3 years later...

It's been three years since I tried starting this blog.  At the time I thought things would start to settle into a normal rhythm and I could keep up with it.  With some big changes and my normal lack of commitment it fell by the wayside.  So, lets try this again...

Family
It's crazy how fast the kids grow.  Alice is now 5 and Wendy 3, it's now hard to think back to when I wrote that one post over two years ago and Wendy wasn't even sleeping through the nights regularly.  Both girls are now enrolled in preschool and take a gym class after school.  They learn so fast.  Alice is learning to read and Wendy can write her name.   Alice will be starting kindergarten next year.  Sarah has been working on projects here and there you can keep tabs on her at MadFoamingCat's Fumbled Creations.

Computing
My work life has been crazy the past 3 years.  I left UPMC for Google Pittsburgh in April of 2011.  Working for Google was one of the best experiences of my life.  You are surrounded by smart and talented people.  The perks there are amazing and there is very interesting work going on there.  If you hadn't picked up on the past tense above I'll make it explicit now.  Google and I parted ways in August of 2013.  I want to give this more space than a summary introductory post so I'll go into details in about my time at Google in a future post.  Since leaving Google I stared at Branding Brand where I am currently employed today.

As far as side projects go I have a couple that are currently in development.  One involves using 60+ networked raspberry pi's and cameras to try and capture a 3D-model of a person.  The other I hope will help reduce the pairings rushes at Magic (and other games) events.  I've started keeping lists and project ideas folders and have a few more that I would like to do but don't want to start to many things without finishing them.

Gaming
RPGs have been a bit slow lately.  I had a couple of groups over the course of the last 3 years but nothing with long term consistency.  I am hoping to spin up a group that will meet a couple times a month on Fridays, as well as a intro to new games once a month or so at my FLGS.  I have quite a few games on my shelf I am looking forward to playing, including Fate Core and Dungeon World.

I've taken Magic backup and have been drafting when I get the chance.  I feel I have improved quite a bit since I last played but still have a lot of room for growth.

I've picked up a lot of board games of the last few years.  7 Wonders is probably one of my favorites, Dominion is up there too.  I am always on the lookout for more good games.


I hope to keep up with this better this time around.  We'll see how it goes.

Where are we now?

A lot has happened since I first thought of starting this blog last May.

I moved from Springfield, MO to Pittsburgh, PA for a new job and to be closer to our families as we anticipated the birth of our second daughter.  Wendy was born in November.  We celebrated Alice's second birthday in December.

Now that things are finally (I hope) settling down into a normal rhythm I have come back to the idea of trying to post regularly on a blog.  Partially to help me keep my own thoughts, ideas and accomplishments together  and partially to share those ideas with others as well as hear the feed back they (or rather you) have to offer.  And maybe having people to discuss and share these with will help me keep up on some of the side projects I wish complete.

Family
As I mentioned above we welcomed Wendy into the world in mid November.  Moving to Pittsburgh has put us a lot closer to both my wife and my's families so we get to spend a lot more time with them (I think we saw someone almost every weekend for a few months before the new year).  Alice turned two in December and I am still amazed at how fast they grow up.


Computing
Switching jobs has really brought with it a massive change in my computing life.  The journey has taken me from predominately a python/C programmer, to a short stop in C#/.NET land, before continuing through to a combination of ruby/rails with Java, GWT and javascript depending on the project of the moment.

Away from work I have been doing a little bit of web development for a friend and have a few other personal projects lined up if the schedule stays clear (and Wendy lets me sleep).

Gaming
While the family and computing aspects of my life are thriving gaming has hit a bit of a drought.  I went from having two great groups of people to play with to none.  Since moving I have discovered a good group of people over at GASP and am working on hooking up with some old friends from high school now that we are closer.

Other
Another side effect of moving back to Pittsburgh is that I can actually watch the Penguins games.  Springfield, MO isn't exactly a hockey town (the local cable station didn't even offer NHL Center Ice).   I got to see their new building, which is beautiful, at a practice, pre-season game and one regular season game thanks to a cousin.


That about wraps up the introduction.  I am sure I missed something in my perpetual sleep deprived state, but I will keep this updated whenever possible.

What is a context switch?

A context switch is a term from computer science. Simply stated it is what happens when your computer switches from working on one process, or program to another. The details are much more complicated than this but this simple definition captures the meaning that I am trying to convey. A change from working on one thing to another, and balancing those changes.

I chose this title because I wanted a blog that would encapsulate most of what was going on in my life instead of one blog or website for each separate topic. Side sites may spin off from this one but I needed a place to start so here we are.