August 2007 Archives
We here at kyle + clancy had a unique opportunity to work as contractors for Google with their Local Business Referral program (a.k.a. LBR). For this program we basically went door to door visiting small businesses and collecting information about them for Google Maps. A bigger, more detailed story of the day will be posted later. For now, just some quotes.
"Do you get stock? I wish I would have bought it at $50"
"I'm already on Google, but thanks for thinking about me."
"So I told her, everything I know I learned from your 15-year old junkie hooker daughter."
"Dude does all that phone number stuff work? Cause this chic totally sent me this thing on MySpace about that."
"Oh we take everything, cash, check, credit card, jewelry, dogs..."
"We LOVE you guys, we use you 50 fucking times a day."
"J what? Chanel? Oh no no no no no no honey it's fake."
Girl "Are you ____ Clancy? Did you go to ___________"
Clancy "Yes. Are you .....??????? Stephhhhhhanie?
Girl "YES!"
"We love FREE!!"
"Except for Sundays. Those days are for Packer games. I don't go to church, I watch the Packers?"
Extra credit:
We took a break to test drive BMWs. This is what was screamed at me:
"SLOW DOWN NOW!!!! YOU CAN'T DRIVE IT LIKE THAT!!"
"Do you get stock? I wish I would have bought it at $50"
"I'm already on Google, but thanks for thinking about me."
"So I told her, everything I know I learned from your 15-year old junkie hooker daughter."
"Dude does all that phone number stuff work? Cause this chic totally sent me this thing on MySpace about that."
"Oh we take everything, cash, check, credit card, jewelry, dogs..."
"We LOVE you guys, we use you 50 fucking times a day."
"J what? Chanel? Oh no no no no no no honey it's fake."
Girl "Are you ____ Clancy? Did you go to ___________"
Clancy "Yes. Are you .....??????? Stephhhhhhanie?
Girl "YES!"
"We love FREE!!"
"Except for Sundays. Those days are for Packer games. I don't go to church, I watch the Packers?"
Extra credit:
We took a break to test drive BMWs. This is what was screamed at me:
"SLOW DOWN NOW!!!! YOU CAN'T DRIVE IT LIKE THAT!!"
Take a walk with me, won't you... alittle trip down memory lane... back to a younger Kyle, in 7th grade (1993) when I logged onto the internet for the first time. In those days of wonder I had been blessed to have a teacher who was quite the geek. Dr. Samuel Perry was a computer science professor at Washington U in St. Louis but over the summers he would come down to the boon docks and teach the SINGS kids (Serving the Individual Needs of Gifted Students) about computers. From the third grade I was writing programs in BASIC and hammering out functions on a Commodore 64 and a Tandy. I made it a point not to miss any of Dr.Perry's classes. Then in the 7th grade I logged on for the first time to check my e-mail. These were heady times for computer users, operating systems were a joke and everything was text. No graphics, no GIFs or JPGs, just text. I really thought I was something, being on the internet.
Fast forward to today and the generation that is now exiting their teens having grown up with the ubiquitous world wide web. They know it as the great source of information and entertainment but they also know that it is a great equalizer too. It doesn't matter if you are 40 or 14, if you can program, you can program. As food for thought, I provide these two entrees.
The first is a 17 year old programmer in New Jersey who unlocked the iPhone and used it on a T-Mobile network. He has been making the rounds on all the media channels and Apple has responded with a weak rebutle at best. Actually it didn't even come from Apple but a contractor that works with Apple to develop programs for iPhone. Their quote from the article was "Hackers are going to have to stay one step ahead." Right. Done. Next. It seems like Apple would be happy about this. Regardless of the network you run it on, you have to buy an iPhone first. So who cares if they run it on T-Mobile.
So after I digested that iPhone bit, I read a story about a 16 year old who circumvented the pornography blocking system of Australia? Naturally I had some questions: why would the government be involved in such a thing in the first place? And why was junior so focused on getting around it? And then I realized, if he is such an uber geek that he could bypass this system, he probably isn't getting any, and thus the pr0n would come in "handy."
Either way, kids these days feel no limitations from their age in terms of being a competent programmer (read hacker) and it is anyone's guess what the future implications will hold for these bright and gifted people as they learn to market their natural abilities. Luckily there are still kids like my little brother who would rather skateboard than take over the world. At least today anyway.
Adobe launched its new Flash player in beta Monday. The new format (dubbed H.264) supports HD video. That is super exciting when you consider how well Flash CS3 Pro integrates the current video standards. I am excited to see what the people who have plenty of HD stock sitting around come up with. So go download the flash player from the Adobe Labs and while you are there you might have to take advantage of the other wonderful free software Adobe provides.
Kid Learning Adobe InDesign: I don't know what I'm doing. I wish I had a teacher that I could ask any question and he would show me how to do it.
Me: Try Jesus.
Me: Try Jesus.
So I took some time off to reflect. Ahhh. Reflection over, back to the regular blogging.
After a few weeks of patiently waiting for it, I was accepted by Google to be part of the Local Business Referral Program (LBR). I get to go up to unsuspecting small businesses and harass them for a bit about letting post all their info onto Google Maps. And the price for such a burden? $10!!!! Easiest $10 on the planet. My only question is, what if its not a local business? What counts? Attorneys? Who knows. I am going to make the call to Google and find out. Maybe I could get Larry and Sergi on the phone. I will post some photos as I am sure that hilarity will ensue.
Speaking of posting photos, I ran off and left the camera from the week IN Los Angeles. What a rookie mistake. I blame it on the insane amount of booze with a chaser of drama. More like a keg of drama at the open bar that is my life.
Other than that, we got a spiffy new client in Blair O'neal. For those that don't know, she is a former Arizona State golfer turned model and her new portfolio / website will be available very soon for perusing and general drooling.
After a few weeks of patiently waiting for it, I was accepted by Google to be part of the Local Business Referral Program (LBR). I get to go up to unsuspecting small businesses and harass them for a bit about letting post all their info onto Google Maps. And the price for such a burden? $10!!!! Easiest $10 on the planet. My only question is, what if its not a local business? What counts? Attorneys? Who knows. I am going to make the call to Google and find out. Maybe I could get Larry and Sergi on the phone. I will post some photos as I am sure that hilarity will ensue.
Speaking of posting photos, I ran off and left the camera from the week IN Los Angeles. What a rookie mistake. I blame it on the insane amount of booze with a chaser of drama. More like a keg of drama at the open bar that is my life.
Other than that, we got a spiffy new client in Blair O'neal. For those that don't know, she is a former Arizona State golfer turned model and her new portfolio / website will be available very soon for perusing and general drooling.
Here is some amazing linkage.
Check out The Turning Gate for some wonderful examples of the automerge feature in PS CS3. I have a pretty legit one myself of the Hollywood Hills that I should post. But until then, check this out!
I ran across a blog for Brent Simon, a freelance designer who does some of the amazing work over at Go Media. Go See His Work.
Last but certainly least is my new facebook friend, graphic designer Nik Ainley and his site Shinybinary. Get over there and get awed.
What weekend. I didn't get any sleep, Clancy almost got killed, Tiger won another major and I reinstalled Vista.
I swore off Vista forever ago and haven't looked back. Over the weekend, as is de rigor of tech people everywhere, I was called upon to go fix some things on my friends desktop. He was installing some software on Vista and it wasn't working. In the process of playing around with Vista, I started to warm up to it. So the next day I gave it another go. After the six hour (!) install process, I finally had it up and running and to my surprise it wasn't so bad. So I am giving this lady a second chance, see what is what.
Clancy's last blog sort of set the mood for his weekend. Clancy has an alter ego, who is basically a character from a F. Scott Fitzgerald book.
Over at the PGA Championship it was just Tiger being Tiger but it never gets old. Another dominating performance in the clutch event. Tiger is the epitome of what Americans worship in their athletes: great in the regular season, a deity in the big game. Eldrick Woods is the King of Clutch. He wins in the weekly tournaments but when it really matters, when its one of the four tests that define a golfing career, Tiger has no competition. My question to you is he the greatest clutch athlete of all time? And if you have ever chipped in to save par or stood over a 25 foot putt, I think I know what your vote is going to be.
I swore off Vista forever ago and haven't looked back. Over the weekend, as is de rigor of tech people everywhere, I was called upon to go fix some things on my friends desktop. He was installing some software on Vista and it wasn't working. In the process of playing around with Vista, I started to warm up to it. So the next day I gave it another go. After the six hour (!) install process, I finally had it up and running and to my surprise it wasn't so bad. So I am giving this lady a second chance, see what is what.
Clancy's last blog sort of set the mood for his weekend. Clancy has an alter ego, who is basically a character from a F. Scott Fitzgerald book.
Over at the PGA Championship it was just Tiger being Tiger but it never gets old. Another dominating performance in the clutch event. Tiger is the epitome of what Americans worship in their athletes: great in the regular season, a deity in the big game. Eldrick Woods is the King of Clutch. He wins in the weekly tournaments but when it really matters, when its one of the four tests that define a golfing career, Tiger has no competition. My question to you is he the greatest clutch athlete of all time? And if you have ever chipped in to save par or stood over a 25 foot putt, I think I know what your vote is going to be.
Since I will not be on-line Friday, I am posting some rad links for your browsing enjoyment.
First, this is a nifty forum that blew up on yesterday. Like 15(!) posts or something equally pretentious.
Second, this ladie's work speaks for itself. Some wonderful Photoshop art.
Last is this good blog I ran across in the first post. I thought it was pretty well written and easily read.
So try not to miss me to much. I am sure I will post something before any Friday night activities.
Maybe I will give this show a shot next. I tried to repeat but I didn't know when Haley's Comet was coming back around. Dumb rocks.
The latest hot topic on the investing front are quantitative funds, which rely on computers to execute trades based on mathematic models. Some hedge funds that have been touting this Moneyball mindset of "trust the computer" have been dealt a mighty blow with this recent round of market roller coaster.
The alpha male of the "quant" camp, the Goldman Sachs Alpha Fund, has bled 16% on the year and a whopping 8% of that in July. This while the market has shined, off 3-4% of the all time high. Bottom line, computers can't think, they can only do what they are programmed to do. Some person has to write the algorithm to run these funds and the shebang is riding on this person's ability to properly instruct the computer's decision making capabilities on riding the ups and downs that we see on occasion in a regular market.
To me this goes back to the etrade vs. having a broker argument. Programs aren't flexible, trained, seasoned and ready to handle the nuances that are required of the top level brokers, never mind the geniuses that manage the billion dollar hedge funds. In the end, this deus ex machina mentality is flawed at best, dangerous at worst and eventually will go the way of the dodo.
The alpha male of the "quant" camp, the Goldman Sachs Alpha Fund, has bled 16% on the year and a whopping 8% of that in July. This while the market has shined, off 3-4% of the all time high. Bottom line, computers can't think, they can only do what they are programmed to do. Some person has to write the algorithm to run these funds and the shebang is riding on this person's ability to properly instruct the computer's decision making capabilities on riding the ups and downs that we see on occasion in a regular market.
To me this goes back to the etrade vs. having a broker argument. Programs aren't flexible, trained, seasoned and ready to handle the nuances that are required of the top level brokers, never mind the geniuses that manage the billion dollar hedge funds. In the end, this deus ex machina mentality is flawed at best, dangerous at worst and eventually will go the way of the dodo.
"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator."
Mohandas Gandhi
Who doesn't love to watch the wonderful dance of colors as they bid goodnight to the setting sun? I know I am certainly a believer in the majesty and wonder found in the ritual paintings at dusk. The songs of the setting sun change daily but they have the same tune. If you had to describe it, in a word, how could you? How would you? Big? Majestic? Moving? Powerful? Impossible? But for all the might and wonder that I feel watching the setting sun, I cannot escape the utter lack of enthusiasm that I get when I see sunset photography.
You are taken aback I know, but it is true nevertheless. I just do not get excited when people send me shots of the setting sun. Maybe if we are talking some giant, building size image, could I see a person begin to feel that lump-in-the-throat sensation that you get when you watch a sunset but something about seeing one, in my hand, on a 4 x 6 piece of photo paper is about like giving someone a snow globe of New York City and expecting to get the same reaction as if they were standing in the middle of Central Park for the first time. Best case scenario it could trigger some fond memory of a sunset in the past and bring back the goosebumps but a poor substitute indeed. I don't get the tingling, the stop-you-in-your-tracks comatose state of sedation that I get, ankles deep in the sand, watching the closet star to Earth fall away in that same gentle arc that gave Columbus the hubris to take three ships to the edge of the world. But the photos continue to come. A link here, an attachment there, a card from someone who knows my love of wonderful photography and has thoughtfully included some snapshot he or she has judged to be breathtaking and felt so compelled to bequeath its profundity to me so that my mind may be forever branded with this picture of the eternal fire that we perpetually orbit, a floating rock genuflecting at the only god we can see/feel/benefit from and believe in. And though the gift is wonderfully thoughtful, it is a poor substitute for the experience all the same.
Sometimes you just gotta live it.
Mohandas Gandhi
Who doesn't love to watch the wonderful dance of colors as they bid goodnight to the setting sun? I know I am certainly a believer in the majesty and wonder found in the ritual paintings at dusk. The songs of the setting sun change daily but they have the same tune. If you had to describe it, in a word, how could you? How would you? Big? Majestic? Moving? Powerful? Impossible? But for all the might and wonder that I feel watching the setting sun, I cannot escape the utter lack of enthusiasm that I get when I see sunset photography.
You are taken aback I know, but it is true nevertheless. I just do not get excited when people send me shots of the setting sun. Maybe if we are talking some giant, building size image, could I see a person begin to feel that lump-in-the-throat sensation that you get when you watch a sunset but something about seeing one, in my hand, on a 4 x 6 piece of photo paper is about like giving someone a snow globe of New York City and expecting to get the same reaction as if they were standing in the middle of Central Park for the first time. Best case scenario it could trigger some fond memory of a sunset in the past and bring back the goosebumps but a poor substitute indeed. I don't get the tingling, the stop-you-in-your-tracks comatose state of sedation that I get, ankles deep in the sand, watching the closet star to Earth fall away in that same gentle arc that gave Columbus the hubris to take three ships to the edge of the world. But the photos continue to come. A link here, an attachment there, a card from someone who knows my love of wonderful photography and has thoughtfully included some snapshot he or she has judged to be breathtaking and felt so compelled to bequeath its profundity to me so that my mind may be forever branded with this picture of the eternal fire that we perpetually orbit, a floating rock genuflecting at the only god we can see/feel/benefit from and believe in. And though the gift is wonderfully thoughtful, it is a poor substitute for the experience all the same.
Sometimes you just gotta live it.
I just saw this guy's photography and think its amazing. Especially the San Francisco pics. I am a huge huge huge San Franophile (new word) and have a pretty impressive collection of Bay Area photography but these shots really take my breathe away. So go check these out.
This next photographer is from Phoenix and has a pretty interesting blog to go with his daily photography shots.
Last is my favorite photographer of the moment. The shots from the this guy are just stunning.
I hope you enjoy those links and get inspired to take some amazing shots.
So you probably are wondering...wasn't there a blog here before? With lots of posts? Well yes, but now its different. We have 4.1 and it is next level for sure. More blogs and links and love to come. Hang tight. It is a new day for kyle + clancy.
