Vancouver Robson Square

YVR, a photo by etslee on Flickr.

Sometimes the best photos are caught being in the right place at the right time. Well, I was home in Vancouver over the hoiidays, and exploring downtown after the first big snowfall in December. The snow didn't last long and the day ended with a beautiful sunset I caught from Robson Square. I love how futuristic this shot feels, thanks mainly the Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and a nice view of the Wall Centre.

Colton Haynes hotness

One of the reasons I watched MTV's Teen Wolf is Colton Haynes (click photo for GIF). Unfortunately, he's left the series. Oh well...you can still catch the first 2 seasons on Netflix streaming.

MUJI opening in SF

One of my favorite retailers MUJI is finally opening in SF this week on Friday Nov 30th. It's been a long wait, as NYC was the only US location for the longest time. I admire the clean, minimalistic aesthetic, renowned Japanese functionality and, hopefully, moderate prices. They also seem to partner with great designers like Naoto Fukasawa, who designed this iconic CD player.

How much do I like MUJI? So much, I searched out the retail store when I was in Rome last summer....and overpaid in euros for a travel pouch.

World's Thinnest House

As seen on Design Milk's website, the world's thinnest house by Jakub Szczesny in Poland. It's an amazing 4 feet wide.

The glass ceiling certainly adds a sense of space for those feeling it would be too claustrophobic. I love this type of home, which could add livability to tiny spaces in large crowded cities like Tokyo and NYC, maybe even SF.

Luce fall tasting menu

Luce fall tasting menu, a photo by etslee on Flickr.

I recently dined at Luce, the restaurant in the slightly out of the way Intercontinental Hotel. Both my friend and I were satisfied with the meal and service (at about $80+ for tasting menu) but nothing stood out as extraordinary. I think the consistency of the quality was notable however, and looking at these shots, you can see that the presentation was just as nice.

Tech earnings befuddle me

Earnings season is here for the 3rd Quarter and I just wanted to track the results for the 5 "biggest" tech companies right now. Just doing a little research and reading the financial sites, I get the sense that Facebook (FB) is beaten down but getting a bounce, Google (GOOG) is losing steam, Amazon (AMZN) is the teflon company with astronomical P/E that I can't understand, Microsoft (MSFT) is trying desperately to catch up, and Apple (APPL) has moved from media darling to punching bag. But the numbers don't lie:

GOOG: sales of 11.33 billion, earnings 2.18 billion, P/E=21.22
AMZN: sales of 13.8 billion, earnings of minus 274 million (yes that's a loss), P/E=279.4!!
MSFT: sales of 16 billion, earnings of 4.47 billion, P/E=15
APPL: sales of 36 billion, earnings of 8.2 billion, P/E=14.5
FB: sales of 1.26 billion, earnings of 311 million, P/E=246

SF Apple store

SF Apple store, a photo by etslee on Flickr.

shot before store opened, so it looks very calm