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I arrived back from Coral Springs, Florida, yesterday evening. I went to Orlando on Friday with about nine students to visit the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), a subunit of the University of Central Florida that trains game developers. FIEA is a unique program. I especially enjoyed seeing the motion capture studio. One of the art faculty allowed us to use the technology and rig it to existing models. It was a lot of fun.

After lunch with my students and some of the FIEA faculty, I left to James Chen’s wedding in Coral Gables. James and I have been friends for about 17-years. He met his beautiful wife at the University of Florida and they tied the knot on 5/24/2008. The wedding was beautiful and it very nice to see many people from my old high school. We are doing well in our careers and everyone seems to be happy.

Upon arriving back in Jacksonville, I went to a barbecue at one of the my colleagues houses. This was a nice way to end the weekend. Of course, since it is Memorial Day weekend, I still have time to see Indiana Jones. This was a great weekend.

I am sitting in the Heart Institute of Leesburg with my father and sister. My father got out of surgery yesterday. We were not able to see him until today. We were a little concerned as he had not woke up yet, and there was the potential for neurological damage. However, we are here today and he is doing well. He is in good spirit, making jokes, and flirting with his nurse. He is still in a tremendous amount of pain, but that was to be expected. What’s most important is that he appears to be okay.

He should be in the hospital till next week. Afterwards, he is going to take some time rehabilitating at their new home in Leesburg. Afterall, he has to be ready for his son’s upcoming wedding.

I officially graduated and walked on 5/3/2008 at 6:00pm. The ceremony was very nice. Dr. Genshaft, president of USF, presented the presidential medallion to Dr. Antonia Novello, the first woman Surgeon General that served under the George H. Bush administration. Dr. Novello is a dynamic speaker. She provided us with advice, counsel and challenged us to face the world. Overall, it was a very impressive presentation.

The ceremony was nice, but a little long. It lasted a little over two hours. I am glad that I chose to walk as it was a nice bond between my major professor and myself. It felt somewhat reverent with a flair of commercialism. Anyway, here are some of the pictures.