Greetings

Well, it has been a long time since I wrote a blog entry, because of two very big events that have taken place. Full details on these to follow.

I was married to Tressa Danchilla (nee Kirstein) on October 27th, 2012. And we bought a house, moved in mid-December, and have done a few renovations


Jogging

With Tressa and I's wedding only a few days away, there is a lot of last minute stuff that needs to be done and a lot of attached stressers. One of the nice tension reliefs I've recently found is jogging.

A few months ago we started a "couch to 5k" program with our friends Nick and Kendra. Each successive run builds upon the previous and becomes a little tougher. I am happy to report that I am on the last week of the program and am up to being able to run 30 minutes and around 4.5 km at once. My short term goal is to improve my pace to 5k within the 30 minutes. My long term goal is to run a 10k event in May.

I didn't realize how much of a total body workout running is. I feel much better from it. The only downside is how tough it can be on my joints especially my ankle which has been badly swollen/sprained since our summer trip to Cuba. After the wedding I figure I'll let it recouperate a little.


Beginning WebGL HTML5 Published

My book, "Beginning WebGL for HTML5" has been published by Apress and is available for purchase.

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things are going well

Tressa and I had a nice vacation in Varadero, Cuba and now we are enjoying the summer weather. We are set to tie the knot on October 27th : ) The olympics are providing some exciting sports, my book is done and set to be published at the end of August. We were at a really nice wedding between our friends Scott and Kelsey over the weekend and saw a bunch of long time friends.


Simplifying and finding more peace

Now that my book project is nearing completion (the new release date is August 29th) I will have time to get back to some other interests that have been on an extended backburner. One of the things that I really want to do is purge all the unnecessary and/or negative things from my life. This is both physical and mental and somewhat spiritual. I am not by any means a packrat and regularly get rid of unneeded physical items, so this part will be fairly easy. On another note, Tressa and I are actively looking for a house. While this means owning a large physical item, it is a necessity if we start a family (and also to own a large dog - something I have desired to do for years). I am also thinking that the increased privacy and reduced noise from where we currently live will help us to relax.

Mentally will be more difficult for me to purge. I have some musical lyrics and half-baked computer side projects that I know I'll never go back to. They've been sitting on a hard drive for years. I revisit these things sporadically, but I believe that just like physical items, it is good to do a mental purging of old ideas and notions from time to time. I'm going to permanently delete this stuff. It is good to not remind oneself of bad memories but to learn how to forgive and forget more. Starting afresh music and project wise will be great.

Timewise, I want to shape the path that I'd like to be on in my day to day living, rather than letting commitments dictate what I am limited to doing. I am looking to improve my health and enjoy nature more. These are all great "new year's resolution" types of ideas, but I do plan on adjusting myself. This simply has not been possible to correct my course the last six months as I have been overwhelmed with work.

Tressa and I are going on vacation starting next week. This is much needed, I will venture to say especially for me - I have not had a legitimate vacation in a long time. We are trying to get a last minute deal if we can (Cuba if possible) so do not know exactly where yet. We are also exercising more these days - getting started from all things a Wii game called Exerbeat which is tricking us into enjoying moving : ) . I'm looking forward to spending the summer with Tressa and hope to take a few weekends off which will be very nice and back to more of the work-life balance that I would like to achieve.


Spotlight Song
Ray Lamontagne - Jolene

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Ray Lamontagne - Jolene ()

...A man needs something he can hold onto
A nine pound hammer or a woman like you
Either one of them things will do
Jolene
I ain't about to go straight
It's too late
I found myself face down in the ditch
Booze in my hair
Blood on my lips
A picture of you, holding a picture of me
In the pocket of my blue jeans
Still don't know what love means
Still don't know what love means...



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In the beginning, there was nothing. And the Lord said 'Let there be light' and there was still nothing, but now you could see it.

Terry Pratchett

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