From SESIG to Tacovore

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Morning routine. SESIG included discussing Mike's retirement and Agilent acquisition. Belo Retrato post. Photo studio disassembly. Kitchen cleaning. AI infrastructure migration. Exercise. Loni and Sam arrived. Family dinner at Tacovore. Stories with Wolfe.

A day of technical discussions, house preparation, and family gathering

Events and activities that occurred on Friday, January 16, 2026

The SESIG conversation ranged across career transitions, technology evolution, and emerging innovations. Mike shared details of his company's acquisition by Agilent, which provided both financial security and a three-year non-compete clause. The integration challenges fascinated the group—merging mass spectrometry systems with Agilent's legacy infrastructure required nine-month software development cycles. The conversation touched on HP-UX's final release, Xenix's surprising success in medical and dental markets, and Jon's insights on workstation computing evolution.

Battery technology sparked particular interest when the group discussed Donut Labs, a Finnish startup with promising specifications achieved through screen printing manufacturing. Mike contributed his own experience developing specialty wax patents for battery bipole production, describing how capillary action techniques yielded significant efficiency improvements. The conversation naturally evolved into AI applications, with Mike's son having created a financial planning tool for managing required minimum distributions, while I described the cloud-based AI system orchestrating daily planning and journaling workflows.

The photo studio came down. The basement transformed from photography workspace back to open storage, equipment carefully packed and stored. The kitchen and refrigerator received thorough attention, preparing the house for family arrival.

AI infrastructure work occupied the afternoon gaps between scheduled events. The migration to ldmrp03 continued, moving components away from ldmsvr00. The exercise session provided physical counterbalance to the technical work.

A mystery part on one of
Wolfe's toys
Loni and Sam's arrival shifted the day's energy entirely. Sydne came over for a bit, and the house filled with the particular warmth that only grandchildren bring. Presents were opened, then we headed to Tacovore for dinner—Loni, Sam, the boys, and I. John was there, which added to the evening's pleasure. Back home, Wolfe requested stories, and I read a couple before succumbing to exhaustion on the couch.

The couch claimed me before the evening fully ended, Wolfe's stories providing the transition from the day's technical precision to simple presence. The house readiness work had its purpose—family visiting transforms spaces from projects to gathering places, and the preparation mattered less than the arrival itself.

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