In August, like every hippie/tech bro ever, I eloped at Burning Man.  Here's a photo my campmate 8 took at the end of the week where the burned the chapel my wife and I were married in:


The power of fire as a symbol of change and the human spirit is overused.  I mean, I did get married at an entire festival named after the the idea.  But it's overused for a reason - there's very little that so dramatically represents moving on from the old, cleansing yourself of the past and creating something new and powerful and beautiful.  The man burns and in the destruction of the self we see the creation of light and beauty.

I was a married man; my old life was gone, and a new one was born.

And shortly after, my wife became pregnant.

So, in quite a short period of time, I had a newfound urgency to make myself into something better, something that was more sustainable than banging a hammer or gutting a fish not only financially, but also in terms of my well-being - something that would not break down my body, and something that would engage my mind and keep it sustained while I sustained my family.  And so I am learning to code.

(Can't resist linking to this old chestnut)

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