In my time here, I’ve quickly come to appreciate the values of the company, as well as the people within it. Observing the way this company is run has given me a new outlook on small and medium business management, and confirmed my hopes that not all companies treat their employees like crap.

For anyone interested, Bazaarvoice is still hiring! You can find job listings here: http://www.bazaarvoice.com/about/jobs.

Go to http://www.beerregister.com to sign up!

There are plans in the pipeline to add features that enrich the social experience. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please feel free to let me know!

Follow Beer Register on Twitter @beerregister and on Facebook.

I’ve been working on it for the last month or so, and it’s ready to go with some basic functionality. I will be working hard to add more functionality in the near future, including brewery information, pre-populated beer data, and social features that let you see what others rate beers, breweries, and even bars!

Visit http://www.beerregister.com/ and sign up to get started today!

I got the idea when a friend of mine, Tyler, showed me that he was using the notepad application on his Android-powered phone to keep track of beers he tasted. This was far simpler than using one of the existing beer applications or sites, which generally ask you a wide array of questions about the beer when you add it to your list.

After doing some research, I found he was correct. All of the mobile applications and beer tracking sites are designed primarily for use by beer connoisseurs. Not to say there isn’t a place for that, because these are valuable resources indeed, but something simpler would be nice.

I set out to create a site that was accessible on both computers and mobile devices that easily lets you track basic information about beers you taste, when you taste them.

In the future, I plan on releasing mobile applications as well, including an iPhone app and an Android app. Stay tuned for updates!

Please consider a few things before you rant about my driving practices and complain about my discontent for how the majority of bicyclists handle themselves on major streets amongst traffic.

1 – I, contrary to what you may think, have no problem with you. Please don’t take my discontent for the average bicyclist to heart. Unless, of course, you were the one driving in the middle of the right lane of the curvy part of Lamar at 15mph during rush hour. In that case, screw you. You need to either learn to use back roads or learn to ride your bicycle faster than 15mph.

2 – I support public transportation, walking, bicycling, and carpooling. I care about the environment, and I do as much as I can to reduce my impact on it, as well as the impact of those around me. I live at The Triangle. You may say it’s just like Dallas (*obviously* you’ve never been to Dallas), but it affords me the ability to walk to several restaurants/eateries, a few convenience stores, a drug store, a liquor store, and my favorite bar. I have a bicycle. I don’t ride it because I’m too tired after my 60 hour work week to even think, yet alone pedal around in 104 degree heat.

3 – Why is it that you MUST take major roads all the way to your destination? I know that it’s not possible in all cases to take back roads, but it is in most. There is no reason you need to ride 12mph down a 3 mile stretch of Guadalupe. Take Rio Grande or Ave H. They all go to the same place. Taking back roads for the majority of your trip is not only less annoying for drivers-of-cars, but safer for you. Far, far safer. Have you seen the way most people operate motor vehicles? I’m afraid to be in a car near them, yet alone a bike.

4 – I don’t drive like the people you talk about when you bitch about clumsy, inconsiderate driving. Please keep this in mind when bitching at me about how hard it is to ride a bicycle in the city.

5 – I would ride the bus to work if I could. I have before, and only stopped after my life was threatened on the 338 by a man with a knife who followed me home. As it stands, I would have to transfer twice, then walk or ride a bicycle the rest of the way. That would be fine with me if the rest of the way wasn’t a 3 mile leg of Capitol of Texas Highway through the hill country. I work in a professional environment, and carry a laptop to work every day. The risk is far too high for me to be riding a bicycle down Highway 360 at rush hour twice a day. Not to mention, it looks bad to walk into a 9:00 conference covered in sweat. This is Texas, after all. Given this information, how do you propose I get to and from work without the assistance of a motor vehicle? Please, indulge me.

6 – I will vote yes on the bicycle paths. I will do my best to help this city accommodate bicycle and foot traffic. I am, after all, a pedestrian myself. I will not, however, stand idly by and let laws be created that disadvantage me when a bicyclist does something stupid like pull out in front of me when I’m going 40mph. Given the choice to swerve into another car, or hit the bicyclist, I’ll probably choose the bicyclist. They may die. That is not my fault, and I refuse to let it be. Your bicycle will do far less damage to my car than my car and the car I would hit avoiding you will do to each other. Not to mention, if I swerve into that car, multiple people could die, not just one. Drive your bicycle with the same precaution and consideration with which you expect me to drive my car. It’s only fair.

7 – No, I will not give you and your bike a ride home from downtown because you’re too tired to ride. You should have thought of that before you rode your bike downtown. Take the bus next time.

These are just a few of my thoughts on a recent rant by a bicyclist friend of mine. I’d love some feedback. Only constructive conversation, though. No bitching. That would wholly defeat the purpose of this post.

I ride the bus to work about twice a week. It’s cheaper, easier, better for the environment, and only takes a little longer.  Tuesday of this week was one of those days.

On my morning bus ride on the Capitol Metro 338 Crosstown, a man boarded 7 or 8 stops after me.  He was probably in his mid to late 40′s, long hair, jean shorts, and rode a bicycle.  He sat in the seat right in front of me, the first row of the upper section of the bus.

I noticed after a few minutes that he was staring at other people on the bus.  Normally this wouldn’t be anything to point out, as bus rides are very boring and looking around is pretty much the only entertainment you get, but he seemed to be staring at these people in ways that made them very uncomfortable.  At the time, I couldn’t figure out what he was doing, as he was sitting in front of me, facing forward.

Slowly these people all got off the bus at their appropriate stops (or maybe just to get away from this guy), and it was down to just him and myself.  About 5 minutes before my stop, he stands up (while the bus is moving), looks back at me and stares for a few seconds, then walks down to the lower, front section of the bus, and stands up.  Over the next few minutes, I notice him looking back at me a few times.  Same creepy stare as before.

Finally he reaches up and pulls the “Stop Requested” cable, and as the bus stops, I notice that in one of his hands he’s holding one of those little yellow disposable Kodak cameras.  The bus stops, he looks back at me one more time, takes a picture of me, and gets off the bus.  He goes and gets his bike off the rack, and starts riding down the sidewalk in the opposite direction as the bus.  He slows down when he gets to my window, stares right in at me, and spits on the window!  And I’m not talking a little saliva here, I’m talking a big snotty hunk of phlegm.

What was this all about?  Needless to say, I’m still a little worried to ride the bus again.  I do have a theory though…

This man was God, and I am going to die soon.  That’s it.  That’s my whole theory.

Thoughts?

ENTERMEDIA is located in an office upstairs from Fresh Plus grocery store and ASTI, the Italian restaurant. I learned yesterday that the mural painted on the side of our building (see photo) was actually painted by a production company for a movie that was filmed here.

In the movie The Wendell Baker Story, Will Ferrell plays the owner of a grocery store, and they used Fresh Plus for the filming location.

I haven’t seen the movie all the way through, but I did get my hands on a copy of it and skip to a scene where Luke Wilson’s character is having a conversation with Eva Mendes’ character in front of the store, and Will Ferrell’s character is standing in front of the store. In this shot, you can see the entrance to the ENTERMEDIA office!