the more things stay the same...

[nostatic]

the more they change...

Highlights from a semi-pelican-sabbatical. 2015 has been fairly crazy so far and part of that involved a bit of a hiatus from PPOT (Tabs' death watch notwithstanding). At some point the crazy guy sitting in the corner of the bar ranting gets to you and you need to step outside for awhile.

Anywho, for those following playing along at home, a few highlights.

- we moved. Got notice from the old landlord at the end of March that he was going to sell the house and we had 30 days to find a new place to live. Not the best timing as my son graduates from HS in June so moving in July would have been way easier but life isn't always easy. Of course actually we had 60 days by law (our old landlord is kinda clueless - and I still don't have my deposit back), but I went into full tactical and we signed a lease for a new place mid April. We shrunk from 1900 sq ft to 1200 sq ft but that is just an opportunity to parse the crap from one's life. The good news is that we're on a hill with a view of the ocean and are out of boxes.


view from the deck

- the boy graduates HS next month and was accepted to the interactive media program at USC School for Cinematic Arts. Not only a great program (they've been ranked #1 for many years running), his tuition is part of my benefits package so it is free. Feel like we won the lottery. Now he just has to execute.

- i3 crash, GS sale. Early in the year there was a problem with the i3 that led to a (thankfully) low speed crash. No injuries, but a long battle with BMW NA. After much attitude and incompetence from various players, things worked out. But I'll never own another BMW product and sold the GS as part of the purge (also because we hadn't been riding much).

- Triumph purchase. The "not riding much" thing didn't last long. Seems I still like being on 2-wheels despite LA traffic. And truth be told, the wife is the main proponent as she loves riding. So after doing some research and shopping a new Triumph Tiger 800 XRx followed me home. The 800 triple engine is all that and a bag of chips. I still lust after a Ducati Multistrada but at $20K it is a bit hard to swallow and they may have gotten too complicated for their own good. We'll see.





- work remains nuts. The govt seems to want to continue cutting budgets (research? Who needs that?!?) but so far we're staying fairly well supported. We had a pretty high-profile year in 2014 and that continued this year with a bunch of popular press (including some video pieces on Discovery Channel Canada, Fox 2050, gizmodo), and giving a talk at SxSW interactive. Always a struggle though as we're in a "what did you do for me lately?" world and technology changes by the day.

And now back to it. Hope everyone has had a good year so far...

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by nostatic

....At some point the crazy guy sitting in the corner of the bar ranting gets to you and you need to step outside for awhile.
...

Thanks for the updates Todd, but ya didn't have to stay away for THAT long....I got a ride home right after you stepped outside

Congrats to Calvin and to YOU!!! .Well done and welcome back....but I didn't miss you one bit...a hiatus every now and then is good for the soul and I returned just yesterday.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Congrats to the son. Free college......damn.

I'm not shocked that the i3 didn't last. Welcome to the "BMW never again" club. I sometimes flirt with cheap E46 M3s but am fighting the good fight.

[daepp]

Todd - have you done any more TED talks?

Nice bike BTW!

[pete3799]

I thought you were dead.

[nostatic]

No TEDx this year, but did a panel at SxSW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q70a6dBA_4M

And got a nice set of quotes in USA Today:

Virtual reality is coming to sex, sports and Facebook

And got to spend a nice frosty day at Ft. Leavenworth for a panel:

CAC requests industry help to improve training | US Army Combined Arms Center

Never a dull moment...

[BlueSkyJaunte]

The college news for your son is outstanding!

Good to have you back.

[herr_oberst]

Glad you're back Todd.

[creaturecat]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

glad you're back todd.

+1