Facebook

I've was in San Francisco for almost a week! I went there for the Facebook f8 conference that I mentioned earlier. The exciting news that they announced was the whole Facebook Platform, a interface for developers to make applications directly embedded in their website. This leads the way for endless possibilities, all with instant access to 24 million regular Facebook users... that is 12 million daily (and growing).

In the week since the conference I have already made an application for Facebook that has nearly 3000 users! I've already made $18 from advertising as well. woohoo! I have many more ideas that I can't share until they are implemented though..

San Francisco is absolutely gorgeous... I don't believe I've missed out on that my whole life... I guess I can't complain because I have seen all of Europe, unlike most Americans... I mean, most Floridians haven't ever seen snow... so I have had a great life, but now my life is even better after seeing San Fran!

The first 2 nights Kyle and I stayed downtown in the Marriot. Smack-dab in the middle of the city. On Friday we walked from our hotel, all the way through China town, and finally to the Fisherman's Wharf... This had to have been one of the longest walks of my life... it was up one of the steepest hills I've ever climbed...

We saw almost all of downtown on this never ending walk... On the docks there was lots of entertainment, including some break dancers. We had some great food while we were there as well... As of right now, San Fran is close to being my favorite city in the US (that I have been to)... Lincoln Nebraska might still top it, but only for it's cool, cheap, housing... and being in the state that brought the world somebody as wonderful as myself...

We'll see how things go, but I am definitely hoping to end up there someday.

Labels: facebook, kyle gower-winter, san francisco, vacation

Since I graduated I have been really busy... I keep trying to finish organizing my things, but people keep needing my help in far away places. I've been traveling a ton lately, first I was flown out to Ft. Lauderdale for an interview... the next week, I had graduated so I went on a camping trip in Anastasia Park near St. Augustine. The dogs absolutely loved the beach. I bought a fishing license, a pole, lure, etc, and attempted to fish, but the poles we bought were too cheap and the wire would tangle after every cast.

The day after I got back from there, I headed to a celebration that my family had planned for me in Atlanta. It was good to see my aunt, and my cousins. They took me to the Atlanta aquarium, which was really really cool, just a little too crowded.

I got back from Atlanta, and the next day my uncle Mike calls me up and tells me his computer broke. Best Buy wanted $350 to even begin to fix it, so he decided to use frequent flier miles to get me to Birmingham, Alabama. Well, Tallahassee is extremely small, so I had to fly through Atlanta (I was just there the day before). Not only that, he decided he wanted me there ASAP, so he put me on the 6:15 AM flight. Turns out (once we looked at a map, that Birmingham is only a 300 mile drive, rather than the 400+ I thought it was). Well, I get there, and his hard drive was fried so we bought two new ones, I got Windows up and running for him, and finally I used Norton Ghost to make the second one identical. Now if one hard drive fails, the other automatically starts working, and all his files are the same. He also backs up to CD, and uses an online backup program (made by Quicken) to store his files on a server automatically, every night. A little paranoid! he he... It was good to get to know him better, he is my least known uncle.

I finally get home, spend a day trying to organize, when I get a call from Patti asking me to come to Gainesville to cheer her up. Unable to let a friend down, I dropped everything I was doing and made the 2 hour trek to the Gville. I think I have only slept in my bed one night in the last 3 weeks.

Next week is the Facebook conference in San Francisco that my friend Kyle and I are going to. I am pretty stoked about that! Then it is back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Labels: austin foster, bailey foster, dmitri sokgobenzon, dogs, facebook, gainesville, kristen foster, kyle gower-winter, mike folts, movie, patti botero, tallahassee, vacation

I was invited to Facebook's f8 Developer conference by THE Mark Zuckerberg himself! How cool is that? It is amazing what developing a website that uses other site's API can do for you (in my case favrats.com)... Here is the email:

"I would like to invite you to join us as we unveil the next evolution of Facebook Platform at the San Francisco Design Center on May 24. You will get first access to our new technology and a chance to develop alongside Facebook engineers and other top developers during an evening hackathon.

Click to RSVP for the event
f8 Schedule
Thursday, May 24, 2007
2:00pm - Doors Open
3:00pm - Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO and Founder, Keynote
4:00pm - Reception until 5:00pm
5:00pm - Hackathon until Midnight

The Concourse at the San Francisco Design Center
635 8th Street
San Francisco, CA. 94103

I hope you will join us.

- Mark"

Labels: development, facebook

Over Christmas break I went to Homer LA for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. It was great to see all my family again, and it was very relaxing after a never ending, extremely stressful semester. Two of my cousin's announced that they are getting married! I am really happy for both of them. It looks like my sister will also be getting married this year...

Anyways, I know it is pathetic, and I swore it would never happen to me, but I am addicted to Facebook... I use to hate the thing and thought it was stupid, but now enough of my old friends have joined to make it interesting... I have talked to many people that I haven't talked to in years. My first "girlfriend" is one of them that is finally on, Deanna Tobin. I put quotations around girlfriend because we "dated" from kindergarten to 6th grade (when I dumped her to date Maria Wilkins which lasted 3 days). I just found her on there yesterday so I haven't been able to contact her yet, but I think it will be very interesting to see what is up in her life. Kathy Zischka also now has joined and so I can finally communicate with her again after loosing contact for quite some time. I found my good friend from elementary school Brandon Bert a while back and found out that he lives only two hours from me (on the Gulf Coast) so we are going to try and meet up sometime. Anyways, these are just a few that I was excited about, there are many, many more that I am waiting to be "confirmed" as a friend on that will also be interesting to see where they are in life...

School this semester is going to be really really really really boring as I finish up my required courses. The only positive to this semester is that I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday, so I get four day weekends. Well, I guess another positive side is that my work schedule changed too and it is much better then the previous year which is hard to imagine possible.

Labels: brandon bert, brian and patrice mankowski, deanna tobin, facebook, family, grad school, homer, honey folts, kathy zischka, maria wilkins, papa folts, tara polly, work

Well, I had the weirdest dream last night... it was a Kindergarten-9th grade reunion... everyone from that time in my life was there... yet, not a single person from 10th grade on... which was really weird... I actually had two girls get in a fist fight over me... who? my first girlfriend Deanna Tobin who I dated from Kindergarten all the way to the middle of 6th grade (I know this doesn't really count, but she was my first kiss) anyways, the other girl was Kathy Zischka... my first love... I dated her in the middle of 9th grade in Germany... Anyways... I know for sure it was a dream because they both flirted constantly with me and Kathy even started to cry... when I asked her why it was because I had left her, but now she was engaged to some guy, despite the fact that she really loved me... he he... shut up you guys, I know what you are thinking, I know I am pathetic...

My point is, having the dream made me regret not keeping in touch with old friends... luckily I found out that Mike Treffehn, my best friend from Germany, is trying to visit me in Tallahassee during the Fall... but yeah... I started writing to all my old friends in Germany, and I also went on Facebook and added a whole bunch of people from my elementary school... I also missed Germany itself, so I spent the day trying to plan the trip my younger sister insists we are taking this winter... but prices are WAY to high... which frustrates me... even for somebody as rich as I am... if I knew if I had the lab monitoring job next semester, then I would know more if I could afford it... otherwise with just the TA job I will be making just enough to pay morgage (I am joining ownership of the townhouse with my parents... at least $375/month), car ($400/month), health/car insurance (around $200/month)... food ($150/month) and the books/random expensive ($100/month) If I had that security of that second job it would make my life a lot more relaxed and fun so I could blow money on a awesome ski trip to Europe... And maybe even see some of my old friend from Germany...

I miss Europe... I am thinking about moving there after grad school... Freescale (the place I work now) has a branch there and since I might be able to keep my job, and could do it from anywhere... I think there would be great... America sucks he he... well, at least Florida and Texas... too damn hot... Florida is even worse though... even though it is averaging 98 here this week, the humidity is non-existent... I also found out today that Sebastian's post-cancer problems are coming back... right when he is moving into the dorms no less... which is pretty scary because, if I know him, (which I probably do as much as anyone does), he is not going to be motivated to take his medicines daily... or go see the doctor... etc... another thing that frustrates me...

I have been trying to get a hold of my god daughter Ashlyn since I got here, and every time I call they don't answer, so finally they call me and I missed it because I was busy, but Ashlyn left me a message and it made me so happy that I am not going to delete it all summer so even though I can never actually talk to her, at least I can hear her and know that she hasn't forgotten me... 4 months is a long time when you are her age...

Labels: ashlyn pinner, deanna tobin, facebook, freescale, germany, kathy zischka, megan folts, mike treffehn, sebastian amunategui, tallahassee, work