2005.05.20I've begun working this week with my dear friend Bryce, founder of Smart Portfolios which will soon be live. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such a brilliant, generous and fun person. The company is revolutionizing the way portfolios are managed and as Bryce likes to put it — helping investors retire with dignity and sleep well at night (SWAN). More to come...
2005.05.16
Dear God:
- thank you for loving and generous people with whom to work.
- thank you for dry roads and a smooth commute home.
- thank you for a warm home with food in the fridge upon my return.
- thank you for clear communications and the opportunity to understand others' point of view.
- thank you for the opportunity to exercise my talents toward the realization of grand dream.
- thank you for my willingness to serve a larger mission than my own.
2005.05.14
Dear God:
- thank you for my daily opportunity to recognize beauty and perfection in every circumstance.
- thank you for a lifetime of challenges presented to me by my family and the opportunity to discover love in every every experience with them, past present and future.
- thank you for this place in my life right Now.
- thank you for my vibrant nature and my daily willingness to shine.
- thank you for my ability to See what is in front of me and Know what to do.
- thank you for my willingness to listen and Be that which is your Will.
2005.05.11
We think it rains in Seattle. I experienced some exhilarating rain in Sao Paulo during my travels this past October, but nothing compared to this as described in Ryan Berg's recent Vietnam travelogue:
Our first day in Hanoi, Dennis and I experience what can only be described as an apocalyptical rain and subsequent flood in the Old Quarter. (The sky was a grey/black/blue color that I have never seen before and hope to not see again.) We initially try and wait out the deluge on the sidewalk, but as the minutes pass, the water continues to rise closer and closer to where we're standing. All at once, large cockroaches begin running up our legs and onto our backs. We are screaming, brushing them off of one another in a fury. We spot a restaurant on the second floor across the street from our position. The water is now at 3 feet in the street and the rain shows no sign of stopping. Weighing our options (which are few at this point), we make a break for it. We slog thru the fetid, polluted waters toward the haven of the stairway up to the restaurant. I nearly slip, trip, and fall numerous times, navigating thru half-dismantled street stalls of vegetables, noodles, and meats. Finally, we make it to the sanctuary of the stairwell and head up. We are both totally soaked, and I feel absolutely disgusted with what we just went thru. Many beers and hours later, after the rain has finally stopped, we watch from the balcony as men in rain coats, pants, and boots wade into the middle of the street and pull up a manhole cover. The effect is like a plug being pulled in a bathtub, as the water (now at 3-4 feet) drains into the sewer, spiralling downward. 20 minutes later, the street is cleared and safe for walking again. I realize that the whole rain and flooding took about 40 minutes to happen.
Ryan is one of our weekly Meridian School basketball regulars and is on a SE Asian tour with his electric bass and bandmates. He can be heard locally funking up the band Iron Kim Style.
2005.05.09
Helping my friend Gregg promote the sale of his Honda LX Coupe, an exhilarating 240 hp, 6-speed, sports car with all the top-of-the-line trimmings, along with the low stress Honda reliability. The car is immaculate and a smoking deal compared to any comparable sports car on the market. I dare you to buy this car.
2005.05.05
My friend Claire has been adventuring the far reaches of Venezuela for many weeks now. By the fervent tone of her emails, it's likely she'll never want to come back. The image of her birthday candle in a jar of Jif surrounded by animated travel mates illustrates the joys of a simple life on the road. She has mentioned the fear of returning, only to be faced with the prospect of donating her being to corporate America.
One of our recent exchanges turned toward my friend Russ, who will soon be attempting to go 400 mph in a boat. Claire asked if all my friends were crazy. My response:
Russ is one of the sanest guys I know. Motivated and meticulous, he knows what he wants down to the detail - to break the World Water Speed Record, safely, and knows that we can do it. To go someplace where no one has been and to see what's there, it's the same reason we travel to far away places - to learn what we are made of. Most people don't know why they choose paper or plastic at the grocery store, working a job they don't love, and/or confused about their circumstance in life. Those things are dangerous to me, leading to a life where every quantity is presumed known and limiting - dull, dying and devoid of mystery and magic.
Seems there's plenty of mystery and magic to go around in Venezuela and one less person who thinks Russ is crazy.
2005.05.04
I've completed the backbone of the site and the Consulting and Coaching Sections are now live.
2005.04.28
My buddy Brad Matsen, author and producer blew through town this week on his whirlwind book tour, stopping at Elliot Bay Book Co. and reading from his book Descent. Brad gave an inspired introduction to Beebe, Barton and the supporting cast of the "Heroic Discovery of the Abyss". I'm sorry we didn't get to hang out at our beloved Queen City Grill during his stay. Next time. Though now that he's a science-history niche celebrity at Random House, I may have to get on his calendar first.
2005.04.22
If the sky were any bluer I would have to launder it from my senses at the end of the day. Humans build, create and contrive distractions – to keep themselves separate from the magnificent. If the blue consumed me, I would no longer be self important. I would join the sky, the snow-capped peaks and white-caps on the bay. Ravens would fly through me and fish swim. I would become the sunset calling you to the horizon.
2005.04.14
Thank you for finding your way here.
After months and years of doing a variety of projects for others, resurrecting and exorcising many old ways of distracting myself, I have finally begun to work on this website. Now in it's early stages, It will become the broadcast hub for my vocations and inspirations.Last fall I wrote down prayers, really they were simple affirmations recorded during my travels through Panama and Brazil. I gave collections of those prayers to a few who are dear to me. They were so well received, that I was encouraged to keep writing. And I have. I will offer them to the public in some abbreviated form soon. Eventually, these affirmations will find their way into a book.
Those of you interested in underwriting a documentary
film on prayer should contact me.
