I tweeted earlier in the week that Kayla, Marris and I had a dreadful wine tasting at J Vineyards in Healdsburg. J Vineyards responded on Twitter requesting I direct message them my story so they could make it right. I told them I’d put it together here and so I have. A direct message, while definitely tidier for J, would never allow me to fully explain my disappointment. Here goes:

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you probably know about the never-ending renovation I’ve been doing on my house in wine country. I find myself going up north to meet with a contractor or furniture delivery person at least once a month. While this might be annoying to some, and it is to me, the best part of these trips is getting to see Kayla.

It’s a rare event that Kayla and I are in the same zip code and don’t do some sort of wine tasting. So on this trip to Sonoma County, she and I decided to hit up J Vineyards for a quick tasting and pick up my wine club shipment. Marris was in town and joined in on the adventure. But before we go there, let’s learn a bit about the winery and my history visiting them.

Founded by Judy Jordan in 1986, J Vineyards & Winery began as a producer of critically-acclaimed sparkling wines like our J Vintage Brut, J Late-Disgorged Vintage Brut, Brut Rosé, and Cuvée 20 Brut… J is renowned for its hospitality and we encourage you to visit our acclaimed wine tasting room… In fact, Sunset Magazine named J the Best Tasting Room in the West.

You now have a little bit of a backgrounder on J, let’s revisit my first J experience. It was the summer my parents were set to move to Saudi Arabia. Kayla put together a list of fun wineries we should hit up while they were visiting from Texas with my brother and sister-in-law. J was to be the last stop on our whirlwind tour of Sonoma County.

The five of us walk up to J and are promptly greeted in the foyer of their tasting room. Unfortunately the greeting included “You do know tastings are $20 per person right?” Of the six or so wineries we’d hit up on that day alone, not a single one felt the need to warn us about the cost of a tasting and in such a tone to imply we might be unable or unwilling to afford the tasting fee. This certainly was not the case.

We turned on our heels and left dismayed at their assumptions and attitude.

I gave J another try with Kayla a few years later and was won over by their tasting room staff, enough so that I purchased a few bottles of wine to offset the tasting fee and bring a little crisp J flavor home.

The next trip to J was with friends visiting from the midwest. We had a great time tasting and talking it up with the tasting room workers. I was convinced to join their J Club by a somewhat pushy but nice J employee. As memory serves, the shipment included a magnum of one of J Vintage Brut and a few bottles of other wines. In total, five bottles including one magnum for $165. As it was described to me “this is an amazing deal!”

So here we are, at my latest J experience.

Kayla, Marris and I walk to the tasting room and I’m checked in as a J Club member. I had no idea there was going to be any big tasting event, this surprise was exciting. We took our tasting glasses and headed in.

At the first tasting station we were told we’d taste two of their white wines, then head upstairs for some pinot before ending at the main tasting area for sparkling wine. The wines at this station were their Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Of course the only way we knew this was by reading the sign on the table.

The pourer seemed reluctant to share any information on the wines, sometimes giving misinformation. For instance, he told one couple that the salmon mousse was to be paired with the Chardonnay, while he told another it was made to be paired with the Pinot Gris. The other amuse-bouche was some sort of Thai wrap. Being vegetarian I made sure to ask what was in it. A woman from J who presented a new tray of wraps said it was a secret. When I pointed out I was a vegetarian and with food allergies she responded with “I think it has peanuts and some other stuff but no meat.”

Never guess that something has one of the most dangerous food allergens. Seriously? Had you not tasted the very food you were putting out? Kayla took a brave bite of it, nonplussed, she offered me the rest. I found it unremarkable.

In our first tasting station we go from ecstatic to disappointed. We climb the stairs to the Pinot tasting station. It’s cold, quiet and uncomfortable. Kayla find relief in our tasting presenter, a guy we’ve had before that was great. Unfortunately this tasting proves to be no better than the previous. In fact, it was worse.

Once again we had to ask what we were tasting, where it was grown, the story behind it, etc etc. It was a disaster. At once point, our guy leaves us only to appear about five minutes later with no explanation. At this station we see only one sign for the wines and we presumed there was just the one to taste.

We hang in the area, soaking in the disappointment when our guy starts pouring something into our glasses. No warning, no explanation of the wine, just starts pouring. He doesn’t even tell us this is a different wine until we asked after we tasting it and noticing it was different. When pressed about the story behind this wine we are given nothing at all.

Oh and hey, where is the Pinotage they are so proud of (and insist has nothing to do with South Africa despite reality saying otherwise)?

Absolutely bewildered, we slowly, and with much disappointment, descend the stairs to the final tasting area. Surely the sparkling tasting will prove better right? This is what they are known for!

Our still wine glasses are taken from us (guess we won’t revisit anything huh?) and in their place are three flutes of sparkling wine. Then our girl leaves us to talk to another group of tasters. Once again nothing is shared about the wine we are drinking, the platter of food for this pairing is pushed all to the far left of the bar, half-hazardly. It’s so unappealing that we don’t even bother giving it a taste.

She returns and I volunteer that I’d like to pick up my wine shipment. She gets my name and walks off to get it. Upon her return she says, “It’s just four bottles of our Brut Rosé.” Way to sell your product…

The total? $115, add tax and we’re at $124. Now you might be asking yourself, is that too much, too little or just right? Don’t you join wine clubs to get a discount and access to specialty wines? Yes and yes, that is too much money for four bottles of Brut Rosé and you do join wine clubs for alleged discounts and access to limited edition wines.

Yes I joined the “Sparkling” version of the wine club but J sells ten vintages of four different sparkling wines. A little variety is expected! Now to the cost. They claim I save 10% by being a member of their wine club. However, had I picked up the same wine at Safeway or Wicked Wines in town I would have spent around $22 a bottle. 22 x 4 = 88. 115 – 88 = $27 premium to purchase the wine from J. Not to mention the cost of driving to Healdsburg to pick it up in person or the shipping fees I would have otherwise incurred. (The cost of Brut Rosé ranges from $22-24 on any given day at my Safeway)

This is no deal. At Safeway I can to get five bottles ($110), add a sixth to save 10% and walk away with two more bottles of wine for only three dollars more. Plus I could do this at the Safeway three blocks from my house saving transportation or shipping fees.

Yes I know, comparing the costs of a wine at a grocery store to the price as a winery isn’t necessarily fair. We can have a long discussion on wine distribution, costs and inflation. I know when I go to a restaurant, that glass of wine paid for the bottle, just as I know big box stores buy wine in bulk in exchange for deep discounts. Nevertheless, this sort of markup, this sort of experience and treatment is beyond the pale.

I felt punished by J. By joining their exclusive club, I was allowed to pay more for less. I was given a tasting I would rather have not experienced. My friends and I were treated like poorly attended cattle. We walked up to J with great expectations and left with a bitter taste in our mouths.

It’s enough that I plan to cancel my wine club membership and never recommend J to another acquaintance. I have personally sent at least a dozen people to J for a tasting and I’m sure Kayla has sent hundreds in her time working in the wine industry. Never again. Not unless some serious changes are made.

And so I leave J Vineyards with the same disenchantment I experienced on my first visit.

This documentary is something that is very near and dear to me; someone who is considered by my state and country a second class citizen. By extension, I am a second class citizen to all my friends and family members who continue to vote for people who fight against equality, donate money to organizations and churches who cast aspersions on who I am and look the other way all the while.

Explaining what it is like to be gay isn’t easy. I kept it a secret until I was 18 years old because I feared that I might be made a victim of harassment beyond what I was already experiencing in junior high and high school. I was so stressed out about being gay that I became physically ill; acid reflux, debilitating migraines, panic attacks & major depression.

If it wasn’t for the friends I made in college, I don’t know that I would have survived to be where I am today. Far too many people like me don’t make it through the bullying. They are commit suicide or are murdered because they or someone else was unable to accept the person they were born to be.

I can’t tell you the number of times I was verbally or physically harassed, my property vandalized and my life threatened. My first semester in college a neighbor in the dorms threaten to hang me in the stairwell because I was gay. Try explaining to your parents why you have to switch dorms when that is your reason. I never did because I never had the courage to do so.

Ryan James Yezak is hoping to produce a documentary titled “Second Class Citizens” and has created a Kickstarter campaign to help fund it. I implore you to check it out and if you find it worthy, to invest in his film. I am going to do that right now.

Related articles

• Critics say proposed Tenn. bill could enable harassment in schools
• Gingrich Takes The Marriage Pledge
• George Clooney Speaks Out for Marriage Equality
• Gay California Teen Jeffrey Fehr Kills Himself After Years of ‘Pure Hell’ Bullying
• Jill Biden Speaks Out Against Anti-Gay Bullying

My beloved apartment in the Fredrick

It was my first apartment without a roommate. Leaving that home and moving in with Ryan was an exciting time for me. We’d been living between two homes for three years. Ending my time at the place that brought me so much independence and growth was intense.

By the middle of June I was completely moved into our condo. But it was three months later that I started packing boxes for Ryan’s new opportunity in San Francisco. Ryan’s move was a pretty simple one, whatever fit in his Honda went to California. Packing took all of a weekend and before I knew it, Ryan was off to San Francisco.

Four months later I acted on my decision to join Ryan in California. This time the move wouldn’t involve a Honda. Instead it ended up involving a twenty-seven foot Budget moving van. This was one of those moves you wouldn’t wish on anyone. It became clear from the beginning that this was going to be easy. We battled ice storms, our moving van broke down several times and so many other fun ‘only happens to Justin’ issues.

But what mattered was that we made it. With the help of my grandmother, lots of coffee and a bit of luck, she and I made it to San Francisco on Christmas Eve. It was the best Christmas gift I could have ever asked for.

View of San Francisco from my kitchen

Ryan and I often think about how much has happened in the last year and all that we have been through over the last four years. It’s really quite remarkable and fun. Ryan never fails to remind me of how grateful we should be for where we are. Every time we drive into the city, he points to the San Francisco skyline and says, “That is our home, we live there. Can you believe it?”

Part of me thinks this is all impossible and then another part of me remembers how hard we both worked to get where we are today. Thanks for coming along for the ride, let’s see what we can accomplish in 2012. Hopefully more time traveling for fun, staying in hotels because we want to, not because our house is full of toxic mold and who knows what else!

In November, I received an email from the people at Kanto Speakers asking me if I would be interested in reviewing their new speaker system. It’s called the Kanto Yaro, a two-channel audio system, made especially for owners of streaming setup boxes like the Apple TV, utilizing audio technology by the venerable Bang & Olufsen (the makers of beautiful speaker systems I could never dream of affording). I of course said “YES!”

The Yaro is a breeze to setup, dramatically improves on the stock audio from your television and does it with panache. But does its performance match the $330 price tag?

Design

I was tinged with excitement as I unboxed the Yaro. I‘ve been interested in what Kanto is doing since they released the iPair 5, a bookshelf speaker system designed to be used with iPods and iPhones. The Yaro expands on the vision of the iPair 5, finding a similar audio solution for AppleTVs and other setup boxes.

When I got the box, I thought something must be wrong. How in the world could the Yaro fit in this relatively tiny, somehow elegant, cardboard box?

So what’s in the box?

• Two piano black two-way speakers
• Digital receiver/amplifier
• IR remote control (battery included)
• Two digital optical audio cables (two lengths)
• Mini stereo audio cable
• Two speaker cables with tinned ends

For $330, I cannot believe that Kanto includes optical cables, the required AAA battery, stereo audio cable and that they tin the ends of the speaker cables. This might all sound like no big deal but, it’s incredibly rare to buy a system like this and not have to make three trips to Radio Shack. Tinning the ends of speaker cables helps reduce resistance for better sound quality and keeps them from fraying.

Since we’re talking about value, I also want to add that Kanto puts a 3-year warranty behind the Yaro. That’s pretty much unheard of in the world of electronics. Obviously they believe in their product and are ready to back it up with support for the long haul.

The surprises don’t stop with the included accessories. Each vented speaker cabinet weighs in at 6.6 pounds, is made of wood (not cheap plastic) and has a fingerprint hungry, piano black paint job fit for a Steinway. The top of the speakers is covered with a rubber mat. I’m not exactly sure why they chose to put rubber on the top of the speakers.

Each of the speakers feature a one-inch silk dome tweeter and 3.5 inch midrange driver. Noticeably missing is any form of grill protecting the speakers from dust, cats or jerks who like to poke things.

Kanto Yaro speaker rear, bass port on top, binding posts at bottom

The rear of each speaker sports a 1.5” bass port and inputs for connecting the speakers to the amplifier. Unlike most speakers in this price range, the Yaro uses audiophile-quality, gold-plated posts allowing the use of either banana plugs (popular with high-end speakers) or bare wire.

The amplifier is about the size of two Roku XDs stacked on top of each other. The front has only one volume knob with a push on/off mechanism built in. The volume knob is large and feels great as you turn it. Well-made volume knobs are a rare find. To the right, from bottom to top, is a headphone output, IR remote receiver and white status LED.

Turn the amp around and you’ll find a handful of inputs and speaker outputs. In total, you have two digital optical inputs, one 3.5mm stereo input, a subwoofer output, four more of the fancy binding posts to the speakers and the power input. The amp features the same high-gloss paint job of the speakers and rubber mat on top.

Following the lead of Apple, the Yaro remote control is dead simple. Nine buttons allow you to turn it on, change volume, mute all audio and fine-tune the bass and treble. I found the volume buttons a tad misplaced, I often tapped the mute button when I meant to hit the volume up button. Not a deal-breaker, just took some getting used to.

Setup

I was able to go from in the box to listening to Pandora through my Roku in under fifteen minutes. Setup couldn’t have been easier. I plugged the two optical cables into my AppleTV and Roku, the two speaker cables into the speakers and amp, plugged it in and powered it up.

It was that easy. However, when I tried to play audio through my AppleTV, I discovered a glitch in the system. Yaro is supposed to automatically select the active audio source. In theory, if you switch to playing a video on your AppleTV or XBox, the Yaro will automatically switch to that new input. Unfortunately, my early release Yaro doesn’t do this. In order for me to play my AppleTV, I have to unplug the Roku. Good news though, Kanto says they’ve fixed this problem in the official-release version of the Yaro so you shouldn’t experience this trouble.

Performance

If you’re comparing the audio performance of the Yaro to your television, there isn’t any competition. The Yaro sounds infinitely better than just about any television on the market. It’s the same experience you enjoy when going from the stock iPhone ear-buds to something more substantial like Klipsch S4i headphones.

Movies & Television

Watching movies and television with the Yaro playing the audio is a great time. If you’ve been stuck listening to the speakers inside your flatscreen, you don’t know what you’re missing. The power of the system is especially striking with movies.

Unfortunately, if you were hoping to watch Die Hard and feel the gratuitous explosions or feel your walls tremble from earth shattering (literally) battle for Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings, look elsewhere right now. Physics just does not allow a 3.5″ driver to move enough air to accomplish such feats. Only a proper subwoofer can bring that movie theater experience to your home.

Shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead are great programs to test out the Yaro. Few shows are recorded as meticulously as these. I also watched the movies Chicago and the latest Star Trek film on the Yaro, played through my Roku HD and Netflix. It was a great experience. These productions would feel hollow and lackluster without a good speaker system to backup the vocal performances and high-tech wizbang sound effects.

It was while watching the show House, M.D. that I noticed some male voices, in this case Hugh Laurie, can sound harsh through the Yaro. I did a little experimentation and found that putting a bit of cloth over the tweeter decreased this roughness. Alec Baldwin, in the film Lymelife, is another male voice I noticed that doesn’t shine when played through the Yaro speakers.

Music

I’m still working on some serious music listening with the Yaro. So far I’ve spent most of my time watching Netflix and Hulu through the Roku. I will say that for Thanksgiving the Yaro played through hours of enjoyable seasonal music. People seemed to enjoy the experience and the bowl-shaped dishes the silk-dome tweeters sit in allows for even projection of audio throughout the living room and into the kitchen.

Our living room has fifteen foot ceilings, large for a San Francisco apartment. Nevertheless, the Yaro easily fills the room with sound, but likely won’t get us evicted for noise violations.

Just like bassy action flicks, large orchestral sets, especially those featuring pipe organs, hiphop and bassy pop music doesn’t play off as well. This is mostly because what the Yaro doesn’t have is a subwoofer, yet. In early 2012, Kanto will be releasing an add-on unit. The 200-watt, 8″ subwoofer will more than likely get you eviction-level bass output.

So it can get loud and is significantly better than your television speakers, but what about subjective sound quality? I admit that I am a bit spoiled when it comes to high end audio systems. My everyday speaker system in my living room is a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers with a classic Harman Kardon HK-430 50 watt stereo receiver.

This system costs just under $2,000 and is commonly known to be one of the best sounding two-channel bookshelf speaker systems ever made. Comparing the Yaro at 1/6th the price and 1/7th the weight isn’t fair at all. But since it’s what I have, let’s do this!

The graph above comes from my somewhat scientific measurements of real-world frequency responses of my Kanto Yaro vs my Klipsch Heresy speakers in our living room. Ideally, these measurements would be done in an anechoic chamber with thousands of dollars in audio equipment. Rebel that I am, I use a simple SPL meter and an iPhone app (Signal Generator) to do my measurements.

From this graph you can see the lack of sub-frequency audio output coming out of the Yaro speakers compared to what you might expect from a truly high-end speaker system. However, what’s similarly important is how relatively flat the response is from the Yaro. This is good, really good. It means that, in general, across all audible frequencies, the Yaro doesn’t exhibit dramatic changes in volume.

Crappy speaker systems will get loud around 60 Hz, and up through 150 Hz, but then drop off significantly. That’s because speaker companies that don’t care about real audio quality rake people in with boomy bass and say “to hell with the rest of the audio experience”. Pleasantly, this is not the approach of Kanto. They opt for a more balanced sound.

The Yaro sounds great at first blush. Music and movies shine with the two-way speaker design and the vented cabinet allows more bass production than what should be possible from such a small speaker.

Compared to the full-sized, three-way, forty-four pound Heresy speakers, the Yaro sounds expectedly thin. It’s 3.5 inch midrange driver and ported cabinet is no match for the 10 inch one driver found in the Heresy. But who thought it would be?

That being said, I whole-heartedly believe that this thinness will be remedied when Kanto releases the aforementioned 200-watt subwoofer. I’m set to get one of those for review and will update this review as soon as I do.

There aren’t many speaker systems on the market like the Kanto Yaro. The only one that  comes to mind, that isn’t a sound bar, is the Bose CineMate® Series II digital home theater speaker system. It costs nearly twice the price of the Yaro but adds a subwoofer and loses a few inputs. As much as I loathe Bose systems, the CineMate speakers have a smoother, richer sound than the Yaro. Of course you’re paying $270 more and losing that precious second digital input. Again, I think the addition of the Kanto subwoofer will bring the musicality of the Yaro beyond that of the Bose and still clock in significantly lower in price.

Conclusion

Strengths

• Setup is a breeze
• Fully integrated, all-in-one system
• Stylish looks that don’t distract
• Multiple inputs that should have you covered

Weaknesses

• Some floor noise in the form of hiss
• Lack of low frequency reproduction
• Midrange/treble sometimes harsh with male vocals

For $330, the Kanto Yaro dramatically improves your AppleTV, Roku, Xbox, Playstation, etc, viewing experience. It’s dead simple to setup, is forgiving with speaker placement limitations and comes with everything you need to set it up. All you need to do is bring the TV and an audio source. If you’ve been watching TV or playing Gears of War 3 through your TV speakers, you owe it to yourself to get the Yaro.

When I think of the Yaro, I think of a near-perfect dormitory or apartment audio system. The only downsides I experienced were the thin bass response and the sometimes harsh midrange/treble. Again, adding a subwoofer, even an existing one you might have sitting around, will fill out the lower frequencies.

I hate that I have to rate this otherwise awesome speaker system anything below an “8″ on sound quality and performance. However, if this is supposed to bring the movies, games and concert experiences through your television to a new level, I feel it falls a bit short. As it stands right now, it’s still an incredible value.

The Audioengine 5+ ($399-469) two-channel speaker system provides more of the sound I expected from the Kanto Yaro. A richer, silky-smooth midrange and punchier bass. Unfortunately you trade off an extra $70-139 and lose the Yaro’s precious digital inputs.

Once Kanto releases the add-on subwoofer, I expect a significant bump in the bass response. This might also fix the issues I had with the midrange. If not, perhaps the new and improved amplifier will provide the fix. I will update this review when those arrive.

Specifications

• Audio technology by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower
• 2 x Digital Optical Audio inputs
• 3.5mm audio input
• 3.5mm audio stereo headphone jack
• Sub-woofer output
• Manual volume control
• Acoustically enhanced wood cabinets
• Sleek piano-black finish
• Optional cable upgrade accessories
• Optional sub-woofer upgrade
• Weight: 8.7 kg (19.2 lbs)
• Warranty: 3 years

According to one press release, in February 2012 there will be an optional DAC (digital to analog converter) upgrade. Perhaps this will resolve the midrange issue.

Check back for my updated review with the Kanto subwoofer sometime in January or February. As usual, feel free to ask away in the comments with any questions you might have.

There is no shortage of reasons I don’t think Perry should be a presidential candidate for the Republican party. I don’t even think he should be the Governor of Texas. It’s not just because he’s a goof who embarrases most people from Texas, like myself, it’s the way he markets himself as a candidate.

For whatever reason, the loud, far right conservative politicians on the scene these days treat culture and intelligence as negative attributes. They forget that Christian law, much like Sharia law, is not United States law. They forget that smart people create solutions where others can’t. They forget a lot of things, many of which were their founding principles. I’m not talking about all Republicans, I’m talking about people like Rick Perry.

In my head this is a skit from Saturday Night Live. There is just no way that this is real. And yet it is. What does someone’s sexual orientation have to do with their ability to serve in the military? What makes someone a Christian and why does that even matter in politics? Who is keeping kids from praying in school or saying “Merry Christmas”?

Faith made our country strong? I’m not sure faith has made any country strong, though I’m certain it has caused hundreds of years of war and millions of lives lost. It doesn’t surprise me that this video is currently the second most disliked video on YouTube. This video makes me so mad that I find myself unable to fully convey my thoughts for fear that it will turn into yet another one of my 5,000+ word opuses.

Instead I’ll share the first of what will surely be dozens of parody “Strong” videos.

Point of clarification. There are good, smart and honest Republicans just as there are corrupt, stupid and dishonest Democrats. Sadly, the good, smart and honest Republicans don’t speak up nearly as loudly as the others.

Ok, now on to happier posts to follow.

But you know what? The reason I jumped at the opportunity to give an Ignite talk was an effort to conquer my fear of public speaking. So here’s to conquering another fear! The talk is about serendipity and how it brought me from a high school in Houston to the Ignite stage in Sebastopol.

Also, shoutout to my friend Lauren Kilberg who was probably the first person in the world to see the video on YouTube. In fact, Lauren was the first person to tell me it was on YouTube and she’s tweeting from Korea! True friends

As of this posting I STILL haven’t watched the video which has 90 views so far. Can’t believe I’m sharing this with you guys haha. Cheers and don’t be too mean in the comments! No promises but if I get enough positive comments here to convince me it isn’t a totally embarrassing train wreck, I’ll totally consider watching it.

Please share this post, this video, this message with the people in your life. Also, check out http://www.getup.org.au/marriagematters. There are half a dozen ways below this video to share this with all of your friends. Take this step for marriage equality.

That is all, thanks so much.

After completing my presentation, and as I walked down the steps to the ground floor, I could not have been happier with my choice. Ignite Sebastopol was a blast.

First of all, thanks to all you of who gave me the support and encouragement on Twitter and Facebook. I had dozens of messages from friends and strangers alike sending well-wishes my way. Without those positive vibes, I’m not sure I could have made it up the steps to the stage!

Ryan and I made it to town with plenty of extra time, naturally I was nervous we would be late to my first, real, public speaking engagement. We killed some time by wandering around downtown until about six o’clock when I had to check in with the Ignite people. I wasn’t there more than two minutes before Tony, the guy who invited me to present, and I bumped into each other, for the first time in six years.

Everyone at the event was incredibly nice, whether they were a fellow presenter or there for the show. Believe it or not, I bumped into a guy Kayla and I met a few weeks ago when we went to the Cartograph tasting room in Healdsburg for wine and music. Totally random!

My presentation was on serendipity. I discussed how my being at the Ignite conference all came to be because in 2003 I graduated from high school and wanted to experience seasons. It was a five minute run-through of the last eight years of my life, the ups, the downs, the pain, the love and the fun. In the end, everyone was surprised. I had laughs, I had gasps and I had fun.

But it didn’t go off without a hitch. In the middle of my talk the projector stopped working and in place of my slide was a bright blue screen. To the surprise of the people in the audience, and especially to me, I ran with it and got one of the biggest laughs of the night! Phew. Who knew I could recover from disaster when I was actively telling myself “just don’t fall off the stage!”

Ignite will share my presentation on YouTube and once they do I’ll make sure to post it here so you can get a look at it. It’s not a perfect presentation but, I didn’t fall off the stage and I accomplished much more than I ever thought I would. Mostly I’m happy I stood up to my fears and really and truly did my best and in a very limited amount of time.

Here are some of the other topics people presented:

• Why Is Synchronicity A Key For Transforming Our Society?
• Tomorrow, serendipity is for the rich
• Get back in the basement and start your own band!
• Interesting Trivia, Obvious Observations & Lessons Learned from a Bear Break-in
• The Simpsons is my religion

Now I can’t wait for the next chance to get in front of a group of awesome people and share my passion. I’m even thinking of joining some sort of improvisational speaking group. In my head I imagine 8-12 people standing on stage giving impromptu speeches about whatever they pull out of a hat. It sounds fun to me!

Here’s a quick list off the top of my head:

1. I first met Ryan when was working at an emergency room. I came in following a seizure back in 2003 and he had a part in taking care of me. I didn’t remember this experience until fate crossed our paths four years later through a friend.
2. I was offered a job at Pure Marketing and Media through a blog post right here, based on a Vimeo video Ryan shared with me.
3. I was given the opportunity to be published in the New York Times because a product the company I worked for was written up in the paper.
4. My photography was featured in multiple galleries and eventually won awards and actually sold to art collectors because I casually showed my photo book to a local gallery when I was trying to rent a space for my graduation party.
5. One of my best friends, Chase, has lived just miles away from me nearly my entire life, in Houston and Tulsa. We went to several of the same concerts, knew some of the same people and yet we never met. Eventually we both move to Columbia and both get a job at the same Starbucks where all the pieces fall together.

The latest bit of serendipity goes like this. I moved to Santa Rosa California in 2005 without a job or any friends. I meet a girl on MySpace named Kayla who works at Starbucks. I get inspired to get a similar job and apply for a “Food Avenue” position at Target. I was hired to open the Starbucks in the store. A few months after opening, I was approached by a Starbucks manager who asked for my information. This manager was sent to my Target by an employee who was dating my another friend’s roommate.

A few weeks later I am hired to work at the Stony Point Starbucks by a guy named Sean Charter. His assistant manager is this incredibly perky and fun girl named Jessica Wong. She became one of my favorite people pretty quickly but was sadly transfered to a different store shortly after I started working at Stony Point. Her boyfriend at the time would come in regularly for a coffee and we became acquaintances.

Fast-forward six years when I get a message via my blog’s contact form from a guy named Tony inviting me to give a talk at the next Ignite conference. Tony is “Tall Coffee.” He has been reading my blog periodically since 2005 and thought I’d make for an interesting speaker.

Seriously?! I have been a fan of O’Reilly Media, the people behind Ignite, for years. From their awesome technology books to their FooCamps, to the people with whom they associate themselves. The people who give talks at Ignite are people I admire. I’ve wanted to go to an Ignite talk for quite a while but never found the chance to do it. I never dreamed of actually talking at one.

What is Ignite?

Yet here I am, just two days away from being a featured speaker at the next Ignite talk! Who could have guessed that an opportunity like this would fall into my lap?

I’ve been thinking hard about what I’m going to talk about and I’m excited to get it all together. I was only given a few days to pull everything together which makes me a good deal nervous, that and the fact that I will be talking before tons of brilliant people.

I’ve never been one to jump at an opportunity for public speaking, though once I get started I always surprise myself. If you have any tips or suggestions about what I should talk about, leave your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for all of your support! I’m taking most of tomorrow off to focus solely on completing my presentation.

You can check out the review here. To get the details read on.

I purchased a ZAGGSparq as a portable charger for an Android phone with a lousy battery. The ZAGGSparq proved to be a lifesaver for the Android phone and for me while traveling with my iPhone 4 and iPad 2. It’s a fabulous portable device charger and I’m absolutely ecstatic that ZAGG has given me the opportunity to give away five of them.

So how do you win one? It’s super easy:

1. You must be 18 years or older to enter and a U.S. resident
2. You must be following me, @justex07, on Twitter
3. Your Twitter account cannot be private
4. You must use the hashtag #ZaggSparq and the information link
5. The contest ends November 24 and winners will be announced on Black Friday, November 25

Here’s the tweet you should send…

Win a new #ZaggSparq from @ZaggDaily and @justex07 Pls RT. Info at: http://itsjust.in/zaggsparq

If you’re super lazy, just click this link and Twitter will take care of the rest.

You are free to be creative in your tweet, just make sure to include the hashtag, @justex07 and the link. I will track the hashtag #ZAGGSparq from users following @justex07 using RowFeeder and then a random number generator picks the winner.

This contest is sponsored by ZAGG and I thank them for this great opportunity!

Now for the fine print – READ CAREFULLY

If you’d like to enter, go to Twitter and setup an account if you don’t already have one. Follow me, @justex07, so I can track contest entries. Then send the above tweet. Easy peasy!

You can send the tweet as many times as you like but the maximum number of entries per person is five. Anything beyond that is just a wonderful promotion of me, my blog and ZAGG.

You can only win once, even if you have multiple Twitter accounts. One per human.

You must be at least 18 years old to win and any taxes are the responsibility of the winner. The winners will be announced November 25 via Twitter and this blog, pending their proof of qualification. ZAGG will mail winners their ZAGGSparq 2.0.

Contest is void where prohibited by law, some states are no fun. Anyone may enter as long as they fulfill the requirements listed above.

If your Twitter account is set in a “private” mode, I will not be able to monitor and record your entry. So make your account public for the next few weeks if you would like to enter with a chance to win. If that makes you uncomfortable, do not enter the contest. I’m sorry about this and respect your privacy.

All legal responsibilities fall on the contestant. It’s your responsibility to ensure that this contest is not prohibited by your local law. Actual prize awards will only happen after your proof of eligibility. ZAGG and I accept no liability.

Thanks and good luck!