Like most Cardiff-by-the-Sea residents, Gimbal Senior VP/Business Development BRIAN DUNPHY enjoys weekends catching waves on the water and partaking in the large number of sports the beautiful Encinitas, Calif., beach community has to offer. But these days, he commits most of his time to his 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son. Dunphy: "I used to run and train for marathons, but I lost that time. I also used to surf, but now I spend the time trying to teach my kids to surf. I would say most weekend activities are now focused around taking the kids to their different sporting activities, which are truly rewarding to watch." Dunphy’s role with Qualcomm and Gimbal has included working with MLBAM, NFL, Yinzcam, as well as individual sports teams and venue operators across all major sports leagues and various sports properties on utilizing beacon technology. Here, he talks with THE DAILY about what's on the docket for this autumn weekend.
WHAT’S THE STORY MORNING GLORY? The latest I sleep in on weekends is 8:00am. Since having kids, sleeping in is a thing of the past. I used to love sleeping in until 10:00 or 11:00 before kids and when I was in college. Now, the kids are up and raring to go by 7:30am, so if I can get to 8:00am, I am lucky. Whenever I am not working, I spend time with my children. I love engaging them in sports and watching how they are developing their fine motor skills. I also love to get into home-improvement projects when my schedule permits. It helps me take my mind off work and gives me a sense of accomplishment and closure when the project is complete.
MR. TELEPHONE MAN: The first thing I grab in the morning is my smartphone. I am constantly picking it up to read and browse. I can’t remember the last time I read a physical book. Most information I consume is on a mobile device. It’s how I get my e-mail, news, sports updates, social network updates, stock quotes and any other search ideas that pop into my head. We are a big connected-home family. A couple of years ago, I totally rewired my house so I could control all lights, thermostats, TVs, music streaming, cameras and garage doors from my mobile device. While most of this is pretty geeky, the one connected home piece I truly love is Sonos, which enables me to listen to any music I want in any room in my house or in the garage or yard all controlled from my phone. I catch up on reading the San Diego Union-Tribune, New York Times, Time magazine. For online news, I really like using Flipboard as it combines my Twitter and Facebook feed with all the news channels I am interested in following
MONSTER MASH: This weekend we are hosting a pumpkin carving contest at the house and scaring my guests with our new Halloween spooks at the door. We have created a really scary entrance way that looks like a scene out of “SAW.” There are some spooky motion-sensor decorations that engage you when walking up to the entranceway. For those that step on our mat, a giant spider jumps out at you with fangs and makes a really scary sound. My son loves this but my daughter wants no business with our front door.
HAPPY MEAL: My wife makes sure she keeps me busy on weekends. This includes cleaning up after the kids, taking care of the spa and fountains, shopping and whatever else is on the honey-do list. My family does its grocery shopping at the Seaside Market in Cardiff. The food is so fresh and it’s so close to home we actually use it as our virtual refrigerator. I do like to cook. However, I don’t follow a set dish. What I do is go down to the local market, pick the freshest fish or meat and vegetables and then spontaneously come up with the different spices or flavors I want to experiment with. In a pinch, I can put an awesome steak dinner on the table within 10 minutes.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: For now, my current guilty pleasure is that every other Saturday, my wife and I will have the kids go to grandma’s while we do date night and go out for fine dining. My favorite local restaurant is Pacific Coast Grill in Cardiff. This is right on the Pacific Ocean overlooking San Elijo Lagoon with ocean views all the way down to La Jolla. They have an amazing outdoor deck and great scenery. But The Bestawan Pizza is my local secret. They make a killer brunch and always have a game on. They have great beers on tap and mimosas continually flowing. I enjoy going to the Bellyup Tavern in Solana Beach. They have great live music and atmosphere. I recently got to see JIMMY BUFFETT there with 400 other lucky fans. My favorite restaurant on the road is the Strip House in N.Y. That is my go-to restaurant when I get into town.
