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5 October 2007: Google Trackday at Infineon Raceway
Google and Infineon Raceway held a charity trackday to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Additionally, all driver donations were matched by both Google and Infineon resulting in a very successful event. The Jim Russell racing school provided a dozen high-performance driving instructors to help the drivers improve their track skills.
15 May 2007: 2008 Presidential Candidates Visit Google So, today I met my third '08 Presidential candidate, Bill Richardson. Hillary Clinton visited a few weeks back, followed by John McCain last week, and Bill Richardson today. Richardson seemed like a nice enough guy, but I think he was too Republican on domestic issues for the Democrats, and too left on international issues for the Republicans... I just don't see how you can make a serious Presidential campaign with comments like "I would like a national ban on junkfood." (see articles of his visit on Google News) So far, I think McCain has impressed the employees at Google the most. McCain actually extended his visit in order to take more questions from the audience. His reasoned and intelligent defense of his positions, even when not popular with all of the Google crowd, really made him stand out. Hillary wouldn't accept unscreened questions from the audience and never really said anything of substance, which made her appear weak and scripted. Richardson took a lot of questions, but tended to rattle on quite a bit and wasn't prepared for his audience. He kept telling us how he would like to give companies tax breaks so Google could install solar panels, or build employee fitness centers (all things that Google has already done). I will have a link to the video of Bill Richardson's talk up shortly. I am looking forward to hearing from more of our Presidential Candidates. Hopefully Barak Obama, Rudy Giuliani, and John Edwards will be visiting the Googleplex soon. 28 Jan 2007: I spent the weekend at Thunderhill Raceway in Willow, CA doing some driving on the track. You can see a couple of pictures here. I have also uploaded some video to Google Video that is now available. For those interested in better viewing, I have posted a high-quality video that can be downloaded.  8 Nov 2006: I have posted some pictures online of my fathers visit. You can see them by clicking here or on the image below. On top of all the other wonderful events, I received a phone call from my Grandmother Peggy whom I have only met once before just after my first daughter Megan was born almost 16 years ago. It was wonderful to hear her voice again and to speak with her. I hope to be able to introduce her to her great grandchildren Megan and Melanie soon!  7 Nov 2006: On Thursday (Nov 2), my Dad flew from Iowa to California to visit me. We spent five days talking, learning about each other, and trying to make up for the 38 years we have missed. The time seemed to slip by so quickly and I wish I could have made it last much much longer. I feel incredibly lucky to finally know him, and I am looking forward to knowing him more in the years to come. On top of all of this, I was even more excited that he was able to share my 38th birthday with me as well as being able to get to know and spend time with the most significant person in his life, Jane. She has 3 daughter and many grandchildren that I have not met, but feel as though I already know them from all the wonderful stories and pictures she shared with us. I can't thank them both enough for coming to visit me and my family, and being as excited and enthusiastic as I am about all of this.  22 Oct 2006: Today I have removed some of the older blog comments from the front page, and moved some other content around on the website. In particular, I am no longer hosting my 'interview' videos on my own webserver and I have moved them to Google Video. The reason for this was because Google video provides a much better experience for the user, including faster loading and improved 'searchability'. Also, because of a recent blog post that linked to the videos. I highly encourage anyone who visits my site, whether you know me or not, to visit LadoraIowa on blogspot and read "The Man who Saved the Internet Calls Me!". The blog, while obviously overblown in praise (you will understand why after reading it) explains things in a very dramatic and touching way. Let me add, that I could not be happier than I have been in the past week and I am sure it will only get better in the coming months and years. 2 June 2006: I have decided to fix my BMW Z3, but while looking around for a replacement vehicle I came across the Lotus Elise! OMFG! This car is so incredible I just had to get it. In keeping with my characteristic of being a cheap-ass, I found a spectacular used model with only 1600 miles, which is saving me $15,000 from having to buy new with the same options. I have a page on my website with pictures and information about my Lotus Elise here. 
22 May 2006: Today my BMW Z3, that I have meticulously cared for since buying it in 1998, was T-bone at an intersection by a woman who blew through a stop sign. She was uninsured and didn't even have a drivers license. She didn't even speak english so I couldn't find out if she was ok until a Police translator showed up. Not sure if I will fix the car or just buy a new one.. So depressing.
Jake and Jericho gave a great talk on Vulnerability Databases.
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