Diamond Head State Park opened at 6:00 am. Merri Beth, Zander, and I were up early on Thursday, December 18 to hike to the top of Diamond Head crater, but we were not timing it to get there as the park opened. On the way, we caught an amazing sunrise, then hiked into the park around 7:00 am. Continue reading
It was our first full day of vacation on Oahu, Wednesday December 17. What to do, what to do? We decided to head to the North Shore and check out the Billabong Pipemasters surf contest, the finale to the Vans Triple Crown.
On the way, we stopped off at the Dole Plantation, home of pineapples and the world’s largest outdoor maze. (Note, it’s very touristy and over-priced.) We arrived just as they were opening and managed to skip a majority of the morning traffic in Honolulu. As we zipped along the H1, H201, and H2, we saw Aloha Stadium and enjoyed the scenery through Honolulu, Pearl City, and Wahiawã. Continue reading
After weeks of planning and months of anticipation our departure date had arrived. Vacation in Hawaii was on the horizon. We just had to get there first.
Mom arrived on Sunday, December 14. We watched some football and relaxed. Merri Beth and I were getting some packing done while getting things ready for our last day of work for the year. We couldn’t wait to have a few weeks off until January. Continue reading
The training paid off. Those long runs in October made a huge difference. Despite the up and down weather in central North Carolina, the running season this November turned out to be pretty good. The first race of the season was the City of Oaks half marathon. Hilly and cold. How would I fare? Continue reading
The ideas were flowing on Tuesday night, December 2, 2014 at the monthly Code for Raleigh Brigade meet-up. We had a great group of folks from City of Raleigh staff, Wake County staff, developers, citizen hackers, and a few new people ready to improve our government through technology. Our meet-up was held at the NC Innovation Center and by the end of the night, we had 11 projects ideas whittled down to a select few to begin working on for 2015. Continue reading
What an amazing night in Historic Reynolds Coliseum. I had the honor of being a guest coach for the NC State Wolfpack during the Alumni throwback game on October 17, 2014. Thanks to 99.9 The Fan, Adam Gold, and Joe Ovies, I was courtside with Wolfpack greats like Gugliotta, Monroe, Corchiani, Del Negro, Whittenburg, and Towe to name a few. Continue reading
We had an amazing Halloween. Of course, it’s a fun day for the family, but also at work. Halloween is important at Red Hat because of our history. 20 years ago this year, the famous Halloween release of Red Hat Linux was out in the wild. Now, it’s evolved into one of the most trusted, secure, and reliable versions of enterprise-ready Linux.
We have an awesome Halloween party at the office. Starting at 2:00 pm on Friday, Red Hat Associates gathered at the Lincoln Theater for a skit from our Corporate Leadership Team. Continue reading
A cold blast of winter arrived yesterday, making the morning temperatures for the City of Oaks marathon a bit brisk. The forecast was for the low to be in the mid 30’s. Luckily, race time starting temperatures were in the low 40’s. And the wind was just a little ca-burrrr in a few spots!
I dedicated this race to my friend Thomas Crowder, who we lost a few weeks ago to cancer. Thanks for the inspiration Thomas.
This was my eighth time running the City of Oaks half marathon and my 23rd half marathon overall. Last year, I finished in 1:43:08, and my time goal was to beat that. I wasn’t feeling that elusive 1:40 half marathon time today. Continue reading
We were ready for a long weekend on the Outer Banks, but first, Merri Beth and I had few errands to run in Raleigh. Sunsets and long walks on the beach were on hold for a few short hours.
We’d missed back to school shopping earlier in the month, which for us, includes a new pair of running shoes.We went to Fleet Feet on Wade Avenue to get fitted and score some new running kicks. After that, a quick lunch at Whole Foods (to-go) and we were off to get the kids from school. Continue reading
It was going to be a big sports weekend in Raleigh. No Major League Baseball playoffs, but opening night for the Carolina Hurricanes and college football with NC State were on tap for us. My mom drove in from the Outer Banks on Friday, October 10. I left the office early, but was working from home on the upper deck to finish out the work week.
Merri Beth arrived with the kids and then the babysitter showed up about quarter to 6:00 pm to watch Coco for the evening. Mom, Zander, MB, and I were ready to head to the PNC Arena for the opening night for the Canes against the New York Islanders. We arrived and checked out the fan zone, then headed into the arena. Continue reading