Life has been eventful; this blog has not reflected that. Random noteworthy happenings from the last few months:

High school friends visited for a Sonics game a couple of months ago, and I was dragged out to the golf course for the first time in my life. On a beautiful Saturday morning, I shot 68 - albeit on a short 9 hole course. The one shot I managed which actually had any loft to it was ironically out of a bunker; picture perfect, with barely any sand flying. Otherwise it was a lot of ugly short hacks, but it was still fun - I feel like some time spent at the driving range might be in my future.

Two good friends from university got engaged. It’s spring, and matrimony is in the air.. anyways, congratulations Greg and Agi, and Jeff and Cathy!

Susan introduced me to horse back riding a couple of visits ago. I remain convinced that I radiate an aura that broadcasts loudly: “here is a man uncomfortable with animals larger than a cat”. My horse - a resident of the Sea Horse Ranch - completely ignored the annoying human on his back, and proceeded straight for the hay bales or pawed his hoof in the tall grass rather than trot along the trails. We were forced to get a guide, whom the horses obviously respected; and it was fine after that.

Speaking of transportation modes: after the first two awkward sessions (where I had difficulty with turning radii), driving lessons have been surprisingly smooth. I’ve had four and a half lessons and will be hopefully passing the test soon, and that will draw to a close a ten year era of forced transit and mooching of car rides. Apparently, this will be disappointing to some; not at all to me, especially with the renovations I’d like to start soon, the climbing and taekwondo that I’d like to get back into, and the general frustration I have with wasting so much time waiting for the bus on weekends.

I spent last week in London, mainly to talk shop with customers. After three days interacting with the UK studios (who, by the way, do excellent work - go watch Troy or Harry Potter 3 for evidence of that), I had just one day to myself which was spent in Westminster Abbey, the Victoria and Albert, and the Tate Modern museums. I’d been to London, when I was twelve and still in orchestra; we dropped into London for a couple of days after three weeks in and around Bath, Wales, so I’d already been to some of the landmarks in England as well as the British Museum. Lasting impressions? Well, London has the greatest museums on the planet, a pretty good subway system, real CG production jobs, and friendly people (as evidenced by an animated chat with the ex-CEO of Scottish & Newcastle who was sitting next to me on the Heathrow Express) - but the sheer population in the city and the cost of living is just astronomical, even by Bay Area standards. No, I don’t think I could live there.

Susan bought a house!

Finally, PRMan 12.0 was announced today. Yep, work was computational geometry and data structures for a very long time. If you have any questions about Loop subdivision surfaces.. well, at the very least I know what papers to point you at.