Social Drinking

Social media has an interesting common thread ... drinking.

On Tuesday I headed to Downtown Sacramento's DeVere's Irish Pub to meet with people I mostly know via Facebook and Twitter with the Sacramento Social Media Club. It is always great to talk to these online friends in person, enjoy some great food and, of course, have a pint of great beer. Another upside to these social events, the raffle. I won a Sacramento Zoo family fun pack that included tickets to the zoo, a nice reusable bag and a small, plush lion.

On Thursday I took part in my first social media chat. This particular chat was for Fresh & Easy, a chain of grocery stores making their way into the Sacramento region starting in March. Their PR team provided me with three bottles of wine to sample and as I tasted them I needed to tweet what I tasted and thought. It was very simple, the wines were all good and I cannot wait to check out the new Rocklin store when it opens in about a month. Although I enjoyed each of the three wines, I particularly liked the Chocolate Shop Red Wine. I'm normally not a huge dessert wine fan, but this wine, paired with some chocolate were fantastic.

*Wine was provided for me to enjoy at no cost by Fresh & Easy. Opinions expressed are my own.

Super Bowl of Food

The good food started on Saturday night when a friend came over for dinner and continued on Sunday. The Super Bowl was a great game to watch, although it would have been better if the 49ers had won a few weeks ago. Plus, the commercials were good, Facebook and Twitter friends were busy commenting on the commercials and at Fort Bradley there was lots of food. My roommate and a friend enjoyed the game with me as we ate three courses from Papa Murphy's (cheesy bread, chicken bacon artichoke delite pizza and s'mores pizza), plenty of chips and a few beers and wines.

Facebook Menlo Park

Graphic | Form S-1 Filing with SEC

I was fortunate enough to visit Facebook's new campus in Menlo Park on Monday. I was able to have lunch with my sister-in-law, see her new office and meet some of the amazing staff. Facebook has around 3,200 employees, yet is valued at $75-$100 billion according to many. Nearly 500 million people log into Facebook daily and nearly one billion log in at least one a month. The numbers are astounding, but what strikes me is how normal and how dedicated each and every employee is. All are working towards the organization's mission of giving its users "the power to share and make the world more open and connected."

Below are a few pictures from my most recent visit. The campus is still under construction, which is a fitting backdrop for a company that continues to innovate and create new models for users to engage with its product, partner companies and advertisers.
CNBC was able to go to a few places I wasn't, check out their slideshow.

A Weekend at Fort Bradley

Although I wouldn't call it a typical weekend at Fort Bradley, it was a weekend filled with fun, laughter and guests. Saturday started out with me putting together a brand new piece of furniture from IKEA to hold an Eiffel Tower to fill an empty corner of my living room (it is where the Christmas tree goes one month a year). The rest of the day Saturday was spent with friends, working out at the gym, going to Bayside and buying a few bottles of wine at Sam's Club. Sunday started out with a pancake breakfast with my roommate and a friend, then we started watching football, drinking wine and ordered Round Table for lunch. Before the nacho course I decided to invite my favorite family with seven kids over to watch the 49er game. Once they arrived we enjoyed nachos, more pizza and more wine. Although my house got slightly messier than normal, it was great to host so many friends. The only thing that would have made it better ... a 49er victory.

SOPA Blackout

Tell Congress to Stop SOPA and PIPA. See what websites are going dark today, including Wikipedia.

Five Moves in One Year

No, I'm not talking about college, I'm talking about my office. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every move. The first move was from an office in Rocklin to our current office in Roseville. The second was from my original office to a slightly larger one. Two weeks ago we decided to move some things around and see if a new open office layout worked for us. Although it was workable for me, we decided to make another switch to better increase productivity among all staff. I moved back into an office and now I'm all set, even got to go to IKEA again.

My desk and my neighbors birthday sign

Other half of the office in the open office format

New (current) "cube" layout

My desk in my new office (with IKEA light and picture)

The Other half of my desk

Snowless

Neighbor Side | Bradley Lodge Side

Pine Needle Free

Last year we were skiing at this time. We did 25 runs in just four hours at Bear Valley. There were many feet of snow at the Bradley Lodge and we enjoyed hanging out with friends. This weekend, we still hung out with friends, but instead of skiing or using the snow blower, we raked pine needles. Although this will save time come spring when we have to clear our lot for fire safety, it was a little odd being able to see the ground and rake in January. We didn't see dirt in 2011 until May. Beyond raking my mom and grandma organized the kitchen cupboards and painted the some of the trim on the Bradley Lodge green, it looks great. Now we're thinking about adding some stone to the front of the Lodge to add some extra beauty.

Lots of Branches Fell During Wind Storms

Pine Needles Under Tarp to Keep the a Little Dryer

We Also Organized the Cupboards, Renters Find Interesting Places to Put Stuff