The trip to Europe was amazing. Between the relaxation, the great food (fresh ingredients are so awesome), the beautiful sites, and the wonderful company, I could not have asked for more. Tiffany did a great job of chronicling our trip and we both have lots of pictures posted. Go visit the links below while I contemplate how I can get back there :)

• My pictures
• Tiffany’s first day entry - Just click to further days for the rest of the trip
• Tiffany’s flickr page - Look for day by day galleries

[Posting this nearly a week after writing it but first wifi I have found for free. In a McDonalds on Zurich.]

On my way to Zurich right now. Just finishing up dinner. Had a nice Caesar salad followed by a mustard thyme chicken. Accompaneed by a very nice glass of Malbec (ok, 3 glasses, I think). Now I have a slice of caramel tiramasu with a glass of port. Mmm.

Soon I will try the lie flat seats.

If you have to fly, this is the way. See you in Zurich!

[update: approximstely 4 hours later or so.]

Lie flat seats good. I actually slept. I don’t know how long exactly but we are about 2 hours from landing and I’m guessing takeoff plus dinner took 2 hours so that means I slept for almost 4 hours. Not perfect for sleep but should enable me to make it through Tuesday to get onto to Europe time. I must trick my body into thinking it is now almost 6am.

With this year’s presidential election coming on fast, it is getting to the point where I am starting to think about more than just the general overtones of the presidential positions. While I am pretty sure where my decision will land, I don’t like the idea of an uninformed decision, or worse, a reactionary one. While talking with Tiffany on a longish drive yesterday, I realized that what I need to do is make a list of the issues that are important to me and then see where the candidates stood on each of them. This will force me to identify what I think is important rather than let the media, pundits, politicians, friends, whomever, dictate what is important.

That said, it struck me that actually writing this all down would be beneficial; and what better place than to blog about it. So that is my plan. To try to lay out the items that are important to me and see how each candidate’s positions make me feel about them. I will be almost exclusively relying on the positions that are outlined on the Obama and McCain websites. I make no promises on how often I will write about this, nor what topics I’ll cover as I have not decided myself. I think my first will be on technology issues, but that may change.

Stay tuned.

From a resume I receieved:

Facilitated development of cross-LOB solutions that combined knowledge of particular business processes and issues, general technological options, and process facilitation techniques.

Can anyone tell me what this says? In English?

My last entry covered my flight from Richmond to Chicago. Now I an on my way back from Chicago to Richmond. I always check in to my flights online the day before and this trip was no exception. But this time something new was offered; United gave me the option to upgrade to first class for quite a reasonable amount (with my trip per diem I still am coming out ahead). So, I said “what the heck, why not?” and did it.

Damn. I could get really used to this. The steward seems happy to keep my glass of wine full (yes, an actual glass). I just had to stop him so i can actually drive home The seat is actually comfy. Hell, I even have a phone. Why do I need a phone?

And coincidentally, one of the stewardesses is also a Tolkien nut lie me. She brought my exact complaint about the movies (to the level of what they did to twist Faramir).

I could detail my trip, but it was not much fun and I don’t want to spoil the mood.

Hey everyone!

I figured I would try the Wordpress iPhone app while I was on the plane. I am on my way to exciting Cedar Falls, IA to visit a new Target facility. This site represents the final project for me to get my hands around at Swisslog. Exciting at a certain level.

This past week has been a very busy one. Tiffany had oneof her best friends from her undergrad years in town all week so there was much socialness. I think we did something every night. From fondue at The Melting Pot to meat on swords at Texas de Brazil. It was quite fun but more social interaction than I have had in quite a while. By the end of the week I was ready for quiet time. Not sure a business trip is the answer but it is what I have.

For all I hate flying and do so with the assistance of modern medicine, I must admit that the view is amazing. A short while after I took the photo below, I was amazed to see a complete circular rainbow surrounding the shadow of our plane. I wish I had been able to get a picture. Even for one as I who has a difficult time with the idea of the divine it is easy to see how the simple beauty of the world can inspire people. The richness and variety of the view is just amazing.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Hello everyone who is still reading my blog. I am not dead, although it has felt like a possibility a few times lately. I would apologize for not posting, but I doubt anyone really is bothered all that much. I will use the standard excuse that life has been quite busy. Busy in good ways as well as stressful ways. I prefer not to complain about the frustrations online, and the personal things are, well, personal

But a few things I can mention that have happened in the last few months. The biggee, I guess, is that I graduated. I am now the proud owner of a Master’s degree in Computer Science. It only took 6 years. My final project is available online here: Improving NAT/Software compatibility through Flexible NAT Emulation Software. It is odd how I have mixed feelings already about being done. On one hand, I am thrilled to be done with the degree (and have the degree), but on the other hand, I think I am going to miss being in school just a little.

I have been traveling pretty extensively for work. In the 3.5 months since I started at Swisslog, I have been to Minnesota twice, Florida twice, and Texas once. This is really helping me get through my fear of flying (with the help of choice pharmaceuticals). I will not say that I will ever enjoy the process of flying, but it is becoming a smaller obstacle to my life. I am hoping to use this new-found freedom to actually go on vacation one of these days, I hope.

Other random things:

• I bought a tent! (Haven’t been camping in it yet)
• I’m playing more volleyball
• The plaid wallpaper is gone (but the painting is not done)
• I get to go to Germany in September
• I might go to a week-long cooking school
• I’ve seen a few movies
• I’ve gotten sucked into a few more TV shows
• I want to go kayaking again this summer and I found a place to rent them
• I’m sure more has happened, but this list is long enough now

Cya!

Arthur C. Clarke died at the age of 90 today. I always knew that it would happen, he has been an old man for quite a while. But it makes me very sad. His books introduced me to science fiction when I was kid and I have enjoyed reading them ever since. I have at least 25 of his books on my shelves and have probably read countless more. He was an amazingly prolific writer who never gave up on the quality of his work.

The literary and scientific world has lost a great mind today.

It has been over a month since I last wrote, I apologize dear readers. Really, things have been busy. It is now Sunday evening and I am resting for a little bit and was thinking about everything that is going on. I am not going to go through a whole long spiel here, but I thought I could at least offer a list of things that occupy my time lately

• Work. The new job goes well. While strictly only 8-5, it is thoroughly exhausting. I have traveled twice in the last 4 weeks, both times for only a day and a half each. The skills I have had to learn have been good ones, but seem to require a part of my brain that was not used as much before.
• School. This is my last semester and due to my dropping a class last semester, I am taking a class alongside my Master’s project. My project is due in under 3 weeks now (2 weekends more to finish it up) so that is coming down on crunch time.
• Bowling. Every Tuesday. I even bought shoes, they should be here tomorrow. No more oddly disinfectant smelling house shoes.
• Volleyball. Sunday and Monday. Practice on Sunday and games on Monday. This is just starting up this week. We practiced for what felt like several hours earlier today. Great fun, but man will I be sore in the morning.
• House stuff. The plaid wallpaper is gone. Finally. I am in the midst of repainting now. Priming is underway and test colors got bought today and put up on the walls to be evaluated.
• Friends and more. Great events with great friends, whether it be the above mentioned bowling and volleyball or weekend wine trips, dinners and talk, local chili cookoff, walks in the evenings, or just being together. I couldn’t ask for better people in my life right now.

While busy, life is very good right now. I hope it is good for you too.

There is a challenge when looks for new employment that is subtle but insidious. I received 4 formal offers of employment over the last 5 months as I looked for a new opportunity. In a perfect world, I would have been to look at all the offers and compare them and pick the one that looked the best for me. But that is not what happens. Like a more stressful version of Deal or No Deal, you get each offer by itself and you have to weigh the quality of it against the possibility you might get something better later. Thankfully for me, I am glad I passed on the first 3.

I have accepted an offer from Swisslog to eventually be the Director of Software Implementation for the North American division of their Warehouse and Distribution Solutions division. As this is a bit to bite off and chew immediately, I am starting by managing the technical aspects of their largest project. I will be using this project to learn the business, software, and process in more depth than would be possible if I tried to run the whole group right away. After a few months I will then expand my role over the whole operation. I am very excited. Having a company that is truly interested and willing to create an environment where one is set up to succeed is a rare find.

I’ve got a week or so before I start so I am going to be enjoying the last bit of work-free time by trying to get ahead with my school and house projects. More updates when I start.