I have moved to Corvallis to start a new job at Oregon State University. I've rented a place in Philomath, a small town nestled up against the Coast Range to the west of Corvallis. This gives me a 5.5 mile bike commute each way. I've been out riding everyday since I got here, in all kinds of weather: rain, snow, fog, and ice. I've been riding simulated commutes, trying to find the best route. Corvallis is very bike friendly. There are several nice bike paths, including one all the way to Philomath, but more importantly almost every main street has bike lanes. Getting around by bike couldn't be easier.

Lot's of adjustments as Linda had to stay in Ashland to care for her mother, and help with JJ. Been a long time since I've lived by myself. Right now I am enjoying the simplicity of it, but I'm sure that won't last.

There is a lot to like about this area. Years ago I thought the west hills of the Willamette Valley was an ideal location. We once looked at a farm not too far from here. I never really expected to be back. Even in mid-winter the place is incredibly green. It's the grass fields that really stand out. Rye grass seed seems to be the biggest industry here. I remember when we lived in Eugene they called it the "Emerald Empire". It starts with the first rains in the Fall when the newly planted fields sprout. Of course it all turns brown in the summer, and it could be bad if they still burn off the straw like they used to. But right now it looks great.

Besides the green fields there are lots of green woods. Even in the flats of the valley there are patches of native woods. Here in the foothills there are even more. Of course it's all been logged. Actually this is probably a really good time to have moved to this area. The battles between the loggers and the environmentalists are past. The valuable timber is mostly gone. What's left are 20-60 year old forests that are pretty to look at, but won't be ready to harvest for another generation. There is still some logging going on, but nothing close to the scale of 30 years ago.

An interesting link to Ashland is the Applegate Trail. If you don't already know, the Applegate trail, which crossed the Cascades into what is now Ashland, and then headed north to the Willamette Valley, was the main alternative to the Oregon Trail for settlers heading to Oregon. Close to Ashland is the Applegate Valley where some of the original family settled. The street I live on in Philomath is just off of Applegate Street, and a block away is a historical marker that reads "Applegate Trail 1849". Nice to be steeped in Oregon history.

Monday I start my new job as a developer for Central Web Services at OSU. This should be very different from my job at SOU. Here I will be focused entirely on web development. At SOU, in addition to web development, I was a systems administrator, and a network engineer, among other things. I also was part of the management team and was involved with most of the decision making around IT issues. And I supervised several other IT employees. Here I'll be reporting to a manager and will be focused on one aspect of web development. It will be interesting to see if I can adjust to this or I end up feeling to constrained in this role. Certainly there should be plenty of interesting work to keep be busy. Most of the people I'll be working with are much younger than me, It will be interesting to see if this old dog can learn any new tricks.

Mary's River flooding in January 2011