Gotta love technology

Technology really is great, isn't it? In some ways it feels like we're headed to an age where people never leave their house, and just do everything online. But in other ways, technology is still pretty cool.

For example, I got this picture sent to me on my cell phone last night - I believe the culprit is a certain chef, who whipped up this plate and then took a pic with his phone. A few clicks later, and I'm posting the picture here, for everyone else to enjoy! :-)

So thanks to Mike for the birthday wishes, and while I don't know what that food is, it certainly looks good.

30

Yep, there it is in print. 30. The big 3-0. Yikes.

OK, so it's really not that different than my final days in my 20s. I'm still tired this morning like usual, still have work to do, and the world still turns. But I'll admit it feels a little weird - am I really not a kid anymore?

The thing is, being 30 in and of itself doesn't make me feel old really. It's more the context of other events compared to it.

For example, Jamie and I are going to a surprise birthday party this year for a friend from high school, Lori Abel (now Lori Kissick). She and I went to a dance together freshman year of high school. I still have these hilarious pictures of our group at the dance, and my gosh, we really look like little kids. But what makes me feel old, is thinking about the fact that while I can remember that kind of stuff like it was yesterday, it was 16 YEARS ago!

Yikes!

Well, I have to say, being 30 is really just the turning of the page to another exciting chapter of my life. Although it will be hard to top the number of changes that happens in your 20s - graduate from college, begin a career, get married, change careers, change careers again, buy a home, etc. Jeez, I've been busy!

Jamie and I will slow down long enough for a nice dinner tonight. Perhaps we'll talk more about the next big event coming up - her turning 30 next month! :-)

Scott

Zoostraviganza!

As mentioned in the previous entry, we were joined by Jamie's sister Lindsay, her son Markus, and her dad Greg this past weekend. Had a great time, including an M's game Friday night against the Giants (got to see Barry Bonds hit a HR, and K to end the game for an M's win).

Saturday included a trip to Woodland Park Zoo. I was there about 10 years ago maybe - pretty sure that was the last time. And of course being able to attend with a 2 1/2 year old makes it quite the occasion.

Quick animal review from Markus' perspective:

Giraffes - OK, and "poopin" (which it was)
Zebras - Also good
Monkeys - Very exciting
Gorillas - Too scary "he's chasing him!" (one big Silverback was chasing around the smaller ones) "Go home to JJ's house" was the request.
Elephants - Huge (pronounced "hooge") and scary
Lions - "Simba". Wake up! (as they were sleeping)

A few pics from the day. Three little monkeys (with some more in the background)



King of the world!



A more approachable lion....



Markus was quite the trooper given that he was fighting a bit of a sore throat. We had a fun weekend....and we're still resting up from the busy time. :-)

Back tomorrow with a few thoughts about a certain milestone...

Visitors are coming!

That's right! No, not from outer space somewhere, only Spokane. ;-)

Jamie's sister Lindsay and her son Markus, and Lindsay's dad Greg, are coming over for the weekend. We'll catch the Mariners and Giants tomorrow night (and see Barry Bonds), and then hit the zoo with the 2 1/2 year old on Saturday. Should be an adventure.

Pics to come of the crazy nephew, hilarity is likely to ensue!

Final conference thoughts

After slugging through the conference with a touch of the flu, I was glad to be back home again on Wednesday night. Thursday was a sick day spent at home, which gave me some time to reflect on what I learned at the conference.

Some thoughts and reflections on the days in Vancouver:

- It was really an exceptional experience, to be together with fellow communicators from around the world, discussing our business. It certainly reinvigorates a person to go back and tackle the challenges of their job, after hearing how others around the world are doing the same. The bigger test is keeping that enthusiasm now that I'm back.

- The rise of Social Media is going to drastically change the way we communicate and share information over the next 10 years. Mark Burnett, during his keynote on Sunday, specifically said that he strongly believes that television will not look the same 5 years from now. That may be a swift view of changes to come, but he probably won't be too far off. The rise of content online, products like TiVo, and future digital rights issues for rebroadcasts of programs does increase the chance that we won't be watching TV in the same way in the future.

- Communicators are loud. Even when we don't know each other. The shuttle bus we took to the Vancouver Aquarium Sunday night was quite raucous, even with a bus full of strangers! I felt at home. :-)

- Vancouver is a beautiful city. It's like the best parts of Seattle, Portland and Spokane rolled into one. There seemed to be fanastic restaurants all around, and I was able to partake in one of them Tuesday night as part of a local "dine around" event. Enjoyed some good food and company with my fellow colleagues, in a neighborhood that reminded me of Belltown and the Pearl District.

Now that I'm back home, it's time to get back to work - both in the office and at home. At the house, we're getting ready to rip up the carpet downstairs. We've ordered some hardwood flooring that Jamie's dad is going to help us install. Should be a fun project here in a couple of weeks.

All for now.

Concert review - INXS rocks!

Almost forgot.

Jamie and I went out to Marymoor Park on Saturday night, to check out INXS in concert. They are a rock band which peaked in popularity in the late 80s/early 90s, right when we were in middle school and high school. They're back now, with a new lead singer who they found through a TV reality show called Rock Star INXS (another Mark Burnett production).

They clearly made the right choice, because they rocked! It might have been the best concert we've ever been to, when it comes to crowd participation at least. If they make it back to the NW again, we'll be there!

Proof that we were there:



Blurry camera phone pic of the concert. Trust me, they were great!

The future of communications is in....Vancouver!

Well, in Vancouver BC for the next few days, at least.

That's where I'm writing from at the moment - the 2006 International Association of Business Communicators world conference. About 1400 communications professionals from 40 different countries are here, all experts in their respective fields of communications - p.r., marketing communications, and corporate communications. And I'm here as well! :-)

Kidding aside, it's been a fantastic conference so far, as the first day has just wrapped up. Last night's highlight was the opening keynote, featuring Mark Burnett, the creator of Survivor, The Apprentice, and other "unscripted" programs. The guy went from being a paratrooper in the British Army in the early 80s, to being a nanny in Beverly Hills, to selling T-Shirts on Venice Beach - so he has some good stories to tell.

Today's highlight was the lunch keynote, featuring Tod Maffin. A self-described "nerd" - and proud of it - he led a hilarious discussion on what he calls "swarm communication", which is essentially how the nature of social media on the internet through blogs, podcasts, forums, etc, is changing the speed people can converge on a new idea, sensation, or problem.

Where this hit home for most of the audience is in the fact that social media is such a powerful network online these days, that a company can have a PR nightmare on their hands - without even knowing it - due to just a few carefully crafted keystrokes of a savvy blogger. The tools that link information online are so powerful that a "swarm" can develop around an issue in a staggeringly swift amount of time.

In fact, with the various tools out there to track just about anything online, it wouldn't surprise me if Tod finds this blog entry, just based off of the fact that it has his name in it. Technology certainly is amazing, and I'm lucky to work at Microsoft where I'll continue to see it happen!

The conference wraps up on Wednesday, so this will be my home until then:


The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Gotta run now. We have a team dinner coming up in a bit.

Renton - not just a joke anymore!

This article in the Seattle Times, paints an interesting picture of the future of Renton.

Having not lived in this area for the past 12 years really, it has been surprising to see the scale and size of the growth around Renton, Maple Valley, Covington, and Issaquah. Our house, about 2 minutes from Hazen High School, is not atypical for our area, in that it didn't even exist when I was going to high school in that neighborhood.

In some ways this transformation is not surprising. Throughout the house buying process, I noticed the different maturity states of the neighborhoods, and how that related to prices. You can find newer homes all over the place. But the lowest in price those new neighborhoods start is in the $300k range, and in most cases they're farther and farther away from 405 or I-90. Maple Valley is a good example. Great areas if you work on the South end of Lake Washington, but if you have to trek through Bellevue at all, it's not a particularly feasible option.

So since home development in many ways has sort of hit a geographic boundary of sorts, based on commute times, I've noticed that in many cases builders are going back through existing neighborhoods, and finding pockets of land, 2 or 3 run down houses in a row, or other tear-down kinds of properties for their 4-plot types of developments.

Renton is a prime beneficiary of that. Just on the street that Hazen is on alone, there is a strange evolution of new housing developments, mixed with 50s ranchers, or even a double-wide here and there. Given that the latter are being bought up at a rapid pace and torn down, it's not as far fetched to envision Renton as a future "South Bellevue" in some ways.

And of course since we bought our house where we did, clearly it's better to be lucky than good. Er, I mean, I had this analysis awhile back, that's the ticket.... :-)