So...in an attempt to update this semi-frequently, here goes some year-end updates:

I quit my job at IBM at the end of November to take a position with the Manhattan based startup netomat, inc.. One of the co-founders is Maciej Wisniewski whom I met and worked with at IBM several years ago. Maciej left IBM in January 2001 to set up netomat. The purpose of the company is to commercialize the browser technology he developed as a digital art piece in 1998. So far I'm liking the new job (commuting to 34th & 8th avenue is much better than the random where-will-IBM-fly-me-to-this week path I was on at IBM for the last month).

In other news...Lisa and I have bought a new apartment...really 3/5ths of a Brooklyn brownstone. It's only three blocks from our current place in Brooklyn Heights, so the move should be easy (or exceedingly painful). The new place has two bedrooms plus space for two home offices (one lesson from the two-ibmers working at home phase we went through in September and October was the absolute need for two "my space" spaces). The kitchen has a Miele stove and dishwasher and a Subzero fridge. There's space for a living room and a den (so that we don't frighten guests with our eclectic taste in home electronics toys). The final piece is the outdoor deck complete with barbeque and wet bar. There's no view to be had (which is a good thing in Brooklyn Heights these days) but it has that "home" feel to it.

Of course, we're indebted for the next 30 odd years but it's a small price to pay. This also appears to rule out, for now, relocating anywhere.

AND NOW?
I've joined echo (actually rejoined...shh, don't tell anyone). Echo is one of the oldest online conferences (newer than the well, but it does predate most of that internet fad thing). It's all text, all the time.

We were supposed to drive to the Cape this weekend, however Lisa's feeling a bit ill (no, it's not the gz-cough, just regular bronchitis). So instead we're planning a quiet weekend with comfort food and books (and the occasional distraction by tivo, dvds, or the ubiquitous computers around the house).