cc: file, Andrea, Tony Hafen, Sara and Des Penny, Pauline Nelson via Aunt Sara, & Maxine Shirts
"I completed this Thoughtlet the first time Monday evening, and was waiting to send it until Andrea proofed it. However, I did not save it, and the windows system on the Sun locked up, second time it's happened, and I lost it. Oh well! Maybe it will be better the second time I write it? So I'm still two weeks behind, and I'm probably going to get some chronology mixed up in catching up. The theme for the first one, last week's Thoughtlet, is based around a talk Andrea and I went to by the famous cosmologist/physicist Stephen Hawking, and for this week, I have decided to write some of my thoughts about population (0312.html), especially since conversations lead me to believe liberal college professors and other teachers have planted serious weeds in some of your fertile young minds. Of course, with epistles like this, maybe you and they will respond I am the one planting weeds.
The first week in question, Monday March 10th to Sunday March 16th, was a hard week for me. Monday morning I was at Apache's office on South Post Oak in the Galleria at 8:45 for my 9:00 interview with Alan Clare and others. I was escorted to Alan's office, and met Dave Monk on the way. Dave had a very pointed status check, since Continuum, and I believe he left satisfied with my answers. Mike Bahorich later told me he recommended me for the job. Steve, whose last name was different, and in my normal way with unusual names I can't remember it, the current geophysicist on the project and Alan proceeded to spend about an hour with me. They were pleasant. However, I had the impression Steve did not want me working on his project. Maybe he was afraid I would make him look bad. Maybe not. During our conversation I asked questions about source (he thought I met seismic source, when the context was hydrocarbon source) and migration (he thought I met seismic processing migration, when again the context was hydrocarbon migration). Then I was taken to meet with Mike Bahorich, current President of the SEG, and a long time acquaintance. Mike's bottom line question was how much of the 30 months since Continuum closed down I had spent actually working on workstations.
My answer was we spent 8 months putting together CLPs (new exploration Concepts, Leads, and drillable Prospects), of which 1/4 of the time was spent interpreting, for 2 months. Then I worked for Chroma for about 9 months. Then I did about 6 months interpretation for the Nigerians, between the Marginal Fields and OPL-229. This added up to 17 months, and with that Mike said he was fully satisfied. We talked about my career and he reminded me of the `great Sequence Stratigraphy SEG Research Workshop' I organized, and which was when he first met me. Alan told me he would be back with me by 10:30 on Tuesday morning with an answer, and implied yet again I had the job. Needless to say I was disappointed when he called the next afternoon at about 2:15 to tell me I did not have the job. The reason I was given was my insistence on being at Paul and Audrey and Sara's college graduations, and that these were right in the middle of when they were drilling the wells, and they needed an interpreter on the ground in Beijing and undistracted as these wells were being drilled. Both Andrea and I felt this was a smoke screen. I was not the only person disappointed.
I think it was on Tuesday morning Dr. John Lienhard had a program on `The Engines of our Ingenuity' which I was very interested in about Carbon-Dioxide. You can read the program at http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1776.htm. The program ended with a call to contemplate Carbon-Dioxide, and since I tend to do something with my contemplation, I decided to write him a letter. This is my letter to him [with current comments in square brackets]:
I received the following response 41 minutes after sending
off my comments [isn't technology marvelous?]:
It was good having received confirmation that I do know how
to think, prior to receiving the phone call from Alan Clare
telling me of Apache's decision. And Alan stressed that
both he and Mike Bahorich hoped this did not close the door
for me working with them and with Apache in the future on
other projects which are not so time sensitive. They had
both told me no one else could be better qualified than I am.
Oh well! It takes more than being overqualified to get a job.
It is interesting attempting to recreate the words I wrote almost a week ago. Andrea was some what overwhelmed by the news. My risk tolerance is not shared by most others. There were a myriad of feelings that were closer to the surface a week ago than they are now. So surely this Thoughtlet will be softened compared to what was written before. Maybe the computer locking up wasn't a glitch?
I did take Alan's words about he and Mike wanting to work with me seriously. So instead of getting depressed about the news, I prepared a statement as to why Apache should want to work with me (see http://www.walden3d.com/Apache). I called it `Creating the Next Oil Industry,' and included descriptions of many of the technologies I have been working with and developing and describing different approaches Apache could consider in working with me and the NetWork. Mike called later in the week, stating sincere interest in what I had written and seeking advice on how to proceed. I prepared another note for him on Monday answering these questions and suggesting some specific steps. His secretary responded that he is out of town and will get back to me next week (the week of the 24th). We'll see what happens.
Closer to the time of `yet another rejection,' I shared the e-mails between myself and Alan Clare with Swede Nelson, who proceeded to make sure I understood Apache's rejection of me was totally at my instigation and that I am my own worst enemy. Maybe it is true some of us are preprogrammed to keep from being successful, or from having recognized miracles from being consummated. He described three strikes from my e-mails, which I will share with the hope none of you will make the same kinds of mistakes:
Strike 1. My first e-mail response kept going after the first sentence:
Swede pointed out how one who wants a job does not dictate
terms, especially terms like only working 4 days per week,
taking 16 days to vacation in Europe, and then requesting
another week off for the SEG. No reasonable boss will accept
this type of attitude.
Strike 2. My second e-mail response kept going after the first sentence:
Swede pointed out how one who wants a job does not tell the
potential employer he is not qualified for the job. And
then does not follow this up with dictation of payment terms.
Strike 3. My third e-mail was OK. It was simply a statement I would be at the interview on Monday. However, my fourth e-mail was superfluous. It should not have been sent and included:
Swede pointed out how between a 30 page resume and this I
probably scared them to death, specifically as someone who
knows too much. It was interesting that during this same
week Swede subtly got me to rewrite my resume and send the
revised version to the Chinese. He did this by providing
me a copy of his resume to send to them, and pointing out
how easy it is to translate his 2 page resume, compared to
the run on sentences in even my `short' web posted resume.
If any of you are interested, the results can be downloaded
from http://www.walden3d.com/resumes/HRN_Resume.doc.
I admit, it is possible to be too honest, saying too much. Guess I have spent the last 6 1/2 years writing too many weekly epistles (Thoughtlets) into the vacuum of the future, one of those places where no one can prove until it happens, and a child's or a grandchild's life is improved, whether there is any value in the effort. Certainly those who wrote the original scriptures had no idea of the millions of people their words would influence. And still they said or wrote them, even though they often lost their job (life). It is interesting, after reading this Biglet (big Thoughtlet), Andrea recalled telling me I should not have sent the e-mails I sent to Apache. I don't remember this. Oh well!
One of the hardest things I have faced in a long time occurred this week. It was, in fact, much harder for me than the Apache rejection. When I got home and Andrea, and after I talked everything through, she suggested I would be happy in a University and I should consider applying at a University. The University of Houston has advertisements for the Margaret S. and Robert E. Sherrif Chair in Applied Seismology. The advertisement starts with `The Department of Geosciences is seeking a distinguished geophysicist with an international reputation and a strong research background.' So I called Bob Sherrif, a long time friend, and he returned my phone call. He told me it would be fruitless to apply, since I don't have a Ph.D. They have had several wonderful applicants, and a Ph.D. is absolutely required. It kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. It was one of those times we all have when we recognize our mortality, and limitations we have placed ourselves under by previous choices. When I graduated from the University of Utah and oil companies were recruiting so hard because of the oil embargo and I made a conscious decision to not get a Masters Degree in Geophysics (I was promised an internship) and to go to work and have kids, I didn't recognize this day would come. Hopefully none of you will have a similar regret, and maybe it will be because I told you about my regret this week.
An identified miracle, like what I wrote about two weeks ago (0310.html), is interesting to reflect upon. It was especially interesting this week. Specifically because of the discovery of Elizabeth Smart and the capture of her abductors. These folks had been praying for a miracle, and they received the miracle. She was returned home safely. I watched her Father announce her safe return. I analyzed his words, within my context, as I listened to describe a girl who left and a young woman who returned. I heard his joy, and was amazed as he refused to answer any reporter's questions about molestation. Then I read the charges in the paper a week later. In case you have been too busy with school to follow this, her abductors were charged with sexual molestation of a child. It reminded me of a passage in Moroni 9:8-9 where it says:
As I think of Ed Smart's response, and his obvious love
for his child, I realize: (1) I would have been speaking
about vengeance for inflicted wrongs, (2) I'm not very
deserving of an unidentified miracle compared to this
man and his wonderful supportive extended family, and
(3) there are a lot worse things than not getting a job
at Apache or not being qualified for a job at the U of H.
Isn't life a wonderful teaching ground of good and of bad?
So for anyone who is still reading this epistle, I guess it is time to get to my topic. I spent the rest of the week feverishly working on different perceived opportunities. Probably would not have stopped and spent Friday evening with Andrea had she not gone to the grocery store and purchased two $5 tickets to listen to Stephen Hawking speak at Cynthina Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands. However, she bought the tickets, Matt did not want to go, and so the two of us drove up to The Woodlands Friday.
I absolutely loved the talk. Texas A&M sponsored the talk, thanks to a grant from George Mitchell, who introduced Stephen Hawking and his wife, pointing out his wife gave permission to have the talk at the pavilion because `She owns the damn thing.' There was an article in The Chronicle this week talking about the talk. I quote from this article [which I didn't in my first version of this Thoughtlet]:
My view of Stephen Hawking's talk was similar and yet
completely different. But before I review my notes,
some of you might not know who Stephen Hawking is. He
is Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University
of Cambridge in England. He is regarded as one of the
most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein.
He wrote `A Brief History of Time' and `The Universe
in a Nutshell' (../0153.html and ../0202.html).
On Friday night, 14 March 2003, my notes say Stephen Hawking started by talking about dimensions. He described how we know where an object is in a room by measuring the distance from both walls and the floor, and how we do the same thing on the surface of the earth using Longitude and Latitude and elevation. Then he referred to galactic Longitude and Latitude and the distance from the center of the galaxy. These x, y, z coordinate systems are extended using time to give four-dimensional space-time which Einstein wrote about. He described how space-time is curved and warped, how planets attempt to move in straight lines and how the warping creates rotation. It was a lot like listening to Roice describe his software program which defines planetary motion for different planetary configurations.
It was pretty obvious Stephen Hawking had some parts of his speech which were canned, and he would hit a single key, and it would go through five minutes of text. Sometimes he would type things out, and it would take quite a bit of time before the next sentence came out. His concepts were remarkably understandable. Although Andrea said she went to sleep after the first little while. He described General Relativity as the theory of the very large, Quantum Mechanics as the theory of the very small, and the Big Bang as a combination of both of these theories.
I enjoyed his discussion of `M-Theory,' a network of different theories that seem the same and yet look at the problems from different views. This is proving to be the Theory of Everything. These theories quantify predictions and all the predictions turn out the same. However, one branch of the network is not more real than another branch, rather it is just more useful for a particular situation. None of this network of theories is more real than others, even though many have more than four-dimensions. Some of the theories are ten-dimensional and some are eleven-dimensional. I found it particularly interesting that the math shows the extra dimensions must be smaller than one billion billionth of a centimeter. It reminds me of one of the revelations to Joseph Smith as recorded in the 131st section of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses six through eight:
He pointed out that these extra dimensions are possibly
very large, BRANES, like gravity, which permeate the
entirety of space. Stephen Hawking taught that gravity
should fall off quicker than electric forces, and that
measurements show they are the same. Gravity is tied
to a BRANE because we can not see a shadow BRANE.
However, it would be possible to feel gravity on the
shadow BRANE. The shadow BRANE would appear to be
dark matter, which we can not see, and yet it's
presence would be felt. It is interesting that unless
there is a lot of dark matter the universe would fly
apart. He says that at short distances gravity falls
off quickly to meet the shadow BRANE. Measurements
have not seen electronic forces drop off, which means
the bridge must be less than a centimeter in distance.
Physicists are making new measurements of gravity at
very short distances to study BRANES.
These BRANES could be infinite like a saddle. In this case the gravitational field would be effected at certain places. Somehow this is related to the fact bodies within gravity produce gravitational waves that carry energy, like from the interactions of binary stars. The issue of gravitational waves causes these stars to spiral into each other. Black Holes also limit gravitational waves. It was interesting to here him postulate that when Black Holes lose mass, the gravitational field is losing energy to the shadow BRANE. He was funny when pointing out that if a low mass Black Hole is found he will win a Nobel Prize.
BRANE models come from different theories. For example spontaneous fluctuations of the vacuum. Sort of like steam and falling water, BRANE Worlds are on the surface of the bubble, and the interior of the bubble holds the higher dimensions. Galaxies spread apart on this BRANE World like painted worlds on the surface of an expanding balloon. The surface of the bubble determines the gravitational fields. So Stephen Hawking asks, `Which is reality, the bubble, or the BRANE? He says existence may be shadows cast on the surface of a BRANE. He pointed out he hopes there are no monsters with a pin to pop the balloon.
As I contemplate Stephen Hawking's teachings, I see all kinds of parallels in my worlds. I have multiple theories for explaining things. Scientific theories. Religious Theories, Roice theories, Out-in-Left-Field Theories, etc. The shadow BRANE World fits my concept of a spiritual world very nicely.
It is interesting Stephen Hawking sees the distance as less than a centimeter away. For many years I have thought it was a cubit away {see Figure 1 in the Book of Abraham of Facsimile 2} (note a cubit was 17 1/2 inches in the 8th century B.C. and 21 1/2 inches when Jesus lived in Jerusalem [which by the way implies the speed of light has changed over time and is not a constant as modern physics states]). Correlating this with Psalms 90:4 and II Peter 3:8. I have concluded to be quickened (see John 5:21, 6:63; Romans 4:17, 8:11; I Corinthians 15:36, 15:45; Ephesians 2:1, 2:5; I Timothy 6:13; I Peter 3:18; Doctrine & Covenants 33:16, 66:11, 88:11, 88:17, 88:26, 88:32, 88:49; Moses 6:61, and 6:65) meant to travel this cubit (or is it less than a centimeter) at faster than the speed of light in order to reach the Spirit World, or the other side of the veil, or to use Stephen Hawking's language to reach the shadow BRANE World. Here, all is before us, like gravity reaching all across the universe, where time is no more (Revelations 10:6, Alma 40:8, Doctrine & Covenants 84:100, and 88:110), and we are then in God's rest (Exodus 33:14; Deuteronomy 3:20; Joshua 1:13; Matthew 11:28; Hebrews 4:3, 4:11; Jacob 1:7; Alma 12;34, 13:6, 13:29, 40:12; III Nephi 27:19, 28:3; Moroni 7:3, 9:6, 10:34; Doctrine & Covenants 15:6, 19:9, 54:10, 84:24, 101:31, 121:32, and 124:86).
In my perception, the bridges between our world and Stephen Hawking's shadow BRANE Worlds (or the spirit world), are temples. These appear as some kind of `black holes' or `dark matter' in the Shadow BRANE World or the spirit world, and once dedicated by the power of the priesthood are in existence both in the BRANE we occupy and in our shadow BRANE World.
Of course, the ultimate temple is our own body, as described in 1st Corinthians 3:16-17.
This is why repentance is such a key principle.
We all sin. Only by repentance are we cleansed.
Only by being cleansed and pure can we accelerate
fast enough to be quickened and enter into God's
rest. Otherwise the impurities would tear us
apart as we travel to the Spirit World. And this
is why there are those, like President Kimball or
Joseph Smith or President Hinkley, who are able
to tap into spiritual insights and lift the rest
of us, or at least those who are willing to listen.
Anyway, my point was simply to state how much I enjoyed listening to Stephen Hawking's talk. How his words triggered my mind and opened new possible ways of understanding basic principles I have spent years studying. Hopefully none of these thoughts are offensive to any of you, and if they are you can classify them as either Roice's Theories or Out-in-Left-Field Theories and just put them aside. And if these thoughts excite any of you, then you can pursue them at some point in your life, and reach your own conclusions about how to live a better life.
On Saturday Andrea, Matt, and I were in the real world, trimming trees, moving bushes, raking leaves, getting tired and sweaty, and not thinking about esoteric shadow BRANES. In the afternoon we went to see DareDevil. It was well shot, and well acted. However, it is really violent. And the women are violent. I don't recommend the movie, just because of the numerous people who had their throat slashed or stuck with pencils or other implements, the Chinese blades through the hands, etc. If you have a choice, it is much better to spend a night listening to someone like Stephen Hawking."