Morning Thoughts

Liberty Lake Triathlon Continued...

Here are the pictures that Bri's dad took of the girls during their tri.

You can make your own comments...

  Stasha makin bold maneuvers with her head down

The fastest girls

Bri at the finish

Those are all the pictures from now. I have proofs from a professional photographer that got some pretty good pictures of the girls, but we have to purchase the pictures before I can post them online. Maybe next time.

I'm just about to take my first flight with Virgin America, and so far so good! I walked straight to the counter this morning, gave the gal my ID and bag, then was off to security in less than 3 friendly minutes! I'm excited for the Virgin experience, the Virgin Group is one of the most innovative companies around. Here is a safety video I found on YouTube.

A Break in Spokane

This weekend was one of the most relaxing and fun I've had in quite some time. In terms of business, just about nothing was accomplished. I delivered a few copies of our business plan, but that's about it - which is good enough for me. I have been burnt out and disappointed lately with some things going on, the weekend break was well needed.

Stasha and I went to Spokane for her first Triathlon in Liberty Lake. She and a friend, Bri, decided about a year ago that they wanted to do some triathlons this summer and the Valley Girl Triathlon was their first stop. This was also the first time I had even seen a tri, and it was nothing like what I expected. When I think of triathlons, I imagine lots of people in pain, hating life, and not many happy faces. In fact, it was completely opposite. There were 550 competitors for the sprint, which is the shortest distance for triathlons, but by no means easy.

The race starts with a little more than a 1/4 mile swim followed by about a 12 mile bike ride and finishing with a 3 mile run. Stasha has been training for about a month or so now, swimming in lake Washington with her wetsuit and riding her bike. She is already a strong runner, but she has been running over Queen Anne periodically at night. (I made the mistake of going with her one time, and three Seattle hill riddled miles really sucks!)

Both Stasha and Bri had a pretty big fanbase with my mom, Stasha's grandparents, her mom with two sisters and a cousin, Bri's husband Andy, her parents, Andy's sister (a 5th place Ironman finisher who also competed), our friend Deb and her mom, and Emma, our bulldog who loves watching her mom compete!

Unfortunately I only had my iPhone, which takes notoriously horrible pictures (this one is the best I have), but Bri's dad has a nice camera with many more pictures that I will post when we receive them. Both of the girls did really well as we all expected, but I believe shocked themselves with their performances. Bri finishing about 1.5 minutes ahead of Stasha due to her incredibly fast swim. Stasha's best part of the race was her run, and she swam as expected...a backstroking water fountain!

They are entered inthe Danskin Triathlon here in Seattle next month, where I'm sure they'll compete even harder and have more fun with the first one under their belts.

Bri

• 1:22:29.7 (14th in her division, 107th overall)
• Swim = 11:512.5 (2:02 per 100 yards)
• Bike = 38:12.9 (16.5 mph average)
• Run = 29:13.4 (9:44 per mile average)

Stasha

• 1:23:55.1 (4th in her division, 119th overall)
• Swim = 15:02.0 (2:35 per 100 yards)
• Bike = 38:54.2 (16.2 mph average)
• Run = 25:30.4 (8:30 per mile average)

It's Been a While

Lately I've been working a lot, reading little and writing not at all. I haven't been not reading or writing because of working, I've actually just not been doing either at all. I have still yet to finish the new 278 page Bond novel, something I'm well capable of devouring in one sitting with some coffee. In fact, Devil May Care was released (and purchased) on May 28 and I have completed an embarrassing 180 pages, fantastic ones too. This weekend's task: Finish the book!

I have been so preoccupied with other things. While I'd like to say that these are more important than Bond adventures, unfortunately not. I have finally adjusted to life in Seattle, have started to meet some exciting people and have launched Local Discount Cards locally - sort of like those "Re-Grand Openings" you see around town every now and then.

Some of you know or have an idea of my plans for business, but most do not, which I am about to change. Starting Monday, I am going to use this blog as a personal journal through starting and growing a business. We're building Local Discount Cards into a fundraising product that currently is unavailable. It would be easy to just mimic what others have done or are doing, but that wouldn't be much fun, very meaningful, and I would get incredibly bored and burnt out. We have identified numerous areas where youth fundraising can be improved.

I've run out of "free" time for today, we're putting the final touches on our initial business plan and concept to present to investors this weekend.

Also, Sunday is Stasha's first triathlon. She has been training in the open water, out pacing me on her bike, and running all over the city lately. I'll post pictures of the race Sunday night.

(JP)

 

Emma Cleans Up, and Gets a Shower for it!

Emma has been on a new obedience diet recently, which she hasn't been too enthusiastic about. Her sassiness and overall disrespect for, well, everything, has landed her in timeout, where she spends the majority of her days lately. She has been a pretty good girl today, no stealing from her boyfriend, no yelling, no going crazy, and no taking things from the counter. So, as a reward for her good behavior, I gave her a bath, which she loves. As soon as she got out, I toweled what I could off of her (she stole the towel for me and went for a quick run through the house), then she sat down and awaited her blow dry. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

  

  

- Justin

Coffee and Knives

What a perfect way to start my day. A delicious coffee from Juan Valdez in downtown Seattle, and a video of one cool knife (below) I found on the Swiss Army website. 

Juan Valdez is a little shop that I'd never heard of until coming to Seattle. Their mission is to "mejorar las condiciones del caficultor colombiano, deleitando a los consumidores de café en el mundo con 'la vivencia de los productos Juan Valdez' en todas las ocasiones de consumo" - which roughly means they make good coffee and help Columbian coffee growers. Fine by me, all I really know is that they do have good coffee, and it's one of the most relaxing environments I've been in downtown. 

I've always been a fan of Swiss Army brand, and any knife that can cut through glass I want...This is theirVictorinox Rescue Tool,(there is a video, but it won't post, so you can find it here) which won the knife of the year award for 2007. The video is pretty cool, however, it only shows three of the 15 features.

- Justin

My Pro Non-Vegas List

Things that make me happy about not living in Las Vegas:

• I don't have to live in air conditioning, and can actually have windows open all day and night without the house turning into a dust bowl 
• I haven't heard gun shots, sirens, or police helicopters for over a week 
• I can answer the door if someone knocks 
• I've learned that two wheel drive Hummers, Dodge Magnums, and Corvettes are in fact, not the best selling cars in America 
• I haven't seen cheesy custom wheels on an Escalade or Range Rover 
• I can have coffee at Peet's in the morning, and yes it really is the best coffee on the planet
• Riding bikes IS cool 
• Riding the bus IS cool 
• Using the bus and your bike IS REALLY cool 
• I get to wake up with my girlfriend every morning
• Grant really does have the best looking and most functional Tahoe in the US  
• Most importantly, I'm not in Vegas 

- Justin 

Moving to Seattle, Catching Up, and Being Copied

Well, I've finally made my move here (to Seattle), and have been enjoying each day. I feel so relieved being away from the hell that is Las Vegas. I haven't been writing any blogs, nor in my journal for that matter - just been too busy. Coming up this next week:

• First on the list is the final part of my Hyperlocal series. This week I have received a few emails asking if or when I will post the last part of my Hyperlocal series. I'm going to work on that this weekend, and have it posted Monday or Tuesday. For the last part, I asked Shields Bialasik for his input on where he thinks Hyperlocal is going. He started Locals Guide, a Hyperlocal Media Machine in Ashland, Oregon - a truly hyperlocal community. The site is great, they have an accompanying magazine, and it continually gets better and better. 

• Web 2.0 is great, but companies aren't making much (if any) money in it. Everyone is jumping on the 2.0 bandwagon, but no one has come up with a viable formula for creating profits. 2.0 is cool, but Web 3.0 is what I'm more interested in. I'm hoping Justin Says will fit in with the 3.0 model. 

• Justin Says is my new startup, and the biggest reason for coming back to the Northwest. According to a few friends, there are some people trying to copy my idea and launch a business of their own both here and back in Las Vegas. Sounds fun, I can forward my business plan if needed.... More on this later.

Those are some of my upcoming posts, but today I'm doing work right now and for the next few weeks on Local Discount Cards, one of my companies. Currently, I help youth programs with fundraising opportunities that benefits the kids, local businesses, and the local community in general. The business has been going for nearly two years, and now I'm looking into the next stage of growth - working with corporations. The idea is still in its infancy, and I only have one client so far, but you need to start somewhere! I'm also looking for a web designer/developer to update my Discount Card website. I created the current one, which was a fun learning experience, but I'm looking for a professional now. If you know anyone, send them my way!

I need to get back to work, there are people out there that need my ideas!

- Justin

Downtown Los Angeles

This morning I started my journey to Seattle, leaving Vegas at about 6:00 to LA. The drive was pretty painless, however, when I left Vegas it was something like 76, then about an hour and a half from LA it was 41 and monsoon like showers that created a lake on the interstate! Traffic came to a crawl for about 30 minutes, but then it was smooth sailing from there.

I arrived at the Kyoto Hotel in Little Tokyo around 10:00, checked in, and grabbed my notebook and backpack to go for a little downtown excursion. Downtown LA isn't the most aesthetically pleasing landscape, but it's a hipster heaven. I've been to LA quite a few times - never really liked it - and I am just now starting to understand (from an outsider's perspective of course) the attraction to this city. 

Just a Couple of Quotes

I've been working on finishing up some things here in Vegas this past week or so before my move to Seattle, which happens this Friday. I most likely won't have a post until after the weekend. To hold you over, here are a couple of quotes from a fantastic book I recently finished, The Alchemist. I wrote them in my journal, so I hope they are accurate.  

"When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed" 

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure."

- Justin

A Conversation with Stasha

Yesterday while I was working on my business plan, I was blessed with a surprise message from my girlfriend on MSN messenger. Some of my friends that haven't met Stasha have asked what she's like, so I decided to post one of our typical conversations...

Paintball in Las Vegas

A couple of weeks ago, I asked Kevin, my little brother, what he wanted to do next time we hang out. I can always come with some entertainment for myself or my friends, but that's pretty easy. Las Vegas is Disneyland for adults, but closer to a library for kids. Everything is 24 hour, and if you can imagine it, you can do it here - well, if you're 21 that is. So when I challenged Kevin, 15, to come up with something he wants to do, I expected to get options like going to the arcade, a show, some batting cages, movies, or maybe even some go-karts. I was completely off, he chose paintball!

I've never really been paintballing, but I liked the idea. The fact that I could run around and splatter my friends - not for long - with a gun full of paint was all the convincing I needed. I began searching the web, and after speaking with a few facilities, I decided we would go to Las Vegas Premier Paintball.

Redesigned Site and Book Review

Yesterday I was tired of working on, well, work stuff, so I decided to redesign my personal website. I decided to take the easy way out, and tryout my iWeb software from Apple. The program is so cool because any idiot, as I've proven today, can make a website by just typing in text and dragging and dropping media wherever I want.

The site also includes my life list and reading list along with reviews.

Virgin Airlines, My New Favorite?

I was taking a break from work today some time today and started to look a little more into Virgin Airlines. I see Sir Richard Branson as one of the most innovative, unique, and inspiring people to ever walk this earth. The guy is a machine and continues to hit home runs with every pitch. He owns something like 300 businesses, and is a walking poster of never giving up and to always follow your dreams.

I need to buy an airline ticket in the next month, so I decided to just go straight to Virgin America and see what all the hype is about. Their customer service philosophy - Loyalty is hard to earn...but easy to lose - serves as their guidance for taking over the low fare airline market.

Justin's Quarterly Review, a Work in Progress

My last few months have been spent researching, planning and developing my new hyperlocal startup, which will also include a quarterly magazine of local arts, culture, literature and events. The planning has been fun, meeting and working with business leaders, mentors, and investors has been inspiring, and the huge amounts of support has been overwhelming at times. In total, the process has been a wonderful learning experience and has provided me with a better understanding of myself, my future, and what I am capable of.

Lately I've been working on the concept for my quarterly publication, and while I glean a variety of magazines, there are a handful that I subscribe to and consider to be in the upper echelon in the world of journalism.

I like School, but it's not that great

While working on my new startup, there have been countless times that I have been very stressed out, worried about finances, feasibility, deadlines, and that I may be dreaming too big. What I have come to realize though, is that you can never dream big enough. I've come across many entrepreneurs that were afraid of dreaming too big, safely making goals that they know are easily attainable, never having to fail. While this works for some, I'm not an active proponent of these lazy methods. I just don't believe there is room for complacency in entrepreneurship. Though complacency provides a nice safety net, very few people have achieved great things with that mentality, save that for the corporate world.

Las Vegas Public Transportation

A little over a week ago I was involved in a car accident minor enough to walk away from (and the 20' to my front door), but major enough expedite my experience with Las Vegas public transportation. To make a long story short, the accident and subsequent loss of my wallet (no credit cards, no rental car) has provided me with an opportunity to ride the bus like millions of other Americans.

Hiatus

I've been out all weekend and will conclude the hyperlocal series this week. For now, check out these newsworthy links I read today:

Cheap sun power promised soon Eco-Safe and iTunes Portland Sustainability Center

My Life List

So a few years ago I started to make a list of the things I want to do in my life. Well, the other day I found that list and decided to put organize it on my computer and take it more seriously. I then thought it would be fun to share the list with everyone, which would also give me more motivation to actually complete the list since anyone can see my progress.

So up on my website, you can take a look at my list, my photos, the books I'm reading, have read, and plan to read. You can basically keep up on my life (if anyone cares to) while I keep track of my progress.

Seems silly, but it was actually sort of fun to make and easy to do. I'll keep it updated as I have time.

- Justin

Living in Las Vegas

So I have been living in Las Vegas for about 8 months now, and am just starting to settle in and understand this city. The two most common questions I get from people are “What could possibly make you want to live in Las Vegas?” and “What’s it really like to live in Sin City?”