Today is my last day at Sun. It's been an interesting ride for the last 9+ years, and I wish you all the best.

See you around the galaxy!

So long and thanks for all the fish.

Scotty

Folks,

it is with fond memories of every one I have worked with during my 9+ years of service at Sun, that I announce my departure.

I have been given an exciting opportunity as an XML and content management Solutions Architect at Flatirons Solutions (http://www.flatironssolutions.com) in Boulder.

While at Sun, I have worked for SunSoft (Solaris Tech Pubs), Sun Educational Services, Global eServices Engineering, Global Knowledge Engineering, and CNS Knowledge, Data and Operations.

I've helped create online documentation for Solstice Backup, Solstice Job Scheduler and the Solaris Administration Guides, created education.central, worked on the next generation of SunSolve, the Astoria, Voyager and KASP content management systems, and the Service Parts Repository (SPRuce) and the Sun System Handbook, and was consistently one of the top 15 most popular blogs on blogs.sun.com.

God willing, our paths will again cross some day. It has been an honor and priviledge to work with all of you incredibly talented folks. Sorry if I missed anybody. Please forward to anyone you think might be interested in hearing the news.

My last day at Sun will be February 17th, but you can continue to follow my adventures at: http://shudson310.blogspot.com

Please stay in touch!

Best regards,

Scott Hudson

Dave Levy mentioned in his blog that the Technorati Tags weren't working for him.

I, too, had added Technorati Tags to my blog (check out the "See also:" links at the bottom of each post!), but when I clicked on the links, Technorati said no posts were available for that tag!

Here's the fix: I went into my del.ico.us bookmarks, and made sure my tag names matched those on my blog. Originally, I had all my del.icio.us bookmark tags in lowercase. On the blog, however, they were mixed or init cap. I like the way they are on my blog, so I changed the tag names for my del.ico.us bookmarks and voila! The tags and entries now work on Technorati!

Our family LOVES Veggie Tales. We have all of the videos, and the Jonah movie, and have attended several of the new video launch parties. The 3-2-1 Penguins videos are also some of our favorites.

If you've never heard of Veggie Tales or 3-2-1 Penguins, they are created by Big Idea Productions. They are very family friendly, and teach values: something severely lacking in much of today's entertainment programming. As their tagline says, "Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun!"

There's a new service available where you can get personalized Veggie Tales music CDs and adventure books! They actually have recorded your child's name for the audio, and insert your child's name and other information into the story for the books.

For those of you in the Denver area, go to Flatirons Crossing and look for the booth, or visit: http://www.justmemusic.us/ndenver/index.php. If you see Curt, tell him Scotty from Sun sent you! :-)

For those of you elsewhere, check out: http://www.justmemusic.com

Thanks to my friend Kirk for finding this link: http://tv.cream.org/extras/toys/index.html

I don't remember some of those, but here are some I actually got for Christmas!

#97 Weebles Ranch
#93 Rubik's Cube
#92 Zoids! I had a huge brontosaurus, a swimming frog, and a dodo (bird that didn't fly)
#91 Electronic Kit
#81 Okay, my sister actually got the Merlin, but I played with it a lot.
#79 Who didn't have a ViewMaster?
#35 Spirograph!
#31 Run Yourself Ragged!
#20 One of my favorites! I still have my StarBird and the original box!
#7 My cousin Brandon had a grey BigTrak. I was always enthralled by it.

Such fond memories. My other favorites, not on the list:

• the Millenium Falcon
• Batcycle Big Wheel
• CHiPs Big Wheel
• TinkerToy
• Legos
• Emergency! Fireman's Hat
• GI Joe/Cobra Rattler Jet and the Hiss Tank

Thanks Mom and Dad! I don't know how you managed it, but you sacrificed to give us things we wanted, even if we didn't need them.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Check out this absolutely hilarious article posted on The Register: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/23/mcnealys_xmas_dream/

Along with Scott's wishes, I'd also like to wish Sun's customers, employees, partners and shareholders a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I got this from Familyman Weekly yesterday. It cracked me up, so I had to share:

It was five days before Christmas, and the house was a disaster.
We tried to keep up, but the kids were just faster.
The tree was dried up, and the lights were burned out.
If it got any worse, I was going to shout.

With my wife in her pj’s, and I in my shorts,
We had fallen asleep with grumbles and snorts.
The children were tangled in covers and sheets
While Lego's and dress-up lay in great heaps.

When all of sudden, I heard a loud gurgle
I rolled out of bed as quick as a turtle.
I walked down the hallway and into his room
And I knew what was happening in spite of the gloom.

The stench in the room arose from his bed.
He was covered in vomit from toe to his head.
He heaved once or twice with cries in between;
In all of my life, this was as bad as I’d seen.

I pulled off his clothes as chunks fell on the floor
They tickled my feet and splattered the door.
I patted his back and said I love you;
He smiled but once and then started to spew.

Like lightning I grabbed a small pail by his bed;
His neck was all sweaty and his face was all red.
He coughed and sputtered until the last drop,
Then the last little chunk fell with a plop.

My wife who stood in the hall with a bag
Wanted to help but started to gag.
I shooed her away with a jerk of my head;
I was doing my job, she had nothing to dread.

In no time at all, I had mopped up the spew
And tucked him in bed with the bucket in view.
He smiled a tired smile, and I felt so in love
Like the very first Christmas he was a gift from above.

As I lay in my bed with the stench on my knees,
I was thankful to God for times just like these.
I was doing what fathers were created to do,
And I love being a dad...in spite of the spew.

My son happens to be one of my more faithful blog readers (Hi Connor!), and needed a letter to Santa sent Priority Mail last week.

You may or may not know, that the North American Aerospace Defense Command tracks Santa every year!

I was fortunate enough to tour NORAD back when I was an Air Force ROTC cadet, and can confirm that they track millions of objects in both air and space, including Santa.

Still skeptical? Check out their dedicated tracking site at: http://www.noradsanta.org/

Merry Christmas!

Congratulations to the San Diego Chargers, winners of the 2004 AFC West Division title!

From the Official San Diego Chargers site:

The Chargers clinched their first AFC West title since 1994 after the Denver Broncos’ 45-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. Meanwhile, the Bolts beat the Cleveland Browns 21-0 in the snow at Cleveland Browns Stadium for their 11th win of the season.

I've lived in Colorado all of my life, but I've always liked the San Diego Chargers in football, the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, and the Los Angeles Lakers in basketball.

Mind you, I do like the Denver Broncos, the Colorado Rockies, and the Colorado Avalanche, but they have never topped my list.

We've only been to San Diego once, but we loved it! We went to Seaworld, Qualcomm Stadium, Seau's Restaurant, and most importantly, Legoland! We definitely need to go back.

Okay, the real reason I've always liked the Chargers: the lightning bolt on their helmets. Hey, I've always been a weather nut, what other reason do I need!?!

Today I give thanks to God for the blessings of good family and friends, a good job to provide for my family, and the freedom and liberty protected in our wonderful United States of America.

Spending the last week in Washington, D.C. provided some great perspective and interesting experiences on why this is truly the greatest nation in the world. I am also very thankful that our democracy works, and that the people have spoken in support of our President George W. Bush. Many disagree, but they are a very vocal minority. The election this year had a record turnout, so I think the results truly indicate the voice of the people.

For a history of thanksgiving, take a look at Bill Petro's articles:

• History of Thanksgiving
• Squanto
• First Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1676
• George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789
• Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863

Happy Thanksgiving, and may God continue to bless America!

Congratulations to my best friend, Don and Heather Morgan, proud new parents of Cora Posey Morgan. Born on November 18, 2004 at 2:23 in the afternoon, Cora weighed 6 pounds, 6 1/2 ounces, was 18 1/4 inches long, and already has quite a head of hair! She arrived about a month earlier than expected, too.

Congratulations also goes out to my friend, Zarella Rendon, with the arrival of Ryan James Goatcher. Born November 19, 2004 at 12:21 pm, he weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 inches long! We missed Zarella at the XML 2004 conference, but I'm glad she had the baby at the hospital, instead of during a conference session!

It's been a week since I lost my "Papa", Frank Edwin Mason. He fought cancer for three years, and passed away Thursday, October 28, 2004 during emergency heart surgery. He was the last of my grandparents, and the one I was closest to. I miss him terribly.

He served our country in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and later inherited and ran the Mason Candy Company in Trinidad, Colorado.

More of his history, in his own words, can be read at: http://www.trinidadco.com/101Families/Families/MasonFrank.asp.
He also wrote histories of my great grandfather Abe at: http://www.trinidadco.com/101Families/Families/MasonAbraham.asp and my great, great grandfather, George, at: http://www.trinidadco.com/101Families/Families/MasonGeorge.asp.

I'll be posting more of his experiences in future posts. He always looked to help and encourage others. He touched the lives of many people, and will truly be missed.

I was listening to the radio in the car last night, and "Let's Groove Tonight" by Earth, Wind and Fire started playing.

I had to laugh, because a few years ago when my oldest son, Connor, was three or four, we heard the song, and after hearing the robotic "Boogie Down" line, he asked what it meant in the song.

I told him it was a kind of dancing, and he replied, "Daddy, I have a dance in my nose?!?"

That still cracks me up!

My dad officially retired from the USDA Farm Service Agency on October 3, but we held his retirement party this weekend at the Flying W Ranch.

Dad graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor's degree in Biology and became a school teacher at Trinidad High School.He commuted about 120 miles/day to Trinidad from our ranch in Trinchera, Colorado every day for 10 years!

Dad then moved to the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) later named the Farm Service Agency (FSA), where he has been the County Executive Director for El Paso, Park and Teller counties for 28 years.

The Flying W Ranch (http://www.flyingw.com)was a perfect place for his retirement party. The entertainment was spectacular, and surprisingly, dad had never been there. We presented him with a Cowboy bronze sculpture by Remington, and about 40 people were in attendance. Some folks traveled all the way from Lubbock and Seattle to see him off.

I know I'm selfish when I say this, but I have the best dad in the world. He has always been there for me and my family. His Godly character is exemplified every day.

I love you, Dad!

My wife and our friend Maureen were shopping at Michael's (hobby/decorating store) yesterday, when they ran into:

Edward

and

Hildi

Looks like Trading Spaces has come to Rock Creek!

While Vern and Frank are probably her favorite designers on the show, meeting celebrities like Hildi and Edward is still pretty cool.

If you've never seen the Trading Spaces show, you should check it out on TLC (http://www.tradingspaces.com). Personally, I just end up working on more home projects as a result...

Speaking of celebrities, my wife and I also met Stephen King on our honeymoon in Estes Park. They were filming The Shining for TV Mini-Series at the Stanley Hotel. It was just a random event, but still, a celebrity.

Another celebrity I've met was Douglas Adams, author of my favorite Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book series. He spoke at an engineering conference at Sun about 4 months before he passed away.

Also in the techno world, I've met Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the internet, NOT Al Gore), Jon Bosak (inventor of XML), Norm Walsh (inventor of DocBook), and many more at the IDEAlliance XML conferences. You should probably just checked out my LinkedIn profile...