Heading to India Again

The Taj Mahal
Goats and Sheep
Camels
Oxen
Monkeys (how many can you count? And no, they're not in a cage, those bars are to keep me out, not them in!) I'm heading to India tomorrow, my second trip there. My first trip was such a learning experience. I came back feeling very humble, in that seeing the circumstances of so many people in poverty made me recognize once again what a great blessing it is to live in the United States. With all the challenges we have in our country, we would all do well to visit India and other impoverished nations before we complain. I suspect our complaints would diminish greatly. I saw people literally living in garbage heaps, openly bathing on the side of the road, begging for money everywhere, and just struggling to survive at every turn. I took many photos while there, and felt ashamed when I came home and looked at them--I didn't mean to document that great nation's misery. This first picture juxtaposes the great Taj Mahal, a truly magnificent edifice, with the living conditions of many who live next to it. I think one of the most striking cultural differences is how animals are free to roam as they please--and they please to go everywhere! Click on any picture for a larger view.

Today's Amazing Technology

Everyone asks me how I can be so sure that Katie and Joe's little girl (due in late October) will be blonde haired and blue eyed. I have decided to reveal my secret.

Conspiracy Theory

Today brought the largest single run-up in oil prices in history: over $16/barrel. And what does ConocoPhillips stock do? Drops 59 cents a share. Yeah, it's a conspiracy alright.

Samuel Prophesied of This

I took this picture at Bridal Veil Falls, outside Provo, Utah. I could not help but think of the scripture I had just studied, found in The Book of Mormon, in Helaman 14:20-22. It recounts a prophecy made by a prophet known as Samuel the Lamanite. In about 6 B.C., Samuel is pleading with his people here in the western hemisphere to repent, and he prophesies of great signs which will be seen at the time when the Savior will be crucified in the eastern hemisphere (some 39 years in the future). He said:

"But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of thre days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.

"Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up;

"Yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath."

Aftermath of Ike

Copy and paste this link into your browser for some incredible pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

I am so thankful that none of our family, friends, and colleagues sustained any injuries. After creating much havoc in the Gulf Coast, Ike headed on a direct path to St. Louis. We received quite a bit of rain, perhaps 5-6 inches, in a 12 hour period. Winds were strong, but didn't cause too many problems. We went to church, and the Bishop announced that he was hearing lots of folks were experiencing issues with water, so the sacrament was administered, and the meeting was ended. We knew that our good friends the Raymonds were experiencing basement flooding, so we went to their house to see how we could help. A drain in a swale had plugged, and several homes in their neighborhood were flooded. A backhoe was working to clear the drain, and the water was receding when we arrived, but not before a foot and a half of water found its way into the basement. They were only able to salvage the most valuable things, such as electronics and important personal items. The furniture was soaked.

Jon and several helpers used a sump pump to get the majority of the water out, and within about 36 hours a restoration company was there to begin the dryout and repair process. I guess what impressed me most was Jon and Darlene's attitude--they dealt with this setback in a very positive manner and rather than feel sorry for themselves, they just went to work, cleaning clothes, drying out the house, getting contractors lined up, and keeping the kids focused on what they needed to do to work through this. What I saw was the influence of the gospel; even in the face of disaster, the Spirit of God can bring peace and reassurance to help us deal with life's challenges.

Ex Nihilo

Latin, of course. It means "out of nothing". A common usage is to explain how the world was created--that God somehow created the world in some sort of mystical way, from nothing. My religion teaches that the creation refers to organizing pre-existing materials into the planet we now inhabit. The Latin term for that is "creatio ex materia".

While being far from knowledgeable in the various disciplines of geoscience, I do find the doctrine of organizational creation so much more rational than placing my faith in principles that violate thermodynamics and the laws of physics as we understand them today. However...



You tell me where tomato worms come from. They just appear, every single time I grow tomatoes, in every state in which I have lived. And I have never seen them anywere except on tomato plants. I think tomato worms make the best case one could ever posit for Creatio Ex Nihilo. Don't you?

(click on the photo for a surprising view of a fight; you and i aren't the only ones who don't like tomato worms!)

Who Would Have Guessed...

that the Mississippi River level rises and falls so much? This is a graph from a government website showing the predicted level rising 27 feet in one week! This is the effect of Hurricane Ike passing through the Midwest.

Rich Evacuates Houston

I’ve gotten lots of questions about what impacts Hurricane Ike has had on my company, ConocoPhillips. The short answer is, I don’t know yet.

I was in Houston this week, and as it became evident that the hurricane was going to hit Houston, I decided to cut my business trip short by a day and came home Thursday evening. I knew that Ike wasn’t going to hit until late Friday/early Saturday, but with as many people as were told to evacuate (I heard over a million), I knew I should leave earlier than Friday or risk not getting out. Even on Thursday, the freeways were jam-packed and crawling Thursday morning.

We closed our offices on Thursday at noon, and although my flight wasn’t until 6 p.m., I drove to the airport hoping to catch an earlier flight. However, the wait list was already 70 names long, so I just waited for my flight. However it was delayed, and we didn’t get the wheels up until 8:30 p.m. I was exhausted but happy to be heading home. The pilot told us the weather wasn’t causing the problem; it was all the private aircraft traffic impacting the commercial flights.

We did shut down three Gulf Coast refineries—Sweeney, Alliance, and Lake Charles. Also we shut down at least one offshore platform, and I understand most oil companies shut down their facilities, too. I heard on the news today that gasoline prices spiked to well over $5/gallon in Atlanta. That’s the first time I’ve heard of a price that high in our nation. Hopefully that’s very short lived!

Besides all my friends and co-workers in Houston, I have several relatives there. My cousin Julie White Reames lives in Sugar Land, as does my Aunt Laura and her husband Dave White. Lisa’s nephew Nathan and his wife and children live on the north side of Houston also. I’m worried about them all and pray for their safety from the storm.

Trick Question: Which One is Too Expensive?

Gasoline, $4.00/gallon
Lipton Iced Tea, $9.52/gallon
Ocean Spray Juice, $10.00/gallon
Gatorade, $10.17/gallon
Diet Snapple, $10.32/gallon
Evian Water, $21.19/gallon
Wite-Out, $25.42/gallon
Brake Fluid, $33.60/gallon
Scope Mouthwash, $84.48/gallon
Pepto Bismol, $123.20/gallon
Vicks Nyquil, $178.13/gallon
HP Printer Ink, $4,294.58/gallon

Corvette Day at the Plant

Right to left: Orange C6, Red C4 (mine), Orange C6 Z06, White C3, Pewter C5, Red C5