Posts by John Tornow

October 7, 2014

OK, but there are two rules

Andy Swan, on bringing a new Makers Mark product to market:

What Bill Samuels did was force innovation through voluntary restriction. He specifically restricted his master distiller from doing THE two things that every other company in the world would have done: Change the recipe slightly or create a premium “single barrel” or longer-aged version.
By not allowing yourself to use all of the tools at your disposal…by not allowing yourself to do the things that normal people do…by not allowing yourself to compete on the features that every other product has…you can force yourself to innovate, differentiate, and create a unique value proposition.

Constraints drive innovation.

Original Link

September 14, 2014

Locanda

No trip to San Francisco would be complete without at least one fantastic restaurant visit. This time we took a  Mission detour to a little Roman-style Italian restaurant called Locanda recommended by some local friends. Pictured is the radiatore with lamb ragu, a fantastically-prepared simple bucatini, lamb carpaccio and a few fried olives thrown in for good measure. If you’re in the area, this place is amazing and highly recommended.

August 11, 2014

Blue Skies

Up in the Air

Somewhere over New Mexico. This view never gets old.

Up in the Air

August 8, 2014

Muir Woods Beach

Muir Woods Bridge

During our recent trip to San Francisco, we took some time away for an afternoon to explore Muir Woods. Well, as it turns out, with a sleeping baby in the back seat we decided not to risk disaster and actually stop to get out of the car. So our version of exploring was to drive around the hills and take everything in from within the car. Eventually, we did stop a bit to walk around on the beach area. Here’s just a few of the scenes along our stop.

Muir Woods Fog

June 26, 2014

Dub Dub

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending Apple’s 2014 World Wide Developers Conference, aka WWDC. (Although for everyone there, it is really aka “dub dub”.) It was an incredible experience. It was a whirlwind 5-day-long nerd sensory overload that left me energized, humbled and ready for a fantastic year. Here’s just a few photos snapped along the way.

March 9, 2014

Shuffle

A recent episode of shuffleboard. This game is tougher than it looks.

February 22, 2014

Long Winter

It has been a long winter here in Texas. Well, long for us. Typically we’ll get a few weeks of cold but it seems this year like we’ve been bundling up for months. To make it more fun, we’ve had sick kids for weeks now and are finally looking to be coming out of the fog. The weather is warming, and we’re welcoming it with open arms.

This photo was taken as part of my daily walk with our almost-two-year-old. We walk past these sad little cacti struggling to hold on everyday; just waiting for spring to get here as much as we are.

January 8, 2014

Truck Yard

One of the best new places in town is a little city block converted to an outdoor eatery called the Truck Yard. It is nothing fancy, but they have great food trucks daily and a perfect little outdoor ambiance that makes you forget you are in the middle of a modern city. And of course, plenty of unnecessarily-over-the-top neon signs.

December 8, 2013

Winter

Some snow and ice from Colorado this week.

October 14, 2013

Fountain

A few shots around the fountains of Klyde Warren Park.

September 28, 2013

Sandy Lights

It has been a busy few months. Getting the chance to snap a few photos has been less of a priority than I would like, but alas, that’s how these things go. Nonetheless, I was walking around Klyde Warren Park recently just after dusk and caught a few of the city lights atop the sandy walkways of the park. Here’s hoping for a few more shots soon.

June 29, 2013

Painting

Putting a fresh coat a paint on our first home. And, of course, rocking out a bit while doing so.

June 8, 2013

Morning Rain

Just a few shots after a quick morning thunderstorm.

May 26, 2013

Memorial Day

I’ve been taking some time this weekend to relax and enjoy life. It’s been a wild ride over the past few weeks, but things are slowly coming together.

Before getting back to the hustle and bustle of the work week we’ve been enjoying some of the simpler things in life. A sprinkler, cheap plastic pool and some chubby thighs in the backyard are all we need. Blessed.

April 21, 2013

Bulb

Fancy light bulbs seen in Driftwood, Texas.