Dr. Greg Seal, prothodontist, gets a great looking site courtesy of RD2.

We first met Dr. Seal back in December; he was friends of Larry. We soon realized that he was serious about making people’s teeth look good and function properly. We knew that the best way to impress him was to show him our commitment to making things look good and function properly.

He had a site that was pretty good, and another one that was even better, but had been halted in production and never made live. We knew we’d have to blow it out of the water if we wanted to do it right. A special thanks to Jeff and all his hard work. He brought the design concepts to the table and kicked off the whole vision for the site. He also visited Dr Seal’s office, and realized the best way to sell the place was with big, beautiful custom photography. So, we called our friend Richard Krall. Richard has worked with us on past engagements, and we knew he’d be able to capture dynamic images of the workplace.

Once we got the custom photos back, Jenny took over the creative lead, and Brandon offered some thoughts on occasion. Once design was final, Mark coded it all, and installed a cool scrolling function on the home page. All of these factors came together to produce some of our finest web design to date, and so you can see why we’re all smiling.

When I was younger someone told me: if given the option of getting upset, or laughing, always choose laughing - especially when this is at your own expense. And I’ve found this true in so many different occasions. A good laugh can instantly erase hours of frustration, or days of resentment, or even weeks of stress.

The other day, I was driving towards yet another early meeting, which would kick off yet another long, demanding day. Stuck in traffic and frustrated at the thousands of other people who thought they had a right to the road at this God-forsaken hour, I called Jenny to tell her I would be late to our meeting. She didn’t answer, so I left her a message, telling her that I was a bit behind, but would be there in a few short minutes. Then I hung up.

Except that my hands-free wireless headset (Sony Ericsson HBH-608) for some reason didn’t end the call when I hit the utility button. So, thinking the call was ended, I resumed my regular practice of rocking out to my iPod-integrated-stereo, and singing along to the tunes which resonate in my soul. (That day’s pick, The Old 97’s, Drownin’ in the Days). About 90 seconds into the song, I heard a nice woman tell me that I had reached the maximum limit for my message, and it was at this point that I realized that the call had been on-going, and that mine and Rhett’s duet had been captured on some digital voice mail server somewhere in Cingular-Land.

Here was the moment of truth. Do I commit the knee-jerk reflex and delete the message, thus evading all embarrassment? Or do I save and send the message, so that Jenny (who’s also had a long week) could enjoy a laugh at my expense? I chose to send the message, which had the desire effect of bringing a smile to Jenny’s day. Incidentally, it ended up bringing a smile to the day of each individual in the entire office as well, as she played it over, and over, and over.

Next time you find yourself looking face-to-face with embarassment, think about if it’s really worth getting upset about, or if there’s a good laugh to be had. Because a good laugh will always make you feel better.

With the holiday spirit abound and many people planning winter vacations, the thought of getting the heck out of Dodge is almost palpable. Not bad timing for Southwest Airlines’ newest addition to the online community: a brand new video blog inviting all to post their versions of the popular “Wanna Get Away” ad campaign. The site was launched yesterday, and has had well over 1,000 unique visitors already.

The idea behind SouthwestWannaGetAway.com reflects one of the main components of web 2.0: allowing users to contribute content. Anyone from the general public is able to create their own “Wanna Get Away” moment, film it, upload it to YouTube, and submit it to Southwest. Winners receive tickets to any of Southwest’s 63 destinations, and one grand prize entry will be aired nationwide.

RD2 is of course excited. In a lot of ways, it was a unique achievement for us. We like to play the role of designer and builder, but this time, most of the design ideas were left up to GSD&M, Southwest’s ad agency since 1980. Collaborating with one of the biggest agencies in Texas and a member of the Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC), a major player in global marketing, was definitely a big first for all involved in the project.