A post? Wow.

I guess that last post was the nail in the coffin. Going forward I'm just going to cover whatever is on the brain. Right now here's what's on my brain.

Mint.com - This is a really nice web 2.0 financial management tool

Goodbye IIF - We sold our India Investment fund shares at a profit and bought some CGMFX. Adios India.

Romans 8:28-39 - I'm having a really hard time memorizing this entire thing - eek!

The new computer board and grinder for the La Marzocco Linea should be here this week. It's been months waiting...

Perhaps my rambles are useless.

To blog or not to blog - thank you Mena Trott

Is blogging simply a form of narcissism or is there more substance to it? As you have noticed there hasn't been a post for over a month. The funny thing is that you're probably not reading this in real time anyway, but instead found this weeks or months later.

The delay in posts was due to travel and other business, not because there was nothing worth sharing. Really though, what's worth sharing? Should I share pictures to London, information on coffee, the best techniques for water skiing on your rump, or random rants and musings? Honestly it's all important. Why you ask? Well, for one, who do you think this blog is for? I used to think this blog was just for you and me, but then I came across a TED conference presentation by Mena Trott. Mena explained that the personal blog is a record for sharing your life, and while it's spiffy for people to read in real time, it's real power is in connecting and sharing ideas that would otherwise be stifled or lost by providing a record of me (well us I guess).

Just imagine that Google, Blogger, and the internet don't disappear in a far distant dystopia. In those days my great grandchildren will likely have the ability to review our archived blog. I won't claim that I can document a perfect example of who we are, but it will provide more context for those who otherwise wouldn't know me. Really, how much do you know about your great grandparents? If you found a shoe box of old letters and photographs don't you think you'd look at them?

Please check out Mena Trott's TED presentation

Thank you.

Grace Cafe Lauches and a Fun Birthday

Grace Cafe opened for experimental Sunday service the other day. Mike was pouring espresso and building drinks for visitors and old friends alike. We've got a few process tweaks to work out but our coffee is top notch!
Mike's Birthday was on 7/23, so a bunch of friends incame to celebrate on Sunday evening. Stephanie made a super-cute octopus cake and we played a full board of Monopoly with all nine pieces. It was amazing to see the crazy real estate deals, including rent futures. Happy birthday to Michael Wright too, whose day is one week prior on 7/16.


More photos here: http://landofpens.smugmug.com/gallery/3200049#176386649

A little busy...

The Penlands have been busy. Mike has been working to keep the house in order and Stephanie has been diligently pursuing her MFA studies. Here you'll see her marking up various layouts for her Type III class with the rest of the room in disarray. The layouts are for a 15 page + cover / poster handout for a *fictional* North Face Hairbrush product launch.

Fortunately they'llbe able to steal a few moments away for a date evening to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix later tonight - joy!

PS - hopefully Stephanie forgives me for posting this photo.

Where's Mike Been?

Mike's been up at the Flathead Lake house doing a lot of Moto work and helping out his dad. Four foot grass, trimming, and wood chopping aren't all that bad.
Here's where we are: MAP - You should come visit some time.

A video from the dock:

Gee Whiz

You'll be glad to hear that this is not the official Meatrix blog. Here's a quick run down of what's going on in the Land of Pens.

- Stephanie was humbled by her last quarter but finished strong. She's going to start her summer session in a few weeks with two classes; Calligraphy and Elements of Type. She didn't end up going to Alabama for Project M but may try to go again in the future.

- Mike has been very busy at work helping to build the future of mobile experiences at Motorola. He's going to Montana in a few days to spend Father's Day with his dad.

Of course much more has been going on and we're eager to share pictures of our friends wedding (congratulations Michael and La Niesha!) and other fun happenings. Until then please enjoy this bizarre picture of Mike just before he got his tooth drilled.

The Meatrix

What do you call a cow with no front legs?
...
lean beef

What do you call a cow with no legs at all?
ground beef - da dum pa! LOL!!!

Okay no more lame jokes but we've got to share this with you: http://themeatrix.com/ Please watch it.
We found it pretty amusing, and informative; almost like school house rock for sustainable farming complete with red pill blue pill fun. We’re not saying “go Vegan” but we are saying be informed and make educated decisions in who you support with your dollars.

Please let us know when you’d like to have a barbecue with some Prather Ranch goodness!

Pizza Night Fun

Recently we shared our pizza experience with some of our fellow Retrofitians and had a ton of fun. Everyone got to make their own pizzas and had a bit of a competition. Here are the long awaited results.
Click here to see all pictures.

Best Tasting Pizza - Ryan
Something about this combination was just incredible!

Cutest Pizza - Mary and Barkwende
Awe so cute!

Best Designed Pizza - Stephanie
To Steph, pizza is an art form.

Juiciest Pizza - Kandice
No doubt about this one; this pizza was oozing with yummy juice!

Weirdest Looking Pizza - Michael and La Neisha
Compromise isn't always pretty, but at least it it's tasty.

Gnarliest Pizza - Jay
Dude, this was righteous!

Most Interesting Combination - Katie
Sure why not?

Most Creative Ingredient - Bim
Corn rules!

Easter and Cafe Update

Aside from intense work at Motorola and loads of MFA homework, the Penland's have had a lot fun stuff going on lately. Last Sunday we participated in Glad Tiding’s musical, “This is Life” which featured some amazing music, testimony, messages, and videos. Above is a sample clip of a video that was used (see more here). Stephanie performed with the choir while Mike operated a giant spotlight :-) That Sunday morning was also the commencement of Phase I for our Grace Café project.

For Grace Café we got approval to overhaul our church coffee service from nasty pre-ground decaffeinated Kirkland Signature with 100 year old building water, to freshly ground (with Mike’s grinder) Peet’s Major Dickason with premium filtered water. We had a great setup and the fresh coffee and new tea selection were a big hit. In the coming weeks we’ll happily receive our reconditioned La Marzocco Linea espresso machine! From there we’ll take Grace Café to the next level! Of course we’ll have to figure out somewhere to put it and how on Earth to hook it up (220v, water in/out, 220lbs). Hmmm, maybe we put the cart before the horse. Stay tuned for some exciting updates! Below is a picture of GT’s new Linea - hooray!

Olema / Point Reyes Adventure

In the heat of DST planning and implementation Mike heads to the beach - hooray!

Mike's dad Mark came to visit this last week. He and Mike went up to Olema / Point Reyes area (north west of SF) for a few days enjoying a nice retreat to nature. A lot of time was spent exploring the forests, light house, and beaches. Mark stayed at the Vedanta retreat center while Mike had to go stay at the Youth Hostel. We tried to skirt the rules but since Mike hadn't had an interview with the Swami in SF he was only allowed to visit the property during the day. It was no big deal and we still had a great time.

Just in case you were curious, Vedanta is a Hindu based religion, but they welcome all spiritual seekers to enjoy their 1,900 acre property and silent hospitality for retreats. We also went to a short class taught by the Swami and Mike surprisingly found much truth to affirm in his message, including many examples of Jesus' teachings. Don't worry Mike isn't converting, but it was very interesting to learn about their perspective and practice, especially that they recognize (and celebrate) the divinity of Christ. Which begs the question...

DST Madness

Just in case you didn't know daylight savings time is three weeks earlier and one week later this year. Mike has been going crazy at work trying to accommodate this change. Many of our largest customers are freaking out trying to keep their appointments correct. It's like Y2K in the tech industry all over again!

For an example, imagine that you're a global fortune 500 company who has to manage thousands of Good messaging users and servers. All of these users and servers need patches, upgrades, and tools to correct the issue and the order in which they're applied is critical. Here's the KB article that customers need to follow: http://www.good.com/faq/17882.html Take a peak...

This process is total madness. I hope I can survive!!! Fortunately Stephanie's graphic design is timeless and therefore immune to DST (bah!).

:)

Valentine's Fun

Mike and Steph celebrated valentines day with a bunch of friends at a couple's dinner. We also enjoyed some fine chocolates and some fun with the little mushroom and a balloon :)

Amazing Moon Pictures

The moon is amazing right now. Stay tuned for a great picture of it above the bridge and clock tower (accidentally deleted it) ;P

The bottom picture is actually the moon lighting up a flag.

For more click here.

A Smugmug Outlook

Smugmug! Mike and Steph have been busy organizing their photos (for good) on the Smugmug system. Feel free to check out our handy work: http://landofpens.smugmug.com/

Why Smugmug? It's a feature filled and fully customizable photo management, storage, and sharing solution.

-Unlimited high-res photo storage

-Amazing management system including support for keywords, geotagging, and more.

-Fully customizable (we've only scratched the surface of this)

-Seamless integration into other websites (such as one that we'll build some day. Example: http://photos.barackobama.com/

This system is actually so good that we are actually deleting the photos from our home computers once they're uploaded and organized. There is no need to manage two databases!!!

If you'd like to try it out please use K4utN42PBUalI as a discount code which also helps us out.

Additionally, the Penland's continue to experiment with their culinary pizza endeavors and have been enjoying some amazing games of Monopoly. Stephanie just started another quarter at the Academy of Art and Mike has been embracing the chaos of the Motorola/Good merger.

Shooting at the Range

Wow! We had a "blast"! If you've never spent a day at the range, we highly suggest it. Thanks to Ryan Ritchie and Walter Eidman we learned a lot about firearms and had loads of fun. Mike did exceptionally well with the SKS and Magnum, and Stephanie and Brian Cain were very good with the 9mm. Anita also did very well with the .22 target guns and our new friend Joseph was amazed at all of the firepower and variety. Wow! We can't wait to go again. Thanks!

Hello Moto!

Mike and a group of managers spent the last two days at Motorola in a management training workshop. Danny Shader (our prior CEO) along with his staff collaborated with Fitch Associates to deliver us a first rate session. The workshop consisted of management fundamentals paired with tons of role playing and practical examples on complex topics like delegation and feedback.

It was really amazing to have Motorola invest in us so much. It really shows that they want us to succeed and have this merger go well. Mike's already putting what he's learned into practice and is excited to start this new phase of his career. Now where are those new business cards? Ha!

Super Sunday

Sunday was great.

Mike made some amazing homemade pizza at Penland Tower to serve our guests Kandice and Rachel. Then later that evening we had a special Retrofit planning meeting where we accomplished a lot. We're very happy to see some of our friendships and visions come to fruition!

*pics coming soon as Smugmug is down right now*

Lemon Night

The Penland's discovered Meyer lemons at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market today and had fun applying them to every dish imaginable. These delectable lemons have a light floral flavor and delicate texture. We enjoyed these lemons in flavored beverages, custards, dressings, and more. We can't wait to try out the blood oranges next!

Dough, Jenga, and Friends

Mike has been on the quest for the ultimate pizza dough. His last batch took multiple days to create and the second batch is underway right now. We're talking about big fresh fluffy crust here - yum! Thanks to this book from Mom and Grandma, his baking skills are on the "rise".

whose ladies in attendance. Pizza 1.0 was thoroughly enjoyed by the guys and we attempted to eclipse a 30 story Just last night, there was a ladies night out to Half Moon Bay to celebrate LaNiesha's engagement. Stephanie attended and freed up Mike for an evening with Tim Gavigan and Michael PedrozaJenga tower, only reaching 29 each time. Stephanie said the Half Moon Bay outing was lovely; including a nice dinner, fellowship, and letter reading.

Stephanie's Birthday - Retrofit Offsite

We had an awesome time last night with 20+ friends showing up for the Retrofit offsite and Stephanie's birthday. Our guests enjoyed a lot of good company, yummy foods, and cold beverages. Much fun was had in an 18 player Apples to Apples game followed the cutting of Stephanie's giant purple princess cake and a couch comedy parlor.

There were also a few oddities including an octopus attack and Tim's Nokia getting ticketed and towed for parking in a Treo zone. Here are the quotes of the night.

"Well, I've been to some pretty dirty churches." - Michael disqualifying a red card.

"My wife is a plant; she needs sun and dirt." - Tim justifying their need for yard.

"Panda Bear: Eats shoots and leaves." - Arthur telling the panda bear joke.
For more photos click here.

Ringing in the Near Year

The Penland’s rang in the new year at Glad Tidings with a bunch of good folks, a thought-provoking message, vibrant music, and some delicious deserts. This was a much safer alternative to roaming the streets of North Beach where many disrespectful suburbanites ran amok. On New Year's Day after sleeping in until almost noon, pumpkin spiced pancakes fueled a splendid biking trip from the Ferry Building to Crissy Field (pictured above). We had perfect weather and all of the locals were out enjoying the day.