, with the internet, less is always more.  Who cares if a site has fancy features if it isn't true to what it was created to do.  This is why companies like Google and Apple have had such amazing success.  Simplicity is key.

Another thing that I found to be interesting is how one website really changed the way people interacted. Music is a big passion of mine so naturally I would be interested in the Napster portion of the video.  But I found it truly amazing that this one website, that was meant to share music, really defined internet communities. The whole idea of communication via web really sprang from this website.  Now, in 2012, there are so many modes of communication: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Myspace and the list goes on. It's crazy to think how far it's actually come. To Illustrate this, I've added a video: A World Without Facebook.  It's from 2011, so the facts may have changed a little, but you get the point!

Beauty is in simplicity...

  

First site that caught my eye was Kvalitni Dovolena (Quality Vacation). I thought it was primarily because of the beautiful and good quality photographs but it was not until I found the other ones that I realized what really draws me in. The other sites I liked were Bootsnall  and Unicef.  After examining all of them, I realised that the reason why I like them is their simplicity. The color palettes are simple, almost soothing, the web sites have some "white space" (especially the first one) and the background serves as a framing for the beautiful photographs. The last web site I picked was Gadling--the background is not that simple, but it is not overdone either. (However, I have to admit, that I was also very drawn to the content--the article about illegal Kinder Surprise Eggs broke my heart. I grew up with those and absolutely loved them!)

 What I would like to take from this exercise into the next project is that "the less is  more" and "a picture (it it is a good one) speaks a thousand words". For my next project, I would like to put together a web site for people who plan on traveling to Europe but are on a budget. I want to post some of my photographs, information about some "not so obvious European destinations" and tips for travelers that (hopefully will save them some money and frustration). So far, I am considering Poland, Hungary, and Norway. If time allows (which I doubt) I can add Czech and Slovak Republic. I also know a thing or two about the Ukraine, but I was there in 1999 and a lot probably changed since.

Here is a little taste of Norway I really enjoyed last summer:

Thoughts on "Search" and "People Power" Videos

First of all, that host was a hoot. Super corny but strangely entertaining.

The videos themselves were also pretty interesting, and very informative.

It never ceases to amaze me how fast the web world works (say that fast 3 times). The big dogs of the tech industry are usually pretty smart, but I think it's their quick thinking and ability to act fast that has landed them where they are today. The battle between Yahoo and Excite just seems to me like one big headache! The advertising really got out of hand with those two. Thank goodness for Google and it's more subtle ads.

The "People Power" video was especially interesting to me since communication is the main component of my future career. Many corporate media outlets are angered by the public's ability to broadcast themselves without any expertise. However, I think it's awesome that sites such as Twitter and Youtube have revolutionized news and entertainment. As an aspiring reporter I see these outlets as tools for reaching people across the country or even the world. Digg had a great idea - giving people the power to choose what news is most important. I think that their strategy should and will be copied by news outlets worldwide. 

Holy Browser Wars!

I found the documentaries on the life of the internet extremely interesting. It doesn't surprise me that there was such a vicious struggle for the internet to be where it is today. It's an extremely powerful thing that would but an unbelievable power if anyone was to ever have control of it. I've always hear people relating the internet to Bill Gates, but in all honestly, he just had a failed attempt to be the wealthiest man in the world! On the other hand, he created Microsoft which has a large impact on the internet! I came across an article about how Bill Gates is helping the internet.


The Internet has changed society and a new breed of entrepreneurs is shaping the digital future. The video helped me find out how it all started with Napster, a way of swapping music dreamt up by the teenaged Shawn Fanning. He changed the music industry forever with his file-sharing program.
His idea was simple: a program that allowed computer users to share and swap files, specifically music, through a centralized file server. His response to the complaints of the difficulty to finding and downloading music over the Net was to stay awake 60 straight hours writing the source code for a program that combined a music-search function. I remember using Napster when I was around 12. I had access to every song imaginable. It was all fun and games until copyright laws stepped in. My parents then made me delete the program off our home computer. The history of the internet goes to show that people should never be under estimated! Something that took over the world was created by "geeks."

I was also informed of the browser war between Netscape and Microsoft! 

During the United States v. Microsoft case (which resulted in Microsoft being prosecuted for having used its monopoly status to manipulate the market)  Microsoft planned to to "cut off Netscape's air supply," as stated by a Microsoft executive . This led to Netscape's defeat by the end of 1998. Internet Explorer became the new dominant browser, attaining a peak of about 96% of the web browser usage share during 2002, more than Netscape had at its highest peak of its existence.

After years of battles I'm content with where the Internet stands today. We still face issues with the government wanting to put restrictions on it. Something I will never support. The benefits of the internet outweighs all it's negative aspects and we should appreciate everything about it! 

-Morgan Eaton

Designing the Internet

The amount of sites of the web is huge. Picking just 3 that are well designed is tough, but the following are my picks:

• Pinterest- My praise for Pinterest could go on and on. The idea of pinning items and websites all onto boards is so simple and easy. And the way the website is laid out makes becoming a pinner, very easy. They also make it easy to click on an item and stay where you are on Pinterest through opening a new webpage/tab. Wanna see my boards? Click here!

This is very true!

• Yahoo!- I really like the way Yahoo! is set up. Right away, you can see what is trending and check out the featured news and videos they have. I also like that you can then scroll down the page and see even more articles under different categories. The colors and layout are simple and I like the block divisions on the page. You can even have a Yahoo! profile, much like a Facebook profile, which is something I didn't even know.     

Simple but effective design. 

• YouTube- YouTube is such a big online video player for people all over the world. To have so many people viewing your website daily, it needs to be functional and easy. YouTube is definitely that. All the site really needs is a search bar, but they add their recommended videos based on what you watch and if you're a member, they add the videos you subscribe too. I like the blocked layout and titles of YouTube, I like that it looks simple and the dark colors. One channel I subscribe too is just for laughs and is called Losing All Hope Was Freedom.

Easy on the eyes design.

Here's a video that might make you laugh:

My idea for Project 3 is to do it over Glass Blowing. It is something that really interests me and designing a website about it would be fun! 

How cool would it be to make these type of items?

I like the idea of the layout being different divisions across the page horizontally. With pictures, I like what Pinterest does and I think that would look great with different projects and ideas you can do with glass blowing. I want something simple and I like the dark colors because it seems more sophisticated. 

Some Thoughts on "The True Story of the Internet": "Search" and "People Power"

Both documentaries were fascinating. It was interesting to learn how the big search engines like Yahoo! and Google or sites like Digg and Napster were created--all by very young college students. The thought that was in the back of my head all the way through both documentaries was that what John Heilemann was describing was happening while I was a university student myself (1995-2001). While I was getting frustrated with (at that time) highly acclaimed Altavista, and agonized over the price of music on CDs, my contemporaries, like Shawn Fanning, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page were turning my frustrations into their inventions.

I never gave much thought to what the Internet means and how it has been rapidly changing our lives and the ways we communicate and also do things. Think of shopping--we have a choice of whether we want the instant gratification of walking into a store and buying what we want. Or whether we (at any time of day or night) want to place an order with a few clicks, and have the item delivered to us a few days later. Think of listening to music--one does not need to own a CD player or a similar device any more. You don't even need to use a computer to listen to music, watch a movie, or send an email... When I need to get in touch with my family that lives over 6,000 miles away, I have so many choices: email, Facebook, instant messaging, or Skype just to name a few. We can share pictures through sites like Picasa, Flickr, or Rajce (Czech picture sharing service called "tomato" in English). However, only some 20 "short" years ago, I could choose between a phone call, that would cost a fortune, or "snail mail", that could take three weeks!

I consider the most powerful thoughts from the documentaries to be "communication" and "engagement". The idea of our ultimate desire to communicate and contribute to communication (rather than just be a passive receiver) seemed so true and fascinating.

I also noticed that there was a relevant concept that the documentary missed (or intentionally avoided?). As a result, it was captivating to watch, but for me, ended up being somewhat one-dimensional. Both documentaries were a celebration of what a handful of smart, young (and let’s admit it) privileged college students achieved and how it changed and freed communication over a short period of time. What seemed omitted was the digital divide that was created. Yes, their ingenuity freed communication, but for who? Only for those privileged who have the resources to buy the equipment, gadgets, and Internet service necessary to enjoy this freedom. Even in the United States, there are still a lot of people whose access to the "communication freedom" is very limited.

inter what?

I found the creation of the internet video to be extremely informative. Honestly, I never knew the first actual internet application created was e-mail. I always thought of the internet as the ability to browse. In stead it began with point-to-point communications between mainframe computers and terminals. I also never knew the early computers were the size of an entire room.  I was also amazed to find out the one of the early creators was in his early 20s. An accomplishment like that is extremely encouraging.

Which one would you prefer?

The Internet: Behind the Web

This documentary remined me when I first used personal computer and the Internet. I remember DOS programing class in elementary school. I and my friends learned how to draw diagrams for simple programming. Since my high school days, Korean used Window and later the Internet. At the biginning of the Internet days, some friends made homepage for university clubs. The homepage was so simple that we can see some information which some of us posted on it. Even though amount of  information was scarce than now days, but I excited about writing something on the homepage to share my thinking with my friends and watching humors posted by my friends. As looking back on that time, I did not wonder who made this system and how it worked.After the watching this documentary, I remembered that time and learned a little bit about the history of the early days of the Internet.

I think that the developing of the Internet is contributed by many inventions to be available to use the current Internet such as TCP/IP and Email. I really appreciate the inventor's scientific passion and contribution for the public. I cannot imagine how they could share their incredible inventors with other people. Thanks to their effort, these days, Web 2.0 age, a lot of people can make application for using Web and the Internet and they share them with people in the whole world. I can talk to my mom with Skype and Kakaotalk free of charge. What an amazing world!

Packet Switching and Hot Potato Routing

Two things about the video that I found interesting were the packet switching and hot potato routing. The concept of packet switching interested me because regardless of the size or content of the data, it could still be converted into these packets. I liked the hot potato routing because it reminded me of when I was kid playing hot potato. And what it actually is, is just like the game itself, passing traffic system to system as quickly as possible.

Welcome to the Internet, Please Follow Me

The most interesting thing about the video we watched over the past two days is the fact that the information found therein isn't being taught in elementary or middle school (or Congress, for that matter). Students learn about the origins of the cotton gin, printing press, and telephone, but nothing of the origins of the most important technology ever created, the internet, unless they seek the information themselves. The impact it has made on the world is impossible to overstate. Coupled with exponential growth of processing power in computing, the internet has forever changed how humans (and now even monkeys!) communicate with each other. Say what you will about the state of face-to-face interaction and the role technology plays in its alleged decline, that's another issue entirely, but the advancement of the human race and the knowledge it has attained is largely connected to the continued freedom and progression of the internet.

A conversation I'm quite fond of always begins with a particular question: Where do you see yourself in fifteen years? It's an easy enough question, often answered in platitudes rehearsed for the occasion. When the question changes to where do you see the world in fifteen years, people usually take pause and come up with something along the lines of, "I don't know. Different?" Few people think about the unstoppable merging of humans and technology on a day-to-day basis. I'm fascinated by the concept of transhumanism. The implications of our current technology, information, and knowledge booms, along with the steady and mostly predictable progress of technology and human reliance on it are staggering. Concepts of group mind and the Singularity (honestly one of my favorite subjects) are quickly becoming not only possible, but inevitable.

Tying back to the movie, I find it hilarious that the creators of all of this technology were surprised with what they had wrought in 2000 when those breakthroughs are essentially already obsolete today. I'd love to see a follow-up special by the History Channel, but they're too busy showing auction, pawn, and restoration shows these days to actually discuss something pertaining to history.

All grandiose aside, the internet is a fucked up place.

History of the Internet and World Wide Web

A lot of the video went over my head, but I feel like I got the gist of it. I have a hard time understanding intangible things ... but for the most part the video helped me comprehend the background info on the start of the internet. I thought it was really interesting how a lot of the research and innovation was done by grad students and in universities. It also made me feel very allegiant being that it was invented in the USA. The video was humbling in a sense that it makes you feel almost out of control of the rate of technological growth. It reminded me of the Best Buy commercial with young inventors of currently crazy-popular apps and sites. I didn't know that the internet's start was so closely related to telephones and the Cold War; that was interesting to me.

A New Respect and Understanding of the Internet

I've always thought of the internet as something I could never grasp. To be completely honest, I still don't understand how television, or even radio, works. How is it possible to transfer these bits and pieces of color, information, and sound across cities, countries, continents? Absolutely baffling. But here I am, a person who has always preferred the feel of a pen in hand and the smell of paper to the hard plastic surface of a computer keyboard. This video, however, has clarified a lot about where and how the internet was developed and now I see- it's not so bad.

The first thing I thought of when I saw those gigantic computer rooms in this documentary was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Remember Mike TeeVee, the first kid to travel through television? He stood in front of this giant ray gun and was transported above everyone's heads in tiny little pixels of color and beep beeps, then was put back together again inside the little TV unit. Crazy, right? And then there was the big computer unit that "experts" used to reveal the locations of the last of the Golden Tickets. "I won't tell, that would be cheating," it replied. I always thought this was ridiculous, because I didn't think a machine could be so intelligent.

What initially surprised me about the video was the reason the internet was created. I had no idea the Space Race had anything to do with it, nor did I realize it was created for the US Department of Defense.I thought it was made to play games on Nickelodeon's website and to provide information about my favorite bands. I also did not realize that it is an American creation! I assumed another country had created it and we just took all the credit. How pessimistic.

The fact that grad students were the ones to make all the advances does not surprise me. My cousin is a computer hacker (for which he is now attending college and stands to make a ton of money, I'm sure) and has been doing advanced computer stuff in his sleep since he learned to read. I just learned what a blog was this year, and out of sheer excitement created 4 in my zealous pursuit of this "new" technology. If you look at all the advances in computers in the past twenty years (Napster, Facebook, etc.) you'll see that they are all these young guys (wizards?) who may or may not have even attended college.

This video was certainly eye opening, and I can that there's a whole new respect for how far it's come since the idea was tossed around just 60 short years ago.

The Internet: Behind the Web

Even though I didn't see the first half of the movie there were a few interesting facts that I didn't know before. After President Bush Sr. signed the internet over to the public from the government, there were only 50 websites on the entire Internet. Now in 2012, there are roughly 640 million active websites, give or take. I also found it interesting that Tim Burners-Lee invented the WWW in Cern, Switzerland which made it easier to search specific topics and/or words and phrases.

I thought this picture was pretty neat...

The Internet - A Liberating Invention

I've never really thought about the concept behind the internet. The first thing I remember is getting on "role playing" websites with my friends and creating alter-egos. We were around the age of 12. It was all innocent fun; we would invent a person, usually a super cool version of ourselves, and go on "dates" or out to "parties". My parents soon blocked these sites from our desktop computer.

 

The video we watched in class really opened my eyes to a relatively simple point: No one controls the internet. I guess I've always known that, but I've never really thought about it. It's really unbelievable to me that the government would release something that powerful into the world. The government must have been quite different back then, because these days they want to have a say in pretty much everything. I have an entirely new-found respect for President H.W. Bush. Way to go man.

 

 I also had no idea that the internet was created by the US Department of Defense for military communications purposes. It's kind of funny when you think about it: The whole world has benefited from something that was originally invented to keep Americans in our own little circle of communication.

I also found it funny that the internet was created decades ago for communication purposes, and nobody wanted anything to do with the idea. Phone company after phone company shot it down. These days it's hard to find a phone that doesn't offer internet. It sure didn't take long for those guys to hop on the band wagon.

The Internet Behind The Web

The Internet Behind The Web - Commentary from Liz

I think the documentary was fascinating, and that much of the general public still has no idea the internet we use today began as a research concept in the 1960s.  Pretty amazing. 

The film and our discussions in class also got me to thinking about the ever changing and amusingly outdated technology many of us remember.  A more modern (and comical) view is the image/video that has floated around the net lately of a toddler age baby playing with a magazine and seemingly disappointed when it does not function the same as an iPad touch screen does.  Amazing what children pick up on. There really will be generations of people who have no clue what a VHS tape is or even an 8-track.  

I also thought of the first time I got an email account.  I was a freshman in college in the fall of 1998 (I'm a little older than 22) and I had used computers, typed up school work on them, and played lots of games, but did not have an email account yet.  I can laugh about it now..... since I had to ask someone to show me how to get a Hotmail account.  Me: "Oh? I should get an email address?  Can you show me how to do that?"  A more tech savvy classmate showed me how to find it online. 

I also like this video of a 1981 computer demonstration from the KRON TV channel out of San Francisco:

Though the development of the technology that brought us to where we are today is astounding, I also find it rather amazing that companies like AT&T totally snubbed the idea of the internet when they were presented with it.  I think a lot of companies are still guilty of doing things like that - by that I mean not looking any further than the end of their nose to meet company goals.  Which is why I have faith that people in our field of communications will be able to excel because we know how to use this stuff!  I'll gladly leave the heavy duty software development to computer scientists, but your company needs a profile set up and managed on the hottest new social media sites along with an online media strategy?  Then someone in our field is perfect for the job!  :)

Internet: from its beginnings to its user-friendly

Obstacles and difficulties during the development of the Internet resulted in a user-friendly service.  In In the beginning, the developers of the internet focused on how to connect different terminals without networks in common. Then, they need to improve the size, network, use and functions about the internet related devices and programs.  So far the results showed good signs about the great potential of the internet. From 1967 to 1972, researchers developed the “killer app”: the email, 25 sites online and 19 things to do in the computer.

More applications were needed when more information was available online. The World Wide Web was invested, the software to find information. After the internet was considered as a public resource in 1992 and more websites were created, it was complicated to search information. Then, the next killer app was the browser. Therefore, when the internet was being developing, there were new needs appearing at the same time. Paying attention to those needs, for example looking for easy ways to find information, has been really important to make the internet a user-friendly service.

The Internet

My very memory of using a computer was in elementary school.  We had to take a computer class to learn the basics. When I was young I thought they were the coolest things, but looking back they were rather ancient.  The computers that we used looked a little something like this :

The movie about the internet really made me realize just how far technology has come in my lifetime alone. The very first computers were huge!! In the movie it showed some that were the size of an entire room, and you couldn't really do much of anything on them.  It's crazy to think about.  I am sitting here typing this blog off of my Macbook Pro, which is tiny in comparison.

Another thing that I found to be mind boggling is that none of the telephone companies wanted to have anything to do with the internet.  I mean, now there are so many commercials about how you can get a telephone and internet bundle.  Or even the fact that you can't go anywhere without someone being on the internet on their smart phone.  The movie really made me think about the internet in ways I'd never even thought of.  Seeing as how technology has advanced so much in the short 21 years that I've been alive, I'm excited to see how it evolves even more!

"If Al Gore invented the Internet, I invented spell check."

Although the movie we watched yesterday was older and outdated, I understand that it put the vastness and ever-changing pace of the Internet itself into perspective. I thought it was insane that only a handful of men were responsible for the basic creation of something almost everyone in the free world uses today. And no, people don't just use the Internet for email and games anymore. The ability to search and find huge amounts of information on any topic you can think of is mind-boggling! One major point I appreciated in the film was from the computer wizards constantly working to improve and change the Internet. Even 15+ years ago, they understood what the importance of the Internet and computers would be and continue to be for years to come. For something as limitless as the Internet to completely surpass the widespread use of telephones, TV's, and the printing press in such a small amount of time leaves me in awe. 

I think of the day when I got an AOL account (I was in elementary school at the time) and couldn't wait to start using a new messenger. Before I could even text, I was able to talk to my friends in an instant, without ever having to pick up a telephone or get up off my lazy ass! I remember thinking, "THIS is monumental!" but I never imagined the "genius scientists" who created this would have so many more applications and programs to widen the use of the Internet. I never thought I'd be on Google every waking moment to search food recipes, learn history, even look at pictures of puppies if I so choose!

There are no limitations to the Internet, which continues to astound me because I know in 30 years when I'm considered an old lady, I will probably have no idea how to use the "new" Internet just like my parents before me. With the newest iPhones, computers and software constantly changing the face of the Internet, I can't even imagine what is to come years down the road or what else I'll be able to do with my laptop. 

The film we watched helped me to better understand the creation and first uses of the Internet, but it's amazing that in a relatively short time the internet the inventors knew then and the Internet we know now are two COMPLETELY different things!

Girl, You Don't Know Me

Say, classmates.

What you can't see is my short shorts.

My name is Zechariah Leal and I find these sorts of introductions to be a bit awkward, forced, or whatever; I'll try to skip the typical spiel.

I'm currently in the middle of a move (hence this late post- I was without internet) and hating every second of it. When I'm not miserably tired and loathing my own living space, I'm really quite amicable.

I don't enjoy bars, but drunk people love to talk.

I love conversation. Politics, technology, and philosophy are oft-discussed in my home. I'm currently trying to convince my best friend Kwobby that his newly discovered love of objectivism is ill-founded (he just finished Atlas Shrugged, he's a bit dazzled)- four days and counting; I'm sure I'll reach him soon enough. Above all else, I'm a pragmatist. Logic captivates me and forces me to challenge and defend my personal philosophy often, as it should. Face to face conversation is the perfect vehicle for this necessary discourse.

Me holding a cat, holding Harry Potter. Layers of fun.

Beyond all of that, I'm really into cats. My girlfriend and I have four, far fewer than we'd like, but the most we can have with the three bedrooms we've got. Someday we'll have a cat cafe (a coffee shop with cats, not a cafe for cat patrons) or a cat sanctuary, maybe both. One can dream.

God damn, I love dancing in a suit.

 The rest of my interests (the highlights, at least, presented in no order) generally consist of tennis, electronic music, suits, ties, and cigarettes. I know you like at least one of those, so strike up a conversation. I'm looking forward to this summer session, I'm sure you'll all contribute to my enjoyment of this class.