Dierken Notes

Dusty hearts

2012-02-23T21:55:00.001-08:00

Even with sheets of plastic duct taped over doorways, dust from the remodel has coated everything in the kitchen. Time to play Cinderella and clean clean clean!

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Best drinking cup ever

2012-02-23T20:48:00.001-08:00

Guess who got the best drinking cup ever? All I need now is a hot summer day and a bunch of homemade lemonade.

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Mountain. Cabin. Relaxation.

2012-02-18T12:52:00.001-08:00

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Great day of progress!

2012-02-17T12:36:00.001-08:00

The remodel is progressing nicely!

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All the food portions are so small in Europe

2012-02-10T16:45:00.001-08:00

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Having a quiet evening with a few friends

2012-02-10T13:24:00.001-08:00

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Paris traffic circle

2012-02-07T11:02:00.001-08:00

Traffic circle around Arc de Triumph, six cars deep, at night, scooters everywhere - OMFG

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Sunny day in Seattle

2012-01-26T15:46:00.001-08:00

Down in Pioneer Square at the Rubicon office.

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Snow, snow and more snow.

2012-01-19T12:09:00.001-08:00

Power went out last night, so we played board games by the fire. Power is back on but no school today, so everyone is making cinnamon rolls from scratch. Nom nom nom!

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Tree all gone

2012-01-08T15:42:00.001-08:00

The main trunk of this old alder was probably forty feet - now it's forty rounds ready to be split and stacked.

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Third tree down today

2011-12-28T13:10:00.001-08:00

Looks like we have firewood for next year!

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Xmas

2011-12-20T22:17:00.001-08:00

Happy Christmas

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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T21:25:00.001-08:00

Turkey on the BBQ, wine in the glass family and friends in the house.
Happy Thanksgiving!

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Scones!

2011-10-22T13:48:00.001-07:00

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Hike with the Richters

2011-10-18T22:40:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago the weather finally burned away the snow in the mountains so we took a hike with our friends Ron and Patty Richter. This is near the far end of Lake 22. I wonder why they call it Lake 22.

And a butterfly hitched a ride.

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Happy Anniversary Rinneke!

2011-10-07T19:38:00.001-07:00

Today is the best day ever! 22 years of being married to Rinneke - Happy Anniversary!

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Happy Labor Day

2011-09-03T15:07:00.001-07:00

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Mt Sawyer

2011-08-21T13:42:00.001-07:00

Nice day hike - except for the deer flies.

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Seafair and Blue Angels

2011-08-07T21:31:00.001-07:00

Just a few of the innumerable photos of the awesome Blue Angels.

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Zooming

2011-07-28T08:10:00.001-07:00

I'm zooming across the French countryside in a train, headed to Paris, working on my laptop, listening to the Tron soundtrack at high volume (Rinzler FTW!) and missing my family.

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On the terrace

2011-07-25T11:47:00.001-07:00

At Rotterdam Airport at the outdoor terrace. Glad the rains stopped today.

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Rotterdam Airport

2011-07-25T08:04:00.001-07:00

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Arrived in Paris

2011-07-15T14:01:00.001-07:00

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Touring Brugge

2011-07-13T10:31:00.001-07:00

Had a great time touring in Brugges, seeing breweries, churches and the old part of the city.

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Temporary office

2011-07-01T15:20:00.001-07:00

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Unhappy squirrel

2011-06-25T18:05:00.001-07:00

"why you no barbecue my pinecones??"

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Raindrops on roses

2011-06-24T14:26:00.001-07:00

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Badminton and BBQ

2011-06-17T17:58:00.001-07:00

Getting the "court" ready for a giant BBQ tomorrow.
It better not rain.

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Sunny day

2011-06-03T08:02:00.001-07:00

Finally - a sunny day in Seattle!

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Folklife and Space Needle

2011-05-28T18:37:00.001-07:00

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Folklife

2011-05-28T15:08:00.001-07:00

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Dinner

2011-05-19T19:40:00.001-07:00

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First proper BBQ of the year

2011-04-23T18:13:00.001-07:00

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Dutch Baby for breakfast

2011-04-17T11:20:00.001-07:00

Mmmmmmm, yum!

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Ninja Game on a Cliff

2011-04-02T17:36:00.001-07:00

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Top of Turtleback

2011-04-02T17:14:00.001-07:00

Great day boating and then hiking up Turtleback Mtn

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There - I fixed it

2011-03-30T08:20:00.001-07:00

Our toaster sort of broke the other day. But with some inginuity and scotch tape my wife fixed it.

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Spring begins

2011-03-25T12:26:00.001-07:00

The first buds on a rhododendron are starting to come out.

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Wind and waves

2011-03-10T21:57:00.001-08:00

Driving on a concrete bridge floating on a lake during a windstorm is exciting!

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View from Little Mt Si

2011-02-19T15:36:00.001-08:00

Went on a short hike in the sun up Little Mt Si. Popular trail.

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More sunset drinks

2011-02-04T18:03:00.001-08:00

The view from the Erwin tonight is stunning. Soon will be heading to the Rubicon Project company party in LA.

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Drinks on the Roof

2011-02-04T16:44:00.001-08:00

Having sunset drinks on the roof of the Erwin.

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Achieving Unprecedented Levels of Unverifiable Productivity

2010-12-30T18:16:00.003-08:00

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Great day on the mountain

2010-12-30T18:16:00.001-08:00

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Snack while shopping

2010-12-23T15:17:00.001-08:00

Third Place Books is such a great place to browse

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Kittens under the tree

2010-12-22T16:46:00.001-08:00

We are fostering three friendly little kittens and they are having a great time exploring the Christmas tree.

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My cat - the ornament

2010-12-17T17:22:00.001-08:00

Our big red cat has been trying to get comfortable in a box half his size which is full of Christmas ornaments. I can't figure what he is thinking. If anything.

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Uphill Both Ways

2010-11-22T10:12:00.001-08:00

After getting my son to split a half cord of wood this weekend, as the snow started to come down, I thought it would be good exercise this morning to walk to school in the snow - through the woods, down the ravine, over the creek and back up to the road to school. With the ravine, it actually /is/ uphill both ways!

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Snow on the woodpile

2010-11-22T08:04:00.001-08:00

This weekend we spent some time splitting the huge wood rounds we got a few weeks ago. The wood was enormous but most split after some good whacks so it wasn't too tough. Especially with the help of my thirteen year old son.

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Washing the kitten

2010-11-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

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Free firewood.

2010-10-30T16:31:00.001-07:00

Our neighbors took down a fairly large Douglas Fir tree and we noticed they were just giving away much of the wood. So this morning we headed out with mauls and wedges to split and haul what we could. Luckily I had an energetic thirteen year old that volunteered to help - well, if I paid him ten dollars. He did an awesome job and actually did most of the splitting!

Download now or watch on posterous

P1010014.MOV (4170 KB)

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Kitten .vs. vim

2010-10-28T12:57:00.001-07:00

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Kitten .vs. BattleBot

2010-10-27T18:28:00.001-07:00

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Trapped by cats

2010-10-24T12:44:00.001-07:00

I'm forced to sit on the couch and do nothing because of these three darn kittens that crawled onto my lap and fell asleep.

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Fireworks at football game

2010-10-22T20:21:00.001-07:00

The Juanita Rebels homecoming game has been a one sided game so far with five touchdowns in the first half. For halftime they even had fireworks - really amazing!

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Construction at World Headquarters

2010-10-21T15:03:00.001-07:00

Tearing down the walls at Rubicon and expanding every day.

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Soccer in the sun

2010-10-16T22:34:00.001-07:00

My son had a tough game this afternoon - they played hard but ended with a 2-2 tie.The weather was a perfect sunny, crisp Fall day though. Tomorrow we have a long haul to North Bend for a too early game in the morning.

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Dinner in a spaceship

2010-09-23T18:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight I dine in the premiere ultra-lounge experience available in Los Angeles.
The elevator motif and music set the mood perfectly while the spaceship hat lava lamps slowly ooze cool.

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Swim meet

2010-09-16T15:29:00.001-07:00

On a beautiful rainy afternoon the Juanita High Rebels swim team meets the Bellevue team in Bellevue.

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Foster kitten

2010-09-08T22:54:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago we fostered a kitten that was really rambunctious but very fun. Normally we have several and they would stay in one room but this time there was only one so she was able to run around the house. This one liked to crawl around my keyboard and behind the computer monitor and one day just decided to curl up in my beret.

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Day hike to Mt. Rainier meadows

2010-08-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

Some friends have been raving about a great hike to Spray Falls on the north side of Mt Rainier so we took off not-so-early this morning and headed south. We went through Carbonado and wound up at Lake Mowitch around noon and headed out on the trails. The weather was a little cool and overcast but the sun came out later. We didn't get a good view of the mountain until on our way out but the meadows were beautiful. This time of year is past the peak for wildflowers but there were some still there and we just like alpine meadows any time of year. And we saw two bear on a distant hillside - pretty cool! The only downside is that my legs are so sore...

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Spider on rose

2010-08-19T13:40:00.001-07:00

Each year we see a few flower spiders - pale white or green. I'm surprised this one isn't camoflauged better.

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Lilies from the spring

2010-08-17T20:32:00.001-07:00

Found these photos from the Spring. Really like the lighting on the pale petals.

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Nice day in the sun

2010-08-14T17:28:00.001-07:00

The summer weather has been wonderfully warm recently and rather than work on cleaning the deck I thought I'd enjoy a nice beer on this nice day.

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Banana in the mail

2010-07-07T18:04:00.001-07:00

My son's girlfriend wanted to see if the post office would deliver a banana. So she sent one. They delivered it. US Government FTW!

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Vancouver Island camping

2010-07-05T00:15:00.001-07:00

We spent the past week camping around Vancouver Island - first on the southeast side then up at Buttle Lake in Strathcona Park. The Strathcona Park is huge and full of great mountains, lakes and trails. The weather was a bit cool and we tried to do some alpine hikes but there was too much snow still to get very far. I've never been to Vancouver Island before but definitely will return - maybe a little later in the year to catch warmer weather.

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Kittens!

2010-06-03T20:22:00.001-07:00

Oh boy - new kittens! Apparently my family decided to foster kittens again. Just two this time. Pure white Siamese or something and nicely sociable.

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Owl in the tree

2010-06-03T20:12:00.001-07:00

We've had several young owls gliding around our yard over the past few days - it's extremely cool to see them so close up.

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Taking daughter to end of year dance

2010-06-01T17:20:00.001-07:00

After a stressful day presenting a big end of the year report at school (about nuclear power no less) my daughter is super excited to go out to Seattle for a school dance with her friends.

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Owl in our back yard

2010-05-28T14:38:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I saw a big bird swoop through our back yard - it turned out to be a young owl. It was hard to see at first - it's very well camouflaged against the bark of the trees. The really strange thing was that a bunch of hummingbirds were hovering only a foot or so away from it and several other small birds were hopping around branches nearby. It's like they were all curious what this little owl was doing up and about during the day.

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Dug up the yard and planting a garden

2010-05-09T19:50:00.001-07:00

Finally got motivated and dug up part of the front yard and made a small garden spot. Starting with potatoes for now, will need to go get starters for other things. Hopefully we'll get pumpkins going strong this year.

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Concert time

2010-05-07T18:06:00.001-07:00

Seeing Nickelback, Sick Puppies, Breaking Benjamin and Shinedown.

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Trillium on the trail

2010-04-18T15:50:00.001-07:00

There were lots of forest flowers on the trail this afternoon, but these are always my favorite.

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Met Skye on a walk

2010-04-18T14:25:00.001-07:00

Walked down to Lake Washington and met Jenny and Skye.

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Sunny day in Kirkland

2010-04-14T15:02:00.001-07:00

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Blue skies in Seattle

2010-04-09T22:00:00.001-07:00

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Bonsai trimming

2010-03-24T12:46:00.001-07:00

Spring has sprung and it's time to trim the buds from the one remaining bonsai that has survived my neglect.

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Twin baby hummingbirds

2010-03-18T18:30:00.001-07:00

We have several hummingbirds that hang out in our yard and recently we noticed where one has a nest. Today my wife saw that there are two baby hummingbirds in the nest! This is really amazing!

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School of Rock

2010-03-14T20:12:00.001-07:00

The kids put on a great show at the Seattle Drum School (http://www.seattledrumschool.com/). They had just finished a week there at the School of Rock for their "March Trip" - school nowadays is way cooler than when I was a kid.

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School of Rock

2010-03-14T15:26:00.001-07:00

Here's Stephan doing Kids by MGMT, very awesomely done! Followed up by some Lady GaGa

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Spring is near

2010-03-13T17:07:00.001-08:00

Spring is early this year - hopefully no late frost will hit.

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Hipstamatic - nifty iPhone app

2010-03-03T09:16:00.001-08:00

Hipstamatic is the first non-free iPhone app that I've downloaded. I like the styling of the photos and the interface is very cool - switching out lenses, changing film. The sound of the flash warming up is priceless (not to mention that the photographer sees the flash, but the subject doesn't)

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Clise Mansion

2010-02-20T13:43:00.001-08:00

The Clise Mansion in Marymoor Park - this is where we were married twenty years ago. We are enjoying the great Spring-like weather and doing some geocaching.

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Old Dierken photos

2010-02-15T22:36:00.001-08:00

My brother spent some time a while ago to scan a huge number of old
family photos.
Here's my favorite

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Science Center

2010-02-11T08:25:00.001-08:00

The arches at the Seattle Science Center were lit with a soft red light - very striking. We had just come out of the Imax theater after seeing Avatar in 3D. Impressive.

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Bitchin' Kindle bags

2010-01-17T19:06:00.001-08:00

Heading out for a weekend trip I was worried about tossing my Kindle in my backpack and scratching the case, so my wife quickly made a cover out of some Hawaiian shirt fabric that I picked. Take a look - I think it looks great!

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Hiring a Sr Engineer at the Rubicon Project

2010-01-15T16:30:00.001-08:00

Hey everybody - I'm looking to hire a few engineers and thought I'd send out a note to let you all know. The Rubicon Project is truly an /awesome/ company to work for and the work we are doing is really exciting, challenging, very high scale and fun! It's like a startup - with benefits. So if you are ready to take charge of some big technology or know someone that is up to it, please shoot me an email. I've included the obligatory job description below.

Mike

Sr Software Engineer

the Rubicon Project is looking for several senior software engineers to help build out new products and features for the Data Intelligence area of our cutting edge online advertising platform. We are looking for people with experience building and operating large-scale, high-traffic Web applications and customer facing Web services. If you are an extremely productive contributor with a get-it-done attitude, work well in a highly collaborative team and want to work in an environment where software engineers are not just cubicle coders but full participants in shaping the product and the business then this job is for you. Serious experience with the following technologies is desired - Linux, Apache, HAProxy, memcached, memcacheq, Java, JSON, Tokyo Tyrant, MongoDB and MySQL.

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Golden Gardens sunset

2010-01-11T22:10:00.001-08:00

Went for a walk this weekend - but headed away from the mountains and ended at Golden Gardens on Puget Sound. On the way we did a little geocaching and stopped in at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center - a beautiful building with wonderful artwork and carvings inside (sorry, didn't take pictures).

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