Dad in Santa Cruz

Eight days ago, my dad was flown out from the Rehabilitation Hospital of Southern New Mexico (in Las Cruces, NM) to Santa Cruz. He flew via AirMed, a sort of air ambulance, which made it much easier on us, as his mobility is quite limited. Medicare will cover some of the cost of this, since he was being discharged from an acute care hospital to a skilled nursing facility.

It's great that he is here in town, now, and Candice, Juliet, KB, and I have all been visiting him. However, this is a particularly busy time of year for us, since we just celebrated Juliet's fifth birthday weekend before last. He was pretty worn out for a while, and just wanted to rest, but now he seems to be perking up a bit. We're hoping he'll be up to coming over for Christmas dinner.

Now we're in the home stretch to Christmas. I'm off work for a couple of days, and Candice is focussed on preparing the Christmas feast.

The Downside of Working

Of course, I'm glad to have a job again. As the sole breadwinner and head of a household, losing your job is like having the rug pulled out from under you. So getting a job with benefits and all the trimmings is great, especially in the worst economic environment we've seen since the '70s, or maybe even the '30s. So, don't get me wrong....

But, I leave home early in the morning, often dropping Juliet off at school, and don't usually return until 7pm, which is her bedtime. So I see very little of her. And I only see Candice for a few hours in the evening, when she is usually exhausted. As Candice said, "it's an adjustment" from being around all the time.

It will be easier when I can work at home more often, since then I can at least be at home for an hour or two in the evening before Juliet goes to bed.

First week at Linden Lab

Started my new job at Linden Lab, makers of Second Life. I think I'm really going to enjoy working there. It's got a very unusual and compelling work culture that emphasizes personal responsibility and communication. And they have a very cool product, Second Life, a virtual world--for many people, THE virtual world--that continues to be very profitable even in these dark times.

I have been consistently impressed with the intelligence and friendliness of the people at LL. Having been around the Valley a lot, I've seen plenty of smart, motivated people in tech, but all too often they are arrogant jerks. Not so at LL...as a general rule, the people are very nice, yet smart and efficient. How refreshing!

Juliet

I realized I've been remiss in posting the obligatory kid pix. Well, here is one of Juliet's recent school photos. I'm a bit biased, but I think she's prettty darn cute...soon to be 5.

Dad of my dad

Back in Aptos, now. I talked with my dad on the phone, and he called me "dad."

I have to say, a weird experience. I don't know if it's because he thought I was his dad, or related to me in that way, or if he was just confused about who was who. He was asking about the board of directors, and who is in control, and generally seemed to be confused.

I guess that's what they mean by "second childhood." Hopefully, my dad will pull out of it and be back to himself for a while. But we just don't know yet.

Ex Las Cruces

Went up to Canada for Bryan's memorial/wake. I was supposed to be there for trick-or-treating with Juliet and her cousins, but I encountered yet another diaster, a 3-hour traffic jam on Highway 17. Needless to say, I missed my plane, and the next flight, too... Candice suggested that I just fly up to Vancouver and spend the night and take an early morning seaplane to Salt Spring Island.

Which I did, and then joined the Denton family fray, with David, Heather, Colin, and their SOs Jeanette, Sharon, Alex (Allie), and Sammie. Juliet (age "almost 5") and Sammie (age "almost 6") became best of friends and were inseparable. They were most definitely BFFs. It was just so sweet and innocent amidst the grief and family dramas.

Now after a very brief interlude back in Aptos, I am back in Las Cruces, hanging out with my dad and helping with his recovery and just talking with him and trying to figure out what we are going to do. He was very independent and now, suddenly--in a stroke as it were--he is bed-ridden and unable even to feed himself.

At one point, he was intubated and we didn't think he was going to make it. Thank God, he is much better than that now, but still totally debilitated. But the future is still unknown. It doesn't look like he is going to be able to go back to living on his own in his trailer in T or C, but he may be able to still enjoy a few quiet years.

Our disastrous October

I thought times were trying when I lost my job along with my shirt in the stock market crash. But then things got really bad.

My dad had a serious debilitating stroke on Sat., Oct. 18. I rushed out to New Mexico to find him on life support. Then, with my dad still in the ICU, Candice's father had a sudden and rapid relapse of his mysterious neurological apnea. My dad is slowly recovering from his stroke, but Bryan Denton passed away early on Tues., Oct. 21.

Candice said, "I just don't think I can take anything else." I feel the same way. With me in NM, then her and Juliet going up to Canada, we've not even been together much, so we've not been able to comfort each other.

Travels

This will be the main post with links to all the places I have been. My travels have been fairly extensive in North America, Europe, and Australasia, but I have not even been to Africa or South America. However, some of the favorite places that I have visited outside the continental US are:

• The Caribbean: Jamaica, Haiti, Nassau, Cayman Islands, Florida, Roatan
  
• Alaska, Yukon Territory, Canadian Rockies (Banff, etc.)
  
• Vancouver, Victoria, BC; Gulf Islands
  
• Mexico - Pacific: Baja, Puerto Vallarta, San Pancho; Caribbean: Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, etc.
• Hawaii
  
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Singapore; Hong Kong
  
• Bali, Java, Sumatra
• Nepal
  
• Australia
• Fiji
• French Polynesia (Tahiti)
  
• New Zealand
• Japan
• Siberia
• Russia and Ukraine
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Western Europe: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the low countries, etc.
  
• Switzerland, Lichtenstein, The Alps
• Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  
• Paris
• London, England, Scotland, Wales

And within the US, it's easier to list the states that I HAVEN'T been to:

• Maine
• Rhode Island
• North Dakota
• Kentucky
• West Virginia
  

I'm not counting places that I've only driven through, and of which I have no memory.

Stuff worth blogging about

Now that I am a MAN OF LEISURE, I have time to consider what is worth talking about, or at least what I feel qualified to talk about. Well, in the spirit of de gustibus, they are just my experiences:

• Travels - places I have been, places I have lived; perhaps even places to which I would like to go.
  
• Spirits - Scotch, whiskey, gin, tequila, this, that, what have you.
  
• Wine - Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet, and the whole galaxy of oenophilic delight.
  
• Books
• Films
• Music
• Family
  

Many of these, I have already begun to address. Others will come.

These are the times that try men's souls...

That quote from Thomas Paine came to mind last week as the stock market was crashing, and the whole western financial system seemed to be seizing up. It certainly did not help to be unemployed during this crisis. I don't doubt that we will come out of it eventually, but it looks to be a fairly long and bad downturn. Some people were even using the "D" word--depression. I'm not ready to subscribe to that train of thought yet, but we are definitely tightening our belts.

Multiverse's Big Splash

Just returned from the Virtual Worlds Expo in LA, where my company, Multiverse, made a number of big announcements, including announcing of a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" online game. We also announced Multiverse Places, which we've been working on internally for some time.

Now, on to Austin!

Six Years...

Candice and I recently celebrated our sixth anniversary...a rather low-key observance, especially compared to last year when we had a big shindig, with a band, catered food, etc. This year was just about the exact opposite: at the Lake House, I played (my very first) 18-hole round of golf, we had lunch at the PML clubhouse with friends Mark and Suzanne and daughter Brooke; then a couple hours on the beach and a quiet dinner back at the "Relaxin' Shack."

Actually, it was quite a nice day...our last of this summer together as a family at the Lake House.

Summer's come and gone...my oh my!

Wall-E

Fun family movie. My 4 1/2 year old daughter liked it, though a lot of it was over her head. Nothing too scary for her, though. A robot love story wrapped in a cautionary tale about over-consumption and eco-catastrophe. With a happy ending of course.

My BDay

27th is my birthday again.  I don't usually make a big deal of it, but what the hey....  Probably go see The Dark Knight or something.

One of the cool things about where we live is that you can hike to the movies through the redwoods...about a 30 minute hike.  Pretty amazing, really.

Then over to the Britannia Arms for a pint or something.

D&D Online

Been playing this MMOG with old friends that I used to play D&D with, back in The Day, including John in Australia, Rod in Santa Barbara, and Mike & Tracy in San Jose. It's pretty fun, but I've kind of fallen behind the others because I never seem to be able to find the time to login.

Golf

Oddly enough, I'm attempting to pick it up, very late in life. Most people start playing at a much younger age. It's possible that I never was interested in it because of a painful accident when I was about eight years old:

My next door neighbor kid friend, who was a couple years older, was really into golf. He went on to be a "star" on the high school golf team, if there is such a thing. Anyway, one day I was watching him practice his driving, and he accidentally whacked me quite hard on the head, leading to a large goose-egg on my head and quite a bit of consternation on my part, as you might imagine.

Nevertheless, I decided in my dotage to try to play the game of my Scottish ancestors. I was told in no uncertain terms (by Candice, among others...she used to play a bit) that it's not a game you can just "pick up" like volleyball or ping pong. So, I've been taking lessons, and now I understand what they mean. It looks very easy, but isn't, and can be terribly frustrating.

But I've also found it strangely rewarding, and so far all I've done is practiced hitting the ball. So...we'll see how I take to it once I actually start playing.

Edgewood

Our little piece of paradise between the Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains, truly at the edge of the woods, ten thousand acres of woods, in fact. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful area, a few minutes from the beach and a short walk to thousand-year-old redwoods. Amazingly, also within commuting distance of Silicon Valley, a world away.

Hellboy II

Went to see this one on opening night, at our local theater. Good fun from Guillermo del Toro, who directed the first Hellboy movie, as well as Pan's Labyrinth. Really good special effects, and good performances from Ron Perlman, et. al. All in all, a fun summer flick.

Independence Day at The Lake

We spent the Fourth of July holiday at our lake house, the "McKinney Relaxin' Shack." It's the big holiday at Pine Mountain Lake, and the place is packed. I got to see the fireworks show for the first time, and it was very nice indeed, watching from our neighbor's shore at the pyrotechnics reflected on the lake.

The festivities this year were tempered by concern for Candice's dad, who has been in the hospital with serious health problems. Now, Candice is planning a trip to BC to visit him and help out her family.

This on top of news that two of my old friends' fathers passed away: Tracy in San Jose and John in Australia. I guess I and my friends are all getting to that age when parents start going....

Lonsome Dove Western Bistro

While in Ft. Worth, Candice made sure that we dined at the Lonesome Dove Bistro, and boy am I glad she did.  I addition to some amazingly creative food, we tasted their jalapeno-cucumber margaritas which were fantastic.

Ft. Worth Round-Up

Just returned from the Texas Jack Assn. biennial "Round-Up" held this year in Ft. Worth, TX.  It was the first (and likely last) round-up that I organized....or master-minded, anyway.  Candice did much of the work of making the arrangements.

Every thing went smoothly, thankfully.  We were subjected to a loud thunderstorm on one night and some rain showers, which helped to cool things down a bit.  Although it was a small round-up, many people told me how much they enjoyed it.

Meantime, California was on fire... The Trabing fire broke out near our house, several miles away, but still too close for comfort.  Poor Jason, who was housesitting, called in a panic wanting to find the cat carriers.  He had to fight two hours of traffic to get down here from Scotts Valley (Beulah Park, actually), which is normally about a 15 minute drive.  Fortunately, no evacuation was necessary.

Wine

Yes, I'm an oenophile...or a wino, if you prefer.  I used to be an avowed beer drinker, but as I got older I came to prefer the subtlety and complexity of fine red wines, and to a lesser extent white wines.  I not only enjoy the olfactory and gustatory pleasures of the drink, as well as the cheering influence of the alcohol, naturally, but I'm fond of the wealth of lore and history behind wines and winemaking.  Since classical times, wine has been an integral part of culture, and the variety of modern wines is never-ending. 

I particularly enjoy the great red wines of the Rhone valley, and of course Bordeaux.  I've enjoyed some Burgundies, but am generally put off by the minerality and lack of fruit.  I guess I prefer New World pinot noirs.  I'm quite fond of good zinfandels, which are in abundance here in California, and of course, I live in the middle of one of the oldest wine areas of California, the Santa Cruz Mountains, where we get very nice pinot, chardonnay, and even some good zins in the hotter areas.

We belong to five winery "wine clubs," whence we get several bottles a year:

• Hahn Estates (where we were married)
• Bonny Doon
• Deux Amis
• Armida
• Chalone (used to be a shareholder, before they sold to Diageo)

Texas

Heading to Texas week after next for the Texas Jack Association Round-Up got me to thinking about the great state of Texas and the role it has played in my life. My family moved to Ft. Worth when I was about four, for my dad's job as Dean of Tarrant County Junior College (he later became president and had that post for twenty years). So, I spent my childhood and formative years in Ft. Worth, until 1978, when my mom and I moved to Santa Barbara. I've been back many times, and it still has a special place in my heart.

It is an incredibly diverse state that defies that stereotype that many people have of cowboys and oilmen. In addition to deserts and plains (which it has in abundance), it also has hundreds of miles of beaches, beautiful hill country, swamps and piney woods, and several of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation. Like the state tourism board's slogan: "It's a whole 'nother country."

Games

My love affair with boardgames began in the early 1970s with the Avalon Hill military strategy games. I think I got D-Day as a present, and quickly moved on to Blitzkrieg, France 1940, and SPI games. I remember being blown away by the complexity and novelty of SPI's StarForce, one of the earliest science fiction simulation boardgames.

Over the years, I played probably hundreds of different titles, and even got involved in miniatures gaming, including 7 years war, with my friend Jon Southard, and WWII micro-miniatures.

I also played various role-playing games, the progenitors of todays MMOGs. In a sense, they were the first virtual worlds, because they created rule sets to define the operation of an entirely fictional world. Later I gravitated to multiplayer games for their social aspects.

So, going to work for Multiverse, was sort of coming full circle for me.

Eno

I love Brian Eno's music. I have from the first time I heard "Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks" back in the early 80's. Then I heard "Another Green World" and knew that he was a genius. He was ambient decades before anyone else. And can carve a pop hook with the best of them, as his collaboration with John Cale, "Wrong Way Up," shows. Enigmatic, haunting, intense, sparse and yet dense...these are some of the words I would use to describe Eno's music.

Yes

The band with the shortest name, but the most complex music, spinning prog-rock jams of epic proportions: John Anderson's spacey, soaring vocals over virtuoso rock instrumentation. Not to everyone's taste, but one of the best at what they do.

I Am Legend

When I was younger, I loved "The Omega Man" and even Vincent Price in "The Last Man On Earth." I mean, come on, Vincent Price as the last human fighting against vampires...what's not to love? But they are all film versions of Richard Matheson's novel, "I Am Legend." The Will Smith movie is pretty good, basically an updated Omega Man, with few aspects of the novel or the first film.

Night of the Living Dead, 28 Weeks, et. al. all owe to this story. Will Smith is very good, and the special effects are good. Everything is CG, which is fairly obvious and makes it a bit less realistic. But still scary enough.

Gladiator

Happened to catch the Ridley Scott film again the other day.  Really a well-made film, despite its historical inaccuracies.  I'm realizing that he has made some excellent films, including Alien, Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, The Duelists, and so on.  Just a very well-made film, with good acting from Russel Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix.

The Decemberists

Wonderful band from Portland OR, with songs that tell great stories. Generally classified as "Indie" or "Alternative", but with their own unique style that evokes Jethro Tull and Steeleye Span. Their songs often have historical settings.

Their latest album, The Crane Wife, is really amazing.

Horton Hears a Who

Very entertaining 3D animated kids movie, based on the Dr. Seuss classic. Well voiced by Steve Carrel and Jim Carrey. Fun for the whole family, as they say...Juliet loved it and so did Candice and I.

Ken Peel

Just heard "Ashes and Snow" from Ken Peel's self-proclaimed lounge electronica album, "Marginal."  Very nice indeed.  On Groove Salad internet radio, an old favorite.

Beowulf

The Robert Zemeckis film, based on one of the oldest stories in English literature.   Screenplay, I noticed, credited Neil Gaiman of Sandman fame.

I found the whole motion-capture computer animation thing to be a bit disconcerting.  Like it wasn't real, even the mundane parts with no special effects.

The dragon was good, I have to admit...and Angelina Jolie was very good as Grendel's mother.  But overall not much better than the somewhat more low-budget "Beowulf and Grendel".

"East of the Sun" by Benson Bobrick

Amazing history of Siberia, an incredibly vast and diverse land that many Americans don't know or care about. Like most Russian history, very violent. Interesting to compare with the history of the American West and frontier. In fact, Siberia is often called Russia's Wild East.

Very well written, and thorough history, though it might not be lively enough for some. For me, I found it thoroughly fascinating. Also includes history of the Russian exploration of the Pacific North, Alaska, and the west coast of America. Some of the stories of early explorers are simply amazing, such as that of Bering--who was financed by the Russians, but was himself Swedish.

"Baltimore: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier" by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden

This is a book I bought on a whim off Amazon, by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. I knew Mignola from his work on Hellboy.

It's a truly dark and macabre tale, well-written and compelling, but certainly not for everybody. I wouldn't read it if you are prone to nightmares... Apparently, they're making it into a movie.

I was taken with the opening scene, in which Lord Baltimore, injured amid the carnage of a WWI battlefield, is set upon by vampiric creatures. A chilling scene indeed. Recommended if you are a fan of dark fantasy, horror, or the like.

First

Finally caved in and created a blog....

Never really bought into the whole blogmania thing...AFAIC it's just a bunch of people writing crap on the internet, same as its ever been.

For someone who's been publishing web pages (if not a website) since about '94, the novelty sort of wore off. For a while, if you had a website or a URL you were pretty hip. Then it became too easy, and everyone and their sister-in-law could put their content up on the web. AOLized, that's what I call it. Debased.

Anyway, here I am...back, a few years after I gave up on rand-om.com.
So, Hello World!