On Solstice Day last month, I conjured up a set of 3 personal goals:
Hike to Seattle and back
Climb the Burj Khalifa thirty times
Lose three stone
My son Dewald asked if I planned to travel to Dubai and do all the climbing in one session. I smiled at his innocent question and literal interpretation. No, I’m not planning on actually climbing the Burj Khalifa thirty times, though it would be cool to do it once! However, I do plan on climbing the equivalent of thirty Burj Khalifas in 2015 and to hike a distance that is equivalent to hiking from San Francisco to Seattle and back. And I do hope that, in the process, I would lose the equivalent of three stone.
Simon Christen is an animator at Pixar. He’s worked on Toy Story 3 and Monsters University, and many other animated features. But Simon is also a brilliant photographer. And he’s combined his love for animation, photography, hiking, and nature to create some of the most amazing time-lapse short films I’ve seen. You can check out his photographs on his website at http://www.simonchristen.com.
On August 8, 2013, my son Conrad graduated from Ex’pression College in Emeryville, California, with a BS in Sound Arts. As Salutatorian of his class he had to give a speech. For Conrad, public speaking is not one of his favorite activities, but we all thought he did a wonderful job!
Following is transcript of Conrad’s speech – or at least what he wrote down to say, as well as a graduation picture: Continue reading →
I’ve been quite absent from posting here… and today I’m revealing the reason. I’ve created another blog related to my interest in investing.
Since returning to the USA in 2002, I’ve learned about investing in the stock market. There are several reasons for this interest, including the poor interest that banks pay on deposits.
Yesterday was a very special day for me at Pixar. We celebrated the 10-year (and 20-year) anniversary of everyone who joined Pixar in 2002 (and 1992). Pixar does this every year, recognizing the passion and commitment of its employees in a special way. We had a lunch, an awards ceremony and a gathering afterwards for friends and family.
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Today, Pixar’s latest animated short film, La Luna, was included in the list of 5 nominees for the Best Animated Short category. Enrico Casarosa directed La Luna, and I was privileged to have worked with Enrico as the Effects Supervisor. We’re very excited and keeping our fingers crossed for Feb 26th!
Hieronder volg ‘n herkoutjie, my vertaling vir ‘n musing. Ek het dit in 1991 geskryf na die geboorte van ons tweede seun.
Conrad
Ek hou ‘n stukkie van my seuntjie tussen my duim en wysvinger vas. Dis so groot soos ‘n papajapit. Omtrent net so sag ook. Een helfte is half deursigtig; die ander is pienk-wit…
Saterdagoggend, 8 Junie 1991, vieruur. Ronél maak my wakker met ‘n dringende stem. Min slaap vir té lank laat my droomloos en diep slaap, maar ek is dié keer dadelik wakker. Haar water het gebreek en ons verwagteling is oppad. Anders as met Nicolas was daar éérs kontraksies gewees – so sedert middernag.
Randy Pausch was a virtual reality pioneer and co-founder of CMU‘s Entertainment Technology Center. He created Alice, a 3D programming environment that serves as a teaching tool for introductory computing. His famous last lecture, on achieving your childhood dreams, has been viewed by millions. I find it incredibly inspirational.
See Gabriel Robins’ The Legacy of Randy Pausch, a compilation of other video lectures given by Randy Pausch.
Yesterday was a very special day for me at 
Ferdi's Musings 