Looking at my blog, I see I have been absent for a while. Which seems odd - it feels like the last post was done just a short while ago. I think I'm seeing the summer days fly by way too fast.
But here is a quick update on what I've been working on:
- Business Coding - I continue to make my living writing code (awesome!!). In this area most of my time is spent on the occasional support request for a long established app, and working on the next major overhaul of that app (which leads into some of the other items on this list).
- Vehicle Issues - My old beater started complaining too much. A lack of brakes, leaking fluids, broken/leaking windshield, etc. I need my vehicle to be reliable, even if it is a POS car. So, it was time to do something about the situation, and I bought a new car. I talked the dealer into taking the beater off my hands (suckers!!!) and drove home a 2009 Ford Escape.
- Community - I am still involved with CLUG and COSSFEST. I have stepped down as a director of the Avro Museum due to time constraints - I wasn't able to contribute the time to be an effective director. So, I stepped aside so someone else can (hopefully) fill the role. I'm still a member of the museum though.
- DefCon 17 - A group of us are planning on travelling to Las Vegas for DefCon. Most of us attended last year (my pictures), and are planning a little more for the trip this year. Watch for more on this in the next month or so. We are driving down, and planning on spending a week there. I think there is still room in the vehicle for one or two more, so let me know if you're interested.
- Friends - A friend of mine has begun planning a number of events to help raise money for the Weekend To End Breastcancer. She is planning on walking on the weekend in question, and has committed to raise funds for the walk. Keep an eye on her Scrap Breastcancer website for news and details. I've been helping her with the website (being the "geek" friend who knows these things... ), and moral support. She also picks my brains about event planning. I'm no expert, but I have done a couple (CLUG Meetings, Calgary LinuxFest 06, COSSFEST 07 and 09, etc.)
- Love life - an odd thing has happened. I met a woman who has brains and looks, AND seems to be interested in me. My social calendar has expanded as a result, leaving me with less time to "get my geek on". This is probably a good thing though.
- Family - when possible, I spend time with my daughter. Tonight I get to watch her play baseball, and we're planning a possible road trip out of the city this weekend. I stay in touch with my mother (who lives out of province) and extended family when I can, but this seems to be more through FaceBook these days.
- Research - Somewhere in all of this, and related to the business coding, I continue to research new things and expand my skills. Recently this includes the Zend Framework (I've written a bit about this), and more specifically working out the upgrade path from version 1.6 to 1.8. The bootstrap process is rather different, which means I'll need to overhaul the bootstrap routines of my application. I continue to stay abreast of what is happening with jQuery, though I am not as active on the mailing list as I used to be. And a friend gave me a Freeduino for my birthday, so I've been playing with that a little and exploring ways to put it to work for me (possibly a custom GPS data logging tool).
- Relaxation - I recently picked up a used copy of Obilvion for the PS3. Oops. That game can suck you in and demands a large time commitment to finish. But, I have finished the main quest (finally) so I think this will be less of a time demand now. And of course, I still watch the occasional movie (part of that love life thing mentioned above).
Well, that's a quick snapshot of what I've been up to. Now, I need to get back to work and then get ready for a baseball game tonight.