• So much to see – London

    If you have been following the saga, I have been in Europe for a week so far, and had a weekend to spend in London.  I have been to the UK many times, but usually I just fly in and then grab a {car|train|cab} to some city away from London (usually Cambridge or Oxford). This…

  • Travel Hell – Can’t Sleep edition

    There are a variety of reasons that I have trouble sleeping when I am on the road. Jetlag. Weird schedules Food that doesn’t agree with me But the one that really bugs me is: Neighbors who have hookers come to their room. For fuck’s sake, please, try to keep the screaming, grunting, bed slamming down.…

  • European Travel Log – London

    Quick Edit: I forgot how awesome it is to have yummy Ale served at the “proper” British temperature. ‘Muricans just don’t get proper ales. The Austria and Germany portions of this trip went well. Successful demos and sales training. Today I moved to London for a couple days before heading to Yarnton for a seminar…

  • Irrefutable evidence of getting older

    I have been denying that I have been getting older for some time. I have been able to wave off a lot of symptoms. Heart attack, plantar fasciitis, difficulty losing weight, osteoarthritis in my thumb. No problem. There is a fair amount of grey in my hair, but the red hair is good at hiding…

  • News from the Road

    I am in Europe for a few days (almost 2 weeks, really), and as usual, there are some petite observations. In Austria, a lot of people smoke. You almost forget how it used to be, but a trip here has reminded me of smoking in restaurants and bars. Oh joy. I guess I will not…

  • “Silly”con Valley Neighborhoods

    More on the saga so far. This week we spent three days crawling around neighborhoods looking for places that fit the criteria: They are livable – as in, we can walk our dogs in the evening without fear for our lives. We can afford it – We do have an upper limit to what is…

  • Moving Travails

    Moving from Phoenix to San Jose is going to be an eye opener. We currently have almost 2,400 sqft of house, not counting the garage. We will be lucky to have half that here (for 2.5x the price). I am already thinking about what will have to go. A lot of what I have packed…

  • Notes from House Hunting in San Jose Area

    This week I am in San Jose/South Bay to “preview” prior to deciding to relocate. Since I spent the first 38 years of my life here, I don’t need much pre-viewing, so we are hitting likely locations to live. So far, I have pretty much dismissed the far south bay. Morgan Hill and Gilroy, while…

  • Relocating back to Silicon Valley – The Good

    Hell has frozen over, and it looks like I am going to be relocating back to the Silicon Valley. I left there in 2003 to take a job in Tucson that I liked, and came to enjoy much of what Arizona offers. A couple times I flirted with going back, including a very tempting job…

  • Anniversary of an Ominous Day

    Four years ago today was the classic definition of a “bad day“. I had been at the gym, doing my daily workout, but felt blah and off. I couldn’t get my heart rate above 100 (registered on the elliptical trainer), and I really had to force myself to do the full hour. I was uncomfortable…