Drill Baby Drill

Ummmm...what did you think she meant?

Thanks for the Father's Day gift kids!

Fun in the Sun!

I'm in the middle of a great week, vacationing in sunny Utah! After spending a day with Katie, Claire, and Joseph, we left Sarah in Provo for the week at BYU to study with a potential music professor (if Sarah gets accepted into the program next year), and then Lisa and I headed off for Moab. We met sister Rebecca and her husband Todd there and explored Arches national park. Later we went on a 25 mile boat ride down the Colorado River and saw more of the park you can't see any other way--very cool. The photo above/left was taken from the boat.

Then we headed further south to St. George. We're staying at "Seven Wives" bed and breakfast, which is directly across the street from Brigham Young's former home. Last night we drove around the area looking at homes for sale, just to get an idea of prices should we decide we need to live in a warm dry climate some day. Prices are great but...there's a lot of red dirt here! And the landscaping is red, and the houses are red, and...you have to really like red.

BTW, after auditioning, Sarah was third chair in the "Masters" section (out of a group of a dozen or so flautists) and they will put on a concert this weekend.

We're driving back to Provo today (hope it's not so windy...on the drive down we encountered winds that were clocked in some places as high as 74 mph!).

The picture below shows a guy climbing "Wall Street". Crazy!

Salty Newcomers

Latest additions to the aquarium. Hoping the clown fish will introduce herself to the anemone! The coral banded shrimp immediately staked out a territory and began fiercely defending it... Need help in naming these two, any suggestions?

Dory Bowerman

I added a blue tang to the aquarium yesterday. She (aren't all blue tangs female and named Dory?) seems to be doing well and holding her own at feeding time with the yellow tang, the clown fish, and the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. She's crazy about kelp, but also liked the shrimp and peas I tossed in.

The Iron Raccoon

Sarah: Hey, something smells really bad in my closet.
Lisa: Let's go get a ladder and check it out.
Sarah: Dad, where's the ladder?
Rich: In the garage.
Sarah: (gives Rich the hairy eyeball--she doesn't want to have to go get it)
Lisa: Rich, come see if you smell anything.
Rich: What? (thinks to himself: what a lovely family activity)
Rich: Ooooh, that's bad. You have a dead animal in here.
Sarah: See, I told you. But that's not what's making that noise...?
Rich: Right. Dead animals don't make any noise. (Sarah starts to snicker)
Rich: You'll have to take everything out to find it.
Sarah: What?
Rich: You heard me.
Lisa: I don't smell anything. (Sarah is in a state of disbelief)
Rich: Then maybe you should be the one to take everything out.
At this point, Sarah is laughing. Rich starts to laugh also. The laughter gets out of control.
Rich: It's probably a dead raccoon.
Sarah: What?
Rich: That got in through the basement door that was left open all night.
Sarah: What? Is that why the alarm wouldn't set last night?
Rich: (more hysterical laughter) Maybe. (tears are flowing)
Sarah: How long has it been open?
Rich: (almost unable to communicate through the laughter and tears) I'm sure it hasn't been open more than two weeks.
Sarah: Why didn't you close it last night?
Rich: I knew I was safe now that you guys are back home from Utah.
Lisa: (gives Rich the hairy eyeball) You guys are bad.
Rich: Wow, what is that smell? Oh, is that your iron? (Sarah is about to fall off the bed from laughing so much) Just kidding, I don't smell a thing (runs away as Lisa is about to throw the hot iron at him)

Crazy Good

It just doesn't get any easier than this: Take some fresh shredded parmesan cheese (you can buy it already shredded) and drop it into a heated non-stick skillet (or a regular skillet sprayed with non-stick stuff). Just make a lacy pattern with the cheese, just two or three shreds thick. Let it cook until it gets golden-brown and crispy. You can cook on one side or both.

That's it! You're done! Now just eat it. This is really good with soup or salad. Try it in place of bread. I first had this in a Nordstrom's restaurant with a ceaser salad. It can also be broken into pieces and used in place of croutons. Why didn't someone tell me about this earlier?

Masterful

Ok, so I'm no music aficionado, but I do love good music. For Valentine's Day, Lisa and I went to the symphony. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra was playing "romantic favorites" (collective aaahhhh, please).

Unbeknownst to us, there was a featured violinist on the program, one Viviane Hagner. Ms. Hagner, it turns out, is quite the virtuoso, in my humble opinion. With no music in front of her, she played non-stop for about 20 minutes. And the music she was playing, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 64, was quite complex. I think the rest of the orchestra was quite challenged to keep up, even with the music in front of them. How could she do this? The practice, the hours, the mental focus--all just incredible to think about. And then--the quality of the sound--it was just exquisite. As I was sitting there, I was thinking to myself what incredible timbre that violin had. I'm not a huge fan of the violin, actually, only because most violinists don't reach the level of mastery that makes it a beautiful-sounding instrument to me. That's just me, I know I'm in the minority here. Anyway, there's no doubt this was the finest sounding violin music I have heard.

As we looked closer at the playbill, we realized this master musician wasn't playing just any old violin. She was playing a real Strativarius! Yes, the real deal, made in 1717! It was on loan to her from the foundation that owns it. Lisa and I tried to guess what something like that would be worth. We really had no idea, but guessed maybe a million dollars. I looked it up on the internet today, and it said that Strativarius' "golden period" was between 1700 and 1720; the few documented violins he crafted during that period can be worth several million dollars. Just incredible! I feel very lucky to have had an opportunity to experience this combination: a master, playing a masterpiece, on a masterpiece!

Pop Quiz

1) Photo number 1 is:
A) A look behind the scenes of the set for Superman's Ice Palace
B) Star Wars' Death Star inner workings
C) A high school physics experiment gone awry
D) _______________________________


















2) This is an actual photo of
A) Mitosis (cell division)
B) The sun, weeping over global warming
C) Something we don't talk about in polite company
D) _____________________________


3) Click on the photo to see:
A) Leaking electrons from satellite cables
B) The reason the refrigerator icemaker doesn't work
C) Variation on Chinese water torture techniques
D) _________________________________



















4) These vertical structures are:
A) Part of Rich's latest project at work
B) Nuclear fuel rods stolen from the set of "24"
C) Electron microscopy of the printed circuit board in a modern computer
D) ________________________________













Donations are being taken for repairs to all the above. Between the $200 surcharge plus double time for Sunday work, this was a really big ouchie.

Photos of Claire

I'm going to jump right off this highchair and grab that jar of baby food and then I'm going to...













It's not clear who had more fun--Claire playing in her little house, or Grandma building it!
















Like Mother (age ~16), Like Daughter























No, really, Grandpa. I do not know who made this mess.





Claire visits Grandpa at his work office

Simply Blue

It was a cold, snowy night. The howling wind drove wind chill temperatures below zero. But the proud blue crane, undaunted, was still standing at daybreak, at the ready for any task it might be called upon to perform.

Pot Luck Almost Sent Me To Jail

We had a pot luck lunch at work in mid-December. We don't do a lot of pot lucks, but this year we didn't have our normal Christmas party at a restaurant, so the pot luck was a good alternative. I chose to make a cheesecake. It was only my second attempt, but it turned out well and I got lots of compliments on it.

I had taken a knife from home to cut it with--a huge knife, about a foot long. After lunch, I just stuck the knife in my briefcase and forgot about it. That was December 17.

As I prepared to go on vacation, I packed my briefcase with the things I wanted to take with me to Florida--paperwork, a book, reservation information, all the usual stuff. I didn't see the knife in the bottom of one of the briefcase slots; it had sort of nestled itself into a fold of the fabric and was covered up by folders and papers.

When Lisa saw me packing, she persuaded me to lose the briefcase and just pack everything into a suitcase that had some extra space. I really wanted to take the briefcase because it had all sorts of things in it that I regularly need, such as my electronic password key, mints, coins, money, pens, pass-along cards, and so on. But I was taking my camera as a carry-on, plus a carry-on roller bag, so I really didn't have a choice to take a third carry-on. I moved the essentials to the suitcase and off we went to the airport.

Went to Florida, came home, transferred things back to the briefcase, and went to work today. As I was taking things out of the briefcase to get them back into their proper places in the office, I spied the knife, in the bottom of the briefcase. No big deal, until I realized how close I came to trying to get the briefcase (with the knife) through airport security. Oh my gosh! How would I have explained a 12" knife that looked like I was trying to hide it while attempting to get past security? With all the heightened security of late, can you imagine what they might have done to me? I'm guessing 30 years at hard labor in Sing Sing. With no cheesecake on the menu.

Baptism

I attended the baptism of a friend yesterday, Norman Wall. Immediately after the baptism and confirmation, the bishopric member who was conducting asked, "How do you feel?" Norman thought for a moment, and then responded, "Like a huge burden has been lifted. I feel terrific."

I think that was the perfect answer, because it so defines the effect of the Atonement. Those who apply for relief, receive it from the Savior. His healing power takes away the oppressive weight of sin, of mistakes, of errors, large and small. This incredible gift is available to all, but can only be obtained through Jesus Christ. Thank you Norman for reminding us all of why we are followers of the Master.