Banff - it's just fun to say

We took off to Banff for Thanksgiving this year with Soph's Mom. I pretty much have to leave town when I take vacation or I end up filling my time with projects, even if they're not explicitly work-related. Such as assembling the storage shelves that are sitting on the garage floor that I bought a week ago...

Anyway, we also figured it would be a good time to just chill with Mrs. Lin, and it was.

Crazy thing, though, was that Banff was having the same "warm spell" that the rest of the West Coast is having this year. Instead of the normal few feet of snow, there was almost none, only on the mountain tops. It was still gorgeous, but no snow, so no remarkable pictures.

There might not have been snow, but it was still COLD. Like zero degrees celcius. When we got there Wed night we spent some time at a hotel bar until Mrs. Lin's flight showed up. When we were leaving I put on my coat, gloves, scarf and hat. The only other guy in the bar called out to me as I passed, saying "Oh come on! It's not that cold out there! You're making yourself look silly. Take some of that off!" He was just joking around, but believe it or not we DID see a number of locals walking around that night at 11pm wearing just their sportcoats. It was ZERO DEGREES. Or colder.

Ok, ok. So you're thinking I'm a wimpy californian. Well, yes. I am. But it was still cold.

All in all it was a great trip. We spent the vast majority of time either eating good food (check out "Earl's" in town if you ever go) or sitting by the fire at the Rimrock Hotel drinking coffee or hot chocolate and reading books.

It was very nice. I could have used about another 4 days.

$2 for picture wire

I went to Osh this past weekend to buy $2 worth of wire to hang some pictures with. I ended up spending about 100x that. They were having a 10% off sale and I happened to see this ready-to-assemble steel workbench, and some extra storage. I don't do much "work" to justify a workbench, but I see it as storage, and my garage is a perennial nightmare.

I spent most of the weekend assembling the thing, but it ROCKS! I even put all my tools on the peg-board. But best of all, I got out some old computer speakers and set it up for easy hook-up to my iPod! awesome.

I know you're excited for me. Contain your excitement.

Now I just need some better lighting for the working area.

Last thoughts on Jury Duty

I'm a lame blogger... I had all these thoughts about the Jury process, but was then too lazy to write them down.

The most interesting part of the process is that they don't tell you the LAW until after you've heard all the evidence, including witnesses. Apparently the judge doesn't necessarily know all laws that will be relevant before the case, and doesn't want to bias the jury's reaction to the evidence. What it means, though, is that it's very hard to know what's important and what's not. Taking notes helps, but not everyone does it.

I really wish they did video recordings of the testimonies, and let the jury have computers to take notes on, although I suppose they don't want all the clickity-clack of 14 people typing away...

Anyway, you only find out the LAW at the end, during closing arguments, and when the judge gives you the law in a very monotone voice. Thankfully you get a copy of it to read in the deliberation room, but it's not a lot of education.

We ended up declaring the defendant "not guilty" because there was a distinct and reasonable possibility that his actions were in self-defense as defined by the law, or at least how we all understood the definition. In talking to the DA afterwords, though, it sounded like he thought we mis-applied the definition based on some set of esoteric law theories. Too bad none of us studied law...

I still think we made the right decision given the information we had available to us. An interesting process, though. I can now see why it's common perception that criminals often get off free. It's a heavy burden to prove guilt without leaving room for a reasonable alternative explanation. But it's a good thing, in the end, I think. It makes it much harder to put an innocent person behind bars.

First day on a jury...

I can't say anything about the case that I'm a juror on, nor would I care to, but I do have some thoughts about the overall legal process. I can't remember them all from the day, but here are a few...

We have to take notes. Lots and lots of notes. I mean, they have a court recorder doing short-hand of the whole thing, but from what I understand, we as the jury don't really have access to that information en toto, but need to make a specific requestto hear the recorder read back a specific section if we need it. I don't understand that at all... and I hate taking notes.

In fact, I really wish they'd provide keyboards instead of pens. I can barely write with a pen anymore. But I suppose they don't want 14 people typing non-stop the whole time, either.

Yahoo! Podcasts !!!

Check it out! Yahoo! Podcasts
We're live! After many weeks of almost no sleep, and some nights without any at all, we launched!

I sent out a bunch of emails to podcasters, influencers, early adopters, industry folks, etc last night. In most of them I had to be what can be best termed "cautiously enthusiastic". But on my own blog I can be a bit more real.

YEAH!! WE LAUNCHED! HURRAY!

I'm definitely proud of this product. There are plenty of things we have yet to do that are going to be really cool, and there are some bugs (but I'm not saying what), but it's awesome. And my team, which is split across California and India, has been great. They really put in a hard effort for many month sustained. I think the product shows the effort.

The press has been really cool. I've launched a lot of products, but none quite so cutting-edge and none this uniformly well-received. We've had over 5000 blog posts in the last 12 hours, including comments from:

• Dave Winer (first blogger?, and inventor of RSS)
• Andrew Scoble (technology evangelist at MSFT)
• Ian Rogers (Part of original Win-Amp team, current Yahoo!)
• Chris Pirllo (Podcaster extraordinaire - quotes me)
  
• SolutionWatch (cool post)
• TechCrunch (another cool post)

We also had John Furrier, well-known podcaster, do an exclusive interview with Geoff Ralston, our Chief Product Officer (to whom I ultimately report).

And we were also featured in these well-known media outlets.

• AP Story (featured almost everywhere)
  
• Wall Street Journal (costs $)

YEAH!

Why are mountains so awe-inspiring?

Every year I try to make at least one trip to the mountains for a weekend. I made it up there last weekend finally, and found it both completely exhausting physically (I should work out more consistently) and refreshing both mentally and spiritually.

There's something significant about sitting at the foot of a very large mountain and realizing just how small you really are. I think mountains, especially really big ones, mirror the grandeur and scope of God and of his creativity/creation. The magnificence of those enormous mountains is a shadow of what my soul longs for in a magnificent God.

what makes a good blogger?

Obviously someone with an interesting point, or at least point of view, and frequent updates. I think I currently fail on both counts. Oh well, can't be perfect at everything.

But seriously, what causes some people to go nuts posting their thoughts online for the world to see, while others sit in their basements doing nothing to interact with the world but bother poor innocent mice?

4 airports for a single meeting

I went down to LA today for a one-hour meeting. Usually it's a simple affair to grab a Southwest flight from San Jose to LAX and back. But nothing was simple about today. Maybe it's b/c I flew American, not Southwest. Or maybe it was just meant to be.

So this morning the airplane from San Jose to LAX had some mechanical problem, and while at first they thought they would fix it, it was clear 30 minutes later that there was no hope, and they would be cancelling the flight. Since all other flights to LAX were sold out, Joe and I grabbed the next flight to Orange County. Yes, Orange County. An hour's drive from Santa Monica, where we were heading. And a very expensive cab ride. We did finally make it, just in time for the meeting.

And the meeting went well. That was good.

Then on the way home, this time from LAX back to San Jose, AGAIN the airplane (same one, maybe?) had mechanical problems and the flight was cancelled. And AGAIN there were no other available flights. So Joe and I grabbed the next flight out to San Francisco. Yes, San Francisco. Not San Jose, where my car was in short-term parking. So another long cab ride. But I did make it home.

Net-net: 4 airports, $300 in cab fees, and roughly 6 hours of traveling for a single 1 hour meeting. That's a personal record. Top that

Airplane pet peeve

Danny's pet-peeve post reminded me a of a pet-peeve of my own, related to flying, though, not to driving.

I hate the interminably long-time it takes to get off an airplane. Naturally you have to wait for the door to open, which I'm ok with. What drive me nuts, though, is the people who take FOREVER to get their stuff in order and get a move on.

What's the deal?

We've all been waiting in the plane, the hot and getting stuffier-by-the-second plane, for at least 5 minutes for the door to open, and these people haven't gotten their stuff together, haven't even thought about where their stuff is. They just step out in the aisle and block everyone for painfully long minutes at a time while they get themselves figured out.

It's especially irritating when people do things that they should really wait to do until after they're off the plane, like putting on a sweater, or hooking bags together. Have you ever noticed that people who try to connect multiple bags together and roll them down an airplane's narrow isle invariably get stuck, and have to spend time righting their stuck bags while everyone behind them tries to breathe deeply and count to 10?

Every time I fly I have to sit there and tell myself to be patient. Drives me nuts.

No invincibility period in life

A friend of mine died suddenly on Sunday. Julie Chen was a super sweet girl with a quick smile, and I'll definitely miss her. She had gone to the Phillipines to do missions work and apparently died of an asmtha attack while jogging.

It seems really random. It may sound crazy, but it would almost be easier to accept if she'd died in a caraccident, or even at the hands of someone, because then you could blame the car, or the person. But this way, there's no one to blame; it's just part of life. I'm glad to know where she's going next, and that God must have had a reason for calling her home. This is definitely one of those times where I have to remind myself that if there really is a God (and I think there is), then He knows more than I do, and if I can't see the pattern or the purpose, He can.

People say that teenagers think they're invincible. That may be true, but for me at least, I have this false notion sometimes that life is risky during your teenage years, but once you get to your mid-twenties, you're pretty much safe until your fifties. This was an unpleasant reminder that every day is a blessing, and not promised to us. There's no invincibility period.

from Hawaii to insanity

I don't think it's good planning to return from vacation at midnight on Sunday and go right into a day that includes a major presentation to multiple executives and an all-night project planning session (yeah, scrum!) with India.

I can't imagine a more surreal juxtaposition. I kept thinking about scuba diving and taking pictures underwater while putting together powerpoints and spreadsheets. I don't think I'll plan it that way again. In some ways, though, it was nice. I was way more relaxed about everything at work, even given all the excitement, with a week of kickin' back to bolster me.

I don't think I got through even 5% of my emails from last week, though.

lee

Reviewing restaurants...

I wrote my first three reviews ever recently, including one today for Pluto's. I'm not really sure why I'm doing it. I think part of it is because I work at Yahoo!, and I felt obligated to do at least one. But mostly it's because I find the reviews really useful in picking restaurants, especially if a friend reviewed them. I figure I should throw in my $.02 so that my friends can get the same benefit. Also, it's easy.

work is like crack

i've never had cocaine in any flavor, but work, at least at Yahoo! and at least for me, is not that different from some of the experiences associated with powerful narcotics.

It's a huge rush.
It's consuming.
It's a heightened state of awareness.
Stopping causes a huge crash; loss of energy, exhaustion, etc.
It's addictive.

Again, not sure it's Yahoo!, me, the nature of work, or all three. But yesterday I described my work to my sister as "crazy, insane, out of control, normal". And that's pretty much it. It's normally insane and out of control.

No wonder I have such a hard time getting up in the mornings. Every day is exhausting.

Ultimate

Frisbee that is. I managed to get a small group of folks together for a game this morning at the Oval, just like old times when I used to do that every weekend. Tons of fun! And Pizza My Heart for lunch after.

But MAN! I used to send emails out for a game of ultimate and we'd get 12 people to play, and a pretty big group of folks who would just come and hang out on the sidelines to soak up the sun. I emailed maybe 25 people and we only had enough for 3 on 3, with one sub. It was exhausting, but thankfully we were all out of shape. But seriously, what gives? I know some people are out of town for the weekend, but I think most people bail b/c of the classic "I'm too out of shape to run that much." Give me a break. We were all out of shape. Just match up against someone who wants to run how much you want to run...

Anyway, though, it was a great time. Fantastic way to spend a Saturday.

Dynamite

I saw Napoleon Dynamite for the first time this weekend. Hysterical. No plot, just characters, but awesome. I think I enjoyed it because I related in some ways to the main character. Not 100%, but enough. GOSH! Everyone should see this movie, or I'll have to teach them a lesson with my Bow Staff.

Fruit Picking

We were supposed to go fruit picking next weekend with the Fangs, but they're fruit fiends (Tilden, in particular), and discovered that some of the "U-pick" places had opened up this weekend. So we went Saturday. The peaches weren't ripe yet, but mmmmmmmm.... the CHERRIES WERE DELICIOUS. I ate about 80 (I did a rough count while there, so I'm not kidding), which had some interesting but predictable effects on my gastrointestinal system.

It was a great day. This is a pic from the grove of fruit trees (don't remember what type) right next door. It was super fun.

Singapore Impressions

I really liked Singapore. The Singapore airport is crazy nice, with shops everywhere, free internet, free xbox games, free TV-viewing areas (huge plasmas) and more. There was also a
free but tour of the city for two hours, which included a boat ride on the river. It was a great way to convince tourists that Singapore rocks. It's really clean, orderly, pretty, not over-crowded (although it was a weekend so no traffic). It was, though, really hot and humid, which I like, but my wife hates...

Oh, and everything is in English!! I didn't realize that English was the main language. It was like being in Asia but not.

Flying to India...

Well, it's Mother's Day and I'm in Bangalore, India. I flew in last night for work (for only 2 days!) after what seemed like an eternity in the air. I think the actual flying time was 20 hours, but it included two stops, one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore, and a 12 hour layover at the latter. Crazy. But all in all it was a very easy trip (thanks to business class!), and even relaxing. I can't remember the last time I sat still that long.

I ate a ton. It was like two days of non-stop eating, but crammed into 36 hours. Or something. Before I left Thursday night I had dinner at Fresh Choice, eating way too much as usual. Then on the plane from San Francisco to Hong Kong they served dinner at 2am. For breakfast on the same flight a few hours later I had dim sum. From Hong Kong to Singapore I ate Duck Congee, then ate Chinese noodle soup in the Singapore airport, and more food in the lounge. Then on the trip to Bangalore I had lamb. And snacks in between the whole way.

Hanging with the Parentals

My folks were in town this past weekend. I took the day off on Friday and we hung out around the house. We were even productive, cleaning all the dead leaves out of the back yard, which Soph appreciated tons. Then it was off to a good dinner at A. Sabella's up in SF (although the food was good, I wouldn't recommend it; too pricey) and then desert at Farallon, which is always fun. Mom thought the decor (jellyfish lights) were over the top, which they are

Sat. was one of those gray days that never quite clears up. It was also one of those days where I never quite woke up. Coffee in the morning at a nearby French pastry cafe didn't help; walking around at an outdoor flea market didn't help; two naps didn't help. I spent the whole day half-asleep, and finally went to bed early.

Sunday, though, was great because I was fully rested and it was bright, sunny, and 70 some degrees outside. (I think the Lord made Sat. gray and ugly to force me to rest.) I played bass at church for the second time, and felt way better than the first. After church we had burgers and shakes at the Peninsual Creamery in Paly, then went to Foothill park to enjoy the view, then to Stanford for Dad and I to play Frisbee golf, and finally home, where we snacked and rested until Tilden and Mimi showed up. With them we ate tons of fruit with chocolate fondue (Soph rocks) that was delish.

Then the folks were off to Napa and I was off to work. And so begins another

Hello World

Welcome to the world of Yahoo! blogging. I have no idea what if anything I'll post here, but it, and the lack of it, is and will be here for all to see or not.