OSU - Emerald Bowl Champions

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching the OSU Beavers take on the Maryland Terrapins at AT&T Park in San Francisco (where the SF Giants play baseball). It was a ton of fun to go to a bowl game and see all the fan fair. I can't even imagine how amazing a Superbowl game must be. I didn't go to OSU, but now I work in that town, so I've been following them. It also just so happened I was going to be in the area with my family during the game, so I got tickets.

Both teams had some good players and spectacular moments. Maryland went up first with a quick score. OSU was able to respond, but then Maryland quickly put up another touchdown. It seriously looked like it was going to become a shootout. However, both defenses settled down and the scoring stopped. Less than a minute left in the first half, OSU put together a good drive to tie the score 14-14. The second half was another defensive game with both teams struggling to make it into the end zone. With 6 minutes left in the game, OSU put together another good looking drive to make it 21-14. Maryland came close scoring again a couple of times, but just couldn't finish. The game finished with OSU crowned as Emerald Bowl Champions.

It was a good close game and I'm glad I got to go with my family.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you had a great time and were able to relax a little bit. Jessi and I were able to spend Christmas in the Bay Area, CA with my (soon to be our) family. It had all the usual fun of family traditions and presents, but something caught my eye. Suddenly I stopped and looked around when I realized that we were eating dinner on Christmas Eve... outside - in short sleeves! That's right, the weather has been simply amazing. You know, I realize there are some who say it's better cold, or that you must experience the changing of the seasons, but I've got to be honest: beautiful weather all year round is really nice. I know, you're jealous. :)

Merry Christmas!

She Said "Yes"

So, there's kind of big news in my life. Not only am I getting a promotion at work, but Jessi is now my fiancee! I proposed to her last night during a romantic candle lit dinner. She had no clue it was coming, which is awesome. Actually, at first she thought I was joking she was so surprised. Below are a few of pictures of the event.

Dynamic Graphs

In my line of work, we show a lot of data. Furthermore, all of that data is displayed within PowerPoint. Over time, we have become experts in the "display of quantitative information". We've learned how to make slides visually compelling and boil complex numbers and comparisons into easily understandable graphs and charts.

However, over time our information (and data) has become increasingly complex - and this has added a level of difficulty to our work. Our solution, we think, it to use something dynamic. This will allow the user to zoom in and out as they desire and not require us to physically create each level of detail within a new slide.

For example, let's say you have a picture of a car (slide 1). Then some body asks to just see the engine (slide 2). Then they ask to see the cylinders (slide 3). Then the pistons (slide 4). Lots of zooming involved. But then someone wanted to see the transmission (slide 4) and all the individual parts of the transmission (slides 5-20). Yet, there was one other person who wanted to see the interior (slide 21). Then the dash (slide 22). Then the fuel gauge (slide 23). Then the fuel gauge needle (slide 24). Oh wait! That's just one car! There are still 50 other cars to do this for, and each view has it's own PowerPoint slide! Not to mention the comparison views on one car to another (of say a 2006 model to a 2007).

Is there a tool out there that will allow people to choose their own view? Something that will let people peel their own onion on one slide with the data in the background? There are a couple options out there, but we're not sure what would be the best.

Ah yes, these are the types of concerns that keep us up at night.

Snow Joke

I like corny jokes. I think it's funny how stupid, yet creative they can be. I once got into a discussion about how measure the "funniness" of something and there are actually articles out there to further "explain" what makes something funny. It all has that "Dead Poets Society" feel to it really, but that's not why I'm writing. Let's get to the joke.

Q: What do you get if you make a vampire snowman?

A: Frostbite!

Ha ha. I love those kind. OK, now for a totally different kind of humor, but probably even better. Remember those Calvin and Hobbes snowman cartoons? Well, I found a site that has them all printed out. Just like the last time I read through Bill Waterson's book,s they're amazing.

Here's the page, and here's a sample:

Having Goals

On February 23, 2003 I put together a goals list as encouraged by a book I read. From what I read, having goals gives you direction in life - a compass if you will. More over, writing down goals makes them more concrete and "official". Then, you need to put them in a place where you'll see them all the time. For me, the best place is posted in the bathroom right above the toilet. It's a time I'm not doing much, but standing there, and I can get in a quick review at least a couple times a day. When you review your goals, say all of them in the present tense - as if you've already accomplished them. Furthermore, your top 1-3 goals should be written down and placed in your wallet so you have them with you at all times. The last step, and this is the hardest really, is to tell people. Not only does it make it more real, but now you're holding yourself accountable to other people. Believe me, I still get calls and emails from people wondering about my goals.

What's the point of all this? Well, our minds are amazing. You see, over time your brain starts to truly believe what you're telling it each day and to others. Yes, it is a form of brainwashing (but you have to admit it's better than the normal brainwashing that occurs), and over time your brain starts to think of ways to make your goals come true. Want to vacation in Egypt? Your brain will think of ways to save money, borrow money, find discounts, fund raise and all sorts of other creative solutions. You will start to notice (and read) articles relating to Egypt - educating yourself. This concept, of setting your mind on something and then letting your brain figure it out, is exactly what the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki is all about.

How many goals is enough? There really isn't any magic number to the number of goals you have, though I do believe you should only have 1-3 top priority goals. You know, these are the big ones that you feel compelled to accomplish. You should even create sub goals that help enforce your main goal. For me, I write down anything and everything I think would be fun to accomplish. Really, this is so I can get it out of my head, but in a secure place, and refocus on my top goals. This practice of writing everything down comes naturally to me, but if you want to learn more, "Getting Things Done" by David Allen is a great read (or audio listen).

If you want how-to's and inspiration beyond what I've written (if that's possible), then one last wonderful book is "One Minute Millionaire" by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen. It's actually written in two parts: One side is the how-to on everything I've been writing (by Allen, author of numerous books). The other is a made up inspirational story of how a young women implements each of these (by Hansen, author of Chicken Soup For the [add topic here] - this link takes you to some of the top searches, it's a hoot).

So that's it. Define your goal, write it down, review it, share it, and make it happen. Yep, it's that simple, but not necessarily easy.

I Need More Steps

OK, I sit at my computer A LOT - probably more than I should. No, I know it's more than I should. A person, on average, walks 5,000 steps a day. A healthy person walks 10,000 steps a day. I've been wearing a pedometer for a few weeks now just to see how much I walk. Today, which is about average for me, I walked 2,534 steps. Yeah, I sit still WAY too much. Given these findings, I think I'm past the diagnostic phase and am ready to move onto the increase-my number-of-steps phase. How should I do this? Any ideas?

So far, I've come up with one crazy one, which if I could figure it out, would actually be pretty cool. What if I put a treadmill under my table? So, instead of looking at the control console, my desk is there instead. This way I can work (OK, it's actually play) on my computer while walking at the same time. People do this with their TV all the time. Could it work with a table? Obviously I wouldn't be speed walking, but could moving at a leisurely pace while writing an email be so bad? I don't know, I think it has merit since it promotes being healthier but doesn't require me to give up computer time. :)

Gmail Colored Labels

When Gmail first came out, I jumped on that bandwagon pretty fast. Though, when I did there were a couple features missing that I really wanted. However, I was tired of deleting emails just to have enough space to get new ones. When I first started playing with Gmail the one feature missing, the one feature I had become addicted to was message highlighting. Oh my, oh my how I missed that feature. For about a week I submitted that request daily to the Gmail team. As a matter of fact, when I interviewed with Google, they asked how I thought they could improve one of their products and message highlighting was one of the things I mentioned. Yes, that feature is just that important to me.

Well, I (and probably countless others) have finally been heard. Gmail now has label highlighting and it is beautiful. Thanks Goog.

How much do you keep?

It's not about how much you make, but how much you keep. Who would you rather be: A professional athlete who makes $500K a year and spends $501K a year or a teacher who makes $20K a year but only spends $15K? Personally, I would rather be the teacher. Yes, the athlete probably has a nicer house and car than me... today. However, that extra $5K can be invested and used to create even more wealth. Imagine this: you invest that $5K and earn a nominal return in a retirement fund. At the age of 65, you'll have enough money saved you'll NEVER have to think about money again. As a matter of fact, you'll have well over $1 million (if you start at 30 years old) in your account. That athlete, who never saved, will only be up to his/her ear in debt. Chances are that nice car and house will disappear.

Now if you're like me, 65 years old sounds like a long time to wait. What if you could earn better returns that 10% annually? What can you do that adds value to people's lives? There is no right answer, but think about this for a minute. The majority of millionaires in the US are small business owners (we're talking 97%). The other 3% percent are athletes, actors and inheritance benefactors. Also, the majority of millionaires are ... surprise surprise ... teachers. Teachers know how to live within a budget and enjoy a nice chunk of time during the summer to operate their business.

So, as nice as it might be to be a superstar athlete, it's not about how much you make. It's all about how much money you save, and how you figure out ways to have that money work for you.

Figuring Out Facebook

Call me a slow learner, but I learned of a new (to me) feature in Facebook. For a while I've been resisting adding the plethora of new applications people send me because I've found it really clutters up my profile page. To be honest though, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing while on Facebook. All I do is scan the news feed, read notifications and messages, maybe post a comment on someone's wall and then look at my profile and think, "Yep, that's my profile." I do think the funniest feature is the email/message box. I love how when someone sends me a message in Facebook I get an email telling me to check my mail on Facebook. What a hoot!

Anyways, I just added an application called "Wii Want To Play", but I couldn't find the box listing the games I own and the ones I desire. During my search I discovered the "edit layout" feature. I learned that I could take all of those applications cluttering my profile and put them on my sidebar. Now I've got all my "important" items clearly visible in the main part of the body. It's a pretty cool trick.

Just as a geeky side, I did look at the source code of my profile and figure out how they did it. It's actually a fairly easy JavaScript trick. I found a easy tutorial if you want to learn more about it.

What about my Contribution?

I had an interesting (or was it scary?) thought today. It occurred right after I finished checking my email, Google Reader (which includes Gizmodo, Engadget, MacDailyNew, Life Hacker, Penny Arcade, xkcd, and a bunch of blogs ), Digg, Google News, Facebook and my recent addition Pownce. The thought went like this: "Wow - I just spent a ridiculous amount of time consuming content and I haven't created any of my own today. How lame is this?" The worst part was that I wasn't satisfied yet either. I kept thinking: "Where else can I go to find something interesting?" Am I addicted to Internet news, and Internet content in general?

Why is it that during school I didn't care if I missed an article on Apple's latest patent, but now I race to it as if my life depends on this knowledge? Now, it's not as bad as TV where I could easily waste 6 hours and not actually gain any more knowledge (other than knowing that Pam and Jim make a cute couple but Chuck and Sarah will forever do the relationship dance), but I bet I spend at least 2 hours total each day reading about what cool things other people are doing.

What am I to do about this? I'm not sure. Maybe I could do what fellow blogger Maya does and post short snippets about what I'm working on - though mine, admittedly, probably aren't as cool, but at least I'm contributing. Or, I could ditch all my news feeds like Brad has done with TV. I don't know. I'll have to think about it.

Google Desktop

I have come to a sad discovery today: The latest version of Google Desktop stinks. Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm an avid Google user and often recommend their products to many people. Products that I use DAILY include Gmail, Calendar, Notebook, Toolbar, Documents, Reader, Talk, News, Screen Saver and Alerts. I also use Maps, Analytics, Picasa,Youtube, Adwords, Adsense, Base, Checkout, Web Accelerator, Earth, Custom Search, GOOG-411 and iGoogle. So you see, I've kind of drank the cool aid and really like the taste.

When Google Desktop first came out I did what any new user would do. I installed the program and then downloaded every single gadget that might, maybe, possibly be cool or useful. Over time I whittled that list to just a few - weather, a flower that gets watered when you hover over it with your mouse, a picture slide show and webRSS feeds picked up while searching the web. I actually started opening programs and files using their search bar instead of opening files and manually searching. Basically, I like and use the program constantly.

Then something weird happened: my computer slowed down. My computer (a laptop) is two years old, but it was top of the line when I got it and therefore is still a great machine. My biggest clue was when I used Jessi's computer, with half the specs, and it was out performing my computer. I don't know, maybe it was the TEN MINUTES it was taking for my computer to boot up. Or perhaps it was the 45+ seconds it would take to open ANY program or even just a file folder that really threw me. I knew there was a problem, but I really wasn't sure what was causing it. At first I thought my hard drive had filled up - nope. Then I started looking at programs potentially causing problems: Firefox? Office 2007? OpenOffice? Photoshop? iTunes? Rome:Total War? Anti-Virus software? None of these looked to be a huge culprit.

Then I had the brilliant idea to use Google's original tool to find the answer. I read forum after forum of people saying Google Desktop was a memory hog. From what I understand, the problem is with the indexing. The program is constantly searching your computer to find new files and this causes problems because now new programs are competing for CPU time. You wouldn't think it would be that much, but I guess it is. So... I simply turned off Google Desktop and suddenly programs started opening up noticeably faster. My problem seems to be solved. For whatever reason, it wasn't until I updated to their newest version that the problem very apparent to me.

So, it looks like I won't be using Google Desktop for a while. I'll probably wait for their next update to see if there are any improvements, but I'm not holding my breath. So, unless you have a screaming fast computer, or not a lot of files, I would hold off on Google Desktop.

Halloween Costume

You know, there are advantage to owning your own screen printing business. One example is that you can make your own costume. So, this year I decided to be mild mannered Clark Kent. I think the coolest part about this costume is its subtlety. On a couple of occasions people really had to do a double take - even Lois had to do a double take when she saw me. Plus, everyone at the Daily Planet really got a kick out of it.





Just for comparison's sake, here's how I normally look:





By the way, you're welcome California for saving you from dropping into the Pacific Ocean. Lex Luther can really be crazy sometimes. For a kick recap on the event, there has been a short cartoon put together on HowItShouldHaveEnded.com. the movie requires divx, but here's the link.: http://howitshouldhaveended.com/Divx%20links/Superman.html

Redbox

Have you heard about Redbox? You'll find it outside your local McDonalds and I think it's pretty cool. Basically it's a movie rental vending machine. You pay $1 per day and after 25 days, if you don't return it, you can keep the movie since you just essentially paid for it. Movies can be rented online and returned at any Redbox. In an era where Blockbuster, Hollywood and Netflix are competing like mad, I like the business model concept of Redbox for it's simplicity and fairness.

Unlike other options where I'm paying for a set amount of time, Redbox only charges me for when I'm actually using it. To me, this is a fair system which doesn't require any gambling or hedging of bets on either party's side. How often have you kept a movie from Blockbuster an extra day or two because, hey, you did pay to keep it a week? I also like that fact that it's on the way to grabbing a bite to eat and I don't have to wait in line. I've also heard it's great for travel - a friend of mine rented a movie for a trip he took. When he landed, he returned it to a Redbox at his destination and was done - now that's convenient!

I do hear one complaint that you actually have to get out of your car to use the machine, but honestly, where else can you instantly rent a movie without getting out of your car? I realize Netflix is convenient, but only as long as you're willing to wait for it to be delivered and potentially wait even longer because of your long cue. I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more of these kiosks pop up. Keep the competition coming I say.

Pumpkin Carving

It's Halloween time again! Below is a slide show of us carving our first pumpkin together. How romantic...

AWESOME Joke

I came across this joke in one of my statistics notebooks the other day. It was a joke told to me by one of my professors during class. It's one of those rare times when taking good notes actually pays off. Ready for it? Here it comes:

Q: What is the easiest way to catch a fish?

A: Have someone throw it to you.

HA HA.

Why I don't like the stock market

To me, the stock market is like a soap opera for business people. People are glued to their TV watching and waiting to find out what the next big merger is, or which company has been upgraded to a buy. People watch like hawks experiencing the ups and downs emotionally, even though they're not even going to start taking money out for at least 10 more years.

Some people put so much energy into following the stock market I sometimes wonder - why not start your own part-time business and focus your energy on that? Surly if you attack your business with the same vigor as following the stock market, you must be successful.

Besides the fact that I think spending inordinate amounts of time in front of the TV wrong - no matter what the content - I do have some, what I think to be, valid reasons for disliking the stock market.

My biggest dislike stems from a lack of control. Stocks go up and down too often based on the whims of the masses. For example, if the Fed lowers rates and the masses wanted them to, stocks go soaring. Why is this? The Fed cutting the rate won't be felt by the economy by at least 4 months, yet there is an instant pick up based on the expectations of the rate cut. This is called gambling. What really gets me is that you could genuinely pick a good company, but the stock may not perform well because the whole market goes down. Why are individual stocks tied so heavily to the "rest of the market"? In the end, a stock goes up or down based on people's expectations and then later we find out if those bets were correct. Personally, I want my money on a sure thing.

A very close second is how companies are rewarded (what the expectations are based on). Why is it that Microsoft makes billions each year, but their stock is flat? Since when did it become not good enough to simply be uber profitable year after year? Instead, companies get rewarded for growth, and really only faster growth at that. These expectations are too high of a bar to sustain and eventually each company flattens out, and then it's stock drops a little and rarely recovers to those "glory days". Then, as an investor you have to run to the next potential up and comer instead of simpling enjoying the fruits of a successful company. It's almost like someone wants you to keep guessing.

Finally, I wouldn't mind the stock market so much if I could do more research. I want to learn about the leadership. What are they thinking? What are their plans for the future and how to do they plan to meet the market's ridiculous expectations? Alas, this isn't allowed because then I would be doing insider trading... So, since I can't get to know a company as well as I would like, to decrease my uncertainty, I am going to restrain myself from investing any more than I have to into the stock market.

What will I do instead you ask? Good question. I will focus my resources on areas where I have more control. I have a small business of my own and I'm invested in other smaller business. I will also invest in real estate. My goal is to create a cash flow stream that will pay my bills instead of having a huge nest egg somewhere in the clouds that I'll slowly eat away at later in life.

A Second Monitor

I have come to a beautiful revelation. I REALLY like big monitors. Better yet, I like multiple widescreen monitors. While in grad school, I lived off of a 15.4" widescreen laptop. Typically, I opened programs half the width of the screen allowing me to have two files, or programs, viewable at once. This worked well. However, when I started work, they gave me another laptop - only 13.nothing inches - and a 21" monitor to use as an extended desktop. This is nice, believe me.

It took a little while to get used to because I had to remember to scan both screens. It was especially weird when I would click on something from the start bar ... and wait for it to open ... and wait. Then, almost giving up, look over to the other monitor to find the program patiently waiting for me. Nice. However, over the last few months I've gotten used to this feature and really like having twice the real estate. I have Outlook and Firefox open on my smaller screen while my work programs are on the larger monitor. Now when I get home and hop onto my 15.4" laptop, it really just feels like I'm missing something.

So, you guessed it. A widescreen monitor (a.k.a Cinema Display) has made it onto my wish list. Can you imagine the power of two widescreen monitors?! I'll be able to, like, have four word documents viewable at once. Yes! ... Four Excel sheets? ... maybe not ALL four ... Well, at the very least I'll be able to watch a TV show from my iTunes library, casually surf YouTube in conjunction with posting comments on my friend's Facebook pages after quickly making sure I still didn't get another email in the last 10 seconds.

At first I thought it would be cool to get Apple's 30" Cinema Display, but then I found out that they actually want both of your arms instead of just one. So... I looked into Dell's equivalent and found they're just as interested in taking just above the elbows as well. So, I might have to wait for one of those *cough* Christmas *cough*. Luckily, I work with a bunch of geeks who pointed me to many web resources for refurbished displays on the cheap. For a petty $190 I could have my own 19" flat panel monitor. Not bad. Actually, I think I'll wait it out until I find a widescreen just my style ... I do believe HP has some nice ones.

What's Your $1 Idea?

I learned a great lesson about money in high school. In retrospect, I shouldn't even have gotten myself in this situation and I probably could have made it with $5 - but what are you going to do with high school logic? Never the less, the lesson is priceless.

One day I needed to get gas for my car, but had no money. I was running really low and probably could not have made it home. I wasn't even sure if I was going to make it to the gas station to be honest. I decided that morning that my only option was to borrow $10 from somebody, get gas and pay them back whenever my parents handed out money again. This seemed to be a fool proof plan. Who wouldn't give me $10? I was even will to pay $2 in interest! Furthermore, I was a trustworthy guy and everyone could depend on me.

That morning I set out and began asking all my friends if they had $10 I could borrow. Much to my surprise, nobody had $10 they were willing to lend. However, everyone made sure to reassure me that IF they had the money, they would surly lend it. Around noon, just before lunch, and my last real chance to ask people for money, I decided I needed a change in technique because at this point I was become desperate. I could see myself driving home and getting a mile away and having to push the car the rest of the way. I began to determine how much gas I could get away with. Would 1 gallon be enough? Would I need 2 or 3? After all, this was when gas was up to a gigantic $1.50, and I couldn't just pull up to the pump with pocket change! After much internal debate, I decided that a couple bucks would get me through one day and an opportunity to ask my parents for more money.

Once again I set out to ask my friends if I could borrow a couple bucks, anything really would work. I told them my problem, and how much it would help me. To my surprise (a day full of surprises), my friends suddenly had money on them. I had $3 dollars all of the sudden! The best part was that not a single one said I had to pay them back! That was when the light went off. I started asking more friends and people in class I rarely talked with. People started chipping in 50 cents, a dollar here and a dollar there. In the last two hours of school I managed to raise $9 - 1$ short of my goal. All of which none had to be paid back! Talk about a deal. I decided to ask one more friend who I hadn’t seen all day. I explained my situation, which was becoming much easier to do, and guess what. He gave me three dollars.

I ended up with more than I needed and didn't have to pay any of it back. I went home, after going to the gas station of course, and told my parents everything that I learned. I explained how the light bulb had gone off. It suddenly made since why my dad said, "You can become a millionaire two ways. You can either sell one thing for a million dollars, or you can sell a million things for one dollar. Either way works, but one way is much easier." Apple Computers tried to sell one thing for a million dollars. Microsoft decided to sell a million things for one dollar each. What are you using today? What are your friends using?

I tried to sell my gas problem to one person and got skunked. It was either all or nothing, and it was going to cost me more in the long run. I thank all of my peers for rejecting my plan and forcing me to learn and improvise. Here are some other examples of companies that decided to sell one thing for a dollar: McDonalds, WalMart and Ford with the Model T. What can you do a million times? What is your one dollar idea?

Smart Phone

I must admit it, I want a smart phone. This probably stems from the fact that I'm tech type of person, but I think I've come up with two practical excuses to actually get one.

1) I use Google Calendar, Gmail and Google Talk - all of which have applets which can be downloaded onto my phone. Though Gmail and GTalk would mostly be for fun, the calendar would be really useful. I used to have a palm, but that system really only works with a single computer. Now that I'm jumping between my work and home machines, syncing all the time is too much of a hassle. Google, which easily shares between machines, chose to be mobile through smart phones. Since my calendar really is a large part of my life, I think this is a good excuse.

2) Sometimes I'm traveling and don't have access to WI-FI. In those situations I could tether my cell phone to my computer. With a data plan, I would get internet access through either an EDGE or 3G connection. Then, my computer could pick up the signal my phone puts out. Thus, my phone acts as a conduit for the internet. I've done some math, and if I canceled my current internet plan and solely went through my phone, I would actually save money. Think about it: if you're spending $40 for your phone now plus $40 for internet access, paying $60 for a phone and data plan actually saves you money. True, the connection isn't as fast, but just think how cool that would be. This is definitely a good excuse.

So those are my two reasons. I think they're pretty solid. Now I just have to get over the $400 hump to just get the device...