We're ALIVE!!!!

It’s been a while since my last post, so what’s been going on? Last time I posted we were steadily working towards completing our boat project list and planning to set sail in Oct. That didn’t happen. We moved our date to Thanksgiving and that didn’t happen either. Then we picked Jan 2015 and now that date has been pushed back. At this point, it looks like mid-Feb 2015 – for now.

This reason for this is the chip that ate my summer. In April, I was asked to be lead designer for a mixed signal design. This was sort of a big deal for me. I usually work alone. I can work from anywhere and set my own schedule. That’s the way I like it. This project involved about 20 people and I really needed to be in CA to work with other designers and to manage everything, so I spent my summer living in a hotel room in Silicon Valley. From The beginning of May to the beginning of Sept I was on our boat a total of 2 weeks. While in CA I worked 12+ hour days, 7 days a week. I missed the opportunity to dive with some friends and to teach my nephews to dive. It was rough summer. I was finally able to leave because Wendy was having foot surgery. When I returned to FL I kept the same schedule, but at least I was home. Even though I was finally home, I was working way too much and was wiped out. I didn’t want to talk to anyone or do anything more than I had to. I certainly didn’t feel like writing. On top of that, I had gained about 10 pounds and lost some muscle. This project kicked my butt.

This is the chip that ate my summer. It probably won't mean much to most people, but it is an instrumentation amp with 16 digitally selected differential input pairs, 8 diffrent gain stages, a 10 bit DAC to correct offset and a 3V LDO supply with a total of 40 pins. The whole die is that little black square in the center of the chip. The squiggly things are the wire going from the die to the pins.

We were able to do some work on the boat in Oct and Nov, but we were way behind. Thanksgiving helped a lot. I took off the whole week (except I worked part of a couple of days anyway) and we were able to get a lot of tasks checked off the list. Some may have noticed Wendy’s post after I installed the new stove/oven; we also installed new port windows and a fuel polisher, plus I redid the bilge pump and sump pump. In addition, there were some smaller items we completed and we hired some professionals to take care of some things.

So, here is what has happened since I last posted:

We attended two weddings – one in Austin and one in Kona, HI (congratulations Sara and Delaney and Kayla and Chris). I spent most of the summer in CA, plus two weeks in CO for work. Wendy had foot surgery in August and we lived with my parents for a few weeks, since Wendy couldn’t get on and off the boat. We installed a new stove/oven, new opening port windows, a fuel polisher, some led lights, an amplified wifi antennae, a new bilge pump and sump pump, a new propane sniffer and a new anchor. On top of that we had someone help us with a diesel leak and a broken alternator and hired someone to replace our dodger and bimini. Plus regular maintenance/cleaning on the boat. In addition, we move parts from bins into storage spaces on the boat and got rid of things from storage. Next week we’ll head to Dallas for Christmas and to Chicago for a wedding on New Year’s Eve (congrats Lisa and Paul) – hopefully we don’t freeze. Whew, quite a year.

Wendy’s foot is doing much better now and she is back to walking with a little running and walking dogs. Speaking of dogs, the guy who threw the dog ended up with a plea deal – 30 days in jail and paying for all the bills associated with his actions. His lawyer said he wanted to go to trial and he wouldn’t accept a deal that included jail time, but there was video of the whole incident and people lined up to testify, so the day before the trial he accepted a deal. Wendy was happy; the guy ended up in jail and she didn’t have to relive the whole thing in court. I’m working out regularly and have lost all the weight I gain over the summer. I feel like a human again and actually interact with people now.

Wendy had an endoscopy in Nov and they want to do a second one in Jan with a follow up the first week of Feb. That sets our schedule to leave around mid-Feb. Not a big deal, but it is pushing our date out even further. I went to the dentist and he said all of my old mercury fillings were corroding and starting to crack my teeth. He suggested drilling them all out and capping most of the teeth, so I get five dentist appointments in Dec, seven crowns and one inlay. Hooray!?

This winter has already been colder than last winter. With the weather, we wish we were in the Bahamas now, but we’ll be there soon. I’ll post more details about all the things we’ve done shortly. 

Just wanted to let everyone know we are still alive.

Merry Christmas! Or Happy Holidays or whatever you like. Enjoy your time off with family and friends.