Raible Designs

There's nothing like finishing up a training class

There's few feelings as great as finishing up a training class. The aches and pains that sneak into one's bones after talking and standing for 4 straight days is amazing. This week, I've been in Milwaukee, training a bunch of folks on Spring and particularly the new features in Spring 2.0. I had a full classroom this week, 18 students, and a number of them where PHP developers moving to Java. I had a tough time convincing them that web development with Java was easier, but hopefully they enjoyed the class anyway.

Now I'm sitting in the Milwaukee Airport, getting ready to fly back to Denver. Once I arrive in Denver, I have 2 hours before my flight leaves for Vegas. Hopefully I can catch a couple naps in flight and recoup before tonight's crazy night in Vegas begins.

As far as airport security, it was easy getting through in Denver, but they stripped me of my toothpaste and hair gel here in Milwaukee. Oh well, I shoulda known.

Headed to the Drunkest City in America

I'm sitting on a Frontier flight getting ready to take off for the Drunkest City in America. Should be an interesting trip for sure. Anyone know of any good pubs around the Hilton Milwaukee?

Southeast Light Rail

On my way in via Light Rail this morning, I noticed a sign with http://www.southeastlightrail.com on it. This site tells you about the new light rail that's opening in Denver in a few months. The road part of the T-Rex Project was finished last week, and we couldn't be happier. We finally got direct access to the freeway after 3 years! Aaaahhh, the things you notice with an EVDO card on the train...

New Puppy

Abbie and Jack are two of the happiest kids in the world today. Grammy (Julie's mom) flew into town last night and brought a new puppy with her. Abbie has named her "Cookie" and she's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She's 12 weeks old and already knows how to "go in the grass" and fetch things you throw for her. Thanks Grammy!

BTW, I did notice (and ignore) the following note on Flickr's homepage:

Remember! Flickr Terms of Service specify that if you post a Flickr photo on an external website, the photo must link back to its photo page.

WTF? I guess they don't like the lightbox thing, eh?

The neighborhood just keeps getting better

When Julie, Abbie and I first moved to our neighborhood, Julie was a little apprehensive. She liked living out in the burbs, and we were planning on living here for a few months while another house was being built in The Ranch. Meanwhile, I loved the neighborhood. I went to school at DU (a mere 8 blocks away) and considered the area my "old stomping grounds."

After a couple months, The Ranch house fell through (price went up 60K) and we decided to double the size of our house. We rented the house next door while ours was being built. Last year, that house was leveled and a nice 2-story, full basement house was put in. It sold a couple months ago for $750K. When we remodeled our house, we did it because we needed the space, not because we thought its value would skyrocket.

Today, I couldn't ask for a better location to live in. I was disappointed when the excellent Italian restaurant (literally 50 feet from our house) was replaced with Little India. However, I love Indian food and we've grown to love the new place. The wine tastings (Wednesdays and Fridays) at Little's Liquors are great, and the fact that I can take out the trash and pick up a bottle of wine in under a minute is phenomenal. The fact that Safeway is 1.5 blocks away is great, we walk there several times per week. Heck, even the first Chipotle ever built is only 6 blocks away. Not to mention Jerusalem's, the best Middle-Eastern food in town.

My motivation for writing this post is because a new Sushi place has moved into our neighborhood. Julie mentioned it last week, and I had a chance to check it out today. I was very impressed when I walked in and discovered it was a John Hollys. I've only eaten at one John Hollys (near Park Meadows Mall), but it was excellent. Needless today, lunch was scrumptious today and I'm looking forward to eating there again. The Sushi Den is pretty close by as well, but it's probably a mile away - unlike John Hollys at a 1/2 block.

A device-free weekend

This weekend, I did something I haven't done in a while (if ever). I left my laptop at work, and I promised myself to not touch a keyboard all weekend. When my phone's battery died on Saturday morning, and I realized I'd left my charger at work, I decided to go no-devices all the way. Of course, I still watched TV and enjoyed my car stereo, but being computer-free felt liberating. It was an awesome weekend, and I'm thinking about doing it from now on.

Saturday, Julie and I had a great time watching Superman, IMAX, in 3D. It was killer. The whole movie wasn't 3D, but the 4 scenes in 3D were incredible. I highly recommend it. On Sunday, we had kickass seats to The International thanks to Virtuas. We sat on the 18th hole and watched golf while getting free cocktails served to us for several hours. It didn't suck by any means.

Back from the Hills

Last week at the Cabin was a great experience. It was one of the first times I've been there in a while where I didn't want to leave. The kids loved it, partly because of the 4-wheeler, but also because they were outside the whole time. Allowing kids to get as dirty as they want is kindof fun. Abbie liked it so much she said she wanted to move there. Who knows, maybe she will someday.

When we arrived at the cabin on Sunday, there was lots of tall grass everywhere.

My mom, a.k.a. "The Burn Boss" (that's her new title at work), made quick work of the fire danger and spent the next 3 days mowing down the grass and killing any knapweed she found.

When we weren't hanging out, riding "Rockit" or building the new cabin, we enjoyed Glacier Park and putting a foundation under my parent's bedroom.

On the way home, we stopped and saw my aunt in Helena, then spent the night at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Saturday was a long 11-hour drive through Wyoming.

All in all, it was a great road trip. I think I've had enough driving for a while though. In the first week alone, I hit 7 states in 7 days!

Going off the grid

Today marks the beginning of Raible Road Trip #10, Leg #2. My parents and I, as well as Abbie and Jack, are leaving soon to drive to Spokane, Washington. We'll stop in Spokane tonight, where we'll meet up with my sister and Julie. Kalin arrives later tonight (hopefully with a case of cider from her cidery), Julie flies in tomorrow morning. From Spokane, it's about a 4-hour drive to the cabin.

Think we're the ones having all the fun? Nope, Julie is in Vegas right now with her sister. They flew in last night for 12 hours of good ol' Vegas fun.

The cabin, which you can read more about on my about page, is "off the grid" in Montana. There's no electricity, no running water, and 120 acres of lush Montana acreage. There's a sauna for bathing (good ol' Finnish roots) and a generator if we really need power. My mom prefers no generator, my dad likes power and bright lights. I suppose I could dial-up to the 'net if I wanted, but MacBook Pros don't have modems, which is how I prefer it. Vacation shouldn't involve a computer - so I'm pretty pumped that mine will be pretty much useless all week. Besides, we're pouring the foundation for the Cabin #2, and that sounds like a lot more fun than any of this computer stuff.

I'll be back in Denver a week from today, but I don't expect to have any desire to work/blog/etc. until Monday the 7th. And with that, I'm officially on vacation.

Heading back to Denver

Today is only day 3 of Raible Road Trip #10, but it's likely to be the most stressful one. I'm at Portland's Airport (on their free wireless) getting ready to hop on a plane back to Denver. The Max worked great this morning. I caught it outside the Convention Center around 4:30 a.m. and was checked in before 6:00.

I land in Denver in a few hours, pick up the kids, and fly back - arriving back in Portland around 2:00 this afternoon. Abbie is 3 and 1/2 and Jack is almost 2. Jack will surely impress me with his deviant and defiant behavior. There's nothing like flying with a 2-year old. They won't sit still for more than 5 seconds, and they love to kick the seat in front of them. Should be interesting for sure - wish me luck!

10:30 a.m. Update: Arrived in Denver at 9:30. The CowBoy Bar on Terminal A is the best place to get power at DIA. There's 3 outlets in the corner on the left when you walk in. The kids should be here in an hour, our flight to Portland leaves at 12:30.

Update 2: We arrived in Portland virtually stress free at 2:00. The kids were great on the plane. Jack slept half the time and Abbie colored Dora pictures. The only hard part was carting two backpacks, 2 car seats and 2 kids through the Portland airport.

Driving to OSCON: Day 2

This morning, Jim and I slept in a bit and hit the road around 11. The time zone changed on us after an hour and all of a sudden, we were destined for Portland in good time. It was an enjoyable drive through the Columbia Gorge with some beautiful scenery.

We arrived in Portland around 4:15 p.m. and checked into our hotel across the street from the Oregon Convention Center. It didn't take us long to realize the wireless sucked (b/c it's trying to suck off the free wireless next door).

We hopped on "the Max" and headed into downtown Portland. We found the local Rock Bottom Brewery, found out they didn't have wireless, and ended up at Jax Bar. They have free wireless and cold Guinness. You couldn't ask for much more.