The BlueBobsled

BlueBobsled is on sabbatical

2011-06-05T14:12:00.002-04:00

Hey Sledders,

My sled's slung up on my summer sabbatical shed.

This blog is so 2009.

Follow me now at my much more updated blog:

http://sabbaticalme.blogspot.com

Who's Who At Google New York

2009-11-18T11:45:00.004-05:00

Who's Who At Google New York - Ari Paparo on the DoubleClick DFA team makes the list. Short and sweet insider view.

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Nov 13

2009-11-13T17:34:00.004-05:00

Has it really been 1 month since my posts? Wow well here are some updates:
Part of my blog slackiness was due to a 10 day hiatus while biking in Croatia! The trip was amazing, and I highly recommend my tour company, Vermont Bike Tours. One of my travel mates blogged about the trip on her own blog, saving me the time. Worth a read if you want to learn more about my trip, thanks to the Traveling Hillbilly. I'm toying with the idea of starting a new blog - focused on travel as well. The traveling Hillbilly inspired me a bit, along with Rick Steves, who I saw speak today for his latest book. I read his 1st book (he now has 30 books) before I Eurorailed and moved to France in 1995. It was his 1st book, and I learned a lot from it. To this day (and my traveling friends can attest), I never carry more than my carry-on rollerboard and a backpack.
I am back in the bay area for a while now which I am excited about. Looking forward to getting out on the bike this weekend for a trip around Tiburon.

Oct 7

2009-10-07T11:38:00.003-04:00

In Chicago for the week enjoying some crisp fall weather. Great for runs and leaf peeping. I will be here for the Chicago marathon. Spectating, not running!
Google launches 'simple ads' for the AdWords local market.
Sergey and Eric talk in NY and are featured as TechCrunch's headline article today.

Oct 2

2009-10-02T13:25:00.004-04:00

Google launches new local mobile search.
Bing market share falls for the 1st time since launch to 8.5% down from 9.4.
How are your presenting skills? Up to par? Here's a great refresher that are helpful points to remember. Good for all of us. My favorite one is to remove your badge, and of course less words generally are better. That reminds me of another famous powerpoint best practices by Guy Kawasaki.
Comcast to have a 51% stake in NBC? What would GE do? NBC has no cable offering at this point, so the two could make sense, if not blocked by regulators (likley I think).

Oct 1

2009-09-30T17:34:00.003-04:00

One of the many blogs I subscribe to had a good post about leadership this week. It was a good reminder of what we can each do, every day, to practice leadership in our own ways. I found it inspiring and perhaps you will too! Summed up nicely it states

Three things to remember, for continuous learning:

Raise your self-awareness regarding your leadership effectiveness
Get out of your comfort zone, try new things and learn from your mistakes
Be curious and learn from others

What have you done today to raise your self awareness? What could do out of your comfort zone?

Sep 30

2009-09-30T12:23:00.002-04:00

Chicago for 2016 Olympic summer games? The four cities bidding to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games - Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid - are ramping up their bids for a Friday decision. The Obama's arrive in Copanhagen today and tomorrow to lobby. This WSJ article highlights Chicago Mayor Daley's take, and his swaying stance on how the city will cover any losses for the games. Given the finalists, its likely Chicago or Rio will be chosen IMO. I'm all for it and would be there in 2016. Follow progress on GameBids.
Speaking of Olympics, I am looking forward to my own trip to 2012 in Vancouver BC in February 2010. Lots of hockey and speedskating in my future. I couldn't fork up the $500+ per ticket for figure skating, sorry Canadian relatives.
What are the top 10 attractive cities for youth? WSJ reports Washington/Seattle (tie), followed by NYC, Portland, and Austin. San Jose made #6. Congrats to my bro and my friends in San Jose! Interesting article as why even 11% unemployment city like Portland still has appeal.

Sept 29

2009-09-29T14:59:00.003-04:00

September always flies by, but this was fast. Hello, October (well almost)
Google's YouTube finds Money in Analytics

Sept 23

2009-09-23T20:35:00.001-04:00

More info on the Google Advertiser Exchange, this time starring Neal Mohan

Sept 22

2009-09-22T12:16:00.002-04:00

More updates on the Adobe/Omniture deal. Omniture CEO Josh James gives his commentary to MediaPost today. He has some good ideas on integration and how it will benefit and automate the industry. I think we are all up for that.
Netflix announced its $1M prize winner for improving its movie recommendation system. I remember when this was announced about 6 months ago, and it seems like a cool idea. I'm a big Netflix fan, so I'm looking forward to getting more accurate recommendations myself!
Gearing up to explore Napa and dine at the CIA this weekend. That's Culinary Institute of America to you and I. I have never been to the CIA, but I'm very excited to have an amazing lunch on Saturday, with my food scientist Seattle friend Joanne. Of course, I'll have to stop at Jessup, my Yountville based wine club for a tasting and a wine pick up. I'm 2 shipments behind!

Sep 21

2009-09-21T12:40:00.005-04:00

Omniture partners with comScore to deliver "unified audience measurements" to publishers and advertisers. What does this mean for you? As CMO Linda Abraham comments, "The initial phase of the partnership will provide publishers with a turnkey solution for inclusion in comScore Media Metrix 360 measurement. This means that publishers who are already Omniture clients will be able to leverage the beacons that are already in place to quickly bypass the normal beacon implementation process for Media Metrix 360. Additionally this partnership opens the door for joint product initiatives that will leverage the granularity of the Omniture site-specific data with the Web-wide view of Internet user behavior provided by comScore."

I completed the Santa Cruz triathlon yesterday. My race was great. The most daunting part is the swim around Santa Cruz pier. After a dip to get 'acclimated' to the 60' water, it didn't seem half as bad. I had my best time yet for olympic distance, and even won a beach towel. It's a beautiful course, and fortunately it stayed foggy and cool for all of us.

I got giddy when I found this article today. It's siking me up for my upcoming *big* holiday - biking through Croatia with VBT.

Sept 18

2009-09-18T14:05:00.003-04:00

Google Launches the DoubleClick AdExchange today.

Sept 17

2009-09-17T12:37:00.002-04:00

A new, innovate adserving platform launched this week called 5to1. The founders, a team from myspace and Fox Interactive, have a great approach to network advertising - pick your ads a la carte, itunes shopping style. From this WSJ article, it sounds like a helpful model for publishers, to ensure and control what runs on their site. If they've figured out the mechanics of how it works, it should be a success. Good luck, 5to1!
Simulmedia is out of the bag. Dave Morgan, founder of 2x7 and Tacoda networks, announced his latest startup that will "help programmers, distributors, advertisers and, ultimately, viewers, manage an ultra fragmented television marketplace." Given Dave's success on past initiatives, this should be welcomed by the TV industry as a new approach to improve media buys.
Google to buy Brightcove? Mediapost reports on the rumors...

Sept 16

2009-09-16T12:31:00.002-04:00

The big news of the day, Adobe buys Omniture for $1.8B. Omniture's CEO will join as new SVP of the business unit. This was an unlikely pairing but makes great sense for both companies and will ultimately help "accelerate the ability to deliver on vision of enabling customers to optimize their digital interactions."
Google Fast Flip launched! Try out Fast Flip to browse a la 'magazine' style. Checking out a news story? Try the flip and see what you can peruse and find. Is it easier? Faster? More info?

Sept 15

2009-09-15T12:09:00.004-04:00

This weekend I finished my MS Waves to Wine Ride. Over 2 days, myself and 2000+ other riders cycled 150 miles from San Francisco to Lake Sonoma over 2 days. It was a great ride, and the cool temperatures kept pushing us onwards. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to my fundraising. I raised $1450 total which I'm very excited about.

My former employer, France Telecom, popped up in the news today. Apparently, FT is doing its part to end suicides and "stop the infernal spiral" of suicides among workers at the former state-owned monopoly, including surveillance and counselling programs. The WSJ claimed suicides at FT (100,000+ workers) were not out of proportion to the general population. The gesture is a thoughtful one, but also seems a bit out of place, no? At the very least FT can help bring awareness to the issue, sponsor conseling, or other means to talk about issues to avoid this morbid avenue.
Speaking of suicides, today's other announcement of Rockefeller's investment manger/NYSE board member James McDonald committed suicide at 56. Everyone declined comment when asked questions relating to the story. It makes me wonder what and why someone would take their own life when they appear to have so much on the outside.

Sept 11

2009-09-11T14:10:00.003-04:00

Today, I awoke restless and had some energy to burn. Never mind the next 2 days of riding 150 miles for MS. I ran a 4.5 mile loop down to the ball park and around the beautiful and serene waterfront to the ferry building. When I got to the ball park, I was greeting by an unexpected 9/11 memorial

Living in San Francisco, the annual 9/11 anniversary is never as stark as when it passed in NYC. It was great to see this today, and I paused to remember that terrible day and how much everything changed.

Sept 3

2009-09-02T19:37:00.004-04:00

I just saw this video on YouTube featuring my brother's software audio visual graphics for rapper Soulja Boy/Kiss me through the phone video. You can't see them that well except for a few pan-outs, but they're there in the background after Whopee's intros!
TechCrunch has an interesting insight - apparently the Onion is bubbling up to the top of Google News Search Results. The Onion's satire is always amusing, and could even be relevant. Will it stay in search results? I say yes.

Sept 2

2009-09-02T19:29:00.002-04:00

Happy September. Without as many visulal queues as I used to have on the east coast, it's hard to believe September is here. September is always a busy time of year for most folks, and marks the start of my favorite season. Even without rustling leaves and brisk breezes, I still enjoy it, especially on the west coast with the hottest months of the year.
Only 2 more weeks until my 150 mile bike ride for MS. I've raised $1400 to date. Thanks for all your support. I am feeling somewhat ready as I've been doing weekly training rides and also training for my 3rd olympic triathlon this year the Santa Cruz Triathlon. After September, it will be nice to take a few weeks off!

Aug 26

2009-08-26T12:30:00.002-04:00

Just your everyday Joe's using the myTouch. The new T-mobile commercial for TV, Theaters, online, and print kicks off tomorrow. I will be right along with them - I have one myself. Very excited about the new extended battery life (5h talk time or so).

Painted ladies in the Hayes

2009-08-25T12:39:00.001-04:00

image/jpeg

Aug 25

2009-08-25T12:37:00.002-04:00

Today is a proud day for me. I took and passed the CA license exam. I

went about a month ago but didn't have my paperwork quite right, so today I
returned to settle up. The CA dmv is pretty much the same as the nys dmv. It
is scary to think what the world would be like if everything was so
inefficiently run as the dmv. Probably a bit like the old Russian bread
lines.

More news online ads boost offline sales. We already had a big hunch this was the case. Evidence is mounting that online is as effective as TV, posted on Google's blog. I tend to agree, especially for brand awareness campaigns. This is terrific news for online advertising who've figured out how to make campaigns effective, and drive their sales in the online and offline world.

Aug 24

2009-08-24T12:31:00.002-04:00

Are you neutral or subjective when you blog? A new development called sentiment analysis is taking place on the internet. What's interesting about this is that web mining is taking a new form - feelings, vs facts to diagnose a web page, and better understand intentions and mass stream of consciousness. The computer science plot thickens!

San Francisco scenic shot guest starring - fog

2009-08-21T18:24:00.001-04:00

image/jpeg

Aug 21

2009-08-17T15:35:00.004-04:00

A few days ago, MSNBC.com purchased local news site everyblock - which has a interesting site for SF. It reminds me of another site...lets see? Ah yes, a very Google Analytics modeled layout for police calls, crime blotters, threats, you name it. Great way to learn what you probably didn't know about your hood.
comScore/dunnhumby study shows CPG online advertising works to build retail sales on par with TV. "Revealing that the Internet can be as effective an advertising medium as television advertising. Over the course of twelve weeks, online ad campaigns with an average reach of 40 percent of their target segment successfully grew retail sales of the advertised brands by an average of 9 percent. This compares to an average lift of 8 percent for TV advertising as measured by Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) and published in their seminal research paper “How Advertising Works.”
TGIF people! Have a great weekend.

Aug 17

2009-08-17T15:16:00.003-04:00

Got Gmail? It's officially the 3rd largest email provider after AOL and Hotmail. I have used Yahoo and MSN in the past and present myself. I prefer gmail myself, then hotmail then yahoo. Yahoo is crazy ad-centric, where my reading space is compromised unless I want to pay for 'premium' email services. Er no thanks. I may as well just go back to rowgirl@mail.com, where I'd get a new ad page inbetween clicking on an email link and then reading it. Maximum distruption and intrusiveness.
Yesterday was another great day to sail on the bay. Some good wind and fog-less closer to the Marin and Angel Island side. On the way back home from Sausalito we stopped at Cavallo Point just under the Golden Gate Bridge on the Sausalito side. I have never ventured over there, but there is some great sights and attractions. It even looks like the Presidio, only a bit newer. Next time you're in Sausalito, drive by and have a drink at the hotel and gaze out to the bay to see the tankers, birds, and outriggers pass by.

Aug 11

2009-08-11T13:39:00.003-04:00

7 Great Adserver Solutions - my favorite is up there. A good high level comparision of today's top options for serving ads on your web site. A few are free (Google Ad Manager, Open X)
I haven't seen this myself, but I am going to start looking. Goats are one of my favorite animals. Way better than pushing a lawn mower, my least favorite chore (another apt living perk).

Google Hires Goats To Mow Its Lawn (GOOG)

Flash gets tricky with cookies. Great Wired article on how there's new technology out there that 'bends' around existing privacy policies. It's gettig a lot of attention now that Google and behavioral targeting is getting more attention these days.

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Aug 10

2009-08-10T15:06:00.003-04:00

As rumored, Publicis buys Razorfish, the advertising arm of Atlas, from Microsoft for $530M in auctioned treasury shares. This is a good move and a value buy. It also makes the French agency a much larger player in the digital advertising space. Publicis can expand its digital advertising and generate up to 25% of its sales in this area. Razorfish can once again be an agency that supports all types of digital clients.
This weekend was a great training weekend for MS Waves to Wine. I am keeping a riding blog/log on my personal fundraising page. Lots of hills yesterday. I really enjoyed the ride. We took lots of good breaks to combat the 1400ft climb!
Looks like Gietner is also feeling the housing slump. The trickle-up effect spares no one, as John Stewart shows us on the video clip.

Aug 6

2009-08-06T12:55:00.004-04:00

How much is Google's brand worth? $100 billion according to Millard Brown. MSFT is #2 followed by Coca-Cola. Some other usual suspects at top brand value follow (Apple, IBM, Blackberry). Who's missing? I didn't see Tide or P&G up there, but then again maybe its becuase they keep changing their brand (diluting it in my opinion)
I am enjoying watching The Ascent of Money - a 1-hour episode, 4 hour series shown on PBS. I'm on episode 3. This is a great tale of how money historically has come and gone, and what countries, economies, and industries have learned along the way. They are beautifully made and produced, and very insightful. Watch them for yourself on pbs.org.

I swam for 45 mintues this morning. Very tiring. Probably because I'm learning a new technique that Paul was kind enough to show me. It feels very different, and I can tell I'm using my upper body lots more than my old stroke (thanks to camp swimming lessons). Let's hope it pays off, or at least I can do it for 1.2k for my upcoming triathlon in September.

Aug 5

2009-08-04T19:52:00.006-04:00

Kevin Ryan chats briefly about stealth mode in starting a company on Silicon Alley Insider
The new Android myTouch launched today. I'm seriously thinking my Blackberry Pearl 8100 has had a good run, but its time to join the mobile 3G brigade. I'm already a big T-mobile fan so its a just a matter of taking the plunge and coughing up $199.99

I found a great new online hiking resource for bay area hikes. It looks like it's already a book. I hope to use it this Sunday in Marin county. I've thought about this hike for a while at theAudubon Preserve. Maybe its time to go.'

Yesterday I had one of my favorite deserts. This cake is so good. It is fairly dense, if done right, so eat sparingly. Although that can be difficult at times (like yesterday).

Aug 4

2009-08-04T18:17:00.002-04:00

First comic I've seen on Microhoo. Enjoying it!
Depeche Mode is coming to my neighborhood (Mountain View) next Wednesday. It could potentially be my 2nd Depeche Mode concert I've been to, and my 2nd seeing them alone! (a bit of a die hard)

Aug 3

2009-08-03T12:42:00.002-04:00

Happy August - my favorite month (due to birthday at the end)
comScore backs up why the click doesn't matter in online advertising. I am a big fan of comScore, and this is a great article that details exactly what should be the focus instead: sales impact and post-buy analysis. The emphasis echoes what I communicate every day in my work - display ads help search succeed and vice versa. Marketers are waking up to this, but there's still plenty of CMOs and the like who need futher convincing, at big Fortune 500 companie
Eric resigns from is seat from the Apple board today. Interesting commentary about why, which is in principal how Apple and Google differ on vision. Oh yes and the FCC. All this 2 days before the new Android appears in stores. It's for the best.

July 31 - resurrection

2009-07-29T17:19:00.003-04:00

The Blue Bobsled is back!

I took a few months off the editorial desk. The truth is - I like updating the Sled! Sure, I can Twitter and Facebook update away, but there's something about the flow and daily postings I find satisying. I'll continue to focus around Online Advertising and personal updates, or anything else I find interesting.

Having to do with neither online ads nor personal updates, the Sears Tower , or Willis Tower, has an impressive all-glass Skydeck Ledge to help your vertigo.
There's a lot in the news about Microhoo lately. My favorite article of choice is from yesterday's WSJ - and how Carol Bartz (and Jerry Yang) missed the boat. It's good to see these two companies joining forces, but why so long? How did it get to this? Now Yahoo! is giving up its own technology, and some of its revenue, without a large buyout payoff. It's too bad, but at the same time at least its finally happening, and we'll see how it does from there.

March 26

2009-03-26T12:39:00.003-04:00

Even the casual YouTuber probably recognizes the 'numa numa' guy, or as the euro-trash refers to it, 'lalala he!' song, he's got a new gig. Now he's getting tight with Geico. Very funny and another good marketing tactic for just a plain vanilla insurance company. For those who want a refresher of 'numa numa' (one of my personal favorites - by Ozone btw and yes I have the vinyl!) check him out here in the gig that got him famous.

March 24

2009-03-24T16:25:00.002-04:00

My cousin Steve made some waves at SXSW film festival this month.

Check out his interview about his documentary "weekend pictures" on the subject of privacy.

Then check out his interactive feature Weekend Pictures

Mar 9

2009-03-09T15:10:00.003-04:00

Spent the weekend up in Tahoe!
Heading up to sugarbowl this week - new mountain for me.

I've been checking out TipJar - Google's release of social networking centered around tips for better living - finance, health, misc, travel. A lot of good ones out there. A good one I just found is that if you throw 3 tennis balls into the dryer, it has the same effect as costlier, chemical based fabric softeners. Who new?

March 6 - in like a lion

2009-03-06T20:32:00.003-05:00

Where has the time gone. I suppose it's been logging most of my time on the road to Tahoe, working hard (well, not really working) to get the most out of my 1st season's pass at Lake Taohe, at Kirkwood. Speaking of which, I'll be off early tomorrow at 6am to head out to Kirkwood. D-train and I have a good system: Friday eve we pack and prep, Saturday we head out at the crack of dawn for the mountain, ski, find motel that's reasonable but not ghastly bad, ski again on Sunday, then head home. We're getting pretty good at it. This will be our 4th weekend heading up to the Sierras.
Daylight Savings - remember you lose an hour Sunday. Be sure to ski extra late on Saturday to make up for it. I know I won't be getting up any earlier.

Feb 8

2009-01-08T20:10:00.002-05:00

Where do I get my online laughs?

http://fuckyoupenguin.blogspot.com/
www.failblog.org
www.catsinsinks.com (not so funny but mildly amusing)

Jan 7

2009-01-06T13:49:00.003-05:00

A great read on Mediapost for the anyone planning SEM or how to take their search to the next level
A few good stats out there today on display advertising and market share: Google 57%. This used to be much lower (<20%)>

Jan 5 2009

2009-01-06T12:27:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year. As I sit here on a gloomy wintery bay day, I have high hopes for 2009. Some of which are:

- Finish furnishing my condo

- take swimming lessons

- join a gym (new pad doesn't come with it this time)

- visit some national parks (Grand Canyon, Zion) would be great

- revisit Hawaii

Those are just a few quick thoughts at this point. I'm sure others will materialize as the year progresses, but that's a good start for now.

In the Internet advertising world, things are also humming along. The 'lull' everyone thought may happen during the holiday break wasn't really a lull - it was more a steady hum for clients getting things done at the last minute. Everyone is predicting things will slow down a bit, given the state of economy, etc. I think that may happen slightly but overall online ads and video won't be too diminished from 2008 levels. It's still the fastest growing medium for advertising.
Facebook topic. I go in and out of using this tool. Everyday brings a new face/blast from the past to my inbox. This article on MediaPost today is all about the next wave: 1:1 video. A few weeks ago I had a friend video a hello message and I thought it was very cool. I didn't video her back, and probably should have, but it's a perfect example of the video effect. What will be next? mobile video messages? facebook live mapping tools? I think all of the above.

Dec 10

2008-12-09T17:13:00.004-05:00

It turns out I have 16,000 Delta skymiles that expire on 12/31/08. These days I rarely fly Delta, since any flights on the west coast usually fly via Salt Lake City. I thought a great way to use these is to 'gift' them to my parents, who are skymile junkies. However, it appears that to gift miles you have to buy them...wha? This doesn't make sense to me, and I certainly don't want to pay $60 per 2000 miles when I have 8x more that are due to expire that I earned flying. Since I don't need any new magazine subscriptions (the other option for miles due to expire), I wonder if the skymiles are going to the big fluffy clouds in the sky sooner than I'd like. The WSJ reports that many mileage programs are cuting back and only about 35% of flyers are styaing loyal to their airlines in the current economy. Definitely not surprising.
Back from LA, no longer sick! Check out the new Airbus 380 at LAX (pic on twitter)
Almost finished painting the new pad, pics coming soon- hopefully next week.

Nov 23 - home snow home

2008-11-24T12:33:00.003-05:00

I came out of the 12 hour in-transit relatively unscathed. No delays, and even got in slightly early on connection and to upstate NY.
I'll be spending the rest of this week in central NY watching the snow-covered trees sway in my family's front yard. Warning me to not bother to exercise out in the chilly air (no sweats!), but just stay inside in my thick socks. My brother is also home, and this week we're planning a day trip to Ithaca and some excursions out for movies and beers. I think I see Quantum Solace in my future soon.

Nov 19

2008-11-19T13:26:00.003-05:00

I'm not looking forward to spending 12 hours in transit from San Francsico to a chilly Syracuse on Saturday. I'm even missing the 1st ever YouTube Live event November 22nd. For anyone who's not spending 12 hours in transit, you can check out this free streamed event that will be happening all day with dozens of performances. I see "mythbusters" as a confirmed guest - perhaps live stunts are also part of the program?
My fellow Fordham alumni and friend Joe Kutchera got a shout out today for his new role at ContextWeb, heading up Spanish speaking contextual advertising. Joe just returned to NYC after a stint in Mexico City. Unfortunately, I can't speak Spanish with him when we catch up, but I'm excited to see he's back stateside and working on such exciting stuff. It's great to see ContextWeb realize and seize this market opportunity as well, as 23 million spanish speaking web surfers are out there.

Nov 18

2008-11-18T13:31:00.004-05:00

Things aren't bright for online advertising's near term, according to Citi analyst Mark Mahaney. "October spending in display saw a sharp deceleration from September as advertisers continue to worry about the macro environment," he wrote. "Premium, guaranteed advertising, especially, has been highly impacted across all verticals." Mark does note however that there are some sunny patches such as vertical ad networks. After all there's only 300 or so of them out there. I see some consolidations/filtering out in the next six to nine months, if not sooner.
The real big headliner today is about Jerry Yang stepping down from Yahoo's top post. This isn't suprising to me, and in fact I'm suprised it took this long. WSJ blog names several successors both inside and outside of Yahoo who could fill his shoes. Among them Meg Whitman, Tim Armstrong from Google, Kevin Johnson of Microsoft (who was supposed to run Yahoo after acquisition) and Susan Decker Yahoo's current President. I predict an annoucement before Thanksgiving. The successor? I think an outsider will be picked, someone who has a proven record of turning around companies with an operations or financial background. Who that will be remains to be seen.

Nov 17

2008-11-17T13:08:00.003-05:00

The weekend was great. A record high of 80 on Friday, and sunshine everywhere around San Francisco. Unfortunately I am still cramming in apartment painting so I didn't take advantage to the weather unfortuanately. I keep forgettig to snap progress photos - but here's one from earlier in the process. I'm glad to report this room is now 100% complete. And full of all my boxes now...
Have you seen Obama's fireside chats yet? The press is comparing it to Roosevelt's fireside chats on national radio. Due to air weekly during his transition period and with 3:34 running time, it seems like a good way to get out some quick thoughts. If you go to search for it on Youtube however, it's not there. My guess is the strategic placement of this on change.gov is also introducing him to his complete 'brand' and what he stands for and an opportunity to learn more about him from his site.

Nov 13

2008-11-13T16:38:00.003-05:00

I'm enjoying these photos about White House Perks. There's some great links here to view Barack family and days in the senate. My favorite is Michelle Obama's expression while getting her finger pricked for an HIV test in Kenya.

Nov 12

2008-11-11T17:51:00.005-05:00

Feeling lousy? Sneezing or coughing? Maybe you have or think you have the flu. There's a bit of buzz about the new google.org Flu trends site. My boyfriend heard about it on the radio yesterday. It's on WSJ's personal homepage today. I'm sure bloggers all over are talking it up. It seems like a great joint effort headed by the CDC to predict epidemics. Don't forget to check it out and get your flu shot if you see your area rapidly swarming with infestation.
Now you can hear and see your gmail as well as read it. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122643926441518379.html?mod=djemTew
Syracuse, NY is a mere 10 days away. Home of the only upside down traffic light in the US. That's right, I'm heading home for the holidays. Hopefully only by planes, and no trains or automobiles. For any of you 'cusians, I'm planning to post an event on Facebook that week. Stay tuned for details.

Nov 11

2008-11-10T17:49:00.004-05:00

Swallows the World?

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/ad-share-shift-update-google-swallows-world

I think the title here is a bit over the top. So print and other traditional channels are losing. Is this Google's fault? Would this not be declining if it were only Yahoo, MSN, and AOL taking a bit out of traditional media? My guess is yes. In my eyes, online is merely playing catch up with it's traditional media sisters. If online ad spending matched online eyeballs, this figure would be closer to the 30% of ad spending dollars. There's still some catching up to do.

Hard to believe but does anyone out there remember the MySpace suicide story? It's almost a year to the day (Nov. 15 2007). Tradegy stuck again today when the state of Missouri did not bring any charges. However the plot thickens with a new indictment - fraud for setting up a fake name account on MySpace. Unfortunately the web's dark side, and dark people, stepped out of the shadows on this one. It's just another reason to be smart on the Internet - check in with your online kids. Educate your kids. Be smart on the Internet. Unfortunately, I don't think this type of harassment will go away anytime soon, and it's extremely difficult to prevent. Educate and use judgement, always.

Nov 10

2008-11-10T14:02:00.006-05:00

- It's official. Eric say's he's staying put at Google and nay to the US Tech Czar post.
- WSJ published its top 40 women to watch in 2008. Apparently a third of them work in the financial sector (#1 is head of have some work cut out for them) including Sheila Bair, "who has been thrust into the spotlight in her bank-rescue role as a hard-charging regulator at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp." Good luck there, Sheila.
- My new apartment is coming along nicely in the painting dept. thanks to Rachael & Doug DIY Painter Corp. We are halfway through. Yesterday we finished painting these walls and removed the tape. All that's left to do is paint the baseboards white, or 'silver feather'. Oh yes, and the other 2 bedrooms. There's also a lovely shop-vac that's been idle in the bathroom since the contractors finished there. Anyday now I hope its owners come by for it.

Nov 6

2008-11-06T15:11:00.003-05:00

I haven't brought up any Internet Advertising news in a while. I have come across plenty of insights, but haven't been blogging them. It's time to start again!
Mary Meeker strikes again and her NYTimes article sheds some light on what to expect in the near future for advertising and online channels. I remember when stocks would rise and fall like window shades based on her reports and press quotes. The mere title "Cheerful Gloom" reminds us there may be tough times ahead, but there's a silver lining at the end due to emerging platforms, and increased global traffic.

Nov 5

2008-11-05T19:26:00.003-05:00

Yes we did. At least that's what my friend Leigh says (works on Obama's web site at bluestatedigital.com). Last night Obama won in a landslide victory. I thought it would be a much closer, slower race. But at 8pm PST, we had a clear winner. Just when I was sitting down to eat my pasta dinner. We were going to pop open a bottle of bubbily, but realized we should dive into my chocolate cake and save the bubbily for when we can actually finish a bottle of champagne.

Nov 4 - Election Day!

2008-11-04T12:10:00.005-05:00

Enjoy your election day, free cup of coffee, free scoop of ice cream, and anything else that helps for the cause.
Check out the real-time election tracker Google gadget below:

- I got a kick out of this on Truemors.com - the Google logo guy

- Vote Vote Vote!

Nov 3 - Rainy season is here

2008-11-03T18:27:00.002-05:00

It looks like the rainy season has hit the bay area. It seems odd to have rain after, oh 10 months of no rain, but I know we need it. I just have to put up with soggyness for a bit.
Everyone is gearing up for the election tomorrow. It seems like many things are free.
Free starbuck coffee, Free Ben & Jerry's. Nice promotions for a good cause. As an absentee voter, I don't know what I'll be able to snab.
After checking out the YouTube barackobama.com page, I went to the site and couldn't believe how well organized its volunteering section is. I mean, within moments I had options to volunteer today or tomorrow to make calls to swing states on the candidates behalf. Very web 2.0. I think that is due to some tech savvy folks (wasn't there a facebook exec who left?) leaving their posts for the obama campaign.
Remeber to cast your vote tomorrow in the US! It's a priviledge for all of us.

Oct 14 - gearing up for new pad

2008-10-16T12:44:00.002-04:00

For those of you who followed my eipc 2-day bike ride and udpates, thanks for all your support. I was busy updating my MS page and neglected old Blue.
Now that the ride is over and I blew my fundraising goal out of the water, I'm focusing this month on moving. I bought a condo here in San Francisco, and move in October 25th. Needless to say, lots of spare moments are spent rolling items in newspaper, packing boxes, and purging. Pics of the new pad coming soon.

Sep 2 - How I spent my Labor Day weekend

2008-09-02T17:47:00.003-04:00

My latest bike route was a windy-windy 45 mile loop in North Lake tahoe on Saturday. Combined with the altitude, it definitely helped prepare me for the upcoming 2-day 150 MS ride (did I mention I'm fundraising?) Feel free to click the MS icon on the Right.

Truckee-Tahoe l oop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Aug 18th - Tri for fun

2008-08-18T13:49:00.003-04:00

On Saturday I finished a fun-tri that in Pleasanton, CA (east bay). At the nice early hour of 7am, Jess and I showed up with 9 minutes prior to the start. Luckily in wave 4 we had a bit more extra time. It was a fun tri, so no official times were taken, but I did still get marked up with my number (why?) and timed myself, for a finish time of around 1:13. 8:10 swim, 33 min bike, and 30 minute run, plus a few minutes here and there in the transition area. I had a great race, deciding to hang back in the swim til the fasties took off, and had a great bike and run ride.
Here's a map of the bike ride portion:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/ride/united-states/ca/pleasanton/760441701070

or just check out this map:
Pleasanton Tri For Fun Bike Route
Find more Bike Rides in Pleasanton, California

This coming weekend I need to switch into running gear - I am a last minute sub for hood to coast - the longest and biggest running relay race in the country, from Mt. Hood OR to the coast near portland!

I took a picture but it was blinded my my inappropriate flash from my cell phone - so sorry no pics :|

Happy training,
Rachael

Aug 12th - Olympic games rowing blog

2008-08-11T18:29:00.003-04:00

My good ole coach and friend Glenn Merry blogs from Beijing as part of US Rowing on how the opening ceremonies went, and all the rain at the rowing venue. Very entertaining and some good video and pics of the custom $100 made-in-china tailored suit. Good job Glenn. Good luck!

Aug 4

2008-08-04T19:47:00.003-04:00

This was a very active weekend. On Saturday I decided to test my cycling legs and try a 'metric century.' It sounds much harder than saying "100k" It was a very scenic and fun ride around Marin. I didn't have room to take the camera, so no pics, but there were about 1000 folks joining us, along with seasoned biking friends. I managed to survive and felt tired, but really happy and challenged after the day. I have a bit of work ahead of me, as you may know I've registered for a 150, 2 day Waves to Wine bike ride for MS in September in the bay area. On a side note, I am really loving my new bike! Thank you BMC and Endurance for pointing it out to me!

Sunday was a day of rest, but one on the high seas of the SF Bay. I gathered up a gaggle of friends to join me on a day sail from Sausalito to Jack London Square and Angel Island. We had all kinds of conditions. We left at noon, so it was windier than usual due to the later time of departure. Winds were about 24 knots at their pick on the way out, so we flew over to Oakland in no time, thanks to tailwind and current. When we got to Alameda, we made a necessary and well-needed pit-stop at one of my favorite bars, Heinold's First and Last Chance. Founded in 1883, this place is still standing. Barely. Literally, it's where sailors who were headed into the Great Pacific had their 'First and Last Chance' to grab a drink before heading out. the bar is dark, dank, musty, slanted from the 1906 earthquake, and filled with memorabilia from the last 130 years. Like McSoreley's for sailors. The Bloody Mary's are reportedly top notch here, as reported by my fellow sailors. (I prefer the Moosedrool bottles). Thanks to captain Max for another great day on the bay! (I didn't take any pics here either but maybe I'll borrow a few from my friend Amy who managed to take some great shots).

July 14

2008-07-14T15:53:00.001-04:00

Happy Bastille Day tout le monde. Celebrate your inner Frenchieness with some pommes frites or freedom fries. As you wish.
I'm off today to Vancouver for 2 days, then I'm off to Boston on a red-eye Thursday to almost start my week off next week.

July 10

2008-07-12T21:30:00.002-04:00

Today I joined mapmyrun.com - apparently you can post your workout route like this one I did today. It was a bike ride on the new bike, not a run :). After wolfing down lunch in Sausalito around mile 34, my legs were S H O T.
Mapmyrun.com is a free, very web 2.0 cool. Search for friends, rate routes, map a new run/bike/walk/dog walk/kayak/canoe, and have your own training log. Best of all, you can see how many calories you burned. Today: 1500 calories on the 42 mile loop! I'd heard about it from friends and decided to check it out. Give it a whirl

It took about 4.5 hours, including lunch.
Alta Plaza to Paradise Loop
Find more Bike Rides in San Francisco, California

July 8

2008-07-08T13:48:00.002-04:00

I think I have a new favorite pastime in San Francisco. I bought a road bike about 2 weeks ago from EndurancePTC...a cycling training center based in San Francisco and Marin. Now that I've ridden the bike 3 times (going strong I know) I am really liking it. Today I went to check out one of their ecycling classes. These are indoor 90 minute sessions, where you bring your own bike and hook it up to a computer indoors, and ride like the wind to crazy music. (I loved the music, not sure if the older gents enjoyed Prodigy or Foo Fighters as much as I did). I am happy to say I survived the class, and I'm totally hooked. Maybe it was watching the Tour de France live on the 8ft projector screen behind our instructor. It reminds me a lot of rowing on the erg - you're just a little more haunched over on the bike.
Speaking of bikes, this weekend is the Donner Lake Triathlon I'm doing. I feel ready after jamming in so much last weekend. This ride today helped also. Now it's just relax, and try not to injure myself crossing the street or the like before Sunday. I'll be camping up at Donner Lake Memorial State Park, along with Jessica who's doing it again with me (we attempted 2 years ago together), and a relay team consisting of my bf and 2 friends. We'll also have 3 cheerleaders/waterboys camping with us, including recent NYC transplant Maria, who moved here last week!

June 30

2008-06-26T14:08:00.006-04:00

Some fun sites for today I've recently discovered:
Don't eat the gummy bear soap!
http://www.iliketotallyloveit.com/

If dog's had party fouls they'd be something like this http://faildogs.com

June 26 - Humpack Whale Spotting in Monterrey Bay last week

2008-06-24T15:55:00.003-04:00

Photo by Amy Campbell

2 Weekends ago some friends and I rented a 46 Ft Beneteau sailboat in Santa Cruz. We had a GPS with us so we mapped out our farthest point. What was a big surprise were all the Humpack whales we saw. The calm bay allowed us not only to hear the whales surface, but we smelled their lovely breaths and saw a few even breech. It was surreal and spectacular.
Out on a rented 46" Beneteau, we wound up seeing close to 100 whales.
Our coordinates:
36.8676,-122.0618 - Google Maps

My Photos (no whales but plenty of group shots):

2008-06 Monterey Sail

June 24- RIP Steve

2008-06-24T12:52:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend a friend was hit and killed on Route 1 just North of Ano Nuevo State Park, in San Mateo County. I hadn't seen him for 6 years, but I always wanted to get in touch with him since we'd both moved to San Francisco. Steve and I went to the same college at different times, and majored in something completely different than what we managed to pull off in our professional lives (he english, me geography).

Needless to say I'm a bit shaken up over all of it. Steve is the 2nd person I know who was killed unsuspectingly by a drunk driver. Ironically, another friend named Steve was killed back in 1998 in my hometown driving home at 9am from a meeting on a rural road, by a drunk driver. He was 26 years old. My friend was 30. Way too soon to leave us.

I keep thinking about Steve's voice. I sat within earshot of him and always heard him on the phone speaking to customers. His voice was so calming and soothing. If I were a disgruntled angry customer, I'm sure I would feel better in some way after speaking to him. It sounds so hokey, but his voice was calming to me. Steve, you will be sorely missed.

http://stevewolkoff.wordpress.com/

June 18

2008-06-19T01:18:00.004-04:00

A fellow x-NYC'er is packing up and heading west to San Francisco. Another San Francisco recruit! I put my friend Maria on a plane today after a 2 day visit. She is returning in July to take up residency in our wonderful city. Here's a pic of us from a while back at Fordham homecoming 2006 - her undergrad my grad alma mater. Did I mention she's single? Takers? Takers?

Tomorrow I'm off to Seattle for a few days. Work and then catching up with some good friends who are married and also Starbuckers (what do you call someone who works for Starbucks who isn't a barista?).

June 6th

2008-06-06T16:23:00.004-04:00

I love maps. I love maps with useful things like homicides in San Francisco. Useful in the house hunting process!
I'm feeling very sporty today. I'm off to my sprint triathlon tomorrow, then volunteering at Escape from Alcatraz triathlon along the bike route in Golden Gate Park on Sunday. Feeling very sporty since I got fit for my new bike today

June 5

2008-06-05T13:27:00.000-04:00

Blog This:Google’s turf expands 42.2 acres | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com\
Only 5.2m in rent - what a steal!

June 4 - Obama in the house

2008-06-04T16:38:00.003-04:00

I admit I voted for Hillary in the primary. I, like many other voters, became Obama supports over the last few months. It's been a wild primary, and I'm glad to see it winding down at least on the primary side. Go Obama go!
This weekend is my first (sprint) triathlon in almost 2 years. I have 3 lined up this summer. I feel ready and am excited to finally swim in the bay. Anyone near McNears Beach at San Pablo Bay on Saturday eve, feel free to stop by.
I Sex and The City'd it up last night, at the Westfield theater with almost 10 other lady friends. I had heard mixed reviews about it, but it was a fun watch, although a bit on the lengthy side. Sort of like a mega-episode of 2.5 hours. I laughed a lot, and even had a few flashbacks to my NYC days. Particularly the one where I didn't know which way Manhattan was on a dark, rainy, late night out on the Manhattan bridge, in a cab. After the movie got out all I wanted to do was drink a tasty cosmo and call my NY girlfriends that I always miss.

May 28th

2008-05-27T18:40:00.003-04:00

I played around with http://www.gapminder.org today which is a great site that displays visuals across data points in a ver simple, easy to understand manner. Check out some of the example graphs and play them forward as they map across time. My favorite is the population boom. Note to self: be a 'better visualizer' for idea mapping and explanation - lets see what happens.
For anyone in SF or LA, NYC, Chi-town or Honolulu - if you like cheap or free drinks, you must bookmark myopenbar.com or sign up for mobile text alerts. I read about it on a good NYT article about scruffing it in the big apple. Many of these "tips" certainly rang true for me. Although I never paid more than $350 for rent before moving into Manhattan from the starter boroughs, I had my fair share of flasks and scrappy dinners. In fact my house had a name for them, "gruel" - a tasty rice, beans and chicken dish that seemed to last all week and packed a good lunch/dinner/snack.

May 27th

2008-05-27T18:30:00.003-04:00

Memorial Day weekend came and went, as usual, too fast. I stayed local and had my 1st group golf lesson at Presidio Golf Club in San Francisco. My instructor Morgan was great and basically broke down my entire 'golfitude' to re-assemble it into 3 components: grip, posture, and alignment. Very helpful. I think this will help me lots since the last formal golf lessons I had were when I lived in NYC.
This article on Twitter was a good one. I agree and like this business model, although it is going in the wrong direction to keep everything free, according to Chris Anderson. I read this article and it made a lot of sense to me as part of the online industry. Then I read this rebuttle on freeconomics, which had many good arguments as well. I predict things will meet in the middle to appease both sides, but I lean towards Anderson based on his examples and theory.

May 22nd

2008-05-14T12:58:00.005-04:00

2009 looks to be a banner year in search - lookout microsoft. The graphs nicely illustrate how Google is such a large threat online, surpassing revenue share but from the office side a wide gap still remains.
A great article on managing Google calendar, or Gcal. I'd use it anyday in place of evite, good idea.

May 14th

2008-05-14T12:46:00.002-04:00

I want to leverage these new Google Maps features in my soon to start real estate search. I'm a big fan of Zillow and Trulia. I'm sure Zillow will add in street view as Trulia has.
I have been summoned for San Francsico Jury Duty at criminal court. I was all set to show up and not even postponed, but today I realized it conflicts with training. See you in October Judge!
Today and tomorrow are supposed to be record highs in downtown San Francisco. We're talking above the 80' mark, a big fit 90 degrees. I wasn't going to believe it but today I walked to work with no jacket under a warm sun and no wind. Perhaps this is one of the times weatherman are 50% correct.

May 9th

2008-05-09T14:24:00.003-04:00

As a Twitterer this article made lots of sense to me
TGIF! I'm looking forward to going road bike shopping this weekend. I need something a tad faster than my 21 speed 10 year old Novara mountain bike. The time has come.

May 7

2008-05-07T13:55:00.003-04:00

I've been busy these past weeks. Very busy. Busy enough my Tweets have decreased to just a few per week ( I try to do at least 2 a day during the week.) Why the increased busybee factor?

Work! I haven't changed jobs, but my company was acquired so I've been ramping up on new systems, new PC, new phone, new building. The little things add up, but it's all moving along at a good pace, and definitely under control much more than a few weeks ago when the move happened.

Leisure. Well, more like fitness ramp up time. I'm getting off my duff and have a fitness program for some upcoming spint triathlons this summer, and some half marathons. I'm getting my a%% in gear and it's definitely about time! I seem to enjoy the Jan-April months as my down mode. It's practically cyclical and guaranteed as I've noticed this trend the last few years. At least I know it's not permanent.

This morning I went running with my rowing NYC friend Jess. She actually rowed yesterday am with our old club back east. I am impressed that she can muster up the energy and time to go to rowing practice while on a 24 hour trip to NYC. I'm not sure my back could take it these days, but heck I'd take a spin too. Next NYC visit they can put up with a retiree like me.
This weekend I'm attending KFOG Kaboom - fireworks timed to music
Before fireworks I'm going to a 'support merlot' party that starts at the late late hour of 2pm. Only in CA!

April 27

2008-04-28T12:50:00.002-04:00

I spent yesterday sailing around the bay on the annual opening day on the bay. We had a tight crew with 11 of us packed on a 38' boat, but we got cozy and settled in for some great sailing, in the order of pleasant, cold, windy, really windy, calm, windy, hot and caribbean like (thank you Angel Island windshadow), and back to windy. Ah, sailing on the bay, there's nothing like it!
Apparently Americans enjoy being web voyeurs, as stated here. On a global scale it appears we have our boob tube mentality and prefer to sit back and watch. I agree with that statement, but at least the blue bobsled offers up some spice right? (crickets).
I'm heading to San Jose for 2 days this week for work. I don't usually get to San Jose, so I'm staying over downtown to avoid 101 commuting.

Aprill 22

2008-04-22T16:32:00.002-04:00

Guess the world's #1 brand?
While we're on the subject, read about chef life working for the #1 brand

April 14 - back from last Tahoe

2008-04-14T23:02:00.003-04:00

While most SF'ers were out tuning up their golf game or bike, I spent the weekend skiing at Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe. Never mind the fact that it was closer to 70 than 17. Snow was still available for the most part. I can't remember the last time I skied without my ski jacket. Too bad I'd forgotten my shades.

It's always sad to say goodbye to skiing. 2007 was a good year for me - Colorado, Whistler, 2 trips to Tahoe chalked up to some great ski stories, various conditions, and some diverse terrain. Farewell winter, hello foggy spring.

Aloha! Off to Hawaii today

2008-04-03T11:35:00.001-04:00

April 1st

2008-04-01T19:20:00.003-04:00

For those who haven't heard, San Francisco is the only US city scheduled for an Olympic torch drive-by. On April 9th, Olympic torch will be carried along San Francisco's waterfront and briefly pass through the Marina District. The event will start at 1 p.m. and it will take the torch about an hour and a half to traverse the approximately 6-mile route, according to Giselle Barry, the spokeswoman for Newsom.
Lots of controversy surrounds this torch trip based on the violence in Tibet and a number of other various issues against China and what it supports (Dafur funding).
It's too bad the Olympics must be centered around political strife. The Olympics are a celebration of best in class sports. Let's try to focus on the athletes, the honor to bear the torch, and the upcoming 2008 world's best athletes.

March 31 - sick but recouping

2008-03-31T12:22:00.002-04:00

I spent the weekend trying to get better from a bad headcold. I think half of San Francisco has this headcold. I gathered with fellow sickies sat eve at an engagement party (I could barely stand up after an hour) and on Sunday it would've taken all my energy to go through with a golf lesson I had at 5:30pm. Fortunately my golf pro called to say he had a bad cold and couldn't make the lesson. I'm on the mend today but have the hack cough that is never pleasant. Hoping I'm better by the end of the week.
Glam gets rid of house ads -for the small pubs they service on their network. If I helped build Glam and this was the email I recieved, I am not sure how I'd take the news. Glam does offer a host of alternatives stated in this update.

March 21 - Twitter coordination for SF protests

2008-03-21T14:40:00.002-04:00

On March 19 the fifth anniversary of the US occupation of Iraq passed, and anti-war protesters in San Francisco used Twitter to coordinate their movements. The twitter log notes everything from who's arrested to where die-ins were happening (Not sure what that means). All this happened 1 block from where I live. SF is a very political and activitist oriented city. It's good to see they are leveraging technology on the activist front too.

March 20 - Is it Equinox time yet?

2008-03-20T13:02:00.003-04:00

I know where I live it's the same temperature 10 of 12 months, but I crave the Vernal Equinox. I'm a huge equinox / solstice fan. Maybe it's the earth science affinity I have, or that I need excuses to gather friends and hold a party every 3 months. It's symbolic for me that time is marching on. What is different from last year? What is new this season? What are my priorities now? It's a good benchmark and check in no matter what you're thinking about - parties to planning.
This equinox I can't help but think about all the positive things happening to me. Sure I have my downers, but the postives outweigh the downers. As it should be. Perspective, along with equinoxes, help keep us all in check and focus on priorties, the good things in life, and what we're doing about it.

St Patricks Day - More clickers Emily and John s

2008-03-18T00:03:00.003-04:00

Must be the luck o the Irish! I was walking down the street, minding my own beeswax, when I heard an insistent knocking on the glass of "Murphy's Pub". Annoying drunks! Actually, when I heard my name shouted from the doorway, I realized I actually know the drunks. Turns out my co-workers were festing it up on an Irish pub crawl. I joined them for two rounds and headed on my route to Pacific Heights as planned before the diversion. Thanks for finding me guys and letting me celebrate this year. I almost missed it.

Tommy O'Schroeder hounded me down on the street, now looking like a shrewd leprechaun.

March 14

2008-03-14T16:23:00.001-04:00

I'm heading up to Truckee today for some skiing with friends. I've never been to North Lake Tahoe to ski, only Heavenly on the south shore. I'm BARTing it up to Concord and meeting the bf to drive from there. The plan is to hit Alpine Meadows. If you're up there let me know.

March 13 - AOL buys Bebo - congrats bebo.

2008-03-13T12:53:00.004-04:00

Brother Dan is still here and doing well. Today we are checking out some around town sites in the evening.
The Weather Channel is rolling out targeted mobile ads. It's good to see a relevant use for mobile ads - it's raining in Charlotte? Run to Walmart for your umbrella special! Or maybe it's Lipton who wants to offer you chicken soup to warm you up. I'll test this out later today.
Viva la france! France plans to develop it's own Google rival. This sounds very minitel-esque. The French pride themselves on their technology, fast trains, and engineering feats. Let's hope they can pull of something that can match up! I would love to see what they come up with.
AOL bought social UK teen community network bebo.com for $850 million. Bebo, which was advised on the deal by Allen & Co, has struggled in the US, but is the third most popular social networking site in the UK after Facebook and MySpace, where it is visited by 4.1 million, mostly younger people a month. I met the founder of Bebo last year along with their adserving team. I felt so old, but good for them for becoming part of the AOL family. How they will fare as AOL continues to sort out internally is still up for debate.

March 11

2008-03-11T13:02:00.004-04:00

My brother Dan is in town this week from Ithaca, New York. He and his girlfriend waived goodbye to snowdrifts and grey skies in exchange for the warm welcomed sunshine. Both Dan and Ann Marie are newly minted phD's and professors in music. They're a great match and we had a 'music appreciation' session last night. We busted out the turntables for Jackson Browne, Neil Diamond, and the grand finale, West Side Story (the original broadway soundtrack). Music geek heaven. What's even more appreciative is that I had all of these on vinyl. Whenever Dan's around, the turntables are never far behind.
Tonight we continue the music appreciation at Yoshi's Jazz Club in San Francisco.
Google offers insight on it's DoubleClick acquisition that officially closed today

March 6 - facebook favorites

2008-03-06T15:33:00.004-05:00

Every time I see this "friend" profile from my facebook contacts, I crack up. Our boy is quite an aspiring celebrity among the facebook advertising crew.
DSM even has 9 friends - more than some of my real friends. Must be his charming good looks.

Amazon selling wine - makes for some easy reading. Is the Kindle stain proof?

March 5 - Need a map

2008-03-05T15:32:00.000-05:00

This is a great idea -but how bout some updated tags other than the blah tote bag?
MAPTOTE

The Napa Party Bus

2008-03-01T20:36:00.003-05:00

A full on 50 seat party bus - dancing in the aisles was prerequisite.

So was falling into each other at stop signs.

March 1st - Napa wine touring for a leap year birthday

2008-03-01T18:53:00.003-05:00

My coworker Kelly takes in the sights and glory at Frazier Winery in Napa - our picnic spot.

Feb 28 - Seoul Searching

2008-02-28T13:18:00.000-05:00

Seoul Searching
my rowing buddy Gus (or Angus depending on when you met him) has a blog about living in Soeul, Korea and what expat life is like there. I made a joke once to him about finding his "Seoul mate" but it looks like he's just Seoul searching for now.

Feb 27 - Black & White 2008 Ball is here

2008-02-27T12:25:00.002-05:00

- I got am email invite for the once every two years San Francisco 2008 Black and White Ball put on by the San Francisco Symphony. I've heard this is a terrific event, and it's only once every two years! From what I know it's black tie, lasts all evening with dining and entertainment, and meandering through the multiple venues at city hall (opera house, symphony hall, etc).
It all sounds amazing - until the $325 price tag appears, per ticket! Jeesh, do I really love Seal that much? I'm not that much of a socialite, so forking up that much is a bit of a stretch for a party. I doubt I can convince my boyfriend to pay that much and go. He's even less of a socialite than I am. There's also a $200 concert/limited ticket available, but that seems like selling short. I will have to sit on this one a bit and see if I am compelled to go. Two years ago the price looks to be $150 per ticket. I know inflation is strong these days, but 100%+ increase in ticket pricing, if that is true?
Yelp has reviews on it - which are good to know about. It sounds like it's best to attend with friends...any takers?
If anyone has gone before or cares to comment - please let me know what you think!

Feb 24

2008-02-26T13:50:00.004-05:00

So many good Internet news headlines today - or maybe I had more time to read them today.

- LinkedIn goes mobile - m.linkedin.com - finally!
- Buzz.yahoo.com - launches. I'm a Digg fan, but I did spend 20 minutes surfing around fabsugar.com learning about who's who in rehab.
- Yahoo's Advertiser-Publisher exchange platform launches. This is APEX for short -but that acronym is already too heavily used - by Asian stocks, to salesforce.com lingo already. What other name can they come up with?

Happy Chinese new year

2008-02-23T22:02:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday marked the welcome wagons for the Year of the Rat in the Southwest Airlines 2008 San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade.

As you can see there was plenty of corporate sponsorship. There was a direct correlation between "cool" floats from the big companies, the airlines, the banks, and the more local, less monetarily endowed entries - like the local Chinese clubs and schools.

Lots of rain poured down, but spirits were high and the firecrackers still scared lots of small kids and animals.

Feb 21st

2008-02-21T15:43:00.004-05:00

Last night was the 1st of 2 lunar eclipses of 2008. I wasn't feeling motivated to see it but after 5 people twittered about it, I went up to the rooftop to take a peek. I've seen eclipses before, but each one is pretty cool. Especially for earth science geeks like myself.

I'm recovering from my trip to Whistler, BC last week. I only skied 5 days, but it was fantastic. Snow every day and then day 5 was a bluebird day! My favorite part is ski esprit - a 3 or 5 day lesson/guide for all abilities. Let the guide do all the work and give you tips I say! You also get the add-in bonus of built in apres-ski buddies for the mandatory post-ski wind down (aka Canadian beer, Jager Bombs, Vin Chaud). Whistler is the 2010 home of the Winter Olympics - so it's only getting bigger and better. I can't wait for the 3rd annual trip in 2009

Best store oatmeal

2008-02-07T09:59:00.001-05:00

Mine didn't look this good

but it was delicious. Hearty and fit for a cold winter day. We don't have this bakery in San Francisco so I'm living it up here with my oatmeal.

Feb 4 - Super Tuesday Eve

2008-02-05T02:25:00.000-05:00

http://www.electoralcompass.com/ - worth your time and effort. This is a great site for anyone who votes in our Super Tuesday primary or beyond. What a great site and who knew the transcripts matched or opposed your exact thoughts.
Heading to Chicago today for a few days. Should I pack my winter coat?
San Francisco Golden Gate Club has a lot to offer - besides the picture window views overlooking the Bay and the bridge - I would defintely return. They defintely need a more descriptive and eye-catching served web site. This place has potential -otherwise it wouldn't be the old officers club. Who can do it justice?

I was wondering when this would belly up

2008-01-23T22:19:00.001-05:00

Bad business ideas

2008-01-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

It gets worse!

2008-01-18T18:32:00.001-05:00

What happens when you leave your cube

2008-01-18T12:02:00.001-05:00

This is actually someone's desk I walked by today. Shrink wrapped somewhat professionally.