Do you hug with your dog?

Last night, we were on our walk to the local Safeway when we bumped into a couple from our neighborhood. We've seen them in the last few months as they always walk their black lab, like Charlie.

"do you hug with your dog?" the husband asked us as they were going into Safeway.

Huh? Hug with our dog? we're not suppose to? The question was so confusing on so many levels.

"Hug, you said?" I asked him back

"Oh no, hunt with your dog"

Ah! that makes so much more sense now... Of course we do! We always hunt with Charlie in Cupertino!!! (yes, I'm being sarcastic)

Ever since we noticed them around the neighborhood in the last few months, we've given them several nicknames (yes, we do that to lots of neighbors, houses, cars, etc.)

• The couple with the black lab
• The couple who walks all the time
  
• The husband who smokes his big'o cigar while walking
• The couple with the black lab who doesn't like Charlie

Now we can add a new one to the list "Do-you-hug-your-dog couple." Can't wait to see them again...

Jobs at the D conference

I've been waiting for days now to hear Steve at the D5 Conference.

Finally saw a clip of Walt interviewing him from this morning. My favorite line from this video is gotta be "... It’s like offering a glass of ice water to people in hell ..." at the end when Walt mentions iTunes being one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software out there (on Windows)

I kinda wish ATD would post more video from the conference for those of us who aren't there, you agree?

Now onto finding the video of Steve with Bill...

Update:
Yay! "Thanks ATD!" for putting up all the videos from the conference. Here's the 8 minute highlight reel. My favorite line (about 1 min 55 sec into the video below) from Steve has gotta be the "Bill.. Bill.. let me tell the story"

Cornell Alumni event @ Google

Ever since becoming a Cornell alumni in 2000, I've attended several alumni events in the SF Bay Area. They've always been great, thanks to Shannon Murray '94, director of Cornell Silicon Valley (CSV).

Presentation, "The Consumer Takes Control: The Unbundling of Content and Advertising in the Web 2.0 World"
Today, I attended the popular event at Google. Apparently, Shannon said all 200 spots were taken up within a few hours after he sent out the email (on a Sat morning!). Not sure if all these people (including me) wanted the free lunch @ Google or to hear David Fischer (VP of Online Sales & Operation), which BTW was great!

David talked advertising in traditional media vs. the new Internet age (e.g Google's own AdWords) . He compared American Idol with the YouTube phenomenon by using this video which apparently got about the same number of views as Idol when it first surfaced on the Internet.

Man, still cracks me up even though it repeatedly played inside his PowerPoint during the presentation about a dozen times.

Networking
This is probably the 6th time I've visited the Googleplex and it is always interesting to visit that place. Upon arrival, I was sent over to the overflow parking lot where a shuttle was ready to pick several of us up to Bldg 44 where the event took place. The food line was already snaking around the room, but it provided a good opportunity for me to meet new faces. The first person I met there was Al, the only Asian I've ever meet who owes 14 horses on a 5 acre property in Clayton.

I also saw a familiar face and reintroduced myself to professor John Neshiem! One of my favorite profs and the most memorable class I took at Cornell. John is a serial entrepreneur and consults worldwide for various start-ups. Aaron and I immensely enjoyed his "Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers" class (NBA 401 class) and we still talk about it whenever we meet up.

One of the things I enjoy about these events is not necessarily the topic or the speaker (even though they're wonderful!), but the vast network of people you meet. Today, I met Kelly who just graduated last Sat and will be going off to NYC for her first job (good luck!). I met Barry, who is semi-retired and use to work at Applied like I did about a decade ago. Met Kendall, the Stanford postdoc fellow. Doug, who I met at another Cornell dim-sum event few weeks ago. The list goes on and on...

Recruiting?
Present in the room were also a group of Google HR recruiters who were eager to see if "you are ready to make a change..." David even had to work into his speech a bullet point of "You're brilliant and we're always hiring".

The Google staff weren't working as hard as "mdove" below on Bay To Breaker few weekends ago, but they were definitely around and ready to scoop you up if you are interested.

Drop me a line if I saw you at the event. Until the next CU event...

Now a question for you all: would you work for Google or already do?

Google Maps Street View

Google Maps came out with "Street View" today! Pretty nifty (and kinda scary) stuff. Amazon.com tried this few years back, but it was a bust (I think it was called A9).

You can watch the official tutorial video from Google below.

As usual with other Google products, this is very user friendly and easy to use. IMHO, The best part is that you can still send people links to the exact view you are looking at. Check out where I use to work. Of course, even Google can't pass the gate at NASA Ames.

This site is already posting interesting Street Views ppl have found.

Mumbai's Dharavi

I just read the feature article in May 2007 of National Geographics, "Dharavi, Mumbai's Shadow City".

Reading such an article and seeing pictures of other parts of the less fortunate world truly gives you a different perspective on life.

I use to volunteer at homeless shelters/soup kitchens in cities I've stayed at, Lafayette (IN), Ithaca (NY), San Jose (CA). It doesn't matter how often I go, every time when I leave to go home, it's the same overwhelming feeling of how grateful I am with my situation. Small things that bothered me that day, either at home or at work seems to disappear as the stream of less fortunate bodies move in front of you to get the meal...

World is such an unfair place. Make the most of your day today!

Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 review

I don't usually write product reviews, but I wanted to share about this one in case you happen to be in the market for a digital camera and are thinking of getting the Casio Exilim EX-Z1050.

We've had the Casio Exilim EX-Z3 (my first digital camera) for about 5 years until recently when it stopped focusing. Jean wanted to get me a replacement as my birthday gift this year, so we decided on getting another Exilim since we liked the old one we had and it would mean a shorter learning ramp for both of us. Jean being a creature of habit and doesn't like changes.

When I did my research few months back, the latest Z1050 looked great. Not sure why I would need 10.1 MP, but what the heck! Everything is still great about it, but my only complaint is this... The battery needs to be recharged externally (charger provided)!

Now this doesn't seem like a big deal when we first bought it. We thought, "hmm, that's a great feature, now the charging dock is not as bulky as the old one" But then the reality sets in... One of two things always happen to me:

1. I leave the battery in the camera after downloading all the pics onto the computer (via USB port), and forget to turn off the camera (probably my fault..). Battery drains out completely.
2. I take the battery out and leave it on the external charger. Good idea, right? Nope! Days after when I try to put the battery back into the camera, the camera needs to be reset all over again, starting with date/time setting, timezone, etc.

The morale of the review is that I actually preferred the old dock which was used to both charge and download. We use to just pop the camera onto the dock, download the pics and it would be charged and ready to go next time. Now I have to actually think a bit about what to do...

"Important: Unused Balance in Your iTunes Account"

Interesting how something my close colleague on the team worked on for iTunes resulted in me (and many of us on the team) getting an email this morning.

Just like David Pogue of NYT (my previous blog), I got an email from my own company today. Not as an employee, but as an iTunes customer.

But unlike Mr. Pogue, iTunes wan't telling me that I have "unredeemed iTunes store gift". It was reminding me that I have store credit that I haven't used.

Hmm... I wonder if I leave my store credit on sites like Amazon, would they remind me like Apple would?

iRack (including blooper)

I saw this few months back and have since gotten several forwards about this. It is still hilarious even though I've probably seen it half a dozen times by now. Still cracks me up!!!

In case you haven't attended any Apple event or seen Steve Jobs, the black turtleneck and the jean is his signature wardrobe. I've actually seen him @ Apple cafe several times in that attire.

I present to you, the "MADtv - iRack" (this one includes few bloopers)

For you bird watchers out there

I'm not a big bird watching fan, but I kinda got hooked on the The Latest Massively Multiplayer Online Game? Birdwatching last week.

The idea is quite simple:

• You register on the site (yes, I know, another login, but you probably do this 6 other times daily already, so it's ok, you won't get an ulcer)
• Go to the "camera" page
• Control the camera along with Mr./Ms. whoever-is-as-bored-as-you and is currently online
• You see a bird? quickly "Take a Snapshot" (daily max of 10 shots)
• Then I don't know the rest... you classify the bird... winner is whoever has the most photos? But who cares... It's fun!

The best part is that the camera is graciously hosted by Craig himself from CL. For those who know what he looks like, look at the latest bald eagle caught on camera this morning!

Sad day for GG fans...

While the Bay Area is still celebrating Warriors Cinderella story in the making this morning, we (I mean my wife) woke up this morning to the sad news of Gilmore Girls possibility ending on May 15?!?! Blasphemy!

How are we suppose to pretend we're Luke and Lorelai when we go to open houses, so the agents won't bother us? What is Jean going to watch on Tuesday nights now? My GG's DVD collection has come to an end?

Ah!!! so many unanswered questions...