Carnegie Mellon’s Soccer-Playing Robots Bring Home Gold, Bronze From RoboCup 2007
My second alma mater :-)
July 31, 2007
CMU wins robocup 2007!
Carnegie Mellon’s Soccer-Playing Robots Bring Home Gold, Bronze From RoboCup 2007
My second alma mater :-)
July 29, 2007
quote of the year
"I wish some Fortune 100 company would just sue us. That's the way to go."
While meandering through the sea of folks at Techcrunch9 last week, I heard the quote above--by far the most hilarious thing I've heard in a long time. I wish I could have recorded it as a sound bite, but just hearing it was enough to keep us talking about it (and all things crazy) all night long.
While meandering through the sea of folks at Techcrunch9 last week, I heard the quote above--by far the most hilarious thing I've heard in a long time. I wish I could have recorded it as a sound bite, but just hearing it was enough to keep us talking about it (and all things crazy) all night long.
July 28, 2007
to have (a career) or to hold (a little squishy baby)?
1:08 am - just purchased and upgraded our seats for our honeymoon in Japan. Makes it a bit more real now--something to do AFTER the wedding.
I'm typically a huge worrier (I blame my Dad, the German influence that had me reading military time on my watch at the age of 3). But at least I'm always prepared. But this whole wedding thing has been pretty stress-free. Sure, we hired an awesome designer/planner who also happened to be a UCSB alumnae, and also shares a freakishly similar design ideas and overall aesthetic--a bit creepy but I'm sure she can use elements from her own wedding to make ours just as great.
So dress: done
bridemaids (and groomsmen on my side): done
bridesmaids; dresses: done
ceremony location: done
ceremony date : done
colors : picked
honeymoon location and date: done
we're working on the design elements for the invites, etc. we're trying to go web 2.0 but not thinking my aunt in New Jersey can handle it. So old fashioned invites with a splash of less traditional aspects coming up! and we are confined to 120 folks for the shindig, so making the list fit will be difficult--some people I would like to invite just won't be getting the invites. and conversely, some family "friends" wil be getting invites against my request. Eh, I just want to show up and have a great party.
We did block rooms at some great hotels in the city, and our planner is negotiating our after party at a really great bar in a very nice hotel after the reception ends--we're keeping that party going until 6am--or don't consider yourself a friend :-)
We do tastings next, as well as picking our photographer, which I think we actually agree on! Then comes the cake--yuck. I'll let him pick that since it really doesn't matter to me.
6 months and a few days from now. strange. I'll have a different last name, and a different salutation, and start thinking about having a family. If there was only a way to have your career, a baby, and just have it ALL. As sad as it has become, I am beginning to listen and trust these wise soothsayers, (or career minded women who had kids at the height of their career). Pick one or the other! But why can't I have both? I'm stubborn, assertive, tenacious....oh wait, those traits don't really make me sound like a good mom, do they--just a work-o-holic.
July 27, 2007
Deep packet inspection at the Techcrunch party
Oh, where to start. First, if you don't know what an IDS or deep packet inspection is, nevermind the title.
I'm an avid reader of Techcrunch (many, many times a day) and welcomed the opportunity to attend the Techcrunch 2.0 party at August Capital tonight. Yes, my company was one of the sponsors, but I got the tixs over a month ago, before I knew we were sponsoring.
That said, however, I wore my Azureus shirt to promote the company--knowing this was one our key demographics. The minute I walked onto the back patio, I knew it was going to be an interesting night,
I had at least 20 guys stop to talk to me, giving me business cards, ad telling me how much they love the product (much to my fiance's chagrin). I did meet some great folks, one of them being the guy who ran sourceforge for the past 5 years before leaving for another company (splunk). I'll collect on my t-shirt next week :-)
I was amazed at the power of the t-shirt (thanks, Zazzle! met one of the guys from there, too--good luck on the funding). Also, everyone's eye balls were at chest level, reading "who's who", reading name badges and stuff (my friend Jon, who's very anti web 2.0 decided to "re-brand" and write "Jon xxx, not ajax enabled on his name badge). I talked to an editor from Wired, my past colleague Dan (who is now the CEO of pageflakes--should stay in touch more often), Guy Kawasaki (whom I worked with at an event when I was at CMU), the community person from a competitor that could come in handy later, Lawrence from the facebook api group, David from StumbleUpon (good luck in your new gig!), etc. Notice: everyone I talked to are men. Not one female stopped me to ask about my company or tell me how much they love the product. Must work harder on reaching out to the female demographic.
So, my pictures from the party are here.
We left early, but for all of the ladies looking to find a nice 2.0 guy, I'm sure the party is still going....
I'm an avid reader of Techcrunch (many, many times a day) and welcomed the opportunity to attend the Techcrunch 2.0 party at August Capital tonight. Yes, my company was one of the sponsors, but I got the tixs over a month ago, before I knew we were sponsoring.
That said, however, I wore my Azureus shirt to promote the company--knowing this was one our key demographics. The minute I walked onto the back patio, I knew it was going to be an interesting night,
I had at least 20 guys stop to talk to me, giving me business cards, ad telling me how much they love the product (much to my fiance's chagrin). I did meet some great folks, one of them being the guy who ran sourceforge for the past 5 years before leaving for another company (splunk). I'll collect on my t-shirt next week :-)
I was amazed at the power of the t-shirt (thanks, Zazzle! met one of the guys from there, too--good luck on the funding). Also, everyone's eye balls were at chest level, reading "who's who", reading name badges and stuff (my friend Jon, who's very anti web 2.0 decided to "re-brand" and write "Jon xxx, not ajax enabled on his name badge). I talked to an editor from Wired, my past colleague Dan (who is now the CEO of pageflakes--should stay in touch more often), Guy Kawasaki (whom I worked with at an event when I was at CMU), the community person from a competitor that could come in handy later, Lawrence from the facebook api group, David from StumbleUpon (good luck in your new gig!), etc. Notice: everyone I talked to are men. Not one female stopped me to ask about my company or tell me how much they love the product. Must work harder on reaching out to the female demographic.
So, my pictures from the party are here.
We left early, but for all of the ladies looking to find a nice 2.0 guy, I'm sure the party is still going....
July 06, 2007
Return iPhone - Be Shunned
I've been a gadget girl for some time, but I feel I've reached a breaking point: I bought an iPhone last week and returned it today. Much to the chagrin of my friends, colleagues and behold--Apple employees.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must state I did not wait in line for the iPhone, but I did drive down to the Apple store when they called and said the one I asked to be put "on the list incase you get any iPhones at that store, remember to write down my name on said list, and then actually have some left by the time you get to the bottom of the list" was waiting for me...for another hour.
That was last Friday. The next day we went to a party and a dinner and a woman asked if she could take a picture of me with the phone--you know, cause no one else would believe that she met someone that actually owned an iPhone. Uncomfortable.
I had a pit in my stomach at that point. I wasn't showing off my phone or telling people I had it. I was almost embarrassed. I felt like maybe I shouldn't have bought the thing. But wait, it's cool, right? And the nifty map feature got us to the party on time when all my fiance brought with him was the address (that's another entry later). Fingers together, then stretch them out. Scroll, scroll, scroll. There it is. But where the hell are we and how do we get there?
I usually call my best friend, Mark, and dish all the dirt/news once or twice a week. Suspiciously, I kept "forgetting" my iPhone at home, missing calls. Rather than calling him and bragging about the phone, I called him today--to tell him I returned it. It was almost cathartic and forgiving. But not before retelling about my walk in the valley of embarrassment--ultimately ending at the Apple store today.
Before I walked down there, I told my co-workers (3 of whom have one) I was returning it. I think they thought I was crazy--why was I returning it? Eh, I'm just going to go return it. I didn't use the iTunes feature at all. I figured a 5th iPod was excessive. Or I was exhibiting a lack of commitment.
I walked in to Apple store..everything seemed to move in slow motion (no kidding). 4 Apple employees behind the counter, and a few others milling. I said "Hi, I'd like to return my iPhone" and began to take it out of the bag. All employees behind the counter turned to me and one of them said "What's wrong with you?" I KID YOU NOT. Not what's wrong with the phone, but what's wrong with ME.
I told them I tried, I really did. Even in my quasi-embarrassed state, I did send emails and surf the web while I was at Frys Sunday. But it wasn't compelling enough for me. The keyboard, sure it gets easier to use (slide and release) as you use it, but there is just something so familiar about a tactile keyboard. Call me old fashioned, but I like my keys clickable. The Apple folks didn't seem to understand. Their retort "Well, the keyboard isn't going to change." AS IF I needed to change to accommodate the iPhone. Oh geesh.
I then lamented about a lack of GPS feature (which I was reminded was not offered on the model--thanks, guys). The map feature is cool, yes, but take it a step further with GPS and tell me where I am so I can get where I need to be. Knowing where you need to go is only half the problem--the other half is knowing where you are when you start. somewhere between 85 and 280, but closer to the surface streets, so I won't know how to get where I'm going unless I know where I am. Simple enough.
So I continued to tell them I just wasn't that in to the phone and I could see the exchange of looks like "boy, I can't believe she's doing this." and "don't you think she'd try to sell it on eBay since we keep running out?" Alas, to keep my dignity, I just said I guess I'm really not a first gen buyer, and look forward to the next rev.
As I walked out of the store, I felt like I was in a bad, teen movie where the cool kids make fun of the lonely geek walking away. I could almost hear the giggles. Made me feel like I don't belong with those Apple folks. Hope that's not the case, since I own more apple products than I do have fingers. They need me! Maybe I'll go back again one day, but for now, I'll stick to my 60GB iPod for my daily Apple (iTunes) a day.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must state I did not wait in line for the iPhone, but I did drive down to the Apple store when they called and said the one I asked to be put "on the list incase you get any iPhones at that store, remember to write down my name on said list, and then actually have some left by the time you get to the bottom of the list" was waiting for me...for another hour.
That was last Friday. The next day we went to a party and a dinner and a woman asked if she could take a picture of me with the phone--you know, cause no one else would believe that she met someone that actually owned an iPhone. Uncomfortable.
I had a pit in my stomach at that point. I wasn't showing off my phone or telling people I had it. I was almost embarrassed. I felt like maybe I shouldn't have bought the thing. But wait, it's cool, right? And the nifty map feature got us to the party on time when all my fiance brought with him was the address (that's another entry later). Fingers together, then stretch them out. Scroll, scroll, scroll. There it is. But where the hell are we and how do we get there?
I usually call my best friend, Mark, and dish all the dirt/news once or twice a week. Suspiciously, I kept "forgetting" my iPhone at home, missing calls. Rather than calling him and bragging about the phone, I called him today--to tell him I returned it. It was almost cathartic and forgiving. But not before retelling about my walk in the valley of embarrassment--ultimately ending at the Apple store today.
Before I walked down there, I told my co-workers (3 of whom have one) I was returning it. I think they thought I was crazy--why was I returning it? Eh, I'm just going to go return it. I didn't use the iTunes feature at all. I figured a 5th iPod was excessive. Or I was exhibiting a lack of commitment.
I walked in to Apple store..everything seemed to move in slow motion (no kidding). 4 Apple employees behind the counter, and a few others milling. I said "Hi, I'd like to return my iPhone" and began to take it out of the bag. All employees behind the counter turned to me and one of them said "What's wrong with you?" I KID YOU NOT. Not what's wrong with the phone, but what's wrong with ME.
I told them I tried, I really did. Even in my quasi-embarrassed state, I did send emails and surf the web while I was at Frys Sunday. But it wasn't compelling enough for me. The keyboard, sure it gets easier to use (slide and release) as you use it, but there is just something so familiar about a tactile keyboard. Call me old fashioned, but I like my keys clickable. The Apple folks didn't seem to understand. Their retort "Well, the keyboard isn't going to change." AS IF I needed to change to accommodate the iPhone. Oh geesh.
I then lamented about a lack of GPS feature (which I was reminded was not offered on the model--thanks, guys). The map feature is cool, yes, but take it a step further with GPS and tell me where I am so I can get where I need to be. Knowing where you need to go is only half the problem--the other half is knowing where you are when you start. somewhere between 85 and 280, but closer to the surface streets, so I won't know how to get where I'm going unless I know where I am. Simple enough.
So I continued to tell them I just wasn't that in to the phone and I could see the exchange of looks like "boy, I can't believe she's doing this." and "don't you think she'd try to sell it on eBay since we keep running out?" Alas, to keep my dignity, I just said I guess I'm really not a first gen buyer, and look forward to the next rev.
As I walked out of the store, I felt like I was in a bad, teen movie where the cool kids make fun of the lonely geek walking away. I could almost hear the giggles. Made me feel like I don't belong with those Apple folks. Hope that's not the case, since I own more apple products than I do have fingers. They need me! Maybe I'll go back again one day, but for now, I'll stick to my 60GB iPod for my daily Apple (iTunes) a day.
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