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Las Vegas 2008
We had the pleasure to attend my wife's brother's wedding in Las Vegas. We had been there in 2004. The city has grown and changed so much. We stayed in the MonteCarlo next to the construction site for the New City Center. A 8.5 billion dollar construction effort right on the strip. In this time of recession and budget cuts it is amazing to me to see Vegas grow in this way. The most enjoyable part of our trip was to drive outside of the tourist places and spend some time seeing the city the way the locals do. The desert trip to Red Canyon was great too. (click here to see pictures)

San Diego 2007
Last month I attended the ResNet Symposium at the University of California San Diego. San Diego is a beautiful city. It is hard to believe something so clean and beautiful is so close to Tijuana. We went to la Jolla Beach and the Island of Coronado. San Diego is a beautiful city to visit. With that said, soon you realize that only the very wealthy, the very beautiful, the armed forces people, Mexican druglords/politicos and contractors get to live there, the rest of us do not belong there.

In my humble opinion, there is very little Mexican influence there, everything that resembles Mexico/Spain has been painted over and changed to resemble the Mexican pavilion at Epcot Center. The downtown area is full of new construction, but a large portion of it seemed empty. The ghettos and the poor have been replaced with fancy restaurants, coffee shops and spas. Great weather and sand, but I would not change my current environment for this place.

(click here to see pictures)

Seattle in July 2007
I had the chance to attend ACUHO-I in Seattle. My first time in the Pacific Northwest. I didn't know what to expect. The city reminded of San Francisco, but with less arrogance. The Farmers Market ambiance reminded of the Farmers Market in Madison WI on Saturdays. It was full of people with brains and wealth yet laid back. There are more Dot.coms and big brand headquarters in Seattle than anywhere else in the US. The view of Mount Rainer was outstanding. The coffee was great as well. The fresh Salmon was to die for. The people of WA were friendly (almost midwest like). I notice great environmental and social concern there. More people driving Toyota Priuses than anything else.
(click here to see pictures)

Trip to Ireland 2006
Last summer, we went to Ireland. It was my first time outside of the US and Mexico. It was an amazing trip. We had the chance to visit Dublin, St Patrick's Cathedral, Limerick, Shannon, The Guinness Brewery, Blarney Castle and Stone, Ennis, Cork, Cashel, Moher Cliffs, etc. The most striking part of Ireland was its great people. We had problems with the car rental on our way back to Dublin, and everyone we encountered on this little town called Rosecrea were genuinue and helpful. There was great contrast between the new modern Ireland in the urban areas and the old nostalgic Ireland of the rural areas. The geography of Ireland was very simlar to Wisconsin's however we do not have stonewalls and castles like they do. Their winters are not as cold as ours. The roads are not as good, but the landscape is striking. The experience was fantastic. (thanks to Matt O'neill for his hospitality)
(click here to see pictures)

Green Bay Car Show June 06
Last weekend, Erick and I went to a car show up in Green Bay. It was not as big as Iola, but it was not as dusty. We had the chance to check out people's car and effort.
(click here to see pictures)

Chicago Auto Show 2006
A few weeks ago, Erick, Allison, Amy and I went to the Chicago Auto Show. The event showcased the latest models from various car companies. My only reasons to be there were the challenger and the new camaro. The prototypes were truly exciting. The rest of the show was kind of boring as it repeated from previous years.
The following pictures were taken by Erick Alatorre and Amy, my wife.
(Click here to see picture set 1)
(Click here to see picture set 2)

My Brother graduates from the MBA program at UW Oshkosh
This past weekend, I had the pleasure to attend the commencement ceremony at UW Oshkosh. My brother graduated from the MBA program. I was, have been, will be very proud of his accomplishments as a student. He was also an employee and coworker at the Management Information Office. His departure has been hard for me, because I grew used to working with him. Erick accepted a position for a local commercial refrigeration company in the marketing and sales area.
(Click here to see pictures of the ceremony)

The other Monter(r)ey...
I had the privilege to attend the ACM SIGUCCS in Monterey California. After the conference, Amy and I went to San Francisco to hang out for a couple of days. We walked and walked and walked some more. Overall, our experience was great.
More in depth information about my experience can be found at my weblog...
(Click here to see the pictures of my experience in California)

This is the MIO team for the summer 2005
I'm very proud of these guys... Our successes and challenges are very documented on my weblog. Check it out when you get a chance.

My Brother's Wedding on July 1st, 2005
Last week, my brother got married to Allison Ludwigs from Aurora Illinois. They dated since they were sophomores in College, so I guess it was kind of due time for them. :) The Event was held at the Oshkosh Hilton. It was a great time for everyone involved. Congrats to the couple!
(click here to see a selection of the pictures taken by Joe Koshollek)
(click here to see the second set of pictures taken by Dan Beck)

Visit to Monterrey Mexico in May of 2005
June 2005
This past month, Erick and I had the chance to travel to Monterrey to visit our family and friends. Things have changed a lot since our last visit in 2002. Overall, the city continues to be a beautiful example of wealth, pride and contrast. The weather was a little warmer than we are used to in Wisconsin. Overall, the biggest challenges of the city continue to be population growth and expansion.
Click here to check out the pictures of our visit.

Chicago Auto Show 2005
February 2005
This past weekend, Erick and I went to the Chicago Auto Show to check out the latest cars. The first thing we saw as we arrived was a line of super Mustangs: Saleen, Steeda, Shinoda and the winners of the SEMA competition. We were in Heaven! We also had the chance to see the new Charger, GTO, Corvette, etc. It was great.

Click here to check out the picture of the event

Baltimore and DC trip
October 2004
I had the opportunity to travel to Washington and Baltimore for a computing related conference. Last year it was in San Antonio, this year the SIGUCCS conference was held in Baltimore. We went to Washington DC to check out the museums and zoo and to spend some time wit friends in DC. We walked a lot and the weather was nice. We also checked out the bay area in baltimore. It was great.
Check out the SIGUCCS documentation
Check out the pictures of my trip

Trip to "La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles"
August 2004
I just got back from LA. My wife went there for a business trip and I came along. Los Angeles is the third largest city in the world in terms of mexican population. There are more paisanos in LA than in Monterrey Mexico. The contrast between poor and rich is simply too much. The place is a rough place for the common man. If you are wealthy or a star, well that is a different story... In the picture above, you can somewhat see the city's highrise landscape from a far. Despite tough environmental laws, pollution is terrible.

(click here to check out the pictures)

Iola 2004
July 2004
Like every year for the last three, Erick and I went to Iola Wisconsin to the Car show. It was a beautiful day. This year, the show was focused on Mopar Muscle Cars. I had a great time. They had really rare cars... To beable to take pictures of roadrunners looking like they just came of the factory was amazing.

(Click here to see the page of Iola 2004)

Wedding
June 2004

Two weeks ago, I married Amy Koshollek in Oshkosh Wisconsin. I have known Amy since 1997, and we've been dating since April of 1999. We manage to merge two families, two languages, two cultures in one room at the EAA museum. It was a proud moment for everyone in our families.

(click here to see the website ofmy wedding)

Chicago Autoshow 2004
February 10, 2004
This weekend, Erick and I went to the Chicago Autoshow. I was looking forward to seeing the new GTO, Cobra, Mustang, etc. I was like a kid in a candy store.
(click here to check out the pictures of the event)

My Brother Graduates From UW Oshkosh
December 13, 2003
Last weekend, my brother Erick graduated fromUW Oshkosh with a BBA in Marketing. Erick plans to continue his grad studies here at UW Oshkosh. The guy next to him in the pictures is Christopher Andrews (the swede). Chris completed his BBA in Ops and Marketing. I'm very proud of them for finishingin 4 and 1/2 years.
(Click here to see pictures and video of the event)

SIGUCCS 2003
October 2003
Two weeks ago, I went to San Antonio TX for the ACM's SIGUCCS conference. The presentations and information were great. I had the opportunity to learn about the latest technology.

If you are a computer person like me, you may find my unofficial SIGUCCS presentation website useful. They gave us a CD with all the presentations in PDF.

San Antonio is a great city. I'm Mexican, 70% of the city is mexican. Food and people were great. It reminds me of my hometown, Monterrey. (click here to see stats on Ersys)

August 21, 2003
This is the MIO team. We took our staff picture last Tuesday. This team is the hardest working group of people you'll ever meet. This summer, despite several serious setbacks, all major IT projects were completed three weeks ahead.

August 2003
Last week, My brother and I went to Iola to check out the muscle car show. The weather was better than last year and the cars were great!

(click here for more the pictures at Iola 2003)

We just back from the ResNet Conference in Ferris State Michigan. On the way back we took the north route through Michigan's UP.

(click here to see the pictures)

Las Vegas
April 2003
Last month I went to Las Vegas with Amy. We didn't gamble, drink or "rock and roll", nevertheless we had good time. The best part of the trip was seeing the Hoover Dam and getting lost in the desert. The good pictures were taken by Hank and Joe Koshollek.

(Click here to see Vegas)

Chicago Auto Show 2003
March 2003
Obviously, I love cars. This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Illinois for the "Chicago AutoShow". I wanted to see the new mustang, the GT40, the new Pontiac GTO and the new concept cars. I had a great time.

(click here to see pictures of the show)

November 2002
I just got back from the ACUHO-IT conference in Austin TX. Austin is a great city, similar to Madison Wisconsin, except full of mexican people... (6th street was great)

I had the opportunity to check out Dell. They have a JIT (just in time) system with a 2 hour buffer for computer parts. It was a great learning experience.

(click here to see Austin Texas)

October 2002
Some time in August I made the decision to get a newer-larger car. I wanted to keep my mustang. So I got the next best thing (for my taste)... A 2001 Impala with the works. (click here to see my new car) It is basically a police car with chrome. My insurance dropped from 70 to 44 dollars.

September 2002
We connected 1800 people to ResNet in 48 hours. That was a great accomplishment for everyone in my office. (thank you dave)
Anyway, today I had some free time, hence I decided to include my collection of lowrider pictures taken at the Mexican Fiesta in Milwaukee last week.
(click here to see the Mexican Fiesta Car Show Pix)

July 2002
Last month I attended the biggest Auto Show-Parts Exchange in the USA. Every year car people gather in Iola Wi. It is a little farming community in North Central Wisconsin. It is an amazing place to check out if you are involved with cars. Their website was very basic, hence I decided to take a few pictures of the cars presented at the expo...

(click here to see pictures of iola 2002)

August 2002 EAA Fly-in Convention
Every year I attend the EAA Fly-in Convention. It is basically a really cool airplane show.
(click here to see pictures of EAA 2002)
(click here to see pictures of EAA 2001)
(click here to go to their site)

June 2002
About a year ago, I got a copy of Bryce 3D, hence I decided to make some 3D desktops similar to those in digital blasphemy. They are not as good as some I have seen, but they are free. This are all personal work. I know that the pictures reflect my mood around september of last year.