More on motivation.

This comment came in on yesterday's post and I think is really worth discussing:

"What do you do when you lose the motivation? Or when your day job becomes too routine and you lose the ability to jump out of bed each morning and be excited about your job?"

I would say there are a couple of different things to consider here.

First would be that old addage "life is a sine wave" and has its highs and lows. Jobs can certainly be the same way. I can think of times in my job I have felt this way, but the periods were short and do not define my career. If this is a short term event, you should look for ways to bring the routine to an end and bring excitement back into your career.

Second is to ask us to determine the root cause of the loss of motivation. Is it the job environment? If so, consider switching environments.

Or is it internal? I am a firm believer that we control our own happiness and thus our own motivation. If the root is internal, we need to find a way out ourselves. Here is a quote along these lines that I saw at our conference today:

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven" - John Milton

TBL: For the most part, we control our own abilities to be motivated and need to take charge. In the rare events when an external person or aspect is the cause, we need to either remove ourselves from the situation or find another way to cope.

Thank you to the anonymous commentor. This is a topic that all of us face at different times and we should all spend some time thinking about.

Motivation to learn.

I took a few days off of writing. Sunday we held Liz's graduation party and yesterday was recovery time. Today Bart Johnson and I flew to LA for a conference on teaching Intro to Engineering. I finished up the thermo class this morning before we left. It was a great experience for all of us. Throughout the class, one theme that kept coming back was that for quality learning to take place, the person doing the learning must be motivated to do so. Think back on your best learning experiences. Did the teacher get you motivated? It is the case when I look back. And now, as a lifelong learner, I find that my own motivation is the key to my learning.

My future students will have me putting their self-motivation front and center in our time together. I believe it is the best way to make learning stick.

TBL: As with anything in life, our motivations drive our success. It is quite true in learning.

Practicing etiquette.

The other night we went on a dinner cruise on Lake Superior. 25 students, Amber, Angie and I had a great time seeing the port and eating prime rib. During the meal I overheard several people talking about fork placements on the table setting and other associated etiquette things they learned in our professional development class. Etiquette is an important thing to practice. Not making a fool of ourselves at company dinners or business lunches with clients is huge. Do you know your etiquette? Do you practice? If not, pick up a book at Barnes and Noble and find some opportunities to sharpen your skills. A little effort is far better than a huge embarrassment.

TBL: Being a professional has lots of different aspects. We need to learn and practice all of them.

New Engineers and gaining confidence.

Following is a comment published by a new engineer on an earlier blog posting:

"This is something I struggle with everyday. I work with people that have all kinds of experience and background. As I take on more projects, learn more about the process, and solve more problems, my confidence is slowly building. I just have to keep reminding myself....I can do it."

TBL: We all need to remind ourselves that we can do the challenging tasks, but realize that sometimes it is going to seem overwhelming.

Today's Bottom Line comes from Angie. Angie teaches 3rd grade.

"TBL from my room today : don't sit across from someone who says their tummy doesn't feel good...

Yep - puker in lunch - right across from me."

She doesn't get paid enough to do her job!

Good News.

There is a private non-profit organization called Project Lead the Way that has established an engineering curriculum for high schools. It is a high quality curriculum that has swept the nation and is giving high school students an opportunity to learn about engineering before they get to college.

This coming year Grand Rapids, Deer River, Greenway, and Nashwauk-Keewatin high schools will have PTLW for their students. ICC Engineering is a partner and we will be looking for practicing engineers and former grads from these high schools to be mentors.

TBL: The good word of engineering is spreading.

Ethics rule of thumb.

I've heard this on numerous occasions and do not know whom to attribute it to. When faced with a decision that has ethical implications, ask yourself "could I go home and tell Grandma what I did?". If the answer to this is yes, you are probably ok.

TBL: Throughout our careers we need to constantly refocus on ethics or we too easily slip into a zone that we may not end up being proud of.

Time Value of Money.

Case 1: Suppose you started putting away $100 per month at age 23 and did so for 7 years, until age 30. Then you stopped just letting the money collect interest for the next 34 years.

Case 2: You wait until you are 30 and then start putting away $100 per month for the next 34 years.

In both cases you check the balance of your savings account at age 64, which case has provided for the most total savings?

And the survey says..... Case 1.

Yup save for 7 years early in your career and you will out pace saving the same amount for the following 34 years. This works irregardless of the interest rate you choose. Try it out in exel.

TBL: Start saving as soon as you start your first job.

Today's BOTTOM LINE is short and sweet. It is a quote from my friend Mike.

TBL: "Very few people get fired for making mistakes...many people get fired for lying about them."

Mentoring.

A while back I talked about the need to find mentors and to be a good mentor. Being a good mentor means putting the professional development of your "mentee" as the top priority. It means giving the best guidance you can even perhaps at the peril of your best interest.

At many junctures I try to be a mentor to each student. Sometimes the relationship lasts beyond the student's time at Itasca. I love giving advice and trying to help other people (obviously, this blog is one attempt).

Today I got to celebrate the success of two outstanding people whom I have mentored. They have both succeeded at high levels and are now moving on to even higher levels.
I have given them both the best advice for their careers, even though that advice brings them away from ICC, a place where they could have continued to make a great impact.

TBL: Doing the right thing for your people is always the right thing to do.

Treehouses.

Everyone who has ever had me for a teacher knows that I have an obsession for treehouses. Why not? They are a great place to get away, fun to build, an exciting place to spend a thunderstorm, and an extension of those blanket forts we used to make in grandma's living room when we were little kids. I have two pieces of advice in regards to treehouses. First, build one for your kids (and then another one with your kids) - there is no better way to spend time with them. We've built two and both have been well used and the birthplace of a ton of great memories. Second, don't underdesign your floor structure (or over build your tree house). I am guilty of both on our most recent treehouse. As a result, for the past two years, I have had to endure the ridicule of being a PE with a poorly designed tree house. I bring all this up, because today I fixed (I hope) my design problem by supporting the two outside 2x6x16 floor joists with 2x12x16 floor joists. Now if you are a real engineer geek, you are calculating in your head the increase in area moment of inertia of this solution and if you are a real smart engineer geek you came up with an increase of a factor of 8. If so, I'm proud of you!

TBL: Build your kids a treehouse.... and design it right the first time.

Today's Bottom Line is from Amanda. She has a great addition to the salary post from a couple of days ago. Thanks Amanda!

About the salary question thing, not only should you answer in a way like Ron suggested, but also make sure you know what the current competetive salaries are. When I interviewed with Kimberly Clark, they of course asked me "what kind of salary do you expect?" I gave them the competetive salary answer, and then the lady asked me "and what is the current competetive salary?" I told her the highest one I had recently researched. She later told me that she knows that's sort of a tricky question everyone has to answer, and they are mostly testing how you handle the question, and to see how well prepared you are. She was impressed that I knew the current salary ranges for my degree and major. So it worked out for me, but I was sort of forced to give a number and wasn't sure what to do. I don't know the best way to prepare for that or if I did the right thing, but just throwing that out there that sometimes they "demand" a range of numbers anyways.

TBL: In addition to wanting to put the ball back in their court, you should be knowledgeable about the range and ready if they hit a volley back your direction.

Confidence as a new engineer.

Some new engineers suffer from a lack of confidence. It sometimes seems the expectations put on us by our new employer are at a much higher level than we feel able to perform. This is due to a combination of things. Partially, due to a lack of experience we undervalue our abilities and partially, due to the high expectations (and high starting salaries) our employers overvalue our abilities. The result is a definite gap.

The key to survival is good mentorship. You need to find someone in your company or another professional outside of your company to be a sounding board. The best case scenario is that your supervisor is a good mentor. Whoever this person is, they can guide you through this maze of gaining confidence and meeting expectations.

This point in your career should stick with you long enough so that you learn how to mentor new engineers throughout your career.

TBL: Find a good mentor and become a good mentor.

So - You are asked in an interview, what you expect for a salary? How do you answer?

My answer? - You don't.

This is a tough spot to be in. First of all, these people most likely have not yet decided to hire you. Your answer to the question can do one of two bad things - 1)If you answer too high, you lose the job before you got it. 2)If you answer too low, you could end up getting that offer and either taking a job for low pay or not taking a job you wanted cause they offered you the low price you stated!

Nope - my answer is don't answer. Instead, I would respond like this:

"I would hope to be offered a salary that is competitive for someone with my experience and skills in this market."

Now the ball is clearly in their court. When they decide to hire you, they will either make you an offer from which you can negotiate or ask you the question again. You are in a much better position to answer the question, once they have decided you are the person for the job.

TBL: Don't show your hand too early in the salary game.

People you will meet on the job:

The I hate engineers guy.

In a lot of your internships and new jobs you are going to encounter some technicians or blue-collar guys that hate engineers. Their feelings are often the result of two different things. First they have encountered young, cocky engineers who think they know everything. Second many of these people are also intimidated by people who have gone to college.

There is nothing you can do about the second part. But there is a lot to gain on the first part. To begin with, do not be cocky. Realize that these people know far more about their work than you do. Defer to them. Try to learn from them. You will endear yourself to these people, NOT BY SHOWING THEM HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, but rather by asking them lots of questions about what they know. Be a sponge and get them showing you the ropes. These guys might hate engineers, but they will like you.

TBL: Do your part to give engineers a good name.

Forwarded from a former student.

Hunting Bear in Alberta

The Pope took a couple of days off to visit the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Alberta for some sight-seeing. He was cruising along a campground in the Pope mobile when there was a frantic commotion just at the edge of the woods. A helpless engineer, wearing sandals, shorts, and the customary "pinkie ring" was screaming while struggling frantically, thrashing around trying to free himself from the grasp of a
10 foot grizzly.

As the Pope watched horrified, some construction men came racing up. One quickly fired a .44 magnum into the bear's chest... The other two reached up and pulled the bleeding, semiconscious engineer from the bear's grasp. Then using golf clubs, the three construction workers finished off the bear and two of them threw it onto the bed of their truck while the other tenderly placed the injured engineer in the back seat.

As they prepared to leave, the Pope summoned them to come over. "I give you my blessing for your brave actions!" he told them. "I heard there was a bitter dislike between construction personnel and engineers but now I've seen with my own eyes that this is not true."

As the Pope drove off, one of the construction men asked his buddies "Who was
that guy?"

"It was the Pope," another replied. "He's in direct contact with heaven and has access to all wisdom."

"Well," the construction foreman said, "he may have access to all wisdom but he sure
doesn't know anything about bear hunting! By the way, is the bait holding
up, or do we need to go back to Calgary and snatch another one?"

First day of work.

Tomorrow many of you will be starting the first day of work for many of you on your summer internships. Others will soon be starting your first day of work in the post-college real world. How about a new set of Ron's rules?

1. Be early to work every day.
2. Have a great attitude, even when there are reasons not to.
3. Be nice to everyone - smile, say good morning, say hello, especially to the people who you might not think of right away.
4. Find the appropriate mix between asking for guidance when needed, but not asking so much that you are a pain.
5. Have confidence in your abilities, but don't be cocky.

TBL: Have fun... and...learn as much as you can about people and situations.

Metacognition.

During the past 12 months I have been studying about how to be a better teacher. I have read several books about How People Learn, How the Best College Teachers teach, How to Make Ideas Stick and many more. One theme that was found throughout was that students need to be actually "doing" the learning and not just receiving answers to questions they haven't asked as most prominently happens in a lecture.

To "do" learning is a lot easier when we know how we are learning and how we are thinking. Thus the term metacognition. Metacognition has many different definitions. Here are two:

* Thinking about one's own thinking.
* Awareness of an knowledge about one's own learning

Many studies have proven that we learn more when we spend time analyzing how we learn. What processes we use, the quality of the approach we took, the quality of the actual learning.

We can learn more and better when we plan, monitor, and regulate our thinking and learning.

Monday, I get to rejoin students in the classroom in a course called thermodynamics. We are going to spend some of our time learning about metacognition so that we can better learn thermodynamics.

TBL: Somebody always said you should learn a new word every day. Maybe this was a new word for you.

Angie and I took a kayak trip up out of Tioga Beach today. It was great!

Graduation.

What a great time of year. Fun - excitement - family - food - it just doesn't get any better than this. I wish my full congratulations to all of the ICCers who graduated tonight. The banquets just keep getting better every year.

To the UNDers who got your rings tonight. I am sorry I couldn't be there. We'll do the secret pinky shake next time we hook up.

And to all of you who are reaching the pinnacle of your college career this spring, thank you for the effort you have put in and for making your teachers look good. Enjoy this feeling. It is one of the most powerful accomplishments I ever felt.

Hope to see you all soon. (Like at the ICC Engineering Reunion!)

Speaking of transition.

Today is my birthday. It used to be that my birthday could slide right by unnoticed, which I didn't mind at all. However, Facebook broadcasts one's birthday to all of his friends. So today I have received numerous happy birthday messages, which isn't so bad either.

Birthdays are funny. When we are young, they mean milestones towards freedom - driving, voting, drinking, (only in New Orleans do those three happen as a concurrent event). Anyways, we look forward to our next birthday as an anticipated event. As we get older, the anticipation isn't as great. We reach a point where we are likely to have fewer birthdays left than we have already celebrated.

For me, my birthday is one of two times during the year when I reflect back on the past year and look forward with new hope on the upcoming year. I ask myself what I would really like to accomplish and then set out a plan to do so. I gain a sense of determination and focus on the new goal.

TBL: On a periodic basis, I encourage you to think about the one thing you would really like to accomplish and to make a plan and make it happen.

A time for change.

May. This is a month filled with more change than any other. First it is extremely busy as schools everywhere are wrapping up for the year, sports seasons are ending (GO ICC Baseball - STATE CHAMPS!), summer jobs are starting up, etc. For those of us at ICC and those of you at universities it means graduation. Either graduation for you or for some of your friends. It means it is time to say goodbye - maybe just for the summer or maybe for a long time. It is hard. People who have become an integral and important part of our daily lives are no longer there. It is sad.

But it is also exciting. Accomplishments are being achieved. The end goal whether at ICC or at university is being met! It is time to transfer and take on new adventures or graduate and enter the world of no homework!

TBL: This is both an end and a beginning. I encourage you to embrace the change - relish the past but charge into the future. Congratulations on your achievements this year!

Asking for help.

Today. I finished the submission of a grant to the National Science Foundation. Over the years I have written about 20 grants to NSF and have been fortunate enough to have been awarded 7. Writing grants is a long process. There are several parts, but the heart of the proposal is a 15 page document called the "project description". It takes about 40 hours to write a good project description. Over the years I have encouraged different people to get help with their writing - get fresh sets of eyes to review and make suggestions. Some people will, tell me "I can't get help. That would be cheating. Then it wouldn't be my work." I say bologna. Getting help on your writing to make it the best is not only smart, but essential to getting the most out of your writing.

This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to have my Mom, my supervisor Barbara, and my colleagues Liz and Bart all take their time to read my paper before I uploaded it. This help improved my product and caught several small errors that would have been embarrassing. Over the years Angie and my Mom have consistently been there to help out.

TBL: Build yourself a support network of good editors. It will make you a better writer and better professional.

Failure.

This is something that happens to all of us. We fail a test or we fail a course or we fail to get the job we want or we fail at a relationship. It is a fact of life.

The question is what do we do next? I believe that part of what defines us is how we respond to failure. I see three options.

1. Quit and go home.
2. Charge right ahead as though nothing happened.
3. Try and figure out why we failed and have that lesson improve who we are as we go forward.

If you followed the rule for taking a multiple choice test (the longest answer is the right one), you would of course be right.

This sounds so easy. It is not. Dealing with the emotional let down of failing something is hard. It is demoralizing. It is embarassing. But it is a necessary part of life. If we don't put ourselves in positions where we might occassionally fail, we are not challenging ourselves enough.

TBL: Failure sucks. But get back up, dust yourself off, and move on. Life will be ok.

Compartmentalization.

This time of year can be extremely stressful. Especially for students and teachers. A whole year's worth of effort is building to a crescendo. Whether it is May for a student or deadline time for any big project, when life becomes extremely busy, the stress can become overwhelming. The key to survival is to learn to compartmentalize the different parts of your day. The stress of one part of the day shouldn't overflow into the other parts. When it does, the emotional drain compounds.

TBL: When you are at school focus on school, when you are at home focus on home, when you are with the important people in your life focus on them. Don't let the stresses from one part carry over to the other.

TBL Cinco de Mayo

The Bottom Line is that I’m tired. I left my hotel at 10:00 PM Central on Friday and I will arrive home (I’m still on an airplane-the third of four legs) at 10:00 PM tonight. Oh well, I guess that is what happens when you travel long distances.

I spent most of my time on the long flight from Milan to Chicago writing a grant to the National Science Foundation. The proposal is to fund 3 years of faculty development for our math, physics, chemistry, and engineering teachers. Times have changed in education. Fascinating new research on the brain has evolved a new framework for understanding How People Learn (coincidentally referred to as the HPL framework). In the education of engineers, a whole new discipline has emerged – Purdue University and Virginia Tech University now have departments of Engineering Education and people are getting masters and doctoral degrees.

When I first started teaching – I thought it was pretty easy. After all, I had 18 or more years of first hand observation! I took the textbook that was supposed to be used for the course, read the chapter, determined which points I thought were most important, and presented them in class by writing them on the board. It was (and unfortunately still is) considered the acceptable way to teach. After all, I was teaching the way I was taught (and in my own mind) even better.

Now, though, much more information is available. How we learn is fascinating and a whole “tackle box” of methods are available. The purpose of this grant is to bring experts at casting each of these new lures to campus to teach us the new methods. As well as to develop a framework for long lasting improvement.

TBL: As engineers, advancements in how you do you work is a part of your every day life, as educators we’re just catching up.

TBL May 4, 2007

Today I want to talk about how much I dislike “my”. Along the same theme as yesterday – annoying people - this entry is about people who assert their power by taking personal possession of things and people they do not own. For example, yesterday morning we were walking to work with a Navy JAG who was going to a class in a neighboring building. She had served on an aircraft carrier and in the course of conversation made the comment “my pilots would do…..”. She doesn’t own the pilots! As a part of human nature we typically don’t like being possessed by others, so when someone does it, it is aggravating.

We will all be leaders in our careers. When we are, we should talk about those people we lead in terms of “our team” not “my team”. Using the words we and ours is much more effective and professional.

TBL: Perception is important. Don’t be perceived as someone who uses language to show ownership where it doesn’t belong.

Here is a great reply to yesterday’s blog:

We had a mentoring program at work. As part of the program individuals were asked how they learned from their bosses. More people reported learning more of what NOT TO DO from their boss than learning what TO DO.

So if someone says that someone is useless, you should say

"They are not useless, they can always be used as a bad example!"

Well….All Good Things Must Come to an End!

Tonight is our last on duty for the Navy. Tomorrow we go home. I have been doing this annual thing for the Navy for the past 15 years. I have never had so much fun. The sights and experiences and travel companions combined to make it a big success. For those of you who have been following along, the pictures have told the story. However, there is an untold part to the story. Mondays through Fridays from 7:30 to 4:00 we were working. We had a big task – identify the barriers that are keeping our navy reservists from effectively mobilizing and contributing in a difficult time in our military. The people over here are closer to the war than we are back home. As I listened to the Armed Forces Radio each morning I heard again and again about a father or mother who would not be coming home, about a new memorial to the 80 people who have died from one unit. We accomplished our task – our work will be brought back to our admiral who will be in a position to effect immediate change. I’ve got more pictures tonight and they show more fun, but don’t be mistaken, those of us in uniform know the importance of our work and we know that the next telephone to ring with a call to the global war on terror could be ours – and we’ll gladly go.

For our last afternoon in Naples, we climbed Mt. Vesuvio (Vesuvius to us). It is the volcano that erupted in the year 79 AD and decimated the civilization in Pompei. Here are some pictures of the scenery as well as some fun we had on our last night out for dinner.

Thanks for following along. The Bottom Line will now be reverting to some daily advice sans photos. Hope you hang around.



This is a "blood" orange. I first saw one on a trip to Naples about 7 years ago. They look real freaky, but taste quite sweet.


Here are a handful of pics from our hike up Mt. Vesuvius. For those that have hike up Diamond Head, this is much steeper and more rugged. Steam was coming out of the crater. It was a hazy day, so pictures aren't as good as what we saw.






Like I said, this is a dirty city. Pictures like this could be taken on almost any block. Yuk!

Today’s entry is about mean people at work. Have you ever worked with a person who is mean to you at work? Someone who has a “superiority complex”?

One of the neat things that I am beginning to experience is contact from readers who are asking me to address certain issues that they are facing. I am happy to do that! Please just email me when you have something you would like me to discuss.

However, it is important for me to put in this disclaimer every once in a while. I am not an expert who knows all. I happily share with everybody my opinion based on my experiences.

Back to the topic – mean people suck. They get us down and cause us to have issues associated with work that effect other parts of our lives. I can think of two such people in my career and do not think of those times fondly. Here is a quote from the message:

“I shouldn't take it too personally, she's really a bitch to everyone, no joke. I feel bad for her. It's a defense mechanism that she's built up for so many years. She talks to everyone like they know nothing, so much of it is in her inflection.”

This person has it right – a key is to compartmentalize and not take it personally, but this is hard to do. Is there a solution? Not an easy one – the response can depend on where you are in the chain?

If this person is above you, it is most difficult. You can approach the person to try and work out a situation, but making change is difficult.

If this person is a peer, you can use subtle and not so subtle confrontations.

However, the real opportunity for change is when you are the supervisor and this will happen to all of us. Here is where we get to become leaders. We need to act – proactively to modify her/his behavior. To not act, is cowardice and you are destined to have failures as a leader – you have a responsibility to all of your people to maintain a positive work environment. Is it easy? No – but absolutely necessary.

TBL: Mean people suck to work with, but the silver lining is that we ultimately become better people and professionals from learning “how not to act” and by dealing with the situation.

This is the charming Hotel Charming where we are staying...and it has free wireless!

CAPT Barry had us over for pre-dinner wine and cheese and fruit.
Dinner was around the corner at the pizzeria.

Today’s post is about taking small risks to make life interesting. We tend to get into comfort zones in life. Whenever we go out to eat, we choose the same meal, often at the same restaurants. The idea of the unknown scares us just enough to keep from trying it. I’m here to tell you, that some of the most exciting things in life come when you break through that barrier into the unknown. Tonight, Barry, Ida, and I broke through. Unfortunately, since Mike left with the good camera there are no pictures to show.

We drove through downtown Naples (here spelled and pronounced Napoli). Imagine a typical two lane street in Grand Rapids. Here that would be 4 lanes. Now with the 4 lanes of traffic bumper to bumper and moving fast throw in hundreds of people on mopeds and motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. Back to those 4 lanes, they are not parallel with cars in the same lane going the same direction, no…no…no, people just go where they want (think of those video games where you are driving a car and other cars are coming at you!) Traffic laws are non-existent. The polizia are right out there in the middle doing the same thing and stopping nobody! Absolutely the craziest thing you have ever seen. Naples is a very dirty city, garbage everywhere, nothing is neat, clean, and kept up.

But I digress, back to taking risks. It was time for us to eat (8:00 PM). We parked the car and went walking along the sea looking for a place to eat. After about 10 minutes, we came across a ristorante’. We looked inside and only saw workers. We tried to open the door and it was locked. We buzzed and the owner opened the door. We asked if he was already closed? He didn’t speak any English, but motioned to us to come inside. It was a beautiful restaurant. It was for real, what Olive Garden does in faux.

Pretty soon the dishwashing boy, wearing his work outfit, came to our table with the owner. The boy (~ 20) was the only one who spoke English. Well not really, he knew a few English words. He said lots of things in Italian, Ida answered lots of things in Spanish, there were lots of hands waving and we ordered having no idea what we would get. Whenever we heard a word we recognized we said si, si! This would be out of most people’s comfort zone. The food that came was fantastic! We knew some of the stuff like bruschetta and caprese salad and other stuff just looked and tasted weird. Lots of fish stuff, some good biscuits, and plenty of calamari (squid) both raw and deep fried. Soon we had a table full of food and had not ordered entrée’s. We tried to say stop and eventually they got it, but not before talking us into tira-misu. The taste was beyond description – creamy and smooth – I’m afraid I’m ruined for ever getting it in the US. Next they talked us into limon cello – an alcoholic drink (30%!!!) made with lemons here in Italy. Strong but good. Of course, we had no clue what this was going to cost. There were no menus and we weren’t ever told. We had a little side bet going – Barry guessed less than 60 euros ($1.37 per Euro), I guessed 60-80, and Ida was over 80. When our friend brought the bill (a piece of paper with a number on it – no itemization here!) it was 65 Euros or $89. We had a blast we had a meal without knowing what we were getting and without understanding the people who were preparing it for us. What an experience.

TBL – Take small risks when the opportunities arise and the rewards will last a lifetime.

P.S. When we were leaving, we tried to ask why we were the only one’s in the whole restaurant? The answer – the crowd won’t becoming until after 10 PM. We were the early birds and we left at 9!

Oh yeah. I’ve still got yesterday’s lost post somewhere in my head.

The pics that follow are from yesterday in Sorrento and on the Amalfi coast. This was a quaint little city with a ton of people and a beautiful landscape.

Hmmm. Today I traveled from England to Italy. I went to bed at 2:00 AM after spending a night on the town and saying farewell to Mike who left for home today. Our flight from London to Naples had us up at 4:00 AM and was compiled with one small disaster after another. The day did turn around though and Barry, Ida, and I had a great trip to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. However it is 11:15 PM and I am tired. I spent 20 minutes composing tonight's TBL then somehow lost it! I'm going to bed and will redo it tomorrow night.

TBL - Get more sleep when you are traveling.


Here are some great pics from our last day in England.

This is Barry and me hanging out with comedian Kathy Griffin (you have to look close to see me - no this is not photoshopped - it is for real). She was in London for a show and was drumming up publicity on the streets.




















Ok. This is awesome. In the Making things Stick Book, they discuss how powerful simple and unexpected messages are. This guy came up to me and said, in his British accent, "Yo - Mate, I need some money for alcohol and cannibis." We kind of dropped our jaws. He continued "I'm just being honest, I'm not gonna tell you I want money for food or coffee when I'm going to use it for drink and smoke". It worked, we each gave him a pound (~$2).


















There are some darn fine bakeries in Europe. Barry and I are showing our appreciation for the goods.
























Mike giving us a periscope demonstration from his days on submarines.





















Everywhere we went in Germany and England we saw these beautiful yellow fields. It
turns out they are what will eventually become canola oil.