Category Archives: Posts

Lemon Jelly

A week or two ago, all the buzz on the internet was Turntable.fm. I loved the concept. It was a place where you could place music with other people. There were a few ideas that really stood out to me about it.

First, to get online, you had a sign in with Facebook. In this day, that isn’t uncommon, as lots of sites reach into your social graph for membership. Turntable.fm didn’t just check for a Facebook account to let you in, they checked to see if you had a friend that was already a member. Interesting way to virally spread a new service. Make sure that everyone has at last one friend that is a member. I would love to see their growth statistics to see how exponential it was.

When you get in, you can pick a room based on titles. Immediately, I started a room called electronic and started playing a track that was down tempo, and had a nice groove. After 15 seconds, the track stopped, and I was alerted that if there was no one else in the room, the music stops. Turntable.fm doesn’t want you to be alone, and reminds you that this is a group listening environment, a place to play music with other people. I changed to URL to chill, and found a room with a three other DJs playing some tunes that were music to my ears. What really stood out to me was a song called Ramblin, Man by a band called Lemon Jelly.

Ramblin, Man by whyisjake

I loved the song, and downloaded the album right away. Apparently a British band that released a few albums in the late nineties/early 2000s. Ramblin, Man comes from the 2002 album, Lost Horizons.

This album has a bunch of really great tracks. Nice Weather for Ducks, and Space Walk are among my favorites. There is a part of Space Walk that makes me smile every time I hear it.

Back to turntable.fm… I love the idea of sharing music socially. While I was hanging out on the #Utah channel the other day with a bunch of friends, It reminded me of a modern mix tape, where everyone is a contributor. Love the concept, love the artwork, and I hope to see you all there soon.

For some more, check out Tim Bray’s post.

California Dreaming

So, the word is mostly out, but there might be a few that have yet to hear the news. Tuesday, I was offered a job with Maker Media, a division of O’Reilly publishing in Sebastopol, California.

I know, I’m still reeling too. A month ago, I would have told you that I had no intention to move, I wasn’t even really looking at other jobs. But, something about this job posting stuck out to me… About six months ago, there was a similar job posting, and I passed up on it, my rational being that there was no way that we could/would move from our home. This time around, I thought what the heck, I might as well apply. If I got an interview, it would be interesting to se how I stack up.

After submitting my resumé, I got an email back just a few hours later wanting to set up a phone interview for the next day. I was excited and had a great time talking with HR person at O’Reilly. A week passed, and soon I was interviewing with the Creative Director, and the and editor from the magazine. After hanging up that phone, I was called back, and invited out to California for an in person interview.

Through all of this up that point, Melissa and I kept going back and forth saying, “We are going to tell them no right?” The idea of moving to California was something that was becoming a bit more of a reality. And, was growing on us.

A week later, I in Sebastopol, looking at houses, and trying to get the lay of the land. I had the awesome chance to interview with Dale Dougherty, partner and co-founder of O’Reilly. It was amazing to talk to him, and to see his vision of Make Magazine, and the impact that it can have, notably in education.

After coming home, and accepting the job, Melissa and I are packing the house, and getting ready to move. We are sad to be leaving a great neighborhood, with people that we love dearly, but are excited at the prospects that we can find in this new career path.

To Utah, we will miss you dearly!

To California, we can’t wait to see you!

The Oscars

For a long time now, I have look forward to the Oscars every year. I love the award show, but more importantly, I love the movies. Every year, I try to see the best of them, and love to play the show just like the March Madness brackets for basketball. Instead of throwing a party this year, (have a scout meetings…) I thought that we could track it online, and then I could do an award for whoever gets the most correct.

Sound fun? I mean everyone loves a giveaway right?

Continue reading “The Oscars”

My favorite Rush

So, on Pundit Kitchen today I saw this picture of Rush, and Rush.

Leading up to Rush’s birth, we weren’t sure about the name. It is a little different and aside from its use as a verb, the proper nouns that represent it are awesome on one side, there is much to be desired on the other.

So, for people that know him now, Rush is a pretty awesome kid. I can’t believe that he will be two in a week. Better image below:

Rush, Rush Limbaugh, and Rush Spurlock

Driven: An Autobiography

Over the last week I had the great pleasure of reading Driven: An Autobiography. The book tells the story of Larry Miller, a man whose name is known at every household in Utah as the owner of multiple car dealerships, movie theaters and the Utah Jazz.

It was a treat to read of his triumphs. Reading the book, and recounting so many historic events that have taken place in Utah was a real enjoyment. As he narrated so many stories of his life, I felt like was part of the family. Playing baseball and softball with him as a kid on Capitol Hill. Moving with the young family to Colorado to pursue a professional softball career. Or, signing documents to buy the Utah Jazz, a fledging professional basketball team on the verge of bankruptcy.

I been a fan of the man for a long time, but one experience really left an impression on me. After a visit to Larry Miller Speedway in Tooelle Utah. We were commissioned to do some video work. (I won’t go into to many of the details, but you read about one major incident here.) What impressed me was we drove up to the park, it was like we had descended into Motor World. The place was huge, and as we came to find out was just a playground for Larry. He built the place so that he would have somewhere close to race his cars, and as a result, it was one of the best racetracks built in the last 30 years. I was impressed, and have been back a few time since. In the book, he admits that the track is losing about two million a year, but the rest of his business is able to balance that out so the track can stay operational.

Another fun story was that of the Work and the Glory films. He invested a lot of money into the production of the three films. At an accounting meeting it was brought up that the production of the films (which he had financed) lost over 18 million dollars. A letter was opened in the same meeting from a member of the LDS church who said that they had not been active, but after seeing the films was brought back into activity. So, Larry quipped, now we know what the worth of a soul is. About 18 million dollars!

So, to make a long post short. Check out the book. It makes for a great read. I am happy to lend out my copy, or you can check one out on Amazon. Also, check out this profile of Larry written by the co-author Doug Robinson.

Big props to Scott for a great Christmas present.