Remodeling is going really well.

Taking a little longer than expected, but going well.

Bathroom:
tile floor
shower door
shower faucet
vanity
sink faucet
mirror
medicine cabinet
toilet
linen closet light fixture - done
fan - done

Kitchen:
granite slab countertops - done
refinished cabinets - done
sink - done
faucet - done
stove/oven
fridge
dishwasher - done
hood
microwave - done

Pics to follow

The Dream

I was driving in my car (Silver 2005 Nissan Sentra) with Roy, my boss (36 year old Indian fella with thick English Accent, think perfect king's English). For some reason we were driving to Nebraska to meet with a potential client (deal I was trying to close). Roy was on the phone the entire time and I don't think we said two words to each other. We arrived in Nebraska in record time and met with the prospective client and invited them to a rock concert in town.

The concert was great! I think it was the Rolling Stones or Bruce, something really memorable. The concert was packed and it was tough to find the exit, but we finally did find the exit and we spoke with the client and got the deal closed (which was great!).

As we headed back I tried speaking with Roy, but he was back on the phone again. I remember thinking to myself (in my dream) "wow this guy is on the phone all the time, how in the hell am I supposed to talk to him about the deal or what we need to do?"

We made it all the way back to the Bay and I was exhausted. Driving on 80 I could feel my eyelids getting heavy. I had to fight to keep my eyes open. I dozed off a few times....and snapped back. I managed to hold it together and all the while Roy is chatting away on his phone, not really paying attention or caring what was going on.

The next exit is the one I want ... *POP* everything becomes very clear and I am completely alert.

My exit get closer and closer. I see it I merge over. Everything is going relly well. All of a sudden ther are two HUGE redwood trees in front of me reaching high into the sky. Their roots have formed two huge mounds over the exit. I am going too fast to stop, but I am in my little Nissan Sentra!

I plow ahead, close my eyes and brace myself for the impact.There is no impact.I open my eyes and coast over the two huge sets of roots...amazing; I didn't think I could do it!!!

I was so amazed that I pulled over and got out of the car to stare at the roots I just climbed. Roy gets out and continues talking as he walks over to the sidewalk and leans against the chain link fence. He didn’t notice a single thing, he is just talking.

I turn and look at my Sentra and see that it is rolling into traffic!!! I run to stop it from hitting cars and begin to slow it down. All the cars are stopped at the light and my car rolls to a stop and lightly bumps a VW Vanagon.

At this point I am completely mortified because I had overcome so much to get to this point and it was all ruined because I had forgotten to pay attention to the car after I had parked it.

I went up to the side door of the Vanagon and it slid open.

In a cloud of mist a tiny woman with wispy hair (Think LOTR's Gollum) and chubby little fingers, cackled like an old witch. She said "you have fallen into my trap!"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a letter. She explained "I have devised a plan in which each of the 5 people on this letter will pay me money. And now I have you!" (So to refresh, a tiny person is telling me about a pyramid scheme)

"You will pay me one thousand dollars!"

Just then an even smaller person with the same wispy hair went running behind her out one door and into another.I glance over at Roy thinking maybe he might be willing to help, but he is still on the phone and hasn't seen a single thing.

I woke up.

ZEBO.com launches

So my company has just launched a social network called ZEBO.com yesterday. When I first heard the idea I thought, "Great another social network..." I sell Ad Serving and through the sales process over the past 3 years I have seen many many Web 2.0s and Startups. I have worked closely with them integrating our technology and have seen them succeed and seen them fail. If there is one thing I can tell you it is that Social Networks are not an easy thing to grow into a large business. For every MySpace or Hi5, there are many tiny Startups that never really see success.

So how did my company create a Social network without heading straight for the monotony of the Web 2.0 wasteland?...Shopping.

This is a truly unique spin on the social network (In private beta the team managed to sign up over 4 million users, about 75% US). I am slightly biased because I work for the company, but I am not a part of the ZEBO team so I may retain a shred of credibility here.

ZEBO users list products they own on the site!

I'm not sure how they convinced millions of people to list what they own, but they did. This information can be tremendously useful to consumers as well as the brands that market to them.

ZEBO users list what they own, share opinions about products they own with their friends, ask advice on purchases, select guru's on products like clothes or electronics among their friends there are some really cool features about the site.

From a brand's perspective there are several ways that this can really bring value to a brand:

Advertising: Brands can target buyers for repurchase or potential buyers for purchase separately. They can look for their target market segment and serve branded ads on the site.

Direct Promotion: Brands can setup a feed to the site and have their products sold on the site. Behavioral targeting and Demo/Psychographic targeting can give them a more prominent position on the site and rather than paying for clicks they can earn sales directly from the site.

Measure actual market share among ZEBO users: Brands can search for their name/product among their competition and look to see what % of users or the total number of users own their product vs their competitors.

Measure the desire to own their product among ZEBO users: ZEBO users make wish lists. Brands can search for the number of people who want their product vs their competitors, supplemental products, or relaly anything (iPods vs Prada vs Scion... who wins?)

ZEBO is also a social network where you can:
(1) Shop
(2) Compare Products
(3) Share pictures
(4) Create Film Strips

The coolest feature from a users perspective seems to be the "Popularity Contest." This feature allows users to search for their favorite brands, products, really anything to see how many other ZEBO users have or want the same things.

All in all this site has lots of potential and should grow fast. The key to any launch is the press. That is of course out of our control so stay tuned to see if we get the hockey stick...

September 11

I was fast asleep and head of the Alumni Association in my Fraternity called me screaming into the phone about the end of the world. I had to calm him down to understand what was actually happening.

I ran to a TV set and stwitched to CNN. It was after the first plane had hit and the building was on fire. I didn't believe that it was happening. I could not fathom how a plane had hit the WTC. How could a pilot be so off course?

It wasn't until I listened to the news anchor explain that terrorits has seized control of these planes as they left and that they were using them as gigantic missiles against New York. The United States was under attack.

The second plane hit.

An enormous explosion and liquid fire went shooting out the side of the tower. People jumped to their deaths to escape the fire.

The buildings collapsed.

All classes were cancelled for that day and the following day as every student was glued to their television sets in a prolonged state of shock. Not knowing what we should think. Not understanding what we should feel.

Even now as I write this blog the same dark feeling is returning. I have not felt that feeling since September 11, 2001. The only difference now is; I know what to think. I know what to feel.