This is late, but better formed. It has been 4 months since I have written to this site and I have gained perspective on the web and beyond. I am starting a teaching credential program at National University near by in San Jose at Night and have been taking care of our, now 11 month old, son Taylor during the day. When Taylor naps I have been busy building a salvage woodshop in our garage. It has been very fulfilling building on the roots of my Grandfather's woodshop/garage, while inside raising the next generation of our family with Amy!
I stayed particularly close to home and close to my thoughts this holiday season. It was a strange pull on my emotions to witness our floundering economy, and to have "buy EVERYTHING" blasted into every sensory input for the entire month(1.5 mo.?) of December. But It is easier for me since the 00's were my first TV free decade! This New Years started a new era for us. We are learning how to manage a family together, start businesses and generally be more efficient and effective both individually and as parents(who are going to have a walking talking toddler in a few months!). Strange as change often is, there is a theme of simplicity that seems to ring through all of it, almost on its own. So I maintain that if I keep my mind on simplicity, the puzzles of change will work out.

Our first x-mas with Taylor turned everyone into kids again, which was very refreshing. There is nothing like watching grown and older adults laugh with a small baby. I am convinced now that our best bet for a saner and healthier existence is to heal the cycle of inter-generational living, where the older and the younger generation are in proximity to share their unique wisdom. Simple caring.

I am still actively developing Plumbob the organization, on my own. My vision is a vehicle to build non-profit centers, both the actual building and the business. My focus is on using passive solar architectural techniques and concepts as a medium for collaboration and establishing ecological coherence. I am currently using Plumbob Design as a design/build salvage furniture business to generate revenue. Simple shop.
After taking a break from looking at Drupal and it's community, I feel like I have a broader perspective and understanding of the web. So just in time to see Drupal 7 leave the gates, I want to saythank you to all the badasses that actually build this incredible software. I am going to try some new approaches to communicating with and contributing to the Drupal Community in the coming months. I believe that an open source communications infrastructure is essential to a just and peaceful society. And I want it to be at the very core of everything Plumbob builds. Simple power.
But I know right now I need to take advantage of powerful tools when they are available to me. I had my first ah-ha moment about twitter last month as I read Dries' article about some ad Microsoft put up through google ads that mentioned Drupal and seemed to contradict it's relationship with the Drupal community. Apparently twitter activity exploded in the Drupal community and Microsoft immediately picked up on it, explained itself, apologized, and removed the ad. Absolutely mind blowing stuff! Twitter's simplicity is beautiful. It spawns perfectly from the ethos of the open source community(albeit Rails). You can Find me on Twitter @plumbobdesign. Simple networking.

I've also started a Facebook era last May. I'm enjoying peeking into and commenting on people that otherwise wouldn't be part of my day-to-day life otherwsie. Though my brother did warn me in his welcome wall post, that it is "the greatest time-suck ever". Not so simple networking.