From Big Blue To Little Blue

Back in the fall of 1997 I was a single man, living in an apartment in Chapel Hill, NC, and working at IBM. I decided to leave IBM to go work for Rational Software.

Five years later, I was married, living in a house in Raleigh along with two step-cats, a dog, and a baby boy. While I was out back chain-sawing trees that had fallen during an ice storm into our yard and onto our house, Shelley called out to me the news that Rational had just been acquired by IBM.

Fast forward four more years, two more moves and one daughter. In that time I've continued to work for IBM, but now remotely from my home office. That is, until today. Today, after more than nine years, I am leaving IBM (again). There was no party, and there were no songs because everyone I work with is somewhere else. That's OK.

I left not because I was unhappy with IBM, but instead because an opportunity knocked on my door in the form of a company called
AdaptiveBlue. This is a Web 2.0 company that provides a plug-in that promises to "make your browser smarter". Though I'll still be involved in testing and quality, this will be a big change for me because AdaptiveBlue is small and agile in the exact way that IBM is not. Also, as one of just five employees, I'll have a chance to make a real impact.

So, goodbye Rational and IBM. Thanks for the experiences.

Rockin' The Suburbs

We've lived in this house for over three years now, and though we enjoy most aspects of it, one thing we don't like is that it feels very generic to us. Maybe it was too much dry wall and boring white trim. Maybe it was the fact that 3 of the other 8 houses on our street are the same model. Whatever the reason, it was time for a change.

This change came via the fine craftsmen at Poole's Stone & Garden in the form of a stone fireplace and rough hewn wooden mantle. Here are some shots showing the progession and the end result.

Stone Fireplace 1 Hosted on Zooomr

This is how the new fireplace looked after 1 day of work. Notice the outline of the old mantle.

Stone Fireplace 2 Hosted on Zooomr

After day 2, the wall looked much more stoned, and so did Alex.

Stone Fireplace 3 Hosted on Zooomr

And finally, 4.5 workdays later, here is the finished product.

Rough Hewn Mantle Hosted on Zooomr

Here is a closer shot of the mantle. It is a 150 year old piece of chestnut from a bank barn in Westminster, MD.

Disney Day 7

Friday 26 January 2007

Going-home day had arrived, and a bit to my surprise, I found myself wanting to stay longer. I guess that this is a sign of a good trip. We did not need to catch the Magic Bus back to airport until noon, so we had a somewhat leisurely morning. We packed our stuff and ate most of the food in the cabin for breakfast. What we could not finish (including much of the previous night’s pizza) we golf-carted over to the RV (refrigerated vehicle). We said farewell to Oma and Opa, and left to continue on their Florida Adventure.

Our next stop was the (previous site of the) Fort Wilderness petting zoo. All that was there were some lonely goats that were too shy to let us pet them. Behind the empty pens was the horse barn where some of the horses that work in the various parks live. We said hi to the horses, then headed for the playground and beach. Here I left the other three to play while I carted the suitcases to be checked-in for the flight home.

When I returned, it was time to gather the family and return our trusty steed, O’ 444 back to the Bike Barn. While there we rented 2 rustic fishing poles (long sticks fishing line and hooks) and went to catch some fish. Maybe it was our lack of fishing skills, our lack of bait, or the absence of any fish, but we had no luck finding Nemo or anyone else to impale themselves on our hooks. If nothing else though, we were able to check one last thing off our list.

The rest of the trip involved a bus, a train, a plane, a shuttle, and a drive that got us all safely back home. We were all a bit sad that the trip was over, and were already talking about when we would go back (Ella has it in her mind that we will go back when she is 7 so she will be tall enough to ride Soarin’. Alex thinks we are going back for his birthday in May.)

Looking back, I am pleased with what we were able to do, and what we chose to miss. I’m glad we did not try to take the kids when they were any younger than they now are. It might have been a bit better if Ella were a little older, but she was a champ. The nice thing about taking the kids at this age is that the magic is very real to them, and since they are not yet worried about being cool, they were able to let themselves be completely captivated and immersed. It was definitely wonderful for Shelley and me to see everything through their eyes.

Disney Day 6

Thursday morning dawned cold and rainy, but we were still on the boat to Magic Kingdom before 8:00 because we had an 8:55 date with some princesses. Though we were in a hurry, the kids still took the time to walk through a deep puddle in order to get their feet totally soaked.

We actually got to the park early enough to take advantage of the extra magic hour during which only Disney resort guests can enter. Between the cold, the rain, and the Extra Magic, the place was deserted and we were able to walk on to Buzz Light Year, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh.

It was then time for breakfast inside Cinderella’s castle. We waited in the first floor waiting area until the castle’s namesake princess arrived. There was a short queue until we had our turn. Ella was resplendent in her wet blue sweat jacket topped with her worn out Cinderella pajamas.

The next stop was the Royal Dining Room (I may be making that name up) for the breakfast part of the breakfast. For the Lords and Ladies there was sausage, bacon, eggs, and a fruit-topped stuffed French toast thing. The princes and princesses were served bacon, eggs, and French toast sticks. It was all you care to enjoy too, and I enjoyed it all, especially the bacon and the French toast thing.

During this meal, each table was visited by Belle, Snow Wine, Fairy Godmother, and Jasmine. It was during this stage of the meal that Alex’s #1 thrill of the trip occurred in the bare midriff form of Princess Jasmine. First was the standard autograph signing and picture posing:

Next he went in for the BIG HUG, nearly knocking Jasmine over, and not letting go for an embarrassingly long time.

When he finally disengaged, she called him back to tell him a secret. The secret she delivered was a big smackeroo on his cheek that left him with a giant grin and a bright red badge of honor.

It had stopped raining by the time breakfast was done, but there were still no crowds to speak of. We caught a show of Mickey’s Philharmagic, which in my opinion is the best of the 3-D movies. Next we walked onto to first Peter Pan and then Small World. The latter of these has not aged well, and one can only remember that it was a big deal for people at 1964 World’s Fair, but 43 years later I think the only reason it is still running is for nostalgia.

It was then off to Adventureland where we met up with Oma, Opa, and Captain Jack Sparrow. Cap’n Jack and one of his henchmen put on a sidewalk show in which Alex was chosen to learn to sword fight. This was a fun bonus diversion, especially since the guy who played Jack was so authentic he could have been Johnny Depp.

Of course we then had to on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, since the Yo Ho Yo Ho song was now fresh in our minds. Next up was two spins on the Magic Carpet ride (I can’t believe it is not Dumbo) followed some stair work at the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. The final attraction in Adventureland was the Jungle Cruise which seemed especially lame after the Safari in Animal Kingdom. Even the kids could tell the animals were fake.

Tommorrowland was next. For me, no trip to Disney is complete without a spin around the Carousel of Progress, and since rumor has it that this ride will soon be dismantled, I did not want to miss this chance. I realize this ride is not as awe inspiring as it once was, and the 2000ish scene is a mix between an outdated past (laser discs and 4x3 TV’s) and a future that will never be (voice controlled ovens)but I enjoy it nonetheless. I have grand plans in my own mind about how it should be updated (change it to show 1900, 1950, 2000, and 2050), but I’ll save this topic for a SoapBox. Even so, we all left the theater singing about a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

After Opa armed Alex with a Space Ranger ray gun, Tomorrowland Transit Authority was our next diversion. I remember this ride vividly from 1977 because, while we were on it, my brother Tom told me it was actually Space Mountain, which terrified me. It was less scary this time, and I resisted the urge to play the same trick on my kids. From the TTA we spotted the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, so that was up next, and then it was on to Mickey’s Toontown Fair to ride The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm. At this point in the trip, a roller coaster hardly even phased the kids , though Shelley reported getting jostled a good bit (I generously gave my spot to Opa so I could take pictures). Opa and Oma bought Ella the Minnie Mouse she’d had her eyes on for a while, then we parted ways and left them to their own devices.

A short train ride took us back to the front of the park. Here we accidently caught the Disney Dreams Come True Parade, which was one of the top two parades we’d seen on this trip. Ella was more interested in playing with Minnie Mouse while Alex concentrated on shooting all the bad guys and many of the other guests with his ray gun. The parade served as good farewell to theme park portion of the trip.

In the evening we watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Fort Wilderness beach, which actually provides a fairly decent vantage point for the show. They even pipe in the music. The only downside was that the ducks (not Duck Brown) were aggressively trying to separate the kids from their jelly beans. We carted to the pizza place for some pizza to go, which we enjoyed back in the cabin.

Disney Day 5

Wednesday 24 Jan 2007

We were up bright and early Wednesday morning to make it to our 8:05 breakfast reservations with some Playhouse Disney characters at Hollywood and Vine in MGM Studios. The highlights of this breakfast were the Mickey shaped waffles, and getting to meet Leo and June, two of the Little Einsteins. The kids are big fans of their work, and so were very excited about this. JoJo and Goliath were also there, but they were not interesting enough to take Alex away from his waffles.

The kind waitress also provided the kids with tatoos to match their shirts.

Breakfast was over about the same time the park opened, but even so, there were hardly any guests. The kids met Mickey (again) and Pluto at the base of the giant hat.

We then walked right on to the Great Movie Ride. I’d call it the Pretty Good Movie Ride, if for no other reason that it seems to hardly have changed since the first time I rode in many years ago. Speaking of attractions that could use an update, it was then on to Muppet Vision 3-D, which was a state of the art (for 1990) 3-D movie. The best part was still the old guys in the balcony. There were still no crowds, so we walked on to the Backlot Tour, which was a letdown. Maybe because there were only about 20 people on it, but the special effects people phoned in their parts, and the tram tour was abbreviated. Yawn.

Next we had to actually wait 15 minutes for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but only because we just missed the 11:30 show. The woman who played Ariel did a great job, and Ella really enjoyed it.

Next up was the coolest thing we saw in MGM. It was the world famous race car Lightning McQueen and his best buddy Mater. These were full size, drivable vehicles that looked totally authentic (considering the “real” versions of these were computer generated). From the moment they drove up to the moment they drove off, Alex was captivated. Other kids came and went, but Alex did not leave the side of 95. This was to be his second biggest thrill of the trip.

Wednesday night, we left the kids with my folks and headed back to Epcot. You might guess by the fact that this was our third visit there this trip, that this is our favorite park. Epcot was uncrowded enough that we were able to ride Soarin’ and Mission to Space with hardly any wait. Both rides were still very impressive.

It was then off to World Showcase, for what has become our traditional meal at the Rose and Crown Pub. We like this place because the food is tasty, the beer is superb, and it offers an excellent view of the fireworks extravaganza. Once again, the Rose and Crown did not let us down. We were also very thankful for some crucial time away from the kids.

Disney Day 4

Tuesday 23 Jan 2007

The kids were very excited this day to continue our adventure. Perhaps this is why they were up and at 'em well before 6:00 AM in the morning. While working my way out of a milkshake induced coma and wondering why Shelley had all these children, I manged to contain the kids and their enthusiasm until nearly 7:00. Oma and Opa joined us for a pancake breakfast, then went back to their RV where I assume they went back to sleep.

We saddled up ol' Cart 444 and tooled our way to the bus stop, just in time to catch the Epcot bus. As an aside, on our previous two trips to Disney we were very disappointed by the the transportation service. I don't know if they've made improvements or if we've just been lucky, but on this trip I don't think we've had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus, boat, or monorail.

Anyway, we went back to Epcot since on our first visit there we'd only managed to see a fraction of what we wanted to. Even though only two days had passed, we returned to Epcot older and wiser, and so this time rented a stroller. This was easily the best $18 we spent on the whole trip (the second best being the $18 we spent on 4 bananas at the Fort Wilderness Trading Post - just kidding, the bananas had some brown spots and could have been a bit sweeter).

We strollered back to Soarin', where Ella was still too short. She and I found a Kidcot Fun Stop while Shelley and Alex went on Soarin'. They had a surprise awaiting them in the queue. This year Disney is doing the Year of a Million Dreams where they award prizes such things as free vacations, a night in Cinderella's castle or a Dream Fast Pass which gets you on all the rides without waiting. Shelley and Alex were lucky enough to win 2 of the million dreams in the form of Dream Mouse Ears. What makes these special is that they cannot be bought, only won. OK, so not as good as a $20K Disney Vacation Club property or a trip to all the Disney parks around the world, but still fun to win.

With our ears donned, it was off to Mission Space for Alex and me while the ladies hit another Kidcot station. Shelley and Alex then rode Test Track (Alex did not mind the speed, but did mind being made hot and cold) while Ella and ate a yummy soft pretzel.

We wheeled our way to World Showcase, blew through Mexico, blew past China and Norway, and landed in Germany. Here we enjoyed lunch at the Bier Garten which consisted of brats and hot dogs and some delicious German beer (Lowenbrau for me and some weis beer for the Frau.)
It was in the German toy store that we then discovered the World Showcase version of the Kidcot Fun Stops. These stations allowed the kinder to create a mask in one country, then collect charms and stamps for it in all the other countries. These masks were brilliant since they gave the kids a reason to keep on going. While they were coloring their masks, I discovered a Spaten and Shelley discovered a Becks Dark, which were also brilliant since they gave us a reason to keep on going.

World Showcase also turned out to be a great place to collect autographs. Some of the best were Donald Duck, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Jasmine, Aladin, Genie, Aurora, Belle, and Pooh. You can see the requisite photos of all these and more at zooomr. I'll share one here just to prove the Duck Brown was actually on this trip:

After seeing all that we wanted to see in Epcot, it was back to Fort Wilderness for a swim. This we did not because it was particularly warm, but because you should not miss a chance to swim outside in January.

Tuesday night dinner was hot dogs and marshmallows at the campfire where we were entertained by some campfire song singing lady, Chip and Dale, and a cartoon. The Fort Wilderness campfire was one of the few things I remembered from 1977, and not much has changed in the last 30 years. This is a good thing, and was a great way to end a (dare I say it?) magical day.

Chip Ahoy Hosted on Zooomr

Disney Day 3

Monday 22 Jan 2007

Monday was Animal Kingdom day. We started off with the safari, which Shelley and I agreed was the best we'd ever seen it. I just don't know how those Disney Imagineers make those animals look so realistic. We then took a trek on the Pangani Exploration Trail, which was nice. We'd already seen enough wonders on this trip however, that the kids hardly broke stride to check out the gorillas along the way.

It was then on to Camp Minnie Mickey where the kids got to meet and greet The Mouse himself.

There was not enough time to queue for Minnie, Donald, or Goofy before the Festival of the Lion King began. The music, gymnastics, and fire tossing captivated Alex, but somehow made Ella hungry. We then learned in the Tree of Life that it is Tough To Be a Bug. We also learned that being sprayed with a foul smell is just as offensive in the Animal Kingdom as it was in Epcot.

By this point, the kids were falling apart. A pretzel and some popcorn rejuvenated them enough to tackle the Bone Yard. This is a dinosaur themed playground complete with places to get wet and a large sand/pebble pit where kids can dig up dinosaur bones while collecting stones in the hair and underwear. We'd spent what felt like an age in the Bone Yard when the rain started, and that was enough of an excuse to go back to the campground.

We ate lunch at the Trails End restaurant at Fort Wilderness which was an all you can eat buffet, including chocolate pudding. I love me the pudding. Long before I was hungry again it was time to take the boat to Wilderness Lodge where Oma and Opa had made us all dinner reservations at The Whispering Canyon.

The Whispering Canyon is adjacent to the impressive lobby of the lodge, and even by Disney standards, it is a restaurant with flair. This is never more apparent than when you ask your waitress for some ketchup.

You might think that this would have been the highlight of this meal. Or perhaps you would guess it was the wooden "pony express" ride all the kids took around the room. Either guess would be wrong. The actual highlight was the All You Care To Enjoy milkshakes. If you ask me, this is an innovation that is long past due. I very much enjoyed my first milkshake. I less enthusiastically enjoyed my second milkshake. When asked if I would enjoy a third milkshake, my mind and my stomach said "no-no" but my mouth said "Would I? Of course I would!" Stupid mouth. It took some doing, but I managed to adhere to my no milkshake left behind policy.

Disney Day 2

Sunday 21 January 2007

The first night in the cabin was a bit rough, as first nights in new places often are. Even so, we set out fairly early Sunday morning to see what the new day would bring. The first stop was the RV for breakfast and hot chocolate with Oma and Opa. We then took the boat and two monorails to Epcot.

The first ride we wanted to go on was Soarin'. The height requirement for Soarin' is 40". The height of Ella in her low-heeled brown shoes is 39.75". She was denied entry. Bad news for Ella, and she was disappointed.

tooShort Hosted on Zooomr

Ella's misfortune was good news for me and Alex though since they gave us an immediate Fast Pass to make up for enforcing their rules. This allowed us to walk right on and bypass the 30 minute wait. Soarin' is a great ride, and would be among Alex's favorite activities of the week.

After rejoining the ladies, we rode Living With the Land. This was highlighted by the method in which they grow pumpkins. Instead of growing them on the ground like normal people would, they instead grow them suspended in the air, like my brother did.

Perhaps it was the Soarin disappointment, the sheer size of Epcot, or the residual exhaustion from the trip thus far, but we were quickly running out of steam. We managed to Journey Into Imagination with Figment (Ella loved it - Alex was offended when Figment turned into a skunk and sprayed us) and Nemo (better than the old Living Seas if for no other reason you get to sit down instead of having to ride the "elevator") before we needed to leave.

epcotBawl Hosted on Zooomr

It was back to the cabin then for lunch, naps, showers, and baths. This was almost enough to recharge our batteries for our evening plans at Downtown Disney. This is quite the destination for those seeking a giant toy store or an even bigger store selling every piece of Disney merchandise imaginable. It is not the place however to find thick soled sneakers for a 3 year old girl.

The main reason we went to Downtown Disney was to meet our friends, the Bankeys, for dinner. In real life they live three doors down from us, but since they happened to be in Orlando at the same time we were, we were compelled to meet them for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, which like the Bankeys, can also be found in Maryland. The best things about dinner were the light up drink glasses, the fake rainstorms, and the fake gorillas sitting behind us.

buzznUs Hosted on Zooomr

Duck Brown Goes To Disney - Day 1

Saturday 20 January 2007
We realized a few months ago that if we wanted to take the kids to Disney World during the off-season without taking them out of school, this winter would be our last chance. After months of saving, planning, and preparation, the day was finally upon us.

Leaving home only 8 minutes after our planned departure time (which is a record) got us to our gate at Dulles airport in plenty of time. The only misstep was that Ella wore the wrong shoes. The brown shoes she put on were less comfortable than the sneakers she left behind, but more importantly, they were less thickly heeled. Later I'll reveal why this is important.

The flight was remarkably unremarkable, especially for Ella who chose to sleep for half the trip. We arrived in Orlando around 1:00 PM and made our way to meet the Disney Magical Express. The best part of this service is that we were able to check our bags at Dulles and not have to deal with them again until they (magically?) showed up in our room.

The magic bus took took us to our resort - Fort Wilderness. This would mark my fourth stay at the Fort, and I was very curious as to what this time would bring since the last three times were each marked by significant events:

• 1977: My first trip to Disney
• 1992: The Spring Break that changed history
• 1993: The "Storm of the Century" caused us to bug out a day early.

We checked in and made our way to our cabin. Now, I am big fan of tent camping, but there is also something to be said for camping in a climate-controlled building with a kitchen, a bathroom, and a separate bedroom. After getting settled, we walked to the Bike Barn and rented a golf cart. I'm not sure if this is what people do when camping in the actual wilderness, but hey, we're on vacation, and besides, it is fun.

We tooled over to the 700 loop and met up with my parents, hence forth referred to as Oma and Opa. Since they are knocking on 70, they are required by federal law to spend time each winter in the sunshine state. They'd trailered their RV from Pennsylvania to Florida over the previous few days and we were excited to be able to share this vacation with them. I was also excited that they had already parked the RV, so my help was not required.

After saying our hellos and spilling some of their food, we carted to the marina where we caught the boat to the Magic Kingdom. I'm no sailor, but I have to say that boating to the Magic Kingdom is much nicer than taking a bus, and not just because it is faster.

Once in the Kingdom, our first ride was the train since outside of a Zeppelin, we'd already taken every other form of transportation this day. The park was surprisingly crowded for January, but we managed to ride:

• Haunted Mansion: Alex said this was too scary, but Ella did not think so
• Cinderella's Carousel: Of all the carousels we've been on, this was one of them.
• Dumbo: (girls) Ella was thrilled to drive the pink Dumbo all by herself. What is it about this ride?
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: (guys) It was a little scary, but Alex was brave and had a great time.

We met back up at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe in Frontierland which was disappointing food-wise, but happened to be along the route of the Spectra Magic parade. This was fairly decent as parades go, and we got to see a who's who of characters. After the parade all that was left to do was buy some cotton candy and ride the boat back to the Fort. It had been a good first day.

New Year's Eve Eve Party

Click here for photos

Back in 1992, my fine friends Dave and Kristi thought it would be fun to get together and welcome in the new year. On that fateful night, I remember Dave saying , "How likely do you think it is that 14 years from now we'll still be doing this, but in Maryland, with a bunch of new people, and a bunch of kids?" to which I replied "I also imagine that we will arrive in flying cars and play video games that we control with our bodies." Kristi did not say anything because she was out in the front yard banging on pots and pans for reasons I still don't understand.

So who knew we'd be so wrong about the flying cars? How about it, science? At least we got everything else right.

The fun started on the 29th with the arrival at our house of Kristi and Dave and their orchestra. Before I knew what happened Janine and Hugh, Marci and Rob, and Eric and Stacy also arrived, along with their respective orchestras. There were nuggets and waffle fries (thanks, Jen), pulled pork, lasagna and who knows what else. Somewhere around then Wendy and Russ arrived sans orchestra, not counting the child in Wendy's belly.

Not long after the food was gone, we turned on the Wii, and that is when things start to get fuzzy. Time passed and everyone went to bed - 20 people here and 2.5 people at a nearby hotel.

Saturday morning brought more chaos and Sue. It also brought some babysitters who allowed us to escape from the children. We went to downtown Fred City where we met up with Gretchen, Mike, and the forthcoming Lutz at Brewer's Alley.

Back home then to save the babysitters, as we went once more into the chaos. Again, more stuff happened, more Wii was played, and some Catch Phrase and we had our New Year's Eve Eve party. There was also some singing that I have to mention because it was Shelley's favorite part. My favorite part was the bacon which you will hear about in the next paragraph.

The morning of the 31st was, you guessed it, chaotic. Some people were leaving, some were staying, and I was making the last of the apple wood smoked bacon, left over from Christmas. Some people had already had enough fun. Bags in hand they went on their way. By the time things had settled down, there were 7 adults and 7 children remaining. Eventually we found ourselves at TGI Friday's for dinner, after which we saw Charlotte's Web. All the talk of killing Wilbur reminded me of that delicious bacon. Talk about some pig!

After the movie we said farewell to the McWettsone Four, and returned to the house for the lowest key New Year's Eve party in at least a year. Everyone else left the next morning, and so ended the festivities. The road to a friend is not long, especially when the uncanny likeness of that friend exists as a Mii to grace my TV screen when ever they want.

Thanks to all for a great time!

Click here for photos

Merry Christmas in Maryland

This was our fourth Christmas in Maryland, and I think we are starting to get the hang of it. To me, Christmas is a time of family traditions, and we managed to keep most of the old ones and start a new one.

Traditions Kept

• Wake up Christmas morning in our own beds
• Brew-pub dinner on Christmas Eve
• Watching It's A Wonderful Life while assembling presents

New Traditions

• Lobster Tail Dinner Christmas Night

Traditions Lost

• Drive-by gawking of crazy decorated house in Point of Rocks

My folks came down Christmas Eve, and were able to watch Alex sing as part of the kid's choir:

saidTheCow Hosted on Zooomr

They then took us to the "Skinny French Fry" restaurant (aka Brewer's Alley) for dinner, where Ella was being Ella:

ohElla Hosted on Zooomr

Christmas morning brought the chaos you'd expect, along with some delicious apple-wood smoked bacon. It was well worth however long it took off my life. Once it was gone and the presents were all opened, Oma and Opa hit the road back to PA.

The second round of presents arrived with Grammy and Grandad who managed to pack enough gifts into their Forrester to do Santa proud. They were rewarded with the joy of family and a surf and turf dinner courtesy of Omaha and Opaha Steaks.