Sorry it took me so long to say so, but we enthusiastically welcome you home Michael.
Our first day back to work, and we're still on the love parade!
Just wanted to thank you all for a spectacular weekend. We love you all.
I wrote this short poem for Mrs Valdez's scroll she plans to give attendees to the wedding. I wanted you guys to see it as well. I attempted to work in many of the features of the chapel.
Hear the vows of love Ringing!
Ringing through the airy walls of the chapel
Ringing across the bubbling fountain
Ringing down the dusty rocks of the canyon
Hear the great bell of Dulcinea Ringing out Love!
Thank you for helping us put it in motion
We wish you love
We can't wait to see your smiling face, covered in snow cone, back in Austin.
I also heard some commentary this morning on NPR regarding Veteran's or Armistice Day. The most striking statement was regarding the first Armistice Day during WWI.
As the men climbed out of their rat infested fox holes, during the 11th month, on the 11 day, and the 11 hour of 1918, they found their enemy who looked and were think exactly what they were.
We love you Uncle Michael and can't wait for your return. I've found several thoughtful quotes for your birthday. Have a great day!
"No wise man ever wished to be younger." Jonathan Swift
"A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror." Ken Keyes Jr.
Here's a wikipedia link for Mr. Keyes, not sure what he's about, but I like the sound of Living Love.
I found this quote in my news reader this morning. It reminded of my sister, and I even bet Christian can relate.
powered by performancing firefox
Since I've been so busy at work lately, I've had no time to post new blog stories. So, I sent this message to my team this morning, bragging about Isaac. I think you might be interested.
I had an experience last night with my son, Isaac, which I think could provide some relevance to our task here at work.
Each week, the teacher sends home a review of what they are going to cover during the coming week. This week, they are going to learn graphing. Since Maersk has helped me become very efficient at creating graphs, I created an Excel worksheet which we converted to a graph, so that we could discuss the subject.
Our worksheet analyzed people in our family, and their ages. Relative age seems to be a difficult subject in my child's mind, and I was thinking a graph would help his understanding. So we reviewed bar graphs, noting that the older someone was, the taller their line was. Then we converted it to a pie graph, noting that the older person always had the larger piece of pie.
Then came the $60,000 question at the end of our informal lesson, "What if both people have the same sized pie piece." His unaided response brought tears to my eyes, "They would be the same age." A budding critical thinker, I'm so proud.
Driving into work this morning, I thought this lesson gave an analogy to our work here. Not to say that our customers have the technical understanding of a 5 year old; however, we have a great deal of knowledge to share with our customers. Maersk has given us skills which other parts of our organization have little to no understanding. We should take advantage of these skills to provide our customers insight to their own business units, which they never thought possible.
I realize it’s a little corny for Monday morning, but I wanted to brag. Have a good Monday!
Isaac competed in his first Taekwondo tournament this last weekend. He won first place in sparring (one on one fighting with only blocks), and second place in the kata or forms.
He was very exciting about competing, and we've had great fun practicing before leaving for school. He taught me to turn my hips when punching, what a great teacher!
I sent this to my group this afternoon. i couldn't past level 6, and was interested in what some real typers could do like Mom and Grandma.
Hope you guys have a good weekend.
Sorry for lack of input lately, work has been calling.
Here's the chappel we're looking at
I was explaining to Michael, the meaning of Dulcinea in Don Quixote. I also asked him to hurry home.
Dulcinea is the object of affection for Don Quixote during his quests. Every deed, every journey and every quest is made in her name.
A web site describes Dulcinea "... in the tradition of the epic journey motif. For Odysseus his Penelope, Aeneas his Latinia, Dante his Beatrice and Don Quixote his Dulcinea."
On July 20, 1969, the America's Apollo 11 landed on the moon, making history as the first humans set foot on another world.
I found this article today on Wired magazine. It describes some satellite watching as an extreme sport?!?
Here's a web site, Heavens Above, which automatically calculates which stellites are visible from any location in the world.
What a disturbing image. Please teach the girls to play instead of hate.
Israeli girls write messages on a shell at a heavy artillery position near Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, next to the Lebanese border, Monday, July 17, 2006.
Here's the photo set, some of the 93 pics are still sideways, but Denise is working on it in her recovery and we thought you would enjoy the show anyway.
We had such a tremendous time, just being with our family. One thing we didn't get a picture of is the space station. Seeing the space station three times was incredible, and Isaac has even developed an interest in astronomy because of it (Thank you Mr. Brough). 
The other high point was our fishing expedition. Who knew catching basketfulls of tiny little fish could be so much fun. Some of us, Faith, even had a great time catching worms.
Thank you Nancy for getting this all together for us. What a blast.
Here's what we were looking for at the Lake. We actually saw the International Space Station, but this is what we hoped to see.
Space Shuttle Discovery landed on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 9:14 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 17. During the nearly 13-day mission, the STS-121 crew tested new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, and delivered supplies and made repairs to the International Space Station.
Mr. Chomsky speaks some of just war in Iraq in YouTube video. This is one of the comments left on the video site, which reminds me some of Isaac's Uncle's work.
West Point will only be great if it allows its cadets the same
intellectual freedoms that they swear an oath to protect upon
graduating. That Chomsky was allowed to lecture to cadets makes me
proud to be a USMA grad.
Today is the summer Solstice. In the northern hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year. Also when the sun is the furthest north , on the latitude 23 degrees 27 minutes, also known as the tropic of cancer. In the southern hemisphere, today marks the winter solstic, the shortest day of the year for the Aussies.
The image illustrates the angle which the sun shines on the various lattitudes during the summer solstice.
This photo reminded me of Isaac's quest to able to ride the slide at the local swimming pool. They've instituted a new policy where instead of just being able to swim to the side after falling into the water: you have to be able to swim an entire length of the pool, and tread water for 1 minute.
If it would even stop raining, we might meet the restrictions by the end of the summer.
Here's an interesting blog. The author discusses bird watching and other environmental issues while deployed in Iraq.
Our pilgramige to South Texas is complete. We drove nearly 800 total miles visiting The Basilica of Our lady of San Juan del Valle, Don Pedrito Jaramillo (we even witnessed a faith healer working), St. Jude Thaddeus in Pharr (beautiful gardens), and both of Denise's grandmothers in Beeville (thanks to the help of an oddly coincidental bunny rabbit leading our way).
My favorite was the Virgen de San Juan. We walked the stations of the cross., and received a blessing from the priest finishing a mass. I think this would be a great trip for all of our family, they even have a mariachi mass on Sunday and very close to Progresso and an excellent border crossing taco dinner.
I had a bit of an epiphany as to why Catholics ask intercession from the Blessed Mother, which seemed very relevant in our specific case. Mary was both a mother and a wife. No matter what happens with Denise's condition, she will play both roles in my life, and I will be better for it.
Considering our visits to the health care, we've done a great deal of praying and working lately. I believe this weekend we are going on a pilgrimage. This religious act seems common in many religions; however, I can't say I was aware of it during my own religious training. I'll give more details as they become available.
Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon man.Francis Cardinal Spellman
An accupressure technique for relieving a stuffing nose. It worked for me immediately, I'll keep experimenting. And I'm going to show my family, maybe it will end Isaac's frequent prescription to allergy medicine.
Happy Fourth Birthday Faith. If you get time, take a look at the princess website from Disney. Hope your day was filled with royalty.
The skeletal systems of cartoons. An anatomical view of the "grotesquely distored" figures which are derived from human form.
What a great long weekend we had with Isaac. He makes us appreciate the most simple things; like learning to fold a towel, or learning to start the washing machine. Our home is truly full of love and learning. This quote reminded me of this with ambition (learning) and love.
A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive. Having been alive, it won't be so hard in the end to lie down and rest.
Pearl Bailey
I saw this word used in a written celebration of someone's life. What an incredible word. It is a Hindi word which is used in South Asia as a greeting. Look at the potential meanings. Incredible greeting to say to someone that 'I recognize that within each of us is a place where Divinity dwells, and when we are in that place, we are One.'
You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.
Jeannette Rankin
I went to Isaac's graduation this morning, and amoung many songs, they sang the ABCs backwards. "Now I now my ZWXs, bet you didn't expect that". I've been learning this myself as a mental exercise but never thought Isaac would do it so easily.
**Hopefully pictures to come, I still don't have a good digital camera so will beg for a few shots to post.
We had a workshop the other day on company values, our main one is "Constant Care". As indicated in this Dilbert, the implementation of the value is the difficult part. Wondering if school districts or the Army have published value statements.
Leo found a new friend at the dog sitter this weekend. She got some incredible shots of them. As far as the rugby. We won the second and lost the first, a fun weekend overall with the team. Healing quickly.
The Crab Nebula is the shattered remnant of a massive star that ended its life in a supernova explosion. Nearly a thousand years old, the supernova was noted in the constellation of Taurus by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054 AD.
This view of the supernova remnant obtained by the Spitzer Space Telescope shows an infrared view of this complex object. The blue-white region traces the cloud of energetic electrons trapped within the star's magnetic field, emitting so-called "synchrotron" radiation. The red features follow the well-known filamentary structures that permeate this nebula. Though they are known to contain hot gasses, their exact nature is still a mystery that astronomers are examining.
The energetic cloud of electrons is driven by a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, at its core. The nebula is about 6,500 light-years away from the Earth, and is 5 light-years across.
I had mistakenly turned on comment moderation, and called Mom asking if anybody was reading. I should know better. I turned it back off, and of course a free flow of conversation from all 3 of my readers.
Have a great day today.
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
Pablo Picasso
The eyes of God are everywhere. Isn't he spectacular?
Think also about this quote in your new adventure,
It's such a part of me, I assume Everyone can see it.
Hugh Elliott
Ironically, after our admission into the mini-van club, Denise and I are despriately looking for fuel alternatives. I heard this song on a homemade radio station (have you tried this service, Pandora, very cool).
By: Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
1971
I have been out wandering
I have traveled far
One conclusion I have made
Is God don't own a car
He don't wear no fancy clothes
He'd rather take the bus
He would pay a tourist fare
So he could sit with us
He don't have no tamborine
Guitar or slide trombone
The music we make here on Earth
The words they are His own
And when we finally reach His home
And walk among the stars
He'll join our band then we'll understand
Why God don't own a car
A Fresh Air cast from a religious scholar Bart D. Ehrman, who is also an expert of the gnostic gospels (Even the gospel of Mary Magdalene). Timely considering our recent lecture for Mom's birthday.
Denise and I heard this on NPR this morning. The interesting points seem to be the number of healthy foods which cause the migraines, in combination with changes in the atmosphere and stress. One of them includes the protein in soy, which can cause a delayed migraine up to 72 hours later (what? vegeburgers?). Others include bananas, citrus, nuts, and cheese, and caffine. This link also contains the sound file if you want to listen.
Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius.
Comte de Buffon
What is surprising to me is that it didn't last for an hour like most of their live concert songs; also, very good harmony at the ending.
Found this quote, and it reminded me of Gammy's birthday. What a great celebration in Love and Friendship.
It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.
Sir Winston Churchill
This composite illustration is of the planet Neptune, as seen from its moon Triton. Neptune's south pole is to the left; clearly visible in the planets' southern hemisphere is a Great Dark Spot, a large anti-cyclonic storm system. This three-dimensional view was created using images from the Voyager spacecraft.
Dear Mr. President:Recent articles in the
New Yorker and Washington Post report that the use of tactical nuclear
weapons against Iran is being actively considered by Pentagon planners
and by the White House. As members of the profession that brought
nuclear weapons into existence, we urge you to refrain from such an
action that would have grave consequences for America and for the world.1800
of our fellow physicists have joined in a petition opposing new US
nuclear weapons policies that open the door to the use of nuclear
weapons in situations such as Iran's. These policies represent a
"radical departure from the past", in the words of Linton Brooks,
National Nuclear Security Administration director. Indeed, since the
end of World War II, US policy has considered nuclear weapons "weapons
of last resort", to be used only when the very survival of the nation
or of an allied nation was at stake, or at most in cases of extreme
military necessity.
Some operations, apparently aimed in part at intimidating Iran, are already under way. American Naval tactical aircraft, operating from carriers in the Arabian Sea, have been flying simulated nuclear-weapons delivery missions—rapid ascending maneuvers known as “over the shoulder” bombing—since last summer, the former official said, within range of Iranian coastal radars.The other frightening part is a power vacume in Iran opens the door to extremist organizations. The group with the strongest ties to the region is Hezbollah, which recently won a popular election in Lebanon.
This one seems very remarkable (again, amazing the ways children find to express themselves).
Fourth is the joy of always learning, which springs from the
nonrepeating nature of the task. In one way or another the problem is
ever new, and its solver learns something: sometimes practical,
sometimes theoretical, and sometimes both.
Another new photo set Denise had on the camera of Daddy and Isaac laying one down.
I bought a pro account at Flickr, so we can look at lots of photo sets of Isaac, Leo, and the kids. Check out Isaac's guitar party. Doesn't he look at home with the guitar in his hand?
Here are the pics from Isaacs new digital camera. Interesting what catches his eyes, like bright colors.
Susan Partnow
"It is within the families themselves where peace can begin."
When the English tongue we speak.
Why is break not rhymed with freak?
Will you tell me why it's true
We say sew but likewise few?
And the maker of the verse,
Cannot rhyme his horse with worse?
Beard is not the same as heard
Cord is different from word.
Cow is cow but low is low
Shoe is never rhymed with foe.
Think of hose, dose,and lose
Today is the anniversary of Dr. King's assassination in Memphis, TN on 4/04/1968. His last speech was titled "I've been to the mountain top".
Two passages from this famous speech seem striking
The Nobel prize winner of 1964, spoke regarding peace, "Men for years now have been talking about war and peace. But now no loner can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence."
Then in the famous last paragraph of his final speech, "...And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And so I''m happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Here is also the wikipedia article which discusses the time line, as well as conspiracy theories.
The most interesting line in this piece regarding bin Laden's legacy is this statement. "Both bin Laden and the Crusaders transformed the evil of vengeance into a virtue."
In some ways, bin Laden is a historical anomaly. He is a natural byproduct of Wahhabi theology but hardly a theologian himself. Despite his many speeches and writings, he does not seem keen about leaving behind a legacy of interpretations or a coherent system of thought that would inspire generations of Muslims after he is gone. Something of a theological parasite, he seems content with tapping into everything cruel and intolerant in the vast Islamic tradition. Likewise, his revolutionary credentials are suspect; although he speaks of ending oppression and injustice, his vision is full of nightmares. Revolutionaries usually promise a better world after destroying the old—there is at least the hint of a utopian dream that draws in young idealists. The rhetoric of defensive jihad suggests that bin Laden sees himself as a different kind of revolutionary—a national liberator or freedom fighter—and indeed, many secular Muslims and Christian Arabs do sympathize with him on that basis.But between the three choices—theologian, revolutionary, or Crusader—bin Laden is most like a Crusader. The Crusades were ostensibly about gaining control of holy sites, but in reality this was just an excuse for waging war without the constraints of morality. Not bothering with such technicalities as who actually lived on the land, the Crusaders believed that their acts of unmitigated aggression were defensive wars, and, like bin Laden, the Crusaders thrived on narratives of victimization. Both bin Laden and the Crusaders transformed the evil of vengeance into a virtue. Bin Laden fancies himself the defender of Islam, and Crusaders fancied themselves the defenders of Christendom. But most tragically, the Crusaders and bin Laden exploited their religious traditions to commit atrocities in God’s holy name.
There was a solar eclipse today. Viewable mostly in Africa to central Asia. (Were you able to view this Uncle Michael?) The next total eclipse viewable in the US will be 2017. Here's an explanation of how the eclipses occur. 
Denise, Isaac and I went to little Dylan's first birthday the other weekend. Here is Stacie and Jason's new web site. Got to love the cowboy hat pictures, and smiles with food all over the face.
BTW - if you were wondering if Faith was sick because of the cheetos Saturday, think again. Denise stayed home with the same thing today. At least she found a plastic bag in the car. Here's one time I'm glad we didn't have a digital camera.
Faith and Brian could learn to ride easily and no skinned knees.Matthew C. Grossman, Student, Austin, TX. Shift Bicycle: This bicycle
is intended to help small children learn to balance on their own
without the crutch of training wheels and the worry of skinned knees.
The bicycle features two rear wheels that are spread apart at slow
speeds to provide critical stability, and as the rider gains speed, the
two rear wheels merge together to act as one wheel until the rider
reduces speed and consequently returns the bicycle to the two wheel
configuration.
Check this out, a recumbant "trike". Who knew. Looks much more fun than pedeling in front of your TV though. Word of caution, though, not cheap here either.
In case you anybody who is having knee pain, a helpful site for the routine proceedure. Of course reinterated time and time again, "...always consult your surgeon."
I've been telling Denise lately about the great pleasure I had in an old blue VW, called affectionately a 'hoopie'. Take a look at this one - its jet powered.Remember that happiness is a way of travel - not a destination.
Roy M. Goodman
Here is a link due to recent interests in root canals in my comment section. Mama don't let your babies grow up to be cheerleaders, or bad dentists.Any community's arm of force - military, police, security - needs
people in it who can do necessary evil, and yet not be made evil by it.
To do only the necessary and no more. To constantly question the
assumptions, to stop the slide into atrocity.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Estimated amount of glucose used by an adult human brain each day, expressed in M 250
Harper's Index
Here's the answer to the Kennedy driving portion, and this cartoon illustrates the last vice presidential shooting.
Life happens in three dimensions, so why doesn't science? Declan Butler discovers that online tools, led by the Google Earth virtual globe, are changing the way we interact with spatial data.This article discusses the scientific uses of the Google Earth application. This application is basically a plug in that can be used by anybody. Shhh don't tell anybody, but my idea for the next big thing involves Google Earth meshed with our container tracking system.
Google has a new search engine for blogs (although its still in beta), looks like it has most of my entries when searching by the blog name. Cool!
A research group at BYU have developed a possible cure for the AIDS virus, using a class of drugs called ceragenins. It is currently being confirmed. If the results remain positive, it will take 3 - 7 years for release by the USDA.
This article notes the likihood of genocide with new democracies. Perhaps predicting the possiblity of such with the perfect storm in Iraq. It also describes how the Germans justified the Holicost in terms of 'just war' arguments. This seems to give significance to Michael's studies in history as well as current events.
Reasoned defences of most genocides can be constructed on the basis of a conjunction of the just war and social exclusion arguments, for if there is an identifiable social group engaged in total war against you, then it has to be neutralised. The Armenian genocide in 1915 was justified on these grounds, for the Armenians were expected to fight with the Russians in the event of an invasion of Anatolia. Stalin’s classicide was an attempt to deal with counter-revolutionary elements who might have sided with the Whites in the event of a renewed civil war or foreign invasion. A defence of the Holocaust might be constructed along the same lines: the attack on Bolshevism was a just war against an outlaw state ‘driven by slavery and the threat of human sacrifice’; it became a total war in which Jews would probably have taken the Soviet side; their pre-emptive internment was therefore a natural precaution, and their execution an unfortunate necessity at a time of ‘supreme emergency’ when the Red Army threatened the Fatherland. If you accept the just war and social exclusion arguments, then these genocides can only be criticised on the basis that they relied on shaky political analysis. They were, in effect, misjudgments, failures of statesmanship, perhaps.These are not hypothetical arguments. Orhan Pamuk was until recently awaiting trial for affirming the existence of an Armenian genocide, while the president of Iran has cast doubt on the Holocaust, and floated the idea of relocating the state of Israel in Central Europe. Mann and Levene both see genocide as a modern practice coextensive with the rise of the West, and imply that the Middle East has been relatively insulated from this historical pattern. But as war and democracy march hand in hand into the region, that may change. On Mann’s analysis, the chances of some sort of genocide must be quite high. According to him, murderous ethnic cleansing takes place where the demos is equated with the ethnos. Young democracies are particularly at risk, especially those where ethnicity trumps class as the primary means of social classification. The danger zone is reached when two groups claim the same territory, and they reach the brink either when the weaker group fights rather than submits (perhaps believing it has outside support) or when the stronger thinks it can act with impunity. Genocides do not occur in stable, peaceful environments, but at moments of crisis when the state is in danger. So societies only go over the brink when the perpetrators of the genocide are radicalised by war.
Today is groundhog day, some interesting facts from an MSN article.
This is an interesting link between two geniuses from alternate fields. I guess when you achieve total understanding, the idea of 'pre-existing harmony' is plausible. Here is Einstein's thought of Mozart's musical process,
Music was so pure that it seemed to have been ever-present in the universe, waiting to be discovered by the master.and likewise, a similar discovery of his own physical theories,
The laws of nature, such as those of relativity theory, were waiting to be plucked out of the cosmos by someone with a sympathetic ear.
They had a bubble party in Vancouver! How cool is that?!?
I liked this one the best, but here's the 
An early 
