March
16
2010
I’m starting to think that I should start a new blog category called: Beautiful San Diego. I think that’s a great idea. It can be a blog area where I post my musings on the beauty of my favorite American City, post photos and video and remind myself and everyone who’ll read why I love living here. Yeah that’s a great idea.
March
13
2010
So it’s another beautiful day here in San Diego. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and I can hear the surf pounding on the beach just a block or two from my home.
And yet, I don’t feel very happy today.
Oh! Don’t get me wrong… I don’t feel bad. I just don’t particularly feel “up” today. I can’t explain it. There’s nothing particular that’s got me in a funk. I just feel kind-of “funk’ish.”
I guess that it’s normal. We don’t all feel wonderful all of the time. And we certainly don’t feel all down all of the time. So sometimes we are bound to be somewhere in-between. Kind of in emotional limbo. I guess my only concern is that when I come out of limbo I want to find myself on the “up” side of it. Not on the “down.”
We’ll see how it goes.
March
5
2010
This is good news for us who are moving into software development.
Hooray!
Apple Seeking to Stimulate Mac Development With $99 Mac Dev Program – Mac Rumors.
March
3
2010
So 2010 is shaping up to be a big year for me.
In January I set some pretty lofty goals for myself. Some of those goals I am not sure I’ll be able to meet, but the attempt is really what’s important here.
To this end, I have spent the last couple of weeks really evaluating a lot of my life’s daily schedules. Particularly I’ve been re-evaluating the worth of working for the Surf Soccer Club on a daily basis.
I have spent 6 of the last 9 years parking cars, picking up trash and enforcing the Polo Club rules for the Surf Soccer Club. It’s been a great job, one that helped get me through my studies at Palomar, gave me the freedom to shoot “What’s The Vig?” and helped nurse my entire family through the economic downturn last year. In short, I am very thankful for the opportunity I’ve had working for the club.
But it’s time to move on. I have big dreams and big ambitions and as I approach my 35th birthday I am realizing that my time is increasingly worth something to me. I’ve come to realize that any time I spend not pushing forward on my dream is, for me, wasted time. I don’t want to be working on anything anymore that doesn’t meet one of the following criteria:
- Stimulate my creativity
- Advance my career/company
- Increase my knowledge/experience
Those three items are my main criteria for deciding if something is worth my time. You’ll note that money is not part of my criteria. This is important. I do not want to work just to make money. To me, if I am pursuing the things that stimulate me and make me happy I know the money will follow.
This is a big step. It’s kind of scary, but I know it’s the right choice for me. I’ve already lined up a bunch of freelance work in the A/V business, Dawson Digital’s video production and graphics business has been growing steadily over the past 6 months and our software company is just about to launch. It’s exciting times around here and I want to give it my all. It’s time to step up and make things happen!
February
28
2010
In the linked article is a very nicely written review of Jeff Bridges’ career by the man who inspired the Cohen brothers character “The Dude” from “The Big Lebowski.”
Go on, have a read… this may just be Jeff Bridges year to take home Oscar:
Jeff Dowd on Jeff Bridges: A unique American icon | The Big Picture | Los Angeles Times.
February
26
2010
February
25
2010
Hello world. Say hello to my newest nephew, Sean Murphy William Davis.
He was born on Feb. 24, 2010 at 3:49 AM. He was 7lb 10oz, and was 19 inches long.
He’s cute as a bug and his parents did a wonderful job bringing him into this world. I’m sure they are going to be a wonderful family!
David and Sean's First Picture Together
February
22
2010
Well, Bryan and I are up in Palm Desert this week working with IMS Audio Visual on the eTail West conference.
I enjoy working with the boys from IMS. They are good guys. Nice to work with.
Bryan is here working, even though his wife (my sister) is at home ready to pop with their first child. Hopefully she won’t go into labor while we are here. She’s acutally due on the 7th of March. So we are assuming we have another week, although, we all know Teesa would prefer to have the kid sooner than later at this point.
This is an interesting conference to be working at this point. With Apadapa Labs getting ready to launch we are quickly preparing to become a company with actual products to sell. Not just services. So the sessions here on email marketing and online data collecting are extremely relevant and interesting.
February
17
2010
Apadapa Labs
Oh yeah.
February
15
2010
I miss my Dad. Wonder if I’m making him proud.
February
8
2010
February
4
2010
Watch This: 70-Minute Video Review of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace | /Film.
The Phantom Menace: PWNED!
This is, quite possibly, the single greatest review of “The Phantom Menace” that I have ever seen. It’s pretty long, but it’s very irreverent and quite entertaining throughout. Some might even argue that it’s more entertaining than the film it is reviewing!
Have a look, really think about the substance of the review. It’s quite compelling. And a little weird in it’s presentation, but that’s where the fun lies!
Enjoy and share your thoughts about “The Phantom Menace” below. I’ve been thinking about kicking off my “Movie a Week Blog” again… time to put my Netflix account to good use. (And make it an expense for work! Hahahahaha!)
February
3
2010
So I took my mother to Broken Yolk in La Costa yesterday. She’d never eaten there before. It’s a great place for breakfast and lunch. If you’ve never been there I highly recommend it.
Well as we are walking up to the restaurant my Mother blurts out, “Hey isn’t that? It is! Look David! It’s him!”
Obviously I had no idea what she was talking about. So I spun about and looked into the window next to me. Sure enough, sitting there on the other side of the glass was none other than Richard Dreyfuss. There was no mistaking it. Right there, in front of me, was one of the men who I grew up watching on the silver screen. A legend in my life. I mean really, this is the guy from Jaws, Close Encounters and Mr. Holland’s Opus!
For me, that was cool enough. We went in and we were seated. About two booths down from Mr. Dreyfuss.
Naturally I started doing some googling of the man on my iPhone. Turns out he lives in Olivenhain. Crazy.
Well, I gave my phone to Mom so that she could quietly take a photo of him sitting in his booth since she was seated facing him. I’ve worked with enough celebrities to know that no matter what we think of their profession and the “price of fame,” the reality is they are just normal people who are trying to live their lives. I didn’t want to pester the man, even though part of me would have done anything to get an autograph if I could!
So there I was content knowing that I was even close enough to the man to hear his voice as he spoke. And to know that we were eating in the same restaurant. Everything was good. Cool story. Right?
Not for Mom. She wanted a close up photo. So she charged over to his table. Not in a mean or malicious way, no. She went over there as a grey haired old lady armed with an iPhone she could barely use and very sweetly asked him if it would be ok if she took a photo of him. He reluctantly agreed to it and she very shyly snapped a photo and thanked him and came back to the booth.
She handed me the phone and asked me how the picture came out.
Richard Dreyfuss eats Breakfast
As you can see, Mom was a little excited. That, coupled with her inability to hold still while taking a photo really worked against her this time. Mom was, to say the least, not happy with that.
She immediately began insisting that I go over there and take another photo of the man.
I really didn’t want to. I didn’t want to be that guy. You know, the guy who just totally ruins a celebrity’s day by not letting them just eat their breakfast in peace? That guy. Mom wanted me to be that guy.
I politely told her I didn’t think it was a good idea. That he should be left alone. He was gracious enough to let her take one photo, but his fame didn’t give us a free pass to pester the man. Well, Mom didn’t really want to hear that and she started giving me the evil eye. We hadn’t even been given our food yet, and I knew very quickly that this was going to be a long meal if I didn’t do as she wanted.
Right about this time Mr. Dreyfuss’ companion got up and walked away from the table. He was now alone in his booth reading the paper. Reluctantly I got up and made my way to the table.
“Mr. Dreyfuss, I’m very sorry to interrupt you sir. I know you are having breakfast, or whatever…”
At this point he puts his paper down and looks over at me. He’s obviously annoyed, but holding it back. He’s been doing this for 30+ years and it shows.
“Sir, my Mom already asked you for a photo. Thank you for that. But she was so excited it came out all blurry and well, she… next week is her birthday, and she’s insisted that I come over and ask you if she can take it again. Maybe one together with you sir?”
I knew from the look on his face as soon as he turned and looked at me that this wasn’t going to end with a new photo. But I was all-in. I had to ask, just to be able to tell my Mom that I’d tried.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t,” said Mr. Dreyfuss.
“I understand sir. Thank you,” I said.
“Thank you for asking politely like you did,” he said.
With that I got up and walked back to my table. Mom was shocked. And as I walked past Mr. Dreyfuss’ returning companion I heard her say, rather unhappily, “Ok, it’s really time to go now.”
The two of them were up and out of the restaurant very shortly after. I felt like a total heel.
Except for when I looked at my Mom. She was so happy to know that I was willing to go forward and ask the question for her. Sure, she didn’t get the picture. But she got something better, perhaps? She knows her son is willing to go out on a limb for her. To do something he’d really rather not, just for her. That her needs are important to me.
That was worth it, in the end.
I’m sorry Mr. Dreyfuss, as much as I respect your work and your personal space, my Mother’s happiness had to come first for me. I hope you understand.
February
1
2010
Happy Cloud Computing
2010 is 1/12 over. January has passed us by.
*Blink* It’s over!
Amazing. February is already upon us. The next month should be very interesting. We are making some great headway on launching our software company. We have meetings on Thursday to determine our name, meet with the lawyer to file all the incorporation papers and truly launch this thing.
I’m very excited about the prospects of this new venture. I think there is a tremendous amount of talent in our group and we should be able to hit a few homeruns on this software business. It’s really going to be great!
February… we will see the completion of our first iPhone app this month as we complete our very first app that is being developed for a client. Very cool. I’ll be sure to let everyone know when it’s available on the App Store.
Look out world! We’re putting our cloud out there in the sky!
January
28
2010
Ok, now i’m being called an Apple fanboy again who’s drinking the Kool Aid.
That’s funny.
Now to say that I’m drinking the Kool Aid is just lame, and typical of people who are Anti Apple. And believe me there are many out there who just despise Apple. I know that.
Apple does not always do it right. They do make missteps along the way, it’s true. In the Jobs era you have The Cube, the weird colored Clam Shell iBooks, to a lesser extent AppleTV (though it delivers on what was promised, just the promise is totally underwhelming).
But Apple’s latest Macs, notebooks and iPods/iPhones are awesome. And every step of the way the Anti Apple zealots have started to sound as out of touch as the Mac Addicts. (There’s Kool Aid to be sipped on both sides!)
The name does have it’s problems. But that doesn’t bother me. If nothing else I’d love to see a move away from the “I” names, but that probably won’t happen. Not soon anyway.
January
28
2010
The Next Big Thing: The iPad
So Apple unveiled the iPad today.
Some people are already calling it a big failure. That it’s underwhelming. That it’s too pricey. That it just doesn’t make any sense.
Well… those are all the same criticisms we heard for the iPod, and the iPhone and iPod Touch. Yet, here we are. Apple is a $50 Billion a year business, and I’m pretty sure they are onto something here.
Now, the iPad is not a netbook, or a “traditional windows style tablet” or a replacement for a notebook.
No, the iPad is truly something new. It’s a device that is geared for those of us who are truly mobile internet users for whom the iPhone screen is too small for hours of use, and for whom a notebook is still just too much computer to lug around.
I think there’s a lot more of us out there for this than a lot of people realize.
Sure, right now the application capabilities of the iPad are not much greater than that of an iPod Touch or an iPhone. They do share the same core OS, but as a developer I know already that the iPad has greater functionality built into it’s interface than the smaller siblings it complements. In time developers are going to make killer apps for this product. Apple themselves have already shown us some of that power in the new iWork for iPad apps. Sleek desktop level apps, in a clean iPhone OS form factor. Nice.
I’ve watched the Keynote twice. And I’m sold. This is my next computing device. I don’t need a full fledged notebook to check email and surf the web and type up word processing docs while I’m sitting at the soccer fields. I just don’t. But I also don’t want to do those things on a tiny iPhone screen either. This is going to be perfect.
I’m looking forward to getting my hands on one as soon as I can! And at $499 to start, the price point is pretty sweet. It’s Apple’s cheapest entry into the computing line. I’m willing to bet they’ll sell a ton of these.
January
27
2010
Dreams are the things that push our creativity. They are the inspiration that moves us to greatness. They are what our hearts and our minds wish for us together. The successful pursuit of one’s dreams can be the most rewarding experience of our lives. And yet, many of us give up on our dreams at one point or another. We convince ourselves that it’s too hard, the ceiling is too high, the reality of our lives can’t live up to the fantasy. Why do we do that?
Is it necessary to do that? Is that just the way it is? I’ve found myself asking this question more and more recently.
I have lots of dreams. Some of them, I know, are totally unreasonable. (Let’s face it, I’m likely never going to find myself President of Apple. 
But a lot of them are dreams I have been working very hard towards accomplishing.
My moviemaking, running my own business, being a man I can be proud of. I guess those aren’t crazy dreams to have. I am, technically living out all three of them.
But it’s very difficult. The moviemaking is rewarding in it’s own way. But I am beginning to wonder if I’ll ever lift it to the lofty expectations of my dreams. What are the chances I’ll ever get to make an Avatar? Or even still, what are the chances I’ll ever get to make my Dad’s film? Is it even worth thinking about that sort of loftier ambition? Or should I be content with the level I’m at and just learn to be happy with that?
My business venture with Theresa and Laura is going pretty well. We are working very hard to grow and expand our reach. We are launching a new software company that has the potential to make us a load of money in the next year and a half alone. But I still wonder if we are going to reach that point. I wonder if my dreams are ultimately out of reach of my reality. Is it folly to continue pushing for such high goals? Or is that the true sign of someone on the path to success? The unwillingness to give up? I often wonder if my life would be easier if I’d just suck it up and work a “regular job.”
And as for being a man I can be proud of. I think I’m living that dream out day-to-day. Generally I think I’m succeeding and I like to think that I’m not just tooting my own horn without reason. Certainly being dumped, for no obvious reasons, in October has shaken that perception of who I am a bit. But I think I’ve responded to the challenges of the past 4 months with dignity and grace and patience, understanding and love. I think I’m doing all right.
This isn’t a crisis post. I’m not planning on changing my path or doing anything drastic. But I think it’s good to evaluate and question one’s path periodically. Don’t you?
January
24
2010
So after what feels like an eternity of rain, we have finally been given a day or two of blue skies. The forecast is for more gloomy, rainy weather in a couple of days, but for right now we are being treated to the wonder of crisp, clean skies in San Diego.
It’s absolutely gorgeous. One of those days that reminds you why you live in So Cal.
The other day Alissa said I was being very Glass Half-Full when I said the rain was great because it would bring us blue skies, green hillsides and clean air. You can even see snow capped mountain peaks in the east county from the beach! Well, maybe I was a bit Glass Half-Full, but I was also right!
So nice out, but I also can’t wait for the next few days of rain. I want this to be the year we pull our So Call butts out of the drought. So tired of the drought conditions.
January
21
2010
I found this fascinating quote today:
Nathan Fillion has, in the space of seven years, risen to the status of a geek icon. Beginning with his best-known role as Captain Mal Reynolds on Firefly, his work on several of Joss Whedon’s projects has transformed the former soap opera actor into a huge draw for the geek crowd. But there’s a lot more to Fillion than tight pants and a pistol — and a heck of a lot more than a shirt with a picture of a hammer on it.wired.com, Interview: Nathan Fillion Talks Firefly, Dr. Horrible, and Why Kids Need to Read, Jan 2010
You should read the whole article.
January
20
2010
Pants on the ground!
The shrieking, the sobbing, the fakeness, the insanity of the auditions! I love American Idol!
For 9 years now it’s been must see T.V. for myself and my entire family. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this season plays out.
Ryan Seacrest seems particularly funny this year and has anyone else notice how nice looking Kara is? Daaaamn!