Down in the dump today. I am being relocated from Phoenix back to the San Jose area, and things seemed on track for a smooth transition. Got our house cleaned up, fixed up and ready to sell. A month earlier, houses like ours was low inventory, and in demand. Cool Put it on the market April 2, and priced it to sell (about $12 – $18 sqft below the comps), and did our thing. Went out of town...
I have had a very light travel schedule the last two years. Probably the least I have traveled in 15 years (before I started in product management). But that lull has ended. Some thoughts from the road: TSA PreCheck – Over a year ago, I went through the rigmarole to get my Global Entry card/status. One of the fringe benefits is being added to the “Trusted Traveler” list. Thus I...
While Arizona has many flaws, there are some wonderful things that are worth bragging about. The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Truly a wonderful place to get a good snapshot of the ecology of the desert. Well run, fabulous docents, and a great place to get a feel for the diversity of the desert. We were members every year, and we were certain to take all our visitors to the ASDM. The Pima Air and...
There are many reasons to hate the process of selling. The last time I had to relocate, we moved up front, and left an empty house. Get it cleaned, and let the agents have free reign. This time, we have to sell before we move. This is much harder to accomplish. #1 Select a realtor There are literally thousands of realtors in any major metropolitan area. We are fortunate that we had to choose one...
I am reading a great book by Daniel Boorstin, called “The Seekers”. It is a book about the different philosophers throughout recorded history, and how they influenced civilizations, arose as the religions, and in general seeking the meaning of life. The section I am reading now is about the Greek philosophers, particularly about Socrates. Great stuff, and I highly recommend the gook...
I moved to Arizona in 2003 to take a job. Landing in Tucson, solidly in the southern part of the state, I grew to love the area. Fabulous weather (albeit blazingly hot in the summer), quirky neighborhoods, and outstanding outdoor activities like hiking, and biking. I lived in Tucson for almost 10 years, and while I enjoyed it, there are problems with the area. Civic planning is at best an...
This little fact is something that has hounded me my entire life. From a very early age I just hated eating onions. They were soggy, gross, and made me gag, so I would spend an eternity to pick them out of my meals as a child. This is odd, as for a good chunk of my adult life, I was a professional chef/cook. Italian, Mexican, Seafood, bistro food, catering, large banquet cooking, I did it all...
We moved to Arizona in 2003 for a job. We spent nearly 10 years in Tucson, then in 2012 moved to Chandler for another job. In general I liked Arizona, and will miss much of what the state offers. This post is what I will miss. Some of it greatly, some of it less so, but I am headed back to a place that has equal yet different charm. The Weather While my wife will grumble about the brutal summers...
It is with sadness in my heart that I must announce the passing of my Cateye Enduro 2 cycling computer. I acquired it in early 2002 when I bought my road bike, and it has been a rugged companion since then, logging and recording over 9,000 miles on the bike. It was not the first (my first cateye was on a roadbike I bought in 1988), but it will be remembered as the last. The UI was meh. The...
I was a relative latecomer to the digital photography world. We got our first digital camera in 2003, a Canon sureshot. It lasted us a couple years before the desire to go DSLR bit hard. But this isn’t about the camera, but instead about how to manage the deluge of images that come poring in. Alas, us mere mortals take lots of pictures and have no discipline as to the filing, organization...