2008 Xmas Card is Done

I dropped 100+ Christmas cards in the mail on Wednesday afternoon. The tradition lives! This one leans more heavily on Photoshop than in years past.

You may recall last year's card:



And here is the story of how it all got started: A Christmas Tradition

If you don't receive your card in teh next week, it's because:

1) I don't have your new address
2) I don't like you
3) I have no idea who you are

If it's #1, send me an email with your mailing address. :)

Yahoo's Last Great Holiday Party?

Sonya and I attended what may have been Yahoo’s last great Year End Party, at least for the time being. In my 7 years with the company they’ve always had great parties to end the year and celebrate our accomplishments.

With the economy as sour as it is, and with all the acquisition talk that’s been going on, everyone is wondering if there will ever be another YEP, at least on the scale that we’ve grown accustomed.

Many asked why Yahoo sank so much money into a party, especially given the rumors that a layoff is about to happen. Why not use that money to save a few jobs? The response was that the company booked (and paid) for the facilities months ago, long before there were any inklings of a layoff. Sounds reasonable to me.



This year’s themes was “Las Vegas”. Two large halls at the San Mateo Expo Center were decorated with Las Vegas hotel themes. There was Treasure Island, Ceasar’s Palace, Luxor and one other I can’t remember.

There was also a wedding chapel, where Elvis was there to marry and willing souls.

The Spasmatics played a great set that included lots of 80’s tunes. It was good to have a chance to celebrate all the hard work that’s been put into making Yahoo a leader in the industry. Times are tough, but it’s still one of the greatest places in the world to work.



I just hope there will be another YEP to celebrate in the future.

Strike up the band

Karsyn’s musical endeavor as a classical flutist kicked off on Wednesday evening with her school’s Winter Concert. The 30 to 40 kids that make up Beginning Band played a brief set of music before a packed auditorium. The band belted out classic standards like “Hot Cross Buns” and holiday favorites like “Jingle Bells”.

Early reviews came back favorably.

“A cacophonous treat for the ears,” said one music critic in attendance.

Two songs into the performance, another critic shared his positive feedback.

“Can we go now?” said Ryan. Loosely translated, he meant to say, “Man this band is really good!”



Karsyn sat with her fellow flutists in the front row. In addition to the flutes, the band is comprised of clarinets, trumpets, saxophones and trombones.

Put that all together and you get music. Or at least the early stages of it.

It just goes to show that if you give a kid an instrument, they’ll make something come out of it. BRAVO!