Author: Eric Kauschen

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Appnation: Boy are my dogs tired.

My legs are sore from standing for a couple days at one of the weirdest conferences I’ve ever worked. Over the past two days I represented the company I work for at Appnation. It was at Moscone Center and was a convention for mobile app developers to learn ways to make money as app developers. They say it’s a mash-up of developers, venture capitalists and people who do stuff that could benefit developers [more on that later].

This was a show that compared to MacWorld was an oversized garage type of event. There were maybe about 100 people hawking their wares and the people that would come by the booth I was working were a mix of end users, VC people, but mostly people who were too cheap to purchase a booth and were coming by to try and sell their product to me to include in my app even if it had nothing to do with or was of no use to my app. In other words, in my opinion the show was a bust for the company I work for.

There was lots of talk about how to get venture capital funding for your app, but in reality most of these hip app writers live out of virtual spaces that don’t have anything a real office has. Imagine working for a company that is based in a eggshell of an industrial workspace. They have no landline phone, no printers, cheap Office Depot tables and chairs, no form of interior design what so ever, mail never gets delivered because, well snail mail is so 10 minutes ago and after all, in a month or two we’ll be moving to an even better eggshell to work out of!

Eggshelled companies are not what a Venture Capital firm has much interest in because once they give you the money they want to be able to keep track of you by something other than email and a cell phone call, neither of which they can find a real person to shake down to get the money back.

I was able to meet some interesting people there though. Steve and Reed from appMobi were right across from me and put on a good show. Steve incidentally speaks 8 languages and was happy to demonstrate that fact even though it had nothing to do with his product. AppMobi is a web-based product that lets you write mobile apps using web design skills not programming languages and then deploy your product not just to one platform, but to several. This sounded pretty cool and they’re demo showed how cool it was. Then there was Chris and Cherie from Technomadia. These were a couple of Burning Man people who actually live out of a trailer and because of that wrote an app called State Lines. This is a fun app for travelers that tells you the speed limits, smoking rules, alcohol laws in every state. Very useful if you’re a frequent traveler and only $2.99. I asked them if the app paid them well and they told me that, “It keeps them in lunch and sometimes dinner.” OK, while I can’t exactly say I’d be able to live off that, at least I know I’d be getting a couple a meals a day from it.

Probably the best thing I learned from the show was that geek girls with iPads can be hot. These girls weren’t icing on the cake like you have at car shows, but they were spouting off about objective-C, equity investors, marketing throughput, etc and their eyes weren’t all glossed over like they were just repeating what they were told to say. I’d also have to say that most of the people there were talking more about the free after parties than the products people were trying to sell, so that should tell you something about the overall effectiveness of the show.

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Dave McElhatton: Broadcasting Legend of SF

I have to start off by saying that my connection to Dave McElhatton is because I because I have a degree in Broadcasting. I met “Mac” when he came to one of my college classes to tell us how be be a good broadcaster. The funny thing is that when you look at the words “good broadcaster” you kind of have to think. How hard is it to sit there and talk to people who aren’t there? Well aside from the homeless people downtown who will beg to differ with you even if you aren’t there, talking to the public via a microphone or camera isn’t as easy as it sounds.

“Mac” was good at what he did and I doubt he ever would have admitted it. He didn’t have the stern delivery of Walter Chronkite or the laughable “what drugs is he on?” of Dr. Don Rose, but Dave McElhatton was the kind of guy you’d want to sit down and have a beer with and just talk. I didn’t realize his long history in radio prior to seeing him team up with Wendy Tokuda for the news on channel 5. He was one of the first inductees into the Bay Area Hall of Fame. I always remembered in college how my teachers would use “Mac” as an example of the way someone should deliver the news. While he retired in 2000 he never sort of left my mind. When i read of his death I suddenly realized that he wasn’t doing the news anymore and he’s probably knocking one back with Walter and Dr. Don somewhere.

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Smartphones for Dummies: San Francisco

There’s something about smartphones that no one wants you to know. Now that I have my brand new iPhone 4 I am an expert and will share with you my font of knowledge.

Well, maybe at least what I’ve learned so far…First off, these are phones that connect to the internet. What they don’t tell you is that they try to access Wi-Fi first, then fall back to 3g, then Edge, then GPRS as the last resort. Everything after Wi-FI is where your monthly data charges come in. Now if you’re like me and the millions of other hipsters who got an iPhone to be cool and only make a few phone calls you can find a way to save yourself the $15-$25/month as soon as that’s not a part of your contract [looking into that tomorrow].

I’ve found there are tons of free Wi-Fi out there and there’s even a free app for the iPhone called of course, Free Wi-Fi Finder. While this works pretty good, I’ve found that if you see the #G or E or ° on your iPhone that you should go into your settings and try and turn on Wi-Fi. Chances are you’ll find an open system. I was wandering around my local Safeway and happened to remember this and turned it on and found that Safeway offers free Wi-Fi. So I connected and now because it’s a smartphone it remembered it and every time I’m in that Safeway it will automatically hook up. This is good because the cell phone reception is nil inside so I can run Skype if I need to make a call and call out over Wi-Fi and be a VoIP geek for a bit.

This secret has kept me from getting a Smartphone even when I could have afforded one because it was the data plan that pushed me back. I already pay less per month for much better Wi-Fi at home, why should I pay more for a slower connection outside the house?

So I think this weekend I’ll go fishing, but I’ll leave the pole at home and go around my neighborhood and as soon as I find I don’t have a Wi-Fi signal I’ll see who’s I can latch onto. I’ll also do that at the pizza place by where I work since I know they offer free Wi-Fi and they have good pizza considering they aren’t in New York.

If you could, please click on my sponsors ad below. You don’t necessarily have to purchase anything unless you want to, but at least the click will add money to my daughter’s schooling fund, or if you like you can click on our donation link and donate even a dollar.

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Gay Weddings, mo’ money, mo’ money!

So I start my morning a bit groggy as usual and begin my morning routine. Read email, check, go to sfgate.com and check out the news.

Whoa, they’ve finally realized that legalized gay marriages could stimulate our economy. Yeah, OK, duh. I’ve been saying this all along. I guess because being born and raised in San Francisco I’ve known a lot of gay people. I’ve also noticed that once they hit their 30’s they seem to have more money than most of the straight people.

They usually don’t have kids, so there’s one less money suck. They don’t have a problem dressing fashionably well which helps them land jobs in the higher paying sectors, and of course, they love to shop!

All of my gay friends had iPhones long before I did, they had flat screen HDTV’s long before I did. They’ve got money and they’re ready to spend.

San Francisco being the Mecca for gay culture [why exactly is Mecca always used as an example of the “place to be?”] We would reap untold rewards by legalized gay marriage. The money that would pour into this city as the “place to be” for a gay marriage would make our coffers explode to the point that San Francisco would start considering becoming it’s own nation state. The derogatory term, “San Francisco Values” would then been driving home from work in your new BMW because last years is so 10 minutes ago, putting food on the table and paying your bills while surfing the net on your iPad in front of your 50″ flat screen HDTV home theater unit while sipping a fabulous 83′ Cabernet from Napa.

That doesn’t exactly sound like we suck. If California legalizes gay marriage and pot we could easily become the #2 economy in the world. We would become an even bigger draw than Las Vegas. Donald Trump would take up a residence here and New York would become an unhip wasteland.

I’ve been in favor of gay marriage since I can remember and I’m a straight guy. I don’t have a problem with it and I can see the benefits we can derive from it. Oh, by the way, if any of you need a Universal Life Church minister to officiate at your wedding I’ll do a fabulous job…for a small fee. 😉

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I F*cking Hate Car Seats!!!

Today was an auspicious day. It was time to replace the car seat we had and my wife and I got up early to attempt it’s installation. I write this because we have had two previous car seats and the same thing happens every time. I end up swearing a lot and hurting my knees and swearing some more then finally it gets installed.

Well, it was so so this time. We got it installed, but it still rocks to the left too easily. I have no idea how the guys at Babies-R-Us install the car seats while not swearing up a storm in front of the family asking them for help to put it in. It’s just insane. Why can’t they make an easy to install car seat?

I did call the local police station and they said they have some people who do that and they took my name and number and would get back to me some time this week.

Some time this week?

O.K., it was a Sunday, but still, some time this week? That’s like, “I’ve fallen and I can get up!” O.K. we’ll get back to you this week. I know that’s a bit overboard, but we hardly ever go out without our daughter. Next week doesn’t cut it.

So we have it installed, but according to the directions if we ever get into a crash our daughter is dead, which I’m sure voids the warranty because car seat makers don’t like to have dead kids in their history, but the thing still is rocking back and forth a lot. Maybe I could take my anger out on our car dealer who pointed out that when we have kids the car was all ready for the car seat because it had the LATCH hooks built in, but for now…I hate f*cking car seats.

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Chipotle Needs Mexican Coke!

Our family outing today ended with a trip to Chipotle. While fast food restaurants offer you food that you usually know what it’s going to taste like where ever you go, there’s the downside in that they usually offer unhealthy food.

Now lots of people have said that Chipotle’s Burritos and Burrito Bowls have a HUGE amount of calories and they do. I was into their burrito bowls for awhile until I discovered I had put on an extra 10lbs because I was eating close to a full days worth of calories in one sitting.

All that being said, you do have to give them kudos for trying to use as much organic food in the supply chain. My favorite is two carnitas tacos with black beans, sour cream and cheese with chips and guacamole on the side. Their pork here in SF comes from Niman Ranch so it’s locally raised and organic. 40% of their black beans are organic and all the the dairy used in the cheese and sour cream [crema agria which translates to “angry cream” a Mexican co-worker told me] is 100% organic.

Not too shabby, but the one thing any self respecting taqueria offers is “Mexican Coke“. What’s that? It’s Coke from Mexico where they use cane sugar instead of HFC [High Fructose Corn Syrup]. The taste is different and even Coke admits that. Cane sugar being more natural and Mexican Coke coming in bottles instead of cans or fountain syrups is, while being higher in calories, is better for you than American Coke. I thought Californians were the only ones to enjoy this luxury of a soda, but apparently there are several other states that have it as well. In San Francisco, it’s all over the place. You don’t have to go to a Taqueria to find it, Target has it, Costco has it. Major grocery stores usually don’t, but your corner liquor store probably does. If Chipotle is trying to show that it wants to show that it’s trying to be healthier then it should cut out the high fructose sodas and offer so real Mexican sodas like Mexican Coke or Peñafiel [go for the Guayaba if they have it].

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Who Dah Thunk It?

I had a bit of pleasant surprise today. My boss asked me to get some color copying done for him and I started to take a walk down 7th street to Harrison. Now this is normally something in my mind that you wouldn’t want to do, but it had been a long time since I had been down in the that neck of the woods walking so I guess things change.

As I start to come close to 7th and Harrison I notice new condos and the building start to look nicer. There were still a few crazy people around, but not same type as you see at 7th and Market. There sandwiched between a set of condos and Carmichael Elementary school [I didn’t even know there was a nice looking school like that down there] I find this Russian Orthodox church. At least that’s what google identified it as even though the  crosses are wrong.

Note the lack of feces on the street in front of the church, but the gates are still locked shut. Apparently people respect this place and it was good to see that one of the seedier parts of town has started to make a comeback. Now if I could just get lunch for under $10 at 8th and Mission I’ll be happy.

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San Francisco 94116

Well the computer’s back so it’s back to focusing on the blog. I’ve decided to make a few changes. While I’ll still be writing about San Francisco I’m going to focus a little more on the Sunset District. Also since I’ll soon have an iPhone I’ll be taking more pictures and video [which I should have done yesterday morning].

As I was walking to the L-Taraval street car yesterday morning to go to work I saw something I hadn’t seen in the Sunset before. A homeless guy asleep on the sidewalk at 33rd and Taraval. I’ve been here for 47 years and the “homeless” people you see usually standing outside a 7-11 are more “financially challenged” than “homeless.” They’re generally pretty clean, some are funny, like Donald who usually hangs out at the 7-11 in the evenings on 32nd and Taraval, or Willy who hangs out in the lower part of Judah street. Willy could use a bath, but I think he’s encamped in GG Park because I never see him asleep on the streets.

You don’t feel threatened by these people, but this guy looked more like the picture. Dirty, smelly and while I can’t say for sure I did see a few open sores that meant he was probably carrying some sort of disease with him. I’m going to start taking pictures and maybe Taraval Police station will start doing something about it.

With that said, we made another trip to the Zoo today. So I’ve talked enough about the zoo so I’ll focus on their food today. Part of me misses the dumb simple food they used to serve, but at least they still have hot dogs. We went to the leaping lemur cafe to have some food and I decided to try their bacon cheese burger because who doesn’t love bacon? My wife had the “gourmet international deli sandwich” which translated into a packaged turkey, swiss cheese and a slice of bacon on a croissant with a bag of chips and of course our daughter had to have some “all natural french fries”.

Price: $22.91. That’s with the 10% members discount too. The food was pretty awful. While they’re trying to come off as a healthy food place like the Academy of Sciences, they don’t come close. The bacon cheese burger was tasteless. All I could tell is that it had indeed been cooked. My wife asked me if I’d like a “taste” of her sandwich. Taste usually implies you’re going to actually taste something. Well, I didn’t. The best bet were the french fries which were actually crispy and hot, but no salt, no flavor. Our daughter enjoyed the fries for a little while at least. This is when I noticed that there were lots of families who brought their food and were sitting down outside eating. Note to self, do this next time.

On the upside we got to see a lot and our daughter had a good time even though we had a lot of walking to do to see everything. They have a new area called Greenie’s Conservation Center that has one of the original 1906 earthquake shacks that was a cool find. It was in great condition and had two lights that were so old that they were probably originals. They’ve got a nice garden you can walk through that’s fed with collected rainwater and, uhm, “animal compost”. I remember they used to sell that for $1 a bag calling it ZooDoo. I suppose it was another attempt to look green, but it was small. They should have taken it a step further or two. There were still lots of empty cages and pits and there were a lot of exhibit areas that are now blocked off by fences, probably because they don’t have anything in the areas there. The only problem with this is that some of these walkways were great cut aways to get where you wanted to quickly. Now you have to walk a long way between exhibits that are clumped together with lots of unused space. You can get a better idea from the map. What they need to bring back with so much walking you have to do is bring back the old elephant train. I wish I could find pictures of it, but they stopped it back int he 80’s.

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Become one with your inner macintosh…

Be well my friends. I have come unto you as a changed man. My computer has been returned to me most excellently and my life is whole again. I am one with technology.

Wow 4am poetry can be kind of sloppy, but the iMac is back in full effect a full day early. I’ve been so happy [and so has my wife] that I’ve been prodding and poking it to make sure it wasn’t still broken to make sure it didn’t need anymore fixing.

I have my big shiny screen back and the full memorex, hair blowing sound system back in order. All my apps are working except for a few that required me to re-enter the serial number [only 3 so far]. Life has returned to normal for me and my wife has her computer back all to herself. Overall, while still an obvious mac addict I manage to cobble through 4 days without a mac of my own to call home. I think now that I am back in order I should move on to solving whirled peas and fixing problems with my new employer’s iPhone app.

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Day Three: Getting better, sort of…

OK, so it’s actually going better than I expected and the laptop and work iMac are making it a little bit better, but it’s still not the same. I find myself daily checking Apple’s website to see if my repair is coming along faster than they told me, but still no change.

I feel a little frazzled still because they’re so much I could do if I had everything back the way I wanted it to be. I feel like the guy to the right on the inside, but at least I don’t look that way on the outside.

I think part of the reason is that I can’t do whatever I want on any of these computers. Well that and I miss all the big sound and big screen. My boss and several associates use skype frequently and it isn’t the same when they’re a tinny little voice coming through small speakers vs. them sounding like they’re in the same room with me. My wife is waiting for me to get my computer more so I can get rid of all the junk I’ve put on her computer and give her a bit more time, but today it felt more like a divorced couple with joint custody of a child than the threesome it felt like yesterday.

Oddly enough with the free time I had on my hands today without a computer I found myself sitting out in front of my house squatting down and talking to the gopher/s that have been destroying our lawn for the past few months. I have tried every way I can think to mercifully move them off somewhere else so I now it got nasty and I started to talk to them. Talking to gophers is a sign that I might turn into the guy in the picture very soon…