Costa Rica Day 3: A Volcano with a View

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A great viewI was up at 5:30 AM Central Time and looking to surf. This was our third day in Costa Rica, Tuesday, December 20. And it was Merri Beth’s birthday today!

I took a short walk to Playa Negra with my surfboard under my arm and eagerly awaited the surf check to see how things were. As I made the left towards the beach, I could already hear the surf crashing on the volcanic reef. When I arrived at the break, there were only a handful of guys on the main peak. I paddled out to join them. Continue reading →

Costa Rica Day 2: Surf at Playa Negra, Trip to Tamarindo

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Playa NegraTime to get to the beach and into the water. Surfs up! The best part about this vacation was we didn’t have any pre-set agenda. All Merri Beth wanted was a tan, all I wanted was some waves. We left the laptops at home, intentionally. I think Zander was just stoked to be with us and wanted to get in the water as well.

Day two, Monday, December 19, started off with breakfast at Cafe Playa Negra. We ordered some pancakes and a smoothie. Dave, one of the Cafe servers, was awesome. He was very friendly and gave us some good tips. After breakfast, we packed for the beach and began our journey to the beach at Playa Negra. Continue reading →

Costa Rica Day 1: Arrival and Crosscheck

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The entire family was up early getting ready to head to the airport. Our flight left RDU at 6:50 AM on December 18. We were bound for Liberia, Costa Rica for a week of vacation.

Of course, the first part of vacation is dealing with travel arrangements and getting there. We checked into our flight the previous night and only needed to get our bags checked in at American Airlines (AA). We were dramatically close to the 30-minute cut-off. While at the self-service kiosk, we selected one checked bag at the advice of the attendant suggesting that the front desk would help us with the second bag and speed things along. By the time we got to the desk, the clock was against us and the time we were trying to save earlier backfired on us. Continue reading →

CityCamp Honolulu Recap

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Originally posted on opensource.com and guest posted on sunlightfoundation.com.

The theme that emerged from the first CityCamp Honolulu, held on December 3 (the 17th CityCamp held worldwide), was restoring citizen confidence in their government. In a very collaborative and participatory atmosphere, organizers looked to citizens to generate ideas for the City of Honolulu’s upcoming Code for America project and to harness the power of design thinking to rapidly prototype ten topics generated during the unconference. Continue reading →

A Sneak Peak at Pullen Park

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On November 17, 2011, I joined other community members to explore the recently rennovated Pullen Park in Southwest Raleigh, NC. The instant you walk through the gate, you realize that this is a special place for Raleigh. I was immediately impressed. The park staff has many reasons to smile, because Pullen Park is going to attract park-goers from all over North Carolina and beyond.

I invited my southwestraleigh.com blogger, Kris, to attend the VIP-only event. We explored the Continue reading →

Get Your Pirate On – My First OBX Half Marathon

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It was five years ago this weekend that I caught the running bug—thanks to my buddy Iain Gray, who ran the Outer Banks Marathon back in 2006. Merri Beth, Zander (6 months old at the time), and I, spent the weekend on the Outer Banks to cheer on the runners. It was a great experience and inspired me to get into running.

Last weekend, I had my best half marathon to date. I finished the City of Oaks race in 1 hour, 42 minutes and I was in the top 20 of my age group. I’m ecstatic with the results. I’ve come a long way in four years. I’m blessed to be able to run these races and love the feeling when I cross the finish line.

This will be my first year running the Continue reading →

TriDUG Meetup November 16 – 6:30PM at Red Hat

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I wanted to let you know about next week’s TriDUG (Drupal User Group) meetup on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 starting at 6:30PM, hosted at Red Hat. The agenda is below and if you’re planning on attending, RSVP at meetup.com.

This is actually part two of a series TriDUG is hosting about using Drupal with non-profits. Last month, Drupalers were introduced to SpringBoard followed by a presentation from Hesketh.com on working with clients. Next week, TriDUG has more of the same great stuff. Continue reading →

CityCamp Colorado Keynote with Stephanie O’Malley

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The second CityCamp Colorado started off with two speakers from the City of Denver setting the stage for the day’s theme: enhancing access to government. Held at the Jefferson County Administration and Courts Facility on October 28, 2011, more than 70 people gathered to participate, learn, and advance the open government movement. After Tom Downey, talked about the power shift in open government, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephanie O’Malley for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock explained the importance for citizens of knowing how to find government information. Continue reading →

Running the City of Oaks

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This year will be my fifth time running in the City of Oaks half-marathon. My finish times have ranged from my first ever half-marathon at 1 hour and 54 minutes to last years personal best of 1 hour and 46 minutes.

I’m excited about the new course this year that takes us through Southwest Raleigh and starts and finishes at the NC State Memorial Bell Tower. The course will take us through Continue reading →

CityCamp Colorado Keynote with Tom Downey

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The second CityCamp Colorado started off with Tom Downey and Stephanie O’Malley from the City of Denver setting the stage for the day’s theme: enhancing access to government. Held at the Jefferson County Administration and Courts Facility on October 28, 2011, more than 70 people gathered to participate, learn, and advance the open government movement. Continue reading →