Rick Singer on KFBK 1530AM

Awesome stuff on college admissions....

Click Here to hear the audio.

Blogging with Flock

The first half of 2007 has been the worst for air travel delays since the Department of Transportation started keeping detailed statistics 13 years ago, the government said yesterday.And preliminary numbers show July won't do much to reverse travel woes, either.June 2007 was the second-worst June on record for flight delays, with only 68.1% of flights arriving on time as a result of more jets in the sky and particularly bad weather at key airport hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth International. Last year in June, 72.8% of flights arrived on-time. Only June 2000 was worse than this year at 66.3% on-time, when surging travel demand and airline labor battles clogged air transportation.

The Middle Seat - WSJ.com

Blogged with Flock

Chrysler

Chrysler hired ex-ceo of Home Depot, Robert Nardelli.

With US automakers struggling to keep pace with the likes of Toyota, Lexus and BMW, Nardelli might be just the outsider who can revive Chrysler.

It will be interesting to see how his experiences at The Home Depot will help him in Detroit.

Traffic on I-80

Traffic on I80
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

9.30am on I-80 near Davis and the traffic is thick. There's no accident. No construction. Nothing. Just a lot of cars between here and Marin County. Its a Saturday and still there's a lot of traffic.

This just in. Sacramento is no longer is a small town.

Toyota

Toyota continues to dominate.

They announced that net profits rose by 32%. Quality issues have taken center stage recently, but Toyota's brand name and reputation for quality has led the Janpanese car maker to keep its American rivals at bay.

In 2008, watch for Toyota to take even more market share from American car companies. Ford's recent news that they will put up Land Rover and Volvo for sale only signals that the American auto group is in worst trouble than its letting on.

18th and L Street

18th and L Street
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

In the midst of a depressing housing market in the Sacramento area, there has been a few projects that have managed to out perform expectation. SKK Developments new loft project near the corner of 18th and L Street is just one example.

What makes this a really cool project is the fact that urban living is now in Sacramento in a very Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle type way. This isn't a condo conversion of a 1970's apartment building. This type of project represents all that is good about Sacramento -- the future.

If you haven't been to mid-town Sacramento in sometime, check it out. There is a lot going on.

Sac Airport

I am at the airport this morning headed to Orange County for the morning. I got here at 5:30 am and the security line is already out the door.

What's wrong with this picture?

SoccerProfiles.org

We are really excited for the re-launch of our social networking site www.soccerprofiles.org. We had developed the site about 4 years ago and it has done well without any type of marketing or push from us. We have registered users from all 50 states and several foreign countries. We really think that the next 12 months will lead us to a huge growth spike as we re-tool some of our features and really open up with a marketing push.

Stay tuned, or better yet, check out www.soccerprofiles.org for more info.

Elite Soccer Camps

Next week we are hosting our last session of elite soccer camps for the summer of 2007. Director Simon Sheppard will once again lead the camp. If you want more information, please visit www.elite-soccer.com or email him at ssheppard@esmgroup.org

The Red Rubber Ball

Several years ago I attended a banking and real estate conference called PCBC in San Francisco. One of the keynotes was given by a man named Kevin Carroll, who worked for several companies, including the likes of Nike. He changed my mind, and helped foster my creative to both write my book and found ESM.



He spoke about the power of play. He talked about how each one of us has the ability to evoke positive change in the world, and to do so we needed to find our inner child. By doing that, he argued, we could have a powerful experience everyday. Most importantly he emphasized, that if we found that inner child and that passion to play that we could accomplish great things along the way.



In a lot of ways his speech helped me to write my book. In it, I talk a great deal about the power of play, and the ability we have in our society to effect kids through sports and empowerment.



One of the most interesting things I come across in my travels is that plethora of parents and coaches who don't get it. I can't put it any simpler: they just don't get it. They think that sports are about winning. They think that sports are about bragging about who is a better athlete. I am hoping that my book will shed some light on what's going on with the current plight of youth sports in America, but more importantly, provide a road map for what we need to do in order to bring about powerful change.



In the end, its all about finding a way to play.

The Getty

IMG_1039.JPG
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

If you haven't visited The Getty yet, you have to. It is most likely one of the most impressive cultural experiences in the states. From the minute you walk in you are so in to the whole experience, and just keep going from exhibit to exhibit. You can spend the whole day there, and not even realize it.

Check out my flickr photos on the right hand side of this blog for more details.

Flickr

For about 4 months now, I have been using Yahoo!'s photo management system, Flickr.

Flickr has changed the way I communicate using the web. Now, I snap a photo of something, upload it to my Flickr account, click "blog this" and moments later the photo and any text I want appears on my blog.

It also allows you to create collections and sets that you can email to friends, family and business associates.

This isn't meant to be a plug for Flickr, but the more I thought of it today, tools like Flickr, Facebook, Paypal, and others have really changed the way we live, interact and thrive as humans.

What I have been thinking a lot about this week is finding a way to utilize all these new tools from web 2.0 and make it impact our small business.

Food for thought tomorrow as I hit the road to Santa Cruz.

Social Networking

There seems to be a lot of blogging going on about Facebook. As you know, Facebook launched its new "open" platform. A backlash has hit Facebook in the wake of a tremendous amount of upset users who have been overloaded with a sea of new apps.

Facebook's plan is simple. More users equals more revenue. However, they may have overlooked one key element: they need to keep their current users happy.

Social networking a la Myspace and Facebook seem to be played out a little bit, but there is a new paradigm in web 2.0 and its called user generated content. I really think that this is the key to the future of social networking. Wikipedia and others have done a great job of creating content that has come from the users. My hunch, though, is that there is another twist in this game that will soon hit. Social networking may be played out, but the paradign is going to shift again.

iPhone: Cingular, AT&T or whatever their name is today bungled the opening day sales of the iPhone. Steve Jobs, wake up, cingular is not ready to handle Apple. Open the iPhone to every carrier.

Rick Singer

Here is a brief interview with College Counselor Rick Singer. Visit www.thesingergrp.com for more information on how to help your student.

Club Soccer in California?

I am curious, which clubs in California are considered to be the best in the state. That is to say, who is known for quality coaches and successful teams. I am interested in hearing from you all.........let me know.

Red Eye

On the red eye to Pittsburgh, PA tonight. Today was one of those days that makes me feel very lucky to be building an educational services company that is geared at impacting kids over the long haul. I am going to blog more about this later, but to say the least we are really excited about some of our upcoming projects. I really feel that our traction is beginning to tack hold in the market.

That being said, we are going to have to stay on our toes everyday. The competition is fierce.

Airline Industry

Headed to San Diego and then Orange County for meetings. The last year I have flown out of Sacramento about 50 times. One thing that consistantly puzzles me is how the airline industry has been able to survive in such a competitive environment with such terrible customer service. I guess that speaks volumes about folks at places like Jet Blue who have tried to brand themselves as customer service specialists. To some degree it has paid off for Jet Blue, and others like Southwest. Today the lines are long with weekend travelers and 3 of the 4 security screening points are operating. Sacramento seems to be out growing its airport.

Parker in action on the Piano

Parker is a talent on the piano. I am serious. He's got some real game. Everyday my job makes me realize that kids can do awesome things. Our only goal in society should be to help inspire them.

Champs!

P6030082.jpg
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

Soccer Tournament

Soccer Tournament
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

More photos from the 4th Annual Elite Soccer Tournament coming soon. Check back on Friday for all the details, and a lot more photos.