So Long (But Not For Long)....

….and thanks for all the fish. A particularly apt expression, given that today is Towel Day.

I joined EDN in January 1997. It's been the best gig in the world, bar none. And I plan/hope to keep going for at least another 9.5 years. But the past five years in particular have been very challenging, from both a personal and professional standpoint. I need a breather. So beginning June 1, I'm going on sabbatical, until September 25^th (which, not coincidentally, kicks off Intel Fall Developer Conference week in San Francisco, with the Audio Engineering Society Convention following it a week later).

What will I do? Get back into tip-top shape, first and foremost. Do some travel, both solo and with my wife (along with, in some cases, a subset of our seven four-legged children); to Bonnaroo, the High Sierra Music Festival, Burning Man, etc. Do a lot of backpacking, and a lot of photography, along with a little mountaineering. And reading, for pleasure, for a change. Participate in an intensive retreat. Maybe trek around Europe or Nepal. But most of all (although it may not sound like it from the past few sentences), do less.

Will Brian's Brain go dormant while I'm on leave? Well….maybe. Or maybe not. On the one hand, the whole point of this experiment is to unplug from work, right? But frankly, on the other hand, this online column is also something from which I derive a great deal of personal pleasure. And pride. And one other notable thing I plan to do while on break is play with all the hardware and software toys that are piled up in my office, awaiting my attention. Beginning with the long-delayed assembly of a Windows Media Center Edition PC, in order to feed my Xbox 360 with recorded over-the-air HDTV and other multimedia goodness. I have a sneaking suspicion I might feel compelled to periodically check in and tell you how the playing is going….

So keep one eye peeled on Brian's Brain; don't unsubscribe from the RSS feed (and, conversely, subscribe if you haven't already). Keep the other eye glued to On The Verge, which Maury's threatening to resurrect in my absence. Marketing and PR types; bug Ron Wilson in my absence.

And hey…..y'all have a great summer, too. Hear? Cheers….

Followup: When I got back from my nine-day business-and-pleasure trip last night, I found the comments below waiting on my desk, courtesy of my wife. Perhaps they'll provide more insight into the motivation behind my respite; I'll let you judge for yourself whether or not my plans are 'courageous' or some other adjective!

Some of us need to discover that we will not begin to live more fully until we have the courage to do and see and taste and experience much less than usual….

There are times when in order to keep ourselves in existence at all we simply have to sit back for a while and do nothing. And for a man who has let himself be drawn completely out of himself by his activity, nothing is more difficult than to sit still and rest, doing nothing at all.

The very act of resting is the hardest and most courageous act he can perform.
-Thomas Merton