I asked her to marry me on July 19, 2001, when I gave her this ring, custom-made by my cousin Andrea, to let her know that I am completely committed to her.

Alex, who is 10 now, loves computers. He likes Linux because it doesn't crash as often as Windows, and it has Civilization: Call to Power, Heroes of Might & Magic III, chess, and all the Gnome and KDE games. He likes Windows because it has Age of Conquerors, Age of Myth, and Warcraft III. Alex lives with his mom in Pacifica, and attends Ocean Shore School. I try to post a picture of Alex every day. Alex just started his fourth year of AYSO Soccer. I have often served as unofficial photographer, getting lots of pictures of their games.

Karen recently completed her bachelor's degree and teaching credential at Stanislaus State University. She wants to be an elementary school teacher, and is hoping to teach in Sonora, where she grew up. Anyone who knows Karen knows three things about her:

• Purple is her favorite color (hence the amethyst ring, which is also her birth stone);
• She loves to dance (we met at the "Flying Pig Saloon" where blues phenomenon Daniel Castro was playing that night);
• She loves cats.

We were very fortunate, immediately after our honeymoon, to find an abandoned cat in our neighborhood who was willing to make his home with us. His name is Fred. Cats have way too much attitude to let anyone speak for them, so Fred has his own website.

In December 2000 I bought a house; in Summer of 2003 Karen and I finally built our dream home on the property. It's in an area outside of Sonora called Cedar Ridge, about 3 hours east of the Bay Area, and about 90 minutes north of Yosemite. This is in the southern end of Gold Rush country in California, an area of great natural beauty and wonderful historical charm.

Karen and I love to travel, for different reasons. I do too much of it on business, and feel like I never get to see anything except hotel rooms and conference centers. Karen had never really travelled outside the Pacific United States before we met. So both of us feel like we have a lot we want to see; we just never had the right time or the right companion before. We've taken some great vacations together.

The Internet has done a lot to bring our extended family together. We've all been surprised to discover how many of us have email, and how much more willing we are to send email than write letters.

Oh yeah, some "obligatory" stuff here, like links and thoughts. You can send me email if you want. And sometimes people are looking for directions to my home.