24 Jun 2007 #0725.html

Dallin Spencer Nelson's Blessing

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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.

"I got to the airport at 1:00, just when Jialin told me to get there. I was not a happy camper about missing Sunday School and Priesthood. Oh well! As expected Jialin did not show up. So I stood there in the entrance and read "A History of Iron County – Community Above Self" by Janet Burton Seegmiller. I expect most of you would not be that interested in this book. I loved it. I did not know Iron County originally stretched all the way across Brigham's proposed state of Deseret, from inside Nevada to inside Colorado. I did not know that western Iron County, near the Nevada Border, was one of the worst outlaw areas in the United States. Anyway, we have the book, and I encourage any of you who want to learn about my, and thus your, heritage, to read it. Aunt Sara is listed (as Sarah Penny), Uncle Steve is listed, Grandpa Shirts is quoted throughout the book. There is no mention of Bengt Nelson, nor any of his descendants, nor Nelson Meat Packing Plant. Oh well! Maybe someday we will reconcile this part of Iron County's history.

Jialin finally called after I'd been there about 45 minutes. He was downstairs and we had a hard time finding each other because we were on different floors and he was late. We did get our tickets, and we did make the plane. Only barely though. I had had to get cash for the plane and train tickets, and the Kunlun ATM would only let me withdraw about 1/4th of what I needed. I called Andrea and she was able to get me a pin code for the American Express card, and I was able to get cash with this. It was all a big hassle. So I was not pleased with Jialin being late, and only getting to the plane as they were closing the doors. Oh well! The plane gave me several hours to read.

We got to Urumuchi several hours before the train left for Hami City, where Tuha Oilfield is located. So we went to the train station, and I read some more. Then we got on the train. I ended up with an upper bunk, with very little head room. I spent quite a bit of the night laying there and reading. It is a long noisy night riding on a train from Urumuchi to Hami City. I was wiped out when we arrived.

Monday morning when we arrived we went to a hotel, and got a room for the morning. I went up and showered, shaved, and changed. Then came downstairs and read while Jialin went up and cleaned up. Rachel called to wish me a Happy Father's Day. Matt had called me earlier from Fort Bliss, for the same purpose. It was very nice to get these two calls. We went over to the Tuha Oilfield about 10:00 AM, and I gave a two hour presentation to 16 folks. They have just reorganized the Oilfield. The Geophysical Research Institute has been dissolved, and merged into a new organization called the Engineering Research Institute. The new manager was there. We have no written contract with these folks, and had already taken US$30,000. accrual on the project we completed for them. Because there is no budget for this in the new group, and because there is no written contract, I sent e-mails back to Houston recommending the project be written off as a complete loss. There is a chance they will purchase the synthetic seismic modeling software next year. And it is better to count that money when, and if, it comes in. After the meeting we were dismissed, and we had until 10:00 that evening when we were scheduled to catch a train back to Urumuchi City.

Jialin told me there was the equivalent to a National Park a couple of hours outside of town, and recommended we take a cab and go there. So we went to Yaerdan Gluyou Feng Jing Qu, the Yardan Land Forms and the ancient Ghost City. There are a lot of grapes grown for raisins on the way to the monument. It was interesting to look at the brick houses they built to dry the grapes in. A lot of the houses were influenced by Islam, and were very interesting. There are 98 digital photos at http://www.walden3d.com/photos/China/070618_Tuha, mostly from this afternoon trip to the desert. When we got to the park it turned into a real desert, sort of like going over into Nevada on the way to the Great Basin National Park. Very little vegetation. There were some interesting geologic structures at the first stop that looked kind of like big dinosaurs. I walked up to them and took some samples, I think they are volcanic tuff. Then there are sandstone structures, sort of like Bryce Canyon, and not nearly as pretty, nor as big. We stopped to look at one place, and I looked over in the other direction and there was a mud fort, that looked almost European. Turns out it was 3,000 years old, and the photo below shows what I saw. I was fascinated with the building. It was built to protect folks on the ancient silk road. I found a bunch of pottery shards at the base of the structure, and brought those back for my collection. It would be fun to do carbon dating on them, if I ever come up with some money some day. We stopped at the museum on the way out, and I took digital photos of key translations and contents of the museum. It was a very interesting afternoon. I read in the car on the way out and on the way back into Urumuchi.

When we got back, we washed up, and ate outside. I made an interesting panorama of the place where we ate (http://www.walden3d.com/photos/China/070618_Tuha/DSC09106-7.JPG). This was one of about five meals his week which were based on Urumuchi style lamb shis-ka-bobs. When you pay for a meal you get a receipt with a scratch lottery ticket on it. I won. Jialin was estatic, saying, "You are very lucky, I've been doing this for years and have never won." It was 5 yuan, or less than US$1. Lotteries are definitely a tax for the mathematically challenged. We went back to the train station. Somewhere along the line I was able to check my e-mail. There was a note from Andrea. It read:

'Dear Roice: I don't know if you will be able to check this e-mail or not. When you return home you will have a new air conditioning system upstairs. The smaller outside unit is completely shot. Copper is at a premium price right now so they are expensive because of all the copper coils. Also, the evaporative coil in the attic is shot (also mostly copper)and has to be replaced. Louis has said the system would eventually wear out and has told me the last few times he has been here that the fix has been relatively easy but that these units were getting old. The total replacement cost is $5300.00 so I guess we will be bathing in the "in process remodeling" look for another little while. I will write a check for the first half on Tuesday and pay the rest when I know for sure we have enough money. Louis says he'll work out a payment plan for the balance. I just don't know exactly how much you've taken out. ( I didn't tell Louis that of course.) The new unit will operate much more efficiently so we should see a decrease on our electric bill also. I think ours is higher then some of the people around here based on comments I've heard. Also the new unit is an energy star unit and there will be a certain amount we can write off on our taxes. Louis also said that eventually the bigger downstairs unit will have to be replaced but right now it is doing a good job and the readings amps etc. look good. It also has a separate evaporative coil in the attic that at some point will have to be replaced. Hopefully not for a few years. Also, I've had some e-mails from former missionaries in the Nagoya Japan mission. They are planning a huge reunion for October Conference. Actually starting on Thursay night before conference. They have set up a fund to bring President Tanaka and his wife to Salt Lake for the reunion and many of the native Japanese Missionaries are also coming. I would like to plan now and buy tickets early like on the next special from Southwest so we can get them at the cheapest price possible. Love, Andrea'

Oh well! At least it was not as bad as the time I went from The Hague in the Netherlands to Rio de Janerio in Brazil, and Marti was home with broken pipes, water dripping down the bookcases, and having to replace pipes, ceiling, and carpet. There was also an e-mail from Albert Boulanger, which was very relevant to being in China:

'BEIJING - A customary Chinese greeting from the years of rations and shortages - "Have you eaten yet?" - is being jokingly resurrected as the public watches the prices of key staples, particularly pork, soaring by the day. Chinese economic minders, however, are not amused. Worried about social instability fueled by inflation, they have been mulling over whether to steady prices by using the state strategic reserve of hundreds of thousands of live pigs kept at special farms for contingencies. Disturbingly, this is the second time in seven months that the Chinese leadership has had to resort to the country's strategic reserves to stave off politically dangerous increases in food prices. In December, Beijing ordered the auctioning of some of the state wheat reserves to halt the rise in crops prices and prevent panic among the public. "Almost every inflationary crisis in the past 20 years has begun with an increase in food prices," noted Xia Yeliang, professor of economics at Peking University. "Historically Chinese people have always regarded food as their first necessity. For people of middle age and the elderly, the memories of most recent times when food was lacking still endure." The last big famine China experienced - arguably the greatest in human history - during the disastrous Great Leap Forward experiment with communist industrialization in the late 1950s, killed up to 30 million people. Since then, ensuring food sufficiency for the country's population of 1.3 billion has been regarded by Chinese leaders as a matter of national security. Current hikes in both grain and pork prices are blamed on the same culprit - the ethanol industry, whose explosive growth has been gobbling up a growing share of China's corn (maize) harvest traditionally preserved for food and animal feed. Having promoted the production of the environmentally friendly gasoline additive for years, Chinese economic planners now fear the sector has grown too much and too quickly, presenting them with an uncomfortable dilemma of choosing between the country's green agenda and its national food security. Leadership fears were clearly manifested late last month when Premier Wen Jiabao visited a meat market in Xian, central China, to check the prices of pork. He called on local officials to pay pig breeders to increase production and tried to reassure the public that the situation was under control. As of mid-May, prices of pork were up by 43% compared with the same period last year, said the Agriculture Ministry. Soaring pork prices have been partly blamed on outbreaks of contagious pig disease, which swept 22 Chinese provinces, killing 18,000 pigs in the first five months of the year and disrupting the pig industry. About a million pigs died from the disease last year. Yet the root of the problem, according to officials, is not the disease. "The main reason is the big price increases of animal feed that began last June," Jia Youling, director of the Veterinary Bureau affiliated with the ministry, said at a press briefing this week. Pig feed, which is made mostly of corn, simply followed increases in corn prices. Prices of the commodity have risen by up to 30% since the latter half of last year, according to the ministry. What is more, producers have ignored a government limit on converting about 3 million tonnes of corn into ethanol a year and used up to 16 million tonnes of the crop in 2006, the ministry said in April. China has been encouraging the production of biofuel such as ethanol and bio-diesel from renewable resources to satisfy the country's voracious appetite for energy and reduce its growing dependence on imported petroleum. Biofuel is also touted as green panacea for environmental problems caused by oil. Chinese planners have made the development of green energies a key priority in the country's five-year economic plan. By 2020 they want renewable energy to account for 15% of the country's total supply. While a relative latecomer to the biofuel market, in the past two years China has grown to be the world's third-largest producer after Brazil and the United States. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top planning body, reported in December that the country's ethanol capacity had reached 10 million tonnes, or 10 times the amount approved for the four government facilities in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui and Henan provinces. The excess amount has been coming from a cluster of small, unlicensed producers, who sell their production to officially approved mills or oil refineries. Industry insiders say that just Jilin, one of the nine designated provinces where ethanol is sold, has more than 400 ethanol mills, all of them producing the fuel from corn. Fearing that the explosive growth of the ethanol industry was making a serious dent in the country's grain reserves, the central government stopped approving new corn-based ethanol plants in December. This month it took another step, announcing that it would stop the production of ethanol from corn altogether. Xiong Bilin, a senior official with the NDRC, said the State Council, China's cabinet, has decided ethanol should be developed without occupying arable land, large-scale consumption of grain, or damage to the environment. Despite three straight years of bumper harvests, Chinese planners are still worried that fast-shrinking farmland could affect grain supply in the near future. Arable land is said to have shrunk by 8 million hectares between 1999 and 2005. "The country will not approve new projects of food-based ethanol," Xiong told a development forum in Beijing last week. "The current four [state] plants engaged in making ethanol from corn are urged to switch to new sources." This, however, might not see cities to resume ethanol production when the government relaxes its stance.'

Interesting. I consider this much more valid data than much of the data in Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth."

The train ride back to Urumuchi was longer than the train ride to Hami City. At least it sure seamed like it. I read more, in fact, somewhere before we got on the plane to return to Houston I finished the 423 page book on Iron County. Good book. What a wonderful heritage we have. Makes me want to work harder to leave a legacy partially as strong as the folks who settled and built up Iron County did. When we got back to Urumuchi, we went to the hotel I've been at several times before. As we walked in, I could see in my mind the Chinese students singing Christmas songs on the stairs in English. Again we got a room, I had a shower and shave and changed. Then Jialin did. Then Mr. Ma, Ms. Ding, and Ms. Ping came to visit us and to get an update on the things we have been doing. I showed them the new release of DTIPS. Ms. Zhong Ding told us that she has been busy evaluating AVO (Amplitude vs. Offset) packages. Her conclusion is that GDCMOD is be best. However, the user interface desperately needs to be improved. Also, since Sinopec had a major gas discovery in the basin, and since Urumuchi has grown so fast, and since they desperately need more gas, they are under tremendous pressure to find more gas. They see AVO as the key to doing this. They have a big budget, and want to work with Geokinetics. I did not have authority to tell them Geokinetics is pulling out of China. Oh well! It nice to catch up with our friends (../0518.html and ../0545.html). They were with us until we caught the cab to the airport. We made our flight without incident, and I was back at the Kunlun Hotel by about 6:00 Tuesday evening. It was an eventful and tiring two days.

Des and Justin were in the room, and were about to go out to dinner. They had found a nice restaurant, and wanted to take me there to show it to me. I suggested we go to a Urumuchi style restaurant. The one I like, up by the Olympics is closed, and the Bell Captain had given me directions to another one, which I had never been to before. It turned out to be the highlight of the trip regarding taking Des and Justin to China for me. The meal was great. However, the entertainment was superb. There were dancers, a whirling dirvish, and the most important a snake dancer. When the snake dancer first came out Justin said, "I hate snakes" (http://www.walden3d.com/photos/China/070612-21_Des_Justin_Beijing/dsc09125.jpg and http://www.walden3d.com/photos/China/070612-21_Des_Justin_Beijing/dsc09126.jpg. Then she came and put the snake around Justin's neck and took him up on the stage, throwing her hair around, doing a belly dance, and thoroughly embarrassing him. I caught the entire thing, from when she came up to our table with the snake to when Justin walked off of the stage as a digital movie (see http://www.walden3d.com/photos/China/070612-21_Des_Justin_Beijing/mov09128.mpg). This is one of the finest digital movies I've taken, and probably should be uploaded to U-Tube. Another dancer came and got Justin later and got him up dancing again. He said he wa thinking about doing a back flip, and he didn't do it. It was a great evening. We caught a cab back to the hotel, and s we arrived, a girl ran up to the cab, opened the door, and threw in a couple of dozen business cards with chute Chinese girls with lats of cleavage into the cab, advertising massages. Justin collected all of them and threw them into the nearest garbage can.

Wednesday was another long day. Jialin picked me up in the morning and we drove to the Ji Dong Oilfield. It is really interesting. They made the biggest discovery made in China in the last 30 years on the block we worked for them. They will not tell us a thing about the results. We do not know if our seismic processing helped. We do not know if my interpretation helped. We do know that PetroChina's stock went up about 20% because of the discovery. And they stonewalled us. They would not tell us a thing about what was going on. We met with the new director of the Geophysical Research Institute. Everyone else we know has been promoted because of the big discovery. He was under strict orders from PetroChina not to show us anything. The whole experience was very frustrating. And I had already finished my book, so there was nothing to do but sleep over and back. I was tired from the plane and train and car rides. When we got back, Jialin had made a reservation for us at the nice ancient Chinese restaurant I took Aunt Luana and Sara Ellyn, Paul and his class, and others to. I took a nice photo inside the grounds (below). Des and Justin definitely liked the food and the evening. Our waitress was Lydia, and she did a very good job, despite my giving her a bad time. As our cab drove up to the Kunlun Hotel, a girl threw cards into the cab again. Justin cleaned them up and threw them all away.

Thursday morning, the 21st of June, was another very long day. This was the day we flew back to the states. Jialin showed up first thing in the morning with gifts for the three of us. I forget what Justin and Des got, and Andrea and I received a very nice wall hanging with an ink drawing of the misty mountains so famous in Southern China. Very nice. At the airport I purchased another book: "Lu Xun Selected Essays." Good book. The essays were written starting in 1918. The lady I sat next to on the plane said he is very famous in China, and she had to study him when she was growing up. In addition to reading, I watched five movies on the way home: "Lyrics and Music," "Catch and Release," "The Astronaut Farmer," "Breach," and "The Shootist." Andrea and I had gone to see both "Lyrics and Music" and "Breach" on the same night (0709.html. All of the movies were OK. I still don't understand why the movie industry does not release, both to the movie theaters and to rental houses, edited versions of movies like "The Shootist." I enjoyed it, and it was not an R-rated version. Although you could tell it had been edited. We got to San Fancisco a couple of hours before we left Beijing, and I said good bye to Uncle Des and Justin. I think they had a good time, particularly as shown in the thoughts they were willing to write and send me (see 0724.html). After that long on a plane it is a long flight from San Francisco to Houston. I had started sneezing when we got on the plane in Beijing. By the time I got to Houston, it was a full blown cold. I was not pleased, because Sunday was Dallin Spencer Nelson's blessing. I wanted to attend, and I did not want to get him sick. Oh well.

I did not go to work on Friday. I called the Doctor's office first thing, and made an appointment for 11:30. I made a note of the medicine Dr. Solis had me get before going to China: Oscillococcinum, Tamiflue, and Levaquin. I was taking Oscillococcinum and coldeeze. Dr. Solis was supposedly not there. However, when I was called back to see his partner he was there. He was genuinely glad to see me. He had just worked up the blood work from my test the week before, and said I need to come back in 2 months for another blood test as the test relative to my liver is not normal. His partner gave me a Z-Pac perscription, and told me I could go to Dallin Spencer Nelson's blessing. I went back to the house and went to sleep. Andrea was out running errands and shopping. She got back and woke me up. We packed up the Dutch Ovens, supplies, guitar, and other essentials and drove out past Columbus to Bill and Leslie Hagen's ranch, where I cooked a Dutch Oven Dinner for the Young Women. It was pretty rainy weather. The young woman who said the prayer asked that it not rain on the activities of the evening, and her prayer was fulfilled. It was a nice evening. The kids seemed to like the food, especially the cobbler, and also the songs. I was tired, and we left about 9:00 PM to drive back to the house. There was not problems sleeping on Friday night.

Saturday morning there was a note from my Sister:

'Dear Roice, Bridget and I are glad to have our husbands back safely. They both had a GREAT time. Thanks for sharing this adventure with them. I'm sorry I wrapped the presents because then Des couldn't explain things. I had gotten some fun things at the Pow Wow so I hope they liked them. Did you get any feedback? Thanks again. Justin has really wanted to go to China for a long time so he was very excited about the experience and Des enjoyed it also. Love, Sara'

There was also a note from John Bennett in Calgary, whom I baptized when I was in Ipswich on my mission:

'Roice, Do you remember Peter Blomfield from Ipswich Ward way back when? He and his wife Mary moved to Calgary a few years ago. If you would like to see them too we can make it a larger party. As for where to go, there are numerous restaurants in the area. What do you and Andrea like? Italian, Indian, Chinese, American, Sushi (please no, not sushi! But I thought I would be polite and ask anyway.) There is a restaurant close to Ben's called Kelsey's. I've only been to another Kelsey's once. Food was pretty good, but it was a bit noisy. Another option is to go to a restaurant in a hotel. There are several in the area. They are usually a bit more expensive, but often have a better atmosphere and good food. If we haven't got everything sorted out by the time you get here, call me at 253 2622 so we can make final arrangements. Looking forward to seeing you both, John S. Bennett'

I responded I like parties with friends. And looking forward from when this Thoughtlet is about, we did have a fine one (0727.html). There were a couple of other e-mail things. Quentin Reed sent something called Father's Love Letter, which is worth reading (see http://www.fatherlovesnewyork.com/index2.html). Also, there were some e-mails to send regarding Andrea's missionary reunion (0739.html), which will be held the Thursday before October General Conference in the Salt Lake area.

The flight to St. Louis was non-eventful. I was feeling better by the time we arrived. Paul and Grant were at the airport to pick us up. It was great to see everyone. Between being sick, sleeping, and jet lag, I did not sleep very well. I woke up at about 4:00 Sunday morning, and ended up writing a couple of songs about our interactions on Saturday evening. Thankfully Paul has an old guitar I was able to tune up and play. There are 33 digital photos from my portion of the visit to Dallin Spencer Nelson's blessing, which show some of the things referenced in the songs. The words below Ella's:

'Not Very Smart HRN 123 pick 24 June 2007 for Ella C: That's not very smart Words from a big heart Ella Dawn Nelson's art As she learns her life's part 1. Grandpa put Ella's wrists In a plastic locking ring Pulling it tight with a twist Pinching Ella's skin And she calmly turned and said: 2. Imagine the day When Ella goes out to play With friends who lost their way And from good conduct they stray I can hear Ella say: 3. In just a few years Ella will be interacting with peers Exposed to her parents worst fears Making choices bringing tears These are the words her friends will hear: 4. Before we know it Ella will have babies of her own Beautiful children From Heavenly Father on loan I can hear Ella say: C: That's not very smart Words from a big heart Ella Dawn Nelson's art As she shares her life's part'

The words below are Grant's song:

' No Fears HRN strum 24 June 2007 for Grant C: Grant Matthew Nelson is the man There is nothing for which he won't say I can Climbing higher in the sky Going faster down the drive He simply shows no fears 1. At thanksgiving we went to the City Museum Climbing through tubes we couldn't even see him He was so fast had he had such a blast Up through the rocket ship, across the sky Grant knows the way 2. Wrapped in the hammock swinging from ceiling to ceiling Give me more, make it go higher It seems to contradict his plans to be a myrmacologist Studying ants and understanding the gist Grant will find the way 3. Riding his bike or driving his 4-wheeler Grant knows the boundaries of his cull-de-sac Collecting rolly-pollies in an empty frisby Studying ants under a backyard rock Grant will show the way'

About the time I was finishing with my writing, Paul and Kate got up. We all had our showers, ate breakfast, and played for a while, until it was time to go to church. Paul and Kate are loved at church. They have good friends and a good support system. The Bishop follows the handbook, and he checked my Temple Recommend before Sacrament Meeting, so I could participate in Dallin Spencer Nelson's blessing. First time this has happened to me, and I think it is probably a good idea. However, based on comments I heard the next week not everyone would agree with this. I wrote a possible stanza for Prime Words based on one of the talks in Sacrament Meeting:

'People today just Want to be loud Loudness creates a bust In our communication with the Lord' (a) (a) Aaron Shiley, O'Falon Ward Sacrament Meeting, 24 June 2007, O'Fallon, Missouri

Because of teaching Primary, I think this was the first time I have been in Gospel Doctrine Class for over a year. Good lesson. Priesthood was also good. Very humble lesson, by a High Priest with some pride. After the meetings we all got together and took a digital photo (below). I felt very good about the trip and the day. We went back, ate dinner, and it was time to go to the airport too soon. Oh well. Andrea stayed in St. Louis to help Kate until Thursday. It was wonderful to be able to participate in Dallin Spencer Nelson's Blessing."

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.)

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Copyright © 2007 H. Roice Nelson, Jr.