Job News

After 13+ years with the same manager, my team is breaking up and heading in different directions.  Most of them are heading to another campus in a totally different part of the company.  I am staying at the same campus but in a different division.  It is a bit sad that I won't be working with Curtis after so long.  We had a good run on lots of different programs.  But with the latest rounds of company reorganizations and industry changes, we couldn't keep the band together.
For Jyoti, she started back at Qualcomm for semi-full time project.  One benefit is that we get to carpool twice a week.  It is a good time to be together and talk.  Hopefully they will see the benefit of Lean Six Sigma and expand the program, especially given their recent quality issues.

T774 Winter Camp

This past weekend, T774 took another trip up to the Laguna Mountains.  We go there a lot since it is close and provides great forest terrain.  We also hope for snow, but in San Diego it is a total gamble if you are going get any and this weekend turned out to be summer-like.
After driving up Saturday morning, the scouts got camp setup.  There was some confusion about tenting and patrols.  Hopefully they learned to stick to the plan to avoid that in the future.  We laid out an orienteering course and did some other advancement.  The days are short, so it was a quick day.
The night ended up getting to 30.  This was good since we wanted to get the scouts exposed to some colder temperatures.  Nobody complained!
The next morning, we broke camp and did a quick hike out to Big Laguna.
Another good, low-key camp.

Weekend Activites

• Finally cleared out some junk with a trip to the dump
• Hiked Del Dios Preserve - since it is really a road not a trail, it not a great track, although some of the views are spectacular
• Visited Balboa Park on a sprinkly day - viewed the Tehachapi layout at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum; first time visit to the Japanese Friendship Garden; caught the organ concert for the first time as well; went to the American Visions exhibit at the Museum of Art.

Year End Books

Got a few more books in over the holiday season.

• Blood Lure (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 9) by Nevada Barr - great wilderness tension until the end, lame ending
• Hunting Season (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 10) by Nevada Barr - I enjoyed the characters in this Barr mystery
• Flashback (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 11) by Nevada Barr - my favorite Barr book is this two-for-one mystery
• American Front (The Great War, Book 1) by Harry Turtledove - 2nd in the series, much better than the first
• The Richest Man in Babylon: With Study Guide by George S. Clason - financial wisdom as told by a group of Babylonians, classic

Post New Years Weekend

• Hikes, including Twin Peaks in Poway which is a great alternative to Cowles
• Putting away the Christmas decorations
• FCL Kickoff party and weekend

Christmas in Baltimore

• Tombola with the neighbors - Bengt won the big prize
• House projects with Kevin
• Bowling with Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary at Mustang Alley's
• Walking the crazy dogs
• Many games: Apples to Apples, What the Face, Cards Against Humanity, Say Anything, Spy Alley, Elephants or Ants, Telestrations, Pit, Stoner Fluxx, Hit or Miss, Charades, Loaded Questions and last but least, Yahtzee!
• Murder mystery dinner
• New Year's Eve party