tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361322952024-02-20T05:24:05.529-08:00JukeyBlogA collection of thoughts, feelings, ponderings, and sentiments but mostly just rambling by the man known as Jukey.Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.comBlogger340125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-15232256387047188892011-07-16T10:01:00.001-07:002011-07-16T11:03:24.284-07:00Change Throughout GenerationsI've thought recently about change and how age and generation can affect how one perceives change. Why do people in the older generations tend to resist change more than the younger generations? Sure the answer may just be that kids are growing and learning and therefore more adept at change, but I think it runs a little deeper.<br /><br />I think it has to do, in part, with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a> and the fact that technology in general is improving exponentially. Moore's Law basically states that computer processors will double in capacity (speed) roughly once every 2 years. This is exponential growth, which means that the rate at which it increases in constantly increasing.<br /><br />Let me put this into context for you because as humans we often have a difficult time imagining exponential growth. If you take a theoretical piece of paper and fold it over on itself 50 times (which means the thickness of the paper doubles every time you fold it) how thick would the paper be? 100ft? 1 mile? 100 miles?<br /><br />Answer: The average piece of printer paper, #20 weight, is 0.0038 inches (or 0.097mm). That means that 0.0038 x (2^50) = 4,278,419,646,002 inches or <span class="wa_m_a"><span><span><span>67,525,562 miles. That's the equivalent of 282 times the distance between the earth and the moon. That is a huge stack of paper! Of course, it's not physically possible to fold a paper that much, but it shows you the scale that we're working with.<br /><br />Nevertheless, this is basically what is happening with our computer technology, and could basically be extrapolated to our technological history with humans. Think of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age">bronze age</a>, in Europe it lasted for 2,600 years. Look what we've accomplished with technology in the last 20 years, I would say slightly more than the entire bronze age. As time progresses our technology, progress and change speeds up exponentially.<br /><br />Now, let's look back at our original thought. Those that were born in the 1920s, 1930s, etc. saw and grew up with very little change relative to kids born within the last 10 years. Someone that was born 10 years ago (in 2001) were born onto this earth without the following: the iPod/iPhone, Twitter, Facebook, the Roomba, YouTube, USB drives, inexpensive GPS, TiVo, Nintendo Wii, HDTV and a ton of other digital inventions and breakthroughs. Kids today are used to change and new and better technologies being released almost constantly.<br /><br />In my opinion, it is completely understandable that people not used to so much change so quickly are hesitant and less equipped to keep up with the change. It is not, by any means, a reflection of the person, but the time and era they grew up.<br /><br />It is really difficult to grasp technology improvements and innovations over the next 10 years, especially if exponential growth continues. I can imagine that I will be the person resistant to all the change in another 50 years.<br /></span></span></span></span>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-694283838600495372010-06-23T15:24:00.000-07:002010-06-23T15:31:22.738-07:00World Cup ActionAs you hopefully know, the 2010 World Cup is on right now. This is the first World Cup event that I've paid any attention to. Soccer seems to becoming more popular here in North America.<br /><br />I've watched a number of games, and even woke up early (and missed parts of work) to watch some of the games. Today, however, I have decided to get together with my friend Zach and watch the game together. He has DVRed both the Germany game and the USA game that was on this morning. We've got a whole evening planned around it. The only problem is that to have as much fun watching the game later on, we need to make sure we don't know who won the game.<br /><br />I've got a number of sports fans in the office, and a large part of my job is watching Twitter and Facebook. This combination makes it very difficult to not know the results. Both Zach and I have made a commitment to not find out the score.<br /><br />I have posted a sign at my desk, asking people to not tell me the score. I sent out an email to my coworkers to ask them not to talk about the game around me and I have been wearing head phones listening to loud music all day. So far, so good as I still haven't a clue as to the outcome of the games.<br /><br />I feel very much like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Met_Your_Mother">How I Met Your Mother</a> gang in the episode "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monday_Night_Football_%28How_I_Met_Your_Mother%29">Monday Night Football</a>" where they all tried to not find out the score of the Superbowl one year so they could watch it together the next day. Ted even created the <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/02/05/how-i-met-your-mother-monday-night-football/">Sensory Deprivation 5000</a>, which, if you haven't seen the episode is so amazing.<br /><br />Only 1.5 hours of work left, and I should be generally home free.Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-74321495580649053362010-05-16T15:22:00.001-07:002010-05-16T15:22:23.250-07:00Back to the Future - Sweded<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>If you haven't seen the movie <a href='http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799934/'>Be Kind, Rewind</a>, I am going to suggest you stop reading this post, rent the movie, watch it and then finish reading this post.<br/><br/>Fresno has a film festival dedicated to <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Kind_Rewind#.22Sweded.22'>sweded movies</a>. It is appropriately called <a href='http://www.swedefest.com/'>Swede Fest</a>, and the fifth iteration was recently held in the Tower District.<br/><br/>Nick Blanchard and I decided we would participate, and about a week before the entries were due we chose our movie. Back to the Future would be our assignment. We each took a half of the movie and adapted the script so the entire video would be about 5 minutes.<br/><br/>This is our Swede:<br/><div class='youtube-video'><object width='560' height='340'><param value='http://www.youtube.com/v/w3wFgWSUk30&hl=en_US&fs=1&' name='movie'> </param><param value='true' name='allowFullScreen'> </param><param value='always' name='allowscriptaccess'> </param><embed width='560' height='340' allowfullscreen='true' allowscriptaccess='always' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://www.youtube.com/v/w3wFgWSUk30&hl=en_US&fs=1&'> </embed> </object></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-35454640610404911202010-03-27T17:25:00.001-07:002010-03-27T17:25:20.089-07:00Transit-Oriented Development<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>As I am becoming more and more interested in urban planning and how it affects so much of our daily life I am learning a lot about transit-oriented development.<br/><br/>If you have a few minutes watch the video below.<br/><br/><div class='youtube-video'><object width='512' height='313' data='http://video.fastcompany.com/plugins/player.swf?v=d342550429f98&p=fc_social' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' id='embedded_player_d342550429f98'><param value='http://video.fastcompany.com/plugins/player.swf?v=d342550429f98&p=fc_social' name='movie'> </param><param value='TRUE' name='allowfullscreen'> </param><param value='always' name='allowscriptaccess'> </param><param value='http://video.fastcompany.com' name='base'> </param></object></div><br/><br/>This video is a short and inspiring summary of what transit-oriented development is and means to a community. Portland has done a great job in taking the issue of smart urban planning seriously and it can only help the city going forward.<br/><br/>One of my favorite quotes from the video is "If you no longer have to escape the public world you perhaps don't need quite as big a private domain." When suburbanites talk about urban living one of their first arguments is usually that they don't want to be packed like sardines into a small area and they need their own yard/etc. But one of the problems in suburbia is that there are very few good public places and everything that is public is so spread out and lacks a feeling of community. If public places are more welcoming then it is not as necessary to avoid them.<br/><br/>Via <a href='http://www.fastcompany.com/1558244/inspired-ethonomics-portland-a-global-model-of-transit-oriented-development'>Fast Company</a>.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=8f5a79ff-a528-8fe6-a3cd-ba57fe4e200c' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-69996334677081248432010-03-13T16:23:00.001-08:002010-03-13T17:13:27.437-08:00Summer of Weddings #1I haven't attended too many weddings in my life. I guess most of my friends (specifically from college) have decided to wait a little longer to tie the knot. Last weekend that trend has changed. I have 4 or 5 weddings I will be going to this summer. That almost doubles the number I've attended in the last 15 years!<br /><br />I was given an idea this week by <a href="http://twitter.com/kimburly">Kim</a>: document my journey through all these weddings this year/summer on my blog. The point is not to critique these weddings, as they will all be wonderful in their own unique ways. The goal is to point out the many differences in these weddings, and discuss what I felt made each of these weddings special.<br /><br /><strong>Wedding #1 - Nick & Theresa</strong><br /><br />My wedding season this year was kicked off last weekend with the nuptials of Nick and Theresa. Friends of mine from Fresno State and the Smittcamp Family Honors College. Nick and Theresa have <a href="http://www.idropphoto.com/blog/?p=221">a really amazing story</a> about their lives and the journey that eventually took them to their wedding day and beyond.<br /><br />Nick and Theresa's wedding ceremony and reception took place in The Grand on 10. The 10th floor ballroom of the Trade Center/San Joaquin Power building in downtown Fresno. A beautiful location for a wedding because of the view of the city and the newly renovated space. The other nice thing is I only live 7 minutes away (walking!) from The Grand.<br /><br />The ceremony was great. No long-winded sermons, intimate atmosphere and capped off with the new Bride & Groom partaking in communion. Following the ceremony, the guests moved into the other side of the <a href="http://twitpic.com/17037t">ballroom where the tables awaited</a>. Both the best man and matron of honor gave toasts, first dances were done and the food was served. The color theme for the wedding party was black & white, with an overarching theme of green for the wedding.<br /><br />Unique aspects:<br /><ul><li>Instead of a guest "book," Nick had drawn a tree with branches on a large sheet of paper. Guests would touch their thumb onto a green inkpad and leave a thumbprint as a leaf on the tree and sign ontop of the leaf.</li><li>Photo booth to take your picture and add it to a scrapbook/photo album.</li><li>Tables were organized by different aspects of Nick & Theresa's life. I was seated at the College Bowl table (as I was a member of College Bowl with Nick).</li><li>Invitations and wedding programs incoporated a very modern design while subtly utilizing the green color theme.</li></ul><p>Highlights (for me):</p><ul><li><a href="http://twitpic.com/171gzb">I caught the garter</a>! This was the 3rd garter I have caught, and I've only been to about 6 weddings where I've attempted to catch it.</li><li>I accidently showed up an hour early (due to an invitation reading error) and was able to help out with "bouncer" duties. I actually helped guide guests when they arrived with gifts, etc.</li><li>The wedding had some really great design elements.</li><li>Food was delicious.</li><li>The view of downtown Fresno was great.</li></ul><p>I am very happy for Nick & Theresa and I wish them all the best in the future together.</p><p>Next wedding is next weekend, Curtis & Nicole.</p>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-54187438839173547892010-02-16T21:27:00.001-08:002010-02-16T21:27:11.639-08:00CAHSR - Fresno's Station<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>California will be getting a station as part of the high speed rail network that is planned for the state. With trains traveling up to 220 miles per hour, high speed rail will move people across this great state very quickly and with a much smaller carbon foot print than other options.<br/><br/>The current plan for Fresno is to have the train come through the city on tracks that are 60 feet in the air! Read <a href='http://twitter.com/archop'>Kiel</a>'s <a href='http://archop.org/2010/02/fresno-station/'>great blog post</a> talking about the design of the station when considering this extremely tall set of tracks. I find this most intriguing because a)these 60 foot high tracks will be at that level for 12 miles to avoid too large a foot print and b)60 feet is very high, especially considering Fresno only has a handful of buildings taller than this (almost all located within the downtown core).<br/><br/>What do you think?<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=1c3a17f5-d0e1-8d30-8be3-aadd8602ae82' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-24871081176571606952010-02-01T21:19:00.001-08:002010-02-01T21:19:47.694-08:00Investment, Not Spending<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>If you are at all not sure about the concept of High Speed Rail, please please please read <a href='http://www.cahsrblog.com/2010/01/investment-not-spending/'>this post</a> from the <a href='http://www.cahsrblog.com/'>California High Speed Rail Blog</a>'s Robert Cruickshank.<br/><br/>I do want to share a couple of key points that Cruickshank makes that I think are really great.<br/><br/><ol><li>Things in our country and specifically the state of California must change. The status quo is not acceptable, and as Americans we shouldn't be content on settling for the same old same old. We cannot stay reliant on gasoline and oil for much longer. Prices are going to continue to raise, and it's going to be harder and harder for people to drive everywhere and anywhere.</li><li>"Every HSR system around the world generates operating surpluses (including Amtrak's Acela) and are highly popular with riders." I really dislike it when people think that High Speed Rail will become some sort of political boondoggle when it has been successful throughout the world.</li><li>People in the US aren't so different from people in other countries around the world. The misconception of American's exceptionalism is a worldwide issue, because a lot of people in the United States think Americans are different and a lot of people in other countries think the same thing. People think that just because High Speed Rail works in every other country, does not necessarily mean that it can work in the USA. Its true that the US has been very dependent on cars in the last 4 or 5 decades, but I think one of the reasons rail and other sustainable transportation practices have not become as popular here is a lack of options. I have met very few Americans that haven't enjoyed riding trains when given the opportunity. We're all just people, and while there are definite differences between countries and cultures I don't believe there are that many differences between people.</li><li>We Americans are not permanently "wedded to our cars." At cheap gasoline prices (even current prices in Fresno, at about $3 per gallon) cars are easy to rely on. When gas prices head closer to $10 per gallon, like many places in Europe, there will be little choice but to ditch our cars and rely on environmentally friendly options such as mass and public transit. It is more the oil subsidies that are creating a reliance on cars than cars themselves.<br/></li><li>If High Speed Rail is not built in California it will require the expansion of highways, freeways, airports, etc. with costs much higher than the cost of HSR. It's also important to note that <a href='http://www.lightrailnow.org/myths/m_000010.htm'>highways don't pay for themselves</a> in this country, and we are one of the heaviest users of automobiles.</li></ol>If you aren't convinced about the importance of High Speed Rail, what are your reasons?<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=29d1e1e8-f6a4-8b02-87a9-8be08405a208' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-26612162919326416932010-01-30T07:36:00.001-08:002010-01-30T07:36:04.308-08:00Downtown Fresno<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>As you know, I recently moved into the Iron Bird Lofts in downtown Fresno. Exactly one month ago today we moved in and so far it has been great.<br/><br/>These are a few of my favorite things:<br/><ul><li>Raindrops on roses</li><li>Whiskers on kittens</li><li>Bright copper kettles</li><li>Warm woolen mittens</li><li>Brown paper packages tied up with strings</li></ul>Some of my favorite things about living downtown:<br/><ul><li>Short walking distance to a couple of cool restaurants/hang out places (<a href='http://www.bing.com/search?q=tokyo+garden+fresno%2C+ca&go=&form=QBRE&qs=n'>Tokyo Garden</a>/<a href='http://www.bing.com/search?q=luau+fresno%2C+ca&go=&form=QBRE&qs=n'>Luau</a>)</li><li>I'm only 1.1 miles from work, and I've even walked once so far and plan on walking much more often in the future</li><li>Proximity to Tower District (less than a mile)</li><li>The <a href='http://muraldistrict.com/ironbird.html'>Iron Bird Lofts</a>, the units are still filling up, and <a href='http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresno-CA/The-Iron-Bird-Cafe/182794029918'>the Cafe</a> is expected to open up March 1</li><li>My balcony off my third-story bedroom</li><li>Proximity to Fresh & Easy, Austin's, Library, Train Station, Yoshi NOW, and the baseball stadium</li><li>My cool neighbors and all the great people I've met since moving down here</li></ul>I'm very hopeful for the revitalization of downtown Fresno, I'm putting my money where my mouth is by living here and supporting the business down here. It is very exciting for me to see the progress that is currently being made, and while I haven't lived in Fresno (let alone been alive) the entire time that Fresno has been trying to revitalize it's downtown core, I truly believe that some pretty exciting things are in the works. To name a few:<br/><ul><li>The <a href='http://fresnobeehive.com/2010/01/the_state_of_do.html'>Mayor's State of Downtown breakfast</a> held this past week, almost 500 people were in attendance at this sold out event. $25 a head for breakfast shows how many people are in support of downtown revitalization</li><li>More housing being built. While Iron Bird isn't full yet, I'm convinced it will fill up. A number of <a href='http://www.fresnobee.com/1100/story/1791354.html'>new complexes are being planned and built</a>, and downtown (especially the <a href='http://culturalartsdistrict.com/'>cultural arts</a> <a href='http://muraldistrict.com/'>district</a>) is starting to build some momentum that can only increase as more and more people move down here</li><li>The <a href='http://archop.org/tag/fulton-corridor-specific-plan/'>Downtown Specific Plan/Fulton Corridor Specific Plan</a> was <a href='http://twitter.com/bryanharley/status/8342121860'>unanimously</a> <a href='http://craigscharton.blogspot.com/2010/01/01-28-10-specific-plan-and-community.html'>approved by the Fresno City Council</a> on Thursday, allowing for strategic planning of our downtown area</li><li>City of Fresno is working on updating a lot of the bylaws that govern starting and operating business in downtown, current rules make it so difficult for businesses to start up and stay open downtown.</li></ul>This is starting to create the perfect storm to push serious change forward, and a number of other things are only going to add to the momentum. The California High Speed Rail station <a href='http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/gallery.asp?s=fresno-station'>planned for downtown Fresno</a> will be great for the area and will be a great attraction for those looking at working and living downtown.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=6978771f-4d96-864a-9318-da513bc11f17' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-67247112394625567352010-01-16T09:50:00.001-08:002010-01-16T09:51:46.570-08:00Pecha Kucha Vol. 5 - Fresno<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>This week was a big week for me as I FINALLY presented at a Pecha Kucha event here in Fresno.<br/><br/>I have had <a href='http://jukeyblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/pecha-kucha.html'>some ideas in the past</a> as to what I would present if I ever decided to do so, so I finally decided to share some of my <a href='http://jukeyblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/car-free-cities.html'>passion</a> with the people of Fresno.<br/><br/>Watch my presentation <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouR64St9QV8'>here</a>, thanks to <a href='http://jamescollier.me/'>James</a> for putting this video together!<br/><br/><div class='youtube-video'><object width='480' height='295'><param value='http://www.youtube.com/v/ouR64St9QV8&hl=en_US&fs=1&' name='movie'> </param><param value='true' name='allowFullScreen'> </param><param value='always' name='allowscriptaccess'> </param><embed width='480' height='295' allowfullscreen='true' allowscriptaccess='always' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://www.youtube.com/v/ouR64St9QV8&hl=en_US&fs=1&'> </embed> </object></div><br/><br/>I think my presentation went well. I got a lot of compliments, and a fairly boisterous applause at the end (although I think I am attributing that to the 10-20 friends in the audience). My height was a disadvantage during the presentation, as I was probably the tallest presenter, and the mic was a little short (and I didn't bother raising it up). But overall I am very glad I presented, and I am looking forward to the the next time I can present.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=af02cd96-02ab-8c9f-bc2f-f30defc47318' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-71661301352847687472009-12-05T13:11:00.001-08:002010-01-16T09:51:46.571-08:00My New Home<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I have been interested in downtown Fresno for a while now, and I have been very interested in the possibility of moving to one of the many new lofts that have been and are currently being built in the downtown core. My roommate and I finally decided to take the leap last week and we applied for and were approved to move into a 2-bedroom flat at the <a href='http://www.muraldistrict.com/ironbird.html'>Iron Bird Lofts</a>.<br/><br/>Just this past Tuesday the first residents started moving into the lofts, check out <a href='http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=7148004'>this ABC 30 news story</a> about the lofts.<br/><br/>There is a lot happening right now with the revitalization efforts of downtown Fresno. I truly believe that the direction the process is going is very positive, and I can't wait for my new home downtown to flourish with people, culture, activities, and art.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=cdaf6785-071b-80d1-b0cc-2862e4e5ea76' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-90231852993376233182009-11-26T07:54:00.001-08:002009-11-26T07:54:11.873-08:00Earth Rings<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Have you ever wondered what the sky would look like if the Earth had rings like <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn'>certain other planets</a>?<br/><br/>Watch <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT2sQ7KIQ-E'>this video</a> and wonder no longer.<br/><br/><div class='youtube-video'><object width='480' height='295'><param value='http://www.youtube.com/v/UT2sQ7KIQ-E&hl=en_US&fs=1&' name='movie'> </param><param value='true' name='allowFullScreen'> </param><param value='always' name='allowscriptaccess'> </param><embed width='480' height='295' allowfullscreen='true' allowscriptaccess='always' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://www.youtube.com/v/UT2sQ7KIQ-E&hl=en_US&fs=1&'> </embed> </object></div><br/><br/>I find this very interesting for two reasons.<br/><ol><li>Science fiction shows/movies often show other worlds with rings or multiple moons, but I've never really thought about it applied to our own planet.</li><li>It's like a rainbow in the sky that never goes away!</li></ol>(Via <a href='http://presurfer.blogspot.com/2009/11/rings-of-earth.html'>Presurfer</a>)<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=65036bf2-189b-8692-a98b-d26e9624aba4' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-63964627002521854902009-11-17T15:22:00.001-08:002009-11-17T15:24:57.775-08:00Worst Finder Ever<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>One of my favorite blogs that I read is the <a href='http://dilbert.com/blog/'>Scott Adams Blog</a>. Scott Adams as you may know is the creator of Dilbert and the Dilbert cartoons.<br/><br/>The Scott Adams Blog is full of wonderful thought exercises and brilliant ideas that may or may not be feasible, but the man has a creative brain that comes up with many thought provoking posts.<br/><br/><a href='http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/worst_finder_ever/'>This recent post</a> is more of a story than some of his other posts, but it is written very well and has a lot of humor.<br/><br/>Check it out, and I would strongly suggest subscribing to his blog.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=4be3cc6b-5865-8c1d-9b17-a8d7a78e3f02' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-27613413201877970482009-11-16T06:41:00.001-08:002009-11-17T15:24:25.252-08:00Cell Phone Design<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Check out these creative design <a href='http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/16/view/8169/fujitsu-mobile-phone-design-award-09.html'>prototypes of cell phones</a>.<br/><br/><img src='http://www.designboom.com/cms/images/z102/cell13.jpg'/><br/><br/>What would you like to see in the perfect cell phone?<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=535432de-a225-849c-b5b2-0a9a3000ab93' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-74034044273924118872009-11-11T20:17:00.000-08:002009-11-17T15:25:03.817-08:00Google WaveI was lucky enough to get a Google Wave invite from my Dad a few weeks ago. If you haven't used Google Wave yet or even heard of it it's basically a new approach to communication and collaboration. You can read a little more about it <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/wave/">here</a>.<br /><br />So far, I've mostly used it for short conversations with people that could more easily have taken place via email or facebook, but its a new toy so I want to play with it. I have used it a couple of times as a collaboration tool (very minimally so) and again, the type of collaboration may have just as easily been done on email. I think it will become more useful when utilized for larger, web-based collaborative efforts with multiple people. I think right now it is a little difficult to fully utilize it because not a lot of people are using it. Of course, I should also mention that its not even in beta yet, as it is still in "preview" mode. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_test#Alpha">I'm wondering if that is kind of like alpha</a>...)<br /><br />I did catch a glimpse of their maintenance page though today, which you can see <a href="http://wave.google.com/maintenance/index.html">here</a>. It is a pretty cool maintenance landing page, with the text saying "Surf's out, dude. Google Wave is down for maintenance. Time to chillax."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMj2LqnMpkNEZ5jox2OPaJrnyleBGDo-z4Rl2XVnncIliKSFG75UdaIyPHsfZolgCIMKlHHfa65JrQ-9odRSu9Gw6FmMAg6zEGjgkDiUFdEwAY76P9fjBLQR5TFyxYxedC6DyUYA/s1600-h/Google+Wave.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMj2LqnMpkNEZ5jox2OPaJrnyleBGDo-z4Rl2XVnncIliKSFG75UdaIyPHsfZolgCIMKlHHfa65JrQ-9odRSu9Gw6FmMAg6zEGjgkDiUFdEwAY76P9fjBLQR5TFyxYxedC6DyUYA/s320/Google+Wave.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403068404671824770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If you have used Google Wave already, what is your opinion? What have you used it for?Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-51067591091652461762009-11-09T08:45:00.000-08:002009-11-17T15:25:24.359-08:00Working Toward a GoalWhile recently pondering my career and experience in retail I came up with this theory about working toward a goal in retail. One of the things that makes retail exciting and frustrating at times is the constant swimming upstream when trying to accomplish your goals. While I have found most other experiences in life to be a combination of heading in the right direction toward a goal and the occasional setback, retail seems to have much more fluctuation between getting closer to reaching your goal and getting further away.<br /><br />I put together these charts to illustrate this point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfweg2TzADrf2Ys9W7C2dcccym_6RcHcINRUJNAK7P29JGMQ-goWziBYc6LO-tHHZGIwwZ2MwofA_0AoZi5JxlijFyOKbag4DxQDehO0Dj4tUKnug4c4MZS5MBZqQfKjkSpMEHSA/s1600-h/retail+goals.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfweg2TzADrf2Ys9W7C2dcccym_6RcHcINRUJNAK7P29JGMQ-goWziBYc6LO-tHHZGIwwZ2MwofA_0AoZi5JxlijFyOKbag4DxQDehO0Dj4tUKnug4c4MZS5MBZqQfKjkSpMEHSA/s320/retail+goals.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402148100833360770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My experiences show that retail has many more factors that are working against you and something you accomplish can be completely undone just as easily and quickly. For example, if your goal is to increase the cleanliness and organization of your retail establishment you put together a plan to make this happen and carry it out. But, once you have a few customers in your store that decide your merchandise is better situated on the floor, the work you accomplished is all but canceled out. What compounds this problem is it's a daily occurrence. I said many times while working in retail that it would be a great job/industry/etc. if it wasn't for all those darn customers.<br /><br />This theory of course does not apply to all retail situations. There are things that can be accomplished without major setbacks but they aren't necessarily the most noticeable. For example, human resource/staffing, customer service, and sales goals are situations that have a much more consistent line of progress.<br /><br />In contrast, when you are working on a project in most other facets of life and business, when you complete a part or section of whatever you working on you have something to show for it that can't easily be taken away from you. Whether it is doing background research, working on a copy of a report, or making a presentation, most of the things you accomplish are done and won't need to be done over again except in isolated circumstances.<br /><br />I think the biggest reason for this is that while in other areas of business and life the things you work towards and accomplish have obvious benefits to those involved (the client, the customer, etc.). In these situations you and the client or customer are usually both trying to accomplish the same thing and it is often not mutually beneficial to make someone redo the work they've just completed for you. In retail, customers might notice some of the things you do for them, but if they walk out of the store with the shirt/toy/tool they want it really doesn't matter to them what else is going on and if they made a mess of the work you have done.<br /><br />In the same token, this uphill battle shouldn't be a reason not to try and reach your goals and become great. These goals (like the example above of keeping your store clean and organized) may have an important part to play in your brand and marketing efforts.<br /><br />What do you think? How would you combat these issues both in retail or other areas where you find this same problem?Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-36964946822704770382009-11-07T21:50:00.000-08:002009-11-09T08:39:38.301-08:00Images Become Patterns<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://repper.studioludens.com/'><img src='http://repper.studioludens.com/images/repper_header.png' style='max-width: 800px;'/></a><br/><br/>I came across this new tool called <a href='http://repper.studioludens.com/'>repper</a> tonight. You basically upload a photo that you have, choose a section of that photo, and the app turns it into a eye-catching and unique design by repeating the image. The images make great backgrounds for desktops or websites. Plus, its free to use and the designs are created with Creative Commons license for non-commercial use!<br/><br/><img src='http://repper.studioludens.com/images/pattern_example.png' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><br/>Visit the site and try your hand at creating a design!<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=85c4b2dd-475b-8ea5-9f47-0ce3fcfffc57' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-90570039373704237862009-11-07T13:23:00.001-08:002009-11-09T08:39:52.243-08:00Viper Duck<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I decided to post this because my favorite car is and has been for many years the Dodge Viper.<br/><br/>See what happens when you turn the Viper logo upside down?<br/><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-wFnyzDtGWW7uyGBPnFDiOkaxy97uELdQknScwGXbz-jC7dcALdQ_3yn-535vwwwjq-C2fZTdiveNL9dbm-RY91DbWBdPiMpktdsQWQmZmYUed_JcdzcyPowVCTpOuOOOjdOuP2dMQ/s400/doviduck.jpg'/><br/><br/>You get Daffy Duck!<br/><br/>(Via <a href='http://presurfer.blogspot.com/2009/11/daffy.html'>Presurfer</a>)<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=761c9ef9-832e-846f-a11f-06b262857ec9' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-74814369704123795702009-11-05T12:41:00.000-08:002009-11-09T08:35:28.630-08:00CAHSR Business Plan<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I am a little late in posting this, but if you want to learn the basics about the California High Speed Rail project, take a look at <a href='http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/gallery.asp?s=business-plan'>this video</a>.<br/><br/><div class='youtube-video'><object width='480' height='295'><param value='http://www.youtube.com/v/iU2JSHPx8dQ&hl=en&fs=1&' name='movie'> </param><param value='true' name='allowFullScreen'> </param><param value='always' name='allowscriptaccess'> </param><embed width='480' height='295' allowfullscreen='true' allowscriptaccess='always' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://www.youtube.com/v/iU2JSHPx8dQ&hl=en&fs=1&'> </embed> </object></div><br/><br/>One of the best things about this video is the time line of completion of different aspects of the project, including when the first trains will start transporting passengers throughout the state. Since most people don't know a lot about the project and aren't following it closely, I hear a lot of misinformation circulating about when the project will be finished, etc. This is a good video for clearing up a lot of that.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=1d71b42a-6dce-8ee7-a717-94b6ad0cdac4' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-20013623992923795772009-11-04T11:05:00.000-08:002009-11-09T09:30:52.274-08:00Car Free Cities<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src='http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/431697830_a680ecbc13_m.jpg' style='max-width: 800px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;'/>I am often saddened by our reliance on cars (and trucks, vans, SUVs, etc.) in our society today. I strongly dislike having to drive most places if I want to do anything, and I cringe every time I drive/walk/bike by businesses and especially strip malls that are mostly parking lot (and at most times during a 24 hour period, empty parking lots). <small><small>(Photo from <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/awesomecool/431697830/'>Flickr</a> by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/awesomecool/'>jgrimm</a> / <a href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/' rel='license'>CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a>)</small></small><br/><br/>I enjoyed reading <a href='http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010705.html'>this blog post</a> from <a href='http://www.worldchanging.com'>WorldChanging</a> about car-free cities. Check it out.<br/><br/>I thoroughly enjoy traveling to a place that is much less reliant on vehicles than my city of Fresno, such as San Francisco, the East Coast of the US, Europe, etc. I love the ability to get anywhere and everywhere without having to rely on a car. In fact, it's a lot less stress to not have to worry about a car, parking, maintenance, gas, and cleaning among others. But, the big question is. Is this really possible in our society, especially highly developed western cities that were built around cars? Not too mention the stress and possible waste of time driving (as opposed to taking public transportation, where you can focus on activities other than driving). It will likely be a fairly involved change, but it does not have to be difficult, it just requires a paradigm shift. Here are my ideas for making a less car dependent society.<br/><ul><li><b>More mass transit</b> - You've read about my <a href='http://jukeyblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/perfect-time-for-rail.html'>love</a> of <a href='http://jukeyblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/high-speed-rail-and-fresno.html'>high speed</a> <a href='http://jukeyblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/high-speed-rail.html'>rail</a> on this blog, and this concept fits in very well with that. Clean, fast, and modern transportation, such as high speed rail can easily connect distances of <a href='http://cahsr.blogspot.com/2009/10/la-sf-nations-second-busiest-air-route.html'>400 miles or less</a>. High speed rail can also <a href='http://cahsr.blogspot.com/2009/11/more-passengers-choose-trains-over.html'>easily replace a lot of air travel</a>, such as in <a href='http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101408073'>Spain where the newest route</a> of high speed rail between Madrid and Barcelona has already replaced half of air travel on the busiest air route in the world (in only a years time). One of the great features of High Speed Rail is the placement of stations in the center of cities, as opposed to large airports that are often on the outskirts of cities or farther, and require extra transportation to get there. In Europe the fastest way to get from downtown London to downtown Paris is high speed rail (and Britain is an island!).</li><li><b>More public transit</b> - Once you get into a city using mass transit like high speed rail you should have the ability or option to walk to your destination, but often time or distance might be a factor. Without a good public transit system you give people few other options to driving. Misconceptions are also a problem with public transit in places where cars are king. Here in Fresno, CA the buses have a bad reputation, which is unwarranted and unfortunate because it is usually the people that don't use the bus that feel this way. I would love to commute to work without having to worry about rush hour traffic, other crazy drivers, and finding a good parking spot. The way to make this more attractive to people who like the freedom of cars is to have more buses (or other public transit) and more routes.</li><li><b>More urban infill</b> - <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburbanization'>Suburbanization</a> which has been a trend for a long time is starting to show its major detractions. People getting more and more spread out leads to more vehicular use, longer commute times, longer commute distances, loss of agriculture/farm land, and strong relationship between cost of commute and gas prices, among others. The higher density of people living in an area, the closer amenities will be to serve these people. That means you won't be forced to drive two miles to the closest grocery store. Urban infill also helps make public transit more effective by concentrating the areas that are covered by routes. This can be accomplished two major ways. First, unoccupied buildings can be repurposed to include higher density housing. For example, in Fresno there are many high-rise buildings that are sitting empty that would make great housing buildings, in fact "<a href='http://www.fresnofusion.com/blog/?p=431'>In the past, the city council [of Fresno] requested that the vacant downtown buildings be inventoried and the results were the size of the two lost World Trade Center Towers</a>" (Via <a href='http://www.fresnofusion.com/'>Fresno Fusion</a>). Second, places (especially business/strip malls) that have in the past included a lot of wasted parking space can repurpose that land to include higher density living, etc. Another big factor in urban infill is focusing on building up rather than out.</li></ul>There are a lot more factors to reduce our dependence on cars and oil in our cities, but I believe these are important first steps. I think Fresno is taking its first few baby steps to accomplish some of these things with its most recent efforts for downtown revitalization. This along with California's plans for high speed rail throughout the state (with a station in downtown Fresno) will also assist greatly with this.<br/><br/>What do you think is important for our cities?<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=96d8f346-179d-8cb7-844f-93dd7551be72' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-83751355424317818022009-11-03T08:32:00.001-08:002009-11-09T08:35:53.671-08:00Timely Communication<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I received an email from Microsoft this morning from their Windows Phone department. Today is November 3rd, three days after Halloween and two days after the end of daylight savings time.<br/><br/>Of the six section headers in the email, there are two that I would consider untimely.<br/><ol><li>"Is your phone ready for Daylight Saving Time?"</li><li>"Spoooooky (and free!) ringtones - Turn your phone into a Halloween factory..."</li></ol>I would have loved these topics 1-2 weeks ago, but they just seem a little bit useless now. Is it at all worthwhile to send out this communication after the fact, or does it do more harm than good? What do you think?<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=ab866a2c-4445-8e4a-8fb2-2816a7e86519' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-7800321265814606202009-11-02T22:09:00.000-08:002009-11-09T08:35:59.578-08:00No Shave NovemberI would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone (both men and women) that as we are now in the month of November, it is time to put away your razors and grow some facial hair or leg hair. It is now No Shave November!<br /><br />As you may know I <a href="http://noshavenovember.blogspot.com/2007/11/welcome-feeling.html">have</a> <a href="http://noshavenovember.blogspot.com/2006/11/its-underway.html">been</a> <a href="http://jukeyblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/no-shave-november.html">participating</a> in this tradition for almost 10 years, as well as trying to recruit new participants everywhere I go by spreading the good news.<br /><br />Follow along as I explore growing hair and facial hair on my <a href="http://noshavenovember.blogspot.com/">No Shave November blog</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9hb7bhfPrm7v3LUf6mmRCPLa3rQenulXjtt94MV_kIXHbqWlXD7FOnk5Pu3BFge79ZX79zSYG41rtKAtcMxGP1nbIli-ZQdoeiw0phRLjY-E8nb56OWJDE143UMAcq_sbOZ00w/s320/Day+24.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9hb7bhfPrm7v3LUf6mmRCPLa3rQenulXjtt94MV_kIXHbqWlXD7FOnk5Pu3BFge79ZX79zSYG41rtKAtcMxGP1nbIli-ZQdoeiw0phRLjY-E8nb56OWJDE143UMAcq_sbOZ00w/s320/Day+24.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-16878602787464716362009-10-29T15:57:00.000-07:002009-11-09T08:36:23.029-08:00Edmonton Trip - Day 6, 7 & 8Day 6 - Monday I hung finally caught up on reading blogs, after being away from that for a few days, as well as met up with friends David and Kylie. I did end up going to <a href="http://www.dadeo.ca/">Da De O</a> a New Orleans style 50s Diner/Bar on Whyte Ave in Edmonton. It was a pretty cool place and I got to try their spicy specialty beer locally brewed by <a href="http://www.alleykatbeer.com/">Alley Kat</a> The Charlie Flint's lager brewed with Chili powder.<br /><br />Day 7 - On Tuesday I met up with Mackenzie at Remedy Cafe in Old Strathcona. In the evening my Dad and I went over to Uncle Myron and Aunt Betty's place for a delicious dinner, great conversation, and watched the Edmonton Oilers lose.<br /><br />Day 8 - Early Wednesday morning my Dad and I left Edmonton and headed back down to Washington. We had weird weather on and off, sometimes driving in snow, sometimes driving in perfectly dry and nice weather, and sometimes driving in rain. We stopped at the Real Canadian Superstore once more before leaving the country, this time in Airdrie. We stopped in Radium Hot Springs for a quick half hour swim in the hot springs and saw some beautiful scenery throughout the mountain areas. After crossing the US/Canada border we stopped in Spokane Valley for a dinner at Boston's Gourmet Pizza (a US spin-off to the popular Canadian restaurant). We took a detour on the way to Yakima by heading through the Tri-Cities area.Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-71883651837837330442009-10-26T08:14:00.001-07:002009-11-09T08:36:23.029-08:00Edmonton Trip - Day 4&5Day 4 of my trip was the first full day in Edmonton. Along with catching up with the Jones' my Dad and I went to visit my Grandma in the hospital. It was good seeing her, of course not in these circumstances, but good nonetheless. After the hospital visit we headed back to the Jones' where I caught up on some Canadian TV classics (such as The Littlest Hobo and Hockey Night in Canada). My Dad and I went to dinner with Uncle Myron and Aunt Betty and had a nice evening with them. We ended the evening like the old days with a dip in the hot tub.<br> <br>Day 5 was Sunday which included church service at First Church, (Canadian) Thanksgiving turkey meal at the church afterwards, and a quick shopping trip to the Great Canadian Superstore where I picked up a bunch of Canadian only food products including Just Right cereal, Dill Pickle/Salt & Vinegar chips, and some Crispy Crunch bars. The rest of teh afternoon was spent playing with Marcus and Hailey, and Curtis & Nicole (#2) picked me up in the evening to head to Jeff Gould's birthday party where we had some delicious DQ Ice Cream cake and played Wii.<br> Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-63660936993349482642009-10-24T13:52:00.001-07:002009-11-09T08:36:23.029-08:00Edmonton Trip - Day 2 & 3<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-WEIGHT:Normal;">Day 2 and 3 of my trip was mainly traveling. After spending the morning seeing a bit more of San Francisco I took BART to the Oakland Airport where I caught my Southwest flight to Seattle. Thanks to Andrew Ellenberger for being a great host.<br> <br>When in Seattle I caught the airport shuttle over to Yakima where my Mom picked me up and drove me to their home. We did some catching up and tries to get to bed at a decent time as we had an early morning.<br><br>Day 3 started with my Dad and I dropping my Mom off at the airport shuttle. We started out on thwarted road at about 5am for Edmonton. We drove through Spokane, Cranbrook, Crowsnest Pass, Calgary, Red Deer, and finally Edmonton. Great driving conditions throughout except a full hour of traffic tie-up on the Interstate east of Ellensberg, WA due to a crash. We stopped in Calgary for dinner at Montana's and eventually arrived in Edmonton at our destination of the Jones' at about 11:30pm.</span>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36132295.post-27858167402800976212009-10-22T07:57:00.001-07:002009-11-09T08:36:23.030-08:00Edmonton Trip - Day 1<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-WEIGHT:Normal;">Day 1 of my trip to Edmonton was quite packed. I left my apartment at 6am when I was picked up by Mike who dropped me off at the train station in downtown Fresno. I got on my train which I rode all the way to Richmond, CA in the north bay area. In Richmond I transferred over to BART which I rode a couple stops south to Berkeley. Here I walked around both the city and the University quite a bit while carrying my full backpack (which was a great workout with all the hills!).<br> <br>I sat down for lunch at Dara Thai / Lao Cuisine where I ate a delicious meal. After some more exploring the campus and simple relaxing on a grassy area I headed back to the BART station. I caught the train down into San Francisco where I would be meeting Andrew Ellenberger. I walked through the financial district to the Trans-American Pyramid where he works. After meeting up we walked through some areas of northern San Francisco including Little Italy, the Wharf, Pier 39, and the Embarcadero. One of my highlights was finding a mini-donuts place on Pier 39. They were delicious.<br> <br>We caught the street car and bus down to Andrew's place where we dropped off our bags. We headed down to Haight Ashbury (which is close to his place) where we found an Irish Pub. I had a reuben sandwich and a Molson Canadian. We made one more stop at a pub before heading back to Andrew's place to sleep.</span>Lukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038562772136381903noreply@blogger.com3