2014-12-20 Saturday - Workout

30 minute run-walk around the harbor
10 push-ups
10 jumping jacks
stretching

2014 Retrospective Contemplations

Another year approaches to a close....another year around the sun on this fragile blue marble.  It has been a good and productive year.

Some highlights from this year:

• 5th metacarpal subluxation (April)
• Continued adding substantially to my personal library through various thrift store purchases and library sales
• Completed some important repairs to my sailboat(July-September)
• Continued work on my book of nautical poetry
• Spent time exploring Port Ludlow and Port Angeles
• Labor Day trip to Vegas (August)
• Attended Strange Loop in St. Louis (September)
• San Diego Zoo trip (September)
• Explored the coastline of Maine  (October)
• Attended QCon in San Francisco (November)
• A client engagement was successfully concluded this year
• Spent 47 weeks living in hotels on business trips
• Began negotiations to start a new client engagement in 2015

Goals looking ahead to 2015...

•  Renew my efforts to learn Mandarin
• Focus my efforts to establish a deeper understanding and working level of expertise with Machine Learning concepts, algorithms, and tooling
• Spend some time sailing out to the islands
• Add some new gear to the sailboat [Wind Generator, Solar Panels, ...]
• Attend Carnaval in Mazatlan (Feb 12-17) and see some old sailing friends...
• Attend OSCON 2015 in Portland  (July 20-24)
• Make at least one international trip (Japan or Scotland)

Ripples of Kindness

One drop in an ocean sends out only a tiny ripple.

It is easy to discount and ignore that ripple.

But that ripple intersects with another ripple. Eventually the ripple meets a shore and rebounds. Sometimes the harmonics of the ripples can build. Rogue waves of towering power and immense size arise from just these principles.

An act of kindness can send out ripples that you cannot even begin to imagine. One ripple was started over 10 years ago when someone treated me with kindness at a venture capital breakfast meeting in Seattle.

Today, I send back out yet another ripple.