Data Mining
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.
"We got to the church about five minutes before sacrament meeting. My Primary class room had all kinds of trash all over the floor. So after setting it up, I was late getting into the chapel. Just as I sat down, a new family with three kids sat in front of us. Their middle child, a daughter named Rachel Wheeler, is in my Primary Class. Her dad is a geologist for an environmental firm and they live on the street Dan and Linda Jones live on. The three Sacrament Meeting talks by converts: one of the Missionary Elders, a Venezuelan, and sister Anne Sky. From Sister Sky's talk I wrote the following possible stanza for Prime Words:
<![CDATA["It took me many
Years to be converted
Letting go of seeking affluence
Helping me find the Savior"]]>
Antonio and Brandon were both in Primary Class, and they were as wired as ever. Rachel thought they were funny, and it was fun to watch her laugh at their antics. Oh well! After class, I was waiting for Andrea in the foyer, talking to Alan Peterson about Andrea's ancestors that lived in Missouri in 1850, after the extermination order, whom she had found in a census during her genealogy Sunday School Class, then talking to Tom Moore about his billion dollar project in Indonesia when President Pickerd walked up looking for Steve Feil. Turns out he wanted to take a photo of the Nottingham Country Ward Bishopric called 20 years ago "for historical purposes." It was he, Bishop Feil, and Don Keller. This was before I was in the Bishopric with Bishop Feil, first with Russ Harris, and then with Alan Peterson. Anyway, the three of them came back, and were looking for someone to take a photo of them. I was selected because I was standing there. So we went out front and took a photo by the name of the church on the building, then President Pickerd wanted to take a photo by a nice painting of the Savior. So we went to the other side of the building, to his Stake President office, where I closed the curtains, and took a couple of more photos. Then President Pickerd said, "Thanks Roice. You were there when this happened, weren't you?" I did my best to smile about being able to document this most important "historical" anniversary, and could not help but think about how, prior to the Internet and blogs, all history is written by those who are in power. I understand why I have never been in power, as described in 1 Timothy 3:1-7:
"1. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour,
given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3. Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4. One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5. (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
6. Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and
the snare of the devil."
and still the whole experience still was abstruse, in a Primary Teacher and 23 years in Nottingham Country Ward with no Stake callings except Stake Missionary way. Oh well!
Sunday afternoon I finished writing Thoughtlets 0727.html, 0728.html, and 0724.html. I had made the page too wide for the quoted text, and was up late redoing formatting all of those pages in 0724.html. Oh well.
Monday morning at work I built a table for Thoughtlet 0726.html. Shows how much I have been assigned to do. Oh well! Luis Roca called and told me he wanted me to go to Mexico City to meet with a senior Pemex researcher about data mining. I got permission from Mike Schuemann and Mike Dunn, and told him I could do this. Then I started working on putting together a presentation on data mining. It was fun to go back through stuff I have done over the years and to rediscover this most important theme in my life. In fact, data mining is the whole idea behind providing the 10 of you an electronic box with all of the e-mails I've ever received or sent, all of the stuff in the 100 boxes in the garage, all of the stuff on all of the back-up diskettes and CDs and computers, all of the digital photos, etc. When I talked about it once to Rob, referring to this inheritance box as an "eldo," he got all excited and asked, "can it be stored as a crystal and can I get mine in my own ice cave at the North Pole?" He thought this would be really cool. I think it would be really cold, he is silly, and he is attempting to turn history into a comic book, instead of turning comic books into history. I was very tired when got I got home from work. It was nice to have Rob show up shortly after I got home. It was especially nice that he went to the effort to download the last episode of "24," which we had missed because of the dutch oven dinner for Matt and for the Cahoons, and the fact the VCR recorder did not work. It was nice to bring closure to this year's season of "24." Rob, Andrea, and I also went to Office Depot and to Lowes to look at file boxes and cabinets a part of getting it set up so Rob can help fix up the garage.
I spent Tuesday working on the Data Mining presentation to be given in Mexico City. Dave came into my office a couple of times to talk about China. It also turned out Lee suggested I draft a proposal to Pemex follow up on some of the things discussed last week. This proposal ended up becoming a priority by the end of the week. Wednesday there were e-mails from Mike in China. The good news is Da Qing accepted project and will pay for the work. The bad news is the documentation requirements are excessive. Jialin was doing a good job for Mike and Fred. Dave and I called Jialin to get his perception of the Da Qing meeting. It was pretty obvious from Mike's e-mail and the conversation with Jialin that Fred will not want to work with Chinese again. Oh well! I buried my head in preparing the Mexican Data Mining presentation. Lee came in my office looking for an AAPG contact. It took me a while to figure out how to log onto the AAPG pages. By the time I did, Dave had joined him and I ended up getting a bad time about working on the Data Mining Presentation instead of the proposal for Pemex. In effect I was told I am wasting time on the data mining, as it has an insignificant value compared to the proposal. I find the data mining much more exciting, and I guess this is why we are relatively poor. I prefer to look at the technology instead of the business implications. When I got home Andrea fixed a great dinner: vegetables and noodles and salmon. It helped me forget about the Pemex conversations.
On Thursday there were some e-mails from China. I named my proposal Coprofundo. I worked on the Data Mining presentation, and spent time interpreting channels offshore West Africa. Busy day. When I got home, Andrea had me help her hang curtains in Matt's room. They were too long, and she wanted to raise the curtain rods. I suggested she hem up the curtains. It was too hard of a decision. She needed to talk it over with Rita the next morning. She ended up hemming up the curtains. I don't understand. I watched Ugly Betty with her. Weird show. And fashion never was an interest of mine. There was a very interesting e-mail from Rick Hawthorne about the demise of honey bees (0717.html):
<![CDATA['Roice,
Hope you, Andrea and family are well. Found this article this morning and wanted to inform you
as I know you have some interesting ideas on the subject of the missing bees.
More later.
Best Regards,
Rick
Asian Parasite Killing Western Bees - Scientist
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPAIN: July 19, 2007
MADRID - A parasite common in Asian bees has spread to Europe and the Americas and is
behind the mass disappearance of honeybees in many countries, says a Spanish scientist who
has been studying the phenomenon for years.
The culprit is a microscopic parasite called nosema ceranae said Mariano Higes, who leads a
team of researchers at a government-funded apiculture centre in Guadalajara, the province
east of Madrid that is the heartland of Spain's honey industry. He and his colleagues have
analysed thousands of samples from stricken hives in many countries.
"We started in 2000 with the hypothesis that it was pesticides, but soon ruled it out," he told
Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
Pesticide traces were present only in a tiny proportion of samples and bee colonies were also
dying in areas many miles from cultivated land, he said.
They then ruled out the varroa mite, which is easy to see and which was not present in most
of the affected hives.
For a long time Higes and his colleagues thought a parasite called nosema apis, common in
wet weather, was killing the bees.
"We saw the spores, but the symptoms were very different and it was happening in dry
weather too."
Then he decided to sequence the parasite's DNA and discovered it was an Asian variant,
nosema ceranae. Asian honeybees are less vulnerable to it, but it can kill European bees in a
matter of days in laboratory conditions.
"Nosema ceranae is far more dangerous and lives in heat and cold. A hive can become
infected in two months and the whole colony can collapse in six to 18 months," said Higes,
whose team has published a number of papers on the subject.
"We've no doubt at all it's nosema ceranae and we think 50 percent of Spanish hives
are infected," he said.
Spain, with 2.3 million hives, is home to a quarter of the European Union's bees.
His team have also identified this parasite in bees from Austria, Slovenia and other
parts of Eastern Europe and assume it has invaded from Asia over a number of years.
Now it seems to have crossed the Atlantic and is present in Canada and Argentina,
he said. The Spanish researchers have not tested samples from the United States,
where bees have also gone missing.
Treatment for nosema ceranae is effective and cheap -- 1 euro (US$1.4) a hive
twice a year -- but beekeepers first have to be convinced the parasite is the problem.
Another theory points a finger at mobile phone aerials, but Higes notes bees use the
angle of the sun to navigate and not electromagnetic frequencies.
Other elements, such as drought or misapplied treatments, may play a part in lowering
bees' resistance, but Higes is convinced the Asian parasite is the chief assassin.
Story by Julia Hayley']]>
Friday morning I was pleased to read three e-mail's from Melanie. The first one is most relevant to share:
<![CDATA['Hi Dad,
Thanks for sharing this! It sounds like Des & Justin had a great time!! Jared & I really
are at a place now where we could leave kids and go with you on a trip, although I know
that GDC is not so excited about paying for family anymore. If you think it is a possibility,
Jared & I will get renewed passports and hope for a future trip... if not, then we probably
won't worry about it - but I just thought I'd ask if you knew either way?
Sorry I haven't called recently. Updates are:
- Jared is taking the DAT August 1st - could use lots of prayers for him... he has a lot of
pressure on him and he's pretty stressed
- Jared is in a weight loss contest with some friends. It has only been a couple of days
but there is a money pot for the winner - I think around $250 and he's pretty motivated
for this
- Jared's program turned out to be such a success - he feels so much more confident
about his chances of being accepted to the Houston Dental School. At the end of his
program, they had to take a test and Jared was the only one to score a 100. He also
established a relationship with the Dean of Admissions.
- The Williamson area has split from 3 wards to 4 wards... we are no longer in Glenda
& Jackie's wards or any of Jared's cousins, aunts or uncles ward. I'm having some
staffing difficulties in YW which is putting more responsibility on me and that is not
a lot of fun. I lost some of the YW I have been working with since they were 12 and
that has been hard. Overall I'm positive (more than most) about the boundary changes
however.
- Colby has learned how to jump off of the diving board and swim to the side by himself...
yeah!! He is no longer afraid of deep water! He was so scared that I put him back in
swimming lessons here in Vidor... day 2 I made him leave half way through his lesson
because he was throwing a big fuss about doing things... telling his teacher no and
running out of the pool area... I took him to a friend's who has 7 kids and a pool and
I used the kids to help motivate him to try stuff... they did great and in 3 hours we had
him jumping off of the side in the deep end... he earned a cookie cake for it and then
he went back to swimming lessons the next day and surprised his teacher with a
positive attitude
- Taylor & I slammed our fingers in different doors on the same day... what are the
chances!! - We are going to Colorado August 1st - 9th for our family vacation this
year (although I've been feeling like I've vacationed a lot this summer - Jared does
not and so this is very much for him)... we are staying with Jared's brother in
Colorado Springs
That's all I can think of for now!
Miss you,
Melanie']]>
My response:
<![CDATA['Melanie,
Thanks for your notes. They mean a lot to me.
I realize you would like to go on a trip. It is a good idea to have passports, so I encourage
you to get them renewed. Stuff comes up very quick. For instance, last Monday I was
told I am going to Mexico today. Then it changed to Monday. Then it changed to extend
the trip to Veracruz on Wednesday. I still don't know what is happening, and do not have
tickets yet. I was hoping to take Andrea with me. Waiting until the last minute makes
the tickets too expensive to take her. Oh well! Hopefully it will be sorted out today.
I will think about and write about my child rearing strategies. Although you must
realize they were not conscious strategies. I simply trusted the church provided the
best framework within which to raise a family.
It does seem like you have been on vacation all summer. It is wonderful you married
into such a fine family, and can do things like stay with a brother-in-law in Colorado
Springs. Also, I'm sure your Grandma Llewellyn Sharp Jackson ?? will love to see
you and the kids.
Glad to hear you are not putting up with temper tantrums. It is hard, and it is important.
Kids are wired to be selfish and to seek to be their parents favorites. In fact, I'm not
sure kids ever get over these two characteristics relative to our family of origin. I see
this with Roice and Ben. I see it with Paul and RoiceAndBen, I see it with you and
Sara, I see it with Rob and all of you, I see it with Audrey and Rachel, I see it with
my sister and me, I saw it with Mom and Uncle Tony, I saw it with Uncle Tony and
Uncle Glenn, I saw it with Dad and Aunt Marie, and I still see it with Dad and Uncle Ted,
where I have ended up taking Dad's place. A related thought is I never required strong
boundaries. I think this is a strength and a weakness of our family. I believe it helped
each of you find yourselves, and yet it let too many to experiment with addictive
behaviors. Surely this is related to the fact I am comfortable with tremendous risk,
compared to pretty much everyone else I know. However, I have learned I am not
comfortable with tremendous failure, from both a financial and a family perspective.
Anyway, time for breakfast and to read the comics. Thanks again!
Love,
Dad']]>
There was another Chronicle article about punishing students in KISD. The article says "lawmakers should tighten up the language to specify that administrators deciding punishment must consider the student's intent, disciplinary history and whether the student has a judgment impairing disability or acted in self-defense." There was a sentence that says "they don't want to dilute zero tolerance laws that apply to dangerous weapons, drugs, or violent acts." Later on it says "current laws are working fine except with a few districts such as Katy that have a Tendency to overpunish students for minor infractions." Related to this, Rick Hawthorne sent me an e-mail which included the following:
<![CDATA['Like the felonious, Katy school girl, expressing her affection for another student. I expect
Texas is not much different than other states, but for this reason, and Texas' cold-hearted
approach to things, I would not want to ever permanently live in that state.']]>
Thinking about these things gave my mind something to work on while working on my Data Mining and Coprofundo presentations. When I got home in the evening, Andrea and I went to see Harry Potter 5. It was OK. Dark, but ok. when we got home I worked on the Data Mining presentation some more. It was the first time in a long time to bring home work from GDC/Geokinetics.
Saturday morning I was up at 4:45. AM. I converted Thoughtlet 0727 about our trip to Calgary to html and mailed it to Matt. And I forgot to e-mail it to Paul and Melanie until after church on Sunday. I worked on Corprofundo and watched John Wayne on the Rio Grand (with the movie jumping between Ft. Bliss on the Rio Grand River and Monument Valley). Then it was time to mow and edge the lawn. Andrea went and bought some plastic boxes so we can start to clean out the garage. Rob and David Hergannrotter were going to come over and help. Andrea went and bout a bunch more plastic boxes. She made 2 trips to the Office Depot at Gessner and I-10. Rob and David never made it. About 10:30 I started working on putting cedar in Andrea's closet. We finished at 11:00 at night. I was really tired. I went to Sonic and bought some onion rings, a cherry limeade, and a cooking dough malt. I ended up with bad cramps from eating this kind of food so late. Oh well!
Sacrament meeting was excellent. The Youth Speakers talking about being descendants of settlers of Farmington and folks that died at Haun's Mill, and descendants of Parley P. Pratt and Joseph Smith. Ben Davis talked about his ancestry, who did not cross the plains (he is black), and Brother Partridge talking about his joining the church and his wife's shared ancestry with Ezra Taft Benson's grandfather. There were only 3 kids and one visitor in my Primary class. Thor Larsen was out of town and so Andrea came to class with me. The lesson was on being accountable.. There was a section I thought was good. It asked the following questions for 8 year olds:
- Who is accountable for teaching you to pray?
- Who is accountable for saying your prayers?
- Who is accountable for teaching you the lessons in Primary?
- Who is accountable for the way you act in Primary?
- Who is accountable for doing what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want you to do?
- Who is accountable for keeping your baptismal covenants?
I had brought some money and some treats and had class members be accountable for them while I taught the lesson. Then at the end I let the children holding these two things give one to everyone. The money included five 1,000 Mexican Peso coins and five Saudi coins. Since there were only four kids, I let them have one of each. I told the little girl passing the coins out, she could not give one to Sister Nelson, because she gets all of my money. Andrea laughed and said, "That's right." I thought, "And discovering this fact does not even require any data mining.""
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.)