I added a section to my father’s memorial site that talks about his time at LLNL. The lab has an internal newsletter and the content of this page was provided by the article they will be running in the newsletter, including several memories from co-workers spanning the 45+ years he worked at LLNL.
LLNL
The lock-down beard was fun, but it’s time had come. I may do this again after summer. 🙂
A few photos I took this week of the sun setting in the back part of our property.
My father left all his guitars to me. All 36 of them. I spent a few days going through them all and cleaning them up and documenting them. While they are all very nice, with some of them being extremely nice, there is one that stands out. That’s the 1961 Gibson SG Special. This guitar is special to me. My dad used to take it out when I was very young and play it for me. His kick around...
After 7 years at Kaiser I decided to switch us over to a PPO during Open Enrollment on January 1st. The driving force behind that decision was better care for a handful of my kids that have specific needs at this point in their life. While Kaiser is great, there are a few things here and there that prompted me to try more individualized care. It has been a nightmare! I don’t suggest...
Everything I know about Cryptocurrency, which is not much, I learned from Andrei Jikh. I am in no way an authority on the subject, I am very much a noob that dabbles, I don’t even research that much, I just wanted to own some Cryptocurrency (and stocks). I use Robinhood and Webull as well as directly purchasing Cryptocurrency from an exchange like Coinbase and storing that using Ledger Nano...
While the remodel was somewhat small, the amount of time it took was not. What was supposed to be just a week, turned into 5. It was rough living in our living room for those weeks, but it was worth it. Our laundry list was somewhat short. Remove carpet and install flooring in 4 rooms (kids rooms + master)Remove popcorn from ceilings.Texture all walls in the 4 roomsMove some vents in the floors...
Physical wounds are easier to deal with than wounds of the heart. You can see them with your eyes, you can touch and attend to them with your hands. You don’t have to prove to anyone, including yourself, that you have them. If my leg has a wound and it’s broken, it’s pretty easy to accept that. I can’t walk, if I do, it hurts. Given time and treatment, the wound heals and...
I created a memorial website for my dad. You can visit that site here. (www.akapapa.com) We are collecting stories and memories about my dad, so if you have one, please consider sharing.
Here is my my post that doubles as the site’s about page.
Dad at LLNL (Building 113) – 1970’s
You can’t make someone love you.You can’t make someone care.You can’t control “things”.You can’t change someone’s heart.You can’t think for someone.You can’t truly see through someone else’s eyes.You can’t be anything you want to be, but you can try.You can’t do it on your own.You can’t bring someone back after they are...
Today was a life changing day. In January of 2019 my mother passed away. Today my father suddenly and unexpectedly passed away, just two short years after my mom. I have never liked January, it’s the let down after Christmas. It’s the Monday of the year. The feeling right now, aside from the loss and sadness, is a profound disconnect from who I am. A very large part of my identity was...
My wife and I built a very simple set of shelves from a design we found online. The process took a few hours, with most of the time spent on staining the wood. Next time we are going to stain the wood before we build the shelves. 🙂 We have these set on our fireplace to the left of our TV. It looks pretty good.
Practice makes perfect. I have heard that so many times! As a kid it’s what I was told about getting better at guitar and piano. Whenever I wanted to do something new, it always came down to practice. Practice and practice some more. It’s a basic concept, one that makes sense, but is easier said than done. I prefer to just be good at stuff. Have you heard of Masterclass? Basically...
Just to see how it would look, (and an attempt to make a lame and practical van look cool) I decided to black out my minivan. This van is eventually going to my 18 year old as soon as she has her Driver’s license, which we are waiting on the DMV for, thanks to the lock down. It turned out okay. I did all the work at my parent’s house in the Bay Area. All the badges (removed the...
I took a few photos during some trips with my kiddos around Livermore. Del Valle and Sycamore Grove.
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”Winston Churchill Customer Success My favorite definition of Customer Success is very simple. Delivering value with a wonderful experience. If I were to imagine that I myself was in a Customer Success Manager role, I would see my function as making sure that post sale, our new customer stays our customer. I...
After 5 years I have earned a sabbatical! I have planned it for the summer of 2021. Here are the things I want to do. Travel: 14 days in New Zealand (Bonus: Hobbiton!)Complete this rally school, get licensed and participate in a rally. While there drive and explore New England in a rally car, possibly WRX or BMW. (14 days)Camping trip in Tahoe or Sierras with family, including...
Updated often. And growing, because … life. Travel Travel to GermanyTravel to IrelandAlaskan Cruise and a side trek to the Yukon to visit Lisa (Scheduled for summer of 2021)Travel to NetherlandsTravel to New Zealand and see Hobbiton (Scheduled for summer 2021)Travel to MexicoHike Half DomeTravel to CanadaTravel to Scotland3 month hike on the pacific trailTravel to IcelandTravel to...
The bike path starts at the edge of my old neighborhood, it begins at the sidewalk and winds all the way through to the other side of town where it ends by Granada High. I have taken this path countless times. As a child this path would take me to many adventures! Then later in life I would ride my bike to Spanish class far, far across town. As an adult it was great for casual walks with a child...
As a “city kid” the last few years have brought a lot of new experiences as I stumble my way through life on a small family “ranch”. Over the years we have accumulated chickens, ducks, goats, horses, many dogs and cats and the occasional vagrant 4 legged creature. I have almost grown accustomed to the joys and the sorrows of bringing new animal life into the world. Almost...