Right Where I Need to Be

Final Day in Silicon Valley

2009-01-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

The final day of our trip to Silicon Valley wrapped up with one of the more eventful and interesting days of the entire trip. Our first session of the day was held at the Palo Alto Research Center. At PARC we met with a man by the name of, Ed Chi. Ed is the area manager and a senior research scientist in PARC's Augmented Social Cognition Group. He studies Web 2.0 and social computing. Ed also received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in 6.5 years from the University of Minnesota where he maintained above a 4.0 every year. You could say he’s a smart guy.

PARC was very interesting place to visit and it was a great opportunity to go to the place where many technological breakthroughs have taken place. Things like laser printing, Ethernet cable, and Blu lasers (technology behind Blu-Ray discs) were all discovered at PARC. We also got a tour of some of the different areas of their campus and learned a bit about the architecture of the building.

Our next stop after lunch was one of the biggest on the trip, Facebook. I'm sure most of you know, but Facebook is a online social media site that allows users to create profiles, share photos, add friends, and many other things on top of that. Facebook, as most other companies in the valley was a very laid back environment. Everyone has desks located in one common room, there are no cubicles. It was not uncommon to see people even skateboarding around the office area! The people that we talked with were all very intelligent and were able to answer all our questions that we had.

Our final stop of our trip was to meet a man named Robert Scoble. Robert runs a company called Fast Company, is a technology evangelist and has established himself as one of the leading bloggers on the Internet. Check out his blog, Scobleizer, here. Robert was able to share a few stories with us about his experiences, but overall it was a quick meeting.

Our final day in the valley was a lot of fun. I hope to do a full summary and reflection sometime soon.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Young Entrepreneurs and Experienced Analysts

2009-01-21T12:06:00.000-08:00

With only two days left in Silicon Valley we were left with only a few appointments still to attend. Wednesday brought two separate activities. The first was a meeting with a man named Ani Vallabhaneni . Ani is an entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley that is currently on his third business and has also worked with a former Luther grad, which is how we got connected with the meeting. It was great talking to Ani and learn about what it was like to be an early stage entrepreneur in California. The one thing that stuck out to me in talking to Ani was his attitude was the same as all of the other long-time, successful entrepreneurs. It has been great to see that entrepreneurial spirit in both starting and long-time entrepreneurs.

On a side note, our meeting with Ani was held at a Turkish restaurant. As you would probably guess, I have never had Turkish food. We had many different types of appetizers and my main dish was some kind of grilled chicken wrap type thing. It was surprisingly good. The foreign food in this area is yet to disappoint me.

Following our meeting with Ani, it was off to Forrester Research to meet with Jeremiah Owyang. Jeremiah is social media analyst. What he basically does is help large companies decide how they can take advantage of social media in order to make their business more effective and efficient. It was really fun and interesting to listen to a person that is basically a professional in using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools. I gained many valuable tips on how to be better perceived online, like purchasing my own domain, jakevaith.com.

Wednesday night also brought an opportunity for Wes and I to attend an O.A.R. concert in downtown San Fransisco. The concert was held at a place called the Warfield right in downtown. We were able to take the CalTrain into town and it was a great concert. O.A.R. has always been the one band I have wanted to see in concert and I finally did. Front row even! Overall, it was another great day.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

VCs and TVs

2009-01-20T21:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the delay in posting as of late. I have been busy with things around here in the Valley and haven't had the chance to finish blogging about Tuesday yet. As I said in my last post on Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit two great companies, Hummer-Winblad, a venture capital firm, and Revision 3, an Internet TV start up.

Our visit to Hummer-Winblad was a great opportunity to learn a lot about the venture capital world from one of the best in the business, Ann Winblad. Ann is actually yet another Minnesota native, born in Red Wing and graduated from the University of St. Thomas. Now in Silicon Valley, her company helps to fund software start ups across the nation. Ann was able to share many do' and don'ts, tips and all around advice of starting businesses in the Valley. Her knowledge of the industry and life in Silicon Valley as compared to Minnesota was some of the best information we have gotten thus far on the trip. After meeting with Ann for about an hour and a half, it was time for lunch and off to Revision 3.

Personally, Revision 3 has not been a site that I have visited often. Check out their site here. They create shows for distribution strictly online. They cover topics in technology ranging from computer tips to hardware reviews and many more items. It was really cool to get to see how Internet TV shows are produced and the equipment that it takes to get everything done. Also with our Revision 3 visit, we also got to meet with Dave Mathews, an evangelist for Boxee software.

Boxee is an application that is still early in development (Alpha stage) that allows users to download their software and watch TV shows from all major networks and channels in the US. You can think of it as free TV on your computer. Boxee has already received awards for innovation and uniqueness in the industry. This software could have a very large impact on the way we watch TV in the future. Dave was also able to answer many questions regarding his software and other projects that he has worked on in the past. He was a very fun, laid back guy that was really easy to talk to making this visit one of the better on the visit.

At the end of the day Tuesday shaped up to be one of the more enjoyable days up to now on the trip. We learned a ton about venture capital and starting businesses in the Silicon Valley area and also a lot about the possible future of TV shows. Just two days left here in the Valley. It has really gone fast. On Wednesday we will be having lunch with two new entrepreneurs and also going to Forrester Research. Check back soon!

Don't forget to be checking out our pics on the group Flickr site. Right here!

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Inauguration Day: A Non-Silicon Valley Topic

2009-01-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

Today, Tuesday the 20th brought one of the more interesting days for the Luther College crew here in Silicon Valley. On our schedule for today was Hummer-Winblad, a venture capitalist firm, and Revision 3, an Internet TV company. Today was another eventful day, not only for this group, but the entire nation. It was the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

In order to catch the inauguration before our meeting at Hummer-Winblad, we left the hotel at 7:15 so we would have plenty of time to get into downtown San Fransisco. Upon arrival at Hummer-Winblad we all gathered in a small conference room with the only TV around the office area along with many employees as well. I think I speak for the entire group when I say it was really a powerful moment for all of us. Personally, as I sat there listening to President Obama speak, it was also a time for some personal reflection of my own...

What can I do to help in our society? Not only my country, but my friends, my family, my fellow students, mentors, and neighbors. In listening to President Obama speak, not only today, but throughout his campaign, it has truly made me feel proud to be an American for one of the first times in my life. I hope that others will also be inspired to do their small part in re-building this fine nation, one step at a time, as that is what it will take, effort from everybody, in every community, all across this nation.

So get out there people, do your part! Whether it be motivating people to find jobs in your community, creating jobs by becoming a more entrepreneurial person, educating both young and old alike, or even becoming a more "green" person to help our environment. Every little bit helps. Of course there is a lot more that we can all do, but we all need to start somewhere.

Sorry about about this slight tangent of a post, but I hope you all have also taken time to think about what you can personally do to help this cause. It will take all of our collaborative efforts in order to succeed. So think about it! Now of course, I'm not an expert my any means. But I just wanted to share my thoughts with everyone. I'll be back to the Silicon Valley experiences next time.

And if you missed the speech. See part 1 here, and part 2 here.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Hiking in the Foothills and Steve Larson

2009-01-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

Week two in Silicon Valley started with a low key Monday. We had the chance to sleep in and once I got up Brad, Wes, Daniel, and I went for a hike in the foothills of Palo Alto. We had the chance to see some great views of the Bay and the Ocean at the same time. It was a nice way to start-off my Monday.

We came back to the hotel around 3:00 so I decided to go for another run, swim and nap by the pool before our meeting with Steve Larson at 5:30 at the hotel. Our meeting with Steve was very informal as we all gathered outside around the pool area and had another great Q and A session. Steve worked for many companies (including our professors start up, Net Perceptions) hiring and working as interim-CEOs on multiple occasions. Much of our conversations revolved around interviewing and preparing to enter the job market. Some of the key things he shared with us were techniques for resumes and interviewing, overall how to make good impressions with people.

For those of you out there looking for a specific piece of advice, Steve shared one very interesting tip with us that I feel everyone should remember. Next time your interviewing for a position, ask two things: What did the person that had this position before do well? What did that person not do well? Being able to elaborate on both of these questions is a great way for anybody to make yourself look good in an interview. So next time your in an interview, remember this tip and hopefully it will help you make a good, lasting impression.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Sunday in the Valley

2009-01-18T11:23:00.000-08:00

Sunday in the Valley came and it was finally a time for me to sleep in and relax. I didn't get up until about 11:30. I laid around for a bit watching NFL Countdown and decided to start on my much needed laundry. As my laundry was going I was able to go for a good run in the fitness center here at the hotel. After my laundry was done and once the Cards beat the Eagles, I decided to hop in the pool for a couple laps, followed by a much needed nap by the pool.

The night ended with more football and then Wes, Brad, Elliot, and I took about a mile and a half walk to a nice hometown Italian restaurant. We had a great meal and returned to the hotel. I threw in a movie, Wes made it halfway through, I finished it and hit the hay. It was a nice low-key day, and Monday should be similar.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Tourist Day in San Fran

2009-01-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Saturday and it finally gave us a chance to get away from our weekly schedule and go into town and do whatever we wanted. We were leaving for San Fran at 10:30 am so I got up around 9 or so and got a run in. We grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and we were off.

It took a little over an hour to take the 101 north all the way to the Fisherman's Wharf. We didn't have our night tour of Alcatraz till around 4, so we had some time to kill. Wes, Brad, and myself decided to find a bike rental shop and take the one hour ride to the Golden Gate Bridge. The ride was really fun. We got to see a lot of the coast and see all kinds of people out enjoying the beautiful weather. It seems that everyone pretty much has a dog, and most of the time they aren't even kept on leashes, its a really active area. It took us about 35 minutes to reach the Golden Gate Bridge and another 15 minutes or so to get across it. One side of the bridge is for bikers only and the other for walkers only, but the bridge is still very busy. It ended up being probably the best way to see the bridge and take in a little of the area.

Once we got back from from our bike ride all three of us decided it was time to get something to eat. We walked around the Wharf looking for something small to eat, but that wasn't easy to find. We ended up finding a place that specialized in crepes, so we decided to stop there. I got a Hawaiian crepe (ham, cheese, and pineapple) and it was delicious. By that time it was time to meet up with the rest of the group and board the boat to head to Alcatraz.

The Alcatraz tour, as you would probably guess, was very interesting. The boat ride there takes only about 15 minutes and we then had about 3 hours on the island to explore and do as we wanted. I took an audio tour and listened to different park employees tell stories of the island it was really interesting. Highlights of Alcatraz for me where the views of both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge during the sunset and a fully lit up view of San Fransisco, seeing the demo of the closing and opening of the cell doors inside the prison, and getting to explore some of the dark hospital rooms. Make sure to check out the video I posted, and of course the photos on our group Flickr account here. They are all pretty amazing.

By the time we got back to the mainland it was once again time to get something to eat. We all wanted to get some good seafood so we walked around until we found something that looked liked it would work. I ended up getting fresh Halibut and even tried some of Wes' Mussels that he got. It was all very delicious just as expected. We ended the night back at the hotel with a few drinks and some more games of 500. I had a great time just being a tourist here and taking in some of the sites, it was a ton of fun.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I look forward to relaxing and watching some football.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Citizen Space, Pixar, and MobiTV

2009-01-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

Friday here in the Valley brought yet another very eventful day for our group. We started the day by heading to downtown San Fransisco for a company by the name of Citizen Space. Citizen Space is a company that provides work spaces for people in the valley. Think of it like a Starbucks without the coffee, and people pay for the working area. They are also provided with computers and printers and things like that to get their job done. Just like all the other business here in Silicon Valley, it's a very laid back atmosphere where people dress casually and can bring their dogs in the office space.

Our next stop was one of the biggest of the trip, Pixar. As I'm sure you all know Pixar is responsible for making movies like Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Cars, and Wall-e. It was very lucky for us to get into Pixar, as it was a friend of a friend that our professor, Brad Miller, met while on a cruise over Christmas. We arrived and got checked in and hung out in the famous Pixar atrium while we waited for the person that would be showing us around. As we waited the receptionist received multiple phone calls asking for public tours. They would respond, "We do not allow public visitors on the Pixar campus." Once again for us, it's all who you know.

Our tour started by getting a little history and background as to what goes on at Pixar and what went into building their campus. We then got a tour of their offices and we're able to see a screening of an upcoming short that will premiere on their next film, "Up". We also got a chance to eat at their cafeteria and do some shopping in their store. Once again, it was another great experience to see a company that most people never get to see, however we don't have a ton of pictures as just like most other companies, they don't allow pictures expect for certain areas.

Our final stop of the day was a company called Mobi-TV. Mobi-TV is a company that provides major cell phone carries with live TV for their subscribers. We were able to meet with Alan Moskowitz, current Mobi-TV employee and one of the founders of Tivo. Alan told us his story and had yet another great Q and A session. Mobi-TV was actually the most surprising of all the companies that we visited up to this point. They had a great user base (~5,000,000 users @ $10 a month) and an absolutely amazing office area. They were on the top floor of a very tall building over-looking the bay. Alan ended the visit by giving us a tour of their control room and showing us a demo of their software.

Since we were in the downtown area, we decided to stay in San Fransisco for the night and check out the area. Wes and I spent a few hours walking around Union Square, people watching, and taking in the culture. We ended the night by having a great dinner and headed back to the hotel for the night. Once back at our hotel, we played a little 500 before it was time for bed. It was another great day for our group.

This week is over and we now look forward to the weekend when we can be tourists for a few days. Should be fun.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

My Dream Company: Apple

2009-01-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

Shortly after our visit with Google, it was time to head to one of the most admired and exclusive companies in the world, Apple. The makers of everything iPod, Mac, and iPhone, Apple has become a leader in innovation and technology, not only in Silicon Valley, but around the world.

To truly understand how lucky we are as a group, understand this; Apple does not allow the public to come into into it's campus, security is tight so as to prevent the public from coming in. There are no tours that people can sign up for. Lets just say...we have connections. So as before, we have minimal pictures of this campus. Put it this way, people have literally parachuted into the campus just to try and get a shot of the inside, it's that exclusive.

The afternoon at Apple started by again, like Google, checking in with security and meeting with the people that would be showing us around campus and talking with us while we were there. Melissa Horn, an Apple employee escorted us to the Executive Developer Briefing Room, where we would be meeting with two other employees to have a Q and A session. Lets just say it was a very large step up above any other conference room I have ever been in before. Apple provided us all with snacks and beverages, and even Apple branded pens and leather folders, approximately a $35 value in the Apple store. The employees had a presentation for us followed by a Q and A.

The biggest thing that stuck out to me in the Q and A was when asked about their motto, mantra, or mission statement, they simply turned and pointed to the Apple logo projected on the screen. Their logo is what they stand for, they have no mission statement. The Apple logo means something in the tech world, and all their employees feel it is their job to protect and represent it. Very, very cool. It's a company that knows they are doing something special and know it is their responsibility to provide the greatest products to their loyal customers.

Following the meeting, we were given a tour of their entire main campus, consisting of 6 main buildings, including a cafeteria. Originally, we had no plan to eat in the Apple caf, but when we were walking through, the employees kindly invited us to go ahead and eat whatever we wanted, so being the poor, hungry college kids that we are, we helped ourselves, And all though this may be a very nerdy thing to say, it was a really cool experience. We ate our lunch on the patio of the Apple campus, and then heading out to the employee store.

I was looking forward to this part all week. It was a chance to purchase exclusive Apple products that can be bought no where else, and the employees were able to give us their employee discount. Needless to say, I had to buy something or things. I ended up getting a t-shirt, polo, hat, and mug. Very nerdy, but very, very cool.

Overall this experience was very eye opening to me and truly an inspiring moment on this trip. Apple is an amazing company that I would really do anything to work for someday. What they stand for, the Apple logo, quality, and pleasing the customer; is something I can see myself doing someday. But who knows, lets just get through school first. But like everyone at Apple I talked to, if you want to work here, and you have the skills and you put the work in, someday you can work for Apple.

I guess its time to start working harder, building my skill-set, setting high goals, and hoping for the best. You never know what could happen...

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

My Google Experience

2009-01-15T23:58:00.000-08:00

On Thursday we had the chance to visit two of the most influential companies in the Valley; Apple Inc. and Google. Both looked to be highlights on the trip for me, it was just a matter of if they would live up to the hype for me or not. Before I talk about what we did, wrap your head around this:

Fact: 13 hours of You Tube video is uploaded every minute to Google's servers.
Fact: Every 4 hours of every day, Google adds more information than the entire Library of Congress to its databases.

Think about how much that is. That should give you an idea of the power of this company.

The day started out by heading out to what is known as the "Google-plex". We left our hotel about an hour early so wouldn't arrive late. I think we slightly under estimated the size of the campus, as we were supposed to go to building 43. Simple right? Wrong. We arrived on campus and started seeing buildings numbered 3.1495... and 2.7182... (the values for e and pie) and realized we may need a little help getting around. So we asked and eventually ended up finding the parking lot for building 43 and went ahead and checked in.

We met Craig Cornelius, former Luther grad and prof and current Software Engineer at Google, and Rick Klau (check out his blog here) a current director of Blogger, the software that allows me to make this blog, and is owned by Google. We were able to sit down in one of Google's conference rooms and have a Q and A session for about an hour and a half, followed by a tour of the campus and campus store. It was a very educational experience. However, I'm sure your all wondering about the actual working environment that we have all heard so much about at Google. Well what you hear is true...

Walking through the campus it was not uncommon to see bowling pin sets laying in cubicles, people taking naps on one of the many sofas in specified nap sections, people playing Foosball, swimming, playing volleyball, heading to the weight room, walking around without shoes on or taking advantage of the free food and drink available throughout campus. I'm sure you would all like to see this, however, because of confidentiality, we were not allowed to take any photos while we were inside any buildings, you'll just have to take my word for it. And yes, they do allow dogs in the offices, but we never did see, or hear, any of them. The tour concluded with a stop at the Google shop where I of course picked up a new Google fleece.

Overall Google was an absolutely amazing experience, one that I will likely never experience again, pending I don't work for them. Their work environment is truly unique and style, while not perfect for everyone, should be at least considered an option in work environments both in, and out of the Silicon Valley. Of course, just like everyone else that has been there, I would love to work for Google, but we'll see what happens, you never know...

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Big Day: Apple, Google, and a Sharks game

2009-01-15T23:02:00.000-08:00

Today was a huge day for our group. We had a chance to tour both Google and Apple and get an inside look at how they do business. I'm going to blog more about these experiences later, as it's very late here and we just got back from the San Jose Sharks game and I am very tired. Lets just say we had a chance to go places where people outside of the company never get to go, it was very inspiring. Check back later for a full story of what we did today, but for now, I'm tired, so goodnight.

If your really board, check out our pictures here.

Until next time...when I'm not dead tired...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Powerful People and Powerful Cars

2009-01-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

Today was just as the title says, "powerful people and powerful cars." We started the day by heading into downtown Palo Alto to meet with Guy Kawasaki. Click here for more info on Guy. Guy was very, very interesting to talk to and have the opportunity to meet with. We were able to ask him everything from his 10/20/30 rule on pitching a company to his family life. To this day Guy has written 9 books dealing with starting business and other tips about business in Silicon Valley. It was really cool to be able to meeting this Internet "God" in person and get to know him just a little bit more. It was a very casual meeting as we all sat around a table, feet kicked back, and eating tangerines. Overall, great experience. For even more info on Guy visit his blog: How to Change the World.

For about an hour after meeting with Guy, we had the chance to walk around University Ave. and visit some different stores. Wes, Brad (our prof), and I went and visited the Apple Store and a really nice bike shop, Palo Alto Bicycles. We got a chance to get some info on local rides that us three may venture out on either Saturday or Sunday. After walking around for a while we had to meet Charlene Li, author of the book, Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Yet again, we were able to get a first hand account of whats going on in the companies like Facebook and Twitter. It was also cool to hear Charlene's story as it is unique in that she is not only an influential person in Silicon Valley, but also a mother of two young children. We ate at one of the top 20 restaurants in the US, Zibibbo. I had a very good grilled turkey sandwich with some cranberry sauce, not bad at all. But it would not be the first good food of the day...

After lunch we had about 2 hours to kill, so the group decided to venture down University Ave. to Stanford. It was about a 30 min walk to the beautiful campus of Stanford University. We walked through campus and visited to bookstore for a while as well. I did my best not to spend any money as I'm sure I'll be spending plenty at the Apple Store tomorrow afternoon. After spending some more time at Stanford, it was time to head to Tesla Motors.

Tesla Motors is a Silicon Valley start up focuses on the production of battery powered sports cars. I won't go into the detail of how they work, but lets just say...it's AWESOME. It really is amazing what they have been able to do to produce these amazing vehicles. We were given a tour of their show room and a full run-down of what goes into their roadster. We also got a tour to Check out their site for more info about them and their cars. We were also given a tour of the shop where they actually put the vehicles together right there on-site and got to see them testing one as well (check out the video). Very cool to see what kind of powerful vehicles can come out of new battery technology. For more info on Tesla check out their site. O and by the way, that care I'm standing by, was the exact same car that Tony Stark owned in in the movie, Iron Man.

By the time our tour was done at Tesla, it was time to meet Craig Cornelius, former Luther instructor and current Google employee for dinner at an authentic Indian restaurant, Darbar. Now I'll be honest with you, I was a bit skeptical of going to this place as I have never actually eating Indian food, so I didn't know really what to expect. So I looked at the menu, looked for the word "chicken" and "mild" in the same sentence and decided to order that. I honestly had no idea how to read the menu or how to say the name of what I ordered. In all honesty the food didn't look that good, but let me tell you, it tasted awesome. I really ended up enjoying and Craig and I kind of split our dishes with each other in order to have a little more variety. We at until we couldn't eat anymore and headed back for the hotel.

Once at the hotel I was able to work up the courage to go for a quick jog and a little swim in the pool. I'm now writing this and preparing for tomorrow. Remember what's tomorrow everybody? Two words:

APPLE & GOOGLE

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Flickr Account (Look @ Our Pics)

2009-01-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lutherlive

Click on this link to take a look at the pictures we will all be taking during this trip. All 10 of us (8 students, 2 adults) will be uploading to this site.

Happy browsing!

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Silicon Valley Day 2: LS9 and Sarah Lacy

2009-01-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Today was our first official trip into the San Fransisco area. We were able to enjoy a very good breakfast at the hotel and departed approximately 8:45 for LS9.

I can't imagine that any of you have any idea who or what LS9 is, so in a nutshell: LS9 is a Renewable Petroleum Company that has discovered a biological process using e-coli and sugar to create ultra clean diesel fuel. The company literally started with 4 scientists in a garage looking for a feasible alternative fuel and a few years later, LS9 was started. They have grown now to approximately 45 employees and are currently in the process of determining the most effective and efficient manner to produce this fuel on a large scale.

We were given a tour of their entire facility including offices and both engineering and biological labs. I don't have any pictures from the labs due to the very sensitive information and equipment that they have in them, but I'm sure we all looked really cool in our safety glasses. We then took off for the part of San Fransisco known as the Mission District for lunch and a meeting with Sarah Lacy.

We arrived in the Mission District at about 11:45 and by the time we found a place to park our gigantic van we had a little over an hour to explore the area before it was time to meet with Sarah. Some of the group was hungry so went to find something to eat, but me and Wes wanted to do a little exploring of our own. We walked for a few miles and really got a chance to take in some of the ethnic culture of the area. The area consists of a large Hispanic and Asian population and all the stores and restaurants to go with it. It was interesting to see authentic Asian restaurants right next to a modern AT&T store front. Kind of like two worlds mashed together in an 8 block radius. We also stopped in and checked out a few of the local bike shops to see what cool bikes I can't afford. By then it was time to go meet Sarah so Wes and I decided to grab a quick bite and a Whole Foods store and we were off to Sarah's house just down the road.

Sarah lives right in the Mission District in a very stereotypical San Fransisco apartment. It was brightly colored, tall, no yard, and just kinda smashed in there, but very nice. Sarah was very inviting to all of us and had water and bottled Coke ready in her living room. For those of who who don't know, Sarah is a writer for Business Week magazine, a host for Yahoo Financial Online (which gets more views than CNN, fyi), and just finished her first first book, "Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0".

She was able to share her experiences from everything from cocktail parties after work to meeting Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook. It was really cool to talk to someone who as been all over Silicon Valley and had tons of experience in the field of reporting what happens in the area.

Tomorrow is one of the bigger days so far consisting of Guy Kawasaki, Telsa Motors, and lunch and dinner in San Fransisco. For more detail check out the schedule mentioned two posts ago. Also, we will soon be creating a Flickr account to post pictures so everyone can see what we've been up to. Take care.

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

We Made It!

2009-01-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

I have officially arrived in San Jose, California right in the heart of Silicon Valley, or as Kelsey so nicely put it before I left, the "nerd capital of the world". We landed at about 11:00pm our time, 1:00pm for you all back home. We had a short ride to pick up our spacious 15 passenger red van and then about a 10 minute ride to our hotel in Santa Clara.

We are staying at the Hawthorn Suites right on the famous El Camino Real. I'm staying with Wes and its a real nice upgrade from our apartment at Luther. We've each got a queen bed, a 32'' flat screen TV mounted on the wall, a desk area, couch and all the other usual items. The hotel even offers free breakfast, dinner, and movie rentals to all guests. Tonight we had lasagna, alfredo and garlic bread, definitely a step up from the caf. Should be a nice place to stay overall.

Tonight we had a chance to venture into downtown San Jose and visit The Tech Museum of Innovation. We were able to see a lot of technology related exhibits including the process of creating microprocessors and had the change to see the Imax movie, Adrenaline Rush.

Today was a nice easy way to start the trip and see a little bit of the heart of Silicon Valley. I truly feel like I am at the heart of the tech world. In the short drive to downtown San Jose we saw the headquarters of Nvidia, Intel, Ebay, PayPal, Acer, and Adobe. And that was just in a 15 minute drive! Tomorrow we visit LS9 (a renewable petroleum company) and two authors by the name of Sarah Lacy and Brian Solis. It will also be our first venture into San Fransisco. Should be fun!

Until next time...

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

Silicon Valley Preview

2009-01-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

So here we are, Thursday, January 8th, just a few days from my trip to Silicon Valley, California. Let me tell you, I haven't been this excited for a trip in my entire life. Thanks to a lot of work from one of my computer science professors, Brad Miller and Luther alumni, Stephanie Agresta this trip is really shaping up to be a pretty incredible trip of a lifetime. So why am I so excited? Well let me highlight a few of what could be some high points of the trip...

Wednesday, January 14th - Guy Kawasaki
Guy is currently a venture capitalist and a former Apple evangelist. He also is a very popular blogger (http://blog.guykawasaki.com/) and has a recently released a book (http://www.guykawasaki.com/) He will be very interesting person to talk to and learn from.

Thursday, January 15th - Google AND Apple
Thats right. We are going to Google in the morning and Apple in the afternoon. This is going to for sure be an amazing day. Two of the biggest and most powerful tech companies in the world. We will be getting a tour of Google and be eating at the world famous Google cafeteria. At Apple we will be getting a tour of the headquarters and have a chance to shop at the special Apple employee store. This store features items that can only be purchased there and no where else. They actually don't even give public tours of Apple, but I guess it helps to have connections. Its all who you know! O and on top of that, we are going to San Jose Sharks game that night!

Friday, January 16th - Pixar Studios
This day we will be visiting Pixar, the maker of films like Finding Nemo, Cars, and Wall-e. We will get a tour and also get to eat in their cafeteria. This was a surprise visit, should be fun.

Thursday, January 22nd - Facebook
This day we will be visiting one of the fastest growing social networking sites ever, facebook.com. This will also be a very exciting opportunity to see yet another very unique work environment.

This is just a short list of some of the things that we will be doing. I'm really looking forward to it. I will be blogging and posting as our trip goes on, so stop back for updates! For a full itinerary of our trip go ahead and check it out here.

Until next time....

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"

My Entrance to the Blogging World

2008-12-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

Hello all and welcome to my blog! This is my first and only blog that I have so I hope you enjoy. For those of you that know me I'm sure your probably thinking one thing at this point:

A) What could Jake possibly tell me about in a blog that I would feel as if I am completely wasting my life away?

To you I respond this:

A) I hope to entertain you with many things about me, my experiences, my thoughts on issues and life, and stuff I find just plain entertaining. Expect to hear everything from stories from my jobs, thoughts on school, expereinces from my travels (San Fransisco in January!), articles or other media that I find entertaining online, reviews on movies and games, thoughts about current events in news and sports, my fantasy football playoff picture (your going down Wade), computer tips and tricks, and hopefully a ton more! And lets face it, you really don't have anything better to do with your day and who wouldn't want to read Jake's blog?!

So go ahead and subscribe, bookmark it, whatever. I'll blog probably like every other day at least. (or so I'll try) Until next time...thanks for reading!

--
Jake Vaith
"Positive Attitude, Best Effort"