the comings and goings of the Baldwin family
Enjoy our trip to the “suburbs” in Stanley, Idaho for the Baldwin Family 2011 Reunion. The sped up video, lens flare, and stills all convey my memories of this event. Enjoy.
On our last full day in Lake Powell, we took Boyd and Debbie to the marina where we said our goodbyes. They had to leave a day early. Since we were close we decided to visit Navajo Canyon, one of the many inlets, canyons and waterways of the lake. It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. The ride was relaxing. The stops were fun. It was a perfect day. I wish there were more like it.
Shortly after arriving at the pier, we were inundated with a fierce thunderstorm consisting of down-pouring rain and wind gusts. Paul was skeptical about finding a beach that evening with the fear of bad weather and bad waves. Fortunately, the storm passed and the evening ended up proving a beautiful one. It was perfect for driving the houseboat to the perfect beach spot.
The first segment of our relaxing and fun-filled adventure in Lake Powell, compliments of Paul and Natalie. We also enjoyed the company of Troy, Kim, Boyd and Debbie. No kids, beautiful weather, and great friends. Who could ask for more?
Mom and I took a drive tonight up the canyon, on a mountain road from the mouth of one canyon, around the back of a mountain on a narrow and winding road, and out of another canyon. We stopped for a few pictures and went on to a restaurant at a local ski resort for dinner. A few snapshots from our drive, including a cute Mom in the aspen grove.
My sister sent me this card for my birthday this year.
Funny. I used to get the cards telling me to have a “sexy” or “manly” birthday. Now I guess I’ve reached the age for diaper cards. Thanks Sister.
Thanks to all who said hello on by snail mail, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, txt, and good old email.
The price of food is on the rise. As a story and charts from the Wall Street Journal show, rice (prices up a whopping 134 percent), wheat, corn, and soy are all above a 60 percent increase over the last 52 weeks.
Cargill, a large international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services, saw a Chevron-like return in their last quarter with $1.03B in revenue. When I read the CEO’s comments in the WSJ, I couldn’t help but ask myself if large corporate farms control supply driving prices to their favor. While he says that they’re “doing an exceptional job,” my thought is this is an answer to shareholders, not the rest of the world who require the commodities Cargill, ADM, and others provide.
Cargill’s chairman and CEO, Greg Page, said earlier this month [April 2008] that “the dimensions of change in global agriculture are striking” and that the Minneapolis company is doing “an exceptional job measuring and assessing price risk.” He said world grain stocks are at their lowest level in 35 years.
(emphasis added)
I’m amazed at how far behind we are in coming to a solution of our own energy crisis. As Americans, we are the most energy sucking people on the planet–far outpacing any other group.
“According to the Department of Energy’s most recent data on greenhouse gas emissions, in 2006 the U.S. emitted 5.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or just under 20 tons per capita.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
While we probably think of our cars first, a real issue is our homes. The “always on” appliances and devices that are taking power even when we “don’t” use them.
“You can forget refrigerators, microwaves, clothes dryers and flat screen TVs. Even a house tricked out with all the latest high-efficiency EnergyStar appliances and compact fluorescent lights won’t come close. The same daunting energy math applies to the industrial, commercial and transportation sectors as well. The clear implication is that we shall have to replace virtually the entire fossil fuel electricity infrastructure over the next four decades with CO2-free sources – a multitrillion dollar proposition, if it can be done at all.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
Are cars are truly a big issue. But the proposed targets for 2050 are going to take huge changes.
“Right now our cars and trucks consume about 180 billion gallons of motor fuel. To meet the 2050 target, we shall have to limit consumption of gasoline to about 31 billion gallons, unless a genuine carbon-neutral liquid fuel can be produced. (Ethanol isn’t it.) To show how unrealistic this is, if the entire nation drove nothing but Toyota Priuses in 2050, we’d still overshoot the transportation emissions target by 40%.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
I’ve really got to take a deep look into what is happening in the entrepreneurial community to see if there is an opportunity for a marketing person.
Funny. I’ve seen pictures of my Dad wearing the same looking hat in 1963-64 on his mission to the New England States. I’ve even run across a few more skinny ties recently.
Reminds me of another David Bowie song, Fashion.
There’s a brand new dance but I don’t know its name
That people from bad homes do again and again
It’s big and it’s bland full of tension and fear
They do it over there but we don’t do it here
Fashion! Turn to the left
Fashion! Turn to the right
Oooh, fashion!
We are the goon squad and we’re coming to town
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
Listen to me – don’t listen to me
Talk to me – don’t talk to me
Dance with me – don’t dance with me, no
Beep-beep
It would appear that the pollsters must have made it clear that the American people want change. This little video highlights just how committed the 2008 Presidential Candidates are to change [...sigh]. Of course I expect the change McCain would initiate is more troops in the Middle East and more military spending. Hillary…big shake ups — or is it a shake down.
Tonight I was in my nightly ritual watching Conan O’Brien (you can watch Feb 19th show here). The guest musician was Jake Shimabukuro, a Japanese-America from Hawaii. Shimabukuro played one of my favorite George Harrison / White Album songs, While My Guitar Gently Weeps on his ukelele–yep, you are reading it correct.
Conan was blow away. I was blown away. Luckily we have iTunes today where I simply paid my $0.99 and added this great track to my music collection. Visit Shimabukuro’s destination on iTunes and take a listen to the sample. Better yet, just buy it.
Well, I’m (Dad) guilty to a few claims published in report from Mindset Media. TheStreet created a video based on the report. Some of the activities / attitudes associated with Mac users are listed below. Not sure that I’m all, but certainly some are spot on. Watch and see if you agree.
I’m still amazed at all the iPhones that have been sold. At the BlogHaus, the iPhone was the rule — and my BlackBerry was the exception. Someday I’m sure I’ll pack one. But not without copy and paste, 3G, and Bluetooth sync.
Ars Technica offers some great insight, including this market share quote from Gartner and unit sales growth chart from Apple:
The iPhone has managed to stay atop the news almost constantly since its launch last June—and sales haven’t been too shabby either. Market research firm Gartner said that the company managed to capture 20 percent of smartphone sales during the third quarter of 2007, second only to RIM with the heavyweight BlackBerry at 39 percent.
Chart Data Source: Apple
Any Book of Revelation signs of the times watchers reading my blog? Take this report to church with you next Sunday.
The total number of natural disasters worldwide now averages 400–500 a year, up from an average of 125 in the early 1980s. The number of climate-related disasters, particularly floods and storms, is rising far faster than the number of geological disasters, such as earthquakes. Between 1980 and 2006, the number of floods and cyclones quadrupled from 60 to 240 a year while the number of earthquakes remained approximately the same, at around 20 a year. In 2007 the Oxfam International family of agencies responded to floods or storms in more than 30 countries.
The number of people affected by all disasters has risen from an average of 174 million a year between 1985 and 1994 to 254 million a year between 1995 and 2004. Earlier this year the Asian floods alone affected 248 million people.
Climate Alarm: Disasters increase as climate change bites
Oxfam Briefing Paper (PDF)
November 2007
Of course, everyone loves to play with the iMac camera. Photo Booth has to be one of the best applications to keep kids entertained. Here’s our poor little nephew who just had a hard time sitting still — at least until he was introduced to the iMac.
This ad was highlighted in the WSJ (may require subscription) as one of the best of 2007. I really like this ad. Like the content and the greater message that is delivers.
As you will see, we marketers have gone overboard to lie and cheat to create the fiction that is beauty. If you’ve got daughters, sit them down and watch this short video segment. What we see is often not the truth, especially in the day of digital imaging.
Is the image that was used in the advertisement reflecting “more” beauty that what was caught on film (actually probably a digital image)? Watch the movie and see the transition.
Merry Christmas to all who encounter this post. It’s been great to have Mom get excited about managing this blog. She has taken the tech reins, and I’ve sat comfortably on the sideline.
2007 was a very different year for me. I’ve spent the past year learning the difference between being entrepreneurial and being an entrepreneur. Most of the year I’ve spent time working on a video / multi-media marketing project. I’ve interviewed and posted approximately 125 executive / technology people at startup and established companies in the Rocky Mountain area. The goal was to turn this into a money making enterprise. I published all these videos to PodTech.net, the number one new media publishing outlet. I’ve enjoyed getting to know and work with Robert Scoble (the Scobleizer), who was recognized as a Top 10 Web Celeb by Forbes. While it’s been fun, I still haven’t figured out a way to make it turn as much money as I’d like. 2008 may be a year of change.
This past year I found that I needed to face winter head on. As many of you know, I love my summer sport of golf. However, the winters would be so depressing for me to see nothing but snow. So this past year, I broke down and purchased a pair of skis and all the garb to stay warm. Since Junior had a season pass to snowboard at a local ski resort, I was able to stay and ski with him a number of times. One of my favorites was a trip with Mom to a local ski resort on a gorgeous blue sky day. Another was a day with Sis after about 18″ of snow. The poor little girl was exhausted after working with knee-deep powder on every run — great memories with Sis. I also visited with friends at other ski resorts. In the end, I skied more in 2007 than I’ve ever skied before. I actually had fun. It’s a great way to pass the winter months.
Of course I spent plenty of time on golf courses this year. The highlight was being able to spend many rounds with my oldest son Junior. He made the golf team at the local high school and was able to play every day in the late summer and fall. I was able to join him and his friends to provide pointers and support. I can’t forget to comment on Bud too. Bud took some lessons this summer and really started to like golf. Bud’s hitting the ball longer and straighter each year. We even bought him a special putter, a TaylorMade Rossa that works really well for Bud.
Another highlight was sharing my love of San Francisco with my family. We had a great trip to the city, staying downtown off Union Square. We took local transportation (bus, subway, taxi). We visited Alcatraz. We walked and walked and walked. Little Sis was so fun. We rented a car for one day and visited Palo Alto, the Stanford University campus, Half Moon Bay, and Sausalito.
And while I’m on the topic of travel, the water in the Caribbean is really as blue as the pictures show! Mom and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise out of San Juan and a number of Islands. If you see Mom’s posts, you’ll easily find the video taken on this trip. It was fun to get away with Mom for a week of solitude on the open ocean.
I spent more than my share of time at the Apple store, both in training and spending money. However, I really feel like I enhanced my skills and unleashed a lot of creativity that’s been tied down for a long time.
And while I haven’t posted a lot of stories here on the family blog, I have shared a number on my personal blog.
Merry Christmas to all. Have a great 2008.
Mom and I attended the Billy Joel concert with a couple of friends on November 29. Joel introduced roadie “Chainsaw” how was there to sing a special religious number as a guest appearance. At this point, the classic crunchy guitar sounds of Angus Young combined with Brian Johnon-like screams filled the air. And I might add, that this was the point in the show when it got really loud. Enjoy the show.
Copyright © 2012 Inside the House of Baldwin All rights reserved. Theme by Laptop Geek.
