Alfred C. Chen's Weblog

I thought that technology is suppose to make life easier?  I won't deny that the iPhone (my latest toy) has provided me with conveniences that a couple years ago would have required that I carry along a mobile phone, digital camera, MP3 player, and laptop computer.  While I love my iPhone, I still use my MacBook Pro, iPod Nano, Canon HD camcorder, and Canon DSLR regularly, depending on the occasion.  With 3 devices that can take pictures and 2 that can capture videos, I'm having a hard time keeping track of everything.  What I really need is a simple and cost effective solution for organizing, editing, sharing, and archiving all my photos and videos.

In this blog, I'm kicking off my efforts (a personal project) to define and implement a single system for managing my digital library, one that I hope will make my life easier.    As with any IT like project, before embarking on the design, it's important to understand the requirements.  It this case, it's a matter of articulating my own needs upfront, so I can be sure that I'm successful and happy with the outcome.  I anticipate that each key requirement will require additional analysis (topics for future blogs) before I can fully define and settle on the priorities (must-haves and nice-to-haves) for this system.  For now, I just want to capture the high level requirements.

I need a system that can grow (scalable) with my needs.  Although I don't foresee buying any new devices in the near-term, it's important that this system can easily accommodate additional data sources.  For example, if my wife gets an iPhone, I will need a way to easily import and manage all her photos and videos as well.  As technology is constantly evolving, I will need a digital library solution that can withstand the test of time.  I anticipate there will be new medias (e.g. Blue-ray) or social platforms where I would like to publish or store my pictures.  It would be great if the system does not lock me in to a particular social platform or external media type.

I enjoy taking pictures and videos, and I have seen my digital library grow exponentially in recent years.  However, I prefer not to invest the equivalent increment in time to manage my digital library.  I need a system that will make it easy to organize and edit my photos and videos.  I'm not a professional, so I do not need a fancy editing tool.  Nor do I want to spend a lot of time on editorial tasks.  Generally, I'm quite content with the "I'm Feeling Lucky" touch-ups provided in tools like Picasa.  While I have typically organized my photos and videos by dates or events, I would like to evaluate and assess the benefits of organizing by other means such as geo tags or facial recognition.

One of the great joy of taking pictures and videos is sharing them with my family and friends.  Currently, I share my pictures with my friends through social media Web sites such as FaceBook.  I also keep my photos from the past year online in my Picasa Web album.  While I have uploaded a couple video clips on YouTube,  I have largely deferred the editing  of my HD videos from the past year.  That will change, as I'm motivated by this project.  For my family (who are less technology savvy), I need this system to also facilitate with the creation of slide shows and home movies for re-play on the home theater or distribution via DVDs.   Occasionally, I do printouts as well.

I currently have my pictures and videos scattered across my Mac and PC, with back-ups on an external hard drive, CDs and DVDs.  One of the key driver for doing this project is my constant fear that one day my PC or Mac will crap out, or that my external hard drive will fail, or that the CDs where I back up my picture are no longer readable by new hardware.  What I need is a fault tolerant solution for backing up and preserving my digital library.  Since my PC is dated and I work largely on my Mac now, I would like to build my digital library around the software and services available on the Mac.  This means I will need a way to migrate and import the pictures and videos from my PC.

Well, I think this is a pretty good start on the requirements for building a system for managing my digital library.  I have identified my needs for organizing, editing, sharing, and archiving all my photos and videos.  Now, I just need a solution.  Any suggestions?

Recently, we released a new feature to the download platform that powers the Sun Download Center.  Internally, we refer to it as the Advanced Download Widget (ADW).  Essentially, it's a Web component that can be deployed on any Sun-branded Website, to deliver an integrated and streamlined download experience.  Working with Lifecycle Marketing, we have also integrated the ability to present the user with a free offer (e.g. whitepapers, training, etc.) that complements the download.  It's completely optional, but to receive the free offer, the user will need to login with a Sun Online Account or create a new one.  To see it in action, checkout the Java ME SDK 3.0 download page.  Although the project was generally successful, there were some lessons learned (in terms of went well and what can be improved from my own personal perspective) that I would like to share via this blog for future reference.

When developing new Web functionality that relies heavily on Web browser technology, it's important to understand your users.  Do they largely run on a single Web browser / platform combination (Intranet apps), or do they span the gamut in browsers and platforms used?  The answer may greatly affect your project plan and testing strategy, so find out before you start on your project.  Sites such as Wikipedia publish aggregated Web browser usage stats for the Internet, but it is better to take your own measurements if possible.  Our sampling of a very popular Java download yielded slightly different distribution with 48.6% running Internet Explorer and 40.8% running Firefox.  The data helped shape our testing strategy.

Given the constant evolution of the Web browsers, it's not always practical to maintain backward compatibility to outdated Web browsers; however, forward compatibility for new releases should definitely be a priority.  Internally, you want to establish guidelines on the Web browser makes and versions, as well as the browser platforms that you can support.  This way, you can provide Engineering and QA with clear expectations on the testing scope and staffing needs.   It's also good to have designated personnel who keep tracks of the product roadmap for key Web browsers.  During the development phase for the ADW, new version of Firefox (3.5) and Safari (4.0) were released, but they were not on our radar.  We later uncovered some minor incompatibilities with these Web browsers during the testing phase that prompted additional round of testing and contributed to some avoidable schedule delays.

One key aspect of project management is accurate planning of the time and resource it takes to complete the project.  While the Development and QA phase are largely determined by Engineering's estimates, the business generally drives User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and therefore estimate the resources and duration required for UAT.  Because the project scope varies from release to release, successful UAT planning requires a good blend of gut feel (art) and common sense (science).  By applying past experience and intimate knowledge of the system to the bug fixes and enhancements in scope, you can devise a rough approach to the UAT test plan and test cases.  From the estimated time for completing each test case and the availability of UAT testers, you can then derive the duration required to complete 1 round of user testing.  When testing new features that relies heavily on Web browser technology, be sure to add extra time and/or testers for targeted cross browser/platform testing.  Finally, allow time for bug fixes and at least a second round of user testing to make UAT a success.

Finally, while the project life cycle ends when the release goes live, the product life cycle continues on.  By product, I'm referring to the system or the download platform in this case.  Although it's possible to roll out new features that meet the user's needs on day 1, quite often the road to nirvana involve a couple design iterations.  To avoid the design-in-a-vacuum pitfalls, it's essential that you have ways to collect feedback and gain insights into the user's real world interactions with your system.  In our case, we chose to conduct a usability study to gather feedback from a diverse group of users whose experience with Sun ranges from none to developers and Sun customers who are quite familiar with our Websites.  Although the usability study was insightful, we plan to integrate Omniture into future releases so we can measure and assess the usability of the ADW across the entire user base.  Meanwhile, we have other ways (see my blog on The Voice of the Customer) to collect and act on customer feedback as well.

Do you use Google to search the Web?  Isn't it great that Google returns a search result of relevant information for just about anything that you enter.  In software engineering, there's a term that describes such predictable and reliable outcome.  It's call the "happy path" and it defines the default user experience when the software works as intended.  I first learned about it in college.  It has been a while, but I think the subject still has a lot of relevance today, especially in Web application design.

Imagine your reaction if Google errors out or returns no search results, every other time you use it.  That would not be a good user experience.  So how do you factor in the happy path into the design and the implementation plan for your application?  Whether you are building a Social Media Website or an IT application for internal consumption, the process starts with good product or business requirements.  When you write the high level requirements and use cases, you are defining the happy path.  Good requirements should specify how the application process the end user's request to deliver a user experience that meets or exceeds the end user's expectations; focuses on the desired functionality.  In the case of Google Search, I'm guessing that the original requirements may have been written as follows:

Build a search engine with a simple user interface that accepts the user's input, intelligently determine the most relevant Web resources, and present the user with the search results sorted by popularity.

Good requirements also facilitate great design.  When evaluating your design options, you should focus on a design that engages the user and keeps the user on the happy path.  Some Web applications calls for rich interactions (RIA).  In the case of Google Search, as simple design seems to work very well too.  Either way, a streamlined user experience will definitely appeal to the users and enhance conversion rates.  Your design should also account for how the application recover when something goes wrong.  There's a popular saying "Sh*t happens", and it definitely applies to anything on the Web.  Most users will tolerate some mishaps,  but you really should do your best to minimize the impact to the user experience.  Your average Joes won't put up with HTTP 404 or 503 errors, but they will appreciate good humor such as the case with the Twitter Fail Whale.

Finally, how do you ensure that you are on target with your design?  It is important to test out the new functionality and verify the outcome against the original requirements.  In-house User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a common practice for IT applications, and external Web applications without established communities.  Since UAT involves a controlled group of testers (generally superusers), be sure to provide all users with a feedback loop.  Public beta testing and user-driven designs seem to be very popular among Web 2.0 applications.  GMail which was launched in 2004 has retained its beta status despite its success and mass adoption.  Facebook with over 200 Million users engages the user community through the Facebook Blog.  Both are tremendously successful in attracting and retaining users.  Although there's not a singular approach to engineering great solutions, there's definitely one common theme:  Stay on the happy path.  After all, who doesn't appreciate software that simply works.

One way to develop a better understanding of the customer's needs is to simply ask for their feedback.  Through out sun.com, you will notice a floating [+] icon in the lower right corner of your Web browser window.  When you click on this icon, an OpinionLab scorecard pops up allowing to you provide input on your Web experience as it relates to the content, design and usability of the current page.  Below is a screen snapshot of a sample scorecoard:

Recently, we added the OpinionLab icon to the Web pages for the download application that powers the Sun Download Center.  In the month of April alone, we received 481 ratings through the OpinionLab scorecard.  90 people chose to provide additional feedback through the Comments field. The overall rating was 3.5 out of 5.  It was a bit lower than I expected.  Again, this is why we're asking for your input, so you as the customer can help drive further improvements base on your needs.

I would like to thank you if took the time to provide us with your feedback on the Sun Download Center.  While I cannot share the specifics of the feedback that we received through the Comments field, I can say that most of the comments were fair.  I'm still flattered by the number of people who are fans of Sun, our products or the Sun Download Center.  Regarding the constructive feedback related to the download experience, if it's actionable, we will definitely include the enhancement in one of our upcoming releases.

In observing the Earth Day celebration this year, I decided that it's time that I take a personal stake in the global movement to reducing the human activity's impact on the health of the planet.  Before you judge me and ask why I didn't start sooner, I just want to say that I have take some measures already.  Consider this a pledge to do more.

To reduce your impact on the environment, you need to acknowledge the problem and your contribution to it.  It is like an alcoholic trying to quit drinking by joining AA and dealing with the drinking problem head on.  It is the first step in the right direction.  In my case, the first step was to calculate my carbon foot print (actually it take into account the entire family) which I did thru the EarthLab website.  It was quite sobering to see my ECP score and carbon output.  Although it's slightly better than the average in California, a relatively green state, I know I can do more.

We (you and I) can all help make this world a better place, by taking steps to reducing our carbon footprint.  Along the way, you may end up saving some money and feeling better about yourself as well.  My wife and I decided at the beginning of 2009 to replace the old windows in our house, with new energy efficient triple-pane windows.  Such project save energy and increase the comfort during the Summer and Winter months.  By chance, the government is also offering tax incentives for "green" home improvement projects.  So, I'm not only helping out with the environment, but getting a tax break too.

It's doesn't take a large capital investment project to make an impact.  In fact, it doesn't always make sense to replace the "old" with the "new", especially when you consider the environmental impact of manufacturing the "new", and disposing or recycling the "old".  There's no single algorithm for deciding how best to contribute, but do exercise your own judgment and ask yourself "how  will my decision or action impact the environment?"  Of course, there are plenty of resources and online communities where you might find the answers to some of the more common questions.  Below are a just a few:

• Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Earth Day Network
• Natural Resources Defense Council
  

Yesterday, I experienced April Fools Day in all its glory.  Like the day before, I was taking CalTrain to San Francisco to attend the Web 2.0 Expo.  It was only the 2nd day of the conference, but I felt I was starting to develop a commuter's routine.  Unlike the day before, I decided to park at the nearby free parking lot which required an extra 3 minutes walk to the Sunnyvale CalTrain station.  Unfortunately, I didn't pad my travel time.  By the time I arrived at the train station, the 7:13am express train had arrived.  I tried to rush thru the ticket purchase process, hoping still to jump on that train.  As I completed the electronic ticket purchasing process, The train doors had closed.

So I missed the 7:13am train, but luckily the next train arrived at 7:18am.  I jumped aboard thinking I will still arrive in San Francisco by 8:20am in time for the first conference session that starts at 8:30am.  As the train pulled away, I inspected my ticket and realized that I haven't purchased enough fare.  The CalTrain fares are based on zones.  To travel from Sunnyvale to San Francisco and back, I needed to purchase a round trip ticket from Zone 3 to Zone 1.  In my rush to make the 7:13am train, I had purchased a round trip ticket from Zone 3 to Zone 3; not so smart without my morning Starbucks.

I decided to jump off the train at the Mountain View station to purchase additional ticket fare, since you cannot purchase tickets onboard (VOC to CalTrain:  How about placing a ticket machine aboard the train for people who forget to buy the ticket at the station)  Of course the ticket machine wasn't nearby, so I needed to run to the machine and rush thru the ticket purchase process again.  This time, I managed to purchase the correct ticket fare.  Except as I turn around, the doors on the train had closed.

By now, I was starting to realize that this was no ordinary day and that somebody (perhaps myself) was pulling an April Fools joke on me.  The next train (at 7:37am) a local commuter train would take me to San Francisco by 8:48am, so I opted to wait for the 7:57am express train that eventually got me to San Francisco by 8:42am.  For 1/2 hour, I waited at the Mountain View station, enjoying the fresh morning air and the free WiFi courtesy of Google.  It also provided me with the time to pause and reflect on the experience.

So why didn't I give myself more time yesterday?  This morning, I was determined to not repeat yesterday's mistakes so I left the house 5 minutes earlier.  By the time I arrived at the station and purchased my ticket, there was still 1 minute to spare.  Through iteration, I think I have finally perfected my commuter's routine.  Unfortunately, the Web 2.0 Expo ends tomorrow.  As I wrap up on this blog entry (aboard the CalTrain ride this morning), I believe there's a lot of lessons to be learned from sharing this experience.  Of course, I hope you enjoyed my April Fool's Day story as well.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, one needs to be aware of the traditions and the customs. This year, I decided to search the Web to better educate myself and to share my findings.  Below are some of the Web resources that I found useful:

• The History of Chinese New Year
  
• Wikipedia:  Chinese New Year
• The Chinese Zodiac
• New Year Celebration in Taiwan
• New Year Celebration in Hong Kong
  
• eGreeting Cards
  

Happy Chinese New Year and may the Year of the Ox be a productive one for you!

Warning:  I found this video clip to funny, but it may be a bit offensive.  So please view at your own discretion.  Cheers!

Recently, there has been lots of news coverage on the Russian warships visiting Cuba.  The event has renewed memories of the Cuba Missile Crisis and the Cold War, which led the U.S. to impose a permanent economic sanction and trade embargo on Cuba.  While the original embargo was oriented towards import and export of certain goods between US and Cuba, over time the scope of the ban has been extended to cover most products and services including technology products such a computer software.  Similarly, the US government has mandated embargo treatments for several other countries as well.

If you work in the software space and you deliver or receive your software electronically, you may have unknowingly been subjected to these embargoed country checks.  U.S. based companies and their international subsidiaries are required by U.S. laws and regulations to take appropriate measures to comply, by restricting software delivery to non-embargoed end users.  Depending on your business model, targeted markets, business volume and risk tolerance, the compliance mechanism can span the spectrum from manual verification for low volume offline channels, to fully integrated solutions for high volume electronic software delivery.  If you are a Sun customer, partner or employee, please be aware of Sun's policy on this matter.  By the way, this is my personal Blog and it does not necessarily reflect Sun's official views.

Unfortunately, the embargo country check applies to even "free" software delivery, where no actual commerce is conducted.  Since most of these software downloads tends to be anonymous transactions,  the end user's country is generally determined base on the end user's IP Address.  Vendors such as Digital Envoy and Quova offers IP geo location services that fulfill such business needs with high degree of accuracy.  Most CDN providers (e.g. Akamai) also bundles IP geo location into their download services.  But because the Internet is constantly growing and evolving, false positive matches do occur, denying legitimate end users access.  For these rare events, it's important that a closed loop process is in place to address the end users' needs in a timely manner and to minimize the business impact.

While I understand the government's intention in imposing trade embargoes and economic sanctions on selective countries, I question the actual value when it start to impede on the freedom and the inclusiveness of the Internet.  Try to visualize the Internet experience from the perspective of the children in these embargoed countries.  Educational and children Web sites like Disney.com and Nick.com depend heavily on software such as Java and Adobe Flash to provide an enriching and interactive experience. Yet, it seems quite silly that these children would be banned from downloading these commonly distributed software.  That would be like watching TV in black and white, while the rest of world enjoy the vividness of high definition (HD) TV.

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I fully understand these government policies in detail.  Perhaps I'm under-appreciative of the potential risks that companies subject themselves to, by not complying to the letter of these laws.  However, it just seems like the affected parties are not necessarily the intended parties.  After all, there are ways to circumvent or spoof the embargoed country check mechanisms.  My point is that while compliance is important, companies operating on the Web should strike an appropriate balance between compliance to government laws and regulations, and the voice of the under-represented user communities.

Do you have any thoughts on this subject?  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments field below.

It has been nearly 2 months since I last blogged.  I was sidetracked by recent changes at work and in my personal life.  In my expanded charter at Sun, I'm now responsible for defining and implementing a  2-3 year Download platform strategy and road map for supporting Sun's business model on the Web.  At home, my 10 month old baby girl started attending daycare 3 weeks ago.  As predicted by my friends with children in daycare, my baby girl got sick within the first week.

When work and personal life gets hectic, it's easy to loose focus on our surroundings including our families, friends and the broader community.  With the recent meltdown in the stock market, undoubtedly everyone's mind is on their investments and retirement funds.  The going joke is that the 401K should be aptly renamed the 101K.  While the government appears to be aggressively tackling the financial problems, the looming news of a major recession is having an even greater impact on the less fortunate people.

This past week, a small group of Sun employees volunteered at the Glide Memorial in San Francisco.  We spent 2 hours serving lunch to the poor, the elderly, and the homeless who depend on Glide for 3 nutritious meals a day.  The door at Glide is open 365 days a year, and it's open to everyone.  During lunch alone, they serve up on the average about 700 to 900 meals.  But without funding from local government, grants and individual donations, as well as help from volunteers to help serve the meals, this non-profit organization cannot perform its miracles.

I signed up for the volunteer event, because I needed a break and  because it was an opportunity to bond with my co-workers.  I walk away with a new perspective, with greater appreciation for my own welfare and greater recognition of the needs of the less fortunate.  I wanted to spread the word and encourage you to consider how you can help during such difficult times.  Lastly, if you have never volunteered at Glide, I highly recommend that you try it at least once.  I walked away feeling really good about my service.

If you have seen a Dolphin show at SeaWorld or similar venues, you would recognize that Dolphins have tremendous acrobatic skills.  Apparently, some of these acrobatic skills are not enhanced version of the natural behaviors exhibited by Dolphins in the wild.  I recently read in the news (Australia's Daily Telegraph, BBC Science/Nature) that tail-walking is one such skill that is learned (from human trainers?) by Dolphins in captivity. 

Why am I surprised, and why am I blogging about this topic you ask?  Well, I recently wrote a blog about my encounter with Dolphins in the Monterey Bay.  In the pictures that I shared in my previous blog, you will see that Dolphins are playful and acrobatic animals.  Their natural showmanship skills is especially elevated by their curiosity around humans.  In one the pictures (on this blog), I believe I happen to captured a wild Dolphin doing the tail-walking.  Perhaps this isn't a coincidence. 

Due to more human and Dolphin interactions in the wild, I believe Dolphin's behaviors are evolving.  Dolphins are intelligent animals.  I believe they are trying to learn from us, just as we try to learn more about them.  If we humans (e.g. Michael Phelps) can learn and use the Dolphin kick to our advantage, why can't Dolphins learn to walk?  I agree it's not obvious (the benefits) what they gain by tail-walking, except more fanfare.  Nonetheless, we will soon see more Dolphins tail-walking in their natural habitat, one that they are having to share more and more with their two legged friends.

If you have observed similar behaviors, please feel free to share your experience in the comments field below.

For some reason, I felt compelled to write a Blog today.  Perhaps it's because the number 8 is the most auspicious number in the Chinese culture, and I didn't want to miss the chance for good fortune by not acknowledging today's date:  08.08.08.  Or it's because today is grand opening for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and I wanted to publicly express my excitement for the event.  My family and I are looking forward to the opening ceremony tonight (delayed broadcast on NBC) which starts officially at 08:08pm CST.  Of course, my wife also reminded me that our baby girl turned 8 month old today.  She now weighs in at 20 lbs, measures 27 inches in height, and has grown out 8 front teeth.  She also recently started crawling and that's a significant milestone that I want to share with the world.  Finally, 08.08 is Father's Day in Taiwan (my birthplace).  Although we now observe the US holidays, I still want to wish a Happy Father's Day to my dad. And in keeping with the theme of the day, I should mention that this my 8th Blog, since I started sharing my thoughts with the world.  What a coincidence! P.S. If you're a fan of the Olympics and a FaceBook user, you should checkout the myPicks Beijing 2008 game.  Select your country to the right and click on Play Now! Below are a couple other Sun Blogger's perspective on today: The Saga of 8 Crazy 8's 8.8.08

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With nearly one quarter of the world population connected to the Internet, the Web has become a global forum for sharing information, conducting commerce, and advancing the human race.  Recently, in delivering the news that we are so accustom to, the Internet has also been making a lot of important news.

One week before the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the media covering the event shifted the focus onto the vast Internet censorship that exists within China.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) came under fire for supposedly softening its stance toward China at the last minute, on the commitment to provide the media with the fullest access possible (especially Internet access) to report on the Olympics.  Whether true or not, the international attention and scrutiny has helped to clear the censorship within the Olympic village.  But it will be interesting to see whether the Olympic spotlight will lead to positive lasting changes.  While the Great Wall remains an enduring symbol for the people of China, for now the path to individual freedom is still through the gateways of China's Great Firewall.

Here in the US, there is no censorship on the Internet.  Everyone has a voice!  It is a right back by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  However, some people fear the equality on the Internet is being threatened by the commercialization of the Internet and the control dominated by residential broadband providers.  Just this past week, the FCC ruled against Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent traffic, requesting for the immediate end to the "discriminatory network management practices".  The advocates for network neutrality declared the FCC action a small victory for the Internet and the people.  The ISPs and Telcos cited the ruling as argument against the need for network neutrality legislation.  However, Tim Berners Lee has long shared his belief that the fundamental values of the Internet must be protected by the government:

"Control of information is hugely powerful. In the US, the threat is that companies control what I can access for commercial reasons. (In China, control is by the government for political reasons.)"  Tim Beners Lee.

Having been an end user of the Internet since the early 1990s, I appreciate the freedom on the Internet and the uncensored nature of the Web.  I also firmly believe that the Internet has grown largely due to the innovation of the private sector, and more recently because of the Open Source community.  While there have been abuses of the Internet by both the consumers and providers alike, I believe (just my personal opinion) that the Internet and the online community would best be served if allowed to evolve with minimal government oversight and intervention.  Just as I hope the Olympic spotlight in Beijing will prove to be the turning point for the Internet censorship policy in China, I believe the FCC action against Comcast will compel the residential broadband providers to work toward more transparency and self regulation.

I bet you didn't know that Dolphins live in the Monterey Bay.  Actually, it's quite common to spot Dolphins, Whales and other marine mammals, if you spend enough time on the Bay or if you go on a Whale watching tour boat.  What made our recent Dolphin encounter so special is that we weren't seeking them out.  We were visiting Monterey for the day. We stopped by the Breakwater to admire the SCUBA divers, as we have done on every Monterey trip since we stopped diving.  Amazingly, this is the first time that I have spotted Dolphins so close to the shore, only about 150 feet away.  They hung around for a while, and provided lots of entertainment for the Kayakers, the people on the beach and the tourists on the glass bottom boat (typically not a great way to spot wildlife, just divers).  It was a very unexpected and unforgettable experience.

Press Play to start the slide show.

Over the July 4th weekend, my wife and I went for a short hike at Rancho San Antonio, an open space preserve that borders Los Altos, Cupertino and I-280.  Rancho is one of my favorite outdoor playgrounds, since it's conveniently located in the heart of Silicon Valley.  It's where I first discovered trail running and where I trained (PG&E Trail) for my hike up to Half Dome at Yosemite.  It's also where I return year after year to find a new generation of lambs, goats and piglets at the Deer Hollow Farm.

I have also had my share of wildlife encounters at Rancho San Antonio:  Bobcats, Rattlesnakes, Blacktail Deers, Wild Turkeys, Quails, Rabbits, Owls, Acorn Woodpeckers, etc.  Each time, I always said to myself "If only I had brought my camera."  Well, I finally brought my camera this past weekend, and I was not disappointed.  I'm sharing my pictures in this Blog (Press Play on Slideshow below), out of complete respect for the wildlife and their home.  In shooting these photos, I kept my distance, tried to blend in with nature, and captured the close-ups through a zoom lense.

In a world of global warming and diminishing natural habitats, I think it's great that open space preserves such as Rancho San Antonio is able to sustain an ecosystem that is thriving despite being in the shadows of encroaching home developments, congested freeways and high-tech business parks.  As a parent, I often wonder if such wonderful places will still exist when my daughter is old enough to appreciate it.  As a nature lover, I'm quite hopeful (based on my observations) that I will find a new generation of thriving wildlife at Rancho this time next year, the following year, and for the foreseeable future.

BTW in case you are wondering, I have not had a Mountain Lion encounter.  They are elusive, solitary animals that hunt mostly during the wee hours when the parks are closed.  By chance if I'm lucky enough to spot one, I will be sure to Blog about the experience.  Stay tuned!