cc: file, Tony Hafen, Pauline Nelson via mail, Sara and Des Penny, Lloyd and Luana Warner, Diane Cluff, and Maxine Shirts.
"Different topic. I will explain it towards the end of the thoughtlet. All in all it was a good week. It started when I got a nice e-mail from Dr. Scott Ritter at BYU:
Monday morning I picked up Horace Snyder and we met Johnny Kopecky at Dr. Heloise Lynn's office. Excellent meeting, and strong opportunities for follow-up. Tuesday the three of us met with Ginger Oil downtown from 10:00-1:00. Looked at two drillable prospects, and both of them have nice upside opportunities. We went from there out to II&T where Bob Horner had picked up sandwiches for the three of us. We spent from 1:30 until 5:00 with Parker Gay. Horace and Johnny are either really good actors, or they are very excited about what I have put together at Dynamic Resources. I left there feeling higher than a kite. However, my cough got worse and worse all week.
I spent Wednesday and Thursday building some more Infinite Grid (SM) Spread-Sheets. This time it was for the Dynamic Prospects and Leads, and tied to Confidentiality and Business Agreements with members of the Dynamic NetWork. MKS is telling me I need to get all of my paperwork in order, and so I put in long days getting the agreements cleaned up, and ready to be executed. By Wednesday the congestion had got to my ear and was really starting to hurt, and so I broke down and went to the Doctor. Also asked him about my ankle and he had me go and get it x-rayed on Thursday. The really sad part is that his scales showed me weighing 9 1/2 pounds more than my scales at the house. I know that weight difference is not my wallet. Maybe my shoes, cell phone, notebook, and clothes really do weigh that much. My blood pressure was 137/87, which they said is really good. I also just got my cholesterol level back from having given blood a few weeks ago. It is 202.
Friday was a good day. I spent the early morning finishing up the Prospect Spread-Sheet, and then the four of us went to College Station. We stopped and registered Matt for soccer on the way, and took a longer route than we needed through Sealy instead of Brookshire. We got to the George Bush Library at 11:05, and I had an appointment with Ron Szabo and Arnie Vedlitz, Associate Dean of the Bush School and Director of the Institute of Science, Technology, and Public Policy. I had talked to him on the 11th of October in 2000 and he had expressed a lot of interest in the Infinite Grid(SM). I was waiting for him to call me back up, which isn't the best sales approach. When we got back from Utah and I saw Tom Ridge's color-coded terror alerts, I was quite excited, because I could see how this maps directly into the Infinite Grid(SM). Then I heard on the news that Texas A&M has applied for $150 million in Federal funding to become the center of homeland defense. Needless to say I see how all of my work with the Infinite Grid(SM) and the Knowledge Backbone(SM) can become the center piece of this type of operation.
The exciting thing about the meeting with Arnie Vedlitz is that he sees the same thing. He is going to start working on grants to put me on as a consultant as soon as possible. I am going to do some prototype work using Census Track maps for Harris County. I expect I will be writing a lot about this over the next few years, and so I won't go into a lot of detail here, other than to refer you to the images I referenced in the last Thoughtlet: www.walden3d.com/TAMU.
I made a quick tour of the Bush Museum, when Ron called and said Mari got off early from nursing at the hospital. We met them out front of the museum, and Matt rode with them to a Cajin restuarant called Alice's. Ben and Sarah did you ever go there? It was really good. Then we followed them the 20 miles to their house and spent the next several hours playing with their cats, dogs, and horses. I love the outdoors, and it was the first time I have gone with Ron on a walk around his 28 acre place. Rachel and Matt loved going on horse rides. Mari was sooooooooo good with them. We took some digital photos, which I will get posted sometime. Andrea wanted to go for a ride, and she wanted me to go with her, and so I got on a horse for the first time in years. It was nice, except I feel fat. In fact, when we got back, I rode the horse up to where Rachel was sitting and she said `You must really like this. You have the biggest smile on your face.' I didn't think I did.
In thinking about this statement on the way home and since Friday, I have realized I don't take time to do the things I enjoy, like riding horses. Why? Too busy with too many obligations, that when it really comes down to it are not all that important. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of checking out some of those 5,000 to 50,000 acre ranches John Polhman told me are available for purchase south of St. George and north of the Grand Canyon on the Arizona Strip. The elevation is high enough it would be very pleasent in the summer (like Cedar Mountain), and there would be a nice amount of snow in the winter. I could see building my own version of Walden Pond back in there, having Grandkids (and kids) come and help me build it up, and donating it to BYU or the Boy Scouts, with permanent access by our descendents.
Of course, this kind of thinking is much bigger than my wallet. And yet it is not bigger than the potential from the combined efforts at Dynamic Resources, Texas A&M's homeland security, the consulting from Shell Research in process modeling, and even the slim possibilities relative to the discussions with BYU. Time will tell what is going to happen. Tonight, I hope it includes a ranch on the Arizona Strip, where I can have a forum to teach our descendents values that are important to me.
On our way home from College Station we stopped at Cinemark and went to see Ice Age. Funny movie. I recommend it to anyone of you who liked any of the Disney movies. It is really very good, and simply a lot of fun.
Saturday started with Choir from 8:15-8:45 AM. Melanie had called earlier in the week and asked if Andrea and I would like to go to the Houston Temple with her on Saturday. I was really excited about this call. Other than Paul and Melanie's marriage, I do not believe I have ever been to the temple with a direct ancestor nor a direct descendent. Ever since my experience in Corvalis, I have dreamed of experiencing the concept of an eternal family. And my daughter actually called and asked me to go to the temple with her. Melanie was going to call and tell me whether it was going to be the 10:00 or the 11:00 session. I called before choir and left a message. The other line at the Wright's was busy. After choir the line was still busy. At 9:15 I got through and a son said, `Oh they left an hour ago.'
I assumed they were going to the 10:00 session. Andrea was planning to hem up a dragonfly baby blanket she and Rachel made for the new baby. However, she acquiesced to my assumption and to the possibility of getting to the temple from our house in less than 40 minutes on Good Friday. We made it, and I had my name (Jacob Weeks born in about 1734 in Smith town, Long Island, NY) and was sitting in the chapel by 9:58. Andrea came into the chapel in her street clothes saying Melanie wasn't there. I couldn't very well leave, and Andrea wanted to go to the bookstore, so I waited in the chapel for the next session.
I guess it could have been a bad experience. After all I fell asleep in the movie, which I seldom do, even if I'm really tired. The session was overflowing, because it was Easter Friday. When we went out to the car, Andrea said her stomach was still turning over from the ride to the temple. Melanie called as we got into the car to go home expressing sorrow that she forgot to call and say they decided to not try and go to the temple because of the rain storms, the temple being busy on Easter Friday, etc. On the way home from the temple Andrea spent most of the time talking to Grandma Shirts and learning that it would be better for Rachel to live in an apartment than at her house. Even though Andrea and Rachel understands, this family dynamic does hurt, specifically because Randy's daughter will be staying at Grandma Shirts' house. Based on some of the rudeness and anger I have experienced at our house, I understand exactly where Grandma Shirts is coming from. As Dr. Nancy White points out, it is an entire family dynamic, and normally accompanies divorce. Another reason the temple trip could have been a bad experience is the fact Andrea made mistakes on hemming the baby blanket because she was hurrying because there wasn't time she had set aside to do everything. Oh well! And I'm sure there were some other things going on in the background, which could have detracted from the spirit I felt at the temple.
However, it was one of the best temple sessions I have ever been in. I expect this is because I spent the hour before the session we went to reading D&C 45, all of the cross- references to the New Jerusalem, and looking through all of the maps in the back of the new editions of the scriptures. I never realized before that the basin Jerry Fillebrown wants to explore in sits just north of Adam-Ondi-Ahmen. And my mind started to wander through the idea of geology and the scriptures. When we went into the endowment session my mind was still on this train of thought, and when I fell asleep, I could see a whole series of books based around the concept of geology and the scriptures. It is amazing how the spirit teaches, and how lifetimes of work can be transmitted to our mind in seconds when we actually are listening.
Imagine, Geology and the New Testament: a virtual reality tour of the topography the Savior walked over durning his ministry; cross-sections showing the soils, the tectonics, the stratigraphy of the rocks he sat and walked on to teach us the words of eternal life; maps of faults and when those faults were active, extending the work Amos Nur did when he showed the location and direction of faulting based on how the columns fell in various Greek and Roman cities in Israel; etc.
Imagine, Geology and the Old Testament: following Abraham into Egypt and back to Cannan; Lot and his wife and the modern day pillars of salt by the dead sea; the famine that affected Israel and Joseph and the geologic cross-sections under which they walked; Moses' trek across the Red Sea and up Mount Sinai; where Elijiah hid in a cave; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and the Book of Mormon: highlighting where archealogical gold, silver, and copper mines were located, and how these mines relate to mines referenced in the the Book of Mormon; volcanos and sunken cities of today and how these could relate to the events following the crucifixion of Christ; in fact there could be a world-wide discussion of geology related to the crucifixion; the possible geology of the hill Cumorah; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and The Pearl of Great Price: highlighting Moses creation accounts like the mist of water that went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground (these have already been well covered by my professor at the University of Utah William Lee Stokes); how a cubit can be 18 or 23 inches and 1,000 earth years (Abraham Facsimile 2, Footnote 1); etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Church History: highlighting the role of the New York Finger Lakes; the Sequeshana River; Crooked River; the Mississippi River; the soils; the weather; the trek west; the Salt Lake Valley; Cedar Valley and the Iron Mission; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Temples: highlighting the geologic foundation on which each of the temples sits; the geology of the stones that the temples were built from; the geology of the surrounding areas; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Islam: highlighting the impact of geology on the life and times of The Prophet Mohammed; the impact of geology on Muslim science; the impact of geology on modern events, particularly tied to oil and energy; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Buddhism: highlighting the geology that directed the Buddah or Confuscious; the geologic impact on eastern history; the geology of Chinese Communism; the geology of the statues; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Hinduism: highlighting the geology of Shiv and the Hindu creation myths; the geology of various Hindu temples; the geology of the Taj Mahal; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Music: highlighting the topography of the lives of Bach, Beethoven, Brahams, Chopin, Copeland, Handel, Hayden, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Verde, etc. and how the spatial frequencies of these topographies relate to the rhythms, tempos, beat, and repetitions of their music; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Art: highlighiting the impact of geology on Leonardo di Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Goya, Manet, Van Gogh, etc.
Imagine, Geology and History: highlighting the geology of Egypt; Africa; Rome; Greece; Middle Ages; Churchill; Eisenhower; Uncle Tony; etc.; etc.
Imagine, Geology and Genealogy: highlighting the miners; the stonemasons; the explorers; my family; Andrea's family; President Bushes family; etc.; etc.
I could go on and on with the thoughts that filled my soul during the short two and a half hour time I spent in the temple yesterday, and I hope you get the point. I walked out of that temple session with my head floating in the clouds, and imagining thousands of research or writing or virtual reality projects out there waiting for me to do. I tried to explain to Andrea and she said I was playing word games with her, and cut me off. Guess her mind was still recovering from my speeding to get to the temple to meet Melanie. Oh well! Of course, I will probably never do any of the projects I imagined, and hopefully by taking the time to write down what the spirit taught me yesterday, maybe one of my descendents or one of their friends will pick up one of these ideas and make the world a little bit better place because of following through on the ideas.
When we got home I went to Target and got some cleaner to see if we could remove the red punch stain Matt put in the center of the living room floor carpet while we were gone. Oh well! Then I changed clothes and went outside and spent from 2:00 to 5:30 raking up leaves in the front yard. Matt had promised Andrea he would clean up the leaves. He might have got 2 bags of leaves if he had done it his way. As it ended up, there are 17 bags of leaves on the front lawn.
I had started my fast after breakfast, and maybe because of my experience at the temple earlier in the day my mind was on our Savior. As I cleaned up those leaves for Matt, I couldn't help but think how much the Savior does to make up for my mistakes. Matt did help, some, and I actually didn't expect him to. He said at the end of the day, `That was kind of fun.' Guess it was because I didn't expect him to help, he did help on his own, and there were no snide nor critical remarks because of unmet expectations. Good lesson for me relative to working with Matt. As I mentioned in the previous Thoughtlet, both Sara (with her friend from Minnesota who was with her at Easter Mass with the Pope last summer) and Melanie (with her Mother-in-law) stopped and said hi, and said nice words about me having lost some weight. It was sure good to see you two. Wish you felt more comfortable around us and would spend longer on your visits. Oh well!
As I got in the pool and contemplated the little blisters on my hands, I was overcome with love for Matt, and felt the love my Savior feels for me. The pool was cold, and yet it felt warm as I sat and thought of Henry Thoreau breaking the ice on Walden Pond for his daily bath.
Andrea and Rachel went out to dinner, and then went to their last Young Women's Conference together. They were both pretty contemplative when they got home. But not for long, because they checked out Rat Race, and we all watched that movie together last night. Matt sure can laugh loud. It seems to be a Nielson characteristic.
Church was nice today. Good testimonies. Good lesson on Joseph and saving his family from the famine in Sunday School. The Bishop spoke to the combined Priesthood and Relief Society about the new program: `For the Strength of Youth.' Sister Stephen's sister and husband were visiting from England. He is the son of Brother Solly, who is in the photo on January 23rd, 1971 of my missionary journal. She was baptized by Ramond Daines, who was the twin brother of one of my companions, Gordon S. Daines, who was on his mission at the same time we were. Talk about a small world. Andrea fixed a wonderful dinner of pork chops, rice, bean salad, fruit salad, and Easter candy. Tonight Andrea, Rachel, and I went to the Stake Choir's Easter Messiah program. It was small, with several solos, and was a very nice program. Obvoiusly Andrea and I did not sing in it. And there are only so many things one person can do, especially when a person finds their mind is full of things like geology and the scriptures."