Yes, here in Silicon Valley (and Seattle) there’s an app for that.

Starbucks is testing an iPhone/iPod touch app in San Jose, Cupertino, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale, CA. Why here? Because we are cool, or it may be because Apple is here.

My Starbucks Card app was free. It was easy to load my account with my major credit card. I can check my balance, and view my transaction history, etc.

There is a drink and food menu – with cute little pictures. I love it, but the app is only good to use in selected stores.

There is one in San Jose, one in Cupertino (not far from 1 Infinite Loop), one in Sunnyvale, and five (!) in Mountain View. There is even a Starbucks listed for Castro High School. Do they drink more coffee in Mountain View?

There is a place on the app to let Starbucks know what we think. I wish my favorite store (14801 Los Gatos Blvd) was participating.

My iPhone is always with me, and now so is my Starbucks card!

Participating:
20520 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014
5180 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA 95129
1037-C El Monte Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040
1380 Pear Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043
Castro @ High School: 750 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041
809A Cuesta Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94040
2410 Charleston Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043
1687 Hollenbeck Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Al Gore: Global Humanitarian Award

This year 15 Laureates, who were selected from 650 world wide nominations, are vying for recognition. Laureates in five categories: environment, economic development, education, equality, and health will be rewarded for their efforts to improve lives around the world. One Laureate in each category will receive a $50,000 cash prize.

“The global challenges of the day have become increasingly strident, more deeply rooted,” said Peter Friess, president of The Tech Museum. “Still, there is hope. These incredibly impressive Laureates have all proven to be equal to, or better than, the challenge to make the world a better place.”

To make the evening even more special, this year’s recipient of The Global Humanitarian Award is Al Gore.

“With all that is going on in the United States it is easy to forget that much of the world is still without power, lighting and access to quality, or sometimes to any, health care and education.” said Mike Splinter, Chairman and CEO of Applied Materials. “This year’s laureates remind us that through creativity, entrepreneurship and determination, individuals and small groups can have a powerful impact and bring innovative solutions to the world’s most immediate problems. We salute all of The Tech Awards Laureates for their amazing work to benefit humanity and thank Vice President Gore for his tireless work to inspire action to save the planet.”

The Tech Awards Gala: Information & Tickets (buy now – tickets are going fast)

Thursday, November 19, 2009
6:00 p.m. Reception
7:00 p.m. Dinner
San Jose McEnery Convention Center
150 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, California, 95113

There’s this little music video by Michael Jackson called “Thriller” – anyone heard of it?

Right. I know. You might be tired of hearing about all things Michael Jackson – but tough it out for one more. This one is a bit different. I promise.

Thrill The World is an “annual worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller.’” Annual – meaning it’s not something that just came up within the last few weeks. Matter of fact, they’ve been doing this since 2006 when 62 people danced and the first Guinness World Record was set for “Largest Thriller Dance”. The following year, 1,722 people in 52 cities danced Thriller at the exact same time, again breaking records. Last year that number went up to 4,179.

No doubt, this year may be the biggest number yet.

Luckily for us in San Jose, Grave Mistake will be putting together the workshops for San Jose/Silicon Valley dwellers to participate in the event. Learn the dance, some costume design, and makeup techniques.

Local time of the worldwide event will be Saturday, October 24th at 5:30pm PDT. Until then, join others in learning the steps at the first dance workshop on Sunday, August 2nd at 11:00am at John Mise Park in San Jose.

If it sound interesting to you, head on over to Grave Mistake and register!

Phil Bookman

Mike Gold, successful Silicon Valley software entrepreneur, was out on the back deck enjoying another fine morning in Los Gatos when the call came. Berry Samson, venture capitalist and one of the richest men in the world, wanted to know if Mike would be interested in a deal. Running a start-up without the worry of chasing down funding, how risky could that be? The thought that it might become dangerous never entered Mike’s mind.

Opium A Mystery, by Phil Bookman, does not expect the reader to dwell on the faltering global economy or the valley’s unemployment rate. As we follow Mike Gold through the process of setting up ‘BackDeck Technology’ in Cupertino, we share his growing realization that something was not quite right.

I was along as Opium took Mike Gold on a walk on the wild side of Silicon Valley, so I asked, “Will there be more of Mike Gold’s life in the tech world?” The only hint the author would give me was the name of the next book. Yes, Charisma, the sequel will be released sometime this fall.

I asked Phil, “Did your literature professor praise your work in college?” Phil told me, “No, I majored in psychology and mathematics.” One day he told his wife that he thought he would write a book. His grandmother and uncle had been known for their entertaining stories. Phil finds that telling and embellishing a tale comes easy for him. For his novels, Phil draws from his own true life experience. He has had much success running and growing software companies.

Opium is available:
Amazon.com
Target.com
Langtoninfo.com

Phil Bookman gives advice: ‘Attacking The Crown Jewels: How To Protect Your Business Strategy Against Competitive Threats’
Amazon.com

With the help of the rest of the SJ Metblogs crew (thanks especially, Suzanne and Gary) I’ve been collecting links to other local blogs for the last couple of weeks.

My definition of a local blog is still a little fuzzy. I want to include blogs that regularly discuss local events, local people, or local issues. I don’t want to include blogs that are just part of corporate PR operations. I want blogs that are active, with at least a couple of updates in the last month or so. Beyond that, I’m making up the rules as I go.

I know I haven’t found every local blog there is. For example, I’ve definitely missed some blogs focussed on the Sharks and Earthquakes, because I just can’t read all the words that sports fans can produce.

With that said, here’s the list:

• ARTSHIFT San Jose. Covering the local art scene.
• Back in San Jose. A personal blog covering the local experience.
• Center Line Soccer. Covering the Quakes and FC Gold Pride.
• Fugitive Watch. The local, online version of America’s Most Wanted.
• Going San Jose. Local lifestyle, art, dining.
• Good Morning Silicon Valley. Mostly local news and commentary by John Murrell. Somehow connected to the Merc.
• History San Jose Blog. From San Jose’s official history museum.
• Hoosier Burger Boy. A transplanted Indianan in Palo Alto reviews (mostly) local burger joints.
• Ian the Santa Cruzan. Santa Cruz.
• Mannerisms. Covering the electronics industry. Maybe a stretch to call this a local blog.
• Mountain View Public Library. Books and events at the library.
• San Jose Day-by-Day. Daily life, photos, and news from downtown San Jose.
• san jose has a blog. Mostly photos.
• San Jose Inside. Originally the blog of former mayor Tom McEnery and a few friends, now seems to be morphing into part of Metro Newspapers’ online presence.
• San Jose Revealed. San Jose’s most vituperative blogger digs in to City Hall and local media.
• Two Heel Drive. South bay centered hiking blog.
• Silicon Valley Moms. Parenting and local lifestyle.
• Silicon Valley Sleuth. Industry gossip.
• Silicon Valley Watcher. Industry news and gossip.
• Willow Glen 2.0. Community-generated news from Willow Glen.
• Willow Glen Extra. Hyper-local news blog.

Like I said, I’m sure I missed a few good blogs. If you know a blog I ought to be including here, please let us know in the comments.

The 23rd annual Silicon Valley Open Studios event where visitors are welcomed into artist’s workspaces and have the opportunity to converse with the artists and purchase artworks directly begins this weekend.

During this free event, you will view diverse one-of-a-kind works of art, including painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, jewelry, calligraphy, ceramics, fiber arts, pottery, mosaics, metal work, glass, drawing, printmaking, watercolor, woodworking and more.

Silicon Valley artists open their studios to the public on select weekends in May by location. Please visit the artists/locations only on the appropriate weekend between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm.

Weekend One, May 2 – 3

East Palo Alto, Ladera, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Loyola, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara Sunnyvale

Weekend Two, May 9 – 10

Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, San Jose, Saratoga

Weekend Three, May 16 – 17

Atherton, Belmont, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, Woodside

The free Artist Directory and Map Guide have fabulous pullout maps that you can take with you. Locations to pick up a free copy here.

Silicon Valley Open Studios
Saturday and Sunday, the first three weekends in May
Please visit the artists/locations only on the appropriate weekend listed above.
11:00 am – 5:00 pm

A list of all artists with icons depicting their specialty here.

A crude search of artist and locations here.

The Humane Society Silicon Valley will open the doors to its new Animal Community Center in Milpitas this Saturday with a special open house event.

The 48,000 square foot facility offers cage-less animal care, the animal habitats for dogs, cats, and rabbits simulate home environments with home-like enclosures for dogs; condos, complete with climbing trees for cats; and a “rabbitat” designed to reflect the warrens rabbits naturally inhabit.

The new Animal Community Center includes an Adoption Galleria; a Medical Center offering affordable spaying/neutering, vaccinations, microchipping and testing services; Veterinary Hospital; Doggie Daycare, Grooming and Boarding; Community Dog Park and Training Center; along with an Education Center featuring programs for children, teens and families; also, a pet store and a pet-friendly café.

The center is an environmentally friendly “Green” facility that allows the Humane Society Silicon Valley to spend less on operational costs and more on the animals.

The $25 million Animal Community Center, funded through public donations, has raised approximately $20.6 million and contributions at all levels are still needed.

The Open House Event this Saturday, March 28, is from 10:00 am through 6:00 pm and features a number of activities and a chance to check out the new facility.

For the kids there will be animal balloon making, coloring, scavenger hunt, face painting and other arts and crafts.

There will be booths with information about the environmentally friendly “green” animal center along with various other information including volunteering, services available, and a campaign booth with how you can make a gift to help the center.

You can make a video statement with your pledge to help animals in your community that will be viewable on their website and You Tube.

Humane Society Silicon Valley Animal Community Center
901 Ames Avenue, Milpitas, 95035

Open House Event
Saturday, March 28
10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Free

Barry Eisler

Novelist Barry Eisler returns to Silicon Valley on a book tour with his new thriller Fault Line, significant in that much of the novel takes place in Silicon Valley including a few scenes at the San Jose Police Department headquarters.

Fault Line is the first standalone novel after his successful six-book John Rain series. This story is about two very different brothers who have not spoken to each other in many years.

Alex is a lawyer in a Silicon Valley law firm and Ben is a government assassin who has been through the CIA’s Military Operations Training Course.

When an inventor Alex represents is murdered, Alex begins to question if the murder has anything to do with “the world’s most advanced encryption algorithm, destined to render all other network security software obsolete.” Then within hours, the patent clerk working on the invention coincidently dies of natural causes and Alex himself is attacked in his home. Thus, Alex decides to contact his long lost brother.

Mr. Eisler draws upon his own experiences, a covert position with the CIA’s Directorate of Operations and as an attorney with a high-powered Silicon Valley law firm, to give each brother his own personality and worldview.

Many scenes take place in and around Silicon Valley including the Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto, where Mr. Eisler will sign his new book this Friday at 6:00 PM. You will be able to visit a location in the book and get that book signed. Way too cool!

Mr. Eisler told me that along with signing his book, “I’ll do a short intro, read a short passage from the book, then it’ll be Q&A time.”

Joint Event: Kepler’s and the Four Seasons Hotel
2050 University Ave
East Palo Alto, 94303

Friday, March 20
6:00 PM – 8:15 PM

Mr. Eisler returns to the Bay Area about a week later…

M is for Mystery
86 East 3rd Ave
San Mateo, 94401

Saturday, March 28
2:00 PM

John Morris, a member of the family who founded Mervyns, may be planning to revive the chain. It would be good to see the now empty stores back up on their feet – fresh paint, new fixtures, quality goods, and happy employees.

As noted at Ars Technica, CNet, and elsewhere, today marks the 25th anniversary of the Macintosh computer from Apple, probably one of Silicon Valley’s most widely known contributions to world history. The “1984″ Super Bowl ad that launched the Mac 25 years ago can be seen on YouTube.

The anniversary makes it a good day to mention one of the most interesting computer history sites on the net. The Original Macintosh at Folklore.org collects over 100 stories about the early development of the Mac. Most of the stories come from Andy Hertzfeld’s book Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made.

It’s also a good day to share a photo (left) from my previous journalistic days as photographer at Davis Senior High School’s The Hub. That computer (maybe the third or fourth Mac model) was used for all the stories in the school paper, and produced camera-ready copy to be pasted up on galleys and taken down to the Davis Enterprise for printing. That computer is ridiculously overpowered by even a low-cost cell phone today, but back then it was a fantastic way to generate a polished looking newspaper at a really reasonable price.<