Behind the Cypress Tree

Behind the Cypress Tree
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Picture per day photos are behind schedule - I'm mostly taking them, but I wanted to get all my vacation photos up on Flickr before uploading any subsequent pictures. I finally have finished that - and made a set for the Spain pictures. The ones from London are currently on the front page. I'll be filling in past IPPD photos soon.

This particular picture was taken from the top of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, on the Nativity side of the church. That cypress tree you see there is at the top of the front facade on that side of the church. I do not particularly like heights (note: this may be a huge understatement) but it was absolutely worth it for the gorgeous views, and the close up look at the higher portions of the structure.

Happy New Year

Hello hello! I hope you all had a good holiday, and that you are not so buried in January's return-to-business that you've forgotten all about it already. I spent my New Year in Spain this year - I have to say, I am not generally a big fan of New Year's Eve festivities, but I had a great time out of the country. Even if I DID have some trouble with the Spanish tradition of eating a grape on each stroke of midnight. (I am a small person, with a small mouth, and those grapes had SEEDS.)

If you want to hear more about our vacation shenanigans, E and I created a joint travel blog over at bbtwo.wordpress.com, so feel free to check it out.

On a photograph front, I am working on getting all my many many many photographs up on Flickr, and I will post a link to the set when I do. I think I'm also going to put together a short version set for those who just want the highlights version.

And yes, I'm still taking daily photographs - I think I'm going to extend that project at least through the end of March, and I may make a full year out of it. The new camera I got for Christmas is so much more fun and responsive than my old camera, I feel like there is new ground still to cover.

Today's photo, however, came from my webcam - yes, that is both cats sitting in my lap (my legs are crossed, which is how Freya is seeming to float in midair - she's perched on my knee). We are keeping each other warm. And yes, I did take that picture by holding my laptop over my head. I couldn't very well get up to fetch my real camera without disrupting the cat pile.

Anyway, so I am back and not dead, and things are going well. I hope to resume posting about some knitting stuff soon - I am very close to finishing my first pair of knit socks for myself, and they have been a bit of a revelation. Which is almost a pity. Socks are pretty tedious to knit but I will undoubtedly be making a lot more of them because they are so comfortable. But more on that another day!

Fall in Grafton, IL

View @ Lookout Point 1PPD 10/16/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Last week, I went to Grafton, IL to see some friends get married. It rained for the early part of our stay, but by the end the weather was chilly but gorgeous. We don't get too much of the fall colors out here in California - it was a bit early for them in Grafton, but things were quite lovely. I've posted a bunch of pictures to my Flickr.

We spent a lot of time in Pere Marquette State Park, which is small but quite lovely - and the location that this picture was taken.

China Camp Hike

Grass in the wind
Originally uploaded by jessajune

The Monday of Memorial Day weekend, we went hiking at China Camp. We drove all the way out to the remains of the fishing village at the end of the park, took a quick look, then set out on the trail to find a good picnic spot.

It was a perfectly gorgeous day, and the park is a nice one - only $3 to park all day, and they have picnic facilities for people who don't choose to find a likely spot at the top of a hill, like we did.



The only difficulty in our day was that we didn't really consult a trail map. We just picked a direction and walked in it. It turns out that if you take the trail along the back side of the park, it just runs along the border, and you'll walk 5 miles or so through lovely grass and wooded areas with no forks in the trail. And if you are too stubborn to turn around, like we were, you will walk around the entire China Camp park, because if you leave your car at one and and then walk to the other, you don't have much of a choice but to go back (though by a different route, to keep things interesting). And maybe you will be pretty tired before you are finished with the trek back. Possibly.



That said, it was a great day, and I would highly recommend it as a place to go to escape June Gloom in SF. Just check a trail map before you set out, ok? And don't forget your sunscreen.

Memorial Day Weekend: Sunday

Porter Creek Vineyard
Originally uploaded by jessajune

We had a glorious long weekend. We got out of foggy, cold San Francisco and up into wine country for a day trip. We arrived around noon and grabbed some delicious sandwiches at Oakville Grocery before visiting Porter Creek (pictured above), C. Donatiello, and Nalle wineries (picking up a half wine barrel planter and some old grape vines for use in smoking along the way). The excuse for the trip was to pick up the Porter Creek wine club shipment. Contrary to what you might think from the photographs, we like the place because the wine is delightful, as well as the beautiful setting and the fact that they own a gorgeous Great Pyrenees (unfortunately, he was not out visiting that day). We had an especially good time at Nalle, where we had the senior winemaker all to ourselves for half an hour or so.

I've posted the rest of the day's pictures to my Flickr. More photos and the tale of Monday's longer-than-expected hike at China Camp to follow.

Reflections on SXSW Interactive 2009

I took, no exaggeration, 44 pages of notes from the panels at SXSW Interactive conference in Austin this year. This was in large part due to the high quality and relevance of the sessions I was able to attend. This was one of the best SXSWi for me so far, from a panel perspective. From a social perspective, it's hard for a conference that has grown so much to have the same ease and opportunity for making personal connections as it once did; especially for those like me who are more comfortable in a small group than in a massive crowd. But the opportunities are still there if you made the effort to look for them.

It is the energy I was able to catch from the conference this year that was the very best thing about it. A lot of people there were struggling with the same issues I am - to wit, how to stay motivated and proactive when the economic and regulatory climates seem so dire. However, I came away refreshed, hopeful, invigorated. I have some new projects in the planning stages, some of which you'll see evidence of here on the blog very soon.

Highlights of the conference included several panels dealing with audience management and crowd sourcing, a full day of panels surrounding issues of copyright and fair use, and two extremely helpful panels about changing jobs in the current economy. Overall, I thought the panels were well selected and scheduled; in the past there have been several time slots where I wanted to be in four places at once and others where I was interested in nothing; this year there was only one session slot in which I found myself free, and I used it to visit the trade show floor.

In addition, I saw a number of great folks I usually only see once a year in Austin, and as usual, met some great new people who turn out to live practically in my backyard. SXSW Interactive 2009 was a great conference for me, and I feel lucky to have been able to attend.

And if anyone has insomnia or a vast amount of time on their hands, I'd be happy to share my panel notes. Just shoot me an email.

Blogging/Conference Update

No blogging of conference content has happened because the Marriott Courtyard didn't quite anticipate that having a crowd in for an internet conference just might mean a lot of their guests would intend to spend time, well, on the internet. So their system has been fubar'd since our arrival. The only internet I have is in the conference center itself - and then I'm usually in a panel. I'm taking good notes, and I'll post some impressions sometime soon, but it's possible that won't happen until I return!

Best panels so far:
Collaborative Filters: Evolution of Recommendation Engines
and
Kicking Ass with Controlled Metadata

Gearing up for Austin

It's almost that time... I'm packing and planning for my trip to Austin today. I'm not leaving until Friday morning, but I'll be working at the Santa Cruz library tomorrow, and then heading from there straight to SF to hang out with my guy for the last time before heading southeast to the hometown of SXSW.

I am looking forward to some great discussions, lots of fabulous food, and seeing all those fun folks I generally only catch once a year at this conference. I am not looking forward to the weather - last week, the forecast called for mid-to-low 80s... this week, it claims a high of 45 on the day of my arrival. What happened? Now I have NO IDEA what to pack.

Nonetheless, I have to get started. I guess it's a "pack for every contingency" kind of trip. Good thing I have a nice new suitcase.