Had a great time today going to the 2013 Maker Faire in San Mateo today. Bought a marshmallow shooter kit for Tyler and a t-shirt for myself and figured I would buy anything else online at a later point. I found the people attending the event to be very pleasant and the makers excited to show off and talk about their projects. As a first time attendee I would recommend going early because parking became difficult at 11am and we had to walk a few miles to and from the event as a result. I pushed Tyler in an umbrella stroller which he is border line too big for but asking a six year old (as of today) to walk that much would have been tough on him. He stayed in the stroller most of the time until he saw the Streampunk inspired former airplane mover he had to go in. We stood in line for about an hour in the sun for that. I’ve been thinking about getting an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi and was going to get one at the event but decided to buy it online as well in the future.

We put the candle half way in the cake.  ;)

We surprised Grammy (Christina’s mom) with a surprise appearance from her family at Yosemite this weekend.

Today I was driving to work and was at the right place at the wrong time.  As soon as I merged onto 580 going west bound I saw a Range Rover make a very hard left to avoid the car in front of him which caused it to flip onto the roof of the car twice.  The most difficult thing to see was I saw the man driving the vehicle get ejected from the car and thrown high up into the air and onto the highway.  Something else I’ll never forget is as the car was flipping a bunch of dust and debris was in the air and all the sudden that dust turned pink.  It was like I was watching a movie right before me but I obviously knew it wasn’t.  Cars immediately stopped just before the location where the SUV came to a stop and we all sat there for a moment not quite sure what to think or do.  It was like time stood still for a moment.  I drove my car onto the shoulder of the highway so I could call 911.

Fortunately 911 picked up within 20 seconds of me dialing which was great.  I was in shock, I know I was because after getting off the phone I realized some of the information I gave to the operator wasn’t as accurate as it should have been.  While I was talking with 911 an African American man started climbing out of the SUV’s sunroof and was very likely in shock because as soon as he made it to the roof he literally rolled off the roof and collapsed onto the highway.  He got up maybe 30-45 seconds after falling to the highway and walked close to the front of my car and collapsed again at the side of the road and sat down.  Everything about the crash was disturbing and I felt so helpless.  I had my son in the back of the car and people were trying to get by the accident so I was also afraid of becoming an accident.  A nurse came to the scene and tended to the African American man and I talked with an officer to help give a report later in the morning.  If anyone has more details on the victims of the crash I’d love to know more.  I pray for their families and themselves and can’t express enough how much I feel for them.  The photos of the car is from a picture a coworker found on Waze and is not something I took.  It does however help show what I saw (to a degree).  Please drive safe everyone and please buckle up.

News Reports

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/I-580-reopens-after-fatal-crash-4483068.php

http://www.contracostatimes.com/livermore/ci_23155869/livermore-fatal-car-wreck-interstate-580

I can’t get enough of this song.

With a cake like that you know she loves us.  Dairy, nut, and taste free!  ;)

Weed, CA is one of my favorite places in the world.  It has some of the most amazing views.  I stopped for a drink and snack on my way home and tried to capture the mountain beauty.

My dad had a four way bypass today here in Portland.  After being able to talk to him after the third time seeing him today he had some advice he urgently wanted to share with me.  The first thing he said to me was “Jeremy, RUN!”  What he was referring to was I started to train for a 5k a few months ago that I wasn’t able to participate in because I came down with the flu.  Essentially he was saying “Jeremy, do whatever you can to take care of yourself because you don’t want to be where I am some day”.  Trust me, I want no part of what I saw today.  I played some basketball in school but once I got into the corporate world exercise like a lot of things took a back seat.  Today I got scared straight let me tell you.  I haven’t been able to eat meat for 2 days now.  I’m scared to death of meat in general after seeing what I saw.  My dad had to go through so much over the last few days I am so motivated to get healthy.  If one of your favorite foods is ice cream and hamburgers like mine was, go to a hospital cardiac unit and see how good that hamburger and ice cream sounds after sitting in the lobby.  I’m seriously contemplating going vegetarian, but want to talk to a dietitian as soon as I can to make sure I do things correctly.

My dad is doing well, he had one heck of a day today.  The anxiety of the last 5 days has caused a big strain on all of us, but nothing like it has for my dad.  I could just feel the stress all over my body.  My breathing was different, I got headaches, my back and shoulders were tight.  I seem to carry other people’s stress and I could just feel the stress of the family all over me.  I saw my dad three times today and like most dads, mine is like Superman to me.  I really haven’t ever seen my dad down for very long, ever.  Today he was strong as always and determined as ever but man did it shake me to my core about eating right and taking better care of myself.  If you aren’t taking care of yourself, spend 5 minutes with me and I’ll try my best to convince you to change course.  Run, jog, walk, hike, bike, get active and eat well.

I love roadtrips, especially the drive between the Bay Area and Portland. Here are some of the pictures from yesterday while driving. Hey, it kept me awake.

“Compliance is simple to measure, simple to test for and simple to teach.  Punish non-compliance, reward obedience and repeat.

Initiative is very difficult to teach to 28 students in a quiet classroom.  It’s difficult to brag about in a school board meeting.  And it’s a huge pain in the neck to do reliably.

Schools like teaching compliance.  They’re pretty good at it.

To top it off, until recently the customers of a school or training program (the companies that hire workers) were buying compliance by the bushel.  Initiative was a red flag, not an asset.

Of course, now that’s all changed.  The economy has rewritten the rules, and smart organizations seek out intelligent problem solvers.  Everything is different now.  Expect the part about how much easier it is to teach compliance.”

- http://sethgodin.typepad.com

This is either a SPAM comment or a really strange person.  Either is possible.  I normally treat strange people like SPAM so the comment won’t see the light of day on my blog (other than me posting it here that is), but you have to admit it is pretty out there.  In response to this post about my love for Huberts Lemonade.  Long live the internet, SPAM, or whatever/whoever you are.

Christina threw her back out today so we made a quick trip to the chiropractor this afternoon. Tyler had his third tee ball game this morning so Lizzy had her supportive gear on.  Watching The Lorax on the TV.

“Everyone that you fight is not your enemy and everyone who helps you is not your friend.” – Mike Tyson

The Dark Side spotted Tyler the Star Wars Geek in yesterday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They shot him with some foam stuff and he loved it. It made his week!

Tyler went to a birthday party today where they had a scientist / lab person do experiments with the kids.  As you can tell it was a hit with Tyler.  ;)