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Chen Wedding

IMG_2823, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

James and Lisa got married on Saturday. It was a beautiful ceremony, and an awesome party afterwards. I posted a bunch of photos to Flickr, check them out.....

Congrats to the Newlyweds!

Painting the family room

while i have been at work, jessaca has been very busy painting.....

Sheppard Wedding

IMG_2765, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Last night was a great day for the ESM Family. Our CEO of Elite Soccer and Board Member of ESM, Simon Sheppard got married to long-time girlfriend Traci Bray.

It was an amazing evening filled with friends and family, all in the Sheppard's new backyard. It was really special to be a part of the evening, and Jessaca and I felt really honored to be there.

ESM Board member Ken Prager was in the house too, as well as Paolo Carbone who made the journey up from Santa Cruz.

Simon and Traci, we wish you all the happiness in the world.

I need to blog to stay healthy

I haven't blogged in 10 days. I feel sluggish and have had a cold. My brain is overloading with stuff regarding business, and I haven't had time to download it on to the blog (which is like my release)...

Is blogging another way to help a healthy body, mind and soul?

More to come...this weekend.

Great posting on business travel

I found this fascinating quote today:

On June 17th, I left my office, got on the A train, and headed to JFK to grab a flight to SFO. Since that day almost two months ago, I have spent six nights in my home in NYC. And it’s not over yet. Between now and labor day, I think I’ll spend another six nights in my home in NYC.A VC, Aug 2008

You should read the whole article.

awesome yogurt

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

There is a new face in the midtown community -- yogurtagogo opened up across the streets from the lofts on L Street. Awesome yogurt with a ton of fresh fruit and toppings. A great way to cool down in the hot sacramento summer.

Probably one of the best videos I have seen...

University Lipdub (HS Furtwangen) from DASKAjA on Vimeo.

Retirement

In order to retire, what is your magic number to walk away from your business? That is to say, how much do you need liquid in order to stop working and just enjoy life?

Honolulu

IMG_2458, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

My close friend and business partner James Chen lives and works in Honolulu. During all this time (2 years +) I have never come to visit him. We use email, skype, gizmo, or texting to stay in contact. During this period of time, I felt that those means were effective. Now being with James for a couple days and getting to bounce ideas off each other, and just talk about non-business stuff I see the value in face-to-face interaction again. When you have the synergies of everyone in one room it only helps to spur on debate and thus create great ideas.

Not sure how it will work, but I think James and I need to make it a point to meet twice a year - one time in Hawaii and the other time in San Francisco.

I am curious to know what other business partners think about face-to-face interaction vs. using technology to keep in touch?

The good part of owning your own business

IMG_2440, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Friends often ask me a lot if I like being a business owner. Sometimes, my answer is Absolutely. Sometimes it is Not Really. And sometimes I sit back and thank my lucky stars that I don't have a boss to report to. This picture sums it up....

Pizza My Heart

Pizza My Heart, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Dinner @ Stanford tonight. Long day of traveling ahead of me tomorrow, but I will be blogging while I am on the road for the next couple of days....with lots of photos on Flickr.

I want to see this sign in every airport in America

I want to see this sign in every airport in America, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

iPhone 3G

Really interested to hear from some of you who have purchased the new iPhone? Please leave a comment with your thoughts, reactions, comments etc... or just email me at downing.billy at gmail dot com.

Projects in Downtown

-1, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Check this out...

Smoke....continued

IMG00101.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

I thought that the smoke would be lighter in the bay area....I was wrong.

Smoke in Sacramento

IMG00100.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

The fires in the central state have inundated Sacramento with smoke. Snapped this pic with my blackberry on the way to a meeting in Elk Grove yesterday.

Dinner with Mom and Dad

IMG_2431, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

My brother and I had dinner with mom and dad on Saturday at Lucca's. For those of you who haven't tried Lucca's before it is located on the corner of 16th and J Street. Its one of the best in downtown Sac.

Tim Russert

Tim Russert, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

The death of Tim Russert today represents probably the most significant death in media in my lifetime. His perspective on the political process was ingenious. He will be missed by all who understood what he was fighting for each and everyday. My prayers are with his family and friends.

Downtown Sacramento

Downtown Sacramento, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Cool photo that I snapped a few weeks ago....

Billy @ Tumblr

Check it out, my Tumblr....

Isaac's Birthday

Birthdays are the best.....

58 Degrees

IMG_2284, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Kevin Johnson Delivers Closing Statement

Video Post of the new Mayor's debate closing statement....

Memorial Day

I am on the road today working with 10 clients all over Northern, CA. I started this morning in Yuba City, then off to Roseville, and then on to Granite Bay before ending up in Elk Grove this evening. Eventhough this is a holiday and I wish I was with my family and friends, I am blessed to have a job where I know I am helping kids achieve great things. Drive safe today as many of you return home from weekend trips. Its going to be a busy week.......

Amber Alert

On my way home on Thursday, I was driving back from Santa Cruz and I was thinking about all the things I needed to do this weekend and listing all my concerns for the next quarter as it related to our business. As I drove home, I noticed the Amber Alert system activated on the freeway. (In California we have these giant monitors along the roadway that give traffic info and also alert us when a child has been abducted.) All the sign read was Child Abduction: Blue Chevrolet and then listed the LIC plate.

This just in: We all have problems and worries, but seeing something like that puts things in perspective. I can't think of anything worst than losing a child to an abduction. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

Readers of this blog will know that I say this a lot, but I will say it again....Life is precious. Take each day as a gift.

New Facebook Design

New Facebook Design, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Here's a new snapshot of the Facebook design.....

Greek Video Clip

This is from my trip in May. I am working on an updated video clip of photos that Jessaca and I took from our trip to the UK and Greece in March. I hope to finish it this weekend. Enjoy!

Big Spoon in Midtown Sacramento

Big Spoon in Midtown Sacramento, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Along J Street in Midtown there is a great place to grab some frozen yogurt. Its called Big Spoon. Apparently, it is not the little secret anymore because when we walked in there was a line out the door. My Jessaca, Scott and his Jessica couldn't believe it....needless to say though, the wait in line was well worth it. I had my standard vanilla topped with brownies.

If you are in the area, stop by and cool down.

Comcast to Buy Plaxo

I am not a big fan of Plaxo -- I have used their Pulse product, which can be seen down the right hand-side of this blog, but I have found FriendFeed and others to be more useful. Plaxo seems to be struggling to find itself in a very crowded marketplace and now buy announcing that Comcast is buying them I have to say after reading comments posted on the company's website their users were not pleased with the idea of becoming linked with Comcast. Should be very interesting to see how this merger plays out, but I will most likely delete my plaxo account.

5th Annual Elite Soccer 6v6 Tournament

Simon Sheppard from our portfolio company, Elite Soccer Group announced today dates and information regarding their Elite Soccer 6v6 Tournament this June.

Check out www.elite-soccer.com for more details or email Simon directly at ssheppard@esmgroup.org

I will be posting photos of the tourney on our Flickr page. Make sure to check it out.

Buckhorn Branding

IMG00050.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Everywhere I go in midtown, I see people carrying to-go cups from Buckhorn. Doesn't matter where I am going - I see these cups on every corner. It seems that everyone has lunch at The Buckhorn Grill. Who would have thought that something as simple as a plastic cup can be such a significant marketing tool?

EO GLC

EO GLC, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Had a very interesting day at EO Global Leadership Conference. Will post on this later once it has all sunk in. I did manage to twitter some updates from one of the break out sessions that I attended.

Speed 3: The Movie

Speed 3: The Movie, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Is that Virgin Galactic? Great Branding.....just the simple red background with white font tips you off that maybe it is.....

iPhone #1 on Flickr

Interesting graph that I picked up from tuaw.com

Sacramento Capitol

IMG00053.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Took this cool pic on Sunday afternoon when I was at the Capitol.

How to get a job in Venture Capital

Great post by Seth Levine on how to get a job in the land of VC. Well worth a read...

This is a great workout....

Thanks to Foad for this awesome video link.

The New Blackberry

(via techmeme)

More on the Wright Controversy

Great posting today by Fred Wilson

The Lessons of Rev Wright

Like many (but not all) of you, I've been attracted to Barack Obama's message of unity and inclusion.

I didn't vote for Barack because I was afraid of what has now transpired. I went for the devil we know over the devil we didn't. But I've been rooting for him.

The notion of a post-boomer political realignment around the challenges that face us instead of the issues that divide us is seductive and powerful

Of course, that message has now been tarnished and we (or at least many of us) are asking 'was it just talk?'

I don't believe it was just talk and I don't believe Obama is a snake oil salesman telling us what we want to hear so he'll get elected. I believe Barack Obama wants to lead this country to a new place and tackle the important problems that our nation is facing in the 21st century.

But the whole Rev Wright fiasco tells me that our country is not yet willing to move behind the racial hate and anger, the religious divisions, and the bitter resentments that cynical politicians play upon to attain and retain power

I am not sure even Shakespeare could have concocted such a potent tragedy. A good and kind man who attempts to unite a divided land is stabbed in the back by the preacher who married him and baptized his children. And then the man of god calls him a "a politician" just to throw some salt in the wounds.

I believe in god but not in relgion organized by man. And I think the men (and women) who have cloaked themselves in the name of god have often done great harm. Religion is not the root of all evil but the people who traffic in it sure can be..

And Rev Wright is just one more in a long line of them.

Apple vs. IBM

CNN needs to get a clue

Today the only thing CNN has been looping over and over is the coverage of Obama's friend Rev. Wright and his crazy comments that he made at a NAACP convention. I am sorry, but in the midst of a national election is this the information CNN really wants to spend hours covering. There are so many more important issues that need to be fleshed out before we choose the next President of the United States. Just another great example of the how the hyper looney media is trying to shape public opinion.

Happy Birthday Ryan

IMG00042.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Birthdays are precious. Remember each one because they grow up fast.

Leveling the playing field....

Great post today from James Siminoff, Founder of SimulScribe (soon to be PhoneTag)...

When I was flying back to LA last week there was a guy sitting next to me who is some famous guy in the “Buy US/Pro Union” movement. I am not sure who he was but people kept coming up to him and telling him thanks for “helping America”. What made me laugh is that every-time someone came up to talk to him he had to take his headphones out from his Chinese made iPod and look up from his Lenovo (Chinese company that bought IBM’s notebook business) to talk to these people. I loved the irony. The way to fix the trade issues is to create an even playing field for manufacturing. If you want to bring goods into the US they need to be made in factories that uphold to our standards of environmental, OSHA, etc. Doing that would balance things out very quickly and American factories would be able to compete in market where the base rules are the same. Its like taking the steroids out of sports.

When I was flying back to LA last week there was a guy sitting next to me who is some famous guy in the “Buy US/Pro Union” movement. I am not sure who he was but people kept coming up to him and telling him thanks for “helping America”.

What made me laugh is that every-time someone came up to talk to him he had to take his headphones out from his Chinese made iPod and look up from his Lenovo (Chinese company that bought IBM’s notebook business) to talk to these people. I loved the irony.

The way to fix the trade issues is to create an even playing field for manufacturing. If you want to bring goods into the US they need to be made in factories that uphold to our standards of environmental, OSHA, etc. Doing that would balance things out very quickly and American factories would be able to compete in market where the base rules are the same. Its like taking the steroids out of sports.

What would you do without the internet?

L Street Lofts Night

L Street Lofts Night3 2008-02-04 sm, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Great Photo!

Cingular now ATT

I have to say I am really disappointed with Cingular (and Apple)....

Have you ever tried to get a telephone off the Cingular (now ATT Wireless) website? Impossible.

Then you find it and you call it. "We're sorry, please call back during business hours." Lame.

When are these guys going to realize that Skype and Gizmo and Google are coming for them, and just like Toyota took over the car industry, the mega smart companies are going to squash ATT, T-Mobile etc unless they get their product, customer service and deliverables on point.

I own a blackberry and an iphone, both with ATT and I can't stand the customer service or the rate plans. Its a joke. Here's what I want: a phone that works and a rate plan that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg to have even if I travel 200+ days out of the year.

Google hurry up with the gphone.

Highway Patrol

There is never a cop when you need one.

Too bad you couldn't send an sms message to 911 or the CA Highway Patrol notifying them of a crazy driver on the freeway.

It would be simple, just SMS:

"White Ford Mustang doing 105 mph on 680S near Danville"

Create an army of citizen officers with just a cell phone.

Presidential Election

The more and more I watch B-roll on CNN of Clinton and Obama fighting it out over who said what, and who did what a hundred years ago, the more and more McCain looks like a winner.

Getting a Scholarship

What's more important: getting an athlete scholarship or going to a college that is the right fit for you socially, athletically and academically?

Gmail

I will admit it. I was wrong.

I went from being the biggest basher of GMail to their biggest fan. It took me some time to get used to the interface (I used outlook for like ever) but once I took the time to label everything, Gmail has been a lifesaver.

Now my day start with checking my Gmail and gCal. It has been great to have everything integrated together. Makes my day so much easier.

Thoughts on the economy

1. With this liquidity crunch we are seeing that those with cash are once again king.

2. People are going to forgo big purchases until after the Nov 2008 election and wait to see what happens this summer with the economy.

3. Growth seems paralyzed by negative media and a continued re-structuring in the credit markets.

4. Someone really smart is going to figure out a way to capitalize on this down economy (and I don't mean buying forclosures) and it is going to be something so simple that we will all be saying "why didn't we think of that."

My Top 5 Reasons to start your own business...

1. You are in control.
2. You get to be more creative.
3. You become a better business person once you understand what it is like to be in management/ownership.
4. How much you make depends on how hard (or smart) you work.
5. Its fun to build and scale an idea.

Marketing

Everyday I think about how to grow our business and how to market and scale what we do, and then I realized that some businesses, like ours, aren't meant to be scaled.

We are providers of intellectual capital and people want to work with us because of the way we conduct business. The best way we grow our business is to have our clients tell others what a great experience they had working with us and that we got the job done. Period.

Old vs. New

IMG_1985, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

I snapped this photo in Athens. Really underlines the fact that Greece is in a old world vs. new world mentality. They very much have one foot stuck in the past, yet are making strides to embrace a more global persona.

This photo says it all.

Branding

If you want to build a powerful brand -- one that is a true representation of the quality and service you provide, what's more important: great employees that live and breathe your brand every day or an infrastructure that allows you to scale your business easy and effortlessly?

Athens - Syngrou Ave

Athens - Syngrou Ave, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

This has been a great vacation. I feel like Jess and I saw so much, and yet there is so much more to see when we come back (and soon). I feel like this has been a great time for me to re-think about ESM business and how I want to grow our business in 2008 and beyond. Its fun to ponder ideas, read, think out loud, read more, and just spend time doing stuff that's not related work. Often times that is what motivates me to think about new ways to approach my business and how I want to make this firm a positive impact on the youth of America.

Long day of flying tomorrow. Athens to London, London to SFO. Looking forward to being back in California on Sunday.

SoccerProfiles

A couple of months ago we started marketing our soccerprofiles.org website via Facebook and Google. At first I was skeptical. I have always felt that word of mouth marketing is the only way to grow your product on the web. I have been more inclined to focus customer experience than on growing our user-base.

Now, 3 months later we have doubled our user-base and seen our unique visitor per day double. The site is become more user friendly and I think it starting to earn a reputation for being the best "soccer only" recruiting site on the web.

While there are a lot of other sites that roll in all sports under one umbrella, I have always been of the mindset that I want to focus on what I am really good at and be the best at that. Think of it this way, when you want to buy a pair of really good soccer cleats do you go to the soccer shop down the street that specializes in that sport, or do you go to Sports Chalet down at the mall.

Ultimately, our goal is to build the best soccer recruiting site on the web and enable students to connect with colleges and coaches.

View from the Acropolis

IMG_0102, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

What a view from the top today. It was worth the day's wait to get to the top. Awesome.

Acropolis from a distance...

Acropolis from a distance..., originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

This was about as close as we could get today. These strikes are terrible. Everything today was basically closed to the public. In a country that is so desperate for tourism dollars to help their failing economy, they sure seem to be going out of their way to upset those who have come wanting to spend time and money and learn about Greece.

Its not that big of a deal for me since I am here about 3 times a year, but this being Jessaca's first time, I really wanted her to share in the history and culture that makes Athens such a super cool place.

That being said, we had a great day, and I am going to post some sweet pics on Flickr shortly.....

Tomorrow there is no strike!

More Strikes in Athens Today....

Changing of the guard in Athens, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

It was a lovely day today in Athens. Getting around was a bit of a pain because of all the transportation strikes and protests. Jess and I managed to make the 20 minute walk from our hotel to the city center, and caught the changing of the guard from afar.

One thing just kept running through my head all day long -- how has the Euro come to dominate the Dollar so quickly?

Seth's Blog

Here is a great quote from Seth Godin's blog. I really appreciate this type of thinking.....

So, there's plenty of bad economic news floating around. From the price of oil to Wall Street to bailouts to the death of traditional advertising.

Which is great news for anyone hoping to grow or to make an impact.

Change (and the fortunes that go with it) is almost always made during the down part of the cycle. It might not be fun, but it's exciting. (Where do you think Google came from?) The opportunity is to find substantial opportunities (in any field) that deliver real value and have a future. Those jobs/investments/companies/ideas are undervalued right now, but not for long.

Big Ben London

Big Ben London, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

It is rainy and windy today in London. We did manage to grab a few great picks, which we will post on flickr when we get to Athens tomorrow night. Here is a snapshot of Big Ben today.

Even with all the rain, there are tons of people out and about in Central London.

Arsenal Football Grounds

Arsenal Football Grounds, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Not much to say - saw Arsenal play today at their new stadium. English Football is sick. The fans are awesome, and it is by far one of the best sporting events I have ever attended. In addition, Jessaca loved it. She was totally into the game, and it was really fun to see someone new to the game really enjoying it. More photos and videos to come. Final score was 1-1.

Adidas Jose + 10 Full Version

Maybe the greatest soccer commercial ever.

Old Blogs; Still Pondering

I wrote the below blog posting back in Nov 2006, but for some reason I have been thinking a lot about Globalization and how the USA economy is struggling...

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Globalization

I have always prided myself as being someone who is savvy with the new globalized world that we all live in. However, it wasn’t until a recent trip to Europe that the effects of our globalized world began to truly transcend upon me.

I was sitting at Heathrow Airport, waiting for my connecting flight to Athens. There I used my Apple laptop to connect to paytrust.com, a website that allows you to manage amd pay your bills online. One by one, I paid my mortgage, credit cards and car lease. While I was there, sitting next to me was a German woman sipping Italian coffee, eating a ham, cheese, and tomato croisant while talking on her Samsung cellular phone. The era of globalization was running around me at light speed, and it seemed that I was finally starting to get it.

Three hours later it felt good to be back in Athens. It had been almost a year since my last visit, and it was clear that the Olympics had been a positive influence for the city. Despite leaving an enormous debt on the economy, the infrascture had improved, the metro system was clean and fast, and modern architectural improvements made to the airport gave you the feeling that you were in Singapore or Munich.

For me, these trips have always been twofold – an opportunity to see friends and family, but more importantly it give me an opportunity to revaluate my point of view. In the United States we take for granted, oftentimes, our wealth. As a country, our prosperity trumps developing nations in Eastern Europe by a freighting level. In the day to day grind, it is easy to get locked into what I call the CNN version of the world; leaving the United States helps to put everything in place for me. The rest of the world has a different lens from which they view current events. No single perspective is entirely right or wrong, but seeing the full spectrum has always helped to focus me.

While Greece has remained an anomaly of sorts – a country that has sucessfully left one foot stuck in the past, keeping close at hand the traditions and culture that has come from its rich history, and yet still striding forward with one leg trying to grab hold of the new, fast-paced globalized world. Greece is very much a dichotmy of culture; old versus new; macro versus micro.

Sitting at the Monistiraki, where once the ancient Greeks traded their crafts, you can’t help but look around and notice changes. Now the area is lined with restaurants, tourists, shops, and peddlers selling bootleg cd’s. The smell of Americana and old Europe combine together and travel throughout the district.

Spending the day with my aunt, we were sitting at a Turkish bistro, eating Kabob and catching up with family news. Then it hit me.....Globalization is now here too.

I was sitting in Downtown Athens, in a Turkish restaurant, eating and drinking with a 72-year-old Greek woman who was sending a text message to her son asking if he wanted to join us for lunch. Over the radio blarred Madonna, as waiters quickly ran between tables trying to handle the overflowing dinning area. One of the bus boys had Nike tennis shoes. The owner was sporting a new blackberry. Globalization Greek-style.

Later that evening, I was meeting my youngest cousin for dinner at Cafe Zoe inside the Intercontinental Hotel. From the moment you walk in you are almost thrown off guard – The massive hotel lobby is more like a Vegas-style Casino than a hotel in Greece. English, Turkish, Farsci and Mandarin can all be heard as we made our way through the smoke-filled seating area where hotel guests were sipping on Russian Vodka, Greek Wine and American Beer. When Tom Friedman wrote in his book, “The World is flat” I had my doubts – but not now. The world is not only flat, but it is now shrinking.

It seems that no matter where you go – there is a global culture – one single global brand. While this may be a bit of exaggeration, you wouldn’t know it by spending some time at the Athens Intercontinental Hotel. We sat down to dinner, and the waitress very promptly came over and asked if we wanted to have anything to drink. She didn’t ask us in Greek, she asked us in English! We responded in Greek, and the waitress seemingly had to fight for words to reply. She admitted to us later that she was not Greek, but Bulgarian, working in Greece for a short time to earn extra money. She spoke Greek, but said she spent so much time speaking English at the hotel that it had become second nature.

Two days later I was on the road again. This time headed to Faraklada – a small village in the Peloponnese nearly three hours by car from Athens. Here my mother was born and raised before she came to the United States. The town of maybe fifty families is stero-typical of most villages throughout the country. The homes, many of them built in the late 1800s are made of stone, and have not seen significant improvements since that time. Walking up the stairs of my mother’s home always had a familiar feeling. The concrete steps have seen many years of family reunions, birthdays, and weddings. At the top of the stairs my uncle was waiting for me with open arms, his mustache and beard just as I remember. His pants and shirts torn, his hands rough from the day’s work in the field, and his deep laughter that bellowed throughout the house. It was good to be home.

Later that afternoon, we went out to olive orchard to inspect this year’s crop. Things had not changed since I last visited two years ago. The old, worn tractor still sat in its place next to the work shed, the concrete road still not finished ran along our property before turning into a dirt path. In the distance, the corn stalks were larger than ever.

The weather was chilly. The clouds began to creep though the valley. My uncle looked at the sky in disgust, hoping that the weather would hold for another week or so. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, and began typing. I was shocked. “What are you doing,” I asked. He indicated that he was sending a text message to a farming collague in the village approximately ten miles away to see if the rain had come there. In what he called a growing competitive market for olives, he had to stay ontop of the weather patterns more precisley in order to make sure that weather didn’t negatively influence his crop. He said that within twenty five minutes he could text 13 workers from the village to come to the orchard if he needed help to protect the crop from the storm.

On my way back home, again I was sitting at Heathrow. This time my lens was altered. I didn’t have to look for signs of globalization. It had been cemented in my head that everyone and everything around us is a part of the new world order. There are some in this world that fight change, and see Globalization as a way for the rich to get richer and the poor to stay poor. It is true that this point of view has validity, but if there was one thing I learned on my trip it was that if we embrace this new found connectabilty, even the most unlikely of people can impress you with their ability to navigate this new world.

2008 Election

Bush endorsed McCain today. Anyone else feel like that was a mistake?

I overheard someone at lunch the other day:

"If the democrats can't win this year, then they should close shop."

Not an original thought, but it is interesting to think about what would happen to the Democrats if they lose this one....

Your Brand = Your Employees

Today I was at my dad's Toyota dealership where I often meet my students in the board room. Most often we are never bothered by employees, and so I never have any interaction with his staff.

This morning was different. One of his employees walked into the boardroom quietly, unplugged our space-heater and walked out with it. At the time, Frankie and I were in discussions about the critical reading passage we just read so I said nothing.

After my session, I walked over to the employee and asked if I could the space-heater back (I bought it for the specific purpose of having it there for when I met with students). He proceeded to ask me a lot of questions and telling me that it was his space-heater blah blah. He, at the time, had no idea that my dad owned the dealership and that I owned the space-heater.

Long story short, after my encounter with the employee I walked away wondering how he treats my dad's customers. It has been bothering me all day, so I decide to blog about it. At the end of the day, your employees are the best representation of your brand for they are the ambassadors of your company on the front lines. They deal with customers, prospective leads, other employees, and academic tutors like me who just rent the conference room on Sundays.

Java City - Midtown Sacramento

Java City - Midtown Sacramento, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

As I stood in line at Java City today for my hot chocolate (I don't drink coffee) I couldn't believe that there was such a line at 8AM.

I started to then think about how each of these folks must come into Java City everyday and get their standard order.

I remember reading a blog posting by Seth Goodin where he asked a really interesting question, "When was the last day you went a whole day without buying anything?"

I can't remember a day like that.

Not sure what made me think about that at Java City, but it would be interesting to see if you took the $3 you spent on your morning drink, and just 10 days a month put that money into a money market. $30 a month for say 25 years. I am not a math guy, but I got to believe that if you did that on a regular basis for 25 years you would have saved up some nice bank.

Vasili

S5000275, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

When my cousin told me that he was entering his one year of mandatory service for the Greek Military Service, I thought he would have a lot of horror stories to tell. Thus far, his first four months have been pleasant and he speaks about how much time off they are given, and he often has the opportunity to return home for weekends.

The really interesting part of this story is the fact that he has embraced his military service as part of his nationalism. This is a great feat because, like so many of his peers, Vasili has developed a growing discontent with his government for providing a lack of education and jobs to the youth of Greece. For him, however, the opportunity for him to serve, like his father and his grand father, et al has reconnected him to why he loves his country so much.

Reading Starts When You are Young...

IMG_0165, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

It is never too early to start finding your passion through reading. This is a great picture of my nephew Ryan. Thanks Steve for the photo.

Priceless.

Simul-Scribe

I use the voicemail service called Simul-Scribe. The caller leaves a message, then it is transcribed and emailed to me on my blackberry. I get to read the entire message instead of listening to it. (I like that a lot!) I am curious if any of you out there use this service, and how accurate is the transcription in your opinion?

College Only Blogging....

I finally launched my college-only blog......

www.TheAdmissionsEdge.com

I will be updating it daily with news and advice about the college admissions process. Feel free to check it out and pass on the link to those who are interested.

Send me your feedback and comments.

Gizmo5

My business partner James Chen turned me onto a cool new feature on Gizmo called Gizmo5. (For those of you who use VOIP services like Skype, you probably have heard of Gizmo.) Increasingly, more and more people hace switched from Skype to Gizmo for a variety of reasons.

Gizmo5 is pretty awesome because it allows you to make VOIP calls via your blackberry device saving you a lot of money on international calls.

Check it out for yourself at: www.gizmo5.com

San Francisco

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

It was a very clear day in the city today. Great weather makes me think of summer.

Apple TV or Netflix?

I woke today thinking a lot about Apple TV vs. Netflix? Also, I thought about Comcast's On-Demand feature. The more and more I thought about this, I couldn't decide what I liked more. On one hand I love Netflix. You just que up your movies and they come each week. Apple is pretty sweet, but the box set up is timely and you need a hard connection (even with the best of routers the quality lags). Comcast is the easiest to use, but lacks depth in titles. (I can only watch Transformers so many times).

What I was left thinking about as I went to work was: wouldn't it be cool if you could text or email your movie que, and be able to schedule your movie time showing on your TV or Laptop. Maybe I am getting on board a red-eye tonight and know that I want to watch a movie on my laptop as I wait by my gate from 10-11:30PM. I simply email my que, and as soon as I flip open my laptop, my movie launches! Same thing if I know what time I want to watch a movie at home.

This race is just starting, so it is going to be fun to watch what happens next.

Random thoughts that I have learned while traveling...

I travel about 200 days a year. I like being in new places, but I hate the effort it takes to get there. I started blogging when I started traveling more for work. My brain doesn't work when I am sitting at a desk or in my office. My brain works when I am out and about. Here are some things I have learned:

*American Airport Security is a joke. This is a no-brainer. Frequent business travelers can tell you account after account about how weak the security system really is in our airports. No one really listens.

*My blackberry is way better than my iPhone. I like playing with my iPhone, but when I am on the go and business needs to get done, the blackberry wins hands down.

*Renting a car could be so much easier. Why are rent-a-car companies stuck in the middle ages? Why can't I have a credit card specifically for renting a car so that I don't have to deal with paperwork, waiting for the security guard to let me out of the parking lot, etc...? I should get off the bus, know my space #, get in the car, drive to the gate, swipe my card, and go.

*All rental cars should have navigation. No extra fee.

*Southwest has a new boarding protocol. It sucks. It is way more confusing. Why can't they just issue seats like jetBlue?

*Why don't all flights have internet?

*When it comes to customer experience US Airlines have no clue how to win and keep business. Fly on Virgin, British, Luftansa, Emirates, etc....They go above and beyond to keep you happy and pleased. The industry is very competitive, but US carriers treat you as they don't care and that you owe them. Very similar to the US Automobile industry. GM and Ford have been taught a real lesson by Toyota. If American, United and US Airways don't pay attention they are going to get a rude awakening from non-American rivals.

*Traveling makes you appreciate being home with friends and family.

*My iPod Classic 160GB is the single greatest electronic I have ever bought. I can't understand how I survived without it. No matter where I go, I take it with me. (I can't believe Strati was right.)

*I find myself wanting to use my laptop less and less. Instead I take pictures from my iphone and upload to flickr. I twitter things via my blackberry.

*Pizza is still my favorite food.

Paesano's

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

On Friday we had dinner at Paesano's. All I can say is that Jess and I are going to start eating there a lot more.

The College Blog

After everyone has emailed me asking for it - I am launching a blog specifically for the college admissions process....

esmgrp.blogspot.com

I will start posting tomorrow....

Thanks for your great feedback.

Kings Game

Kings Game, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Jess and I went to the Kings game on Friday night. Thanks to SKK we had great seats. It was my first Kings game in probably two years. I will say that I remember going to the Kings games in the early 1990's to watch Joe Klein, Spud Webb and of course my favorite Jim Les. Those games were exciting; every player for the Kings was a hustler and despite losing almost every game, the crowd was totally into supporting their team and trying to help them pull off a win.

Friday's game was sad. The stands were empty. The crowd was quiet. The game lacked any sort of real passion. Don't get me wrong - we will take a King's win anyway we can get it - but it just seems to me that the whole dynamic of professional basketball has changed here in Sacramento. I am not kidding you, but the fans didn't get really excited until the little kids who dance hip-hop came out and got the fans totally pumped. If the players had the same sort of energy, we'd be winning a lot more games - or atleast keeping some of the matches interesting.

The bigger issue for me, as I thought about my NBA experience, is how does a brand (in this case The Kings) continually try to exceed customer's expectations in a world where everyone wants everything for nothing. Take me for example, I had a great time going to the game with Jess, and I had no problem paying $8 for a beer and $5 for a hotdog, but I can't say that I am going to run out and buy season tickets for the Kings. The experience left me saying that I'd rather go watch an intense high school game or a college game at Stanford or Cal. How can the King's improve upon their brand and create a better customer experience for their ticket holders? At the end of the day, its not so much about whether they win or not, its about the transformation that needs to happen once you enter Arco Arena. In the 1990's we knew that the Kings were going to lose, but we didn't care because we knew that we were going to have a great time for the next 2 hours and our team was going to bust their butts.

Flickr

Who really cares about who owns Yahoo!? The answer is: not too many people in the "real world".....

What we want to know is what is going to happen to Flickr (Yahoo's really popular photo sharing website) now that the corporate giant Microsoft is going to take over it? Where will the loyal Flickr fans go?

Microsoft to Buy Yahoo!

The big news for today is the fact that Microsoft has offered to buy Yahoo!

Some questions, no particular order:

1) what is going to happen to @yahoo.com email?

2) What does Facebook think of this?

3) Should Google be scared? (I doubt it)

4) Will this encourage NewsCorp to jump into the game? Could they potentially be a better fit for Yahoo!?

SoccerProfiles.org

Thanks to our good friends at EzWeave in Folsom, we are proud to announce the launch of Soccerprofiles.org 2.0

Our online recruiting tool for prep soccer players that has garnered national attention in the last year, went through a major re-work.

Check it out and please let us know your thoughts....

www.soccerprofiles.org

Sports Specialization

The last few days I have received calls from parents asking me on my thoughts of kids specializing in a particular sport from an early age.

My stance is simple: playing multiple sports for a prolonged period of time benefits the child, mentally and physically.

Specialization leads to burn-out and lack of creativity. Playing soccer improves your footwork for basketball; playing tennis makes you a more adept baseball player.

The other part of the equation is that sports are supposed to be fun. The relationships that kids can make over time by playing with multiple teams can be valuable later in life (i.e. Job networking). Case in point: my first job out of college was working for my former club soccer coach. It was a relationship that was built over several years as a player-coach dynamic.

So I say "play as many sports for as long as you can." One day, you will have to retire and become a spectator. Enjoy the journey.

Too Many Brands

IMG00010.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Toyota

One of my 2008 predictions came true (kinda). According to WallStreet Journal, Toyota tied with GM with regards to world-wide sales. This is the first time that GM has shared the number one spot for as long as most can remember.

Toyota will continue to expand, and the chances are that we should see them take over the top sport within in the next one or two quarters.

Sacramento is Rainy

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Today it has been raining non-stop in Sacramento. The only good thing about the rain is that is makes me focus on work in the office and I find that I get a lot more done. There are a couple of really interesting posts on TechCrunch and Fred Wilson's Blog today. Check them out. I am also finishing up a couple of other posts. I want to write more about youth sports, but find myself reading and writing a lot about the economy.

Hotel Vitale

IMG_1443, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

More photos from the Hotel Vitale.

18th and L Street is finished.

18th and L Street is finished., originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

BofA to acquire Countrywide

News of Bank of America's plans to acquire Countrywide did little to settle the markets down. Countrywide stock trading near a record low of about 6 bucks. Who out there still doesn't think that there was housing bubble?

Thoughts on the Economy

For the last several weeks, many of my friends have asked me what my thoughts on the U.S. economy were...and what I thought 2008 will hold. In many respects, I think several of my friends were looking for me to cheer them up (I typically take a very upbeat outlook on the economy and try to see the brighter side of everything).

I am not sure what my overall thoughts are about 2008 and what the economy will hold for us all, but below are some predictions....

1) Toyota will go to #1 is US sales.

2) A democrat will be elected President.

3) We will see a continued downturn in housing prices in the areas that are over priced (like San Diego, Sacramento, Las Vegas, etc...)

4) Google's stock will continue to rise.

5) Twitter will become more mainstream and will have a huge effect on how we use facebook, blogger, etc..

6) We will see more consolidation in the banking sectors -- as mortgage defaults increase in the next two quarters you will see bigger banks snatching up the smaller community banks.

7) Credit Crunch will become a Credit Crisis.

8) The Celtics will win the NBA Championship.

9) Apple will release a new iPhone, only to be out-shadowed by a new Blackberry device.

10) The dollar will stabilize against the Euro.

Ryan Downing

Ryan Downing, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

For a few days last week, my nephew came to visit up from San Diego. He's the man. Boy, they sure do grow up fast...........