Thirty-four

11Oct10

Today I turned thirty-four.

Here are some personally memorable events since my last birthday post:

• March – Liz and I spent a weekend at Newport on the Oregon coast. The highlight was the visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Also, after three-and-a-half years at Intel, I left to join Small Society to make cool iOS apps. I started at Small Society on 22nd March.
• June – While in LA, Liz had to undergo emergency surgery for the removal of her ruptured appendix. She returned home a week after that and has recuperated well. Got an iPhone 4 which has a decent enough camera that for the first time ever I’m comfortable with my phone being the only camera on my person when I travel.
• July – I had to fly down to LA and drive our car back from there since we flew Liz up to Portland after her surgery. Traded in the MINI for a Subaru Outback. We had to let Yoshi go.
• August – My parents visited us in Portland and we had a great time showing them around Portland. We also visited Seattle, Crater Lake and Bend.
• September – Visited Disney World in Florida for ten days. It was a vacation for us and a chance for my parents to meet Liz’s parents for the first time. We all had a great time there. I also visited family in Chicago for a few days.

It was another amazing year and I’m looking forward to the next one.

And lastly, here’s more about the number 34.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment

Goodbye Yoshi

01Aug10

It was less than a year ago that we said hello to Yoshi. Unfortunately and unexpectedly now it’s time to say goodbye.

Yoshi started to show symptoms of great discomfort yesterday morning and we noticed blood in his urine shortly before noon. We immediately called his regular vet but they were about to close and asked us to go to Laurelhurst Veterinary Hospital (LVH) instead. So off we went. After his examination the doctor informed us that he is having urinary tract issues. He’s had other health issues earlier this year. The doctor informed us that since he is having these issues really early in his life, he will need constant medical attention and care in the future. Their best treatment recommendation greatly exceeded what we can afford right now. Combined with other unexpected financial events from this summer and the expected upcoming travels, it soon became apparent that we would have to make a hard decision. We informed the doctor of our predicament. She offered that they have a process in place to adopt a pet in such a circumstance, to nurse them back to health and put them up for adoption. With great sadness we decided to surrender Yoshi to their care. This way he gets the best, immediate, and adequate care and will find a new home with someone who can address his future needs as well. There are no words for our heartfelt gratitude to the folks at the LVH for adopting him into their care.

Yoshi was my first and only pet. The love that I have for him grew over time, took me by surprise, and has left me with a heavy heart. I miss him dearly and will cherish the memory of the time I had with him.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  3 Comments

Hello Small Society

03Apr10

This blog post is long overdue and if you’ve been following me on Twitter of Facebook, this is old news for you and you can just go ahead and skip to the last paragraph.

In March I left Intel to start working at Small Society. This has been an interesting and welcome change in my life and career. I was working on really cool computer security research at Intel Labs. However, on the side, I was gaining strong interest in developing apps with Cocoa on the Mac and iPhone OS platform ever since I started working on that over a year ago.

When I started to look around for a place to work on iPhone apps, Small Society was on the top of that list. Based in Portland, they have created apps for some of the leading brands in the world, including Starbucks, Whole Foods, Zipcar and Obama ’08. In fact the first draft of this post is being written on the iPad using the WordPress iPad app developed for Automattic by Small Society.

It’s been an interesting seven weeks since I joined and I’m thoroughly enjoying the work that I’m doing and the people I’m working with. We’ve just hired two new people this week and are looking to hire a senior Cocoa developer. Check out this job listing on Craigslist for details.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment

Liz is making films

03Jan10

The last few months, Liz has invested her time into learning more about the skills of filmmaking. Here are a couple of short documentaries that she has created recently.

This first film, about Ignite Portland, is her solo work.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8410879&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Ignite Portland, A Documentary Short from Liz Grover on Vimeo.

This second film, about sustainability, was done in collaboration with a few others.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8413234&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Building Sustainability from Liz Grover on Vimeo.

You can read more about these on their Vimeo pages via the links under them or on Liz’s blog.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment

Stranger in a Strange Land [Book]

29Oct09

This book is a treatise on human culture, with an emphasis on faith and spirituality. It is sci-fi as set in contemporary 21st century. The book can feel a bit dated, and it helps to imagine the US in the 60s to get some perspective. I particularly enjoyed the early experiences of Mike Smith (the “Man from Mars”) as he encounters human civilization for the first time and tries his best to “grok” it. His discoveries present interesting quirks of humanity that make one chuckle and laugh. Laughter itself makes a revealing impression on Mike.

Thanks to the Multnomah County Library!

Book page on Amazon.com
Book page on Wikipedia

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  2 Comments