CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Ron, Kim, Stephanie, Amy
Family matters
Visit

1005 -    ..
1006 - Summary/Objective
1007 -
100701 - Follow up ref SDS 15 0000, ref SDS 14 0000.
100702 -
100703 - Kim called in the morning while Millie was at exercise class.  She
100704 - invited us for dinner.
100705 -
100706 - Had a wonderful evening, sharing little experiences of the past,
100707 - family news and planning future events.  Millie got a Mother's day
100708 - gift and cards which Kim had brought for Steve and Lilly.  Kim may
100709 - attend the play with Millie and the girls next Friday.  They will try
100710 - to work in some biking together as occasions arise.
100711 -
100712 -     [On 990524 submitted notes. ref SDS 19 0001]
100713 -
100714 -     [On 990525 called Kim. ref SDS 20 0001]
100715 -
100716 -     [On 990527 Memorial Day visit at Millie's. ref SDS 21 0001]
100717 -
100718 -     [On 990531 family visit, ref SDS 22 0001]
100719 -
100720 -
1008 -
1009 -
1010 - Progress
1011 -
101101 -  ..
101102 - Lawns and Barbecues Make Family Life Feel Like "Home"
101103 -
101104 - In arriving, we commented on how well their yard looks.
101105 -
101106 - The grass in the front and the back are very well kept.  There was
101107 - brief discussion that Stephanie and Amy are doing a great job mowing
101108 - the lawn, getting exercise that accomplishes a household requirement.
101109 -
101110 - Ron mentioned they hire professional care for the lawn.
101111 -
101112 - Did not review Steven Pinker's observation in his book, "How the Mind
101113 - Works," that people like having patches of grass surrounding the
101114 - house, because humans evolved on the African Savanna for hundreds of
101115 - thousands of years.  This exposure, it is speculated, hard wired the
101116 - mind to "feel good" looking at grass, because it feels like "home."
101117 -
101118 - The birch trees in the back yard have flourished.  Kim noted the trees
101119 - offer a refreshing background from various windows in the house.  Ron
101120 - commented they provide shade on hot afternoons, which reduces air
101121 - conditioning costs.
101122 -
101123 - Ron barbecued and Kim microwaved, another combination of ancient
101124 - practice and modern convenience.
101125 -
101126 -
101127 -  ..
101128 - Ron's Job with City - Project to Provide Fiber Optic Infrastructure
101129 - Expanding Infrastructure May Bring More Fascinating Stories on TV
101130 -
101131 - Ron related an interesting project the City of Alameda has underway to
101132 - install a fiber optic communication system.  Sounds like they will
101133 - compete with AT&T and others to provide enhanced telecommunication
101134 - infrastructure.  Ron indicated this will help make up for tax revenue
101135 - lost as a result of the Navy leaving Alameda.
101136 -
101137 - We recalled work installing fiber optic cables in San Francisco, on
101138 - Drumm street, a few months ago.  This may provide better Internet
101139 - access down-the-road.  Ron mentioned a variety of engineering issues
101140 - that relate to using fiber optic cables layed in the street, and using
101141 - them in a building like at the Golden Gateway.  So we will keep our
101142 - fingers crossed.
101143 -
101144 - Millie commented on the advantage of expanding competition for cable
101145 - service.  In Concord the only service provider is TCI.  It is not
101146 - clear that the City's project will accomplish this goal.
101147 -
101148 - However, consideration of the prospect led to interesting conversation
101149 - for a Saturday afternoon, as Millie related a recent program she saw
101150 - on TCI's Alfred Hitchock cable channel.
101151 -
101152 - A man gained prominence by showing a jar with unknown contents, but of
101153 - presummed nefarious origins.  People would gather to speculate about
101154 - the contents, and this led to confessions of sins and unrealized
101155 - designs, perhaps yielding a cathartic effect, i.e., clensing the soul.
101156 - One observer of the jar told of being forced by an overbearing father
101157 - to drown a kitten.  Others made equally dark or worrisome confessions.
101158 - So the whole affair seemed innocent and helpful.  The man's wife,
101159 - questioned that the jar contained anything that justified attention.
101160 - She eventually discovered that the contents were in fact benign,
101161 - consisting of mere paper and things that gave appearance of mystery,
101162 - but of no real consequence.  Perhaps enviously, she planned to reveal
101163 - the truth to eliminate the fascination with the jar, and hence the
101164 - man's place of prominence. The show ended with the next gathering of
101165 - the group observing the wife's head in the jar.  He had at last found
101166 - a path to add substance to reputation, and had siezed the opportunity,
101167 - or maybe it was sythed.
101168 -
101169 - What are the lessons to be drawn?
101170 -
101171 -     Truth is a moving target?
101172 -     Uncovering secrets can be dangerous?
101173 -     Be careful what you ask for, you may get it?
101174 -     Important project can lead to discussing silly stories?
101175 -
101176 - If the City's project is half as fascinating as the story it spawned
101177 - this afternoon, the denizens will be well served.
101178 -
101179 -
101180 -  ..
101181 - Truth is a Moving Target When Common Sense Solves the Mystery
101182 -
101183 - Millie and Kim visited about a recent "murder" in San Francisco, with
101184 - curious twists in the story that are being reported.  It might turn
101185 - out that the woman was not murdered, but was reckless in personal
101186 - conduct that led, in a complex scenario, endemic to human relations,
101187 - to a sad end.  There was speculation about the range of human conduct
101188 - that seems so bizarre, as to appear impossible, to those who live
101189 - mainstream lives.  Baker street reasoning imposes personal "common
101190 - sense" onto others, ref SDS 1 5443, and concludes that, since a story
101191 - conflicts with what we would have done, the truth must lie elsewhere.
101192 -
101193 - One might, for example impose on the story about the drowning cat in
101194 - the discussion above, that it came from a talk show where a celebrity
101195 - revealed dark childhood secrets that account for extraordinary mood
101196 - swings; or, that a notorious outlaw was started on a path of mayhem by
101197 - an uncaring father.  These common story lines in the mind, are used
101198 - without volition or awareness, and so require caution in concluding
101199 - the truth about specific events, even when experienced first hand.
101200 -
101201 - Common sense accelerates the gap between our "story" and what really
101202 - happened. ref OF 1 4235
101203 -
101204 -
101205 -  ..
101206 - Amy and Amanda at Disnyland Mother's Day Weekend; Millie's Gift
101207 -
101208 - Kim took Amy and Amanda to Disnyland for Amy's birthday, as planned at
101209 - Easter, ref SDS 15 1298  She marveled at their energy. After a long,
101210 - hard day, standing in lines for 60 second rides, the girls were still
101211 - game for a late night swim.
101212 -
101213 - Did not discuss that this trip would provide good material to write a
101214 - letter to Mat, as Amy did in March for Amanda. ref SDS 14 7739
101215 - ..
101216 - There was some discussion about procedures at Disnyland to help
101217 - adults with children, who are too young to go on a ride, to coordinate
101218 - so the adults can both ride, while the children are given care. Kim's
101219 - explanation of the procedure brought to mind the fox, the hen and the
101220 - cat.
101221 -
101222 - Ron recalled this is a logic problem.
101223 -
101224 - Kim checked the family library of children's books to find the correct
101225 - name of the story.  We couldn't find it.  She checked Aesop's Fables
101226 - and did not see it there.  Generally it's about a woman taking a fox,
101227 - a cat and a hen across a river in a boat, that can only accommodate two
101228 - of the creatures at once, without leaving either the cat or the fox
101229 - alone with the hen, since they would eat the hen.  Lucille Johnston
101230 - would cite this as the basic solution to management problems.  Even
101231 - thorny, complex scenarios can be segmented into simple sequences that
101232 - are solved by following the rule of the fox, the cat and hen.  This
101233 - came up creating complex "intelligence," on 990505. ref SDS 16 2958
101234 -
101235 - When Kim took Amanda home from the Disnyland trip, Steve and Lilly
101236 - gave her a Mother's day gift and cards for Millie.  This evening,
101237 - Millie opened the gift and was extremely pleased with the
101238 - thoughtfulness of a wind chime that has a cat face for the base unit.
101239 -
101240 - Kim indicated this is the kind of merchandise that her company sells.
101241 -
101242 -
101243 -  ..
101244 - Negotiating Lease Entails Analysis, Research, Visibility
101245 -
101246 - Kim explained an assignment she has to negotiate a lease renewal for a
101247 - store at the London airport.  She seems to have become the special-
101248 - projects person for the CEO, or other exec at Kim's office.  Evidently
101249 - the duty-free status of the store has, or is, due to expire.  Some of
101250 - Kim's colleagues have indicated this change in status needs to be
101251 - considered in the lease negotiations.  Sounds like more research is
101252 - needed to nail down specific commercial impacts, and whether it should
101253 - affect the cost of the space for the store in London.  They probably
101254 - have some history with stores at other international venues, that can
101255 - guide Kim's review, if it is available.
101256 -
101257 -
101258 -  ..
101259 - Parents Provide Environment for Children to Flourish
101260 -
101261 - Bill and Pam are taking Nolan to Cooperstown for the induction of
101262 - Nolan's namesake, Nolan Ryan, into the baseball hall of fame, the week
101263 - of the annual clan rally at Lake Shasta.  Nolan will have a lot of
101264 - material in his scrap book, a lot of legacy to benchmark his progress.
101265 - He is very fortunate his parents set high standards for him.  Somehow
101266 - the discussion turned to Bill's young twins, whom we visited during
101267 - the pic nic at Tilden Park in Oakland on 931003. ref SDS 2 3072
101268 -
101269 - Kim has quite a collection of a particular kind of doll that has
101270 - become popular.  She indicated they are made in China.  Each has its
101271 - own name.  Viewing her collection upstairs showed an interest in
101272 - little things that, over time, come to represent an investment that is
101273 - larger than the sum of its parts.  Transferred meaning and deferred
101274 - rewards that build over a lifetime are another kind of standard that
101275 - children learn to value.
101276 -
101277 -
101278 -  ..
101279 - Grandmother's Day Big Success; Amy Outstanding in School Play
101280 -
101281 - Millie complimented Amy and her school on a good performance for
101282 - grandparents day.  She recalled that Amy seemed to be the highlight of
101283 - the play.  The entire effort was well done.
101284 -
101285 - Some thought might be given to include helping the children through
101286 - the motions of finding their family members and introducing them to
101287 - teachers or a friend.  Millie mentioned the 6th graders did seek out
101288 - and serve the adults in attendance, and this was well done.
101289 -
101290 - Finding family members and making introductions could be practiced as
101291 - a set of steps for children to do after the play.  One concern might
101292 - be that there is a mix of ages at this school, and below a certain
101293 - age, this kind of exercise is too complicated, or the logistics and
101294 - atmosphere is not conducive to focusing on social issues. School admin
101295 - people might have some ideas on this.
101296 -
101297 -
101298 -  ..
101299 - Steve's Annual Clan Rally at Lake Shasta will be Crowded
101300 -
101301 - The trip to Cooperstown, will mean Pam cannot stay the full week at
101302 - Lake Shasta.
101303 -
101304 - Millie and I will try to join the group this year for the houseboat
101305 - vacation week at Lake Shasta.
101306 -
101307 -      [On 990523 discussed with Steve. ref SDS 17 0001.]
101308 -
101309 - Ron mentioned there may be people sleeping on the roof and camping
101310 - out, so it might be overcrowded for us to join.  Could be that Millie
101311 - could fit in, and I will wait until next year to learn first hand
101312 - about "Steve and his merry band of vacationing warriors (or
101313 - revelers??)."
101314 -
101315 -
101316 -  ..
101317 - Girls are Biking with Mom, Grandmother Might Tag Along Sometime
101318 -
101319 - Kim has been doing some bike riding with the girls.  They rode their
101320 - bikes to Millie's on Easter, ref SDS 15 0624, and a few weeks ago,
101321 - they biked to Millie's again to deliver a Mother's day card. Millie
101322 - commented how on the excellent workmanship displayed by the girls in
101323 - fashioning a custom card for grandmother.
101324 -
101325 - Kim showed some stamps they have for printing custom designs.  The
101326 - family used this method this past Christmas for their annual progress
101327 - report.  There seemed to be a wide range of stamps.  Kim indicated
101328 - that using the system is quite a project.  It lets the girls
101329 - experience the challenge and fun of creativity.
101330 -
101331 - Millie's bike has a flat, just from non-use.  There was discussion
101332 - about Kim and the girls stopping by on occasion to see if Millie can
101333 - join them for a bike ride.  This would set a target for getting the
101334 - tire pumped up across the street.
101335 -
101336 -
101337 -  ..
101338 - Millie Attending Performance of Play in San Francisco on 990529
101339 -
101340 - Discussed possibility of Kim joining Millie and the girls to see
101341 - "Rents" next Friday in the city.  We have an extra ticket, which I can
101342 - use if Kim cannot make it.
101343 -
101344 - Kim seemed to be open to this.  She can take BART to the City after
101345 - work and hook up with the girls for dinner before the performance.
101346 -
101347 -       [On 990525 Kim initially will pass because of possible activity
101348 -       Steph may have on Friday. ref SDS 20 0001]
101349 -
101350 -
101351 -  ..
101352 - Memorial Day Weekend, Maybe a Return Visit to Millie's
101353 -
101354 - Invited Ron and Kim to visit next weekend if they are are in town for
101355 - Memorial Day.  Ron may have a soccer event, and Stephanie may have
101356 - soccer or volleyball.  He received a call this evening asking him to
101357 - take the place of an injured player.  Kim mentioned Ron's expertise as
101358 - a goalie.  Playing another position might be fun.
101359 -
101360 -     [On 990527 Memorial Day visit at Millie's. ref SDS 21 0001]
101361 -
101362 - They have been invited to visit Kim's sister and her husband in
101363 - Carmel; but, have not yet decided how next weekend will work out.
101364 -
101365 - Leaving to go home, the girls came downstairs to say good by.
101366 -
101367 - Amy had done a wonderful job styling Steph's hair.  She had given
101368 - Stephanie a glamorous look, showing Stephanie has lot of opportunity
101369 - in her future to be accomplished and successful in many ways.
101370 - ..
101371 - If the Memorial Day visit works out, Amy and Steph can
101372 - investigate to see what the computer "can remember," as discussed on
101373 - 961231. ref SDS 3 0928  We can find out how some things turned out
101374 - this week, and maybe help the "computer remember" some more, later on
101375 - when we have forgotten what we wanted to remember, as reported on
101376 - 990308. ref SDS 13 7739
101377 -
101378 -     [On 990524 remembering what we forgot was going to be important,
101379 -     was important to an executive at Intel. ref SDS 18 4774]
101380 -
101381 -     [On 990531 family visit, ref SDS 22 0001]
101382 -
101383 -
101384 -
101385 -
101386 -
101387 -
101388 -
101389 -
101390 -
101391 -
1014 -