Last Ammonia Ship

You can see that tiny ship at the end of our dock if you look hard enough. It is taking away the last of our ammonia. Larry B. is in his office that was put up for the ammonia removal. Ken C. was sampling the NH3 to make sure there was no oil mixed in it from the bottom of the storage tanks. All three of us are in the bottom photo. $700 is the price they are paying for ammonia these days. Plant 4 used to make 2100 tons per day. That comes out to $1,470,000 per day that we could be making if there was enough gas in Cook Inlet.... The ironic note is that this tiny ship is going to be cut up for scrap iron after delivering this last load from our plant. Looks like retirement is coming soon.

Expelled

On Saturday nite Lois Ann and i went to see movie/documentary Expelled: no intelligence allowed and enjoyed it very much. The theater was full. There needs to be more dialogue allowed from all sides about how life began. All we get now is only from one side.

Last Wednesday night we saw the DVD by Rob Bell Everything is Spiritual which was truly mind expanding. It is about a 2 hour scientific talk about Genesis 1 & 2. It should be watched before or after seeing Expelled. What is especially interesting is that when you start exploring the largest things in space and the smallest things on earth or in the universe Newton's way of thinking doesn't apply anymore.

Cycles

This is actually an article about stock cycles. If you want to find out about motorcycles go to my good friend, Kickstands, blog for the Nobody Motorcycle Club.

Stocks always cycle up and down and i am trying to remind myself to sell a third or so in positions that have gone up for a while and if they are hitting the top of the channel they are in. There is the annual hockey season cycle that is now coming to an end. For the past 50 years or so if you were fully invested during hockey season you have done much better than if you were only investing during the summer. Another name for this is seasonality. Folks are just too lazy to trade in the summer. Gold stocks usually follow this same "Hockey Cycle".

Here is another cycle website that is worth reading. There is a 30 page free PDF file that explains the Kondratieff wave or cycle. He also talks about the Federal Reserve. The US debt and the sinking dollar are things to be aware of when investing.

My favorite newsletter that covers many markets: stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies for the world is The Aden Forecast. It is worth the small amount it costs per year to stay informed plus get picks that go up.

Knitting Machine

BIGFOOT This slipper will actually end up normal sized when it is washed in hot water and it shrinks. It will also look like felt! Sorry that i forgot to take a photo of the finished product. (it is now in the top photo) Lois you will have to make a pair for me and then everyone can see the finished footwear.


LITTLEFOOT Guess who this is for?

Easter Sunday

When we are down in Washington with the kids i really enjoy going to their church that meets in a barn. It is filled for both services on Sunday with enthusiastic people. A unique thing about this church is that Pastor Rick Crawford has been going through the Bible for several years now. They just finished 2Samuel when we were there. He uses a lot of scripture from both the Old and New Testaments which shows how it all applies for us today. Here is a link to all of their sermons on the internet for free. I believe that is the way the gospel should be provided to everyone.

Wisely the church had been saving to get some land and build a bigger church. The elders decided to buy some property and to not go into debt. After that decision someone told the pastor he would buy it for the church. God is generous!

Turkey dinner!!!!

I love good cooks.

Cranberry Lake

Holly is checking the map.
This lake is about a half mile above John and Heidi's house which is on Oakes ave. There are a
few lakes and many trails up there. A good place to exercise or relax and enjoy nature.

Spring break in Anacortes

Lois Ann and i went to visit John and Heidi in Anacortes WA. Holly is also renting from them to help with their house payments. It was fun to see them all and play a little golf. We also have a medical update: 1. Holly had her appendix removed in February, she doesn't seem to be missing it. 2. Heidi is pregnant so we will be grandparents in October!

This is the coffee shop that holly works at.


A ship they were working on in Anacortes.

Notice the blossoms in downtown Seattle.


A Quick family get-together downtown Seattle.

Last North Roaders game?

These top two photos are from our Phillips Blue Flames team. It was my last game of the season because Lois and i went on vacation to Anacortes WA. We usually play two games a week in the Rusty Blades league in Soldotna. We have 6 teams and often the same number of fans.

Below are a couple photos from the North Road rink which is cooled by global cooling.




The weather has been staying above 32 for about a week now and the ice has been getting softer each time we play. It has been a fun season of hockey. Tonight we had seven players, other nights there are more of us. If there is no goalie we score by hitting the pipes. We've been playing 2 or 3 times a week recently, ice permitting.

Are We Rome?

I recently read an interesting, well written book comparing ancient Rome at it's height to modern America. If you google 'Are We Rome' you will find many links to reviews etc. It was interesting to read about Rome's history and see the parallels that we are repeating today. Below is an exerpt from a review on Amazon.com written by Daniel B. Clendenin: (i made the bold words)
"After a short prologue, Murphy devotes one chapter each to six parallels of "direct relevance" between ancient Rome and modern America. Both empires exhibit the symptoms of solipsism-- an exaggerated self-identity, the isolating effects of exceptionalism, ignorance of others, the presumptions of privilege, and sheer arrogance. Militarism characterizes both societies. Today America has 700 bases in 60 countries, and in any one year will conduct "operations" of some sort in 170 countries. Murphy suggests that our military is both "too large to be affordable, and too small to do everything it is asked to do." He then turns to how America has blurred the distinctions between the private and public (government) sectors, "the deflection of public purpose by private interest." Outsourcing government responsibilities might be effective and even necessary, but selling the public good for private profit isn't. The fourth parallel between Rome and America is the disdain with which both view outsiders ("barbarians") as inferior. Fifth, Murphy explores the complex notion of borders, both literal (eg, immigration) and figurative. Finally, in his epilogue he examines the "inherent complexity" of large empires like Rome and America. Are they ungovernable?"
An interesting observation was made in the epilogue that the 'fall' was really not noticeable until decades after it happened. Finding the peak of an empire is much harder to find than say the peak of a stock price. Many aspects of the Roman empire carried on even centuries after it's apex. After reading this book i wonder has America reached it's peak already? What can we do as a nation and as individuals to improve life in this country and the world? He talks about his book if you click here.

Snow Time

This Honda snowblower is the most useful tool ever bought. It was $1100 and has saved about 20 years worth of plowing bills.











No flowers in the wheelbarrow this time of year. Look at all the snow held by the branches, waiting for the wind to let down their load.












Looks like there is as much snow on the branches as on the ground.











Frosty cold branches from Alaska. This can last for many days especially in below zero weather we have recently had.












If you click on this one you can see many six sided snowflakes.

Gingerbread Houses

John and Heidi each try to make the best house on Christmas eve. This is the second annual event. Next year they will have to plan ahead and come up with a secret decoration.

Family Photos

Heidi's favorite sport ....shopping!!!



















CBS working on his ski doo











Everyone together for another great meal.
(my favorite sport ..eating!!)













The ladies with star shaped christmas lights in the background.













Heidi and Holly holding Abigail.

New Camera - winter photos

We now have a new camera that i'm still trying to figure out. Here are a few shots taken recently. We hope you have a white Christmas.

Vocabulary Game

This is a great game on the internet to strengthen your vocabulary and to strengthen a hungry person at the same time. My vocabulary is in the 35-39 range out of a possible 50.
freerice.com

Fresh Ice

It is a rare opportunity to skate on a lake with smooth, snow free ice. Sometimes you have to wait several years for the chance. Also CBS and i both had a day off work... We had to go skating.

The death of the custodian: The case of the missing tutor

This is a great free book by W. Carl Ketcherside. If you click on the title above you can read it online. A friend from our mens group 'taco tuesday' recommended it, and i found it on the web for free. It is about the law and grace. We so often have the tendency to make 'christian laws' in the church today because we do not understand the differences in the old covenants and the new covenant. READ IT in a couple of days!

The Black Swan

This was an interesting book that took several months to read. If you click the title of this blog entry you can see a summary of what it is about. We have the tendency to think that the future is predictable when really many 'black swans' have changed our lives more than we realize. A few black swans are the internet, 9-11, electricity... Stuff you could never have predicted nor imagined yet they caused huge changes.

He had a discussion starting on about page 30 about 'Mediocristan' versus 'Extremistan' which was interesting. In 'Mediocristan': nonscalable, mild randomness, like an opera singer before there were recordings, a small restaurant owner can only make as much as one person can do, history crawls... In 'Extremistan': scalable, wild randomness, like today's unlimited www audience for artists, history jumps...

So what does this mean for everyday life if Nassim is right about life being unpredictable? On page 201 he starts his chapter about what to do. He suggests planning your life like a barbell; with part being safe like living debt-free and with safe savings for those bad 'black swans' that may come. Another part of your life can be prepared for those good 'black swans' by investing or doing some extremistan things that could grow exponentially. For example this year fertilizer, and shipping stocks have grown like crazy. Also, by using the internet your audience is unlimited if you have something to show or tell others.