Living the dream baby!

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

A Day at the Game



My dad was gracious enough to give me his 49er tickets for the December 26th game against the Buffalo Bills. These are the same 49ers, who entered this game with a 2-12 record, so what could be better than going to see a lousy team get their teeth kicked in. I’m a Raider fan, so it had the makings of a great day.

This was Ryan’s first NFL game (Karsyn went to a game with me last year), so it was a little special for me. I wish it had been a Raider game, but a 49er whipping is the next best thing. We tailgated with our friends Gary & Shelly and their kids, Stephan, Kylie and Amber. The weather was a little nasty (we got rained on), but it was a great day all around.


Bills fans for a day!

The 49er fans were very cordial. None of them showed up (real fans huh?), so we had little problem getting in or out of the stadium. We had empty seats surrounding us, so there was plenty of room to spread out. Think I’m kidding? Checkout the photos I took. There were 25,000 fans disguised as empty seats.


49er games are snoozers

The Bills topped off a perfect day with a 41-7 win over the hapless 49ers. There only slip up was allowing the 49ers to score late in the 4th quarter. It would have been the first 49er shutout since 1977, but unfortunately it didn't happen. I think the Bills defense got bored and dropped their guard for a minute or two. Ah well, I'll have to learn to enjoy 34 point wins I guess.


Ryan could have scored on the 9ers defense!

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Making the List


Will these partners in crime make "the list" this year?

T-minus 26 hours and counting until the Man pays a visit to our house. Ryan is still too young to know who that big red guy is, but Karsyn is certainly ready. It's funny that we only play the "don't make me call Santa and have him move you to the bad list" card more often. This is mystic potion for parents.

Who knew that the threat of a phone call could strike such terror in the hearts of children. Karsyn has been on the cusp of having "the call" placed several times this month. She's a high energy kid, with knack for driving her parents nuts at times.

We'll see if she can last one more day. The family is coming over on Christmas Eve for dinner, then we trek up to Oakland on Christmas Day to spend time with the extended family.

It's All in the Cards
We did finally manage to get our Christmas cards out. If you didn't get one, it's because:

1) We don't know you, and wouldn't send on anyway

2) We know you, but you've annoyed us to some degree this year

3) We know you and you've moved, but didn't send us your new address (Scott...I know you're reading, because I have trace logs ;) )

4) We, um, lost your address (Amanda....it's in the mail, honestly).

This year's card is a hoot. It proves that children and pets were meant to be antagonized.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

2004 Year End Party

Here are some photos from the 2004 Yahoo Year End Party

The world famous Yahootini is passed through this ice sculpture


Everyone received a pirates welcome!


The portrait backdrops were captivating to say the least


Sonya and Cheeky


Check yer car keys at the door me hardys!


The food was fabulous


Some of my co-workers


Guests played casino games for raffle tickets


Ozomatli rocked the house


Me & Sonya


Founders Jerry Yang & David Filo join CEO Terry Semel to toast a fantastic 2004

Cool new stuff from Yahoo!

Seeing that I spend roughly half of my life at work, I thought I’d share some of the wonderful things we’re working on. The most recent product that’s been deployed for all the world to see is our Local product (http://local.yahoo.com). This is what is essentially going to kill the Yellow Pages. Looking for a great sushi restaurant in your neighborhood? Simply enter “sushi” in the “Search for:” input field, and your zip code in the “Location” input field, then click on the “search” button.

Bam! You have a ton of sushi restaurants that can be found near you. Distance to the restaurant along with user ratings help you decide if it’s an establishment that you might want to frequent. Need a map? No problem, click on the “View Results on Map” link at the top of the page and you can see where all of those great (or not so great) sushi joints are.

See some sushi results for zip code 94086.

Give it a spin the next time you’re looking for that hot new Tappas hangout or a plumber to unblock your pipes (caused by that not so great Tappas hangout you found in the paper Yellow Pages.

I’ll share other products as we launch them.

Saturday, December 04, 2004

A Christmas Tradition

Sonya and I started our own little Christmas tradition back in 1994, and this year marks the 11th time we’ll attempt to top the previous year. The tradition consists of putting together some sort of goofy Christmas card. After ten years of this, people are starting to ask when they’ll be getting their car and what the theme is. We’ve never revealed the theme before the card is mailed out, and this year is no exception.

I decided to put together a recap of all the cards we’ve done in the past, with some comments on each card. Here they are in chronological order [click on each photo for a larger version]:


1994 – This is what started it all. Sonya and I were trying to think of some way to put together a card that incorporated our two “kids”, Bama and Zoey. Bama was forced to audition for the part of Santa Clause and Zoey played the part of Mrs. Clause. I threw my glasses on Zoey’s nose as a spur of the moment thing, and they just happened to slide to the tip of her nose as the shot was taken. A moment in time that turned out to be perfect. Santa’s beard is made out of cotton balls and rubber bands. It took about 40 shots to get that one perfect picture.


1995 – Sonya came up with the idea to leave milk & “cookies” for Santa. We let the dogs do the rest. Easiest photo shoot we've had in ten years.


1996 – This is the first and only appearance that the real Santa Clause has made in the series. Both dogs were on their best behavior for this one. When I was scanning these photos the other day, Karsyn asked me “who took the picture?” and if Santa “scared the dogs?” I told her that one of Santa’s elves snapped the photo and left us a copy.


1997 – This marked the first year we implemented the use of environmental controls for the photo shoot. “Rudolph” was not enamored with her bright red nose or antlers, and Santa Dog wasn’t too thrilled about sitting in a little red wagon which rocked every time he shifted his weight. We decided to crank up the heater in order to settle them both down. They were panting like, well, like dogs.


1998 – We really tested our patience for this card. Getting two 90 pound dogs to stay wrapped up like big presents was a challenge to say the least. From the looks of it, Bama would have probably preferred an ice cold bath. Both dogs are indeed wrapped up in big boxes. No digital photography magic or special effects for this one.


1999 – Karsyn makes her first appearance in 1999, playing the role of the baby Jesus. Zoey plays the Virgin Mary, but she looks more like Marty Feldman or a character from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. My sister Michelle “helped” with this shoot, the first and only time we’ve allowed an outsider to participate. This shot was taken a few minutes after Karsyn rolled out of the manger, landing face first on the hard wood floors. We spared no expense in setting up this shot. Notice the cardboard manger fencing and the authentic road marker, pointing the way to Bethlehem.


2000 – We tried to get cute in this shot by having a then one year old Karsyn peek up the chimney to see if Santa was coming. The dogs were yelled at so many times for this shot that they finally decided to park it like a couple of mantle pieces.


2001 – This was the saddest Christmas card we’ve had in the series, because it was the first one that doesn’t include Zoey as one of the center pieces of the shot. She decided to pursue the life of a vagabond and is busy “touring the country.” She is however included in the shot (and has been included in every shot over the ten years). Can you find her?


2002 – Having a three year old in the house means mayhem when it comes to decorating a Christmas tree. We got the idea for this card while actually trying to get the tree setup that year. This also marked the first year I used a digital camera to take the photo. Note to anyone who wishes to replicate this type of shot: Dogs do not like being wrapped in sparkly colored lights. Can you find Zoey?


2003 – This shot marked the first appearance of baby Ryan. He’s about four months past conception in this shot, and already a budding star! This shot also has the largest number of “cast members”, including Sonya, who makes her only appearance to date. The other participants include: Karsyn, Ryan, Bama and of course Zoey (can you find her?).

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2004 – We’re busy putting the final touches on this year’s shot, so I can’t give away the surprise just yet. Be sure to check your mail for the 2004 edition of Mike & Sonya’s Christmas Tradition.

Happy Holidays.

Friday, December 03, 2004

Tis the Season

We’re smack dab in the middle of the holidays, which is why I haven’t posted much around these parts as of late. There’s simply too much going on! The family had a great Thanksgiving holiday. We did the annual Tour du Bay Area, beginning with a jaunt to Redwood City to have dinner with Sonya’s parents, then down to San Jose to eat again at my dad’s house. How do you pass up TWO turkey dinners? Simple. You don’t! Do I feel guilty? Not one bit.


Happy Holidays!

I burned off a few calories the by hosting the Turkey Bowl II the next day. This is 14 grown men, slopping around on a field playing flag football. One thing is apparent after events like this. I am not 16 anymore. My knee reminded me of this until the following Monday night.

Sonya, Karsyn, Ryno and I hooked up with my sister Michelle, brother-in-law Chris, and nephew Connor on Sunday in the Santa Cruz mountains to cut down our Christmas trees. It’s an annual even that Sonya and I have missed once in the past 13 years. The Ghione and Lee clans traipsed through the bitter cold in search of the perfect Douglas Fir to adorn our homes. We both settled on a couple of nine footers that we trucked home. Sonya and Karsyn decorated our tree and it’s beautiful.


Hauling the tree home

This Saturday night is the Yahoo Year End Party (or YEP). This is the grand daddy of all holiday parties, let me tell you. This isn’t your typical corporate yawner. Think gourmet food stands every ten feet, video games, three stages with live bands all night, a casino (complete with 15 Texas Hold’Em tables this year), a charity auction (which includes a private movie screening of your choice along with 50 guests), and more booze than you could ever imagine.

This year’s theme is Treasure Y!sland (the Y! is part of our brand), so people are rumored to be planning lavish pirate costumes. I’m giving odds on the number of Johnny Depp look-a-likes (think Pirates of the Caribbean). If the past two parties are any indication, this year’s party will be a winner.


The Lumberjacks

The auction I was mentioning is run by a foundation that is maintained solely by employees of the company. The Yahoo Employee Foundation (or YEF) handed out over $2 million in 2004 to worthy charities and non-profit organizations across the US. The foundation is funded by employee donations, fund raisers and some corporate sponsorships. Jerry Yang and David Filo, the founders of Yahoo, matched every employee donation this year dollar for dollar out of their own pockets. It’s a little easier to do that when you’re the 9th and 10th richest people in the Bay Area, but the contributions that these guys make are no joke.

One of the other events the YEF sponsors during the holidays is a toy drive for needy children in the Bay Area. In conjunction with the Family Giving Tree, Yahoo employees pick up tags with the name and age of a needy child, and purchase a toy on behalf of that child.


Karsyn decorating the tree

Be sure to think of a child in need this holiday season, and consider a donation to this charity of one like the Second Harvest Food Bank.