A weekend of digging mud is not enough. There is too much to do and I feel guilty being back to Tokyo. After a weekend in the Sendai and Ishinomaki area, I am both in awe by nature's power and depressed by the seemingly insurmountable cleanup challenge ahead. Hundreds of miles of complete devastation are Read more articles on this topic at Green Ta...

Well, what can I say? That was one of the more intense experiences of the year and the biggest disaster I've been involved in since exactly nine and a half years earlier. I probably had more adrenaline running through me during Byron's buzzer beater against Osaka last month, but this one included a lot more Read more articles on this topic at Green...

I apologize for a lack of blog posts recently, but I have been quite busy traveling. I also have some news to announce. As of two days ago, I am now the General Manager of the Tokyo Apache, the Tokyo basketball team in Japan's professional basketball league. Evolution, the company I work for, bought Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiT...

Los Angeles gets more than 25% of it's power from Arizona. Especially during the summer months. Is a boycott of Arizona's "turqoise jewelery and bolo ties" really worth it? Has Mayor Villaraigosa really thought this one through? Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiLos Angeles Bites the Hand That Feeds Related posts:Los Angeles Wedding...

I use SponsoredTweets and think it is a great way to earn additional personal or business income through social media. I also think it is a great and cheap advertising channel as a media buyer. However, Twitter advertising is still in its early stages. There are lessons to be learned on what are effective Read more articles on this topic at Green...

From the NewOrleans.com dedicated gulf spill news page on the Gulf Oil Spill comes estimates for the total amount of oil leaked into the gulf. The widget is actually off a PBS site. Either way, the numbers and uncertainty is staggering. Just look at the difference between what the NOAA estimates versus BP's worst Read more articles on this topic ...

Seriously, can someone please explain? They have taken over our local coffee shops and I read an article a week about them. These things just came out of nowhere and are now the latest fad worldwide. Today, I got a chart comparing worldwide macaron prices (a dozen, I believe), as if they were to Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiWhat'...

If history is any indication, keep an eye on my travel schedule for the next couple of years. The last two times I have taken a voluntary exotic vacation with Katie (I don't count my honeymoon as that is a mandatory vacation), the markets have crashed hard. The first time was in September of 2008. Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiMark...

http://www.good.is/post/infographic-the-size-of-the-oil-spill/ Posting from my iPhone in the Caribbean – not far from the gulf of Mexico – so I can't provide more than the link. Please have a look, it is an important infographic. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (no coined name yet?) will be bigger than the Exxon Valdez within 50 da...

One of Jon Stewart's best. He makes some great points about Apple going totally overboard with this (unless it is all a publicity stunt, in which case they are true genius). He also is hilarious. ?You guys are busting down doors in Palo Alto while Commandant Gates is ridding the world of mosquitoes. What Read more articles on this topic at Green ...

Following the US Flight Paths video I posted last week, this is a very cool similar video of the flight traffic over Europe. However, this one shows the flight traffic during and after the period of the Volcano in Iceland that stopped all traffic. Airspace Rebooted from ItoWorld on Vimeo. Read more articles on this topic Read more articles on th...

After botching Coachella and spending the week in Tahoe for business, I definitely had some work to do on the homefront this weekend. Well, thank you Stagecoach, you saved me. Stagecoach is the Country music version of Coachella. It is the weekend following Coachella and has two days worth of music instead of three. Read more articles on this top...

In early 2011, this new $100 bill will go into circulation. What do you think? Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiNew 100 Dollar Bill Related posts:Jon Stewart versus Bill O'Reilly Somehow, I love watching both of these guys. Incredibly, I... Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiNew 100 Dollar Bill Related posts:Jon Stewa...

24 hours of flight data…very cool. Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiUS Flight Paths No related posts.Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiUS Flight Paths No related posts.

I feel awful. Katie and I were really looking forward to hitting up Coachella this weekend and I totally blew it. This year was to be our first Coachella experience. I asked some buddies for advice and was told that the last two years they picked up tickets at the gate. Considering we Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiI Botched Coach...

Remember Scantron's? The California Budget is a mess. That is no secret. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to fixing it. The State of California spends way too much money. The State is in a huge amount of debt. The State has dwindling income as revenue decreases during this recession. Tax increases Read more articles on this topic at Gr...

Where the jobs will be by 2030. To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical of Las Vegas ranking so high in these two lists. Budgeting ? Mint.com *image source: mint.com Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiJob Growth by City and State Related posts:State By State Jobs Impact Below is the estimated change in jobs per Read more articles on this to...

Once a year, for a period of a week or two, the cherry blossoms in Japan bloom. The quiet pink harmony produces a stir among Japanese and tourists as they flock to both city and countryside in enjoyment of a gorgeous array of pink. I have never had the luck of overlapping with this almost Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiA Pink Dream ...

This is a very strange, yet interesting video on Japan. The creator, Kenichi Tanaka, made it for his final thesis project. It pokes a bit of fun about Japanese, which is either strange or allowed because Tanaka-san is Japanese. Either way, I find the statistics and design enjoyable. Read more articles on this Read more articles on this topic at...

Japan is the most interesting culture in the world. I could go on forever about its peculiarities, but I will begin with a simple one. The Japanese tendency and acceptance of getting completely drunk from beer on a work night. I went to dinner this evening at a restaurant/bar called "Aloha Table". (Side note: Read more articles on this topic at G...

It's quite simple really. HDMI sends a digital signal of 1's and 0's. You either get the signal or you don't. There is no in between. *image source: mint.com Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiHDMI: Don't be a Douche Nozzle Related posts:Newspaper Industry in Charts Thanks to The Big Picture and Mint.com Read more articles on this ...

If you've noticed that I have not been as active on the blog as of recent, it is because I have been focusing on a new challenge in life. Today, I'm here to announce my latest plan: I'm Going Pro. I've decided to retire from my business life and get back into basketball. And Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiI'm Going Pro No relate...

It happens one out of every 10 years or so that I actually win a NCAA pool. This happens to be one of those years, so I am going to enjoy the moment as much as possible. Sorry, but you get to listen to my bragging for the next 60 seconds. Going into the Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiNCAA Bracket Bragging Related posts:NCAA Brac...

The first GreenTaxi monthly newsletter went out today and the amount of interaction with it has been great so far. If you are interested, please sign up on the bottom left of my homepage or on the Sign Up page. Thanks for all the support! *image source: mailchimp.com Read more articles on this topic at Read more articles on this topic at Green T...

The air quality index (AQI) in Santa Monica today: 32 The AQI all time record in Hong Kong: 208 (July, 2008) The AQI in Hong Kong yesterday: 500 In fact, 500 is just the maximum reading on the scale. It doesn't go any higher. Looks like they are going to have to readjust the scale. Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiHong Kong Smog at ...

Some of the smartest macro-economic guys out there, Gavekal, put out a piece last night on what this health care bill really means longer term. While I am not nearly as bullish as them longer term, they do convince me every so often of the potential for hope. One of the best parts about Gavekal Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiGreat D...

Murray State just defined why I love March on the first morning of the NCAA tournament. They defeated #4 seed Vanderbilt as a #13 seed on a last second shot. With 5 seconds to play, they ran a basic play which kind of fell apart and yet their senior stepped up to hit the biggest Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiMy Love with March R...

Not sure if any of you saw the movie The Cove, but it won best documentary at the Oscars. The movie depicts a team of activists calling out Japan for killing dolphin's for meat and entertainment. Interestingly enough, The Cove has become a major issue right here in Santa Monica. The filmmakers have called Read more articles on this topic at Green...

If you need a great bracket for your office pool this year, get the one from Basketball.org. I'm obviously a bit biased, but I do think it is pretty great. It has all dates and times, locations, and team records, yet in my opinion is not too crowded. Also, it runs sideways so there Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiNCAA Bracket No ...

Stay in school, kids. It makes it much easier to keep your job during recessions. What I find interesting is comparing the 2001 recession to the recent recession. In 2001, it looks like the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor's degree stopped increasing right at the end of the recession. In the Read more articles on this topic at Green ...

Price on REITs.com dropped another 3% since we last spoke. Please let me know if you are interested in this premium domain name. I love this domain name. It represents multiple growing industries (including a play on hyperinflation) and the price points for this product are huge. This is a much different business Read more articles on this topic...

This weeks post from John is very non-financial, but it goes off on an interesting tangent analyzing technology opportunities of the future. Here are some of the topics he covers and key quotes on each: Nanoscale: "Batteries made from carbon nanotubes hold tremendous promise for better storage (by 400 times less weight per watt output). Filtering ...

These guys are awesome…love this video. Amazingly it is not even their official video for this song that is on iTunes. Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiOK Go – This Too Shall Pass Related posts:Jon Stewart versus Bill O'Reilly Somehow, I love watching both of these guys. Incredibly, I... Read more articles on this topic...

This may seem like a bit of a ridiculous blog topic, but as any previous visitor can tell you, Japanese toilets are truly one of the interesting aspects of Japan.? I mean no offense to anyone.? But once you've used a $10,000 toilet, curiosity sets in. Japanese toilets represent the ultimate luxury in "using the bathroom." Read more articles on this...

I must admit that I am a bit frustrated by the lack of available Wifi in Tokyo. Well, free wifi, that is. While I picked up a Japanese rental mobile phone while I'm here, it's not my iPhone. It does not have all of my apps set up, my email, my photos, my music, Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiWiFi in Tokyo Related posts:No More T...

Heading to Tokyo for the week. There is only so much reading and sleeping that can be done on a 10 hour flight. And, I hate relying on United for decent movies. Thus, I resort to my pre-flight selections downloaded to my iPhone. I am adding a season's worth of "It's Always Sunny in Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiFavorite iTunes Mov...

Please check out the redesign we did on Basketball.org. I'd love to hear any feedback anyone has, good or bad. We moved the site over to the Wordpress Thesis Theme, which we continue to use more and more. Thesis is really an incredible theme and has a massive following and support group. If Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiBasketbal...

600 frames per second in HD. Very cool. According to the NewScientist, Male hummingbirds impress mates by diving at high speed, then pulling out at 10 Gs, more than fighter pilots can take. As they speed towards the ground, they travel nearly 400 times their body length each second. Read more articles on this topic at Green Read more articles on ...

Want to make a few extra bucks by doing less of anything? Yeah, who doesn't! How about using your lights less or your heater less? Well, try out MyEmissionsExchange.com (they also have branded themselves as MyEex.com – a smart domain move), and you can earn carbon credits that they will automatically purchase from you Read more articles on ...

My eyes continue to get worse every year. I am sure it is because I stare at a computer screen all day every day, and my eye doctors agree. Katie recently found me a new eye doctor. He had great ratings on Yelp and I must say that he is much better than my Read more articles on this topic at Green Taxi20/20 Rule for Vision Improvement Related ...

In college in 2001, I took a class called HCI.? Human Computer Interface.? It was all about how humans interact with computers.? For our final project we created software for an early phase Wacom tablet, which is actually very similar (basic functionality-wise) to what Apple is about to mass produce with the iPad. Now, in 2010, Read more articles o...

Greece is well on its way to becoming the country equivalent of Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers. It is important to understand the situation not only for what happens in Greece, but what can happen in the rest of the world because of Greece. As usual, John Mauldin does an excellent job explaining these things. Read more articles on this topic at G...

Katie and I are celebrating a day early since I have to work on Sunday evening. Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiHappy Valentines Day! Related posts:Happy Birthday Katie May! To my lovely wife on her birthday: Happy birthday to... Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiHappy Valentines Day! Related posts:Happy Birthday Kat...

Sorry, a little off topic, but I'm working on my taxes this week. Not as much time as normal to write up longer blog posts. Anyway, how cool is this thing? Talk about badass. Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiI Want A Bullwhip Related posts:Your Blog Comments are Not Worth the Link Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiI W...

The results are in from the Verizon iPhone poll. If you have an AT&T iPhone, would you switch to a Verizon iPhone if available? Yes: 91% No: 9% If you do not have an iPhone, would you get one if offered by Verizon? Yes: 93% No: 7% Now, I realize that any generic poll on a blog is going to be extremely Read more articles on this topic at Green T...

Somehow, I love watching both of these guys. Incredibly, I end up agreeing with both of them at times. Either way, Jon Stewart is both incredibly smart and hilarious. Here is the full, unedited interview thanks to Fox News. Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.com *source: foxnews.com Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiJon Read...

From Michael comes a great TED speech by Sendhil Mullainathan on how to use behavioral marketing to solve our real problems. It jumps around a bit with interesting examples, but the idea all comes together toward the end, so watch the whole thing. Read more articles on this topic at Green TaxiBehavioral Marketing Related posts:What Are Your Top ...

The rumors have been swirling for a couple months now about Apple potentially teaming up with Verizon to launch a iPhone on the Verizon network. What I would like to know is how many people would that benefit?? First, if you already have an AT&T iPhone, would you switch to a Verizon iPhone?? Second, if you Read more articles on this topic at Gr...

Let the corruption begin. That telethon last week was incredible.? We got an all-star concert to watch that brought in $100 million in donations.? Donations toward what? Does anyone really know where their $100 million went?? Surely it will go straight into the hands of some homeless Haitian, right? First of all, I am not sure how much Read more ar...