Picasa and Hello

Just a note about some of the neat tools that Google is pushing out (for free!). Picasa is a photo organizer with a friendly user interface and some nice features. Hello integrates with Picasa to allow you to share pictures with friends/family. They also have a "bloggerbot" which allows you to post pictures to your blog on blogger as well. Took me about 30 minutes to get the stuff installed and get my pictures uploaded.

http://www.picasa.com
http://www.hello.com

Cool stuff!

Latest woodworking project

It's been a while since I've posted so I wanted to make sure you knew I haven't just been wasting time!

Posted a couple of pictures of a woodworking project I completed over the last couple of days. Our hot tub needed a step and also a bench for my daughter to sit on to get used to the water. Also provided the plans although they are barely legible (mostly due to my handwriting rather than poor scanning!). Used redwood which I obtained from a local wholesale deck company -- around $65 for 4 2"x4"x8' and 4 1"x4"x8'. I ended up spending almost $25 just on hardware -- 82 cents for each galvanized carraige bolt and I needed 20!

Still, this was a fun project and I hope it will last for some time. Really needed to a custom solution so I did not expect to find anything like it at the local hot tub retail store. Had seen a similar product available on the web for $400+ which surrounded the entire octogon-shaped hot tub but didn't need that much coverage nor want to spend that much. Since I only ended up covering 2 sides of the octogon, lateral stability was a challenge. The "feet" on the bottom seem to do the trick.

One thing not shown in the pics nor the plans was that I rip'd some of the 1"x4" to make 1"x1" strips which I added to the inside of the 2"x4" framing so I could attach the 1"x4" planks from below and keep the tops free of screws.

Fun!

OK, now back to my regular to-do list...

hot tub steps pic 1

hot tub steps pic 2

hot tub plans 

The Retiree 

Already Behind: Days 3, 4, 5

Already letting the blog updates lag behind (hmmm... blog lag = blag?).

Day 3, Thu, Sept 9

Got a jury summons. How did they know I was out of work?! Anyways, Austin has a new on-line process which lets you avoid the initial impaneling process. I've already been assigned a court date and have to be at the downtown courthouse at 8:30. Oh, joy :-(.

It was interesting filling out the on-line information now that I have no job. Wasn't sure whether to indicate I was retired or just temporarily out of work!

Day 4, Fri, Sept. 10

Went in to school today to help my daughter's class make fish for "ocean week". These were cut out of construction paper using templates then decorated and stuffed with crumpled up newspaper. I helped hang the colorful fishies from the ceiling around a light fixture covered in blue saran wrap (the ocean of course!). Art is a daily activity in elementary school. I'm trying to remember at what point this kind of activity stopped in my own schooling and why? I'm guessing that in later grades the priorities shift more to math, science, etc. I think even as adults we'd all still benefit from these daily creative and tactile exercises.

Went to a "guy's night out" baby shower for a friend at Dave & Buster's. Saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in quite some time. Interesting to hear what career directions people had taken. It was good to catch up, drink some beer, and have some fun!

Day 5, Mon Sept 13

Still sore from Saturday's martial arts (Kuk Sool Won) class. Tracy (my wife) and I decided to participate in the tournament next month so we practiced throwing each other on a mat. My aching neck!

All prepared for jury selection on Thursday. Figured out which park and ride and bus route ("dillo") I need to take to get to the court house. Not looking forward to fighting rush hour traffic headed downtown. That's something I've managed to mostly avoid in the 20 years I've lived in Austin.

Verified that I got all the money I was due from Sun (accrued vacation and all that). Not nearly as much sentiment filing away my effects from Sun as I felt when I left IBM -- but it was only 4 years at Sun as compared to 15 at IBM.

Busy Busy Busy: Day 2

No chance of getting bored. I can see why they say retirement is harder than working.

Spent the morning in the kitchen trying out some new Tex-Mex recipes and managed to get 5-6 meals worth in the freezer. Got the dishes finished just about the time my daughter arrived home on the school bus.

Had my first opportunity to lead the warm-up at our martial arts class (Kuk Soon Won). Ah, the benefits of Dan Bo Nim (Black Belt in training)! Didn't do too bad for my first time. Looking forward to my wife's turn! :-)

Finally caught the FedEx delivery at home this afternoon and signed for my last paycheck. Should I go blow it all on something unnecessary like a new laptop?

Not Working: Day 1

So, here it is -- the first official day of not working (or at least of not getting paid). The Labor Day weekend has already put me in the mood for relaxation :-).

Utter boredom is not a factor since there is plenty of tennis to watch from the U.S. Open. Not that I'm already worried about being bored...

I'm also busy surfing the web since it's never enough to just watch TV (I credit my work experience for developing great multitasking skills!).

I decided to Google "stay at home dad" and low and behold there are numerous sites dedicated to keeping such people connected including other blogs such as www.rebeldad.com.

Geez, and I thought I was getting out of the competitive business world!

The rest of the retirement story

So, how did I arrive at this drastic decision?

I've been employed as a software engineer at Sun Microsystems for the last 4 years, having worked at IBM for 16 years prior to that. After nearly 20 years in the computer industry it may not be that surprising that I'd be ready to retire.

Over the course of the last year I've had a few chances to think seriously about what kind of work I'd like to be doing. One of those opportunities was in the midst of a layoff during which I reviewed my financial situation to assess the impact should I lose my job. I survived the RIF (Reduction in Force) but the job I was doing basically evaporated so I was looking to change positions anyways.

During the course of that job hunt I came to the conclusion that I no longer had the passion for the kind of work I was doing (kernel programming) that I had had earlier in my career. So, knowing that my financial situation was stable (my wife is still working :-)) I concluded it was time to take a break -- hopefully an extended one -- to reassess my priorities and to get inspired again.

So I've escaped the confines of a corporate job and am now roaming wild in the jungle.

OK, most folks just call that a "stay-at-home dad."

That wasn't so bad, was it?

It's done. I'm retired!

This last week wasn't nearly as nerve racking as I expected. My manager was a little surprised when I gave notice but was convinced I had given serious thought to my decision so didn't press much. Others at work have been supportive -- some even envious! A few thought I would go stir crazy after a short period of time. That remains a concern for me too!

Anyways, I had my exit interview and cleaned out my office today. Had a chance to talk to a few more folks prior to my departure. A lot of nice sentiments expressed. I'll miss those people. One last chance to say good-bye at a farewell lunch tomorrow at the local Tex-Mex place (it's Green Chile Fest at Chuy's this week!).

Back to the wild

I'm sitting here on what will hopefully be my last conference call at work. Not that I detest conference calls -- just that I soon plan to separate myself from my job!

Was this a rash decision? Not really. More on that later.

For now, I still have to tell my manager and go through the hairy details of separation. After that... incredible feelings of elation and a great weight being lifted (I hope).