Heading Down Under for a Week

If you don't see me Saturday, it's because I don't get a Saturday. Late this evening, I fly from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and then take a red-eye across the Pacific with the eventual destination being Sydney, Australia. Thanks to the distance of the flight, and the International Date Line, I have the privilege of entering the airliner on a Friday and landing on a Sunday. If Saturday actually happens, I have no proof. But I'm told I get the day back when I return, as the following Friday, thanks to advanced time travel, I will arrive back in the U.S. before I leave (so far as the clock is aware).

Since the arrival of the twins in 2008, and Braden in 2010, travel has been largely curtailed, so this will be the longest I've spent away from all three for sure - an entire week - so I'll have to make it productive. That means extending the trip for sightseeing isn't going to happen, but I'm sure I'll find some time to look around. See you down under!

2009 Internal Year In Review (Month by Month)

At the end of 2008, I posted an internal year in review, month by month, which wasn't just a look at the world through louisgray.com lenses, but also at the Web at large, seeing companies debut and change through the year. As you can imagine, what seemed important at the end of the year varied a great deal from that catching my eye at the beginning of the year. Similarly, the issue is no doubt true for 2009 - year that saw a lot less, at least for me, in terms of new startups, and instead, a lot more concern and issues with the economy. As mentioned in last week's roundup of new Web services that debuted in the year, many new products were extensions to others, or leveraged existing platforms.

That's a message you can see through the site's activity... below. Last year's big word was "launched". I dare say this year's word was "Twitter".

January

In what proved to be a prophetic (or ironic) post, I advised FriendFeed on what they should do to gain market share... and said why I talk to companies via the blog... Twitter OAuth slipped... Mike Fruchter penned an epic post on getting started in social media... non real-time Web got me down... Steve Jobs took sick leave... the recession started impacting ads... TweetDeck got funded... but Twitter kept screwing up... scammers joined Facebook... Twitter was funded... and BuzzGain launched.

February

FriendFeed tapped their database with advanced search capabilities... and I visited Lijit in Boulder, Colorado... seeing Gnip as well... Sirius Radio tried to die... and Outbrain was funded... Facebook ads remained off-topic... while I started playing iShoot on the iPhone... while wondering what companies would get us out of the recession... Trendrr launched... we debated Twitter's utility for following people... embraced Google Translate... talked about the cloud and SocialToo blocked automated direct messages.

March

I attended SXSW in Austin, and future Twitter screenshots were leaked... Likaholix launched... I said you should stand for something... while Twitter spammers got creative... Kosmix launched MeeHive... Google Reader added comments... the iPhone gained Facebook Connect... I talked about how to blog live events... CloudContacts launched... as did DoodleJump and FeedBlitz RSS... the recession highlighted a downward spiral and Britney Spears passed President Obama on Twitter. Although mocked at the time for the post, it was a key "tell" in the trend that saw Ashton Kutcher, Ellen and Oprah become top names over the geeks.

April

Twitter ticked me off again... ReadBurner launched BurnURL... while FriendFeed went real-time... Shyftr filtered RSS feeds... I rode a Segway at TechCrunch... Twazzup challenged Twitter Search... Tweetie for Mac was released... I said to stretch me thinner as trade show attendance cratered... Lunch.com debuted... and more Twitter screenshots were leaked.

May

Adobe didn't want me as a customer... saying they were expensive... Microsoft said search could be improved... I debated the intersection of skill and luck for job hunters... Socialmedian integrated into XING... the mob yelled at Twitter... I gave up on Apple rumors... discussed social media data flow and being an early adopter... Twitter's search engine broke down... Flickchart launched... as did Qajack, Topsy, and PeopleBrowsr... and blogging and RSS "seemed slow"...

June

Google introduced an improved blog search... Drew Olanoff got cancer... I bought Robert Scoble's BMW... Palm and Bing managed not to suck... I was on SocialWeb TV... BackType launched BackTweets... FriendFeed spiked my RSS stats... I subscribed to Sirius Radio... Matthew and Sarah turned one year old... as I visited TiVo and highlighted the importance of blogging.

July

FriendFeed added real-time search... retweeting started to trump linking... TweetDeck turned one... Google announced Chrome OS... Lazyfeed launched... as did Echo and Seesmic Web... I discussed beta processes and being a VC in text form... Pubsubhubbub launched... I drooled over the potential of the CrunchPad... and my6sense debuted.

August

I was curious about Apple's plans beyond Mac OS X... noted RSS Feed readers giving way to Google Reader... suggested not to unfollow everyone on Twitter... held a Lunch 2.0 panel with Kosmix, Mozilla and FriendFeed... tried Spotify for the first time... as Favorit shut down and FriendFeed sold out to Facebook... while that was debated... Twitter was under attack... conversations on Google Reader skyrocketed... Blogger turned 10... and Lazyfeed and my6sense opened for everyone.

September

Following an SFAMA panel, I said social media was infrastructure... as Brizzly debuted... I was on a panel with Ev and Biz to discuss Blogger... Steve Jobs showed his face... Reader2Twitter sent updates from Google Reader to Twitter... Ecademy went real-time... as I flew to London to speak on social media for business... I told you my 10 favorite Google products... MaxiScale debuted... as did Simler... and I got tired of the distributed conversations battle... and talked about why companies raise money and the pressures that result from VC funding... and Twitter readied lists.

October

Google Wave proved to be cool, but very busy... as Twitter took over the world... I yawned at the FTC... and was curmudgeonly about social media... explained why I share what and where I do... lauded corporate openness... and said there was no perfect Twitter client... I went back to BlogWorld... and said blogging wasn't dead yet... the Salmon protocol was spec'd... FriendFeed started to crumble at Facebook... I said Twitter couldn't replace RSS... Google Reader launched Magic... BlogTalkRadio launched Cinch podcasts... I debated going completely Google... and discussed the issue of open APIs.

November

The Motorola Droid looked pretty cool... Stalqer was interesting... every Twitter client added lists... Cadmus launched... and Google released Closure... I went to Defrag and discussed the social Web and the flow... introduced Paladin Advisors Group... Facebook filtered out my sister having a baby... I discussed the pillars of successful social networks... and the Chrome OS release... Twitter promised ads... I found issues with FTC's disclosure rules... and the CrunchPad was dead, unfortunately.

December

I said Google wasn't going to go evil... Lazyfeed revamped into square mode... we released FTC disclosure icons... SocialToo did the dirty work on Twitter for me... as the microblogging service matured... my6sense introduced mytweetsense at LeWeb... where I was hosting a Twitter apps panel... Google expanded Web Elements... I fell in love with Icerocket search and Spotify for the iPhone... I said companies that set the agenda win... highlighted how tech news writers are incentivized... and showed how RSS readers continue to grow. More recently, I recapped ten top applications from the year, recapped my yearly predictions and whether I met the year's goals.

And that, barring dramatic news in the next few days, encapsulates much of 2009, as captured by the site. Now you can see how the year's developments took place, get an idea for the events I attended, where I spoke, and what companies were making news. A busy year, as every year seems to be. The year was marked by some slowness in terms of new company debuts, but plenty of movement at the big ones. 2010, as the economy improves somewhat, should see some new names again, and I'll be looking forward to recapping those in a year.

Disclosures: I am an advisor for SocialToo, ReadBurner and BuzzGain. In addition, my6sense, Kosmix, Ecademy, and Simler have all been clients of Paladin Advisors Group in 2009.

The World Wide Web Isn't World Wide Neutral

Leaving aside socioeconomic issues that prevent many parts of the world from having access to computers, mobile phones, or broadband, the panacea of an always-connected populace to access with all content, regardless of location, computer or Web browser, is still very far away. Thanks to overzealous individual governments or convoluted legalities that often involve copyright, the Web you see is likely far different from that enjoyed by the country bordering yours. Even in my short visit to the UK this week, I was annoyed to find that some of my data was blocked thanks to my newfound geography.

The phrase "geotardation" is one I often see from my cranky Canadian friend Steven Hodson, or his colleague, Duncan Riley, as the pair fight through blockades from the north or from Australia. But I haven't had to experience it, thanks to being in the domestic United Stats for the vast majority of my life - and started think about it more this week as I hit site after site that behaved differently if I was surfing via an IP address that resolved to ".co.uk" instead of a simple US IP address.


But YouTube Would Still Work, Right?
Blasting through items in my Google Reader queue on Wednesday, I ran into a shared item that contained an embedded Hulu video. As you know, Hulu is, so far, limited to viewing in the United States. If I were physically located at home, seeing the clip would have been no problem, but in London, it was as good as dead.


Does this mean I add U's, and change Z's to S's?
Then, I turned to Facebook. After finding Facebook kindly asked me to help translate their site into "English (UK)", I checked my available Scrabble games, only to find that Scrabble was for North America only and that using it from the UK was "invalid". All my games had to wait until I got back last night.


Really, Scrabble? No UK players?
During the Thursday presentation, while discussing Twitter and other social networks, I mentioned Foursquare, the hip location-based game that is gaining momentum. But I was quickly reminded that Foursquare was not available in the UK.

In the reverse, we have the issue of Spotify, and the intriguing music service's new iPhone application, which has been approved by Apple, but isn't available in the United States. Hopefully, I plugged in my iPhone, fired up the UK version of the iTunes store, and tried to download it while I was there. Total fail. Apple told me my account was only active for the US version of the store, so my quest had been stopped cold.

Also while in the UK, I logged into my Gmail and saw yes, "Google Mail" where GMail was expected to be. It still worked the same, but again... different.

Meanwhile, we know about Google and other portal's challenges with more-controlling countries (read: China), where data comes and goes based on the governments' requests, or individual's identities, once thought anonymous, are unveiled. The concept of a decentralized, open, anonymous, equal Web where anybody can get to any site and share the same experience is far from a reality today. While my trivial annoyances of not being able to play Scrabble or view a Hulu clip haven't scarred me for life, I wonder just how different it is to try and use the Web on places much more far-flung than our former colonial overlords. Should their be a UN for the Web that works to get all things equal, or should every service kowtow to the rules of those far and near?

International Man of Social Media? Would You See that Movie?

As previewed on Tuesday, I spent the last few days in London, England, meeting the Ecademy team and talking about what we called "social media for business" and "world-class blogging" for a changing Web. Although I was wary of the prospect of speaking to a roomful of people with differing knowledge bases and goals, for what was an intimidating five hours, it seems the day went well Thursday. Through a good mix of prepared slides and flow, social networking demos and fielding questions, the time was filled, without having people feel it fell short.

Though I made the long flight back from London this afternoon and have made it back home to the Bay Area (and my wife and twins), the trip is not fully left behind, as I felt very comfortable with Thomas Power, Penny Power, Glenn Watkins, William Buist and the many dozens of Ecademy members I met when on the other side of the Atlantic. As my visit coincided with the official launch of Penny's book, "Know Me. Like Me. Follow Me.", I had the pleasure of seeing her introduce it and talk about the importance of community and networking for business owners. And the more I spoke with the team, and traded business cards, I knew this would not be the last time I would be working with Ecademy, nor the last time I would be making long-distance flights to engage with their team.

In April of this year, I said to stretch me thinner, adding that I was saying "yes to everything". Included in this open-ended proposal was the opportunity to extend the discussions from this blog and the various social networks and take them to dedicated events, workshops or to companies that needed the help.

While I am very much reticent to throw my hat in the ring with the gajillion Twitter and Facebook users who call themselves various words like "social media expert" and "social media guru" (my thoughts here), I have found that the systems I use which I take for granted are still unfamiliar to many, and I remain open to offering my help. Ecademy took a chance on me - extending the offer for me to speak with their team in a way I had never tried before, and judging by the responses in person, on Twitter, and on the Ecademy site, many were reinvigorated in terms of their own approach to blogging and social media.

What did I say? Much of what I talk about here often. Know the tools and the networks. Learn to have a comfortable and consistent pace, and a well thought-out data flow. Make sure not to overshare, and participate where your customers are. The more often I say it, the more comfortably it flows. That's why there will be no sequel to the "International Man of Social Media" with the word "Mystery" anywhere near the title. It just makes sense.

If you want access to the presentation, send me an e-mail. Given that Ecademy members paid to attend, the deck won't be available for free, but I do want it in your hands for the right price. You can also find me on Ecademy here.

Photo Illustration: Courtesy of Johnny Worthington via FriendFeed.

Increased UK Demand for PowerPoint Slides Prompts Trip

In an hour's time, I'll be boarding a flight to London, England, in preparation for a Thursday presentation to Ecademy, highlighting social media for business, the rise of the real-time Web, and how the world of blogging has changed over the last five years. The schedule, as I am often reminded by e-mail and through promotions on the Ecademy site, is going to be a full one. Thursday shows 2 hours of presentation, followed by a break, and then 3 more hours in the afternoon.

In preparation, I've concocted a detailed presentation outline, with plenty of slides. Internally, I wonder if it is too many or too few, or if the focus is right. How does one plan ahead for a room full of 80 people with differing needs and knowledge bases when it comes to social networking and blogging? What if the WiFi cuts out and I lose the ability to demo any of the Web services which feature so prominently in the deck - and are planned to chew up a good amount of the presentation time?


The flight should literally take all day - starting at noon and arriving in London at 6 the following morning. The flight should be oversold, and I wonder as to the amount of power available to the laptop, should fancy strike me to update the slide deck. It's enough to make me pray that Google immediately admit me to their holodeck program, in beta, and skip ahead.

I am looking forward to meeting with the Ecademy team, and hope to deliver value to those who attend - be it with slides, Web or discussion. We'll know in two days if it was a success.

What Makes More Sense: iPhone Tethering or a Wireless Card?

This week is Apple's annual Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC). Widely anticipated to be part of the week's festivities is the roll-out of an upgraded iPhone, and of course, its use of the long-awaited iPhone 3.0 software, which will contain a number of solid features, not the least of which is Apple-approved tethering, which would let you use your iPhone essentially as a wireless modem for your laptop, giving you Web access at 3G speeds.

Tonight, while driving back from the Sacramento area after a weekend at my parents, I got in the passenger seat, as my wife drove, and popped open the laptop to queue a list of e-mails, in an attempt to make sure I hadn't overlooked anything in the in box. But, like on an airplane with no WiFi, I couldn't check new messages, and my responses had to wait until the next time I was connected.

Meanwhile, I could always close the laptop, and look instead to my iPhone for the latest e-mails, and surf the Web, but on a smaller screen.

And that all seemed silly. My iPhone had the Web, and the laptop didn't. If the iPhone and computer were set up for tethering, I could leverage the iPhone's Web connection and use the computer's larger screen, its desktop applications and file archive.

And there's the second option - purchasing a dedicated wireless card.

I always had a tendency to mock the wireless cards I've seen added to other's laptops. My Macs have always had 802.11 embedded, and I try to stay close enough to WiFi, but if I had that wireless card in my MacBook Pro, I wouldn't ever really have to think about it. I could have surfed the Web in the car, and I could take the laptop to the park, making that my home office.

Both solutions have their positives and negatives, if I think too hard about it. I am already paying for the iPhone's unlimited data plan from AT&T, so cost would not be an issue, while, I would no doubt sap the iPhone's battery life. Also the clumsiness of making sure the two devices were connected, when I would like to remove wires, and not add more, would be annoying.

But I also don't want to set up yet another recurring monthly payment to fuel my technology addiction, so getting a wireless card that goes virtually anywhere seems like overkill.

We will find out on Monday if we are any closer to having an Apple-approved solution for iPhone tethering, and of course, if it works for the iPhone I have now, not just the next generation. If I have it, I'll try it out, for sure. But as I know a number of my contacts, such as Jesse Stay, have already sprung for the wireless card, what would you recommend? Should I just follow Apple like an unthinking sheep?

This Week's Destination: Las Vegas, Nevada

Another week, another trip. The Spring event season has us racking up frequent flier miles again, as following recent trips to Austin, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona and Orlando, Florida, we're away from home once more - this time for a full five days in Las Vegas, Nevada. As I told folks following the Orlando trip, "it sounds more fun than it really is". We're going to be attending and participating in the National Association of Broadcasters' Conference for the full week, with my work hat on.

The trip marks my third jaunt to Vegas in the last 7 months, following BlogWorld Expo last Fall, and company sales kickoff in February.

If you're a Las Vegas native, or your schedule and location just so happen to match mine, you know how to reach me. I'm powering up the iPhone now.

2008 Internal Year In Review (Month by Month)

At the end of the year, it's a tradition for many sites and blogs to pick "best of" lists, offer predictions, show their best posts and the like. At louisgray.com, we're no different. In fact, we're probably worse than most when it comes to liking to sort, use statistics, find trends and display highlights. I thought it'd be fun (at least for me) to do a quick run through the year soon to be completed, looking at how things progressed - the good, bad, interesting, and not so much. Below is a quick summary, somewhat, of how each month went, including the top stories and new companies and people we encountered along the way.

Question is... what's the most common word in this wrap-up? My guess? The word "debuted." See why below.

January

In January, I said I didn't care much for the year's MacWorld Expo, discovered ReadBurner in stealth mode, which led to the introduction of Shared Reader... considered joining Twitter... got in a quick tiff with Mashable... actually joined Twitter... hit the Techmeme leaderboard for the first time (which was short lived)... noted the passing of church president Gordon B. Hinckley... saw the launch of AssetBar, and became part of the Elite Tech News Reddit. And at the end of the month, Rating Burner debuted.

February

February saw Microsoft and Yahoo! start their mating dance, as I admitted rooting for the underdog, but voted for Hillary anyway... saw RSSmeme debut to compete with ReadBurner, the introduction of LinkRiver... I introduced the LouisGray.com logo and revamped the site... and revealed my wife and I were expecting twins. I noted issues with FeedBurner, and saw FriendFeed open up to the public with Series A funding. At the end of the month, I met Chris Brogan, and wasn't so impressed with MyBlogLog's lifestream.

March

In March, we discovered Yokway! incubating in alpha before launch, saw the debut of Mergelab and Shyftr, but in the bad news camp, ReadBurner shut down (temporarily). To welcome new readers, I gave a history of the site... and started highlighting new blogs for the first time. Meanwhile FriendFeed started to take off, even if I said Duncan Riley didn't get it right away. I also managed to smash my laptop at Spring Training. Later in the month, Toluu debuted.

April

In April, we looked at changes on the Techmeme leaderboard... I was not impressed with Favorit... Yuvi put me under the microscope... BlogRize and Socialmedian debuted on back to back days... and we first discussed fractured conversations. Alphatwitter debuted... ReadBurner relaunched... and I made no friends in the blogosphere by ranting against ads. FriendFeedMachine was introduced... I went to Web 2.0 Expo... where I learned about the Profy platform... and then ticked everyone off on Twitter by making up a "Noise Ratio". I later added Disqus comments and discussed my social media consumption workflow.

May

In May, the StatBot launched, but Mergelab closed down while still in beta. I noted Socialmedian's early growth... and Duncan Riley's first week at the Inquisitr.... started the weekly FriendFeed Friday tip series... saw LetsProve start up... and the introduction of FFToGo, which took FriendFeed mobile. I also added Lijit to my blog... and noted who first brought stories to Techmeme. The end of the month saw TweetSmart launch.

June

In June, we talked a lot about comments. Were they conversations or replies... and was FriendFeed stealing them away... I slammed TiVo for having no social media presence... saw FriendBinder debut... our 18 year old beagle passed away... we discussed five stages of early adopter behavior... I praised Disqus... and saw the debuts of Feedly, OneSpot and Loud3r... Sarah and Matthew were born... and I told you my expectations... Browzmi launched... as did NoiseRiver and MioNews, as new interfaces to FriendFeed.

July

By July 1, Sarah came home from the hospital... TweetDeck was introduced... and AssetBar relaunched with FanFlows... we encountered blatant racism online... Ballhype was purchased... and I mocked the title of social media expert. Twitter started limiting API requests... as Gnip went live... Socialmedian gave me an iPhone... Identica rose as an alternative to Twitter as the site found new ways to fail... Cuil was a dud... I joined SmugMug... and Matthew lost his job at CenterNetworks.

August

In August, I told you about a creepy would-be online stalker... California banned driving without a hands-free cell phone... the twins started slowing me down online... Feedheads launched on the Web... I joined ReadBurner as an advisor... YooPlace launched... we discussed why the embargo process was broken... rumors flew the church would buy Facebook... Strands debuted, as did BackType.

September

September saw the introduction of Google Chrome... FriendFeed rolled out lists... i.TV came to the iPhone... the falling stock market started to hit my wallet... Sitemeter laid an egg... I went to BlogWorld Expo... and I thought Chi.mp was a waste of time...

October

In October, I noted Obama's widespread support at tech companies... saw Spokeo give up on Web 2.0... started e-mailing RSS items... forecast the future of social media... and saw FriendFeed launch real-time updates. Guest posts gained momentum... and my kids got embedded in social media early... Twine launched... we discussed Prop 8... as Socialmedian made an election news hub.

November

November brought us instant streaming films via Netflix... Strands went mobile... I started using Wakoopa... Twitter promised (and failed) to open the firehose by Thanksgiving... I said to be a "real friend" to social networking friends... saw the Twitterank controversy... participated in an emerging media panel... watched Glue launch... saw the MotrinMoms issue explode... SocialToo added surveys... I kept losing money... slept next to the iPhone for comfort... and enjoyed new apps for the device.

December

I started off December annoyed at TiVo and Amazon... but still loved the iPhone... talked about Secret Santas and Amazon Wish Lists... PeopleBrowsr debuted... as did Kallow... ESPN.com introduced a beta version... and my wife started a family-oriented blog... Netflix came to my TiVo... BlogRize returned... I picked my top ten 2008 debuts... Twitter kept growing like mad... but last year's predictions sucked... TwitOrFit launched... Steve Jobs bailed from MacWorld... Gawkk opened up... Embargoes flared up again... Socialmedian was acquired... I got a new TiVo XL... promised to get better... Scrapplet debuted as did TechFuga... I even retold the Christmas Story through Twitter...

And... that just about catches you up. So if you're just visiting the site for the first time, started late, or missed a few months, you probably have a pretty good idea of how the year went, what we wrote about, and where we went. All in all, it reminds me of a lot of stories of months past, and services that need a revisit. It also tells me we had a pretty busy year. Should be interesting to see if 2009 is more crazy, or if I burn out. My money is on... "more crazy" - the exception being I don't plan on having two more kids next year. So... did I leave anything out?

Find Me at Blog World Expo This Weekend In Las Vegas

Even as the blog has gotten more visible through the last two years, I've largely stayed behind the scenes (or behind the monitor and keyboard). I haven't attended large industry events, or tried to make the story so much about me. I'd rather keep the highlights on the many services I enjoy and the people making the Web and technology better. But this weekend, the gravity pull from being requested to participate in two panels was too great, and you can now find me at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, from this afternoon through Sunday.

At the expo, I am participating on two panels, with esteemed peers, including Matt Dickman, Neil Vineberg, Brian Solis and Stowe Boyd, discussing changes in the blogosphere, and how microcommunities are impacting where we participate, share ideas, and communicate.

Panel One:
Micromedia: The Next Big, Small Thing:

Description: "This session shows marketers what the true power of services like Twitter, FriendFeed, Pownce, Flickr and Facebook have on a micro level. Also known as "micro blogging", micromedia has exploded with the growth of mobile technology and lets us look into the future of platform-agnostic marketing. Don't be left behind."

Time: Friday, Sept. 19, 2008: 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM, 222

Panel Two:
Are Bloggers Losing Control? The New World of Distributed Conversations:

Description: "With content spanning across social networks, miro communities, and media aggregators, comments, conversations, and responses are taking place on and around the original blog post. This panel will explore distributed conversations, fragmented expertise, and also the challenge of being everywhere - and whether or not it's not only necessary, but also feasible."

Time: Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008: 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM, 229

Outside of these panels, my schedule is not 100 percent set by any means. I've already started to hear from many online friends who I will be seeing for the first time, and look forward to finding many more, through seeing presentations, walking the exhibits floor, and through getting abused by e-mail and cell phone. If you're going to be attending, it'd be great to see you at either of these panels, or any other time. Please do reach out by phone at 408 646-2759 or by e-mail at louisgray@mac.com.

My BlogWorld Expo bio can also be found here.

Starts With B, Ends With N: Six Letters.

If confronted with this empty space in your crossword puzzle, there are undoubtedly a wide array of solutions. But two featured prominently for me yesterday: Boston and Brogan. On the East Coast for a business trip, I notified my Twitter stalkers followers I was flying out Tuesday, and I got a somewhat in jest reply from social networking maven Chris Brogan and Boston area native, who wrote, "What's the plan?"

After connecting with him via e-mail and phone, I got the opportunity to bring Chris and a few friends to last night's Boston Celtics game, where they beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers by the score of 92-87, in a game that didn't seem all that close.

Though there was a game on, I got the opportunity to learn a lot about what makes Chris tick, what applications and Web services he's most jazzed about, and, continuing on this week's theme, evangelizing FriendFeed, which he joined last night. It was a pleasure getting to know Chris, sharing stories, and personally connecting with someone I already respected online. I believe when these opportunities present themselves, we should take advantage of them, so I appreciate Chris' taking time out of his busy schedule on short notice.

This open offer doesn't just stand for Chris. If you're out of town and visiting the Bay Area, or you find out I'll be in your area, please do contact me and let's see what we can do!

I Am Tired of Being Rational About Cars

Doesn't it say... Buy me?
Since 1999, I've had one boring, American-built, cheap, not impressive, dirty, car. As I've watched the miles pile up, to more than 130,000 at this point, the car's held up, for the most part, but in the go-go Silicon Valley, I'm simply not measuring up. It seems, incorrectly or not, that everybody else has a nice car. A BMW. A Lexus. A Porsche. Or they got kids and traded up to an SUV, often a massive bulk of a beast with all the bells and whistles, including satellite radio, GPS, in-seat DVD players... you name it.

Meanwhile, the only "upgrade" my car's had in the last 8 years was when I put in a 10-disc CD changer in the trunk no less than six months after I got it. Wheeee....

At this moment, my car's sitting parked on the street, in the gutter, appropriately. If I turned it on, two warning lights would display: "Service Engine Soon" and "Low Coolant". Service engine soon, huh? How soon? Two days? Two weeks? What happens if I don't?

On two separate occasions in the last few months, that light came on, only to go off again by the time I reached a service station, and they couldn't do anything. Flipping brilliant.

So, I've started to poke around the Web and look for cars I can't afford. I can rationalize ditching my 1998 Mercury Tracer. I can even think about making monthly payments for a car again, after years of not having to do so. I might even stomach a down payment, if I take money out of eTrade. But the sticker shock is a sight to behold. It's around $40k to get anything I really want, like an Audi A4 Convertible or a BMW 3-series. And yes, I know maybe I should get a Prius or a Hybrid Camry, but that sounds boring, and after a decade of boring, cheap, cars, I am ready to waste my money and have some fun, before that window closes.

So... I want a nice-looking car, with deep dark blue coloring. I want a car that has GPS navigation and Sirius/XM Radio pre-installed. I want a car that won't have the brake light on the first 10 minutes I drive it every morning like mine does now. I want a car that doesn't look like I am the hired help every time I visit Palo Alto, Woodside or Menlo Park. I want to have a car that's as good looking as my MacBook Pro or flat screen TV. A car that's more iPhone than rotary phone, one that's good enough I'll have to park two parking spaces away from anyone to worry about dings.

Think I should do it? Part of me wants to hit the buy button and damn the consequences.

Long Day Made Longer By Airline Snafu

When traveling to the East Coast, I don't often get the luxury of adjusting to the time zone differences. In most cases, I'm expected to start my day bright and early on Eastern Standard Time, and act like any other good local. Today kicked off at 5:30 a.m. Eastern, which my body still tells me is 2:30 a.m. Pacific. (You might have noticed my odd 3:10 a.m. timestamp on this morning's blog post)

After a full day, we headed to New York's Kennedy airport to fly to Boston, in what should have been a simple puddle jump. Originally targeting a "wheels up" time of 7:00, we first saw the flight delayed until 8:25 p.m., for arguable weather-related issues, and later, upon boarding, endured a delay on the tarmac of more than an hour, without updates from pilot or crew.

As the natives grew restless, and some threatened to leave the plane regardless of consequences if things didn't turn around in "the next five minutes", one of the flight attendants broke in to announce a further delay of 20-30 minutes, as our little flight had been pushed in a lengthy queue of planes set for international destinations. At number 45 on the list, we weren't going anywhere soon. This was met with further complaints. The lady next to me demanded to write a complaint to the airline about the "inexcusable farce", while others turned on their cell phones or Blackberries in protest, updating loved ones who were likely waiting at Logan airport, assuming normalcy.

Regardless, we eventually took off, arriving in Boston after 11:00 p.m. at night, when we should have gotten in a full three hours earlier. The flight in between? Not all that easy either, with moderate turbulence throughout, and a canceled cabin service, as we were all on lockdown, banned from leaving our seats or access the overhead bins. Super fun, let me tell you...

So now 18+ hours into the day, I've come home to a mountain of e-mail, more than 500 RSS items in Google Reader, and a world's worth of news to take in, ingest and review. Sure would have been nice to already be done with it all.

Back on the Road (In the Air) Again

Not too long after getting back from the last trip (to Colorado), we're taking off again, this time straying further from home by heading out to the East Coast, taking in New York and Boston. Early prospects show the weather in New York to be mild, not cold, but showers are anticipated on Thursday, and we might see snow flurries in Boston on Friday.

Regardless of the weather, this will be yet another test for how quickly I can adjust to jet lag. As my typical tendency is to stay up way too late on the West Coast, padding three hours on the clock isn't going to do us any favors tonight, as I'll probably be staring at the ceiling or reading RSS feeds in Google Reader around 2 a.m., rather than getting some much-needed rest. All part of the travel experience, I guess.

Of note, we're flying Delta instead of United, my typical carrier. My prior experiences with Delta were pretty good (as noted here), so I'm optimistic, but we'll see.

Also of note, I literally put my money where my mouth is this morning. Before leaving the house, I put a significant chunk of cash into eTrade stock. While I wish I had done so below $4, which was the opportunity on Monday, I think this trade (not investment... trade...) will pay off well. We're averaged in around $5.50 a share.

We're Back Home In the Bay Area

Some quick notes after our week (plus one day) away:

* We DID have some impact from the earthquake, which was evident immediately. Some of our pictures and picture frames on bookshelves or stands had been knocked over. In one amusing example, one of my two fantasy football trophies looked like it had been flung three feet from the bookshelf. More likely, it fell and bounced, but still, pretty impressive. Also, one plaque on the wall is now at a 30 degree angle, when I swear it was straight before. Despite that fun, no damage, and nothing broken. I looked throughout the house.

* Although I had thought I adjusted well to the switch to Standard Time, I forgot all about it before going to bed last night. So when I thought I was going to get up early (at 6 a.m., according to the alarm clock), I was actually getting up at 5 a.m. No rest for the wicked, I guess.

* Our 18 year-old beagle, Molly, is home from my mother-in-laws, and doing fine. She seemed out of sorts last night, disoriented, and likely a bit miffed we abandoned her for longer than I can remember, as this trip exceeded even our honeymoon. Combined with the fact Molly goes to bed at 9 p.m. when at "Grandma's", and we had her up past 11, it's no surprise she seemed to be a bit in a fog. Don't worry though, by the time I served her breakfast kibble this morning, all was well.

* There's something to be said to coming home to a technology haven. We drove all over Denver and Aurora yesterday looking for WiFi, until we found it at an Aurora Barnes and Nobles, helped by my looking it up via my Blackberry on Google Apps. Now at home, we confirmed our WiFi works, the TiVo recorded all the shows we asked it too (including this year's Halloween Simpsons episode), and we're back in the swing of things. There's also the matter of our WiFi being faster than the hotel, although it was admittedly pretty good.

Now, I'l have to avoid the typical post-break doldrums and not feel like I need more time off right away.

Today's Trip to the Denver Zoo (Flickr Album)

Today, Kristine and I took a few hours and enjoyed the Denver Zoo. I took photo after photo until my camera ran out of batteries. If you don't want the slideshow, or want to go directly to the Flickr album, click the below link:

http://flickr.com/photos/15652372@N00/sets/72157602832052108/

Highlights included the polar bears, arctic foxes, lions, hippos, wild bunny rabbits and much more. Enjoy!

No, I'm Not Your SF Bay Area Earthquake Expert

Wouldn't you know it? Just yesterday, I was joking with my wife that the one thing about California I'm missing by being in Colorado this week was the potential for an earthquake. Seriously. It always seems the "interesting" earthquakes take place when we're out of town, so the next time we're traveling, we'll be sure to warn you, as this evening the Bay Area was hit with a 5.6 magnitude event, the strongest in nearly 20 years.

How do you think I found about it? I certainly didn't feel it here in Denver. And nobody called to see if we were okay, as anybody who would care already knew we weren't in the danger zone.

I found out because while thumbing through the referrals to my blog on the Blackberry during some downtime, an odd string of searches from Google started popping up: "recent earthquake in silicon valley", "earthquake hits bay area", "was it an earthquake tonight in sf bay area?" and "sf earthquake tonight" for starters...

That of course got me curious. First, it turns out a note from early March (Yet Another Small Earthquake Hits SF Bay Area) is #2 worldwide in Google for "recent earthquake in Silicon Valley" and #1 for "was it an earthquake tonight in sf bay area?". People from around the Web were looking for answers, hoping I could help.

A few clicks later, and I too was finding out the news. I've talked about earthquakes before on the blog, in December 2006 and June 2006, and I actually see them as a unique bit of California, something to be respected but not feared.

We don't get home until late Monday night, but we don't expect anything to be different. The flat-screen TV better be right where we left it, and the house better be in the same level of disarray we saw when we closed the door Sunday. And maybe the next time there's a good-sized earthquake, I'd like to not find out about it from my Web log statistics.

We Landed, But the Rockies Crashed

Getting game 5 World Series tickets shouldn't have been that much of a risk, especially considering the home team for game 5 had won 21 of 22 games to wrap up the regular season and breeze through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Yet, as the Red Sox staked out a 2-0 series lead, and later extended it to 3-0, we saw our chances of attending the World Series grow increasingly slim.

Last night, as we flew eastward from San Jose to Denver, I listened in to the game on channel 9 of the airline's audio system, updating my wife with the score of the game throughout the trip by hand signals, flashing two fingers and then making a circle, to show the Rockies trailed 2-0. Later, I tapped her and said it was 3-0, followed by scores of 3-1 and finally, 4-1. Though the radio quality was poor, and I could make out only 60% of the words, I did my best to follow along, contemplating the miracle that would have to happen to make our Monday tickets worth anything.

As the pilot asked the flight attendants to prepare for landing, and our wheels extended toward the runway, the Rockies hit a two run home run, closing the gap to 4-3, and giving us hope. As other passengers filed out of the plane, I stayed connected to the seat, not wanting to miss an at bat. Then, we rushed forward and into the terminal, and joined the dozens of other passengers who had stopped to gawk at the sports bar's coverage of the game, as we watched the Rockies flail at Jonathan Papelbon and go down swinging in the 8th.

After getting our luggage, and jumping on the rental car shuttle, I turned on my Blackberry and "watched" the game update via ESPN.com. Already, there was one out and it was still 4-3, Boston. Then, quickly, there were two away, and my wife and I had to hope for the impossible. But it was not meant to be. The last batter came and went, and the game was declared final. Our trip immediately darkened, and much potential joy was lost. Now, instead of finding out how to stay warm among a sellout Rockies crowd tonight, I'm faced with the prospect of learning the ins and outs of StubHub's refund policy. It better be good.

Regardless, we're here, above 5,000 feet, where the air is thin and the clocks are all an hour ahead of where I'd like to be. Maybe someday, as one friend commented on this site, our A's will return again, and we'll get to experience the World Series "the right way".

Off to Colorado in a Few Hours

We'll be out of California (and Silicon Valley proper) for the next week or so, not that I expect you to notice much, given my tendency to be wired from anywhere we go. We're still keeping our fingers crossed that the Rockies can win tonight's game against Boston and extend the World Series, which would make Monday a huge day, but even if they don't, we'll try to relax and have fun around work.

(Who am I kidding? It'd be devastating if I had to return my tickets for a refund...)

Anyway, as always, in the packing process, it's always fun to notice what makes the cut, and what doesn't.

Making the Cut this Time:

* The MacBook Pro
* The iPod Shuffle
* Our Digital Camera
* NetFlix DVDs
* The Blackberry

Not Making the Cut

* The Nintendo Wii (dang)
* The iPod Photo (60 Gig)
* The Dog
* The flat-screen TV
* The TiVo

Where we are staying promises to have Web access. Of course, if it didn't, I flat-out wouldn't go, but as we've seen multiple times, what's stated in the brochure doesn't always match up to reality. I've been bitten too many times by unacceptable, intermittent or non-existent access.

(See: Spotty Internet Access the Scourge of Trips)

Hopefully, this week will be good, we'll get enough work done so I don't fall behind, and (cross your fingers) the Rockies extend the series to game 5. Next time you hear from me, I'll be in the Mountain time zone. We'll be back on the West Coast on November 5th.

We "Could" Be Headed for the World Series

As we're watching the World Series this year between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies, seeing the Sox up 2 games to none, and at this moment, holding the lead in game 3, we can only hope the trend will soon change - as for the first time in my life, I have the opportunity to attend a World Series game, but might see this opportunity snatched away from us in an unfortunate combination of one team's luck and the other's lacking.

Back in May, Kristine and I headed to Colorado to see landmarks from my early years, where I'd grown up in the mid 1980s. With a return trip planned this upcoming week, we watched with anticipation as the Rockies went on an incredible run to capture the National League pennant.

Looking at the calendar, we saw World Series games 3 through 5 would be in Denver, and if humanly possible, we would find a way to go. So, I set out on StubHub, and paid way too much for a pair of outfield tickets to game 5, which barring a sweep, would have us at Coors Field Monday night. Where the tickets' face value was $125 apiece, we saw bids rise from $400 to $500 apiece and beyond. But given the opportunity, the price wouldn't be all that important.

Now... I'm watching, mouth agape, as the Rockies look like they're going to blow it for us. Given their 20-1 run at the end of the season, the possibility they would lose 4 straight against the Boston Red Sox and turn our dream into a fantasy seemed impossible. But now, they're down 6-0 in game 3, and our window is closing from one of excitement to numbness, and what could be serious frustration, should they lose this game, and tomorrow's as well.

Regardless of the outcome, our flight is set for tomorrow, and we'll be in Denver. The question is, will we find this expensive, promising, gamble slip away?

Leaving Dallas for the Bay Area

After a quick two-day stop in Dallas, we're headed back home. Right now, I'm awaiting boarding for the flight to San Jose, and power surfing/e-mailing on the T-Mobile powered WiFi at the airport. If it didn't already cost $9.99, I'd be lauding its speed, but as I've paid, I expect the world.

In case you missed it, the big news of the day was that Steve Jobs announced Apple is going to open up the iPhone for third party applications, issuing an SDK in February. You can say a lot about the Apple icon, but he sure does appear more willing to listen to users and developers than Apple's reputation has shown previously. (Coverage: The Apple Blog | The Last Podcast | Apple Hot News)

I still love how Apple's using their Hot News site as a blog.

While in Dallas, it was also noted that Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) is to hit stores by October 26th. I'll have to check and see if my new MacBook Pro qualifies to get it for super-low pricing of $10, but the truth is, we'll be getting it as soon as possible, regardless. (Coverage: Paris Lemon | Webomatica | Chris Pirillo)

You can read through 300 new features expected from Leopard on the Apple site.

Of course, despite the above, the world doesn't revolve around Apple. Even I get that. So as I took in about 500 RSS posts here in the airport, I shared those I found most interesting in the last 12 hours on my Shared Google Reader link blog. We'll soon be back on the West coast, in the "correct" time zone, and back at full speed. Of course, I didn't ever adjust to Central time, finding the clock reading well past 3 a.m. before I called it a night. Silly me.