Road Trip

This weekend I went on a road trip for Fraternity business!

Friday night I left town after work and drove to Show Low.  I stopped off in Payson and had dinner with an old high school classmate and friend, Kathy S.  I drive through Payson all the time and had never had a chance to stop and say hi, so I'm glad I was able to this time.  We had some great Mexican food and a wonderful conversation.  Afterward I drove on to Show Low and stayed the night.

The next morning (Saturday) I hit the road.  First stop was Greer, to look around and reconnoiter for our Province Retreat at Benny Creek campground over Labor Day.  The campground was closed but I was able to take some good pictures of the area and get a feel for what it's like.  I think it will be nice.

After that brief excursion I drove on to Albuquerque via US 60 to NM 36 to NM 117 through the El Malpais National Monument.  It's a pretty desolate area, but I love seeing the lava flow there.  It's so striking and thought provoking to me -- I imagine what it must have been like when the lava was flowing and wonder why it did stop THERE and not somewhere else? Then on to I-40.

I got into town and checked into my hotel with just enough time to shower and change and get to the restaurant for dinner with the Iota Phi chapter and their probationary members.  We had a great dinner and fellowship, including (of course) serenading our waitresses.  After dinner and some post-dinner talking it was off to UNM to get ready for the initiation ritual.  As usual I spent most of my time beforehand sitting with the PMs, getting to know them and hearing about their experience in the PM process.  They are a great bunch of guys, and as usual Iota Phi has done a great job preparing them.

The Ritual was well done and, in a first, starting only 20 minutes after the nominal "knock" time of 9 p.m.  I was impressed!  Afterward we took pictures as usual and then I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Sunday morning I drove up to Santa Fe to grab some stuff for my friend Olivia (she just moved to Phoenix) from her mom, then back down I-25 to El Paso.  I got in around 3:30, checked in to the hotel, then went over to UTEP to meet with Nu Lambda's vice president and FEO.  We talked for about an hour, I think, and I got a good overview of how things are going for them and gave some insights and advice.  Afterward I hung around writing up some notes for a while, then headed out for some dinner and back to the hotel.

Monday morning I checked out of the hotel and went over to UTEP.  I was at school all day for meetings:

• chapter Faculty Advisors
• FA for the SAI colony there
• chapter secretary
• chapter treasurer
• chapter alumni relations officer
• chapter president
• other brothers

Unfortunately I did not get to meet with the SOM assistant head.  The school is in the process of choosing a new department head and they were actually in meetings that day for more discussions so everyone was very busy.

I did manage to sneak out for some food at the UTEP student union.  It's really a pretty neat campus.

At the end of the day (around 6) the chapter did their "Black Night".  This is normally part of the PM process; they don't have a PM class this semester but did one anyway as part of fraternal education.  I only was able to stay for an hour but I found it very edifying.

At 7ish I hit the road for home!  I had gassed-up the car Sunday night so I drove straight through to Deming, where I stopped for some food and a potty break.  Then back on the road and straight through to Tucson for another food/bio-break, and then home around 1 a.m.   Phew!  It was a good trip though.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

Today was a pretty fun day -- Shutterfly took our team out to watch the Diamondbacks - Rockies game at Chase Field.  We got a ticket and $20 of Dbucks for food. 

I rode the light rail out to the game from the park n' ride at Apache and 101.  I'd never ridden the Phoenix light rail; it's pretty much the same as Portland's MAX except the people are not as interesting :-).  Round trip was $4 which beat paying for parking and dealing with horrible traffic, so that was nice.

The game was fun, although we lost 4-3.  I really do enjoy spending time with my coworkers; they are a good bunch and a lot of fun.

Just checking in...

I've not posted here in almost 2 years... geez!  Sorry about that.

I took some time to update the blog template.  Not horribly impressed but Blogger has made a lot of changes since I started this blog in 2002 and the old stuff is not well supported, so it was time. I'll see if I can actually start posting again.

Since I posted last....

• I'm still at Shutterfly
• Still skating!
• In October 2014 I was appointed Province Governor for Province 35 of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a men's music fraternity that I joined in 1983.  As PG I am responsible for keeping an eye on four chapters in Arizona, New Mexico, and "extreme West Texas" a.k.a. El Paso.  In addition we have a colony (chapter in the making) at ASU that I've been working with for 2 years or so.  With a bit of luck we will have them operation by this time next year.
• I'm still singing with the Schola at Ss. Peter and Paul in Tucson.
• I'm also singing with the ASU Choral Union, a community chorus sponsored by ASU and conducted by the inimitable Dr. Schildkret.  It's a lot of fun and we do some pretty good music!  We are performing the Honegger "King David" April 28th.

That's it for now!

One Month!

One month!

Yesterday was my one month anniversary at Shutterfly.  The time is going by really quickly!  I'm enjoying it a lot.  For example today I had my head buried in automation code... the time flies by which is kinda nice.  Got my first regular paycheck today (with all the deductions, health insurance, 401K etc. in place).  I upped my 401K withholding by 3% and I'm coming out about the same almost as at Intel (though I will def. miss those bonuses!).

Unfortunately Shutterfly does not do any matching at all for 401K, so I am going to have to work harder to save for retirement.  To be fair, Intel did not match 401K either, but they had a separate Intel plan that they put money into as well.  Since I was there for 8 years I am vested in that as far as it goes.  I guess this means that like a lot of Americans my age, my retirement income will come from a lot of different sources.

I've pretty much adapted to schedule and so forth, now I'm just trying to get my skating life back in some sort of order AND get my butt to the gym.  So far that's not happening.

New Job

I started my new job April 14th.  I am working at Shutterfly!  My job title is Senior Software Development Engineer in Test.  Pretty fancy-schmancy, eh?  Basically I am doing software QA, back to the kind of stuff I was doing before Intel.  We are using Agile methodology so there's been a learning curve for that as well as our tools  and environment.  Now that I've completed my 4th week I'm feeling like I'm starting to settle in a bit.  I even managed to help one of the other "new guys" today, which was a good feeling.

It's hard to explain how excited I am about this job.  My coworkers are a lot of fun and pretty supportive.  My boss is great.  I feel like I'm learning a lot of cool stuff that will make me more valuable in the future and it's challenging and gets me thinking.

Things I like more than Intel:

• very few meetings!  Most days I have just ONE 15-minute meeting (our "scrum").  I can't tell you how good it feels to have uninterrupted time to get things done
• cool coworkers
• great boss
• good benefits -- free product, they take us out to lunch pretty regularly, we have a variety of treats in the break room
• willingness to spend money on tools etc.
• regular work from home day (Thursdays)

Things I like less than Intel:

• commute -- okay, I was pretty spoiled living a mile from work.  Now I'm commuting into west Tempe/east Phoenix with a million other people.  Still it will get better -- we will be moving in 2015 to a site closer to my house and with a less daunting commute
• no air shuttle -- okay, so now when I want to go to Oregon I have to pay for it on my own dime.. oh well!
• a bit less flexible on scheduling.  I am pretty much expected to be in the office 9-5; I can't really come in much later than that so I am having to get up earlier to skate.  On the positive side I think I am a bit more productive this way so long term it will probably be better for me
• Mac OS learning curve -- I'm sure I'll be over this before long, but having to learn to do things the Mac way has been a lot to deal with.  Of course the upside is I'll be "bilingual" in the future.

Loneliest Road Trip Day 5

Day 5 of my Loneliest Road trip.

I hit the road from Topaz Lake about 9 and headed south on 395.  I stopped at Mono Lake to look around and take some pictures... truly amazing!  I did not take time to go to the South Tufa area, which supposedly is more impressive, but what I did see on the shore and at the visitor center was pretty amazing.

Headed south again... the mountain views were breathtaking.  Got into Bishop and gassed up and got some lunch, then south to Big Pine where I turned east onto CA 168.  This is a narrow, curvy mountain road that goes up and over the White Mountains to Deep Springs Valley, then up and over more mountains to meet up with 266.  It was a really fun drive! It reminded me of 191 in eastern Arizona -- lots of hairpin curves and switchbacks.  At one point, for about 100 yards it was one lane!  Eeep.  A few miles in I caught up to a car in front of me... was thinking Crud! Stuck!  But after a mile or so the driver pulled over and let me pass, which I really appreciated.  Anyway it was a really fun drive!

266 to 95 was not as exciting but it was pretty.  Then I took 95 to Vegas and 93 home to Phoenix as usual.  I got home about 10:30 p.m.

It was a great trip! I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Loneliest-Road Trip Day 4

Day 4 of my Loneliest Road trip.  Today I actually drove the Loneliest Road!

I left Ely, NV about 9 a.m.  Stopped in Eureka and got my Guide stamped at the Opera House.  What a cool building!  I really like Eureka.  It's small but it's really charming.

Onward from Eureka to Austin.  US 50 from Ely all the way to Austin traverses a large number of basins (usually 10 - 20 miles wide) separated by mountain ranges.  The basins are at probably 6000 feet and the mountain passes up to 7500 feet, so you really feel like you are at the top of the world.  While the surroundings will definitely make you feel "lonely" as there are almost no human habitations at all outside of the two towns, in another sense it's not that lonely as there was certainly enough traffic (usually going the other way) that I didn't feel particularly lonely.  It's true that I very rarely caught up to anyone in front of me or saw anyone behind me, though, in spite of setting a new GZ land speed record (classified).

Austin is on the western slope of a mountain range -- well, really in a ravine.  It's pretty narrow and US 50 is the main street and all the other streets are on the hill on either side.  I stopped for lunch and got my Guide stamped again, took some pictures of some quaint buildings including three pretty impressive churches and the Stokes Castle.  Then on into a verrrry wiiiiiide basin that went on for ever, seemingly.

Austin to Fallon is about 110 miles (further than the other towns which are spaced 60-70 miles apart).  A bit after Cold Springs (a Pony Express station and there's a little store there) the landscape changed pretty quickly as the road descends from the previous 6000 ft or so average down to more like 4000 ft.  So instead of a slightly green high desert with snowcapped peaks all around it was a very brown desert with mostly brown peaks (some had a little snow, but not much).  About 20 miles from Fallon I stopped to look at the remains of the Sand Springs Pony Express station (kinda cool!) and also Sand Mountain. Sand  Mountain is very very cool and I took some video of the crazy people driving their buggies and even cars up it.  Yikes!  Also saw several Navy jets from Fallon flying overhead returning from the range.

Coming into Fallon the last 10 miles or so the road is going through a somewhat residential area and it's slower.  Got into Fallon and got my Guide stamped at a Chevron station, yay!  I originally was going to stop at the Chamber of Commerce but it was closed?  What the heck?!

On from Fallon and I almost missed the turnoff as 50 turns into Alt-50 to Fernley; you have to make a left to stay on 50 to Carson City.  A fairly uneventful drive although I was surprised at the suburbs (I guess that's what they are) like Stagecoach where they are building houses left and right even though it's like 20 miles from Carson City.  Weird.

Got into Dayton and I wanted to get my Guide stamped (even though I already had the requisite 5 stamps) but couldn't find the Chamber of Commerce.  There was a roadsign but I couldn't find it.  I decided to go for the other option, the Dayton Museum... only to discover it was closed.  So I went looking for the C of C again, and even stopped at a nearby store and asked for help.  Finally  I found it hiding in plain sight -- it was where the sign was, but it was inside a bank building.  There was a very small sign outside not visible from the road.  Of course with my luck, it was only open MWF 9-2 so I missed out.  By now it was like 4:30 and I hit the road and hightailed it to Carson City hoping to get one more stamp, at the C of C there.  I got there about 10 to 5 and though it said it was open M-F 8-5 it was, of course, already closed.  GRRR!!

Continued on to Topaz Lake, where I had gotten a great deal on a room at the Best Western.  It's really a pretty place although, like every lake in CA (-ish) the level is quite low due to the drought.

Tomorrow I'm heading south on 395 to Big Pine, then over to 95 and back home (if I have enough energy) via Vegas and Kingman.

Loneliest-Road Trip Day 3

Still road-tripping!

Today I left Ogden about 10 or so and headed down I-15 to Nephi, where I took Utah 132 west to the junction with Highway 6.  From there I headed to Delta where I gassed up again and had lunch.

The drive from Delta to Ely was quite striking.  Delta is a cute little town with one stop light. From Delta to the Nevada border was mostly flat with a little bit of mountains and a lovely view of Sevier Lake, a mostly-dry lake that does have some water in it now it looked like.  Right after I spotted a small flock of sheep in the road, about 15 or 20 of them.  I was rather surprised to see them since I thought it was mostly a cattle area. I did set a new land speed record for me of 111 mph.  Not going to do that again but it was rather exciting. 

At Baker (on the Nevada border) I stopped at the Border Inn and got my first stamp in my Loneliest Road Survivor's Guide.  Yay!  From there I went on to Ely, going through a couple of mostly deserted valleys separated by snowcapped peaks that were just breathtaking.  Gorgeous, really.

I got into Ely just before 4.  The motel is not the greatest, but it's clean so that's enough.  I ran over to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum.  Way cool!  And I got my Guide stamped for Ely.  The deal is you have to get it stamped in 5 different towns to get your "I Survived" certificate.  Ha!  I think it's fun.

After the museum I gassed up the car and wandered around Ely a bit, then came back to the motel and relaxed and surfed the web a bit.  About 7:30 I went and had dinner at Racks Bar and Grill just down the street.  Not bad. 

I'm going to relax and do some reading and try to get to bed early so I can get an early start.  Tomorrow it's all the way across Nevada to Carson City and a little further, down to Gardnerville.

Loneliest-Road Trip Day 2

Still road tripping..

Today I got up, checked out of the hotel and went over to the Carl Hayden Visitor Center and toured the Glen Canyon Dam.  It was really awesome!  I love dams.  I've seen Hoover (of course), Grand Coulee, Bonneville, and the Coolidge Dam.  There are a number of dams in Arizona that I've not seen since I was little so I don't count them.

After the dam tour I gassed up and got some food, then hit the road up 89.  Pretty country!  At one point I was heading up a hill and saw a passing lane open up with a (slowish) truck so I hit it to get around him before the lane ended... got the Mazda6 up to 97 (going uphill!).  Seemed like it was capable of more but there wasn't space or time and anyway I worry about getting a ticket.

Got stuck for 15 minutes or so in Panguitch waiting for a pace car to take us through construction... then on up until I got to the highway 20 turnoff.  20 is fairly short but it was fun with some nice curves.  Then on to 15 and boring driving -- although the speed limit was (usually) 80!  That was nice.

Coming into SLC I almost got rear ended... traffic got really busy and all of a sudden the traffic in my lane (left lane!) stopped short, and I stopped, and the guy behind me stopped (phew!) but then I hear screeching/squealing and I was waiting for the impact... which didn't happen, thank God.  The car behind the car behind me couldn't quite stop in time but he was smart and lucky and pulled over into the HOV lane and stopped about half a car length alongside the car behind me.  Smart to have pulled over, and lucky that the lane was empty.  Geez!

Got into Ogden and had dinner with a friend, then websurfing and off to bed soon.

Loneliest-Road Trip Day 1

I'm on a road trip!

 Here's the route..

Today I left about 2 p.m. and drove up 17 to Flagstaff, then on up 89 toward Page.  I love the scenery north of Flagstaff; it's a huge volcanic field with more cinder cones (similar to the area east of Springerville).  Due to a road outage there's a detour  (Navajo 20, signed as "89T" (Temporary)).  A landslide took out part of 89 so ADOT got $ from the Feds to pave N20 (it was dirt/gravel).  It's pretty nice, really.  Got into Page just before dark and found the hotel, then took my friend Kirsten's recommendation and went to the Dam Bar and Grille for a really awesome steak.  Yum!

Chorale Rehearsal

[I'm going to try to go back to posting more here... we'll see]

I am in Oregon for work, and got to attend rehearsal last night with the Oregon Chorale.  I'm going on tour with them this summer so this I'm taking advantage of my work trips to go to rehearsal and learn the music.

Oh my gosh, it was so much fun!  And a good workout too.  I have not sung with a choir like this since I left Oregon and I'd forgotten just how much fun it is.  We worked hard for two hours and covered a lot of ground.

This morning I was driving to work from my friend's house and it was very foggy.  Very surreal and reminded me a lot of foggy mornings when I lived here, driving to the rink in the early morning (although that was darker!) and then to work from the rink.  Good memories.

My Dad's Death

My Dad, Alfred George Zaft, Jr., passed away today, March 23, 2013, of complications from lung cancer.

He  had been somewhat sick for some time.  Doctors thought it was pneumonia, but after several weeks of treatment in December and January they brought him in for a bronchoscopy.  The samples they got showed pneumonia; they were not able to do a biopsy at the time as he went into atrial fibrillation. They were not able to get his oxygen levels up after this procedure so they admitted him to the hospital.  He was in the hospital for several days, then released, but after a week he was back in the hospital again as he was very weak and having trouble breathing.

After 9 days in the hospital they released him to a rehab care facility to work on getting him stronger, but after about 2 weeks there he was back in the hospital again.  After several days there they moved him to an acute care facility, but after 2 weeks he was rapidly getting worse.  He had another bronchoscopy a week ago, where they were able to get a biopsy sample.

This last Tuesday he was appreciably worse so they admitted him to the ICU (down the hall from where he was).  He was in quite a bit of pain, had no appetite and quite a bit of edema.  Early samples from the bronchoscopy showed that besides pneumonia, nocardia bacillia and aspergillus (fungal infection) he also had pseudomonas, a bacterial infection mostly found in hospitals.  He also developed shingles, due both to stress and his weak immune system.

This morning I received a call from my brother that my stepmom had been called into the hospital urgently to meet with the doctor as the biopsy results were (finally) in.  Unfortunately due to rush hour traffic I didn't get there 'til almost 8:30 so I missed the doctor, but the results were what we'd feared for a long time -- lung cancer. Apparently the variety he has often appears on x-rays much like
pneumonia does.  He probably had it bad since October or November.

Unfortunately the reality of the situation was that he was extremely weak from the multiple opportunistic infections he'd been fighting for 2 - 4 months now, and while the antibiotics had kept him alive, he was not winning the fight.  The prognosis was that he was not strong enough to endure cancer treatment on top of what he'd already been fighting; and indeed he had repeatedly said he did not want to.  When the doctor told him that they'd found cancer, he reportedly told him, "I told you that 4 months ago, !".  He had had no appetite for several days and his body gave other signs that he was ready to go.

So, we moved him to a hospice in east Mesa.  It's a beautiful facility.  I was there for a couple of hours last night with him and they are making him comfortable.  He was on oxygen, of course, and meds for the pain (though he occasionally still gasps in pain in a way that would break your heart), and a catheter; but no antibiotics, no monitors, no poking and prodding him.

My brother, sister and I had gathered at midday today to visit with him and my stepmother Fran; but he was heavily sedated and didn't wake up while we were there (or at least, he didn't open his eyes).  We talked to him, told him we loved him, held his hand.

I left around 2:15 to run some errands etc. with the idea that I would come back around 6:15 to see him and give Fran a break.  I received a call from Fran just a few minutes before 5 that he had passed.  I jumped in the car and managed to drive the 20 miles to the hospice in about 21 minutes :-).

 Fran told me she had been sitting with him, holding his hand, and he was breathing regularly, when he took a catch breath... and stopped.  After a moment of disbelief she called the nurse, who confirmed that he had no pulse.


Some family friends arrived immediately after his passing, fortunately, and stayed with her until my arrival so she wasn't alone.  After my arrival I paid my respects and talked with Fran, then my brother Gary and his wife arrived and then my nephew.  We prayed over him and paid our respects, and said our goodbyes. 

Needless to say this happened much, much more quickly than any of us anticipated.  My personal thought was that we had 2-3 days so the fact that he was only at the hospice for a little over a day was quite a shock and a surprise.

It was my dad's desire to be cremated.  I'm sure there will be some kind of ceremony or service at some point but I don't have any information at this point.

When I returned to Arizona in October 2009, my main reason for the move (okay, other than the fact that I couldn't bear the Oregon weather any more) was that I really, really wanted to be closer to my Dad and the rest of my family.  I knew this day would come at some point, and I didn't want to be 1500 miles away when it did.

In the time I've been back in Arizona I've spent a lot of time with my Dad; when he was not on the road in his RV we had dinner once a week and did numerous other things.  I had an opportunity to work on our relationship in a way I'd never had before, since we hadn't lived in the same town since I was 5.  All this is a long way of saying that I had an opportunity to say the things I needed to say to him, to tell him I loved him and to hear him say that he loved me too. 

So, I have no regrets... but of course I will miss him. 

Yes I'm Still Alive

I've given up FaceBook for Lent so perhaps I will post more here.

I came across  this article on the HHS mandate and Sandra Fluke's testimony before Congress.  I thought it was one of the better analyses I've seen.

I'm Still Alive

Yes, I'm still alive, lol.

A quick plug -- please consider supporting WikiPedia!

Road Trip, Day 1

I'm on a road trip.  I left Phoenix about 2 p.m. and headed up the Beeline Highway (87) past the turnoff for my brother's house and on into the mountains.  Stopped at Payson to get gas.  It's pretty up there! 

Turned onto 260 and then on up into the mountains and then climbing up the Rim.  I don't think I had ever been this way before but it was stunning.  I was a little sad there wasn't a scenic overlook because I wanted to stop and take some pictures.  It was really amazing.  A little past that I saw a guy hitchhiking and stopped to give him a ride -- don't usually pick up hitchhikers but it was such a desolate spot I figured I would give him a ride.  He seemed nice enough.  Dropped him off in Heber as he was heading north, and gave him a couple of bottles of Diet Coke to tide him along.  Driving along through the area I could see the effects from the big Rodeo-Chediski_fire.  Wow.  Sad.

Got into Show Low and stopped at McD's for a snack, then on to Highway 60 toward Springerville.  Very desolate country and usually I was the only car in sight... passed through the Springerville volcanic field and that was REALLY trippy!  Grassland with all these extinct volcanic vents sticking up.  It's the 3rd largest such field in the country -- who knew?!

I pressed on through to New Mexico as the sun set and then on in the dark to Socorro, NM where I found the Rodeway Inn, my destination for the night.

Tucson Tragedy

Saturday 1/8 I was up at crack of dawn to go warmup for my Adult PreBronze Free Skate test.  After the test (I passed!) I went to breakfast with my coach and some friends.  When I finally was driving home after dropping my coach off, I was listening to the news and heard about the horrible shooting in Tucson.  19 shot of whom 6 were killed (including a 9-year old girl!) and one of the wounded was Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

I can't express how hard this hit me.  My Tucson!  My home, wherever I may go.  The place my heart has been for so long... a scene of tragedy.  Later on I would discover the links I had with the injured and killed... Judge Roll, who had attended Ss. Peter and Paul school with my pastor John Lyons, was a daily communicant and had often been a lector at SSPP.  One of the men who died, shielding his wife (who was also shot) was the uncle of one of my classmates from Amphi.  Another classmate knew the shooter and his parents; their kids had been in Little League together.  And of course I had met Gabby Giffords when I was in grad school, when we took our winning Student Showcase entries to the Capitol and she came out to talk to us briefly.

On Wednesday they had a memorial service at McKale, and President Obama came.  He gave a wonderful speech that, I think, really helped a lot of people to grieve and to feel better.  Thank you, Mr. President.

Saturday I was down in Tucson to sing at a wedding with our SSPP Schola.  Part of my goal was to visit two of the memorials that had grown up, one at UMC and one also at Gabby Gifford's office (there was another at the shooting site but I didn't want to go there).

I visited the one at UMC Saturday afternoon, since it's right across the street from my old parish (Ss. Peter and Paul).  It was probably about 2:30 p.m. and there were probably150 or so people there.  Of course the news trucks were still all camped out too, which made it a little noisy unfortunately.  The memorial was on the small lawn in front of UMC.  People had left stuff all around the perimeter, and then there were some pathways through the middle lined with more stuff.  There were cards, flowers, candles, a lot of little posters with pictures of those killed, or of Gabby Giffords.  Many of the local schools had drawn up posters signed by their kids.  There were poems and expressions of love, of hope, of comfort.  There were many expressions of thanks to the UMC doctors, nurses and staff as well as the first respondeers, and some thanking President and Mrs. Obama for coming to Tucson.  Walking through, there were a number of kids present with their parents, but not too many teenagers or young adults, mostly middle aged folks it seemed like.  The atmosphere was quiet and reverent although there was some talking too.  A few people were taking pictures, and I considered it but it didn't seem appropriate to me so I refrained.  Reading the signs and cards and looking at the displays it was almost overwhelming, the communal grief and hurt registered there.  At the same time there was definitely a sense of pulling together, that this act doesn't change what a great and good place Tucson is.  It was sad but uplifting too.

Later that day, around 6ish (sun had just set) I stopped by the memorial at Gabby Gifford's office.    There were probably 15-20 people there.  It's much smaller, a much smaller space.  This memorial had a larger proportion of flowers, and especially candles.  Many, many candles.  It struck me as "only in America" that people express their love for their Jewish Congresswoman by lighting candles with pictures of Jesus and Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I had brought some flowers and I found a suitable spot for them.

One poster that particularly struck me was from a man who described how he'd lived the first 50 years of his life in Tucson but was now living in Phoenix; and how he had felt like Tucson was his refuge, how he would go visit when he needed to, and be recharged.  How he felt like the shooting had taken his Tucson away from him, how it was no longer safe.  He said that as he had watched the community mourning and grieving and drawing together, he felt better and realized that despite the shooting it was still "his place."

I know exactly what he means.

Gratitude

One of my goals when I came back to Arizona was, to put it simply and bluntly, to "get my life back."  I was thinking the other day that I've largely achieved that.  It's not the same life I had when I lived in Tucson -- I'm less involved in the community and that time has largely gone into skating and piano, so it is inwardly-oriented (vs. the time I used to spend teaching RCIA and working with CTAC).  Still I am keeping pretty busy and really, I have a good life.  I'm very grateful.

A Day Of Remembrance

Another 9/11 comes... for me the paradox, a day to celebrate (my birthday) and to mourn those lost on this day 9 years ago.

In a special way I remember John Badagliacca, whose name on wear on my wrist every day.  May he and all those who died that day rest in peace, and may the grace of God give comfort to their families and friends.

Vacation

Long time, no post, sorry.  I am on vacation in Oregon.  I arrived Friday.  Saturday I spent with Dad and Fran, and we had dinner with my Aunt Nancy and cousin Robin, it was really nice to see them.  Sunday was a long day -- figures competition in the morning and then hanging out with my friend Mary afterward.  We were going to go to Voodoo Doughnuts but the lines were really long so we hung out on the waterfront and looked around and talked.  A good time.

Today I drove out  to the coast.  Stopped in Astoria and visited the Astoria Column, then a brief detour over the Astoria-Megler bridge.  I have a fascination with bridges (on the drive out I also got to see the beautiful St. Johns bridge and the impressive Longview bridge).  The Astoria bridge is really, really high for the part over the channel; then it sinks down and is just a little way above the river.  Coming back over it from Washington it looks like it goes straight up, it's so tall and steep!  Wow.

I drove down to Seaside and checked in to the hotel here, took a walk on the beach and looked around a bit.  Unfortunately it is typical Oregon weather, cold and dreary (though, surprisingly, not actually raining -- yet).

Tomorrow I will look around a bit more then head back toward PDX as I have lessons with my old coach Tuesday evening and early Wednesday to prep for the competition at the end of the month.

Have You Read The Bill?

[Background:  I have had a number of discussions on FaceBook, sometimes heated, about Arizona's SB1070. I wrote and posted this there, but thought I would share it here as well.]

May 28, 2010

Have You Read The Bill? – A response, and a challenge.

In the discussion of Arizona’s new immigration law (SB1070) and its implementation and the continuing reaction of others, this question “Have you read the bill?” (“HYRTB” for short) has come up repeatedly.  Indeed, I think I myself have been asked this question five or six times to date.

I find the question, and the reasoning that underlies it when asked by some persons, to be offensive; it’s also unhelpful and uncharitable.  I’ll try to explain why.  I must point out at the outset that my remarks are not aimed at any one person, for while some people have what I consider to be bad motivations in asking the question, I know several of my interlocutors to be people of sincerity and good will who genuinely mean no offense.

The question seems simple enough.  Have you read SB1070?  This is often accompanied by the remark that it’s only 17 pages.  True enough.  What are the subtexts of this question?  I can think of several variations on a theme:

1.    You must not have read the bill; otherwise you would agree with me/have a different position.
2.    I don’t understand why you don’t support this bill, so I’m assuming you must not actually have read it.  (This is the kindest variation, held by at least one person I know.)
3.    Reading the bill will convince any intelligent person to support it regardless of any other circumstances.
4.    If you have not read the bill your opinions don’t carry any weight and I can ignore them.

Let’s take them in turn.  The first and second are very similar; the main difference is that the first seems arrogant and the second comes from a position of sincerely seeking understanding.    Behind them both, though, is the implication that reading SB1070 will produce agreement with it.  Considering how many well-educated and well-read people in our society disagree on fundamental points of view, the likelihood of education resulting in uniform support for any particular position is low.

The third point is also similar to the first two, but I put it this way to bring out another point – context.  Every person that’s asked me the question has been a white person, and most of them do not live in Arizona.  I find it ironic that someone can ask this question, because the questions that I would ask in response include “Do you live in Arizona?  Are you familiar with Arizona politics?  Do you know why this bill came forward at this time, and who supports and opposes it and why? Do you have any Hispanic friends?”  SB1070 did not come forth in a vacuum, but in a particular set of circumstances of which many of the people asking HYRTB are totally ignorant.  Many people who object to SB1070 do so not because of the text of the bill but because of their experiences with Arizona’s politics and law enforcement, especially in Maricopa County.

Furthermore, it applies a standard for debate that most do not apply to other discussions or issues.  Do I have to have read the entire Tax Code of the US to object to the level of taxation I experience?   Did those objecting to Obama’s healthcare initiatives actually read all 1000+ pages of that bill?  Do I have to have read the UN Charter to support or object to the United Nations?  What about the North Atlantic Treaty? I suspect not.

It’s the fourth point that is most offensive.  Put another way, the question asks “Do you know what you are talking about?”  Questioning the knowledge and/or intelligence of your interlocutor is never conducive to a good discussion, but is a standard ad hominem tactic.  It also avoids discussing the actual objections raised.  If you wish to have a respectful, productive, and persuasive interchange, avoid such tactics and address the actual points of discussion.

My challenge to those who have asked HYRTB, and to everyone – have a discussion that is respectful and uplifting, edifying and charitable.  Seek to understand not just the text, but the context, of what you discuss; and for those that profess a Christian faith (at least) – as Frank Sheed (I think) said, when you are tempted to put someone in his place, remember that his proper place is Heaven and everything you say and do towards him should help him attain that end.

I have a lot more to say about the bill itself, which I will do in a future posting.  I did want to take some time to make these points since they have been the cause of some hurt feelings on my part and presumably on the part of others.

And yes, I have read SB 1070.

Still Alive, Lol

Yes, I'm still alive.  I spend a lot more time on Facebook these days, but I think I'm going to post some things here that are a bit long for FB.

Quick summary... moved to Chandler 10/1/09.  Found a nice house to rent that's really close to work and very convenient to everything and not too expensive either!  Moving was very stressful and it was hard to say goodbye to the many wonderful people I had met in Portland.  Also I re-injured my foot and though the podiatrist here said it was not broken, I had an extended period of being off the ice and trying to take it easy.  To be honest it still doesn't feel exactly normal even now and it's been a year.  Oh well.

I've been really enjoying being close to my family and my Arizona friends.  I have been singing with the Schola at Ss. Peter and Paul down in Tucson. The drive is pretty tiring (it's about 100 miles) for rehearsals but I love getting to sing quality music.

I bought a digital piano (Kawai Digital Piano 500, an older model) in November (?) and started taking piano lessons in January with Stephanie Koogler in Chandler.  That's been going really well and I played my first recital last Saturday (she has recitals for her students in June and December).  I played a setting of the theme from Dvorak's New World Symphony, and I also sang.  It went really well!

Skating has gone quite well, I have found a freestyle and a figures coach and with lots of convenient ice time available I have been skating quite a lot, preparing for my first competition since PCAS '08 next month (Cactus Classic).

I have been back to Oregon a number of times.  I am back about once a month for work, for meetings and facetime with my team.  Those trips are usually a one day up-and-back on the Intel shuttle -- pretty tiring but worthwhile.  I was up for a weekend in December for the Oregon Chorale concert and also the holiday show at SIA -- it was great to see my homies skating!  Then I was up for a weekend in early May and also early June, the last for the Oregon Chorale 25th anniversary concert.  It was terrific, and the Chorale invited alums to sing 3 songs for the occasion which was really great.  They are such an amazing group!  I will be up in August again for a figures competition and some hangin' with the homies.

I will try to post more often and I know I need to fix the comments on this blog.  I'll see what I can do.

A day of celebration, a day of remembrance

Yes, I'm still alive.. it's been a long time since I've posted and I'm sorry for that.

Today is my 46th birthday, and of course it is the 8th anniversary of the horrific attacks on our country in 2001.

Since I posted last... I went home for Christmas and had a great time. Just before Christmas Portland experienced a couple of awesome winter storms that dumped several inches of snow on the city and mostly shut it down from about December 14 to the end of the year. I managed to get out in between storms and it was mostly over by the time I came back.

I finally passed my Adult Pre-Bronze Moves in the Field skating test in April.

On May 20th I broke the 3rd metatarsal on my left foot while working on my spin trainer. I thought it was just sprained, but when it didn't improve I went to the doctor on June 5th and the x-rays showed that it was broken. I was off the ice and in an air cast until about August 5th all told. I had to withdraw from the Cactus Classic skating competition that I had planned on. I wound up still going to Arizona for that time (I had already purchased plane tickets) and had a good visit.

In August I went on a road trip to see the Grand Coulee Dam.

The big news is that I am going to moving back to Arizona at the end of September. My boss has worked out an arrangement for me to work remotely from Intel's Chandler campus. I'm really excited to be going home at last, but it is hard to leave behind the many wonderful people I've met here in Portland.

CNN is reporting that Obama is going to pick Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano for secretary of Homeland Security. Wow! While I certainly disagree with the Governor on a number of issues, she's a very smart and capable woman who would do a terrific job at DHS. Good for her!

Here's a transcript of John McCain's concession speech from last night. I thought it was extremely gracious, and vintage McCain.

I would not -- I would not be an -- an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

So... Obama won. As I had predicted, the market took a dive of almost 500 points.

Miscellaneous stuff -- here's a cool article about my friend Rae's grandson who was miraculously healed through the intercession of Bl. Alberione.

Small stuff...

I bought gas yesterday for $2.219/gal! That's compared to just 3 days earlier (Tuesday) when I paid $2.559! Crazy stuff, but I'm not complaining.

This from our Intel Singers practice on Wednesday (neither of these was me):

• "What does 'rall.' mean?"
• "It means 'watch the conductor!'"

We all laughed :-)

My prediction... if Obama wins, the market is going to take a big dive on Wednesday. like 400 points. The market doesn't like change and doesn't think Obama is its friend so it's going to tank. Check back and we'll see if I'm right!

I've long been concerned about euthanasia and the slippery slope down which our society is sliding. Here in Oregon, of course, while we have rationed health care, you can legally have a doctor help you kill yourself. So much for compassion.

Anyway, thanks to Mark Shea for pointing out this good discussion on the truth about euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

The notion that certain patients lack worthwhile lives is a judgment which Western law and medical ethics have long rejected and which no civilized society should accept. This is, moreover, no "private" decision. The question whether some citizens (doctors) should be allowed to kill other citizens (patients) is a decision with profound ramifications for the safety and well-being of the whole community, not least its most vulnerable members. The community, rightly, jealously guards its power to decide when human life may lawfully be taken and it has, again rightly, strictly limited those circumstances. The decision to allow doctors to kill patients who consent to have their lives ended is no more "private" a matter than a decision to allow plantation owners to buy and sell slaves who consent to be owned. There are, indeed, few questions which are of greater public import than the question whether to permit VAE/PAS.

Energy Independence

I've been doing a lot of thinking about "energy independence" since it's been in the news and a large part of the campaign cycle.

I'm really amused by the ads and hype that talk about this subject while showing pictures of... power plants!! It's nuts.

According to the Energy Information Administration, petroleum makes up 39.8% of our available energy. 70% of our petroleum is used for transportation, 24% goes for industrial use, 5% for residential and commercial (heating oil, propane) and 2% for electric generation. 2%! That says that power plants and petroleum have almost nothing to do with each other!

If the Chevy Volt and other electric (mostly) cars sweep the market, it would be possible for us to eliminate oil imports eventually (we currently import 52% of our oil). While this is a good goal it will take a while to get to that point, especially since the Volt's power train is aimed at cars (the biggest target), not trucks and other big vehicles that require lots of horsepower (bulldozers, diggers, etc.).

Natural gas is another story. We import about 15% of our natural gas consumption. This area is ripe to be replaced with renewable energy, except for one problem. Much of the natural gas consumption for electric generation (30%) is used that way because natural gas-fired power plants are good for peak power generation. (Natural gas plants can ramp up power output much more rapidly than coal plants or nukes, about the same as hydropower). This is a hard niche to replace with wind or solar, both of which work better as supplements.

A reasonable mix would be coal/nuclear (working to elimination of coal) for base load, with renewables to supplement, and natural gas/hydropower for peak loads.

End of an Era

After 24 years, Lute Olson has retired as UA basketball coach.

I have to say, it seems to me that (not surprisingly) things were never the same after Bobbi (his wife of many years) died. Thanks for the memories Lute!

Just got back from Courtney and Geoff's wedding down in Laguna Beach... it was beautiful! Stephen and Sissy went all out for the wedding (of course) and a wonderful time was had by all. I'm so glad I went! The weather was wonderful, and there's nothing like seeing old friends and hearing them say "I'm really glad you came!". All I could say was that I wouldn't have missed it for the world, and it's true. After the wedding I got to hang out with Stephen & Sissy and some of the family for a few hours -- so good to catch up with them.

While I was gone I also had the pleasure of hitting up a local In-N-Out Burger (of course). Mmmmmmm. The flight back (Southwest) was on a plane painted to look like Shamu! It was so cool! I also had the "pleasure" (as I found out when I got home and opened my suitcase) of having my luggage inspected by TSA! Fortunately nothing was lost or broken, and of course I didn't have any contraband!

Yes, I'm Alive

Sorry I've been MIA. Let's see... had a nice birthday -- many cards, emails, texts, etc. from family and friends -- I felt very loved! Almost makes up for being so darn old now! Grrrr.

On 9/27 I finally made the other trip for the summer I was hoping to make -- up to Mt. St. Helens. As it happened I got a beyoooooooooootiful day for it! It's an awesome sight and as it happened it was National Public Lands Day so I got in to the vistor center for free! Amazing stuff and highly recommended. The other trips I wanted to take this summer were to the Evergreen air & space museum (or whatever it's called) in McMinnville -- they have the Spruce Goose there now along with lots of other stuff (I saw the Spruce Goose back in the late 80s when it was in Long Beach); a boat trip on the Willamette River; and a trip to see Grand Coulee Dam. It doesn't look like the last will happen now that fall's here and the weather is ukky. Which it is..

Just busy with work and choirs and skating and so forth, staying busy. A week from Saturday I'll be in lovely Laguna Beach for my friend Stephen's daughter's wedding. Fun!

Here's a cool video from CatholicVote.com, check it out (thanks to Mark Shea for the link):

R.I.P. Greg

Today is my brother Greg's birthday -- he would have been 52, or as we say in my family, "Freakin' ollllllllllllld!".

Rest in peace, big bro. I miss you.

This is sad.... She's happily married, dreaming of divorce. Actually I think that headline is really misleading. She doesn't seem at all happy to me, and has no respect for her husband. The conclusion the article reaches (that the availability of divorce makes her able to stay in her marriage) seems ludicrous to me. Other studies have shown that the majority of divorces are originated by women. The easy availability of divorce has produced this unexpected result -- instead of settling in for the long haul and working to improve (not just tolerate) their marriage, apparently many women are constantly looking over their shoulders so to speak -- wondering if they made the right decision. It's really sad. If I were this woman's husband and read this article I would be discouraged beyond belief.

Yes, I'm still alive!

Busy, busy busy. A week ago (8/14) Oregon Chorale was the demo choir for a workshop for the Oregon chapter of the ACDA. The clinician was composer Vijay Singh (not the golfer!). It was a lot of fun. We had four pieces we sang, then he worked with us to demonstrate different techniques. We're all self conscious about our group breaths now! eeep.

Went to Crater Lake 8/2 - 8/3 with my high school chum Zoe. It was beeyoootiful! Weather was great and the lake is... awe-inspiring.

Was reading a great interview with Archbishop Chaput of Denver... here's a great quote:

We don’t serve our country by abandoning our religious convictions in public debate in the name of good manners or a mistaken idea of pluralism. Democracy thrives on the competition of ideas, and it dies without that healthy conflict. We need to stop being embarrassed when we talk about our faith, and we need to insist that others respect it — including our political parties and leaders. Everyone can make telephone calls, and write emails and letters. And everyone can simply shut off the TV and computers one night a week to read, pray, talk and share time with the family. That’s a rebellion — the best kind.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the link.

That's about it for now... summer is running down. Where did it go?

Water found on Mars!

The Phoenix Mars Lander has found water on Mars!

Friday was the 40th anniversary of Paul VI's encyclical on human sexuality, Humanae Vitae. Two wildly different viewpoints:

• National Catholic Reporter once again demonstrates why it's not worthy of the title "Catholic".
• Catholic News Agency has an essay by James Francis Cardinal Stafford,
  
  Humanae Vitae: The Year of the Peirasmòs - 1968. Check 'em out.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the second link.

In other news, if you've not been following things Catholic, Rod Dreher weighs in here and here on the controversy over P.Z. Myers's deliberate desecration of the Eucharist.

Texts from B16!

Apparently the Holy Father texted the pilgrims at World Youth Day in Sydney:

"The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles and gives u the power boldly 2 proclaim that Christ is risen! - BXVI."

RIP Greg

Today is the 3rd anniversary of my oldest brother Greg's passing. In some ways it seems like just yesterday, and in other ways a million years ago.

Rest in peace, Greg. I love you.

I'm back... returned safely (if exhausted) July 6th. Work has been a bit hectic since then but it's calming down this week. Busy prepping for my skating test July 27th. Whee!

On a *very* sad note, it appears one of my fave restaurants back home, Shari's, has closed. Waaaaaahhhh! This stinks.

In Scotland!

I know I said I was going to post my observations on the Chorale's blog but I decided some of them are too personal to be of general interest so I'm posting here after all.

Yesterday (Friday) I got up at 5 a.m. after about 4 hours of sleep (bleah) and Amy came to get me at 6 and took me to the airport. A very long dull series of flights (our flight attendant on the PDX --> PHL flight was a hoot though!) and our group arrived in Glasgow at 9 a.m. this morning, got to the hotel and eventually got to check in. Took a shower and changed (wow, did that feel good!). Then we went on a brief bus tour of Glasgow and got to see the (Presbyterian) Cathedral. Of course it was originally a Catholic cathedral; but unlike so many others (the Nieuw Kirk in Amsterdam comes to mind) it wasn't entirely gutted/looted during the RevoltReformation. It still made me sad though in the way that all the lost treasures of our Catholic forebears makes me sad. It was beautiful. We sang "The Glory of the Father" in the main church and "Good News" in the crypt.

After that I rested a bit, then went to the vigil Mass at the (Catholic) Cathedral. It was nice but a little sad. The Church in Scotland doesn't seem particularly strong. The music was, unfortunately, schlocky American music for the most part, with no cantor and a really loud organ (but hey, it was a Saturday vigil, not Sunday a.m., and in the summer to boot). It included such favorites (not!) as "Seek Ye First", "On Eagles' Wings" and "Be Not Afraid". Bleah. But the priest (a missionary priest from South Africa) was terrific. Attendance was light and the people's responses timid. Strangely enough, after communion we knelt for the final prayer, blessing and dismissal -- how odd.

I had some time to walk around downtown in the afternoon; there were a lot of people walking around (a lot!) and it was cool. There are a lot of beautiful women in Glasgow! Wow!

I keep working on my Scottish accent, it's getting pretty good :-) but I worry I will use it in front of a Scot and offend him! It's too cute though.

The weather was cool earlier but has turned cold and rainy... and it's almost July. Sheesh!

I've been up for about 31 hours straight now so I am going to get ready for bed. We are leaving at 9 tomorrow for Inverness!

Tour Blog!

One of my fellow Chorale members has set up a blog for our tour... so I will blog all my tour stuff over there. Check it out here!

How sad... the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) is leaving Yokosuka, to be decommissioned at Bremerton. She's served for 47 (!) years and is the last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier in the US fleet.

Other news of interest to me... once again my alma mater is making me proud! The University of Arizona ® is leading the Phoenix Mars Lander mission. Way to go UA!

I attended the Hillsboro Symphony concert tonight. It was a Pirate theme (yes!) and the special guests were Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket, founders of Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19th!). It was really a lot of fun, and a pretty full house too!

My apologies for not blogging more often ... life has been busy! Choir tour in less than 6 weeks! Eeep. I'm all paid up for that except for some incidental costs that we don't have a total for yet. I'm very excited.

From the Oregonian -- Intel starts to think outside the cube. Fortunately I was only in a cube for the first 6 or 7 months I was at Intel, then I moved into our lab once the remodeling was done. Still, the new pilot (it's called TWWW, The Way We Work) is... interesting. Some people seem to really like it, others hate it.

On April 15th, Intel started having complimentary fountain soda, coffee and tea for regular (blue-badge) employees like myself. Since then my coworkers and I have been enjoying drinking ourselves into an aspartame and/or high-fructose corn syrup - induced coma. Yea! :-)

I was watching the tail end of a Nova episode on PBS; it was on the Huygens probe of Titan. Practically every person they interviewed was from The University of Arizona®. It makes me proud to be a Wildcat!

My alma mater is saving lives! The UA's Sarver Heart Center new CPR method has been shown to be more effective at saving lives.

Happy Easter!

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. We had a very nice Vigil celebration at St. Cecilia's, and I have to say our choir sounded terrific. I still get very homesick for SSPP at the Vigil though, and I miss singing the Litany of the Saints for our catechumens and candidates.

I did get some sad news -- my friend Chris's mom (and my ex-gf Joanna's mom) Betty passed away this morning from complications from lung cancer :-(. Please pray for the repose of her soul, and for Chris and Joanna's and the family's consolation. They lost their dad a few years back (I guess it's been 14 or more, can't quite recall) so it's doubly hard that way. They are a little younger than me so both deaths were quite untimely :-(. Betty was a great lady, very kind to me and a loving mother. I pray she's at peace with the Lord now.

Wow, I am wiped out. Between the Adult Sectionals competition and Oregon Chorale concerts Sat. and Sunday night, I am totally exhausted. But of course there's work to do... ah well.

I'm still sick, too. Actually I feel a lot worse today. I'm sure it's because I was holding it off until after the competition and concerts, and now that that's over my body is saying "Enough!"

I'm famous! Check out this article in the Oregonian about my skating!

This is cool -- Mt. Graham's newest eyes are up and running!

Happy Leap Day!

I don't really remember what I was up to last leap day... it seems so long ago, and 1500 miles away.

In other news, my boss's boss's boss's boss (I think that's right) is in the news, and not in a good way... Microsoft emails reveal Intel pressure over Vista. I don't have any knowledge of this and wouldn't comment if I did, but it has to be damaging to Intel.

Happy Valentine's Day! And, happy 96th birthday Arizona!

Happy Ash Wednesday!

Sorry for not blogging in ages... life has been busy but that's no excuse.

Tonight our choir is singing for 6 p.m. Mass, then having practice afterward. That's cruel on a fast day, but we need the time. We are in the process of looking for a new permanent accompanist, since our last one was let go after our Epiphany concert 1/6. We are trying to take the time to write a good job description that captures what we are looking for -- not just someone to play for us, but someone to minister with us. Hopefully God will bring the right person to us soon.

In other news... I am preparing to do my first-ever skating program at the upcoming Pacific Coast Adult Sectionals competition March 8 - 9. The gory details are on my skating blog. It's a bit scary but I'm really excited about it.

Also that very same weekend (eeep!) is our next Oregon Chorale concert set. It's a Shakespeare program, complete with dancing and lots of Shakespearean songs and all kinds of cool stuff. I opted out of the 'extra' stuff since I will be skating that weekend.

We're still prepping for our summer tour of Ireland and Scotland. We've made 3 payments (out of 5) and it's now non-refundable. Between land costs, air fare, and miscellaneous extras the tour will be about $5000. It's a two week tour. Whee!

Work has been pretty busy, between actual work to be done and Focal (Intel's performance review system).

The weather has been.... cold. And dreary. Last week and the week before we had some overnight snow/ice/slush. It wasn't much of an issue for me but did make me cancel one of my skating lessons because I couldn't get to the rink early in the morning. I don't think it got much about 38 or 40 all week. This week it's rain, rain, rain, highs in the low to mid 40s and lows in the upper to mid 30s. Bleah. I'll be really, really glad when spring comes.

And another one... this one at least is Christmas-y!

Bwahahaaha! check this out, courtesy of Bojack's blog:

Merry Christmas!

It's snowing here! It's not sticking, but it is snowing lightly. Whee!!

Long time no blog! Sorry 'bout that.

Thanksgiving was good, was home for a quick visit with the family but no time to see most of my friends, unfortunately. Got back to a very hectic couple of weeks at work trying to get stuff out before the end of the year. This last week was a lot quieter though.

Christmas concerts for Oregon Chorale went very well, unlike last year I felt very well prepared and could just enjoy. A couple of people I knew (including my choir director from church) came so that was nice.

Speaking of which we've been having a lot of extra rehearsals for church choir... rather tiring but of course Christmas is almost upon us and we're still a little shaky on a couple of things, so we will have a looooong rehearsal tomorrow after Mass. We have a string quartet for midnight Mass! I'm really pysched about that, it's very cool.

In the news today ... Tony Blair has become a Catholic. Not surprising, really. God bless him!

Arizona Beats Oregon!

Woohooooooooooooooo!!!!!

So... Penryn is officially shipping now. It's about time! We'll see if our stock gets a bump out of it or not.

Bulletin -- I just got a call that my sister is in the hospital. It's a bit unclear, I was told that she was getting her blood pressure checked and that it was too high or something, so they sent her to urgent care and then the ER and decided to admit her. Please pray.

Update 11/8 p.m.: I couldn't reach her on the phone, but she left me a vmail that she was home; they had stabilized her BP but still don't know what caused it to spike. They'll be working on it but it's a bit scary still, especially since she lives 30 miles from town.

Things have been busy. Sunday was our Oregon Chorale concert -- this was a subset (23 people) of the Chorale, a special gig at St. Mark's Anglican church in Portland. We wanted to do this since we've not been able to attract Portland audiences to our concerts. It's a small church but it was probably 1/2 to 2/3 full and they seemed to enjoy our music. Very tiring, but fun.

Yesterday the sun shone! It was great. Work was busy, then choir practice. After choir our conductor (he's an astronomy buff) had brought binoculars and was showing people the comet that's visible right now (something Holmes?). It was very cool!

Whoa! Arizona beat UCLA 34-27!!! And I MISSED it! I set the Tivo but for some reason it did NOT record the game, dangit!!

So... life has been kinda busy lately. We've enjoyed a brief spate of what I guess would be called Indian summer (or whatever the PC term is now) -- highs in the mid 60s and sunshine, it's been nice. Of course, it will not last. Work has been busy but in a good way.

Singing is very busy right now. I'm singing in 3 ( or 4 depending on how you count them) choirs: Oregon Chorale, Intel Singers and church choir. I'm also singing a concert this Sunday with a subset of the Chorale, it's a benefit. So there's that concert 11/4, then Intel Singers has 4 concerts in the week and a half after that, then the regular Chorale concerts will be 12/1 and 12/2, and we're singing at the Grotto 12/10. Eeep!

I am going home for Thanksgiving. It will be nice. I was just there 6 weeks ago but it will, of course, be good to be home.

Today would have been my mom's 77th birthday. I would have teased her horribly about being so dreadfully old! I miss her more than words can say. I love you Mom, rest in peace and pray for me.

So... had a nice, relaxing weekend, which I really needed. Saturday watched my recording of the Arizona-USC game, but the last 30 minutes were cut off (ARGH!). The defense was awesome! Offense, not so much, but still, they looked so much better than last week against OSU -- almost like a different team.

Sunday was just church and skating for a bit, then got my hair cut (was way overdue).

Today's my long day... skating lesson this morning early, then work, then choir practice 7-10. I'm tired already.

This seems to be the month for updates... I'm waiting for the new Ubuntu release to come out on Thursday, then later this month (hopefully) is NetBSD 4.0 and OpenBSD 4.2. Yay!

Wow, long time no blog. I've been around, just not blogging here.

I had a great trip to Arizona... got to see some people that I had not seen in a LONG time. Of course there was not enough time to see everyone I would have liked :-(.

Fall came on Sunday, and it really did arrive. Driving down to the rink Monday a.m. there was fog on the fields.. and a chill in the air. The weather was pretty nice this week but Friday the rains came, and now it's the usual Oregon grey and cold. The Oregonian helpfully commented:

Less of a surprise is how the weather took a wintry turn regionwide Friday, likely to be the first in a long string of wet days stretching into late next week. October, just around the corner, tends to mark the beginning of a rainy season that typically lasts through May in western Oregon.

Well! Yep, 8 months of rain to look forward to. I know folks in Az think I exaggerate this stuff, but I'm not. Oh well. And to add insult to injury (so to speak), Costco has Christmas stuff on sale already! At the end of September! Sheesh.

On the positive side, I took my car in to Sears today because the oil change place claimed my battery was going bad. Sears said it was fine. While I was there I saw a nail in my right front tire -- they checked it out, but amazingly enough even though it was 2+ inches long it had not gone through the tire, but instead followed the curve of the tire. So no flat and no charge! I was psyched.

It's my birthday... 44 years old! I felt old today. I sleep like crap anymore, actually, I either don't sleep at all, or I can't get up. Sheesh. But today was an okay day, traveled to Dupont for work, on 3 hours of sleep I was pretty tired. Now I'm packing and getting ready for my trip to Arizona tomorrow. It will be great to be back in the Grand Canyon state... I miss it.

So, the nation paused today to recall the attacks of Sept. 11th, as it should. Flags flew at half-staff, and I noticed that many people mentioned it to me in small ways. For myself, I prayed as usual for the repose of the soul of John Badagliacca, and for his family. I've been wearing a Mercy Band with his name on it since sometime in early 2002, and I pray for him daily. Rest in peace, John.

Intel's revival rides on new tech - OregonLive.com

Here's a cool article on my employer --
Intel's revival rides on new tech. Check it out.

Some interesting news tidbits...

There may be an answer to why so many American bee hives have been dying off.

Everyone's in a tizzy that some nuclear weapons were flown over US soil. I'm not that excited. It's not like they are going to go off. Seriously, they are designed for that not to happen.

Finally, some more in the long line of why adult stem cells are better than embryonic stem cells: -- skin stem cells used to mend spines in rats. So why are so many people excited about embryonic stem cells? Follow the money!

I'm home from my trip, safe and sound. Some highlights:

Saturday: got up and left Twin Falls. I couldn't see it at night, but Twin Falls is right next to the Snake River, which runs in this deep gorge right next to the town. It's pretty cool. Drove straight to the tailgate party and got there exactly on time. Had a good time at the tailgate, then walked over to the football game. BYU's campus is right up against the mountains; it's a beautiful setting. Unfortunately we played pretty poorly and got soundly thrashed 20-7. Sheesh. After the game, I was walking back to the car and got to talking to some BYU fans. They wanted to know if I'd enjoyed my stay, was I welcomed, etc. Of course I told them that their hospitality was awesome (it was). Mormon folks are almost always very kind and welcoming. It was a pleasure to enjoy their hospitality.

After that, drove up to SLC and found a Motel 6 and crashed for the night. The next morning, got up and went to 11 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Wow! What a beautiful place. Mass was very nice, including a fair amount of singing in Latin (including the Sanctus and the Credo (!)). No choir, just a cantor. After Mass there was a tour, which was fascinating. Then a quick bite to eat and skating for an hour (see my skating blog for info), and then I hit the road for home.

I-80 is pretty dull, but I did take a moment to stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats. I actually walked out on them a bit. The salt is harder than you'd think, but it really sticks to your shoes! I also enjoyed seeing Pilot Peak. It's a very majestic looking mountain.

I had originally planned on stopping for the night at Winnemucca but when I got there, decided to go further even though it was already almost 10. Not a good idea, in retrospect. I got to Ft. McDermitt and saw a sign saying "next services 100 miles", which was pushing it a bit, so I turned back and filled my tank. Then I continued.

I stopped at a rest stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere, to use the bathroom. It was SO dark, and so clear. A million stars, and even the Milky Way. I can't remember the last time I saw it, but it was heart-stoppingly beautiful. It's a shame so many city folks have never even seen it!

Anyway, drove on. Thought I could stop at Burns Junction, but it turns out there really isn't anything there, so continued to Burns (Oregon). The last 90 miles was nasty -- pitch dark, no traffic, narrow windy road with no shoulder, and signs saying "Livestock". I had nightmares about hitting a cow. As it turned out, I hit a bunny :-(. Very traumatizing for me, and of course not so good for the bunny either. Finally got into Burns about 12:15 and found a nice hotel and went to bed.

Monday morning, got up at 9:30 (PDT) and hit the road. Central Oregon reminds me of northern AZ, it's all high desert. Miles and miles of nothing at all, then a few ranches. After a while the air began to get increasingly hazy. When I got to Bend I found out that there was a big forest fire near there, they were evacuating people on US 20 (the highway I was on). Continued on my way and finally got home around 5. It was a nice trip, but a long one!

I took a bunch of pictures that I'll post on my MySpace page when I get a chance.

On the road... I'm in lovely (well, how would I know, it's dark!) Twin Falls, ID. it took me 9.5 hours to drive here from Hillsboro. Some impressions of the drive...

• The Columbia Gorge really is pretty. The Columbia is a big freakin' river. Like, really big. The upper Gorge reminds me of the Colorado a bit, this huge river flowing through a desert... though in this case it's high desert.
• I really love my car! It's so much fun.
• Stopped for lunch in The Dalles. What an odd place.
• I didn't get a good luck at the Bonneville dam, and I guess Grand Coulee is a ways up. I wanted to see some dams and I didn't really. I'll have to come back.
• There's a lot of agriculture, all irrigation based, around Pendleton. It's neat.
  
• The valley that La Grande is in in really pretty... very pastoral and lots o' cows.
• There was a sign marking the 45th Parallel, halfway from the equator to the north pole. I guess it really IS a long way to the pole from here.
• There was a forest fire outside Ontario, OR. Spooky orange glow in the hills...
• It was raining at one point and I couldn't see a darn thing... was thinking "Dang it! Need new wiper blades!" and then it occurred to me to turn the defroster on. Problem solved! I don't think of such things in August.
• The moon rising above the clouds in Caldwell, ID. Pretty.
• The Mormon temple in Boise... eerie at night.

Okay, that's it. Time for a brief sleep, then on to Provo to watch the Wildcats play BYU.

Check out this interview with Joel Spolsky on software development etc. Here's the money quote:

Basically a small company has a flavor to it, whereas a big company is sort of like checking into the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It's a nice hotel but it has 5,000 rooms, so don't expect anybody to remember your name. A small company is more like a bed and breakfast. You're going to have a great time because you get along with people and it's a much friendlier experience. You don't really mind that the bathroom is down the hall because the people made a special vegetarian meal for you and then showed you around town. On the other hand, you might be at a bed and breakfast where they have weird leather implements and lots of cats.

Having worked at both large and small companies, I think this is a pretty good summary.

Phew, what a relief! :-) Actually this is a pretty neat quiz.

You scored as Roman Catholic, You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 100% Neo orthodox 93% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 68% Emergent/Postmodern 54% Charismatic/Pentecostal 21% Classical Liberal 21% Modern Liberal 21% Reformed Evangelical 18% Fundamentalist 18% created with QuizFarm.com

Yay! I just got my tickets for the UA-BYU game next Saturday (game + tailgate party). I'm really looking forward to a little road trip! I'm hoping to get out of town midday Friday (although I have a hell of a lot of work to do, so maybe a bit dicey); drive to Boise or so Friday, then the rest of the way to Provo Saturday a.m. to get there by 1 p.m.

Sunday I'm hoping to go to Mass at the Cathedral in Salt Lake -- it's supposed to be beautiful; followed by skating on one of the Olympic size rinks there, then start heading home at a more leisurely pace. Should be fun and I hope to take lots of pictures!

A couple of articles worth noting ... first, a rather length article on Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith. Apparently Blessed Teresa went through a very protracted and painful period of aridity. It's not surprising, I suppose, that people view this so differently. People of faith see it as a testament that she was able to be faithful in spite of such pain and hardship, and people of no faith see it as some kind of self-delusion.

For myself I'm in the first camp. I think God probably did this to keep her from becoming proud and arrogant. It reminds me of St. Teresa of Avila's lament about how God treats his friends.

The second article is Astronomers puzzled by cosmic black hole[sic]. It's not really a black hole (i.e. a gravitational singularity), rather it's a vast expanse of... nothing. Fascinating stuff, really.

Just a quick update.... last week my dad and stepmom were visiting, so we had some time to hang out etc., including dinner with my aunt and cousin and her daughter. It was fun.

I decided to go ahead and use some of my more-available time to join the choir here at work (yes, Intel is so large there's a choir at the Jones Farm campus!). Went to my first rehearsal last Wed., it was not bad. Rehearsals are just for 1.5 hours at lunchtime on Wednesdays.

Today was my first day back at Pilates. I had dropped it for the summer since I was swamped doing sabbatical coverage for one of my coworkers, but now that that's over I was back.... wow, am I out of shape! I'm sore. Due to choir practice (see above) I'm only going to be able to go 2x a week. It will have to do.

Like a lot of people, I suppose, I've been reading a lot of coverage of the I-35W bridge collapse. I was struck by how a lot of chances made the impact far better than it otherwise might have been. For example:

• It took place in daylight. Can you imagine how much worse it would have been in the dark? Rescuers would not have been able to see, people would have been more scared, there would have been huge panic.
• It took place in the summertime. If it had been winter how many people would have survived the freezing cold water, not to mention if the bridge surface had been slick from ice?
• Some lanes of the bridge were closed. That meant that there were fewer cars on the bridge than there otherwise would have been, and that they were going far slower.

I've been watching some of the coverage of the horrific bridge collapse in the Twin Cities. It's truly horrible. I remember going over that bridge on one of my visits.

I have to say in looking at the damage that it's hard to image it not being some kind of deliberate act considering the fact that more than one span fell. On the other hand if it were Al Quaeda et al I'm sure a) they'd have taken credit already and b) it would have been a bit flashier. Hard to say.

Update: Actually, after looking at some film again, I think what happened is that the center span fell, and then the two towers were unbalanced (it was a cantilevered structure), and so without the weight of the center span the other spans fell in.

Hey, this is cool! There's now a podcast of the daily Mass readings! Check it out.

An interesting series of articles from Fortune magazine on the future of nuclear power in the US. I've been saying for a while that if people are serious about global warming, we are going to need more nuke plants. Lots more. The government should certify one or two base designs that can be replicated in large numbers, which would alleviate some of the cost and time associated with these one-off designs we seem to get.

Today is my dad's 77th birthday! Happy birthday Dad!!

I will see him next week.

Today's the second anniversary of my brother Greg's death. *sigh* I really miss you, bro -- could really use your advice and love right now.

Some good coverage in today's Oregonian on Intel's next generation of processors, code-named Penryn. Also an interesting post on the Silicon Forest blog -- Why Oregon?

I have a lot of crap going on in my life right now, but I really love working at Intel. Thanks be to God for a good job!

Yesterday I attended a Latin Mass with the Cantores in Ecclesia. The Mass was at Immaculate Heart Church (built in the 1890s) in NE Portland. It was the Paul VI Mass, not the Tridentine Mass.

It was a somewhat surreal experience. The congregation was quite small (25 - 30) and the church was quite warm (summertime in Oregon and most places around here don't have AC, unfortunately). The music was .. amazing. Truly amazing. The Mass parts were the Byrd "Mass for Five Voices" and the rest was plainchant and a Byrd Motet, I believe.

I'll definitely go again, but preferably when there's air conditioning!

My Mom passed away 23 years ago today.

I miss you Mom, and I love you.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

Predictably, the mainstream media have been falling over themselves about the latest document from the SCDF on the doctrine of the Church. It's unfortunate that the reporters either haven't read the document or didn't understand it, because they (actually, the headline editors are worse) have put a pretty horrible spin on it... the truth is that the new document doesn't say anything new, it's just a reiteration of Dominus Iesus. Sheesh.

Since I couldn't sleep, I checked the news and sure enough, the new motu proprio on the Tridentine Mass has been promulgated. I've not read it yet but it appears that the main difference is that the faithful can ask for the Tridentine Mass without having to go through the bishop. I'm not sure how this is going to work in practice since presumably the bishops could still forbid priests to use the 1962 Missal without prior approval. Despite all the hoopla I expect this decree won't mean a thing to the average Catholic in the pew. For those that are interested in the Tridentine Mass though, it should be very welcome news.

Good news for Tucson ... StarNet reports that it looks like the central city aquifer is beginning to recover from decades of overpumping.

I was shopping at the grocery store over the weekend and a woman was shopping with her small child (probably 2-3). She was speaking to the child saying things like "no, Mommy can't do that" and "don't pull Mommy's hair" and so forth.

It occurred to me later, what's the deal with referring to yourself in the 3rd person? Why do people do this? They do it with children a lot and we tend to not think anything of it, but it's really rather strange when you think about it.

Woo-hoo!! The UA Wildcat softball team wins the Women's College World Series!!!!

This is their 2nd straight, and their 8th time on top. These women are AMAZING! Go Cats!

Holy cow! YouTube is amazing.... I just discovered there's a bunch of video of the Pride of Arizona Marching Band on there... it makes me so homesick! Check this out:

So... tonight we had our first of two performances of the last concert of the year for the Oregon Chorale. It was at a church in Tigard. We've had sunny and (for here) warm weather, and this place apparently had NO air conditioning. It was really hot!

Marie had our season ticket for the concert, but she didn't come, which hurt.

The last piece for the concert was the Barber "Agnus Dei" (choral setting of "Adagio for Strings"). It's such a powerful, intense piece. Some of my fellow basses were commenting afterward on what an intense, emotional experience it was, and it's true. It takes a lot out of you. Music like this is what makes life... worth living.

It's Memorial Day. A friend posted a link to this video. If you can watch it without tearing up.... you are a hard person indeed.

For all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country... let us pray for them. For their families, "Thanks" doesn't begin to express the sorrow and gratitude we feel.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.

Sad News...

I'm sorry to report that Marie and I are splitting up. Marie has decided that she needs to spend some time on her own, pursuing her own interests and tending her own garden, so to speak. We will continue to see each other but we won't be "a couple" and we'll have to just take things as they come and see how it goes. She will be attending PSU in the fall and hopes to graduate in December '08.

In many ways I think this is a good thing for Marie, and I wish her the best of luck. She will remain very dear to me and I do hope that after some time we may be able to get back together -- something I know she would like as well. I love her very much and I know she loves me too, so this is very hard; we have been together almost 2 years.

Thanks for your understanding.

Here's a really cool essay by Archbishop Chaput of Denver, Religious Tolerance and the Common Good.

Here’s my point. People who take the question of human truth, freedom and meaning seriously will never remain silent about it. They can’t. They’ll always act on what they believe, even at the cost of their reputations and lives. That’s the way it should be. Religious faith is always personal, but it’s never private. It always has social consequences, or it isn’t real. And this is why any definition of “tolerance” that tries to turn religious faith into a private idiosyncrasy, or a set of personal opinions that we can have at home but that we need to be quiet about in public, is doomed to fail.