Downstream Ditties

Quotationizing

2011-12-07T09:00:00.001-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that the following 10 individuals are credited with 80% of the quotations on the Internet:*

1. Winston Churchill
2. Mark Twain
3. Shakespeare
4. Gandhi
5. Steve Jobs
6. Warren Buffett
7. Oscar Wilde
8. Peter Drucker
9. Albert Einstein
10. Abraham Lincoln

I don't question the intellectual credentials of any of the above. But they couldn't possibly have said all of those clever things, could they? All it takes is one person to misattribute something, out of laziness or carelessness, and Mark Twain is eternally credited with another quote.

Occasionally I try to think of something clever to say. Thus far, nothing I've said has caught on to become part of the popular parlance. So I'd like to try again, this time sharing the credit.

"Some people are always looking for others' mistakes that they can criticize, like a dog sniffing the ground for a place to pee."
--Albert Einstein

Let's see how that goes.

*The following appear to have fallen out of fashion and no longer get much attribution, even though they were all eminently quotable: Benjamin Franklin, George Patton, Helen Keller, Franklin Roosevelt, George Burns, John Wooden, Jack Welch, Henry David Thoreau, Socrates, Albert Schweitzer and Thomas Edison.

The Day After Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T07:31:00.001-07:00

One in Phoenix.
One in Arkansas.
One in Austin.
One in his room.

One in China.
One in Palo Alto.
One in Logan.
Hence the gloom.

Technology and Resources

2011-10-02T09:53:00.003-06:00

I don't think we have enough faith in technology to solve the earth's resource problems. Personally, I'm not very worried about the future of non-renewable resources, such as energy and fresh water. I think we'll find a way.

The problem is that we're convinced we know everything. So we evaluate our prospects for the future based on the present. But the future never turns out that way, and technology inevitably makes old paradigms obsolete while introducing game-changing solutions.

These solutions are almost always driven by economics. As resource supply is outpaced by demand, prices increase and investment in new technologies increases. Eventually, there's a breakthrough.

A few years ago natural gas sold at $9 a cubic thousand foot, and the experts believed it was a dwindling resource. A few smart companies started investing in horizontal drilling, which proved overwhelmingly successful. As a result, supply is way up and the price is down to $4. The same kind of thing may happen to oil, to a lesser degree, if we continue to improve the environmental safety of fracking in shale.

Fresh water is in the midst of a similar revolution. Besides continually improved water recycling methods--a number of US cities now use primarily recycled water--ocean water desalination is also progressing rapidly. There are over 15,000 desalination plants worldwide, producing 16 billion gallons of clean water daily.

All of these new technologies must be managed carefully. Most importantly, there are inevitable environmental issues that must be dealt with, and lessons are often learned at great cost. But the solutions will come. And society would be better served to spend its time developing these solutions than fretting that the sky is falling.

I would instead fret about preserving resources that are difficult or impossible to replace, such as clean air and waterways, or undeveloped wilderness. Unfortunately, these objectives are often in conflict with the aforementioned new technologies. Managing the one without sacrificing the other should be the object of society's, and government's, attention.

Heartbeats

2011-06-29T08:10:00.005-06:00

I recently read (in Steven Johnson's Where Good Ideas Come From) about Kleiber's Law, which is that as things get bigger, they tend to slow down. Among the many applications of this theory is the heart-rates of larger animals are slower than smaller ones. Further, larger animals live longer than smaller ones--a fly might live for a day, while an elephant lives for 50 years. But neither of these relationships is linear, unless you combine them. Then you find that if you plot mass vs. metabolism on a logarithmic grid you get a straight line from sparrows to whales.

An interesting corollary is, as science writer George Johnson observed, that the number of heartbeats per lifetime tends to be stable from species to species, it's just that some species use them up more quickly than others. I think there's something very elegant in this, and almost poetic.

(I'm reminded of a similar theory about caloric intake--that the body is meant to process only so many calories, whether consumed in forty years or a hundred.)

I would like to live longer and well, but not at any price. I don't intend to slow my pulse so I can live more years. I'd prefer to sprint to the finish line, where I collapse flushed with exertion and sustained by adrenaline. I would rather my heart beat wildly than keep a dirge-like time from a dusty metronome. I hope I go with a white-knuckle grip on the handlebars of adventure, and not resting comfortably in the armchair of caution.

"Do not go gently into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Dylan Thomas

Weekend in Duluth

2011-05-02T07:36:00.004-06:00

We spent a wonderful weekend in Duluth and I was reminded of how much richer our lives are with family. When I was younger I didn't consider this as important, and now, with more perspective, it has become paramount in my life. We spent many wonderful hours talking, reminiscing and hiking (and eating!) with Tim, Kathy, Sue, Brad, Tom, Jamie and Jeffrey, and Rebecca was able to have breakfast with Lindsay in Minneapolis. It makes me wish all the more that my children all develop close relationships with one another as they get older.

And then coming home on my birthday to a custom-selected meal and an office full of balloons, each with a heart-warming message or memory from family--was wonderful. What a thoughtful and terrific gift.

One small observation on the impact of Facebook. We walked into the Duluth Ward on Sunday morning and both Darnell Nelson and Jamie (formerly Milbridge) came up to me and wished me a happy birthday. Darnell is an old friend, but other than on Facebook we've hardly stayed in touch, and Jamie friended me even though I hardly know her. So their greetings seemed very strange to me, although certainly welcome.

Go Bulldogs

2011-04-09T22:27:00.007-06:00

Tonight I watched the UMD Bulldogs defeat Michigan for the NCAA Division I Hockey Championship. Hockey is UMD's only Division I sport and this was their first ever men's national title. The 3-2 game was won in overtime and the Bulldogs played extremely well.

I was the Sports Editor for the UMD Statesman during my senior year, and I personally covered the hockey team, including travelling to some road games. (I also had a sports column, called On The Line, which was a lot of fun.) While I was there, the team's star player got drunk one night, drove his car onto someone's front lawn and was pounding on their door at 2:00 a.m. Turns out he had the wrong house. The police were called, but because of his star status it was all hushed up.

Well, we got wind of it and decided to break the story, scooping the Duluth News Tribune (which later, grudgingly, picked it up). I recall our meeting to discuss whether to publish or not. There were many factors, and it felt like something out of the movies. Even the university administration weighed in, but they weren't about to quash our freedom of the press, however slight in the vast scheme of things.

As you might expect, the article didn't sit well with the hockey team. Their coach wouldn't talk to me all season long, and some players threatened me. Occasionally I'd get obscene calls at home at night. It was an interesting experience and a little unsettling.

The hockey team wasn't very good back then anyway. But it was still the best game in town, by far. And it's personally very exciting for me to see them win on a national stage, despite the potholes in my memory lane. Go Bulldogs!

Father Knows Best?

2011-04-09T08:18:00.004-06:00

There is an interesting case before the Massachusetts courts. A mother is being tried for discontinuing chemotherapy treatments for her nine-year-old son, who later died. There are a million subtleties to this case, including the mother's character and a messy divorce, but the underlying philosophical issue is profound. What rights should parents have to raise children as they please?

According to one report, in the current case the prosecutors simply have to prove that "the mother was so wanton and reckless in her actions that any reasonable person in the same situation would have known that what she was doing — failing to give him his chemotherapy for at least five months — could kill the child."

Similar cases have arisen in the past, including a number involving the right of Jehovah's Witness parents to withhold generally accepted medical treatment from their children on religious grounds.

It is difficult to decide how much rein to give parents. I can't find many arguments, other than emotional and cultural ones, that suggest parents should have anything resembling ownership rights over their children. (This could easily drift into an abortion debate.) On the other hand, government is both unfit and ill-equipped to handle the responsibility.

I do know this: All parents are sadly imperfect. The vast majority teach their children (by example, permission and sometimes precept) habits, practices and principles that will damage their health, shorten their lives and make it difficult for them to develop healthy family and social relationships in the future. The question is, how much of this should society allow. Who could and would do a better job? And which of us has the proper credentials to cast the first stone?

There's No Theory to Relativity

2011-04-07T22:51:00.005-06:00

For every organism that has been studied (dogs, cats, insects, monkeys, even yeast) if you reduce the caloric intake by 30% you extend the lifespan by 30%. Seems like our cells are only programmed to process a certain amount of calories before they wear out.

So let's take this as a given. Less calories, more years. How many of us would actually cut back dramatically on calories? I'm not sure I would. In fact, I suspect more people would be motivated by how they look in a swimsuit than their lifespan. That is, right up until they face the end. Then they will wish they'd passed up the french fries and the chocolate malts.

That's called perspective. Or maybe relativity.

Patent a Kidney?

2011-04-05T08:01:00.005-06:00

A fascinating patent case is being heard in the appellate courts in Utah. Myriad Genetics is fighting for its right to patent isolated strings of DNA, a right the USPTO has granted for some time, but which is now being challenged. Consider these two analogies:

On the one hand: You cannot patent a string of DNA, which occurs in nature, any more than you can patent a kidney, or an electron.

On the other: Extracting a string of DNA is no different than patenting a baseball bat that has been carved out of a tree.

Having no sophistication in patent law (even though I've paid attorneys millions of dollars for patent litigation!), I'd offer up two general layman principles: First, if the extracted DNA was the result of a unique design then perhaps it is justifiably patentable. Second, since DNA codes are essentially two-dimensional strands, the notion of a unique design becomes far reaching--it is less a baseball bat that we are extracting and more a center slice from the tree trunk.

It will be interesting to see where this case goes.

The Real China Competition

2011-04-04T07:33:00.003-06:00

We regularly read about the threat of the U.S. losings its status as the #1 economy to China. That could very well happen. However, the real threat that should concern us is more fundamental--China is laying the foundation for long-term dominance in science and technology. Consider these:

1. In 1994, China's secondary school enrollment rate was 48%. Now it's 76%.
2. In 1995, China was 14th in the word in publication of science and engineering papers. Now it is 2nd.
3. This year China is expected to overtake the U.S. in number of patent applications.
4. Test scores for 15-year-olds in Shanghai far exceed those in the U.S. in reading (556 vs. 500) and math (600 vs. 487).

China's combination of size, targeted investment and performance culture make our second-place status not only inevitable, but imminent. If we can't restore interest in the sciences and reform our educational system, then the gap will only get larger and, ultimately, impassable.

More or Less Hungry

2011-04-03T07:25:00.004-06:00

The U.S. spends 7% of household consumption on food. I think that is the lowest in the world. For perspective, China spends 33%, Russia 28%, Egypt 38% and Mexico 24%. This has a dramatic impact on our world view. The necessities of existence are assumed by most of us (although plenty of homeless would disagree, I am sure). We don't have to scrape for food.

So it is perhaps not a coincidence that worldwide rising commodity pricing is accompanied by political unrest in countries throughout the world (see Egypt, Yemen, Libya, etc.). I recall the historian Will Durrant asking an Eskimo what he was thinking, and the reply was something like this: "My belly is full. I do not need to think."

There is an underlying fear in our country's political debate, that most of us don't worry about going hungry, but if things go badly, we could be there quickly.

Busy Bee

2011-02-17T23:42:00.002-07:00

Josie is busy as busy can be
And needs to discover the things she can’t see.
She finds every cabinet, cupboard and drawer
And dumps all the contents onto the floor.

She scribbles her thoughts with the big black pen
And pounds on the stapler again and again.
She pokes with the pin and examines the screw
And takes off the cap and pours out the glue.

She checks every item one by one
And doesn’t slow down until she’s done
Tasting the buttons and sticking the tape
And bending the hanger into a new shape.

Josie I wish I were more like you,
With nothing more interesting to do
Than empty out every unknown drawer
To find new worlds I could explore.

Sandbagging

2010-06-08T08:23:00.006-06:00

How small has the world become? Last night I'm at home working, generally oblivious to the world outside my office, when I get an email from Sam in Viña del Mar, Chile, where he and Rebecca are spending the month of June. He asked me if there was a flood in Salt Lake City, because he'd been asked to go help sandbag. I hadn't heard anything about it, but a quick check on a local news site revealed that the suddenly warm temps had caused a very high snow melt and flooding of the Little Cottonwood Creek, which runs within a mile of the house. And I got the news from Chile!

The request was out for volunteers, so I headed to the control center at Cottonwood Heights Elementary to see how I could help. Dumptrucks were bringing in loads of dirt--the local Cottonwood Basin loam--and we shoveled them into sandbags. Later, my "team" was called for to go off-site, in a neighborhood where the bags were already stacked chest high along the banks, protecting the neighborhood from the surging creek. The fire department was in charge there, and all of us stood around until about 11:00p, piles of sandbags at the ready, in case it started to rise again. (As the evening temps cool down, the risk of rising decreases.)

The efforts are remarkably well-organized by Salt Lake County, including utilizing local CERT (Community Emergency Relief Teams--or something like that) volunteers. (Yes, I have been CERT trained but didn't want to wear my funny hat and vest!)

It was nice to see a lot of community support, from wards, scout troops and just willing citizens, including quite a number of friends. Nice way to spend an evening. And fortunately, Sam was in South America to let me know.

Green Myths Debunked

2010-05-11T21:50:00.004-06:00

One of the problem with living in a world that has so much information is sifting through all the misinformation to uncover the facts. Now don't get me wrong--I am a committed environmentalist. I don't do everything right, but I certainly have tried to change things in my lifestyle to minimize my tracks upon this planet. Nevertheless, I am often suspect of the environmental actions and methods that are broadly sanctioned in the media.

So I enjoyed this Fortune Special Report entitled: 25 Green Myths Debunked. Everything from "Bottled Water is Safer than Tap Water" (a favorite theme of mine), to "It's OK to Put Plastic Containers in Microwaves" (careful, careful!) to "Hybrids are Much Better for the Environment" (mine is a little better, but not great).

There were several surprises for me, including that it takes four times more energy to produce a paper bag than a plastic one. (I still say bring reusable bags.)

And here's one I hadn't thought of: Is it really a good environmental move for the city of New York to plant a million trees? Well, after figuring in the cost of driving around and planting them, then watering them, then sending city employees out with trucks and gas-burning chain saws to trim them ... well, maybe not. Ooops.

Plenty of myths, or misinformation out there. They call it "greenwashing."

East of Eden

2010-03-10T22:49:00.006-07:00

Merritt recently recommended East of Eden and had left a copy at the house (which was actually borrowed from Lanee's friend Julie), so I began with high expectations and finished with high praise. In fact, every time I opened the book I found myself wishing it was my own copy, because more than any novel I have read there were countless passages that begged for markings and margin annotations.

This is an extraordinary novel, in my opinion dwarfing Steinbeck's other works, including the revered Of Mice and Men and critically acclaimed Grapes of Wrath. It is an ambitious novel, albeit one that is glaringly flawed. But on my literary scales, a dollop of ambition more than compensates for a whole slop of imperfections.

This is not a page-turner, urging us forward with a compelling story and an earnest curiosity about what will happen next. And while there is a plot, it is little more than a genealogy, tracing two families from the Civil War to World War I, from Connecticut to Steinbeck's actual homeland--the Salinas Valley in Northern California. It is more a penetrating character examination, and all types of saints and miscreants are on display.

These pages are meant to be turned slowly; chewed on a bit, then carefully digested. Like Shakespeare, there is relentless truth there--about good and evil, fathers and sons, husbands and wives. The book contains more than I could handle on the human condition, both the good and bad in all people, in their various combinations and manifestations. Steinbeck paints archetypes for human behaviors and motivations that can only be known through raw self-examination. There were two kinds I was familiar with, through personal experience: those I am eager to show publicly, and those I don't talk about, but push back to the darkened corners of my soul, hoping others won't notice and I will forget their existence.

The biblical metaphors are heavy-handed and unmistakable. Cain and Abel. Charles and Adam. Caleb and Aron. There is no pretense here--we are trying to understand why people do what they do, and whether they can help it, whether they can change, so we go back to our primeval story. And like the world we live in, there is no shortage of material to bring us to optimism or despair. But also like our world, you often have to look a little harder to see the good.

It would be easy to call this a depressing novel, because sin and depravity stand heavy on their side of the scale. That is to rightfully say that the world is out of balance. Yet East of Eden manages to find hope glimmering in the darkness, and emerges as a triumph of the human spirit and a glory in its potential.

An American in Japan

2010-01-10T23:51:00.001-07:00

I ran across this narrative from a trip to Japan a few years ago and thought it would fit in with this blog:

The first thing you notice about Japan is the all the people are Japanese. I suppose there’s no way to prevent this, unless you had the mind to import foreigners for the sake of variety. Personally, I don’t mind being the odd man out. But I do feel a little self-conscious at times, and whenever they look at me then whisper among themselves I wonder what faux pas I have just committed. More often than not, I think it is good-natured amusement, either at my very presence, or occasionally at my presumption of trying to fit in, whether it be eating the indigenous foods or struggling through the confusion of mass transit.

Fortunately, the Japanese are unfailingly polite and considerate. Their culture is ideally suited to the service industry, and Japanese hotels are the finest in the world. It is a matter of extreme embarrassment if a Japanese person is not able to perform a requested task, and they are willing to go to almost unimaginable lengths to help you. They are embarrassed if their English isn’t sufficient to help you, and will then search for someone else who is more fluent. Several times I asked for help from strangers in a train station, only to have them escort me through the entire passage. And had not I put on an air of false confidence, I suspect they would have accompanied me on the train to my intended destination, even if they were bound in an entirely different direction.

I suppose that if you wanted to drive a Japanese crazy you would ask them to assist you in an impossible task, like directions to a city that doesn’t exist, or to please bring me eggs with the yolk hard but the whites runny. This would be a cruel joke which I would never undertake, but I do think the very notion is a credit to the generosity and helpfulness of the people.

The Japanese are an honest and trustworthy people, by and large. They tend to follow the rules, and expect others to do the same. As a result, I too was on my best behavior. If a sign said not to walk, I didn’t, mainly to avoid embarrassing some innocent who would have to correct my malfeasance.

This natural honesty was a godsend as I dealt in matters of commerce. Unlike most denominations in the free world, the Japanese yen converts to the dollar at the most extreme of ratios—about 123 to 1. As a result, everything sounded expensive, and converting the value of yen to dollars in my head requires a degree of mathematical acumen that I haven’t held since junior high. For instance, a cab fare cost me 3500 yen, which seemed expensive even for New York, and I was sure the driver was taking advantage of my ignorance until I ciphered that it was only about $28.

Their paper currency is pretty straightforward, but the coins are hard to figure out. Most of them make sense, with the yen denomination on the coin. I think others are intended to be something of a mystery, with no number. Some have a hole in the middle, which I never figured out. However, if the amount needed for a transaction was a matter of coinage (the largest coin is 500 yen), I would just hold out my hand with a pocketful of change and they would take out exactly what they needed. And I never once doubted their integrity.

There is no tipping in Japan. Now in the United States tipping is a routine element of the service economy—not only because it’s inherent in the compensation scheme, but also as an incentive to provide good service. Think about the places where they don’t get tipped and the erratic levels of service you find—such as at fast food counters. Nobody cares about the quality of my service experience at Burger King. They don’t smile and ask me where I’m from, or how I like my fish fillet cooked, and they never leave me mints or little notes like “Have a Nice Day! Wanda” on the back of my receipt. No, that’s because there is no incentive for them to do so. They know that no matter what they do to the average French fry, no matter what kind of notes or comments on how cute the kids are or even if they throw in an extra patty on the hamburger, they are not going to get a tip.

This is something of a digression, but very relevant. In contrast, the Japanese view excellent service as a matter of course. To receive a tip for their efforts would suggest that you expected something less than the utmost of courtesy and consideration. And while no one wrote “Have a Nice Day” on my receipt, they did wrap up every purchase quite nicely and were always most accommodating to my every need.

The Japanese eat things that strike fear in the hearts of average Americans—eels, octopus, jellyfish, sharks and the like. Surely the average human would prefer to avoid these creatures altogether. It is one thing to face ones fear, but quite another to eat them—a most perverse and savage form of revenge.

Nevertheless, in my attempt to fit in, I tried a number of exotic foods. One such local specialty in Osaka is tokohaki (here I’m sure I am butchering the name), which is an octopus dumpling popular at public events, kind of like our hot dogs. Actually, there was all manner of octopus available on the street, including octopus chunks and octopus shish-kabob. Actually, the tokohaki was pretty tasty, once I got past the idea that I was eating a chewy suction cup, something like having a rubber-tipped toy dart in your mouth. But with a little dipping sauce, it was rather nice.

The Japanese people come in two varieties—sleight and sumo wrestler. I can understand the former. Were I forced to subsist on eel and octopus, I would be thin as well. I suspect the sumo wrestlers have a different diet entirely, maybe Teriyaki Big Macs.

All the people there speak Japanese. I don’t blame them and would probably do the same if I was raised like they were. But I found it a difficult to language to learn. Nevertheless, they all speak it in the most natural of ways. Even the children. I suppose it never occurred to them to start their kids with an easier language, like English or French. I would like to have suggested that idea, but unfortunately no one understood anything I had to say.

Language was certainly a barrier to communication. But I got over that in short order, mainly by not talking to anyone. However, I found my inability to read Japanese quite a handicap during my day of sightseeing in Kyoto. You see, not only do they speak the language almost exclusively, but they write everything in Japanese as well. Further, it is customary to write signs above the portals of their homes. And to completely confound the issue, they being a very private people, the merchants generally cover the windows of their stores, so you can’t see inside.

As a result, I was never quite sure what kind of place I was walking into. All the characters looked the same to me, the doors were often shut, and so I took to simply walking in. In the process I met some nice people, many of whom happened to be shopkeepers and restaurateurs, and the rest of whom were generally polite to the rather surprising intrusion of this curious American into their home.

I also accidentally found myself in a couple of Japanese taverns (they are very small, about the size of a pottery shop!), several nice artist studios, a silk shop and all manner of places I had no intention of entering or desire to stay. Of course, given my overwhelming desire to be polite, extricating myself from these situations was difficult. The owner would come up to me as I entered, saying something unintelligible in Japanese. On the spot, I felt it incumbent to make some gesture besides an about face, and so I would walk around a little bit, look intently and the goods, nod politely and leave. I still feel badly about disappointing them, but I was not about to buy a scarf just to be polite.

I would like to go back someday, maybe with an interpreter. There are a few things I’d like to ask. Like how they make those plastic plates of food that are in every window. And what sumo wrestlers eat.

My Economic Crystal Ball

2009-12-17T22:01:00.006-07:00

I've consistently been an opponent of the health care "reform," as I've stated before in this blog. The biggest reason is that there's little in the way of positive reformation that has been proposed. The other reason is that what is being proposed is mostly to throw money at the problem. And unfortunately the Democrats don't seem to realize that our country is out of real money, and the consequences of just printing more are dire.

This is an interesting read from a Canadian bank, suggesting that the course of our economic events is going to play out very badly. Our debt is already staggering, almost preposterous. And now foreign governments which have been providing our debt, like China, are moving in another direction. Not unlike the homeowners who overbought while underfunded and triggered the current recession, we've also become a bad risk and a threat to the world's economic stability.

But we'll need more money to run the country and there aren't many options. Cut spending? Uh, read the papers. Not in this administration, and not in the previous one's either. Increase taxes? OK, but not nearly enough. And, uh, well, print more. Easy enough, but a path to a destabilized dollar, runaway inflation and an economic catastrophe. Nevertheless, that's the most likely scenario, because the other options are political suicide. So we'll get while we can until we can't any longer. Then we'll really suffer.

I'll admit to having more than a little doomsayer in me. I often fear the worst. But in this case, the prospects are really frightening. But then, and only then, will we be able to swallow the politically unpalatable medicine--take huge chunks out of the biggest (and fastest growing) budget items, Social Security and Medicare. Expect the Social Security age to climb to 70+ and Medicare to cut their coverage by 25-50%. Future retirements won't be what they used to be.

My timing is terrible.

The Blue Zones

2009-10-16T21:27:00.004-06:00

I just finished The Blue Zones: Lessons for living longer from the people who've lived the longest, by National Geographic writer Dan Buettner. The author, along with teams of scientists, studied small pockets in the world's population that had verifiably long lifespans--with rates of centenarians many times what we find in even well-developed countries. Once an area was established as a "Blue Zone," the scientists went about trying to isolate what factors were unique to this area--genetics, climate, diet, social conditions, etc.

They found four zones, small areas in Okinawa, Costa Rica, Sardinia and around Loma Linda, California (home of the Seventh Day Adventists). At the risk of ruining the book for you all, these appear to be the common characteristics of the groups:

1. They eat less. A simple "prayer" said before each meal in the Okinawa group was "hara hachi bu," a Confucius-inspired phrase which translated means "Eat until you are 80% full." Also, in the Blue Zones the biggest meal of the day was eaten early, breakfast or lunch.

2. A simple diet. These people eat none or very few processed foods. Their diets typically consist of many vegetables and some fruits, nuts, beans and grains. Meat eaten sparingly (his words!). Little sugar.

3. Regular and constant labor. Often tending gardens, walking and other physical work, even past 100 years of age.

4. A reason for living. Being needed. Something to do. Generally this involved family. These groups often lived as extended families, with grandparents sharing a roof with their grandchildren. Strong family and social relationships were the norm.

5. Low stress levels. Never with much money or possessions, these people lived in conditions we would associate with poverty. But they worked hard, they socialized and they rested.

6. Typically a good night's sleep--maybe eight hours.

7. Being likable. The folks who lived past 100 were friendly and enjoyable to be around. As a result, they had a lot of close relationships.

8. Religious. Almost always they had great faith in God and generally participated in religious rituals.

9. A lot of time outdoors, and particularly in areas of sunshine. Lots of sun.

10. An appreciation for life--the small things and the daily beauties.

These aren't radical principles, but it's interesting to see them validated in this way. I recommend the book. Even though I've given you the basic principles, the color commentary is worth reading, as are the detailed findings.

Doing Time

2009-10-14T08:05:00.002-06:00

Last week I had lunch with a friend who has recently gotten out of prison, for a white-collar crime and what I generally believe was an honest mistake. Nevertheless, he did his time in a minimum-security prison camp. This was not exactly San Quentin, as there were no walls, fences or barbed-wire to prevent escape. Prisoners could literally walk off the property if they chose, but the judicial implications strongly discourage such law-breaking.

Naturally, I asked my friend all about his experience. He was incarcerated 18 months. In that time, he read about 300 books, dramatically improved his physical condition and spent a lot of time helping other prisoners.

Something he said really struck me: "I wouldn't wish prison upon anyone. And I wouldn't want to do it again. But I'm glad I went through it. It turned out to be a really positive experience for me and my family."

Let's see, they lost everything financially. His wife struggled to find even a low-level job. He's a convicted felon. He's starting over again after a year and a half away. And he's grateful for the experience.

Life is funny like that. The things we think are going to make us happy often don't. And the things we most fear and dread often bring us the greatest peace and contentment. My friend and his family made the most of this dubious opportunity, and in the process better learned what was most important in life, as well as what they could easily do without.

A good lesson for us all as we do our time in this world.

Movies

2009-09-30T00:17:00.005-06:00

There are a few movies out in theaters and DVD that are worth noting:

500 Days of Summer--We saw this at Sundance last year--a very refreshing romantic comedy with some positive insight. But I could have done without the bluebird.

Adam--Another Sundance 2009 movie and another different take on a romantic comedy. Adam has Asperger's, a mild form of autism. Makes for an interesting relationship. Try to ignore the unnecessary sub-plot with Peter Gallagher.

The Brothers Bloom--Just out on DVD. I hesitate to actually recommend this, because it's terribly flawed. But still, I enjoyed it, probably because I love grifter mvoies. It's just that this one grifts a little too long.

Coraline--Yes, this movie was hyped enough that you all are aware of it. But you might have stayed away because you're not a fan of animation, or maybe of creepy stuff. Neither am I, really. But I liked this a lot. Coraline is a totally cool character, the kind of girl I'd like to be ... if, you know, I had to be a girl.

Defiance--Out on DVD, an inspiring action movie based on a true story of Belarus Jews that fought back in WWII. Daniel Craig is great and Liev Schreiber once again shows off his amazing versatility.

The Hurt Locker--You'll probably have to wait until this comes out on DVD, and hopefully they ClearPlay it, but it's a gripping story of bomb squads in Iraq. Powerful.

Disappointment: Sunshine Cleaning--I missed this at Sundance last year and was eager to get it on DVD, about two women that go into business cleaning up after crime scenes. The trailers made it look funny. Instead, it was dull and depressing.

Most Unusual: Cold Souls--Finally released, and another film I saw at Sundance last year. Someone described it as Being John Malkovich meets Eternal Sunshine. A very strange and existential movie starring Paul Giamatti. The director said it was inspired by a dream she had about Woody Allen, who she originally wanted for the starring role. You'll either really like it or really not. Caveat emptor.

From the Archives: Everything is Illuminated., 2005. Rebecca recently recommended this to Merritt and Stacie, who both really liked it. And it reminded me of how much I enjoyed it. Directed by (once again) Liev Schreiber and (once again) with a WWII/Jewish theme. Starring Frodo (aka Elijah Wood). An absolutely charming movie.

Moab

2009-09-20T20:09:00.009-06:00

Spent a couple of really fun days around Moab this week. Late last week Steve Ramras (AKA Ram--canyoneering legend) called and asked if I wanted to join him for some unpublished canyons around North Wash. I thought about it for maybe three seconds before saying yes. Unfortunately, the weather turned very bad and so we went to a back-up plan--Moab.

Tuesday Ram, Rick F. and I hiked near Devil's Garden in Arches, but well behind the tourist trails and found plenty of interesting climbing and, of course, several awesome arches--Landscape Arch, Navajo Arch, Double-O Arch, Black Arch and Partition Arch--plus the Dark Angel monolith and other remarkable sites. We climbed around the fins and had a great time.

Wednesday we were joined by a couple of guys from Salt Lake and spent the day in The Fiery Furnace in Arches, aka The Fins or Finland. The area is filled with extraordinary features--fins that rise up from the earth, forming a maze of canyons and alleys. We spent the day climbing, chimneying and squeezing through the tight cracks. I also experienced more exposure than I am used to--and several times had to jump places where a loss of footing would have meant likely death. It was good for the adrenaline, but definitely sobering. I remember one climb looking down maybe 300 feet from an 18-inch ledge and facing a jump up over the top. Uh, yeah. I kept telling myself that I'm going to die sometime, and at least this way I'll leave a good story. But in the end, I was just being overly dramatic and a bit of a scaredy-cat.

At the close of the day we drove south of Moab and descended a river gorge, called The Pleiades. It was a totally different world from Arches--green, forested and humid with fast-running water. Lots of fun and I look forward to getting back there sometime.

Health Care Reform

2009-09-08T23:10:00.003-06:00

Last week Rebecca, Sam and I went to a rally in favor of health reform. Sam attended for extra credit at school. Rebecca and I were there for perspective, but it turned out to be more entertainment value. If I was ever tempted to jump aboard the liberal health care reform bus, listening to the irrational drivel from the speakers convinced me they are en route to fantasyland.

Example #1: "I am a student and if I had to pay for health care I would have to get a job, which would interfere with my studies." Um, yeah. Life can sure be hard, can't it?

Example #2: "Health care is the right of every American." Sounds great in theory, but what does it really mean?

Example #3: "I am both a provider of mental health services and a recipient of mental health services." I guess this was meant to establish credibility? Didn't really work for me.

Unfortunately, I have been equally repulsed by the blatant politicizing of the issue by Republicans, who are willing to completely ignore the pressing need for reform because they believe that defeating the legislation is the surest way to derail Obama and regain House and Senate seats in 2010. This is a vile and egregiously irresponsible position for our elected leaders to take.

Having said that, the issue is very complex and, while I haven't ready the 1000-page proposed legislation (who has?), my understanding is that it fails to address the fundamental problems we have with health care. What should government do? Mostly clear the way for the free market run its course. For instance, eliminate barriers to entry that discourage insurance competition across state lines; get rid of corporate tax breaks on routine health purchases, which should ultimately push these to competitive out-of-pocket expenses; and provide a catastrophic medical expense safety net for all Americans, but one for which they must participate on a percentage basis, in all care, as much as possible.

For a fresh, non-partisan and extremely common-sense perspective read this article by David Goldhill (who happens to be the CEO of The Game Show Network). Goldhill recommends health savings accounts, an idea that George W. Bush had pushed a few years ago. He argues convincingly that the consumer (i.e. the patient) has become disassociated with the purchase decisions, which has caused costs to run unfettered. Goldhill uses the illuminating example of Lasik surgery, which isn't covered by most insurance and hence must be paid by each consumer, very much like the rest of the stuff we buy. Since it was introduced in the early 1990's, Lasik technology has improved significantly while decreasing in price by about 80%. Contrast that to the skyrocketing costs of almost every other medical technology--all covered by insurance, all insulated from the dynamics of consumer price-value decisions.

Obama is right that this is a big and important issue that should be addressed with urgency and ambition, but I have no confidence that government will get it anywhere close to right. If Republicans had any scruples they would insert their long-cherished free-market principles into the health care reform debate with passion and vigor. And if Democrats had any economic sense, they would listen. What are the chances of either of these happening? Well, none.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2009-08-04T18:01:00.003-06:00

Sam and I just returned from our eight-day Baseball and History barnstorming tour of the East Coast. We started in Boston, and spent two days taking in some of the city's rich history and two nights watching the Sox at Fenway Park. Prior to the second game we watched as the team retired Jim Rice's jersey, while many of the Red Sox greats from the 70's and 80's joined in the ceremony. Sam was virtually uncontrollable at the Fenway souvenir store and spent hundreds of dollars (of hard-earned butcher-money!) on jerseys, hats, bumper stickers, etc. Walker Texas Ranger has been replaced by Red Sox Man!

We flew to Baltimore and drove up to Gettysburg for a day, which was fantastic. The battlefield has been very well preserved and you are able to get a feel for how the fighting progressed over this wide expanse of geography. On the way back to Baltimore we messily devoured a dozen steamed Maryland Crabs at a crabhouse in Owing Mills. The next day we took in an afternoon game at Camden Yards in Baltimore, a beautiful stadium but blazing hot in the full sun and humidity. Before the game I took in a very enjoyable tour of Babe Ruth's birthplace and after the game spent a few hours at the lovely Baltimore Harbor.

The next morning we hopped on a train to Washington and spent the day in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Then another train to Stafford, Virginia where we spent the weekend with our old friends Mark and Kay Dudenhefer. Mark is a Civil War historian so on Saturday and Sunday we visited battlefields--Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Wilderness. Being on the battlefield and understanding the strategies and tactics was quite an experience. Along the way there were various museums, walking tours and monuments. I learned a ton and found it all quite fascinating.

Monday Sam was burned out so I took an early train to DC and went to the Holocaust Museum, which was powerfully sobering, and then walked to the Washington Monument, the Reflecting Pool, the Lincoln Memorial and the WWII and Vietnam Memorials. I tried to squeeze in the National Archives as well but there was a 45-minute wait to see the Bill of Rights and Constitution, so I passed. Monday night we flew home both tired and ready for our own beds.

Over the course of our trip we we were on planes, taxis, trains, light rail, busses and subways. (Now I wish we'd taken a ferry and rented bikes to round out the list.)

Sam is a terrific traveling companion--capable, responsible and good-spirited. It is amazing to me that he spent as much time as he did on battlefields and in museums, but he seemed to enjoy it.

I suppose I have had more exciting vacations, but this was quite a treat for both of us. It instilled a surge of patriotism, a visceral revulsion at the horrors of war and a reverence for those that have died on battlefields.

And of course the highlight--watching the Sox play at Fenway.

Cost of Regulation

2009-07-04T22:10:00.002-06:00

To illustrate my point in the previous post--more laws mean more regulation. (Also, note to President Obama, more regulatory agencies and bigger government means more regulations.) In his recently published "Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State," Clyde Wayne Crews and his research team estimate the cost of all federal regulations at $1.172 trillion. That's about $3800 for every man, woman and child in America, or more than all federal individual income tax collected, and three times the $345B in corporate income taxes.

On a related topic, this morning's paper reported that interest on our deficit now accounts for 80% of our Gross Domestic Product.

And things are going to get much worse in a couple of years when the baby boomers start to retire and our unfunded social security and medicare programs start to collapse.

Sorry to be such a downer, but we are so totally screwed economically that I'm losing my enthusiasm for the future.

Political Mischief

2009-07-03T10:33:00.004-06:00

After letting the conflict fester way too long Norm Coleman has finally conceded the Minnesota Senate race to Democrat Al Franken, giving the Democratic Party 60 seats in the Senate, enough to defeat a filibuster.

This is bad news whether you lean left or right. One of the beautiful things about our system of government is that it's usually very difficult to get anything done. That's a good thing, because there are great hidden costs to legislation and often terrible unintended (or secretly intended) consequences. When either party has free reign to push through legislation willy-nilly there is an inevitable flood of poorly conceived, politically inspired and one-sided new laws upon our books creating confusion among the citizens, structural costs in the government and plenty of new work for lawyers and accountants.

The Republicans are paying a price for their arrogance, but even worse, we're all going to suffer through the consequences of misguided legislation for years to come.

Lipstick on a Pig

2009-06-21T10:37:00.009-06:00

After having the swine flu (H1N1 virus) sweep through our family, decimate a carefully planned Aho family vacation and pummel me personally for four days, I have taken some time to reflect on the experience. I have never been convinced that every cloud has a silver lining. But I do believe that the greatest lessons are to be learned from the worst storms.

Our swine flu saga has been particularly instructive for me, and not only for what I've learned regarding this particular pandemic. More importantly, the experience has been a microcosm for life, reminding me of important principles that extend well beyond a simple case of the flu. For example:

Do your homework. It's easy to learn a little bit and assume you know enough. When we were first diagnosed we went to the Center for Disease Control website, read a little and acted accordingly. I wish we had been more diligent, as we would have been better informed and made better decisions. Ignorance isn't bliss, it's lazy.

Don't believe everything you read (or hear). This is a big step for most of us in life, as we find it easiest to read or listen then parrot the learning as gospel truth. We found a lot of incomplete or incorrect information out there on the swine flu. Some was alarmist. Some dangerously ignorant. For example, a doctor told a friend of ours he could not have H1N1 because he didn't have vomitting or diarrhea. Angelica told him otherwise. He got tested and he did, in fact, have the virus.

Resist the urge to put lipstick on a pig. We often have a natural desire to dress up reality so it doesn't make us look quite so ugly. But the consequences of pride are even less flattering. I knew we'd be stigmatized by having the swine flu in our home. So my first explanation was that we were "sick." That kept me from truly assessing the situation and then dealing with the painful quarantine issues as rigorously as I should have.

Open communication is the best strategy. Loose lips may occasionally sink ships, but a ship without communications embarks on a dangerous voyage. A lot of time, pain and resources (much of it ours) would have been saved if we had simply done a better job of communicating our situation to everyone that might be involved.

Most decisions are moral decisions. This can be hard to face, as we often try to convince ourselves that our decisions are anything but morally based. Looking back, I am dumbfounded that I didn't realize immediately, once our family was diagnosed (even suspected) that everything we did from that moment on was of moral consequence. Once I accepted that, it changed everything.

It's not just about you. This is like the addict's rationalization--that I'm only hurting myself. It's a pure falsehood. Your decisions have extraordinary ripple effects, especially to those who love you the most. This is painfully true in the case of a contagious virus like H1N1. Between the time you get it and the time you know you've got it you could infect hundreds of people. And once you have it, even with a full quarantine, you're still a threat to anyone in your household. No, it's not just your willingness to risk the disease, it's your lack of concern for others you might infect.

Perception is reality. We wish people saw everything our way, but they almost never do. When we ignore these differences we tend to disregard the fears, concerns and desires of others. People are afraid of the swine flu--in many cased irrationally so. We're not going to change that, so it's better simply to accept it and deal with it.

For me, the flu was very painful. But the life lessons perhaps even more so. Now that I've been "inoculated" I doubt I'll get H1N1 again. I hope I don't have to suffer through the same lessons again as well.

Frost/Nixon

2009-06-07T21:55:00.005-06:00

Last night I watched the Ron Howard movie Frost/Nixon, which is recently out on DVD. I was riveted, not only because the movie is extremely well-done, with an extraordinary performance by Frank Langella as Richard Nixon, but also because it brought back memories of Watergate and how it captured my attention when I was a teenager.

I was always interested in politics, so when the Watergate scandal started emerging in the press I followed it carefully. The Senate hearings were aired on TV and I remember watching them at every opportunity. I began to learn the personalities of the inquisitors, including folksy committee chairman Senator Sam Ervin and the politically ambitious Senator Howard Baker. I had an immediate dislike for conspirators Bob Haldeman, Chuck Colson and John Erlichman, but developed deep respect for John Dean, the bookish attorney and Nixon aide who pled guilty early in the process and proved to be a key witness with extremely incriminating testimony.

When the White House transcripts of Nixon's taped meetings were published I read the book with interest and, as I recall, did a report on it as a special project in school.

And, of course, I watched with rapt interest when Nixon resigned in 1974, recognizing that this was an important moment in American history, in my psyche the equivalent of the Kennedy assassination, Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969, or the 1968 presidential campaign, with the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King and the riots around the Democratic Convention in Chicago (and the following trial of the Chicago Seven).

I realize now how all of these events shaped my thoughts about our country, in much the same way that the Great Depression and World War II shaped my father's. I am at once deeply patriotic regarding the sacrifices that have been made to preserve our freedoms, while at the same time irreparably cynical about politics and government and the corruptive influence of power.

Watching Frost/Nixon brought all of this back to me, and I was once again transported to my youth, sitting on the couch, eating dinner on a TV tray while I watched our nation's history unfold.

Quotes of the Day

2009-05-27T19:29:00.003-06:00

From Google's app--The Einstein Quote of the Day:

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

I mean, I knew Albert was smart, but this is over the top!

But not as funny as the Will Rogers quote on iGoogle:

"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat."

Should be modified and adopted by Republicans, who seemed resigned to feckless chaos.

And while we're at it, a favorite word of the week:

Kerfuffle: A disorderly outburst or tumult.

Dom Deluise

2009-05-06T20:25:00.006-06:00

Dom Deluise died yesterday. He was a wonderful comedian and talented actor. His death struck me because our lives intersected some years ago. I was in marketing at Pizza Hut and we were approached by KingWorld with a proposal to do a promotion with a new Candid Camera show starring Dom. KingWorld is a major syndication player, having launched Oprah, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, etc. We expected that they would make Candid Camera a hit and we were interested. I was put in charge of the negotiations and oversaw the development of the program.

During that time I had a lot of meetings with Michael King, and sometimes his brother Roger. At that time they were some of the wealthiest men in the country, regularly on the Forbes list, and they did everything first class. One of our planning meetings was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in one of the world-famous bungalows. Around lunchtime the doorbell rang and Michael King asked me to answer it. I did and to my surprise it was Dom Deluise holding boxes of Pizza Hut pizza. "Did anybody here order pizza?" he asked me.

We had lunch together and spent much of the afternoon talking about the show and the promotion. He was a huge man, well over 300 pounds. He was funny and profane but very warm and friendly. We talked about our families and he told some great stories about his kids. He also gave me a copy of a childrens book he had recently written, Charlie the Caterpillar, which I think we still have somewhere.

After only one season with Candid Camera Dom Deluise moved onto other things. But it was a pleasure to meet him and I'm sad that he is now gone.

An Irish Prayer

2009-05-03T07:17:00.002-06:00

Rebecca put this in my birthday card and I liked it so much that I thought I'd share it:

May God give you ...

For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care a promise
And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

The Spotless Mind

2009-04-07T19:05:00.004-06:00

Anyone that is even casually following the field of neuroscience has got to be unsettled by the extraordinary developments that are going to shape our world. Check out this article in the New York Times about research that effectively blocks memories in animals (rats and horses, at least). No reason it won't work on humans. And, as the article points out, the research could go both ways, using the same chemical approach to dramatically improve memories.

Just ponder that for a minute. Had a traumatic experience? Forget it. Depressed about losing the big game. Forget it. Studying history? Then you can remember everything.

The moral and ethical ramifications are staggering. But more importantly, the very nature of what it means to be human, to have developed a history through a linear existence, is now in question.

A related field that will be rapidly emerging and commercially driven is virtual reality. As neuroscience capabilities improve over the next 25 years we will be able to replicate almost any emotion and any visceral experience virtually through brain stimulus. Want to go to China but don't have the time? No problem. Would like to date Brad Pitt without Angelina Jolie butting in? Right this way.

None of this is fantasy. Science fiction has missed the mark by undershooting the bow. The exponential rate of technological development is increasing. (Not simply the rate, but the exponential factor.) The world is going to start changing at a dizzying pace. My grandchildren will laugh at the primitive conditions we are living in today.

One final perspective from Ray Kurzweil's latest book, Transcend. In 1964 an IBM computer cost $11 million (today's dollars), was used by thousands of people and took up most of a building. Today, the computer in your cell phone is a million times smaller, a million times less expensive and a thousand times more powerful. That's a billion-fold increase in price performance. With the exponential rate of development increasing, we should see the same billion-fold increase in price performance in the next 25 years that we saw in the last 40.

Unless something big happens.

Death Valley Days

2009-03-25T09:15:00.004-06:00

Got back early yesterday morning from three days in Death Valley with Merritt and others. The wildflowers were in full bloom, which is unusual and short-lived in this desolate area.

Day One was an exploration into Forge Canyon, where we were the first party to ever descend it. (Canyoneers call this a "First Descent" and as you might expect, it's rather rare.) It was a lot of fun, as we never knew what to expect and had to construct a natural anchor at each of the 12 rappels. I really enjoyed the challenges of deciding how to anchor each rap, then moving rocks around when necessary. My favorite part of canyoneering is solving problems with anchors, rappels, route-finding or downclimbing. With a first descent there is also a sense of mystery and discovery, and of course we had to pack plenty of extra rope and emergency equipment to prepare for unknown contingencies. I was very grateful we had this opportunity to join the group, led by Rick Kent, who has done first descents on many of the Death Valley canyons.

Day Two was another exploration of sorts into Scottie's Canyon, much of which had been hiked from the bottom but with no descents that we were aware of. Seven of us hiked up a mountain, stopping to explore the remains of an old mining operation, including a few standing buildings. As we approached the summit of our hike before dropping in the canyon the wind started picking up, almost knocking me over while we climbed the faint trail. Once we dropped in, the wind reached hurricane levels as it stormed up the canyon, gaining incredible force. One gust literally pushed three of us uncontrollably about 15 feet, knocking over two women. I'm not experienced in these matters, but I'm guessing 70 mph or more. Walking over to the first rap I looked down and it was like a wind tunnel blasting up at me--really quite frightening. After about an hour of waiting, debating and soul-searching we reluctantly headed back, realizing that we didn't know what was ahead of us and the winds would make rappeling and downclimbing on the descent potentially dangerous. The rest of the group headed home and Merritt and I hiked up Scottie's from the bottom, taking on a few sporty climbs that were exposed enough to make me uncomfortable, although Merritt handled them quite well.

On the third day Merritt and I descended Coffin Canyon. I had done this canyon a year ago, but from the top, which involves a car shuttle and at least five miles of slogging through sand and gravel. This time we planned on approaching from the bottom. In the past this has been done through the Copper Canyon entrance, but unfortunately that was closed due to a recent fossil find. The Park Service recommended an alternate route which their people had scouted out and left cairns. We decided to take it, especially since getting caught in Copper Canyon would result in a $5000 fine.

Unfortunately, the new approach was very difficult and involved a lot of clamboring on all fours up steep slopes with loose scree and gravel or crumbly hand-holds. Many times I felt dangerously close to a long and uncontrolled slide back down with unsavory implications. To make it worse, we discovered that the cairns were set in unusual places, not necessarily marking a trail but rather at high points in the general vicinity of the trail. (We discovered this when we precariously scrambled to one of them only to find a lone peak with no exit except the way we had just come. That was my least favorite moment of the trip!)

Finally we dropped into Coffin and enjoyed this lovely canyon, which includes a 185-foot rappel that seems like about 400'--definitely a sobering drop. Also there's one rap that goes from above to below sea level, which is kind of interesting. Afterwards I dropped Merritt off at the Las Vegas airport and drove home. I hit the wall about 11 p.m. and had to pull over and sleep a few hours, then woke up and arrived home about 3 a.m.

It was a fun trip in a big, desolate and generally unfriendly country. It once again makes me appreciate the incredible diversity in our natural world.

Photos from Luke

Vita Brevis

2009-03-17T20:47:00.003-06:00

I couldn't help but feeling a little sad today. This morning I attended the funeral of Newell Stevenson, our stake patriarch and a truly wonderful human being who passed away at 88 years old. The funeral was short and sweet because, according to his son, a week before he died Newell told him that if the funeral ran more than an hour he was going to get up and leave. I guess no one wanted to call his bluff!

This evening I attended a viewing for Terry Crowther, a friend from Park City who passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. He was only 61. Terry and I served together at church in Park City and I always enjoyed his company and appreciated his friendship. After he moved to Salt Lake City we still spoke occasionally on the phone or got together for lunch. He was the first person that told me about Redmond Minerals, where he worked for the past eight years or so. He loved it there, and I could feel his enthusiasm and pride as he talked about the company, extolling its virtues. Terry had a heart of gold. He was instrumental in getting Merritt his job at Redmond, when he responded to an email I sent out asking if anyone had need of an intern. Terry also had an unusual family situation. He was divorced, but stayed in very close contact with his ex-wife and, in fact, considered her his best friend. It was a pleasure to meet her and his daughter at the viewing tonight, as well as other members of his family.

All this on St. Patrick's Day, which always makes me think about my Dad (Farley). I wore the sweater and tie I bought when we were in Ireland, which I do every year in his memory. All day I was reminded that this life is short and we must someday say good-bye to all of our loved ones.

I look forward to seeing them all again.

Killing Time at Borders

2009-03-13T22:03:00.031-06:00

I.
Just the thought
Makes me slink in shame;
Thinking of what Thoreau said
In his condescending way:
“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.”
This while he sat nights
Under the lamplight
Scribbling in his ledger,
Accounting for each penny
Spent remodeling his shack.
He thought it was idyllic.
I might prefer the Irish wit:
“When God made time, he made plenty of it.”
I think my ancestors would have
Been charmed by Thoreau;
Spending their meager shillings
Buying one another pints.

II.
The sharp young man wore a tie
To make a good impression.
He answers the man's questions,
Taking pains to mention
All his worthy points
As if by accident.
He has an easy manner for his age;
With only a trace of stagecraft.
He is enthusiastic
And full of youthful energy
While still sounding almost professional;
And almost experienced.
He will almost get the job, I realize
As the interviewer feigns interest.
Maybe tomorrow
He will wear his tie again.

III.
How are these ladies connected?
One in her 40’s and the other barely 20.
Aunt and niece perhaps?
Or co-workers maybe,
Which often makes strange bedfellows—
Or their female equivalents.
The younger talks about herself.
The older gives advice.
They speak in a synchronous flow
Reciting a litany of crises and dilemmas—
Matched by solemn admonitions
With no room for debate.
They pretend to listen politely
While each awaits her turn.
It is a practiced art; a quiet opera
Over coffee and rolls in the afternoon.

IV.
So there we sit.
The five of us together,
Yet comfortably separate;
Me looking rapt
At my book on Templar Knights
Picked frivolously from the shelf:
Warrior monks protecting pilgrims
As they journeyed to Jerusalem.
But the Knights don't interest me
As much as the conversations,
So I alternate my attention,
Giving each equal time
While picking at my muffin;
No better or worse than Thoreau,
Who lived so well he felt
The need to write a book about it.

Twitter Birth

2009-03-03T01:41:00.005-07:00

We kept abreast of the developments of Merritt and Stacie's home birth last night via Twitter, which was pretty cool. Here are the transcripts and approximate times of Merritt's Tweets:

8:42 p.m. Email: Good chance Stacie will give birth sometime tonight. If you want updates, follow us on twitter: @alphanumerritt @StacieJo
~8:50 p.m. I think MJ will be the only one sleeping at our house tonight
~9:00 p.m. Had some friends over for dinner. Stacie was amazingly composed despite contractions every 5-10 min. As soon as they left, it intensified.
~9:00 p.m. ..kind of like her body responded to the demands of her environment, very darwinian
~9:20 p.m. contractions less than 4 min apart
~9:30 p.m. midwife says she's coming over, though stacie seems to be doing fine and progressing normally (to me, anyway)
~9:35 p.m. we're betting on a 1:30am birth
~9:40 p.m. she seems to be progressing fairly quickly, well under 3 minutes in between contractions
~9:45 p.m. smooth music going, dim lighting, hot tub filled with warm water: we should have more dates with this kind of ambiance!
~9:50 p.m. this is actually pretty cool - very low stress and coke zeros just a fridge door away
~10:00 p.m. looks like there's going to be a healthy dose of back labor involved, means I'll be working the massage and pressure to the lower back
~10:45 p.m. no midwife yet, she should be here any minute, though now I kind of wish she wouldn't show up for a while
~11:29 p.m. water broke - I was peeing at the time but stacie decided she needed the toilet more, I agreed
~11:30 p.m. (too much detail?)
~11:45 p.m. no fun and games now, birthing ball (aka exercise ball) comes to the rescue again!
~12:15 a.m. things are pretty intense at the moment
~12:30 a.m. lots of moaning like a banshee, not to transition yet, but things are movin
~12:40 a.m. updates expected to be less frequent from here on out
12:50 a.m. "I'm doing whatever feels good...I think I'm pushing." -Stacie
1:08 a.m. time of birth 1:01 am, she's big and beautiful, came out singing to the music
1:08 a.m. five min of pushing
1:17 a.m. that was pretty surreal
1:17 a.m. mom and baby look and feel great!
1:20 a.m. minimal mess
1:30 a.m. we're fans of homebirth, so much more relaxing before, during, and after

Photo Scavenger Hunt

2009-02-22T07:48:00.002-07:00

I put together a photo scavenger hunt for Sam and his friends yesterday as a prom day activity. There were two teams of four, each in one car. The items are listed below, which they photographed with their cell phones. Both teams did really well. The winning team (Sam's) got 22 of the 25 items in about 90 minutes. A good time was had by all.

1. Red-headed adult woman.
2. Horse
3. Elevator
4. Goldfish
5. Manhole Cover
6. Gravestone
7. A mailbox with the number 2359 on it
8. Utah state flag
9. Mini-Cooper
10. Straw hat
11. California license plate
12. Bright red door
13. Bowling ball
14. A man with a mustache
15. A missionary
16. Glass Coke bottle
17. Movie theatre screen
18. Fire(big enough to roast a hot dog)
19. Trombone
20. Airplane
21. A dentist
22. City bus
23. Book about rocks
24. Kitten
25. Blue uniform

A Grand Time

2009-02-18T08:09:00.008-07:00

I returned late Monday night from a marvelous four days at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I was invited by Steve Ramras, aka Ram, and this was billed as a "Ramfest." There were quite a few people who came and went, some just to drop by and visit as they ventured into nearby canyons, others to stay a day, and still others, such as Ram, had been there a week already and were planning on another nine days after the fest. That's some serious outdoors time! Here's a brief summary of my trips:

Day One: Down 29-Mile Canyon with multiple rappels into very cold pools with floating disconnects and short swims. Beautiful canyon that empties into the Colorado River, where we blew up our one-man rafts and paddled upstream to exit from the next canyon. Then an arduous hike up a good trail ascending 3000 feet with a full pack, including wetsuit and raft. Long day--up at 4:30a and back to camp at 8:30p.

Day Two: Coolest logistics I've ever seen on a canyon trip. Five of us descended Badger Canyon, leaving fixed ropes in place at the five rappels. Gorgeous. The other six descended the non-technical Jackass Canyon, which empties into the Colorado on the other side from Badger. Once each group was on the river (on opposite sides) we switched places, using the three rafts the other group had carried. Three over, three back, three more over, two back. It was a little dicey crossing with the current, and given the rapids 50 yards below not a lot of room for error. But all got in safely and we carried the rafts back up Jackass Canyon--a beautiful bouldering gem, and the other group cleaned and carried the ropes. Two canyons in one day. Lots of fun.

Day Three: Down the top half of Ryder Canyon, which was first descended a few months ago. I was actually the fifth person to descend this canyon. One big rappel and a lot of wonderful hiking. Halfway down there is the exit, which three of our group opted to take. The other three headed down Lower Rider to the Colorado--a really gorgeous and fun hike. But we were running out of daylight so high-tailed it back, moving very quickly--actually covering the same ground in 45 minutes going upcanyon that took us an hour going down. We managed to hit the foreboding exit with a little daylight left: a steep and exposed 1000-foot climb over about 1/4 of a mile with constant exposure and scree/loose talus footing. I would not want to do that in the dark, although we had headlamps in case of emergency. Great day.

Day Four: The group was thinning and most went to hike Cathedral Wash, which has a glowing reputation. I decided to take on Seven-Mile Canyon and was joined by Sonny L., a recently retired prison psychiatrist, which gave us all sorts of interesting things to talk about. This turned out to be another very nice canyon down to the Colorado River, then hiking up and along the treacherous rockfall bank to the next canyon to exit, where we saw a mountain goat hopping gracefully above us. Just enough exposure and elevation to keep your attention. But a great trip, followed by a long drive home.

The weather was cooperative--it got down to 21 degrees one night, but no rain or snow the entire four days and I was warm and cozy in my tent. I had to pound down thousands of calories to keep my body warm during the day (in the water especially) and energized enough to make the climbs out. Met some fun and interesting people, shared a campfire and stories at night and was enraptured by the beauty of the area.

Also, some pictures from other folks--much better than mine:
GC Day 1
Badger/Jackass Loop
Ryder Canyon
Seven-Mile Draw
Rider Canyon
Badger/Jackass Canyons
Rider Canyon
Badger/Jackass Canyon Loop (from Ram)

Random Thoughts

2009-02-07T16:57:00.007-07:00

Today in the grocery store the girl at the checkout asked me: "Did you find everything?" I immediately replied: "I wasn't looking for everything." There's a little devil in me, I know, that has been finding language absurdities everywhere I look lately. For instance, take a look at the photo of a sign I saw in Trolley Square which conjured up all sorts of interesting ideas and imagery. That Harold has one twisted sense of humor.

On a more serious note, Rebecca and I were both struck by something we heard in church last week. Someone told a story of a poor young island boy who gave his schoolteacher a gift of a beautiful seashell. "Thank you so much," she said. "It's so lovely. Where did you get it?" "On the other side of the island," the boy replied. The teacher, realizing what a long journey on foot that must have been for him, said: "You didn't have to go all that way to get me a seashell." The boy replied simply: "Long walk part of gift."

Cereal News

2009-01-28T22:56:00.004-07:00

Three interesting things I learned tonight while eating a bowl of organic flax flakes with almond milk and reading the New York Times:

1. The "crack baby" scare proved unfounded. Turns out that pregnant women smoking crack doesn't really do permanent damage to the kids. Resilient devils, I've always said. While crack babies tend to be born smaller, they catch up in a few years. But research results on permanent effects are inconclusive. It should be noted that despite the lack of hard evidence against crack smoking while pregnant, no one appears to be recommending the practice, with the possible exception of crack dealers.

2. Although teen pregnancies have increased in recent years, teen sex is actually on the decline. According to the National Youth Risk Behavior Study, 48% of high school students have had sex, compared with 54% in 1991. And the improvement gets more pronounced with younger teens, although the data is not regularly updated. This is in sharp contrast to public perceptions, sensationalized by popular media, that there is a teen sex epidemic raging out of control. Now 48% is still a pretty high number, but the trend is certainly worth noting. And now I'm very curious as to why.

3. Babies instinctively put stuff in their mouths because it's good for them. It turns out that one of the best things for kids is to eat a little dirt, which strengthens the immune system and decreases the chances of future diseases. Dirt contains millions of organism and, most important, tiny worms. I know it sounds crazy, but scientists are attributing the elimination of intestinal worms in developed countries to increases in diabetes, asthma, allergies, Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis. Three small fixes: Encourage your kids to play in the dirt, don't scold them when they stick yukky stuff in their mouths, and don't make them wash their hands before they eat.

Actually, I learned a few other things as well, but they didn't seem as profound. For instance, four-legged animals walk left rear foot first, then left front, right rear and right front, but about half the illustrations in books, manuals, etc. show this incorrectly. Not really sure what to do with that. Or this one: Tanzania's government recently banned traditional healers (witch doctors) in an attempt to stop the killing of albinos for medicine. To help combat common myths and prejudices, the prime minister has nominated an albino woman for parliament and adopted an albino child.

All the news that's fit to print.

Mind Games

2009-01-23T08:04:00.003-07:00

I just read about a new game from Mattel that requires you to move a foam ball with your mind waves, by concentrating upon it. This is very, very cool. And suprisingly affordable at $80. It will be out next September.

The Mattel game is powered by concentration. I am very eager to play it, but dreadful at the same time. Intense concentration has never been my strong suit. Even in chess, which at one time I played passably, my talent was to be able to very rapidly visualize a sequence of moves. I fear that I will not be able to hold my concentration for long, and any ruse of intelligence that I have been perpetuating over the course of my life will be immediately exposed as my foam ball rests motionless.

I recently reread Ender's Game, one of the few science fiction novels I've read and the only one I've really liked. Written almost 25 years ago, it describes the battlegrounds of the future, led by adolescent (or, in Ender's case, pre-adolescent) commanders. And it strikes me, as I read about the Mattel game, that conflicts may well become mind games of sorts, and in that situation, youth would likely prove more adaptable.

But that's a diversion. The idea that you can move stuff with your mind was a parlor trick made famous by Israeli entertainer Uri Geller in the 70's. He did it on television, and lacking the skepticism of adulthood I thought it was mystifying and magical. (Years later I saw Uri Geller perform live at a corporate gathering and was embarassed by his silly and transparent "mentalist" tricks.)

That may well be another diversion. I'm not sure. You see, I'm having a hard time concentrating. Game on.

Life is like Music

2009-01-13T09:57:00.001-07:00

Cool thought for the day.

Very good career advice.

Creative Grandparenting

2009-01-12T23:33:00.004-07:00

I just ran across this exchange from an old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon and it inspired all sorts of grandparenting ideas:

Calvin: Dad, how come old photographs are always black and white? Didn’t they have color film back then?

Dad: Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs are in color. It’s just the world was black and white then.

Calvin: Really?

Dad: Yep. The world didn’t turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.

Calvin: But then why are old PAINTINGS in color?! If the world was black and white, wouldn’t artists have painted it that way?

Dad: Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.

Freezefest 2009

2009-01-09T23:39:00.008-07:00

Last year I had planned to join a group of like-minded intrepid canyoneers in Freezefest 2008, but sprained an ankle in an Arizona canyon just after Christmas AND caught the flu, so sickly and hobbling on New Years Eve, I unfortunately had to pass. This year I was determined to go.

Freezefest is an annual canyoneering event (seventh year) held in North Wash and attended by a group of diehard canyoneers who are willing to brave the cold to enjoy the rigors of winter canyoneering. We all stayed in the unofficial Sandthrax campground, which has no services, although there is an outdoor toilet five miles down the road.

The centerpiece of the event is always a descent of The Black Hole on New Years Day. The Black Hole is one of the wettest canyons around and involves nearly constant wading, numerous long swims and, during this time of the year, the need to manage a couple of inches of ice atop many of the channels. (There are a few ways to manage this--try to walk the ice and hope it doesn't break, belly crawl the ice, or let the lead canyoneer serve as an ice-breaker, busting off huge floating sheets that the followers must push around the force their way through.)

I undertook the venture with some trepidation, concerned that I would be uncomfortably cold spending hours in icewater. Of the thirteen in our group that did the trip, about half had dry suits, and the rest of us neoprene wet suits. And as it turned out, it wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was a blast.

We did other canyons as well: Woody and Woodsie on Dec. 31st. And on Jan. 2nd we descended Cheesebox, another notoriously wet canyon which was also snow-covered. It was often a challenge climbing down these ice-covered canyon walls, swimming and wading through icy channels and hiking through snow, but these added degrees of difficulty actually enhanced the pleasure of the experience.

All in all, I had a terrific time. The group was great, sharing food and gathering around a fire every night. (One of the fun parts about being in the cold is that you must consume an extraordinary amount of calories to stay warm. Everyone ate a lot.) I made a number of new friends that I expect to join in canyons again. During the three days I descended four new canyons and was grateful for the opportunity to see southern Utah wilderness in conditions not often experienced.

I realize that most people would never do something like this because it sounds crazy and uncomfortable. After all, it is called Freezefest. Despite this, if they conquered their fears and tried it, I think most folks would be pleasantly surprised at how much fun it is, despite the cold. I think many things in life are like that.

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
The angels are all in heaven, but few of the fools are dead."
---James Thurber

Randi's Photos

Cell Phone Risks

2008-12-24T08:10:00.002-07:00

This just in: Looks like cell phone usage significantly increases the risk of brain cancer, based on results from the largest-ever study of the subject. This issue has been floating around for some time, part of the larger concern about electromagnetic radiation from all manner of electronics, from power lines to microwaves, computer monitors and electric blankets.

Scientists continue to debate exactly how electrical low frequencies (EMF) affect our systems. Kurzweil has warned against these for years, and recommended an airtube attachment for cell phones that moves the phone further from your brain. It doesn't look any more geeky to me than any other wired earpieces.

Just one more thing to think about. Or, if your brain fries, to not think about it.

Randy Cooke 1957 - 2008

2008-12-18T12:36:00.010-07:00

My friend Randy died this week. We were inseparable growing up. As a ten-year-old I moved down the street from him and we both knew immediately we'd found kindred spirits. We were bright and adventurous and together we rollicked our way through adolescence. As kids we played ball together, wrestled, made up games, watched TV and had countless sleepovers. In junior high we listened to the same music, developed the same taste in girls and together discovered a great love for the outdoors.

We loved to go camping--never at campgrounds, but out in the country and away from people and civilization. I couldn't count the number of nights we slept in our little pup tent, cooking our food over a fire and talking about all the things that seemed so profoundly deep and important in our blossoming youth. We remained close in high school, although we both found other friends. But we grew our hair long, did crazy things and read the same books--everything we could find by Carlos Castaneda, Kurt Vonnegut, Herman Hesse and others.

After graduation our lives diverged and over time we lost touch, I think partly because it was so painful to recognize we'd grown apart--that we no longer had common ground, the terra firma of our friendship that had made growing up tolerable. So for many years we rarely spoke, which I now regret deeply. But he came to the funerals of of both my parents, which I greatly appreciated, although in the bustle we hardly had time to talk.

Then, the last time I was in Duluth, I felt inspired to look him up. We got on the phone and immediately it was like no time had passed, no signs of the awkwardness I had feared. We quickly made plans to see each other and one Saturday morning I sat down to one of his delicious omelettes and delightful conversation with him and Mary Jo. In showing me a short cut back to Duluth Heights we were close enough to my destination that I invited him to come meet my family, which he did. I was as pleased to show them off to Randy as I have ever been in my life. We all chatted a while, but were headed out of town and had to leave. We hugged, and that's the last time I saw him.

Randy didn't have a computer (or a cell phone!) but I wrote him a few times in the past year--real letters that arrive with a stamp from a uniformed mailman. Then I heard from Mary Jo that he was sick with cancer and things weren't looking good. So I called and we spoke, and for the past few weeks I have called while he was home alone during the day and we've relived the bittersweet memories of our youth.

Randy was a unique spirit. He had a style of walking and talking that was distinctive and memorable--like a throwback to our hippie days, but embedded with a bemused kindness. I used to kid him that he had what Vonnegut once described as echolalia--as he would often repeat the last word of the sentence you had just spoken. It seemed to me a pleasant affirmation and a charming quirk.

I always admired the fact that he followed his moral compass with a navigator's precision. We may not have agreed on many things but it would never occur to me to question his personal integrity. He did what he thought was right in a matter-of-fact and unassuming way, a rare example of discipline and fortitude. He kept the same job for 27 years, and moved so he could walk to work. After his diagnosis, but when he was still able, he fixed up everything in the house, replacing appliances and putting things in shape for Mary Jo.

Like me, Randy never lost his love for the outdoors, and had developed a passion for kayaking. (He told me that one of the hardest things was putting up the kayaks, knowing it was for the last time.) Randy had also become a fine cook and a talented gardener and landscaper. He was a great companion to Mary Jo, his life-long love. He was a steady and reliable brother to his siblings. And he was, in the beginning and the end, my friend.

The world has lost someone that made it a better place. He will be missed.

Too Many Shoes

2008-12-14T09:56:00.004-07:00

I've never considered myself much of a clothes hog. And especially as I've gotten older I've become less and less concerned with what I wear. But my Christmas present this year (which I chose and ordered before telling Rebecca what she was getting me) was a new pair of Columbia winter boots--great for hiking, snowshoeing and even standing around in the snow. They are waterproof, with Goretex and Thinsulate, and claim to be able to keep your feet warm in temperatures as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. I was very excited to receive them.

That is, until I went to put them on my shoe shelf. There was hardly space, and I was immediately embarrassed at how many pairs of shoes I have accumulated over the years. Many are functional shoes--my 5.10 Canyoneers, a rugged pair of hiking boots, a light pair of hikers, climbing shoes, cross-trainers, two pairs of running shoes, a pair of trail runners, soccer cleats (worn about once a year at the Turkey Bowl, two pairs of water shoes (one new, one very old), basketball shoes and a couple of pair of beater tennis shoes (both at least 10 years old).

I also have nine pairs of dress shoes, some over 15 years old (which have been resoled at least twice), cowboy boots, two pairs of dressy casual shoes and four pairs of very casuals, one of which is totally beat up but work great when slippers don't quite do the trick. And speaking of slippers, I also have two pairs of those. And one pair of hand-me-down Adidas sandals, of unknown origin, which I almost never wear.

If my math is correct, and I haven't missed any, that's 34 pairs of footwear. However, I am pleased to report that I do not own any moccasins (except that pair I use for costumes--oops, 35). OK, but I don't have golf shoes (yet, as I haven't gotten old enough to switch to golf). And I refuse to count my snowboarding or ski boots, so the count holds at 35.

Anyway, upon reflection, I am aghast at my podalic indulgence, and hereby relinquish all rights to criticize anyone for their excessive wardrobes.

World Wide Web

2008-12-12T00:57:00.007-07:00

Even though I got no feedback on my always excellent and universally acclaimed movie recommendations ;-), I will nevertheless proceed with websites that have intrigued, amused or otherwise titillated me in the past week. I hope you have the time to kill, because be warned, you're jumping down a wormhole.

Movie Cliches: These are so true, they're hilarious.

Planetbook: Free downloads of a wide selection of classic literature. How cool is that, I mean for the price?

Squashed Philosophers: For those of us that no longer want to devote the time to read Descartes' Meditations again, or Plato's Republic--the Squashed (condensed) and even the "Very Squashed" versions. Handy.

Collected Quotes of Albert Einstein: If I need to explain this site, you won't appreciate the content. And if that doesn't give you your fill of Einstein, read this excellent essay by the big-brained one.

Prince Randian: Moving to the weird, twisted and bizarre. Click on this the next time you find yourself whining. Then click on the Futility Closet home page and read until you marvel that you could waste so much time on such useless stuff.

A Class Divided: This is a fascinating and frightening Frontline special on a discrimination experiment. Written about in Blink, as I recall.

The Ancient World: If you like this kind of stuff (and I totally do) you can really kick it on this site and still feel remarkably good about your use of time.

Wonders and Marvels: Curious history in a well-done, academic blog. I subscribe to the RSS. Check out these fascinating entries on midwifery and childbirth, then dig around the topics on your own.

Playdough Cookies: For some inexplicable reason, I really want to make these.

Sidewalk Chalk: If you haven't seen this sidewalk chalk, you absolutely must check it out. Amazing!

The 100 Best Novels: Can't help myself--I love these lists. They always inspire me to want to read them all. (Which is easier and less challenging than actually reading all of them. Do the squashed versions count?)

Human World: I am a total junkie for fascinating but useless information, the sum of which is absolutely no greater than its parts. In fact, perhaps it is less, which would be a mathematical oddity, I think.

White Christmas: Tell me this doesn't remind you of Mixed Nuts!

Stumbleupon: The source of much of my entertainment. No one needs another toolbar. But the pay-off in unusual repositories of information and other oddities is worth the real estate on your screen, at least for a week or two. But beware--download this app and you're in the matrix too.

Recommendations

2008-12-08T21:19:00.004-07:00

I've had a bit of insomnia lately so have been spending idle time late at night watching movies and cruising the web. And consequently, I've generated a few recommendations that are definitely not for everyone, but have kept me pleasantly entertained.

Mongol--I've mentioned this before, but if you haven't picked it up on DVD, you should. The story of a young Ghengis Khan, with a very authentic feel to it. In Mongolian, by a Russian director.

Himalaya--In the same vein, although without the battle scenes, Himalaya is a 1999 film shot in Nepal that tells a touching story about a nomadic people and the clash between the ancient religious traditions and the skepticism of the young. The film is absolutely gorgeous, just beautifully shot. Further, director Eric Valli used only local tribespeople instead of actors, who do a very credible job and add to the powerful realism of the experience. If you've got a big HD screen this is a must-see. If not, you'll still likely be enthralled by the authentic view of the culture and a vanishing people.

Film noir classics, both from 1950--The Asphalt Jungle, a classic John Huston film with a terrific crew of talented actors, including James Whitmore, Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe and even a young Marilyn Monroe in a bit part. Also, The Third Man, a Graham Greene screenplay starring Orson Welles. Both well done black & white film noir from the end of a great movie era.

Going way back--Again, these aren't for everyone, but if you want to try something different, watch Buster Keaton in The Cameraman. Really unbelievably good physical comedy. The General is also a tale well-told with some great Keaton stunts. I also watched Steamboat Bill Jr., but didn't like that as much. All silent films from the '20's. An early talkie is German director Fritz Lang's M,a 1931 classic starring Peter Lorre that has aged exceptionally well. This movie is way ahead of its time and features extraordinary camerawork and creativity by Lang, along with an intense story and biting social commentary. Really a powerful film, if you like old movies.

Enough for now. By the way, I've been getting most of these from my local public library, just a few blocks from home. They have an eclectic collection of DVD's. Also CD's, with some decent jazz, blues, gospel, folk, classical, obscure R&B, weird pop and even acid rock. Oh, and they have a lot of books, too.

Funky website recommendations to come later.

Hadephobia

2008-12-04T18:43:00.005-07:00

As far as anxiety disorders go, is this a bad one? A good one?

Would you avoid going to church to keep from developing it? If you did get it, would you go to church more often to overcome it?

Would it be a mistake to treat this with medication?

So many things for me to wonder.

My Friend Randy

2008-11-23T16:07:00.009-07:00

I spoke to my childhood best friend the other day. His wife sent me a letter and said he had been trying to get in touch with me. (He only had my ClearPlay business card.) So I called him right away, only to find out he is dying of stomach cancer. Already bedridden, and with an evacuation tube, daily hospice care and morphine shots to ease the pain. Not good.

We spoke for a long time, reminiscing about our adventures growing up. We both spent a lot of time outdoors and we tried to remember many of our trips. We used to love to go downtown and visit the Army-Navy store, where we would gaze longingly at the cool camping supplies. We bought a lot of our own equipment, saving our money for sleeping bags, backpacks, mess kits and some very manly Rambo-like knives. And on weekends we would load up and camp, sometimes on islands in Minnesota lakes, sometimes out near his brother's place in Wrenshall, and once in -30 degree weather when we snow-shoed out to some beaver dams, and spent the night doing push-ups in our sleeping bags to keep from freezing to death. We have both maintained our love for the outdoors, and in that regard I guess my friendship with Randy was one of the more influential relationships of my life.

When I was last in Duluth I visited him and Mary Jo, his companion of 25 years (they were finally married last August). Randy made me a wonderful breakfast and we visited for a couple of hours before driving over to Tim's, where he met the family. My kids were immediately struck by his distinctive style in speech and movement, something that had changed little since we were in high school.

I asked him on the phone about insights from this experience. I suppose it was a stupid question, but I was genuinely curious about his perspective. His response was classic: "Well, except for the dying part, it's been great." What he meant was that he'd experienced a great outpouring of love, some from unexpected sources. He's been touched by that.

It was good to talk to him, and I'll call him again tomorrow. I sense there isn't much time left and I have a few things that I'd like to say. Plus a little surprise for him, which I have been working on this weekend. I've been fiddling with a screenplay for the past few years. I had named the lead character Randy, after my old friend, although I had never shared it with him. So I am going to finish the latest draft tonight and send it to him. It's a small thing, but I think he'll enjoy it.

One just never knows what is around the bend on life's road.

More Canyons

2008-11-16T22:22:00.002-07:00

I had a great couple of days canyoneering this weekend. North Wash is terrific in November, when it is dry, and we were blessed with almost perfect weather. I was joined by Dave Jarvi, Russ Nelson and a new friend, Craig Crow. None of us had met Craig before, and his presence was a little unusual. He had read a post of mine in a canyoneering forum asking about North Wash conditions and mentioning that I was heading there. He asked if he could go along. In some circles this might be considered a faux pas, or at least socially awkward. It is less so in the canyoneering community, and after talking to him on the phone, I invited him to join in. And yes, he had a very different background than the rest of the group. But he was an able canyoneer, an intelligent and thoughtful conversationalist and a great team member. We all enjoyed getting to know him and having him along.

We drove down very early Friday morning and squeezed and shimmied through West Leprechaun, which is even skinnier than East Lep. After some shredded clothes and a few canyoneering lessons for Russ, we finished in good time and headed to Merry Piglet, a recently "discovered" canyon that proved to be a fun and interesting way to top off our day. For dinner I made a teriyaki noodle and tuna dish with fresh vegetables and we gorged ourselves and sat around the fire talking mostly politics, which was surprisingly stimulating and not vituperative in the least.

We got an early start Saturday morning and descended Constrychnine, which I had done a year ago with Angelica and Lanee. But I had forgotten what a beautiful canyon it is, and we all marveled at the magnificent rappels, although a few hearts beat rapidly staring down the 190 foot drop. Still, we made good time through the canyon, grabbed an early dinner at Stan's in Hanksville and were back home before 8:00 o'clock Saturday night.

I really can't think of a better way to spend a couple of days.

Tracking the Flu

2008-11-13T00:26:00.008-07:00

How cool is www.google.com/flutrends? OK, maybe it's not the most robust site you've run across. But gee, the innovative principles behind it just grab me. Here's the deal: Google tracks flu-related search requests by geography. Based on the empirically-supported theory that there is a high correlation between these requests and actual cases of flu, the site then reports which states are having the highest incidences at any given time.

Now I'm guessing that back in the early days of search no one would have anticipated this application. It's certainly not mainstream. But it is part of this inexorable march of data, tying together various sources, making us better informed, often in real time. Cool, but getting kind of scary.

Identity Thieves in Action

2008-11-08T06:59:00.003-07:00

In the past few weeks I have been receiving cryptic calls from an organization going by NRC for a Wayne Aho, first asking me to call, then telling me it was for a bad debt. Finally I called them back, but only got a voice mail. I left the message that I was not aware of any bad debt and if they wanted they could mail me the information. I left my address. (Probably a dumb idea, but it's all in the phone book and seemed innocuous.)

The calls kept coming. Now saying there was a "huge claim." I called again, and spoke to "Jesse." I explained that my name was not Wayne Aho. Jesse then asked for the last four digits of my social security number "for confirmation." I refused to give the information. She hung up on me.

So I called back and asked why she hung up. She replied very brusquely that "We are doing a background check. Are you ready to cooperate?" I said that no, I wasn't going to give any information until I found out what this was all about. She said: "Fine, I've got another call." Then she hung up again.

Identity thieves. I was angry, so reported them to the Consumer Protection Agency, the FTC and the Utah Attorney General. They confirmed my suspicions--that this was a common scam. So common that unless they get a bunch of complaints about the same outfit they don't bother to follow-up.

The world's a dangerous place when thieves can prowl about so openly. I'd rather take my chances with Ali Babba.

What me Worry?

2008-11-06T10:41:00.002-07:00

I was morose on election night as the results rolled in, and I remained in that state through much of Wednesday. I'm depressed because Obama won. But the fact is, I would be just as depressed had McCain won. Politics always bring me down. And beyond the inevitable mismanagement of the economy, I don't like the fact that millions of Americans voted for Obama because he is black man with a silver tongue. Like much of the country, I think it's kind of cool that only 54 years after Brown vs. The Board of Education we would elect an African-American president. I just wish we would have elected one that was qualified, and not a one-term senator with a scanty legislative resume and an unimpressive record of always running with the Democratic pack.

And now that it's happened I'm petrified of the havoc that will be wrought by the Democratic phalanx across the federal front. I'm also very concerned about the economy, which is broken ever so badly, and about to get worse, not only because of the Democrats, but because of the hole that Bush dug, which may become inescapable once Social Security and Medicaid spending takes off in a couple of years.

I'm worried about what we're spending in Iraq, and more worried about how we might squander the good things we have accomplished there. I'm worried about what's coming in health care. I'm worried about the accelerated transformation of our culture and values. I'm really worried about the country's loss of geopolitical clout, especially with bad guys like China, Russia and a host of others flexing their muscles. I'm worried about the country decaying from within, like Rome two millenia ago.

I'm worried that one day we will wake up alarmed and realize that our time is up, that the snooze button no longer works, that it's a new day in America and the forecast is for rain and storms.

Maybe I worry too much.

A Dog's Life

2008-10-30T22:04:00.000-06:00

Sibling Marriage?

2008-10-30T16:52:00.001-06:00

I just read this in Forbes:

Two British sisters who have lived together all their lives have lost their battle to avoid paying inheritance tax when one of them dies. Joyce and Sybil Burden, ages 90 and 82, had asked the European Court to give them the same tax rights as married or gay couples. They own their home jointly, and when one dies the other will be unable to pay the inheritance tax and will have to move out. But the court turned down the final appeal.

"We are struggling to understand why two single sisters in their old age, whose only crime was to choose to stay single and look after their parents and aunts, should find themselves in such a position in the U.K. in the 21st century," the Burdens said in a statement.

If gay marriage and its associated rights become broadly legal it creates some sticky moral problems. Let's assume there are financial benefits to marriage--particularly tax benefits, but others as well--insurance, etc. Doesn't this open the floodgates to more marriages of convenience? And what of the two sisters above? Any reason why they couldn't find a connubial solution to their problem, assuming the government would sanction such a thing? And after all, how could we possible discriminate against these two individuals because they happen to be sisters? To each his own, right? Isn't that the gay marriage argument? Don't impose your values on me?

I think this is leading to a time when there is no government-sanctioned marriage at all. The economic issues disappear. (And gladly, so do divorce courts.) There can still be marriage, but it is all ecclesiastical, or whatever you prefer. Nothing is legally binding. There could still be legal parental responsibilities, but not to a husband or wife, unless specifically bound by contract.

Is there any other ultimate solution? How else do we rationalize keeping anyone that pleases from financially motivated marriages, even sisters?

Co-ed Canyoneering

2008-10-28T05:28:00.001-06:00

I spent the weekend in North Wash canyons with Bruce Cummings, Lanee and four of her college friends (including Quincey Cummings). Bruce and I arrived early and tackled Monkey Business. We were later joined by the girls for East Leprechaun, Morocco and Adobe Swale. The weather was perfect, with days in the 70's and nights in the high 30's. We had a terrific time.

I really enjoy introducing people to canyoneering. Not everyone falls in love with it, but almost everyone is wowed by the experience. It is fun to see them squeeze through canyons that have an unworldly narrowness; to watch them learn to chimney high above the canyon floor, and stem over areas too narrow to walk through. I enjoy seeing the fear in their eyes as they lean over their first rappel, and the smiles as they gradually build their confidence. We weren't in any water this trip, but it's always a thrill to watch people swim with full packs--something they never imagined doing, sometimes down narrow channels, or to hear them gasp when the water is so cold it takes your breath away, causing them to paddle frantically towards the exit. And I'm thrilled when newcomers really enjoy the beauty of these remote and rugged canyons, taking delight in the artistically sculpted red sandstone and the sheer cliffs rising a thousand feet straight up, natural wonders rarely experienced by most people.

Bruce is a natural, and showed a great desire to learn, which is actually pretty unusual. It was a treat having him, not only because he has always been good company, but because he picked things up quickly and helped with the others. And the girls were impressive as well. They were up for every challenge with a fun and upbeat spirit of adventure. They were tireless canyoneers, never once complained about a single thing and helped out in every way asked. But most important, they seemed to really enjoy it. I couldn't have asked for more from a new group.

I love being in canyons. And I love sharing the experience even more.

Equal Time

2008-10-13T00:09:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know I said I was leaning left. I still am, but not without significant reservations. So in the interest of equal time, here are my ten reasons why I would have to grit my teeth and close my eyes while voting for Barrack Obama:

1. Not only is Obama inexperienced on foreign policy, the military and the economy, he doesn’t even know Washington very well. He’s a newbie there, who has spend much of his tenure campaigning. This could be Jimmy Carter Part Deux.

2. It’s not just that Obama’s a liberal, it’s that he’s a raging liberal. He blindly follows his party 100% of the time. I hate that from Democrats and Republicans alike. I respect an independent thinker, with either a liberal or a conservative bent.

3. I can’t stand Joe Biden. I think he’s the worst of what Washington does to people. Biden is a politician’s politician. I’m not sure he has a sincere bone in his body.

4. Obama’s oft-trumpeted “tax cut” to 95% of America’s working families is a sham, and this is the centerpiece of his campaign promises. Forty percent of Americans don’t pay taxes. In fact, the bottom half of tax-paying households have an average tax rate of only 3%. Obama’s plan is to give those that don’t pay taxes a “refundable tax credit,” which is really just a welfare check. This means those that pay the most taxes already will pay more to give money to those that don’t pay taxes. It's been estimated that in three years these "tax cut" checks to non-taxpayers could by four times the current cash welfare outlays. Is that what we want? And by the way, that top 1% of taxpayers that he wants to hammer, they account for 22% of the total income, but pay 40% of the total tax bill (2006 data). But Obama insists that them paying more is only “fair.” This is not only bad for the economy, it’s personally repulsive to me. (You Ayn Rand fans should be cheering me on about now.)

5. He wants to increase taxes on business. This has always been bad for the economy, and the economy needs help now more than ever.

6. Obama wants increased regulation. Again, this is almost always bad for the economy. Besides, it’s more than a little late for regulation to fix the mortgage lending crisis. I mean really, who is going to be stupid enough to invest in derivative contracts now without knowing exactly what they are getting? Who is going to trust a hedge fund? The market got spanked for playing fast and loose, and a lot of investors lost badly. They won’t make the same mistake twice. So regulation will just end up creating unnecessary bureaucracy that will surely have negative unanticipated consequences.

7. He, along with the Democratic Party, will push hard for national health insurance. This will be a disaster. Medicare is a disaster. Obama’s been drinking from Hillary’s Kool-Aid, which Michael Moore spiked with fantasy and blind, raging liberalism.

8. Obama wants to spend more on foreign aid. First, we don’t have the money. And second, I’m tired of trying to buy everyone’s friendship. I’m fine with sending food and medicine to countries that can’t afford to take care of their own, but I don’t think we’re getting our money’s worth from the many billions we currently dole out. Did you know we give over $4 billion to Egypt and Israel? What’s up with that?

9. Obama's campaign promises will result in rampant, uncontrolled spending (unless the Blue Dog Democrats stop the madness, which would be cool). Have any voters considered the cost of national health insurance, increased foreign aid, energy investments, etc. while we lower taxes as the economy crumbles? Yes, we’ll start to ramp down spending in Iraq. But it’s not nearly enough to fund what he is promising. This would be deficit spending going from bad to bonkers, especially when the Baby Boomers start retiring in 2011.

10. I am fearful of Obama’s potential impact on the Supreme Court. Like most of his Democratic cohorts, Obama appointees will have a liberal judicial philosophy. I think that’s dead wrong. The brilliance behind our constitution was that the legislative branch creates laws and the judicial branch rules on them. We get into deep trouble when we let the Supreme Court decide what they think the Founding Fathers might have done if they were alive today. We get into even deeper trouble when we look to international law for guidance. I’ve read the arguments to the contrary, and acknowledge the Brown vs. The Board of Education was an important liberal ruling. Still, elected officials should make laws. Period.

Bonus Point: I don't like the idea of one party controlling the administration, House and Senate. It's too easy to make mischief. One of the beauties of the two-party system is that it's almost impossible to get new laws passed in Washington. That's a good thing.

I have only the hope that once elected Obama is smart enough not to do all the stupid things he promised to attract voters. Did I just say that? Wow, that is a sad commentary.

New on DVD

2008-10-10T13:44:00.000-06:00

Two DVD's that I have previously written about that are recently available and definitely worth watching: The Visitor and Young at Heart.

The Visitor was one of my favorite movies at Sundance last year. A big slow-moving, but very engaging and thought-provoking film with outstanding performances. Young at Heart is the documentary about the aged choir that sings rock 'n roll. It's a thoroughly entertaining movie.

Enjoy.

Leaning to the Left!

2008-10-08T10:08:00.000-06:00

This is high anxiety for me. Despite his campaign rhetoric, Obama is as liberal as they come. And years of observation have instilled in me the convictions that liberals are bad for the economy, dangerous on several crucial social issues and all but useless in foreign affairs. Having said that, it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to support John McCain. Here’s why:

1. Obama’s quip was both funny and deadly accurate—at least one wheel is off the Straight Talk Express. I guess every politician faces the sad reality that you have to prostitute your convictions to get elected (see Mitt Romney). But I hoped McCain was different. He’s not.

2. I’ve always loved McCain’s genuine and repeated opposition to earmarks. But frankly, that’s dropped far down my list of critical issues facing our country. And on the environment, another less urgent issue but important to me personally, I have more confidence in a Democratic administration.

3. Three times McCain talked about the need for a firm hand on the tiller. (For those of you not schooled in military metaphors, that’s the stick in a plane’s cockpit that’s connected to the rudder.) No one in Washington would describe John McCain as a firm and steady hand. He’s sometimes nasty and often combative.

4. McCain is not a uniter, he’s a divide-and-conqueror. But he’s right about one thing, he’s been willing to take on his party. Because of that, neither Democrats nor Republicans like him. Can this be a recipe for effectiveness in Washington? I don’t think so.

5. He once killed a bill in the 11th hour that I had personally lobbied for because no one was willing to support his completely unrelated legislation regarding professional boxing reform. OK, that’s petty and personal. But it is only 10% of my reasoning, which seems like a fair ratio in a presidential election. (While I’m in the stupid rationale mode, let me pile on. McCain looks like an aging member of the Lollipop Guild from the Wizard of Oz.)

6. He’s 72 years old. Fine for religious leaders. Not so fine for presidents. Reagan was an effective president, but he slept through most of his second term.

7. Sarah Palin. The trophy wife of vice presidential candidates. I’d rather have Tina Fey.

8. “Let me tell you, my friends … “ If anyone ever calls you “my friend,” it almost certainly means that they are not. If they repeat it 20 times in a town hall debate ... I don't know, it just made me squirm.

9. Obama is smarter, more articulate and more presidential. Did the debate leave any doubt about that? This was a painful realization for me.

10. Character. I think Obama is a better man. I profoundly admire McCain’s military service, sacrifice and honor, but that was a long time ago. All things considered, Obama seems to have fewer character defects. Maybe it’s because he’s younger. I’m sure Washington will give him every opportunity to catch up.

So I'm leaning left and in danger of toppling. That's of little practical consequence, because (a) McCain will easily carry Utah, and (b) I think Obama will get close to 60% of the electoral votes. So my vote is more of a symbol and personal expression with little actual impact.

Feel free to weigh in, as that is how the political process should work. I might mention that I like both of their wives. In fact, I’d be more inclined to vote for a Michelle Obama/Cindy McCain ticket.

No Debate

2008-10-02T22:43:00.000-06:00

Suppose I had a job interview that went like this:

So Bill, what were your regrets at ClearPlay?

You know, there are always regrets. But you should have seen me at Pizza Hut. We did some great promotions ... Meatlovers Pizza, Cheeselovers Pizza, even a tie in with the Back to the Future movies. Everyone loves pizza. And I don't regret that a bit.

Why did you leave ClearPlay?

We all leave eventually, don't we? But during my tenure we got national distribution in Target and Best Buy, passed an act of Congress and doubled sales every year. You might be interested in my philosophy of managing people. Inspire them to do great things. I know it may sound corny, but (sniff, sniff) I believe in people.

What skills do you bring to the party?

You know, when I was a kid, we used to have birthday parties in my back yard. My mom would bake the cake from scratch. We'd reuse the candles until they were worn out. She grew up on a farm, and her brother Edwin had a crewcut. He married a woman whose cousin used to shoot pool down at Louie's. One time I met a guy named Louie while we were eating pie at a neighborhood diner. He asked me what I thought about the future. I'm sure he made less than a hundred thousand dollars a year. That's why I'm the right guy for this job.

How does your experience relate to this position?

I'm glad you asked me that. My experience will help me a lot, and when I get the job, you'll see that. I will increase revenue and lower costs. The stock price will skyrocket and morale will be really high. That's what this company needs and that's what I stand for. From what I know about the other candidates, they're against all of those things.

Uh, thanks. Do you have any questions for me?

I have a lot of questions. But the good news is, I have even more answers. I can promise you this--I'll have an answer to your marketing questions. I'll have an answer for your finance questions. And I'll even have an answer to your operations questions. If there's one thing I will bring to this position, it's answers. No question about that.

So, do you think I'd get the job?

My old boss David Novak used to say: "When it's great there's no debate." Well, no debate about that.

Body World

2008-09-30T22:29:00.001-06:00

Last week Rebecca, Sam and I went to the Body World Exhibit, one of several traveling exhibits that feature actual dead people that have had their skin removed and the rest of their body "plasticized" for our viewing pleasure. It's really quite startling to see these bodies in various poses, with exposed muscles and bones, along with brains and plenty of hearts, which was the theme of this particular edition.

I have never had a mind for science and have little patience for learning the physiological workings of the human body. But beyond being mesmerized by the total weirdness of the displays, I did pick up a few interesting tidbits:

1. Lance Armstrong has a resting heart rate of 32 beats per minute, vs. the average human of about 70. His heart is 30% larger than average, some of which is genetic, and some the result of training.

2. In ancient Egypt the heart was viewed as the seat of morality. It was the only organ united with the body after death. Having learned this, now a certain graphic in the Book of the Dead makes more sense to me.

3. Broken Heart Syndrome results from a toxic overload of stress hormones, which can cause a heart attack and death. This appealed to my inclinations towards romantic tragedy.

4. One hour after conception the zygote begins to divide and multiply, and eight hours after conception it has already created 1000 cells. Seeing actual fetuses in various stages of development in small jars impacted me more powerfully than anything else I saw. Each one felt like a tragic loss of innocent life.

5. Red blood cells transport oxygen to the system and remove carbon dioxide. They travel about 12,000 miles a day. 1800 gallons of blood flow through your body every day. There was a room that had about 35 55-gallon drums to illustrate how much blood goes through your system every day. It made me feel strangely bloated.

While I can't recall the details of how the thyroid works, or how the nerve system is attached, I did leave somewhat overwhelmed by the stunning complexity of the human body and in awe over the beauty of its functionality.

I'm glad we went. It's good to step outside your normal realm of learning, because you begin to realize how all knowledge and human experience are linked.

Television Drama

2008-09-26T03:18:00.001-06:00

I took the opportunity to watch the Congressional hearings on television. I'm fascinated by all of this--not just the nature of the crisis, which I can learn more about from the Wall Street Journal--but instead I am keenly interested in the hearings themselves. I like to see Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sitting in their very hot seats, fielding questions from Congressmen (and Congresswomen) who are desperately trying to wrap their minds around these very complex issues.

I've been to Congressional hearings before, even testified at them. Generally they are politically motivated and wholly lacking in substance. But these hearings are different. The stakes are high. The issues complex. And choosing sides is turning out to be much less partisan than usual. This is how government was meant to be--elected officials seeking to understand the issues, with the bureaucrats trying to explain why they, in concern for their country, are recommending this plan.

This reminds me of when I was in high school, spending hours watching the Watergate hearings. I can vividly recall Sentators Sam Ervin, who chaired the committee, along with rising star Howard Baker, Daniel Inouye and others, grilling John Dean, John Erlichman, J.R. Haldeman and others. It felt so very historic and important.

Years later I was fascinated by the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Robert Bork and then Clarence Thomas. Yes, these were much more political and partisan events. But still they both seemed like watershed moments in our history, particularly the Bork hearings which questioned the fundamental role of the Supreme Court.

You really have to watch these to appreciate them. Sound bites that you pick up on the news just aren't good enough. And the printed word fails to capture the dramatic tension of the moment. This is history in the making. It ought to get an Emmy.

Friends and Family

2008-09-21T21:15:00.000-06:00

My recent experience starting a new business has vividly illustrated for me the differences between friends and family. I have, by necessity, involved a number of my friends in this business. In many cases, these were business arrangements—they agreed to some work in exchange for something in return. In many others, I was simply inviting them to offer perspective and advice on various aspects of the concept.

The results have been generally disappointing. Tasks that were agreed to were either not completed or came in much later than committed. In other cases, invitations were completely ignored. And while I don’t completely understand the reasons for all of this, I am left with the conclusion that the ties that bind friendships fall significantly below other priorities, particularly when connected to businesses. Although this has been disheartening to me, I do not fault my friends. But it has been a learning experience.

In contrast, my family has been very supportive when asked. And I suppose that testifies to one of the great blessings of a family—-they will be there for you. No, not always doing what you asked. But when they sense a need—-and a justified one—you can count on them to do what they can. At least in my family. I’m thankful for that.

Palinphoria

2008-09-13T23:52:00.000-06:00

Is anyone else amazed at what a stroke of genius it was for John McCain to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate? Sure, there’s still a few months left for the whole thing to backfire. But in the meantime, she has absolutely revitalized his campaign and seized Obama’s momentum coming out of the Democratic National Convention.

Is she the most qualified person to be vice president? Surely not. (Although there’s something to be said for this country’s historical yearning for citizen legislators, and her profile is a lot closer than Joe Biden’s!) However, unless McCain dies in office, it doesn’t really matter. The VP job has never been very important in governing the country. Even John Adams recognized that, once remarking: "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."

So we marvel at the political rock star Palin has become, a status that politicians have always shamelessly coveted. But in this case, it’s not just good theater, it’s good strategy, because her parallels to the Obama story are so striking that she becomes unassailable to the other side. (Besides, who wants to pick a fight with a mother of five with a newborn Down Syndrome baby who has whipped the old-boy Republican establishment and whose husband wins sled-dog races? That just feels un-American!) And so while women scramble to dress like Sarah Palin and Lenscrafter sells out of her style of glasses, the Democrats plot and fume and decide that it’s now time to focus on the issues. Like what, um, that change is good? Heck, McCain and Palin have even trumped that one, and have convinced at least this voter that we’re likely to see more change from McCain/Palin than from Obama/Biden.

This is not an endorsement of John McCain, although I’m quite certain I will vote for him. It’s really more of an indictment of our political process. A month ago I didn’t think McCain had a chance. Then he picks a smart, spunky and charismatic small-town middle-class Alaskan mother for his team and suddenly America changes its mind about who should hold the most powerful job on the planet.

So if McCain wins in November, in 2012 is it Sarah vs. Hillary? Easy vote for me. I hate pant suits.

The Last Lecture

2008-09-07T09:32:00.000-06:00

Having heard so much about The Last Lecture I finally decided to read it. For those of you who might not have heard, author Randy Pausch was a computer science professor and virtual reality expert at Carnegie-Mellon University who at 46 years of age was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Carnegie-Mellon had for some time been holding a Last Lecture series—an invitation for academics to speak freely on subjects of their choice, vaguely conjuring up what they might say if this was the final opportunity to say it. Of course the irony for Pausch is that this in fact was his last lecture, which he entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” It is available on the Internet, and is an inspiring, engaging, humorous and insightful commentary on how Pausch tried to live his life. The book is his personal story, centered around the lecture and dealing with his final months.

I have spoken to a few friends who were dying or feared they were. Their perspectives intrigue me, and I have asked how the experience has changed their view of the world. Pausch’s response was not much different. Values change completely. Things/possessions/stuff are of almost no importance. People and relationships are everything.

Randy Pausch died on July 25th of this year, leaving behind a wife and three young children. His story is worth reading.

August Quotes

2008-09-06T01:05:00.000-06:00

I have always enjoyed quotations that make me think or feel or laugh, or that capture truths in a powerful way. I especially like quotes that remind me of principles I need to internalize or live better. I always have a quotation on my email, and this year I have tried to memorize them as I go along. I find having them at my disposal useful in conversation, teaching, speaking and writing. I've learned that a thought has more credibility if someone famous or dead (or both, ideally) said it before me. Here are a few from August.

"Those individuals have riches just as we say that we 'have a fever,' when really the fever has us."
--Seneca

"By the time you're eighty years old you've learned everything. You only have to remember it."
--George Burns

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
--Mahatma Gandhi

"May we live so that when that final summons is heard, we may have no serious regrets, no unfinished business."
--Thomas S. Monson

"A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than by fear ... If the employees come first, then they're happy."
--Herb Kelleher, Former CEO of Southwest Airlines

"It is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains."
--Thomas Huxley

"Always notice when you are happy."
--Kurt Vonnegut

"Imagination rules the world."
--Napoleon Bonaparte

"Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas."
--Paula Poundstone

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
--Dr. Seuss

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know."
--Abraham Lincoln

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion."
– Dalai Lama

"There are three kinds of men: Ones who learn by reading, a few who learn by observation, and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence to find out for themselves."
--Will Rogers

The Omnivore's Dilemma

2008-09-01T09:25:00.000-06:00

I realize that it’s rather audacious of me to recommend Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma to anyone (even though Rebecca recommended it to me). Given how extreme my views on diet have become, I might easily be suspected of trying to ram tofu and wheatgrass down your collective throats. Save your gag reflexes, as this is nothing of the kind. Omnivore’s Dilemma is neither an indictment of carnivores nor an endorsement of the organic movement. Rather, it is a fairly comprehensive and well-balanced look at what we eat and why we eat it.

The book opens with a treatise on corn. Americans eat a lot of corn. (More than Mexicans, the author notes.) Our meat is a product of corn, as is most of our sugar and at least some of almost every processed food. Pollan traces this extraordinary dependence to back to political decisions made during the Nixon administration that opened the floodgates for corn subsidies, which have lingered the past 40 years. As a result, we have quite frighteningly become the people of the corn. (For a related exploration of this topic, see the strange but entertaining 2007 documentary King Corn.)

In the balance of the book, Pollan provides a detailed, vivid and intimate contrast between factory farming and localized, traditional farming practices. As everyone knows, we get nearly all of our food from the former while the latter have become virtually extinct. The book explains why this has happened, the result of government policy, special-interest legislation, a growing population and free market dynamics. And so we are left with a food supply that has been processed for efficiency and profitability with little regard for anything else.

On close examination, the modern agricultural system seems almost surreal, a vicious circle that has left us with a dependence on chemical fertilizers and dangerous pesticides, which have led to depleted soil, watershed pollution, high petroleum requirements and tasteless produce, all propped up by government subsidies that mostly enrich large and profitable corporate enterprises. And we haven’t even started on meat processing, which is not only mildly repulsive, but environmentally devastating and terribly unhealthy by comparison. (For an interesting documentary film on factory agriculture--produce, fish, meat and dairy--see We Feed the World.)

What to do? Not to oversimplify, but perhaps the slow foods movement provides the most organized efforts in the right direction. But read the book. Even if it doesn’t change your life, it’s a fun read. After all, eating is our most primitive urge and at the core of our culture and society. It’s not a bad idea to consider the source.

A Very Dark Horse

2008-08-28T20:50:00.000-06:00

If nominated, I will not run.
If elected, I will not serve.

The Internet brings such curious power to the people.

In a Wiki

2008-08-27T08:24:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning I woke up and discovered I was a Wikipedia entry. (That line feels vaguely reminiscent of the opening of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, which goes something like this: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” And perhaps my initial reaction was not much different from Gregor’s.)

I have no idea how it got there—it looks like some web indexing. (I swear it wasn’t me!). But it picked up some general biographical data that was mostly accurate, some business background and even family info. I did fix the birth date, which was off by a year.

Once I recovered from the surprise, I began to diagnose this phenomenon. Have I become more important? Well, no. In fact, since leaving ClearPlay I’ve become less relevant in the world of business (CEO’s trump consultants any day). What then? And it came to me. Web 2.0 is not-so-gradually making us all public figures. Our privacy is ebbing away. The time is not far distant when virtually every public action that you take will be traceable, creating a vast library of online biographies free and open to the viewing public.

The Libertarian in me says take it down. But the devil known as Vanity says leave it up. In this case, I’ll neither stand on principle nor bend to temptation. But I will leave it up. With my new business, I could use the publicity.

Parties Having Parties

2008-08-25T07:25:00.000-06:00

Now that the Olympics are over and we have two weeks before real sports (i.e. football) starts the leaders of our country determined that citizens were in great danger of not having anything exciting to watch on television. Not being talented enough to create a good mini-series, and not interesting enough for Reality TV, they decided to hold political conventions. Yes, sadly, this is the best they could come up with.

You might ask why you should be glued to your TV set to watch the conventions. The answer is, you shouldn’t, because nothing important ever happens at conventions. No decisions are made. Everything is scripted, from alliteration to applause, from nuance to neckties. Neither candidate is going to say anything new. There are no policy shifts forthcoming. It is all a fait accompli. Yet on we watch, expecting that, what, someone might catch Barrack Obama making out with Hillary behind the curtain?

So why are Republicans and Democrats alike wasting countless millions just to throw a party? Well, first of all, it’s a cash machine. Taxpayers pony up the first $16.4 million to each party (doesn’t that stick in your craw a bit?). Further, each party sells virtually unregulated sponsorships to big business to the tune of over $100 million total. Yep, this is a big money venture—a fundraiser.

And of course, the second reason is the media, with over 15,000 members of the press covering each convention, taking careful notes, writing meaningless political drivel and passing on the most banal of broadcast commentary. Fortunately, even though these titans of journalism are mostly bloated and hungover from the free food and drink, reporting on the convention is a fairly easy process. (Hints: Obama is for change and McCain will indirectly suggest that Democrats are fighting a jihad led by a closet Muslim terrorist.) Besides the party hacks, the entire events are dominated by corporate sponsor suck-ups and disinterested journalists. As some clever pundit said: “The parasites have become the host.”

Yes, it’s a sad and broken system. It’s a tragedy is that one of these two parties gets to have a president. But even worse, there’s nothing else good on TV.

Lake Blanche

2008-08-24T01:22:00.000-06:00

Took a hike this afternoon to Lake Blanche, one of the most beautiful trails in the area. It's been several years since I've been up there, and I was once again reminded of why I love it so much. The first mile runs along a burbling creek. Then the climb gets steeper and rockier, with beautiful stands of large quaking aspens amidst rocky outgrowths and occasional large piles of oven-sized rocks where the mountain has given way. The mountain ash were full of orange berries, while raspberry bushes with leaves as big as my hand offered only a few berries left to eat.

Reaching the top offers a delightful reward, where several crystal clear mountain lakes are nestled under the watchful gaze of Sundial Peak. I made good time heading up--reaching the lakes in about an hour with a combination of running and fast-walking the three miles (and 3000 foot elevation gain). I rewarded myself with the most cold and refreshing swim I've had in years.

I'm continually reminded how stunning the Wasatch canyons are and what a blessing it is to have them in my own backyard.

Doping the Olympics

2008-08-19T19:58:00.000-06:00

I’m going to make a wild prediction. In 16 years, in the 2024 Olympics (and it might happen earlier), all manner of performance-enhancing drugs are going to be allowed in Olympic competition. And in fact, I think it’s the right move. Actually, it’s the only move that makes sense. Either that, or the Olympics will collapse under the weight of innuendo and suspicion.

Check out the article in Wired called “Cheats of Strength: 10 Next-Gen Olympic Doping Methods.” It’s frightening how many new methods are being developed to give athletes an artificial edge. No doubt many of these will be virtually undetectable.

And this is a curve that will accelerate faster than Usain Bolt. Nanotechnology will make available remarkably effective new processes such as cell replacement, gene reprogramming, red blood cell enhancements, etc. Trying to police these technologies is like cops playing catch-up to radar detectors—the best cheaters will always win, creating a perpetually imbalanced playing field. Further, it will present rather extraordinary ethical dilemmas. For instance, if it turns out that a certain myostatin can dramatically increase lean muscle mass, could an aspiring country breed athletes with high-myostatin insemination?

The IOC will have no choice but to throw in the towel and let the best dope win. In many cases, there will be no ill effects to the enhancements (in fact, quite the opposite, as research shifts from masking detection to reducing risks). Other means will present options: If someone wants to trade 10 years of their life for a shot at the gold, that’s a personal decision. Minors will probably be outlawed from competition, making the investment profile of enhancement a little less attractive. And record books will be rewritten, but as the Beijing Games have made clear, technology is doing that already.

This permissiveness will flow as well to professional sports across the world. So we will all quit worrying about testing and cheating and sit back and watch astounding acts of physical prowess, something between the traditional games of our youth and CGI.

Further, I’m guessing that somewhere around that time we’ll be able to enjoy absolutely life-like digital recreations of classic games from the Pre-Enhanced Era (PEE) on the big screen at home. Pick your teams, change the strategy, draft another player, etc. Then let them play it out. Your players will be programmed to perform exactly like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird et al. This will be where the gambling money will flow, because it will be better controlled and regulated. Fantasy Football on steroids. As opposed to the Olympics on steroids. You heard it here first.

Mongol

2008-08-13T22:10:00.000-06:00

Mongol was released in a few film festivals a year ago, and even got an Academy Award nom last year (Best Foreign Film), but just recently found its way to my local arthouse theatre.

The movie tells the story of a young Genghis Khan, the great 12-century Mongolian warlord. Admittedly, this is history with an asterisk. Most of the story is based on The Secret History of the Mongols, the oldest Mongolian literature extant, written as a tribute to Ghengis Khan after his death, and probably more heroic mythic poetry than historical fact. Despite these blurry lines, it is as good a foundation as any to tell the beginnings of the greatest conqueror in the world's history and one of its most intriguing leaders. And unlike many biopics, it also makes for a great story.

Mongol follows the young Temudjin (his given name) from birth through an extraordinarily challenging childhood, despite his favorable heritage (his father was a minor tribal chief). We see a surprisingly mature 10-year-old choose his wife (or, vice-versa really), witness his father's murder, and survive all manner of trials and tribulations with quiet determination and fortitude.

Growing into manhood, Temudjin uses his natural leadership talent and skill in combat to reap his revenge and begin assembling the army that would eventually conquer most of Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

This is an engaging film, beautifully crafted by veteran Russian director Sergei Bodrov. Shot on location in China, there is a rich, verdant oppressiveness to the settings, befitting the rugged outdoor life of the nomadic tribes. Spoken in Mongol with subtitles (and using Mongolian and Chinese actors), the films feels strangely authentic. The battles are orchestrated with grandeur and realism (and plenty of gore), reminiscent of Braveheart, giving the production a big-budget feel.

Rumor has it that this is the first of a trilogy Bodrov is planning on the life of Genghis Khan. That would be an ambitious undertaking and an extraordinary product. In any event, Mongol certainly is a painless way to take your history. Highly recommended.

My Personal Best

2008-08-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

John Wooden was the greatest athletic coach this country has ever seen. His UCLA basketball teams won 11 NCAA national championships. At one point, they had an 88-game winning streak. (As an aside, I remember as a kid in 1974 watching the game where the streak was broken. John Shumate and a young Adrian Dantley led Notre Dame to the historic victory.)

So looking for a little inspiration, I just read My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey, a short autobiography sprinkled with anecdotes about the principles he has learned. The man's bedrock character oozes from the pages. He's all about fundamentals, in basketball and life. And the principle he stresses most is one I have held deeply through all my years of coaching kids--winning or losing is not that important, but doing your best is everything.

He includes a little poem which is as profound as any I have read:

There is a choice you have to make
In everything you do.
So keep in mind that in the end
The choice you make, makes you.

Our character is a simple function of all the many choices we make (with the more recent ones counting for more, I think). And we make new ones all day every day. These choices define us.

I've read other books by and about John Wooden (They Call Me Coach is another classic). They are all quite a bit alike. And they are all great.

Enquring Minds Finally Know

2008-08-08T20:02:00.000-06:00

I'm going to resist the temptation to pile on recent Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who after months of vehement denial finally admitted to carrying on an affair in 2006 with a woman his campaign hired to film campaign videos. That wouldn't be fair. If all adulterers were sent off there would be a great vacuum of power in Washington, with not enough left to mount a filibuster. Corporate boards would adjourn without mustering a quorum. And Hollywood would be reduced to a ghost town. So I'll leave Mr. Edwards to the unfortunate consequences of getting caught, which Bill Clinton has ably demonstrated diminish over time given sufficient ego and charm.

But I will share a hearty laugh about the esteemed icon of investigative journalism that first broke the story--none other than The National Enquirer. Hmmm. Maybe I need to rethink the possibility that Elvis is cleaning carpets in South Dakota, or that there really is a Rottweiler that whistles Edelweiss.

July Quotes

2008-08-05T00:45:00.000-06:00

"What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention."
--Herbert Simon, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics

"Work as though you would live forever, and live as though you would die today."
--Og Mandino

"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity."
--Henry David Thoreau, Walden

"He who asks questions is a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask questions is a fool forever."
--Chinese Proverb

"I speak without exaggeration when I say that I have constructed three thousand different theories in connection with the electric light, yet only in two cases did my experiments prove the truth of my theory."
--Thomas Edison

"The more you know, the more you care."
--Sam Walton

"In twenty percent of the world's most primitive languages, the word for belief is the same as the word for do. It is only when people get more sophisticated that they begin to separate the meaning of one word for the other."
--From "Talent is Never Enough," by John C. Maxwell

"And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed."
--Dr. Seuss

"To know anything well involves a profound sensation of ignorance."
--John Ruskin

"There is a choice you have to make
In everything you do,
So keep in mind that in the end
The choice you make makes you.
--John Wooden, My Personal Best

"She's got gaps. I got gaps. Together, we fill the gaps."
--Rocky Balboa, talking about Adrian.

Fooled by Randomness

2008-08-02T01:37:00.000-06:00

Nissam Taleb is a former Wall Street trader with a cynical take on success in his industry. In fact, he believes that much of the success and failure in the market (and by extension, life in general) can be explained by randomness. To prove his point, his book Fooled by Randomness introduces an eclectic array of logical and philosophical support, from Hume’s argument against induction to the Turing Test to Popper’s theory on theories (which is that no theories can be proved true—there are only theories that have been proven false and theories which have yet to be proven false).

Despite Taleb’s rather arrogant and sometimes abrasive tone, Fooled by Randomness is an entertaining read. It struck me as a treatise on logic for our society, continually exposing the irrationality of many of our assumptions on life. And while he never leaves the financial world for too long, the sting of his arguments can be felt in other fields as well.

The whole randomness argument is keenly interesting and broadly relevant, although often counter-intuitive. Random variations account for quite a bit of financial success in our world, yet our society lauds those that have made money and assumes they possess some secret alchemy. On Wall Street, if the successful keep trading they are often eventually exposed, sometimes very ignominiously. (In the balance of the business world, the fortunately wealthy often move on to become venture capitalists or angel investors, all the better to maintain the illusion of their business prowess.)

It’s when he is illustrating his points that Taleb is most convincing. For example, I can translate the principle of random success into a compelling scam. Suppose I send 5000 people a letter with a bold prediction that a certain volatile stock will increase. And then I send a different 5000 people the opposite prediction. I turn out to be right with half of them. So I do it again, with a different volatile stock, now split 2500/2500. And this can continue, with a small investment in stamps and envelopes, until a few hundred people view my remarkable track record and are convinced that I’m a stock-picking genius. Clever scam indeed, but the corollary truth that makes it possible is that even if monkeys are making trades, a certain percentage of them will be wildly successful, earning millions in commissions and guest spots on MSNBC. Think about that the next time your investment banker pal pulls up in his Ferrari.

There’s a lot more. Taleb delightfully points out how we misuse and are misled by statistics, how our beliefs are warped by biases (the survivorship bias, availability bias, etc.), and how our decisions and conclusions, even from intelligent and educated people, can often be driven by irrational heuristics. (Example: People think it is more likely that a major earthquake will occur in California than that one will occur in the United States.)

And with every example I found myself laughing at how painfully ridiculous we are in our feeble thinking. Shakespeare said it best, in A Midsummer Night's Dream: “What fools these mortals be!”

Founding Brothers

2008-07-22T09:10:00.000-06:00

Sam wanted to focus on American history in his summer school, so one of the books I assigned him was Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis. I hadn't read it for a number of years, so taking it up again to prepare Sam's questions proved every bit as enjoyable as the first time, mainly because I had forgotten so much.

I am continually amazed at how little things have changed in government and politics. It is still a dirty business, illuminated occasionally by rays of idealism and glimmers of self-sacrifice. The extraordinary men who founded and led the early days of our country--Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, Madison, etc. were each flawed and tragic in their own ways, yet managed contributions that betimes soared above the fray to give rise to their fledgling nation. These were men of courage and conviction, of intellectual rigor and unfailing industry, who came together in that golden hour of opportunity to shape the history of the world.

There are other books on the period equally as good--McCullough's John Adams and 1776 are terrific. But Founding Brothers is an easy read with what feels like a fresh perspective. Highly recommended.

It is impossible to know the full measure of a man--his soul, his will, his judgment, until he is seen practicing government and law.
---Sophocles, in Antigone

Oh Zion!

2008-07-20T10:04:00.000-06:00

Just returned from a family vacation in beautiful Zion National Park. We rented a house in Zion Ponderosa Ranch and once again had a terrific time, hitting a few favorite canyons (Subway and Birch Hollow) and a few new ones (Fat Man's Misery and Spry). We all enjoyed the Parunuweap at the bottom of Misery--gorgeous river. Merritt and I also took a new approach to Subway--Das Boot is very cool--labyrinthine water-filled tunnels that were dark, foreboding and beautiful.

The park never ceases to amaze me with its wonders, and I am so happy when my children appreciate it as well. Many of us find The Subway one of the most lovely places on Earth. Rebecca descended Birch Hollow for the first time and immediately pronounced it her favorite canyon ever. Lanee again proclaimed that she thought Zion was the most beautiful place she had ever been.

Truman Allen, Courtney's boyfriend, got his first taste of canyoneering. He did very well and had "an awesome vacation." Ryan got his second taste of ropes and looked quite comfortable. He seemed to be enjoying himself and the canyons more than ever. And Layla and MJ spent each day playing with grandma and aunts and uncles and enjoying all the attention.

On Thursday, Sam and I closed the trip in Spry Canyon, which has more vertical descent in a shorter span than anything I have done. It's 11 rappels are relentless, jam-packed in a one-mile technical stretch. Lots of mucky water and one unplanned rope ascension, but that was all part of the fun.

I am a little selfish in this, but it is about the perfect vacation for me. I enjoy camping, but there is certainly something to be said for coming out of the canyons to a shower, hot tub and hot, tasty meal, then a sound sleep in a soft bed before doing it again the next day. Life is good.

Jasmine 1997 - 2008

2008-07-12T11:41:00.000-06:00

Jasmine left this world yesterday. It was an agonizing decision for all of us. It was clear that she was failing, suffering the degenerative effects of diabetes. She hobbled around the house much of the time, finding obscure corners to lie down in, seeking solitude where in the past she rarely missed an opportunity for sociality. Her eyes were starting to cloud over, the early stages of blindness, and even the most delectable of dog treats were no longer met with enthusiasm and gusto.

Yet she was still very much alive, and as we contemplated the decision, each time we saw her break into a trot, or her tail wag, or give a hearty bark, we wondered if our dreadful countdown was really synchronized with our moral compasses. Yet the bad times were beginning to dominate the good, and my heart ached for her when she uncontrollably urinated in the house, right in front of us, then slinked away in embarrassment.

Before long I will only remember the good times, of which there were plenty. She was the perfect dog for our family. Scruffy-looking with an under-bite, she was full of enthusiasm and always up for an adventure, but also content to sit on the couch and watch a movie with the family. She was great with children, as many passed through our house over the years. And she showed a special affinity for the grandchildren, and extraordinary patience as they pulled her tail or sat on her, and occasionally poked her in the eyes in their clumsy efforts to pet her. Jazzy seemed to understand their innocence, and also that Layla and MJ were family and deserved her most tender treatment and attention.

She made friends easily, which contributed to her never-ending wanderlust through our neighborhoods. More than once she was “rescued” on a busy street away from home, and returned with an offer to keep her if she was available. Almost universally, our neighbors loved her. Steve Littlefield, who lives next door, bought treats for her, and even Christmas presents, and was delighted when she came over to visit and walked nonchalantly into his house. The mailman took pleasure in her greetings, and let her come in his truck into visit.

I remember fondly the times we took her backpacking. Even in the hot Utah canyons she would keep up with the group, although when we climbed we sometimes had to give her a lift to the next level. But surprisingly, she usually found a way, with her short little legs and long body. Whenever we encountered a pool of water she would enthusiastically jump in, swimming and splashing and barking, her little Yorkshire/dachshund body under the surface, and her nose sticking out, looking a bit like a muskrat just learning to swim. Her frenetic yelping in the water caused strangers to think she was drowning, and once in Orlando someone called the fire department to rescue her when she wandered in a nearby pond for a dip.

Jazz was perhaps most famous for her daily task, which was to retrieve the newspaper from the end of the driveway. It was her job, and I think made her feel worthwhile, knowing she was making an important contribution to the household (especially given her rather dubious watchdog talents). First thing every morning we would let her out and she would race down to the end of the driveway, do her business, and return with the paper in her mouth, for which she usually received the reward of a single Milk Bone, a fair wage in her mind for an honest task performed. (And doubled when we started getting the Wall Street Journal.) She wasn’t always perfect at it. Sometimes she would be distracted by birds, squirrels or chipmunks, or hampered by the weather. In Park City when the snow reached as high as her head she sometimes struggled mightily to climb the steps. But she was always enthusiastic about her duty, and persevered when she could, which is more than most people can say about their jobs.

With so many fond memories it was hard for us to say good-bye. But yesterday afternoon Sam took her to the vet for the injection, then brought her body home and buried her deep in the garden. We planted an apple tree above her, which was both sentimental and fitting, since apple cores were always one of her favorite foods. This morning when I walked down the stairs I thought I heard the tinkling of her collar, and I suppose every day when I retrieve the paper I will think of her.

Jasmine was a good dog, and I think that being kind to all and loved by many is an epitaph all of us could aspire to. She was our family pet, so fulfilled the measure of her creation. She had a special relationship with each of us. She remembered all the children and was excited when they would return home. And perhaps one day, depending upon how the eternities are organized, she will greet us again, tail wagging wildly, jumping enthusiastically to our thighs, happy to see us return.

Hiking Olympus

2008-07-06T16:59:00.000-06:00

The highlight of an otherwise very low-key July 4th weekend was my annual hike up Mt. Olympus. Rebecca and I were on the trail at 6:10 a.m. and made it to the saddle before 9:00a, just before the sun crept over the ridge, which made for great hiking. The clambor to the top is always the most fun, and we enjoyed a nice snack while overlooking the vast Salt Lake Valley, despite the emerging haze.

It's always a tough hike, although I was in better shape this year than the last two. It's not the 3.2 miles each way, but the 4200-foot elevation gain that takes it out of you. Still, although a little tired Saturday afternoon, I felt pretty good. It's definitely coming back.

It's a little tradition that I've grown to look forward to, usually on a summer holiday weekend. And we vowed to keep doing it, at least until we have taken the grandchildren. That's a good incentive for staying in shape. And, of course, the satisfaction of knowing the gravitational pull of age does not keep you from scaling great heights.

June Quotations

2008-07-02T09:13:00.000-06:00

"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas."
--Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize-winning scientist

"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field."
--Niels Bohr, Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner

"Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid."
--Heinrich Heine, German critic and poet

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
--Albert Einstein

"I can't give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: Try to please everybody all the time."
--Herbert Bayard Swope

"Everything popular is wrong."
--Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

"Many a false step was made by standing still."
--Fortune Cookie

"Named must your fear be before banish it you can."
--Yoda

"Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince

"Love of bustle is not industry."
--Seneca

"There is never a good sale for Neiman Marcus unless it is a good buy for the customer."
--Herbert Marcus

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle

"Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to internal peace."
--Robert J. Sawyer

"The smallest deed is greater than the largest intention."
--Camilla Eyring Kimball

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."
--Dr. Seuss

"All happy families resemble each other, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
--Tolstoy

In The Box

2008-07-01T09:22:00.001-06:00

Sam had recently heard about the book Leadership and Self-Deception, so for his "summer school" I assigned it to him to read. I hadn't read it either, although I was quite familiar with the concepts from our Anasazi experience, and also from Terry Warner's The Bonds that Make us Free. Nevertheless, I decided to read it, to brush up on the concepts.

Ouch. It all came back to me quickly and with penetrating conviction. The Box. I spend so much time in The Box. What is that, you ask? It's a psychological barrier we put around ourselves to justify the fact that we aren't seeing or treating others as people, just as important as we are. Rather, we treat them as objects, things of utility either to help us meet our needs and desires, or barriers that must be dealt with. When we're "in the box" we lie to ourselves to justify our behavior. We rationalize. Yep, that's been me; lots of times. Every day, in fact.

But it's not only our behavior, because in the world of business I've learned to manage much of that. Our attitudes are the thing. Even when we smile and manage problems according to the book, if we don't really see others as people, every bit as important as we are, then we are in the box, and all the textbook problem management skills are a cover-up and a manipulation. Over the years I have become convinced that whenever I find myself rationalizing my behavior, mentally justifying my actions, I am in the wrong and I know it. I am once again practicing the tragic art of self-betrayal.

When I first learned about the teachings of the Arbinger Institute I thought they were the most profound and moving principles I had ever encountered. And in truth, some have stayed with me ever since--disciplines and attitudes that I practice on an almost daily basis. But so many others I had lost track of, and as I read Leadership and Self-Deception I was kicking myself for not remembering it all, as if I had lost some years of my life when I should have been a better person. I again committed to be more diligent.

Leadership and Self-Deception is a quick read but one with overwhelming power and relevancy to everyone. I just put it on my calendar to reread annually. Highly recommended.

Japanese Face Fat Fines

2008-06-26T00:16:00.000-06:00

No, I don't mean big fines. I mean, literally, fines for being fat. How cool is that (he said, after having lost 20 lbs this year!)? Yep, CNN reports that a new Japanese law requires companies to measure the waists of all their employees over 40 years of age. Men must come in under 33.5 inches, and women under 35.5. (What, no outcry over gender and age discrimination, much less the obvious obesity bias? Where the heck is the Japanese ACLU?) If the companies don't show improvement, they could face hefty (smirk) fines or increases in their insurance premiums. So not only will those on the plump side have a hard time finding a date, but they will be considered a liability at work as well. What to do when faced with such social stigma? Ben and Jerry-son?

I expect that this corporate blubber tax will have some interesting effects. Companies will be incented to educate their employees, encourage (pressure) them to lose weight, eliminate junk food vending machines, provide exercise programs and finally (a real shocker in Japan) fire the chunksters.

The new deal is being met with some enthusiasm. Posters in Japan feature rotund cartoon figures with buttons popping off their pants urging people to overcome "metabo." Weight-loss groups in Japan exercise together, singing inspirational songs with lyrics such as "Goodbye, metabolic. Let's get our checkups together. Go! Go! Go!" (Not only is this questionable song-writing, but blaming metabolism vs. that samurai-sized bag of Cheetos tucked under your kimono seems to me like a country not quite ready to face reality.)

But really, I think the Japanese law is a great idea. In fact, we should expand this to the U.S. right away. Hmmmm ... fat chance.

Wasatch Back

2008-06-23T05:22:00.000-06:00

In my effort to get back into shape and good health, I decided to start running again. Always needing some motivation, I put together a team for the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay Race. Mostly family and friends, our 12-person team included Angelica (five months pregnant), Merritt, Sam, Eric and Dave Jarvi, Russ Nelson, Cynthia Card and other friends of friends who became much better friends over the course of the race.

The Wasatch Back is a grueling, 180-mile race from Logan to Park City, with over 26,000 feet of up and down elevation (more up than down). Each teammate runs three legs, from 3-7 miles, over the course of 28 hours and 14 minutes. And all of this with constant movement, perpetual coordination, crazy eating habits and virtually no sleep while being squished into two vans with all your smelly teammates.

It was at the same time a very demanding physical challenge, a delightful social event and an inspiring experience of team camaraderie. Our team performed respectably, finishing 75th out of 210 teams in the co-ed open division--which isn't bad given that our goal was to have fun and get in shape.

I found it personally exhausting. During the race I struggled keeping my wind on the uphills. (I'm clearly not in peak shape--yet!) By the end of my last leg, I was completely wiped out. Getting home, I showered, walked directly to bed, fell asleep within two minutes and didn't move until 10 hours later. I don't recall that kind of fatigue ever.

At my age, I don't know why I put myself through that. It seems almost ridiculous. But I'm already thinking about how much better I'll do next year.

Am I in the Matrix Now?

2008-06-14T09:26:00.000-06:00

I had this pop-up come to my screen a few minutes ago, which struck me as curious, in a metaphysical sort of way. I clicked "OK" because I couldn't think of any cogent objections, like something out of a Kafka novel.

Shelfari

2008-06-14T07:52:00.000-06:00

I ran into an interesting site the other day. I guess it's growing pretty fast, and it sometimes seems like I'm the last to know about these things, but it's called Shelfari (www.shelfari.com) and is an online bookshelf, or at least a record of the books you read. You list the books you have read, rate them and review them if you'd like, then share your bookshelf with your friends and family.

I immediately loved the idea, for several reasons. The interface is great, easy to use and visually appealing (it's better in full screen). I've always loved books, and this is a good way to get recommendations from trusted sources. It's also fun to see what others are reading--sort of a glimpse into their souls! Plus, it's kind of neat to keep track of what you read, which I've never done. Finally, as you'll see on this blog, there's a cool widget that allows me to share it here.

I built my "library" in about 10 minutes, mainly by turning around and looking at my bookshelves. I mostly just listed stuff I'd read in the past year or so, although I sprinkled in a few others that I have particular fondness for. (Although it might be a good project some time to try to think of all the books I have ever read--as an adult, at least. Hmmmm... )

Anyway, it works best as a network, so if you join, please add me to yours. Read on!

Young at Heart

2008-06-10T23:29:00.000-06:00

Ever since we saw the trailer a few months ago, Rebecca and I have wanted to see the documentary Young at Heart. So last night we headed to our local arthouse theater The Broadway and were treated to one of the more entertaining documentaries I have ever seen. Young at Heart is a geriatric rock 'n roll singing group out of Northampton, Massachusetts which you've got to see (and hear) to believe. Really. Until you've seen a 92-year-old woman steady herself with her cane as she walks to the microphone and belts out "I Wanna Be Sedated" from The Ramones, well, you haven't seen the full potential of Punk.

Young at Heart is thoroughly enjoyable, filled with humor, affection, irony, fascination and toe-tapping music. But more than anything, it is hard not be profoundly affected by the twist in your perspective, realizing that great-grandma might get into ColdPlay better than you. They change the nature of the songs, making them much more lyric-driven, and often with more feeling and emotion. Very, very cool and inspiring. Especially one of my favorite songs of all time: Forever Young. They gave it a whole new meaning.

But there was more. We knew the group would be performing the next night at a local auditorium, but were surprised and delighted that several of the cast showed up after our movie for a Q&A, including founder and director Bob Cilman (a kid at 53!). We chatted with them afterwards. But one exchange really struck me. I asked them how being in the group had impacted their lives. Profoundly, for all of them, they said. But an 80-year-old retired doctor told how important it was that he had someplace to be, something to do, songs to learn, cadences to master, an important sense of purpose and an appreciation for what he was doing. Definitely something to think about as we move into those ... Golden Years, whop-whop-whop Gold ... Don't let me hear you say life's takin' you nowhere ... Angel ...

Movies

2008-06-07T09:40:00.000-06:00

Tom McCarthy's The Visitor is showing at the local arthouse theater here in SLC. I saw this at Sundance last year and really liked it. (See review.) McCarthy also did Station Agent, the fantastic film with Peter Dinklage which premiered at Sundance in 2003. The Visitor is his second directing effort, and a lovely, lilting story that I thought was beautiful. I highly recommend it.

I've been on a vintage movie DVD kick lately, when I've found the time. Last night it was The Court Jester, a 1956 light whimsical comedy starring Danny Kaye, but also featuring a young Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote) and Basil Rathbone (from the old Sherlock Holmes shows). If you can rise above the dated feel, it's really quite a delightful movie, with a fast-paced storyline, dialogue that is arousingly clever and fun, a truly impressive performance by Kaye and wonderfully vibrant period-piece costumes (it was the early days of Technicolor). Plus, it is just so completely wholesome and charming.

A few weeks ago I tried a Japanese classic, Akira Kurosawa's legendary Yojimbo, the 1961 samurai flick that glorified the indomitable and enigmatic lone warrior striding into town, and was the inspiration behind Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name and all the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns. I'm not enough of a film connoisseur to fully appreciate Kurosawa's craftsmanship, but the movie had the feel of greatness. Most of today's movie-goers would probably not enjoy Yojimbo, but it felt like an integral part of my education in film history, that I was witnessing something important--like listening to Miles Davis in The Birth of Cool.

Last week it as another 50's DVD, Marty, starring the immensely talented Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. The movie received a number of academy award nominations, and Borgnine beat out James Dean for Best Actor. It was something of a revival role for Blair, the wife of Gene Kelly had been an emerging star until her left-leaning activism got her blacklisted in the 40's. But history aside-- Marty is a charming movie and a quaint romance, and the more I thought about it the more I appreciated it as a story well-told, yet grounded in reality.

May Quotes

2008-06-01T19:22:00.000-06:00

"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers."
--James Thurber

"Some people are always looking for a mistake to point out, like a dog sniffing the ground for a place to pee."
--Bill Aho

"There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who want to get things done and those who don't want to make mistakes."
--John C. Maxwell

"It is vain to do with more what can be done with less."
--William of Occam

"Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is due to the triumph of enthusiasm."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It is the earliest age I have left."
--Roman scholar Cato, when asked why he was starting to study Greek at age 80

“A wrong decision isn't forever; it can always be reversed. The losses from a delayed decision are forever; they can never be retrieved.”
--John Kenneth Galbraith

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."
--Dr. Seuss

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
--Richard P. Feynman, Nobel Prize-winning physicist

“Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
--Helen Keller

“Odd things animals. All dogs look up at you. All cats look down at you. Only a pig looks at you as an equal.”
--Winston Churchill

"They can because they think they can."
--Virgil

“Every really new idea looks crazy at first.”
--Alfred North Whitehead

“It isn't that they can't see the solution. It is that they can't see the problem.”
--G. K. Chesterton

"Most men don't recognize opportunity because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work."
--Thomas Edison

“The only real valuable thing is intuition. The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.”
--Albert Einstein

Robbers Roost

2008-05-27T23:01:00.001-06:00

The third annual Real Men's Memorial Day Canyon Trip was held at Robbers Roost this year. There were only three of us--Merritt, Sam and me, as Dave Jarvi had a family wedding. The Roost is remote country--not even much grazing going on out there. It got its name as a hideout for outlaws of the wild west, including Butch Cassidy and his gang.

We did four canyons--Little Bluejohn/Horseshoe, Not Mindbender, Larry and Alcatraz. Many terrific memories, including the Great Gallery in Horseshoe--a magnificent wall of pictographs from the Barrier period--between 2000-1000 b.c. We descended the canyon where Aron Ralston lost his arm. We squeezed through plenty of skinnies, often requiring chimneying off the deck to pass through. Saw a little wildlife, including a baby canyon wren in Larry that kept unsuccessfully trying to learn how to cling to a canyon wall--poor thing kept falling to the ground, once right at my feet; pronghorn antelope at the Larry Trailhead; a little rattler in Not Mindbender; some wild horses (or maybe mules) in Bluejohn, including a white one who aggressively followed our journey, and other critters as well.

One small experience of note. I'd just finished cleaning the rope in the first 70-foot rap in Little Bluejohn. It was my first time in this canyon. Merritt and Sam were just around the corner, sitting in a little alcove waiting and we decided it was a good photo-op. I was still carrying the rope bag, so to free up my hands for the camera, I tossed it down, but off to the side so it would be out of the picture. I then watched their eyes get wide as saucers as we heard ka-thwap, ka-thwap, ka ... (object descending 70 feet accelerating to 32 feet per second) THUMP. Yep, having no idea it was around the corner, I'd tossed our only rope down the second 70-foot rap. I think Sam's words were: "Uh, that was a bad idea, Dad."

Fortunately, it turned out fine. I had brought along extra webbing, which we were able to rap down. Just took a little more creative thinking. We also had slings, plus there's a little ledge off to the side about 12 feet down. So I'm guessing there were a couple more solutions available to us. Honestly, even when I first realized that we were ropeless between two big rappels I was confident we'd figure something out. Two thoughts on the experience:

1. Important lesson: Don't throw your rope anyplace you can't see. Uh ... DUH!

2. That five minutes of figuring out what we were going to do were the most memorable of my four days in the canyons. Unlike many of the canyoneers I meet, I'm not an engineer. But high-stakes problem-solving seems to surface the best in us, bringing me, at least, fully in the moment, engaged, focused and alive.

Every day we did a "Hero Play of the Day" and a "Bonehead Play of the Day." Needless to say, I took home the bonehead gold that day.

Great canyons. Great company. Great food. Nice campsites. Beautiful, rugged country that wore a lovely shade of green being early in the season and having taken a little rain. Photos on Flickr.

On Being a Customer

2008-05-20T23:34:00.001-06:00

Over the past several months I've done a lot more shopping than ever before. And I find myself gravitating to the same places--Dan's and Wild Oats for groceries, Home Depot and Costco for everything else. They have earned my business over time, by keeping their stores neat and clean, having the products I want, being generally pleasant and helpful and never offending me. And so I am a loyal customer.

"Customer" is derived from the word "custom," which is "a habitual practice." We often don't think about it that way anymore, as we shift from store to store based on who is having a sale. But I take a little delight in being old school, and I like it that I am learning my way around these stores, and that I recognize some of the employees, and after only a few months some of them recognize me as well.

I think businesses would be wise to rethink the classic definition of customer. It's easier and cheaper to nurture and strengthen your relationship with a customer than it is to attract new triers with price and promotions. Peter Drucker once said that the purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. That's a good choice of words, I think. Create a customer.

Benefit of the Doubt

2008-05-17T08:13:00.000-06:00

For some time I've been mulling over a previously overlooked principle of success in relationships--the benefit of the doubt. (How I can live 50 years and miss so many obvious things continues to amaze me.) It's quite simple, really--instead of mentally accusing (and trying, and condemning) someone for the evil intent of their actions, give them the benefit of the doubt. It's really the psychological polar opposite of paranoia, and I have come to the conclusion that for many of us, this is a big, big deal, both for the success of our relationships and for our personal happiness.

Countless times something has happened that annoyed me, and I assume my wife/child/colleague/acquaintance/service provider was acting with malicious intent. So my mind stews and it swirls and it froths and it foams and I can't wait to return serve, often a volley of accusation and insinuation, leading to a flurry of points and counterpoints, the outcome of which is anything but love-love.

I was intrigued by a recent Fortune article on Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo (and the most powerful woman in business), who talked about the same principle as a key to her success, although she phrased it better and more positively: "Assume the best about people," I think were her words.

Maybe sometimes I have been correct in my dark assumptions, but just as often I've been wrong, which is a suspect interpersonal equation. It's such a simple thing, and yet I find myself applying it almost every day, and when I get it right I have a much sunnier outlook on life and my relationships are better. I'm certainly not cured. But like the alcoholic, it's one day at a time.

The State of Perfect Balance

2008-05-15T00:44:00.000-06:00

I saw a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal this morning that caught my eye. It read: "Ohio--The State of Perfect Balance," which is a multiple double-entendre, I think. It featured Kate Bailey, who apparently is a vice president at DSW in Ohio, and, according to the ad, "matches a stylish career with a rich family life." As opposed to a "rich career with a stylish family life," which I think would have broader appeal.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take away from the ad. Maybe that nobody works very hard in Ohio, so you'll fit right in? And how about the slogan claiming "Perfect Balance"? What is this, The Ballerina State? Anyway, it got me to thinking, and I came up with a few alternates they might want to consider:

Ohio: Move here if you don't want to work much.
Ohio: Bring us your hungry, your poor, and especially your Imbalanced.
Ohio: Find Perfect Balance working from home and make big $$$! (They can post this to telephone poles, saving media costs.)
Ohio: We're not very good at anything, but we are Perfectly Balanced.
Ohio: The State of Bad Marketing

May-May on Mothers Day

2008-05-11T17:20:00.000-06:00

I first met her in the summer of 1967. I was ten years old, prior to my fifth grade year in school. It started as a trial run. I had been living in St. Paul Children’s Home with other children with no parents, part of the young group who were gradually transforming from deprived children into social misfits and juvenile delinquents. Occasionally one of the group would be called to a foster family, but actual adoption was almost unheard of at my age. Yet here we were. Mother and Dad had married in 1961, I think. She was now 39 and he was 49. I would be the first child for both. This was an unlikely threesome.

Mom did everything possible to make me feel comfortable. When I arrived, we were in the process of buying our house on Skyline Parkway in Duluth, Minnesota, but still lived on the more rural Miller Trunk Highway, which was busy and dangerous and not very conducive to meeting other kids. So during the day while Dad went to work it was Mother and me, and not having any experience in the art of motherhood, she had not yet learned to say no. So we did whatever I wanted, which meant hours spent out on the lawn hitting baseballs to each other, and when I tired of that playing board games in the house—chess, Yahtzee, Milles Borne and others. I wanted a pet and she got me a calico cat, which I nicknamed Snoopy, an ironical homage to my favorite character in Peanuts.

After a year the trial turned into a formal adoption and we three made our lives together. It had never been easy for Mom. Her first marriage was bad and she divorced before it got worse. Her marriage to Dad was almost inevitable, given they were baptized in the same church on the same night, were both Finnish, and once Mom’s divorce was final, both single. But Dad had been a bachelor for 20 years and his ways were not easily changed or adapted to marriage. Plus, mother battled a hereditary mental condition, a chemical imbalance which in those days was generally neither diagnosed nor treated. But like her mother and others in her family, she suffered through periods of deep depression and frustration, although by the early 70’s she was prescribed medication which certainly helped. It was, as far as I could tell, her only imperfection, unless you count that fact that she wasn’t very good at crafts, despite her unfailing enthusiasm.

My memories are full and rich of my mother, but perhaps one thing about her character stands out more than any other. She was a friend to the friendless. If there were people who were lonely, old, feeble or troubled in any way, my mother was there for them. One young boy had great difficulty with his parents (prior to my arrival), and my parents took him in. When my Great Uncle Emil had to be in Duluth for treatment, he stayed with us. When my cousin Howie was a freshman at UMD, we shared a room. When grumpy old widows needed help with their shopping, my parents drove them around, and gave them rides to church and had them over for dinner as well. When those that were unlikable needed a friend, my mother was there without judgment. I have never seen a more selfless heart in any individual.

I learned true religion from my mother—less by precept than by daily example. When I left home after high school we were still great friends, and would have frequent visits and lengthy phone discussions. Once married and with children, I was fortunate to have her nearby most of the time, and will ever be grateful for the love and example she shared with the kids, and only wish it could have been longer. And on this Mother’s Day I humbly pay tribute to May-May, as the kids named her, as the greatest and most profound influence upon my life.

May Quotes

2008-05-07T09:05:00.000-06:00

"We build good ships here.
At a profit--if we can.
At a loss--if we must.
But always good ships.
--Collis P. Huntington, founder, Newport news Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, 1886

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
--Theodore Roosevelt

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
--Albert Einstein

“When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”
—-Billy Graham

“The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different.”
--Peter Drucker

"If anything is perfect in this world, love is perfect in its imperfections."
--Jons, in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal

"Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential."
--Liane Cordes

"So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads."
--Dr. Seuss

Irish Diplomacy... is the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he looks forward to making the trip.

"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin."
--- Mark Twain

"The race may not always be to the swift, or the fight to the strong, but that's the way to bet."
--Damon Runyan

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.”
--Peter Drucker

"Don't wait on a perfect plan, just get a good plan and go with it."
--Jack Welch

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
--Mark Twain

"The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment."
--Warren G. Bennis

Emily Dickinson

2008-05-04T10:12:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to escape with a little poetry every day, spending time with The Oxford Book of American Poetry, which Merritt was nice enough to give me as a gift, after I gave him the same last Christmas and then admired it with a covetous eye.

It has been fun reconnecting with some of my favorites, but also discovering many new poets, some of which form an instant bond, and others that make it easy for me to move on to the next. This morning it was Emily Dickinson, an unlikely poet. A recluse who rarely left her homestead during her adult years, she cultivated an unorthodox style and a wry sense of humor which provides occasional respite from her ironical and melancholic observations and general preoccupation with illness and death. Here's a few that provoked my thoughts this morning:

Success is Counted Sweetest

Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'r succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.

Not one of all the purple Host
Who took the Flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear of Victory

As he defeated--dying--
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear.

1859

Fame is a Bee

Fame is a bee.
It has a song--
It has a sting--
Ah, too, it has a wing.

Snows and Shows

2008-05-01T23:39:00.000-06:00

I looked out the window this morning and was shocked to see the ground whitened by snow. I went outside to get a better view and saw the tulips looking quite forlorn, cold and topped with snow but firm in their resistance to live through the weather. They are womanly things, these flowers, and I suppose feel threatened by the ravages of time and the elements upon their native beauty. It continued to snow lightly off and on throughout the day, and I think this is the first time I can remember it snowing on my birthday, even as a kid in Minnesota.

I watched two movies this week, both of which I recommend. Lars and the Real Girl is a delight--a quirky comedy about a shy socially maladjusted guy who gets delusional about a life-sized mail-order doll. Wonderfully creative idea, and it turns out to be quite uplifting as well, all on a low budget with a genuine Indy feel. Starring Ryan Gosling and Patricia Clarkson.

And finally sat down with the critically-acclaimed Charlie Wilson's War, which is both an insightful lesson in recent history and a well-executed and engaging film. Tom Hanks is very good as the substance-abusing and lecherous Congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks never turns in a weak performance) but Phillip Seymour Hoffman is fabulous as an iconoclastic CIA journeyman. The dialog between the two in their first meeting is some of the best and funniest in recent memory, and Hanks and Hoffman show impeccable timing and surprising chemistry. In fact, there is plenty of good writing throughout, which helps keep the movie on pace when it might otherwise drag under the burden of a one-dimensional plot-line.

Watch them both if you're still waiting for Spring to confirm its arrival.

Billy Collins

2008-04-29T22:59:00.000-06:00

Lanee gave me a poetry book by Billy Collins--The Trouble with Poetry. I had never heard of Collins, (a reflection of the waning currency of my literary education), although I have since learned that he was poet laureate of our country a few years back, including on September 11, 2001, which I suppose is both a grave responsibility and an immortal opportunity for a poet, whose gaggle of humanity generally lacks responsibility and is easily forgotten.

Collins is fun to read. A native New Yorker, he has spent most of his life teaching college in the Bronx, a setting which has doubtless contributed to his unpretentious style. He has a keen eye for the commonplace, not as symbols really, as poets often contrive, but as playing integral roles that evade inspection, taking their turns upon life's stage, sometimes with a single line of timely occasion. The salt shaker may reside in a darkened cabinet most of the time, but what is more important when served a baked potato?

So I have enjoyed his refreshing work, despite my usual comfort in structure, meter and rhyme. Collins could care less about any of these, as he is the poet of experience, part common and homespun like Frost and part coarse and plain-spoken like Whitman, mixed with dollop of e.e. cummings' iconoclasm and irony for an American stew made palatable for today's tastes. Here's one I liked:

Flock

It has been calculated that each copy of the Gutenburg Bible ... required the skins of 300 sheep.
--from an article on printing.

I can see them squeezed into the holding pen
behind the stone building
where the printing press is housed,

all of them squirming around
to find a little room
and looking so much alike

it would be nearly impossible
to count them,
and there is no telling

which one will carry the news
that the Lord is a shepherd,
one of the few things they already know.