Clayco

Into South Africa - Safari

2010-10-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

If there was one part of the trip that I had zero expectations about it was the safari, in fact I was almost sure it was going to be disappointing. I am not sure if it would have mattered where my expectations were prior to coming to Pondoro Game Lodge for our 3 night 4 day safari because I left absolutely blown away by the experience. As thrilling as it was to be at the World Cup, dive with great whites and explore the Cape, nothing came close to the experience of the safari.

Pondoro Game Lodge was exactly how I would do a safari again. Beautiful, luxurious (by safari standards) thatched huts sitting down on the banks of the Olifanst River. The meals were some of the best we had during our entire trip and beyond plentiful and frequent (wake up snack, morning snack in the bush, breakfast, lunch, evening drinks and snack in the bush, 3 course dinner). In addition to the outstanding food Pondoro boasts an award winning wine lists and on site serenity spa.

Pondoro's owners are on site at all time (apparently a rarity at safari lodges today). The husband is one of the two rangers and the wife oversees the lodge and kitchen. I cannot stress to you how amazing her food is. From the lamb shank to the Springbok pot pie everything was outstanding.

I doubt words or pictures will do justice to the experiences and mental images captured during my safari (amazing sunsets, giraffes gliding through the bush, watching lion's hunt and attack zebra and then having them come within arms length of our vehicle and the list goes on...), but I want to share a few of my favorite pictures out of the thousands we took. Enjoy!

Young Impala males getting in some practice

Mom and baby having a snack together

The fearsome rhino

Sunrise in the bush

Kisses

Our afternoon visitors at lunch

These guys were fearless and not afraid to come to the table and take what they wanted

Yawners

Wild E. Beast

2 for 1

Family

Celebrating our first lion sighting

Coacktails at sunset in the bush

Cold early morning drive

Super model

Mom lion nuzzling daughter

Pregnant zebra

Male Impala

Warthog

Mohawk

2 male and 2 female lions getting ready for bed

...and asleep

Literally within petting distance (mom leading daughter)

Momma lion

Her daughter

Sunset

Taking it all in

Such amazing lines and details on the elephant

Nature - Part 1

Nature - Part 2

Nature - Part 3

Mom and daughter resting after the hunt

where are your stilettos?

Kudu

Male Impala

Is that a wig or what?!

Into South Africa - The Cape

2010-10-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

So many times prior to leaving for South Africa I heard that Cape Town was a blend of San Francisco and Sydney. I can't attest to Sydney as I haven't been (going soon though!), but after having lived in the Bay Area for 10 years with the last 2 in San Francisco I can say those comparisons weren't too far off.

Cape Town and its surrounding landscape offer so many wonderful outdoor activities, some amazing wine lands, breathtaking views against a magnificent city bordered by the ocean and the ever present Table Mountain, not to mention Cape Point, world class surfing and shark diving.

After the hectic travel to get to the US/Ghana game we finally were able to settle in to our lovely apartment at Mouille Point Apartments. We were surrounded with striking sites as our backyard was a golf course, the only real estate separating us from Cape Town Stadium, and our front yard was the Atlantic Ocean. With just a quick walk to the V&A Waterfront and De Waterkant we were in prime location to take in Cape Town.

Ensuring we started the trip with a bang, we rented a car and set off to Simon's Town, a quick 40 minutes drive down the coast line to dive with some Great Whites off of False Bay. We signed on for an afternoon trip with African Shark Eco Charters and headed out to Seal Island for a date with some Great Whites. After a quick boat ride out to the island, a little chum in the water, we got to see our first Great White in the flesh. The size and grace of these creatures are a site to behold. One of the things that surprised me most was how peaceful and harmless they looked gracefully swimming by our boat.

As the cage was lowered my heart started racing, but after a few groups went in (2 at a time in the cage) I was feeling confident and ready to get in and spend time in the water with these big boys. After getting suited up and briefed on safety, I strapped on my wetsuit and weight belt and hopped in the cage. Initially, I had a tough time breathing through the regulator and getting in a comfortable position in the cage as the ocean's movement rocked us back and forth the entire 30 minutes we were underwater.

After getting settled into the cage, and having a momentary freak out that I had nothing protecting my backside, I came face to face with the Great White. It was a moment filled with so little fear I was really surprised. Again, the grace and ease with which these wondrous creatures moved through the water was a site to behold. They seem like an animal at such peace in its environment. As we stayed down in the cage we were treated to a few more Great Whites, two circling around our cage at once. The most striking trait of the Great White when you are face to face with them is their eyes. The two black eyes looking at you head on leave no doubt this is not an animal to be tempted or played with.

After coming back up and seeing more Great Whites come up to the boat, we were treated to seeing a few Great Whites pop their head out of the water going after the seal cutout with their mouth open and razor sharp teeth ready to kill. The razor sharp teeth coupled with their black eyes was such a sight to behold, and one that will be forever ingrained in my memory. We were lucky enough to snap a few great action shots.

After the thrill of shark diving, something you need to do more than once in your life, we took the next day to relax a bit and explore wine country. We booked through Redwood Tours, who specialize in personalized wine tours catered to small groups. We had a wonderful guide for the day in Keith van der Schyff. After doing some homework on wineries I sent Keith 5 wineries we want to hit up during our day. After he initially questioned my itinerary, he agreed to let us go to one of my wineries of choice and then one of his. Let's just say after that exercise we were on Keith's agenda for the remainder of the day.

We began the day at Fairview Wines in the Paarl region, which also produce their own cheese on site. For just 25 Rand (about $3) we were given 7 pours of wine and a cheese tasting of about 10 different cheeses - a little more reasonable than Napa! The wine was so-so and Keith took us over to Kanonkop in the Stellenbosch region, the second winery to ever produce the famed Pinotage South Africa is so well known for. We were treated to five fantastic wines (only 10 Rand!) that included the Paul Sauer, a tasty Kadette and the real winner, their Pinotage. I couldn't resist picking up a couple of the Paul Sauer bottles as well as the Pinotage, luckily Kanonkop also sold travel safe 6-packs which joined us on our travels the rest of the way.

From there we hit up L'Avenir where I felt the Cab Franc was the real winner. Next, Keith took us to Rustenberg Winery (above), which was set against a beautiful backdrop of the mountains of Stellenbosch. From there we were treated to an amazing lunch at Guardian Peak (view below), a part of Ernie Els Wines. In Napa, Auberge de Soleil is widely known to have some of the most breath taking views in Napa. Think of Guardian Peak as the Auberge de Soleil of Stellnbosch, except Guardian Peak is also a winery. Wading through the menu was the toughest task of the entire afternoon, but after settling on stuffed quail breast and the roasted apple and raisin pork belly (below) we settled in for an amazing afternoon set against the striking landscape that is the backyard of Guardian Peaks. All of the food comes with a recommended pairing of Guardian Peak wines, and I really enjoyed the Guradian Peak SMG that was paired with both of my dishes.

Our late lunch at Guardian Peak had to be the best way to wrap up a wonderful day of wine tasting in a beautiful region. Keith was kind enough to take us on a quick tour of Stellenbosch after lunch. He even stopped off in Stellenbosch and bought us an amazing assortment of chocolate truffles that became my early morning snack for the next week back in Cape Town. During the trip we paid for not a single tasting outside of lunch and drinks at Guardian Peak. And as we were dropped back of at Mouille Point, Keith charged us around 600 Rand for the entire day. That was a days worth of transportation, an amazing and knowledgeable tour guide and wine tastings the tally came to about $80/person. Kanonkop and Rustenberg are two wineries you can't miss and I can't imagine going back and not having lunch at Guardian Peak.

After watching Germany put a spanking on Argentina and spending a few days in Cape Town, we took an early morning boat ride from the V&A Waterfront to explore Robben Island - on July 4th nonetheless. I have conflicting feelings about this trip because it was so so touristy from the moment you step on the overcrowded boat, but at the same time it was so amazing to set your eyes on the limestone quarry where Mandela and his fellow political prisoners literally slaved away while breaking up limestone. His jail cell allows so many memories to rush through your body, seeing that cell and looking in Mandela's eyes today you get a sense that you can feel his strength and fortitude.

We were lucky enough to have an ex-political prisoner give us a tour of the jail and its surroundings. You could hear such great strength and pride in his voice as he spoke about his experience and what daily routines were like for the inmates. The views looking back at Cape Town were gorgeous, but you couldn't help but think about the political prisoners looking at something so breathtaking while enduring massive hardships, isolation and intense physical labor. I'm really glad I went, but probably wouldn't go twice.

The next day we were faced with perhaps the worst weather of the trip, which wasn't all the bad other than the fact that we were planning to head to Cape Point where the weather would have prevented us from seeing much if anything of The Cape. So we took the day to explore the Constantia wine region, just 20 miles south of Cape Town. The winelands area is much smaller with only 5 vineyards, making it a much more manageable day.

Our first stop was at Steenberg, a newer modern winery with a golf course, spa, restaurant and overnight accommodations. Sav Blanc and Semillion were the focus and outside of their beautiful grounds I didn't care too much for their wine offerings across the board. Next, we swung by Constantia Uitsig which had a quaint country feel with not a ton to see, but what we didn't know was that nestled next to the tasting room was an award winning restaurant that we needed to book well in advance for. The wine was a bit better and I was absolutely blown away by their sparkling, I really regret not bringing a bottle or two back to the States.

Our next stop was at Buitenverwachting, meaning "Beyond Expectations". While I have vivid memories of so many things during my trip, the sights at Buitenverwachting will not be one escaping my memory for years, apparently parts of Blood Diamond were filmed there.

Our final stop of the day ended with the epic sweet wine, Vin de Constance, that "helped Napoleon ease the misery of exile and was recommended by Jane Austen for a broken heart" in Sense and Sensablity. The wine was so delicious and unique to its own form. Had I not been gobbling up bottles from other wineries I certainly would have returned with more than two bottles.

The following day the weather cleared up nicely and we decided to make a full day of it with the Netherlands-Uruguay semi finals that night and a trip down to Cape Point during the day. Looking back I wish we had taken an entire day to hike around the cape and explore all of the breathtaking sights it has to offer. The few hours we spent there were all amazing, I just wanted to have my feet on that ground and my eyes looking out across the horizon for a few more hours. For our trip down we drove on the east side of the peninsula past Simon's Town (where we went shark diving). On the way back we came up the west side and had a breathtaking drive up Chapman's Peak and down into Hout Bay, I highly recommended doing the same route if you head down.

The toughest day of the trip followed after the Netherlands walked away victorious over Uruguay 3-2 and a night of partying with the Orange fans ensued. We drove two hours north of Cape Town to Die Strandloper at Langebaan where we threw down on a 4 hour 10 course meal, with all of the fish coming directly out of the bay we sat on. Can't say I would do this twice, but it certainly was worth the experience.

We wrapped up our stay in Cape Town with a delicious meal at Aubergine. It was the perfect way to end the trip and by far the best meal of the trip we had experienced thus far. It was a five star meal, with fantastic service for a completely reasonable price, just like everything in Cape Town except for the World Cup gear. The next day we headed off for the home run of the trip, Safari!

Safari post and a shit ton of pictures to come shortly...

Hunter with the Cityscape of San Francisco in the background

2010-10-23T10:29:00.001-07:00

Chorizo sliders @Piquino in the dogpatch.

2010-10-14T15:42:00.001-07:00

Treats, Eats and Dining Feats

2010-10-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Due to my continued and increasing love for all things food, from cooking in the kitchen to dining out as well as finding great snacks online and in the city, I have decided to start up a separate blog called Treats, Eats and Dining Feats which will focus on my love for all things food. If you are interested in checking it out and following along please come follow along here, read up and let me know what you are cooking and the great new spots you have discovered out and about town.

Hanging out with Chris Jackson for supervisor

2010-10-08T23:46:00.001-07:00

My next door neighbor at the giants game.

2010-10-08T19:10:00.001-07:00

Jerry Garcia Giants t-shirt has arrived just in time for playoffs

2010-10-05T20:59:00.001-07:00

More Pickles + Cheese Grits Chile Rellenos = WOW!

2010-09-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

While still writing the second (and uber lengthy) blog post about my trip to South Africa, I once again want to share two new pickling recipes and an amazing dish of cheese grits chiles rellenos with roasted tomato gravy. These lovely dishes come courtesy of Matt and Ted Lee and their The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook.

After spending a lot of time in the Lee Bros. lastest cookbook, Simple Fresh Southern, I went back and dug up some of their pickling recipes from their first book. The two that caught my eye were the pickled peaches and pickled corn, and the backstories behind each dish from Matt and Ted make it that much more fun to cook.

Both pickling recipes were a little more time consuming than what is offered in Simple, Fresh, Southern. The peaches called for soaking them in ice cold water for 20+ mins, placing them in a boiling pot of water for 1 minute, dipping them back in the ice cold water and then gently peeling off the skin that had been loosened from the cooling and heating process. Instead of just packing the peaches into a jar, you poach them in a syrup of sugar, cider vinegar, cinnamon, cloves and ginger- which then becomes the hot syrup you pour over the peaches in their jar.

The pickled corn was simpler, but still called for the corn to sit in the liquid prior to placing in the quart sized jars. After setting aside 4 cups of sweet corn tossed with salt in a bowl, you heat distilled white vinegar, water, sugar, tumeric, mace and cloves for 20 minutes as it simmers on the stove top. From there you add the corn, bringing it to a boil for a quick 5 minutes. Finally, remove the corn with a slotted spoon and place into the jar, pouring the liquid over the corn.

I recently treated myself to a care package from Zingerman's and part of that order included Anson Mills slow cooked grits. The Lee Bros Southern Cookbook packs a host of delicious grits recipes. I had been partial to the slab bacon and cheddar broiled grits, but in the interests in trying to be a little bit healthier I chose the cheese-grits chiles rellenos with roasted tomato gravy.

The Lee Bros. present a great base to all of their grits dishes, and that base is their simple grits recipe. From there I layered in the cheese to get cheese grits (see picture to the right). The cheese grits then become the base you stuff poblano peppers with.

At the same time you prepare the grits, also place a large tomato, the poblano peppers, onion and garlic on a roasting pan and cover them with olive oil and salt. After lathering up the veggies, place them in the oven to broil, turning the peppers every three minutes for 9 minutes total time in the oven. When you pull the veggies out they should be blistered and black. From here you separate the peppers in their own large bowl (picture below on the left) and put the other veggies in a medium bowl (picture below right), allowing them to rest and come to room temp.

Once the peppers have cooled, you get the fun task of massaging them and removing their skin. After the skin is removed, cut a 3 inch slit removing the seeds and veins. I struggled a bit with delicate pepper after removing the skin, ripping the peppers a bit and puncturing holes all the way through them. The good news is this didn't seem to damage the final product.

With the peppers now open, scoop in 1/2 c. of the cheese grits as a filling.

In the meantime, tend to the rest of your veggies and remove the skins from the tomato and garlic. Take the tomato, garlic and onion and briefly blend them in a food processor to create a chunky puree, your roasted tomato gravy, to pour over the peppers and cheese grits.

From here you are almost done, just pop the stuffed peppers in the oven on 400 for 15 minutes. Quickly flip the oven to broil and sprinkle 1/2c of grated xtra sharp cheddar cheese on top of the peppers and let the cheese brown, 2-3 minutes is all. Then serve these tasty puppies up!!! (See a couple pics of the finalized dish below)

Pickling Away

2010-09-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

After picking up a dozen quart sized Kerr's jars I am full speed ahead with pickling these days.

My two most recent endeavors have once again come from the Lee Bros. Simple, Fresh, Southern cookbook. I made the zucchini and onion pickles as well as their radish pickles recipe.

As I find myself getting into the swing of pickling I was able to crank out 4 jars, 2 of each recipe, quickly one weeknight after just a few hours. The base of most of the Lee Bros. pickling recipes is 1 cup of white vinegar/white wine vinegar as well as some cloves of garlic, a tsp or so of whole black peppercorns, as well as a tsp or two of sugar and kosher salt. In addition to the cup of vinegar you also add one cup of water. On top of that, the Lee Bros. have various flavor kicks like some ground turmeric in the radish pickles.

After cutting your veggies 1/8 in. on the bias and stuffing them in the jar, you just throw all your other ingredients on the stove top, medium high heat until it simmers. Take the pot off the stove top, pour it over your veggies stuffed in the quart, let everything rest until it reaches room temperature and put it in the fridge. You are good to go in terms of eating the pickles after an hour, but they really get tasty after a solid 24 hours sitting in the fridge. Per the Lee Bros. notes, the pickles will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks, so keep them up front and snack on them a lot!

The colors of the veggies in the jar are beautiful. I added in yellow squash to the zucchini and onion pickles (per Lee Bros. suggestion) to give it a fantastic color balance of green and yellow with the white onions. The radishes are straight forward, but I love the jar of red radishes sitting next to the green and yellow jar.

Below, the two jars in the middle are sitting in the pickling liquid and the other two were about to be pickled shortly. I thought the real winner in all of this was the pickled onion, nice tangy and crispy. The biggest mistake I made was not putting more in as I leaned heavily on the squash and zucchini. Pickle On!

How to Cut on the Bias

2010-09-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Cutting on the bias is so simple and easy, yet I find myself forgetting from time to time and having to access a quick video on YouTube for a reminder. This has been the one that keeps popping up lately for me so I thought I would share it with you:

Pickles and Mustard

2010-09-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

After doing a few rounds of pickling I recently got after it in the kitchen and made a host of pickle recipes with various veggies and fruits. On top of that I spent the weekend overpaying for mustard seeds and mustard powder to make a trio of mustards from scratch.

On the pickling front, I have found that no one has better pickling recipes than the Lee bros. and their new Simple, Fresh, Southern cookbook (Also see The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, another favorite of mine - I just haven't made any of the pickle recipes...YET!) . I had previously done their cucumbers and carrots and this time I did their pickled grapes with rosemary and chiles. And as weird as that sounds, they were the absolute winner out of everything I pickled.

I also made a few basic pickling recipes that I picked up from my friend Mei Lei's blog, Family Styles. I took her base recipe and just added in various spices on top of each one. Here I made a trio of peppers, a couple of cucumber recipes along with a couple different pickled carrots.

Outside of the grapes, I have to say that I am partial to the pickled carrots as a snack, although the thinly sliced picked peppers made a fantastic topping on all of the sausages we have been having lately.

I dug up all of the mustard recipes via Google and found a tasty sweet mustard with Agave nectar and honey - so far this has tasted really good on everything. I also made one straight from mustard powder and found it to be a bit stingy in the nose with a lot of heat coming at you. It is called hotter than hot mustard and the recipe can be found here. The last recipe was from the same website, which was a honey stout mustard. The yellow and brown mustard seeds in the honey stout mustard give it a really nice unique texture that feels like it would be the perfect accompaniment to a ballpark pretzel.

I have been using all three mustards on a host of various chicken, beef, pork and lamb sausages and they all three create a fun, exciting and unique taste (although they all need some work and a little personalization).

Definitely don't judge the mustards in the first few days as they mellow out and the flavors mature when they sit for a bit in the fridge.

Below is a sampling from the day of pickles and mustard:

Pickling is a piece of cake and makes some super tasty snacks or toppings to keep in the fridge. Even if you can't cook you can pickle, now go doooit, it's fun! Personally it felt like the mustards probably take a bit more practice and precision so you can get a consistent flavor profile our of you recipes.

Frightened Rabbits Live in San Francisco

2010-08-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Into South Africa - The World Cup

2010-07-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

After three amazing weeks in South Africa, taking in the World Cup, diving with sharks, hiking and driving around the Cape, enjoying a 10 course meal on the beach and going on safari my mind is still racing with memories and relishing the unique experiences I was blessed to enjoy.

The trip was too memorable to cram it all into one post and to make sure I share it all, I wil break it into three parts: The World Cup, Exploring the Cape and Safari.

I began planning this trip a year and a half in advance, focused on making sure we had tickets to the games before we left. Working with Destination South Africa we were able to line up match tickets, flights, an apartment in Cape Town and a 4 day safari at Pondoro Game Lodge.

The World Cup experience was filled passionate friendly fans, lots of vuvuzuelas, pre game and post game partying, beautiful venues and amazing matches.

We decided to go after group play when the elimination matches started, following the US route through to the semis.

After traveling 17 hours from DC to Joburg, catching a 2 hour flight to Cape Town, turning back around the next morning to fly back to Joburg and grab a 3 hour bus ride to Rustenberg we were ready to take in the US/Ghana match (all the while trying to figure out what day it was, as my body certainly didn't agree with the time the sun decided to rise and set).

Driving to the game we were able to see the red earth Africa is so known for against the setting sun. I found the choice of venue odd as Rustenberg is a relatively small mining town where little else but the game seemed to be worth stopping over for (unless of course you wanted to make your way to Sun City).

The match was filled with African support for Ghana (the only African team still left in the tourney) and was certainly the coldest night of the entire trip. I found it to be a disappointing performance on the US part, and a game they could have won if the effort was there. But after leaving the stadium and seeing the pure joy from 90% of the fans due to the Ghana result I was glad to see the nation continue to rally around them as the tournament continued.

After the game, another 3 hours bud ride, KFC in the airport at 4AM, waiting another 4 hours for our flight and a 2 hour plane ride to Cape Town we were able, and very ready, to settle into our apartment at Mouille Point. We were situated directly across the road from the ocean with a deck looking back across an amazing landscape of Cape Town stadium, Lion's Head, Signal Hill, Table Mountain and downtown Cape Town.

We were able to pick up tickets to the Spain/Portugal game in addition to our US allotment prior to leaving the States. The walk up to the stadium was memorable, with Spanish fans clearly outnumbering the Portuguese supporters, partying, chanting and dancing their way in. After 30 minutes to get through a half assed security check we were 25 rows off the field watching Spain warm-up.

The game was electric, the play was dominated with Spanish possession and the work rate of David Villa up and down the left flank was astonishing. Cristiano Ronaldo did nothing to persuade my current opinion of him as he spent an inordinate amount of time time throwing his arms up in disgust, diving on the field, complaining to the referee and using the utmost flair in the simplest of situations.

The Villa goal occurred right in front of us and as he slid to the corner flag just below our seats the place was going nuts with vuvuzuelas rocking and the Spanish fans merrily chanting. After having gone to two games I could not help but notice the stark difference. The venues certainly had something to do with the atmospheres at each, but the US/Ghana game felt like you were watching a JV game prior to the Spain/Portugal varsity match.

After the game we began looking for flights to Joburg for the Ghana/Uruguay game in Soccer City. Unfortunately plane tickets were all $800+ and we figured instead of traveling to the game we would stick in Cape Town and buy tickets to the Arg/Ger game where the only travel we had to worry about was a 15 minute walk from the apartment to the stadium.

We ended up finding the ultimate salesman named Ahmed, texting us 5+ times a day to let us know all the tickets he had to every game even though we insisted all we wanted were tixs for Arg/Ger. After a few days of haggling we were able to snag tickets for 1/2 the price of the flight to JoBourg.

Wading through an endless number of Argentina supporters and trying to find a bar with breathing room we wondered into the curiously empty Sugar Hotel in De Waterkant neighborhood of Cape Town. As the pre-partying progressed we discovered the hotel was closed to guests and friends only, but were allowed to stay nonetheless; in all likelihood to the food and bar bill we were racking up. The food was great and the location couldn't have been more perfect, pool side with a few of the fan parade that preceded each game in Cape Town.

We ended up chatting up some England supporters who were on their 8th World Cup. After a bit of talking they were describing how they were at the Ghana/URU game and felt that the missed Ghana PK in the 120th minute might have been one of the most unique moments in sports and surely World Cup history. As they explained, never has a home continent been behind one team (Ghana), and the collective silence in the stadium the moment the PK was missed was something that will likely never happen again. With the entire stadium (minus a few thousand Uruguay supporters) fully behind one team that wasn't even the host country I'm not sure if saving a few hundred bucks was worth missing, but what can you do.

After missing the first Germany goal walking into the stadium, we were able to watch the Argentines take hold of possession, yet unable to do anything productive in the final 3rd of the field. The German defense was impressive and their world class counter-attack was a sight to behold in person. Their ability to take possession and drive down the field attacking the Argentina defense was done at such an amazing pace and with such precision that it made you really appreciate the German style of play (never ever thought I would be saying that).

As the Germans were unrelenting in their counter-attack, Argentina couldn't crack the German line nor put a dangerous dead ball on frame (and they had a host of opportunities), it was all to the massive disappointment of the ever active Maradona on the sidelines. As the game got out of control with the Germans on their way to a 4-0 victory I found myself watching Maradona almost as much as the run of play. The crowd cheered him on every time the ball came to his feet and he made a touch or two to get it back on the pitch, he was pure entertainment.

We rounded out our games with the semis in Cape Town where the Netherlands faced off with Uruguay. The amount of orange parading and partying around the streets pre-game was astonishing. The fans were fun and ready to party as we found out during our pre-game festivities at Beefcakes, a gay burger bar which we were told by a local had the best burgers in town.

After burgers, fries, onion rings and some Carling Blacks we were treated to an amazing atmosphere and a fantastic game. We were seated behind the goal that the Dutch attacked first and were two rows in front of the largest block of Orange fans in the entire stadium. They were on their feet the entire game leading chants and cheers that somehow found their way above the vuvuzuelas and echoed out across the stadium.

As possession flowed back and forth to start off the game we were treated to an amazing angle on the best goal we witnessed, Van Bronkhorst laser into the upper right corner (watch it here if you haven't seen it, and watch it again if you have!). If that ball continued on its path I swear it would have landed in my hands, luckily the net was there. The goal only heightened the intensity that the Dutch supporters poured into their team, chanting, cheering and dancing for 90+ minutes, eventually celebrating their teams 3-2 victory and trip to the finals. I was psyched we got to see both teams in the finals play a match, and they ended up being the two best matches we saw.

We took in the 3rd place game and finals on a 21inch TV at Pondoro game lodge while on safari. Waking up each morning around 5 to go on safari made it tough to stay awake for the games that were on at 8:30 local time, but I couldn't have been happier to see Spain prevail, especially after watching them play against Portugual. Their possession oriented game that flowed through the midfield duo of the tiny Iniesta and Xavi was beautiful to watch (except for the finals, which was just ugly).

Overall, the World Cup experience was one I will never forget. Every fan you encountered was happy to be there and celebrate their team and country. No matter the match, supporters from all over entered the stadium drenched in their countries colors. It was great to walk into the Arg/Ger game next to a group of Alergians done up in their countries colors. The atmosphere was one of partying and celebration.

South Africa was a fantastic host nation. The entire time I felt safe and secure, the people were always friendly and inquisitive, usually wanting to tell you that the other team they were rooting for outside of their own was the US (something I was a bit shocked by). Sure there were the TIA (This is Africa) moments, which usually occurred at the airports, but all and all everything was first class.

While my first, this certainly will not be my last - already getting excited about Brazil 2014...

The Newest Thing in Chicken Wings

2010-03-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

If you don't know (and likely wouldn't from this blog), I love chicken wings (oysters on the half shell are a close second). In particular I am a fan of hot wings, usually cooking them at home and experimenting with different recipes and various sauces.

Somewhat recently I was introduced to an amazing recipe from Instructables where you steam your wings prior to baking, giving you the crispness on the outside without have to fry them. The end product is pretty remarkable. From there they give you a really good hot sauce recipe to put on the wings once they come out.

I have stuck with the steam and bake recipe for the last 10-12 batches of wings I have cooked, but have been experimenting with sauces. Recently I was up in Truckee (Tahoe area) and came across Truckee style wings at the Blue Coyote. Truckee style wings combine teriyaki sauce and hot sauce, making for a delicious wing.

Below are some pics at my first go with Truckee Wings using the Instructables recipe for steaming and baking the chicken wing prior to tossing them in the Truckee sauce.

First step is to steam the wings for 10 mins with the lid on. The wings shouldn't be touching one another, so it takes a multiple rounds of steaming wings depending on how many pounds you have. I had 2.5lbs of wings for this round and it took me about 5 or 6 rounds of steaming before I had all 2.5lbs finished.

After steaming the wings set them on a rack to let them cool down. Once they are completely cooled down take a paper towl and get the moisture out of the wings from the steaming.

After you have steamed, cooled and dried your wings put them on a baking sheet throwing some salt and pepper across the wings. From here you are going to heat the over up to 425 degrees and put the wings in for 20 minutes. Next, take them out flip them over and bake for another 20 minutes.

Out comes some nice golden crispy salt and pepper wings.

When you have flipped the wings and on your second 20 minute baking get out your gear to make the sauce. Here I combined a 1/2 cp of Frank's RedHot and a 1/2 cup of Veri Veri Teriyaki plus a few dashes of onion powder.

I then melted a stick of butter on low on the stove top. When the butter is completely melted combine in the sauce mixture and stir, mixing everything together. Once blended pour the sauce into a bowl where you will toss the wings. When the wings come out of the oven let them sit for 5 minutes or so and then add them into the bowl with the sauce, tossing them to make sure all of the wings are coated in sauce.

And then you have yourself a tasty plate of Truckee style wings!

I found that the teriyaki sauce dominated a little more than I would have liked. If you want a little more heat in your wings I wold reduce the percentage of teriyaki sauce. I would also consider throwing in some cayenne pepper or perhaps some dashes of hot sauce.

And of course bring out the celery, carrots and blue cheese dip.

Enjoy!

Snow Shoeing At Northstar with Hunter

2010-03-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I went on an amazing moonlight snowshoe tour at Northstar in Tahoe - dog friendly! The tours occur at the end of each month, on schedule with the full moon. We did not have the full moon illuminating the hike, but instead were graced with an amazing downpour of snow that just wouldn't quit.

While I was fully soaked by the end, the hike itself was one of the most beautiful adventures I have been on. Snowshoeing on the mountain without a single skier was so peaceful and being able to enjoy it with Hunter was an experience I will never forget (and one I want to do again).

Here are some pics from the snowshoeing trek:

My Social Media Problem - Google Buzz

2010-03-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

Ahh the new kid on the block, Google Buzz.

So much hype and hate, so much promise and demise, at least that is what the tech pundits tell us. I previously posted some of my thoughts on Google Buzz here as I had been using it for some time inside if Google prior to its public release.

Buzz will continue to evolve, per Google's mantra of release early and often and iterate based on user feedback (as can be seen by the improvements already made here and here). In my mind Buzz has immense potential, but I want to explore my experience with Buzz in its current state.

To begin, there are two requirements to use Google Buzz. First you need to have a Gmail account as Buzz is accessed from inside of Gmail. Secondly you need to create a Google profile like the one I have here.

Once you have a Gmail account and Google profile you can have at it with Buzz. With Buzz you are able to follow anyone with a Google profile and anyone can follow you. Buzz does allow you to hide your list of followers and those that are following you if you deem necessary, it also lets you easily follow people who you email with frequently upon set-up.

As of today I am following 130 people and have 133 following me.

I love the ability to post 140 characters+ (one of my growing beefs with Twitter as I use Buzz more often). You can post a whole article and even embed pictures from that post. Pop in a link of an article and you get the first few sentences, plus you can pull in images from the link. From here the reader of a Buzz is able to click a link ("Expand this post") that lets them read the entire article from inside Buzz. I can't tell you how much I love staying in the Buzz environment and being able to consume entire articles, it is a simple time saver.

Not only can you post entire articles on Buzz with any amount of characters, you can respond to Buzzes at any length you would like. Similar to Facebook you can also "like" a Buzz. The no character limit in Buzz overcomes a hurdle I have with Twitter - the ability to engage in deeper conversations, both on a one to one level as well as on a group thread. Even with a drastically smaller amount of followers and people I am following, I find I get to have more back and forth conversation, a la Friendfeed (many people have already called out the similarities between Buzz and FF). The ability to see the comments in Buzz let's you not only respond to the original Buzz itself, but the comments within that Buzz, similar to commenting directly on a blog or article.

On top of threading a Buzz and all of its comments, I have the ability to link to a buzz, email a buzz, view all buzzes from that person, mute the buzz (this means it will no longer show in my thread of buzzes), stop following the user, report abuse (yeah, I can help highlight SPAM! Twitter needs to add this feature asap) and I can reply by Gchat if that individual and I are Gchat friends. Also, email Buzz@gmail.com and it will push your thoughts, notes, article or picture out to Buzz (I love using this on my phone). The ways to share, consume and have a dialog on Buzz are very robust and versatile, I am a big fan of this.

And we haven't even explored mobile yet.

Google Buzz for mobile is a totally different experience than what you see on your desktop. Here you can Buzz and see Buzzes as you would on the desktop. Beyond that you are able to see people who are buzzing near you (if you opt in to location sharing). You are able check-in similar to Foursquare and Gowalla, although I like checking via Foursquare or Gowalla for the time being. You can take a picture and post it to Buzz. On top of all this, you can open Google Maps and see all the buzzes around you as well as Buzz from Google maps (you are able to check in, buzz and attach a picture via Maps). Did you get all that? I know, it's a lot...

Buzz certainly creates an environment that breeds engagement and conversation. The feature that best lends itself to this is being able to instantly see your comment directly below the original buzz. Too often it feels like you @reply in Twitter and disappears into the ether purely because you can't see it sitting on top of the original Tweet/Buzz.

Oh yeah, pictures posted to Buzz look great!

Also, videos play inline!

Google Buzz allows you to pull in content from numerous sites. I currently have my Blogger account, Twitter account, Gchat status, YouTube account, Picasa, Flickr and Reader pushing content into Buzz. While there are ways to link other accounts to push into Buzz or to have Buzz push its content out, it isn't available at set-up and something I wont go into. Google needs to allow for easier linking to other accounts, especially when it comes to pushing content out. Although the more I use Buzz I see where pushing content out of Buzz can be an issue as the content you Buzz doesn't lend itself to a lot of platforms (think of Twitter's 140 character restriction, or having embedded pictures push to FB - not sure if that is feasible at the moment).

There are multiple areas where Buzz needs improvement and many voices have expressed what they would like to see improved.

I am having a serious issue with duplicity of content, mostly as it pertains to Reader and Buzz. For instance, I was following Mashable on Buzz as well as on Google Reader. Due to me following them in Buzz they were also my friend in Reader (you have the ability to hide friends). I should be able to read in Buzz or Reader and then have that content removed in Buzz or shown as read in my Reader. As it stands now I see this content twice, both in Buzz and Reader. I stopped following Mashable on Buzz to alleviate this issue.

The Buzz count showing below my unread emails in Gmail is just too damn addictive and at times makes me feel I am missing something. I assume Google loves this and this is part of the power of having Buzz inside of Gmail, but it is making my ADD explode! I would like to only see my Buzz count update when a new Buzz is posted or a Buzz I commented on or liked has a comment added to it. As it stands now any comment on any Buzz adds to my unread Buzz count.

Comments don't stack. This is a common complaint from many users as one Buzz with a load of comments eats up a ton of the page. Google needs to stack these comments and allow user to click to expand, similar to what they do with a long Buzz post or linked article.

Outside apps don't push immediately and then they stack up on top of each other. This is a big issue with tweets pushing out on a lag time. For instance five of my tweets will all push at once and then stack on top of each other. This hurts from a real time standpoint as well as visibility of my individual tweets that get pushed to Buzz.

Having to hack /work around to push/pull content into and out of other sites. You can set up Buzz to pull in apps such as Yelp or Foursquare as well as push content to Twitter, Facebook and other social apps, but this isn't evident to the typical user. Currently it takes more of a power user to implement this. I hope Google streamlines this process upon set-up.

As it stands now, following a lot of people is overwhelming, seems like you get the most out of Buzz with a smaller social circle, Twitter is really starting to feel like this as well and sometimes I wish I could start all over with following people. I found that when I began using Buzz I started following a ton of people and it just got too noisy. I had to stop follow the Scoble's and Mashable's of the world. Somehow I am still following Louis Gray who seems to read and share a newspaper worth of articles each day.

I like that Google has taken a different approach to pushing Buzzes to the top, but I am not sure if it is the right way in its form today. Currently Buzzes that show at the top don't follow the chronological order in which they are posted (Twitter and Facebook show your stream based on time posted), but instead they are based on their "popularity". Popularity sums up to people liking or commenting on the Buzz, which is then deemed more relevant and thus shown at the top of your Buzz stream. It appears Google is working to deliver more relevant results in your Buzz feed outside of time posted. As I mentioned in my previous post on Twitter, I want to see these sites get smarter about what they are showing me, and a simple timeline isn't the best answer. I think Google is taking a stab at figuring out greater relevancy in the social world. As a result we should (but not just yet) be able to follow those folks who post a ton of content and have Buzz know what content I want to see and what content to bury. For the time being I would like to see Google give users a choice to follow Buzzes chronologically or via the current popularity system.

Buzz is starting to feel more like the central hub I desire in my social media world, the evolution and feature additions the Buzz team makes are going to determine whether or not I can fully make that move.

Onto the next one, Facebook

My Social Media Problem - Twitter

2010-02-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

First up I am going to explore my Twitter usage as it feels like it is home base and the main starting point in most of my day to day social media activities.

Twitter has become the de facto sharing site in my social media world. I come here to share links and click on links, see what others are saying, stay up on the here and now and trade brief conversations with real life friends and online followers. I check my Twitter stream more than any other social media outlet I currently use.

As of today I am following 607 folks, have 529 following me, am listed 17 times and follow 18 lists. If you are familiar with Twitter you can follow anyone and anyone can follow you back (unless of course you have your Tweets locked, which I feel doesn't allow you to get the full potential of Twitter). On Twitter I am able to follow my friends, superstar athletes, pulitzer prize winning authors and writers, tech leaders, foodies, local and national news outlets, corporate titans, CEOs and so on.

Sharing on Twitter is fantastic, feedback from Twitter users is better, but not as frequent as I would like. The feedback I get on Twitter is actionable and direct. I like this, but I wish I was able to have more fruitful and engaging conversations. Twitter's 140 characters weren't built for deep conversations. I find I have to move my twitter conversations to another platform, usually email but now slanting towards Google Buzz to get that greater engagement.

Twitter's simplicity and ease of use is fantastic. How other applications plug into Twitter is a breeze. I hook in a host of other social media applications which push to Twitter. From Foursquare and Gowalla, to Hype Machine, Pandora and even my Sonos system. Qik and YouTube are also linked to share the videos I create and videos I like. Additionally, I push some of my liked items from Google Reader into Twitter. On top of that most websites contain the "tweet this" link allowing me to tweet an article or video clip from anywhere on the web I am consuming content. I use Tweetdeck, Seesmic and Brizzly to post tweets from my Mac and PC and Seesmic and Twidroid from my Nexus One.

From Twitter, I push all of my Tweets into my Facebook account as well as into Google Buzz. I push from Twitter to extend my social media life cycle and create further engagement with my Facebook friends and Buzz followers. I will delve into both Buzz and Facebook in separate upcoming posts.

My issues with Twitter are the inability to allow for deeper more engaged conversations, both on an individual level and with a group, as well as the lack of richness of items I push to Twitter. For instance, my Gowalla or Foursquare check-ins are simply text with a link, some text I pop in if I choose, which is added to the location of where I am. Other platforms, notably Facebook, pull in this content in a much richer format with maps and images.

Previously I detailed some of the many applications I have plugged into Twitter. A problem arises with the noise I am creating for my followers in my Twitter steam as I plug in additional applications (as well as the noise I am getting from those I follow using multiple applications). When I started Tweeting I continued to plugin each and every application that I was using to Twitter.

What eventually happened was a fair amount of backlash from some of my followers (and Facebook friends) due to the abundance of Tweets I was pushing out, and as a result each one of my Tweets were losing some of their intended effect.

Since the backlash and in the interest of my followers I unhooked most my social apps from Twitter and plugged a few back in overtime. This then caused greater fragmentation across my social media usage and I lost the intended network effect of plugging these applications into Twitter to extend reach.

I would love to see Twitter make it possible, within one click, to take a conversation or group into email or perhaps deeper private group tweets.

As for the fire hose issue of pushing content from applications all over the web into Twitter, I wonder if there is a way where my followers can choose which applications outside of Twitter they want to see when I push that content into Twitter. I doubt that is the best approach, but perhaps a bridge until Twitter gets smarter about the Tweets they show me and the ones my followers see from me.

One of the great aspects of Twitter is discoverability, finding things I wouldn't otherwise due to my followers. The downfall here is a ton of noise from tweets I don't really care about that just clutter my stream. Twitter's lists do this in a very simplistic form, but it is based on people, not the content from the people.

I am following every person on Twitter for some reason, I opted into their streams. What I would like to see Twitter do is get smarter in figuring out how I interact with each users tweets and surface those tweets deemed more relevant to me and hide or bury tweets that are less likely to be engaging (for me). For instance do I click on a persons link in their tweets a lot (relevant person I am engaged with), do I @reply to them (another point for engagement), is a specific Tweet from that person retweeted often (high relevance), and if we both are opted in and sharing our location does their tweet provide info that is relevant in the here and now (location aware). All of these signals need to be taken into account, showing the most relevant and useful information to the individual - greater personalization.

Lots of great ways for Twitter to get smarter and make my followers and stream of tweets more useful and actionable to myself as well as my followers. I hope some of this is on the road map, but in the meantime Twitter will still be at the center of my social media world.

Next up Google Buzz.

My Social Media Problem - Intro

2010-02-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

Recently my use of social media has been a frenzy of tweets, check-ins, buzzes, likes and shared items from all over the web, and I love how social my online experience is.

But I feel there is a problem with all of this. The problem doesn't lie in how social the web is, the problem lies in my own understanding of what the social web, my social web, means to me. What is the value of each individual piece and what is the sum total.

I began to think more about what I was doing, why I was doing it and where the most value was coming from in my social media use. There is nothing that exists in its current form (a dashboard of sorts) to let me know this, there should be. If I was an enterprise or brand living in this social media world I would be building one or demanding one be built.

In the meantime I am going to attempt to figure out my social media problem and this is the beginning of my quest.

My intention is to look at each piece of my social media individually, detailing my behavior, frequency of use and depth of my network. Next I am going to start to tie together (hopefully graphically) my frequency of use and size of network to derive the value that each piece of social media produces for me.

If I can lay it out in a digestible way, I also want to explore how my messages are being pushed and pulled around the web from and into various social sites. Now more than ever, I am seeing, pushing and consuming duplicate content across my social media usage. As the web gets more personalized, I want to see a solution put in place that will eliminate this duplicity.

Follow along, we'll see how this shakes out.

Burritos Suck

2010-02-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to get that out there

...I feel better already.

Today I went to lunch at La Costena in Mountain View, a perennial award winner for best burrito, going on 10+ years of best burrito awards if I am not mistaken. Every time I go here I go for the tacos. Never ever have I had the burrito.

My weekly exposure to fantastic Mexican food comes mainly from San Francisco's Mission District as I live in the bordering neighborhood of Potrero Hill. Here I gorge on tasty tamales, super tacos, quesadillas that can last you two meals, crispy taquitos and the staple of chips and salsa. Perferably some hot salsa that will get sweat beads dripping down your forehead.

But let's get back to the burrito. I ordered it today at La Costena and the same thing happened that happens every time I order a burrito (which is few and far between).

I walked up to the line looking at all the amazing meats sitting in front of me and being cooked on the grill. I got excited, told myself to focus on the carne asada and place the order before I changed my mind to another meat selection.

From there I watched my carne asada sizzle on the grill and then get chopped into tasty goodness.

Next I walked the line, picking out all the fresh toppings that would join my carne asada.

Refried beans, spanish rice, lettuce, cheese, guac, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, and some jalapeno heat. All the goodies packed into one missle sized burrito.

Right up to this point the burrito experience was great. Suspense was building, my taste buds were salivating and I couldn't wait to dig in.

Then I took a bite

Everything good evaporated

I was right back where I always am after my first bite of a burrito (and the bites that follow), highly dissatisfied.

The individual ingredients represented in any burrito are usually stellar, but when rolled up and twisted into a tortilla they collectively lose their stand-out and unique tastes.

Since my hunger was high I willed down three quarters of my burrito before waving the white flag. There wasn't even one memorable bit where the balance of the ingredients was just right.

And that is why I am a taco man. Soft or hard shell, I like both. Chicken, Beef or Pork all work. The taco continues to churn out better taste.

If you are a college kid or recent grad trying to eat cheap, stay full and not get hooked on some nasty fast food then I absolve you of your burritto addiction. Same for you hungover dude who woke up at lunch. But I would love to know from anyone else why the burrito, why?

I know I write this as the minority, 90% of the time I am at a taqueria all of my friends get a burrito. So, where are you on the burrito debate?

A Common Sense Look at Climate Change

2010-02-12T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well worth 10 minutes of your time

140 Characters or Less? Not Anymore...

2010-02-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

With today's launch of Google Buzz there is a lot of talk about the product design and interface, the competitive landscape, pulling and pushing content in and out of Buzz and a whole host of other thoughts and opinions either loving or hating it. Since so much of that conversation is already going on I want to explore a different bent on Buzz.

Based on my past 6 months using Buzz internally at Google, I think Buzz could possibly change the depth and type of conversations that occur around our second by second socially shared content.

One of the initial complaints about Buzz is that it does not push out to Twitter, meaning you can't update Buzz and have that update push out and update your Twitter stream (It does work the other way around where your Tweets can push to Buzz). The issue here is Buzz has no character limits. Some of the content you create on Buzz wont be handled properly by Twitter and its 140 character limit.

As Twitter exploded in growth the 140 character limit gained fame for its ease of use and simple sharing. I applaud and love the simplicity that Twitter brings to the message. You have to be smart and concise with your thoughts and characters. But when I have a conversation via twitter replies I find it might be a reply or two back and forth, not much more and rarely involving more than 2-3 people, instant but not thorough.

Facebook does not have a character limit and I certainly see long threads based on status updates, but they have a different feel. More likes and quick responses vs. conversation and continued dialog. You also have the friend (Facebook) vs. Follower (Buzz and Twitter) difference. Here I find Followers more likely to participate in conversations.

As Sergey mentioned during the launch, he Buzzed an article he would be publishing on his recent trip to Haiti to ask for feedback and comments. What followed was a deep thread with thoughts on the Haiti article expressing various opinions, ideas and edits from other Googlers.

As I started following some folks yesterday I saw these deeper conversations firsthand with users (@Pete Cashmore and @Kevin Rose are good examples) who were new to the product. A lot of these Buzzes had to do with questions about Buzz and its functions or lack thereof. What happened from here was that groups formed around the initial Buzz. These groups were formed by commenting on the post and then being notified when someone responds back or joins the group with a new comment. I found that reading some of the threads was just as informative as comments at the end of a good article or blog post. I also found I was participating much more in the conversation (and multiple times) as opposed to pushing out messages, thoughts or links on Twitter.

From initial observation Buzz starts to feel more like a conversational platform. Additionally, being able to see how many people have commented on a Buzz gives credibility to the topic, and in my mind makes the user more like to participate or read through the Buzz and its comments.

I understand the above paragraph reads somewhat like FriendFeed, but love or hate Buzz it is brilliantly integrated into Gmail leading to greater visibility, participation and frequency of use.

The unlimited character feature of Buzz could be really powerful and I think being able to share longer form content is a great differentiator for the product.

Can Buzz can change the way conversations and debates play out in the social space? You can certainly treat it like Twitter with short blasts and shortened url's, but to get the most out of Buzz I believe you need to think about how you share content and expect to have more of a conversation around that content than what we currently trained to do.

I am very interested to see Google's plans with Buzz as the year moves forward and users provide feedback. For educational, enterprise and collaborative purposes I think Buzz is already a very very powerful tool you should start using immediately. For the general user the core behavior and learnings will be beyond insightful and certainly help shape the product moving forward. I hope that tools are created to encourage more sharing/editing/deabte around this longer form sharing in Buzz.

What do you think? Does sharing a lot of longer form content in a Buzz prevent it from integrating well with other social media and sharing sites? Do 5 sentences or more seem to much to cull through in terms of how you want to interact and use Buzz?

Gonna go Tweet this now...

Up In The Cloud

2010-02-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

A quick real life example of how living in the cloud made my life easier.

This morning the new Android update (multi-touch) was pushed out to my Nexus One. I updated my phone while laying in bed and half asleep. When I updated my phone I pushed out the update on top of the Lock 2.0 application that was running (this app allows you to open you phone similar to the iPhone's interface).

After the update I could not get to my home screen, make phone calls or access any of my apps, I was stuck on top of the Lock 2.0 app (I have no idea what caused this to occur). What I did next was something that would have been a last resort on any previous phone I have owned, I wiped everything off my phone (contacts, pictures, applications, settings, etc...) and restarted.

Normally when doing this I would have found myself in a labor intensive process of having to input my contacts, re-download my apps, and I would have been without my pictures.

As I restarted my Nexus One I was brought to the home screen which I was initially brought to when I first opened my phone out of the box. From here I simply followed the setup process, sync'ing my Google.com and Gmail accounts. In less than five minutes I had everything restored back on my Nexus One - contacts, pictures and all of the apps I had previously had on my phone prior to wiping it clear.

While the error I encountered was a bit of a pain, the cloud relieved 99% of the pain I would have gone through in getting all of the data back on my phone. In less than 10 minutes I was back in business thanks to my data sitting in the cloud.

I have always understood the power of the cloud and I use it as much as I can for collaboration and portability in my personal and professional life (gmail, google doc, cal, etc...). Today really helped me understand the true implications and power of the cloud in my day to day life. No longer do I worry about losing or leaving a phone and feeling completely stranded and cut-off from of all of the data I had put into my phone.

Free your data and free yourself.

Long live the cloud!

The Growth of Mobile Application Marketplaces Are Their Evident Demise

2010-01-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

For the last eighteen months I have been the proud owner of the sleek, sexy and hip iPhone. A hands down game changer in the mobile game and a device I came to love and depend on everyday.

I have experienced all of the headaches that come with the AT&T network and dropped calls, but I also experienced the excitement with finding a new application that fit with my life. Applications that made my work more efficient, my media consumption seamless and my social networking always on. And it was always great to find the newest applications that no one had and you could share and showoff to all your friends.

Less than a month ago I made the switch to a an Android powered device. As with many other smartphone owners, My iPhone had become so much more than a phone to me. I was scared to give it up and I didn't know what I would do without all of the apps I had so heavily relied on.

With the Android device, as with any new device, there is a natural learning curve which gives any user some level of aches and pains in the early going. I relied heavily on my new Android powered phone and the aches and pains were gone in less than a week. My real apprehension though was the Android (Application) Market. When it comes to applications there are considerably less Android applications (est 20k) to iPhone applications (est 100k+). And man did I love my iPhone apps.

Well now after not much time with an Android device I could not imagine switching back to my iPhone. But what I have found through the first month or so with my Android device is that the application game needs to change, no matter the device, network or OS.

The current application markets do not look after the users best interest, and even the developers for that matter.

If Apple has 100,000 applications and I had about 80 on my phone that isn't good for me, for Apple or for the developer community.

For me, the user, there has to be more than 80 applications that are useful and entertaining to my needs and likes. There MUST be. For Apple there has to be a better way to get me to interact and download more applications, and the same goes for developers. I should be using a lot of more of the unique and innovative applications developers are building. Unfortunately, I cannot do this due to the sheer size of the application marketplaces and what I have to navigate through to continuously find new apps. Sure blogs and top 10 app lists are great, but they don't know about me and my phone usage and habits.

Of the 80 applications I had on my iPhone, I can't say I used more than 20 on a weekly basis. 20 applications in a sea of 100,000 just doesn't add up. It doesn't make business sense.

And I find the same goes for the Android Market. Even with 1/5th the applications, I am already running into the same problem I had with my iPhone.

In my opinion, there are two different routes to take to fix this growing problem.

The first option, abandon the application stores and build for the web. Computing power in smartphones is getting faster and faster at web browsing and will only continue to do so at greater speeds. Developers build their applications onto the web and instantaneously have access to all users across all phones and carriers. This certainly gives the carriers, OEMs and marketplaces hesitation as it takes away from the uniqueness of their brand and the applications and environment they offer, but is also puts it in the hands of the carriers and underlying operating systems to differentiate themselves where it really counts. Performance, speed, reliability and unique design among other differentiators.

The second option I see is to make the application markets socially smarter. What if when I bought my iPhone or Android device and imported all of my Gmail contacts, Facebook friends, and Twitter followers I could opt in to share the applications I am downloading and in return see my friends applications they had download, with their expressed permission of course.

This then gets interesting when you think about creating a dynamic life cycle in the application marketplace. Perhaps I get a text when specific designated friends download and app. Or perhaps when I download a new social app I can push it out to select individuals in my network. There are a lot of ways to approach the social application marketplace, all of which make it more powerful, more social and easier to navigate the ever expanding mobile marketplaces.

I have no idea in what ways the various mobile application marketplaces will evolve, but evolve they must. And in doing so they must do it in a smarter manner than they are now. One that is first and foremost good for the user, giving them the utmost utility and usability. Right now the growth in application marketplaces seems to be a race to the top, where the sheer number of applications determines the leading marketplace. I hope to see this growth spurn creativity and innovation in how applications are delivered to the user, letting the user leverage the most of the application offerings that fit with each unique individual.

Update: It appears both the iPhone app store and Android Marketplace have social applications that allow you to see what others are doing with their apps (via Mashable).

Appaware on the Android Marketplace allows you to "share online your installations, updates and removals of Android applications. In this way you become aware (App-Aware) of what is hot on the market right now." It also allows you tweet your "apps' events".

The iPhone offers LivingSocial which allows you to do the following per their website:
-Review and rate you favorite iPhone apps and publish them to your friends
-Find iPhone apps that are popular among your friends
-Easily manage your collection of iPhone apps

There are interesting bridges to the growing problem of app store sizes. I'm not sure if an app to show you popular or trending apps in the marketplace and share with your friends is the answer, but it is taking us to a better place.

The longer I think about this problem the more I see apps returning to the mobile browser.

More and Less

2009-12-31T00:01:00.000-08:00

Every year I put together a list ( see 2009) of achievements for myself in the upcoming year, usually with numbers behind each goal. I find I hit some marks and miss others.

This year I want to set themes for myself, and you(?), as a guide to the next 12 months. I certainly have specific goals outside of this list, but whether I find myself sitting in a business meeting, having dinner with a friend, walking through my front door, contemplating an important decision, thinking about a business idea, or strolling down the Embarcadero with Hunter I want these to guide my thinking across the spectrum for 2010.

- More Twenty Ten. Less Two thousand and ten
- More open. Less closed.
- More in the cloud. Less on the desktop.
- More data. Less opinion.
- More transparency. Less walls.
- More playing. Less watching.
- More reading. Less TV.
- Less PowerPoint!!!
- More gym. Less bars.
- More chicken and fish. Less red meat.
- More veggies and fruits. Less chips and salsa.
- More cooking in. Less dining out.
- More face to face. Less phone.
- More social interaction. Less email.
- More integration. Less fragmentation.
- More local leadership. Less national complaining.
- More saving. Less spending.
- More risk taking. Less status quo.
- More leading. Less following.

As @garyvee would say, it's time to Crush It. And Twenty Ten seems like a great time to Crush It!