The Third Act Commences

 As of October 16, after just shy of 8 years there, I'll be leaving Zoox to retire.

When I told her, my manager asked me "have you been thinking about this long?". I told her that I've been doing this professionally for 39 years and I've been thinking about it for 38. As Zoox evolves from pure R&D to a live commercial service, the shape of the work needed in my role and the way I work best have slowly diverged. It's best for Zoox to find that right person, and it's best for me to cheer them on from the stands.

I feel very fortunate to be at a place in life where the professional, financial, and familial planets have all aligned in support of this next step. As to what that next step is, it's not terribly concrete beyond:
1. "I've got a bunch of things I've been wanting to do around the house."
2. an 11,000 mile year-long project that I did a 120 mile week-long trial run for in August.

When the project actually happens, my plan is to produce a coffee-table book with a page of words, maps, and pictures for each day's discoveries. There's some video documenting the trial run.

Shameless plug aside, looking back at all my steps and mis-steps along the way, I can't really imagine very much that I would have done differently. I'm grateful to all of those that gave me a chance and supported me (foremost my beautiful and beloved wife). I'm gratified to see where those I gave a chance and supported have gotten to (foremost my beautiful, beloved, and ridiculously talented children).

As a poet once said, "what a long, strange trip it's been" -- time to start another one.