Trip
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies of all time, and, for that reason, the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has been in my TBR pile for a very long time. It finally happened during a trip to Oxford, where I probably spent too much money on books. No, I take it back. As long as you read them, there is no such thing as spending too much money on books.
Anyway, it is a quick read that I completed by the end of the trip, yet it proved to be highly enjoyable. The essence of what I watched many years ago was there, but it felt like traveling to a parallel universe where there was another version of the movie.
And that brought up many thoughts about another passion of mine, moviemaking. While I was reading, I kept thinking about the director’s process of deciding to change this or that aspect of the movie.
First AeroPress Coffee
This is the big mess I made a few days ago, when preparing the first coffee in our new temporary home. I don’t like this type of coffee maker, but this is a furnished house; it was also our first morning here, and after searching the cabinets, that’s what I found.
It was the perfect excuse I needed to finally order an AeroPress, which just arrived.
Palo Alto Flash Tour
Another company I was eager to visit this time was Flipboard. I keep a relatively popular magazine on the platform and have collaborated with them on some blog posts. It was nice to finally meet some of the people I have been in touch with via email for a long time.
And since I’m here, why not stop by the HP’s garage?
What I wasn’t expecting during this Palo-Alto flash tour was to accidentally walk by a door with Pebble’s logo. I love my Pebble, and as I write this, I’m already regretting not having approached and requested a tour. The worst thing that could happen would be them saying it was not possible.
Visiting Evernote
I decided to stay in San Francisco for a few more days after the Evernote Conference to visit Evernote and some other companies.
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures inside the building, so these and other similar photos are all I have from my visit to Evernote headquarters in Redwood City. Fortunately, I was given a full tour.
At the entrance there is a small cafeteria where employees can make their own coffee and drink it in Evernote cups. There’s also a small shop selling items from the Evernote Market and the famous chalkboard wall.
The first floors of the building are empty. In fact, they are quite raw; there isn’t even any finishing to the space. I was told the size of the building was thought to still fit everyone when the company grows. The upper floors are where people actually work and where I had the opportunity to meet and talk to different teams. One thing that surprised me was how many people knew who I was.
One interesting detail I noticed were the many walls pained with a special paint that makes them work as a whiteboard. Sometimes, people meet in front of a wall, have a conversation about a project, write or draw something on the wall, and then take a picture with Evernote. Pretty cool!
Before heading back to San Francisco, I had lunch with the marketing team at the cafeteria.
It was a nice experience to see where my beloved app is being built.
More present than his other suppliers from across the city
When I began consulting for Amaral Maia Sociedade de Advogados, located over 1.000 km away from me, many of my customers were already remote. But this was the first time a CEO told me something so special.
Even though it was a long project, the CEO and co-founder, Antonio Maia and I only met in person at the 2014 Evernote-Conference. That’s when he told me that I was always more present than his other suppliers from across the city. I always believed in building strong relationships with my clients, regardless of distance, so this was such a lovely compliment to receive.
The consulting project with Amaral Maia Sociedade de Advogados was selected by Evernote for my presentation at the conference, which you can watch below.
Evernote Trunk Conference 2012
There are so many good things happening at this moment in my life. Not only am I currently writing a book about Evernote, but I was recently selected to join the companies’s Ambassador program. And then the unimaginable happened. I was invited to the 2012 edition of the Evernote Trunk Conference. This is such an honor.
It’s great to be here, but it could have been an entirely different outcome. My US visa was valid, but my passport was expired. The issue I faced was that Evernote’s invitation was extended just a few weeks before the event, so I had very little time to go through the process of renewing my passport. I got it two days before the trip, so I think you can imagine how stressed I was.
Anyway, after that holster of emotions, there I was at the Concourse Exhibition Center & Trade Show Facility. It was great to be among so many enthusiasts like me.
Blending Analog and Digital
Listening to Phil-Libin share his ideas and vision for the product was a fantastic experience, but there was more. The announcement of the Moleskin partnership happened in such a clever way. When we got back to the conference room, we found this envelope with the words “Do not open.”
After listening to Arrigo Berni, the CEO of Moleskin, we were finally introduced to this new product. The #Evernote camera will “understand” stickers that come with the Evernote Moleskin, automatically save them to a preselected notebook, and even add tags. I can’t wait to use this and share my thoughts.
And to top it all off, I managed to snap a pic with Phil-Libin before I headed out. It was such a great day. Thank you, Evernote, for inviting me! I loved every minute of every moment of it.
Very Expensive German beer
This was going to be our first time in Germany, so as we purchased the tickets, I started thinking about all the delicious beers I would be trying. Fast-forward to arriving at the hotel, and things couldn’t be more perfect. There’s a grocery store waiting for me across the street.
My wife went for the healthy food, while I started browsing the enticing options available in the beverages' aisle. A good while later, I met her at the cashier, bringing with me a single bottle of Heineken.
— What happened? — The German ones are too expensive. I’m not paying all that for a beer, even a German one. — How expensive? — Very!
She couldn’t believe it, and we both went back to check it out. “What do you mean by expensive?” she asked while showing me different options that cost less than 1 euro.
I was so overwhelmed by all the options and so many tags, ads, and other information in front of me that I could only see the packs prices. It was a terrible moment for a case of tunnel vision. There were many possible reasons, but it was most likely the Indian currency we’d been dealing with during the first half of the trip.
Finally realizing my mistake, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. We both laughed, and I grabbed a few bottles.
First 15K (using my Nike+iPod hack)
Yesterday, I completed my first 15K!
It was very difficult, and my time was terrible, but I am so happy to have completed this race. It has not been that long since I started jogging, with my first small victory being running around a park with less than a third of this distance.
I’ve been using the hack below almost since I bought the Nike+iPad and I never had a problem. I’m pretty happy with it.