Journal

Foundation

2011-12-04T17:57:10Z

As this adventure of digital content and delivery continues there is a need for a base-of-operations.

I have always felt that there should be a strong foundation for any building. Architectural or virtual. From this foundation, building efforts can carry on with confidence. That's why we created Wine Country Cook LLC and how I'm pleased to officially announce Hang Time Press, our new-media publishing arm.

Please visit our new home often to see what's cooking in our virtual kitchens.

It's Always Time For Burgers

2011-09-22T21:52:02Z

It seems that burgers and I mean good burgers are making a renaissance. Every high-end restaurant seems to feature "their" version of a burger amongst an upscale menu. Burgers are just good eating and Lori has put together 13 different recipes that are mouth-watering. I know, because I was the lucky subject of the creation and testing process. Please check out our latest book now available on the iTunes iBookstore and the Amazon Kindle Store.

Super Burgers: 13 Recipes for Bodacious Burgers Matched With Luscious Wines

New Venture - First Fruit

2011-08-23T17:31:05Z

A new venture for Lori and I, electronic publishing of material that she has had available for some time as well as working with other authors. Our first "small book" has just been made available on the iTunes Bookstore. It's called Summer Smoothies: 10 Recipes for Refreshing Fruit Drinks. It's the first of many more books to come along with availability on Amazon's Kindle Store. Check it out.

Summer Smoothies: 10 Recipes for Refreshing Fruit Drinks

Working on exciting stuff

2011-02-04T01:20:17Z

I don't post here much because I try to keep my head down and focused on learning and creating. But I just wanted to let you know that I'm working on two very exciting ideas in the mobile/wine space. Check back later and I'll tell you more as the plan solidifies.

Support for Quality

2010-06-17T22:00:43Z

During this period of learning and my re-invention I have been listening to a lot of technology podcasts as a way of remaining current with the issues of the day and becoming aware of people that I should be following. To say there is a lot of noise and self promotion out there is an understatement.

One place on the Internet that I have found to provide excellent, thoughtful and honest content is a service started by Dan Benjamin. He is always talking with interesting people and never in a way that makes you feel like bathing after a show.

Recently he has started a members program enabling a way for his listeners to support his efforts. I've joined. I hope you will consider joining too. Individually, it's not much, but I'm sure that it all helps with the sustainability of his network of shows. Plus, I think it's always nice to recognize and support quality.

Now back to re-inventing...

To support a friend

2010-04-16T15:09:44Z

I'm off to a special full day meeting to support my friend, Doug Hoogervorst and his company Business Impact, Inc. They are putting on their first "Client Day" here in the Napa Valley and it will be fun to see what they present.

Business Impact is the leading business intelligence software and services provider in the wine industry and oh so much more. I met Doug when I hired him to provide his services during my tenure at Folio Fine Wine Partners. The thing that I liked most about Doug was not just the great solutions he provided, but the fact that he always delivered on what he promised. THAT is a rare quality in technology products and services today.

If you ever have the need for top shelf business analytics, be sure to check out his company. They're the best.

Wow! That was great. (day 3 - 7)

2010-03-23T22:43:19Z

Well the plan of doing a post at the end of every day at the Big Nerd Ranch iPhone Boot Camp didn't quite happen. It wasn't for the lack of desire but for the lack of time and energy.

I must say that I have never been to a training that was as well organized and scheduled out as this. Starting out on Monday morning we were presented with a 300+ page book where we were told that we would complete all the chapters by the end of the week. This book was the pre-production version of the iPhone Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide that is due out in a few months.

iPhone Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)

Nothing like diving right in (that's why I came). Page 1, building a simple iPhone app. Every day was jam-packed 5 or 6 chapters with a lot of great information on preferred design and best practices of coding. Breaks for meals (which are included in the total ranch experience) kept us well fed and nourished. Every night we were expected to work on that days projects if we failed to keep up or work on personal projects AND read and familiarize ourselves with the next days material, probably another 70 pages of reading.

Hence, no nightly updates.

I have to say that the whole experience and concept of the Big Nerd Ranch was great. Doing the training at a remote location where cell phone coverage is less than ideal and all the food and accommodations are handled is a perfect way to retain the focus on the subject matter. And there is a LOT of it.

I have to say that I was very impressed with the quality of the materials and the attention to detail of all the exercises. It made for an ideal learning experience and a great way to solidify the confidence in writing quality iPhone / iPad applications.

Thank you Joe, Mark, Aaron and all the ranch hands. It was a great experience.

Boy, are my arms tired.

2010-03-15T01:47:55Z

Day 2 at the Big Nerd Ranch ratcheted up the intensity a bit. I haven't typed so much code in a very long time.

Some parts of the instruction are coming to me clearly, but there is some that I know I'll be working on when I get home. Tomorrow we start working on the iPhone. The cert has been installed and the iPhone provisioned so the fun is ready to start.

My thanks to Mark Fenoglio for an excellent Objective-C class. I met Joe Conway, our iPhone instructor, tonight over dinner. I'm looking forward to the next five days. It's going to be fun.

Not too bad...

2010-03-14T01:47:16Z

... but wait till tomorrow.

Day 1 of Big Nerd Ranch iPhone Boot Camp. Today was a refresher course of Objective-C, laying the ground work for more intense sessions tomorrow and the real reason I'm here at the lovely Banning Mills, iPhone development training.

All in all, I don't think I did too badly. There were a couple of exercises that I probably had to study closer than most of my classmates but I did manage to keep up. In a way, my programming background from twelve years ago has prepared me well. Not so much the syntax, but the meticulous approach that I was used to and basics of organization.

The course is laid out well. Materials are organized. The pacing is good and the instructor, Mark Fenoglio, is knowledgable and keeps it moving with a dry sense of humor. The afternoon walk through the grounds of the Banning Mills Retreat (current home of the Big Nerd Ranch) was well placed and paced. A nice break after lunch and a lot of instruction.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow when the foundation work starts coming together. I sense movement.

A Very Long Day

2010-03-13T02:20:16Z

Traveling east from the west coast is never a good use of time but when there are thunder storms in Atlanta, it messes everyone up.

This is day 0 (zero) of the Big Nerd Ranch deep dive; travel day.

After sitting on the Tarmac in Dallas for two hours while the weather and traffic cleared in Atlanta, I'm now waiting for my ride to the ranch. Not their fault that I'm waiting, just missed the shuttle and there will be another in a while. Frustrated that what was supposed to be a well orchestrated (albeit long) travel day is now even longer.

At least the never-ending Scotches in First Class were helpful.

More later...