How I Keep Up

There are tons of things going on out there on the internet that I want to keep tabs on but for the most part it is impossible to keep up. And that’s OK.

I’m constantly evolving the way I keep up with things but lately this is how I’ve been doing it, with the key being quick and easy.

1. I still use del.icio.us to bookmark and tag sites that I want to keep and go back to and use as part of my regular browsing and as a point of reference.
2. Secondly, I use Google Reader to read my favorite sites and blogs and share whatever I find interesting.
3. The third, and most common way for me of late, is sharing links via popurls.

All of these actions end up in my Friendfeed along with a bunch of other “things” I do and share while online.

State of Play

If you’re looking for something really good to watch and willing to give it six hours of your life then check out State of Play. Jen and I zoomed through it this past week. And we’re the type that will let a dvd sit for days and sometimes weeks on end and eventually return them unwatched because we couldn’t be bothered.

If you love a good drama then this is the mini series for you.

I knew nothing of it going into other than the preview we saw before another flcik we rented and she had seen the second half years ago while living abroad and it was on the telly. Gotta love that ‘ol BBC broadcasting.

Just now while deciding to share with exuberance this must see television I Googled and found the old stuff on it but was surprised (really not surprised) to find that I’m not the only American who noticed and it is being turned into an “American political thriller” film. Ah, ok. I guess Americans don’t speak proper English so we need to take that stuff they make over the pond, muck it up, call it our own, and cram it all into two hours (short attention span).

Well, thumbs up none the less.

Plurk

I’m the type of person that signs up (and usually forgets about) just about any and every social network that’s out there.

So many come and go and most are just that, a flash in the pan, with nothing much going for them. Where Plurk falls is still up in the air. With all the ups and downs that Twitter has been experiencing there couldn’t be a better time for another fine chap to come along to fill the void of allowing any Joe Shmoe to broadcast his latest life update to the masses or anyone that cares to take notice. And for those that have been paying attention, Twitter has been shaping up and staying up more than not.

Plurk’s interesting twist on Twitter’s constant question of “What are you doing?” is taking the “is” and giving the user a choice of other options. Jorge is chlling at home watching the Dodgers. Jorge was at work but is now heading to the movies. Jorge wishes that the Lakers did’t choke. Jorge loves Jen. You get the idea. That, along with the Karma points thing and the some-think-nifty-and-others-don’t slide time line view it gives the experience of documenting the often times trivial and mundane yet sometimes fun and interesting small, open group discussions a unique twist if not raising it all to a new level.

I dig it but not exactly abandoning my twitter account just yet. But you can check my plurk updates in all they’re glory here.

As a side note, I find it interesting that sites like techcrunch haven’t even whispered about plurk. Is it simpley because they don’t hold a stake in the company or that it’s being developed abroad?

Zappos rocks

I love sneakers. I have to restrain myself from buying a new pair anytime Jen and I are out shopping or anytime I happen to surf on over to zappos.com. I’ve been a huge fan of theirs for many years now and have bought a bunch of shoes from them.

Not until recently did I find out that they also carry sunglasses. I was in the market for a new pair and went out of my way to drive to a shop in a mini mall in the OC that I usually score the kind I like. No luck this time. Bumber, right? Well, I went online like I do for everything else when the brick and mortar world lets me down and what do ya know? Zappos has the kind I like and then some. Their customer service kicks serious booty. I know that none of this is news. But you gotta love it when a company has what you want and is willing to make you happy when you’re forking over 100+ bucks for something. That’s what they did when they price matched and beat the competition for the pair of sunglasses I wanted and threw in next day shipping for free. I love that!

Anyhow, what actually prompted me to write this post was the fact that zappos is kicking serious booty online in another arena other than selling stuff we like to buy. They are also blogging and twittering up a storm. I started following the CEO on twitter a few weeks ago and as it turns out they have a ton of employees using twitter.

Here’s a good conversation on Twittering for Companies.

ESPN Fan Profiles

In the short time I’ve been working at ESPN I’ve learned a lot and have done a ton but haven’t had much to show for it since it was almost all behind the scenes development work. Well, the stuff I’ve been developing, along with the help of some of the best developers I’ve ever had the good fortune to work with, is now available for public consumption.

You can check it out here: http://sportsnation.espn.go.com/jorgemir

If you love sports then you probably go to espn.com about 12 times a day or more depending on how much you try to get away with while you’re supposed to be working. Now you should have a little more to do while you’re there. You can have your own little piece of personal space on the site to post photos and blog entries and interact with your fellow fan via comments and groups. This is just the beginnings as we have a ton of other cool things planned for the site.

There was a previous version of Fan Profiles up but this version that is now live is completely new from soup to nuts and is completely written in Ruby on Rails. We’re still working out the kinks but it sure feels good to have it out there and getting used by all the fine fans of the site.

You can follow along with the development of Fan Profiles and more at our ESPN Dev Blog: http://espndev.com/blog/

my muxtape

Give a listen to my muxtape!

Dusty’s

Dusty’s

Originally uploaded by xero79

We went to dinner at Dusty’s tonight and had a pretty good experience. The prices are a little bit pricey for a neighborhood joint and the menu is pretty limited but it was worth it still. I had the filet which is hard to go wrong with any place you order it and Jen had the duck which she said she liked. We’re always looking for something new and have driven by this place a million times so it was nice to finally check it out.

Photobooth

Jen and I take a photo at the Shortstop’s photobooth on the day of the first Dodger game of the season that we go to. It’s a tradition three years running now and yesterday we took our photo for this season’s first game attended.

You can see 2007 here and 2006 here.

Community Next

I’ve been running around like a madman going across the country and back and the pace isn’t slowing down.

Tomorrow I’ll be attending a conference here in my neck of the woods:

Will write up something about it here after and likely twitter updates from it as well.

Joel Nakamura

My favorite artist who is not Van Gogh or the like and not a complete unknown is Joel Nakamura. His website has been recently updated and it includes all the goodies you’d expect from your favorite web sites like a blog, a gallery, a store and newsletter.

My introduction to Joel Nakamura was by chance about 10 years ago when I happened to buy my first issue of Communication Arts. It’s a stellar rag that I still subscribe to and gain design inspiration from but this first issue and Joel’s images have always stayed with me. I kind of kick myself because I cut that magazine up using bits of his work in an old collage I did that Summer.

This image included with this post is one of my favorites. A print of it (I wish I had an original Nakamura) hangs in my living room and the name of it is what I decided to use as my tagline for my this blog… vivir y morir en Los Angeles, or to live and die in LA.