Sometimes I get invited to speak at things. It's fun. Other times, I get invited to speak at college graduations. Those are beyond fun -- especially when it's the school I got a degree from. 

Here's a photo of me speaking at the University of Colorado's School of Journalism and Mass Communication Fall '11 Commencement. (It was a few months ago, but I finally managed to score some photos -- long story.) I asked the young graduates to raise the roof with me one last time. It was the dumbest thing I've ever done, but I have opted to live without regret.

Did I mention that the ceremony was at Macky Auditorium? Haven't been on that stage since the last TEDxBoulder (which is returning to Boulder on Sept. 22). Gorgeous venue. Huge venue. It dwarfs all.

Having skipped my own commencement back in 2007 because I was too cool for school, it was wonderful to have finally put on a cap and gown. I wore my tassel on the wrong side, but I'm legit enough to own up to it (and not reverse these images before posting them). Live and learn.

Boulder Startup Week returns for its 3rd year of events, breakdancing and derring-do. As the head organizer of the event, I'm privy to all of the potential shindigs as they're submitted. While I'm probably not supposed to pick favorites, I'm going to do so anyway because I'm leaving town at the end of the month. Jerks.

Ignite Boulder

I'm totally biased, but it's totally the best event of the week. Blend public speaking with public geeking -- that's Ignite Boulder. It's sold out, but if you managed to grab a ticket, please come to the front of the stage and say hello.

BoulderBeta 3.0.7

Easily my second favorite event this year, it's not to be missed. Local startups demoing their newest efforts, an iPad giveaway and lots and lots of geeks. 

The Art and Science of Caffeination

This is hosted by my favorite cafe owner *at* my favorite cafe -- Atlas Purveyors. I'm delighted to have something out of the ordinary during BSW. This will be marvelous and jittery.

Speed Bootstrapping 101

The Boulder Chamber is putting this together, and it's going to be rad. I'm honored to have them involved with the week, even though I wore a hoodie to my first meeting with them. (Sorry, folks!)

Kickoff Party with Trada

Trada throws a fine party, and this is their second year in a row hosting the opener. I might breakdance or float serenely above the din whilst sipping a DRY Soda.

MADE Movement and the American Manufacturing Renaissance

Some former colleagues of mine have started a new agency with a fascinating focus. I confess I don't know much about the state of American manufacturing, but I'm eager to get schooled.

Closing Party: Geek Field Day

Quick Left is one of my favorite local companies. They do amazing, amazing work and so I'm stoked to see what they came up with for BSW's closing party. There is nowhere else you should be on Saturday night.

You know how accepting a new quest in World of Warcraft often takes you to a completely new and different continent, full of strange adversaries and stranger avenues? Life is like that. Except without as many dragons.

I am moving to Amsterdam. My remarkable girlfriend Stephanie was offered a dream job there, which she accepted with twinkling eyes and dancing toes. I will be joining her because I can't bear for her to be alone there, being wooed by unsavory Dutch lotharios.

I'll be in Boulder until early June, so all my commitments will be heroically fulfilled. But if I squeeze your hand a bit harder the next time we meet, it's because we may not do so again for a while.

If you have marvelous connections in Amsterdam, please let me know. Every adventurer needs allies.

I have come to the end of the mustachioed road, friends. After giving it 30 days, I have acquiesced to my girlfriend's wishes and extinguished the bristly flame that used to burn 'neath my nose. Here are its final moments for posterity.

To refresh your memory, my old face:

And here is my sweet, sweet face after a 30-day mustache march:

A bit more close up. Gasping is fine.

The still-sparse side that never grew in completely:

And the impossibly more burly side that I refer to as "The Grotto."

It was a hoot. I like the color of it and it was fascinating to watch it fill out. However, it totally made me look way old. I'm not quite ready for that mess. Thanks for your support, my dearest Mustache Militia. Perhaps we'll play this game again in November when it's trendy to do so. 

After tweeting about my flat feet, I got many helpful responses, one of which has led me to Newton Running and the shoes below:

I plan on heading over to the Newton shop in downtown Boulder in a few hours, where I'll try them on and see what the scoop is. I understand that Newton espouses a different style of running than "normal" running. Something about striking the ground with your forefoot instead of your heel. 

I don't know much about all this, but if I can pull off wearing bright yellow shoes, it will be gamechanging for people who say things like "gamechanging."

I'm totally an overpronator. I'm told that means I have flat feet. Which I do. My feet are insanely flat. 

Since I live in Boulder, I have many friends that run. I would like to join them, but running bums my feet out a bunch. They hurt, yo. A couple years ago, I went to the Boulder Running Company and picked out a pair of Nike Zoom Nucleus MC+ shoes after having my stride recorded and analyzed:

I confess they haven't gotten as much use as I'd initially intended. Lately, I've wanted to run more because the weather's nice again and the birds are chirping obcenities at me from the trees. I wish the shoes I'd picked were a bit lighter. They feel bulky. Thoughts or recommendations?

No idea. But I'm trying anyway. 

I did a few searches to see what sorts of things would quicken my mustache pace (B vitamins, getting lots of sleep, buying more socks), and one of the articles mentioned that eucalyptus oil (if applied to your face) would make it grow faster, bigger, better, stronger. 

I put some on last night before bed and awoke to... nothing. And upon application, I recoiled from the smell (which is a rare blend of smelly feet and yummy mint). I figure I'll keep putting it on each night for a week and see if growth hastens on the sides of my mouth (where I'm patchier).

I should also point out that I picked Pharmaca's version without consulting the internets. It was $4, dude.

I have spent the last two weeks growing a mustache. I've never grown one before. Here's my normal face:

My beard grows in pretty nicely. I've never given my mustache region the chance to shine, so I decided to take advantage of a recent bout of influenza to try it out. Thirteen days later, here's the progress:

This part on the side is pretty sparse. I am calling it the Dead Zone:

This side is a bit better. I am calling it the Grotto:

My plan is to give it a full month before determining if I was meant to rock a 'stache. Please make fun of me in the comments.

I love you, Nintendo. You just made my night.

I was just sent a shiny red Nintendo 3DS, and I'm totally losing my mind over it.

I haven't owned a dedicated, portable gaming system since I had the original Game Boy when I was a kid. A big rush of old, old memories flew at me as I set it up, and I'm truly amazed by how far portables have come. It's bright, very quick and almost as sleek as my hair. 

I don't have any wicked games yet, but I played this built-in game called Argames that uses Augmented Reality and special cards to allow you to shoot dragons. I'm very familiar with AR, but I was truly smitten with Nintendo's play on it. As a dedicated World of Warcraft player (Be nice!), I'm always up for a chance to battle a dragon.

Anyway, I'm about to head to South by Southwest for a week, and the Nintendo 3DS is coming with me to keep me company at the airport and on the plane. Perfect timing. If you've got one, feel free to recommend a game or two.

Disclosure: I'm one of Nintendo's delightful brand ambassadors and was provided the item described in this post by the company. I also gave it a little smooch.

I just got the following DM from someone I follow on Twitter:

I don't know what kind of person would spam their follower list, begging for influence, but it's pretty gross. This is the first time I've been the recipient of a message like this (not sure how common it is), and I was pretty surprised. 

Is this a feature that's built into Klout itself? I confess I haven't had a moment to investigate to see if "Ask your friends to give you Klout!" is an option. I suspect it isn't. At any rate, I think it's pretty slimy to go around asking your followers to validate your expertise this way. 

Agreed?