haha, thanks, clw.

Update on the Japanese Banking Crisis

According to our inside contacts the Japanese banking crisis shows no signs of ameliorating. If anything, it's getting worse.

Following last week's news that Origami Bank had folded, we are hearing that Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank plans to cut back some of its branches. Karaoke Bank is up for sale and is going for a song.

Meanwhile, shares in Kamikaze Bank have nose-dived and 500 employees at Karate Bank got chopped. Analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank and some staff there fear they may get a raw deal.

hola folks! things going pretty well over here, and it's been a while since i've updated :) just wanted to let you know that i'm also now on (through protected updates) twitter and friendfeed. I stream l double-o pt on those, so you'll also see where i am :) e.g. beautiful day!

i update frequently throughout the day on those streams and have been noticing a slow addition of friends to those two networks, twitter and ff (particularly twitter).

hopeful wishes for a happy and successful 2009 to you all!

my new year resolution is to read more books.
i'm reading obama's dreams from my father, a few biz-inspiration books, am ravenous about the economist/wsj/nyt, and am still ferocious about taking pictures, now mostly via my phone.

More App ads here.

i've been a fan of this dad's photos on flickr for a long time, ever since i came across a pic of his daughter eating ice cream back in 2006 on the flickr blog.



i have his photostream in my g.reader and go through it sometimes to see how his kids are growing. he takes the best photos of his kids. today, i came across a set of pictures called "solidarity head shave". apparently, the mom got cancer and he had his kids shave his head. i'm rooting for them.

rarely do i come across a blog i find consistently good these days, but i recently discovered one via some friendfeed linkages: neatorama.

interesting stories:

Diving with the Right Whale




And another one on peanut butter slices. Somehow I'm not convinced that's as nice as the spread. And similarly, wouldn't cheese be soo much better if it were spreadable?

And one more via a friend (thx clw). This got posted on vwag.. clearly a misuse of the internet... Bank robber hires decoys on Craigslist

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On a personal note, still busier than ever, but looking back a few months from now, I will be glad I'm working this hard. Last week brought on the first signs/sighs of fall and it's great. Love the amber sunlight and the cumulonimbus clouds. Looking forward to the end of October, when I will have time to do the things I've been looking forward to for a while.

a big and heartfelt congratulations to mindy and betsy for successfully finishing the GREs!

a toast and a cheer! onwards and upwards!

last report from her.. renting a house in anacortes (san juan islands of WA)

como siempre, she knows how to live!

wow, august has turned out to be quite a lively month for birthdays!

yay :)

When autumn comes
It doesn't ask
It just walks in where it left you last
You never know when it starts
Until there is fog inside the glass around
Your summer heart

Life is speeding by these days. A much anticipated trip to Carmel last weekend was wonderful in every way, but it went by so fast. My friends and I stayed in a gorgeous cottage in Carmel by the Sea, close to all the cute shops and minutes to the beach. My mind is still there.

August is here without much of a sigh, and things are going as well as before amidst a lot of work, both at work and personally. But it's been very good, and I really wouldn't want it any other way. I've been spending a bit more time up in the City these days, and have discovered (or finally tried out) a wonderful coffee shop called Blue Bottle in Hayes Valley. So good it makes me happy.

It's late and I should go take a shower. Big day at work tomorrow and I'm probably clocking 2 hours of sleep.. hmm...

pictures from the all hands today.

http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php

it reads like a book...!

Amit, who continues to be an inspiration as well as an incredible friend, scaled Mt. Whitney with the goal of raising $100,000 to build a rural hospital in India.

If you get a chance, do check his and his partner's site out, and help with donations!

http://hospitalforhope.blogspot.com/

just wanted to put a note here that today has been truly exciting at work.

the dream i had a year ago of contextual awareness and content integration is coming true, and it's very exciting to be a part of the action.

very, very exhausted.. got no sleep the night before.., but haven't been in better spirits.

is out on the iphone.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=281952554&mt=8

mm.. another reminder of all the wonderful nyc museums...

hope you all had a great 4th!

now back to work!

interview tomorrow for the podcast.
running into issues w/new mic and electrical noise in the background. fabulous. exactly what i needed right now!

someone at work took the frickin microwave

wtf? i just realized how much i take that thing for granted.

me --> cold lunches. BOOOOOO