SWCAMBORNE

“There is a way to do it better……find it.”

Thomas Edison

When we were in Washington DC two weeks ago we stayed in Alexandria, VA because Nurit had heard that it was a trendy place and there was a Kimpton Hotel there.  During our short stay the weather was lousy but we really liked Alexandria and on our last morning we went to The Torpedo Factory  It is an artist cooperative with both studio and gallery space. It includes some very good artists and we thought it was the best of the cooperative spaces we have seen in the world.

In one studio we were admiring some pastels of food by “Richmond” when I found a free postcard and noticed the artists full name Cindy Packard Richmond.  A little investigation indicated that this was the Cindy Packard who went to Skidmore who grew up in Greenwich and was in fact one of my very good college friends.  I was excited and left my business card with a cryptic note hoping to make a reconnection with my past.

As we were driving out of the parking lot of the hotel the phone rang.  It was Cindy, we immediately cancelled our plans to go into Washington DC and spent a delightful few hours catching up with her.  She was my friend at Union College in Schenectady, NY before, during and after my time in the army.  I spent my first few days out of the army, Christmas 1970, with her at her parents home in Greenwich.  Cindy has written two published novels and is now a very talented painter in oils and pastels.  Harvey her husband works for the Department of Homeland Security devising ways to make the lines longer at airports.

You can look at Cindy’s work at her very well done web site. Here is a picture that I blatantly lifted from her site.

As soon as our remodel is finished and we have our art rehung I’m going to buy one of her pieces.  I promise.

Cathy B/S has a sister who is circumnavigating the world in a 50ft sailboat with her husband.  What a great experience and (Diyanu) they are keeping a blog and a web site.  Take a look its worth it.

http://sabbatical3.net/blog/

The Web Site:

http://www.sabbatical3.net/

Mark and Laura Pitt you are living my dream. Congratulations.

You may be familiar with this problem.  You carry a backpack not a brief case now but when you pull a manila folder out of your hip looking pack this happens:

What you need is this handy invention:

A manila folder with a bottom flap.  Maybe a top one as well.  It is better than the pocket folder because it can still be opened up all the way for easy rummaging for the lost note or business card. And it will file properly in a file cabinet because it’s outside dimensions haven’t changed.
If you’re in the office supplies business you can have this idea.  It might be patentable.

Don’t see problems see opportunities.

Here is a very good idea from Richmond Hill, Georgia. Carole B and a few other started an organization called the Coastal Bryan Tree Foundation. It’s pretty simple they raise money and plant trees.

To make sure that the trees get off to a good start they water them for a few years using slow release plastic bladders at each tree. You can learn more about them at:

http://www.coastalbryantreefoundation.org/home.html

My favorite event they have is the “Root Ball.” It is their major fund raiser and is extremely successful.

One of the first people I hired in 1982 when I was starting Coventry Manufacturing Company was Frank Espinoza. The story of why I hired him is instructive.

A die cutting machine

We were new in business and needed a machine operator to run our die cutting machinery and to do all kinds of other work including sweeping the floor and loading trucks. We ran an ad in the paper saying something like “machine operator wanted” and as I recall we had three serious applicants. I asked all three of them about their previous employment and whether their boss would give them a recommendation. I hadn’t made up my mind who to hire when a few hours later one of the applicants came back to see me. He had with him a letter of recommendation from his old boss. I hired Frank on the spot.

Anniversary dates celebration picture circa 2000

By going and getting the letter and bring it back he showed initiative, creativity and desire and by doing so he differentiated himself from the other applicants. It was a courageous act and showed that he had a good relationship with his former boss.

Coventry became Brandon in 1991

Frank went on to become one of the best employees we ever had. He was willing to make decisions and get things done. As we grew he became a leadman and after he left the company (which is another story) he went into business on his own and the last I heard he was doing well in the construction business in Fontana.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

I went to an engineering class with Rebecca and understood the variables for calculating the stresses on steel pillars for about a nanosecond. Then the professor referred to “Out of Straightedness” and I returned to my natural state of lostness (or “out of foundedess”)
LRFD is the title of the textbook they are using. After some research I found out that LRFD means: Load and Resistance Factor Design

Here is a picture of the model of an engineering project that Rebecca is helping Jess M with:

Very cool structure

The finished structure will be about 5 feet tall and installed in the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore. It is made from lightweight concrete.

We spent a wonderful weekend with Gene and Carole B at their home on the Medway River in Sunbury, GA near Richmond Hill.

a view from the dock

a view from our guestroom

The weather was cold for most of our visit but Gene and I went diving for sharks teeth with Bill E and Ray P anyway.

the house from the boat going diving

We also had a shrimp festival, Gene, who is a great cook, organized three meals with fresh domestic shrimp. We saw a car with the bumper sticker, “Friends don’t let friends eat imported shrimp.”

Nurit went to the Lavender Hill Spa Salon that Carole is helping to start and had an excellent massage.

Carole above the Spa

We also toured the new Crossroads Center that Gene and Carole are building.

the first 4 story building in Richmond Hill

The rest of the Crossroads Center

Later we visited Gene’s Mom who is 92 and sharp as a tack. I forgot to take her picture but I’ve added her to my postcard list.

Gene and Carole are wonderful hosts and the area where they live is one of the nicest places in the USA.

Commodore Gene and his fleet