So. My blog. Yes, it sort of has died again but revived it will be. Loads of things to chat about, or simply journal as who am I kidding, I'm the only one who reads this stuff...ha! :)

Firstly, my weight loss program. I had my 6 month check-in a couple days ago and over the last 6 months I have lost a total of 30lbs, one shirt size and 3 pant sizes. Things are looking pretty good. Chatting with the specialist folks I asked if I can stay in the program I'm on for another 6 months, checking-in with them every 2 months after which possibly revisiting the notion of surgery if I "plateau" so to speak or am not as successful.  I am quite happy with my weight loss and if I can lose another 30lbs over the next 6 months, that would be wonderful! It has not always been easy though but with the progress I have seen, I'm optimistic I can keep things going in the direction that they are supposed to be going.

Secondly, school. Things have been kind of at a stand still. However, I'm in the frame of mind that it's kind of a now or perhaps, my goodness, never time. Daryl and I have been working on refining an idea over the last 4 months and I have been doing some background writing and I think things are shaping up to be something very worthwhile. My official date to be completed is April 2012 but I see an extension, just one, that will take me into the summer, completing, hopefully, August 2012.

I have also begun looking for academic positions which, to me right now is strange as there is still loads of work to do, but most of these are looking for September 2012 and beyond start dates so it does make sense.  I am looking everywhere but particularly interested in those locales where I can build upon the work I am doing in human-computer interaction.

Thirdly, Winter 2012 is going to be a hectic time not only for my research but also life in general. I am teaching CS 100 again (yay!) and I am working over at Luther College as well, tinkering around with their website some more.

Finally, Christmas!! This year is kind of a new experience for me but I am looking forward to the next couple weeks: family time and even a road trip to Banff is in there!! Looking back, it's been a good year for me, full of new experiences indeed :)

So with that, look for my annual "album of the year" post to be up over the next couple weeks; I have about 60 or so albums to dwinddle down into a top 10. Oh my indeed!

...and with all of that, Merry Christmas! -tMac

Spring/summer is here...well, sort of.  It's more like RAIN season! (but I love the rain so that is cool).

Most of you know that I am back in the world of academics.  I am very excited indeed!  I did quite enjoy my time in industry for the most part, meeting some very interesting, kind people and doing some exciting work.  However, I realized somewhere along the way that I am more of an academic type person; a researcher, an idealist, one who has the freedom and ability to devote intense and large amounts of time to investigate why things are the way they are; and one who has the freedom of opinion and choice and the ability to act on such (e.g. to use and be a proponent of open source software ala Richard Stallman style and not to simply succumb to the windoze way of life that is indicative of industry...cough...yuk!).  I found out that industry is not as tolerant in these respects.

That all said, the primary reason for my decision to head back to school was that during the last half year while working in industry, my research had all but come to a halt.  Having completed a large chunk of my degree program and realizing that this aspect of my life was going nowhere fast, I decided to move on it.  After all, I have found out that researching and teaching are the things I truly get excited about; what I really love.  Although things were going very well for me in industry, I decided to resign my position and head back to complete the ol' PhD.  It was a very difficult choice/decision but one that needed to be made and I'm glad I did it.

So, in terms of my academic life.  Over the summer I will be working with Daryl to finish up old business and refine new ideas.  Daryl and I have come up with a very interesting research path - one that I think will enable me to be a part of something great and I am very excited about the potential of it all. 

I have also re-integrated my web consulting activities back into my life, having been asked by Luther College to come back as a part-time web consultant over the summer.  And of course there is my continued work with RCE Saskatchewan.  While working in industry I was barred from doing such activities as they posed a conflict of interest (I never really did see how though).  Regardless, I am happy to be back working with these two organizations as we are really doing great work (especially with RCE Saskatchewan).

With this new found exploration in academia I have obtained a renewed vigor and energy to complete my degree and successfully defend.  It is really great!  I am also taking steps in a similar sense in my home life, having a renewed energy and drive to become a more healthy individual, integrating healthier eating and exercise into my daily routines.  For me, the exercise has never been an issue as I do quite a bit of walking and weights, it's the eating that I need to work on. It will be hard as I lead quite a busy lifestyle and it's so easy, perhaps this is a cop-out, to eat all the garbage and processed foods out there; It's something I need to work on - changing my habits.  I have been reading Michael Pollan's books on the subject and have found them to be quite enlightening.  The great thing about this aspect of my life is that it relates to my academic research so, in essence, I can be a guinea pig for my own work which is truly exciting!

I have also had a rejuvenation of sorts re: my musical endeavors.  I have recently picked up the ol' electric guitar again.  Having been strictly an acoustic guy for the last 3 years, I have found playing ol' blackie (my fender strat) to be quite refreshing.  Before resigning my industry position I was able to purchase some musical upgrades - a new amp (Fender Blues Junior tube amp that sounds most spectacular) and some effects pedals.  With these mods/additions I have begun writing new material and hope to have an album released by the end of this year under the moniker interaction.  My ideas for musical exploration include exploring the possible musical interactions between humans and computer generated music and augmented human/computer musical devices.  I've written some very raw new songs, all of which have a jam type feel very reminiscent to what Brett and I used to do back in our high school years oh so many years ago :-)  I'm very excited about it!  I also have a number of songs written for my next acoustic album which will also hopefully be out this year; I have about 10 songs written - they just need to be recorded!  Jason and I will hopefully get things back going again too!

Other stuff: Both sisters are having babies this summer...so many baaaabbbbiiieessss....ewww :-)  It should be good though.  Tess is on #3 and Krista #1.  Exciting news for them indeed!  Iron Maiden, Tool, Rush, and the Folk Fest are all music concerts I am really looking forward to.  As well, I'm the conference chair of the 2011 graduate student conference - I'm really looking forward to this - planning is starting very early (next month), Rider season!!, IPAD! (need I say more), and Ubuntu on my Macbook...awesome!

All in all, a great summer is planned.  Like always, I'll try to post more regularly. -tMac

Some of you who know me know that for the last 10+ years or so I have very much been an academic entity of sorts.  When I think back, really, I can pinpoint it to 2004 when I decided to further my studies after obtaining my Bsc. in Computer Science {CS} by entering the most mysterious of things, graduate school. This was when my interest in academia really began to flourish.  When I first decided to become a graduate student back in '04, I really only had a slight interest in the whole idea of research and development as a career path and, when I really think back, I surely had no interest in the whole teaching aspect attached to such career paths in higher learning.  However, as the years progressed, successfully obtaining my Msc. in CS and now being an active PhD Candidate in CS as well as successfully teaching both labs and courses at a university level, I have become quite fond of the whole research and development activity as well as teaching.  What surprised me even more is that as the years progressed (and are still progressing), is that I am becoming more well tuned, {refined} if you will to the point where I have significantly more confidence in my abilities in these regards; research and development, but even more so, teaching.

Those who know me well know that recently I decided to test out the other side of reality, the so-called "real-world" of industry.  Drastically different than academia, my brief time in industry has taught me that I have much to learn in how this side of life truly functions.   In academia, you have a lot of creative freedom and money and resource time (I really hate this word, "resource" and how it is used in industry); anyway, money and resource time in academia is really an afterthought.  What matters most in academia is the researching, the discussions, and the furthering of knowledge that leads towards a better understanding of things in general so that more research and development can follow.  In industry, sure this is still present, but it does more to a limited extent.  I'm slowly learning that time is the most precious element/aspect of industry; and time in relation to how much cost is associated with it.  I'm not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing.  What it is, I think, is that it is surely a very different way of getting things done as they relate to my perception of reality.  This mentality, I have recently learned, is something that is truly alien to me.

So, what I'm trying to say here is that both experiences, academic and industry, have been truly enlightening. Specifically this post is about my perception of industry as it relates to my brief experiences thus far.  So far, working in industry has posed many challenges, of which I am excited about as well as nervous and concerned.  These challenges have allowed me to get a better perspective of things, and specifically, where I actually may truly belong in this world {and what I truly want to be when I grow up..ha}.  Corny, maybe, and I haven't yet made up my mind, but I do have a better understanding of things. I know this may sound very cryptic to some of you reading this but I'm hoping those who know me, know what I'm trying to get across with these comments

I'm hoping this will be the first update of many that may occur throughout this year chronicling my new experiences in industry and of course, my continued academic ones.  I hope you can provide thoughts and insights as you join me in discussing this journey of mine.  I would very much appreciate it! - tMac