Homeward Bound

I drove my family down the coast to visit my hometown (San Diego) for Christmas. My kids were able to spend time with their grandparents, uncles, and auntie. Thanks to one of my brothers and his girlfriend, we were able to spend one of our days at Birch Aquarium! Christmas was a blast and before heading back up north we visited Chicano Park - the park of my childhood.

Amazingly, much of the park looked the same although many of the murals have been repainted. I stood on a spot I remembered from when I was five. It was something else to look at the rest of the park from that view (before my kids wanted to move on). I was happy to get some notes down for future writings during our visit.  

River to Ocean

Earlier in the month, we took a much needed family vacation - a perfect cabin getaway overlooking the Russian River! In following the river and gallivanting about, we found ourselves at where the river meets the ocean - setting up camp where but some dark sand, pebbles, and driftwood separated the two bodies of water. There was so much for our little ones to explore.

Early morning along the Russian River

Our serene river view was a welcome respite from the tumultuous road of recent national events. Although the aftermath of the election has been equally empty, our incredible experience of returning to nature reinvigorated us just in time for the holiday season. I'm thankful for our incredible trip because I was able to take time to appreciate the blessings that I have and also put in some work on my favorite project (writing). Speaking of which, I'm happy to announce that my novel is available at even more online retailers than ever before.  

The Joy of Travel

We decided to take a mini-vacation of sorts (about a week and a half) that took us up the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, and finally to the great city of Vancouver B.C. in Canada! I know the kids will not remember these travels and that some people would consider bringing them along more trouble than what it's worth, but not for us because we'll remember the trip for them and we also have photos and videos of the two visiting several extraordinary locales. So we have 100% pure magic to show for it and such sweet memories that we will not soon forget.

These two loved this garden!

When not gorging on delicious foods or visiting tourist and non-tourist hot-spots, I took the time to pay attention and be present to soak it all in. In searching for inspiration and references for upcoming novels and short stories, I found plenty to make note of. There was no shortage of inspiration, that's for sure.

Zen 

We were back by the 2nd of August and DEF CON 24 was soon enough to begin. I'd like to once again thank the good people of DARPA, DEF CON staff and attendees, and Dark Tangent in particular for listing The Kaleidoscope among other great books in the HW assignments reference to promote the theme of, "Rise of the Machines" and "Spiritual Machines".

Automated Competition!

We are in an era of true discovery and it was a privilege to be a part of this year's assigned reading for DEF CON 24's convention theme. It is the hacker that will bridge the gap between man and machine; for it is the hacker that connects the ether of the zeitgeist.  
      

DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge