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2011-12-31: Be Häppy, Healthy, Open & Successful in 2012

The Thoeny Family (2011-06-07)

Address: 1022 Belvedere Ln, San Jose, CA 95129, USA   phone +1-408-255-1477

From Peter

2011 was eventful and somewhat stressful at the same time for us. The family is doing well. Ladina continues to play Guzheng and dances Chinese dance. She is now 16 and is already driving a car. Time flies so fast! Alexis is trying various types of hobbies. Son and dad continue building/repairing rockets. Alexis likes golf and other sports. He is now into airsoft. It is a good hobby to learn about mechanics -- he modifies the guns to make them perform better, but I dislike very much the concept of first person shooting games played in real life. We had Judith Mahler, an exchange student from Germany/Austria with us for 3 month -- we enjoyed her company very much.

In summer we drove all the way up to Vancouver Island in BC, Canada. I met Miwa Fujimoto again after over 10 years. A friend from our time in Nagoya lives now in Cortes island, a small and isolated island off of Vancouver Island. This is very much nature -- beautiful nature. Her husband takes care of an Indian reservation. She is now a Buddhist priest of Mikkyo, the "secret teachings" arm of the Shingon Buddhist school. The Buddhist priest group of Daikokuji, Kagoshima, Japan, came to Vancouver Island, and then to Saratoga in the Silicon Valley. While in Japan I already learned a bit about Buddhism and Shintoism. In Saratoga I received the ordination (Tokudo) from the chief priest Kawakami-sensei. I do not consider myself religious, but the spirituality and tolerance of Buddhism is intriguing me.

My mom Elke Thöny and partner Otto Müller come to visit us from Switzerland over Christmas and New Years. This is the second time she is in the USA. They run a nice Bed & Breakfast in our hometown in the Swiss Alps.

The TWiki community made good progress and released a new TWiki-5.1 with main focus on usability. This release was the most stable for the last 6 years, attributable to the quality focus of our community with release manager George Trubisky. TWiki looks now completely different than just a few years ago; it is growing up so to speak. We are still too small. Are you interested in open source software? I invite you to get involved with the community, or to spread the word that the community is looking for additional contributors.

We refocused the Twiki Inc business. The Red Hat open source business model did not work out that well for us, mainly because the customer acquisition cost compared to the revenue was unfavorable. We now offer Twiki Workspaces in the cloud; it is a open source TWiki based platform tailored for small and medium businesses that adds project and task tracking, team dashboards, document management and more. In addition to working for TWiki Inc I am also doing consulting on the side.

I wish you all a successful 2012! As Gandhi said, you must be the change you want to see in the world. Take good care of the new year!

From Shona

We had full house in December. 2 VIP guests from Switzerland, my mother-in-law Elke and Otto. My nephew Ringo is here. Ladina was happy with her best friend in Beijing & Souzhou for 2 weeks (2011/12/16 - 2012/01/01). This is the first time I stayed home alone for 3 days. Elke & Otto went to San Francisco for 3 days, Peter & 2 boys went skiing for 4 days, Ladina was in China.

Happy New Year 2012! Good health and all the best.

From Ladina (16 years)

I thoroughly enjoyed my two week trip to China, and am now going to refocus on school. I wish everyone a successful 2012.

From Alexis (almost 15 years)

I hope everybody had a wonderful and successful 2011. I also wish everybody a prosperous 2012!

Photos from 2011

Tip: Click on to start the slideshow, then use right-arrow and left-arrow to move around.

	Ladina playing Guzheng at home for dads' birthday party. Photo © Yoshi Humfeld. (2011-01-22)

	Big fondue party of Peninsula Swiss Club for 180 people. (2011-02-05)

	Kitchen crew prepares 80 lb Gruyere & Emmentaler. (2011-02-05)

	Steven Rasmussen family, owner of The Milk Pail Market, joins the fondue party. (2011-02-05)

	Tony Cooper of LUNAR rocket club has a Piñata rocket: Candy falls of of the sky to he delight of the kids. (2011-03-05)

	Ladina at a Guzheng recital in her Guzheng school. (2011-05-08)

	At Maker Faire: This person makes big wooden structures out of toothpicks. This is a smaller structure, scenes of San Francisco. (2011-05-21)

	Alexis at honor student award at Miller Middle School. (2011-06-01)

	Alexis at honor student award. (2011-06-01)

	Alexis looks very much like a young adult here. (2011-06-01)

	Ladina and her teacher are performing at Ding Ding TV. (2011-06-02)

	Alexis with Alyssa Humfeld and another girl at the Miller Middle School graduation. (2011-06-07)

	Alexis assembled his own computer, parts from Newegg.com. (2011-06-16)

	At a bicycle ride with friends: View to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove near Monterey. (2011-06-18)

	Lunch break at Lovers Point (2011-06-18)

	In Santa Rosa: Ringo Leung, Alexis, Peter, Shona, Ladina, Victor Heredia. (2011-06-25)

	Alexis and Jimmy Li at beach near Eureka, CA. (2011-06-25)

	Alexis and Jimmy Li playing at Trinidad beach. (2011-06-26)

	Ladina, Jimmy and Alexis at the drive-in cinema in Kent, WA. (2011-06-27)

	The very first Starbucks in downtown Seattle, WA. (2011-06-28)

	Shona and Peter in Victoria, BC, Canada. (2011-06-29)

	We take the ferry from Quadra Island to Cortes Island, which is north-east of Vancouver Island. (2011-06-30)

	The general store in Squirrel Cove on Cortes island, BC. They have internet access via satellite. (2011-07-01)

	Dinner at Miwa Fujimoto's home, Squirrel Cove on Cortes island, BC. With Ninjin, Ladina, Miwa, Peter, Shona, Alexis. (2011-07-01)

	Oysters as far as you can see. Unfortunately there was the Red Tide, so they were not consumable. (2011-07-01)

	Slamon berries. They are very yummy. They are very delicate, you can't transport them, therefore you won't find them at the store. (2011-07-01)

	Lots of green vegetation on Cortes Island. (2011-07-02)

	Our B&B hosts Megumi and Neil Reierson, in Campbell River, Vancouver Island, BC. (2011-07-02)

	There was a woodcarving competition for large sculptures in Campbell River, Vancouver Island, BC. This one won a prize. (2011-07-02)

	There is lots of wood on Vancouver Island. This is near the Seymoor Narrows. (2011-07-04)

	Seven Buddhist monks and chief priest Eimei Kawakami-sensei of Daikokuji, Kagoshima, Japan came to Campbell River, Vancouver Island, BC, to give a dance performance. Later they went to Cortes Island where Miwa lives. With Miwa Fujimoto, Tenun, Sensei and his wife. (2011-07-05)

	Nice clouds on Vancouver Island, on the way to Vancouver, BC. (2011-07-04)

	Dim Sum at Hong Kong Saigon in Sunnyvale, CA. With Ladina, Alexis, Judith Mahler, Peter. (2011-07-10)

	Peter receives ordination (Tokudo) by Kawakami-sensei. At Hakone Gardens, Saratoga, CA. With Xia Zou, Arda Ozdemir, Peter, Italian person. (2011-07-13)

	Miwa Fujimoto purifies Judith Mahler. At our home in San Jose, CA. (2011-07-13)

	The Buddhist priests came to our home for dinner. Ladina gives a Guzheng performance. (2011-07-14)

	Tenun-san and Koraku-san at Hakone Gardens, Saratoga, CA. (2011-07-18)

	Dance party at Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, CA. With Ladina, Judith Mahler, Shona, Peter. (2011-07-29)

	Lantern parade to celebrate the Swiss national holiday, organized by the Peninsula Swiss Club. At the Schneider residence in Atherton, CA. (2011-07-30)

	Judith Mahler, Ladina, Shona, Angela, Peter, Alexis. At the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco. (2011-08-21)

	View from Lombard Street to Coit Tower. In San Francisco, CA. (2011-08-21)

	Judith Mahler at a hat store in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. (2011-08-21)

	Ladina. (2011-08-21)

	Dinner at Kurosawa-san's residence in Saratoga, CA. With Angela, Judith Mahler, Yuichi Kurosawa, Judith's friend, SaAn Kurosawa, Ladina, Alexis. (2011-08-23)

	Sunday Brunch at the Ridge Vineyards, MonteBello Road, Cupertino, CA. With Yoshi Humfeld family and Torii family. (2011-09-04)

	Moon festival party at home. With Michelle Lo, Shona, Anna Kong, Ying 'Crystal' Liang. (2011-09-10)

	Ladina performs Guzheng in the backyard. a moon festival party at home. (2011-09-10)

	Big tree roots at Big Basin, CA. With Judith Mahler. (2011-09-11)

	Algae covered pond near Walden West Center, Sanborn County Park, Saratoga, CA. With Judith Mahler. (2011-09-11)

	Dinner at Miro and Pita's home in Pleasanton, CA. (2011-09-17)

	Peter at Montebello Road, Cupertino, overlooking the Silicon Valley by night. (2011-09-25)

	Dinner at home with TWiki contributor Peter Jones of CERN, Professor Christian Wagner of City University of Hong Kong, Peter. (2011-10-05)

	Majong party at home. With Ching Bays, Crystal Liang, Shona, Michelle Mock, Anna Kong, Jason. (2011-10-15)

	Shona and Vivian Li in Tesla Roadster, Santana Row, Santa Clara, CA. (2011-10-23)

	Preparation for the Metzgete party organized by the Peninsula Swiss Club. All this must fit into the van! (2011-11-05)

	Metzgete party in Mountain View, CA. (2011-11-05)

	Beautiful American Autumn Fall Ash tree in front of our home. The red leaves turned even more red with red sky at dusk. (2011-11-13)

	Dinner party at Michael Sun's new residence in Saratoga, CA. Wine glass overlooking the Silicon Valley. (2011-11-24)

	Pigeon Point Lighthouse, between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, CA, (2011-11-25)

	Thanksgiving camping and party at private Yuki beach, south of Half Moon Bay, CA. Organized by Kurosawa-family and friends. (2011-11-25)

	Family photo at Thanksgiving party. (2011-11-25)

	Alexis assembles a mid-power G64 rocket engine for our cork rocket. At Snow Ranch near Copperopolis, CA. (2011-12-03)

	Candy falls from the sky, shortly after the Piñata rocket opened its payload. At Snow Ranch near Copperopolis, CA. Photo © by Steve Jurvetson. (2011-12-03)

	Spectacular CATO (Catastrophe At Take Off) of a high power rocket at Snow Ranch. Photo © by Steve Jurvetson. (2011-12-03)

	Ladina, teacher and two other students perform at the opening ceremony of the new studio of Ding Ding TV in Sunnyvale, CA. (2011-12-11)

	At SFO: Peter's mom Elke Thöny and partner Otto Müller come to visit us from Switzerland. Together they are 160 years old. (2011-12-20)

	Our home in season spirit. (2011-12-21)

	Dim sum at Hong Kong Saigon with Howard Che, uncle Raymond Che, aunty Rebecca Che. Little inset? Chicken feet!! (2011-12-24)

	Coffee time at home. With Elke Thöny, Otto Müller, Peter, Shona. (2011-12-25)

	Skiing at Mt. Rose near Reno, NV. No snow. All snow on slopes is machine-made. (2011-12-27)

	Alexis and Peter with Kurt Buser, owner of the Mt. Rose Tahoe ski resort. He is Swiss. The resort is exceptionally well run, with very friendly staff. Kurt leads by example: He returned early from vacation, I saw him clean tables and entertain guests. (2011-12-27)

	Alexis plays golf at the Sierra Bay Aqua Driving Range, next to our hotel in Reno, NV. (2011-12-27)

	Michael Sun at the slopes of Diamond Peak ski resort. Beautiful view over Lake Tahoe, NV. (2011-12-29)

	Alexis having fun driving the high speed boat on Lake Tahoe. (2011-12-29)

	Michael Sun on high speed boat on Lake Tahoe. (2011-12-29)

	Nani Elke Thöny at the beach in Santa Cruz, CA. (2011-12-31)

	New Year Eve dinner at home. With Otto Müller, Nani, Peter, Shona, Alexis, Ringo Leung. (2011-12-31)

	Take good care of 2012!!

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