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Missives from the Here and Now and the Not Yet. A blog and newsletter from the Houn family.

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Looking for the Fig Tree
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (It's fine)
movie review

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (It's fine)

It is. It really is. Your kids will enjoy it. My youngest son, Asher, laughed gleefully out loud several times in the theater. And, at a few key points, even I couldn't help but grin, turn, and look my kids to see their reactions to what was happening on screen. That was fun. And I guess a lot of other people agreed; the movie made almost $850 million dollars in thirty (30) days. But it's not a good movie. Really it's barely a movie. The visuals are great, the familiar beeps and boops of
5 min read
We Are So Back
life

We Are So Back

Hi Everyone. I know it's been a minute since I was last here. There's nothing like a little technical side-project to force me to write some things down. But, a lot has been going on these last few months--and years, actually, since my last post was in {checks notes} 2023?!? via GIPHY Well. There's no day like today to break the streak. Let's get into what's been going on. Spring Break 2026 🏖️ One of the reasons I’ve finally been able to write is because I just came off of
5 min read
15 Years at Liferay: Prologue
liferay

15 Years at Liferay: Prologue

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median number of years that people stay in a particular job is 4.3 years. I recently commemorated my 15th year of working at Liferay. It's very...difficult for me to fathom that I've been at it for so long -- and I don't really mean that as a positive or negative commentary on the time! It's just...a long time. 22-year-old me would never have dreamt, that on almost every conceivable level, I am where I am today. Truthfully, my feelings on getting
2 min read