Patrick had his last day with us yesterday. He will be missed, he was a very reliable and dependable engineer who understood how to produce quality software. An under-rated skill in engineers. Patrick writes at his own tech blog.

Michelle laughing at Iruna.

Christian at a graduation party.

Fred and Tracy before we headed out to the awards dinner as part of the May Event. They are a fairly sophisticated couple and they brush up well for these events. It shows in the photograph.

Camelback at dawn. We originally intended for the Californians we worked with to hike up Echo Canyon with us, but they all backed out, or claimed they didn't have sneakers. We had fun going up it anyway.

Barbara at Parlor.

My nephew during a recent visit.

The architectural modernist movement in Phoenix has a nostalgia for the 60s and the modernist architects and designers from the mid-century era. The Modern Phoenix home tour we went on had each house on the tour marked with a 1960s car out the front. They were all in perfect condition as well. Very shiny in the bright desert sunlight.

Phoenix modernism is a curious mix of hipsterist nostalgia for a cramped and poor quality plastic past jumbled in with the technological advances in architectural and industrial materials. Phoenix architecture has been innovating in the use of raw materials and metals such as Corten Steel where the outside elements are allowed to wear the steel into a deep purple rust or a bright orange one.

Given the harshness of the desert environment on wood all manner of metal is used to augment architecture. Pergolahs are made of steel and use industrial rod, bar or ribbon as the slats. Car ports are constructed with all manner of pressed metals as well. I really enjoy the permutation on modernism that Phoenix is experimenting with. It is a visually strong and interesting form that goes against architectural indifference.

We went on the Modern Phoenix home tour. We started out with lunch at Cafe ZuZu before driving up to Paradise Gardens. It is an area that was built out in the 1960s but lends itself well to the current day view of mid-century modernism. This is a very Phoenix culture of nostalgia for the 1950s modernism but with a post-2000 view of xeroscaping and contemporary industrialism - especially with the use of materials.

The architectural spaces tend to be austere courtesy of the use of industrial materials such as concrete flooring, metal counter tops, concrete counter tops, metal cabinetry and rusted metal accents for the outside structure, fencing and structures. It is a nice mix of the 1950s minimalism with the materials that have to take the wear and tear of a desert environment. I like the style. More pics.

Coronado Beach in San Diego. This is looking south down the island.