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As is my tradition, I post a sort of year-end evaluation of my life around my birthday. This year is no exception.

I was on a holiday sojourn in Brooklyn this year when I turned 38. By weird chance, I was but a few doors away from John Hodgman's home. I did not see the nerd hero and fellow Massachusetts native in person, but I did detect his home's WiFi network. How do I know this? Because his network is very clearly marked.

This year was a transition for me and I suppose many people. I lost my long-time job with Leostream, a company I helped launch. That was the first job from which I was ever let go. Technically, I was laid off. Had the economy been better, I don't think there would have been a reduction in force. But, for every door that closes, a new one opens.

I have not been idle during this time. I have done some contracting and have attempted to launch my own software company. Although that failed, I did learn how to write a formal business plan. I have been revitalizing my technical skills, which had become narrowly focused during my Leostream years on virtualization. That lead to two restructures of the taskboy.com site and a few new public utilities. I have become interested in video production using python. And I have some ideas for next year that I'm very excited about.

Sally and I have essentially finished renovating the interior of our home. I adore where I live and whom I live with. I'm an extraordinarily lucky fellow. If I've had some setbacks, I am still very far ahead of the game. And the future is an unwritten book.

Birthday number 37 is nearly over for me. It's been a hell of a year and much better than last year. Mother Nature gifted me (and most of northern NE) with a historic ice storm that knocked out power to my home. I was kept awake last night by the insanely frequent sounds of branches failing under the weight of 1" of ice. Doesn't sound like much, but it was enough to snap mighty limbs of the mature oaks in my yard.

I'm a lucky guy. I've got a great wife, a wonderful home and even a job that pays me. What more could I ask for (*cough* Amazon gift certificates *cough*)?

Today I am 36 years old. As has been my tradition, I jot down a few thoughts for the public and the future on passing these ordinary milestones of life.

To say that this year saw significant changes in my life is a gross understatement. Not only did I move out an apartment that I had occupied for 12 years, I moved in with the woman I was to marry. I wore a kilt for the first time this year. The company I work for, Leostream, moved to larger offices. I had my first vacation in Jamestown this summer.

Not all changes have been good though. I lost a cat, Tempest, and my mother, Pat Johnston, to cancer. A second cat (of the original three) also has cancer. There was a host of other deaths of important family and friends this year too. All of which has put me in a reflective mood.

As a remembrance of things gone by, I post this picture from 1953 of my mom with her siblings and who I suspect are her maternal grandparents. I was very close to not only my mom but her sister and brother. As of December 2, everyone in that picture has passed on.

The fifties where the formative decade for my parents (who weren't hippies or beatniks at all). In many ways, they attempted to inculcate that same culture to my brothers and me. Most of those lessons could be boiled down to:

• The Golden Rule
• Don't be burden on others
• Mind your own damn business

More than ever, I feel the responsibility of being an adult more acutely than ever before. I've got more than my personal budget to deal with now.

I expect even more changes personally and professional next year.

Duty now for the future.

Happy Birthday, me!

On Decemeber 12th I have, as I have had for the last 35 years, a birthday. If last year's didn't convince me that I'm no longer young, this one makes the point more insistently.

Since I'm likely to be very, very busy until then, I post about this monumental event now.

Still, things in Joe Central aren't all that bad. I have a delightful girl friend, reasonably good health, many good friends and a ever more prosperous business. All these have to count for something.

UPDATE: Today is the 12th and it's a fine, fine day.

UPDATE: Got my present from Sally: a hoodie that says "Awesome since 1971." And you know? That's absolutely the case.

Although a minor event in geo-political history, today is my thirtith birthday. I write this packed with 30 year old scotch and watching a biography of Paul Lynde, a personal ghost of my youth. Much has changed in my life in these past ten years since my last significant birthday. I no longer work as a dishwasher at a fast food dump; I have a college degree; I'm employed in a field that I enjoy. I meet this birthday fifteen pounds lighter and one co-author credit better than last year. Not so bad, really. Wonder what the next ten years will bring. With luck, it will involve cross-gender coupling and transmission fluids. Vroom. Vroom.

[Original use.perl.org post and comments.]

The titantic forces of history were colliding in December, 1971. Shirt collars were wide and pants were bell-bottomed. The Vietnam war raged through Asian rice patties and flickered across American television screens. Bangladesh's struggle for independence ended when Pakistani occupation forces withdrew this month (thanks, in part, to the massive love-in concert featuring former Beatle George Harrison). NASA's Mariner 9 probe became the first to make a soft landing onto the frozen hell-planet Mars. Richard Nixon was completing is first successful term in office. The James Bond film Diamonds are Forever opened this month to thrill audiences everywhere. The Monkey's Davy Jones accepted the challenge of his actor career by appearing as himself on the Brady Bunch episode "Getting Davy Jones."

Of course, the most important of event of this momentous year was when the British Academy awarded The Benny Hill Show "Best Light-Entertainment Programme." The award not only validated Hill's subtle use of irony to satirize the staid culture of post-war Britain, it also gave tacit approval the show's unflinching portayal of rampant British cross-dressing and boob fetishizing.

Into this swirling cauldron of fate, love and war, a child was born this day in Leominster, Massachusetts. That child was I. The rest, as they say, is history.

Other noted celebrities born today include:

• Frank Sinatra
• Connie Francis
• Bob Barker
• Sheila E
• Edward G. Robinson ("Yeah, see? Yeah...")
• Alyssa Milano (not born today, but in December. Plus she's a hottie)

[Original use.perl.org post and comments.]

«The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.»

--Oscar Wilde

It's that time of year again: my birthday. As kid, I was hardly containable on the eve of the twelfth. December was a most excellent month for me. With presents arriving roughly every fortnight and Christmas vacation to boot, December proved tough to beat. However as an adult, which at 32 I mostly surely am (at least legally, if not morally), I have found this time of year to be the most distressing by a wide margin. Most of my close friends, who are numbered parsimonously in the best of times, are all widely dispersed now. Although I haven't been in a good relationship for too many years now, I find that I am thankful for not being in a bad one now. Despite some weight gain, I'm still in good health. Despite the terrible economy, I have found employment and possibly something even better. Although still learning the craft, I'm more confident than ever in my abilities as programmer and debugger.

All in all, it could be a hell of lot worse.

If this all seems a bit morbid for a birthday journal, please note that at the first high school party I attended (complete with cases of Old Milwaukee, Bud Lite, and the bitterly ironic Miller High Life), my attempts to hit on a lass yeilded only the comment "you're a maudlin drunk!" Nothing wounds like the truth.

However, I've gained nothing if not some insight into the nature of my particular mortal coil and I know part of me delights in the dark, the gloomy and the dramatic. Which is exactly why I enjoy humor, the antithesis of serious (and mostly worthless) sentiment. I am grateful that most of the barriers I now face in life of those of my own making.

So, on your knees 32; I'm your Daddy now.

[Original use.perl.org post and comments.]

Dear log,

Even at 34 years old, I still catch myself thinking "I wonder what I'll do when I grow up?" At some point, I think I'll have to come to terms that I have, in truth, already grown up and that the answer to my question is: pretty much what you did yesterday.

Someday, I'll make this blog valid HTML 4 transitional. HTML/XML is just too weird.

Like many adult Americans, I believe the greatest gift of the holidays is their limited duration. I spent this New Year's at Dartmouth college with Zorknapp and his wife at Pizza Hut. It was a destination holiday.

Next year promises to be very interesting and full of existentialist terror. I expect Leostream to build aggressively on last year's business. I'll be recording at Nate's more. I'll certainly be programming many wonderful things. I'll need to lose some weight again.

And who knows what else this year holds? I'm not one for resolutions, but a certainly amount of planning is required in life. Looking ahead, aught six should be eventful.

Say, it's my birthday today! I'm now 34 years old and still a hard-chargin', code-writing, music-playin' S.O.B. Mike and I may do a radio show tonight, which would be great. Other than that, I've got no plans but to keep on keepin' on.