I had a blast talking about Sir Mix-a-Bot at Ignite Seattle last week. I think my presentation was well-received, and once I rebooted the computer, the demo of the bartender in the lobby during intermission was a big hit. Tons of fun — I’d totally recommend attending an Ignite event and speaking at one, too, if you have the opportunity. I’m looking forward to seeing video of the event, which I’m told is coming soon.
This coming weekend, we’re gearing up for Ski to Sea, an adventure relay race that will take our team of 8 from Mt. Baker to Bellingham Bay.
It feels a very Seattle/Northwest thing to do, and it really marks the beginning of the send-off era for us. Our departure is coming right up, and it’s hard not to feel like every weekend (especially one where Dina isn’t working) is precious; a long weekend getaway to a house on the coast and an adventure race with close friends seems a perfect thing to do with this one.
You might have noticed that this website was down for a little while. There were some issues on the server, and it basically means I have to restore the site, file-by-file, from a backup. It’s happening, but in dribs and drabs, so much of the content is missing or moved around for now. This is also a good prompt to reorganize a bit, so not everything will necessarily end up in the same place (or even back up at all) — expect some broken images/links along the way. Feel free to drop me a line in the meantime.
posted May 20, 2013 – 12:03 pm
After about 8 years, I’m moving back to Boston.
More specifically, we are moving to Boston, come this September; Dina has a great job lined up there, and I have no doubt I’ll figure out some way to keep busy. It’s decided, and the wheels have very much been set in motion.
I’m not quite ready to write the goodbye-to-Seattle post — for starters, we’re not leaving for a few more months, and anyway I think I’m not quite ready to say goodbye. But, let this serve as notice to you, Internets — we don’t have that much longer in Seattle. Visit us here soon, think about where we should go just one more time (if not more than once), suggest some fun day trips for before we leave but after we’re done with our jobs, and help us think of an appropriate way to say “farewell” (at least for now) to this wonderful place.
posted April 24, 2013 – 4:29 pm
Last Saturday night was the 14th (!) annual Pi(e) Party — a celebration of nerdiness, baked goods, and my birthday — which also served as the world premiere of the robot bartender, a project I’ve been working on almost as long as I’ve been having Pi(e) parties. I’m thrilled to say it was a hit!
Lots more info on the robot arm here, if you’re interested…
As you can see, I was really enjoying myself — the company was fantastic, the venue was lovely, and hey, I had a robot bartender (that I made) at my birthday party for the first time ever!
posted March 24, 2013 – 9:29 pm
It felt decidedly different, and very much in a good way, to travel to Taiwan for fun instead of business. And I think that’s really saying something, given how much I already liked Taiwan.
While we only had a week, I think we made the most of it. We spent a few days in Taipei, visiting with friends, relaxing in hot springs in Beitou, eating all the dumplings we could get our hands on, and exploring before taking the train to Hualien. On the recommendation of some other friends, we stayed at the charming Hotel Bayview. It’s a little off the beaten path (read: not in downtown Hualien), but has the advantage of being right on the ocean, and they were quite honestly the nicest hotel staff I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with in quite some time. They not only helped us arrange transportation and secure a rental car, but sent us to the most marvelous, hole-in-the-wall beef noodle soup restaurant you could imagine.
From Hualien (in our rental car, with more than just a little fear in our eyes), we drove to Taroko Gorge, a magnificent canyon carved into the marble east coast of Taiwan. It’s a national park, and feels a little bit like Yellowstone, in that one drives from sight to sight, gets out and walks a bit, then drives some more. And the scenery is just as breathtaking.
Back up north, we spent an afternoon in Yangmingshan National Park (just a taxi ride away from the city). It is not only a proper mountain, it’s a volcano, with sulfur vents and hot springs to prove it. With our hosts Abe and Sophia, we hiked up and over Qixing Mountain, and were rewarded with some great views, including this one back down towards Taipei.
We spent our last day in town touring the markets of Taipei, including the amazing Mitsui fish market, and bought ingredients to prepare a feast. We made dishes from both the new Lark cookbook (actually an iPad app, and an amazing one at that) and Heston Blumenthal at Home, and then stayed out waaay too late before our early-morning flight the next day.
The rest of the pictures from this fantastic trip are posted here.
posted March 5, 2013 – 11:34 pm
I have to say, I’d really gotten used to spending days how I liked — having time to take care of errands, working on the robot arm or some other woodworking project, having lunch with friends all over the city, etc. — this whole work thing is cramping my style! That’s hyperbole, of course, but it is taking some getting used to.
Progress on the robot arm has slowed, but I’m excited for what progress I am making — the cabinet/table where the arm will live is really coming together nicely. Not quite ready to share all the details, but I will say it involves a lot of pretty wood veneer, and also some time on my buddy’s CNC mill. It’s gonna be good, and apparently I sorta committed to debuting the machine at this year’s Pi(e) Party. T-minus five weeks!
The other thing that slowed down bartender progress was a welcome trip to southern California, something that’s becoming an annual tradition. This one included plenty of family time, a trip to the wonderfully weird Museum of Jurassic Technology, a visit to the Maloof Residence, lots of walking, and tons of good food (including some dumplings to get me even more in the mood for our upcoming Taipei trip).
posted February 7, 2013 – 9:03 am
