Sometimes I wonder... Other times I know.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
 
Arrived in Greece..
I explained to my cousin that a blog is an online diary, so I decided I'll try to use it as such and write what I've been up to during my vacation in Greece.

We took Delta with a stop-over in JFK and then continued on to Athens... the Greek culture is like no other, and quickly became apparent when we landed as (1) most of the people clapped when we landed and (2) people pushed others quite aggressively to get off the plane.

The pushing continued when we were lining up for customs. I wasn't having it and spoke my first Greek in a long while... something along the lines of "hey, the line starts back there!" :)

Unfortunately, Delta loaded my bag, but not Lilian's when we were in JFK. We took the bus into Athens and met my cousin who took us to her apartment. It is fantastically located in the heart of the city. Its good to see her and her boyfriend Damien (who's from Ireland).

We showered, slept a bit and then went for a walk... I realized that only suckers walk around Athens in the day (myself included!)... dusk is definitely the best time to walk around, its beautiful and not nearly as hot. We sat in a cafe (which seemingly EVERYONE does) and had a drink. From there, a Gyro and then back to the apartment.

Today, Lil & I went to a small market just infront of my cousin's apartment. The farmers from outlying cities come with their fruits and vegetables... fantastic quality. We stocked up.

We headed to the new Olympic stadium and surrounding village. Surprisingly empty (probably because we were the suckers who dared the midday sun ) and incredibly well done. I'll post pictures when we get back...

Back at the apartment, we finalized our ferries between islands, ate some great food (my cousin takes after my aunt in this respect) and soon we'll be off for another walk and some more Gyro!

- posted by # posted by Dennis Pilarinos : 8:42 AM 1 comments  
Thursday, July 21, 2005
 
Vancouver webcam


I've seen numerous city webcams, but Katkam.ca is fantastic... Vancouver in the summer, one of the best places in the world.

- posted by # posted by Dennis Pilarinos : 11:12 PM 0 comments  
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
 
Welcome Dharma...
Dharma has joined the blogging world. His site is bare right now, but I'm sure it'll be an incredible resource in the next few months.

- posted by # posted by Dennis Pilarinos : 8:12 AM 0 comments  
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
 
PDC 2005... One Step Closer
PDC2005 planning is in full swing. I'm participating in planning Eric Rudder's keynote demo and content as it applies to the technology I work on... unfortunately, I can't tell you what that is quite yet. Come to PDC and find out!

Dharma & I are going to be presenting a session... that should be a blast.

Mark just posted an extremely insightful blog entry. He's an extremely sharp guy, so I can't take everything he says as 'granted' for the majority of developers out there. How many of you know what continuations are?

- posted by # posted by Dennis Pilarinos : 12:47 AM 0 comments  
Monday, July 18, 2005
 
Breaking the silence..
Is this this on? Is it working? Turns out, yes it is... but I've been pre-occupied with a variety of topics. A few of which I'll cover here... latest and greatest first.We're having a hush-hush technical airlift for customers/partners which participate in our Technical Adoption Program. For what, I can't quite say yet. Come to PDC and check it out yourself.. I'll be there and will be presenting a couple of sessions. I'm enjoying slowly starting to show the world what we've built. I've thought about changing my presentation style and remember a few posts that ChrisAn created. I've seen some of his recent presentations and really liked the new approach.... ok, enough of that.

I just finished reading The Monk and The Riddle. A book that I can't recommend highly enough. I've been struggling to concisely describe this book.. but here are my top three points.

1) Don't make the mistake of taking the Deferred Life Plan in which you sacrifice your happiness now for the hope of happiness later. Instead, he advocates the Whole Life Plan, where you try to make now as fulfilling as possible while also staying open to opportunities for the future.

2) He suggests asking yourself, "Would you be willing to do what you're doing now for the rest of your life," and if the answer is no, maybe you're not doing something you believe in. That question would be absurd, given the inevitability of change. The question really asks is, if your life were to end suddenly and unexpectedly tomorrow, would you be able to say you’ve been doing what you truly care about today? What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life? What would it take to do it right now?

3) It's not worth devoting your life to a startup (or any company) if you're doing it just for the money. It's worth your time and effort only if you're passionate about the idea.
It's the people. If you work with people you respect and who respect you, then your success will follow. If you go for success at the expense of the people, you won't succeed (for long).

"When all is said and done," writes Komisar, "the journey is the reward."I've spend far too long trying to come up with only three bullet points to adequately summarize this book. Trust me, go read it!

- posted by # posted by Dennis Pilarinos : 11:25 PM 0 comments