Just Warm Enough…

The temperature hit around 65 degrees. Nice compared to Seattle, but not ideal pool weather. However, the direct desert sun is strong, and as long as we stayed out of the shade, it was a nice day by pool.

Conference Over; Leslie en Route

Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC, known for his investigation specials ‘To Catch a Predator’,’ was the closing keynote speaker at the MRC conference. He was interesting and informative, and has a new special coming out addressing the mortgage industry. Just about the time he finished his speech, Leslie was at the airport, getting ready to head down here. It’ll be nice to have some time alone, away from the kids.

Online Advertising Fraud Panel

Brandon Sobottka well represented my team and its operational role as a member of a panel in a breakout session of the MRC conference. As the only non-Google employee represented, Brandon shared valuable information on the importance of fighting fraud without getting into the specifics of how we do it.

Before the session and all smiles: Brandon, Chris Keast, Corey Louis & Andy Nowka:

Corey – a former secret service agent – gives an overview of online advertising fraud in his role of moderator:

Andy gives his product management perspective to a question:

Our panelists, listening intently to an audience question:

Brandon talks with a reporter from the New York Times (actually, it was some sales guy trying to pitch some product):

Brandon zoning out for a moment:

Chatting with the fans after the session:

Working in Vegas

I’m in Las Vegas for a conference (above is the actual view from my  room) on fraud and risk in the online commerce world. Former governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge spoke this morning, as did Terry Jones, founder of Kayak and brains behind Travelocity.  Between meetings, I check emails and work…here I am in such a state:

 

I’m staying at the Wynn, which is a gorgeous property, and Leslie is going to be joining me tomorrow for the weekend, which will be a nice break from the kid vacation we had…we can finally relax!

 

The weather is lovely, but right on the cusp of being hang out by the pool temperature…we’ll see.

 

Update – just finished a working lunch with a subcommittee of the Merchant Risk Council. We work on online advertising fraud related issues.

Pictured below is a shot of the meeting room, Bob (MRC), Corey (Google), Brandon (Microsoft), some other folks, and dessert.

Bon Voyage! Additional Photos

I have a ton of photos, but don’t want to overwhelm my narrative by dumping them all in a single post. Here are a bunch of other photos that are related to that first day of travel and exploring the ship.

Very top of the ship – that’s the signage of the Ship’s Name 

In the pool at the hotel. The kids played with the little plane everywhere.

Savannah in the ship pool

Pajamas mean that Liam has had his bath (a nice feature of the mini-suites), and is ready for bed.

The girls enjoying the hot sun (latitude – around 14 degrees north at this point)

One of the few photos of myself. I’m always behind the camera! (in Jamaica).

Liam loved the canonball! (series below)

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The Caribbean Sea

Suwiddy (as Liam likes to call Lily)

Family Caribbean Cruise: Bon Voyage!

I’ve not blogged for a long, long time. Travel seems to be the biggest motivator for my writing. I like to share new experiences. The trip my wife and I took to Bali and the Maldives really kick started my writing passion. Over the course of the year, it trickled off.   Another partner to my writing is my photography. As long as I have some combination of motivation to either write or post my photos, I can keep going on my blog.

My family and I journeyed on a ten day cruise leaving Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades) that stopped in five different ports, sailed over 3000 miles, and rose 85 feet above sea level to Lake Gatun, the Atlantic Ocean entry (but oddly, the western entry) of the Panama Canal. I also explored a couple of shipwrecks diving in Aruba, while the entire family ventured into the armpit of the Caribbean – the Central American coast – for a Jungle Canopy tour, zip line style. In between, lots of sun, blackjack, Mojitos, food and sleep.

It all started the day of that terrible commuter airplane crash in Buffalo. Fortunately, we were tucked away for the night in Ft. Lauderdale when we learned of it. I think it would have freaked out Leslie and the kids to have to fly having heard of this tragic news.

Forced to spend the night like sardines at a Holiday Inn Express, we made the most of the long layover time the following day (until we could board the ship) by hanging out by the pool. The kids, of course, had a blast in the pool.

We had about four hours to kill. Why so long? We were supposed to board our ship, the Coral Princess, starting at 1pm, with a sailing of 5pm. Unfortunately, the day before we left on 2/12, I received an email informing passengers that the Norovirus had struck the sailing prior to ours. In other words, passengers were sick everywhere, transferring the virus as they touched handrails, utensils, etc.  Our departure was delayed until 8pm as the company sent in men in white suits to thoroughly scrub down and clean the ship.

Though boarding was starting at 4pm, it was recommended to delay arrival at the terminal for a ‘better embarkation experience.’ Having worked on a number of ships, I knew that most folks are anxious to get started, and all show up at once – only to stand around, to hurry up and wait. Indeed, this was the case for us, as that Leslie was going stir crazy at the small Holiday Inn pool. I warned here that she would prefer the pool to the lines, but I can’t blame her.

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After waiting in lines for over an hour, we finally made it on board, and made our way to our mini-suites adjacent to each other – the floor plans being mirror images of each other. The kids had a blast running around, looking at the view from our connecting balconies. Though there was no door to connect the two staterooms directly, the balconies connect via door that can be opened. So, to travel between rooms, one only needs to ‘take the back door’ and not worry about knocking on the door from the hallway to go back and forth.

Of course, they checked out the pool as well.

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After we left Port Everglades, our first two days were spent at sea.  Aruba would be our first port of call – a short one – from 7am to Noon only. Before arriving in this far flung territory of the Netherlands, we had a formal night to get ready for! The boys with their tuxes, and the girls with their beautiful dresses…wait until you see how gorgeous my family is!

Test of new Live Writer

I’m wondering how this will look once published.

Liam & Poncho

My son and my dog

Nervous Times

My head is spinning. The stock market is down. Uncertainty is everywhere. What will tomorrow bring?

Liam’s Birthday Party Fun

Liam has been attending the Creative Montesori school, which is conveniently located 5 minutes from our house. He’s attending full days there as a preschooler, and loves it. He received an invite to his classmate Alicia’s party. Held at the always fun ‘Pump it Up’ in Kirkland, he and his classmates (and their parents) broke a kid sweat, ran around like crazy, then finished up with Pizza and cake. Lots of fun had by all. Alicia had a grand time, and was the princess for the day.

Here are a bunch of photos. The horizontally framed photos are smaller due to this blog’s formatting limitations. Click any photo for high resolution version.