SWCAMBORNE

Carhenge puts all of my henging to shame. I’m looking forward to visiting this summer when I’ll just happen to be in Nebraska.

They also sell postcards. What a good idea.

Even if your first job is sweeping floors, think like an owner.

Rich Karlgaard, Publisher

Forbes Magazine

When we hiked the loop trail to the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite a few years ago our guide was “Ranger Doug.” He is full of fun, wisdom and awe and was a terrific guide. We wrote these rules based on the advise he gave us during the week we spent with him:

Walking barefoot in a meadow

We now have all of the first five stones, identified retrieved, designed, cut and drilled. Stone number one, The Gneiss One, is installed in a custom pool in Simon’s yard. Stones four and five are now in Simon’s driveway.

Moving #4 using the MDX drag method.
Not recommended.

Stones two and three will be recovered from the fabricator on Friday 5/26/2006. We are working on designing and building a prefabricated basin.

I write about two hundred postcards a month many of them to people I have never met. The question is why do I bother? The following is a cosmic big picture reason. But the main reason is that I enjoy it. It gives me pleasure to try and condense a moment into a 3″ by 4″ space. I know that some of the cards give the recipients pleasure but the reason I write them is entirely selfish. I laugh at my own jokes.

Some cards are of beautiful scenes

Life lessons to be learned from sending postcards:
1. The 80/20 law. 80% of the value of the card comes from sending it. The message, the picture and where it is from are incidental to the value. In the words of Woody Allen “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”
2. Just because you will get very little feedback you shouldn’t stop. Postcards don’t have return addresses and an acknowledgement should not be expected. The benefit should be from the sending. However the people who receive cards from you will be a network of good friends far into the future.

3. Everybody loves personal attention. Hand addressed mail is getting as rare as customer service in retail stores and doctors who make house calls. Sending postcards give the recipient a unique experience which they will appreciate.

5. Fun is an acceptable goal in its own right. Don’t be too serious or preachy. Be quirky, current, clever or informational.
6. Change is…. In the next two generations mail will stop being delivered to homes every day. The cards that are sent today will be the collectables of the future.

Sadly this one is already a collectable.

“The Western Hemisphere’s reproduction of Stonehenge,” built by Samuel Hill in Washington State overlooking the Columbia River.

Click here for the official information about this ambitious, but poorly executed, project. Click here for a nice series of photos of the project.  We toured the Columbia River Gorge a few years ago and I insisted that we visit this Henge. It was disapointing in that it was dimensionally correct but failed entirely to capture the essence of Stonehenge. If you ever have issues getting a contractor to execute an idea that is in your head, you are not alone, remember Sam Hill and his “replica” of Stonehenge.

In a well run organization there are very few suprises.

Harold Geneen

Many thanks to Rachel Blacher for supplying this picture and mystery.

Is this the lost tribe of Burrow. The photo was taken in Lusaka, Zambia in May 2006.

Rachel’s very interesting blog of her adventures in Africa can be seen by clicking here.

On Friday the 12th of May we went to AT&T Park in San Francisco.

We had great seats thanks to Brock and Cathy. The Dodgers beat the Giants, Barry Bonds did not hit his 514 HR to tie Babe Ruth and we had birthday cake to celebrate Willy Mays 75th birthday. Life is good.

Four down and twenty six to go.

Lead me not into temptation.

The Lord’s Prayer