oceans 13, google maps, apple, music mix, obama

oceans 13 - I caught oceans 13 a couple days ago. The film was better than the second, but not better than the first. Although the movie has an all star cast, the quality of the plot is mediocre. The exchanges between Pitt and Clooney are very witty. It's fun watching the team as they work on the caper together, but the movie is easily forgettable.

What bothers me about the plot is that it contains a deus ex machina. The deus ex machina was not as improbable as the d.e.m. in oceans 12, but it still took away from an ending that had the potential to be the last part of a well-scripted screenplay. Deus ex machinas in caper films are utterly unsatisfying.

rating: 3.5/5

google maps - I use Google Maps daily. It's a great web-application that allows me to figure out where the closest Starbucks is, get directions instantly, and figure out what a place looks like before I get there (with Street View).

For some unknown reason I have an affinity for navigation tools/software. I used to have a PDA with a Bluetooth GPS receiver in my car, but after I installed Google Maps on my Blackberry the PDA lost its functionality. When traveling/backpacking, I frequently rely on paper maps, and always wish I had access to Google Maps.

I integrated Google myMaps into my last post. The fact that I can use it to plan out itineraries is groundbreaking for me. Here are some thoughts on features that I wish MyMaps had:

1. The ability for other Google users that I approve of to tag up my map with notes/comments. When I am traveling to a region that I am not familiar with, I generally consult people that grew up in the region or people with prior travel experience in the area. It would be much easier for me to send a link to this "expert" and allow them to make comments on my planned route.
   
   
2. Distance-measurer when myMapping. When you create your own map on Google Maps, you can draw lines on the maps, but the distance of the length of those lines is not given. This would really help when trying to estimate distances.
   
   
3. The maps should be blogging friendly. It was took some searching around to figure out how to embed the map. I am sure that there are plenty of users of MyMaps that would love to embed a map they have created into their blogs, but lack the ability to know-how.
   

I think the product has an incredible amount of unrealized potential with the tech-savvy backpacking community. Recently I booked a flight and the reservation system on the airline's website showed the flight's path on a map built using Google Maps. Also, Jet Blue recently announced that they are going to provide in-flight tracking using a Google Maps mash up. Every airline should do something like this! I believe that Google Maps has the ability to increase one's knowledge of geography, and I would love to see how children interact with it.

I'm excited to see what Google does with it.

apple
Steven Jobs is incredibly smart.

Apple is a great company that always seems to nail the UI thing; which as Bijan Sabet points out is something that is not easy.

The company recently sold it's 100 millionth iPod. This means that at an average cost of $200, the iPod has contributed an average of $4 BN in revenue per year for the past 5 years.

It's sales in personal computers seems to be growing but it is still at a flat or slow-growth 3-4% market share.

But I'm not sure I understand what Apple's core business is. Will iPods be trendy forever? And what would happen if visionary Steve Jobs ever left (although it is very unlikely)? I do not feel like the company is self-sustaining without Jobs, unlike the self-sustaining empire that Bill Gates built. There is a lot of buzz about the iPhone, but it is fairly expensive for the average consumer. I think the firm is going to experience an incredible amount of growth over the next 3 - 5 years, but I'm very curious to know where it will be in 20 years.

That being said, I have faith in the innovative genius that is Apple.

music
here are some songs that have been playing on my ipod.




obama

The Economist has a great article on Barack Obama this week.

enjoy

Today's thoughts

sigh.

business

1. Coca-Cola paying almost 12x revenue for "Energy Brands." Energy Brands is the maker of Vitaminwater. KO payed $4.1 BN for the company, about $1 BN more than what most analysts expected KO to shell out. For the UCLA Advertising and Marketing Team (AdTeam) this year we worked on a campaign for Coke. Our primary research reflected the fact that the company continues to lose market share to noncarbonated beverages. Coke wanted us to come up with a comprehensive marketing and advertising campaign for their "Classic Coke" brand. The marketing report they attached to our campaign objectives basically spelled out their decline in popularity due to brands like Vitaminwater. Andrew Ross Sorkin of NYTimes' Deal Journal reports that Coke's current market share in noncarbonated drinks is 23% versus Pepsi-Co's 50%. This deal fills that void in Coke's product portfolio. Glaceu's founder+CEO claims "triple-digit" growth this year in volume. WSJ touches on the fact that Coke's growth in volume was 3.9% last year. As long as healthy stays sexy, Energy Brands should be a strong addition to Coke's portfolio.
   
   travel
   
2. Matt and I were chatting earlier today about heading to Utah for a couple days in January 2008 for the Sundance Film Festival. It's 700 miles each way. It could be fun if we get a couple people together for a mini-roadtrip to catch some indie and foreign flicks. The Festival goes from about January 18th to January 28th. Anyone interested?
   
   current affairs
   
3. BBC News reports that Bush is set to make a speech tomorrow morning in regards to toughening sanctions on Sudan. I hope the President carries through here. The US and its partner, Britain, want to take an attempt at "punishing Khartoum over the ongoing violence, singling out President Omar al-Bashir." The two nations want to do it through the UN SC. You can almost hear the veto of China ringing in, before the resolution is even brought forward to the council. China buys over half of Sudan's oil, and supplies Sudan with arms. To see what you can do --> www.savedarfur.org
   

ps. Vicky points out that the noteworthy word of the day is "bon vivant" - (noun) a person with refined and sociable tastes.