Duane Koford

I had as much fun as I could in Xiamen.  I was actually there on two different trips during the summer of 2008.  Yes I know this update is a little late.  I saw some interesting things and some beautiful scenery on my days off.  If you visit Xiamen you must go to Gulangyu Island and climb to Sunlight Rock.  I caught up with my old friends and made some new ones.  As someone who emailed me pointed out it is against the law to honk on Xiamen Island, so the honking was kept to a minimum.  When I came home from the later trip (October 11) it was snowing in Utah.  That was a shock after being in the warmth of Xiamen.  Any way I am home now and will not be going back to Xiamen unless it is on a vacation.  Something that might happen when my son is old enough to make the 14 hour flight and remember the people and experiences.

I am getting ready to travel to China for the third time.  The first was in March 2004, the second was March 2008 each of those trips was for 1 week and 2 weeks respectively.  This trip is for a month.  The city I will be living in is Xiamen, Fujian, China.  Xiamen on Google Maps   Xiamen is a small city by China standards only 2 million people.  To give you an idea that is the entire population of Utah crammed on an island with a 4 mile radius.

I will be living in a one bed room apartment on the 26th floor on a major street.  Cars honking all night long.  There is a clothes washer but no dryer.  The fridge is a mini-fridge, you know the kind that are only good for a couple six-packs.

Keep an eye on this blog I will be posting to it as much as possible during my trip.

So let me explain the reasoning behind the sub-title of my web-log.  “What was I thinking?”
Not trying to be clever I intended this blog to be a repository of things that run through my brain from time to time; relaying personal opinions, remarking on various technical subjects, and serving as a brain dump of sorts.
With my family moving to China it will also serve as a way for me to communicate my day-to-day experiences.  Mostly, this is so that the Grandparents can keep up-to-date with my son.  At this time he is the first and only grandchild on my wife’s side of the family.
My wife immediately caught on to the hidden meaning that not all who read this will understand.  Committing to write an entry on this blog monthly, let alone daily, is not something that is within my modus operandi.
So bear with me as I get into the swing of taking time each day to post something.

Every programming language I have ever learned has always started with the "Hello World" program.  So I think that it is only fitting that my first blog entry should follow in this tradition.

“Hello World, I am Duane Koford”

I hope that this blog will become somewhat useful and entertaining for those fortunate enough to find it.

Keeping with the tradition of “Hello World” this first entry is short.