Good Food

One of the best things about these trips is the food. Camping out just lends itself to good food. We could've had rattlesnake or even turkey meet, but why? Everything we brought was well prepared, tasted great, and even looked great. Many kudos to those who planned the meals, bought the food, and prepared the food. Okay, now that I have another 5 pounds to lose, was it worth it? Absolutely.

Colorado River Rafting

This photo pretty much says it all. Asleep in the boat, soaking up the sun, relaxing as much as possible. Did I tell you about the three rattlesnakes in our camp one night? Did I tell you about Jerry being caught in an eddy and getting washed down river? He yelled out, "I can't get back." So a boat was quickly dispatched and he was rescued across the river. Have you seen all the photos of the bald eagles and even turkeys? Which one is our bird? Did I tell you about the elephant I had to crawl under? What about that zoomer? Did you know that using a zoomer is like riding a motorcycle and lifting weights? Guess you better go on a trip with us. We had some fun.

Check out the photos on the right side. Just click the river trip photos and click on the slide show and you'll get them all.

More River

Here is Mike and Craig fixing breakfast on the Colorado River at camp 2. It's kind of hard to believe. Craig fixing breakfast. And something other than cereal. It was most excellent too.

Here is a nice photo of Nancy and Paul by the river at our first campsite. It was great to see Paul and Kathy again. Kathy is pictured below waving at me just before we set out.

Eagles galore

Here is a photo of a bald eagle perched high above our raft on the Colorado River. We floated right under him. I couldn't get a usable photo from underneath. So I put my hat back on and hoped he wouldn't see me as a usable target.




Here is another shot of a number of young bald eagles hanging out in a dead cottonwood tree. I literally couldn't count all the eagles we saw, there were so many in this area. We were on the river about 4 miles North of the Westwater Ranger station which is in Utah and a few miles East of the Colorado border.

River Trip

Sorry it's taken so long to report on this. There is no Internet service on the Colorado River so we just had to wait. I'm getting the other photos organized so you can see the whole trip. We had a great time (all 21 of us). Here's a few photos to show you how much fun we had and where we were.

Our second campsite was my favorite. There were large rocks to jump from into the river, great floating opportunities, and even a few rattlesnakes....more on that later.

Here I'm steering Jerry's boat while he goes for a swim. The weather was around 100 degrees every day, but we cooled off in the 65 degree water. There is more to come so stay tuned. Find out about the bald eagles we saw, the turkeys, the rattlesnakes, and Jerry floating away (he couldn't get back).

Rocks and Yanks

This is what I like to see. We took two games out of three against the Red Socks, and now we've done it to the Yankees. Just think, all those Yankees fans, some 40,000 of them at Coors Field watching the Rocks beat them. The question is, can they keep it up? Since May 22 the Rocks are 19 and 7 which makes them the best team is baseball. The question is, can they keep it up?

Top 9th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	0
Rockies	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	0		6	10	0

Life As We Know It

Tonight on the back porch we enjoyed the local wildlife. One of our favorite things is sitting on the back porch and watching the humming birds feed while drinking a large glass of iced tea. I caught this photo while Nancy was saying, "look up" and Shushing me and telling me not to move. Only the shutter moved.

All hail the conquering Narcissist

I read this book again and found it to be most amusing. It's called Toxic Coworkers. In it the author talks about executive narcissism and organizational narcissism referring to executives in organizations who manifest an inflated sense of self-respect and self-confidence, to put it kindly. He talks about a dynamic called the "groupthink" first proposed by the psychologist Janis in 1972. In a "groupthink" executives and their subordinates, when working in groups," develop certain characteristic behaviors or attitudes." These are:

1. an illusion of invulnerability, 2. a sense of superiority to those considered to be part of the outgroup or competition, 3. discarding or demeaning information that is contradictory to already held beliefs, 4. require excessive admiration, 5. are interpersonally exploitative, i.e. take advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends.

The book tells you how to deal with people who have varying degrees of personality disorders whether they are your boss, a peer, or a subordinate. Some of the other disorders addressed in the book are histrionic, anti-social, borderline, passive aggressive, avoidant, schizoid, paranoid, and dependent, etc. etc.

I am sure the book doesn't intend to be funny or amusing. It is at times and it's sad too. I would recommend this book to anyone in a corporate environment.

Father's Day

Our workout timing was a little off today. The YMCA doesn't open until 8:00a, so it's hard to get a proper workout done prior to Church. We went to the Y afterwards and just did our weight training and stretching. We decided to do our aerobic conditioning when we got home. When did exercise get so complex? Upon our return we went for our 3 1/2 mile "aerobic" walk on "Two Brands Trail" up on the hogback behind the house. The walk took 1 hour and 20 minutes in the 91 degree heat. The thistle were over 6 feet high with beautiful purple flowers being invaded by bumble bees the size of tanks.

Since today is Father's day, I got two phone calls. Tyler, who talked about a girl and Noelle, who talked about the baby. I think the timing for Tyler is not good (since he is leaving Japan in a month) and Noelle is concerned about the size of the child (she has until Aug. 10 to watch it grow). I have to tell you, I've never felt so fortunate to have such great kids. God has been so gracious to me.

Another Interesting Day on the Job

Today I attended a combined seminar With BOMA (Building Owners and Manager's Assoc.) and IFMA (International Facility Manager's Assoc.) in Albuquerque, NM. I met the owner of the building under construction in the background. The building is obtaining LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). In other words, it will be green. Of real interest about the building was the geothermal energy design. They're drilling 280 wells over 250 feet deep with 5" PVC pipe to carry cool water to the building for refrigeration in the summer and the building will heat the same water for heat in the winter depending on which side it's on (North or South). It's all about heat exchange. The same water is used over and over pumped up and down depending on the energy demands.

Here is the building from a little different angle. Of course they're using special windows to reduce radiant heat from the sun, 90% of the materials are renewable or recycled, there will be a recycling program in place, bike racks, etc. And, of course ServiceMaster will be Green Cleaning the place when it's completed.

Cycling

This morning I got up early and went to the cycling class at the Y. You walk in the room at 5:00a and it's like a meat locker...freezing. Soon after your glad it's cold. You find a bike and adjust the seat and handle bars and then start warming up. They give you a towel to use during the class but it's soaking wet half way through. After about 5 minutes of spinning I realized just how far I really had to go, even though the bike wasn't moving at all. Arrrghh, another 50 minutes!! The music is loud and "motivational." Look, I'm there at 5:00a how much more motivated do I need to be? The cycling coach is yelling out instructions like, "here comes a hill," and "push it now! Out of your saddle for 3" and "okay, going around a steep corner and passing another racer," Another racer? Look I'm just here to burn some fat, not win the tour. However, my imagination runs wild looking at photos of Lance on the wall, and my legs burn.

I know it's good for me, and it's helping me, but it's so hard to get motivated. I've gotta keep the Doc happy though.

Eternity

I am struck by Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end."

I think this is something that makes us unique. Man is obviously made for thought. Thought is something incomparable. It's interesting that I have control of my thoughts. I think God has given us this unique ability to think ahead and look beyond and contemplate. Pascal writes, "By space the universe embraces me and swallows me up like an atom, by thought I embrace the universe." I can imagine most anything and create worlds in my mind that are extraordinary. Is there more? Evidently so, according to Ecclesiastes 3:11. God has held something back.

New Element Found

The recent hurricanes and gasoline issues have provided more proof of the existence of a new chemical element. A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science.

The new element has been named Governmentium. Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, and is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take over four days to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's Mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium...an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Raft Trip

Today Nancy and I have been packing for our raft trip down ruby Canyon on the Colorado River. We're going with the Hanson's, Chris and Stacy and their daughter Ashley, the Henry's, their kids, and Jerry and Joni and a bunch of other youngsters and I don't know who else but some other people. I think there will be about 20 of us.

We will put in on a Thursday afternoon just West of Grand Junction, CO and exit near Cisco, Utah on a Sunday. This is new water for us on the Colorado. So far, we've done nearly 150 miles on the Colorado River. Careful packing is important...lets see, a bathing suit, towel, sunscreen, tent, sleeping bag, and Colorado beverages, etc., etc. What else is there?

More on this later...you can expect some great photos, if I don't drop my camera in the drink. This is always a concern of mine on these trips.

Tyler Update

We talked with Tyler last night. He's coming home from Japan in late July. His three year contract is up. We are pretty excited to see him and catch up. It's been a year and a half since I've seen him, at Noelle's wedding. This was way too long. Many of you have asked me, "what's he doing next?"

Tyler has accepted a teaching position at a school in Kuwait. He will be teaching social studies at The American International School there. He's very excited about it and of course we're excited for him. For more information, you should visit his web site and check up on him. Click here. http://dailybellybuttonlint.blogspot.com/

Prairie Dogs Take Over

This morning we rose once again to hear Prairie Dogs talking (making obnoxious chirping noises) outside. They now live in the open space across the street. Last year, it was only flowers, buffalo grass, and cactus inhabiting this area. Now it looks like a nuclear wasteland poked with holes.

There is hope. Coming home from work yesterday I noticed two hawks circling above this "charming" community of vermin. Early this morning I saw a coyote circling around the area. I hope they get well fed. However, I'm afraid these wonderful predators won't make a dent in the new community. Does Wall mart carry rat poison? I've got a job for Tyler when he gets home from Japan.

One of my former franchise owners in Oregon goes on vacation for a week every year simply to hunt Prairie Dogs in Montana. I asked him how many he shoots in a week and he said usually around 2,000 or so. He said there are three of us who go every year so that's around 6,000 per year. He's been doing this for 10 years, so that's 60,000. He said every year it seems like there are more and more.

What's wrong with the Rocks?

My friend "The Pittmeister" asked about attendance at Coors Field. Good question! Well there were 22,000 in attendance which is pretty low for a professional baseball game. While it was a cold and very windy night, and it was a weeknight, (excuses excuses), the fact is the Rockies product isn't really very good. In fact, the fans are abandoning them in droves. The fans will turn out for the Yankees or the Dodgers, but not to see the Rocks play the Astros. The result is, half the fans who are there will cheer for the wrong flippin' team!! That's no fun.

Having said all this, the Rocks have won 11 of their last 16 games, pretty good I'd say. And, they're no longer on the bottom, San Francisco is. I really like that fact. Most fans will say I'm just an optimist and they'll eventually let me down. Could be. You see, they're trying to build their team cheaply, they refuse to pay for good players. And maybe that's not a bad thing. One side of me applauds them for it, and the other says, "but they could be so much better." On the rare occasions when they have paid big bucks for someone, it's turned out poorly...pitchers with bad arms and hitters who can't hit. Go Broncos!!

Gone With The Win

Last night Nancy and I went to the Rockies game with Scott and Jan Bryan. The Rocks beat Houston. It was very very windy. In fact, they recorded 100 mile per hour winds at DIA later last night. On Tuesday night the Rocks and the Astros got into a dug-out clearing fiight because our pitcher brushed back an Astros batter.

The most exciting part of the game last night was when Williams "hit" Matt Holiday with an "errant" pitch. Matsui had hit a home run immediately prior to this to tie the game 5-5. Williams was obviously frustrated from the long shot and unloaded on Holliday. From where I was sitting, it looked like the pitch brushed the back of his jersey which was blowing in the wind, and possibly glanced off his back. It was hard to tell. Williams was ejected immediately and the catcher just went wild and started arguing. So, for 10 minutes they (Astros) argued with the Ump and then we waited for the Astros to warm up a reliever. We had fun.

One of My Friends

Here is my friend Scott from Ft. Morgan. We hunt together (pheasant, quail, and chucker), go to baseball games together, and work together. Scott is one of those special people who is always encouraging to others, gives back to the community and those in need, and is really a good guy.

Hopefully I will see him at the game tonight when the Rockies play the Astros. We have good seats behind home plate (we get the seats because no one else wants them I think). While the Rockies have won 10 of their last 15 games, they have a long way to go. At any rate, we'll enjoy the game.

Work

I love my job. After 27 years of work at ServiceMaster it would be hard to say I didn't or that I'm not committed. There are times at work however, when politics seem to be the rule of the day. In fact, some say you need to be a politician in order to succeed, as I've been told. I guess it depends on how you define politics but generally I see it as furthering your own agenda over and against someone elses agenda. In other words it's a win/lose game. This is dysfunctional.

I think people need to openly support each other and work on common goals. Turf battles and conflicts should be resolved into win/win solutions. People should frequently and openly discuss and resolve issues that interfere with the businesses' performance. In order to enhance trust in the workplace the culture should re-enforce decision making "by consensus" as much as anything else. I think the rank and file in our company have the needed solutions pretty close at hand. No one has asked them. And people at our company are willing to work together to solve problems and create an environment of mutual support.

When this type of collaboration happens, work is fun. When you think someone's trying to further themselves at your expense, it's not much fun.

Evening Prayers, 1943

O Lord my God, thank you
for bringing this day to a close;
Thank you for giving me rest
in body and soul.
Your hand has been over me
and has guarded and preserved me.
Forgive my lack of faith
and any wrong that I have done today,
and help me to forgive all who have wronged me.

Let me sleep in peace under your protection,
and keep me from all the temptations of darkness.

Into your hands I commend my loved ones
and all who dwell in this house;
I commend to you my body and soul.
O God, your holy name be praised.
Amen.

Each day tells the other
my life is but a journey
to great and endless life.
O sweetness of eternity,
may my heart grow to love thee;
my home is not in time's strife.

Tersteegen, from Letters and Papers From Prison, D. Bonhoeffer

Asparagus

When Tyler and Noelle were growing up we struggled with, well, teaching table manners and proper etiquette. We found a book which was some help and a good version of proper table manners. The other day I was going through some boxes in the basement looking for an old article I had written years ago and I ran across Tiffany's Table Manners for Teenagers. The book quickly became a family joke and a source of pain and great laughter in our household.

Turning to the page on Asparagus I found the following quote. "Asparagus is eaten with the fingers, unless stalks are too long. If the asparagus is long and thin, cut off the ends with your fork held in your right hand and eat with your fork. You will then avoid imitating a trained seal. Then pick the shortened stalks up in your fingers."

It's one thing to teach a teenager how to eat Asparagus. It's an entirely different thing to get them to choke it down with fingers or a fork.