Where's Nate?

living large in the four-oh-eight. wicked large.

6.27.2006

bouncin' 'round the web.

So Microsoft is working with Mr. Youth to run a student marketing rep program? With Volt as the staffing agency? What's this about RepNation as the "country's leading student rep network?" The whole model smells awfully familiar. (Thanks, Morin, for the tip.)

Farecast went beta today, launching with the Seattle and Beantown market. (Interestingly, the only two cities I would live in outside of the Bay Area. And Ann Arbor for the next twelve months.)



Apparently, Farecast has aggregated billions of pieces of data to help predict whether airfares between markets will go up or down in the next seven days. Cool. I've always been fascinated by the airline industry. Here's another speculative tool (see the early days of Priceline and the killer Farechase Yahoo! app).

Hell, any information is good information. Well, maybe.

french breadin'.

So I'm hooked on Vietnamese sandwiches. Silicon Valley has the largest population of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States. And a tasty by-product of this presence is the proliferation of bitchin' sub shops serving killer sandwiches on French bread.

Lee's Sandwiches is ahead of the curve. Tonight, Paige and I hit up the Cupertino branch of this growing franchise. For three bucks, I had a dried chicken sub with cilantro, carrots, onions, jalapenos, and a hint of basil. Just another culinary treat from the South Bay, home of the best Indian, Korean, and (now) Vietnamese food outside of Asia.

6.26.2006

turn the other cheek.

I couldn't help myself after I read the headline: "Is the Star Alliance heading down the pan?" Apparently, Air Nippon Airlines (ANA) has painted a rather striking image on the side of their cockpits.



It seems likely that this is a hoax cooked up by folks at Photoshop-friendly sites like Fark. But it's cheeky nonetheless. And for that, I had to share it.

6.22.2006

four years later.

I guess I'm feeling nostalgic tonight. It was four years ago this month that Paige and I completed our six-week, 6000+ mile journey from Vermont to California. So I retraced our trek with Yahoo! Maps.



You can see pictures of the trip here. Everyone should drive across this great land at least once in their life. I'm fortunate to have done it nearly a half dozen times. So take some time off and do it. You won't ever forget life on the road.

6.20.2006

playing the game.

Having managed countless interns in the past, I'd like to think I'm pretty aware of the do's and dont's of being a dutiful MBA intern. So this article is a fascinating read.

A list of Business Week rules I've broken:

#2: No flip-flops.
#3: Blogging about work. (Um, does this post count?)

Two down, eight to go.

light the torch.

So maybe this is what social networking is all about.

The day started with registering for a University of Michigan golf outing in mid-July. After reading about this event, for current students and alums, I talked my Dad (Ross Class of '76) into signing up with me during a late Father's Day round at Deep Cliff.

This morning I chatted with a young woman who is a friend of a friend of mine from Apple. She was looking for some insight on tech marketing, namely how I transitioned from working in higher education to the dark side.

I took the call during a short morning break at Yahoo!, where every so often my IM client lights up with pings from former fruit company colleagues. More than a few of these current colleagues were folks that I helped find jobs in the Loop. I was also able, today, to set up dinner plans this coming weekend with friends from Apple, Middlebury, and Michigan.

This evening I was on the phone with several Michigan friends, strategizing about our exciting trip to Northern California and the overarching theme for next year's Futurtech Conference. (Hint: For a sneak preview of the theme, read the first line of this blog posting.) I was interrupted during these calls by consecutive text messages from a high school buddy watching the Giants avenge their 2002 World Series defeat at the hands of the California...err, Anaheim...err, Los Angeles Angels. Of Anaheim.

Maybe this is "getting older", the interplay between circles of friends and acquaintances. Call it what you want: none of this would be as seamless were it not for disruptive technologies like blogging, cell phones, or instant messaging.

My life feels like the Olympic rings. And where they intersect is where it gets interesting.

6.19.2006

shameless promotion.

If you're so inclined...spread the word...

------------------------

We’d like to invite you and your friends to a photo shoot to capture images of great groups of people we’ll be placing on Yahoo!. When else will you have a chance to share your cheeky mug and your group with millions of people, worldwide?

Who: All adults, young and the young-at-heart. Kids welcome if they’re part of your Yahoo! Group. But let’s keep it clean folks. These pictures will be PG only.

What (to bring): Your smiling face. A prop or item from your group. Props can include dogs/animals, your sweet ride, a prized bonsai, or your favorite tennis racket. (Props not required, but preferred.). Or dress up as a scuba diver, fireman, or in some other outfit that represents your group. The more interesting, the more likely your picture will be used.

When: Saturday, June 24, 2006. 10:00a to 2:00p. Marina Green, San Francisco.

What(‘s in it for you): Internet fame and glory, of course. No pay. Just smiles. Non union. Photo release must be signed at time of photo shoot.

Visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/y_sf_photoshoot/ to RSVP. You can also send en email to y_sf_photoshoot-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. But hurry, space is limited.

6.15.2006

the wacky hack.

So I either work at the geekiest place on the planet, or one of the coolest. Events like Hack Day almost make me want to learn AJAX. Almost. Either way, it's pretty frickin' sweet that the engineers get twenty-four hours to play once a year.

Speaking of frickin' sweet, the creator of Family Guy spoke at Hahvahd earlier this month. Check it out, if you have a few minutes to burn.

6.11.2006

bring a parka.

Apparently June 10th was the deadline for incoming Ross MBA1s to sign up for the M-Trek of their choice. M-Trek is Michigan's version of MOO (Middlebury Outdoor Orientation) which is Middlebury's version of Dartmouth's Outward Bound-remix. In other words, it's a handful of incoming students, a couple of second-year leaders, a full tank of gas, and half a pack of cigarettes. And we're wearing sunglasses.

Hit it.

The reason why I'm interested in this is because I'm leading a trip ("The Grapes of Raft") with my buddies Dirty, J-Mac, and BJ. Ummm, I mean Jess, Jennie, and Ben.

While many of the trips offer an international itinerary, they also offer a high price tag. So we decided to plan a trip in Northern California (surprise). Trips are also divided into Laid Back, Moderate, and Kick-Your-Ass-Tough. We're laid back people. So we picked the lazy option.

I'll spare the details of the trip because you can read them online. But suffice it to say, we'll be drinking lots of wine, eating tons of oysters, and capsizing one or two rafts. After all, we have to get these incoming students primed, right?

6.07.2006

down east, up the peninsula.

Hit up the new-ish Old Port Lobster Shack in Redwood City tonight. Oh, what a treat. In spite of the Shack's unassuming location in a strip mall, the naked lobster roll and drawn butter took me back to Ogunquit and Portland and other favorite haunts in Coastal Maine. Sure, it cost $18 for an average size roll. But that's a small price to pay when the lobster is flown across country, the authentic top-loading buns are custom made, and the place has Portland brews on tap.

Down East they have a saying, "You can't get there from here." Well, now you can.

ipod u.

My friends at the "Student Monitor" declared (with data, of course) that iPod is now hotter than beer on college campuses. I guess the pecking order now reads: iPod, Facebook, beer. Having spent the last year on one of the largest campuses in America, I believe that the methodology must be sound. Apparently, it's only the second time in nearly two decades that "alcohol" didn't rank at the top of this list.

6.05.2006

waking the giants.

Just got back from a great game at Pac Bell Park in which my Giants beat the Marlins 14-2 and Barry ripped #716 to center field. Back home, the first thing I did was fire up my newsreader to find three interesting articles in the Merc.

1) Google is releasing a spreadsheet app. Big surprise. Remember a few months ago when they acquired Writely, a Word-killer? And I wrote about Google's quest for world domination? Consider this a strong flanking move around Microsoft's Maginot Line. While the company insists that it's not a high powered Excel competitor, it's yet another push to move productivity apps to the web. And by enabling the import and export of .xls and .csv files, intentions appear to be clear at the Googleplex.

2) Apple is downsizing in India. Didn't Steve read "The World Is Flat"? The answer, I'm sure, is "Yes." And the moral of that story is that you offshore the parts of your business that free up strategic resources elsewhere. To be fair, Apple never really got started building up the Bangalore operation. But perhaps the fruit company sees better, more efficient talent elsewhere. Like Europe. Or China. Either way, it's an interesting anti-trend move, the kind of move that makes Apple so compelling.

3) HP is discouraging telecommuting. There are days when our favorite Garage Band is the most innovative company in the Valley. And then there are days when it looks more and more like a dinosaur. This is one of those days. Didn't these guys practically invent the notion of "working from home" several decades ago? In an era when the young tech talent is going anywhere but HP, this is the kind of short-sighted move that might impact recruiting and retention. Either that, or company-wide productivity will increase two-fold. A trend to keep an eye on.

6.01.2006

in good company.

I guess I'm getting pretty lucky when it comes to "picking" places to work. Or, at least, places to work "picking" me.

Today I found a cool article from the folks at a respected technology publication. Apparently, Apple is the "Hardware Company of the Year" and Yahoo! is the "Web Company of the Year." Favorite quote: "Google may get a lot more attention, but Yahoo has been getting more things accomplished."

While I'm not sure what all of this makes me, it is a testament to the innovation and customer focus of my two favorite companies. Which also happen to be my two most recent employers.