An Absence...

Well I've finally come back to the blog... it's been a very busy time since my last post (which to be honest I can't remember when that was without looking it up).  The time since has been filled with politics both internal to work and external, learning French, taking care of the Science Department as a new department chair (and so learning the ropes), learning new music, and updating the automation of my house while keeping up with the SacFAN group (Sacramento Free-thinkers, Atheists, and Non-believers) and the new Science Forum that a member and I have promised to organize. All in all, a very busy time.

My readings have increased dramatically as well as I try to keep up with Chado studies, martial arts reading, preparing to go back to Kendo, and then trying to have a love life in the process. One of the highlights of my time away from writing was to see the Taiko group KODO from Japan  live on stage.... It was absolutely impressive! I have caught myself telling friends that it ranked up there as one of my top 5 live performances to have witnessed. The picture that goes with this entry shows two of the members playing on the O-Daiko (Great Drum) for what seemed like forever but was more like 15 minutes... but STILL!

Finally, I have been expanding my applications for research and have kept my Internet radio station going most days even though I am really the only one who is listening most of the time and Mom listen in occasionally. I have also accomplished the final stages of automating my house with security cameras (only two more left to install... one now and a more sophisticated one a couple months from now) so that I can keep track of my dog and my place from a distance considering the strange things that can happen. As an example, two months ago I came home to find that 2 German Shepherds had somehow found a hole in the fences and followed my dog through the dog-door into the house. After chasing them out, I was left to deal with a trashed house and mud tracks and splatters I am still finding today. I vowed to do something to stop that from happening again. After the landlord got it together to fix the fences, I put together the plan for surveillance. I can even watch the house on my iPhone... ain't technology wonderful? More about these developments in later blogs.... it's good to be back!