CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-20 17:01:33 (24 comments, 1 reshares, 24 +1s)

Becoming Weaker to Become Stronger

Without question, the happiest I have ever been in my life is right now.  That is due in large part because of one person, my wife +Liz Lui .  However, I would be the first to admit that it wasn't a straight line path to this awesome amount of happiness, there were many struggles along the way.

One of the most important lessons I learned along the way was that it was necessary for me to become "weaker" before we could become stronger.

I'm opinionated.  I'm strong willed.  I don't bend easily.  I like to be right.  I like for others to know that I'm right.  While these traits have served me well in most parts of my life, they are not conducive to being in a good relationship.  In fact, it makes it damn right impossible. 

When I started dating Liz, I needed things to be a certain way. Namely m... more »

2013-05-19 17:42:28 (26 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Can Tumblr Make Yahoo Cool?

It appears as if the Yahoo Board has approved Marissa Mayer's newest target to make Yahoo relevant again, Tumblr.   It remains to be seen if Tumblr will actually accept the offer but indications are that it has reached a point, due to cash flow constraints, where it must accept some offer.  So unless a Facebook or some other company rushes in right now, Yahoo may be getting Tumblr.

The Billion dollar question is, will it change Yahoo's fortunes?  That remains unclear.  I'm never a huge fan of mergers.  While there are times a merger makes sense, I feel that more often than not, it is a bad idea for both companies involved.  You run into all sorts of problems such as asymmetrical information, clashing cultures, integration challenges, etc.  Any one of these could derail an otherwise good merger let alone multiple problems.
Do I... more »

2013-05-19 17:24:26 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 45 +1s)

I don't normally go to movies on their opening weekend but we are talking about Star Trek. Star Trek.

2013-05-15 20:28:39 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

In The News

Here is one under appreciated aspect of working for a company like Google that may seem shallow on the surface but I actually think is quite important.  

A day doesn't go by where I don't see some sort of interesting news article about the company I work for.  This is especially true today where you can see the entire front page of +Techmeme is devoted to stories about +Google.  Sometimes the articles are good.  Sometimes they are bad.  But there is always something which makes you feel like the world at large cares about the work that you do. 

This just isn't the case for most companies and at times it can be quite disheartening.  If I do a news search for some of my lesser known previous employers nothing really comes up.  It is lucky if these companies are mentioned once or twice a month and even then it is just as likely to be a PRrelease ... more »

2013-05-15 19:27:48 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

Uh guys. Can everyone please stop hitting refresh at the exact same time? k thx bye.

#googlepluslove

2013-05-15 18:09:15 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 19 +1s)

Pretty Awesome to be A Googler Today

Awesome products being announced and things have just started.  Stocks at $900.  Yeah.  Life is good.  

Follow the news here. http://live.theverge.com/live-google-io-2013/

and let me know what your favorite announcement is today.  

2013-05-09 17:16:43 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 29 +1s)

Google Stock at All Time High

This is Google's stock chart since I got a job offer and decided to join.  Today, Google has hit an all time high.  Coincidence?  You tell me.  

for those keeping score this is a > 20% gain in a little over 3 months

2013-05-06 22:03:07 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Hang on to your butts... 

2013-05-06 16:50:36 (28 comments, 1 reshares, 20 +1s)

The French Laundry For a Non-Foodie

I went to the French Laundry yesterday.  I'm not the foodie in the family, my wife +Liz Lui  is, but we wanted to celebrate the new job and the move up to the Bay Area so we decided to go for the ultimate dining experience.  Below is my take on it.

Short Version

From end-to-end, the best meal I ever had.  Service and food were excellent.  Did it live up to the hype?  Depends.  While I said it was the best meal, each dish was not life-altering.   There were some dishes that were downright disappointing.  For the two of us, our bill came out to $720 w/o wine.  If the thought of spending that much money for one meal gives you heartburn, then don't go.  But if you want to have an awesome food experience and can stomach the bill, it can be worth it. 

Longer Version

It is oftencalled the ... more »

2013-05-05 18:27:53 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

T-minus 30 minutes

2013-05-03 18:35:27 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Miss the Doggy

So as I said in my previous post I've been traveling all week.  About to brave NYC traffic and try to make it to the airport in time.  I haven't posted a #fidofriday  picture in a long time simply because I've been so busy with the new job.  This isn't a particularly good photo technically, but +Liz Lui sent it to me earlier in the week and it made me miss Gadget that much more. 

Hope everybody is having a good Friday.   Got a crazy busy weekend which includes flying home, finding a place to rent, and going to the French Laundry.  What do you have planed?

2013-05-03 17:58:04 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

When Traveling For Work Became Work

When I was younger I was a consultant.  That basically meant I flew all over the U.S. and was never home.  I was young and didn't mind and in many ways found it fun and exciting.  Even when I got stuck in locations like Louisville, KY.  I was an excellent traveller and never got frustrated with late takeoffs or long lines because, after all, I was going to fun new place. 

Now that has totally changed.  I've been in NYC all week but I can't wait to get home.  It wasn't as if this trip didn't have perks; I got to see a bunch of old friends I haven't seen in a while.  But it just wears on you to be gone for the whole week.  I miss my family, and I miss my dog.  

I'm not sure when this switch happened.  Not sure if it is just a function of age, family, change in personality, etc.  Are you like mewhere you u... more »

2013-05-02 05:09:19 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

Yeah, I Don't Miss NYC All That Much

It's 1:00 a.m. and there is a very loud police siren that is going off outside my hotel window for the last 20 seconds.  I wasn't asleep anyway but if I was, I would be pretty upset right about now. 

I lived in Manhattan for a year and decided it just wasn't for me.  I get some people love it here, but the negatives just don't outweigh the positives for me.  

2013-04-29 16:35:58 (14 comments, 3 reshares, 18 +1s)

First Openly Gay Professional Athlete

It was going to happen sooner or later and Jason Collins will now go down as the first openly gay athlete in one of the major American sports leagues. 

Gald to see this day here and quite honestly surprised it took this long.  I think this is a seminal moment but I don't think Jason is going to be met with the same vitriol that other trailblazers have met, and that's a good thing.  That's not to say I think this will be easy, but I will be shocked if anybody associated in the league comes out strongly against this.  If he has any issues it will much more likely come from the fans.  

What sort of reception do you expect for Collins with this news?  How difficult will it be for him?  Do you think anybody associated with the league is going to come out against this?
http... more »

2013-04-29 01:52:16 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 25 +1s)

It was called the Godzilla Roll. I was pretty much forced to order it.

2013-04-28 17:22:52 (19 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Easily Amused

Sitting in the airport bar waiting for my flight. Knicks-Celtic are on an I'm thankful that I'm the type of person with enough varied interest that I can be entertained by most things being shown in a public setting whether it be sports, new, or a movie.

Just so long as its not reality TV I'm set. I might gave to skip the flight if I saw Honey Boo Boo on the screen.

Where do you draw the line?

2013-04-27 18:46:51 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 23 +1s)

My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

This week I gave five speeches while wearing it.
I passed through airports four times (two more in a couple of hours).
I let hundreds of people try my Google Glass.
I have barely taken it off since getting it other than to sleep.

Here's my review after having Google Glass for two weeks:

1. I will never live a day of my life from now on without it (or a competitor). It's that significant. 
2. The success of this totally depends on price. Each audience I asked at the end of my presentations "who would buy this?" As the price got down to $200 literally every hand went up. At $500 a few hands went up. This was consistent, whether talking with students, or more mainstream, older audiences.
3. Nearly everyone had an emotional outburst of "wow" or... more »

2013-04-27 03:37:29 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Subconscious Irony

I was flipping through the stations and landed on the NFL draft.  Right when I stopped the Arizona Cardinals selected Tyrann Mathieu who goes by the nickname the "Honey Badger". 

He has had many off-the-field issues which lead many people to believe he isn't the brightest bulb in the box.  The ESPN analyst then proceeded to do an interview with the Honey Badger which lasted about 5 minutes and continued to dig and dig into Honey Badger's checkered past.  The analyst kept asking him if he understood he had been given a 2nd chance, what a big responsibility it was, blah, blah blah.   The answers given by Honey Badger were bad even by athlete standards. 

I finally got sick of it and exclaimed out loud, "I don't give a S#!t about this guy."  I didn't do it on purpose and wonder if I even didit subc... more »

2013-04-26 03:32:41 (17 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Upstairs Neighbors

The ruckus upstairs, which sounds like a game of tackle football mixed in with a dog fight, is all the reminder I need that I'm definitely renting a house this time around ...

How do you feel about the people you share walls with?  If you live upstairs from someone, do you at least try not to be a nuisance?

2013-04-25 21:41:37 (24 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Love It - Never Do It

Just realized a very strange fact about me and my wife.  We love Italian food.  We love it so much that we got married in Italy and my wife's favorite part of the trip was the cooking class she took.  You can see below one of my all time favorite dishes which we had for our wedding dinner and I don't even really like cheese and hate tomatoes.  

But here is the odd thing.  We NEVER go to Italian restaurants.  I don't mean we rarely go.  I mean in the entire time we have been together, which is just shy of a decade, we have maybe gone to 1 or 2 pseudo-Italian restaurants.  My wife and I eat out 4 or 5 meals a week, maybe more. So in the thousands of times we have gone out how is it possible we never eat Italian Food?  

The odder thing is that neither my wife nor I realized this until right now.  How is that possible?  Doesanybody fi... more »

2013-04-24 21:34:43 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

I'm pretty sure he is just screwing around with me but I can't be certain ...

2013-04-24 17:42:43 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Best Shooting Backcourt Ever?

I've heard a couple people say they think the Steph Curry & Klay Thompson may be the best shooting backcourt to ever play in the NBA.

Given yesterday's crazy 65% from the field there is a pretty legitimate case.  Probably too early to crown them this but I was having a hard time thinking of a team who had two guards who were this good of shooters.  Curry is especially unique.  Very accurate.  Very prolific.  And crazy fast to get his shot off.  

Lots of team have one great shooter and then a complimentary player next to them but I struggle to think of any two guards who shoot this well playing together at the same time.  Can you think of a better shooting backcourt in NBA history?

2013-04-23 17:17:27 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The Rake

I don't say this too often but I read this article and felt like it actually made me smarter.  It's an interesting look at pricing models for companies that wish to be a "platform"

http://abovethecrowd.com/2013/04/18/a-rake-too-far-optimal-platformpricing-strategy/

In the article, he specifically calls out Apple and Facebook for overpricing their "rake" when they should have been taking the opportunity to consolidate their position.  I actually completely agree with the points made in the article and one of the reasons I was eager to join a company with better long term strategic thinking like Google  when I was on the job market.   

In my view, it doesn't make much sense to charge such a premium for your platform at the expense of your partners. Here, the Jeff Bezos quote of,  "Your margin is myoppor... more »

2013-04-21 19:36:38 (8 comments, 4 reshares, 48 +1s)

Latte Art

Now that there is always an espresso machine no more than 100 feet from where I am, I've decided to learn to make my own cappuccinos and lattes.  

I always marvel when I see the art that some people are able to create art like this.  I'm still trying to learn not to burn my milk.  Anyone got any tips on me as I start my cappuccino making career?

Found via http://on.fb.me/13pkG4N

2013-04-21 17:37:24 (20 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

We May Have a Problem

It probably says something bad about me that the majority of shoes in my house right now are mine and not my loves-to-go-shoe-shopping wife.  

Maybe I have a problem and I'm just in denial?

2013-04-21 00:29:30 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 24 +1s)

The Good Life

You know you have it good when you spend your Saturday afternoon in the office and you don't even really mind.  

2013-04-19 16:21:34 (45 comments, 0 reshares, 27 +1s)

A Tale of Two Companies

Google and Microsoft.  I've worked at both now and I have to say there couldn't be two more dissimilar companies in my mind. 

I don't hold any ill will toward Microsoft.  In fact, I actually root for them as I still have friends there and am still a shareholder.  But sometimes I can only shake my head at what I see as so many lost opportunities for a company that had such strong advantages just a few years ago. 

Both Google and MS released earnings yesterday.  Neither had too many surprises but the two focuses of the earnings calls couldn't have been more different and is reflective of how I saw the two companies when I was an employee at each.  

Google is very forward looking.  +Larry Page focused on all the wonderful things Google is building and the big bets we are taking as a company in Fiber, Glass, andthat sel... more »

2013-04-18 17:52:07 (31 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

yikes

At DMV. Wish me luck, I might never make it out.

The scary thing is that this is the appointment line.

2013-04-18 02:19:11 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

We don't need no stinking badges!

This one you might though.  Big advocate of girls, games, and coding.  we can't do enough to encourage girls to get interested in software development.  

http://www.polygon.com/2013/4/17/4236064/girl-scouts-los-angeles-video-game-design-patch

2013-04-16 17:48:31 (36 comments, 0 reshares, 29 +1s)

I Dream Of Sushi Now

Watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi last night.  It is a documentary about 85 year old sushi chef Jiro Ono, owner of a 3 star Michelin restaurant, and his lifelong journey to perfect Sushi.  

As a sushi lover, I thought it was a great film but it made me really hungry.   Even though I'm not a foodie, I find it fascinating the amount of passion people like Jiro puts into his food.  It actually makes me even more excited that I'm going to French Laundry in a few weeks.  

After watching the film, I'm pretty certain I'm going to have to make a pilgrimage to Japan at some point and try some awesome Sushi places.  Until that happens, I would be curious from all of you, where's your favorite sushi place?

mine is here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/yoshida-san-marino-2

2013-04-15 18:11:19 (70 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

What is Rich?

I was having an interesting conversation with someone this weekend on the topic of what qualifies someone as "rich" and wanted to get the opinions of a more diverse crowd.  

There could be many definitions of "rich".  

Is it an income level?  
Is it how much money you have in the bank?
Is it that you could buy something like a yacht?

So what would it take for you to point to someone and say, "That person is rich"?

Note:  Please keep your responses to something monetary  Yes, I get that people with "love" and "family" are the richest amongst us but I'm really curious about people's monetary definition here.  

2013-04-12 23:44:32 (18 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

Dealership Service Cheaper?

So I'm the type of guy who usually goes to the dealership to get work done on their car.  I have done this out of sheer convenience and some sense that they have done that service hundreds of times on my exact model. Of course, people always tell me that dealerships are significantly more expensive.  As it's time for a major service to be done on my car , and I'm new to the area and therefore don't have a regular place, I figured I would ask around and get some estimates before I get any work done.

The surprising thing?  The dealership was significantly less expensive than the other quotes.  Cheaper by a few hundred dollars.  So I'm curious, what are other people's experiences.  Do you find dealership service centers to be more expensive, less expensive, or about the same?

2013-04-12 21:44:17 (21 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Facebook Home a Disaster

Too early to tell yet but 48% of reviews are 1 star?  Ouch.  Given the importance of mobile to Facebook (and the internet in general) and how good I think some of the other mobile social apps are (I think the G+ iOS app is pretty sweet) how much trouble is Facebook in with this?  If the app/phone is a flop, do you think Facebook will eventually get it right?

http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2013/04/12/facebook-home-suffers-from-poor-early-reviews-as-46-give-it-a-1-star-rating-on-google-play/

2013-04-12 04:30:46 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 28 +1s)

I know how that guy feels...

2013-04-10 01:16:55 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 22 +1s)

Why Competition is Good

As if providing gigabit internet isn't awesome enough, getting others to up their game is a pretty nice little side effect.  Just saying ...

http://gigaom.com/2013/04/09/take-that-google-att-ups-the-ante-with-plans-for-its-own-austin-gigabit-network/

Obvious question.  What took you so long AT&T?

2013-04-09 21:06:47 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Stuck In the Stone Age

Looks like AOL is redoubling its effort to become a player in the online advertising game.  But what stuck out to me in the article is the fact that its old modem business still warrants mentioning. 

http://paidcontent.org/2013/04/09/aols-new-publisher-tool-to-compete-with-google-armstrong-says-its-back-in-ad-tech-game/

I know that there are still a few people stuck on dial-up but I probably don't really get how many people are still out there if it drives any sort of significant revenue for AOL. 

So a quick show of hands.  How many of you know anybody who is still uses dial up AOL as their ISP?

2013-04-09 19:08:38 (54 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Googlers on G+

So back in the day there were lots of people interested in knowing which Googlers (i.e. People who work for Google) were active users on G+.  I'll be honest and say I didn't much care about that simply because I didn't feel any particular need to interact with Googlers any more than I did other people I had met online. 

But now that I'm a Googler that has probably changed.  I would find it useful to know of any other Googlers who are active here.  So I could use a little bit of crowdsourced help.  I know of the obvious ones like +Vic Gundotra , +Matt Cutts , +Bradley Horowitz and +Natalie Villalobos and others that I've met in real life like +Tony Payne and +Andy Bohm but I would love to have a much larger list.  

Can you please let me know who are some of the more active Googlers on G+.  Either just mention their nameor share a c... more »

2013-04-09 03:48:44 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

What a Game

Congrats to Louisville.  That's how College Championships should be.  Why can't the BCS get its act together like this?

2013-04-08 21:36:58 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Dog Jail

Saw this "Dog Park" on one of my walks with Gadget.  I don't know on what planet this can be considered a Dog Park since its about the size of a car.  I would honestly feel bad for any dog that was brought here to have a good time.  Sure, you could take a dog here to do its business but that's really about it.   Not sure why you would even do that since there are plenty of grassy places nearby to do this.  If I were to put Gadget in here it would just make me think I was putting him in jail.  

Have you ever seen sadder looking Dog Park?

2013-04-03 18:24:06 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

Bringing the Wow

It's only been 4 weeks but I'm constantly wowed by the scale that +Google does everything. And I don't just mean the technology.

I hope that amazement doesn't just vanish over time ...

2013-04-02 22:33:09 (30 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Great

About to get on a completely full flight. The only thing that could make this
better is to sit next to a crying baby.

What are some of your least favorite thing about air travel?

2013-04-01 18:44:52 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Play Ball

Full slate of MLB games are on today.  I love the start of the season because there is always so much hope for every team.   There are some great stories going into the season.  Will the Dodgers big spending finally pay off?  Will the Nationals be as good as everyone thinks and will Strasburg continue to be spectacular now that the shackles are off?  Will Trout suffer from a Sophomore slump?

What stories are you closely following heading into the 2013 MLB season?

2013-04-01 03:16:12 (8 comments, 2 reshares, 22 +1s)

Hope nothing exciting happens because I'm going to ignore pretty much everything I read on the internet for the next day.  How about you?

2013-03-31 21:21:42 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

Caffeinated Irony

How ironic is it that the day I post about giving up caffeine the only place I can go that has a wi-fi connection is Starbucks? Everything else around is closed for Easter.

I went with a chai latte rather than a coffee for those curious.

2013-03-31 16:15:35 (30 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Sweet Caffeine

Tried to cut back on caffeine this weekend but headaches got the better of me. Probably not the smartest idea to go cold turkey.

Do you ever try and cut back? How successful are you? Any tips?

2013-03-28 18:21:13 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

In Shape Is Not In Shape For Everything

Most of you know that I am in pretty decent shape. I can quite comfortably run 10+ miles and am usually training for marathons (although I'm not right at the moment).

But just because i'm in really good shape to run long distance does not mean I'm in shape to do any physical activity.   2 days ago, I played a pick-up basketball game for the first time in a few months.  I didn't play a lot, I only played in 1.5 games.  The 1/2 game was due to the fact that my calf cramped up half way through and I had to drop out. 

If only that was the end of it.  Two days later, I'm still unbelievably sore.  This is true even in parts like my hamstrings which get regular use when I run.  It goes to show you how important it can be to mix up your exercise routine to get the most benefit for your body.

Howmuch do... more »

2013-03-28 02:55:40 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Still The Best

A hurt animal is the most dangerous.  No Derek Rose.  No Noah.  No Bellineli.  No Rip Hamilton.  And now, no record for the Heat.  

The Miami Heat winning streak ends at 27, 6 short of the Lakers Record.  I actually think that this may work out better for Miami.  The only thing that really matters is the NBA Championship.  A streak this long at the end of the season can be a real drain on a team.  Now its more likely the Heat will get some rest before the playoffs.  

What do you think of the streak?  Do you agree with me that this will actually help them?

2013-03-27 03:15:46 (42 comments, 11 reshares, 29 +1s)

Good Luck With That

A store in Australia has taken an extreme measure to combat "showrooming " by charging customers $5 for "just looking".  I can only assume that they enforce this by charging customers to even enter the store.  

Anyone with half a brain knows this is bound to fail and will actually only exacerbate the situation.  I often go to stores to "just look" without any intent of doing price comparison on the internet.  Odds are that if I go in enough times, I'll eventually find something I like and buy it.  But if you are going to charge me to just enter your store, you can be sure I'm going to keep moving to the next one. 

Does anyone actually think this has any chance of success?  What would you do if a store you wanted to go to had this policy?

Via: 
http:... more »

2013-03-26 18:04:07 (18 comments, 3 reshares, 24 +1s)

My Prepaid Experience - An Update

I have in the past talked about how much money I saved buying my phone straight up and going to a prepaid plan. (http://goo.gl/IWHif)  Now that T-mobile has unveiled its plan to do away with subsidized phone pricing that they announced last year (http://goo.gl/itzY1) I figured I would give a quick update of where I stand now and my experience using prepaid carriers.  

Overall, I don't even notice I am on a prepaid plan and that's pretty much the best thing I can say about the whole experience.  To catch you up, I personally use an unlocked iPhone 4S, which I bought directly from Apple, on Straight Talk.  They are an MVNO carrier you can get through Wal-Mart.  They buy spectrum from AT&T so I basically get on the AT&T network for a little over $45 a month.  I have unlimited everything so I don't worry about data, voice,or te... more »

2013-03-25 17:20:07 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

My Kingdom For A Dry Erase Marker

I'm in temp corporate housing right now until I find a more permanent place in the Bay Area. Last night, I wanted to diagram something and realized that I don't have a single dry erase marker in the apartment.

I'm a bad engineer.   I will voluntarily give up my engineer card for the week.