Latimer.org - Our little corner of Cyberspace

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Welcome to Latimer dot org…

This website is intended to showcase the trials and tribulations encountered by the mild-mannered Brian Latimer (otherwise known as … well … Brian Latimer), in attempting to create his presence on the web.

Well, that may not be the real "purpose" of this site, but you get the idea.


Update, part deux - 11 September 2006:

Wanna try this again?

Um, OK - so how about we try yet another blogging platform? Over to Wordpress - which does seem to be a popular solution, and hopefully one which I can keep up with a bit better.

Find this (improved?) site - including all of the older blog entries, plus new ones - here: http://www.latimer.org/wordpress/. We'll see if I can do any better at updating it...


Update - 14 October 2004:

Blog me, baby!

Thanks to the work of a good friend of mine (I really appreciate it, Geoff!), I now have a blog setup, so I can perhaps keep this site a bit more up-to-date.

Find the updated site (including all of these entries) here: http://www.latimer.org/blogger/. Yes, I'll change things around a bit in the future - and probably replace this homepage with that area - but I gotta work on baby steps first...


19 August 2004:

Duke iPod distribution

Apple recently worked a deal with Duke University, to suppy every one of their 2004 incoming freshmen with a brand-new 20 Gb iPods, preloaded with custom content - see the Duke and ABC News stories on this initiative. The content includes a calendar (orientation details, test schedules, breaks/holidays, etc.), campus contacts (phone numbers, email addresses, and websites for police, the hospital, etc.), and a series of audio files, as well - including a welcome from the University President, an audio tour of the campus, the Duke fight song & alma mater, etc.

I was responsible for creating the custom load of content for the iPods to be populated with at the factory, and as such was offered an opportunity to lend a hand with the distribution of those iPods on campus. I flew out to help with the distribution (as well as perform a bit of Latimerization on the Duke iPod site itself ;-), and also took quite a few pictures during the event. See the photo album I put together contaning some of those shots, as well as the photo album the campus rep, Tom Walther, put together. It really was a great time...


25 July 2004:

Finally!

That's a reference not only to the subject of this entry, but also to the first update to this site in about 2 years (!). [Insert witty joke about a "cobweb" site here]

We just completed the updates to our front yard landscaping - something which we've wanted to do for a few years now. We had an area between the sidewalk and street, which has been bare for far too long. We designed a series of diamond shapes for planting areas (for trees, shrubs, etc.), and filled the rest with cobblestones.

Anyway, we have a photo album up with pictures of the efforts. Again, it was LONG overdue, but we're glad it's finally done (well, "done" may be a bit strong, as we still need to plant things in each of the diamond planting areas, but…). We think it looks great, and I'm sure our neighbors agree that it's at least a lot better than what was there before ;-)


03 June 2002:

Caribbean Cruise!

From May 26th thru June 2nd, we went on a wonderful vacation: A cruise around the Eastern Caribbean! Tricia spent a lot of time researching the "perfect" itinerary, deciding on a great cruise line, etc. and ended up choosing Royal Caribbean's 7-day package. Many beautiful ports of call and a great ship – Tricia did very well, IMHO.

It was actually a slightly-belated celebration of our 2nd Anniversary (wow, has it been that long?), so that was on our mind. Well, the night before we left port, in our Ft. Lauderdale hotel, we met another couple – Jeff & Karen – who, it turns out, were on the same cruise, celebrating their Honeymoon. PLUS, they had met another couple (again, at the same hotel, and on our same cruise) – Donát & Trish – who were on their Honeymoon, as well. Small world, huh? ;-) We ended up hanging out with these folks (as well as Greg & Jacqui, who we met while on board) for much of the cruise, and really had a blast. Major thanks to the entire "Caribbean Crew" for making our trip so much fun!

We have a series of photo albums up with pictures. Just use that main page as an index into viewing each day's album. We also hope to get more pictures up, from the other couples, since there are quite a few shots we weren't able to take (can you say "Indian"? I knew you could... ;-). They'll be up on those pages as soon as we get them. Let us know what you think of the albums (and feel free to sign our guestbook).


24 May 2002:

Work on the house & yard

In April of 2002, Brian's parents came out to visit us for about a week. They were wonderful in completely overhauling the landscape, planting new shrubs, flowers, etc., and just generally helping us fix up the house a lot (Thanks, Mom & Dad!). Heck, we were just happy to get the juniper hedge removed from our front yard...

Plus, the week after, we had: A new front door installed, the old gutters ripped down, the house power-washed, the house completely painted, and new gutters installed (Whew!). The place looks completely different now - and that's a Good Thing, in our minds ;-). We have a photo album with some pictures of all the work that was done. We think it's looking great...


11 March 2002:

Spring Training

This past weekend (March 8th - 10th), we headed out to Phoenix, AZ to watch a few Spring Training games with the old crowd from Boeing (née McDonnell Douglas). We had a great time with the whole group, hanging out at Rico & Patti's place, enjoying the beautiful Arizona weather - oh, and enjoyed the baseball games, too. I have a photo album up with several shots from the weekend.

And, in the "Awww, ain't that cute" department: The short movie (1 Mb) that Don took with our new digital camera ;-)


01 February 2002:

The city of Lost Wages

We just got back from a trip to Las Vegas, where we linked up with Brian's parents, as well as our friends, the Baxters. It was great to see everyone, as well as have fun in this "DisneyLand for adults". Several new hotels have been opened since the last time we were there - among them, the new "Aladdin" and "Venetian", which were absolutely beautiful.

Overall, a really great time. Take a look at the photo album we put together, with several images from that weekend.


31 October 2001 – Halloween!:

got cookie & milk?

Alright, against my better judgement, Patricia talked me into dressing up for Halloween ;-) We went into work in our costumes, then to a friend's party afterwards. It was a good time - even if mine wouldn't let me sit down!

Watch a short iMovie (1.1 Mb) I made of us in our costumes. Or, see individual images of the costumes:


11 September 2001 – and ongoing:

Rememberance & Prayer

Obviously, the horrible events of September 11th have affected us all greatly. I cannot begin to fathom the mentality of those who would commit such horrible crimes. I pray for the well-being of those who lost loved ones & friends in the attacks, and for all of us in the days ahead. May we all be given strength, and hope for the future.

I am also very proud of my company, and it's response to the events. Among other financial & humanitarian efforts, we have erected a huge flag across the front of my building, which is visible to everyone passing by on one of the most heavily-trafficked freeways in the Bay Area (the 280). Watch a movie (3.8 Mb) of the raising of this flag.


17 July 2001:

The Fisherwoman!

All hail the Mighty Fisherwoman! We took a trip back to Missouri to visit Brian's folks, and Patricia seemed to have a good time on the lake... ;-)


27 January 2001:

We've moved!

Finally, we've moved into our new place! See some pictures of the move, and everyone who helped.

Oh, and here's a picture of the house itself. It's just off of the south San Jose foothills, giving us a really nice view. We like it...

** Update ** Here's an updated picture (and another) of our house, as of May, 2002. MUCH nicer paint, landscape, etc.


13 September 2000:

Woo-hoo!

• Check out the latest press release:

"Apple Computer celebrates the birthday of one of its favorite employees by releasing Mac OS X Public Beta"

(Oh, OK, so maybe that's not quite what the real press release states...)

** Update ** Check out the picture that the team at MacCentral took, of Matthew Keating and I at the Mac OS X launch event (24 Mar 2001), at Elite Computers in Cupertino. That's us in the "X" shirts...


24 August 2000:

Finally - some more links:

• The "iJeff" page a friend of mine and I made for my boss' birthday (compare with Apple's page - and note that the entire navigation bar up top is functional!)

• A page of our Wedding Pictures (using Apple's iTools, of course). The event was held at the Tustin Ranch Golf Club.

• P.S. - What time is it?


01 April 2000:

Check out my CenSeuss page. Just for fun…


Think Different


Latimer.org quote, email reference