25 Jul 2004 #0430.html

Washing Windows

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Dear Paul and Kate, Melanie and Jared, Bridget and Justin, Sara, Ben and Sarah, Heather, Audrey, Rachel, Matt via hardcopy, and Brian,

cc: file, Andrea, Tony Hafen, Sara and Des Penny, & Maxine Shirts

Welcome to "Thoughtlets." This is a weekly review of an idea, belief, thought, or words that will hopefully be of some benefit to you, my children, with an electronic copy to on-line extended family members. Any of you can ask me not to clutter your mail box at any time.

"It is amazing how something little, like stepping on a pine cone when going jogging, can change your whole day, week, weeks, and possibly even months. I will be sending out three Thoughtlets, just because I got behind three weeks because I wanted to keep my swollen ankle raised up. Oh well!

I was thinking how this time of year, every morning when I go out to get into the blue Saturn and drive to GDC in the Galleria area, how my ritual starts with washing windows on the car, or at least wiping off the condensation that has gathered and is about 1/4 inch thick on the car windows. Then it was driving the clutch to the office with a swollen foot that still hurts every time I press down on it. Oh well! There are so many things that don't get captured in these Thoughtlets. They truly are little thoughts. Even though it too often takes me more words that intended or desired to describe my week. I've read that the mark of a good writer is being able to concisely describe complex relationships. Oh well! I've never claimed to be a writer, just a thinker with lots of little thoughts falling out of my head.

Monday morning Maureen offhandedly mentioned that I will get a new office. I will be taking over Mike Bennett's office, one of the GDC salespeople, who is going to move to a smaller office, created by taking Lee Bell's office and splitting it in half. I feel sorry for Mike. He closed the million dollar plus Forest Oil Gabon 3-D seismic processing job, which is what is keeping GDC alive right now. Oh well! I guess I will just enjoy the benefits of my new job, and not worry about it. I talked to Mike when he got back from vacation, and he is fine with the change. So I've been drawing plans and thinking about how the best way to set up the office is. After all, it looks like I will be at GDC for a long time, and this is probably where all of my geotechnical books and material will end up, since none of you have expressed interest in my profession. I measured the office, and three of the file cabinets upstairs are 90.5" or or two of them are 64.5" wide. The space against the inside wall is 120.5," so there is a nice fit, and this will start to get rid of some of the clutter in the house and bothers Andrea so much. When Andrea got back from Utah and helping Ella Dawn, Kate, and Paul I asked her, and she thinks this is a good idea.

Besides washing windows each morning, I also get to commute for 35 to 55 minutes, depending on traffic and weather. I do not like to commute, and I'm using Book of Mormon tapes, which I bought for the commute from Missouri City to the University of Houston and then to Highway 6 and I-10, where Landmark's first office was. I don't think I've listened to these tapes since we moved to Emerald Green in 1984. It has been enjoyable listening to them. I also have got caught up on Listening to a AudioTech Book summaries. There was one I thought had some value for my book, An Open Mind, which I have not been working on very much for the last few months, and so I listened to it again so I could take notes. This might not be the brightest thing to do as I commute in bumper to bumper traffic, using a stick shift, and complaining because my ankle hurts every time I push down on the clutch. Oh well! These are the notes I took:

`The Future of Work by Thomas W. Malone. About 12,000 years ago hunters and gathers were in small bands of less than 60. In 10,000 BC Mesopotamia agriculture and the first hierarchical communication started. Falling communication costs were made possible in 3,000 BC by the technology of writing, which was key to the development of civilization. Without writing can not administer a large and complex state. Larger groups, specialized societies, are more efficient when someone is in charge. About 500 BC the Greeks developed democracy. In the 1700's it took root in the west. In 1450 Gothenburg's movable type lowered the cost of communication again. Democracy more flexible than the kingdoms which were replaced. Until the 1800's most business were like the bands in hunter and gather societies. Railroads were the first major hierarchical business. In 1913 Ford's assembly line cut the time to build a car from 12 hours and 8 minutes to 1 hour and 33 minutes. Railroads, telegraphs, and telephones were the next major cut in communication costs. Companies shrink through outsourcing. Self managed teams are decentralized and were first demonstrated in the 1990's as supporting many-to-many communication. Stage 1. Small Group Stage 2. Centralization Stage 3. Decision making becomes decentralized The key to success of these groups was loose hierarchies, like the hunter-gather's had: 1. dense communication by staying closely in touch 2. lack of control because of delegated decisions 3. freedom to participate in projects that appeal to core values For example AES values are fairness, integrity, social responsibility, and fun - where fun means to have responsibilities for things that truly matter in the world. The one rule is you must get advice. Democracy increases employees energy and creativity and sense of ownership. E-lancing is electronic free-lancing. Guilds historically trained apprentices and provided benefits like health and pension plans. Internal Market at British Petroleum buys and sells permits to sell greenhouse gases internally. They call this transfer marketing. In one year they were able to meet a 10 year Carbon-Dioxide reduction plan using this approach. It is a type of outsourcing, only to internal markets. The key is to replace command and control with coordinate and cultivate. Super sets must move on a decontrolled continuum. Cultivate people by: 1. harnessing natural tendencies understand customer needs so can show them how your product or service helps them. 2. Let 1,000 flowers bloom: Let lots of ideas grow. This is called creative destruction. 3. Encourage cross-fertilization incentives for people to contribute and maintain their knowledge base. 4. Improvise. Gain power by giving power away.'


I realize this is not many notes for a 45-60 minute tape, and yet I think it is pretty good to be able to do this, while driving a clutch, and complaining about my hurt ankle.

Tuesday evening Steve Holleman called and told us there was a special Ward Fast for for Daniel Flannigan on Wednesday. Randy Shirts had Daniel in his chemistry class last semester, after he returned from his mission to Argentina, and neither Andrea nor I had any idea there was a problem. It turns out that for those who wear contacts, it is possible to have an amoebae get on your contacts and then in your eye, and these amoebae's live on the cornea. This is fairly rare. There is an expert in Salt Lake who has treated six individuals with this problem. Four recovered, one lost their sight, and one is still under treatment. We actually did not find any of this out until Friday night, when we had a chance to talk to Daniel's Dad, Glen Flannigan.

We got the call, and both Andrea and I fasted. In fact, I did not even eat my vitamins, the fast wasn't from dinner to dinner, and so Wednesday was one of those days when I had 0 swallows. Lost some weight, but it came right back within a couple of days. Oh well! I also recognized I got a little cranky at work, and, of course, none of those I was working with knew I was cranky because I was fasting. It is so hard to control our own bodies. However, we can do learn to control our bodies, if we just keep working at it. I left work at 4:30 and met Andrea at the Houston Temple at 6:45. It was a nice session. It was our Ward Temple night, and it is always nice to go though an Endowment Session with friends. I sat by Brett Allen, who just returned from one of the Chile missions. His parents have been pretty mean to him about his conversion to the church. He is a good boy, and I am very proud of him. He is going to BYU in a few weeks, and plans to be on the BYU swim team.

When I got back to the dressing room to change out of my white clothes and into street clothes, someone came in asking if anyone spoke Spanish. There was a Spanish speaking lady who had got very sick, and they needed someone to talk to her. I told them that one of our missionaries was in the Celestial Room and just returned from a Spanish speaking mission. He had me go back to the Celestial Room, get Brett, and bring him to the lady that was struggling. I never heard what happened, and it was a neat experience to see a young worthy priesthood holder there to help when help was needed. It was not a coincidence. The events were guided by the spirit. After all, the Holy Ghost, as taught in the New Testament and the rest of the scriptures, is the means for washing windows of our lives, and seeing what the Lord wants us to be doing. And even though we see through a glass darkly, we will see as we are seen, as Paul teaches in I Corinthians 13:12, once The Holy Ghost is finished washing windows of our life.

Thursday night Tony Traweek came by to help me with some geodesy problems I've been struggling with, and to help me set up the final projects for the South Timblier South Addition Tile-01 Study that several of us have been working very hard on for the last few weeks. We worked until about 10:00, and agreed to continue on Monday. It was interesting to me, that as we walked out to the elevator and then to the parking lot together, Tony turned to me and said, `Do they pay their bills?' He, like me, was burned by the Nigerian's who did not pay the $50,000 for the Marginal Field Work.

Friday I got away from work about 4:30, and shortly after I got home, Matt, Rachel, Andrea, and me went to see the movie `King Arthur' They didn't show any washing windows in that movie. It was quite different from any other King Arthur movie I've ever seen. It was bloody, and the heroine's outfits were scanty and gross. It is obviously not a movie for any of my Grand kids, and it is a movie I would recommend any of my kids or step-kids go see. They moved Stonehenge to the East Coast of England, and showed a coastline that was from Whales or Ireland. But other than this kind of Hollywoodism (and the blood and the skin) it was a quite interesting take on a very possible historical King Arthur, Merlin the magician, the round table, and others.

Saturday morning Andrea and I drove over to Vidor. We delivered the kite I picked up for Colby on my last trip to China (Ethan got his, and Grant will get his when I go up to Ella Dawn's blessing). There was just enough wind that I was able to get the kite up in the air for a little while, and Colby was even interested for a few minutes. Hopefully this will be fun over the years. It was not the brightest thing I've done to go running in Melanie's back yard with my wrapped ankle. I popped it again, and it was reswollen all the next week. Oh well!

Besides playing with the kite, we got to see Melanie and Jared's house. It is wonderful. I really like the colors, and the way it has all come together. Colby was very good at showing me all around the house. And then we went outside and started washing windows so the contractor could put the screens on the house, and finish that part. Turns out that the windows in front had a lot of cement, and other stuff on them, and the power washer would not take it all off. In fact, we ended up scratching most of it off, or using vinegar or glue remover to get it off. Melanie, I really enjoyed doing this for you, and thank you for giving me the opportunity. And also, thanks for the wonderful lunch at Wright's Bar-B-Que. I know Bar-B-Que is not Andrea's first choice, but we both agree that Wright's Bar-B-Que is special. Thanks again.

We left Vidor about 3:30, and got back to Katy in time to go see `The Bourne Supremacy.' Very well done movie. Lots of action, great car chases, and all four of us enjoyed going to this movie. Again it is not for my Grand kids, and I expect they will end up seeing it by the time they are 8 years old. Oh well! Part of the challenge you kids and your kids get to work out. I'm glad I don't have the challenge of living a moral life in an ever increasing immoral world. Without facing the same inundation in sex and violence and other satanic guided lifestyles which you kids take for granted, I am still washing windows and keeping my life clean.

On Sunday, Colleen and Richard Moore spoke in sacrament meeting. Very good talks, as always. I wrote a possible stanza based on things from Coleen's talk.

`Wickedness burneth as the fire (a) The flame shall not hurt thee The design is our dross to consume And our gold to refine (b)' (a) 2 Nephi 19:18 (b) Coleen Moore quoting "How Firm a Foundation" verse 5, Hymn 85, Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1985


I went to Gospel Essentials with the McArthurs. I do enjoy Curtus Jasper's lessons. Too bad he accepted a new job and is moving back to Coeur d' Alene, Idaho (0429.html). One of the things that came out of his lesson was a quick calculation:

`For 100 temples operating two 50 hour blocks per week for 50 weeks per year, or 5,000 hours per year (2 endowment rooms/temple * 50 weeks/year * 5 days/week * 10 hours per day), and performing an average of 20 endowments every two hours, 1 billion people will take 200 years to endow. How many billion people have lived on the earth? The millennium is a long time. How many temples need to be built, and how many hours per day do they need to operate in order to perform priesthood ordinances for all of those who have ever lived on the earth?'


And of course, the real important question of the week was the one Andrea asked me as we drove back into the yard from our visit to Melanie, Jared, Colby, and Taylor:

`Roice, why are you willing to drive over to Vidor and help Melanie wash windows when you just sat in your office working on your stuff when I was struggling at our house washing windows?'


I have no good answer. Oh well!"

I'm interested in sharing weekly a "thoughtlet" (little statements of big thoughts which mean a lot to me) with you because I know how important the written word can be. I am concerned about how easy it is to drift and forget our roots and our potential among all of distractions of daily life. To download any of these thoughtlets go to http://www.walden3d.com/thoughtlets or e-mail me at rnelson@walden3d.com.

With all my love,
Dad
(H. Roice Nelson, Jr.)

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Copyright © 2004 H. Roice Nelson, Jr.