My sister Jodi sent me this card for my birthday this year.
Funny. I used to get the cards telling me to have a “sexy” or “manly” birthday. Now I guess I’ve reached the age for diaper cards. Thanks Jodi.
Thanks to all who said hello on by snail mail, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, txt, and good old email.
The price of food is on the rise. As a story and charts from the Wall Street Journal show, rice (prices up a whopping 134 percent), wheat, corn, and soy are all above a 60 percent increase over the last 52 weeks.
Cargill, a large international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services, saw a Chevron-like return in their last quarter with $1.03B in revenue. When I read the CEO’s comments in the WSJ, I couldn’t help but ask myself if large corporate farms control supply driving prices to their favor. While he says that they’re “doing an exceptional job,” my thought is this is an answer to shareholders, not the rest of the world who require the commodities Cargill, ADM, and others provide.
Cargill’s chairman and CEO, Greg Page, said earlier this month [April 2008] that “the dimensions of change in global agriculture are striking” and that the Minneapolis company is doing “an exceptional job measuring and assessing price risk.” He said world grain stocks are at their lowest level in 35 years.
(emphasis added)
I’m amazed at how far behind we are in coming to a solution of our own energy crisis. As Americans, we are the most energy sucking people on the planet–far outpacing any other group.
“According to the Department of Energy’s most recent data on greenhouse gas emissions, in 2006 the U.S. emitted 5.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or just under 20 tons per capita.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
While we probably think of our cars first, a real issue is our homes. The “always on” appliances and devices that are taking power even when we “don’t” use them.
“You can forget refrigerators, microwaves, clothes dryers and flat screen TVs. Even a house tricked out with all the latest high-efficiency EnergyStar appliances and compact fluorescent lights won’t come close. The same daunting energy math applies to the industrial, commercial and transportation sectors as well. The clear implication is that we shall have to replace virtually the entire fossil fuel electricity infrastructure over the next four decades with CO2-free sources – a multitrillion dollar proposition, if it can be done at all.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
Are cars are truly a big issue. But the proposed targets for 2050 are going to take huge changes.
“Right now our cars and trucks consume about 180 billion gallons of motor fuel. To meet the 2050 target, we shall have to limit consumption of gasoline to about 31 billion gallons, unless a genuine carbon-neutral liquid fuel can be produced. (Ethanol isn’t it.) To show how unrealistic this is, if the entire nation drove nothing but Toyota Priuses in 2050, we’d still overshoot the transportation emissions target by 40%.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
I’ve really got to take a deep look into what is happening in the entrepreneurial community to see if there is an opportunity for a marketing person.
Funny. I’ve seen pictures of my Dad wearing the same looking hat in 1963-64 on his mission to the New England States. I’ve even run across a few more skinny ties recently.
Reminds me of another David Bowie song, Fashion.
There’s a brand new dance but I don’t know its name
That people from bad homes do again and again
It’s big and it’s bland full of tension and fear
They do it over there but we don’t do it here
Fashion! Turn to the left
Fashion! Turn to the right
Oooh, fashion!
We are the goon squad and we’re coming to town
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
Listen to me - don’t listen to me
Talk to me - don’t talk to me
Dance with me - don’t dance with me, no
Beep-beep
It would appear that the pollsters must have made it clear that the American people want change. This little video highlights just how committed the 2008 Presidential Candidates are to change [...sigh]. Of course I expect the change McCain would initiate is more troops in the Middle East and more military spending. Hillary…big shake ups — or is it a shake down.
Tonight I was in my nightly ritual watching Conan O’Brien (you can watch Feb 19th show here). The guest musician was Jake Shimabukuro, a Japanese-America from Hawaii. Shimabukuro played one of my favorite George Harrison / White Album songs, While My Guitar Gently Weeps on his ukelele–yep, you are reading it correct.
Conan was blow away. I was blown away. Luckily we have iTunes today where I simply paid my $0.99 and added this great track to my music collection. Visit Shimabukuro’s destination on iTunes and take a listen to the sample. Better yet, just buy it.
Well, I’m (Brad) guilty to a few claims published in report from Mindset Media. TheStreet created a video based on the report. Some of the activities / attitudes associated with Mac users are listed below. Not sure that I’m all, but certainly some are spot on. Watch and see if you agree.
I was able to meet Matt Mullenweg, the founder of Automattic and the person behind, WordPress, the same software you are using right now on House of Baldwin.com. Matt is a great guy. He has a lot going for him. And at 24, he has a lot ahead of him. It’s always fun to share a moment with young entrepreneurs that are changing the way we interact and communicate
———-
“It’s been a busy few weeks,” Matt Mullenweg said with a grin in response to the question about Automattic’s recent $29M funding round. Interestingly enough, this funding trails the initial investment of $1M that wasn’t fully expended.
Mullenweg talks with Brad Baldwin while visiting Park City, Utah (shhh…remember Matt you promised not to tell anyone about how great it is here) about their development team, projects, the open source community and revenue models at Automattic. Mullenweg shares some of the features and enhancements that will appear in WordPress 2.5 to be released in March 2008.
Download This: 
iPod
I’m still amazed at all the iPhones that have been sold. At the BlogHaus, the iPhone was the rule — and my BlackBerry was the exception. Someday I’m sure I’ll pack one. But not without copy and paste, 3G, and Bluetooth sync.
Ars Technica offers some great insight, including this market share quote from Gartner and unit sales growth chart from Apple:
The iPhone has managed to stay atop the news almost constantly since its launch last June—and sales haven’t been too shabby either. Market research firm Gartner said that the company managed to capture 20 percent of smartphone sales during the third quarter of 2007, second only to RIM with the heavyweight BlackBerry at 39 percent.
Chart Data Source: Apple
Any Book of Revelation signs of the times watchers reading my blog? Take this report to church with you next Sunday.
The total number of natural disasters worldwide now averages 400–500 a year, up from an average of 125 in the early 1980s. The number of climate-related disasters, particularly floods and storms, is rising far faster than the number of geological disasters, such as earthquakes. Between 1980 and 2006, the number of floods and cyclones quadrupled from 60 to 240 a year while the number of earthquakes remained approximately the same, at around 20 a year. In 2007 the Oxfam International family of agencies responded to floods or storms in more than 30 countries.
The number of people affected by all disasters has risen from an average of 174 million a year between 1985 and 1994 to 254 million a year between 1995 and 2004. Earlier this year the Asian floods alone affected 248 million people.
Climate Alarm: Disasters increase as climate change bites
Oxfam Briefing Paper (PDF)
November 2007
Of course, everyone loves to play with the iMac camera. Photo Booth has to be one of the best applications to keep kids entertained. Here’s poor little Taylor who just had a hard time sitting still — at least until he was introduced to the iMac.
This ad was highlighted in the WSJ (may require subscription) as one of the best of 2007. I really like this ad. Like the content and the greater message that is delivers.
As you will see, we marketers have gone overboard to lie and cheat to create the fiction that is beauty. If you’ve got daughters, sit them down and watch this short video segment. What we see is often not the truth, especially in the day of digital imaging.
Is the image that was used in the advertisement reflecting “more” beauty that what was caught on film (actually probably a digital image)? Watch the movie and see the transition.
Merry Christmas to all who encounter this post. It’s been great to have Amy get excited about managing this blog. She has taken the tech reins, and I’ve sat comfortably on the sideline.
2007 was a very different year for me. I’ve spent the past year learning the difference between being entrepreneurial and being an entrepreneur. Most of the year I’ve spent time working on a video / multi-media marketing project with Rocky Mountain Voices. I’ve interviewed and posted approximately 125 executive / technology people at startup and established companies in the Rocky Mountain area. The goal was to turn this into a money making enterprise. I published all these videos to PodTech.net, the number one new media publishing outlet. I’ve enjoyed getting to know and work with Robert Scoble (the Scobleizer), who was recognized as a Top 10 Web Celeb by Forbes. While it’s been fun, I still haven’t figured out a way to make it turn as much money as I’d like. 2008 may be a year of change.
This past year I found that I needed to face winter head on. As many of you know, I love my summer sport of golf. However, the winters would be so depressing for me to see nothing but snow. So this past year, I broke down and purchased a pair of skis and all the garb to stay warm. Since Dallen had a season pass to snowboard at Brighton, I was able to stay and ski with him a number of times. One of my favorites was a trip with Amy to Snowbird on a gorgeous blue sky day. Another was a day with Bridget after about 18″ of snow. The poor little girl was exhausted after working with knee-deep powder on every run — great memories with Bridget. I also visited with friends at The Canyons, Solitude, and Snowbird. In the end, I skied more in 2007 than I’ve ever skied before. I actually had fun. It’s a great way to pass the winter months.
Of course I spent plenty of time on golf courses this year. The highlight was being able to spend many rounds with my oldest son Dallen. He made the golf team at American Fork High School and was able to play every day in the late summer and fall. I was able to join him and his friends to provide pointers and support. I can’t forget to comment on Jed too. Jed took some lessons this summer and really started to like golf. Jed’s hitting the ball longer and straighter each year. We even bought him a special putter, a TaylorMade Rossa that works really well for Jed.
Another highlight was sharing my love of San Francisco with my family. We had a great trip to the city, staying downtown off Union Square. We took local transportation (bus, subway, taxi). We visited Alcatraz. We walked and walked and walked. Abby was so fun. We rented a car for one day and visited Palo Alto, the Stanford University campus, Half Moon Bay, and Sausalito.
And while I’m on the topic of travel, the water in the Caribbean is really as blue as the pictures show! Amy and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise out of San Juan and a number of Islands. If you see Amy’s posts, you’ll easily find the video taken on this trip. It was fun to get away with Amy for a week of solitude on the open ocean.
I spent more than my share of time at the Apple store in Salt Lake City, both in training and spending money. However, I really feel like I enhanced my skills and unleashed a lot of creativity that’s been tied down for a long time.
And while I haven’t posted a lot of stories here on the family blog, I have shared a number on my personal blog. So if you don’t feel like you have enough, please visit www.bradbaldwin.com.
Merry Christmas to all. Have a great 2008.
Click on a picture below to view Brad’s 2007 Photo Year in Review…
Amy and I attended the Billy Joel concert with a couple of friends in Salt Lake City on November 29th, 2007. Joel introduced roadie “Chainsaw” how was there to sing a special religious number as a guest appearance. At this point, the classic crunchy guitar sounds of Angus Young combined with Brian Johnon-like screams filled the air. And I might add, that this was the point in the show when it got really loud. Enjoy the show.
Our last port was Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. It definitely had a “U.S.” feel to it. There were more American establishments and American surfer-looking teenagers working at the beach. There were a lot more big, fancy houses. Yet it also had an international, Caribbean feel to it. The best of both worlds?
This day was the only one where we experienced rain. The impending storm teased us right up to the point of dragging our lounge chairs on the beach to a desirable spot. The heavens then let loose for about 15 minutes, getting everything wet. The trees were not the kind to protect you (or your stuff) from weather. But we certainly weren’t cold. The rain was as warm as the ocean water. We figured that we may as well get in the water while it rained. We were already drenched. It felt great.
The Ultimate Island Experience was very touristy. We learned that Blackbeard’s castle is actually not a castle that he lived in. The United States built it to attract tourists. It is also housed within hotel grounds. So that was a bit disappointing. However, the period houses were interesting and were, I believe, authentic. And the 99 steps were certainly not as long as the steps we climbed in London. But they were charming. All in all, a very charming island.
After a second day of cruising, our ship docked at the port of Philipsburg, St. Maarten. The island is actually split into two. One side is controlled by the Dutch and is spelled Sint Maarten. The other side is controlled by the French and is spelled Saint Martin. The ship port is on the Dutch side.
We took a bus ride over to the French side to a 300-year-old former sugar plantation, Loterie Tree Farm, and enjoyed their treetop adventure tour which consists of a series of zip-lines, rope swings and bridges suspended from platforms mounted in the trees. It was fun. No picture taking, however. There were guides down below who would get after you if they saw you pull out a camera. They certainly got after you if you slowed things down.
Upon returning to “St. Maarten,” we took a water taxi to the shopping area and started to stroll along the boardwalk. It wasn’t long before I had to stop. The heat, beating sun and humidity took their toll. I needed shade. So we relaxed on the beach and in the water for an hour or so before heading into the shopping district to visit stores similar (or the same) to those of the previous two islands.
I did learn one thing however. If you see something you like, buy it. Don’t assume that it will be on the next island. It may not be and you will therefore have to settle for something less.
I truly enjoyed meeting the team at Bluehouse skis. Shane snagged a picture of me that isn’t all that bad–compared to many others I’ve posed for ;-). It’s fun to assist in “marketing” a cool product produced by cool guys.Best of luck to the team at Bluehouse. Very cool use of bamboo in skis. Let’s hook up at Snowbird this winter!
Michelle sent these pictures of her son Jake over this morning. It was his crazy hair day at Jake’s school. Too good not to post.
Loved it Jake!
Today is “CRAZY” hair day at school for Jake. He wanted to do his hair like ?Brian’s or like his friend Chase. Who by the way, had a real MOHAWK compliments of his mom. We made a comprimise that ended up looking like a cross between a mohawk and Ace Ventura. Jake seemed pleased and happy!
- Michelle
Our next port was Curacao. It is just 15 miles North of Venezuela, we were told, although I have read that it is actually 35 miles North. Maybe it’s Aruba that is 15 miles North. One of them is! This is also a Dutch island, as seen from the architecture throughout the island.
The people claim descent from over 50 different ethnic backgrounds, and the native language, Papiamentu, is a creole mixture of Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, African, and some Arawak Indian. Our taxi driver told us that. It is also a very affluent island from it’s oil industry.
Our shore excursion took us on an early boat ride to van der Valk Beach where we lounged and explored. We did not have our complimentary beverage, however, because it was only punch. Who wants punch? A diet coke would have worked for me.
Three hours later we were transported back to the ship, had a shower and lunch, and shopped in Curacao…after wandering about wondering where the shops were and hiring a taxi that took us the long way around in order to make more money, only to realize when we got there that we had been across the bay from the shops but didn’t know it because the bridge was up…Aargh. I guess it helps to read the ship’s instructions about the port… :-).
