My week in Rome with Nero and friends

I just got back from a week in Rome, part work, part vacation.. (like I ever go on vacation). Here are some highlights of the week.

That's me with an original bust of Nero. He was the crazy emperor of Rome who used human beings he didn't like as human torches to light up Rome, hence the modern CD burning software with his name. I originally took this picture with rabbit fingers behind his head, but then I realized, one of the people he killed, whom I highly respect, Paul of Tarsus, would never have disrespected him in that way. So I gave Nero the proper respect for the authority he held even though he probably would have used me as one of his torches.

That's me, Caris (my wife), Bryan Cheung (Liferay's CEO), and a new friend from LA who joined us in Rome. The food was yummy, the wine was great (I didn't have a single glass of bad wine in Rome), but boy was it pricey. We already had to pay the tourist markup, and on top of that, the Euro was another 50% additional markup. A bit too much for my budget.

That's me hugging one of my favorite monuments in Rome, the Pantheon.

That's another shot but this time with the whole Pantheon in view. This thing is huge and a true testament to the genius of Roman architecture.

Our reason for going to Italy was to participate in the celebration of IFAD's 30th anniversary. IFAD is a UN agency dedicated to helping the rural poor. We're blessed to partner with IFAD to provide the portal technology they use to accomplish their mission. It's awesome to code at night knowing that you're not just working for something that'll fade away like every other high this world provides. The human beings they help matter.

We also visited Pompei. That's my wife standing in the middle of a the street of an ancient Roman city that was instantly buried by volcanic ash 2,000 years ago. As a result, the city was amazingly preserved. After visiting houses that people lived in, I was amazed at just how similar the Pompeians were to modern people like you and me. They had the same emotions, dreams, fears, worries, pleasures, and needs. It's a city worth checking out.