Yule 2004


Damien’s first Christmas, off to see “the” Santa at Macy’s on Herald Square.

Photos: NYC Odyssey

Another Lifetime?

After a few wonderful trips to Sandals St. Lucia we considered traveling to Sandal's "home" island of Jamaica. In 2004 we went to the Royal Plantation. This was a small Sandal's property next to the very popular Ocho Rios property. They were trying a new concept when we went. They were using this small property to test a higher service Level and tried switching to a pay as you go plan from the Sandal's Ultra Inclusive.

I was not thrilled with this new concept. Karen loved the level of service and quieter feel of the property. It was till a great trip, but I asked not to return.

Photo Album: Royal Plantation, Jamaica in October 2004

Last Augustfest

There are very few bits of evidence surrounding this party. It lasted 16 years and left very little trace material. The move to Arizona eventually killed Karen's Augustfest party. I let the registration on the website lapse and lost the photographs. I will see if I can pull them from the back tracks of the older PC's I have in the garage. Contributions are encouraged.

Archive: Augustfest Legend

Auto Show

Chuck loves cars, he had no one to go to the 2004 NYC Auto Show with him. I thought it was a great idea. We hopped in his race car and went to the Javits Center.

I saw a concept truck from Honda! two years later I bought the production version.

Horse Ride


Karen spent plenty of time on a horse farm when she was a girl. She complained constantly about her lapsed riding. She did decide to look up a local stable and we joined her for her return to the saddle.

Photos: Riding

Ireland


Can’t think of a single reason to join my globe-trotting wife for a long weekend in Ireland. Nope, not one excuse.

Photos: Ireland

Purdue Offsite

Purdue was starting to become concerned with the threatened lawsuits and bad media surrounding OxyContin. I was part of a newly formed group of developers and architects in the company. We needed to get together and meet our new colleagues but there was simply nothing in our budget to do an offsite meet and greet meeting.

I talked it over with my new manager and we took the little money we had and bought lunch. The meeting place was provided free of charge. It was my house! Karen and I worked hard to make Cedar Rock a showplace. Now it was functioning as a conference center. It did quite well, I think.

Photo Album: Purdue Offsite in November 2002

Vow Renewal

Sometimes you do things because your wife asks you to do them.

Maybe the excuse to go to St. Lucia again helped. It was ten years and she wanted a vow renewal on the beach instead of a larger diamond.

Photos: St. Lucia

Limburg


Sangria in the streets, because we ended the week of meetings at a Spanish restaurant in Germany.

Photos: Limburg

Vacation of a Lifetime


We booked the vacation of a lifetime in 1999. It would be year 7 of the marriage and Sandals had the all-inclusive thing nailed. No kids, no singles, no surprising bar tab, just all you could eat, drink and take in for a week. Prepaid.

Photos: St. Lucia

Geek


The state of the art in 1982 was the Apple // (or ][) and as a gifted student in our school district’s Intermediate Enrichment Program I had access to one. Once a week. I brought my pencil, graph paper, code samples and a ruler to conquer the mysteries of microcomputers and write a program.

Later I would buy my own home computers and continue to use Apples in school. As I approached college age and considered my future I was faced with business machines that still used punch cards or magnetic tape. Rarely was there a color screen or Random Access Storage. Hard drive arrays were still refrigerator sized, custom built beasts I could only see at Berks Campus and Penske Leasing.

I was spoiled by Apple, TI, Commodore, Amiga. Mainframes and boring IBM model 30’s were not catching my attention. I left computer for a time and only returned after graduating and getting jobs where LANs had made PC’s an acceptable business tool and the occasional Mac could be found in the art department.