Thirty-seven million iPhones. Fifteen million iPads. Fifteen million iPods. Five million Macs. A million Apple TVs. No matter how you do the math, that’s a boatload of gadgets–and it’s how many Apple sold in the final three months of 2011. The company’s profits–$13.06 billion–were the second-highest in the history of American business, after ExxonMobil’s last quarter of 2008.

But I don’t care about Apple’s bottom line. What I find fascinating about these big numbers is what they say about the size of Apple’s customer base. It’s enormous, and still growing. And the larger it becomes, the weirder it gets that some people reflexively dismiss Apple owners as empty-headed, style-obsessed cult members.

British-born David Ogilvy was one of the original, and greatest, “ad men.” In 1948, he started what would eventually be known as Ogilvy & Mather, the Manhattan-based advertising agency that has since been responsible for some of the world’s most iconic ad campaigns, and in 1963 he even wrote Confessions of an Advertising Man, the best-selling book that is still to this day considered essential reading for all who enter the industry. Time magazine called him “the most sought-after wizard in today’s advertising industry” in the early-’60s; his name, and that of his agency, have been mentioned more than once in Mad Men for good reason.

The history of space station design is littered with concepts — some elegant, some strange, and some remarkably cute — that were passed over for one reason or another. Here, we look at some space station ideas that didn’t quite make it off the drawing board.

Almost nobody likes Congress. The polls say so. But I’ll say this for the federal legislature: Republicans and Democrats play each other in a baseball game every year, and that partly makes up for whatever it is they do the rest of the time.

Back in December, Summer Anne Burton of NotGraphs published a wonderful post called “GOP Presidential Candidates and Baseball” that explored how each of the hopefuls has been affiliated with the national pastime.

What?! Another year in the history books? I say this every year, but time sure does fly. Especially when you’re having fun. This year seemed like one of the busiest yet! Let’s take a look back at my photographic year in review for 2011.

See previously, my photographic year in reviews for 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

Quick notes: I probably stuffed way too many events and photos in this post. Sorry! Secondly, it’s interesting to see how many square formatted photographs (courtesy of Instagram) that I have. It’s my primary way of sharing photos these days.

January 2011

I started off the year trying to take a photo per day. Here, I walked town Divisadero in our old neighborhood and shot some random photos of the store front one night. This experiment lasted about 2 days.

Street cars are one of the reasons I love San Francisco.

Speaking of rides in street cars, I kept taking pictures of them / inside them and shot this iPhone panorama.

In early January, Christmas trees are victims in San Francisco.

Kerry took me to the Tonga Room in San Francisco for my birthday. It’s a San Francisco classic. Pool in the middle of the restaurant with a boat and a band.

Our friend Christian celebrated his birthday by scheduling a Mexican party bus to take us around town! Drinks, music, and late night pinatas in the park!

Walking to and from work each day, I’m bound to stumble upon many of San Francisco’s eccentrics. And then document them with my phone’s camera (this is a trend I’ve noticed more and more — I’m using my serious cameras less and less!)

I also picked up this rad bearded beanie (because, you know, I can’t really grow a beard).

To end the month, the group of our friends took off on a chartered wine tour of Sonoma through Terrific Tours.

February 2011

The first weekend of February was Super Bowl weekend! So, we mounted up in our vehicles to head to Lake Tahoe for a winter weekend at a friend’s cabin.

This means there was also some serious Settlers of Catan games going on.

Also, the Starvin Marvin’s BBQ Team decided to help out and provide some tasty treats.

Thanks to a query from Burrito Justice, I went to the SF Library to dig up a research paper on prehistoric humans found while excavating BART in the 1960′s.

Mike Daisey came to town and gave an incredible performance on The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. Here’s the setup of the stage prior to the show.

Winters in California aren’t too bad…

A friend of ours had an 80′s themed birthday. Dynamic Dave and Missouri Mike made an appearance.

Kinetic Kerry and Dynamic Dave, 80′s style.

Our cats continued to make me realize how easy they have it. Here, Tegan is thinking about all her worries.

And a tweet of mine randomly appeared on Twitter’s home page. Sweet!

March 2011

It’s been awhile since we’ve been wine tasting, so back to Sonoma we went!

Proving time and time again that we have the laziest animals in the universe.

March also means the South by Southwest festival is happening. Off to Austin, Texas!

Rachel and Kerry pose with the mascot from HootSuite.

And then pose while riding some cheesy rides…

Austin gets pretty crazy during SXSW.

The Texas State Capital Building is pretty neat at night.

The primary reason we were in Austin was for our annual gdgt live in Austin event.

While in Texas, Kerry and I apparently found one of Austin’s classic “love photo” spots.

We extended our stay a few days and had a chance to check out the world famous Salt Lick BBQ outside of Austin.

Don’t forget about all the awesome music! Here, Liam Finn sings some tunes.

After a week in Austin, we flew back home to our fair city.

With BBQ season approaching, I hung out with the Starvin Marvin’s BBQ Team while they practiced cooking some brisket.

I can’t stop taking pictures of the sky!

April 2011

Baseball season begins!

Our friends Scott and Marcie ended up getting engaged! So we hung out at a wine bar to surprise them (courtesy of Scott setting this up).

For our friend Jeff’s birthday, we went out to the East Bay and had a BBQ in the park.

Koa was there to keep us company.

In late April, I ventured out to Kennedy Space Center for one of the coolest experiences in my life — to checkout Space Shuttle Endeavour’s last flight for a NASA Tweetup! It was the experience of a lifetime.

Here is the new Orion module on display at the KSC Visitor’s Center.

An full scale mockup of the Shuttle on display at KSC:

Credentials!

The VAB! Words cannot describe how crazy huge it is. This is where they put together vehicles that take humans to SPACE. And at one point, the MOON!

I’m posing in front of the world famous count down clock.

We also got to go inside the VAB!

Sadly, due to a late thunderstorm and some technical issues that cropped up, the launch was scrubbed and I had to return home. This was the closest I ever got to seeing a Shuttle launch.

May 2011

May was a fairly inactive month for me. Went for a run down to the beach.

There was also a lot of standing around, as Off the Grid SF started up a weekly event at our office building for lunch!

June 2011

Masquerade party at our friend’s house.

Kerry and I moved to Oakland! One of the immediate and obvious differences between San Francisco and Oakland was the blue sky. That’s right! No fog in the summer, baby!

We immediately started checking out some of the neighborhood eateries. Our first stop? Homeroom! Specialty Mac n’ Cheese!

And here is some cute art on the wall at Homeroom:

I flew to New York City for a gdgt live event. I went a few days early to visit my sister, who had just moved back to New York City from Los Angeles.

Brooklyn summers:

Checking out the High Line.

It was pretty fun hanging out with my sister in NYC. I hadn’t seen her in awhile!

July 2011

In July, we went out to Yosemite National Park for a wedding for our friends, Meghan and Andy. It was a blast!

Of course, I had to go for the standard post card shot of the valley.

Our friend Marcie took an awesome photo of Kerry and I while there.

I also borrowed a new camera, the Fuji X100. I had to test it out, so I used my standard benchmarking tool: the nearest feline.

In mid-July, we went back to Austin, Texas for another wedding. This time for Jess and Adam.

We end the month with some more baseball — this time, the Oakland A’s: a minor league team pretending to be a major league team.

August 2011

August! This time, we venture to Seattle for a gdgt live event. Before all the festivities, we stopped by the Sci Fi museum to see the Battlestar Galactica exhibit!

Space Needle!

In mid-August, we ventured northward to the Russian River for a good old-fashioned canoe trip!

Seemingly millions of people flocked to the Mission to taste food from a few dozen food trucks. Street Food Fest was amazing. Amazingly crowded!

My parents and grandparents came up to visit and stayed in Napa. So we went on adventure and rode the Napa Valley Wine Train!

September 2011

We spend Labor Day weekend on the shores of Lake Tahoe.

The other reason we were in Tahoe? Rib Fest!

We managed to sneak in some hiking as well.

Off the Grid held an event in the East Bay at Golden Gate Fields. So, we went out and saw our first horse races. It was pretty fun!

Mid-September, I went off to Chicago for another gdgt live event. It’s such a pretty city!

More Oakland A’s games! (Admittedly, baseball is always fun to see, no matter who is playing.)

Random stuffed animals left around our neighborhood…

Our friends Katherine and Tony got married!

October 2011

Sadly, Steve Jobs passed away early in October. I swung by the local Apple Store to check out the memorial that fans and mourners were building.

Views from the office building: crazy people.

October means Fleet Week! Scott and I went out on a boat and watched the Blue Angels practice. We had pretty epic front row seats.

We ventured north to Sonoma for another wine tasting trip with friends.

For work, the team stopped by the SF MOMA to check out the Dieter Rams exhibit. It was pretty inspiring.

Besides Fleet Week, October also means pumpkin patches!

Dramatic mornings on public transit.

This is how we hack street signs in Oakland.

For our friend’s Halloween party, Kerry and I dressed up as friendly TSA agents.

November 2011

More wine!

And more Dave and Kerry pics after drinking wine!

December 2011

Santacon!

We took a train ride down to Southern California on the Coast Starlight. That was a blast!

The views were pretty epic, too!

The Orphan Master’s Son follows the life of Pak Jun Do, a young boy who lives in a North Korean orphanage with his father, the Orphan Master.

What ultimately transpires is a pretty gripping tale following the life of Jun Do as he grows up and lives life under the oppressive totalarian regime of Kim Jong Il. He ultimately joins to military and is assigned to tunnel duty — building tunnels for infiltration into South Korea. One day, he is visited by an officer and assigned a new task that will ultimately change his life, forever.

Some of my favorite chapters are written in an entertaining and light hearted manner — providing well timed, nice (almost comic) relief from some of the heavier parts of the book. They make you feel as if you’re listening to the latest daily propaganda dispatch from a nearby loudspeaker: “CITIZENS! Today is the Dear Leader’s birthday! Help us celebrate by DOUBLING your output quotas! Remember, it’s the only way to prevent a sneak attack by those imperialist aggressors!”

I don’t want to spoil much more of the story. There are twists and turns in the plot that will cause your jaw to drop. There are other parts that will potentially cause you to tear up. You really do feel as if someone peeled back a curtain, and you’re getting a genuine look inside North Korea.

This is a great book for any book club, as it has amazing potential for discussing fate versus free will, loyalty, love, fidelity, and courage. I often found myself laying awake at night, thinking about some of these central themes in the book.

My ultimate rating is 5 / 5 stars — I debated giving it 4 as I read along, but I think some of the deeper themes of the book, and the fact that it was so thought provoking, makes me belive it’s easily worth all 5 stars.

Forgive me for my hyperbole, but this was one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read since The Kite Runner. I highly recommend it!



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