2014 – Recap

It’s that time again where we flip the calendar over to a new year. Still no personal jetpacks and as always, flying cars are as far away as ever. But now everyone can fly drones (does that count as a win?).

Awesome Things That Happened In 2014
Visited family in Nevada. Fun to hang out and just chill with the in-laws and watch great-grandparents enjoy great-grandchildren. Kid #2 discovered the joy of swinging…for hours on end which started to drive mommy and daddy nuts. Fortunately Aunt J., Uncle J., and Grandpa helped out with the pushing.

Got to visit Hawaii’s Big Island. I would like to visit it again sometime. Absolutely fascinating place, expensive, but totally worth it. Really enjoyed being with family and just relaxing for a week on a tropical paradise (albeit a bit warmer than I’d like – but hey, I’m not going to complain).

Major accomplishments at work which was recognized with a significant raise. Yeah, I need to update my portfolio and resume to highlight these accomplishments.

Scrum Master certified (part of my work accomplishments). At work we’re trying to become more agile in our processes – it’s starting to pay-off as projects move faster and clients communicate better. While we can’t implement everything that Scrum has to offer, the changes we have been able to make are really improving our client buy-in and interactions.

Kid #1 going to Kindergarten and loving it. Teacher says she’s doing extremely well. It’s fun to hear her describe what she’s learning

Kid #2 almost getting to potty trained status. Still a few accidents but in general doing well.

I finished reading Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull of Pixar/Disney fame. I strongly suggest reading it as Ed discusses the challenges of creating and maintaining a creative and productive work environment. It really dovetails well into agile processes and approaches like Scrum.

Lets see. I also finished Logicomix – an amazing graphic novel that explores logic, mathematics, philosophy and the beginnings of computer science through the life and experiences of Bertrand Russell. As the authors note, it’s a graphic novel first and foremost. But the stories, the people and ultimately the questions and answers discovered are very real and have a profound impact on our lives today. While done in a very approachable way, the ideas and concepts are not “dumbed” down. Highly recommended.

Kid #2 and I both got fevers for our b-days. Not cool or fun but we’re over it now. Family is now generally healthy. Grateful for that.

Christmas was a success. Everyone got what they needed. While we missed not being with the rest of our families, it was still nice to be at home with our immediate family. Oh and not have problems with our furnace, yes, that was nice.

Anyway, that’s the news from Michigan where all our kids are crazy and fun, the wife is an amazing pie baker, and I’m doing pretty good.

Just finished: Cold Comfort Farm

Oh my! This was an excellent and deliciously satirical read. Why this poor book (and its author, Stella Gibbons) is not more widely known beggars belief. Cold Comfort Farm is a masterpiece of skewering the horrible cliches of English literature based in the “country-pastoral” genre (think Thomas Hardy’s The Trumpet Major). And the ending is, in my opinion, just as satirical of the “good old” Hollywood movie endings of the time period (mid-1930s). I highly recommend the book.

Currently reading…

Currently reading through “India: A History” by John Keay. An excellent, witty, rambunctious and, so far, a fun read of India and it’s fascinating history throughout the ages. Great stuff and I recommend the book for anyone who wants a general overview of Indian history.