The Kieffers - Chad

The first week of

chad — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 23:51:23 +0000

Family:

Ryan finished up his first week in the fourth grade and I completed my first week at the new job. I'm happy to report that Ryan and I have only good things to report so far.

Ryan spent his first week back catching up with friends he hadn't seen all summer. His teacher didn't waste any time handing out homework and much of the week was spent reviewing math operations. Ryan has enjoyed the silent reading sessions in class more than anything else.

I started my week filling out paperwork for my new job which I started on Wednesday. Most of my first day was spent in a marathon project meeting which was actually a comfortable way to learn about the people I'll be working with and the projects they're working on. Folks in the office gave me a warm welcome and I really feel good about my decision to leave the Lab.

I absolutely love my commute which is no more than 30 minutes round trip, down from the one hour and 35 minutes I've driven to Los Alamos for the past ten years. I'm able to drop Ryan off at school and be in the office by 8:00.

Owen starts back to school on Tuesday and I'll have a report on his first week back soon.

Trippin' in NYC

chad — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 06:58:19 +0000

Family:

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to New York City. The primary purpose of this trip was to meet up with a group of folks that I've been working with on the Gallery Project. I've posted the Gallery bits about the trip on my other blog but want to share some personal thoughts and memories of NYC. This post is to share my thoughts on visiting NYC for the first time since 1991.

In '91 I interned as a graphic designer at Henry Dreyfuss Associates. It my first time professional experience and it was in one of the prestigious industrial design studios in the world and it was my first time living outside of Ohio. Everything seemed bigger in life and it was a huge confidence builder and had a huge impact on shaping what I do today. I had decided to work at Dreyfuss rather than IBM in Atlanta because I wanted to work in a multi-discipline design environment. At Dreyfuss, I absorbed a lot about the industrial design process while I learned the ropes of graphic design as applied to consumer products. But most of the fun during this time in NYC was had hopping from bar to bar in the Greenwich Village throwing darts and shooting pool.

While in New York I turned 21 and saw some incredible concerts. My commute to work was cross upper midtown from E. 60th (right across from the Queensborough bridge) to W. 55 between 9th and 10th Avenues. I'd walk 57th or Central Park South and go by FAO Schwarz, the Plaza Hotel, and Carnegie Hall, among others. It was an incredible experience and I shared it with some really fun people. Nearly fifteen years was too long between time spent in NYC.

Going back, I was worried that the pace would be too much for me. I'm living at a fairly relaxed pace here in New Mexico but New York just seemed to suck me right into it's quick current. My only regrets about this visit is that it wasn't longer and that Amy couldn't be there with me :-( Hopefully I'll return to NYC soon and will have Amy with me to take it all in.

Are You Ready to Rock INSERT_CITY_HERE?

chad — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 07:12:47 +0000

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Chad

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Music

I'm in the van with the family today heading for Denver, CO. While on the road I started thinking about when my pal Tim Heyl and I drove from Santa Fe to the Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver to see Weezer. It was a fun trip, great show, and now I'm thinking about all of the concerts that I've seen and the great places I've seen them.

Whenever I have a conversation about music with friends it's always great to hear about the shows they've seen and recount my personal concert experiences. So here is what I think is a fairly comprehensive history of my concert going experience. If you were with me at one of these shows and remember the date or the opening act, let me know. If you were with me at a show not listed, help me refresh my failing memory.

The First Show

Summer 1983 - Kool and the Gang and K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Pine Knob, MI

The High School Years, 1985 to 1989

Summer 1985 - Paul Young with Nik Kershaw, Pine Knob, MI
Winter 1986 - The Firm with Mason Ruffner, University of Toledo, OH
Spring 1986 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Toledo, OH *had tickets but the show was cancelled :-(
Winter 1987 - Pink Floyd, Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI
Autumn 1987 - Boston, Toledo, OH
Autumn 1987 - Rush with (don't remember) Tommy Shaw (thanks Geoff!), Cleveland, OH
Autumn 1987 - Rush, Pontiac Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI *had tickets on the floor, 20th row, but I was grounded by my parents :-(
Summer 1988 - Aerosmith with Guns n' Roses, Pine Knob, MI
Summer 1988 - Metallica with The Cult, Pine Knob, MI

The College Years

Royal Crescent Mob with Too Much Joy, Bogarts, Cincinnati, OH
Marillion, Bogarts, Cincinnati, OH
Jane's Addiction with The Happy Mondays, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Blues Traveller with Widespread Panic and (Zydeco band, don't remember), Roseland, New York, NY
Red Hot Chili Peppers with Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins, Roseland, New York, NY
The Lounge Lizards, Townhall, New York, NY
Rush with Mr. Big, Fiddler's Green, Denver, CO
Poster Children, The Middle East, Boston, MA
Crowded House with Sheryl Crow, Bogarts, Cincinnati, OH
Midnight Oil with The Hothouse Flowers, Riverbend Amphitheater, Cincinnati, OH
Cowboy Junkies, Bogarts, Cincinnati, OH
Nine Inch Nails with Marilyn Manson and The Jim Rose Circus, Dayton, OH
Rush with Primus, Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH

The Adult Contemporary Stage (as Tim calls it) Begins

Michael Hedges, Club Luna, Santa Fe, NM
Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM
Big Head Todd and the Monsters with The Dave Matthews Band and Boxing Ghandis
Poster Children, Some club, Albuquerque, NM
Dave Alvin, Ashley Pond, Los Alamos, NM
Joe Ely, Club Alegria, Santa Fe, NM
Guy Clarke with Townes Van Zandt, The Santa Fe Music Hall, Santa Fe, NM
Lyle Lovett, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM

Cowboy Junkies, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM

Deborah Harry and the Jazz Passengers, Santa Fe Music Hall, Santa Fe, NM
Lyle Lovett, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM
John Mayer with Guster and John Butler Trio, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM
Ani Di Franco with (don't remember) Bitch and Animal, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM
Matthew Sweet, The Paramount, Santa Fe, NM
Over the Rhine, The Paramount, Santa Fe, NM
Doctor John with Charlie Musselwhite and Keb Mo, The Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM
Weezer with Dashboard Confessional, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Golden, CO
Los Lobos, Route 66 Casino, Rio Puerco, NM
John Hiatt and Robert Cray, The Lensic Theatre, Santa Fe, NM
Los Lobos, The Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, NM Wilco, The Lensic Theatre, Santa Fe, NM *had tickets but Jeff Tweedy entered rehab instead :-(
Kathleen Edwards with (don't remember), The Paramount, Santa Fe, NM (last show before the Paramount closed)

Updates since 2005 (posted 2/24/09)

They Might Be Giants, Santa Fe Brewing Company
Mike Doughty, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM
Cake, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM, Owen's first concert
Tapes 'n Tapes, Santa Fe Brewing Company, Ryan's first concert

June 2, 2010 Midlake, with John Grant, Santa Fe Brewing Company, w/ Ryan
June 29, 2010 Rush, The Journal Pavilion, Albuquerque, NM
July 9, 2010 Modest Mouse, with Radar Brothers Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM
July 29, 2010 Lyle Lovett, Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, Santa Fe, NM

Separation of family and work

chad — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 21:44:53 +0000

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I've been blogging occasionally for a few years now. During this time I've mixed my thoughts about work with posts about my family, but no longer. My new blog will

separate work/technology related posts from family-related posts. If you're interested in the techy stuff, visit the 2 tablespoons web site.
provide existing and potential employers, customers, collaborators, and peers with information about about my professional thoughts, abilities, and interests.
compliment my knowledge of open source web applications by using WordPress.
present samples of my work and work processes.I plan on rambling on a variety of topics including visual design, web development, open source software, collaboration, and, of course, Apple Computer.

I have moved most of the tech-related posts from this site to http://2tbsp.com. Here's a change.

Water cooler fodder for the week

chad — Sun, 01 May 2005 08:01:21 +0000

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I imagine that this morning's NY Time's article "At Los Alamos, Blogging Their Discontent" will be one of the main topics of discussion around work this week. Doug Robert's blog has been a regular topic of conversation at the Lab for months now and after seeing the other recent NY Times article "When the Blogger Blogs, Can the Employer Intervene? " a few weeks ago, I wondered when Doug's blog would be covered exclusively.

Officially, I guess I have to say "no comment" right now.

Here are additional articles relating to Doug Roberts and "LANL: The Real Story".

Los Alamos lab's staff vent on blog

Coping with change in Los Alamos (Los Alamos Monitor)
Anonymity versus courage, honor and trust (Los Alamos Monitor)
Coalition for LANL Excellence (Yahoo Group)

Fantasy Football Blues

chad — Sun, 05 Dec 2004 19:15:26 +0000

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In most fantasy football leagues this year, the person with Peyton Manning is most likely at the top of league standings. I was lucky to draft Peyton in one of my leagues, but unfortunately it's not the league I place more importance on (obviously due to monetary reasons).

Peyton has me in first place in one league this week, but in the other league where I stand to loose my part of the pool, he helped my opponent easily whoop me. Peyton is just amazing this year, but my prediction is that his incredible stats will be all for naught once the Colts reach the playoffs. I believe that Steelers or Patriots defenses can and probably will stop him in his tracks.

At least the Steelers are looking like Super Bowl contenders. I hope they've got enough in the tank to get past the Jags, Jets, Ravens, and Bills in the coming weeks. Go Big Ben! Earn that action figure status.

Amy and Chad start new jobs!

chad — Sat, 10 Jul 2004 02:42:59 +0000

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Amy just started a new job as the executive assistant to the president and former CEO of Translux. The job has a great part-time schedule and is located two blocks off the Santa Fe Plaza. The best part is that we get free passes to go see movies at the local Translux movie theatre!

Chad just accepted a team leader position within his division. He'll lead the Advanced Technical Computer Training team which teaches a curriculum for web designers and programmers. The team also brings in outside vendors to teach courses to support the Lab's scientific computing efforts. His first day on the job will be July 12th.

We're both really excited about our new jobs!

InterLab 2003 fun

chad — Mon, 10 Nov 2003 00:34:02 +0000

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I just returned from the InterLab 2003 Conference held at the Stanford Linear Accelerator in California. A gaggle of my coworkers also attended and we had a great time. It was a great bonding experience without the distraction of work.

It was great drinking beers and catching up with my friend, former office mate, and now Californian, Chris. Chris, Warren, and I enjoyed some great micro-brew and good conversation at Half Moon Bay Brewery.

I actually gave my first presenentation of the Lab and I was told that it was relatively well received. It's amazing how stressed I get over public speaking. I just don't do this often enough to get over the fear. Oh well. Thanks to Bob J. and Ann R. for helping me shape my presentation into something more than a bunch of bullets.

The best part of the trip was travelling with Bob T. Bob is one of the coolest, laid back guys I know and I thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with him. Althought it was a fun trip, I'm glad to be back home with Amy and the boys.

Portland Open Source Software Conference

chad — Sat, 12 Jul 2003 15:20:06 +0000

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The first thing I need to say is that it's so nice to see so much green. Portland's downtown is beautiful with big maple and oak trees lining the downtown streets. The riverfront park that separates downtown from the Willamette River stretches quite a ways and provides the path from the hotel I'm staying at to the conference location. It's hard to believe that Portland and Oregon have the highest unemployment rates for US cities and states. It's such a great town, who wouldn't want to locate a business here?

The conference has been been a good experience. I'm a geek, or at least an aspiring geek, and had worries that the conference would be over my head. I had pictures of alpha geeks hacking my laptop over the wireless connection. I was afraid to ask any questions for fear of the kind of derision SNL's Jimmy Fallon's character, Nick Burns your company's computer guy, dishes out. Luckily, my experience has been far from my original expectations. I've had a great time, and have been able to talk to a few of the authors and developers that have written articles that helped me to learn the PHP programming language and the MySQL database server.

Here are pictures and coverage from the O'Reilly site.

Hong Kong Kieffer

chad — Thu, 20 Mar 2003 02:18:00 +0000

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I'm not the number one super guy, but I'm working on it. Ryan and I have been taking Karate since last September and October, respectively. It's about the only active thing I've been doing lately and it's been a lot of fun.

The style is Chinese Kenpo and includes a good dose of sparring which is a welcome return to reality after sitting in front of a computer for most of the day. I earned my gold belt in early February. A few days ago I finally picked up some sparring equipment and got a chance to spar. It was great. Practicing moves in front of a mirror and perfecting katas provides the foundation, but sparring is the confidence builder.

If you're in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas and are interested, check out AKKA Karate.