great place for winter running

Einar Nielsen Field House
Originally uploaded by rfin.

I'm an OK swimmer. I enjoy mountainbiking. I haven't been much of a runner, but now that's started to change with regular visits to the indoor track at the Einar Nielsen Field House.

gable lights

gable lights Originally uploaded by rfin.

All the Christmas stuff in the house is down now. (Or I should say up in the garage attic.) All that remains are the outside lights. We'll get those the next weekend when we have a little better weather.

A Little Sunshine Goes a Long Way

Ah, there was sun in the natatorium pool during the lunch hour today, and sun on the walk down to the pool for that matter. December's beautiful. Great to have snow on the ground. I really don't mind Jeeping around in it, though it certainly inhibits mountainbiking for most of us. But along with the frigid temps and gray skies it's also great to get some unabashed sunshine and blue sky. Whoever took the noon hour weather staging shift for Salt Lake today, ataboy! (or atagirl, for that matter)

I've hit the deadline for a writing contest, now we'll see what happens. For the last 46 The Deseret Morning News has conducted "The Christmas I Remember Best" writing contest. I've entered for several years now. Sure, it would be cool to have a story published, but the great reward for me is focusing on Christmas, trying to write for a general audience, and hitting the deadline. I sent the story off last night at about 1O p.m. Nice to have that done. Perhaps I'll now have a little more bandwidth for blog entries.

Old but gold...well in this case, silver: "Genius without education is like silver in the mine." -Ben Franklin

A few more things I'm thankful for

It’s been a while since I’ve published a list of things I’m thankful for, so here’s another one. This time I’m going to organize in alphabetical order.

A – Autumn music like September Song
B – Beauty, buildings, bikes, beautiful buildings for bikes
C – Children as kids and adults, creative collaboration
D – Dedication, delight, deliverance from depression
E – Energy, exercise, education, encryption, encyclopedia
F – Family, friends, feasts, film, fruit, finance, frugality, fishing
G – Golf courses, generosity, good tidings, grief yielding growth
H – Hope, Handel’s Messiah, Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg
I – Insight, introspection, interpretation, timely interruptions
J – Jam, jelly, juice, jokes, gestures (I know, belongs in G)
K – Kitchen remodeling, gatherings, conversations, aromas
L – Light, love, luck, listening, leftovers
M – Music, mountains, mystery, mentors, minds, moments
N – Now, nature, nurture, networks, a sunlit natatorium
O – Opportunity, occasions for celebration
P – Peers, pears, pools, ponds, parents, places, planning
Q – Quiche quests quacks quarks quarters quiet questions
R – Rest, recreation, records, reason, relief
S – Snoozing, sneezing, sight, swimming, service, serenity
T – Travel, time, teeth, true walls, true tales, true friends
U – Utah, understatement, understanding, under the covers
V – Vitality, volume, virtue, verification, veracity
W – Wonder, wife, my wonderful wife
X – Xerography’s role in the development of laser printing
Y – Young and old, “yes” when you’re expecting “no”
Z – Zeal, zoos, getting some zzz’s

The power of two words

It's been 31 years since we went to the awards banquet. Randy landed an internship at Channel 2 and I'd won a $1,000 scholarship from the Radio and TV News Directors Foundation. Randy says we had a short conversation after the meal and he asked, "How did you get the scholarship, Rich?" The two words he remembers me saying were "I applied."

I'd forgotten all about this, but Randy hasn't. He told me today that those two words helped change his life. He says he took them to heart and the next year applied for two scholarships and won them both. As a young married college student with two kids, he says he really needed the money.

And now he says this is one of those stories he tells his kids about little things that sometimes make a big difference. Two words spoken three decades ago. Who would have thought? I guess I'll have to tell my own kids about this one, too.

Randy Ripplinger is Director of Public Relations at the Granite School District in Salt Lake.

There's more to the story, of course, but for now less is more.

the mere act of writing

"It's very strange, but the mere act of writing anything is a help. It seems to speed one on one's way." -Katherine Mansfield, as quoted in Leaving a Trace

At the Huntsman World Senior Games this year

A man with white hair and a cane made his way from the locker room to the side of the pool. As other swimmers climbed up to the starting blocks, someone took his cane and he lowered himself into the water.

The starter advised “take your mark,” the strobe flashed, the buzzer sounded, and this 80-year-old athlete extended his arm, caught the water, rolled and pulled himself forward almost as if he grabbing hold of the rungs on an invisible ladder. And he did it again and again and again for 800 meters, 32 lengths of that pool. He reached and pulled long, smooth, strong--yet relaxed and steady.

He finished in 18 minutes, 59 seconds. Not the fastest in his group of 80-84 year old men, but good enough for a bronze medal. He finished to applause and cheers of many younger seniors including me. People helped him out of the pool. Someone handed him his cane. He again walked slowly, but his face glowed, his eyes twinkled.

Competing at the Senior Games is new for me. I’ve only done it twice. But I hope to go back year after year as long I can. One of the rewards is the perspective it provides. I see what others are doing and I’m inspired to follow them

From First Grade to the Senior Games

I remember being anxious and excited on my first day of first grade and feeling much the same when I swam for the first time at the Huntsman World Senior Games last October. After the games I set a goal to compete this year. Back then there seemed to be plenty of time to get ready. Well ready or not, the 2005 games start next week. I’ve paid my registration fees, made reservations and once again I’m anxious and excited.

I’m also grateful for family, friends, runners, bikers, swimmers, even blog readers who’ve encouraged me this year. So many Saturdays my wife’s said, “You’d better get your swim in today.” So many lunch hours I’ve enjoyed taking a swim-break on campus. So many spring, summer and fall afternoons I’ve cross-trained on mountaib bike in Salt Lake foothills.

In their own way, my kids also encourage me. Three in college provide an unparalleled motivation to stay healthy and productive. Sometimes they give me tips on proper attire for exercise, “Dad, you're not going to wear that are you?” And when dinner table conversations get too one sided, they bring me back to reality.

Last year when I wasn’t quite sure about going to the games, I asked some neighbors for advice. “Of course you should go,” said one without hesitation. Not everyone was so positive, but I'm glad for the encouragement I got. I hadn’t yet discovered Wayne Gretzky’s quotation, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.”

I’m also grateful to live in a community that encourages recreation. Thanks to the Utah Masters Club I’ve had fun swimming in a couple of local meets in Park City and Salt Lake this year. Thanks to Salt Lake County I’ve competed in the Magnathon, my first mini-triathlon. Thanks to Davis County I’ve howled at the moon while biking the annual Antelope Island Moonlight Ride.

And thanks to an old friend from way back in first grade who spirited me off to lunch on his Harley today, I’ve been reminded of the kid I once was and still am--still anxious, still excited, still looking forward.

dry canyon in fall

dry canyon in fall
Originally uploaded by rfin.

A great lunch hour ride on September 21, 2005

Price, Utah 

I listened to the John Roberts hearing on a KUER translator as I took in this scenery near Price, Utah. I'm attending a librarians conference today at CEU, The College of Eastern Utah.

Solitude in September

Solitude in September
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Used two of five Solitude lift rides Saturday morning. Gotta use the other ones in the next couple of weeks or i'll just end up having made a donation to the resort.

Pioneer Library Focus Group Comments

Hear Utah librarians from Cache, Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties discuss the three key benefits of the Pioneer Online Library for educators and students of all ages...

Pond at the Rock Cliff Nature Center

Pond at the Rock Cliff Nature Center
Originally uploaded by rfin.

We spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday at one of my favorite places on earth, the Rock Cliff nature area at Jordanelle State Park.

Tea Lights

Tea Lights
Originally uploaded by CodeFin.

Not my photo, but I got to light the candles.

me carn n' termaters

me carn n' termaters
Originally uploaded by rfin.

My son planted this little plot of corn and tomatoes this spring. I can't say I've heard the corn grow, but its daily progress is great fun to watch. Ah life's simple pleasures. Which brings to mind the words and music of George Gershwin...

Summertime and the livin' is easy
Fish and jumpin'
And the cotton is high
You're daddy's rich
And you ma is good lookin'
So hush little baby, don't you cry

Millcreek Picnic

watermelon
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Picnicked with some of the extended fam up in Millcreek Canyon last night. My son organized this little celebration of nature and kept the menu simple but authentic: hotdogs, chips, watermelon and smores, oh and the best drink on the planet, ice water. Thanks for a great Saturday night meal and get-together, Joe!

Nathan & Elizabeth Tripp of Boston

Nathan & Elizabeth Tripp headstone text
Originally uploaded by rfin.

In Memory of
Mrs. Elizabeth Tripp
wife of
Mr. Nathan Tripp
who died Aug 21 1809
Aged 37 Years

(right side)
In Memory of
Mr. Nathan Tripp
who died Aug 18, 1802
Aged 38 Years

(lower third)
Beloved by all the virtuous and admird
As much lamented when they expird
Their lives where pleasant and in peace they died
Death could not long this happy pair divide
But when the golden trumpet shall be blown
Then will our friends appear before God's throne

sluicing for gold

Oquirrh mountains Originally uploaded by rfin.

Dear BR*, I've neglected you a bit lately, but I'm not really sorrry. If I'd just been loafing there might be some genuine guilt, but I've been doing some of that "other" writing--that non-blog writing--which usually bleeds over onto the blog eventually. So just watch for the red spot and in the meantime here's a great quotation from Eric Hoffer:

"Originality is not something continuous but something intermittent--a flash of the briefest duration. One must have the time and be watchful (be attuned) to catch the flash and fix it. One must know how to catch and preserve these scant flakes of gold sluiced out of the sand and rocks of everyday life. Originality does not come nugget-size. 1961

*Blog Reader

How many raindrops make a storm?

"An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run." -Sidney J. Harris

Lost, Found and Fluency

Listen to this Fincast...

Please note that my RSS feed location has changed. Update your aggregator to include this RSS address:

http://podcasts.codefin.net/users/rfin/rfin-rss.xml

Teenage Holocaust Survivor

Teenage Holocaust Surivor
Originally uploaded by rfin.

There's so much to like about Boston. I'm surprised how much I felt connected to the Holocaust memorial. I know I have Jewish roots. The memorial beckons me to explore them.

new perspective

I'm glad my son's blogging about his experience as a code warrior. To be honest about it, I didn't really understand how much time, effort and heart went into this "little" project. So here's a public, heart-felt "Thank you!" for a job well done...

THANK YOU, JOE!

Welcome to Fincast

Wow what a day. The 4th of July and an unusual one at that.

I'm pleased to announce that my podcast is officially named, up and running, not just as a posted .mp3 audio file, but as a true, automatically-downloading-into-your-audio-player-via RSS-feed-Podcast. What does that mean? Simply that you can now subscribe to FINCAST here, or continue to listen to it via this blog, here.

Thanks to CodeFin for the original code to make this magic happen.

less is almost always more

A few posts ago I shared some quickly edited excerpts of interviews with librarians about Pioneer, Utah's Online Library. The segment ran almost five minutes (4:20). Long ago I learned that shorter pieces are almost always stronger than their more verbose parents (hmm...is there a generational lesson here?) and so I worked to cut the piece differently, more effectively and shorter for last Friday's meeting of the UEN Steering Committee.

Here's the 2:07 version...

(yet another in ongoing series of Fincast Podcasts)

Magnathon Triathlon

Magnathon Triathlon
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Swam, biked and ran my first triathlon today in Magna. Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation included a novice category in the Magnathon Triathlon so those of designated with an "N" only had to swim 200 meters, bike 12 miles and run one mile. I finished in 1:20.52 which was good enough for a first place ribbon in my age group. Dave and Dalon also scored blue ribbons in their age groups. All in all a great first triathlon experience. I knew I'd be OK with the swimming and biking but the run was the intimidating part for this former non-runner.

On Golden Pond (budget version)

On Golden Pond (budget version)
Originally uploaded by rfin.

I've seen sunsets on the Great Salt Lake since I was a little boy living on the hill in Bountiful. I still see the lake, sometimes in unlikely places.

Antelope Island Moonlight Ride

Antelope Island Moonlight Ride
Originally uploaded by rfin.

It's been a year since I first heard of the moonlight journey across the Great Salt Lake to Antelope Island. Friday night we rode the ride, howled at the moon, fought the wind, gulped free food and drink at the vistors center, fought our way back across the causway, then Jeep-pooled it back home--all by no later than 2:00 a.m.

Celebrate World Blood Donor Day

Strange. I've been a blood donor for about two decades, but today's the first time I've heard about World Blood Donor Day. It's also the first time I've really considered that there's also a path to follow when you can't give blood--you can volunteer to help with blood drives.

needle marks Originally uploaded by rfin.

Why do I donate? Several reasons. Probably the first is utlimately selfish. I like the way I feel. I like knowing that I've done something to help someone I'm connected with by blood type. B Negative is the second rarest type of blood. Only one in every 112 people is B NEG. Of course I had no more choice in the matter than my eye color or shoe size, but I do have the choice of what I do with it.

There's also the sensual part of the process. When I started, I distracted myself from the details, but now I'm an interested overserver of the the soft recliners and great view of the mountains at ARUP. The cold metal arm trays on the folding chairs when the Red Cross sets up at my neigborhood church. The foamy betadine scrub. The way my left arm accepts the needle much less painfully than my right. The burgundy color of venus blood in the plastic tubing.

I also like the idea that of all the ways to bleed throughout the ages--on the battle field, as a part of an initiation or sacrifice or torture, internally as a result of injury or disease, externally from a knife wound or surgical wound or self-inflicted wound, or medicinal bloodletting with lancets or leeches--this type of bleeding if preferable. True, giving your blood in battle (whether in war or sports or some other noble cause) has a certain appeal, but I'm glad a I live in an age where there's also this less violent way to give.

And then there's always that lingering question, do I prefer to drink cranberry juice after a donation because I'm replacing one red fluid with another?

A few blood links:

• Red Gold - Four Part PBS Series and online site with Lesson Plans
• ARUP Blood Services
• Red Cross

a conversation

a typical conversation, well, no not exactly...exercise_interview.MP3

enthusiastic librarians

Attended a recent meeting of Utah Librarians from throughout the state and spoke with several on the record about Pioneer, Utah's Online Library.

Here's what they had to say:

40 Days and 40 Nights

That's the title of a book I enjoyed last summer. In today's podcast I'll tell you what I think of some of author Ilene Seaglove's ideas for exploring intentions. (Gee that sounds kind of like what Stanley Kowalski* would call hoity-toity, but it's really much more down to earth.)

Enough introduction, here's the piece.

*...And wasn't we happy together? Wasn't it all okay till she showed here? And wasn't we happy together? Wasn't it all OK? Till she showed here. Hoity-toity, describin' me like a ape.

Welcome to June

I admire the bloggers who manage to write, post photos and podcasts. Perhaps I'll work up to it, but for now as I learn about podcasting, the text and photos are going to take a second and third priority.

But here's podcast #2:

rfin_05_06_01.mp3

Persue Paradox (my first podcast)

It's been a great Memorial Day Weekend. Lotsa fam, food, memories. Two cemetary visits for me: Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Sundberg, Great Grandma and Grandpa Southwick, and Richard Gaskins at the Salt Lake City Cemetary, and my sweet niece Madeline at Larkin Sunset Lawn. We also attempted what grandpa Fin (Joseph T.) would have called a holiday "stunt" -- cleaning out the garage attic, part one.

And today is the birth of two FinCasts (i.e. podcasts by Finlinsons)

Here's mine

Here's Joe's

51 candles on May 24

51 candles on May 24
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Just last year I discovered that one of my good friends at work and I share the same birthday and birth year. It's cool to think that we've both been alive now for 18,627 days. Happy Birthday, Kirk!

better cropped
Originally uploaded by rfin.

fried green hotcakes

A big cat dies eating fried green hotcackes in jelly, keeping licks minimal, nibbling on preheated quiche, relishing some tender undulating viddles when xeric youngberries zigzag.

balloon text

A balloon cat drifted exotically from green heights, inspiring jungle kitten's laughable meows, nevertheless other pets quietly reassured sad toucans under voracious willows, xylophagous yet zebra-like.

white balloon

Originally uploaded by rfin.

Oquirrh mountains

Oquirrh mountains
Originally uploaded by rfin.

A beautiful colorful day engaged freely giving hopeful independents joining knowingly lyrical mandolin novices offsetting perfect quality recreation striving to underwrite vibrant whanging xylophones yielding zinging.

brick lyrics

Originally uploaded by rfin.

Still raiding the archives. This one reminded me of an audio cassette that got plenty of use on the freeway from Bountiful to Salt Lake.

"So you ride yourselves over the fields and you make all your animal deals and your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick." -Ian Anderson

ascending alphabetic sentence

Originally uploaded by rfin.

Absolutely believe credible documentation enriching future generations, however important justifications keep lovable momentum near opportunities providing questions, refining structures to ultimately verify workable xanthocroid yearning zygotes.

fox in the snow

light and heavy
Originally uploaded by rfin.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

sax locations

sax locations
Originally uploaded by rfin.

A work associate asks: A friend of mine has played his saxaphone in lots of interesting places around the world (outdoors and indoors, like out of the way temples in the mountains, etc).....is there any interesting place in Salt Lake vicinity (in city or just outside) you might recommend he go and play his saxophone?

I replied with these questions: Has he ever played during the lunch hour at a University of Utah Natatorium? (or any pool of lap swimmers for that matter?) As a lunch time swimmer I would love to see and hear a sax player up on the bleechers as I swim my laps?

Or before a spinning class (indoor cycling) instead of the usual canned music?

Is he a mountain biker or hiker? Would he be willing to backpack or bike his sax up to the world-class Watch Crest trail? Or Ensign Peak? Or be helicoptered to Mount Vision?

A little closer to home...how about an hour of chat and playing (maybe even some requests) on Radio West? (I loved the time Dan had the guitar player on. Other than Garrison, live music on live radio is such a rarity.)

How about a duet with something unsual like a pipe organ (Organ loft?) or bagpipes or tuba or harpsicord or tin whistle?

Ok, ok, enough...you really got me going there. Thanks for the chance to brainstorm. Good luck!

stained glass

stained-glass
Originally uploaded by rfin.

I liked the honesty of a front page article in the Deseret Morning News today. It said that Mother's Day is a complicated time for mothers who have lost a child, children whose mothers are absent or would-be mothers because they're all reminded of what they don't have. I'm grateful my mom's alive and well at 84 and that the mother of my children is here to celebrate this day with her loved ones.

making do

making do
Originally uploaded by rfin.

My camera's on the blink, so this is an old shot while I weigh options. Don't think I'll fix it. Probably will put repair funds toward something new. Perhaps it's time to make the switch from Olympus to Canon.

another graduate

another graduate
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Now there are three of my daughter's generation with their college degrees. My nephew led the way a few years ago. Then my oldest daughter. Now my niece. What a great day for her parents, grandparents, her siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles.

05-05-05

05-05-05
Originally uploaded by rfin.

I remember watching the Alan Shepard become the first American in space on this date (May 5) in 1961. I don't remember when I learned that Uri Gagarin of the former USSR had become the world's man in space less than a month earlier on April 12.

the perfect spring day

the perfect spring day
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Sunshine, blue sky, 71 degrees. One of those days when it's hard to stay indoors. I surf through all those gray pictures I shot this winter and remember these are the days I looked forward to back then.

swimming with scapulars

swimming with scapulars
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Swam on my lunch hour today. Haven't been to the pool for a few days. The water felt good, but I didn't breathe quite as easily as usual. It took a lap or two to get the message, "Don't get too comfortable. Remember I can still kill you with one false breath." Started reading Matthew Likona's "Swimming with Scapulars" today. On page four he's talking about the births of his four kids. "My wife, my pillar of strength and stability, is lost in a miasma of pain." I can already tell Matt's going to improve my vocabulary.

Originally uploaded by rfin.

red, white and green

Originally uploaded by rfin.

storm kissed

storm kissed
Originally uploaded by rfin.

wet great luck

wet great luck
Originally uploaded by rfin.

No Photoshop--other than cropping-- just the luck of the rain on my car window and the motion of my subjects and vehicle. Shot on the drive home from work last night.

narcissistic geese

narcissistic geese
Originally uploaded by rfin.

These Canadian Geese (or is it just Canada Geese?) spent about twenty minutes on the roof outside my office yesterday. They found their own reflections the most interesting part of their brief layover. They may have wintered in Florida or Mexico but will likely spend their summer in Canada or Alaska.

lunch ride

lunch ride
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Haven't taken the slicks off my bike, so we stuck to pavement on today's quick lunch ride a mile or so up Emigration canyon. Glad we got out since it started raining this afternoon.

seahorse appearance

Today's lunch was a cup of soup, a cereal bar and an orange. I saved the orange for last and took the challenge of keeping the peel in once continuous piece. Why, I'm not sure. Then I wonderered what the peel would look like flattened out. That's when the seahorse appeared. I've seen elephants in clouds, faces in inkblots, but never before a seahorse in an orange peel. Oh the little things that make life interesting.

historic birthday

On April 25, 1912 Edith and Joe Finlinson welcomed the arrival of their third son. They named him Joseph. He grew up in Oak City and Leamington. Enjoyed collecting butterflies, swimming and good horsemanship. He liked sharp cheese, homegrown beef, fresh cream on warm bread and doting on his two little sisters. He served as a Mormon missionary to Germany. Graduated from Utah State University. Worked as an FBI Special Agent. Married a school teacher and musician he met in Detroit. Reared his daughter and son in Bountiful. Nurtured in them in his love of sunsets and soil, peach trees and sage, cameras, construction and conversation. He died at age 51 in Salt Lake City. Happy 93rd birthday, Dad!

Also on this day in history:

1859: Work begins on the Suez Canal in Egypt; it opens in 1869
1874: birth, Guglielmo Marconi, electrical engineer, radio pioneer
1908: birth, Edward R. Murrow, radio and television executive and commentator
1917: birth, Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer
1945: Delegates from 50 nations meet in San Francisco to organize the United Nations
1956: Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" hits number one on the music charts

gratitude after the ride

haze
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Now that the ride's over, I find myself in the graditude mode. Glad that I'm basically strong and healthy, that I wasn't all that sore this morning (surprisingly mostly in my neck and shoulders not my legs). Glad I did this with friends. Thanks Dave, Kirk and Jim! Glad that I live in such a beautiful city than can draw more than 8,000 runners and bicyclists to such an event. Glad that there's a next year to look forward to.

bike tour

long shot2
Originally uploaded by poseur.

We started here this morning at six. More than 1,000 bicyclists in the first Salt Lake City Marathon and Bike Tour. Beautiful morning. Great ride. Hard to imagine actually running 26 miles, but it was superb on a bike, a mountain bike at that. Am just a bit tired though.

city
Originally uploaded by rfin.

eve of the bike tour

Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I'll try my first bike tour. It's a 25 mile course that starts at the Eccles bridge at the U, heads out to 6200 South, then returns to the city ending downtown at the Gateway. I rode 12 miles of the course last week, but other than my usual swimming haven't done much to prepare this week.

more about generational dynamics

Fascinating to find be reminded yesterday that:

• My parents, the G.I's, the subject of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, are surviving and thriving after the Great Depression, the Great War (WWII) and parenting the boomers. America's most revered Generation.
  
  
• The Silents, my parents-in-law and many of my most influential teachers, have an uncommon passion to connect with their grandchildren, have more spending power than any previous generation and are responsive to bargains, discounts and promotions, growing up as they did with Green Stamps.
  
  
• That my generation, the Boomers, see aging as mandatory but growing old as optional. No wonder I like the phrase, "50 is the new 30." No wonder I love it when people say "I thought you were in your 40's" when I tell them I competed in the Senior Games.
  
  
• My nephew's generation, the X'ers, are more of a "me" generation than all others, and that focus has some advantages. X'ers are first to have their own media (radio, cable TV, Internet). They're street-smart, tech-savvy multi-taskers who make my life better and show me incredible talent and tolerance.


• Our kids, the Millenials, feel like a generation because of 9-11 and the war in Iraq. They share values including: a sense of nation, giving, patriotism, heroism, selflessness. That they're more of a "we" generation that's close to their parents and their peers. They're growing up with great expectations for their generation.

Originally uploaded by rfin.

moment of illumination

Attended a half-day seminar on Generational Marketing today. Chuck Underwood flew out from Ohio to present an overview of:

• G.I.'s, 1901-1926, now 79+
• Silents, 1927-1945, now 60-78
• Boomers, 1946-1964, now 41-59
• Gen X, 1965-1981, now 24-40
• Millenials, 1982-present 0-23

Originally uploaded by rfin.

not clear and sunny

Originally uploaded by rfin.

Sometimes it really is a dark and stormy night.

specs

specs
Originally uploaded by rfin.

I like sharp photos, but I also appreciate some blurry ones. Perhaps here's part of the reason... Got my first glasses in fourth grade. Contacts at 16. Gas perms at 28. Soft non-torics at 36. Torics at 40. Progressive spectacle lenses at 45. Disposable torics at 48. Didn't like the idea radial keratotomy. Lasik holds some appeal, but wouldn't touch my progressing presbyopia.

med school scars

med school scars
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Most smooth surfaces don't start out that way. The med school students who will use this classroom won't see the back wall took nine panels of sheetrock, but the wall's creators appreciate the process under the paint.

Most of us have only a few visible scars, but all lives no matter how seemingly smooth are a patchwork victory and defeat, conflict and peace, gratitude and frustration.

stair light

stair light
Originally uploaded by rfin.

A building under construction needs light, especially in dark and sometimes dangerous places like stairwells. The light doesn't have to be fancy, but it needs to be reliable and consistent. I'm easier on myself and others when I see that we're all works in progress--that some of our seemingly dim-watted attempts may provide needed light as we prepare for more substantial illumination.