California Love

For some time I’ve been planning a trip in my head. That trip was to drive or train up the Pacific Coastline and enjoy the scenery and feeling of freedom that this country affords us. When my company decided to apply a new vacation policy and forced me to “Use or Lose” my banked vacation this year I knew this was my best opportunity to make this happen. 

The original plan was more grandiose but given the time available I decided to drive up the coast on the Pacific Coast Highway from LA to the SFO/Bay Area and back in a matter of 3 or 4 days, stopping whenever the I felt like it where my and where my curiosity took me. I have a very over scheduled life so a part of the plan was to not be scheduled knowing that there were a few major beat points I wanted to hit.

This trip if taken on the 101 or I-5 would only really take about 4-6 hours. But that wasn’t the point. The point was to take my time and enjoy the atmosphere and environment of the California landscape and especially the oceanfront. There is an amazing amount of freedom being able to consistently see the expansive view of the Ocean and cruising along the coast at moderate speeds.

I’ve discovered a lot of the experiences I think I’d like to have are pretty unique. It’s difficult finding people with the time and desire to jump on board with a similar vision so I’ve decided that this would be a solo trip. In a short conversation about our plans for Thanksgiving my good friend Tara offered to come along. I wasn’t sure if she’d actually do it, cause a lot of people tend to say things they don’t deliver on when they hear about something exciting. There was also a bit of trepidation on both of our parts; I wasn’t sure if she’d really want to be a part of the vision of wanderlust with little structure being “a planner” type person and she was afraid of imposing. In the end I think we hit the perfect balance of “structured freedom” that can enhance any experience. We only listed experiences we thought we’d like to have along the way had an end destination in mind for each day, but were not emotionally invested in where we had to be. We each named our “really like to do’s” on  this trip and the “miss-ables”. Ironically we hit every experience we had  listed and added a few along the way. It was a pleasure finding a good travel partner to as traveling tends to be quite revealing about people’s personalities.

Traveling on the road can be a great way to realize how small we are the grandness of our world. I loved watching the scenery of the landscape change from Southern California desert beaches to the Mountainous Pine forests of Big Sur. It’s an ever changing environment of Flora, Fauna and Geology set against the constant waves of the ocean coastline. The Pacific Coast Highway provides a unique seamless experience that is unparalleled anywhere in the world that I know of. In the end it was the perfect detachment from the grind of the day to day. A great way to see the amazing scenery and freedom this nation provides for us.

Tara is an avid photographer and videographer. She really was able to capture the essence of the vacation in this short video.

Itinerary

• Sunday evening: Got a head start on the traffic.
  • Los Olivos: Thanks to the Nichols family for accomodations.
• Monday
  • Solvang: The Danish City: Breakfast at Solvang Restaurant
  • Monarch Butterfly Grove: Millions of Monarch Butterflies stop here on their migration to Mexico.
  • Pismo Beach: Arguably the Best Beach in California
  • Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo: Novelty stop.
  • Morro Bay: The Rock: A stop at Joe’s Surf Shop.
  • San Simeon Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery
  • Cayucos, CA: A bit of backtracking for a nights stay
• Tuesday
  • Surfing at the Cayucos Pier
  • Hearst Castle
  • Big Sur
  • Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park / McWay Waterfall
  • Nepthune Restaurant
  • Belmont Turnaround point.
• Wednesday: Head home.
  • Half Moon Bay
  • Santa Cruz
  • Return via the 101 to Pismo Beach
  • Pismo Boardwalk: Meet up with a new friend
  • Follow the Coast home
  • North Hollywood, CA

Other Pacific Coastline trips (I’d like to take)

Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner.

Amtrak’s Coast Starlight

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When Spacemen become cool

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Surround Yourself With Greatness part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, I am grateful for the amount of inventive and creatively talented people I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by. A part 2 to this end is required when I see what my great colleague Joe does on his off time. Enjoy the amazingly professional, but volunteer productions of Wild Pilots

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TeamWIldPilots

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Surround yourself with greatness

One of the more favorable things I am grateful for in my life has been the amount of inventive and creatively talented people I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by.

Thomas Crenshaw is one such individual who a few days ago put together this little tribute video for one of his (and mine) favorite TV Shows. The video is fun, compelling and burning up the replays on youtube right now.

Enjoy

Thomas Crenshaw

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Looking for that moment

You can get all academic about what you want to do with your life and what you want in your career or job. But no amount of money, status to function can make up for the feeling that you get when you solve a hard problem, overcome and obstacle or build something that’s never been done before.  These are the emotions that epitomize my favorite seen from the movie Moneyball.

At the end of the day I want the job where I get to make this scene happen more often than not. Everything else is arbitrary!

Live life and love it!

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When you find something…..

I’ve written no less than 25 partial posts that are sitting as drafts in my dashboard, which I mean to publish someday, since they seem very relevant to the time period right now. But I found this video and it just spoke to my heart. Whether it’s because I love France, Ingenuity, Innovation and “Off the Beaten Path” ideas or otherwise I don’t know.

Enjoy.

Maybe it will inspire me to finish the rest of my oh – so important posts… 🙂

Addendum: Yet another great inspiration.

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My clickpath to this post…

1. Steve Jobs steps down
2. Twitter feeds from Apple Employees about Steve’s departure.
3. kenchangKen Chang  ‘ Just watched Tim Cook’s 2010 Auburn University Commencement Speech… and then I saw this… bit.ly/p2us3J (Will Ferrell, Harvard, 2003)
4. Conan O’Brien’s  2011 Dartmouth Commencement Address

[21:31]”…No specific job or career goal defines me. And it should not define you.”

[20:52]”..It is our failure to become our perceived ideal, that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right. Your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention.”

[21:52]  “In 2000 I told graduates to not be afraid to fail. And I still believe that. But today I tell you that weather you fear it or not disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.”

[23:20] “Work Hard. Be Kind and amazing things will happen.”

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In Awe of Quiet Leadership.

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood won four Emmy awards, and Rogers received one for lifetime achievement.

During the 1997 Daytime Emmys, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rogers. The following is an excerpt from Esquire‘s coverage of the gala, written by Tom Junod:

Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award — and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, “All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence.”And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, “I’ll watch the time.” There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn’t kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, seven seconds — and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly “May God be with you,” to all his vanquished children.^[13][21]https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Fred_Rogers#Personal_life

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Big Changes

Recently I spent a lot of time soul searching what I wanted to with the next few years of my life and career.  I had an opportunity to join GE Healthcare in developing the next generation solutions for the Healthcare world. This was a big change for me since I had spent an accumulative 10 years in Social Media. You can imagine what the differences might be. I was wary of the frustrations I might encounter having been is a very cowboy-esque world in social media. But that the end of the day I wanted to make sure my skills were used for good rather than evil. Since joining this effort I’ve been nothing but excited and impressed with the focus and process of how we are going about designing and building successful products, where success is measured in lives saved.

My primary focus is working on a product trying to alleviate HAIs, (Healthcare Acquired Infections.) Basically an infection you acquire while being treated for something else in a hospital or clinic.

HAIs will kill more Americans this year than prostate and breast cancer combined. In addition, resulting treatment costs will inflate the nation’s healthcare spend by a largely avoidable $35 billion each year—an average of $1,100 per patient admission. (GEReports) WHO KNEW?

This infographic made it to my desk today which sums up the need very well.

If I’m looking to make a meaningful impact I  think I made a good decision.

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Quote of the day: “… People who put cars in their garage have no imagination.”

“We haven’t had a car in our garage for 20 years. It’s half boat and bicycle storage and half blacksmith shop. My wife says people who put cars in their garage have no imagination.

I make all sorts of stuff. Candlesticks, wall hooks, fireplace screens.”

Darren Bush – Flatwater Paddling Evangelist

See the full article here:

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_a442abff-445d-5573-b409-fecbe700b114.html

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Pure Joy.

You know you are blessed when little gems like this occur in your day.

Check out the people LinkedIn suggested I might know today:

Hack, Spam or otherwise. This made me laugh!

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A Modern Christmas Story

Lately I’ve been concerned with the absolute blatant eradication of Christ from Christmas Activities in modern life.

The best evidence is the New York City chapter of the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) has chosen to rebrand itself as the “Y” and no longer allow Santa at it’s holiday parties. They’re replaced it with Frosty the Snowman.

From Christ to Santa is a stretch as it is but calling Santa too Christian at an organization founded as a Christian society is ridiculous. I’m starting to feel like the history books are being rewritten.

Which is why I was pleasantly surprised and happy to find this gem that was forwarded to me. A true modern Christmas story. Merry Christmas everyone! And if you don’t celebrate it or recognize that others do, enjoy the time off from work, compliments of those who do.

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Google not the only place with good ideas. What?

If you’ve drinken the Kool-Aid or Google-Aid as it would be renamed if Google had a product for it; Guess what? They don’t invent or innovate  everything.

I was surprised and little stunned to see such a blatant follower move by Google search today as they debuted the  image on their search page… a la “bing.”

But to steal a stolen phrase from an article by Cameron Moll. “Good Designers Copy, Great Designers Steal.” Where did he get that? Picasso. Who reportedly said. “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

Google becoming a not so fast follower?

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Don’t you just love it when something works great the first time?!!!

A week or so ago, I was at the gas station about a block from my house. Where there is an e-play video dispenser.  You’ve probably seen the Redbox at your local grocery store. This a similar experience, but it’s actually located outside, near the building. A convenient way to get a movie anytime. We must be grateful for the convenience we are served. In fact we are super-served in that way. Almost to a fault. I’ve definitely exploited the fact that I can pay up at the very last moment given our current technology. In fact I’ve often wondered how much of a slacker I would be if I were born 50 years earlier. Having to remind myself of all the things to do on time, wait in line. Put it in mail…. ugh.

Anyway. This experience was great, not only could I be recognized by CC, but also by an email address, or barcode on the sleeve after purchase.It then has my history when I showed up. The return was easy and simple. No instructions really needed. The only weird thing was the sleeve they give to you when you purchase a rental. it doesn’t actually fit the CD/DVD well. But who cares. Plus you pay just a buck for every night you keep it. One night, one dollar. Two nights, two dollars. So you have incentive to return it but it’s not going to kill you if miss it for a day.

I hope you’re more responsible  than myself but that you also find yourself super served cause it just feels good!

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Patience and Charity

Randy Pausch

“If you wait long enough people with impress you and surprise you.”
Wait long and people will surprise and impress you.

“When you’re pissed off and angry with someone, you just haven’t given them enough time.
Just give them a little more time and they’ll almost always impress you.”

– Randy Pausch – The Last Lecture

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A new movie for my top 10 list.

This weekend I watched a movie I had always wanted to see. Ironically, I received the movie as a Christmas gift, having never seen it and now after watching it feel as though it should be on my list of top 10 favorites.

The movie Stranger Than Fiction, about a man with a mundane life discovers he has a narrator to his life and that the author/narrator of his life is planning to kill him off, possibly soon. Now what does he do? Such an interesting idea, because I have wondered if I had a biographical movie, who would be the narrator? Or what are the tunes to the soundtrack of my life. Or how would others talk about me at my funeral.

But more than that. This movie was a sheer pleasure, because of the script and the clever, well thought out writing which was then served by an all-star cast who to my delight were cast in roles outside their normal expectation. Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah and a few other you may recognize.

In trying to discover a way to describe this film to my friends I thought this is not particular type of film but a comedic tragedy, then I realized by every sense of the phrase this was really a tragic comedy. And yes the order makes a huge difference. But it’s just that type of difference that makes the writing in this film so insightful. Another element of this film that was truly unique and spoke to me was it’s form. As the main character Harold Crick moves through his daily activities a GUI is blended into the film in a non-intrusive way that represents all of the mundane routines he calculates throughout that day. I loved this, since I spend so much of my day trying to discover ways to create visualization for people’s experience. (I’m a UI designer). Lastly, the soundtrack truly served the story, the storytelling and the form.

If you’ve seen the movie, you can probably guess what I mean. If you haven’t this probably sounds a little over the top and vague. If you’re going to watch this movie, make sure you have the time to pay attention and watch whole thing. (that’s for all you out there in familyland with kids)

If you haven’t seen it, stop reading right now. Cause I’m going to ruin it for you.

I’m sorry, but it’s the only way I think I can communicate what I got from the film is to quote the end summation.

“…Sometimes, when we loose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And fortunately when there aren’t any cookies we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or some encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys, and nose plugs, an uneaten danish, soft spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties which we assume only accessorize our days are in fact here for a much larger and nobler cause, they are here to save our lives…”

It’s wisdom like this that makes you thankful for, things like tomato pie, seeing old things with new eyes, and every interaction you have with friends, family and strangers throughout the day. My theme for 2008 so far is Gratitude makes every day great. You may still worry, you may still fear, but gratitude allows you to recognize the larger and nobler cause the nuances in our life create.

Check out this clip of the last 6 minutes of the film.

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