22 Jan 2006 #0604html

Red Cove Plans

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Dear Family and Friends,

Welcome to this week's "Thoughtlet."

These words are my personal diary and a weekly review of ideas, beliefs, thoughts, or words that will hopefully be of some benefit to you: my children, my family, and my friends.

"My struggles continue to revolve around finances. It is hard for me to be excited about going to work for someone else, and spending so many hours a day and so much effort working hard, just so the company can make more money than they pay me. The reason is I do not believe life should revolve around money. Rather I believe our lives should revolve around those things we are interested in, particularly when those things we are interested in can make the world a better place. The good news is that for the most part, jobs do not last if they are not doing something to make the world a better place. And so when we are working for money, we generally are making the world a better place. The bad news is that at my stage of life, I think some of my hobbies can be of more benefit to you kids and my Grandkids than interpreting a seismic survey or putting a presentation on the advantages my company has over some other company. Oh well! I do recognize there are good things which come from the inherent tension of life.

Taking several days off at Christmas and for Roice and Sarah's wedding got me out of the 9-5:00 mode. By New Years Eve I was into my Walden 3-D projects big time. Andrea was not pleased I was spending so much time working on my projects and spending so little time with Paul and Kate and Grant and Ella Dawn, who were still with us. Oh well! I want to get out from underneath the 9-5:00 hammer (or I guess I should write `the 7-4:00 hammer). So I got started working on Red Cove plans (../0436.html). The results are out there for everyone who knows where to look to see, i.e. http://www.walden3d.com/Red_Cove.

The Red Cove plans include a statement of the problem, the objective, a summary of the W3D Design Process developed in 1992 and the Maudeen Marks Ranch Intelligent Habitat Project done in 1989. There are definitions, a description of some positive developments in Spain through the Mondragon Cooperatives, and other information taken from Bill Bavinger's work. Then there is a lot of specific information about the Red Cove site, including air photos, photos of the site, a beginning inventory of site physical characteristics, sunlight at different times of the day and year, as well as the first and second model of the possible built form at Red Cove.

In addition, I put together a 100 page description of the concepts I am pursuing. Mic Patterson at ASI boiled this down to a three page summary, which is a document titled 060322_Red_Cove_Village.pdf. The model picture below summarizes utility infrastructure connectors, bridge housing units across Left Hand Canyon, and three housing towers, which would be the key structures in Red Cove.

I continue to believe in these projects, and so I continue to pursue them. It will be interesting to see what happens, if anything. Certainly my time frame for implementation is not the same as the Lord's time frame for implementation. And maybe this is the lesson I need to learn. And maybe we will always struggle financially. Certainly my Dad struggled with finances until his death, and we do tend to become our parents.

One of the reasons I wrote about Red Cove plans this week, was because on Monday I sent out a status report to Ray Gardner, which read:

`Ray, I continue to think about the projects we have talked about over the years. 1. I received a note from Maudeen Marks. She is ready to sell her property. She has 23 acres left. 2. We went on a canoe trip around the Columbus horseshoe bend over the holidays, and the new city there seems more viable than ever. 4. Joe Roberts stopped by and he has purchased 80% of his 100 acres, and is talking about selling off 3 acres on a corner. The stuff I put together on this a bit over a year ago is at

http://www.walden3d.com/JackRoadCollaborative

5. I've done some thinking and work on Red Cove, see:

http://www.walden3d.com/Red_Cove.

I'm going nowhere fast with the oil and gas stuff. It is obviously too risky to be a reasonable source of funding for pursuing any or all of these projects. I'm interested in approaching investors to get some real money and to get after these projects. Comments? Suggestions as to how to proceed? Best Regards, Roice'

We talked about it on the phone. Ray pointed out that one of the biggest issues will probably be from someone in the community who does not want to see the project undertaken. Seems like there are always big obstacles that folks say are impossible to overcome.

I also sent a note to Jeff Winston in Boulder, which read:

`Jeff, I have thoroughly enjoyed Sketchup. Thanks. Attached is a file showing a fluid and temperature migration model which I developed using Sketchup from a Chinese 3-D seismic survey. Of more relevance to mutual interests, I have been using it to do some design work for a project I would like to undertake near Cedar City. I call it Red Cove and you can review it at

http://www.walden3d.com/Red_Cove.

In fact, there are several projects which I have worked on over the years, which it feels like it is the right time to start a concerted effort to bring in the bulldozers: 1. Red Cove. See the web pages. 2. The lady who owns what is left of the original Barker Intelligent Habitat Project, which is linked to from the Red Cove pages, sent me a note saying she is going to have to sell off her 23 acres. This is right next to Houston, and can be a very good development project. 3. A friend and real estate developer, Joe Roberts, and his partner have recently got 80% control of 100 acres they have owned for years which is surrounded on three sides by conservancy protected prairie. There is another adjacent 15 acres which is for sale. One of the biggest development project in the history of the Houston area, rivaling The Woodlands and Sugar Land, is being built adjacent to the unprotected side of this property. He would like me to come up with a development plan for this property. 4. There is a 6 mile, 10 km, horse bend adjacent to the town of Columbus (100 miles west of us) which presents a wonderful opportunity to build a new city adjacent to a historical Texas city. Over the holidays we went for a canoe trip around the horseshoe bend again, and I am more convinced than ever there is a tremendous opportunity here. 5. There is some development going on in Shirts Canyon south of Cedar City, but it is sporadic and sprawl like. There is an opportunity to turn this into the kind of project Ray and I have been talking about for years. You are tied into the kind of folks who invest in these kinds of projects. I have not had success in creating the money from my oil and gas endeavors. I continue to work on this, and think the risk is too high. So I'm interested in going out and raising some money to take on the best of these projects. Interested? Suggestions? Comments on how to proceed? Looking forward to your response, and thanks again for Sketchup. Best Regards, Roice'

Jeff responded with:

`Roice, Good to hear from you. A fellow moved into our ward that seems to know you--Scott Bartlett. He used to work in Texas on oil stuff, then Leica in Switzerland, and now Trimble GPS. I looked at Red Cove. Nice graphics. Not clear how one drives or parks at the condos, but interesting forms. Ray Gardner recently pulled me into a project with him in Brian Head. The client is Michael Jabara, a developer from Las Vegas. He seems to know the Cedar City/Brian Head area, and may have some leads on potential investors. He's looking for investors for his Brian Head project. You can call Ray for more information. I have a client here in Boulder who is looking for an exchange project--he recently sold a mobile home park and is looking for someplace to invest approximately $3 million, although this is probably not a development project, more likely something that is up and running, or just about to be. Jeff Winston WINSTON ASSOCIATES'

Monday was Martin Luther King Day, and on the way into work Carlos complained about having to go to work. At lunch I went to POPS (Pioneer Oil Producers). Bill van Wei of Devon Energy spoke. Interesting talk. It was especially interesting to see all of the old white guys at a professional lunch, completely ignoring Martin Luther King Day. The best part of these meetings is seeing Alf Klaviness. I have really grown to love him over the years.

Tuesday I went to Fred Hilterman's talk at the GSH. It was the first time I have been to a Geophysical Society of Houston luncheon for a long time. They still have me listed as working for Dynamic Resources Corporation. Oh well! Fred gave an outstanding talk about how to use the Tiles data we have worked on this last year to quantitatively tell the difference between fizz gas and real gas. I saw Wulf Massell at the luncheon. He said, `I think of you when I have something good to eat.' Obviously my swallow counting has not helped me keep my weight down. Oh well! Wulf has become a vegetarian, and he wants everyone he likes to follow his example. I also traded e-mails with Grier Eliasek of Prospect Street about funding some of my exploration opportunities. They only invest in things that are proven, not in exploration. Oh well!

Tuesday evening I participated in a Board of Review with Tim Gabbier and Sister Harlan for Jordan Turner, young Brother Sarls, and Andrew Beckstrom. I also got the following e-mail from Karen Gillette, our Primary President, about the `8 is Great Fireside:'

`On Sunday, January 29th at 6pm in the Relief Society Room we will be having an 8 is Great Fireside. It will be combined with the Katy 2nd and 3rd wards. It is for those children who will be turning 8 this year and their parents to learn about baptism. We will have a bishopric member from Katy 2nd go over what the bishop's interview will be like before the baptism and give tours of the font area and dressing room, the missionaries will go over the baptismal covenants the child will be making at baptism, Our activity day leader Sis. Sprueill will go over the Faith in God program for girls and Sis. Inman will go over what the boys need to know about cub scouts and Faith in God for boys. Of course at the end we will have refreshments-- brownie hot fudge sundaes. It will be a very informative fireside and we hope it will get your kids excited about their upcoming baptism day. We hope you can all attend.'

On Wednesday on the way into work, as I was reading the 38th chapter of Alma, I made the following note in the top margin: Do Maya characters express 9 concepts, or 6 concepts in a group? And I drew a 3x3 9 square grid and a 3x2 6 square grid. Over the subsequent weeks, this idea has become the basis for what I call a spatiallanguage, and I think it has great potential as a new area of Book of Mormon research. Let me give an example by writing the 38th chapter of Alma out spatially:

My son, give ear to my words, for I say unto you even as I said unto Helaman, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God
ye shall prosper in the land: and inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence

And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness
and your faithfulness unto God, for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God,
even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end.

I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of they faithfulness
and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.

For I know that thou wast in bonds yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word's sake; And thou didst bear all these things with patience
because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.

And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God
even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles,
and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself,
but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me,
for if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things.

But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his angel to declare unto me
that I must stop the work of destruction among his people; and I have seen an angel face to face,
and he spake with me, and his voice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth.

And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul;
and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace unto my soul.

And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me
that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved
only in and through Christ. Behold he is the life and the light of the world.

Behold he is the word of truth and righteousness. And now, as ye have begun to teach the word
even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things.

See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength. use boldness,
but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.

Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.
Do not say, Oh God, I think thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say, O Lord, forgive my unworthiness,
and remember my brethren in mercy - yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.

And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day unto his kingdom, to sit down in peace.
Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people. Be sober. My son, farewell.

Now the supposition of this approach to a spatial language for The Book of Mormon, is that the book actually was translated from a reformed Egyptian, or a hieroglyphic language. To my untrained eye, the Mayan glyphs are all about the same size, and they are ordered as a regular Cartesian coordinate system (checker board). There fore it makes sense to order these glyphs in columns of three or four glyphs, and so each cell in the above table represents one hieroglyph.

The Anthon Transcript, characters copied from the gold plates and taken to Charles Anthon in 1828 by David Whitmer to get proof the characters were of ancient origin. The text was sold to the heirs of David Whitmer to The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now the Community of Christ. These characters do not form any type of glyph, and appear to be more of a shorthand for the glyphs. It seems logical to me that even if they are more of a script shorthand, the words still come from a culture based on putting thoughts down on writing in glyphs, which spatially would be organized as 3 glyphs across and 2 glyphs down, 3x3, 4x2, 4x3, 4x4, etc.

The point of this insight being that if the entire Book of Mormon were divided into logical phrases, and these were cross-correlated, it would seem that a set of glyphs could be derived which mean what these phrases mean, and then these glyphs could be correlated with translations of Mayan glyphs, and it could result in a significant internal proof of the truthfulness of Joseph Smith's claims and of my testimony concerning the divine origin of The Book of Mormon.

I will dedicate a Thoughtlet to this concept, once I have completed my current reading of The Book of Mormon. This is my first pass study of the possibility there is a spatial language the English version of The Book of Mormon was translated from. Thus far in my reading, it seems impossible for the consistent number of phrases in Book of Mormon passages to be accidental, and not related to the original source the translation was taken from.

Thursday evening I talked to Uncle Des about my thoughts about water in and for Cedar Valley. He has been doing some research on the same. Turns out there are between 41,000 and 43,000 acre feet of inflow into Cedar Valley from Coal Creek and rain. There are about 40,000 acre feet of water pumped from wells in the valley. The aquifer is dropping, and as it drops and the pore space is freed of water, the sediments collapse and these pore spaces will not be able to be filled again. Water in Cedar Valley is a big deal, and will become more of a big deal (0618.html).

On Friday we had a meeting with Bill Dirks about his new exploration company, Tecton, and their plans to explore for Basin Centered Gas. Very interesting, and some of the things I have done with Parker Gay over the years fit right into this project. It took a couple of weeks and some negotiation, and GDC is now working for Tecton in 2-D seismic reprocessing and interpretation. At lunch, Mike had a lunch for the interpretation group.

Saturday morning at 2:00 AM I woke up to skunk smell. It seems the skunk had moved back into the chimney (0603.html). Oh well! So Saturday morning I cut down a big branch on the tree in front of Sara/Rachel's room that was rubbing against the house. Then I confronted my fears, climbed on the roof, and did my best to wire down the mesh that Paul had put over the chimney openings for me. Sitting on the roof, and feeling some vertigo, I couldn't help but think about my Red Cove Plans. Later that day we got a very funny digital video from Andrea's brother, Uncle Robert. These guys were in a rowboat at night with a light shining on them, and these 2 to 3 pound fish were jumping into the boat and hitting them. Let me know if any of you want a copy.

Sunday morning was Stake Priesthood at 7:00 AM. The first speaker was Raymond O'Brian, one of Andrea's seminary students. He did a first class job, including giving the following advice: `Live every day as though you are going to live eternally, for you surely will.' The second speaker was talking about Home Teaching and how important it is, and as he paused after saying `A short visit is the best visit,' there was a very loud thunder clap, which came across as an exclamation point. The whole chapel broke out in laughter. President Steed gave a very good talk about Home Teaching, including the following advice:

  1. Accept calling to be a home teacher.
  2. Visit your families each month.
  3. Share the First Presidency message.
  4. Have the spirit present at each visit.
  5. Provide watchful care, motivated by love and led by the spirit.
  6. Recognize where you are today, and take one step up.
President Pickerd finished of the meeting. A thought provoking thought was: `Most of us don't mind doing what we ought to do, when it doesn't interfere with what we want to do.'

John Evans (a) (22 Jan 2006, NCW) was our High Council speaker. He gives great talks. This was a three and a half stanza talk (I just finished the 4th stanza):

`Every scrap of scripture Is valuable and profound Like a pixel into heaven Teaching us where we are from' `Our galaxy is 100 thousand Light years across with 100 billion sons in it and there are 100 billion galaxies' `Every time we wash our hands We kill millions of bacteria Evolution teaches us we are An accident of no more value than bacteria' `The creation is a lot of trouble If the end result is a choir (a) Yet the choir is more than a bubble If it teaches us the purpose of creation'

Sara Ellyn came by and dropped off a comforter we had left with her while we were at church. Missed seeing her. Oh well! In the phone calls Sunday night I learned that Ben scored 4 goals in his soccer game the previous weekend. He is also studying for his last level of certification. Impressive. And I still have this dream of all of my family living close together and actually enjoying being around each other. Guess this is the bottom line behind my Red Cove plans."

Since the 38th week of 1996 I have written a weekly "Thoughtlet" (little statements of big thoughts which mean a lot to me). Until the 43rd week of 2004 I sent these out as an e-mail. They were intended to be big thoughts which mean a lot to me. Over time the process evolved into a personal diary. These notes were shared with my family because I know how important the written word can be. Concerned about how easy it is to drift and forget our roots and our potential among all of distractions of daily life, I thought this was a good way to reach those I love. It no longer feels right to send out an e-mail and "force" my kids and my family to be aware of my life and struggles.

Everyone has their own life to lead, and their own struggles to work through. I will continue this effort, and will continue to make my notes publicly accessible (unless I learn of misuse by someone who finds out about them, and then will aggressively pursue a legal remedy to copyright infringement and I will put the Thoughtlets behind a password).

The index to download any of these Thoughtlets is at http://www.walden3d.com/thoughtlets, or you can e-mail me with questions or requests at rnelson@walden3d.com (note if you are not on my e-mail "whitelist" you must send 2 e-mails within 24 hours of each other in order for your e-mail to not be trashed).

With all my love,
Dad
(H. Roice Nelson, Jr.)

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Copyright © 2006 H. Roice Nelson, Jr.