So I just found this software that I think is about one of the greatest ideas ever. It's a "newer" company I belive, called Meebo. It's a website that allos you to chat via messanger - using your existing messanger accounts IAOL, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ). You should go and check it out at http://wwwm.meebo.com/ and enter your account info. All of your contact information is there as well...AWESOME! What a great idea...wish I would have thought of it.
I was also reading about the company a bit, and they do what's called a Meebo Meeting. Basically they let all their users know where and when the meeting will be, and it's a time to chat, meet people, and network. What's really fun is that they are doing the next one on the train they commute to work on. You can read about it on Meeblog...fun name!
November 3, 2006
Great software...cool company
October 8, 2006
Blogger World
This is my first blog in a while, and I've decided to dedicate it to my favotire blogs. I'm not that great a posting to my blog, but I'm pretty good about keeping up to date on my favorite blogs. Below is a list of what my favorite blogs are, and why you should check them out.
NO REGRETS... is Chystal Sturm's blog (yes that is my wife!). Her blog is funny, sincere, and pretty entertaining. She has a great sense of humor and is a bit self deprecating on it...which I always think is funny. She has a super funny post about being a former cheerleader. We were talking about it and she let me in on a little secret about how she felt like her mom (because her mom was a cheer leader, too). It was more funny how she said it though...
Signal Without Noise is Guy Kawasaki's blog. If you are into blogs with cool ideas and interesting bits of knowledge from a innovative business standpoint, this is a great blog to read. I'll let you catch up on Guy's background yourself, but he's someone you could probably learn a lot from. He is author of Art of the Start, and I will say that I learn something almost every time I read his blog.
OpenSourcePhoto (aka OSP) is my friend David Jay's (aka DJ) blog. DJ is a wedding photographer, software architect, entrepenuer, and all around good guy. He's got some cool ideas out there, one of which is dedicating his time to helping other people be successful. Oh, and he's always surround by these cute girls... Now I'm married to a cute girl already, but it's nice to see DJ hangin' with cuties all the time.
PresentationZen is an awesome website about all sorts of different presentation formats...articles, products, ads, etc. This blog probably has some of my favorite content on it, and is a place I look at regularly to be inspired. A few of my favorite entries are below
- Inspiring Visual Presentations
- A jogging reminder on the importance of simplicity
- If you idea is worth spreading, then presentation matters
Sandersays.com is a blog by Tim Sanders, author of Love is the Killer App and The Likeability Factor. Tim is the Chief Solutions Office at Yahoo, and has some great insight. If you haven't read Love is the Killer App you should, and then you should buy it for someone and have them read it. Tim's blog is pretty new, but has all sorts of tid-bits of knowledge on how to run a better business and be a better business person. I like that kind of stuff.
So, there is a little insight into where I waste some of my evening time.
Go hard to the pond!
July 1, 2006
It's good to feel appreciated...
I've been meaning to blog this for a while, but just haven't made the time. I started a new job about two weeks ago, and realized again that it feels go to be appreciated. As I was transitioning out of my old job and feeling a little bit like I had not fully suceeded in that role, I found at many ends people telling me how much they appreciated the work I had done.
About a three weeks ago a few of my former employees surprised me by taking me, Chrystal, and Brody out to dinner at Stella Mare's restaurant in SB. After dinner, each of them took time to express how I had helped them in their job, and had been a mentor to them. I was so surprised and it really made me feel better about what I had accomplished over the past 4 years. They also gave me some great gifts.
The following weekend was Father's Day, and that is a great day to feel appreciated when you're a dad. Chrystal planned a few special events for me, and that was a great as well.
As I started my new job two weeks ago, I also felt appreciated with so many co-workers expressing how great it was that I was working with them and bringing my expertise in hospitality technology to the Product Management group.
So, when you appreciate something someone does...tell them. You may just make their day.
June 18, 2006
Fun with Photos....
Okay...so I don't pretend to be a good photographer. Wait...I do pretend to be a good photographer, but I'm really just a hack that gets lucky with a photo sometimes. I was playing with some photos recently in ACDSee, which is a pretty cool photo editing software if you don't know how to use photoshop, and realized we took a couple pretty good pics. So I figured I'd show them off to the world.
This is series of shots at Hoover Dam. The fam and I were driving to Flagstaff from LV and decided to stop off and take some dam photos. I think I took some pretty good dam shots.
When Chrystal and I realized we were like 70 miles from the Grand Canyon at my sisters place, we said we couldn't be that close and not see it. So we drove for about 1.5 hours, spent 30 minutes look at the Grand Canyon, and then drove the 1.5 hours back. But we got some nice pictures out of the trip.
This is a shot at the Grand Canyon, but just of a bench that we thought was pretty cool.
May 29, 2006
Why I love Santa Barbara
I had a great time in SB this Memorial Day weekend, and was reminded again why I love living in Santa Barbara. So it's true that Santa Barbara has the most overpriced housing in all the US...but it comes down to it I think it's worth it. Below are a few of the reasons that I think Santa Barbara is an awesome place to live.
1. There are more restaurants per person in Santa Barbara than any other city in the gool 'ole US of A, and I love to good food (I have no idea if this is really true, but I hear it all time).
2. There are ocean views on one side and moutain views on the other, and I love to live in a place with great views.
3. When it is cold it's 60 degrees,and when it is hot it's 80 degrees, and you really can't beat weather like that. Santa Barbara has the perfect climate!
4. Culture. Santa Barbara has great culture and community: art museums, history museums, artists, technolgy, 4 colleges, every type of restaurant, I could go on and on.
5. REALITY. I just love this church, from the pastor to the location to the people. It's just flat out a great church!
6. The BIG DOG Parade...you haven't lived till you have seen people and their pets dressed in matching outfits parading down the street as if it was normal.
8. THE DOGHOUSE on Milpas Street. This place has awesome hotdogs and a great story! If you haven't been, you need to check it out.
I could really go one, but I need to stop now.
May 27, 2006
Thought I was a "CREEPER"....
So my father-in-law is in town for Memorial Day weekend, and the whole fam went to dinner the other night at Palazzios...one of the great restaurants in all the world. After dinner, Chrystal and I were going to see X-Men The Last Stand with her dad. Since the whole family was there, Cara had offered to babysit Brody...so she took him back home. When we got to the movie, the 9:25 showing was sold out. The 9:55 showing we decided was too late for us old folks, so we just went home.
When we got home, the house was really quite and I figured Brody was asleep but could't find Cara. So I went to see if she had gone over to the neighbors place (she's staying there while Chrystal's dad is in town), but she wasn't there either. I then went upstairs to she if she had gone to her room, but was "creeping" up the stairs so I wouldn't wake up Brody. As I hit the first landing of the staircase that leads to Brody's room, I heard the door begin to open so I turned to see if it was Cara. Cara came out of Brody's room, gasped, and jumped back into Brody's room. I then realized I didn't just scare her, but that she thought somebody else was in the house...and when she saw that they were big she just really freaked out.
When things calmed down, I asked her why she didn't lock the door and grab the Louisville Slugger on Brody's shelf. She said she didn't know what to do, but knew that she needed to get out of the room so that who ever was in the house didn't know that Brody was there...which I think is just about the bravest thing I've ever seen personally. Tiny Cara was going to meet who ever was in the house face-to-face to protect Brody. I was pretty sure before, but after the other night was 100% positive that Brody has the best aunt of all time!
