Dolphins Under Palm Trees

Santa Barbara is very fond of dolphins. They’re everywhere in this glamorous resort town just north of Los Angeles – most prominently in the form of a fountain by the pier. I liked these dolphins best as a silhouette against the blue sky, but I wish the sun had been a little further to the west; that would have allowed me to take a couple of steps to the left, separating the dolphin from the palm tree. Oh, well, can’t have it all, not even in sunny California.

In Your Brain, Inc.

Busy day yesterday with the announcement of Google Instant (and writing a quick article for stern.de). Here’s Google’s VP for Search Products and User Experience, Marissa Mayer, speaking at the press event in San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art.

The best illustration of what the search giant aspires to do comes from Google itself... (This is picture was projected onscreen shortly before the presentation started.) 

The Colors of Fall

There’s no Indian Summer to speak of in San Francisco, nothing like the exuberant changing of the leaves in New England – which may explain why I got a little trigger-happy ...

...when I came across a tree on Russian Hill which was illuminated by the afternoon sun in all its colorful autumn glory just as I happened to walk by.

Life on a Pier

Some people like to live by the water, almost in the water, but still in a house rather than on a boat. In Sausalito, right across the Golden Gate, there are several communities-on-a-pier of this kind – in safe distance from the tourist crowds visiting this formerly quaint seaside town, yet close enough to San Francisco for a short boat ride across the Bay.

Hovermaster

The fog is back, and Baker Beach probably looks as forlorn today as it did on the grey day of spring when I saw this seagull hovering over a stretch of sand, suspended in the air near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Museum Ships

Square-rigger “Balclutha” taking a bath in the late afternoon sun in San Francisco’s Acquatic Park. Nothing special, I was just trying out my new Tamron 70-300 mm zoom lens. First impression: mediocre handling, due to stiff zoom and oddly placed focus ring, but very good optical quality for the price. It’s a keeper and will see more action when Fleet Week comes around. Meanwhile, here’s a close-up of Balclutha’s neighbor, “Eureka.”

Saviors of the Inbox?

When Google announced its “Priority Inbox” feature for Gmail this week, I couldn’t help but feel that the Internet giant took a cue from a small but innovative start-up called Xobni (that’s “inbox” in reverse, in case you’re wondering). The company, co-founded by Adam Smith and Matt Brezina, pictured here in the company’s original San Francisco office, has become a cult favorite of many heavy Outlook users. By constantly analyzing the user’s e-mail traffic in a multitude of ways, Xobni manages to show at a glance what’s important and who’s important – even if the torrent of new messages never seems to let up.

By now, Xobni has become successful enough to move into a newer, bigger, sunnier office, which became available when former tenant Twitter moved a few blocks across town. Here’s Brezina, with appropriate office mural, posing for the photographer.