Joe Hackman

Joe Hackman

Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0, Tesla, maker, and more...

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Adventure Day 3 – La Jolla, Friends, Food and Fixing Stuff

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Day three was fantastic; we got a nice taste of what San Diego has to offer. We are mostly settled into our temporary home for the ~1 week in San Diego. We also had a great pleasure today of meeting up with some old friends of mine. They had never met my wife or son, and I’d never met their 2 kids. We joined them at La Jolla, where we enjoyed checking out the tide pools and also got some “beach” time in. We had lunch at “The Taco Stand,” which was quite good to top it off. We managed to catch all 4 goals of the Germany vs. Ghana FIFA match too. Our timing was perfect. Good news for team USA! Reconnecting with old friends is also a joy. It’s neat how many memories start coming back when you spend a little time with them. We were reminiscing about trips to the desert, 90’s hairstyles, and how different things were around here back then. It’s also great to compare notes with other parents to get ideas, share, and learn.

Fixing Stuff

I also finally got the satellite TV issues sorted out. After several chat sessions, changing dip switch settings on our dish, and numerous other things, I found an article that showed how to reset the satellite info, boom thanks, Dr. Google. World Cup will be watched live tomorrow. I am also gearing up for the work week, so the workspace here in the RV needs to be better optimized, and I need to prep for some face to face meetings with customers. I also fixed our Sleep Number bed; evidently, when it was installed, the hoses were routed the wrong way, and the mechanism that lowers and raises the bed crushed the tubing placing a small hole in it. Of course, that results in the air leaking out, and without air, you pretty much have a board, not a mattress.

Checking out La Jolla Tide Pools

Checking out La Jolla Tide Pools

Some key take highlights from today:

  1. Look up and meet old friends, you will be so glad you did it.
  2. When you have a lot to get done, stay calm, you can eventually get to it all.
  3. Carne Asada Fries are kind of like California burritos without the tortilla.
  4. Don’t bother calling Dish for support. Google the issues and figure it out yourself.
  5. Sometimes it’s easier to fix something yourself than take it to a dealership or wait for a technician to arrive, especially if it’s attached to an RV.

While reading this, I am probably buying a fishing license online or taking a small person who is angling to catch some fish. Or if you’re reading this between 3 and 5 PM Pacific Time on Sunday, June 22nd, what the heck are you doing? Watch the US v Portugal World cup match. 🙂

Next up: Adventure Day 4 – Unpacking and Office Setup, US Ties Portugal

Adventure – Day 2 Highlights

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Today’s update is going to be quick, and you’ll see why. Today we drove from Coalinga, CA to Santee, CA, through LA on a Friday, HAHAHA. The trip started at 8:30 AM, and we arrived at close to 7 PM in Santee. What the heck were we thinking? Oh, that’s right, our trip was delayed a week; we weren’t thinking we were adjusting. Anyway, some takeaways from today:

  1. Don’t drive through LA on a Friday (or avoid it altogether, even better).
  2. Know that it takes up to 24 hours for a Dish receiver to activate (do it more than 24 hours before the World Cup match you want to watch).
  3. Android phones can and will overheat if you’re tethering and navigating at the same time.
  4. When Android phones overheat and shutdown, certain apps lose their configuration.
  5. Kids make friends in 20 seconds or less most of the time, especially if they both own RC cars.
  6. Cheap Merlot pairs nicely with popcorn. (Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!) $6 Costco Blackstone FTW.

I feel bad because my Dropbox sync for my photographs didn’t work today, and I am too tired to look at it now. I think it has to do with my phone over-heating. Anyway, you know what else was tired? This guy (from yesterday, check out the ghosting on the open window, wild):

Getting some shuteye.

Getting some shuteye.

I am going to try to blog every day during this trip, time permitting. Tomorrow we’ll be meeting some friends in La Jolla, and I’ll be finding myself a taco shop to get some rolled tacos, or a burrito or something else; man, I miss San Diego Taco shop food. 🙂

Next up: Adventure Day 3 – La Jolla, Friends, Food and Fixing Stuff

Adventure – Day 1 Highlights

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Day one was a bit of a pack and travel day, as I noted in my post yesterday. We did learn some things and had some great experiences. All of us are completely excited about the process we’ve just started. When we arrived at our RV park in Coalinga (middle of no-where), we quickly settled in. A few take-aways:

  1. When it’s 100 Degrees outside, plugin and start the A/C first, then do everything else, trust me.
  2. Not all of the Coalinga area smells like death.
  3. The proprietors at Sommerville RV Park have nice dogs and cool signs.
I Brought the Joy

I Brought the Joy

I brought the Joy

Yep, a pretty cool sign. I thought it was fantastic. If you’re friendly and happy, you bring joy; if not, the joy occurs when you leave. I found it funny how people complained that the proprietors charged $2 more per night for a credit card payment. If I can get a good 50 Amp electrical service to run the A/C for a quick overnight for $38 ($36 cash!) I am a happy camper.

Star Wars

I’m not resurrecting a pseudo-post-cold-war defense project; I am talking George Lucas varietal. Our son has been dying to see Star Wars, and guess what, it happened, and he loved it. We are pretty cautious about the material we allow him to consume; our feeling is always age-appropriate first. He will eventually be exposed to everything but allowing him to be a kid and mature at a comfortable pace is ideal in our view. I cracked a few jokes about the tough crowd in the Creature Cantina scene.

We’re homeless, sort of, and no-one is crying.

I don’t mean to make fun of anyone homeless; it’s really a common and horrible issue with few champions (except for people like Mark Horvath). But technically, aside from our RV, we are now homeless, but guess what, no-one is upset about it. I’ve already mentioned it before, but it’s liberating in many ways and makes me want more and more to simplify my life…

Less is More

Recently I watched a movie about a couple who bought some land and built a tiny house. Through that movie, I learned that there was this entire movement to live in downsized homes and reverse the McMansion trend. I have to say that given everything we know today, we all should be thinking about sustainability. I am certainly not a poster child for sustainable living, but I love sustainable technology that makes sense. It reminds me of a conversation I had with Dr. Richard A. Muller about global warming on Blog Talk Radio. At one point, Dr. Muller basically advised doing green things that make sense. Please don’t buy a Prius to change the world; buy it because you’ll get nearly 50 miles to the gallon and save money in the long run. I love technology that saves resources and allows me to geek out at the same time. Stuff like LED lighting retrofits, Hydrawise, Lutron RA2, Smart Things, Nest, all staples of my home upgrade must-do list. I think we can all use Dr. Muller’s logic and improve the overall state of natural resources simultaneously.

What’s happening today?

Since I wrote this on Thursday and scheduled for Friday morning, I am probably en-route to San Diego as you are reading this. Or I may just be enjoying my breakfast in our home on wheels. Either way, I’ll probably post some pictures over on my Facebook page. Hopefully, we are connected, and you’re enjoying the conversations and pictures.

Next up: Adventure – Day 2 Highlights

Saying Goodbye to Danville, for Now

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Today we said goodbye to our house of nearly 10 years and hit the road headed south on I5. I walked around the house and said goodbye to each room with my son. He’s a great sport about it all. His enthusiasm for this adventure has only validated that we made great decisions to pursue this. When we got to his room, and he said, “Goodbye room,” I sounded off, “Goodbye to your first room.” He smiled back and said something about our new house should have a treehouse; I have to agree with his logic, a treehouse would be cool.

WIndshield TIme

Windshield Time

It took all morning to pick up the pack up and methodically place our belongings into the appropriate places around our new home for at least the next 30 days. Surprisingly we could have fit more stuff, but luckily we don’t need more. Less is more these days, and not just more; it’s liberating.

Packing Up

Packing Up

I have to confess, saying goodbye to the house. I had a rush of emotions. We had a lot of experiences in that home. It was the first house my wife and I purchased together; it was the first “home” over our son’s head, and it is where the vast majority of our memories as a family originated. Those feelings will continue to gel over the coming weeks, and the new experiences will start to augment the old. I am also anticipating many of the ideas floating around my head to start to gel, and I look forward to sharing them with my family to see where the common threads are that will form the next chapter of our lives.

Goodbye Danville, For Now

Goodbye Danville, For Now

There really isn’t a better place to ponder the future than on a road trip with my family. I am completely excited and looking forward to sharing the experience. Thanks for dropping by to catch up on our progress. If you have any suggestions for things or places we should try to see in the Southwest US, don’t hesitate to share them with me.

Next up: Adventure – Day 1 Highlights

The Adventure Begins

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Temporary Work Space

Temporary Work Space

Last night I was sitting in the kitchen trying to write an article for my business website on my laptop. I glanced down at the clock, it was 9:11 PM. Maybe it was time for a break, a little inspiration. I got up to walk around a bit. I walked upstairs to where I normally write on my stand up workstation in my home office. Instead of the LED lights from electronic devices, I saw light from outside reflecting from the bare floor. As I walked in I could hear the sound of my soft footsteps echo off the walls, a light breeze was blowing through the open window. The entire room was completely empty and it was beautifully simple. I then walked down the hall to my son’s room, normally a quick glance in the door at the hour would reveal a sleeping young lad. Instead, I saw an empty room and as if my mind didn’t believe it, I scoured the room with my eyes looking for something that may have been forgotten by the movers. Not a thing, not even a piece of Lego. Then it hits me:

The adventure is about to begin.

Postponed Dreams

I’ve been feeling restless for a long time, last year we were supposed to take a month-long family trip. I had dreamed of spending a month in the French countryside with them. Something completely foreign sans the imagery I’ve seen on some international real estate shows on TV. Running an IT business that I believed required me to be local for close to two decades has given me a lot of freedom and also made me feel tethered in many ways to a small geographic area. It was my choice, I have no regrets.

Breaking the Mental Tether

Last year I wrote how I was shifting focus, I did not abandon the IT business but I stopped growing it to emphasize a growing segment of my business. The emphasis would pave the way for more flexibility in my schedule. This effort coupled with the amazing advances in technology that allow me to do more of my job from anywhere have largely cut that psychological tether I had hung on to for so many years.

Leaving Something for the Next Person

I eluded to movers having cleared out our possessions, that’s kind of a big deal and it involves the sale of our home. Part of our logic to do this now is to lock in gains in real estate while the conditions are good but not feeling like we were right at the top of the market. As a wise adviser once told me, leave something for the next person. What that means is don’t try to sell at the top of the market, sell when the market is strong and a buyer can feel confident that they will also get a return. That sounds smart to me, so we are selling our house and rental now and we’ll have some time on the road to enjoy a special experience as a family. We can then return with a fresh plan derived in an appropriate environment. In the meantime, we have a safety valve, a fallback plan, but I think we’ll do far better than that.

That Liberating Feeling

Imagine if next month you wouldn’t have a mortgage, utilities and other household bills.  I am not taking a real vacation, I will be seeing customers along the way, but I am taking a mental vacation from the responsibilities of a homeowner and I am almost as excited about that as anything else.

Nudge, Nudge….

Several of my friends have encouraged me to blog about the trip and I’ve gotten some great suggestions about it. I’ve also not had a chance to tell many friends and family the full details because we’ve been juggling a lot of responsibilities to put everything together and run a business. I’ll be writing as long as I feel inspired and taking pictures to share along the way. Thanks for the encouragement and for taking the time to get caught up with our impending adventure!

Next up: Saying Goodbye to Danville, for Now