Livescribe, All Signed Up!

Sunday, I described Callie's idea she came up with concerning her smart pen. That night I applied for the position I had read about.

The next day I got an email from one of Livescribe's interns saying her boss had forwarded her my resume and wanted to have her interview me asap.

Tuesday I had an interview with the intern, which went very well. She let me know that I would be a good match for the job and asked if her boss, Livescribe's marketing manager, could interview me that afternoon.

I was down, so a few hours later I was on my second interview in just a day's time. Karen, the marketing manager, told me about the job and asked me about my experience with the Dell Rep Program. It was a really enjoyable interview.

So, after applying, a day later I was hired as a LCR, Livescribe Campus Rep.

I love marketing. I get to play with fun gadgets and get lots of neat give aways. I even get to pick out a couple friends to give some of the products to to help me out with promoting. I also get to throw parties with lots of pizza and drinks. Plus, I get to work with a great start up in Silicon Valley, strong brands like Dell, and a top notch marketing agency.

I guess I just have an urge to keep three jobs and do full time school afterall. Although working for Bank of America had great benefits, being a Dell Campus Rep, Microsoft REACH Evangelist, and now a Livescribe Campus Rep are all going to be a blast and will make for a tough decision come graduation.

Beachin With the Nephews and Nieces

While on our recent vacation, I took the opportunity to take advantage of my very cool and new video camera. What better test objects than some of my little neices and nephews. As with many children they can be quite entertaining. I hope family and friends can enjoy some of the pleasure I've had making this.

The Gadget Callie Thought Up and Then Lost!

Sitting in class one day Callie began to think up a clever invention that would make her day as well as many other students, notetakers, and doodlers a much needed tool. It was called in her mind the Smart Pen. It would record the audio of what you were hearing as you wrote, it would translate the words you wrote into whatever language you wished, and it could do math.

So it came as a surprise today, as I checked my emails and saw a job opportunity sent to me from a company based out in Oakland California called Livescribe. Seems they made Callie's pen and a little more. I was curious what this company was about and decided to look into it a little and was impressed immediately.

They created a pen with a computer in it. The pen comes equipped with two mics and a camera that records at 72fps. So why would you want a pen with two mics and a camera? Sounds excessive huh? Well with two mics, the pen can record the audio while you write and eliminate background noise. The pen is used on a special printed paper with tiny dots, the paper can be printed from a printer. The camera is used to track what you are writing exactly where you are writing it so you can upload it to a computer document, easily. With video and audio you can sync precisely what you were hearing with whatever you were writing. You want to know what you were hearing when you were quickly trying to copy a graph off the board? Now you can.

That's just the main function. You write Beer on your paper and tell the pen to translate in Spanish. It says cervesa. Fun, could be beneficial when working with people who haven't grasped the best words for what they are trying to say in a foreign language. Would be fun to have with you when you travel to a foriegn country. Need to know where a nice restaurant is? Simply right it down, the pen translates, hand the pen and pad to them, they write, it translates back.

It keeps going, draw a keyboard on your paper. You can start playing keyboard, you can even change the insturment to steel drums, cymbals, etc. Want to go another step? Why not add some rythym beats to it.

The pens' software is community friendly so new programs such as games, music, and even magic tricks are being created for free. You can easily upload your doodles, notes, whatever you've written and recorded to whoever you want.

As a marketing student I'll be sure to keep an ear open to Callie's novel invention ideas more often ;). As for the job opportunity, I applied. We'll see how that goes. I just hope they let you keep one if you work for them. Although the price, $150 for a 1GB and $199 for a 2GB pen, is higher than one would pay for any ordinary pen, it may be enticing for a student/doodler. However, working for the team is probably the cheaper way to go.

You should check out some of the examples at www.livescribe.com

The Chronicles of Donut: Origins

This little bugger, though not little any more, is one of our infamous pets. We named her Donut. Why, I don't really know. At the time I just wanted any name but Miss, which is all Callie was calling her. I justified it by saying, "look she has a ring around her neck like a collar," but the true source of the name comes from a character off a series called Red vs Blue. In Red vs Blue, Donut is the comic relief brought on by a male soldier in pink armor. I never would have thought our Donut, would live up to that name the way she has.


Now you are probably thinking, "Boring, who wants to read about your cat. What are you, one of those crazy cat people?" No, I'm not a crazy cat person. In fact I could care less for cats and if you ask Callie I was opposed for weeks about getting one for our family. It's the fact that Donut is so uncat like that makes her so interesting.

I remember the day Callie wanted a kitten. She was feeling down about her circumstances, recent car accident, Mom way out in Germany, poor busy husband working three jobs and going to school full time ;), and countless other things that add up in the daily grind. Callie needed something to love her unconditionally while I was gone during the day. She already had dog love from Monty, but she needed a different kind as well. And so the pleas began.

"Bryce I want a kitten."

"Why, we already have a dog? Our apartment is small, I won't be able to take good care of another pet."

"They're easy. I'll clean the litter box," she says with a manipulative smile.


"I don't know. I really don't want one."


That wasn't good enough to hold her off. Every couple of hours in class I'd get a text, "I want a kitten". Again, I'd try to postpone, "I don't." For weeks this continued, I wasn't getting anywhere. I finally gave in to the next step, visiting a craigslist option.

Our first option was in a ghetto part of Mesa, you know, somewhere off Stapley and Broadway. Some passionate family had found an abandoned kitten and Callie had to see it. I reluctantly went hoping I could postpone further through compromise. In the first five seconds of seeing kitten numero uno, I knew it was no good. The whole time we were there she wouldn't quit meowing. We could barely talk in the room she was so loud. I didn't say anything about whether we wanted her while in the room with the mother and child trying to get rid of her, I would too if I were them.

Stepping outside I told Callie if we are getting a kitten we are going to look at more than just the first one we see and besides this one already had problems, without any of my special help. She was pretty mad but didn't go home that night with kitten number one.

As more time was passing I could tell I was losing points with my wife and quick. I decided to give up my own desires and just let her have what she wanted. The next day she was busy at work on craigslist looking for our next option. As I came home that day I was welcomed with our very own kitten. She was typical playful, cuddly, soft kitten, but most of all she wasn't whining. I was okay with having our second pet in just over 6 months of marriage, after the fact, and Callie was much happier with me. A win win situation.

Bringing Home the Bacon

One of the things I am always curious about when catching up with my friends is finding out what they are doing for work. Being in school and finishing in May makes me even more curious since I soon will be joining the full time workforce myself. So here is a little about what I do for work. You can see what Callie does at callieandbryce.blogspot.com.

Dell Campus Representative

This is now my main part time job. I am in charge of promoting Dell at Arizona State University. It is very exciting, I get to attend the orientations throughout the summer and display Dell laptops in all their glory, whether its playing fun music, featuring the newest in movies, or demoing an awesome game. When orientations are not going on we set up events, table, and find creative ways to build Dell on ASU's campus. The benefits are great, I get the nicest and newest in Dell's lineup of laptops to use personally as well as for work.

Microsoft REACH Evangelist

This is the other job I have the pleasure of doing. I work with a marketing agency called The Eleven Agency out in Orange County. They have big name clients such as Microsoft, Kellogs, T-Mobile, Nestle, just to name a few. Currently, I have been working as a Microsoft REACH Evangelist which is a fancy, and really really cool way of saying Microsoft Trainer. I train stores like Fry's Electronics, Compusa, and PC Club on Micosoft's impressive array of software. Working for the Eleven Agency is great since it gives a variety of different projects and opportunities with big name companies. Work never gets old which I also like.

I was very fortunate to get this job. I saw an ad on facebook, of all places, saying Microsoft was looking in our area for work on a new project. I applied on the link, took some tests, and got a few calls for interviews. They were interested and just happened to have my group interview on a holiday. At the time I was working at Bank of America and going to school full time so it would have otherwise been very close to impossible for me to make very many face to face interviews. It was amazing to me how things lined up so perfectly. For the interview, I was told to prepare a demonstration of technology and to make a quick website using Microsoft's Spaces. The group was very intimidating, I was the youngest one there. There were webdesigners, financial advisers and other highly paid professionals applying for the same job I was there for. I thought to myself, "I wonder if they are just entertaining me by letting me show up for the interview." Everyone had very nice introductions and pages, I was a recently married return missionary so I had a nice story to tell to introduce myself. The technology demonstration was the best part of the interview. I went in the middle of the group, as I watched the others demonstrate things like usb sticks, websites, and a crank radio, I became confident in what I was going to show. When my time came up I took out my laptop, set it on the table in front of everyone, and showed them why they should upgrade to Windows Vista. I showed them the various features, but spent alot of time on Media Center where they could watch shows they recorded, organize and play their music libraries, and make easy slide shows. Thankfully, it was good enough to get the CEO Graeme Bradley's attention and provide me with the job I currently have.

Graeme is the one dressed as Sponge Bob. The other picture is me by his car (1 of 2 Shaguars).

4th of July

For the 4th of July weekend Callie and I went up with my brother and friends to Prescott to do some camping. For dinner we had hotdogs cooked over a fire. My first one was great, the second one became flawed when a large flying insect melted to my beefy frank mid fire.

What made the campout so enjoyable, besides having my wife there, was hearing Todd express his fears when it came to camping. "Do you think there are Mountain Lions out here? How many bugs do you think we will eat from sleeping outside? Where's the north star? Is that the north star?"

Fourth of July morning Kevin, Chuck, Todd and Trent went out bouldering, while Callie and I stayed at camp (Callie doesn't hike as we all know). As Callie and I headed into town on our way home, Prescott's streets were brimming with action from 4th of July festivities. Seeing all the action, I asked Callie if she wanted to stop and check things out. She was hesitant until she saw a booth selling fry bread.

Prescott had a county arts, food, and entertainment festival going on in their downtown. It was awesome trying lots of free samples, checking out all the dogs that were there and doing this all outside when back home we would have died. Callie looked for things to buy while I focused on the amusing sights and video recording.

We finished the afternoon by heading to the "World's Oldest Rodeo" where they had even more things to do, buy and eat. The rodeo was great, we bought cheap tickets and were originally sitting behind some 6 foot 8, 350 pound cowboy wannabe, but Callie and I just waited till things got started and then moved to the front where we had much better views. While watching the show we ate great, stuffing our faces with corndogs, kettle corn and fry bread. Check out the above video to see some of the fun for yourselves.

Wii Fit Week 1 Video Blog

So I've read all these stories about people losing weight with Wii Fit so I thought it would be interesting if you could gain wait or strength with Wii Fit. This is the first of six weeks to see if I can gain 10 pounds on the Wii Fit. Unless I don't start eating more I don't know how much it can do. I do know that it can give you a work out, ask Callie, jackknifes can make you sore.

Wii Get Fit

It's a miracle. About a week ago we found one of those highly coveted Wii Fit games and balance boards and it was just a matter of luck. Apparently these things are almost impossible to find, one British reviewer said, "you'll have more luck finding hen's teeth than you will grabbing a copy from your local Woolworths" which in British means, it's tough getting your hands on this puppy.

The only reason we got ours was because we were getting a few things for our new Nintendo DS systems and came in two minutes after the UPS guy. He brought the store two copies of wii fit. As we were checking out I didn't even notice the guy next to us was buying one, I was only focused on a new game to play on the DS. Callie just out of the blue asks if they have any Wii Fits. The worker answers, "Yeah, one left. They didn't even last five minutes." Currently the bid on Ebay for one of these is $150, at the store its $89.

Why Am I Blogging?

So I never thought I would actually set aside some time to make a blog, but here I am. I guess I decided to finally set this up after seeing some other blogs and thinking to myself, "I can do that." Callie also got me a video camera recently so I've been capturing some pretty funny, interesting, and crazy stuff that I hope to post here. Also, for those we don't see regularly this can give them a chance to know just what we have been up to lately.