San Jose, California - New Job

Dear Friends:

This week, I've started a brand-new job.  I'm now working for a company named ARM.  They are a leader in the computer chip industry.  They design the chips that go inside 90% of smartphones and tablets.  If you have an iPhone, iPad, or any Samsung phone - you're using technology that was designed by us ; )

One of the new chips that they've designed is all about graphics - especially playing games on these devices.  They have hired me to work with software developers to make apps work really well on these chips.  They have also asked me to work directly with Google, Microsoft and Amazon, as they are all part of a larger ecosystem of products that use our chips.

I'm currently based in their Austin office.  It' has a really neat view of a large greenbelt in the middle of great Austin:

I won't get tired of seeing this every day...

The company wants me to relocated to their San Jose, California office.  The main reason is that there are a lot more developers in California than Austin - and Google is located there.  We'll make that decision later this year.  I'm hoping that I can do the job from Austin, as I'll be traveling a lot ; )

Only 2 days on the job, and I flew to California to meet with several teams at the other office.  I liked the building - it's located on the border of Santa Clara and San Jose:

The interior was actually beautiful, as the design was very open - with skylights providing natural light in a really large setting:

I like that I'm working for a company that is actually doing well, because you get to enjoy things like free sodas ; )  Some folks that work in Silicon Valley take this type of thing for granted.  Trust me, you shouldn't...

Another major bonus of visiting this office on a regular basis, is that fact that I get to see my oldest daughter, her husband...and my adorable grandson:

This little guy gives up the BEST smiles, these days.  He's a lot of fun to play with...and it's such a joy to watch him grow.

That's it for now.  I have a bunch of trips over the next few weeks.  More fun to come...