Been a while …

Been busy working on the Portfolio section and SE au Naturel.

Congrats to the Cardinals for beating Texas in the World Series. I still think Nelson Cruz misplayed Freese’s 9th inning triple that tied Game 6. That was a poor leap attempt; he jumped too soon. Hell, play the carom off the wall and keep Berkman at third. But that has to be one of the greatest at-bats of all time. Poor Nolan Ryan. The Rangers better be careful; they’re halfway to becoming the Minnesota Vikings of Major League Baseball.

Sharks are on a roll, having beaten the Islanders in OT to win their 5th straight. Little Joe has 5 Goals, 4 Assists, 9 Points in that 5 game span.

Can’t wait for today’s 49er game. The Cleveland Browns are in town and I expect the Niners to destroy them! I watched the Raiders play the Browns a couple weeks ago, and I’m really surprised at Colt McCoy’s arm strength (or lack of). Every pass looked like a lame duck; I’m predicting he’ll throw 3 interceptions today, Rogers will get one and so will Goldson.

Got an iPad 2 and Apple Wireless Keyboard. Absolutely love it! Sorry Chromebook. The integration between the iPhone, iPad, iTunes and Apple TV is amazing.

This time next week I’ll be in London. Starting to get a little nervous …

Homes.com

Started Homes.com from scratch; no previous site. Integration with MLS.

Flashpoint

Interesting concept. Photographic software installed in the camera to provide similar effects as some Photoshop actions. Shopping cart, software download.

Formica

Huge legacy database. Great design.

Ringling Bros.

On the pitch team for Organic, trying to win Ringling Bros. account and produce their first web site. Ringling flew our team to Chicago for the annual two-week United Center show, where we were introduced to Kenneth Feld and Johnathan Lee Iverson.

But I was apprehensive about working for & with this client. I remember there had been a lot of recent negative press on Ringling, scandals and animal cruelty accusations. The Ringling representative spent a good deal of time justifying the use and care of the animals and how they wanted to convey that message on the web site, then took us on a backstage tour to “witness” the maintenance and kindness they provided. However, no cameras were allowed!

We were escorted to the tents at the back of the Center. Mind you, this is the annual show in mid November – in Chicago. I had a dozen layers on under my full-length wool coat and was still freezing my butt off. Elephants lined up in a row, shackled. Tigers kept in crates. All crammed in a couple of tents out in the parking lot. For all the talk, I was not convinced.

This is the mockup used for our presentation. Organic won the account, but after returning from the trip, I specifically remember asking not to work on the account any longer. My wish was granted …