1st Annual Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, I considered writing letters to everyone, but now that it's December 24, and I'm at Denver International Airport, waiting for my flight to Seattle to board, I figure I'll just write an email. The second half of 2009 has been very eventful, busy, and has brought many new things into my life.

As you probably know, I have been working in Aspen since I graduated University in 2007. I've been doing home automation programming for a company that provides home theaters and electronics control to the homes of the insanely wealthy. I've learned a lot at that job, and contributed some software that I'm very proud of to them. However, one Friday evening last summer, opportunity knocked, as I stood in line at a concert in Carbondale, Colorado, where I was living. I got into a conversation with another programmer who lived in Boulder, Colorado. He said they needed to hire someone just like myself “yesterday.” I accepted the request to do an interview, and did first a phone interview, then used a personal day to sneak off to Boulder and demonstrate my skills. I was soon hired by my new Employer, Realtime Worlds. Thankful for a wonderful two years spent in Aspen, I moved to Boulder and started the job at the end of September. But before that happened, I decided to use my remaining vacation time to go back to Moscow.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked – it was a nine day trip. I went with three friends from Colorado, none of whom had been there before. It was good to see these friends from 3 years ago, and to practice a little Russian once again. We visited many fun places, like Red Square, The famous Novodevichy cemetery, Tsaristino and Kolomenskoye parks, Tretyakovski gallery, did a lot of late-night clubbing, and saw the Nutcracker Ballet. One of the highlights was seeing military bands from eight nations and the Shaolin monks perform in Red Square. It was great to be in Moscow again, and difficult to say goodbye to friends there. Here are the photos from that: http://photos.arthurk.com/MoscowRussia2009

I moved to Boulder just in time to see the end of summer. Shortly after that, my aunt and uncle (who are like second parents) made a stop on their RV tour of the American West, and visited me in Boulder, as well as helped me get moved it. While visiting, they got to enjoy their old stomping grounds near where they lived and met 30 years ago. After moving in, summer changed to fall, and three days before Halloween (Oct. 31), almost 3 feet (90 cm) of snow fell! Yesterday and this morning, what was supposed to be a few inches turned into over a foot (30cm).

At my new job, I quickly made friends with a number of co-workers, and started working as the head of a several month-long project developing tools for other programmers and web site development. It's been a lot of fun at Realtime, and next year will be even better, since the company is releasing its new game All Points Bulletin, which is a shoe-in to be a top game of 2010. You'll surely hear about it. It's like Grand Theft Auto, but even more awesome. (GTA was created by our CEO back in the 1990s for those who don't know).

I've also made several friends in Boulder, who were very gracious to host me over thanksgiving, to take me along skiing, and to show me around the sights and sounds of my new city, Boulder. Speaking of good friends, I had been thinking of getting a dog, and with some persuasion from my friend Cordelia, I agreed to play with some at the Humane Society. That's where I met Mikko, a Shiba Inu/Australian Cattle Dog mix, who immediately stole my heart. A few days after my birthday, I adopted Mikko, and have really enjoyed him in the week I've had him so far. He probably does need a little more obedience training, but overall, he's a really sweet dog, and an excellent personal trainer. I look forward to seeing him when I return home next week. Hopefully he hasn't had a chance to destroy anything important while his sitter wasn't watching!

So, I'm very excited about next year, and I've been thinking about what I'll do. I'll probably play more video games (It now counts as professional development, since I work for a gaming company!), do lots of skiing and snowboarding (although watching to avoid any more hospital visits), learn more Russian, work on many interesting web projects, make kayaking friends in Boulder, do lots of hiking, camping, backpacking, and get lots of exercise with Mikko. I'll also be updating my blog more, it's at http://www.ArthurK.com, but is in a rather neglected state at the moment.

So, Happy Holidays to all, and to all your families!

Sincerely,

Arthur Ketcham

10 Fun Things to Do in Moscow

A friend of mine asked me on Facebook to tell her the top 10 things I'd recommend doing in Moscow, Russia, during a short trip. I was there in September for 9 days, in addition to the year I spent teaching English, while a university student (in 2005). Here are my suggestions:

• The Kremlin, of course, and Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral. The Kremlin charges quite a bit for foreigners - if you have Russian friends, have them buy the tickets.
  
  
• You can see Vladimir Lenin in his mausoleum in Red Square. This is free, and a must if you're a history buff.
  
  
• The state history museum at the entrance of the red square is also interesting.
  
  
• The Tretyakov Art Gallery is very awesome. You've seen the painting of the bear cubs playing on logs in the pine forest - it's there.
  
  
• The Novodevichy convent and cemetery is very beautiful. The cemetery (along with the Kremlin wall) is one of the two places where many notable Russian figures are buried.
  
  
• Kolomenskoye park and Tsaritsino Park are scenic parks to visit during sunny weather.
  
  
• The G.U.M. mall, next to Red Square is fun to stroll through, it has some good cafes. Shopping there is quite pricey.
  
  
• Moo-Moo (you'll notice the cow splotch color scheme) is a super delicious, cafeteria/buffet style restaurant. I miss their borsch.
  
  
• If you have a chance, check out the outdoor markets. They are full of all kinds of interesting things for sale. Beware of the merchants' desperate hawklike ambushing of unsuspecting tourists. I highly recommend brining a local along. Try the Georgian flatbread (Khachapuri)-it's amazing!
  
  
• For that matter, I highly recommend the experience of dining at a nice Georgian or Central Asian (usually Uzbekistani) restaurant. It's like middle-eastern, but much better, as their location along the spice-route has given them some damn fine cuisine.
  Priyatnava Appetita!

Moved to Boulder!

A lot has happened in recent weeks. For one, I've relocated to Boulder, Colorado, and have a new job there as as web programmer. It's been great, and am enjoying it a lot. I'm still working on establishing myself, and finding new friends here. It's a fairly sizable college town, so I'm sure that won't be too difficult.

Evolution!

Because it's good to know how your world works.

Happy 200th Darwin and Lincoln

Two hundred years ago, on the the same day, were born two men who brought about revolutionary changes in the perspective of how society reflects upon itself. These revolutions in though were and still are fraught with great tension, and these men are regarded as heroes to many and villains to some unwilling to accept the new ideas these men have brought out in the open.

I, as well as most people, regard both as bringers of enlightenment, helping our society to achieve a new awareness, and scientific worldview of our planet and our species. In breaking with accepted views of their day, and offering a better vision, Lincoln and Darwin were courageous as well as risky, and to them is owed gratitude by today's thinkers who explore deep questions about who we are, and our connection to one another.

While I can assume the value of racial harmony and inclusion is well appreciated and understood by most, the same cannot be said about the concept of evolution, which is unfortunately ill understood, and often contends against widespread disinformation and incomplete reasoning.

Simply put, the theory of evolution is, like theory of gravity, or germ theory, an explanation for phenomenon in the natural world. Unlike the theory of gravity, however, the mechanisms underneath it are well understood, and can be scientifically tested. Evolution makes predictions, which can be proven. This has happened numerous times when fossils are unearthed that show intermediate forms, previously unknown to biology. Evolution also fits perfectly with the DNA mechanism for inheritance and mutation of information in organisms, which was discovered 94 years later. Science showing observable genetic variation, and genetic relation among related organisms is plentiful and lends credence to this theory, virtually to the point of proving it. In fact, the reason that medicine must adapt as pathogens develop resistance to once effective drugs is evolution happening literally inside our own bodies!

It seems to be that rejection of evolution, as well as beholding racism does not happen merely because of a dislike for the opposing idea in itself, but rather out of fear and misunderstanding of the new idea, fear of changing one's perspective with new understanding, and ignorance of the true simplicity and beauty of these ideas.

Drinking Space Coffee

Wow. I'd really like to try this out:

Obligatory Blog Post

So, It's been brought to my attention that my blog is very out of date, and that I need to post something. Lately, my life has been fairly unremarkable. I've been mostly working, getting out on the mountain (skiing and snowboarding) on weekends, or just doing nothing. I did go to Las Vegas again for a work project a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I can't talk about the project, or I'd have to kill you ;)

Anyway, things here are alright, not too bad, but not too exciting either. I got an iPhone a couple of weeks ago, since the service is partly subsidized through work. Nice little perk :)
This morning, my manager reprimanded me for NOT having the "I can haz cheezeburger" app installed on my iPhone. I installed it at once.

Yesterday, I posted some new photos to my Picasa album:

25 Trips around the Sun!

Today is my birthday, and it's been a really great day. I went snowboarding today, and my roommates and another friend of mine treated me to a delicious Mexican dinner and dessert. They even got the waitstaff to sing to me and give me cake. :)

I just wanted to give a big thanks to all my friends and family that have made it (and every other day of the year) so wonderful. Blessings to you all.

The Bittersweet Recession

Yesterday, I was so excited to see the big red and white sign reading$2.139 that I immediately had to text a relative and share the news, since the price had dropped 9 cents in 2 days. Today I rolled into my town, Carbondale, after a long day at work, and with the realization that my tank was near empty, I started scanning for that familiar Co-op gas station sign. Then I found it. The sign read $1.999!This was followed by a few double takes, then a loudly cast "WooHoo!" I filled my 16 gallon tank for $23.99 (incidentally, a very round number when talking about gas prices). I haven't done that in years! In fact, just a few months ago, that would have cost close to $60 where I live. Wow.

On a sad but related note, I was at the store tonight, and as I passed through the snacks aisle, I saw a City Market notice attached to the shelf. This noticed said that "Effective immediately, Mothers Cookies and Archway Cookies have closed and are no longer producing cookies. This also affects [The store brands] of cookies. We are trying to find a new supplier[, etc.]"

This great American product, which has been a favorite since 1914 - Which means, like Lehman, they too weathered the great depression - is now history. And the delicious pink and white Animal Cookies, and the divine double fudge cookies I've always loved so much, the former in childhood, the later in recent years, are no more. Why couldn't our government have bailed them out. After all, isn't it today's children that are loaning us all this bailout money anyway?

New Bike

I got a new bike today! This was a cheap bike from a Big-Box Mart that I could use to ride to the bus stop in the mornings, and leave out all day in the weather. I definitely didn't want to risk leaving my nice mountain bike at the bus stop all day, and walking takes too much precious time in the morning, when 1 minute can make a big difference in how the rest of the day will unfold.

So here are some interesting figures about my two bikes and my car...

31.1: The number of times more expensive my old bike was than my new cheapo bike (However, they were both on sale, so it was really about 27.4)

3.0: Number of times more expensive my car would be than my nice bike.

I am definitely a true Coloradan :)