Computer History Museum (Mountain View, CA) -- December 2016

While we were in the area for business, part of the plan was to stop here.  An appropriate amount of time was worked into our schedule to take the time to go through this.  We arrived about the time when it would open for the day, and we able to enjoy it without mobs of people around.  From the "old style" computer (when they took up entire rooms) to the latest innovations, this was very thorough.

I took a number of pictures of things which I found interesting.  These included to changing of the storage capacity, as disks got smaller and smaller (and the Zip Disks which I used a lot of).  I remember playing with the "Big Trak" that a neighbor had, and using the old TRS-80 computers in high school.  I had to get a shot of the Odyssey console (with the background film held to the television screen by static), as it was the *only* console system I ever owned.  The Quiz Whiz was something I had fond memories of, as Dean and I played that a lot.

Of course I'm going to like all the Apple-related stuff, as I used the Classic Mac in college, and my first computer was the LC II.  I almost had the early versions of the notebook and Duo Dock, but I lost the lottery on those.  I loved the Pets.com guy, because I fondly remembered those commercials (and can Chewy adopt him as a "retro-mascot"?)

Fremont Central Park (Fremont, CA) -- December 2016

During our business trip to California, we took a short break to see some nice ducks at a pond in the central part of Fremont.  Really, there was nothing else worth seeing in the city.

California State Capitol (Sacramento, CA) -- December 2016

A business trip brought us out to central California, and we built in some time here and there to see some of the sights (although that wasn't the plan for the entire trip).  Since the first part of the trip had us staying in Sacramento, we checked out the museum within the State Capitol (as the rest of the city was nasty and uninviting).

I liked seeing the bronze statue of Ronald Reagan in the city of the facility.  We went into the viewing area of the state senate, and some of the beautiful artwork on the ceilings.  Along one corridor was a display for each of the counties, so I had to take a picture of Orange County (where I used to go for work).  Since it was December, there was a nice Xmas tree on the grounds, and the front of the building had some wreaths on it.  There were some interesting things to check out, and worth doing if you're in the area.

Spicewood Valley Trail (Austin, TX) -- October 2016

Near the neighborhood I was living in at the time, there was a hiking trail that I drove past a couple times.  I kept saying to myself that I needed to explore it.  I took some time to do so, and the pictures below are some of what I saw there.  I started at an entry point "up-river" and took the trail "down-stream" (even though there wasn't much water flowing at the time).  The trail concluded at another entry point, where I proceeded to turn around and come back the way I came (instead of walking through the neighborhood to get home).  The takeaway from this is don't wait to explore.  When you see something new, go and check it out.  You never know when circumstances will change and you might not be in a position to do so again.

The following two pictures were taken at a different time, and at different locations.  The only reason they're here was because I didn't have enough shots to justify a "Random Texas Photos 2016" blog entry.

Halloween House (Round Rock, TX) -- October 2016

On a side street off of Red Bun Lane in eastern Round Rock is a place which in October becomes the Halloween House.  I was introduced to this a few years earlier by my then-neighbors, when we drove over to see the decorations.  I've gone over every year since.  During the month of October, a whole ton of Halloween decorations come out and cover the yard on this corner lot.  (During the month of December, holiday decorations come up, and it's call the "Christmas House.")

I'd had an opportunity to speak to the owners at one point, who decided to do this because they like having fun.  The yard by the pool and some of the interior would get decorated as well, as on one day towards the end of the month they'd give a guided tour to the public to see the inside decorations.  Because I'd showed up there solo one time, and no one else was present, I was given a sneak peak.  While the parents were all-in for the decorations, the kids sitting in the living room doing their homework were not amused.  I'm sure they were sick of having strangers in the house.

Over the years, the amount of stuff they had out has lessened to a great degree, but their usual items (Peanuts, Nightmare Before Christmas, and such) were still present.  A year or two before, a number of houses in the area had followed suit so there was a whole Halloween street going on.  This year there wasn't as much.  Still take the opportunity to go and visit them yourself.