Farmer
Dear Family and Friends,
Welcome to this week's "Thoughtlet."
These words are my personal diary and a weekly review of ideas,
beliefs, thoughts, or words that will hopefully be of some
benefit to you: my children, my family, and my friends.
"Monday I paid my annual Geoscience Tax to the state of Texas
in order to be a registered professional geoscientists. This
is my third year of paying this tax, and thankfully, GDC lets
me put it on my expenses.
Monday evening was Halloween. Rob went with us to see the
Zorro sequel: `The Legend of Zorro.' When Rob asked Andrea
about not being at home to hand out Halloween candy, Andrea
said, `I've been waiting 26 years for this Halloween.'
Tuesday I went to the Memorial Service for Dr. William Charles Gray,
Will had a PhD from Stanford. After I signed the Patent Release
papers at Mobil, they sent me out to FRL (Mobil's Field Research
Lab) to meet with two individuals. Their names were Tom Hearst
(../9945.html) and Will Gray.
Will and I have got together many times since 1974 and discussed
the changes that came from those early ideas. A couple of years
ago at the SEG we spent about an hour catching up. Will has done
a lot of work with Fred Hilterman over the years (who also worked
at Mobil). Lee Bell knows him well, and was at the memorial
service, along with Rolanda Lara, John Sherwood, and numerous
others that I know. The service was at the Memorial Oaks
Funeral Home Chapel by the cemetery where Norbert Schmidt
(../2002/0246.html) was buried.
I remember going to Will's Mom's weird bookstore down by Rice
University. Definitely eclectic. Lots of `New Age' stuff.
After Will mentioned it was his Mom's store, I would often
stop in and see what new things she had and talk to her when
I went to Rice to visit with Bill Bavinger. She died several
years ago, and the bookstore has been gone for longer than that.
Will's brother, John, wrote `Men Are From Mars and Women Are
From Venus,' which was of great help to me after the divorce
(../2004/0424.html). At the
memorial service he said `We are all multi-dimensional beings.
Will showed the best of Mom and the best of Dad. His greatest
contribution was with math and numbers.' His sister Virginia
has lived in India for several years. She came up to me and
said, `You have a very interesting face.' His brother Tom
said, `I clearly know what not to do, I don't know what to do.'
Another brother talked to me about his work and database which
has 500,000 names in it for helping adopted folks match up
with their birth parents. He said, `Will had an excellent
mind, and too weak of a heart.' He left a wife and two kids.
A couple of weeks later (I'm still catching up with the
Thoughtlets) I later received a very nice note from Will Gray's
wife, which read:
`Roice,
I did not thank you for coming to Will's funeral, so I wanted
to send this note and let you know how much your friendship
meant to him. He spoke very fondly of you and considered you
a good friend.
Eddie Gray'
I left early for my meeting with Rick Zimmerman and Dave Johnson
downtown at Rick's office. I was late. Oh well! The meeting
went well. Rick wants to form a separate company and have both
GDC and TIE (Texas Independent Exploration) put assets into it.
It will be very interesting to see what turns out happening.
He did commit to giving me access to a 3-D survey to do a test
of the Vossler attributes (0547.html).
I ended up staying at Rick's office working with John Jacobson
(the geologist) and Stephen Alverez (the geophysicist) for a
couple of hours after the lunch meeting. Mike Dunn was calling
asking when I would be back to the office before I left. I
guess it is nice to wanted at work, and it is also nice to be
busy. Hopefully each of you will find this in your lives.
We received a nice Thank You note from Melanie and family:
`Grandma & Grandpa,
We just wanted to thankyou for the time we were able to
spend @ your house, for all your efforts to help our community,
& for the Halloween package! We loved spending time @ your
house & with you and it made our transitional period so much
easier & fun!
Thanks again,
Mel & Family'
Wednesday was Rob's birthday. I called him early, when I got
to the office, and sang Happy Birthday into his answering
machine. I think Rob appreciated it. I came home to find
Andrea had received the long anticipated letter from Audrey,
What a nice birthday present for me. Yes, this is a sarcastic
comment. It reminds me of the angry letters I used to write
to my mother. Aunt Sara could not believe some of the letters
I had written that she found when cleaning out all of Mom's
stuff. It wasn't until Nancy White's PAIRS class that I
got over this anger, and Andrea says I'm not over it yet.
She says I'm still trying to prove to my mother that I am
worthwhile as a human being. Oh well!
Thursday morning was my birthday, and before I left for the
office I edited Andrea's response to Audrey in such a way to
insure it would not be sent. It was not necessarily the best
thing to do to enhance our relationship. Oh well! I do not
think Andrea should not respond to this kind of nonsense, and
the key part of my goal regarding this particular letter is
to break the family dynamic cycle that has developed between
Andrea and her kids, particularly the three girls.
My birthday was quiet. The scheduled trip to Nauvoo with Paul
and Kate did not happen because of the SEG Convention and the
need to prepare for it (0546.html).
On the way home I went by to pick up Rob. However, I woke him
up, he wanted to have a shower, and so he ended up driving
Marti's car over. I went back to Mason Road and picked up the
missionaries, and we got to the house about the same time Rob
did. Andrea had fixed a very nice meal for us, although she
did not really talk to me until Saturday because of my edits
to her letter. Oh well! I got several nice birthday cards:
- Southwest Airlines (stereo with blue - red glasses
- Aunt Sara and Uncle Des with a dog driving a convertible, and
inside saying `Destination Celebration'
- Rob with a guy driving a convertible, and inside saying
`Life is an open road. Fortunately, at your age, you have
lots of gas.'
- Andrea saying `Remember vinyl records, black & white TV,
and United States Presidents who we trusted and admired?'
And inside saying `Wow...You're older than I thought.'
I think it was Thursday that there was an e-mail from Andrea's
brother Robert, who wrote:
`Subject: Double pane windows?
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those
expensive double-pane energy efficient kind. But this week I
got a call from the contractor complaining that his work had
been completed a whole year and I had yet to pay for them.
Boy oh boy, did we go around! Just because I'm blonde doesn't
mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I proceeded to tell
him just what his fast-talking sales guy had told me last year
that in one year the windows would pay for themselves. There
was silence on the other end of the line so I just hung up,
and he hasn't called back. Guess he felt real stupid, huh!!'
For a couple of weeks I've been laughing about a comment I read
from Dolly Parton. It was something like `I don't get upset about
dumb blonde jokes. After all I'm not dumb, and I'm not blonde.'
There was also an e-mail from
Sarah and Ben:
`Another mass email to family and friends --
If you get a moment, check-out www.bn-sn.com and the photo gallery.
Ethan has discovered hockey -- and as a result a fractured toe --
yet he hasn't even gotten on the ice yet! You can learn more in
the details of the pictures. But would love for you to come by
and "visit" us.
Take care,
Sarah'
It was about this time that I responded to an e-mail Roice sent
me, and from which the theme for this week's Thoughtlet about
being a farmer derives. My note said:
`Roice,
Thanks for your concern.
I'm a farmer. I have planted a lot of seeds. Like any farmer,
I have faith enough of them will come up to meet our financial
needs. There is nothing more important to me than you kids.
It is important to me to be able to help when milestones are
achieved. I do not have the cash today, and am optimistic we
will have cash by the time of the practice dinner. How fancy
is the place? How many people are you planning on? What is
your budget? Given some details, Andrea and I will discuss it
and get back to you and Sara with what is reasonable for us to
commit to.
Did you receive my e-mail regarding FSI?
Love,
Dad'
One of the responses from Roice stated that `The results are up!'
with a link to the pumpkin contest voting results:
http://www.gravitation3d.com/pumpkin. Interesting activity.
Carlos sent me an e-mail which relates to all of you Generation-Y
types, and which I think some of you will enjoy:
`Subject: Generation Y from Carlos
Generation Y: They've arrived at work with a new attitude
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY Mon Nov 7,10:10 AM ET
They're young, smart, brash. They may wear flip-flops to the office
or listen to iPods at their desk. They want to work, but they
don't want work to be their life.
This is Generation Y, a force of as many as 70 million, and the
first wave is just now embarking on their careers - taking their
place in an increasingly multigenerational workplace.
Get ready, because this generation - whose members have not yet hit
30 - is different from any that have come before, according to
researchers and authors such as Bruce Tulgan, a founder of New
Haven, Conn.-based RainmakerThinking, which studies the lives of
young people.
This age group is moving into the labor force during a time of
major demographic change, as companies around the USA face an
aging workforce. Sixty-year-olds are working beside 20-year-olds.
Freshly minted college graduates are overseeing employees old
enough to be their parents. And new job entrants are changing
careers faster than college students change their majors, creating
frustration for employers struggling to retain and recruit
talented high-performers.
Unlike the generations that have gone before them, Gen Y has been
pampered, nurtured and programmed with a slew of activities since
they were toddlers, meaning they are both high-performance and
high-maintenance, Tulgan says. They also believe in their own worth.
"Generation Y is much less likely to respond to the traditional
command-and-control type of management still popular in much of
today's workforce," says Jordan Kaplan, an associate managerial
science professor at Long Island University-Brooklyn in New York.
"They've grown up questioning their parents, and now they're
questioning their employers. They don't know how to shut up,
which is great, but that's aggravating to the 50-year-old manager
who says, 'Do it and do it now.' "
That speak-your-mind philosophy makes sense to Katie Patterson,
an assistant account executive at Edelman Public Relations in
Atlanta. The 23-year-old, who hails from Iowa and now lives with
two roommates in a town home, likes to collaborate with others,
and says many of her friends want to run their own businesses so
they can be independent.
"We are willing and not afraid to challenge the status quo," she
says. "An environment where creativity and independent thinking
are looked upon as a positive is appealing to people my age. We're
very independent and tech savvy."
A great deal is known about Gen Y:
- They have financial smarts. After witnessing the financial
insecurity that beset earlier generations stung by layoffs
and the dot-com bust, today's newest entrants into the workforce
are generally savvy when it comes to money and savings. They
care about such benefits as 401(k) retirement plans.
- Thirty-seven percent of Gen Yers expect to start saving for
retirement before they reach 25, with 46% of those already
working indicating so, according to a September survey by
Purchase, N.Y.-based Diversified Investment Advisors. And
49% say retirement benefits are a very important factor in
their job choices. Among those eligible, 70% of the Gen Y
respondents contribute to their 401(k) plan.
Patterson, who works at Edelman, has already met with a financial
planner, and her co-worker, Jennifer Hudson, 23, is also saving
for the future.
"I knew what a Roth IRA was at 17. I learned about it in
economics class," says Hudson, an assistant account executive
in Atlanta and a University of Alabama graduate. "My generation
is much more realistic. We were in college when we saw the
whole dot-com bust."
- Work-life balance isn't just a buzz word. Unlike boomers who
tend to put a high priority on career, today's youngest workers
are more interested in making their jobs accommodate their
family and personal lives. They want jobs with flexibility,
telecommuting options and the ability to go part time or leave
the workforce temporarily when children are in the picture.
"There's a higher value on self fulfillment," says Diana San
Diego, 24, who lives with her parents in San Francisco and
works on college campuses helping prepare students for the
working world through the Parachute College Program. "After
9/11, there is a realization that life is short. You value
it more."
- Change, change, change. Generation Yers don't expect to stay
in a job, or even a career, for too long - they've seen the
scandals that imploded Enron and Arthur Andersen, and they're
skeptical when it comes to such concepts as employee loyalty,
Tulgan says.
They don't like to stay too long on any one assignment. This is a
generation of multitaskers, and they can juggle e-mail on their
BlackBerrys while talking on cellphones while trolling online.
And they believe in their own self worth and value enough that
they're not shy about trying to change the companies they work
for. That compares somewhat with Gen X, a generation born from
the mid-1960s to the late-1970s, known for its independent
thinking, addiction to change and emphasis on family.
"They're like Generation X on steroids," Tulgan says. "They walk
in with high expectations for themselves, their employer, their
boss. If you thought you saw a clash when Generation X came into
the workplace, that was the fake punch. The haymaker is coming now."
Tulgan, who co-authored Managing Generation Y with Carolyn Martin
and leads training sessions at companies on how to prepare for
and retain Generation Yers, says a recent example is a young woman
who just started a job at a cereal company. She showed up the
first day with a recipe for a new cereal she'd invented.
Conflicts over casual dress
In the workplace, conflict and resentment can arise over a host
of issues, even seemingly innocuous subjects such as appearance,
as a generation used to casual fare such as flip-flops, tattoos
and capri pants finds more traditional attire is required at the
office.
Angie Ping, 23, of Alvin, Texas, lives in flip-flops but isn't
allowed to wear them to the office. "Some companies' policies
relating to appropriate office attire seem completely outdated
to me," says Ping, at International Facility Management
Association. "The new trend for work attire this season is
menswear-inspired capri pants, which look as dressy as pants
when paired with heels, but capri pants are not allowed at my
organization."
And then there's Gen Y's total comfort with technology. While
boomers may expect a phone call or in-person meeting on
important topics, younger workers may prefer virtual problem
solving, Tulgan says.
Conflict can also flare up over management style. Unlike previous
generations who've in large part grown accustomed to the annual
review, Gen Yers have grown up getting constant feedback and
recognition from teachers, parents and coaches and can resent
it or feel lost if communication from bosses isn't more regular.
"The millennium generation has been brought up in the most
child-centered generation ever. They've been programmed and
nurtured," says Cathy O'Neill, senior vice president at career
management company Lee Hecht Harrison in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
"Their expectations are different. The millennial expects to
be told how they're doing."
Matt Berkley, 24, a writer at St. Louis Small Business Monthly,
says many of his generation have traveled and had many enriching
experiences, so they may clash with older generations they see
as competition or not as skilled. "We're surprised we have to
work for our money. We want the corner office right away," he
says. "It seems like our parents just groomed us. Anything is
possible. We had karate class, soccer practice, everything. But
they deprived us of social skills. They don't treat older
employees as well as they should."
Employers are examining new ways to recruit and retain and
trying to sell younger workers on their workplace flexibility
and other qualities generally attractive to Gen Y.
At Abbott Laboratories in Chicago, recruiters are reaching out
to college students by telling them about company benefits such
as flexible work schedules, telecommuting, full tuition
reimbursement and an online mentoring tool.
Perks and recruitment
Aflac, an insurer based in Columbus, Ga., is highlighting such
perks as time off given as awards, flexible work schedules and
recognition.
Xerox is stepping up recruitment of students at "core colleges,"
which is how the company refers to universities that have the
kind of talent Xerox needs. For example, the Rochester Institute
of Technology is a core school for Xerox recruiting because it
has a strong engineering and printing sciences programs. Others
include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of
Illinois and Cornell University.
Xerox is using the slogan "Express Yourself" as a way to describe
its culture to recruits. The hope is that the slogan will appeal
to Gen Y's desire to develop solutions and change. Recruiters
also point out the importance of diversity at the company; Gen Y
is one of the most diverse demographic groups - one out of three
is a minority.
"(Gen Y) is very important," says Joe Hammill, director of talent
acquisition. "Xerox and other Fortune-type companies view this
emerging workforce as the future of our organization."
But some conflict is inevitable. More than 60% of employers say
they are experiencing tension between employees from different
generations, according to a survey by Lee Hecht Harrison.
The survey found more than 70% of older employees are dismissive
of younger workers' abilities. And nearly half of employers say
that younger employees are dismissive of the abilities of their
older co-workers.
As an executive assistant, Jennifer Lewis approves expenses and
keeps track of days off for employees, which she says can be
awkward because she's so much younger than her co-workers. She
reports to the president of her company's design department.
"People who have been here 10 years, and they have to report to
a 22-year-old," Lewis says. She also says in an e-mail that "I
often have to lie about my age to receive a certain level of
respect that I want from my co-workers."
Lewis, a senior at Hunter College in New York, tries not to tell
people she is a student for fear it will make her seem like
"the young schoolgirl." She pays rent and pays for her own school
and spends her free time taking cooking and pottery classes.
But there are advantages to being young as well. "I am computer
savvy," she says, "so people come to me for everything."
Certainly all of this is far different from my generation,
and especially those of us from my generation who were raised
as a farmer.
Friday I reviewed Don Vossler's NRG processing results on China
data with Dave and Mike. They were suitably impressed. They
even agreed to pay Don $5,000. It is important to point out
his standard pricing of 5 cents per trace works out to $15,000.
Oh well! I was talking to Lee about it and Richard Verm
overheard, responding `Oh it's that amplitude baloney we don't
know anything about and is totally useless.' Needless to say,
I was not pleased with the comment. And we have come a long
way in the two weeks since that comment was made
(0547.html).
Ben called Friday evening to wish me a happy birthday. I pointed
out that I have missed his birthday for about five years in a
row because it happens in January and I don't have my new calendar
updated by the time it happens. Oh well! He said we are now
even. Ben mentioned there was a double murder suicide in his
neighborhood. I am more convinced than ever that it is the
last days, and the only protection we will have is the gospel.
Saturday I mowed the lawns, finally had time to talk to and
make up with Andrea. Although I think she is still pretty
upset with my reaction to her `reasonable' response to Audrey's
letter. I was downtown at the George R. Brown Convention Center
by about 11:00. I helped Sonny Landrum with the final set-up of
GDC's second booth. It was two booths the size of the two
HyperMedia Booths. Half was for Quantum Geophysical, and half
was for GDC. I was back down to the office by about 1:00, where
I worked on interpretation of the Ji Dong fault pattern until
about 6:00.
Andrea and I were a little bit late getting to George and Becky
Schultz's house for a going away party for Kevin, who is due to
be deployed to Iraq very shortly. It was a nice party. Mostly
members of Nottingham Country Ward. Kevin was surprised. He
is a paramedic, and will be in a fairly safe situation in Iraq.
However, there is certainly plenty of reason to be worried.
I got up early, finished getting my Primary lesson together,
and drove down to the Ramada Inn at I-10 and Post Oak to pick
up Jialin. He came to Choir Practice, and stayed for all
three church meetings. He fell asleep in my primary class,
and in the Gospel Essentials class with the missionaries. He
got very cold in Fast & Testimony Meeting and had to go outside
to have a smoke and to get warm. It was interesting watching
the culture clash that went on with his first experience of
LDS Church Services. He did say that Fast & Testimony Meeting
was like the Communist Party Meetings that his parents talked
about going to for years. He came home and had lunch with us
and took a nap while I read the paper. The Sunday Parade
Magazine had an article I wrote the following about on my
swallow sheet:
`World energy need increases, oil companies struggle to replace
reserves, seismic is the most valuable exploration tool,
there is a definite lack of investment.'
This was a nice lead in to the SEG Ice Breaker Sunday evening,
which I will write about in the next Thoughtlet. In the meantime
I will continue to sow seeds, and in general be a farmer."
Since the 38th week of 1996 I have written a weekly "Thoughtlet"
(little statements of big thoughts which mean a lot to me).
Until the 43rd week of 2004 I sent these out as an e-mail. They
were intended to be big thoughts which mean a lot to me.
Over time the process evolved into a personal diary. These notes
were shared with my family because I know how important the
written word can be. Concerned about how easy it is to drift and
forget our roots and our potential among all of distractions of
daily life, I thought this was a good way to reach those I love.
It no longer feels right to send out an e-mail and "force" my kids
and my family to be aware of my life and struggles.
Everyone has their own life to lead, and their own struggles to
work through. I will continue this effort, and will continue to
make my notes publicly accessible (unless I learn of
misuse by someone who finds out about them, and then will
aggressively
pursue a legal remedy to copyright infringement and I will put the Thoughtlets
behind a password).
The index to download any of these Thoughtlets is at
http://www.walden3d.com/thoughtlets,
or you can e-mail me with
questions or requests at
rnelson@walden3d.com
(note if you are not on my e-mail "whitelist" you must send 2 e-mails
within 24 hours of each other in order for your e-mail to not be trashed).
With all my love,
Dad
(H. Roice Nelson, Jr.)