Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Last night we had the opportunity to see the above mentioned choir at Red Rocks. Red Rocks is an amazing venue especially when the weather is perfect....like last night. I have to admit that they put on an amazing show! I have been to Red Rocks a dozen times and I can really say that this show is up there with the best of them. Different vibe than some for sure but awesome.

Durango

This past weekend we went with some friends to Durango. It seems to be a really wet season this year. At first I thought it was just the location of our cabin but the whole Durango area was pretty well saturated as well.

It's a long drive down there but we had a really good time and the weather was perfect.

This is what happens when a kid has a mess in his pants and doesn't want it changed.A really cool flume by the cabinThese pictures are from our hike to some waterfalls
And yes, we finally made it to the enormous hotdog. We have been talking about stopping for at least three years now.

Techie

At one point I took great pride in being on the leading edge of tochnology. I had the newest things even when I couldn't afford them. Its crazy how fast that can run away from you. I mean, I still appreciate it and have an interest but I don't really have the money for it...I never really had the money for it.

Yesterday was the experience that solidified my position as a technology laggard. I met a guy for my brother to exchange currency for an iphone. I never really thought that I would probably want to check it out to make sure it worked before completing the transaction. Sooo, as he motioned for me to check it out I held it in my hands as if I was holding something precarious, delicate and valuable. My mind was blank. I had no clue what to do.

I pushed a button.....it turned on.
Oh my, so many apps. What do these even mean.
Camera...seriously, you amatuer....of all the apps you clicked on the camera???

It continued with me not knowing how to turn it off or even get to the phone feature...all in front of a group of seriously techie individuals.

I completed the transaction and realized I had now forfeited any claim to being on the leading edge of technology.

Better Late

So I am now finally posting the metal door transformation from weeks ago. As a reminder, I purchased a cheap hollow metal door for a storage closet but wanted to dress it up a bit.

So it went from this

To this (the glue)
To the final product (minus the lockset that isn't on it yet.)

Core Values

Last night I was reading an article for school about core ideology including core values in business. It explained that so many businesses don't have appropriate values. Some of the key definitions were:

- A small set of timeless guiding principles, core values require no external justification; they have intrinsic value and importance to those inside the organization

- There is no universally right set of core values

- The values must stand the test of time

I was really interested by this because when I think of company values I think of the same stupid set of sentences that every company has that mean nothing to anyone.

Also included in this article were core values of some well known companies. I was impressed with Philip Morris' core values. A company of questionable character in my opinion had pretty honest values....

- The right to freedom of choice
- Winning - beating others in a good fight
- Encouraging individual initiative

This made me think of my own core values and how those drive me. If a business could actually have core values that its employees could connect with, that could be really powerful. At the same time it seems pretty difficult to achieve in that individual core values are so custom. I guess religions are successful with it....that's a bit different though. I am getting nowhere. ;)

Points taken from, J.C. & Porras, J.I. "Building Your Company's Vision", HBR

Two Things

Anything I ever wrote about being done with school by now.....not true. Well, it was then but there were a couple bumps in the ole dusty road but now it is happening. I am in one summer class with 1 of 8 weeks down. So, in 7 weeks I will have some level of Architecture and Business Administration qualification to architect and administer with. I am pretty excited.

Second, we are moving to California. Work is taking us out to Santa Barbara. I will be heading out there at the beginning of August. I am excited about this too.

I don't think I will completely finish the cabin in time but it should be done enough for family and friends to use....and I will just finish things as time comes available.