Packt Publishing recently asked me to be a judge for their Open Source Content Management System Award. You can find a brief bio and mug shot of me on their judges page.
For my non-IT friends, content management systems are basically software applications you place on the Internet server that are quickly replacing the old "flat file" format. For example, I use a CMS to blog about CMS as well as this site. Yea, my website needs some work done to it...perhaps when cold weather returns to South Dakota. Despite what you might think from the bio, I'm still with the National Weather Service and currently don't have the time or resources to make my "side business" in information technology anything more than a hobby. If IT positions were ever "downsized" in the NWS, though I know exactly what I would be doing for work.
Karen and I posted some new pictures in our photo album. These pictures are from Easter 2006 and the rest of Spring 2006. During that time we celebrated our fifth anniversary and made a trip to Kansas City. The night of our anniversary was spent dining at the Plaza and staying at a nearby hotel. Logan spent the time being entertained by his Grandparents and this was really our first time away from Logan as a couple.
Over the past few weeks, I put together Logan's new swing set. The "two to four hour" project took one full day and several evenings. Logan didn't seem to mind though...
Here is a nice picture of our son while eating his spaghetti dinner. It's hard to believe that this boy once won a "cutest baby" contest, isn't it? In Logan's defense, this was taken on Friday evening just after our "movie night". Obviously, he had his eyes more on the TV and less at his plate. In fact he was so much into the movie (Monsters Inc) that he didn't realize he ate four dishes of spaghetti.
Fridays have become the one time we allow our family to eat dinner in front of the TV and not at the kitchen table. The change from routine allows some funtime for the end of the work week. Mom and Dad don't mind at all...
I finally had a chance to pull Thanksgiving photographs from the digital camera. I'll eventually get the pictures online and sent in email when time allows. My family, my sister's family, and my Uncle Ron were in Kansas City for Thanksgiving dinner at my folks. You never know how small a house is until you put 9 people together to share three bedrooms and 1 shower. With Logan and Preston sharing the same room, I'm not sure how much sleep any of us got. However, Preston and Logan seemed to enjoy each other's company and we all enjoyed seeing them together. I have no doubt when the two cousins get together in the coming years that there will be more games and adventure for them to discover.
Our family recently went on a mini-vacation a couple weeks ago. We spent a few days at Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side). The weather was initially warm so we were able to dine outside and walk the tourist areas. This is my fourth time in Canada and I'm always amazed just how much more "relaxed" everyone seems. On the third day it rained and we were pretty soaked during our visit to Marine land. Karen likes to see the Dolphins and more importantly, Logan does too. We had a blast despite being wet.
