Where Have You Been?

Someone once asked me what happened to my blog writing... okay, so it wasn't really "someone", it was my Dad. And it wasn't really nondescript time like "once", it was specifically yesterday. Back to the point.

My Dad asked me yesterday what happened to my blog, and why hadn't I updated it in a while. The answer is simple. I use Twitter (Tw) and Facebook (Fb) a lot now, so I haven't felt the urge to wax poetically via this jolly medium.

Since I'm pretty much just talking to my Dad now, I can take a moment and explain what Twitter and Facebook are. They are two forms of a relatively new internet thing called social media sites. They're like online fan clubs for anyone. Anyone. Including you. To that affect, I just created you your very own Twitter account, and your Twitter name is "alfanutjay" or "jaynuxoll". I made two because I wasn't sure which one you'd want. I'll send you the passwords and login information via email.

So basically, you log into www.twitter.com and start saying stuff - anything - in 140 character sound bites. Anyone that wants to can "follow" you and thus hear your sound bites. I am "joeracer" on Twitter, and you're already following me with your two accounts. :-) You're welcome. I send updates via my phone - wherever in the world I am, and everyone that's following me (lots of geeks) hears about it instantly.

As for Facebook... That's a slightly different animal. Think of it as a way to stalk your ex-girlfriends from PRESCHOOL. Yes, everyone on the planet is on it, and you can find them. And they can find you. People post pictures, updates, stories about their vacations, videos of kittens falling asleep... you name it. In fact, Rule 38 would apply, but Fb is limited to non-pornographic content. I linked my Tw and Fb accounts, so I just post to Tw and it shows up in Fb for all my ex-girlfriends from PRESCHOOL to see. Believe me, they're watching. And waiting. And hanging on to every single last word I type.

At least in my dreams.

Ta ta for now, Dad!

- Joe

Working Conditions

I have my laptop in an ice tray because it's so freakin' hot today.
The kitties are also taking advantage of the tray.

- Joe

(sent from my i3GS)

Shooting Mt Rainier

We're up on top of Crystal Mt Resort for dinner.

Soft Top

This is somewhat old news now (1 1/2 weeks), but I installed a soft top on the Lotus and it is now 427 clicks more awesome. I love this car even more now. It takes about 2 minutes (tops) to install or remove the soft top, and it stows in the trunk very easily in a bag like a camping chair.

I spent today (my birthday) cruising and checkin stuff out. It was great! I looked at motocross bike trailers, test rode an Aprilia Scooter, then test drove a VW Touareg V6 TDI. I also spent a good deal of time chatting with the folks over at Silicon Valley Auto Group about doing a race instruction series for their supercar buyers.

Later I had dinner at the Quinn's and recorded another podcast episode. Life is good - even though I'm an old bastard now.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Daytona Prototypes at Laguna Seca

I put a set of photos up on flickr from the Monterey Festival of Speed at Laguna Seca Raceway this weekend. The Rolex Daytona Prototype race was 2h 45m long in the BLAZING sun. I am totally sunburned, but it was fun watching the VERY FAST line through these corners that I drive so often. My best time at Laguna was a 1:41 in a Radical SR3 (after only 2 sessions); the Lotus gets a 1:45; and these guys qualified with a 1:19. Geesh.

- Joe

At the races!

Jill, Steve, and I are at Laguna Seca for the Rolex Daytona prototype races. Right now wer'e in the shade having a beer.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Mother's Day

Mothers Day photo set, uploaded by joeracer.

My mom kicks ass. Period. We went to the beach today to just hang out and watch the waves. She really loves the ocean, and guess what? So do I. :-) I love taking her to beautiful natural places where we can just watch the show.

Infineon Raceway - May 4th, 2009

Here are a few laps at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point) on Monday, May 4th, 2009. I am driving my 2007 Lotus Exige S (stock). This was during an afternoon advanced session with Track Masters Racing. The track was starting to cool down - and this set of tires are toast. Nonetheless, it was a good session and I was able to turn some good aggressive laps. The fastest lap was 1:56, but you have to guess which one it was (hint: no mistakes).

Laguna Seca - April 30, 2009

Here are 3 laps at Laguna Seca on Thursday, April 30th, 2009. I was driving my 2007 Lotus Exige S (stock) during the first advanced group session of the day with Track Masters Racing. The lap times were 1:45, 1:46, and 1:45. This is the only session of the day that I drove without a passenger, so the rest of the day was a few seconds slower. *sigh* Light race cars!

5 Laps @ Laguna Seca (April 8, 2009)

I finally took the time to upload a video from Laguna Seca 2 weeks ago. Enjoy the in-car!

- Joe

Carl's new Tesla

Carl has waited 2 years for this! Here is a photo set on Flickr and the in-car video of the trip to pick it up.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Costa Rica Zip Lines

After several days of uploading... the full set of 1327 photos from the zip line Canopy Tour in Costa Rica is available on flickr. Go check it out, and download pictures of yourself (if you were there) and print as you like.

- Joe

El Toro, Morgan Hill

Once a year El Toro hill is opened for hiking in Morgan Hill, CA. It's a gruelling uphill hike, but it only takes about 30 minutes to summit. Great view! I also uploaded a gallery on flickr.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Windows in the airport

This makes me ill.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Roundup Bound

We're at the San Jose airport at the crack of dawn (10:00am) to catch a flight to Crested Butte for the Java Posse Roundup 2009. We'll meet Tor in Denver for the last leg of our journey.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Navigenics Physician Portal

I posted a few weeks ago about a major site redesign at Navigenics... well, we stayed very busy after that as well. We just launched some major improvements to the Navigenics Physician Portal. If you're a physician (or know a physician), and they're looking to get involved in the newest field of preventive medicine - they should talk to Navigenics.

Here are some highlights:


Keep it simple. There are test results and there are resources to help educate physicians on genetics and how to use them in their practice. Naturally, we want to get as much feedback as possible in this early market.


The test results themselves are very simple - at least on the surface appearance (that's our job). These are the genetic predispositions that science currently understands, and how they relate to this particular patient (note that this particular guy is fake). We show a bunch of medical conditions and what the average lifetime risk is for each one. We also show the patient's estimated lifetime risk, and what "percentile" they fall into in the population. This is a good birds-eye-view for a physician to get a picture before digging in.


If you dig a little deeper, we show a lot of technical detail about each condition, and provide a lot of jumping-off points to learn more. This is a lot of condensed meat - with a lot less consumer fluff for the physician to have to dig through.

All together, this makes for a very easy step-in for physicians to include genetic testing in their practice as an adjunct to all the other great things they do already. This is just more useful information, and it will only get more and more useful over time as the science and technology develops. Exciting times!

As always, you can stay abreast of the latest news in genetics and health by following the Navigenics blog.

- Joe

Happy Birthday Michael

Michael turned 35, and we went to Benihana. I washed my finger.

- Joe

SAP Open in San Jose

I'm at the SAP Open in San Jose in a penthouse suite. My good buddy Ryder scored tickets, so we're drinking and watching pro tennis. These guys looked skilled but I have to admit I have no clue!

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

San Mateo Bridge

Today Jill and I were exploring with tall mud boots on. We ended up wading *under* the San Mateo Bridge in the low tide. If you asked me where I was going to go today, my answer was "dunno". At one point I got stuck and needed help getting pulled out. Random good times!

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Navigenics - new site!

After a ton of work, we just launched a new version of the www.navigenics.com website. This took a very long time to put together, and countless hours of toil. Sorry to all the folks that listen to the podcast and might have missed me. :-)

Please check out the site and learn what we do!

- Joe

Anticipating another meat canoe

This place is hella mass rad. The end.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)