Palo Alto.

Hola.
Last week I attended a design/creativity weeknight lecture in downtown Palo Alto.



Walking from the Caltrain Station to one of the Palantir buildings where the lecture was taking place, was a great dose of people watching. And people watching. I saw a couple of these c-racks (above) which always remind me of the first time I came across a possible prototype (display?) in 2008 in that same corner.
Don't let the capture fool you. Not sure how I managed to take the photo with no people or cars. It was crazy crowded that evening.

I love window reflections, and look at these post-it notes!
They are the analog photoshop collages from the indoor to the out.


Here is the description of the event:

“A Crash Course on Creativity Creativity often feels like a mystery. Whether we are struggling to generate fresh ideas or staring at problems with no solutions in sight, the spark of creative genius often seems out of reach. In this talk Tina Seelig reveals a set of tools and conditions that we each control our Innovation Engine - that allows us to increase our own creativity and that of our teams and organizations. She shows that just as the scientific method demystifies the process of discovery, there is a formal process for unlocking the pathway to invention.” –via eventbrite for reference only.

Having worked at one of the top ten fortune500 company, an under-10 employees startup, and everywhere in between over the last decade, I'm always quite eager to check out new company spaces, their vibe, what they provide in the restrooms (airbnb HQ), lecture halls, peek into equipment at their AV theaters (worked at one! fave jobs ever) available for free or low-cost lectures and open to the public – and of course the people speaking, or presenting!

Catching Tina Seelig's lecture was a treat! She is very kind, funny and engaging.
Very refreshing for Silicon Valley :)
Not sure the video of this particular night talk has been uploaded, so if you are interested to hear her talks, search for her in youtube for past lectures.
This one is great: The 6 Characteristics of Truly Creative People

This is me taking notes.
I've always sketched, however 2014 has been a year I have found myself drawing as constantly as I did during my undergrad years.
I showed Dr. Seelig my sketch and asked her if she'd be kind to sign it, and she did. She loved it.
How cool is that?!


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Red bikes outside.

Red bike inside the patagucci store.

I head to downtown Palo Alto about a handful of times a year, but prefer the California old downtown to University avenue.
If you are thinking it is because of pizza, you are correct.
The guys from Pasta? opened Terún a couple of years ago. I recommend it for a nice dinner with friends, or a date. Try their limoncello. Now I want a negroni.



Speaking of food, I recently picked up tamales from a youth camp fundraiser, which were SO kindly delivered by bike from San José by our very own local celebrity worldwide famous superblogger Richard of cyclelicious.

Tamalicious.

Most of recent Palo Alto moments are from dinner with good peninsula friends Diana, and also Eric from time to time.

October last year.

That is all I got for you on Palo Alto, for now.
Have a nice day.

xxomeli

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Past Palo Alto posts here.