I got home around 6:30 tonight after a super busy day. My folks were already at our house.. they’d driven up from Boston this afternoon. the house was also full of kids. Tonight was the surprise party that Morgan had put together for Matt and Hannah T.  The house was all decorated, the cars were hidden.

.. then around 7:30. Deb’ drove up to the house with the kids. We all ran up the fornt staircase and hid..

As they came in the front door we doused them with silly string and confetti. You could tell that they were completely surprised !

The party was really nice.. I think there were about 30-40 kids.. I found out that today was also Brit’s 18th birthday.  (I was using gabe’s camera without a flash.. sorry for the blur !)

It was a beautiful sunset outside as the kids went out to the tramp.. and messed around the campfire

We even had a pinata !

We do love fire here…

Then folks came in for icecream and cake. The kids had made a double cake for the twins.. it had two photographs  of the guys made into the icing.. very cool

Things started to quiet down around 11.. we started to clean.. but Hannah decided to lie down in the mess

Dad and Mom enjoyed the chaos too. They fit right in !…

It is really nice having all the family together

Dad and I fell asleep upstairs.. Mom caught this picture.

While the kids played sketchy songs in Sam’s room..

A really nice night ! Sam.. I sure felt you here in spirit.. you belonged OK.. Gotta go work some now..  Love you all.. Love you Sam..
-me

Ahhhh.. home again !.   Diane and I just came back form our 3 day trip to CTRE. It was a really nice trip. It was really good having some quiet time together with just the two of us.. It was also nice being out there with all my IBM friends. I really do love those folks.
   Note much to report for the day.. we spent it all on a plane getting back . It was so wonderful waling back into the house and seeing Max and  Gabe.  the dogs and . a beautifully clean house… To top it off, Max had made us a welcome home snack of pizza, spinach pie and cake. around a candle. Now that’s a homecoming !     I love my family.. I love my home…    I love you sam…

-me

Freinds..
   DIane and I have just coem back from the big dinner party that ends the IBM Corporate Technical Recognition Event.. It’s been a wonderful and relaxing day.. lots of things happened.. but I’m way too sleepy to capture them now.. I’ll do the best I can until I konk out..

The day started at 6:30 with a breakfast of all the IBM fellows. It’s a funny group.  I’ve never met a more intelligent, diverse or pleasantly quirky group of people..  Today was a particularly poient meeting since our group guru, Nick had announced that he’ll be retiring in October. All of us.. and I believe there are 70 of us now.. look to Nick as the g-dfather of technical people in IBM. hes’ helped all of us so much in our work and careers. it’s hard to imagine IBM without him.. It was tough to say goodbye.

Areound 8 I met up with Diane and we went in to the main ballroom for the beginning od the meeting. Before the show started, I went up and met ‘Mole’ .. the husband of my good friend Marylou. I’ve heard so much about Mole.. he’s an ex rock and role sound guy.. now doing freelance work for shows like CTRE. He’s a really nice and funny guy. Here he is on the right with his freind.. who’s name I’m spacing on.

He placed a samstone up on the mixer board ..

When the main session started, they played some video clips of coupls together.. the IBM award person was thanking his/her spouse for their support. We were one of the first ones.. There I was up on the screen telling folks how much I love Diane.. pretty cool !

They had some great speakers today.. including Dr. Hawass. the director of Antiquities at the Cairo museum.. He gave us a whirlwind tour of the state of tomb exploration. mummy identification preservation, etc. It was fascinating.

We then heard form Angelique Kidjo.. a wonderful world music singer from benin.. and a crusader for kids and girls in emerging africa. She was incredibly inspiring..

We then listened to a number of additional IBm awards.. including the class of 70 new IBM Distinguished engineers.

After the session, we ate a quick lunch then met back at the busses for our river trip. We drove about 45 minutes to the Salt River.

It was a nice bus with a bathroom… which had a very descriptive sign inside….

We got a boat with Brynn and Carl..

Here’s Gerog and his wife Heidi.. Georg co-won the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics for high temperature superconducting material.. He’s a very nice and modest guy.. you’d never know he’d won the award unless you asked him.

Here’s our river guide Tim

We came upon a small group of with houses on the Native American reservation side…

Paul and Heidi were in the bow ..

It was a beautiful 7 mile float. great scenery.. lots of cool facts.. I tossed a SamStone into the water near a cluster of islands.

We passed a bald eagles nest.. See the Eagle ?   He’s in the mid right of this picture.

Here’s an old abandoned eagle’s  nest.

After the boat ride.. we came back to the hotel. I had a few work meetings.. then we went up to Lisle and Glenn’s to meet their baby Sam  short for .. Samantha.. She’s named in part after our Sam. It was wonderful holding her.

At that point I realized I had 20 minutes to get back to my room. showered and dress before I needed to be back for a reception.. I managed to make it !.

I went down to the lobby and saw my friend Kerry with his beautiful wife and Ginny R.

After soing a bit more movie clips for the fellow interviews.. I went back out into the reception and grabbed Diane.. then we made our way over to dinner.   Diane and I were hosting a table… here wre our table mates.

Dinner was fun.. I managed to find a guy wearing the exact Garcia tie that I was !

The big name performer of the evening was Leann Rhymes. I’d bever heard her music.. but I really liked it. We hug out for a good while.. then decided we had to sleep..  And we do !  I

It’s been a wonder 3 days out here with Diane.. I miss the kids and doge.. I’m glad were’ going back tomorrow !

OK.. that all for now.. .. gnite all.. gnite Sam !
-me

What a full day… It’s only 10:30 and both Diane and I are trying to stay awake.. me to write.. her to read.   We woke around 5:30 due to the time change.. then we went for a wonderful longish run down a gravel track along one of the river canals.. It was cool running through the neighborhoods around Phoenix. Many folks have cactus gardens instead of lawns.. work for me !

Around 7:30 we wandered over to breakfast and from there into the kick-off section of the CTRE conference. As always the conference stuff was superb.. Great speakers and good fun. This year the conference has about 1000 folks and is being emceed by my friend Doug. He and his team made a cool IBM video that described the reach of the company and all the countries we work in… He managed to hide an image of a SamStone in the movie. It as so cool !!1!!!  I’ll get a copy of it and post it when I do !  It was so nice of him that I really got choked up.

There was a great speaker(Franz Johansen_ as well as a bunch of awards given out. Near the end of the session. Sam P.. our CEO came out and gave a short. great talk about the state of the company. He was in a really great mood… and did a wonderful job of outlining the companies good health.

After his speach. Sam introduced the new crop of IBM fellows.. There were 9 this year.. more than any other year in the companies history.. After accounting for retirements.. I think this now makes it 67 active IBM fllows. 

I was asked to do a quick video interview with each of them in the spirit of an academy awards paparazzi. We even had our own red bathmat to act as a red carpet.

After the session and a brief lunch, we all broke up into a bunch of different recreation activities. Diane and I had signed up for ‘vigorous hiking’ .. We got on a bus with a bunch of friends and drove only 15 minutes t the base of a range of hills.  The hike was rugged.. but not particularly steep or fast. We had a good time looking around and talking to your friends. .

We saw some great flora of the sonoran dessert. Take a look at the top of this flowering saguaro.

And this retired watermelon

Here’s the nasty jumping churros.. The common churrs had detachable seed pods that propagate when an animal get son in his/her skin n and cant get it  out.

Kerrie got one of the little creatures in his leg…

I’m getting too tired to stay awake again !

We put a few SamStones in the desert with  full guides permission…

We eventually wound ourselves back to the staring place.   The ride back was quick. We took advantage of our early return to sneak a peek of Glen and Liesel’s new baby ‘Sam’.. sh is so adorable.. and named.. albeit indirectly… after our Sam.. It was just wonderful to meet her.

We then went back tot he quiet zone and had a up of tea.. I ran into Georg.. the Nobel Prize winner for his creation of atomic force microscopy.

Here’s Glehhhhhn..

Here’s wonderful Joan C. the boss of this whole event. . she’s retiring at the end of this event.. not sure how we’re fill her shoes !

Later that evening Glenn, Leisel , Diane and I were picked up at our hotel  and dropped off at a good Indian restaurant. I was sitting there talkign to them about Ruchir’s pratha-making skills when he came in the front door. We pulled up another table and all ate together.It was truly lovely !

Here’s aanika

And here’s isha

Well folks time to sleep.. I’ve fallen asleep 5 times as I’ve tried to write.
I will do some more to flesh in details of tomorrows event… if I can stay awake !

OK.. that’s it for now.. more tomorrow.. We love you Sam !
– me