The Life of a Silicon Valley Rockstar

My varied life… in a nutshell

MIA but I’m still not having kids!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. There’s been a lot going on, and unfortunately because of NDAs much of it I can’t talk about. I already got blasted by a few folks for my NetworkWorld post on the new iPhone. However, I did finally sign the contract for my new book. It’s slated to come out in Q12009 and tentatively titled “Office Communications Server 2007 Unleashed”, based on the upcoming OCS 2007 R2 code. I’m also replacing the current Cisco CallManager solution of a client with OCS as their sole VoIP solution. Should be interesting…

That aside, I’m also trying to have some fun. Life can’t be all about work and stress. I played in the “Old School” Harbor Beach Open tournament over the weekend and had a great time. Greg and I pulled the “Gonzo’s” in the first round and got trounced but followed up with a strong, but mostly fun, rest of the day. The great food from El Palomar and free beer doesn’t hurt either!

Finally, Why I’m Never Having Kids. A.P. Taylor wraps up completely my chief reasons for never wanting to have kids. Sex is important, mmm kay. It’s one area where more is almost always better

 

June 3, 2008 Posted by Alex | Life | , , , | 1 Comment

Volleyball in Boston? Not so much

I went to volleyball last night with high hopes. Knowing we’d miss playoffs because the slackers on the team never bother to show up. Yeah, I’m calling you out Sid and George. Alex, at least you have an excuse. If I was stuck in Brazil surrounded by hot girls in bikinis… or less… I’d stay too. So last night Nate scrolls the IVL free agent list. i should have know this was a bad sign. But I was too stoked to play to see the writing on the wall. Here’s the guy that showed up… The guy couldn’t even get his hands above the net. Worse yet he doubled more than half the balls he touched but insisted on setting. Uggh. He said he played “A” in Boston but somehow I think “A” over there stands for average; or better yet abhorent. It was bad, real bad, beyond words bad. Uggh.

The good news is Matt and I are playing a CBVA tournament Saturday. Back to real volleyball. must… forget… the horror.

May 6, 2008 Posted by Alex | Life | , | No Comments Yet

Best & Worst Volleyball Movies

Another post made me think about the lack of good volleyball movies. Adam Sandler hasn’t even made a volleyball movie and he’ll make a movie on anything! Here’s my take on volleyball movies I’ve seen. Add your thoughts and additions in the comments section.

  • Cloud 9: A washed out former star in need of money has a get rich plan…start a volleyball team whose players consist of group of beautiful athletic strippers.
  • Side Out: C. Thomas Howell and Peter Horton play beach volleyball and win the hollywood equivalent of the Manhattan Beach open.
  • All You’ve Got: Pretty bad movie… I watched it with a girls team I was coaching.
  • Top Gun: So the movie wasn’t about volleyball, but the volleyball scene was one of the best!
  • Iron Ladies, aka Satree Lek: Good call Hugh! I’ve never seen it but it might be worth checking out.

Any others I’m missing??

May 1, 2008 Posted by Alex | Life | | 3 Comments

Random thoughts on volleyball

If you know me from elsewhere you know I’m passionate about volleyball. I play 4-5 times a week, a mix of indoor, grass and beach. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride lately. Some really good experiences, some not so much.

Monday night my indoor team, which plays IVL Mens A, kicked ass the first two games. Granted we had picked up two decent players to sit in. The two guys that were actually one our team showed up and it all went to hell. Without naming names we have one player who really isn’t contributing and it’s starting to piss me off. He’s the first to run his mouth off, first to make excuses, and first to fuck up. The good news is there are only two weeks left this season and he won’t be joining us next season.

A buddy, Matt, and I played in the first Santa Cruz CBVA “A” tournament of the season last weekend. Actually, we played a little volleyball as a warmup to consuming mass quantities of margaritas at The Acapulco in downtown SC. We played really stiff. In spite of almost beating the best team in our pool, and one of the better teams in the tourney I wouldn’t say we played well overall.

I just got a txt from Caroline that she sprained her wrist and has to drop out from the rev coed grass tourney on the 11th. Not too big a deal as I really need to reorg the office anyway. Here’s my favorite grass picture from a season or two ago.

 

 

 

 I swear, I really love the game. It’s just been trying lately and I needed to vent…

April 30, 2008 Posted by Alex | Life | | 1 Comment